Egyptian Hall
Encyclopedia
For the Glasgow building see The Egyptian Halls
.
The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an Exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson.
, London
, commissioned by William Bullock as a museum to house his collection (which included curiosities brought back from the South Seas by Captain Cook), was completed in 1812 at a cost of £16,000. It was the first building in England
to be influenced by the Egyptian style
, partly inspired by the success of the Egyptian Room in Thomas Hope
's house in Duchess Street, which was open to the public and had been well illustrated in Hope's Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (London, 1807). But, unlike Bullock's Egyptian temple in Piccadilly, Hope's neoclassical façade
betrayed no hint of the Egyptianizing decor it contained. Detailed renderings of various temples on the Nile
, the Pyramids and the Sphinx
had been accumulating for connoisseurs and designers in works such as Bernard de Montfaucon
's, ten-volume L'Antiquité expliquée et representée en figures (1719-1724), which reproduces, methodically grouped, all the ancient monuments, Benoît de Maillet
's Description de l'Égypte
(1735), Richard Pococke
's A Description of the East and Some Other Countries (1743), and Frederic Louis Norden
's Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie
(1755); the first volume of the magisterial Description de l'Egypte
(1810) had recently appeared in Paris. The plans for the hall were drawn up by architect Peter Frederick Robinson
. Bullock, who had displayed his collection in Sheffield
and Liverpool
before opening in London, used the hall to put on various spectaculars, from which he made money from ticket sales. The museum was variously referred to as the London Museum, the Egyptian Hall or Museum, or Bullock's Museum.
The Hall was a considerable success, with an exhibition of Napoleonic era
relics in 1816 including Napoleon
's carriage taken at Waterloo
being seen by about 220,000 visitors; Bullock made £35,000. In 1819, Bullock sold his ethnographical and natural history collection at auction and converted the museum into an exhibition hall. Subsequently the Hall became a major venue for the exhibiting of works of art; it had the advantage of being almost the only London venue able to exhibit really large works. Usually admission was one shilling. In 1820, The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault
was exhibited from June 10 until the end of the year, rather overshadowing Benjamin Robert Haydon
's painting, Christ
's Entry into Jerusalem, on show in an adjacent room; Haydon rented rooms to show his work on several occasions. In 1821, exhibitions included Giovanni Battista Belzoni
's show of the tomb of Seti I
in 1821, and James Ward
's gigantic Allegory of Waterloo. In 1822, a family of Laplanders with their reindeer were imported to be displayed in front of a painted backdrop, and give short sleigh-rides to visitors.
The bookseller George Lackington
became owner of the Hall in 1825 and went on to use the facilities to show panorama
s, art exhibits, and entertainment productions. The Hall became especially associated with watercolours. The old Water-Colour Society
exhibited there in 1821–22, and it was hired by Charles Heath
to display the watercolours commissioned by from Joseph Mallord William Turner forming Picturesque Views in England and Wales. Turner exhibited at the Hall for a number of years and it was also used as a venue for exhibitions by the Society of Painters in Water Colours.
In the "Dudley Gallery" at the Egyptian Hall, the valuable collection of pictures belonging to the Earl of Dudley
was deposited during the erection of his own gallery at Dudley House in Park Lane
. The room gave its name to the Dudley Gallery Art Society (also known as The Old Dudley Art Society) when they were founded in 1861 and used it for their exhibitions. It was the venue chosen for their first exhibitions by the influential New English Art Club
.
By the end of the 19th century, the Hall was also associated with magic
and spiritualism
, as a number of performers and lecturers had hired it for shows. It was also the venue chosen for the showing of some of the very first film
s (or animated photographs) to be shown, including those of Albert Smith relating his ascent of Mont Blanc. Later, when the hall came under the control of the Maskelyne family, a more settled policy was adopted and it soon became known as England's Home of Mystery. Many illusions were staged including the exposition of fraudulent spiritualistic manifestations then being practised by charlatans.
In 1905 the building was demolished to make room for blocks of flats and offices at 170–173 Piccadilly. Muirhead Bone
captured its demise in his work The Dissolution of Egyptian Hall. The Maskelynes relocated to the St. George's Hall
in Langham Place, which became known as Maskelyne's Theatre.
The Egyptian Halls
For the London building see Egyptian HallThe Egyptian Halls is a category A listed building at 84–100 Union Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It was built between 1870–72 and designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson. Other than some retailers on the ground floor, the building is currently unoccupied...
