Imhotep Today: Egyptianizing Architecture(Encounters with Ancient Egypt)

This book presents and analyses the results of the use and adaptation of ancient Egyptian architecture in modern times. It traces the use of ancient Egyptian motifs and constructions across the world, from Australia, the Americas and Southern Africa to Western Europe. It also inquires into the cultural, economic and social contexts of this practice. Imhotep Today is exceptional not only in its global coverage, but in its analyses of thorny questions such as: what was it about Ancient Egypt that inspired such Egyptianizing monuments, and was it just one idea, or several different ones which formed the basis of such activities? The book also asks why only certain images, such as obelisks and sphinxes, were incorporated within the movement. The contributors explore how these 'monuments' fitted into the local architecture of the time and, in this context, they investigate whether 'Egyptianizing architecture' is an ongoing movement and, if so, how it differs from earlier, similar activities.

Table of Contents:
1: Introduction: An Architecture Between Dream and Meaning; 2: The Egyptianizing Pyramid from the 18th to the 20th Century 1; 3: Archaeology Wedded to Art: Egyptian Architecture in 19th Century Painting; 4: Egypt in the Snow 1; 5: Egypt in London – Public and Private Displays in the 19th Century Metropolis; 6: Egypt in London – Entertainment and Commerce in the 20th Century Metropolis; 7: Searching for Egypt: Egypt in 19th Century American World Exhibitions; 8: ‘Egyptomania' and American Architecture 1; 9: Ancient Egypt in Melbourne and the State of Victoria, Australia; 10: Egypt in Paris: 19Th Century Monuments and Motifs; 11: Rebuilding The Sanctuaries of Memphis: Egypt in Masonic Iconography and Architecture; 12: Neo-Egyptian Garden Ornaments in Florence During the 19th Century; 13: Egyptianizing Motifs in Architecture and art in Brazil; 14: Egyptianizing Motifs in South African Architecture; 15: ‘Egyptianizing' the Alexandria: The Contemporary Revival of the Ancient Mouseion/Library

About the Author :
Clifford Price, Jean-Marcel Humbert

Review :
"...an important achievement. It presents a fascinating array of material essential to understanding the modern architectural incarnations of ancient Egypt, and demonstrates a way to ask new questions of monuments old and new." -Frederick N. Bohrer, Journal for the Study of Architectural History