Nile Style on the Bay: Egyptomania

October 17, 10:00 PMSF Architecture & Design ExaminerKaleene Kenning

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Carlton Hobbs LLC, New York, NY*

Inspired by the TUT Exhibition at the FAMSF, The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show has announced the 2009 Show theme is Nile Style on the Bay: Egyptomania.

Western fascination with ancient Egyptian arts has existed from Greco-Roman times to the post-Modern era. Napoleon Bonaparte's 1789 Egyptian Campaign, Howard Carter’s discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, and the King Tut exhibition tour in the 1970s have inspired Egyptian Revivals. During these revivals, Western artists and designers incorporated ancient Egyptian motifs such as pyramids, sphinxes, obelisks, and scarabs on furniture, decorative accessories and jewelry.

The Egyptian Consul General Honorary Chair, Dr. Hesham Elnakib says: “the fact that The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show chose Egyptomania is a reflection of how the refined people of San Francisco and California appreciate our pharaonic art and culture, which we know is the earliest mark of humanity. In this, I see the epitome of antiquity and modernity.” 

Therien & Co., Inc., San Francisco, CA*

Upon entering the Show, visitors will be greeted with a series of displays that set the theme, featuring Egyptian-inspired settings for: the living room by Cheryl DuCote; the dining room by Grant K. Gibson; the library by Stephen Sutro; and the garden by Elizabeth Everdell. These Designers Vignettes are coordinated by Lewis Sykes and Jay Jeffers.

Stunning examples from private collections will be displayed in the loan exhibition, Egyptomania: Nile Style in the Decorative Arts. The loan exhibition is curated by Maria Santangelo, Special Projects Curator in the Department of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Prominent architect Andrew Skurman returns this year as the Creative Director. The Exhibition has been moved to the center of the Show and will be displayed in custom glass cases around the Café. 

Bauman Rare Books, New York, NY*

A lecture series, From Tut to Today, will explore topics ranging from who should own Egyptian antiquities to the Egyptian Revival Style under Napoleon and Josephine to Egyptian influences on design today. 

Sharon Waxman, Author, Journalist, and Editor-in-Chief of The Wrap, Los Angeles will present The Antiquities Culture Wars will be on Thursday, October 29 at 11:15 a.m. Presenting information reported in her book Loot: The Battle Over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World (Times Books, Henry Holt and Co., paperback edition 2009), Waxman will elucidate the complicated issues of repatriation.

Carol Elkins, Senior Vice President, Sotheby’s Jewelry Department, New York will present Fit for a Pharaoh: Jewels in the Egyptian Style on Thursday, October 29 at 2:30 p.m.

Emily Evans Eerdmans, Design historian and Author, New York will present Of Sphinxes and Sofas: Reviving and Reimagining Antiquity will be held on Friday, October 30 at 11:15 a.m. Showing examples from her book Regency Redux: High Style Interiors: Napoleonic, Classical Moderne, and Hollywood Regency (Rizzoli, 2008), Eerdmans will trace this taste from Thomas Hope’s iconic “Egyptian Room” to Oliver Messel’s lavish sets for the 1945 film “Caesar and Cleopatra.” (This lecture is presented in collaboration with The Royal Oak Foundation and Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation).

Madeleine Deschamps, Author and Designer, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, New York will present Pharaohs, Harems, and Cavaliers: Napolean’s Empire and Egypt on Friday, October 30 at 2:30 p.m. Deschamps, author of Empire (Abbeville Press, 1994 and 2004), will trace the influence of the ensuing “Egyptomania” in interior design, decorative and fine arts, architecture, gardens, music, literature, and entertaining under the reign of the Emperor and Empress Josephine. (This lecture is presented in collaboration with French Heritage Society).

John Saladino, Architectural and Interior Designer, Saladino Group Inc., New York will present “DOMUS” Houses of the Ancient World on Saturday, October 31 at 11:15 a.m. In this exclusive San Francisco presentation of his latest book, Villa (Frances Lincoln Ltd., 2009) Saladino shares his passion for Egypt, as well as Italy, in illustrating historical references on his innovative work, notably his own stunning home. (This lecture is presented in collaboration with The Northern California Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America and Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation).

Suzanne Tucker, Principal and Interior Designer, Tucker & Marks, San Francisco will present Rooms with a Viewpoint: A Classic Vision of Contemporary Design on Saturday, October 31 at 2:30 p.m. At this San Francisco launch of her new book, Rooms to Remember: The Classic Interiors of Suzanne Tucker (The Monacelli Press, 2009), Tucker will show never-before-seen pictures of select recent projects, illustrating a timeless mix of antiques and modern art in her trademark classically inspired rooms.

The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show is held at Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion, Marina Boulevard at Buchanan Street. It runs Thursday, October 29 through Sunday, November 1, 2009. Hours are Thursday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. Show general admission is $15 (includes catalogue). Lectures are $15 each.  The Preview Party, one of the most prestigious social events in San Francisco, with approximately 3,000 in attendance, will be held on Wednesday, October 28.

For more information: For information about group rates, lectures series tickets, private luncheons and other special events, visit www.sffas.org or call (415) 989-9019.

* All photographs courtesy of The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, used with permission.