Friday, October 14, 2011

Egyptian funereal influence

Napoleon's soldiers, during the Nile campaign, found the Rosetta stone in 1799. They also shot the nose off the sphinx, and brought souvenirs home.The fashion for Egyptian decoration, filtered to France and into English speaking lands. Howard Carter's expedition found Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. This rekindled the taste for this again. Movie theatres, and funeral parlors enjoyed the style. There was a large black funeral home in Cleveland that had one of its buildings (E. 55th) thusly decorated, that building is currently empty. The mortuarys termed some 'Egyptian slumber rooms'.
This mausoleum (Mayfield cemetery) resembles an Egyptian temple (mastaba), in its shape, columns, door lintel and jambs, and friezes. On either side of the names, there is a trio of lotus. The lotus (sesen) would open up under the sun, and close under darkness. The pediment above has the vulture wings outspread, with two cobras, and the sun disc. The cobra (uraeus) was believed to spit fire, and was associated with the faro, and the sun. The bronze doors should be cedar. Only sphinxes replacing the vases could make this more Hollywood (or Vegas) perfect.
At Lake View, here is the same motif, but with more feathers. This winged sun disc of Thebes, as with many Egyptian symbols changed associations over the millenia of use. So whether one insists it is a symbol of Ra or Horus, or someone else—fine. The block pediment is supported by two Egyptian columns.
Here in a tallish upright stone, with a curved scroll top, is the same motif. On the opposite side are the vulture wings with a scarab (dung beetle). The scarab rolling its ball of shit was analogous to the sun rolling through the sky.Some mausoleums have stained glass windows. [supra Lake View, infra Mayfield] These windows take up Egyptian designs. The recurring vulture wings, spears and a head with a cobra crown, all in art deco. The one below, takes the lotus blossoms, and vulture wings to the earlier art nouveau style.

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