№ 427

Cut-steel beaded purse with the scarab influence by the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb

Egypt held a particular alure for artists and designers. The discovery of the tomb of the pharaoh, Tutankhamun, by Howard Carter in November 1922, sparked enormous popular interest. Generic Egyptian imagery such as scarabs, hieroglyphics and pyramids, proliferated everywhere, from clothing, accessoires to cinema façades. This beaded cut-steel purse made in France in 1923, is a prime example of Egyptian-inspired styling.
France, 1923