Thebes

At Thebes, the ancient capital of the Nile, the columns of Karnak opened into capitals of papyrus and palm. Chrystiane Charles takes up their fan: a gilt-bronze sconce where the fronds open into a palmette, wide above, drawn to a point below, like an open papyrus. The light, behind the leaves, backlights their veins and casts them in shadow on the wall. The chased bronze renders the detail. The Egypt of the temples becomes a sconce, sumptuous and gilded.