Egyptian Revival?

Lily K.Chadwick

Lily K.Chadwick

Registered Guest
Hi again, I'm in the process of doing a university project on Egyptian Revival pertaining to textiles, accessories and jewelry in Portugal and was wondering if you could give me some help :)

Firstly, the following item belonging to a national museum, has left me wondering if it could indeed be considered to be Egyptian Revival or not, I'm inclining towards it being so, but may well be completely wrong :)
http://www.matriznet.dgpc.pt/MatrizNet/Objectos/ObjectosConsultar.aspx?IdReg=45432
(I hope it is ok to have posted a link to the item's museum page?)

Secondly, I have a small handbag which I recently acquired, I believe it to be from aprox. the 1920's, with the pharaoh's head being original to it, however I'd very much appreciate any help in confirming/refuting this dating?
The last photo includes the items which were in the bag at the time of purchase.

Many thanks in advance :)
 

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I'm wondering exactly what you mean by the term Egyptian Revival.

I don't think it has a clear definition as far as date goes, and can refer to any item from the West, that refers to Ancient Egyptian style. There was a lot of it in the 20s, with the opening of Tutankhamuns tomb, but equally there were earlier and later examples of taking inspiration from Ancient Egypt.

I can't see that dress closely enough to see if it has any Egyptian motifs.

I think your bag is later than 20s - I'm not sure how much later. The coin purse and mirror would have come with it at the original purchase, I think.

I absolutely LOVE Egyptian Revival!
 
Oops! I definitely should have referred the wave of Egyptian Revival in question as being the one which came about in the 1920's, I've been cursing myself for having chosen something so specific to study as, when it comes to textiles of this era, pieces in Portugal have shown themselves to be very scarce :)

Thanks for the help, when do you think it could date to?
 
It's a wonderful subject for study - I love it, especially from the 1920s.

I'm not sure on your bag, perhaps someone else may help. I've seen similar popper clasps as late as the 70s, but I don't think yours is that new.

It may be a souvenir piece from Egypt, rather than created by an Egyptian inspired designer in the West. Just a thought.
 
I too find it very interesting, thanks ever so much for your help :)

In regards to the dress, do you think it could be considered to follow this movement?
 
Thanks so much for the help, it's very much appreciated!
Sadly, my stupidity lies in the fact that the project pertains to pieces which are mainly in Portugal(even if made elsewhere), so although I can use some foreign examples, the basis must be in examples within the country. So far I have accessories covered( http://www.matriznet.dgpc.pt/MatrizNet/Objectos/ObjectosConsultar.aspx?IdReg=51409 ), as well as jewelry(there's an incredible collection of Lalique pieces in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, at least one of which figuring relevant elements, such as scarabs). The last group which needed to be exemplified was textiles, which was proving to be somewhat challenging, hence why I was hoping that dress could have even an inking of Egyptian influence :)
 
Hello,

The handbag looks right for a 1920s or early 1930s piece to me, although the snap closure is not so common for the time.

I am not able to say if the dress is an Egyptian Revival, but it does have some of those revival elements, and looks also rather Persian or other ancient culture.
 
Lily K.Chadwick said:
Secondly, I have a small handbag which I recently acquired, I believe it to be from aprox. the 1920's, with the pharaoh's head being original to it, however I'd very much appreciate any help in confirming/refuting this dating?
The last photo includes the items which were in the bag at the time of purchase.
Click to expand...

In general, I'm feeling more late 50's early 60's but need some more information: How large is the bag? does the frame, or clasps have any markings on them (can you show the inner popper?) if that really was an early popper clasp I'd expect it to be patented or marked pat. pend etc.
The inside is most similar to to a bag I have that is c. 1962 on which the lining is a sort of fine suede/ flocked papery type fabric, it also has a matching purse like yours. Can you show the back of the mirror?
Looking through my 'Handbags' book I could only find similar type/shape examples from 1943 and 1966 neither quite the same.
The pre-30's bags seemed to have a lot more metal hardware visible.
It would help to check if it is real alligator or stamped leather. Also is the lining of the flap leather or other? (have at a look at the wear near the fold)

I'm also intrigued by the handkerchief - which between the dragons and swastika border would appear to be chinese or asian.
 
Hello again, I'm really sorry about the late response, it was a super busy few weeks trying to finish the project, which thankfully went pretty well, thanks ever so much for everyone's help!

Pinkcoke- The bag's between 20-30cms across(I'm sorry about the vagueness of this information, I should be able to post more accurate details along with more photos tomorrow). From what I can remember, the bag doesn't have any markings on it which could be indicative of a patent, however I can tell you the mirror is backed in the same material as makes up the bag, which I believe to be stamped leather.
The handkerchief appears to be a rayon/silk blend, if that makes sense?
 
I recently was looking through a 1923 catalog and saw many small leather purses with similar construction, shape and style. So I came back to look at yours again, and I still think it is early to mid 1920s. The purses in the 1923 catalog were leather, or embossed leather, not the lovely alligator as your may be, although 1 was embossed or stamped to imitate snakeskin. I have to disagree (with a friendly nod) with the above statement that pre- 1930s handbags had more metal visible, as I have not seen that to be the case in my experience. I also saw a few 1920s purses with similar snap or popper closures, so my above statement (that the closure may not be common for the time) may not be 100% correct.

Lily, I have seen many leather handbags and vanity cases from the period of 1910 to 1920s which resemble your purse (without the Tut head of course).

I really love your little handbag, it has a great deal of charm.
 
I agree with Barbara's dating on this handbag - maybe slightly later but not later than early 1930's. I also agree that it has a great deal of charm! I look forward to seeing the additional photos.

Linn
 
Hello, I can't apologize enough for the late reply! I'm in the process of changing courses at university as well as doing an internship/volunteering at a textiles museum, it's been quite hectic.
Thanks ever so much for everyone's help, I really do appreciate it.
Though I haven't got round to taking the photos, within the next couple of weeks classes should be ending and I'll be sure to do so!
 
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