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PRIMITIVE 

ART 

IN    EGYPT 


BY   JEAN    CAPART 


PRIMITIVE     ART 


IN 


EGYPT 


PRIMITIVE    ART 


IN 


EGYPT 


BY 


JEAN    CAPART 


KKKI'ER    OF   THE    EGYPTIAN    ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE    ROYAL   MUSEUM,    BRUSSELS 
LECTURER   AT  THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   LIEGE 


TRANSLATED       FROM      THE       REVISED 
AND  AUGMENTED  ORIGINAL    EDITION 


BY 

A.    S.    GRIFFITH 


WITH    2O8   ILLUSTRATIONS 


LONDON 

H.    GREVEL    &    CO. 

33,    KING   STREET,   COVENT   GARDEN,   W.C. 
1905 


PRINTED  AND   BOUND  BY 

HAZELL,   WATSON    AND  VINEY,    LD. 

LONDON    AND   AYLESBURY. 


A/ 
5350 


Co 
PROFESSOR    W.    M.    FLINDERS    PETRIE 

A    TOKEN    OF    PROFOUND    GRATITUDE 


PREFACE. 

"  I  "HIS   book  made  its  first  appearance  in  the  form  of 
a  series  of  articles    in  the  Annales  de   la 


d'Archtologie  de  Bruxelles*  vols.  xvii.-xviii.,  1903-4. 
In  March  1904  it  was  published  as  a  separate  volume, 
without  any  modification  of  the  text. 

I  have  been  much  gratified  by  the  offer  of  Messrs.  H. 
Grevel  &  Co.  to  issue  an  English  translation  of  a  revised 
and  enlarged  edition.  In  this  way  my  book  will  naturally 
be  brought  before  that  public  which  is  perhaps  most 
prepared  both  to  receive  and  to  criticise  it. 

The  works  of  English  ethnologists,  more  especially  of 
Lubbock,  Tylor,  Lang,  Haddon,  Frazer,  Spencer,  and 
Gillen,  were  the  first  to  draw  attention  to  a  whole  series 
of  problems  of  the  greatest  importance  for  a  study  of  the 
origin  of  Art. 

In  submitting  my  work  to  the  English-speaking  public, 
I  am  aware  that  those  points  which  ensured  its  originality 
for  the  French  public  may  perhaps  give  the  book  the 
appearance  of  a  compilation,  borrowed  from  the  works  of 
English  scholars. 

The  materials  have,  to  a  large  extent,  been  drawn  from 


viii  PREFACE. 

the  publications  of  two  English  societies,  the  Egypt 
Exploration  Fund  and  the  Egyptian  Research  Account  ; 
from  their  pages  I  have  gathered  a  large  number  of  facts 
of  the  greatest  importance. 

I  owe  very  special  gratitude  to  Professor  Petrie,  who, 
with  his  habitual  courtesy,  has  for  more  than  five  years 
permitted  me  to  study  and  to  photograph  the  relics  of 
primitive  Egypt,  gathered  together  in  his  collection  at 
University  College,  London.  I  cannot  express  how  much 
I  am  indebted  to  him  for  the  lessons  in  Egyptian  archaeo- 
logy that  I  have  received  from  him  at  the  yearly  exhibition 
of  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund.  If  my  book  is  of  a 
nature  to  render  any  assistance  to  students,  it  is  in  the  first 
instance  to  Professor  Petrie  that  thanks  are  due. 

Two  visits  to  Oxford  have  enabled  me  to  complete  my 
collection  of  notes  and  of  photographic  reproduction.  I 
am  happy  to  have  this  opportunity  of  thanking  Mr.  Evans 
and  Mr.  Bell  for  their  generous  reception  of  me  at  the 
Ashmolean  Museum. 

Owing  to  the  kindness  of  Professors  Erman  and 
Shafer,  I  have  been  able  to  utilise  much  unpublished 
material  from  the  Berlin  Museum.  I  gladly  avail  myself 
of  this  opportunity  of  offering  them  my  sincere  thanks. 

The  cordial  hospitality  received  from  the  Rev.  W. 
Macgregor  has  enabled  me  to  draw  attention  to  a  number 
of  important  pieces  in  his  fine  collection  of  Egyptian 
antiquities  at  Bolehill  Manor  House,  Tarn  worth. 


PREFACE.  ix 

The  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  the  editorial  staff  of  the 
German  review  Die  Umschau*  and  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archaeology,  London,  have  been  good  enough  to  place 
several  photographic  reproductions  at  my  disposal. 

It  is  also  a  pleasant  duty  to  express  my  warm  thanks 
to  Miss  Griffith  for  the  admirable  manner  in  which 
she  has  accomplished  the  task  of  translating  this  book. 

AUDERGHEM,  December  1904. 


ANALYTICAL  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER    I.    PRELIMINARY  CONSIDERATIONS  i 

CHAPTER  II.    PERSONAL  ADORNMENT 21 

Painting  the  Body 21 

Painting  the  Eyes 23 

Tattooing 30 

Mutilations 34 

The  Hair          ...                  35 

Combs  and  Pins 40 

42 

Beards      ...                           .                  ....  43 

Face-veils 45 

Ornaments 47 

Shells 47 

Beads 47 

Pendants .48 

Bracelets .         .  49 

Rings 50 

Clothing 52 

Girdles 52 

Tail  ....  -54 

Karnata -54 

Animal's  Skin  ..........  55 

Loin-cloth 56 

Mantle 56 

CHAI-IKR  III.    ORNAMENTAL  AND  DECORATIVE  ART     ...  59 

Generalities 59 

Transformation  of  a  Natural  Design  into  a  Geometrical  Design  .  60 

Designs  derived  from  Technique       ...  63 

Transformation  of  a  Useful  Object  into  an  Ornament         .         .  64 


xii  ANALYTICAL   TABLE   OF   CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER  III.  (continued}. 


„ 


Plaited  Work 


PAGE 


FJMMi 

Object  of  Decoration 65 

Art 65 

Information »         .         .  65 

Luxury  and  Power 66 

Religion  and  Magic .66 

Knives 67 

Spoons yj 

Combs 72 

Pins ,75 

Pendants -6 

Palettes -77 

Incised  Palettes .82 

Maces  and  Sceptres 9 . 

Stone  Vases gr 

Skeuomorphic  Decorations 98 

Human  Decorations .98 

Animal  Decorations oo 

Stone  Vases  of  Fantastic  Forms         ...  i0i 

Pottery !         !         !      103 

Basket  Work  and  Matting I04 

Pottery  copied  from  Plaited  Work     ...  I08 

j>  „         „      Hard  Stone T08 

»  »      Gourds I0g 

White  Painted  Vases        ...  I0g 

Floral  Designs I09 

Representations  of  Human  Figures    ...  IIO 

5,  ,,  Animals        .....  IIO 

j>  »  Boats II2 

Decorated  Pottery 

»  »       in  Imitation  of  Hard  Stones  .         .         .114 


"5 


Representations  of  Mountains T16 

»               „  Plants n6 

jj               „  Animals IL- 

,,  Human  Beings ^9 

„  Boats J20 

,.  Various 

Vases  decorated  with  Figures  in  Relief      . 

„      with  Decoration  inside I25 

„         „    Incised  Decoration           ....  I26 

„      of  Fantastic  Forms          ....  I26 


I2I 
122 


ANALYTICAL  TABLE   OF  CONTENTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER  III.  (continued). 


PAGE 


Vases  of  Human  Forms    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .127 

„      ,,  Animal  Forms    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .128 

Decorated  Boxes 131 

Furniture  and  Personal  Property 133 

The  Hearth 133 

Ivory  Carvings 135 

Pottery  Marks 139 

Primitive  Hieroglyphs       ........  142 

"  Alphabetiform  "  Characters 145 

Cylinders 151 

CHAPTER  IV.    SCULPTURE  AND  PAINTING 152 

Flints  of  Animal  Forms 152 

Human  Statuettes 154 

Men 155 

Women              160 

Dwarfs 172 

Captives 172 

Servants 174 

Vases  in  form  of  Human  Figures 175 

Figures  of  Animals            ...                  ....  176 

Hippopotami 176 

Lions 178 

!><>->                   183 

Apes 185 

Cattle 188 

Quadrupeds — Various 189 

Birds 190 

Fish 191 

Crocodiles 192 

Scorpions 192 

Frogs 192 

Griffins 192 

Bulls'  Head  Amulets 193 

Double  Bulls 195 

Magical  Instruments  with  Human  Figures         .         .         .         .196 

Boats 199 

Houses 200 

Fortified  Enclosure 201 

Sculptures  in  Relief  ....  .  .201 

Drawing  and  Painting 202 


xiv  ANALYTICAL   TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV.  (continued}. 

PAGE 

Graffiti     •••.....  202 

Painted  Tomb  of  Hierakonpolis        ......  206 

Boats         ..........  207 

Animals    ........  210 

Men                   .                           ......  2II 

Object  of  Paintings  and  of  Graffiti     ......  213 

CHAPTER  V.    THE  EARLIEST  PHARAONIC  MONUMENTS  .         .         .222 

Archaic  Statues  of  Koptos         ....  222 

„         Statue  of  Hierakonpolis        ......  226 

Votive  Palettes          .......  226 

First  Cairo  Fragment          ......  22g 

Fragments  at  tne  British  Museum  and  the  Louvre      .         .229 

Small  Palette  of  Hierakonpolis  ......  230 

Louvre  Palette  .......  2^4 

Small  Fragment  at  the  British  Museum      ....  236 

Second  Cairo  Fragment     .....  2^6 

Fragments  at  the  British  Museum  and  Ashmolean      .         .  238 

Fragment  at  the  Louvre     .......  242 

Great  Palette  of  Hierakonpolis  ......  246 

Small  Fragment  at  the  Louvre    .....  248 

Votive  Mace-  heads  of  Hierakonpolis         .....  240 

Ivory  and  Wooden  Plaques       .                            ....  251 

Plaque  of  the  Chief  of  the  Anou        ......  25g 

Private  and  Royal  Stelae  from  Abydos      .         .         .         .  2r7 

Statues  of  Libyans    ......  2-g 

Cairo  Statue,  No.  I.           .         .....  2gt 

Archaic  Statues         .....  2^ 

Statues  of  King  Khasakhmui     ....  266 

Hierakonpolis  Lion  .........  270 

Figure  of  Cheops      .......  2Q 


CHAPTER  VI.    DANCING,  Music,  AND  POETRY       .         .         .         .272 

Generalities  .    *     ......  2 

Dancing  .  .........     2?4 

'  •  .....     277 

...........     280 


CHAPTER  VII.     CONCLUSIONS        ......  28  2 

INDEX     ...........  291 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PACE 

Fig.  i.  The  Geese  of  Medum 2 

„  2.  The  Geese  of  Medum 3 

„  3.  Fragment  of  one  of  the  Panels  of  Hosi.  From  a  photograph 

by  Petrie 6 

„      4.     Fragment  of  one  of  the  Panels  of  Hosi  .         .         .         .         .         .  7 

„  5.  Figure  of  a  Woman  with  Designs  painted  over  the  Whole  Body. 

Grey  clay  with  black  paint 22 

,,  6.  Figures  of  Women.  University  College,  London.  Grey  clay 

with  greenish  paint 24 

„  7.  Slate  Palettes  used  for  Grinding  Paint 25 

,,  8.  Ivory  Box  in  Form  of  a  Duck 28 

,,  9.  Tatoo-marks  of  the  Primitive  Egyptians  compared  with  those  of 

the  Libyans.  From  F Anthropologie 30 

„  10.  Libyans  from  the  Tomb  of  Seti  1 31 

,,  II.  Fragment  of  a  Statuette  with  Tatoo-marks  on  the  Breast  and 

Right  Shoulder.  Cabinet  des  Mcdaillcs,  Paris  33 
,,  12.  Wooden  Statuette  in  the  Bologna  Museum,  with  Ivory  Ear- 
ornaments  35 

„  13.  Pottery  Vase  with  Designs  in  White  representing  Men  fighting  .  36 

„  14.  Ivory  Statuette.  A  crouching  captive 37 

„  15.  Figure  of  a  Woman  in  Glazed  Pottery.  Discovered  at  Abydos  .  38 

„  16.  Ostrich  Eggs.  From  Naqada  and  Hu 40 

,,  17.  Combs  and  a  Pin,  decorated  with  Animal  and  Bird  Figures  .  41 

„  18.  Band  of  False  Hair.  From  the  Tomb  of  King  Zer  ...  42 
,,  19.  Head  of  one  of  the  Libyans  from  the  Tomb  of  Seti  I.  .  .  .43 

„  20.  Figure  from  the  MacGregor  Collection 44 

„  21.  Ornaments  for  the  Forehead 46 

„  22.  Pendants 48 

„  23.  Bone  and  Ivory  Bracelets,  and  a  Spoon  with  a  Handle  in  Form 

of  an  Arm  wearing  a  Series  of  Similar  Bracelets  ...  50 

Ivory  Rings 51 


xvi  LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Fig.  25.     Huntsman.     Wearing  a  feather  on  his  head,  and  the  tail  fixed  to 

his  girdle 54 

,,  26.  Warriors.  Clothed  in  a  panther  skin,  or  holding  a  shield  formed 

of  a  similar  skin 56 

„  27.  Figures  of  Women.  Wrapped  in  cloaks,  one  of  which  is  decorated. 

Below  are  fragments  of  leather  with  painted  decoration  .  57 
,,  28.  Evolution  of  the  Representation  of  the  Alligator  in  Ancient 

Columbian  Art.  From  Holmes 61 

,,    29.     Evolution  of  the  Representation  of  the  Human  Figure  in  Poly- 
nesian Art.     From  Haddon     .         .         .         .         .         .         .63 

,,  30.  Tortoise-shell  Ornaments  from  Torres  Straits,  in  imitation  of  the 

Fish-Hook  (A).  From  Haddon 65 

,,  31.  Magical  Decoration  on  a  Comb  of  a  Malacca  Tribe.  From 

Haddon .  .  .  .66 

,,  32.  Flint  Knife,  worked  and  retouched  on  both  Faces.  Brussels 

Museum  ;  length,  25  cm. .  67 

„  33.  Gold  Leaf  with  Incised  Designs,  sewn  on  to  one  end  of  a  large 

Flint  Knife  to  form  the  Handle 68 

,,  34.  Figures  of  Women  and  of  a  Boat  on  a  gold  Knife-handle  .  .  69 

,,  35.  Ivory  Knife-handle  in  the  Pitt-Rivers  Collection  ....  70 

„  36.  Ivory  Knife-handle.  Petrie  Collection 71 

„  37.  Small  Flint  Knife  with  Ivory  Handle.  Petrie  collection  .  .  72 
,,  38.  Fragment  of  an  Ivory  Knife-handle  with  a  Figure  of  an  Antelope. 

Berlin  Museum 73 

„  39.  Ivory  Spoon-handles 74 

„  40.  Ivory  Combs  with  Human  Figures.  Petrie  Collection  .  .  -75 

,,  41.  Ivory  Combs  with  Figures  of  Antelopes  and  Giraffes  ...  75 

,,  42.  Ivory  Combs  with  Figures  of  Birds 76 

,,  43.  Ivory  Comb  with  the  Figure  of  an  Antelope  and  Ornaments 

derived  from  Bird  Forms 77 

,,  44.  Ivory  Comb,  Recto.  Davis  Collection 78 

„  45.  Ivory  Comb,  Verso 78 

,,  46.  Ivory  Pins  decorated  with  Figures  of  Birds  and  a  Bull's  Head  .  79 

„  47.  Slate  and  Ivory  Pendants 80 

,,  48.  Slate  and  Ivory  Pendants  decorated  with  Derived  Designs  .  .  81 

,,  49.  Stone  and  Ivory  Pendants  with  Incised  Line  Decoration  .  .  82 
„  50.  Plaque  in  the  Berlin  Museum  (Recto).  Shell  (?)  .  .  .  .83 
,,  51.  Plaque  in  the  Berlin  Museum  (Verso).  Shell  (?)  .  .  .  .83 

,,  52.  Palette  with  a  Human  Figure  at  the  Top 84 

,,  53.  Palette  with  the  Figure  of  an  Antelope,  the  Head  missing  .  .  84 

,,  54.  Palette  in  Form  of  Antelopes 85 

„  55.  Palettes  in  Form  of  Elephants  and  Hippopotami  ....  86 

„  5  5 A.  Palette  in  Form  of  a  Lion.  MacGregor  Collection  ...  87 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  xvii 


PAGE 


.  1  '.ilrttrs  in  KII rm  of  Tortoises  . 86 

„  57.  Palettes  in  Form  of  Fish 87 

„  58.  Palette  in  Form  of  a  Bird  ....  ...  88 

„  59.  Palettes  of  Bird  Form 89 

„  60.  Bird-shaped  Palette.  University  College,  London  ...  90 

i.  Palettes  decorated  with  Incised  Figures 91 

„    62.  Palettes  with  Engraved  Designs     .......  92 

„    63.  Palette.     With  a  sign  (hieroglyphic  ?)  in  relief  93 

,,    <>4.  Palette.     With  two  birds  carved  in  relief.     MacGregor  Collection  93 

,,    65.  Mace-heads  from  Hierakonpolis  and  Naqada          ....  94 

„  66.  Decorated  Mace-heads  in  Soft  Stone  .  95 

„  67.  Mace-head  carved  in  Form  of  a  Tortoise.  Berlin  Museum  .  .  96 

„  68.  Sceptre-  or  Mace-heads  from  Hierakonpolis 97 

„  69.  Stone  Vase.  Decorated  with  two  human  heads  .  .  99 

„  70.  Fragment  of  Vase— Warrior  armed  with  a  Hatchet  .  .  100 

„  71.  Fragment  of  Vase  with  Boat  in  Low  Relief too 

,,  72.  Stone  Vases  with  Animal  Figures  in  Relief 101 

„  73.  Pictographic  (?)  Inscription  on  a  Stone  Vase  .  .  .  .102 

,,  74.  Stone  Vase  in  Form  of  a  Leather  Bottle  .  ...  103 

,,  75.  Stone  Vase  in  Form  of  a  Bird 103 

,,  76.  Stone  Vases  in  Form  of  Frogs,  Hippopotamus,  and  Birds  .  .  104 

„  77.  Vase  in  Form  of  a  Dog.  Berlin  Museum 104 

„  78.  Vase,  and  Fragments  of  Vases,  in  Form  of  Animals  .  .  105 

„  79.  Red  Vases  with  White  Paint,  in  Imitation  of  Basket  Work  .  .  106 

„  80.  Black  Incised  Pottery,  with  Decoration  in  Imitation  of  Basket 

Work 107 

„  81.  Vases  painted  in  White  with  Floral  Designs 109 

„  82  Bowl  painted  in  White  with  Figures  of  Hippopotami  and  a 

Crocodile no 

„  83.  Vases  painted  in  White  with  Representations  of  Animals  .  1 1 1 

„  «S4.  Vase  painted  in  Whitr  with  a  Boat  and  Various  Animals  .  .112 

„  85.  Vases  painted  in  White.  University  College,  London  .  i'3 

„  86.  Vases  painted  in  Imitation  of  Hard  Stones  .  .  114 

„  87.  Vases  decorated  in  Imitation  ol  Basket  Work  .  .  •  >1S 

„  88.  Vases  decorated  with  a  Series  of  Trian^l  i  if> 

,,  S<j.  Representations  of  Aloes  and  Trees  .  .  .  .  i>7 

„  90.  Decorated  Vase  with  Representations  of  Animals,  and  a  Tree 

with  Birds  perched  on  it  . Il8 

,.  91.  Various  I  >rsigns  on  Decorated  Pottery 118 

,,  92.  Vase  with  Representations  of  Castanette  Players  (?)  before  a 

Pani-eri?) 119 

V.i-«-  D. -roration  r«-|ir«-s«-ntmg  Gazelles  fighting      .          .          .          .120 

„    94.  Vase  wfth  Various  Representations.    From  de  Morgan        .       .  121 

b 


xviii  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Fig.    95.     Decorated  Vase  from  Abadiyeh 122 

,,      96.     Vase  with  Representations  of  Giraffes,  Ostriches,  Crocodiles,  and 

Snakes.     Berlin  Museum 123 

,,      97.     Decorated    Vases    with    Designs    in    Relief    and    Other    Rare 

Ornamentations 124 

,,      98.     Black-topped  Pottery  with  Figures  in  Relief        .         .         .  125 

,,      99.     Vase  of  Black-topped  Pottery  with  an  Incised  Decoration  inside      126 
,,     loo.     Rough-faced  Pottery  with  Incised  Decorations     .         .         .         .127 

,,     101.     Black  Polished  Vase  in  Form  of  a  Woman  .....     128 

,,     102.     Clay  Vases  in  Form  of  Animals    .......      129 

„     103.     Clay  Vases  in  Form  of  Birds         .......     130 

„     104.     Clay  Vase  in  Form  of  a  Vulture    .         .         .         .         .         .         .131 

,,     105.     Pottery  Boxes  with  Various  Designs     .         .         .         .         .         .132 

,,     106.     Clay  Fire-places  decorated  with  Designs  in  Imitation  of  Plaited 

Work 134 

„  107.  Ivory  Feet  for  Furniture,  in  the  Shape  of  Bulls' Legs  .  .  .  135 
,,  108.  Fragments  of  Ivory  carved  with  Various  Figures  .  .  .  .136 
,,  109.  Fragments  of  Ivory  Objects  carved  with  Various  Designs  .  .137 

,,     1 10.     Carved  Ivory  Cylinders 138 

Pottery  Marks 141 

Hieroglyphic  (?)  Signs  of  the  Prehistoric  Period  .         .         .         .     145 

113.  Table  of  "  Alphabetiform  ''  Signs  .         ......      147 

114.  Impressions  taken  from  Cylinders         .         .         .         .         .         .150 

115.  Worked  Flints  in  Form  of  Animals       .         .         .         .         .         •      '53 

1 16.  Worked  Flint  in  Form  of  an  Antelope  (Bubalis).     Berlin  Museum      I  54 

117.  Worked  Flint  in  Form  of  a  Wild  Goat.     Berlin  Museum     .         .155 

1 18.  Worked   Flint   in    Form   of   a  Wild    Barbary   Sheep.      Berlin 

Museum.         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  155 

119.  Figures  of  Men  of  the  Primitive  Period 156 

120.  Ivory  Figures  of  Men  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis       .         .         .  157 

121.  Ivory  Heads  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis 158 

122.  Ivory  Statuette  from  Abydos          .         .         .         .         .         .  159 

123.  Steatopygous  Clay  Figures.     Ashmolean  Museum        .         .  161 

124.  Steatopygous  Clay  Figures.     Ashmolean  Museum        .         .         .  162 

125.  Steatopygous  Figure  in  Clay  (complete).     Berlin  Museum  .         .  163 

126.  Clay  Female  Figure.     University  College,  London       .         .         .  164 

127.  Female  Figure  in  Vegetable  Paste.     Berlin  Museum    .         .         .  165 

128.  Female  Figures  in  Pottery,  Ivory,  Lead,  and  Vegetable  Paste      .  166 

129.  Female  Figures  in  Ivory.     MacGregor  Collection          .         .         .167 

130.  Figure  of  a  Woman  carrying  a  Child  on  her  Shoulders        .         .  168 

131.  Ivory  Figure  of  a  Woman  carrying  a  Child.     Berlin  Museum       .  169 

132.  Ivory  Figures  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis    .         .         .         .         .170 

133.  Ivory  Figures  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis    .....  17.1 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  xix 

PAGE 

I  m  134.  Small  Figure  in  Lapis-lazuli  from  Hierakonpolis.  .  .  172 

„  135.  Ivory  Figures  of  Dwarfs 173 

,,  136.  Figures  of  a  Woman  standing  in  a  Large  Jar  .  .  .  .174 

„  137.  Vases  in  Form  of  Women -175 

,,  i  ^S.  Figures  of  Hippopotami  in  Clay,  Glazed  Pottery,  and  Stone  .  177 

,,  139.  Hippopotamus  in  Black  and  White  Granite  .  .  .  .178 

,,  140.  Small  Figures  of  Lions.  University  College,  London  .  179 

,,  141.  Small  Figures  of  Lions  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .180 

„  142.  Limestone  Statue  of  a  Lion  from  Koptos 181 

,,  143.  Ivory  Carvings  of  a  Dog  and  of  a  Lion  from  Abydos.  Brussels 

Museum .  .182 

,,  144.  Figures  of  Dogs .  .  183 

,,  145.  Part  oi  an  Ivory  Figure  of  a  Dog 184 

,,  146.  Natural  Flints  roughly  worked  to  represent  Baboons  .  .  .185 

„  147.  Figures  of  Monkeys 187 

,,  148.  Figures  of  Cattle  and  Pigs.  Ashmolean  Museum  .  .  188 

,,  149.  Camel's  Head  in  Clay,  found  at  Hierakonpolis  ....  189 

,,  150.  Figures  of  Birds  and  of  Griffins 191 

,,  151.  Figures  of  Frogs  and  of  Scorpion* 193 

„  152.  Bull's  Head  Amulet  in  Ivory.  Berlin  Museum  .  .  .  .194 

,,  153.  Bull's  Head  Amulets 195 

,,  154.  Double  Bull's  Head  Amulets.  Hilton  Price  Collection  .  .  196 

„  155.  Magical  Instruments  (?)  in  Ivory 197 

„  156.  Magical  Instrument  made  of  Horn,  from  Katanga.  University 

College,  London 198 

„  157.  Models  of  Boats  in  Clay  and  Ivory 199 

„  158.  Pottery  Boat  with  Figures  of  Men.  Berlin  Museum  .  .  .  200 

,,  159.  Clay  Model  of  a  House  discovered  at  El  Amrah  .  .  .  .201 

,,  1 60.  Clay  Model  of  a  Fortified  Enclosure 202 

,,  161.  Graffiti  from  the  Rocks  of  Upper  Egypt 204 

„  162.  Paultings  on  the  Primitive  Tomb  of  Hierakonpolia  .  .  .  208 

„  163.  Paintings  on  the  Primitive  Tomb  o!  Hi.  r.ikonpolis  .  209 

,,  1(14.  Standards  on  tin-  Primitive  Boats 210 

,,  165.  Gazelles  caught  in  a  Trap  and  Religious  (?)  Krpir.srntatioiis. 

