Walk Like An Egyptian

West-German pottery often drew inspiration from historical examples, both in shape and in décor. Last week when I was unpacking a box that came from storage, I re-stumbled upon a cute little vase by Übelacker that was clearly influenced by Egyptian art and ceramics, but in a very twentieth century way.

1960s Übelacker vase

The shape of this vase is pretty basic. If someone asked me to draw an archetypal shape of a vase, there is a big chance that I would come up with a similar form. Although it is not exactly the same, it seems based on the shape of a Roman Amphora (although similar shapes were also found in excavations in tombs in Egypt), but without the handles. The mottled yellow background very much reminds me of Egypt, as it is a sort of sandy yellow, reminiscent of the desert.

But what makes the vase so much fun for me is the décor! The men walking with their hands up in the air immediately reminded me of the song from The Bangles, Walk Like an Egyptian. I can remember the Bangles-ladies walking in the same way in the video of the song.

Seeing this vase, and rewatching the video by The Bangles did make me wonder: did Egyptians actually walk like an Egyptian? The image we have of them walking in this way seems to come from the Ancient Egyptian relief paintings, where figures were depicted showing both the profile of the face and the body. The placement of the hand (one arm up, one horizantal, fingers pointing out) must have been added later, as I never saw an Egyptian fresco in this gesture. It slightly reminds me of Balinese dancing? Maybe these two styles were successfully mixed to become The Bangles dance.

Measuring and recording the harvest is shown in a wall painting in the Tomb of Menena, at Thebes,
source: Guinness E. Alma

Reading a bit more about the topic, I found out that there are much earlier examples of these Egyptian moves. One of the earliest examples I could find are the Sand Dances by the British trio Wilson, Keppel and Betty. These 'eccentric dances' were the highlight of their show, during which Wilson and Keppel would dance on a stage covered with sand, dressed up in Arabic inspired costumes. They were inspired by the discovery of the tomb of King Tutanchamun by Howard Carter in 1922. The trio performed all over the world (with several different 'Bettys') from 1919 until 1963. I would like to believe that one of the designers at Übelacker saw their performance in Germany and was inspired to create this vase!