The Café Oriental: Egypt in Portugal at the Beginning of the XX Century

In the 1920’s, the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun started a cultural phenomenon that gripped the world’s imagination. Designs and motifs inspired in the Ancient Egypt became popular worldwide and the city of Guimarães, in the North of Portugal, was not an exception. In 1925 it was inaugurated the Café Oriental. Replicating in its interior a refined Egyptian ambience with furniture, accurate New Kingdom murals, Old Kingdom sculptures and architectural details from ancient Egyptian temples and palaces. The Café Oriental was in the centre of Guimarães’ cultural life until its destruction in the 1960’s. Using photographic glass plates dated from the 1920’s as well as local newspapers and the remaining furniture of the Café Oriental, our current purpose is to identify the models and ideas that shaped the creation of this establishment.