From  the  painted  tomb  of  Hierakonpolis  .  .  .  .211 

,,  H.M.  Statui-s  ni  the  god  Min  discovered  at  Koptos  .  .  223 

.,  167.  I  lammered  Designs  on  the  Archaic  Statues  of  the  God  Min  225 

,,  108.  Archaic  Statue  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis.  Ashmolran 

Museum,  Oxford 227 

,,  I'M;.  Fragment  of  a  Slate  Palette.  Cairo  Museum  .  229 

,,  170.  Slate  Palette  with  Hunting  Scenes.  Louvre  and  British  Museum  231 

,,  171.  Slate  Palette  with  Representations  of  Animals  (Recto).  Oxford  232 

,,  172.  Slate  Palette  with  Representations  of  Animals  (Verso).  Oxford  233 


xx  LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGK 

Kip.  173.     Slate  Palette  (Recto).     Louvre  Museum 234 

,,     174.  Slate  Palette  (Verso).     Louvre  Museum       .....  235 

,,     175.  Fragment  oi"  a  Slate  Palette  (Recto).     Cairo  Museum           .         .  236 

,,     176.  Fragment  oi"  a  Slate  Palette  (Verso).     Cairo  Museum           .         .  237 

,,     177.  Fragment  of  Slate  Palette  (Recto).     Oxford          ....  238 

„     178.  Fragment  of  Slate  Palette  (Verso).     Oxford          ....  239 

,,     179.  Fragment  of  Slate  Palette  (Recto).     British  Museum  .         .         .  240 

„     1 80.  Fragment  of  Slate  Palette  (Verso).     British  Museum  .         .         .241 

,,     181.  Fragment  of  Slate  Palette  (Recto).     Louvre  Museum  .         .         .  242 

,,     182.  Fragment  of  Slate  Palette  (Verso).     Louvre  Museum  .         .         .  243 

„    183.  Slate  Palette  of  Nar-Mer  (Recto).     Cairo  Museum      .         .         .  244 

„     184.  Slate  Palette  of  Nar-Mer  (Verso).     Cairo  Museum       .         .         .  245 

,,     185.  Fragment  of  Slate  Palette.     Louvre  Museum       ....  246 

,,     186.  Great  Mace-head  of  King  Nar-Mer.    Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford  247 

,,    187.  Scenes  carved  on  the  Great  Mace-head  of  King  Nar-Mer     .         .  249 

,,     188.  Great  Mace-head  of  an  Unidentified  King.     Ashmolean  Museum, 

Oxford   .         . .251 

„     189.  Principal  Scene  on  the  Great  Mace-head  of  an  Unidentified  King  252 

,,     190.  Specimens  of  Small  Ivory  and  Wooden  Plaques  discovered  in 

the  Royal  Tombs  of  the  First  Dynasty  at  Abydos          .         .  253 

,,     191.  Small  Plaque  in  Glazed  Pottery  discovered  at  Abydos         .         .  255 

„     192.  Private  Stelae  from  the  Royal  Necropolis  of  the  First  Dynasty  at 

Abydos  ...........  256 

„     193.  Stela  of  Hekenen.     Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford         .         .         .  258 

„     194.  Limestone  Statue  of  a  Libyan.     Cairo  Museum  ....  259 

,,     195.  Head  of  a  Libyan  in  Limestone.     Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford  .  260 

,,    196.  Black  Granite  Statue.     Cairo  Museum          .....  261 

„     197.     Statue  of  a  Princess  in  the  Turin  Museum 262 

„     198.  Statue  in  the  Brussels  Museum    .......  263 

,,     199.  Statue  of  Nesa,  in  the  Louvre       .......  265 

Figs.  200,  201.     Statue  of  Khasakhmui.     Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford         .  266 

Fig.  202.     Head  of  the  Statue  of  Khasakhmui 267 

„    203.     Pottery  Figure  of  a  Lion 268 

,,    204.  Upper  Part  of  the  Ivory  Figure  of  Cheops.     Cairo  Museum         .  269 

„    205.  Dancers  from  the  Tomb  of  Anta  at  Deshasheh     ....  275 

,,    206.  Steatite  Figure  from  Hierakonpoiis.    Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford  277 

„    207.  Musical  Instruments,  from  a  painting  at  Beni  Hasan    .         .         .  279 


CHAPTER    I. 
PRELIMINARY  CONSIDERATIONS. 

T\  \  K  extreme  antiquity  of  Egyptian  civilization  lends  a  very 
special  attraction  to  the  study  of  its  productions.  Our 
minds  are  so  constituted  that,  reaching  back  into  the  past,  \ve 
welcome  every  fresh  clue  that  will  guide  us  to  the  starting- 
point  whence  we  can  trace  the  first  feeble  steps  taken  by  man 
on  paths  which  have  led  to  more  or  less  brilliant  civilization. 

From  this  point  of  view  Egypt  has  proved  itself  to  be  a 
mine  of  information.  Its  numerous  monuments  of  antiquity 
witness  to  the  existence  of  an  advanced  art  at  a  period  when 
the  rest  of  the  world  was  still  plunged  in  the  deepest  barbarism. 
Until  the  last  few  years,  however,  Egypt  has  not  satisfied  our 
curiosity  ;  she  only  rendered  it  more  intense  from  day  to  day, 
setting  before  us  a  riddle  the  solution  of  which  appeared  un- 
attainable. At  the  time  of  her  first  appearance  in  history,  at 
about  the  commencement  of  the  fourth  dynasty,  she  already 
possessed  a  civilization  which  was  practically  fixed  and  complete. 
Language,  writing,  administration,  cults,  ceremonies,  etc.— all  of 
these  we  found  already  established,  and  it  was  rarely  that  we 
could  observe  traces  here  and  there  of  what  may  be  styled 
"  archaism."  One  might  suppose,  as  did  Chabas,  that  about  four 
thousand  years  would  be  necessary  to  allow  for  the  development 
of  such  a  civilization.  "  Four  thousand  years,"  he  says,  "  is  a 
period  of  time  sufficient  for  the  development  of  an  intelligent 
race.  If  we  were  watching  the  progress  of  transitional  races,  it 
would  perhaps  not  be  enough.  In  any  case  this  figure  makes 
no  pretensions  to  exactitude  ;  its  only  merit  is  that  it  lends  itself 
to  the  exigencies  of  all  facts  which  are  known  up  to  the  present 

I 


2  PRIMITIVE    ART    IX    EGYPT. 

time  or  which  are  probable."1  This  impression  is  accentuated 
when  we  arc  considering  works  of  art,  and  one  is  tempted  to 
endorse  without  hesitation  an  opinion  which  assigns  almost 
as  many  centuries  to  the  period  between  the  commencement  of 
civilization  and  the  Ancient  Empire  as  to  the  period  between 
that  empire  and  the  first  years  of  the  Christian  era. 

In  examining  the  productions  of  the  earlier  dynasties— pro- 
ductions that  can  scarcely  be  termed  primitive— we  are  specially 
struck  with  their  extreme  realism,  their  mode  of  seeing  nature,  and 
rendering  it  in  such  a  manner  that  we  can  immediately  grasp 
their  intention,  a  mode  far  more  complete  than  the  best  that 
classical  Egyptian  art  can  show  us.  "  Beautiful  in  themselves," 


MED 


exclaims  Mariette,  "  they  still  appear  beautiful  when  compared 
with  the  work  of  dynasties  that  we  believe  to  represent  the 
flourishing  centuries  of  Egypt."2 

A  strange  consequence  of  this  opposition  between  the  realism 
of  the  earliest  dynasties  and  the  hieratism  of  classical  Egypt 
was,  that  it  led  scholars  who  studied  the  question  to  a  conclusion 
which  was  distinctly  disconcerting — that  Egyptian  art,  perfect 
to  our  taste  at  the  commencement  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  under 
the  "  implacable  influence  of  that  slow  sacerdotal  work  which 
petrified  everything  around  it3 — the  formulae  of  art  as  well  as 

1  CHABAS,  Etudes  sur  rant/quite  historique  d'apres  les  sources  egypliennes  et 
les  monuments  reputes prehistoriqncs,  2nd  eel.  Paris,  1873,  p.  9. 

J  MARIETTE,  in  the  Revue  archeologique,  1860;  quoted  by  RHONE,  IJ  Egypt? 
a  petites  joHrnccs,  Paris,  1877,  p.  86. 

3  MARIETTE,  ib. 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  3 

the  formulae  of  belief" — immediately  began  to  change  and  dete- 
riorate more  and  more.  Nestor  L'Hotc,  one  of  the  scholars  best 
acquainted  with  ancient  Egypt,  came  to  a  legitimate  conclusion, 
it  appears,  when  he  wrote,  "  The  further  one  penetrates  into 
antiquity  towards  the  origins  of  Egyptian  art,  the  more  perfect 
are  the  products  of  that  art,  as  though  the  genius  of  the  people, 
inversely  to  that  of  others,  was  formed  suddenly.1  Egyptian 
art,"  he  says,  "  we  only  know  in  its  decadence." 

I  need  scarcely  refer  to  the  masterpieces  of  art  which  have 
gradually  emerged  from  the  tombs  of  the  Ancient  Empire 
The  Sheikh  el  Beled,  the  seated  scribe  of  the  Louvre,  the  scribe 
of  the  Cairo  Museum,  are  known  to  all  the  world.  The  two 


FIG.  2. — THE  GEESE  OF  MEDUM. 

statues  of  Medum,  Nojrit  and  Rahotep,  are  living  in  the  memory 
of  all  who  have  seen  them  at  the  Cairo  Museum,  and  photography 
has  so  far  popularized  them  as  to  render  it  unnecessary  to  reproduce 
them  here.  But  a  fact  not  sufficiently  realized  outside  the  limited 
circle  of  Egyptologists  is  that,  in  addition  to  these  magnificent 
works  of  art — which  to  many  must  appear  to  be  isolated 
phenomena,  appearing  at  a  period  of  primitive  barbarism — there 
exists  a  whole  series  of  contemporary  works  which  attest  to 
the  high  level  attained  by  Egyptian  art  at  the  Pyramid  age. 
Another  fact  not  sufficiently  realized  is  the  marvellous  dexterity 
of  the  painters  and  •  sculptors  who  decorated  the  walls  of  the 
tombs  with  paintings  and  reliefs  of  incredible  delicacy,  inspired 

^Journal  des  savants,   1851,  pp.   53,  54.     Quoted   by  PERROT  &  CHIPIEZ, 
Histoire  dc  I' art  dans  rantii/uitr,  vol.  i.  L,'£gyptet  p.  677. 


4  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

by  Nature,  which  they  copied  with  scrupulous  fidelity.  It  will 
be  sufficient  to  quote  a  typical  example  of  each. 

In  a  mastaba  discovered  at  Medum,  which  dates  from  the 
end  of  the  third  dynasty,  the  artist  represented  geese  feeding 
in  various  attitudes.  In  reference  to  this  painting  Maspero  says  : 
"  The  Egyptians  were  animal  painters  of  the  highest  power,  and 
they  never  gave  better  proof  of  it  than  in  this  picture.  No 
modern  painter  could  have  seized  with  more  spirit  and  humour 
the  heavy  gait  of  the  goose,  the  curves  of  its  neck,  the  pre- 
tentious carriage  of  its  head,  and  the  markings  of  its  plumage"1 
(Figs.  I  and  2). 

Another  instance  shows  us  the  same  perfection  in  rendering 
the  human  figure.  In  a  tomb  of  the  third  dynasty  Mariette 
discovered  six  wooden  panels,  now  in  the  Cairo  Museum.  They 
represent  the  deceased,  a  high  official  of  the  name  of  Host, 
both  seated  and  standing.  There  are  hieroglyph  inscriptions 
above  the  figure  or  before  the  face.  We  reproduce  here  the 
heads  of  two  of  the  figures,  which  show  the  marvellous  manner 
in  which  the  artist  has  succeeded  in  seizing  the  type  and  surely 
and  delicately  rendering  it  with  the  chisel.  We  must  admit 
that  convention  is  already  there.  The  eye  is  drawn  full  face 
on  a  head  seen  in  profile  ;  but,  admitting  this  convention,  one 
cannot  fail  to  be  astonished,  and  at  the  same  time  charmed, 
with  this  power  of  execution  at  a  period  when  we  only  expect 
to  meet  with  rude  and  barbarous  work  (Figs.  3  and  4). 

We  have  now  said  enough  to  enable  us  to  state  briefly  the 
problem  with  which  we  have  to  deal.  How  is  the  high  level 
of  art  at  the  commencement  of  the  history  of  Egypt  to  be 
explained?  Was  Egyptian  art  an  importation  brought  to  the 
banks  of  the  Nile  by  conquering  foreigners? 

Theories  held  by  many  scholars — who  would  bring  the 
Pharaonic  Egyptians  from  Asia,  conquering  the  valley  of  the 
Nile  as  they  descended  the  river,  after  a  sojourn  more  or  less 
prolonged  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa— appear  to  strengthen  this 
hypothesis,  and  until  the  last  few  years  it  has  been  difficult  to 

1  MASPERO,  text  by  GREBAUT,  Le  musce  egyptien,  vol.  i.  Cairo,  1890-1900, 
p.  26  and  pi.  xxix. 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  5 

accept  any  other  explanation.  So  far  as  it  was  possible  to  trace 
back  to  the  earliest  dynasties,  their  productions  rarely  presented 
traces  of  archaism,  and  only  peculiar  circumstances,  such  as  the 
presence  of  a  king's  name,  permitted  certain  bas-reliefs  to  be 
attributed  to  a  period  anterior  to  the  fourth  dynasty.  It  is  true 
that  the  museums  of  Europe  and  Egypt  contained  certain  rude 
statues,  which  might  be  dated  as  belonging  to  the  period  of  the 
three  first  dynasties  ;  but  the  attention  of  scholars  was  never 
seriously  drawn  to  them,  and  it  is  only  in  quite  recent  years 
that  their  true  character  has  begun  to  be  recognized.1 

Recently,  however,  a  series  of  important  discoveries  has 
changed  the  current  of  research.  Professor  Flinders  Petrie 
discovered  first  at  Koptos,  in  1893,  some  roughly-worked  statues 
of  the  god  Aim,  on  which  were  carved,  in  very  low  relief, 
singular  figures  of  animals,  of  mountains,  and  an  archaic  form 
of  hieroglyph  employed  to  write  the  name  of  the  god  Min.  At 
the  same  time  pottery  was  found  of  a  peculiar  type,  which  had 
previously  been  known  only  in  rare  specimens,  which  could  not 
be  correctly  dated.2 

The  following  year,  Dr.  Petrie,  aided  by  Mr.  Quibell,  found 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Naqada  an  enormous  necropolis,  where 
similar  pottery  to  that  found  at  Koptos,  at  the  same  time  as  the 
statues  of  Min,  was  extremely  abundant.  Researches  carried  out 
simultaneously  by  M.  de  Morgan  proved  that  they  were  dealing  with 
prehistoric  cemeteries.  I  cannot  attempt  to  enter  here  into  details 
of  these  excavations,  as  I  have  recently  given  an  account  of  them 
in  an  article  in  the  Revue  de  rUniversitd  de  Bruxeltes?  I  will 
content  myself  with  mentioning  the  principal  events  which 
followed  the  publication  of  that  work.  During  the  winter  1898-99, 
Professor  Petrie  and  his  fellow  workers  explored  various  prehistoric 
cemeteries  at  Abadiyeh  and  Hu.  These  discoveries,  by  supple- 
menting those  at  Naqada,  afforded  material  for  establishing  in 

1  Berlin,  Bologna,  Brussels,  Cairo,  Leyden,  London,  Naples,  Paris,  Turin. 
See  C APART,  Rccncil  de  monuments  cgypticns,  Brussels,  1902.  Remarks  on 
plates  ii.  and  iii. 

8  PETRIE,  A'fptos,  London,  1893. 

3  CAPART,  Aotes  sur  les  origincs  de  VEgypte  d'apres  Ics  fouillcs  rc'centes,  in 
the  Revue  de  rUniversitc  dc  Bruxellcs,  iv.  1898-9,  pp.  105-139,  fig.  and  pi. 


6  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

a  preliminary  fashion  the  main  outlines  of  prehistoric  Egypt  At 
the  same  time,  Mr.  Quibell  and  Mr.' Green  found  (1897-8-9)  on  the 
site  of  the  ancient  temple  of  Hierakonpolis  an  important  series 
of  objects,  dating  from  the  commencement  of  the  historic  period, 
which,  in  a  manner,  formed  the  bridge  between  Egypt  of  historic 
and  of  prehistoric  age. 

These  results  were  confirmed  in  the  following  year  by  the 
excavations  of  Professor  Petrie  in  the  royal  tombs  of  the  first 
dynasties  at  Abydos,  which  shortly  before  had  been  negligently 


FIG.  3.— FRAGMENT  OF  ONE  OF  THE  PANELS  OF  Hosi. 
From  a  photograph  by  Petrie. 

explored  by  M.  Amelineau.  Finally,  the  excavations  in  the 
temenos  of  the  temple  of  Osiris  at  Abydos  (1901-2-3),  in  addition 
to, other  discoveries,  brought  to  light  a  small  prehistoric  town,  which 
provided  the  necessary  materials  for  a  complete  and  incontestable 
welding  together  of  prehistoric  Egypt  and  the  historical  dynasties. 
Other  excavations  carried  out  at  El-Ahaiwah  and  Naga-ed-Der,1 

1  The  result  of  these  excavations  is  not  yet  published.  A  short  note  by 
Dr.  Reisner  will  be  found  in  the  Archaeological  Report  of  the  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund,  1900-1901,  pp.  23-25  and  2  plates. 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  7 

under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Reisner,  for  the  University  of  California, 
and  also  at  El  Amrah  by  Mr.  Maclver  and  Mr.  Wilkin,  completed 
the  information  already  acquired  relating  to  the  primitive  period. 

The  evidence  thus  acquired  supplied  us  with  much  interesting 
information  concerning  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  Egypt,  and 
it  was  at  once  recognized  that  it  was  possible,  more  especially 
in  the  rituals,  to  discover  many  vestiges  of  that  civilization  to 
which  the  archaic  cemeteries  bear  witness.  The  general  con- 
clusions to  be  drawn  from  these  discoveries  as  a  whole  are,  that 


FIG.  4.  —  FRAGMENT  OF  ONE  OF  THE  PANELS  OF  Hosi. 
From  a  photograph  by  Petrie. 

there  was  a  civili/.ation  anterior  to  the  Pharaonic  civilization,  and 
that  this  civilization  produced  works  of  art. 

We  must  here  mention  the  principal  works  in  which  the  results 
of  excavations  were  published.  Most  of  these  are  in  English,  and 
arc  simply  reports  of  excavations  of  cemeteries.  The  most 
important  arc  :  .\'ti<]<ntti  *  Diospolis?  The  Royal  Tombs  of  the  First 


an<i  /><illas,   1895,  by  \V.  M.  FLINDERS  PETRIE  &  J.  E.  QUIBKLL, 
with  chapter  by  F.  C.  J.  SPURRELL,  London,  Quaritch,  1896. 

*  Diospolis  Par-ia,  the  Cemeteries  of  Abadiyeh  and  ////,   1898-9,  by  W.  M. 


8  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

Dynasties1  (i.  and  ii.),  Abydos*  (i.  and  ii.),  due  to  Petrie  ; 
Hierakonpolis1  (i.  and  ii.),  published  -by  Mr.  Quibell  and  Mr. 
Green;  and,  finally,  El  Amrah*1  gives  the  results  of  the  excava- 
tions by  Mr.  Maclver  and  Mr.  Wilkin  in  the  cemetery  at  that 
locality. 

In  addition  to  these  books,  each  of  which  constitutes  a 
monograph  on  a  prehistoric  cemetery,  a  work  by  M.  de  Morgan 
must  be  mentioned,  entitled  Recherches  sur  les  origines  de  I*  Egypte? 
This  is  the  only  book  in  French  which  has  been  published  on 
the  subject.  Unfortunately  it  appeared  before  the  most  important 
discoveries  had  been  made,  and  by  force  of  circumstances  it 
rapidly  became  out  of  date,  in  those  chapters  at  least  which 
deal  generally  with  the  primitive  ethnology  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Nile  Valley. 

We  must  not  fail  to  mention  the  work  by  Professor  Steindorff 
of  Leipsic,  who  was  the  first  to  give  an  accurate  judgment  on 
a  whole  class  of  artistic  remains  belonging  to  the  archaic  period, 
of  which  mention  will  frequently  be  made  in  this  book.6 

Being  at  last  in   possession    of  Egyptian  artistic    productions 

FLINDERS  PETRIE,  with  chapters  by  A.  C.  MACE,  London,  1901  (Egypt 
Exploration  Fund). 

1  The  Royal  Tombs   of  the  First  Dynasty,   1900,  i.  by  W.   M.   F.    PETRIE, 
with  chapter  by  F.  LL.  GRIFFITH,  London,   1900  (Egypt  Exploration  Fund). 
The   Royal  Tombs   of  the  Earliest  Dynasties,    1901,    ii.    by  W.    M.    FLINDERS 
PETRIE,  London,  1901  (Egypt  Exploration  Fund). 

2  Abydos,  i.  1902,  by  W.  M.  FLINDERS  PETRIE,  with  chapter  by  A.  E.  WEIGALL 
(Egypt  Exploration  Fund).     Abydos,  ii.  1903,  by  W.  M.  FLINDERS  PEIRIE,  with 
chapter  by  F.  LL.  GRIFFITH,  London,  1903  (Egypt  Exploration  Fund). 

3  Hierakonpolis,  i.  by  J.  E.  QUIBELL,  with  notes  by  W.  M.  FLINDERS  PETRIE, 
London,  Quaritch,  1900  (Egypt  Research  Account).     Hierakonpolis,  ii.  by  J.   E. 
QUIBELL  &  F.  W.  GREEN,  London,  Quaritch,  1902  (Egypt  Research  Account}. 

4  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  by  D.  KANDALL  MAC!VER  &  A.  C.  MACE,  with  a 
chapter  by  F.  LL.   GRIFFITH,  London,  1902  (Egypt  Exploration  Fund}.     The 
name  of  Mr.  Wilkin   does  not  occur  in  the  title  of  this  publication,   owing  to 
the  lamented  death  of  this  young  scholar  shortly  after  the  excavations  \\ere 
concluded. 

5  Recherches  sur  les  origines  de  V  Egypte.    Ldgc  de  la  pier  re.  et  des  metaux, 
by  J.  DE  MORGAN,  Paris,  1896.     Recherches  sur  les  origines  de  T Egypte.    Ethno- 
graphic prehistorique  et  tombeau  royal  de  Negadah,  by  J.  DE  MORGAN,  Paris, 
Leroux,  1897. 

6  STEINDORFF,  Eine  neuc  Art  iigyptischcr  Kunst  in  Aegyptiaca.      Festschrift 
fiir  Georg  Ebers,  Leipsic,  1897,  pp.  122-141. 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  9 

anterior  to  the  dynasties,  it  becomes  possible  to  enquire  whether 
the  question  of  the  origin  of  art  in  Egypt  can  be  raised  with 
any  hope  of  arriving  at  a  solution. 

But  here  we  are  face  to  face  with  an  unforeseen  difficulty. 
The  remains  are  extremely  abundant ;  the  contents  of  the  tombs 
furnish  pottery,  statuettes,  and  various  utensils  in  almost  un- 
limited number.  Of  all  these  what  should  we  choose — of  all  these 
multiple  objects  which  are  they  that  can  claim  the  title  of 
artistic!  The  difficulty  in  replying  to  this  question  is  great, 
because  in  order  to  arrive  at  a  solution  we  must  give  a  definition 
of  what  is  art.  Unhappily  this  only  transfers  the  problem  without 
rendering  it  more  easy  of  solution.  We  know  how  opinions 
vary  on  the  true  nature  of  art.  Each  author  has  his  special 
point  of  view,  which  makes  him  insist  more  expressly  on  one 
or  other  aspect  of  the  subject.  So  much  is  this  the  case,  that 
there  are  fe\v  subjects  in  the  world  of  which  one  can  say  with 
more  truth,  Quot  capita  tot  census. 

I  wish  it  were  possible  to  transcribe  the  whole  of  the  pages 
written  by  Professor  E.  Grosse  on  this  subject.1  — It  was  his  work, 
as  I  specially  wish  to  observe,  which  first  started  me  on  the 
researches  which  have  resulted  in  the  production  of  this  book — 
but  to  do  this  would  appear  excessive,  and  I  must  content  myself 
with  giving  a  summary  of  them  as  briefly  as  possible,  dwelling 
principally  on  those  points  which  should  act  as  our  guide. 

"The  duty  of  a  science,"  says  Professor  Grosse,  "is  this:  to 
establish  and  explain  a  certain  group  of  phenomena.  All  science 
is  therefore  theoretically  divided  into  two  parts  :  the  descriptive 
part,  which  is  the  description  of  facts  and  their  nature  ;  and 
the  explanatory  part,  which  refers  these  facts  to  their  general 
laws."  Does  the  science  of  art  fulfil  these  conditions?  For  the 
first  part  the  reply  may  be  in  the  affirmative  ;  but  can  it  be  so 
as  regards  the  second  part?  It  appears  that  it  is  open  to  doubt, 
ami  here  Professor  Grosse  proves  himself  very  severe  concerning 
the  productions  of  art  criticism,  which,  in  addition  to  complete 
systems  "  u>ually  arrogate  to  themselves  that  majestic  air  of 
infallibility  which  is  the  distinctive  sign  of  systems  of  the 
1  GUOSSE,  I^s  Debuts  dc  I' Art,  French  edition,  Paris,  Alcan,  1902. 


io  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

philosophy  of  art,  of  which,  in  fact,  they  constitute  mere  fragments. 
Of  course,"  he  says,  "there  are  occasions  when  it  may  appear 
both  useful  and  pleasant  to  be  informed  of  the  subjective  opinions 
on  art  which  may  be  held  by  a  man  of  genius  ;  but  when  they 
are  imposed  on  us  as  general  knowledge,  founded  on  a  scientific 
basis,  from  that  moment  we  must  refuse  to  accept  them.  The 
essential  principle  of  scientific  research  is  always  and  everywhere 
the  same  ;  whether  research  concerns  a  plant  or  a  work  of  art, 
it  should  always  be  objective."  It  is  in  consequence  of  not 
having  obeyed  this  necessity  that  the  philosophy  of  art  has  not 
yet  succeeded  in  providing  us  with  a  satisfactory  explanation  of 
artistic  phenomena,  notwithstanding  the  mass  of  material  placed 
at  its  command  by  the  history  of  art. 

