The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 sparked a wave of Egyptomania and with it an Egyptian Revival in design. Motifs like lotuses, pyramids etc and the grandeur of Ancient Egypt found its way into the Art Deco design vocabulary, albeit shaped by the exoticist views of the time.

Wafi City built in 1991 (one of its oldest shopping complexes in Dubai), although not an Art Deco building, is Dubai's very own monument to Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt in a very literal sense pervades Wafi's design, from the pyramid architecture, larger than life statues of pharaohs to the magnificent large-scale stained-glass art.

This post aims to explore common Ancient Egyptian motifs that appear in Art Deco design, through the intricate Ancient Egypt inspired design features in Wafi City (even though they are not executed in a recognizably Art Deco style).

• Pyramids: Egyptian as well as Mesoamerican and Mesopotamian pyramids greatly influenced Art Deco's architecture as well as aesthetics.

  
  
  

  

  From left to right: Pyramid motifs in floor tiling and Wafi's glass pyramids.

• Lotus flowers: A very important symbol to Ancient Egyptians, the lotus flower, along with the taller papyrus flowers, became a popular stylistic element in Art Deco design. Famously, lotus flower motifs adorn the elevator doors of one of the most famous Deco buildings in the world, the Chrysler Building in New York.

  
  
  

  

  

  From left to right: Carpet with stylized lotus blossoms, bordered by inlaid walls; lotus blossom balusters; and mosaic tiles showing lotus and papyrus.

  
  

• Scarab beetles, pharaohs and other motifs: Prominent jewellers in the Art Deco era like Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Lacloche Freres to name a few, created jewellery using varied influences from Ancient Egypt.

  
  

From left to right: Stained glass ceiling showing a pharaoh riding a chariot; a wall with pharaonic imagery; and the entrance to the Wafi dining complex, with scarab beetle inlaid across the middle of the gate, flanked by obelisks.

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