Egypt: Influencing British Design 1775 - 2025

Perspective of the First Court of the Temple at Edfu (1809), a Royal Academy lecture drawing by Charles Malton for John Soane. Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

This exhibition explores the British fascination with all things Egyptian through evocative drawings and books owned by Soane. Decorative objects including Wedgwood ceramics, Liberty Fabrics, and an Egyptian-style Singer sewing machine demonstrate the range of ways people have brought Egypt into their homes from Soane’s time to today.

This exhibition is accompanied by new work by Cairo-born artist Sara Sallam. As part of this exhibition, Sallam has produced A Tourist Handbook for Egypt Outside of Egypt, Vol. II – London. Displayed in the Foyle Space in large scale, Sallam’s collages juxtapose photographs of London’s commemorative statues and imperial architecture with nineteenth-century paintings of correlating events in Egypt. Copies are available for purchase from the Museum shop.