"  The  task  which  lies  before  the  science  of  art  is  this  :  to 
describe  and  explain  the  phenomena  which  are  classed  under  the 
denomination  of  "  phenomena  of  an  artistic  character."  This  task 
has  two  sides — an  individual  and  a  social  one.  In  the  first  case, 
the  object  must  be  to  understand  an  isolated  work  of  art,  or  the 
entire  work  of  one  artist,  to  discover  the  relations  which  exist 
between  an  artist  and  his  individual  work,  and  to  explain  the 
work  of  art  as  the  product  of  an  artistic  individuality  working 
under  certain  conditions."  This  individual  side  of  the  problem, 
if  it  is  possible  to  study  it  with  precision  during  the  centuries 
most  nearly  approaching  our  own  times,  becomes  more  and  more 
complex  as  we  reach  further  back  into  the  past,  and  very  soon 
we  find  ourselves  forced  to  abandon  our  attempt  and  to  adopt 
the  social  side.  "  If  it  is  impossible  to  explain  the  individual 
character  of  a  work  of  art  by  the  individual  character  of  the 
author,  nothing  remains  to  us  but  to  trace  the  collective  character 
of  artistic  groups  having  a  certain  extension  within  time  or 
space,  to  the  character  of  a  nation  or  of  an  entire  epoch. 
The  first  aspect  of  our  problem  is  therefore  psychological,  the 
second  sociological."  As  Professor  Grosse  observes,  this  socio- 
logical aspect  of  the  problem  has  not  been  overlooked  ;  as 
early  as  1719  Abbe  Dubos,  in  his  Reflexions  critiques  sur  la 
pofcie  et  la  peinture,  opened  the  way  to  the  sociology  of  art. 
Herder,  Taine,  Hennequin,  and  Guyau  successively  attempted 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  u 

to  form  general  theories,  or  else  combated  those  of  their  pre- 
dt-ci-vsors ;  but  unfortunately,  if  the  results  obtained  by  these 
sociological  studies  in  matters  of  art  are  reviewed,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  they  are  very  poor.  This  can  be  accounted  for, 
in  the  first  place,  by  the  small  number  of  students  who  have 
realized  the  sociological  value  of  art,  but  also  and  above  all 
by  the  erroneous  method  which  forms  the  basis  of  all  these 
researches. 

14  In  all  other  branches  of  sociology  we  have  learnt  to  begin 
at  the  beginning.  We  first  study  the  simplest  forms  of  social 
phenomena,  and  it  is  only  when  we  thoroughly  understand  the 
nature  and  conditions  of  these  simple  forms  that  we  attempt 
the  explanation  of  those  which  are  more  complicated.  .  .  .  All 
sociological  schools  have,  one  after  another,  attempted  to  find  new 
roads  ;  the  science  of  art  alone  pursues  its  mistaken  methods.  All 
others  have  eventually  recognized  the  powerful  and  indispensable 
aid  that  ethnology  can  afford  to  the  science  of  civilization  ;  it  is 
only  the  science  of  art  which  still  despises  the  rough  productions 
of  primitive  nations  offered  by  ethnology.  The  science  of  art  is 
not  yet  capable  of  resolving  the  problem  under  its  more  difficult 
aspect.  If  we  would  one  day  arrive  at  a  scientific  comprehension 
of  the  art  of  civilized  nations,  we  must,  to  begin  with,  investigate 
the  nature  and  conditions  of  the  art  of  the  non-civilized.  We  must 
know  the  multiplication  table  before  resolving  problems  of  higher 
mathematics.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  first  and  most  pressing 
task  of  the  science  of  art  consists  in  the  study  of  the  art  of 
primitive  nations." 

It  verily  appears  that,  in  the  study  of  art,  misfortune  attaches 
itself  to  all  the  expressions  employed.  We  begin  with  vague  terms, 
which  we  attempt  by  degrees  to  define,  only  to  find  on  arriving  at 
our  first  conclusion  that  there  again  is  a  term  wanting  in  precision 
and  requiring  definition. 

Which,  in  fact,  are  the  natiorjs  who  can  be  called  primitive  ? 
Here  again  the  most  diverse  opinions  have  been  expressed,  and 
when  studying  the  proposed  classifications,  we  meet  at  every  step 
with  errors  which  lead  us  to  review  the  results  with  suspicion. 
Only  to  quote  one  example  :  "  Between  an  inhabitant  of  the 


12  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

Sandwich  Islands  and  a  man  indigenous  to  the  Australian 
Continent  there  is  a  difference  in  civilization  greater,  no  doubt, 
than  that  which  separates  an  educated  Arab  and  an  educated 
European,  and  yet  Ratzel,  who  distinguishes  the  'semi-civilized' 
Arabs  from  the  '  civilized '  Europeans,  combines  the  Polynesians 
and  Australians  in  one  group." 

Is  there  any  method  of  determining  the  relative  degrees  of 
any  one  civilization  ?  That  which  is  called  civilization  is  so 
complicated,  even  in  its  simplest  forms,  that  it  is  impossible,  at 
any  rate  in  our  day,  to  determine  with  any  certainty  the  factors 
that  produce  it.  If  we  were  to  compare  the  various  civilizations 
in  all  their  manifestations,  we  should  probably  not  attain  our  end  ; 
but  we  should  be  able  to  solve  our  problem  fairly  easily,  if  we 
were  to  succeed  in  finding  an  isolated  factor,  which  would  be  easy 
to  determine  and  sufficiently  important  to  pass  as  characteristic 
of  the  whole  of  a  civilization. 

Now  there  is  a  factor  to  be  found  which  fulfils  the  two  condi- 
tions indicated,  and  that  is  production.  The  form  of  production 
adopted  exclusively,  or  almost  exclusively,  in  a  social  group — that 
is  to  say,  the  manner  in  which  the  members  of  that  group  produce 
their  food — is  a  fact  which  is  easy  to  observe  directly,  and  to 
determine  with  sufficient  precision  in  any  form  of  civilization. 
Whatever  may  be  our  ignorance  of  the  religious  or  social  beliefs 
of  the  Australians,  we  can  have  no  doubt  as  to  their  productions — 
the  Australian  is  a  hunter  and  a  collector  of  plants.  It  is  perhaps 
impossible  for  us  to  know  the  intellectual  civilization  of  the  ancient 
Peruvians,  but  \ve  know  that  the  citizens  of  the  empire  of  the 
Incas  were  agriculturists  :  that  is  a  fact  which  admits  of  no  doubt. 
To  have  established  what  is  the  form  of  production  of  a  given 
nation,  however,  would  not  be  sufficient  to  attain  the  end  that 
we  have  proposed  to  ourselves,  if  we  could  not  prove  at  the  same 
time  that  the  special  form  of  civilization  depends  upon  the  special 
form  of  production.  The  idea  of  classifying  nations  according  to 
the  dominant  principle  of  their  production  is  in  no  way  new.  In 
the  most  ancient  works  on  the  history  of  civilization  one  finds 
already  the  well-known  groups  of  nations,  classed  as  hunters  and 
fishermen,  nomad  cattle  breeders  and  agriculturists,  established  in 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  13 

their  countries.  Few  historians,  however,  seem  to  have  understood 
the  full  importance  of  production.  It  is  easier  to  underrate  than  to 

Derate  it.  In  every  form  of  civilization,  production  is  in  some 
way  the  centre  of  life  ;  it  has  a  profound  and  irresistible  influence 
on  the  other  factors  of  civilization.  It  is  itself  determined,  not  by 
factors  of  civilization  but  by  natural  factors — by  the  geographical 
and  meteorological  character  of  a  country.  One  would  not  be 
altogether  wrong  in  calling  production  "  the  primary  phenomenon 
of  civilization,"  a  phenomenon  by  the  side  of  which  other  factors 
of  civilization  are  but  secondary  derivatives,  not  in  the  sense  that 
they  have  sprung  from  production,  but  because  they  have  been 
formed  and  have  remained  under  its  powerful  influence,  although  of 
independent  origin.  Religious  ideas  have  certainly  not  grown  out 
of  the  necessities  of  production  ;  nevertheless,  the  form  of  the 
dominant  religious  ideas  of  a  tribe  can  be  traced  in  part  to  the 
form  of  production.  The  belief  in  souls  which  exists  among 
the  Kaffirs,  has  an  independent  origin  ;  but  its  particular  form — 
the  belief  in  an  hierarchic  order  of  the  souls  of  ancestors — is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  reflection  of  the  hierarchic  order 
among  the  living ;  which  in  its  turn  is  the  consequence  of  pro- 
duction, of  the  breeding  of  cattle,  of  the  warlike  and  centralizing 
tendencies  which  result  from  it.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  among 
hunting  tribes,  whose  nomad  life  does  not  admit  of  a  fixed  so- 
cial organization,  one  finds  indeed  the  belief  in  souls— but  not  of 
the  hierarchic  order.  The  importance  of  production,  however, 
manifests  itself  nowhere  so  evidently  as  in  the  organization  of  the 
family.  The  strange  forms  which  have  been  taken  by  the  human 
family — forms  which  have  inspired  sociologists  with  still  more 
strange  hypotheses — appear  to  us  perfectly  comprehensible  the 
moment  that  we  consider  them  in  their  relation  to  the  forms 
of  production.  The  most  primitive  people  depend  for  their  food 
on  the  product  of  the  chase— the  term  "chase"  being  taken  in  its 
broadest  meaning — and  the  plants  which  they  collect.1 

If  we  survey  the  world  in  search  of  tribes  living  in  this  elemen- 
tary stu^c,  we  shall  not  find  them  in  large  numbers.  Grosse  quickly 
disposes  of  them.  "The  immense  continent  of  Africa  contains 

1  pp.  26,  27. 


i4  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

but  one  hunting  tribe — leaving  out  of  account  the  pygmy  tribes 
of  the  centre,  the  civilization  of  whom  is  completely  unknown 
to  us — these  are  the  Bushmen,  the  vagrants  of  the  Kalahari 
and  surrounding  countries.  In  America  we  find  true  huntsman 
tribes  only  in  the  north  and  the  south — the  Aleutians  and  the 
Fuegians.  All  the  others  are  more  or  less  agricultural,  with 
the  exception  of  some  Brazilian  tribes,  such  as  the  Botocudos, 
who  still  live  under  very  primitive  conditions.  In  Asia  there  are 
scarcely  any  but  the  Mincopies  of  the  Andaman  Islands,  who 
still  exhibit  the  primitive  state  in  all  its  purity ;  the  Veddahs  of 
Ceylon  have  been  too  much  influenced  by  the  Cingalese,  and  the 
Tchuktchis  of  the  north  and  their  ethnical  relations  are  already 
breeders  of  cattle.  There  is  only  one  continent  which  is  still 
occupied  over  its  whole  extent  by  a  primitive  people — exception 
being  made  of  its  European  colonies — this  is  Australia,  a  continent 
that  \ve  can  also  consider  from  an  ethnological  point  of  view  as 
the  last  trace  of  a  vanished  world."  Here  an  objection  arises. 
Why  not  take  into  account  the  prehistoric  populations,  whose 
artistic  productions  are  both  numerous  and  varied  ?  The  reason, 
according  to  M.  Grosse,  is  that  in  considering  the  invaluable 
evidence  of  these  productions,  before  "  being  able  to  say  with 
certainty  that  we  are  actually  dealing  here  with  the  primitive 
forms  we  are  in  search  of,  it  would  be  necessary  for  us  to  know 
the  civilizations  which  have  furnished  these  records." 

Happily  this  objection  does  not  exist,  at  least  in  the  same 
degree,  in  the  case  of  primitive  Egypt,  where  the  abundance  of 
records  is  already  such  that  we  can  picture  to  ourselves  the  life 
of  the  primitive  Egyptian  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  be  able, 
I  think,  to  distinguish  those  productions  which  merit  the  title 
of  "artistic"  ;  and  with  this  we  return  to  the  problem  just  pro- 
pounded, with  some  additional  likelihood  this  time  of  being  able 
to  solve  it. 

"  In  collections  of  Australian  objects,"  says  Professor  Grosse,1 
"one  almost  invariably  finds  wooden  sticks  covered  with  com- 
binations of  points  and  lines.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish these  designs  at  the  first  glance  from  those  which  are 
1  GROSSE,  loc.  cit.  p.  17  et  seg. 


PRELIMINARY    CONSIDERATIONS.  15 

found  on  the  Australian  clubs  and  shields,  and  which  are  ordinarily 
styled  '  ornaments.'  There  is,  notwithstanding,  an  essential 
difference  between  the  two  classes  of  patterns.  For  some  time 
we  have  been  aware  that  the  so-called  designs  upon  these 
sticks  are  nothing  else  than  a  rude  kind  of  writing — marks 
intended  to  remind  the  messenger  who  carries  the  stick  of  the 
essential  points  of  his  message.  They  have  therefore  a  practical 
and  not  an  aesthetic  signification.  In  this  instance  our  knowledge 
prevents  our  falling  into  error  ;  but  how  numerous  must  be  the 
instances  where  it  is  otherwise?  Who  could  authoritatively  assure 
us  that  the  figures  on  the  Australian  shields  are  actually  orna- 
ments ?  Is  it  not  possible  that  they  are  marks  of  property  or 
tribal  signs?  Or  possibly  these  figures  are  religious  symbols? 
These  questions  arise  almost  every  time  we  look  at  the  orna- 
mentation of  any  primitive  race.  In  very  few  instances  can 
we  give  an  answer.  .  .  .  Notwithstanding  the  great  number  of 
doubtful  instances,  there  are  also  many  in  which  the  purely  aesthetic 
signification  can  never  be  called  in  question.  The  doubtful  cases 
also  are  far  from  being  valueless  for  our  science.  The  birds' 
heads  at  the  prows  of  the  Papuan  canoes  are  perhaps  primarily 
religious  symbols,  but  they  also  serve  as  ornaments.  If  the 
choice  of  an  ornamentation  is  determined  by  a  religious  con- 
sideration, the  execution  and  the  combination  with  other  motifs, 
whether  different  or  analogous,  are  always  affected  by  aesthetic 
needs." 

It  is  easy  to  see  what  are  the  difficulties  of  the  subject,  and 
how  impossible  it  would  be  to  discuss  the  question  if  one 
had  resolved  from  the  outset  to  give  only  definite  and  assured 
data  on  all  subjects.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  confine  oneself 
to  multiplying  observations  and  studying  the  doubtful  instances, 
in  the  hope  that  one  day  light  may  spring  forth  from  them, 
permitting  us  to  trace  with  a  sure  hand  the  laws  which  govern 
artistic  phenomena.  As  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  fix  our 
ideas,  to  give  a  definition  of  Art,  we  will  say  with  M.  Grosse : 
"  Speaking  broadly,  we  mean  by  ' .esthetic'  or  '  artistic'  activity  an 
activity  which  is  intended  by  its  exercise,  or  by  its  final  result, 
to  excite  a  direct  sensation,  which  in  most  cases  is  one  of 


16  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

pleasure."  But  we  are  careful  to  add  immediately,  with  our  author, 
that  "our  definition  is  merely  a  scaffolding  to  be  demolished  when 
our  edifice  is  built."  1 

This  has  been  a  very  long  parenthesis,  and  it  appears  to 
some  extent  to  be  a  digression  from  "Primitive  Art  in  Egypt." 
Nevertheless,  I  believe  it  will  be  of  service  in  warning  us  at  the 
outset  of  the  difficulties  that  we  shall  encounter ;  at  the  same 
time  it  shows  us  what  we  may  hope  for  in  the  future  from  a 
study  thus  directed — that  it  may  possibly  throw  light  one  day 
on  the  extremely  interesting  question  of  the  origin  of  Egyptian 
art.  Is  classical  Egyptian  art  an  importation,  as  we  have  just 
asked  ourselves?  or  is  it  a  continuation  of  the  primitive  art? 
Was  there  a  slow  and  progressive  evolution  ;  or  is  it  possible  to 
establish  at  any  given  moment  a  hiatus — a  sudden  contrast  between 
the  primitive  artistic  productions  and  those  of  dynastic  Egypt  ? 
We  cannot  attempt  to  reply  to  these  questions  until  we  have 
arrived  at  the  completion  of  our  study  ;  and  even  then,  I  fear, 
the  result  will  remain  extremely  problematic  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge. 

As  a  precaution  against  error  we  will  borrow  from  Professor 
Grosse  the  plan  of  his  book,  and  also  the  method  of  dividing  our 
matter  shall  be  as  follows:  "Art,"  he  says,  "is  divided  into  two 
great  groups — arts  of  movement  and  arts  of  repose.  The  differ- 
ence which  separates  them  has  been  very  clearly  indicated  by 
Fechner  (  Vorsckule  der  Aesthetik,  ii.  5).  The  first  seek  to  please 
by  forms  in  repose,  the  others  by  forms  either*  in  movement  or 
following  one  another  in  time ;  the  first  transforms  or  combines 
masses  in  repose,  and  the  other  produces  the  movement  of  the 
body,  or  changes  in  time  capable  of  attaining  the  result  aimed  at 
by  art.  We  will  commence  with  the  "  arts  in  repose,"  commonly 
called  "  the  plastic  arts."  Decoration  is  probably  the  most  primitive 
of  these,  and  as  the  object  first  adorned  is  the  human  body, 
we  will  begin  with  the  study  of  personal  adornment.  But  even 
the  most  primitive  folk  are  not  content  to  adorn  the  body 

1  J.  COLLIER,  in  his  Primer  of  Art  (London,  1882),  p.  36,  defines  art  as  a 
"creative  operation  of  the  intelligence — the  making  of  something  either  with 
a  view  to  utility  or  pleasure." 


1'kKLIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  17 

only  ;  they  must  also  embellish  their  weapons  and  utensils.  The 
ornamentation  of  these  objects  will  occupy  the  second  place  in 
our  study  of  the  subject.  We  shall  then  examine  the  free  plastic 
art  (freie  Bildnerei),  which  aims  not  at  decoration  but  at  the 
creation  of  works  which  are  in  themselves  artistic.  Dancing  forms 
the  transition  between  the  arts  of  repose  and  the  arts  of  move- 
ment. It  may  be  defined  it  as  "the  art  which  creates  movement" 
(lebende  Rildnerei'} — animated  plastic  art.  .  .  .  Among  primitive 
people  dancing  is  always  united  with  song ;  and  thus  we  have 
a  convenient  mode  of  transition  to  poetry.  .  .  .  Finally  we  will 
study  primitive  music." !  The  three  last  subjects  can  only  be 
treated  in  a  most  summary  fashion  in  their  relation  to  ancient 
Egypt.  Before  commencing  the  last  portion  of  our  task  we  will 
devote  a  short  chapter  to  the  earliest  Pharaonic  monuments,  the 
comparison  of  which  with  the  primitive  remains  cannot  fail  to 
be  interesting. 

But  before  entering  upon  our  subject,  I  think  it  necessary  to 
give  some  dates  in  order  to  fix  our  ideas. 

Authors  differ  enormously  in  their  opinions  on  the  subject  of 
the  date  of  the  first  Egyptian  dynasty.  Here  are  some  of  the  dates 
which  have  been  proposed.  Champollion-Figeac  gives  the  year 
5869  ;  Wilkinson,  2320  ;  Bockh,  5702  ;  Bunsen,  3623  ;  Lepsius, 
3892  ;  Brugsch,  4455  ;  -Unger,  5613  ;  Lieblein,  5004  ;  Mariette, 
5004  ;  Lauth,  41 57.2 

Dr.  Budge,  Keeper  of  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  Antiquities  of 
the  British  Museum,  in  his  recent  History  of  Egypt?  having  quoted 
the  dates  given  by  Champollion-Figeac,  Bockh,  Lepsius,  Mariette, 
Bunst'ii,  Wilkinson,  and  Brugsch,  ends  thus  :  "  Of  these  writers,  the 
only  ones  whose  chronological  views  are  to  be  seriously  considered 
are  Lepsius,  Mariette,  and  Brugsch,  between  whose  highest  and 
lowest  dates  is  an  interval  of  over  1 100  years.  Viewed  in  the  light 
of  recent  investigations,  die  date  of  Lepsius  seems  to  be  too  low, 
whilst  that  of  Mariette,  in  the  same  way,  seems  to  be  too  high  ;  we 

1  GROSSE,  loc.  cit.  pp.  38,  39. 

*  According  to  the  chronological  table  drawn  up  by  WIEDEMAXX  in  his 
Ac;ryf>tixr!n'  (ieschichtc,  pp.  732,  733,  which  gives  with  reserve  the  date  5650. 

:t  BriMiK,  Ilislnry  »f  /-'.^\'/>f,  i.  f*-^yt't  in  the  \colithic  and  Archaic  Periods, 
London,  !<,<>.:.  p.  150,. 

2 


i8  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

have  therefore  to  consider  the  date  for  Menes  (the  first  king  of  the 
Egyptian  lists)  arrived  at  by  Brugsch." 

M.  Maspero,  in  his  large  Histoire  ancienne  des  peuples  de 
r Orient}  apparently  accepts  a  somewhat  similar  dating.  He  places 
Sneferu,  first  king  of  the  fourth  dynasty,  at  4100  B.C.,  "with  a 
possible  error  of  several  centuries  more  or  less." 

Professor  Petrie,  in  one  of  his  more  recent  works,2  places  the 
reign  of  Mcnes  between  4777  and  4715. 

We  can  therefore  admit,  in  taking  a  minimum  date,  that  all  the 
monuments  dealt  with  in  this  book  are  anterior  to  the  fourth 
millenary  B.C.  ;  but  having  thus  obtained  a  provisional  date  for  the 
termination  of  the  primitive  period,  it  would  be  equally  advisable 
to  assign  one  also  for  the  commencement  of  that  period.  But  here 
the  difficulty  is  still  greater,  and  a  calculation  can  only  be  based 
upon  extremely  vague  presumptions.  For  the. development  of  the 
primitive  civilization  Dr.  Petrie  demands  about  two  thousand  years, 
and  as  he  places  the  commencement  of  Pharaonic  Egypt  about 
5000  B.C.,  the  most  ancient  of  the  monuments  which  we  are  about 
to  consider  would  necessarily  date  back  to  about  7000  B.C.3 

As  we  find  ourselves  in  our  own  country  face  to  face  with 
immense  periods  of  prehistoric  ages,  without  being  able  to  assign 
any  precise  dates  to  the  different  stages  of  civilization  which  can 
be  established,  it  has  been  necessary  to  find  a  convenient 
terminology  to  enable  us  with  ease  to  classify  the  objects  found. 
To  this  end  -a  series  of  deposits  characteristic  of  an  age  has  been 
chosen,  and  to  that  age  the  name  of  the  deposit  has  been  given. 
Thus  terms  have  been  created  which  are  universally  accepted,  such 
as  Chellean,  Mousterian,  Magdalenian,  etc.  It  would  be  extremely 
convenient  to  be  able  to  do  the  same  in  Egypt,  and  in  fact  the 

1  Paris,  Hachette,  i.  1895,  p.  347,  note  2.  In  the  new  Guide  to  the  Cairo 
Museum,  Cairo,  1903,  p.  2,  the  same  author  places  the  first  dynasty  at  about 
5000  B.C. 

*  Abydos,  i.  p.  22. 

3  Mr.  Maclver  has  recently  attempted  to  combat  these  conclusions,  but  his 
arguments  are  not  conclusive.  In  his  calculations  he  has  not  taken  into  account 
that  the  tribe  who  interred  in  the  El  Amrah  cemetery  may  have  been  nomads 
who  would  only  return  periodically  to  that  locality,  a  circumstance  that  would 
completely  change  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  the  number  of  tombs.  Sec 
MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pp.  50-52. 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  19 

Naqada  age,  so  called  from  the  principal  cemetery  of  that  period 
which  has  been  explored,  is  a  term  already  applied  to  the  entire 
primitive  period.  In  scientific  books  the  Naqada  civilization,  the 
me  n  of  Naqada,  etc.,  are  already  commonly  referred  to.  Petrie  has 
gone  still  farther,  and  instead  of  names  he  has  proposed  to  make 
use  of  numbers. 

Relying  upon  the  study  of  types  of  pottery,  which  are  extremely 
varied  during  the  primitive  period,  Dr.  Petrie  has  succeeded,  by  a 
series  of  classifications  which  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  describe 
here,  in  separating  all  known  types  into  a  series  of  50.  To  these 
he  has  applied  numbers  ranging  from  30  to  80,  which  numbers 
represent  the  successive  periods  of  the  prehistoric  age.  To  these 
numbers  he  applies  the  term  sequence  dates.  The  contents  of  a 
tomb,  when  studied  on  the  basis  of  these  classifications,  furnish  a 
maximum  and  a  minimum  number,  the  average  of  which  indicates 
the  relative  age  of  the  burial. 

This  scheme  originated  by  Petrie  is  very  ingenious,  and  is 
only  rendered  possible  by  the  large  number  of  intact  graves 
which  have  been  discovered.  Notwithstanding  the  various 
criticisms  to  which  his  method  has  been  subjected,  up  to  the 
present  time  no  one  has  apparently  been  able  to  bring  forward 
facts  to  contradict  his  results.  It  is  owing  to  this  system  that 
we  can  say  of  the  type  of  a  statuette  or  of  a  scheme  of  decoration 
that  they  occur,  for  instance,  between  the  sequence  dates  35  and 
39 ;  and  it  is  thus  that  similar  indications  must  be  understood,  as 
they  are  met  with  in  the  pages  of  this  book.  We  must  explain 
that  the  numbers  previous  to  30  have  been  reserved  in  case 
a  lucky  find  should  bring  to  light  monuments  more  ancient  than 
any  already  known.1  As  I  have  previously  mentioned,  the  point 
of  union  betsvcen  the  sequence  dates  and  the  reigns  of  the  kings 
of  the  first  dynasty  has  been  established  on  the  evidence  of  the 
small  prehistoric  town  of  Abydos,  and  Petrie  has  fixed  the  reign 
of  Menes  as  coinciding  with  the-  sequence  date  79.-' 

1  PETRIE,  Sequences  in  Prehistoric  Remains,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Anthro- 
pological Institute,  xxix.  1900,  pp.  295-301  ;  PETRIE,  Diospolis  parva, 
pp.  4-12;  S.  REINACH,  Review  of  the  preceding  in  I'Anthropologie,  xi.  1900, 

pp.  759-762. 

3  PETRIE,  Abydos,  i.  p.  22. 


20  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

It  is  on  the  basis  of  these  sequence  dates  that  we  can  state 
of  certain  objects  that  they  are  specially  numerous  during  the 
first  or  second  half  of  the  prehistoric  period- 

I  have  endeavoured  to  multiply  the  illustrations,  which  can 
never  be  sufficiently  numerous  in  a  work  where  the  text  is 
intended  merely  to  serve  as  a  summary  commentary  on  the 
monuments.  The  source  of  each  of  the  illustrations  is  indi- 
cated in  the  following  manner :  When,  for  instance,  there  is 
quoted  in  the  text  Naqada,  pi.  Ixiv.  78,  and  Diospolis  Parva, 
ix.  23,  the  mark  78  will  be  found  at  the  side  of  the  illustration 
taken  from  Naqada,  and  D.  23  beside  that  taken  from  Diospolis. 
A.  signifies  Abydos ;  R.  T.  Royal  tombs  ;  Am.,  A.,  or  El,  El 
Amrah  ;  etc.  These  annotations,  in  connection  with  those  at  the 
foot  of  the  page,  should,  I  think,  render  it  easy  to  trace  the  originals 
of  the  illustrations.  In  some  very  exceptional  cases,  especially 
in  Figs.  7  and  17,  which  give  examples  of  objects  which  it  is 
necessary  to  refer  to  again  later,  the  indications  relating  to  the 
identification  of  the  objects  will  be  found  in  the  passage  where 
they  are  treated  in  detail.1 

In  concluding  these  preliminary  remarks,  I  do  not  attempt 
to  conceal  the  defects  this  work  may  contain.  It  is,  in  fact, 
hazardous  to  write  on  a  subject  so  new  as  this,  and  especially 
on  a  class  of  objects  the  number  of  which  increases  from  day 
to  day.  I  sincerely  hope  that  in  a  few  years  new  discoveries 
will  have  rendered  this  book  altogether  inadequate.  I  have 
simply  endeavoured  to  render  it  as  complete  as  possible,  hoping 
that  it  will  remain,  at  any  rate,  a  summary  of  the  question  as 
it  existed  at  the  moment  of  publication. 

