Only in Paris by Duncan J.D. Smith

24 7 2 nd Arrondissement Egypt on the Seine 2 nd Arrondissement, the Passage du Caire at 2 Place du Caire Métro 10 Vaneau Contrary to popular opinion the vogue for things Egyptian that swept Paris around the turn of the 19 th century finds its origin before Na- poleon’s expedition to the Nile in 1798. From the mid-18 th century onwards budding French artists sent to study in Rome were return- ing with engravings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778), who believed Etruscan art had its origins in Egypt. During the Revolution the new Republic, as well as the city’s Freemasons, incorporated these Egyptian motifs into their own iconography (see no. 47). Napoleon’s expedition therefore served only to accelerate an existing fashion. Under Napoleon (1804–1815) the neo-Egyptian style took many forms, from furniture and sculpture to architecture. The west façade of the Cour Carrée in the Louvre (1 st ), for example, which was completed by Napoleon, incorporates a representation of the goddess Isis. The Hôtel Beauharnais at 78 Rue de Lille (7 th ), once occupied by Napo- leon’s adopted son Eugène de Beauharnais (1781–1824), has a porch based on the Kiosk of Trajan at Philae. Most extravagant is the Pas- sage du Caire at 2 Place du Caire (2 nd ), a covered passage inspired by the souks of Cairo (it is today filled with fabric merchants). Opened in 1798 it has an entrance decorated with pharaonic-style reliefs and busts of the goddess Hathor, inspired by capitals found in the temple at Dendera. Not far away are Rues du Nil, d’Aboukir, and d’Alexandre, all of which recall Napoleon’s Egyptian forays, as does Rue des Pyra- mides (1 st ). The Fontaine du Fellah at 52 Rue de Sèvres (7 th ) is particularly interesting. Erected in 1806 it is one of 15 fountains commissioned by Napoleon to provide Parisians with drinking water. This one, however, served also to remind passers-by of the emperor’s Egyptian achieve- ments. It takes the form of a temple doorway from which emerges an Egyptian clutching a pair of water jugs. Although the word fellah means peasant farmer, the figure by Pierre-Nicolas Beauvalet (who also worked on Napoleon’s column in Place Vendôme) is based on a Roman statue discovered in Emperor Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli. On the lintel is carved an eagle, signifying Napoleon’s imperial rule, rather than the usual Egyptian winged sun disk. Another of Napoleon’s Egyptian-style fountains is the Fontaine du Palmier on Place du Châtelet (1 st ), modelled after a Roman triumphal