1922: The Birth of Now

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Matthew Sweet investigates objects and events from 1922, the crucial year for modernism.

Matthew Sweet investigates objects and events from 1922, the crucial year for modernism, that have an impact today.

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1922: The Birth of Now: The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, and Egyptomania

The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, and Egyptomania

BBC Radio 4 - 1922: The Birth of Now, The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, and Egyptomania

The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, sparking Egyptomania, that continues.

The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb fuelled a fascination with ancient Egypt that influenced architecture and design in Europe and America; one that continues a century later.

1922: The Birth of Now - Ten programmes in which Matthew Sweet investigates objects and events from 1922, the crucial year for modernism, that have an impact today. 

6. The tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922, and this fuelled the Egyptomania that swept across Europe and America, influencing diverse aspects of culture from dance to music to architecture. Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre opened in Hollywood in this pivotal year, and the craze for the Egyptian style can still be seen in many British buildings from cinemas to pubs. Matthew explores how this exemplifies Modernism’s fascination with the distant past, the roots of civilisations, and their relics - with the historians Debbie Challis and Roger Luckhurst. Also, Egypt gained full independence from Britain in 1922, and the disintegration of Empire was another catalyst of Modernism.

Producer: Eliane Glaser
Readings by Rebecca Crankshaw and Michael Begley

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1922: The Birth of Now

The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, and Egyptomania

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