1  Following  the  example  of  M.  SALOMON  REINACH  in  La  Sculpture 
europeenne  avant  les  influences  greco-romaines ,  I  have  myself  drawn  the 
greater  part  of  these  figures  (except  those  signed  with  a  monogram).  These 
must,  however,  he  considered  entirely  as  sketches,  by  no  means  intended  to 
supersede  the  original  publications. 


21 


CHAPTER    II. 
PERSONAL  ADORNMENT. 

T)RIMITIVE  races  paint  almost  the  whole  of  the  body.  The 
only  exception  are  the  Esquimaux,  who  cover  their 
bodies  with  clothing,  at  all  events,  when  they  quit  their  huts. 
The  Australian  always  has  a  store  of  white  clay,  or  of  red  and 
yellow  ochre  in  his  pouch.  In  daily  life  he  is  content  with 
various  smears  on  his  cheeks,  shoulders,  or  chest  ;  but  on  solemn 
occasions  he  daubs  the  whole  of  his  body.1 

Is  it  possible  to  prove  that  any  similar  custom  existed  among 
the  primitive  Egyptians?  First  we  must  remark  that  "colouring 
materials,  such  as  red  and  yellow  ochre,  malachite,  and  sulphide 
of  antimony,  are  frequently  found  in  the  tombs  "  ~  ;  these 
colouring  materials  arc  usually  contained  in  small  bags,  placed 
near  the  hands  of  the  deceased  person.3 

There  is  no  evidence,  I  believe,  to  show  that  they  painted  the 
whole  of  the  body,  but  there  is  a  clay  statuette  which  has  designs 
painted  over  the  whole  body.  This  interesting  object  was  dis- 
covered at  Tukh  ;  it  represents  a  woman,  standing,  with  her  arms 
above  her  head,  in  a  position  we  shall  find  again  in  the  deco- 
ration of  vases.  In  the  chapter  dealing  with  that  subject  we 
shall  make  an  attempt  to  determine,  if  possible,  the  meaning  of 
this  attitude. 

The  designs  painted  on  this  statuette  are  of  various  kinds. 
In  the  first  place  there  are  figures  of  animals,  goats  or  antelopes, 
which  Petrie  remarks  are  absolutely  identical  with  those  on  the 

1  GROSSE,  Les  Debuts  <ie  /'Art,  p.  41. 

9  DE  MORGAN,  Kechcrches  sur  les  origines  de  VEgypte,  ii.  p.  51. 

s  PETRIE,  Ncujada,  p.  30. 


22 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


red  pottery  with  white  line  decoration.  We  should  next  observe 
the  zigzag  patterns,  and  finally  the  motives  borrowed  from  plants. 
All  these  decorations  occur  upon  the  pottery  contemporary  with 
the  commencement  of  the  prehistoric  period  between  31  and  32 
(sequence  dates).  This  indicates  that  the  figure  in  question  is  of 
extreme  antiquity,  and  we  may  consider  it  as  one  of  the  earliest 
female  figures  known,  with  the  exception  of  the  ivories  discovered 


FIG.  5. — FIGURE  OF  A  WOMAN  WITH  DESIGNS  PAINTED  OVER 
THE  WHOLE  BODY. 

Grey  clay  with  black  paint. 

in  the  caves  of  the  south  of  France  l  (Fig.  5).  M.  de  Morgan, 
reproducing  this  same  figure,  remarks  that  "it  would  be  easy  to 
find  a  large  number  of  analogies  among  the  tribes  of  Central 
Africa,  of  Asia,  and  of  Oceania."  2 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  lix.  6  (Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford).  The  examples  of 
pottery  quoted  by  Petrie  for  comparison  with  the  paintings  are  the  following  : 
pi.  xxviii.  34,  48;  pi.  xxix.  77,  85^,  91-95. 

9  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les  origines  dc  I 'Agypte,  ii.  p.  56,  h>.  101. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  23 

The  most  interesting  comparison  from  this  point  of  view  is 
one  indicated  by  Petrie,  who  observes  how  greatly  the  painted 
designs  on  the  body  recall  the  tatoo-marks  of  the  populations 
to  the  west  of  Egypt,  those  Timiliu  (Libyans)  who,  as  we 
shall  frequently  have  occasion  to  remark,  present  many  analogies 
with  the  primitive  Egyptians.  The  subject  of  tatooing  we  shall 
consider  presently. 

Two  clay  female  figures  in  the  Petrie  collection,  University 
College,  London,  and  a  similar  fragment  in  the  Ashmolean 
Museum,  Oxford,  are  also  painted  with  designs  analogous  with 
those  on  the  Tukh  statuette1  (Fig.  6). 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  evidence  relating  to  painting  the 
body  is  very  scanty,  and  only  enables  us  to  assert  that  women 
were  in  the  habit  of  decorating  the  body  with  various  patterns. 
Also,  it  is  not  absolutely  certain,  in  the  objects  quoted  here,  that 
we  have  not  to  deal  with  tatooing  ;  it  is  only  the  discovery  of 
colouring  materials  in  the  tombs  that  leads  us  to  believe  that 
they  are  instances  of  painting.-' 

On  the  subject  of  painting  the  eyes  we  happily  possess  far 
clearer  evidence :  for  this  purpose  malachite  was  used,  ground 
to  powder  and  apparently  mixed  with  some  fatty  substance. 
With  this  paint  a  rather  broad  line  was  drawn  round  the  eye, 
which,  besides  being  decorative,  had  a  utilitarian  purpose. 

As  Petrie  observes,  Livingstone  records  that  in  the  centre  of 
Africa  he  found  that  the  best  remedy  against  obstinate  sores  was 
powdered  malachite,  which  the  natives  provided  for  him.  The 
same  author  compares  the  coating  of  colour  which  preserved 
the  eye  from  the  blazing  glare  of  the  desert  with  the  custom  of 
the  Esquimaux,  who  blacken  the  skin  round  the  eye  to  protect 
it  from  the  glare  of  the  sno\\.: 

1  My  attention  has  been  drawn  to  similar  figures  at  the  Turin  Museum, 
which  show  distinctly  the  line  of  paint  below  the  eyes  which  we  are  about  to 
consider. 

1  For  painting  the  body  and  tatooing  in  pre-Mycenaean  Greece,  see 
buNKi ..\BKI«,,  Antiquites  premycenicnncs.  £tudc  sur  la  plus  ancienne 
civilisation  dc  la  Gri-cc,  in  the  Mcmoircs  de  la  Societe  royale  dcs  antiquaires 
dn  A'osd,  new  series,  1896,  pp.  46-50. 

3  PKIKII;,  Jn',t\/,,i,'is  ///;•«  vj(  p.  20. 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


FIG.  6. — FIGURES  OF  WOMEN.     UNIVERSITY  COLLEGE.  LONDON. 

Grey  clay  with  greenish    paint.     On    the  figure   to  the  left  the  painting  has  scaled 
off,  and  only  a  few  lines  on  the  torso  can  now  be  distinguished. 

The  following  facts  prove  that  this  custom  existed  in  Egypt 
during  the  primitive  period.  Shells  containing  green  paint  have 
been  discovered  in  the  tombs,1  and  similar  traces  of  colour  have 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  6,   tomb  522    Dallas;    p.   15,  tomb  23  Ballas ;   p.   16, 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  25 

been  found  on   ordinary  pebbles,  very  much  polished,  which  are 
invariably  found  with  the  slate  palettes.1 

These  palettes,  of  which  we  shall  frequently  have  occasion  to 
speak  in  the  course  of  this  work,  served  for  grinding  the  malachite, 
which  was  crushed  to  powder  on  them  by  means  of  the  pebbles  I 
have  just  mentioned.  The  fact  is  demonstrated  in  an  undeniable 


FIG.  7. — SLATE  PALETTES  USED  FOR  GRINDING  PAINT. 

manner  by  the  traces  of  green  paint  found  on  them,  and  also 
by  the  cavities  worn  in  them  by  prolonged  grinding2  (Fig.  7) 
Petiie  has  also  occasionally  found  traces  of  haematite  on 
them. 

The    palettes  were   fated    to    fulfil    a    brilliant  destiny.     Later 

tomb  87  Ballas.  The  same  use  of  shells  in  the  fourth  dynasty  has  also  been 
established.  See  PETRIE,  Medum,  London,  1892,  pi.  xxix.  17,  p.  3.;:  "The  shell 
contains  powdered  blue  carbonate  of  copper  as  paint." 

1  PETRIE,  \aqada,  pp.  10,  19,  tomb  5  Naqada.  A  fine  specimen  of  a  palette 
with  traces  ot  paint,  from  Gebelein,  at  Oxford. 

-   I'KIKIE,  ^'ai/ada,  p.  43. 


26  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

on  we  find  them  developed  into  real  works  of  art,  of  immense 
size  and  apparently  employed  ceremonially. 

We  must  mention  the  custom  that  existed  in  the  primitive 
period  of  painting  the  bones  of  the  deceased  with  red  colour. 
Among  the  Australians  the  adolescent  is  painted  red  for  the 
first  time  at  his  initiation,  when  he  joins  the  community  of  the 
men.  "  Painting  with  red,  characteristic  of  entrance  into  life,  is 
employed  also  for  death."  l 

Without  more  evidence  than  we  possess  we  cannot  deter- 
mine how  far  this  custom  was  general  among  the  primitive 
Egyptians.  I  have  only  met  with  one  instance  mentioned  by 
Petrie.2 

Did  the  habit  of  painting  the  body,  and  more  especially  of 
drawing  a  line  of  green  paint  round  the  eye,  continue  in  Egypt 
at  the  historic  period  ? 

Erom  the  earliest  times  the  skin  of  the  men  on  the  monuments 
is  generally  represented  as  being  of  a  brownish  red  colour,  dark 
in  tone,  while  the  skin  of  the  women  .is  yellow.  M.  Maspero, 
in  his  Histoire  ancienne  des  peuples  de  r Orient  classique}  expresses 
himself  thus  on  the  subject  :  "  The  men  are  generally  coloured 
red  in  these  pictures  ;  in  fact,  one  can  observe  among  them 
all  the  shades  seen  among  the  population  at  the  present  day, 
from  the  most  delicate  pink  to  the  colour  of  smoked  bronze. 
The  women,  who  are  less  exposed  to  the  glare  of  the  sun,  are 
usually  painted  yellow,  the  tint  being  paler  if  they  belonged  to 
the  upper  classes." 

This  explanation  might  very  easily  be  accepted.  It  even 
explains  the  exceptions  to  the  red  and  yellow  colourings  which 
we  observe  on  a  certain  number  of  monuments,  where  the 
skin  of  the  women,  for  instance,  instead  of  being  painted 
yellow,  is  very  nearly  the  natural  colour.  As  an  example  I 
will  mention  the  figure  of  a  daughter  of  Prince  Tchuti-hetep, 
in  the  tomb.;  of  El  Bersheh 4  ;  or,  again,  the  representations 

1  GROSSK,  loc.  cit.  pp.  41,  42. 

-  Nayada,  p.  25,   tomb  234. 

3  Vol.  i.  p.  47. 

'  XKWBKKKY,  El  Bersheh,  i.  frontispiece. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  27 

of  Queen  Aahmes  at  Deir-el-Bahari,  and  of  Queen  Thiti, 
where  the  pink  flesh  colours  contrast  with  those  of  thousands 
of  other  ladies  painted  in  bright  yellow  on  the  walls  of  their 
tombs.1 

I,  however,  am  disposed  to  see  in  the  singular  colouring  of 
the  Egyptians  a  custom  resembling  that  of  primitive  nations, 
especially  as  the  colours  employed,  red  and  yellow,  are  those 
most  frequently  in  use  among  them.  Analysing  the  primitive 
"palette,"  Grosse  thus  expresses  himself:  "Red,  especially  a 
yellowish  red,  is  the  favourite  colour  of  primitive  peoples,  as 
it  is  of  almost  all  nations.  .  .  .  Goethe  undoubtedly  expresses 
the  general  sentiment  when  in  his  Farbenlekre  he  speaks  of  the 
exciting  influence  of  a  yellowish  red.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
red  has  always  played  an  important  part  in  the  toilet,  especially 
in  that  of  men.  The  habit  of  victorious  Roman  generals  of 
painting  themselves  red  has  vanished  with  the  Roman  republic 
.  .  .  Yellow  is  of  similar  importance,  and  is  also  employed  in 
the  same  manner.  .  .  ."  2 

I  believe  it  is  by  no  means  impossible  to  apply  these  prin- 
ciples to  the  Egyptians,  and  although  I  do  not  wish  to  assert 
that  the  custom  of  painting  the  skin  in  this  manner  was 
in  vogue  at  all  periods,  yet  I  suppose  that  during  a  fairly 
long  period  it  was  sufficiently  general  to  give  rise  to  the 
convention  of  representing  men  in  red  and  women  in  yellow.3 
The  custom  of  painting  round  the  eyes  with  green—  or,  more 
accurately,  of  underlining  the  eye  with  a  dash  of  green  paint  — 
can  with  much  greater  certainty  be  attributed  to  Egyptian 
civilization. 

Petrie  reports  that  he  discovered  in  a  tomb  of  the  first  dynasty 
(M.  I.  Abydos)  some  powdered  malachite  in  a  small  ivory  box 


1  NAVILLE,  Dcir-c/-/><i/mn\  iii.  pi.  Ixvii.     BENEDITE,  Le  Tombeau  de  la 
Thiti,  in  the  Memoires  de  la  Mission  archeologiquc  frattfaisc  du  Caire,  v.  p.  397. 

1  GROSSE,  Les  Debuts  dc  I'Art,  pp.  45-47. 

3  MASPERO,  Histoirc  andante  lies  peuples  de  I'  Orient  c/assit/uc,  i.  p.  54:  "Je 
p.  -us.-  bit-n  (ju'aii  debut  ils  s'enduisaient  tons  les  membres  de  graisse  ou  d'hnile." 
Why  not  grease,  or  oil,  coloured  by  means  of  mineral  or  vegetable  dyes?  See, 
hovvevt  r,  S<  n\\  HIM  -i  K  i  H,  Origin  and  present  condition  of  the  Egyptians,  in' 
H.U.I  >IKKK,  I-'.^yf>t,  5th  ed.  Leipsic,  1903,  p.  xxxvi. 


28  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

in  the  form  of  a  duck  l — a  very  interesting  object  as  prototype 
of  the  numerous  boxes  of  paint  of  the  same  form  which  have 
frequently  been  found  in  tombs  of  the  Second  Theban  Empire, 
and  of  which  several  museums  contain  specimens  2  (Fig.  8). 

The  monuments  of  the  fourth  dynasty  clearly  show  the  line 
of  green  colour  under  the  eyes,  especially  two  door-posts  at 
the  Cairo  Museum,  on  which  is  figured  the  wife  of  a  personage 
named  Sokar-khabiu,  "  who  was  called  Hathornefer-Hotep  as  her 
great  name,  and  Toupis  as  her  short  name — this  woman's  features 
recall  the  Nubian  type  ;  she  has  a  line  of  green  paint  under  the 

eyes." 3  The  celebrated  statues  of 
Sepa  and  of  Nesa  at  the  Louvre 
have  the  same  lines.  "  The  pupils, 
the  eyelids,  and  the  eyebrows  are 
painted  black,  and  below  the  eyes 

FIG.  8.-h^RY  Box  IN  FORM          is   a  line  of  Sreen-"  '     The   mummy 
OF  A  DUCK.  Of  Ranefer,  who  lived  about  the  com- 

mencement of  the  fourth  dynasty,  was  closely  enveloped  in  linen 
wrappings,  and  on  these  the  eyes  and  eyebrows  were  painted 
green.5 

The  green  powder  used  in  preparing  the  paint  was  enclosed 
in  small  bags,  which  are  frequently  represented  in  the  lists  of 
offerings.  They  were  made,  as  these  pictured  representations 
show,  of  leather  or  skin,'5  and  the  specimens  found  in  the 
graves  confirm  the  accuracy  of  this  detail.  Occasionally  also 
the  paint  was  placed  in  small  vases  or  baskets.  I  cannot 
attempt  to  enter  into  the  question  of  the  composition  of  this 
green  paint  in  Pharaonic  Egypt,  nor  stop  to  describe  the  various 
paints  in  'use  at  the  same  period.  It  would  have  no  bearing  on 

1  PETRIE,  Diospolis  paiva,  p.  20.  Published  in  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  i. 
pi.  xxxvii.  i— see  p.  27  ;  id.  ii.  p.  37. 

8  An  example  in  PETRIE,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  pi.  xviii.  10,  and 
p.  35  ;  txvo  others  in  LEEMANS,  Aegyptische  Monumenten  van  het  Nederlandsche 
Museum  van  Oudheden  te  Ley  den,  ii.  pi.  xxxvi.  565,  567. 

3  MASPERO,  Guide  to  the  Cairo  Museum,  Cairo,  1903,  p.  40,  No.  62. 

4  DE  ROUGE,  Notice  des  monuments,  A  36-38,  pp.  26,  27. 

5  PETRIE,  Medum,  p.  18. 

c  GRIFFITH,  Rent  Hasan,  iii.  pi.  iii.  27,  p.  14. 


PERSONAL    ADORNMENT.  29 

the  subject  of  this  work,  and  it  has  already  been  admirably 
done  by  others.1  I  must,  however,  mention  the  traces  left  in 
Egyptian  writing  and  ritual  by  this  use  of  green  paint. 

A  hieroglyphic  sign  ^^  clearly  shows  the  line  of  colour  drawn 
below  the  eye,  and  this  sign,  in  addition  to  other  uses,  serves 

to  determine  the  name  Uazu  FT  _y  S°~)  °f  tne  powder  and  of 
green  paint.2 

In  the  rituals  frequent  allusions  are  made  to  green  paint, 
occurring  as  early  as  the  Pyramid  texts,  and  the  belief  in  the 
protective  and  curative  virtues  of  the  paint  was  such,  even  at 
that  time,  that  the  Uzait,  the  painted  eye,  was  called  the  sound 
or  healthy  eye.  This  point  has  been  rendered  perfectly  clear 
by  Maspero,  who  has  several  times  written  on  the  subject.3 

The  daily  ritual  of  the  divine  cult  in  Egypt,  and  also  the 
funerary  rituals,  mention  bringing  a  bag  of  green  paint  as  a 
means  whereby  the  god,  or  the  deceased  person,  "  makes  himself 
heilthy  with  all  that  is  in  him."4 

Finally,  a  curious  text  is  expressed  in  these  terms :  "  He 
brings  to  thce  green  paint  for  thy  right  eye,  and  mestem 
[another  paint]  for  thy  left  eye."5 

The  designs  with  which  primitive  man  paints  his  skin  have 
no  persistency  of  character  ;  they  can  be  got  rid  of  at  will  and 
others  substituted.  Under  some  circumstances  it  may  be 

1  WIEDEMAXX,  A.,  Varieties  of  ancient  "  AW//,''  in  PETRIK,  Medum,  pp.  41-44. 
FLOREXCE  &  LORET,  Le  collyre  noir  et  le  collyre  vert  du  tombeau  dc  la 
princesse  Noubhutep,  in  DE  MORGAN,  Fouilles  d  Dakckour,  March — June,  1894, 
pp.  153-164;  also  printed  separately,  Vienna,  1895,  16  pp. 

*  MASPERO,  Kerns  <r/(/</ue,  April  22nd,  1901,  p.  308.  Review  of  DAVIES, 
/'/•ih/intt'fi,  i. ;  see  pi.  v.  33  for  the  exact  representation  of  the  sign. 

'  M  AM  KUO,  Xotes  ait  jour  le  jour,  §  25,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Biblical  Archaeology i  xiv.  1902,  pp.  313-316,  and  La  table  d  offrande.s  des  tombeaux 
cgypticns,  in  the  Revue  de  I'histoire  dcs  religions,  xxxv.  1897,  p.  297  (separate 
reprint,  p.  23).  PETRIE,  Medum,  pi.  xiii.  MARIETTE,  Monuments  divers, 

>-t-rn<-i  His  en  £gypte  et  en  Italic,  Paris,  1889,  pi.  xix.  d,  where  |     '  ^  occurs  from  a 

OOO 

ma-;.iba  of  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  dynasty. 

1  See  MOKKI,  Lerituel  du  culte  divin  journalicr  en  £gypte,  in  the  Annales 

I/H  .1///V,-. C,nhni-t,  ttihliolh ft/ n,-  i/c/i/i/cs,  xiv.  pp.  71,  109,  199. 

V<t.N  Li-:. MM,  l)as  Rilmilbucli  dcs  Ammondienstes,  Leipsic,  1882,  p.  68. 


30  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

desirable  to  render  them  indelible — as,  for  instance,  in  the  case 
of  tribal  or  religious  marks,  and  thus  we  find  the  origin  of  the 
custom  of  tatooing. 

As  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  pages,  it  is  difficult  to 
distinguish  clearly  from  the  primitive  Egyptian  figures  between 
what  was  tatooed  and  what  was  painted.  The  same  patterns 
were  apparently  in  use  for  both.  As  I  have  already  stated,  a 
comparison  has  been  made  between  the  painted  or  tatooed 
patterns  on  the  primitive  statuettes  and  the  tatoo-marks  on  the 
Libyans  ( TimiJiu]  of  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.  This  comparison,  extended 


FIG.  9. — TATOO-MARKS  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  EGYPTIANS  COMPARED 
WITH  THOSE  OF  THE  LIBYANS. 

From  I'Anthropologie. 

to  the  tatoo-marks  of  the  indigenous  inhabitants  of  Algeria,  has 
shown  close  analogy  between  them  all l  (Fig.  9). 

We  reproduce  here  a  group  of  Libyans  from  the  tomb  of 
Seti  I.2  (Fig.  10),  to  which  we  shall  several  times  have  occasion 
to  refer.  It  is  especially  interesting  to  note  that  one  of 
the  tatoo-marks  is  a  very  accurate  reproduction  of  the  hiero- 
glyph >CZK,  the  symbol  of  the  goddess  Neitk ;  and  in  this 
connection  we  are  led  to  consider  the  name  of  the  wife 
of  an  Egyptian  king  of  the  first  dynasty  called  Meri-Neith. 
M.  Maspero  writes  thus  on  the  subject  :  "  The  name  of  Meri- 

1  WIEDEMANN,   Die   Urzeit  Aegyptens   und  seine    dlteste    Bevolkerung,    in 
Die  Umschau,  September  23rd,  1899,  pp.  756-766.     Les  modes  d'ensevelissement 
dans  la  necropole  dc  Ncgadak  et  la  question  de  I'origine  du  peuple  egyptien,  in 
DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les  engines  de  r£gypte,  ii.  pp.  221,  222.     PETRIE, 
Naqada,  pp.  45,  46.     Tatouages  des  indigenes  de  I'Algerie,  in  I'Anthropologic, 
xi.  1900,  p.  485. 

2  LEPSIUS,  Denkmiiler  aus  Aegypten  imd  Acthiopicn,  iii.  pi.  136. 


I'KRSONAL   ADORNMENT.  31 

Neith  is  interesting,"  apart  from  its  being  a  royal  name;  "but 
we  were  already  aware  from  other  proofs  of  the  important  part 
played  by  Neith  in  the  religion  of  the  earliest  centuries.  The 
ladiVs  of  high  position  who  are  buried  or  mentioned  in  the 
mastabas  of  the  Memphite  period  have,  as  favourite  titles,  those- 
of  '  Prophetess  of  Neith '  or  '  Prophetess  of  Hathor.'  Neith 
appears  to  have  been  a  goddess  of  Libyan  origin,  and  the  pre- 
dominance of  her  cult  during  the  primitive  period  is  noteworthy 
at  this  moment,  when  the  Berlin  school  is  Semitizing  to  the 
utmost  the  language  and  the  population  of  Egypt."  l 


FIG.   10. — LIBYANS  FROM  THE  TOMB  OF  SKTI  I. 

This  leads  us  to  enquire  whether  the  painting  and  tatooing 
of  the  body  had  not  some  other  object,  in  addition  to  an  aesthetic 
one.  In  order  to  answer  this  we  must  examine  our  ethnological 
evidence.  Family  and  tribal  marks  arc  generally  to  be  recognized, 
and  as  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  tribe  selects  the  symbol  of  a 
divinity  for  its  distinctive  mark,  there  is  a  chance  of  finding 
religious  signs  among  tatoo-marks.2 

1  MASPERO,  in  the  Rrvue  critique,  November  I2th,  19x0,  p.  366.  For  the 
contrary  opinion,  but  with  inadequate  arguments,  see  MAC!VER  &  WiLKiNf 
I.iliyan  Notes,  London,  1901,  pp.  69,  70.  For  Meri-Neith  see  SETHE,  Beitrdge 
zitr  iiltcsten  Gesr.hichte  Aegvfitcns  (Untcrsuchungen  zur  Geschichte  und  Alter- 
thmnskundc  Aegyptcnx,  licrtuisgegebcn  van  Kurt  ^cthc,  iii.  i),  pp.  29,  30. 

*  GROSSE,  he.  cit.  p.  55  et.  seq. 


