On 29 April 2017, I along with an Egyptology group of current and former students traveled to Atchison, KS, at the invitation of the Active Lodge #158 AF & AM to tour their Egyptian Room. The lodge was built in 1915–predating the Tutmania of the early 1920s, but there is no information available about the architect, workmen, or design decisions. They believe the Egyptian motifs were included in honor of the Shriners who made large financial contributions to the lodge. The raised relief seems to be made of polychrome plaster.
Doorway in the shape of a pylon
Several Egyptian-style architectural motifs are present: the pylon-shaped doorway, cavetto cornice, torus molding, and winged sun disk. There are many hieroglyphs throughout the room, some of which form words but many others are unintelligible.
column capital of a human head wearing a nemes headdress and uraeus capped by a pylon
View of two sphinxes guarding a stained glass window of the Ten Commandments
Door to the Egyptian room with a winged sun disk and pyramid form
Figure on the left wearing the crown of Lower Egypt and the figure on the right wearing Amun’s feathered crown
Unintelligible hieroglyphs near a figure wearing perhaps a very stylized Atef crown
Lotus flower design
Mysterious “shawl” in the second row
Sphinx
Anubis figure
Stylized door knob
No idea what the pants-less figure is doing here…