A gradual progress may be observed in their choice of fancy ornament. Beginning with simple imitations of real olijects, as the lotus and other flowers, tliey adopted, by degrees, conventional representations of them, or purely imaginary devices; and it is remark- able that the oldest Greek and Etruscan vases have a similarly close imitation of the lotus and other real ob- jects. The same patterns common on Greek vases had long before been introduced on those in Egypt; whole ceilings are covered ■with them ; and the vases themselves had often the same elegant forms we ad- mire in the cilix and others afterwards made in Greece. They were of gold and silver, engraved and embossed ; those made of porcelain were rich in color, and some of the former were inlaid or studded with precious stones, or enamelled in brilliant colors. Their knowl- edge of glass-blowing is shown by a glass bead in- scribed with the name of a queen of the 18th dynas- ty, which ]>roves it to be as old as 3200 years ago. Among their most beautiful achievements in this art were their richly-colored bottles with waving lines and their small inlaid mosaics. In these last, the fineness of the work is so great that it must have re- quired a strong magnifying power to put the parts to- gether, especially the more minute details, such as feathers, the hair, etc. "They were conqiosed," says Sir G.Wilkinson, "of the finest threads or rods of glass (attenuated by drawing them when heated to a great length), which, having been selected according to their color, were placed upright side by side, as in an ordinary mosaic, in sufficient number to form a portion of the intended picture. Others were. then added until the whole had been composed ; and when they hMd all l)een cemented together by a proper heat, the work was completed. Slices were then sawn oflf
transverse!}', as in our Tunbridge ware, and each sec- tion presented the same picture on its upper and un- der side."
The more wealthy Egyptians had their large town- houses and spacious villas, in which the flower-garden and pleasure-grounds were not the least prominent features. Avenues of trees shaded the walks, and a great abundance of violets, roses, and other flowers was always to be had, even in winter, owing to the nature of their climate and the skill of their gardeners. A part also was assigned to vines and fruit-trees ; the former were trained on trellis-work, the latter were standards. It is a curious fact that they were in the habit of employing monkeys, trained for the purpose, to climb the upi)er branches of the sycamore-trees, and to gather the figs from them. The houses generally consisted of a ground floor and one upper story ; few were higher. They were often placed round an open court, in the centre of which was a fountain or small garden. Large houses had sometimes a porch with a fliglit of steps before the street door, over which latter was painted the name of the owner. The wealthy landed proprietors were grandees of the priestl}- and military classes (JMr. Birch and M. Ampere may be said to have proved the non-existence of castes, in the Indian sense, in Egypt) ; but those who tended cat- tle were looked down upon by the rest of the com- munity. This contempt is often shown in the paint- ings, by their being drawn unshaven, and squalid, and dressed in the same covering of mats that were thrown over the beasts they tended. None would intermarry witii swineherds. It was the custom for the men to milk, as it is still among some Arab tribes, who think it disgraceful for a woman to milk any animal.
Potters were very numerous, and the wheel, the baking of cups, and the other processes of their art were prominent on the monuments. It is singular, as affording illustration of Scripture language, that the same idea of fashioning the clay Mas also applied to man's formation; and the gods Ptah and Num, the creative agencies, are represented sitting at the pot- ter's wheel turning the clay for the human creation. Pottery appears to have furnished employment to the Hebrews during the bondage (Psa. Ixxxi, 6 ; Ixviii, 13 ; comp. Exod. i, 14).
The Egyptians were fiimiliar with the use of iron from a very remote period, and their skill in the man- ufacture of bronze was celebrated. They were ac- quainted also with the use of the forceps, the blow- pipe, the bellows, the syringe, and the siphon. Gold mines were wrought in Upper Egypt (Diod. Sic. iii, 12).
Leather was sometimes used for writing purposes, but more frequent!}' paper wiade from the papyrus, which grew in the marsh-lands of the Delta. The mode of making it was by cutting the pitli into thin slices lengthwise, which being laid on a table were covered with similar layers at right angles, and the two sets, being glued together and kept under pressure a proper time, formed a sheet. The dried flower-heads of the papyrus have been found in the tombs.
As illustrating Scripture, it may be mentioned that the gods are sometimes represented in the tombs hold-
ing the Tau or sign of life
ife j Y j , which was adopt-
ed by some of the early Christians in lieu of the cross, and is mentioned by Ezek. ix, 4, 6, as the " mark (Tau) set upon the foreheads of the men" who were to be preserved alive. Christian inscriptions at the great oasis are headed by this symbol ; it has been found on Christian monuments at Home.