The design sketch for Egyptian Matossian cigarettes was made by the famous Russian artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin during his emigration period.

The revolution of 1917 began while Bilibin was in Crimea. Concerned about his future, the artist did not return to Petrograd. In 1918, in Yalta, he took part in the exhibition “Crimean Art”, after moving to Rostov-on-Don, and from there to Novorossiysk. In his autobiography, Bilibin recalls this time:

The Eastern culture, the new environment and reality turned out to be unpleasant for the artist. There was a typhus outbreak in the Egyptian refugee camp. Bilibin also had very little money. Far from his homeland, from the artistic process, from his colleagues, friends and relatives, Bilibin was fighting for existence.

Initially, Ivan Yakovlevich took on any job, including the one that he had never done — industrial graphic design: working on tobacco advertisement campaigns, labels for matchboxes and other miscellaneous things. This work, of course, did not bring any moral or material satisfaction to Bilibin, a true artist. However, as was typical of Bilibin, he worked diligently, tastefully and produced high quality designs. Thus, the presented sketch for Egyptian Matossian cigarettes is distinguished by meticulous lines, and a subtle understanding of Eastern aesthetics and worldview.

Gradually Bilibin’s financial situation improved. He was commissioned by people from the Greek colony in Cairo to create panels for private mansions and church murals in the Byzantine style. That was his main source of income and enabled him to rent a studio and keep assistants.