c. 1920's original and intact american egyptian revival-themed folk art hand-painted wooden music box featuring to opposed winged "set" animals or chimerical beasts facing towards each other. the artist is not known. the painted box (on all sides except the bottom) contains a largely intact polychrome finish with surface crazing and discoloration consistent with age. the hinged wooden box was likely inspired by the discovery of king tut's tomb. the interior contains no dividers (stationary or otherwise) and no markings. the unsigned wooden folk art box is structurally sound and stable. egyptian revival is a style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient egypt. it is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient egyptian monuments generated by napoleon's conquest of egypt and admiral nelson's defeat of napoleon at the battle of the nile in 1798. napoleon took a scientific expedition with him to egypt. publication of the expedition's work, the description de l'égypte, began in 1809 and was published as a series through 1826. however, works of art and architecture (such as funerary monuments) in the egyptian style had been made or built occasionally on the european continent and the british isles since the time of the renaissance. the expeditions that eventually led to the discovery in 1922 of the treasure of tutankhamun's tomb by the archaeologist howard carter resulted in a 20th-century revival. the revival during the 1920's is sometimes considered to be part of the art deco decorative arts style. this phase gave birth to the egyptian theatre movement, largely confined to the united states. the egyptian revival decorative arts style was present in furniture and other household objects, as well as in architecture. measures 8 x 12 x 4.5 inches.