32  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

Occasionally  tatoo-marks  are  actually  pictographic,  and  convey 
a  meaning.  An  American  Indian,  for  instance,  bore  on  his  arm 
zigzag  lines  signifying  "  mysterious  power." l  Also,  tatooing 
may  be  intended  to  serve  a  medical  purpose.2  The  Egyptians 
of  the  classical  period  tatooed  themselves  occasionally  on  the 
breast  or  on  the  arms  with  the  names  or  representations  of 
divinities.  This  custom  was  perhaps  exclusively  confined  to 
the  Second  Theban  Empire ;  I  do  not  remember  to  have  met 
with  an  example  outside  that  period.  It  will  be  sufficient  to 
mention  some  instances  of  this.  Amenophis  IV.  and  his  queen 
bore  the  names  of  the  god  A  ten  tatooed  upon  the  breast  and 
arms.  With  reference  to  this  subject  Professor  Wiedemann 
remarks  that  Libyan  influence  can  clearly  be  traced  during  this 
reign.3  A  stela  in  the  Pesth  Museum  shows  a  personage  con- 
temporary with  Thothmes  III.,  who  bears  on  his  right  arm  a 
cartouche  of  that  king.4 

On  other  examples  we  find  the  figure  of  the  god  Amon-Ra 
tatooed  on  the  right  shoulder,  notably  on  a  statue  of  a  kneeling 
scribe  in  the  Turin  Museum.5  Another  statue  in  the  Leyden 
Museum  (D  19)  bears  on  the  right  shoulder  a  small  figure  of 
Amon-Ra,  and  on  the  left  shoulder  the  cartouche  of  Amenophis 

1  GARRICK  MALLERY,   Tenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
1888-9,     Washington,      1893,     pi.     xvii.    p.     235.       Examples     by     HOERNES, 
Urgeschichte  der  bildenden  Kunst  in  Europa  von  den  Anfdngen  bis  ttm  500  vor 
Chr.,  Vienna,  1898,  p.  31,  note  4.     There  the  author  also  mentions  the  Libyans 
of  the  tomb  of  Seti  I. 

2  FOUQUET,  Le  Tatouagc  medical  en  Egypte  dans  rantiquite  et  a  Vepoque 
actuelle,   in    the  Archives  d'anthropologie  criminelle,   xiii.   1899,  p.  270   et  seq. 
See  BUSCHAN  in  the  Centralblatt  fur  Anthropologie,  iv.  p.  75,  and  R.  VERXEAU 
in  f  Anthropologie,  x.   1899,  p.  99.     Professor  Petrie  draws  my  attention  to  the 
mummy  of  a  priestess  of  the  sixth  dynasty,  in  Cairo,  where  there  are  numerous 
tatoo-marks  on  the  body. 

:|  WIEDEMANN,  Die  Urzeit  Acgyptens  ...  in  Die  Umschau,  iii.  1899,  p.  766,  and 
in  DE  MORGAN,  Kecherches  sttr  les  origines  de  VEgypte,  ii.  p.  222.  For  the 
figured  representations  see  LEPSIUS,  Denkmdler,  iii.  pi.  106,  109.  Professor  Petrie 
has  remarked  to  me  that  in  this  case  the  so-called  tatoo-marks  may  be,  in  reality, 
small  plaques  of  glazed  pottery  fixed  on  fine  muslin.  At  Tel-el-Amarna  similar 
plaques  are  found  witli  the  name  of  the  god  Aten. 

4  MASPERO,  Notes  sur  differents  points  de  grammaire  et  d'histoire,  in  the 
Melanges  d'archeologie  cgyptienne  et  assyrienne,  i.  1872,  p.  151. 

5  MASPERO,  Histoireancienncdcs pcuplcs del' Orient classiquc,  ii.  p.  531,  figure. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  33 

[I.  ?] l  Another  example  from  the  same  museum  (V  82)  represents 
a  sculptor  who  bears  on  his  breast  and  shoulders  the  tatooed  sign 

H  8 

^8n>    temple  of   Ptah.       Finally,    a  small    statuette,   of  which 

the  upper  part  alone  remains,  in  the  Cabinet  des  Mtdailles  in  Paris, 
shows  that  on  \  the  breast  and  shoulders  signs  were  tatooed,  the 
meaning  of  which  we  cannot  always  follow,  and  which  bear  con- 
siderable resemblance  to  the  marks  found  on  pottery  (Fig.  11). 


FIG.  II. — FRAGMENT  OF  A  STATUETTE  WITH  TATOO-MARKS  ON  THE  BREAST 
AND  RIGHT  SHOULDER. 

Cabinet  des  Me'dailles,  Paris. 

With  regard  to  decorative  tatoo-marks,  they  are  somewhat 
rare  on  Egyptian  remains  of  the  classical  period.  They  occur, 
however,  on  a  small  figure  of  a  woman  in  fatence  in  the  Berlin 
Museum  (No.  9,583),2  on  a  stela  in  the  Cairo  Museum  (No.  20,138), 

1  LEEMANS,  Aegyptische  Monumenten  van  het  Nederlandsche  Museum  van 
Oudheden  tc  Ley  den,  ii.  pi.  4. 

1  STRATZ,  Ueber  die  Klcidiing  der  dgyptischen  Tdnzerinncn  in  the  Zeit- 
schrift  fttr  dgyptische  Sprache,  xxxviii.  1900,  p.  149. 

3 


34  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

where  a  man  is  decorated  on  the  breast  with  tatoo-marks,1  and 
finally  in  a  representation  of  a  tomb  of  the  Second  Theban 
Empire.2 

"  The  perforation  of  the  ear,  the  nose,  or  the  lips  is  done  with 
a  view  to  placing  some  kind  of  ornament  in  the  hole  thus 
obtained ;  this  form  of  mutilation  may  therefore  be  considered 
as  a  natural  step  towards  the  second  method  of  personal  adorn- 
ment, which  consists  in  placing  or  hanging  ornaments  upon 
the  body."3  1  am  not  certain  that  the  prehistoric  Egyptians 
practised  these  mutilations,  nevertheless,  I  wish  to  draw  attention 
to  the  use  of  ear-studs  in  the  classic  period  ;  and,  first,  we  will 
observe  that  one  of  the  Libyans  of  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.  is 
wearing  ear-studs,  judging  from  the  plates  published  by  Belzoni 
and  by  Champollion.  Lepsius,  in  the  plate  of  which  our 
Fig.  10  represents  a  part,  has  not  noted  the  ear-stud.4  (See 
Fig.  19.) 

In  Egypt  the  wearing  of  ear-studs  is  fairly  frequent,  but  only 
at  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  As  Erman 
remarks,5  these  ear-ornaments  are  either  broad  discs  or  large 
rings.  During  the  reign  of  Amenophis  IV.  one  finds  that  men 
wore  these  ear-ornaments  as  much  as  women.6 


1  LANGE  &  SCHAEFER,  Grab-  und  Denksteine  des  mittlcren  Reichs  (Cata- 
logue general  des  antiquites  Egyptiennes  du  Mus6e  du  Caire),  i.  p.  163  ;  iv. 
pi.  Ixxxvi.  p.  465. 

8  LEPSIUS,  Denkmaler,  iii.  2.  See  ERMAN,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  230  and 
fig.  p.  216.  See  MASPERO,  Histoire  ancienne  des  peuples  de  I  Orient  classique,  i. 
p.  54,  and  note  3.  See  ALFRED  HERZ,  Tdttowirung,  Art  und  Verbreitung, 
Leipsic,  1900  (Doctor-dissertation,  Universitat  Erlangen).  On  the  subject  of 
tatooing  and  painting  the  body  among  the  Greeks,  see  WOLTERS,  P., 
'EXa^ooriKTOf,  in  Hermes,  xxxviii.  pp.  265-273. 

3  DENIKER,  Lcs  races  et  les  peuples  de  la  terre,  Paris,  1900,  p.  209. 

4  BELZONI,  Plates  illustrative  of  the  Researches  and  Operations  of  G.  Belzoni 
in   Egypt  and  Nubia,  London,  1821,  pi.  viii.      CHAMPOLLION,  Monuments  de 
VEgypte,  pi.  ccxl.     For  a  reproduction  of  the  head  after  this  plate  see  PERROT  & 
CHIPIEZ,  Histoire  de  I'art  dans  ^antique,  i.  Egypte,  fig.  528,  p.  796.     It  is  much 
to  be  regretted  that  the  various  publications  of  this  important  representation  vary 
so  greatly  in  the  details.     It  is  very  desirable  that  an  edition  definitive  should 
be  made. 

5  ERMAN,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  228. 

fl  STEINDORFF,  Vier  Grabstelen  aus  der  Zeit  Amenophis  IV.,  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fiir  Aegyptische  Sprache,  xxxiv.  1896,  p.  66. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT. 


35 


The  woman  represented  in  the  charming  statuette  of  the 
Bologna  Museum  (Fig.  12)  "is  very  proud  of  her  large  ear-orna- 
ments, and  is  gravely  pushing  one  of  them  forward,  either  to 
show  it  off  or  to  assure  herself  that  the  jewel  is  safely  in  its 
place." l  These  discs  are  found  not 
infrequently  in  tombs  of  the  Second 
Theban  Empire,  and  a  certain  number 
appear  to  have  been  intended  to  be 
fixed  in  the  lobe  of  the  ear,  which 
must  necessarily  have  been  greatly 
distended.2 

Professor  Schweinfurth  has  pub- 
lished a  ring  in  brocatel  belonging  to 
the  primitive  period,  which,  judging 
from  its  shape  and  also  from  its 
external  profile,  can  only  have  been 
used  as  a  lip-ring.3 

\Vc  now  pass  to  the  consideration 
of  methods  of  hairdressing  in  ancient 
Egypt.  On  one  of  the  earliest  vases  of 
the  kind  called  by  Petrie  "  cross-lined 
pottery,"  which  was  only  in  use  at 
the  beginning  of  the  primitive  period 
(sequence  dates  31-34),  a  combat  between  two  men  is  represented 
(Fig.  13).  One  of  the  combatants  has  his  hair  divided  on  the 
top  of  the  head  into  four  tresses,  which  hang  down  his  back . ' 

1  MASPERO,  Histoire  andenne  des  peuples  de  i }  Orient  classiyitc,  ii.  p.  533  and 
fig.,  where  the  author  states,  probably  erroneously,  that  the  statuette  belongs  to 
the  Turin  Museum.  Petrie's  photograph  of  the  same,  from  which  he  has  repro- 
duced it,  is  No.  83  of  the  Italian  series,  but  has  the  letter  B,  indicating  Bologna. 

8  If  it  is  doubted  that  such  a  distension  of  the  ear,  in  some  cases  very 
considerable,  can  be  a  fact,  such  examples  as  are  represented  by  SCHURTZ, 
Urgeschichte  dcr  Kultur,  Leipsic,  1900,  pp.  65  and  396,  will  carry  most  com- 
plete conviction.  ELLIOTT  SMITH,  Report  on  t/t<-  Minnntv  of  the  Priestess  Nesi- 
tet-ncb-taui,  in  the  Annales  du  service  des  Antii/idtfs  de  VEgyptc^  iv.  1903,  p.  158. 

3  SCHWKIM  IK  i  n,    Ueber  eincn  Altiigyf>tisclicn  Ring  aits  Brocatelle,  in  the 
Verhandlun^cn  dcr  hcrl.  Anthropol.  Gescllschaft  (February,  1902,  pp.  99,  100). 

4  PETRIE,  Diospolis  parva>  p.   14 :    "  M.  Schweinfurth  avait  6mis  1'idee  que 
les  'n6olithiques'  egyptiens  se  teignaient  les  cheveux  en  blond  (par  decoloration 


FIG.  12. — WOODEN  STATUETTE 
IN  THE  BOLOGNA  MUSEUM, 
WITH  IVORY  EAR-ORNAMENTS. 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


Other  remains  of  more   recent  date  show  the  hair   arranged 
in    a   variety    of   ways,   the    hair   worn    long    and    divided    into 

two  rows  of  curls,  framing  the 
face  and  hanging  down  to  the 
shoulders : ;  or  short  hair  in 
small  curls,  either  round  or  of 
"  corkscrew  "  form,  arranged  in 
parallel  rows  from  the  nape  of 
the  neck  to  the  crown  of  the 
head 2 ;  or,  again,  in  other  in- 
stances, the  whole  of  the  hair 
massed  in  a  single  thick  plait, 
which,  falling  from  the  crown 
of  the  head,  hangs  down  the 
back  3  (Fig.  14). 

All  these  methods  of  hair- 
dressing  for  men  are  also 
found  on  the  monuments  of 
the  Ancient  Egyptian  Empire, 
where  in  this  respect  the 
Egyptians  appear  to  have  faith- 
fully followed  the  traditions  of 
their  predecessors.  The  single 
plait,  however,  is  no  longer 
worn  by  men  ;  by  this  time  it 

a  1'aicle  de   chaux   ou  d'urine)  ou   en 
roux  (par  coloration  avec  du  henn6). 
M.  Virchovv  croit  devoir  ecarter  cette 
hypothese.  .  .  ."     SALOMON  REINACH, 
review  of  VIRCHOW,   Ueber  die  ethno- 
logische  Stellung  der  prdhistorischen 
und   protohistorischen   Aegypter  (Ab- 
FIG.  13.— POTTERY  VASE  WITH  DESIGNS  IN      handlungen    der    Prcuss.    Akademie 
WHITE  REPRESENTING  MEN  FIGHTING.          der  Wissenschaften,    Berlin,    1898),    in 

VAnthropologie,  ix.   1898,  p.  447. 
1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  ii. 

-  Id.  pi.  v.  and  vi.,  and  PETRIE,  The  Races  of  Early  Egypt,  in  the  Journal 
of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  xxxi.  pi.  xix.  n  and  12. 

3  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xi.  and  xxvi.  a,  and  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs  of 
the  Earliest  Dynasties,  ii.  pi.  iv.  4. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  37 

is  worn  only  by  children,  or  as  one  of  the  distinctive  marks  of 
princes  and  certain  high  sacerdotal  dignitaries.  In  this  case, 
when  we  see  it  represented  on  the  monuments  of  the  Second 
Theban  Empire,  the  plait  has  usually  lost  its  original  form,  and 
is  transformed  into  a  fringed  band  hanging  over  the  ear.1 

The  earliest  female  figures  have  no  trace  of  any  hair  whatever, 
and  it  might  be  considered  that   the   head  was  entirely  shaved. 


FIG.  14. — IVORY  STATUETTE. 
A  crouching  captive.     The  hair,  in  a  thick  plait  or  twist,  is  hanging  down  the  back. 

It   is  probable,  however,  that  this    is  owing  to  the  inexperience 
of    the    artist,   who   did    not    understand    how    to    render    hair.2 

1  For  the  types  of  wigs  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  see  ERMAN,  Life  in  Ancient 
Egypt,  pp.  219-222.  For  the  side-locks  of  children  and  of  princes,  ib. 
pp.  1 17,  235,  314,  reproduction  of  the  lock  transformed  into  a  decorated  bandeau. 
This  forms  an  interesting  example  of  the  laws  of  evolution  of  clothing  as  laid 
down  by  DARWIN,  G.  H.,  devolution  dans  le  vetcmcnt,  in  the  Kevue  de 
rUnii>crsitc  </,•  l!n<\  cllt -\,  v.  1899-1900,  pp.  385-411,  ill.  (Separate  reprint, 
Brussels,  Lamertin.)  Translation  from  MacMillan's  Magazine,  1872. 

*  Later  on  we  shall  see  that  hair-combs  are  especially  abundant  at  this 
period. 


38  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  primitive  period,  on  the  contrary,  we  find 
two  distinct  modes  of  hairdressing,  a  short  and  a  long  one.  In 
the  first  case  the  hair  is  divided  on  the  forehead,  and,  falling 
on  each  side  of  the  face,  is  cut  short  above  the  shoulders.1 
When  worn  long  the  hair  hangs  loose  down  the  back,  some 
tresses  being  drawn  over  the  shoulders  and  hanging  over  the 
breasts.2  A  statuette  discovered  at  Abydos  (1902-3)  by  Professor 


FIG.  15. — FIGURE  OF  A  WOMAN  IN  GLAZED  POTTERY. 
Discovered  at  Abydos. 

Petrie  shows  yet  another  arrangement,  the  whole  of  the  hair 
being  drawn  slightly  to  one  side  in  a  thick  plait,  which  hangs 
down  the  right  shoulder-blade3  (Fig.  15). 

1  QUIBELL,  Hicmkonpolis,  i.  pi.  ix.     PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  iii.  a,  8. 

2  QUIBELL,  loc.  cit.  i.  pi.  ix.  xi.     See,  farther  on,  various  female  figures  which 
show  numerous  examples  of  the  two  kinds  of  hairdressing.     It  is  possible  that  a 
certain  number  of  rings,  hitherto  classed  as  bracelets,  were  employed  in  hair- 
dressing  to  support  the  curls,  as  they  are  found  used  in  Greece  (tettiges)  and  in 
the  Punic  tombs.     See  GSELL,  Fouilles  de  Gouraya:  Sepultures  puniqucs  de  la 
cote  algerienne  (publication  of  the  Association  Historique  de  I ' Afrique  dn  Nord), 
Paris,  Leroux,  1903,  p.  39. 

:<  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  iv.  p.  25. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  39 

Here,  again,  we  find  modes  of  dressing  the  hair  identical  with 
those  in  use  among  women  at  the  commencement  of  the  Ancient 
Empire,  such  as  are  represented,  for  instance,  in  the  celebrated 
statues  of  Nofrit,  at  Cairo,  and  of  Nesa,  at  the  Louvre.1 

Savages  of  the  present  day  delight  in  decorating  their  hair 
with  various  objects,  such  as  feathers,  shells,  carved  combs  and 
pins,  and  we .  find  this  same  custom  prevailing  among  the 
primitive  Egyptians.  We  first  meet  with  feathers,  which  the 
men  stuck  in  their  hair  ;  this  is  specially  noticeable  on  a 
fragment  of  a  slate  palette  in  the  Louvre.2  The  feathers 
worn  in  this  way  are  ostrich  feathers,  and  it  is  a  question 
whether  there  was  not  a  religious  significance  in  this  method 
of  employing  them.  The  feather  is  found  later  as  the  head- 
dress of  the  goddess  Maat,  and  also  it  is  employed  in  writing 
her  name,  which,  in  the  Pyramid  texts,  is  determined  by  a  hawk 
bearing  the  feather  on  its  head.3  On  the  ancient  statues  dis- 
covered at  Koptos  by  Petrie,  the  emblem  of  the  god  Min  is 
surmounted  by  an  ostrich  feather.4 

I  must  mention  here  that  ostrich  eggs  have  been  found  in 
prehistoric  tombs,  showing  traces  of  painting  and  engraving 
(Fig.  1 6).  The  custom  of  depositing  ostrich  eggs  in  tombs  has 
several  times  been  observed  at  different  periods  of  Egyptian 
history.5  At  HO  Petrie  discovered  clay  models  of  ostrich  eggs  : 

1  See  ERMAN,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  222,  223. 

2  HEUZEY,  Egypte  ou  Chaldee,  in  the  Comptcs  rendus  de  VAcademie  des 
inscriptions  et  belles  lettres,  1899,  pi.  on  p.  66.     See,  farther  on,  our  Fig.  25. 

3  GRIFFITH,   in    DAVIES,    The  Mastaba    of  Ptahhetep  and  Akhcthetep  at 
Saqqare/t,  i.  p.  15. 

4  PETRIE,  Koptos,  pi.  3. 

5  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les  origines  de  f  Egypte,  ii.  pp.  35,  69,  and  100. 
PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  19,  tomb  4;  p.  28,  tomb  1480  (Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford). 
At  the  historic  period,  ostrich  eggs  and  feathers  were  imported  from  the  land  of 
Punt,  and  perhaps  also  from  Asia,  if  we  credit  a  scene  in  the  tomb  of  Harmhabi. 
See    BOURIANT,  Le    Tombeau   d'Harmhabi,   in   the  Memoircs  de   la  Mission 
archcologif/ue  francaise  du  Caire,  \.  pp.  420  and  422,  and  pi.  iii.  and  iv.  We  must 
also  remember  the  discovery  of  painted  eggs   in  the  Punic  tombs  of  Carthage 
(GsELL,  Fouilles  de  Gonraya,  Paris,  1903,  pp.  35-37,  where  the  author  questions 
whether   ostrich  eggs  were  not  decorated  by  the  Greeks  of  Egypt  or  of  Asia 
Minor),  and  even  in  a  tomb  of  the  valley  of  Betis  in  Spain  (tAnthropologie,  xi.  1901, 
p.  469).      See    also    PETRIE,    \nukmtis,   i.  p.    14  and  pi.  xx.   15.      It   must, 
nevertheless,  be  remembered  that  the  ostrich  egg  was  employed  for  industrial 


40  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

one  of  these  is  decorated  with  black  zigzag  lines  in  imitation 
of  cords 1  ;  the  others  are  simply  painted  with  white  spots 2 
(Fig  16). 

The  ostrich  feather  almost  without  exception  is  found  placed  in 
the  hair  of  lightly-armed  soldiers  of  ancient  times,  and  a  trace  of 

this  is  preserved  in  the  hieroglyph  ^|-3  The  Libyans  of  the 
tomb  of  Seti  I.  have  two  feathers  stuck  in  their  hair. 


FIG.  1 6.— OSTRICH  EGGS. 

A  fragment  with  incised  figures ;  also  clay  models  showing  traces  of  painting. 

Naqada  and   Hu. 


From 


The  women  delighted  in  the  use  of  decorated  combs  and  pins 
for  fastening  up  their  hair  ;  these  were    made  of  bone  or  ivory, 

purposes.  See  TYLOR  &  GRIFFITH,  The  Tomb  of  Paheri  at  El  Kab,  pi.  iv.  and 
p.  1 8.  PETRIE,  Illahun,  Kahun  and  Gurob^  pi.  xxii.  and  p.  19.  PETRIE,  Kahun, 
Gurob  and  Hawara,  p.  32.  Mr.  J.  L.  Myres  contributes  the  following  interesting 
note  relative  to  the  persistence  of  the  commerce  in  ostrich  eggs  in  the  north  of 
Africa  :  "  The  transsaharan  trade  in  ostrich  eggs  persists.  The  eggs,  as  far  as  I 
could  ascertain  in  Tunis  and  Tripoli  (in  1897),  come  via  Kano,  along  with  the 
consignments  of  feathers,  and  emerge  at  the  Mediterranean  seaboard  termini, 
where  they  are  in  request  as  pendant  ornaments  in  the  mosques." 

1  PETRIE,  Diospolis parva,  pi.  v.  and  p.  33  (tomb  BIOI). 

•  HU,  tomb  6262  and  656  (2  examples),  (Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford). 

3  See  the  remarks  of  MAX  MULLER,  Asien  und  Europa  nach  altagyptischen 
Denkmalcrn,  p.  3  et  seq. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT. 


and    were   often    decorated    at   the   top   with  figures  of  animals; 

occasionally   even    a   human    figure    is    found    on    them.      Petrie 

remarks    that    these    combs    were    especially   numerous    at    the 

commencement   of    the    prehistoric    period    between    33    and   44 

(sequence  dates),  while  the  pins, 

of    which    the    most    common 

type  is  decorated  with  a  small 

figure    of    a    bird,    are    found 

throughout    the    whole    of    the 

prehistoric    period  1    (Fig.     17). 

We  shall  have  an  opportunity 

of    examining    these    more    in 

detail  when  studying  ornamental 

art,    but    we    will    here    observe 

that  it  is  possible  these  combs 

and     hairpins    had    a    magical 

purpose,  as  is  notably  the  case 

in  China.2 

The  art  of  decorating  the 
hair  and  of  arranging  it  in  a 
complicated  manner  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  raised  to 
any  high  level  in  primitive 
Egypt.  Nevertheless,  there  are 
certain  indications  which  seem 
to  point  to  a  more  elevated 

ideal.       Is    it    not    possible    to 

.         .        ,    ,  FIG.  17. — COMBS  AND  A  PIN,  DECORATED 

recognize    in     the     head-dresses  WITH  ANIMAL  AND  B,RD  FIGURES. 

of   certain    kings,    queens,    and 

divinities    on    monuments    of    the    classical    period    survivals    of 

1  PEFRIE,  Diospolis  parva,  p.  21.  See  pi.  vi.,  where  pins,  a  combined  comb 
and  pin,  and  also  a  spoon  are  to  be  seen  still  entangled  in  the  hair  of  a  woman. 

1  J.  J.  M.  DE  GROOT,  The  Religious  System  of  China,  i.  pp.  55-57  :  "Among 
the  hairpins  provided  for  a  woman's  burial  is  almost  always  one  which  is  adorned 
with  small  silver  figures  of  a  stag,  a  tortoise,  a  peach,  and  a  crane.  These  being 
emblems  of  longevity,  it  is  supposed  that  the  pin  which  is  adorned  with  them 
will  absorb  some  of  their  life-giving  power,  and  communicate  it  to  the  woman 
in  whose  hair  it  is  ultimately  fastened."  Example  quoted  by  FRAZER,  The 
( roll/en  Bough,  2nd  ed.  i.  p.  48. 


42  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

earlier  fashions?  Observe,  for  example,  the  head-dress  worn  by 
the  queens,  which  is  formed  of  the  feathers  of  a  vulture,  with  the 
head  of  the  bird  arranged  in  front  of  the  forehead.1  A  large 
number  of  instances  of  decorations  for  the  hair  comparable  with 
those  of  Egypt  can  be  furnished  by  ethnology.2 

One  solitary  fact  bears  witness  to  the  honour  in  which 
elaborate  hairdressing  was  held  in  primitive  Egypt,  and  that  is 
the  custom  of  depositing  in  the  tombs  head-rests,  which  were 
used  during  sleep  to  preserve  artistic  coiffures,  not  intended  to 
be  renewed  every  day,  and  which  it  was  desirable  to  keep  in 
good  order  as  long  as  possible.3 


FIG.  18. — BAND  OF  FALSE  HAIR. 
From  the  tomb  of  King  Zer,  of  the  first  dynasty. 

Under  the  Ancient  Empire  the  charge  of  the  king's  hair 
and  of  his  wigs  was  bestowed  on  great  personages.  Maspero 
mentions  an  inspector  of  wig-makers  to  the  king,  and  also 
a  director  of  wig-makers  to  the  king,  contemporary  with 
with  the  fourth  and  fifth  dynasties.4  Petrie  discovered  in  the 
tomb  of  King  Zer,  of  the  first  dynasty,  at  Abydos,  a  band  of 
false  hair  (Fig.  18),  composed  of  curls,  and  apparently  intended 

1  See  an  example  of  this  head-dress  upon  the  stela  of  Queen  Nubkhas  in 
the  Louvre  (C  13),  dating  back  to  the  thirteenth  dynasty.  It  is  the  earliest 
example  I  know. 

a  GROSSE,  Les  Debuts  de  rArt,  pp.  67,  68. 

3  SCHURTZ,  Urgeschichte  der  Kultur,  Leipsic,  1900,  p.  yftetseq. 

4  MASPERO,   Histoire  ancicnne  des  pe^^ples  de  I*  Orient  classique,   i.   p.   278, 
note  i. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  43 

to  be  worn  on  the  forehead.1  The  Libyans  of  the  tomb  of 
Seti  I.  are  wearing  two  rows  of  similar  curls  between  their 
hair,  which  is  divided  and  falls  on  both  sides  of  the  head 
(Fig.  19). 