.
The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an Exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson.
History
The Egyptian Hall in PiccadillyPiccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, commissioned by William Bullock as a museum to house his collection (which included curiosities brought back from the South Seas by Captain Cook), was completed in 1812 at a cost of £16,000. It was the first building in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to be influenced by the Egyptian style
Ancient Egyptian architecture
The Nile valley has been the site of one of the most influential civilizations which developed a vast array of diverse structures encompassing ancient Egyptian architecture...
, partly inspired by the success of the Egyptian Room in Thomas Hope
Thomas Hope
Thomas Hope , was a Dutch and British merchant banker, author, philosopher and art collector, best known for his novel Anastasius a work which many experts considered a rival to the writings of Lord Byron...
's house in Duchess Street, which was open to the public and had been well illustrated in Hope's Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (London, 1807). But, unlike Bullock's Egyptian temple in Piccadilly, Hope's neoclassical façade
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
betrayed no hint of the Egyptianizing decor it contained. Detailed renderings of various temples on the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
, the Pyramids and the Sphinx
Sphinx
A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
had been accumulating for connoisseurs and designers in works such as Bernard de Montfaucon
Bernard de Montfaucon
Bernard de Montfaucon was a French Benedictine monk, a scholar who founded a new discipline, palaeography; an editor of works of the Fathers of the Church; he is also regarded to be one of the founders of modern archaeology.-Early life:Montfaucon was born January 13, 1655 in the castle of...
's, ten-volume L'Antiquité expliquée et representée en figures (1719-1724), which reproduces, methodically grouped, all the ancient monuments, Benoît de Maillet
Benoît de Maillet
Benoît de Maillet was a well-travelled French diplomat and natural historian. He was French consul general at Cairo, and overseer in the Levant...
's Description de l'Égypte
Description de l'Egypte
Description de l'Égypte is the title of several books.* Description de l'Égypte - Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française Pub; First Edition , L'Imprimerie Imperiale, 1809-1813; l'Imprimerie...
(1735), Richard Pococke
Richard Pococke
Richard Pococke was an English prelate and anthropologist. He was Protestant Bishop of Ossory and Meath , both dioceses of the Church of Ireland...
's A Description of the East and Some Other Countries (1743), and Frederic Louis Norden
Frederic Louis Norden
Frederic Louis Norden was a Danish naval captain and explorer.Also known as Frederick, Frederik, Friderick, Ludwig, Ludvig and Lewis, the name used on the first publication of his famous Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie is Frederic Louis Norden. His name is often shortened F. L...
's Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie
Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie
Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie records Frederic Louis Norden's extensive documentation and drawings of his voyage though Egypt in 1737-1738...
(1755); the first volume of the magisterial Description de l'Egypte
Description de l'Egypte
Description de l'Égypte is the title of several books.* Description de l'Égypte - Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française Pub; First Edition , L'Imprimerie Imperiale, 1809-1813; l'Imprimerie...
(1810) had recently appeared in Paris. The plans for the hall were drawn up by architect Peter Frederick Robinson
Peter Frederick Robinson
Peter Frederick Robinson was an English architect.-Life:Peter Frederick Robinson began his career in Henry Holland's office and worked under William Porden at the Brighton Pavilion in 1801–2...
. Bullock, who had displayed his collection in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
before opening in London, used the hall to put on various spectaculars, from which he made money from ticket sales. The museum was variously referred to as the London Museum, the Egyptian Hall or Museum, or Bullock's Museum.
The Hall was a considerable success, with an exhibition of Napoleonic era
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...
relics in 1816 including Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's carriage taken at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
being seen by about 220,000 visitors; Bullock made £35,000. In 1819, Bullock sold his ethnographical and natural history collection at auction and converted the museum into an exhibition hall. Subsequently the Hall became a major venue for the exhibiting of works of art; it had the advantage of being almost the only London venue able to exhibit really large works. Usually admission was one shilling. In 1820, The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault
Théodore Géricault
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault was a profoundly influential French artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings...
was exhibited from June 10 until the end of the year, rather overshadowing Benjamin Robert Haydon
Benjamin Haydon
Benjamin Robert Haydon was an English historical painter and writer.-Biography:Haydon was born in Plymouth. His mother was the daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Cobley, rector of Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon. Her brother, General Sir Thomas Cobley, was renowned for his part in the siege of Ismail...
