Bonomi studied under Charles Bell at the Royal Academy Schools from 1816 and won their Silver Medal in both 1817 and 1818,[2] and was then the only pupil ever accepted by the sculptor Joseph Nollekens during 1818/19.

[5] Bonomi got into debt and was obliged to accept a modestly paid commission to accompany Robert Hay on an expedition, via Malta, to Egypt in 1824.

In July 1832, with his finances now more stable, he met Hay again, at Asyut, and was persuaded to rejoin his team (at a much higher salary) along with a French artist, Dupuy.

After Hay left Egypt in 1834, Bonomi undertook tours of Syria and Palestine (with Francis Arundale and Frederick Catherwood).

No doubt influenced by his family's architectural associations, Bonomi designed the entrance to Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington, London (in collaboration with William Hosking), built in Egyptian style with hieroglyphics signifying the Abode of the Mortal Part of Man.

The latter was undertaken shortly before Bonomi returned to Egypt as part of a Prussian expedition (1842–1844) led by Karl Richard Lepsius.

The family grave in Brompton Cemetery (originally created for the infant deaths but later accommodating Bonomi and his wife) is abnormally plain for a sculptor of his skill.