King Tut Takes America: The Rise of Egyptomania (1920s)
Discovering the Art Deco Legacy of the Roaring Twenties
In the early 1920s, archaeologist Howard Carter was exploring Egypt’s Valley of the Kings where the pharaohs were buried, and he unearthed the tomb of King Tutankhamun. The news made headlines across the U.S. and Egyptomania was born.
Advertisers saw the potential profit and the market was flooded with Egyptian-inspired consumer products: lipstick, jewelry, soaps, and cosmetics. Fashion designers drew from Egyptian motifs and colors and fashion shows were filled with lotus patterned silk garments in mummy-wrapped styles. The obsession with all things Egyptian was the basis for the Art Deco wave of the 1920s. Geometric shapes of Egyptian patterns found their way into home décor, handbags, and ornaments. Even President Herbert Hoover named his dog “King Tut.” ~ American Fads and Crazes: 1920s by Heather Thomas
Featured advertisement : Beauty from Trees
Date: 1925
Company: Palmolive Company
Duke University Library \ Ad Access: duke:335139
Cleopatra and the etymology of Palm Olive Soap...pretty cool.
The craze endured into the '70s and '80s and heavily influenced Steve Martin and The Bangles.