Montparnasse: Answer

Egyptian-style Mausolea in the Montparnasse Cemetery, 3, boulevard Edouard Quinet. 
14th arrondissement. Metro: Raspail

Photo: Mary B. Shepard

Nestled in the "Little Cemetery," located across the rue Émile Richard from the main section of the Cimetière Montparnasse, these stately mausolea can be found in an early 20th-century grouping of Jewish burials. The mausolea are family tombs--with several generations resting beneath.

Photo: Mary B. Shepard

Find them by walking down the rue Émile Richard from the boulevard Edouard Quinet. Turn left at "Porte 4."

Photo: Mary B. Shepard

Why Egyptian-style mausolea for Jewish Parisians? Diana Muir Appelbaum, in writing about the adoption of Egyptian-style architecture for synagogues (Appelbaum 2012), suggests that adopting the architecture of ancient Egypt was a way of expressing "Jewish ancientness" and a sense of national identity, as Ancient Egyptian architecture was believed to evoke the ancient city of David and Solomon. Early in the 19th century, there was an idea that the Temple of Solomon had been built in the Egyptian style and even by the turn of the 20th century, Jewish synagogues were discussed as being built in a "Judeo-Egyptian style."

Photo: Mary B. Shepard

This extraordinary tomb (25th Division) bears no family name, but it is one of the most impressive. Shaped like a pylon, it features a concave cavetto cornice with stylized lotus petals. Below the cornice, the lintel is decorated with the winged solar disk--but with the Star of David replacing the sun.

Photo: Mary B. Shepard

Photo: Mary B. Shepard

Remnants of Nile Blue paint still survive on the stylized lotus petals decorating the cornice. 

Photo: Mary B. Shepard

Horus, with his wings outstretched, protects the tomb and its occupants.