Very  numerous  examples  show  that  the  men  ordinarily  wore 
their  beards  trimmed  to  a  point.  We  shall  meet  with  some  of 
these  when  we  are  considering  representations  of  the  human 
figure. 


FIG.  19. — HEAD  OF  ONE  OF  THE  LIBYANS  FROM  THE  TOMB  OF  SETI  I. 

Showing  the  ear-ring,  the  rows  of  curls  on  the  forehead,  and  the  hair  falling 
over  the  right  shoulder. 

We  must  here  pause  a  moment  to  consider  a  curious  figure 
in  the  MacGrcgor  Collection2  (Fig.  20),  where  the  hair,  as  well 
as  the  beard,  is  enveloped  in  a  kind  of  pouch  which  com- 
pletely conceals  them.  If  it  is  not,  as  Naville  suggests,  "a 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  i.  pi.  iv.  7  and  p.  5  :  "  The  fringe  of  locks  is  exquisitely 
made,  entirely  on  a  band  of  hair,  showing  a  long  acquaintance  with  hair  work  at 
that  age.  It  is  now  in  the  Pitt-Rivers  Museum  at  Oxford." 

1  NAVILLE,  Figurines  egyptiennes  de  I'epoque  arc/iau/ne,  ii.,  in  the  Rccueil  de 
iravaux  relaiifs  d  la  philologie  et  a  I'archeologic  egyptiennes  ct  assynennes,  xxii. 
1900,  pi.  vi.  and  p.  68. 


44 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


conventional  or  childish  representation  of  hair,"  one  might  here 
recognize  an  object  related  to  the  royal  toilettes  of  the  classical 
period,  where  a  false  beard  was  affixed  by  means  of  straps. 
What  can  have  been  the  object  of  this  sort  of  covering  ?  Was 
it  used  in  order  to  ensure  purity,  for  instance,  during  religious 
ceremonies?  May  not  the  custom  which  prevailed  among  the 
Egyptian  priests  of  completely  shaving  themselves  have  been 
simply  a  radical  measure  for  avoiding  all  contamination  that 


FIG.  20. — FIGURE  FROM  THE  MACGREGOR  COLLECTION. 

With  a  bag  for  the  hair  and  beard,  and  a  sheath  to  protect  the  lower  part 

of  the  body. 

might  arise  from  the  hair  and  beard  ? 1  This  is  merely  a 
suggestion  which  I  throw  out,  and  on  which  I  do  not  wish 
to  insist  unduly.2  A  comparison  might  be  suggested  with  the 

1  One  might  compare  this   with   the    habit    of   our   modern   surgeons,   who 
occasionally  cover  the  hair  and  beard  during  operations  in  order  to  avoid  any 
risk  of  infection  for  the  patient. 

2  On  the  subject  of   wearing  a  natural  or  false  beard  see  ERMAN,  Life  in 
Ancient  Egypt,  especially  pp.  225,  226,  and  the  various  passages  quoted  in  the 
index  under  "  Beard."     The  motive  suggested  by  MORET,  Coup  d'oeil  surV  Egypte 
primitive,  p.  5,  for  the  wearing  of  wigs  and  false  beards,  seems  to  me  to  be 
unfounded. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  45 

paddn  of  the  Magian1  religion  ;  or,  again,  with  the  Jewish  custom 
of  covering  the  beard  as  a  sign  of  mourning.2 

There  is  a  small  series  of  interesting  objects  which  affords  a 
proof  that  the  custom  of  covering  the  lower  part  of  the  face 
with  a  veil  was  already  known  in  the  second  half  of  the  primitive 
period  (sequence  dates  50-61).  These  are  small  objects  of  shell, 
of  limestone,  or,  more  rarely,  of  copper,  which  were  suspended  in 
front  of  the  forehead.  At  the  base  is  a  hook,  which,  as  Petrie  has 
conjectured,  was  used  to  support  a  veil.  One  of  these  pendants 
has  been  found  still  in  position  upon  a  skull,  and  shows  clearly 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  worn.  One  specimen,  decorated 
with  lines  in  imitation  of  plaited  work,  points  to  the  fact  that 
these  pendants  were  also  made  of  woven  fibre,  and  this  would 
explain  their  rarity  in  the  tombs,  as  only  those  in  more  enduring 
materials  would  survive  (Fig.  21).  Other  specimens  have  not 
the  hook  at  the  lower  end,  and  must  therefore  have  been 
worn  merely  as  ornaments  on  the  forehead.  Two  specimens 
belonging  to  the  Petrie  Collection  are  in  the  form  of  female 
figures. 

It  is  possible  that  the  pendants  and  veil  before  the  face 
were  worn  by  men  fas  well  as  by  women,  or  even  exclusively 
by  men,  to  judge  by  the  custom  of  the  Touaregs,  and  also 
of  certain  Arabs.3  After  prehistoric  times  in  Egypt  there 
are  no  traces  of  this  custom  of  veiling  the  face,  and  it 

1  In  the  Magian  religion  the  officiant  has  the  lower  part  of  the  face  covered 
with  a  veil,  the  paddn  (av.  paitidana),  which  prevents  the  breath  from  defiling 
the  sacred  fire,  and  the  hands  covered  with  gloves.  Cf.  DARMESTETER,  Zend 
Avesta,  i.  p.  Ixi.  He  also  wears  \\\t  paddn  in  eating,  in  order  not  to  contaminate 
the  food,  which  he  swallows  at  one  gulp  between  two  intakings  of  breath — 
ib.  ii.  p.  214,  No.  31.  The  paddn  was  worn  by  the  magi  of  Cappadocia,  at 
the  time  of  Strabo  (Augustus),  xv.  733  c,  ndpas  TriXomif  KadttKvias  fmrqfM6n» 
fi/Xpt  TOV  KaXvTTTfiv  Tu  \ti\T)  rag  irapoyvaoidas. — (Note  contributed  by  M.  Franz 
Cumont.) 

1  BENZINGER,  Hebrflische  Archtlologie  (Grundriss  der  theologischen  Wissen- 
schaften,  Zweite  Reihe,  Erster  Band),  Freiburg  i.  B.  and  Leipsic,  1894, 
p.  165. 

3  FRAZER,  The  Golden  Dough,  2nd  ed.  i.  p.  313:  "Among  the  Touaregs 
of  the  Sahara  all  the  men  (and  not  the  women)  keep  the  lower  part  of  their  face, 
especially  the  mouth,  veiled  constantly ;  the  veil  is  never  put  off,  not  even  in 
eating  or  sleeping."  Also  note  3  :  "  Amongst  the  Arabs  men  sometimes  veiled 
their  faces." 


46  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

was    the   Arabs    who    introduced    it   once    more   in    the    seventh 
century  A.D.1 

Grosse,  in  his  book  Les  Debuts  de  r Art?  refers  to  an  interesting 
remark    of   Lippert :    "  The    principle   followed    in    selecting    the 


FIG.  21. — ORNAMENTS  FOR  THE  FOREHEAD. 
The  two  upper  ornaments  have  been  used  for  hanging  a  veil  before  the  face. 

portions  of  the  body   to  be  adorned  with  ornaments  is  governed 
by   practical   considerations,  and   is  a    principle    into  which    con- 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixii.  21-23,  an<^  p.  47  ;  Diospolis parva,  pi.  iii.  and  p.  22. 
Prehistoric  Egyptian  Carvings,  in  Man,  1902,  No.  113,  pp.  161,  162,  and  pi.  1.  5-7. 
See   SOCIN,  A.,   Doctrines  of   El  Islam,  in  BAEDEKER,    Egypt,   5th  ed.   1902, 
p.  Ixvii.    "  The  practice  of  wearing  veils  dates  from  very  remote  times  (Gen.  xxiv. 
65  ;  Isa.  iii.  22,  23),  though  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  was  customary  among  the 
ancient  Egyptians,  as  veiled  women  never  appear  upon  the  monuments." 

2  Pp.  63,  64. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  47 

siderations  of  ideal  arrangement  do  not  enter.  .  .  .  The  parts 
of  the  body  which  are  destined  to  carry  ornaments  are  those 
contracted  above  larger  portions  which  are  bony  or  muscular. 
These  parts  are  the  following:  the  forehead  and  the  temples, 
with  the  projecting  bones  below  and  the  support  afforded  by 
the  ear,  the  neck  and  shoulders,  the  sides  and  hips  ;  with  the  legs 
it  is  the  part  above  the  ankles  ;  with  the  arms,  the  biceps,  the 
wrist,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  the  fingers.  Primitive  man  makes 
use  of  all  these  for  affixing  ornaments ;  but  he  was  not  led  to  this 
choice  by  aesthetic  reasons,  but  by  purely  practical  considerations." 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  arrangement  of  the  hair  among 
the  primitive  Egyptians.  We  must  now  study  their  necklaces, 
waist-belts,  bracelets,  and  rings,  and  see  in  what  manner  clothing 
may  have  developed  out  of  these  entirely  elementary  decorations. 

The  simplest  form  of  such  decoration  consists  in  attaching  to 
different  parts  of  the  body  "  thongs  of  leather,  sinews  of  animals, 
or  herbaceous  fibres."1  These  in  turn  were  hung  with  shells, 
beads,  claws  of  animals,  etc. 

In  Egypt  shells  frequently  occur  in  prehistoric  tombs.  Pierced 
with  a  hole,  they  were  evidently  used  as  ornaments,2  and  their  use 
was  continued  into  historical  times,  when  shells  were  even  imitated 
in  glazed  pottery,  or  in  metal,  to  form  parts  of  necklaces.  I  must 
content  myself  with  a  mere  reference  to  the  marvellous  jewels 
found  at  Dahchour  by  M.  de  Morgan.3 

A  large  number  of  beads  have  been  discovered  in  the  tombs 
of  the  primitive  Egyptians,  of  which  the  forms  remain  practically 
the  same  throughout  the  whole  of  the  prehistoric  period.  This 
is  not  the  case  with  the  materials  of  which  they  were  made 
and  Petrie  has  drawn  up  a  chronological  list  of  these  with 
considerable  detail.1 

Most  of  the  ivory  objects  found  in  the  tombs,  which  Petrie 
believes  to  be  stoppers  for  leather  bottles,  I  am  inclined  to  consider 
as  necklace  ornaments.  "  They  are  a  species  of  pendant,  formed 

1  DENIKER,  Les  races  et  les  peuples  de  la  tcrre,  p.  211  et  seq. 
3  DE  MORGAN,  Rccherches  sur  les  origincs  de  l'£gypte,  ii.  p.  59. 

3  DE    MORGAN,    l-'otdllcs    </    Dahchoitr,    March— June,    1894,  Vienna,    1895, 
pi.  xxiii.  and  xxiv. 

4  PETRIE,  Diospolis  parva,  pi.  iv.  and  p.  27. 


48 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


by  the  severed  end  of  the  rib  or  tusk  of  an  animal,  often  pierced 
at  the  top — consequently,  they  must  have  been  worn  point  down- 
wards— deeply  grooved  at  the  wider  end,  and  covered  with  broken 
lines  or  with  rudimentary  geometric  designs"1  (Fig.  22).  Some  of 
these  pendants  are  of  stone  ;  others  are  hollow,  and  may  have 
been  used  as  vases.  At  the  upper  end  of  most  of  these  there  is 
a  deep  groove  to  allow  of  their  being  suspended  by  means  of  a 
thong,  which  also  passed  through  the  hole  with  which  many  of 
them  are  pierced.  Numerous  traces  of  leather  have  been  found 
in  these  cavities.2 


FIG.  22. — PENDANTS. 
Showing  the  imitation  of  claws  and  of  horns,  decorated  with  incised  or  painted  lines. 

We  shall  have  opportunity  to  discuss  these  pendants  more 
in  detail  when  we  treat  of  ornamental  art.  It  should,  however, 
be  observed  that  a  certain  number  of  these  ornaments  are  made 
in  imitation  of  horns  or  claws,  and  are  merely  a  conventional 
copy  of  still  more  rudimentary  ornaments.  We  can  compare 
them  with  the  collars  of  the  Bushmen,  "  the  cords  made  of 
tendons  and  painted  with  red  ochre,  from  which  are  suspended 
shells,  teeth,  claws,  the  carapaces  of  turtles,  antelope  horns,  and 
other  objects,  serving  partly  as  receptacles  for  tobacco  and 


1  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les  origines  de  V £gypte,  ii.  p.  62,  63. 

2  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pp.  46,  47,  pi.  lix.-lxiv.  ;  Diospolis ftarva,  p.  21,  pL  iii. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  49 

unguents,   partly  as   amulets,  and   for  the    most    part   as  objects 
of  personal  adornment."  l 

I  need  scarcely  remark  on  the  prevalent  use  of  beads  and 
pendants  in  Pharaonic  Egypt.  A  collection  such  as  that  of 
Professor  Petrie  at  University  College,  London,  is  highly  instructive 
with  regard  to  these  objects.  Such  a  wealth  of  pendants  for 
necklaces — comprising  claws,  shells,  and  various  amulets  — is 
well  worth  studying,  as  they  are  rarely  found  figured  on  the 
monuments.  It  is  not  always  justifiable  to  deny  the  existence 
of  a  custom  from  an  argument  based  solely  on  the  absence  of 
an  object  from  the  figured  monuments  of  Egypt. 

Beads  and  other  pendants  were  not  only  used  for  necklaces  ; 
they  were  also  employed  as  decorations  for  girdles,  bracelets,  and 
anklets.  The  jewellery  found  by  Petrie  in  the  tomb  of  King 
Zer,  of  the  first  dynasty,  enables  us  to  appreciate  the  skill 
already  acquired  by  the  Egyptians  at  that  period  in  combining 
and  grouping  various  materials  and  producing  results  which  are 
truly  marvellous.  The  perfection  of  the  jewellery  is  so  great  that, 
as  Petrie  remarks,  with  the  exception  of  the  gold  beads,  there  is 
no  bead  in  any  one  of  the  bracelets  which  could  be  exchanged 
for  any  other  of  another  bracelet,  without  completely  destroying 
the  harmony  of  the  whole.2 

But,  besides  these  bracelets  formed  of  separate  pieces,  we 
must  notice  the  simple  circlets  made  of  various  materials.  They 
are  found  in  ivory,  bone,  copper,  shell,  flint,  hard  stone,  etc.3 
This  use  survived  into  historical  times,  and  the  tombs  of  the 
first  dynasty  at  Abydos  have  yielded  an  immense  number  of 
fragments  of  bracelets  in  ivory,  horn,  shell,  slate,  and  stone.4  A 

1  GROSSE,  Les  Debuts  de  I' Art,  p.  68. 

*  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii  pi  i.  pp.  16-19. 

3  See  QUIBELL,  El  Kab,  pp.  6,  7,  9,  10,  18,  and  pi.  ii.  2.  PETRIE,  Naqada, 
pi.  xliii.  pp.  34,  42,  47.  Alabaster:  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  29.  Shell:  ib.  pp.  14,  47. 
Horn,  ib.  pp.  14,  47.  Copper:  PETRIE,  Diospolis pan/a,  p.  37.  Ivory:  PETRIE, 
Naqada,  pp.  5,  14,  29,  47;  Diospolis  parva,  p.  21,  pi.  x.  Bone:  PETRIE, 
Diospolis,  pi.  x.  23.  Beads:  ib.  p.  33.  Schist:  PETRIE,  Naqada,^.  14.  Flint  : 
ib.  pp.  14,  51,  59;  Diospolis,  p.  36;  Abydos,  i.  p.  16. 

1  Shell :  PETRIE,  Abydos,  i.  p.  17.  Horn:  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  p.  39. 
Ivory:  ib.  ii.  pp.  24,  35,  37  ;  Abydos,  i.  p.  5.  Stone:  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pp.  35,  37. 
Schist :  Abydos,  i.  p.  17.  Bracelets  of  Aha  :  Royal  Tombs,  i.  pp.  5,  18,  29  ;  ii.  p.  5. 
Bracelets  of  Zer :  ib.  ii.  pp.  17,  18. 

4 


50  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

spoon1  (Fig.  23),  the  handle  of  which  resembles  an  arm  adorned 
with  a  large  number  of  these  bracelets,  similar  in  size  and  form, 
shows  us  that  they  were  worn  in  numbers  sufficient  to  form  a 
sort  of  armature.  Pleyte  observes  that  this  recalls  the  "Danga 
Bohr  "  which  Schweinfurth  found  among  the  Bongoes.2 

Petrie  discovered  a  tomb  containing  the  body  of  a  child, 
wearing  on  the  arm  nine  or  ten  of  these  ivory  rings,  and  he 
mentions,  in  connection  with  this  fact,  that  a  carving  of  a 
woman  of  the  reindeer  age  in  France  shows  the  same  system 


FIG.  23. — BONE  AND  IVORY  BRACELETS,  AND  A  SPOON  WITH  A  HANDLE  IN  FORM 
OF  AN  ARM  WEARING  A  SERIES  OF  SIMILAR  BRACELETS. 


of  ornamentation.3  It  is  probable  that  these  rings  were  also 
worn  on  the  legs,  as  shown  in  the  representation  of  the  chief 
of  the  land  of  Punt  at  Deir-el-Bahari.4 

As    a   question    of    stone-working    it    is    astonishing    to    find 
primitive  man    making    rings   in    flint.5     Many   conjectures    have 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xliii.  I  (Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford). 

2  PLEYTE,  Chapitres  supplemcntaires  du  Livre  des  Morts,  i.  pp.  147,  148. 
SCHWEINFURTH,  Artes  Africanac,  Leipsic  and  London,  1875,  pi.  iii.  12. 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pp.  42  and  47. 

4  PLEYTE,  ib.  fig.  facing  p.  147. 

5  DE  MORGAN,  Rccherches  sur  les  origines  de  r£gypte}  ii.  pp.  60,  61. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  51 

been  hazarded  to  explain  the  manner  in  which  this  was 
accomplished,  but  it  remained  for  the  fortunate  discoveries  of 
Seton  Karr  at  \Vady-el-Sheikh  to  show  us  all  the  phases  of 
the  work.1  The  frequent  occurrence  on  Egyptian  monuments 
of  Pharaonic  times  of  collars,  bracelets,  and  anklets  has  frequently 
been  remarked  on,  and  we  need  not  therefore  dwell  longer  on 
that  point.2 

The  primitive  Egyptian  was  also  well  acquainted  with  finger- 
rings,  especially  in  ivory,  either  plain  or  decorated  with  a  knob. 
Two  very  curious  specimens  show  that  occasionally  they  were 


D.23 


o.zs 


FIG.  24. — IVORY  RINGS. 

decorated  with  figures  of  animals  ;    one   of  these    has  two  feline 
animals  on  it,3  and  on  the  other  are  four  hawks4  (Fig.  24). 

So  far  we  have  not  dealt  with  the  decoration  of  the  hips, 
and  this  because  there  is  not,  to  my  knowledge,  any  monument 
of  the  primitive  period  which  shows  us  such  a  decoration.  There 
exists  no  statuette,  no  drawing,  on  which  we  can  see  a  thong 
of  leather  round  the  waist  adorned  with  beads  or  pendants. 
But  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  beads  and  pendants  which 

1  SCHWEINFURTH,  AcgyptiscJicr  Ringe  aus  Kiesclmassc,  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fur  Ethnologic,  xxxi.  1899,  p.  496  et  seq.  FORBES,  On  a  collection  of  stone 
implements  in  the  Mayer  Museum,  made  by  M.  H.  W.  Seton  Karr,  in  mines  of 
the  ancient  I'.^vfitians  discovered  by  him  on  the  plateaux  of  the  Nile  Valley,  in 
the  Bulletin  Liverpool  Museum,  ii.  Nos.  3  and  4,  pp.  78-80,  and  fig.  on  p.  82. 

*  ERMAN,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  227. 

3  A  specimen  in  the  MacGregor  Collection,  Tarn  worth  (No.  1,409  a). 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixii.  30 ;  Ixiv.  78  and  p.  47.  Diospoiis,  ix.  23  ; 
x.  24,  25,  and  pp.  21,  22. 


52  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

have  been  discovered  may  not  have  decorated  that  part  of  the 
body  as  appropriately  as  they  did  the  neck,  arms,  and  legs.  By 
analogy,  therefore,  we  can  imply  the  use  of  ornamental  girdles  ; 
and  here  we  verge  on  the  interesting  subject  of  the  origin  of 
clothing. 

"The  skin  of  an  animal  is  suspended  from  the  cord  tied 
round  the  throat,  and  forthwith  it  is  transformed  into  a 
mantle.  With  the  Fuegians  this  piece  of  skin  is  so  scanty 
that,  in  order  to  protect  the  body  effectually,  it  has  to  be  turned, 
following  the  direction  of  the  wind.  The  thong  round  the  waist, 
the  belt,  is  also  hung  with  various  appendages,  and  becomes  a 
petticoat. 

"  The  leafy  branches  which  are  thrust  by  the  Veddahs  under 
their  waist-belts,  the  pieces  of  bark  held  by  the  same  belt 
among  the  Niam-Niam,  the  '  sarang '  of  the  Indo-Malay,  which 
supplies  the  elements  both  of  petticoat  and  of  girdle — all  these 
are  the  prototype  of  the  petticoat."  l 

Writing  of  the  indigenous  inhabitants  of  the  Andaman 
Islands,  Grosse  expresses  himself  as  follows  :  "  There  is,  however, 
one  tribe  the  women  of  which  wear  nothing  round  the  waist  but 
a  very  fine  string,  from  which  some  quite  short  fibres  hang  ;  this 
must  evidently  be  a  mere  ornament."2 

Erman  has  already  remarked  that,  under  the  Ancient  Empire, 
the  Egyptians  of  the  lower  classes,  principally  those  who  were 
brought  by  their  occupation  into  habitual  contact  with  water, 
are  occasionally  represented  as  absolutely  nude  ;  while  their 
fellow  workers,  for  the  most  part,  are  wearing  only  a  narrow  girdle 
with  a  few  short  strips  hanging  down  in  front.3  These  can  scarcely 
be  called  articles  of  clothing ;  and  yet  one  would  hesitate  to 
call  them  ornaments,  if  one  were  not  assured  by  numerous 
ethnological  parallels. 

I  may  add  that  in  some  cases  this  simple  cord  knotted 
round  the  loins  served  as  an  amulet.  On  this  subject  I  will 
quote  the  curious  observation  of  Dr.  Stacquez,  who,  on  the 

1  DENIKER,  Les  races  et  les  peuplcs  de  la  terre,  p.  312. 
8  GROSSE,  Les  Debuts  dc  VArt,  p.  70. 
3  ERMAN,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  212. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  53 

subject  of  the  modern  population  of  Thebes,  writes  thus  :  "  The 
greater  number  of  boys  were  entirely  nude,  and  among  them 
were  some  who  might  have  been  fifteen  years  old.  But  they 
all  wore  a  fine  thread  round  their  bodies  in  form  of  a  girdle. 
To  go  entirely  naked  was  the  natural  course  of  events  for 
these  folks,  but  it  would  have  been  the  height  of  indecency 
to  have  omitted  to  tie  a  thread  round  their  loins,  and  no  one 
would  have  dared  to  show  himself  in  that  state.  I  asked  the 
reason  of  such  a  custom,  and  I  was  told  that  it  had  always 
existed — that  it  was  considered  that  the  thread  concealed  their 
nakedness,  and  that  it  represented  the  garments  that  they  could 
not  wear  owing  to  the  high  temperature  of  the  country.  I 
myself  believe  that  the  thread  should  be  considered  as  a  species 
of  amulet,  and  for  this  reason :  in  some  parts  of  Egypt  it  is 
the  habit  to  have  a  small  cord  tied  by  the  sheikh  round  the 
wrists  and  ankles  as  a  preservative  against  sprains  and  other 
accidents  while  working  or  walking.  It  is  therefore  possible  that 
the  thread  encircling  the  loins  among  the  inhabitants  of  Thebes 
is  a  similar  practice  passed  into  a  habit,  of  which  the  reason 
'is  forgotten."1 

It  should  also  be  remembered  that  under  the  Second  Theban 
Empire  the  young  female  slaves  and  the  dancing  women  wore 
as  their  only  clothing  a  girdle,  which  occasionally  may  have  been 
ornamented.2 

Let  us  see  how  this  was  during  the  primitive  age.  On  the 
famous  painted  tomb  of  Hierakonpolis,  with  which  we  shall  later 
have  to  deal  at  length,  there  arc  several  personages  whose  only 
garment  appears  to  be  a  girdle  knotted  round  the  waist.  The 
same  is  seen  on  the  palettes  and  mace-heads  from  the  same 
locality,  where  the  forms  are  already  verging  on  those  of  the 
Ancient  Empire.3 

1  STACQUEZ,  L'£gyptc,  la  basse  Nubie  et  le  Sinai,  Liege,  1865,  pp.  252,  253. 
See  also  MASPERO,  Histoire  ancienne  des  peitplcs  de  r Orient  classique,  ii.  p.  526. 

-  ERMAN,  loc.  cit.  p.  216.  STRATZ,  I'chcr  die  Klcidnng  der  agyptischcn 
'I'.in-.criiuicn,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  ligyptische  Sprache  und  AUcrtumsktuntc, 
xxxviii.  1900,  pp.  148,  149. 

3  CAPAKT,  La  fete  </<•  fraf>f>cr  Us  Anon,  in  the  Revue  d'histoire  des  religions, 
xliti.  1901,  p.  255. 


54  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

To  this  girdle  various  objects  were  attached,  and  two 
of  these  can  be  recognized  on  existing  objects  with  con- 
siderable precision.  One  is  the  tail  of  an  animal  ;  the  other 
is  a  sheath  for  protecting  or  concealing  the  lower  part  of  the 
body. 

