“Égyptienne Ailée” (“Winged Egyptian Woman”), 1915

The seated pose, horizontal orientation, and outstretched wings of this figure recall depictions of goddesses in Ancient Egyptian funerary art. Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt (1798-1801) led to the establishment of modern Egyptology. Excavations in the Valley of the Kings were a worldwide sensation in the 1910s and 1920s. The stylized wings harken to the dawn of Deco.