Style Egyptian / Ref.15570

Giuseppe PARVIS (attributed to), Egyptian Revival Mirror, circa 1900

This mirror, with its Egyptian-style design, was created by Giuseppe Parvis around 1900.

Giuseppe Parvis (1831-1909) studied at the Accademia Albertina in Turin. Fascinated by Egypt, he moved to Cairo in 1859 to design Egyptian-inspired furniture. The cabinetmaker and decorator quickly gained international fame through World and International Expositions, including those in Paris (1867), Philadelphia (1876), Milan (1881), and Turin (1884), where he received prestigious awards. Highly esteemed at the court of the Khedive of Egypt, he furnished several palaces before returning to Italy in 1900. By the early 20^th century, Parvis was exporting a significant portion of his creations, exerting considerable influence on the market.

The base of the mirror features an inverted stylized lotus flower, within which the sculpted face of an Egyptian with a false beard is carved. This rests on a pink marble pedestal. Above it is an inverted headdress of an Egyptian deity, which may resemble one of the four statues located at the back of the sanctuary of Gerf Hussein in Egypt. The circular mirror is adorned with numerous pointed pendants. On the right and left, two serpents mimic the uraeus, the symbol of pharaonic authority, and two pendants with blue-and-white chevrons hang from them. The mirror is crowned with a scarab beetle with falcon wings, referencing the god Khepri. The back of the mirror is covered with embroidered fabric featuring geometric patterns characteristic of ancient Egypt, as well as the uraeus.

This mirror, born from an Italian’s passion for Egypt, fully embodies the spirit of Egyptomania, which persisted into the 20^th century in the realm of European decorative arts.