The   warriors   or    huntsmen    that  we  find    represented   on   the 
fragment  of  the  Louvre  palette  wear  the  tail  of  an  animal,  possibly 
a   jackal,  attached  to  their   girdle  (Fig.  25).     It  is   interesting  to 
note    that    this    caudiform    decoration    is 
found    among   a    considerable    number   of 
nations.1     In  Egypt,  during  the  Pharaonic 
age,  the    tail    is    an    ornament    of  princes 
and    priests,   and    the  Marseilles   Museum 
actually    possesses    a   specimen    in    wood.2 
The  representations  of  tails  on  the  objects 
found     at     Hierakonpolis     form     exactly 
the    transition    between    the    tails    of    the 
primitive    period    of   the    Louvre    palette, 
FIG.  25.— HUNTSMAN.         and    those     of    the    king    and    gods    on 
Wearing  a  feather  on  his     Egyptian  classical  monuments. 

head,  and   the    tail    fixed  T,T.  ,  r  11- 

to  his  girdle.  Wlth    reference    to    the    sheath    just 

mentioned,  its  purpose  has  been  recognized 

and  its  signification  explained  by  M.  Naville.3  It  can  be  specially 
well  recognized  on  the  statuette  in  the  MacGregor  Collection 
figured  above  (Fig.  20),  and  also  upon  a  considerable  number  of 
ivory  figures  which  we  shall  consider  later.  This  is  how  it  is 
described  by  M.  Naville:  "The  most  characteristic  feature  in  this 
statuette  is  the  large  sheath  or  horn,  which,  held  by  a  narrow 
girdle,  covers  the  genital  organs.  ...  It  appears  to  be  made  of 
some  resisting  material,  such  as  metal,  wood,  or  thick  leather. 
This  sheath  extends  half-way  up  the  stomach.  It  is  composed 
of  a  cylinder,  to  which  is  joined  another  narrower  one,  at  the 

1  For  a  fine  example  see  DENIKER,  op.  cit.  frontispiece. 

2  MASPERO,  Histoire  andennc  dcs  peuples   de   V Orient  classique^  i.  p.   55, 
note  3. 

3  GROSSE,  Les  Debuts  dc  I'Art,  p.   70,   mentions    among  the  Botocudos  of 
Brazil,  according  to  Prince  de  Wied,  an  "  etui  de  feuilles  qui  cache  les  parties 
genitales."    See  YRJO  HIRN,  The  Origins  of  Art,  London,  1900,  pp.  215,  216. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  55 

commencement  of  which  are  two  ovoid  protuberances,  which  are 
an  attempt  to  imitate  nature.  .  .  ."1 

M.  Naville  was  enabled  to  identify  this  with  complete 
certainty  by  a  similar  covering,  which  is,  he  says,  "  a  tradition, 
a  characteristic  trait  of  that  Libyan  group  which,  during 
the  nineteenth  dynasty,  allied  itself  with  the  people  of  the 
Mediterranean  to  march  against  Egypt."  This  sheath  during 
the  Egyptian  period  bore  a  special  name  ;  it  is  called 


At  the  same  time  that  the  tail  and  the  sheath  were  attached 
to  the  girdle,  it  was  also  possible  to  hang  from  it  the  skin  of 
an  animal,  a  mat,  or  a  piece  of  stuff,  and  the  loin-cloth  was 
created.  The  animal's  skin  could  with  ease  be  placed  as  an 
ornament  on  the  shoulders  ;  it  was  easy  to  wrap  oneself  in  a 
mat,  a  skin  or  a  piece  of  woven  stuff,  and  in  this  manner  the 
mantle  was  evolved.  All  these  elementary  garments  are  found 
in  the  historic  period,  and  also  in  the  primitive  age. 

The  skin  of  a  panther,  girded  round  the  loins  and  covering 
the  lower  part  of  the  body,  was  still  in  use  among  the  negroes 
of  the  Upper  Nile  at  the  time  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty.  Placed 
on  the  shoulders,  it  had  become  one  of  the  insignia  of  certain 
priests  and  nobles  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  Ancient  Empire.3 
One  of  the  warriors  of  the  painted  tomb  of  the  primitive  age 
at  Hicrakonpolis  is  thus  clothed  in  a  panther's  skin,  while  his 
adversary  is  holding  a  shield  formed  of  a  similar  skin  4  (Fig.  26). 

1  NAVILLE,  Figurines  egyptiennes  de  Vcpoque  archatquc,  ii.,  in  the  Recucil  dc 
travaux  relatifs  a  la  philologie  et  a  Parchcologie  egyptiennes  ct  assyrienncs, 
xxii.  p.  69  et  seq. 

*  See  F.  VON  LUSHAN,  Zur  anthropologischcn  Stcllnng  der  altcn  Aegypter, 
in  Globus,  Ixxix.  1901,  pp.  197-200:  "Aenliche  Taschen  nun  giebt  es  heute  noch 
im  Westlichen  Sudan,  besonders  bei  den  Moba  im  Nordlichen  Togo,  wo  sie 
ganz  allgemein  von  alien  Mannern  getragen  vverden." 

3  MASPERO,  Histoire  ancicnne  des  peuples  de  r  Orient  das  sique,  i.  pp.  53  and  55, 
and  p.  53,  note  a. 

4  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  Ixxvi.  :  "  I  take  the  figure  of  the 
man  holding  up  the  skin  as  showing  that  he  has  had  it  on  his  back,  and  has 
had  to  remove  it   to  use  as  a  shield.      It  is  the  origin  of  the  shield  from  the 
loose  clothing  skin,  and  from  that  the  stiff  shield  with  wood  frame  was  derived. 
But  1  do  not  think  that  it  is  here  shown  as  a  defensive  shield  alone."—  Note 
by  Professor  Petrie. 


56  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

The  loin-cloth,  either  narrow  or  wide,  is  frequently  represented 
on  the  primitive  monuments  on  the  palettes  and  maces  of  Hiera- 
konpolis,  in  the  tomb  paintings,  and  again  on  the  ivory  figures.1 
I  am  not  at  all  certain  that  the  women  wore  wide  loin-cloths,  and 
it  is  with  considerable  doubt  that  I  refer  here  to  the  painted 
tomb  of  Hierakonpolis.  I  cannot  assume  with  any  certainty 
that  the  two  figures  at  the  top  of  Plate  Ixxvi.  Hierakonpolis •,  ii. 
are  intended  to  represent  women  ;  and  yet  the  similarity  of  their 
attitude  with  that  of  the  female  figures  on  the  pottery  appears 
to  be  noteworthy. 

Finally,  the  long  cloak,  the  use  of  which  in  historic  times 
has  been  so  ably  dealt  with  by  M.  Maspero,2  appears  several 
times  on  the  remains  of  the  primitive  age.  There  is,  for  instance, 


FIG.  26. — WARRIORS. 
Clothed  in  a  panther  skin,  or  holding  a  shield  formed  of  a  similar  skin. 

the  figure  of  a  woman  in  the  British  Museum,3  arid  several  ivory 
statuettes  from  Hierakonpolis,  which  show  the  cloak,  sometimes 
plain  and  sometimes  decorated  with  geometric  patterns.4  Petrie 
has  very  justly  compared  the  decorated  mantle  on  one  of  these 
figures  with  the  fragments  of  leather  painted  in  zigzag  lines  found 
by  him  at  Naqada,  and  they  again  may  be  compared  with  the 
clothing  of  the  Libyans  of  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.5  (Fig.  27).  These 

1  For  the  loin-cloth  or  short  skirt  in   Egypt  during  the  Ancient  Empire  see 
ERMAN,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  202-206,  and  SPIEGELBERG.  Varia,  xlviii.  /.u 
dem  Galaschurz  des  alien  Reichcs,  in  the  Rccueil  dc  travaux  relatifs  a  la  philo- 
logie  et  d  larcheologie  cgyptienncs  ct  assyricnnes,  xxi.  1899,  pp.  54,  55. 

2  MASPERO,  Histoire  andennc  des  peuplcs  de  VOiient  classique^  i.  pp.  55-57. 

3  BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  p.  53. 

4  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  ix.  and  x. 

5  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixiv.  104  and  p.  48.     See  also  PETRIE,  The  Royal  Tombs 
of  the  Earliest  Dynasties,  ii.  pi.  iv.  3,  4,  5. 


PERSONAL   ADORNMENT.  57 

decorations  probably  represent  embroideries,  as  sho\vn  in  the 
ivory  statuette  of  a  king  of  the  first  dynasty  discovered  by 
Pctrie  at  Abydos,  of  which  reproductions  are  given  farther  on.1 
Finally  we  must  mention  a  small  figure  of  a  woman  tightly 


FIG.  27. — FIGURES  OF  WOMEN. 

Wrapped  in  cloaks,  one  of  which  is  decorated.     Below  are  fragments  ot 
leather  with  painted  decoration. 

wrapped  in  a  cloak,  discovered  by  Petrie  at  Abydos,  and  dating 
from  the  commencement  of  the  first  dynasty.2 

The  long  cloak  was  fastened  by  means  of  studs  intended  to 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  ii.  and  xiii.  p.  24. 

-  PETRIE,   The  Royal  Tombs   of  the   Earliest  Dynasties,  ii.  pi.  iii  a}  8  and 

p.  21. 


58  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

be  slipped  through  loops,  on  the  principle  of  our  military  frogs. 
Petrie  discovered  examples  of  these  in  glazed  pottery  in  the  temenos 
of  the  temple  of  Osiris  at  Abydos.1 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  close  of  our  study  of  personal 
-adornment  as  it  existed  in  primitive  Egypt — this  earliest  mani- 
festation which  is  yet  so  rich  in  artistic  feeling.  The  immediate 
conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  these  researches  is  that  it  is  not 
possible — at  any  rate  in  this  sequence  of  ideas — to  prove  that 
there  were  sudden  and  radical  changes  at  the  commencement  of 
the  Pharaonic  period,  and  that  there  is  no  glaring  discrepancy 
between  the  habits  of  the  primitive  people  and  those  which  we 
find  under  the  Ancient  Egyptian  Empire.  It  now  remains  to  be 
seen  whether  we  can  maintain  this  conclusion  when  our  attention 
is  directed  to  the  examination  of  ornamental  art. 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  i.  and  viii.  141-143,  and  p.  26.  On  the  subject  of 
comparing  primitive  clothing  in  Egypt  with  that  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  I  think  it 
well  to  quote  a  remark  of  Petrie's.  After  describing  the  garments  found  in  the 
tombs  of  the  fifth  dynasty  at  Deshasheh,  he  adds  :  "  It  is  remarkable  that  not  one 
dress  was  found  of  the  form  shown  on  the  monuments,  with  shoulder-straps ;  but 
the  actual  form  seems  to  have  been  developed  out  of  that  by  extension  of  the 
shoulder-straps  along  the  arms.  Hence  the  monumental  dress  must  have  been 
only  an  artistic  survival  in  the  Old  Kingdom.'' — PETRIE,  Deshasheh,  London, 
1898,  p.  31. 


59 


CHAPTER    III. 

ORNAMENTAL  AND  DECORATIVE   ART. 

THE  problem  of  the  earliest  beginnings  of  ornamental  and 
decorative  art  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  deal  with, 
and  at  the  same  time  one  of  those  which  appear  to  have  been 
most  neglected  by  art  critics.1  In  the  last  few  years,  however, 
ethnologists  have  contributed  numerous  indications  which  give  us 
some  hope  of  arriving  at  a  solution.  We  will  follow  the  paths 
thus  marked  out,  and  see  what  solid  results  can  be  gained. 

"  The  characteristic  feature  of  decorative  art  among  primitive 
people,"  says  Deniker,  "  is  this  :  All  artistic  designs  are  inspired 
by  real  objects ;  there  is  no  feeling  for  what  is  purely  and 
voluntarily  ornamental,  nor,  for  still  more  forcible  reasons,  are 
there  any  geometrical  figures,  as  was  believed  till  recently.  All 
figures  which  appear  to  be  of  this  nature  are  simplified  draw- 
ings of  animals,  objects,  etc.  The  designs  which  occur  most 
frequently  are  those  borrowed  from  animals  (zoomorphic  designs), 
from  the  human  figure  (anthropomorphic),  and  occasionally  from 
manufactured  objects  (skeuomorphic) ;  those  taken  from  plants 
(phytomorphic)  are  extremely  rare.  .  .  .  Often  the  entire  object 
is  transformed  into  an  ornament,  and  becomes  wholly  unsuited 
for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  destined.  ...  It  is  interesting 
to  notice  that  the  more  a  nation  loves  decoration,  the  less  it  is 
able  to  draw  a  design,  properly  so  called."2 

This  is  the  way  in  which  objects  are  decorated  ;    but  why  is 

1  Nevertheless,  two  important  works  on  this  subject  must  be  quoted  :  SEMPER, 
Dcr  S til  in  den  icchnisclicti  mid  tcktonixclicn  K'iinslen,  Miinchen,  1878-9,  2  vols.  ; 
and  RIEGL,  Sti/fm^cu,  GrwuUegWtge*  ~n  cincr  Geschichte  dcr  Ornamcntik, 
Berlin,  1893. 

•  DEMKER,  Les  races  et  les  pciiplcs  dc  la  tore,  Paris,  1900,  pp.  237-240. 


6o  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

it  that  they  are  thus  ornamented  ?  Those  who  have  studied 
the  problem  tell  us  that  objects— and  we  must  also  add  the 
body — are  ornamented  from  a  variety  of  motives  :  from  a  view 
to  art,  to  information,  a  desire  for  luxury  or  for  power,  and 
finally  from  religious  or  magical  motives.1 

These  principles  are  established,  but  before  proceeding  to 
apply  them  in  the  case  of  the  primitive  Egyptians,  in  order 
to  render  our  statement  clear,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should 
consider  some  complementary  details  which  bear  upon  these 
general  principles,  and  give  various  examples  which  will  enable 
us  more  easily  to  understand  their  bearing. 

To  begin  with,  let  us  see  how  a  graphic  representation  of 
an  animal  can  be  transformed  into  a  geometric  design  ;  this 
will  enable  us  to  discover  the  laws  which  govern  the  treatment 
of  natural  models. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  examples  from  this  point  of 
view  is  furnished  by  Holmes'  important  work  on  the  ancient 
art  of  the  province  of  Chiriqui,  Colombia2  (Fig.  28). 

The  principal  theme  is  the  alligator,  which,  passing  from 
degradation  to  degradation,  from  simplification  to  simplification, 
ends  by  becoming  transformed  into  a  series  of  absolutely  regular 
geometrical  designs.  Fig.  28  shows  more  clearly  than  any 
explanation  can  do  the  successive  phases  of  this  transforma- 
tion, which  is  logically  accounted  for  by  two  great  principles 
which  dominate  the  whole  question.  The  first  is  the  principle 
of  simplification,  by  virtue  of  which  primitive  man,  like  the 
child,  attempts  to  give  to  animals  and  objects  which  he 
represents  a  form  which  is  fixed  and  easily  recognizable,  and 
which  he  simplifies  more  and  more — this  can  only  be  owing 
to  idleness — diverging,  in  consequence,  more  and  more  widely 
from  the  original  model.3 

1  HADDON,  Evolution  in  Art  as  illustrated  by  the  Life-histories  of  designs* 
London,   1895,  pp.  4,  5,  illustration  on  p.  8;   see  also  pp.  200306. 

2  HOLMES,  W.  H.,  Ancient  art  of  the  province  of  Chiriqui,  Colombia,  in  the 
Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1884-5,  Washington,   1888. 
My  mention  of  the  work  is  taken  from  Haddon's  book  mentioned  in  the  preced- 
ing note. 

3  GROSSE,  Les  Debuts  de  VArt,  pp.  107  and  1 19. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART. 


61 


The  second  principle,  which  unites  itself  closely  with  fhe 
preceding,  is  that  of  rhythmic  order,  which,  as  Grosse  says, 
"  dominates  the  art  of  the  least  civilized  nations  in  the  same 
manner  that  it  does  that  of  the  most  advanced."  "  We  may 
truly  say,"  continues  the  same  author,  "that  rhythm  everywhere 


FIG.  28. — EVOLUTION  OF  THE  REPRESENTATION  OF  THE  ALLIGATOR  IN  ANCIENT 
COLUMBIAN  ART. 

From  Holmes. 

affords  the  same  pleasure  to  mankind.  Rhythm  consists  in 
the  regular  repetition  of  any  sort  of  unit — of  a  sound,  of  a 
movement,Jor,  as  in  this  case,  of  a  figure."1 

1  GKOSSE,  loc.  cit.  p.  113. 


62  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

And  if  we  seek  to  review  the  origin  of  this  taste  for 
rhythm  among  primitive  men,  Grosse  gives  us  a  concise  ex- 
planation of  its  genesis  :  "  If  we  attribute  an  aesthetic  importance 
to  this  rhythmic  order,  which  is  so  prevalent  in  the  decorative 
art  of  hunting  tribes,  we  do  not  in  any  way  pretend  that  its 
origin  was  of  the  same  order.  We  are,  on  the  contrary,  con- 
vinced that  the  primitive  artist  did  not  invent  the  symmetrical 
principle,  but  that  he  found  it,  and  that  he  found  it  in  the 
work  of  the  basket-maker,  who  is  obliged  to  arrange  his 
material  in  a  regular  manner.  It  is  probable  that  it  was  from 
habit,  and  not  for  aesthetic  pleasure,  that  textile  designs  were 
at  first  imitated  ;  it  was  only  by  degrees  that  their  aesthetic 
value  was  recognized,  and  that  the  artist  began  to  combine 
and  enrich  these  regular  series.  Obviously  it  would  be  difficult 
to  say  where  mechanical  imitation  ends  and  where  aesthetic 
work  begins  ;  in  any  case,  it  would  be  equally  justifiable  to 
assert  that  regular  arrangement  has  produced  the  pleasure 
experienced  in  observing  symmetry,  as  it  would  be  to  assert 
that  it  is  that  pleasure  which  has  provoked  regular  arrange- 
ment." ! 

In  other  words,  designs  inspired  by  manufactured  objects 
(skeuomorphs)  have  imposed  their  derivatives  on  designs  derived 
from  natural  objects. 

Thus,  in  the  foregoing  example,  there  is,  to  begin  with,  a 
copy  of  an  alligator ;  this  is  next  reduced  to  its  most  charac- 
teristic features,  and  from  the  time  its  fundamental  features,  its 
general  lines,  have  been  recognized,  the  representations  of  the 
animal  are  symmetrically  combined,  and  adapted  to  the  space 
to  be  decorated,  whether  square,  oblong,  or  circular.  The 
principle  of  rhythmic  order  here  leads  to  the  successive  repetition 
of  the  same  figures,  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  the  decoration 
of  the  whole  of  an  object,  and  under  the  influence  of  these 
two  principal  factors  the  most  diversified  geometrical  designs 
are  derived  from  one  and  the  same  representation  of  the 
alligator. 

Another  example  borrowed  from  Polynesian  art  (Fig.  29) 
1  GROSSE,  loc.  cit.  pp.  114,  115. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.          63 

distinctly  shows  the  degradation  of  the  human  figure,  following 
the  same  principles.1 

The  stone  idols  of  the  Aegean  Islands  afford  another  proof. 
In  addition  to  small  figures,  where  the  human  representation  is 
fairly  accurate,  there  are  also  others  "in  the  shape  of  a  violin."2 

For  the  successive  transformations  of  a  floral  design  it  will 
be  sufficient  to  quote  the  instance  of  the  lotus,  which  has  been 
so  admirably  worked  out  by  Goodyear3  as  to  render  it  un- 
necessary to  dwell  longer  on  this  point. 


FIG.  29. — EVOLUTION  OF  THE  REPRESENTATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  FIGURF.  IN 
POLYNESIAN  ART. 

From  Haddon. 

With  regard  to  designs  inspired  by  manufactured  objects,., 
the  two  most  important  types  to  be  mentioned  are : — designs 
derived  from  the  thongs  or  cords  which  originally  served  to 
unite  two  objects  ;  and  designs  copied  from  the  work  of  the 

1  HADDON,  Evolution  in  Art,  fig.  124,  125,  127,  128,  pp.  271,  273.  See  another 
example  in  COLLIER,  Primer  of  Art,  London,  1882,  fig.  3,  series  of  paddles, 
p.  7  (now  in  the  Pitt-Rivers  Collection,  University  Museum,  Oxford). 

-  BLINKKNUERG,  CHR..  Anfii/ititcs  prcmyccnicnncs,  in  the  Memoir es  dc  la 
Socicte  royalc  dcs  antiqiiaircs  du  Nord,  new  series,  1896,  pp.  13,  14. 

3  GOODYEAR,  W.  H.,  The  Grammar  of  the  Lotus,  1891. 


64  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN    EGYPT. 

basket-maker.  Both  of  these  occur  with  equal  frequency,  and  a 
few  words  will  suffice  to  explain  how  they  came  into  being. 
When  two  objects — for  instance,  a  blade  and  handle — are  joined 
by  strapping,  the  interlacing  of  the  straps  forms  an  actual 
geometrical  decoration.  If  the  latter  is  copied  in  another 
material  in  one  single  piece,  the  idea  would  naturally  occur 
to  the  primitive  mind  to  reproduce  these  interlacing  lines,  and 
this  is  what  invariably  occurs. 

I  will  recall  the  well-known  instance  of  architecture  in  wood 
communicating  its  forms  to  architecture  in  stone.  Another  very 
typical  example  has  also  been  established  as  presented  on  the 
pottery  of  almost  all  countries.  I  refer  to  the  decoration  re- 
sembling a  cord  formed  on  vases  most  frequently  at  their 
widest  part,  which  is  nothing  but  the  remaining  trace  of 
the  cord  of  coarsely-twisted  fibre  which  keeps  the  vases  separate 
from  each  other  while  they  are  being  dried  in  the  sun  previous 
to  being  baked.1 

The  industry  of  basket-making  plays  an  important  part  in 
the  daily  life  of  primitive  people,  and  almost  always  makes 
its  appearance  earlier  than  ceramics.  It  appears  that  pottery- 
making  often  commences  with  "  a  cast  taken  from  an  interior 
or  exterior  mould,  usually  a  basket,  or  some  other  object  of 
basket-work  which  burns  immediately  in  the  baking."  2 

It  is  easily  understood  that  in  this  case  the  combinations  of 
regular  lines  of  the  woven  basket  left  their  marks  on  the  soft 
clay,  and  formed  an  actual  geometrical  decoration  on  the  baked 
pottery,  which  continued  to  be  reproduced  after  pottery  was 
manufactured  by  another  method. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  chapter  I  stated  that  an  object 
is  frequently  transformed  by  decoration,  and  becomes  unfit  for 
the  purpose  for  which  it  was  originally  destined.  We  shall  have 
occasion  later  on  to  deal  with  curious  examples  of  this.  To  make 
this  point  clear  without  delay  I  will,  however,  quote  the  very 

1  PETRIE,  Egyptian  Decorative  Art,  p.  92. 

2  DENIKER,   op.  cit.    p.     184.      SCHWEINFURTH,    Ornament ik    der    dltestcn 
Cultur-Epoche  Aegyptcns,  in  the  Verhandhmgcn  der  b.   Gescllsch.  filr  Antliro- 

Pologic,  Ethnologic^  und  Urgeschichte,  1897,  pp.  377,  378. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE    ART.         65 

interesting  instance  of  the  tortoise-shell  ornaments  from  the  Torres 
Straits,  which,  diverging  from  the  copy  of  a  simple  fish-hook, 
by  successive  modifications  and  symmetrical  development 1  acquire 
ornamental  forms,  which  only  recall  the  original  model  in  the 
most  distant  manner2  (Fig.  30). 

We  will  now  briefly  examine  some  examples  of  the  various 
motives  which  actuate  primitive  man  in  the  ornamentation  of 
objects. 

The  first  motive  for  decorating  an  object  is  purely  artistic, 
and  requires  no  additional  explanation. 


FIG.  30.— TORTOISE-SHELL  ORNAMENTS  FROM  TORRES  STRAITS,  IN  IMITATION 

OF   THE    FlSH-HoOK    (A). 

From  Haddon. 

Decoration  is  also  employed  with  a  view  to  information  ;  it 
may  be  that  the  maker  places  on  an  object  a  mark  which 
constitutes  an  actual  signature,  or  it  may  be  that  the  proprietor 
himself  gives  it  a  mark  of  ownership — such,  for  instance,  as  a  tribal 
sign.  The  most  typical  example  is  that  of  the  savages,  who 
mark  their  arrows  with  a  distinct  sign,  in  order  to  be  able  to 

1  For  the  origin  of  the  taste  for  symmetrical  decoration  see  SCHWEINFURTH, 
loc.  cit.  p.  398. 

*  HADDON,  Evolution  in  Art,  fig.  44,  p.  77. 

5 


66  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN    EGYPT. 

determine  the  rights  of  each  man  to  the  animals  killed  in  the 
chase.  This  point  is  important,  for  it  has  played  a  considerable 
part  in  the  history  of  writing  during  the  most  primitive  stages 
of  its  development. 

It  was  the  desire  for  ostentation  which  gave  rise  to  highly 
decorated  objects,  especially  to  weapons  of  state,  which  thus 
rapidly  developed  into  tokens  of  power.  It  was  the  desire  for 
luxury  which  produced  those  objects  which  are  absolutely  useless, 
but  the  possession  of  which  ensured  to  their  proprietor  a  sub- 
stantial reputation  among  the  tribe.  In  a  parallel  manner,  votive 
objects  developed  where  the  attempt  was  made  to  augment  their 
value  by  employing  either  a  more  precious  material,  or  by 
applying  more  studied  and  complicated  ornamentation. 


vvw  w  vv 

FIG.  31. —  MAGICAL  DECORATION  ON  A  COMB  OF  A  MALACCA  TRIBE. 
From  Haddon. 

Finally,  one  of  the  most  usual  reasons  for  decorating  objects 
is  religion  or  magic,  and  the  magical  combs  of  a  Malacca 
tribe  furnish  us  with  an  excellent  example.  The  women  wear 
in  their  hair  a  variety  of  decorated  combs,  with  the  object  of 
preserving  the  wearers  from  certain  specified  maladies.  They 
possess  about  twenty  or  thirty  of  these  combs  for  different 
maladies,  and  cause  them  to  be  placed  in  their  graves  as  a 
safeguard  for  their  possessor  from  those  ailments  in  the  next 
world.  A  different  design  corresponds  to  each  malady,  and  the 
designs  are  purely  geometrical1  (Fig.  31).  Other  instances,  equally 
well  known,  show  us  how  important  it  is  to  be  cautious  in  ex- 
plaining the  ornamentation  of  any  object.  It  may  have  some 
meaning,  but  without  explanation  from  the  natives  we  cannot 
find  the  correct  interpretation.  Unfortunately,  with  objects  of 
antiquity,  the  necessary  explanations  are  almost  entirely  wanting. 

These  fundamental  principles  are  established,  and  without  losing 
sight  of  them,  we  can  now  enter  upon  the  study  of  the  ornamental 
or  decorative  art  of  the  primitive  Egyptians.  To  begin  with,  is 

!  HADDON,  Evolution  in  Art,  p.  236  et  seg.,  fig.  120,  p.  240. 


ORNAMENTAL  AND   DECORATIVE   ART. 


67 


there  not  already  artistic  feeling  in  the  act  of  the  primitive  man, 
who,  not  content  with  supplying  himself  with  tools  suited  to 
the  requirements  they  are  intended  to  fulfil,  attempts  to  give 
them  forms  as  perfect  and  elegant  as  possible  ?  We  shall 
have  the  opportunity  of  pointing  out  how  far  the  primitive 
Egyptians  attained  perfection  in  each  class  of  objects  we  pass  in 
review. 

