The Victorian period was filled with style “revivals.” Renaissance Revival, Gothic Revival, Jacobean Revival, Romanesque Revival, Rococo Revival and Neoclassic Revival to name a few. All of these had influence on every field of decorative endeavor from architecture to jewelry to paintings to fabrics and furniture. None, however, had more influence on ceramic manufacturers than Egyptian Revival.
Most ceramic companies during the late Victorian age created pieces with Egyptian themes and the influence was broadly shown in Europe. Great Britain ruled the world in the last half of the 19th Century and those who could afford to took advantage of friendly overseas travel to experience other lands. The Grand Tour, where upper middle class adventurers would travel through Europe in search of worldly enlightenment, became a staple of Victorian life. As the British Empire expanded to the Middle East, Africa and India it would increase places of interest for travel.
The strange fascination with ancient Egypt had roots at the tail end of the 18th Century.
Bonaparte before the Sphinx by Jean-Léon Gérôme
The Vanderbilt family on their Grand Tour in Egypt
Ever since Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 and brought back strange and exotic items to Europeans, interest in Egyptomania flourished throughout the continent. After the coronation of Great Britain’s Queen Victoria, the world would have seventy years to wait before the biggest ancient Egyptian discovery would occur—that of the undisturbed tomb of King Tutankhamen—but icons of ancient Egypt like pyramids, scarabs and the sphinx made for fashionable decor in Victorian homes that majolica manufacturers were more than happy to cater to. English potters George Jones and Wedgwood fed this appetite for Egyptian revival material with zeal.
Wedgwood created a full line of majolica wares with Egyptian silver plate fittings in the 1860s.
They made candlesticks and desksets shaped like Egyptian funerary skiffs, canopic jars and ancient Egyptian sphinxes.
Wedgwood skiff desk set in majolica with griffin head at the prow
Wedgwood majolica Egyptian candlestick
Wedgwood majolica candlestick in green malachite
Wedgwood sphinx candleholder
Egyptian motifs found their way into Wedgwood majolica designs like this Reed jug, cattail jug and this Christopher Dresser jardiniere with flying fish.
Wedgwood majolica Lotus jug
Wedgwood majolica reed syrup
A Christopher Dresser Wedgwood majolica design
George Jones made a stunning sphinx adorned jardiniere, candlesticks and centerpieces in majolica and used Egyptian motifs in other pieces.
George Jones majolica jardiniere
George Jones majolica candlestick
George Jones majolica centre
George Jones lotus jardiniere
George Jones lotus vase
Egyptian inspired Jones orchid moon flasks
Egyptian inspired Jones orchid moon flasks
Jones snake handled pate dish
George Jones majolica garden seat
There is also an entire subset of desert pieces featuring camels.
George Jones majolica camel flower holder
George Jones camel compote
Royal Worcester majolica camel
Holdcroft majolica seated camel
Rörstrand majolica camel & rider
Gusrafsberg majolica camel & rider
Massier majolica camel
Massier majolica camel
Anton Tschinkel majolica camel humidor
BWM Arabic figure with camel
In addition to the figural vase of the camel with and Arabic figure shown above, Brown-Westhead Moore created an innovative garden seat with an Egyptian motif and a sphinx garden seat as well.
Brown-Westhead Moore majolica garden seat
BWM majolica sphinx garden seat
The Copeland Lotus Pitcher remains a standout in the field of Egyptian design.
Wilhelm Schiller & Son created a number of pieces with Egyptian themes.
A Christopher Dresser design
An adaptation of a Wedgwood design
Linthorpe and Ault also made Egyptian pieces based on Christopher Dresser designs
Linthorpe Dresser jardiniere
Ault Dresser jardiniere, also made by Linthorpe
Ault Dresser jardiniere, also made by Linthorpe
Linthorpe Dresser jardiniere
Jules Dressler, Royal Dux and Eichwald of Bohemia all made Egyptian themed majolica.
Dressler jardiniere
Royal Dux card tray
Eichwald majolica cigarette box
Numerous other pieces of Egyptian themed ware can be found as well
Sarreguemines lotus decorated majolica vase
Gerbing & Stephans majolica planter
Gerbing & Stephans majolica ewer
Adams & Bromley in commemoration of the
erection of Cleopatra's Needle in London in 1877
Thomas Sergent sphinx adorned deskset
Minton moon flask with an Egyptian themed painting
Minton Christopher Dresser triple amphora vase
Minton Hollins majolica Egyptian themed tile
Egyptian revival garden seat
Many, many more pieces were created by Minton, Wedgwood, Schiller and Dressler in non majolica ware which attends to the popularity of the subject. I hope this gives you at least a taste of the profound influence of Egyptian Revival design on Victorian majolica.
Great research and photos! Thank you!
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