's painting, Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
's Entry into Jerusalem, on show in an adjacent room; Haydon rented rooms to show his work on several occasions. In 1821, exhibitions included Giovanni Battista Belzoni
Giovanni Battista Belzoni
Giovanni Battista Belzoni , sometimes known as The Great Belzoni, was a prolific Venetian explorer of Egyptian antiquities.-Early life:...
's show of the tomb of Seti I
Seti I
Menmaatre Seti I was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt , the son of Ramesses I and Queen Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II...
in 1821, and James Ward
James Ward (artist)
James Ward , R.A., was a painter, particularly of animals, and an engraver.-Biography:Born in London, and younger brother of William Ward the engraver, James Ward was influenced by many people, but his career is conventionally divided into two periods: until 1803, his single greatest influence was...
's gigantic Allegory of Waterloo. In 1822, a family of Laplanders with their reindeer were imported to be displayed in front of a painted backdrop, and give short sleigh-rides to visitors.
The bookseller George Lackington
George Lackington
George Lackington was an English bookseller and publisher, who inherited the business of his third cousin, James Lackington, on his retirement in 1798....
became owner of the Hall in 1825 and went on to use the facilities to show panorama
Panorama
A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model....
s, art exhibits, and entertainment productions. The Hall became especially associated with watercolours. The old Water-Colour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
exhibited there in 1821–22, and it was hired by Charles Heath
Charles Heath
Charles Theodosius Heath was an English engraver, currency and stamp printer, book publisher and illustrator.-Life and work:...
to display the watercolours commissioned by from Joseph Mallord William Turner forming Picturesque Views in England and Wales. Turner exhibited at the Hall for a number of years and it was also used as a venue for exhibitions by the Society of Painters in Water Colours.
In the "Dudley Gallery" at the Egyptian Hall, the valuable collection of pictures belonging to the Earl of Dudley
Earl of Dudley
Earl of Dudley, of Dudley Castle in the County of Stafford, is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ward family. This family descends from Sir Humble Ward, the son of a wealthy goldsmith and jeweller to King Charles I...
was deposited during the erection of his own gallery at Dudley House in Park Lane
Park Lane (road)
Park Lane is a major road in the City of Westminster, in Central London.-History:Originally a country lane running north-south along what is now the eastern boundary of Hyde Park, it became a fashionable residential address from the eighteenth century onwards, offering both views across Hyde Park...
. The room gave its name to the Dudley Gallery Art Society (also known as The Old Dudley Art Society) when they were founded in 1861 and used it for their exhibitions. It was the venue chosen for their first exhibitions by the influential New English Art Club
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club was founded in London in 1885 as an alternate venue to the Royal Academy.-History:Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886...
.
By the end of the 19th century, the Hall was also associated with magic
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
and spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
, as a number of performers and lecturers had hired it for shows. It was also the venue chosen for the showing of some of the very first film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s (or animated photographs) to be shown, including those of Albert Smith relating his ascent of Mont Blanc. Later, when the hall came under the control of the Maskelyne family, a more settled policy was adopted and it soon became known as England's Home of Mystery. Many illusions were staged including the exposition of fraudulent spiritualistic manifestations then being practised by charlatans.
In 1905 the building was demolished to make room for blocks of flats and offices at 170–173 Piccadilly. Muirhead Bone
Muirhead Bone
Sir Muirhead Bone was a Scottish etcher, drypoint and watercolour artist.The son of a printer, Bone was born in Glasgow and trained initially as an architect, later going on to study art at Glasgow School of Art. He began printmaking in 1898, and although his first known print was a lithograph, he...
captured its demise in his work The Dissolution of Egyptian Hall. The Maskelynes relocated to the St. George's Hall
St. George's Hall (London)
St. George's Hall was a theatre located in Langham Place, Regent Street in London, built in 1867, which closed in 1966. The hall could accommodate between 800 and 900 persons, or up to 1,500 persons including the galleries...
in Langham Place, which became known as Maskelyne's Theatre.
See also
- Ancient MexicoAncient MexicoAncient Mexico was an exhibition by William Bullock of casts of Aztec artifacts and both copies and originals of Aztec codices, held in 1824 in the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London...
- Egyptian Revival architectureEgyptian Revival architectureEgyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile during 1798....
- Egyptian revival decorative artsEgyptian revival decorative artsEgyptian revival decorative arts is an early nineteenth century movement in which Egyptian motifs were applied to a wide variety of Decorative arts objects....
