Designer Richard Frost's Egyptian-inspired furniture on show

York furniture designer and maker Richard Frost has been fascinated by the ancient Egyptians since his mum and dad took him to a Tutankhamun exhibition in London when he was a boy.

So he decided to mark the centenary of the discovery of the Egyptian boy-pharaoh's tomb - it was opened by Howard Carter on November 4, 1922 - by creating his own series of Egyptian-inspired pieces of furniture.

These have now gone on show at York's Blossom Street Gallery, where they will remain until November 30.

The exhibition is the culmination of 18 months work by Richard - including the study of ancient Egyptian artefacts and architecture.

“On November 4, 1922, excavators led by Egyptologist Howard Carter uncovered the tomb of Tutankhamun," he said.

"When asked what he saw, he replied, ‘wonderful things’.

"This exhibition is my tribute to the beauty and elegance of ancient Egypt which he revealed.”

The exhibition at the blossom Street Gallery includes several large pieces of furniture made by Richard - among them a drinks cabinet inspired by hieroglyphics, and a hat stand and wall cabinets all inspired by a study of the lotus flower - as well as smaller pieces.

Richard says his designs are partly inspired by an exhibition of Tutankhamun artefacts he saw at the Saatchi gallery in London just before lockdown.

He also has his own small library of books about the ancient Egyptians.

"I really like the colours and the patterns," he said. "A lot of my work tends to incorporate curves, patterns and colour, and I can see that in some of the Egyptian artefacts."

Richard only became a professional furniture making after taking voluntary redundancy from Network Rail, where he worked as a civil engineer, in 2016.

The 54-year-old, who was originally from Lancashire but came to York with Network rail in 2000, did a year-long course in furniture-making and design in Cumbria, then set up his own businesses. "And this is definitely where my passion lies!" he said.

Richard works mainly from the garage of his home off Tadcaster Road, but also has a small workshop in Cumbria.

He describes himself as a cabinet designer/maker producing 'bespoke and limited edition handcrafted furniture, household goods and gifts'.

He has no single, distinctive style, he says. "My objective is to produce an exquisite piece of furniture. I take my inspiration from both the natural world and our industrial heritage."

And from an ancient Egyptian pharaoh whose tomb was discovered a century ago, of course.

July 1996 photo showing the mask of King Tutankhamun at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (Image: AP/ Mohamed El-Dakhakhny)