PLATE I. A BLUE CANOPIC JAR, WITH ANUBIS HEAD. This is an imitation of porcelain and shows very well the unevenness of the modern glaze. Such jars were used to contain the internal organs of the dead and were placed in the tomb beside the mummy....

I wish to express my indebtedness to Mr. and Mrs. Firth, of the Nubian Archæological Survey, and to Dr. G. A. Reisner, of the Harvard University Expedition, for their kindness in assisting me. Plates I , II , XII and XVI were prepared from water-colour drawings made by Miss Enid Stoddard, but all of the others have been reproduced direct from the objects themselves....

There are a great many people in the world who are interested in Egypt, in its antiquities, and in the unfolding of its pages of ancient history; a number collect specimens of old Egyptian art, such as scarabs, pottery, small statues, &c., and others, when in Egypt, buy them as presents for friends at home. It is for this numerous class, which is year by year defrauded of large sums of money by the plausible sellers of forged antiquities, that this book has been written, for most of them

The making of copies of ancient gold ornaments has been going on for some years, and is one of the most lucrative branches of the business. The most extraordinary prices are sometimes paid for these replicas in the full belief that they are genuine. A gentleman who is deeply interested in the study of Egyptology was once approached by a native, who, after some conversation, hinted that he had some gold antiquities to sell. The interpreter, who was evidently “in the swim,” pretended to have the u

Genuine lapis lazuli figures are extremely rare, and generally small, the most valuable ones in the museums being only a few inches high. It was thought at first that it would be impossible to make imitations which would pass for the real stone, but on the demand arising it has been met. I was riding from Deir-el-Bahari down to the river one day when a youth rose up from the side of the road, and shuffled forward to speak to me. “You buy antīcas?” he said in a whisper, casting a sidelong glance

It was the custom in the ancient days to place small statuettes made of wood, stone, porcelain or composition in the tombs. These were supposed to do the work of the dead in the Underworld, and are called ushebti, funerary figures, or answerers, because they were expected to answer the call made on the name of the dead, and to stand in their place. Model of a funerary chamber; view of interior Nos. 1, 2 and 5 of Plate III are very cleverly carved, then dipped in liquid plaster of Paris, allowed

One day an up-river man offered for sale some small stone figures, and told me that he had others. I appointed a day to see them at Ibrahim’s shop. The man, accompanied by a friend, came in before I arrived there, and showed them to Ibrahim, to whom he swore by Allah that they were genuine antiquities, and well worth buying. Failing in his attempt to get Ibrahim to buy them, he asked his help to persuade me to do so, offering him a commission out of what I should pay for them. Ibrahim, in order

Ushebti figures in blue porcelain, of varying sizes, are now being made in Luxor, and I believe also in the Delta, near Zagazig. The modelling is good in some cases, and very bad in others, but the glaze is the wrong colour. The old Egyptian glaze was thin, and evenly distributed, while the new glaze is thicker in parts, patchy, and not quite the proper blue ( see Frontispiece ), but these faults will probably be rectified in a very short time. The old Egyptian blue is commonly supposed to have

Ancient pigments always show at some part the unfaded colour. There is no such thing as uniform degradation of colour. There should be no general appearance of decay. The ancient things were made of fresh material, and were preserved carefully. Egyptian blue is composed of sand, copper oxide, and soda, mixed together, ground finely, then moistened with water, tied up in a tiny bag the size of a walnut, put into a furnace and heated to the temperature of red-hot copper. This must be done in a sma

Alabaster jars were used in the old days to contain pigments, ointment, kohl, and similar commodities. They were also placed in large numbers in the graves, hence the quantity that comes into the market. The price is moderate, from a few shillings to several pounds, and one would hardly have thought it worth while for the forgers to copy them; yet it is now regularly done. But there is something about the old alabaster jar or pot which makes it somewhat easier to distinguish from forgeries than

On the way to Deir-el-Bahari, a man offered to sell me the small blue vase with a handle shown in Plate X . He asked 25 s. for it, but a glance served to show that it was not genuine; the colour was too blue, and the weight of it showed that it was solid, not hollow. This was confirmed by testing it with a hatpin belonging to one of our party, and I proceeded to bargain. Eventually I bought it for 5 s. On leaving Deir-el-Bahari, a youth accosted me and offered another small vase, similar to the

The mummy cloth of ancient times was made with the warp and woof of different thicknesses—the warp being thicker than the woof, so that it would hang and fold better. The piece of mummy cloth shown in Plate XV , No. 3 is genuine, but the painting on it has been done recently, as one may be pretty sure from several signs. The painting has been put on with a brush, instead of having the design outlined with a reed and then painted. The colour has run, and shows beyond the edge of the design; and t

I am indebted to Dr. G. A. Reisner for the following story and incidents, and for others which are incorporated in the earlier chapters of this book. “It was in the summer of 1902, I think, that a couple of young men from the west bank of the Nile at Thebes visited a dealer in antiquities whose shop is in Luxor. After general conversation, coffee drinking, and so forth, they finally asked the proprietor if he wished to buy any antiquities. “‘Certainly,’ he said, ‘if they are genuine.’ “‘Will you

As I have already said, the majority of the makers of forged antiquities are to be found among the very adaptable “up-river men.” At Qus lives the maker of gold reproductions. Most of the wooden forgeries come from Gurna and the scarabs from Luxor. In the villages near to Deir-el-Bahari are made the porcelain vases and figures, whence come also the stone heads and statuettes. A number of composition figures are made in the Delta, and may be met with at Zagazig and Benha. A few years ago the forg

It would not, perhaps, be out of place to make some special reference to the men who are doing so much to throw light upon the thoughts and lives of the old Egyptians; but here is need to tread as warily as may be, for these are a race apart. Charming companions they are, delightful hosts, brilliant guests, generous and painstaking to a degree when once you have presented your card and asked to be shown around. So clever are they that after a time one learns wisdom, and refrains from advancing t

Maspero , “New Light on Ancient Egypt.” Breasted , “History of Egypt.” Wilkinson , “Ancient Egypt.” Weigall , “Treasury of Egypt.” Brodrick and Morton , “A Concise Dictionary of Egyptian Archæology.”  ...