We  will  begin    with    flint   knives.      I   believe   I  do   not  exag- 
gerate when  I  say  that  in  no  other  country  in  the  world  has  the 


FIG.  32.— FLINT  KNIFE,  WORKED  AND  RETOUCHED  ON  BOTH  FACES. 
Brussels  Museum;   length,  25cm. 

working  of  flint  been  carried  to  such  perfection.  It  is  not  easy 
to  admire  sufficiently  the  perfection  of  the  working  and  the 
beauty  of  the  forms  of  the  large,  finely  finished  knives  discovered 
in  the  tombs.  "The  flakes  have  been  struck  off  these  objects  with 
such  precision  that  the  ribs  left  by  the  work  upon  the  edge  and 
the  back  are  symmetrically  arranged,  and  correspond  with  each 
other.  The  meeting  of  the  ribs  forms  a  very  regular  ridge  down 
the  centre  of  the  blade"1  (Fig.  32). 

1  DE  MORGAN,  Rechcrches  sur  les  origines  de  rfcgypte,  \.  pp.   m,   112;  ii. 
pp.   107-109.     See    PETRIE,   Naqada,  pi.  Ixxvi.,  and    passages   indicated  in  the 


68 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


The  part  of  the  knife  which  was  held  in  the  hand  was  probably 
covered    with    leather.       Specimens    exist    which    have    gold    and 


FIG.  33.—  GOLD  LEAF  WITH  INCISED  DESIGNS,  SEWN  ON  TO  ONE  END  OF  A  LARGE 
FLINT  KNIFE  TO  FORM  THE  HANDLE. 


ivory  handles  decorated  with  figures.  The  most  remarkable  of 
these  handled  knives  is  in  the  Cairo  Museum.1  The  gold  leaf 

index  under  "Flint  Knives,"  especially  pp.  57-60;  Diospolis  parva,  pi.  iv.  and 
pp.  23,  24,  where  the  development  of  the  shape  of  the  knife  during  the  prehistoric 
period  is  traced.  See  QUIBELL,  Flint  dagger  from  Gebelein,  in  the  Annales  du 
service  des  antiquites  de  r£gypte>  ii.  1901,  pp.  131,  132,  etc. 

1  Provenance  :  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  i.  p.  112,  "  Environs  d'Abydos,  peut- 
6tre  a  Saghel-el-Baglieh  on  a  Abydos  m6me "  ;  ii.  p.  266,  "  Qui  provient  de 
Guebel-el-Tarif."  AMELINEAU,  Les  nouvelles  fouilles  d'Abydos,  1895-6;  Compte 
rendu  in  extenso,  Paris,  1899,  p.  267:  "Les  fouilles  d'El-Amrah  ont  fourni 
6galement  des  silex  en  petit  quantite".  Lorsque  j'eus  retire  les  ouvriers,  1'un 
d'eux  resta  sur  le  lieu  des  fouilles  pour  fouiller  illicitement :  il  trouva  le  couteau 
reconvert  d'une  feuille  d'or  qui  contenait  la  representation  d'animaux  divers." 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.         69 

which  covers  a  part  of  the  knife  is  not  soldered,  but  sewn  on 
by  means  of  gold  thread.  On  the  point  at  one  side  two  in- 
terlaced serpents  are  engraved,  the  spaces  being  filled  up  with 
rosettes ;  on  the  other  side  there  are  nine  figures  of  animals — 
lions,  gazelles,  antelopes,  and  a  fantastic  animal1  (Fig.  33).  The 
design  of  interlaced  serpents  is  especially  interesting  to  meet 
with,  as  it  is  also  seen  on  the  Chaldean  monuments.2 

In  the  same  museum  at  Cairo  there  is  also  a  dagger  with  a 
solid  gold  handle  fixed  to  the  blade  by  means  of  three  rivets. 
The  handle  is  decorated  with  incised  figures :  on  one  side  are  three 
women,  one  of  whom  holds  a  fan  ;  on  the  other  side,  there  is  a  boat 3 


KIG.  34.  — FIGURES  OF  WOMEN  AND  OF  A  BOAT  ON  A  GOLD  KNIFE-HANDLE. 

(Fig.  34).  Another  dagger  from  the  same  place  had  an  ivory 
handle,  only  fragments  of  which  remain  ;  and  in  the  Pitt-Rivers 
Collection,  Farnham,  Dorset,  there  is  a  large  flint  knife,  the  ivory 
handle  of  which  is  decorated  on  both  faces  with  a  series  of 
animals4  (Fig.  35). 

Finally,  in   the   Petrie   Collection,  University  College,  London, 

1  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  i.  pp.  112-115,  and  fig-  !36  •  "•  P1-  v- 

1  Sculptured   vase  of  Gudea.     See    HEUZEY,  Musee  national  du  Louvre: 

Catalogue  des  antiquites  chaldeennes  ;  Sculpture  et  gravure  a  la  potnte,  Paris, 

1902,  pp.  280-285. 

3  QUIBELL,  Flint  dagger  from  Gebelein,  loc.  cit.  p.  131. 

4  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixxvii.  and  p.  5 1.    DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  ii.  pp.  266,  267. 
The  whole  of  the  knife  has  been  produced  in  a  plate  intended  for  a  work  on  the 
Pitt-Rivers  Collection,  but  which,   I   believe,    has  never   been   published.        A 
copy  of   this  plate  is  exhibited  in  the  Pitt-Rivers  Collection  at  the  University 
Museum,  Oxford  ;  another  copy  is  in  the  Edwards'  Library,  University  College, 
London.     Its  provenance  is  indicated  thus  upon  the  plate  :  "  Obtained  by  the 
Rev.  Greville  Chester  in  1891  from  Sheyk  Hamadeh,  near  Souhag." 


70  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN   EGYPT. 

there  are  two  interesting  pieces.  One  is  a  handle,  possibly  of 
a  knife,  bearing  on  one  of  its  faces  a  design  which  occurs 
frequently — a  feline  animal  chasing  a  gazelle  ;  on  the  other 
there  is  a  quaint  representation,  in  which  Professor  Petrie  sees 
the  hippopotamus  goddess  Taurt  seizing  a  crocodile,  perhaps  to 


FIG.  35. — IVORY  KNIFE-HANDLE  IN  THE  PITT-RIVERS  COLLECTION. 

devour  it.  With  her  right  hand  she  grasps  a  foot  of  the 
crocodile,  and  with  her  left  she  holds  its  tail  (Fig.  36).  Upon 
a  steatite  prism  discovered  by  Greville  Chester  at  Karnak,  and 
'presented  by  him  to  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford,  there  is  a 
man  standing  and  holding  a  crocodile  by  the  tail.  This  repre- 
sentation may  perhaps  be  connected  with  the  figures^  of  the 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART. 


intaglios  of  the  Greek    islands,  on  which    personages  are  figured 
holding  animals  by  the  tail.1 

The  other  object  is  a  small  flint  knife  with  an  ivory  handle. 
Upon  one  of  the  sides  of  the  .handle 
are  two  interlaced  serpents  and  rosettes, 
as  on  the  great  knife  at  Cairo;  on  the 
reverse  there  is  a  lion,  a  leopard,  and 
another  animal,  considered  by  Petrie 
to  be  a  hedgehog2  (Fig.  37).  A  fragment 
of  a  similar  specimen  in  the  Berlin 
Museum  (No.  15,137)  proves,  however, 
that  this  animal  is  a  species  of  antelope 
(Fig.  38).  In  the  case  of  the  knife, 
the  way  in  which  the  handle  is  fastened 
to  the  blade  entirely  confirms  a  remark 
made  by  Mr.  Quibell  with  regard  to 
the  ivory-handled  knife  at  Cairo.  He 
states  that  the  part  of  the  knife  which 
is  fixed  to  the  handle  is  so  minute  that 
certainly  the  knife  could  only 
have  been  employed  cere- 
monially/1 

The  same  representations  of 
animals  arc  found  on  decorated 
spoons,  of  which  several  interest- 
ing specimens  have  been  dis- 
covered 4  (Fig.  39).  Mr.  Quibell 
has  published  the  handle  of 
some  instrument,  now  disappeared,  which  has  two  small  animal 


FIG.  36. — IVORY  KNIFE-HANDLE. 

Petrie  Collection,  University  College, 

London. 


1  EVANS,  ARTHUR  J.,  Further  discoveries  of  Cretan  and  Aegean  Script  with 
Libyan  and  proto- Egyptian  Comparisons,  in  the  Journal  of  Hellenic  Studies,  xvii. 
1898,  pp.  362-372. 

*  PETRIE,  Prehistoric  Egyptian  Carvings,  in  Man,  ii.  1902,  No.  113,  p.  161, 
and  pi.  1.  3,  iii.,  and  4,  iv. 

<jrim:LL,  /''/////  dagger  from  Gcbclein,  loc.  cit.  p.  132.  See  LEFEBURE,  E., 
Rites  cgyptiens :  Construction  cl  protection  des  edifices  {Publications  de  f  Ecole 
des  lettres,  d'Alger),  Paris  1890,  p.  37. 

4  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixi.  2,  3,  5,  6,  8,  p.  47  ;  Diospolis,  p.  22.  DE 
MORGAN,  Recherches,  ii.  p.  131.  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xii.  9. 


72  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

figures1  (Fig.  39,  No.  7) ;  and  there  is  also  the  handle  of  an 
instrument — a  spoon  or  a  knife — in  form  of  a  lion,  which  probably 
came  from  Hierakonpolis,  and  is  now  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum, 
Oxford. 

Combs  present  a  much  greater  variety  of  types,  and  enable 
us  to  follow  more  closely  the  evolution  of  the  forms.  Both  single 
and  double  combs  were  used  ;  the  most  frequent  type  was  that 
of  a  small  human  or  animal  figure,  furnished  with  teeth  at  the 
lower  part,  as  a  means  of  fixing  it  in  the  hair.  There  are  several 


FIG.  37. — SMALL  FLINT  KNIFE  WITH  IVORY  HANDLE. 
Petrie  Collection,  University  College,  London. 


specimens  which  have  for  ornament  the  human  face,  drawn  in 
a  summary  manner,  and  gradually  simplified  until  merely  the 
outline  of  the  face  is  represented  2  (Fig.  40). 

The  representations  of  animals  offer  still  more  variety.  It 
is  remarkable  how  the  antelope,  which  is  very  clearly  characterized, 
is  by  degrees  degraded  to  the  point  of  being  unrecognizable, 
and  of  being  confused,  as  in  the  last  specimen  of  Fig.  41,  with 

1  QUIBELL,  Flint  dagger  from  Gcbclein,  loc.  cit.  pi.  i.  7. 

2  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  lix.  5.     DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  i.  p.  147,  fig.  342,  and 
ii.  p.  62,  fig.  136. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART. 


73 


the  type  derived  from  the  figure  of  a  bird.1  Petrie  believes  that 
in  two  instances  he  can  identify  representations  of  the  giraffe.  I 
believe  that  it  is  more  probably  a  simplification  of  the  type  of 
antelope2  (Fig.  41). 

Another  type  is  the  head  of  a  bull,  full  face,  also  found 
among  the  amulets,  as  we  shall  see  later.3  The  figure  that  occurs 
most  frequently  is  a  bird,  which  is  also  used  for  decorated  pins. 
Here  we  pass  from  forms  copied  with  considerable  fidelity,  to 


FIG.  38. — FRAGMENT  OF  AN  IVORY  KNIFE-HANDLE  WITH  A  FIGURE  OF  AN 
ANTELOPE. 

Berlin  Museum. 

simplified  forms,  which  only  remotely  suggest  the  original.  The 
principle  of  symmetry  again  intervenes  to  augment  the  confusion, 
by  placing  the  same  conventional  figure  of  a  bird  4  at  each  end 

1  PETRIE,  ib.  Ixiii.  59,  63,  66  ;  Ixiv.  87  and  p.  87.     DE  MORGAN,  Rtcherches, 

>•  fig-  343.  P-  148. 

*  PETRIE,  ib.  pi.  xliii.  60-62,  and  p.  47. 

3  PETRIE,  ib.  pi.  xliii.  57,  57 a. 

4  PETRIE,   Naqada,   pi.   Ixiii.   and   Ixiv. ;   Diospolis,   ix.   x.   and   p.  20.      DE 
MORGAN,  Kecherches,  i.  p.  148.     BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  p.  54. 


74 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


of  the  axis  of  the  comb  (Fig.  42).     Other  specimens,  again,  show 
the  combination   of  the   two    designs   of  quadrupeds   and   birds l 

(Fig-  43)- 

Owing  to  the  generous  kindness  of  Herr  von  Bissing,  I  am 
able  to  reproduce  here  a  magnificent  ivory  comb  decorated  with 
figures  of  animals.  This  comb  belongs  to  M.  Theodor  M.  Davis, 
and  Von  Bissing  will  shortly  publish  a  detailed  account  of  it, 


FIG.  39. — IVORY  SPOON-HANDLES. 

which  will  enable  us   to   draw  interesting   conclusions  from  this 
very  fine  piece  of  work  (Figs.  44  and  45). 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  I  must  once  more  remind  the 
reader  of  the  magical  role  which  these  combs  were  apparently 
intended  to  fulfil,  and  on  which  I  have  .already  dwelt  at  some 
length. 

1  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  i.  p.  148,  fig.  243. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART. 


75 


The  hair-pins,  while  they  show 
the  same  zoomorphic  designs  as 
the  combs — birds  and  bulls'  heads 
—have  also  regular  incised  lines 
on  the  pin  itself,  which  form  the 
first  example  we  meet  with  of  an 
ornamentation  derived  from  tech- 
nique. They  evidently  represent 
the  binding  wrapped  round  the 
pin,  which  attached  it  firmly  to 
the  carved  ornament — bull's  head, 
bird,  etc. — at  the  top1  (Fig.  46). 


FIG   40. — IVORY  COMBS  WITH  HUMAN 

FIGURES. 
Petrie  Collection. 


uuu 

FIG.  41.— IVORY  COMBS  WITH  FIGURES  OF  ANTELOPES  AND  GIRAFFES. 


1  PETRIE,  Nagada,  pi.  Ixiii.  and  Ixiv. .  Diospolis,  pi.  x.  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches, 
pp.  148,  149.     MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah,  pi.  xii.  2,  3. 


76  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

When  we  turn  to  the  consideration  of  pendants,  we  find 
exactly  the  same  designs  reappearing  on  a  whole  series  of 
objects  in  stone,  ivory,  and  bone.  Their  purpose  is  not  easy 
to  determine ;  possibly  they  were  mere  ornaments.  They  have 
a  groove  and  hole  at  the  lower  end,  and  if  suspended  by  them, 


FIG.  42. — IVORY  COMBS  WITH  FIGURES  OF  BIRDS. 


the  figures,  of  course,  hang  upside  down.  This  may  be  a  device 
to  enable  the  wearer  to  see  them  as  they  hang.  These  objects 
are  carved  with  representations  of  human  figures  (Fig.  47),  with 
birds  more  or  less  conventionalized,  with  bulls'  heads,1  and  also 

1  Men :  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  lix.  Ix. — Birds  :  ib.  lix.  Ixii.  and  Ixiv.  ;  Diospolis 
pi.  x.  xi.  xii.  DE  MORGAN,  Origines,  ii.  pp.  64  and  143.  MAC!VER  &  MACE, 
El  Antrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  x.  7. — Bulls:  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixii.  37  and  51  ; 
Diospolis,  vii.  i. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE    ART. 


77 


with  a  singular  ornament  which  is  perhaps  derived  from  a  type 
of  bird  (Fig.  48). 

Another  class  of  decorated  objects  is  formed  by  the  pendants 
of  necklaces,  which  have  already  been  mentioned  in 
the  chapter  on  personal  adornment.  Those  of  most 
frequent  occurrence  are  merely  engraved  on  the  two 
sides  with  various  short  strokes  at  regular  intervals. 
The  decoration  of  others  is  in  imitation  of  a  cord, 
which,  starting  from  the  base,  coils  round  the 
pendant  to  the  top.  Others,  again,  have  intercross- 
ing lines,  forming  very  simple  patterns.  Occasionally 
the  two  systems  of  decoration  are  combined  (Fig.  49, 
and  also  Fig.  22).  When  we  recall  the  observations 
we  have  already  made,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent 
our  considering  these  decorative  lines  on  the  pendants 
as  having  a  magical  purpose.1 

In  the  Berlin  Museum  there  is  a  small  shell  (?) 
plaque  of  fine  workmanship  (No.  13,797),  which 
perhaps  should  be  considered  as  a  pendant  for  a 
necklace.  It  is  decorated  with  figures  of  animals, 
which  should  be  compared  with  those  we  shall 
presently  study  on  the  slate  palettes  (Figs.  50 
and  5 1).2 

Beyond  all  question  it  is  the  slate  palettes  which 
provide  us  with  the  finest  examples  of  evolution  of 
form  that  it  is  possible  to  imagine.  Petrie  has 
worked  out  the  chronological  succession  of  these  wj.th  the  fi&ure 

of  an  antelope 

palettes,  and  we  need  not  therefore  dwell   long  on 

the  subject.3      The  earliest  of  these  are  rhomboids, 

and  this  form  was  probably  suggested,  according  to 

Petrie,  by  some  natural  cross-cleavages  of  the  slate  rock.     Shortly 

afterwards    natural    forms   appear,  which   we  shall   now  examine, 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixi.  Ixii.  and  Ixiv. ;  Diospolis,  pi.  x.  DE  MORGAN, 
Recherches%  i.  pp.  62,  63,  fig.  137-147.  The  incised  lines  are  frequently  filled  up 
with  a  blackish  plaster. 

1  Ktiniglichc  Afuseen  zu  Berlin — Ausftthrliches  Verzeichnis  der  dgyptischen 
Altertiimfr  und  GipsabgUsse,  2nd  ed.  Berlin,  1899,  p.  38. 

3  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  iii. 


FIG.  43.— 
IVORY  COMB 


and  ornaments 
derived  from 
bird  forms. 


78  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

and  from   which  new  forms   were  eventually  derived  which  were 
solely  geometrical. 

I  know  only  one  palette  which  represents  the  human  form. 
It  belongs  to  the  Petrie  Collection,  University  College,  London 
(Fig.  52).  Another  specimen  in  the  same  collection  is  a  palette 
surmounted  by  the  figure  of  an  antelope  (?),  the  head  of  which 
has  disappeared  (Fig.  53).  With  other  specimens,  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  the  entire  palette  which  represents  grosso  modo  the  lines  of 


FIG.  44. — IVORY  COMB,  RECTO. 
Davis  Collection. 


•Fie.  45. — IVORY  COMB,  VERSO. 
Davis  Collection. 


the  animal.  Among  the  palettes  representing  antelopes  we  must 
notice  one  where  Petrie  recognizes  the  ibex  or  the  mouflon1 
(Fig.  54).  Other  specimens  are  carved  in  imitation  of  the  elephant, 
hippopotamus2  (Fig.  55),  and  lion3  (Fig.  5 5 A).  The  palettes  in 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xlvii.   1-4;  Diospolis,  pi.  xi.   i.     BUDGE,   A   History 
of  Egypt,  i.  p.  59,  20,910  and  35,049.     QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii. 
pi.  Ixiv.  17. 

2  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xlvii.  5-8  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xi.  4,  5.     Berlin,  No.  11,341. 

3  MacGregor  Collection. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE    ART. 


79 


form  of  a  tortoise  are  very  instructive  ;  we  see  there  that,  after 
having  entirely  mistaken  the  character  of  the  feet,  they  did 
not  scruple  to  let  them  disappear  entirely,  or  even  to  transform 
them  into  heads  of  antelopes1  (Fig.  56). 


FIG.  46. — IVORY  PINS  DECORATED  WITH  FIGURES  OF  BIRDS  AND  A  BULL'S 

HEAD. 


Fish  palettes,  which  are  often  shaped  with  great  care,  end  by 
losing  all  characteristic  form  (Fig.  57).     A  remarkable  example  is 


1  PETRIE,   Naqada,   pi.   xlvii.   9-12,   14,  and  18;   Diospolis,  pi.  xi.  6,  9,  10. 
BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  p.  60,  23,061.     Berlin,  No.  10,595. 


8o 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


one  in  the  centre    of  our  Fig.   57,  where  the  tail  of  the  fish  has 
itself  been  transformed  into  a  still  smaller  fish.1 


FIG.  47. — SLATE  AND  IVORY  PENDANTS. 
University  College,  London. 

The  most   curious   case    is    that  of  the    bird.     At   first  easily 
recognizable2    (Fig.    58),    it    promptly   becomes    modified.      It    is 

1  PETRIE,  Nagada,  pi.  xlviii.  51,  52,  60 ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xi.  15-18,  27,  29. 

2  NEWBERRY,   Extracts  from   my  Notebooks,  v.  No.  36,  in  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archeology,  xxiv.  1902,  p.  251  and  pi.  ii. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART. 


81 


carved  in  duplicate,  in  order  to  give  a  symmetrical  form  to  the 
palette ;  the  plain  surface  on  which  the  colour  is  rubbed  is 
lengthened  out  of  all  proportion  until,  after  a  long  succession 
of  changes,  the  head  of  the  bird,  the  only  part  remaining, 
finally  becomes  absorbed,  and  the  palette  presents  a  form  where 
it  would  be  impossible  to  recognize  the  original  type,  had  not 
the  intermediate  specimens  been  preserved 1  (Fig.  59). 


I" 

ULAlAl 


AAAUMJUUILUAJLUAUA 


FIG.  48. — SLATE  AND  IVORY  PENDANTS  DECORATED  WITH  DERIVED  DESIGNS. 

I  wish  to  draw  special  attention  to  a  palette  in  form  of  a 
bird  belonging  to  the  Petrie  Collection,  University  College, 
London,  which  closely  resembles  the  figures  of  birds  carved  in 
the  round  that  we  shall  have  occasion  to  study  later  on  (Fig.  60). 
Other  forms  might  be  quoted  which  do  not  appear  to  belong 
to  any  of  the  above  types. 

So    much  for   the   shapes   of   the    palettes.     An    attempt    was 

PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xlvii.  21,  23,  24,  29,  30,  32  ;  pi.  xlix.  64,  69,  72,  81,  82, 
86,  89,  91,  92.    Diospolis,  pi.  xii.  35,  38. 


82 


PRIMITIVE    ART   IN    EGYPT. 


made  to  render  them  still  more  like  their  models  by  the  aid 
of  incised  lines,  especially  on  those  in  form  of  a  fish,  where  the 
shape  was  less  characteristic  than  those  representing  antelopes 
or  birds.1  In  connection  with  these  complementary  lines  there 
are  palettes  of  geometrical  forms  which  also  have  figures  incised 
on  them.  On  one  of  these  the  figure  of  an  elephant  has  been 
found2 ;  others  have  representations  of  the  crocodile,3  and  also- 


FIG.  49. — STONE  AND  IVORY  PENDANTS  WITH  INCISED  LINE  DECORATION, 
IN  SOME  CASES  FILLED  UP  WITH  A  BLACKISH  PASTE. 


a  figure  of  an  indeterminate  animal4  (Fig.  61).  A  palette  dis- 
covered at  Diospolis  (tomb  B  102)  also  bears  in  low  relief  a 
figure  difficult  to  identify5  (Fig.  61). 

1  In  addition  to  the  palettes  mentioned  in  the  preceding  notes,  numerous 
specimens  will  be  found  in  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xlvii.-l.  and  p.  43 ;  Diospolis, 
pi.  xi  xii.  and  p.  20.  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  vii.  viii. 
and  x. 

3  PEFRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  v.  and  xii.  43. 

3  I)E  MORGAN,  Origines,  ii.  p.  144,  and  Berlin  Museum,  No.  12,877. 

4  DE  MORGAN,  ib. 

6  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  v.  B  102. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE    ART.         83 
A    very    fine   specimen    belonging    to    the    Petrie    Collection, 


FIG.  50.— PLAQUE  IN  THE  BERLIN  MUSEUM  (RECTO). 
Shell  (?). 

University    College,    London,    is    engraved    on    both    faces    with 


FIG.  51.— PLAQUE  IN  THE  BERLIN  MUSEUM  (VERSO). 
Shell  (?). 

ibex    facing   each   other ;    ivory   beads   are   inserted    in    the   eye 
cavities    (Fig.    62).      Two    other    specimens,    one    discovered    at 


84 


PRIMITIVE   ART   IN    EGYPT. 


Hu  (Ashmolean    Museum,    Oxford)   and   the   other   of  unknown 
provenance  (University  College,  London)  are  inscribed  with  very 


FIG.  52. — PALETTE  WITH  A  HUMAN 
FIGURE  AT  THE  TOP. 


FIG.  53. — PALETTE  WITH  A 
FIGURE  OF  AN  ANTELOPE, 
THE  HEAD  MISSING. 


summary  designs  of  animals1  (Fig.  62).     Finally,    the   most   in- 
teresting discovery  is   a  somewhat   recent   one   by  Mr.  Maclver, 


1  The  first  is  the  specimen  published  without  description  by  PETRIE,  Diospolis, 
pi.  xx.  20. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.          85 

who  found  a  palette  with  two  signs  resembling  hieroglyphs 
carved  in  relief  on  the  face.  Before  stopping  to  dwell  on  this 
important  point  we  must  remark  that  a  considerable  number  of 
palettes  arc  pierced  with  a  hole  for  suspension,  which  proves 
that  they  could  be  hung  or  carried  on  the  body  ready  to  be 
employed  for  grinding  colour  ;  while  the  smaller  ones  indicate 
that  in  course  of  time  these  palettes  were  occasionally  converted 


FIG.  54.  -PALETTES  IN  FORM  OF  ANTELOPES. 

into  amulets.  The  accuracy  of  this  instance  of  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  ordinary  object  into  an  amulet  is  attested  by  the 
fact  that  in  the  MacGregor  Collection  at  Tamworth,  there  are 
some  very  minute  palettes,  the  dimensions  of  which  absolutely 
preclude  the  possibility  of  employing  them  for  grinding  paint. 
One  of  these  is  the  shape  of  Palette  69,  of  our  Fig.  59,  and 
measures  44  millimetres  in  height  ;  the  others,  of  rhomboidal 
form,  measure  respectively  80,  58,  56,  and  39  millimetres. 


FIG.  55. — PALETTES  IN  FORM  OF  ELEPHANTS  AND  HIPPOPOTAMI. 


;.  56. — PALETTES  IN  FORM  OF  TORTOISES. 


FIG.  55A. — PALETTE  IN  FORM  OF  A  LION. 
MacGregor  Collection. 


88  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

We  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  palette  found  by 
Mr.  Randall  Maclver  at  El  Amrah  (Fig.  63).  What  are  the 
signs  carved  on  it,  and  what  is  their  meaning  ? 

In  an  article  published  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  this 
palette  Mr.  Maclver  wrote1:  "It  is  by  far  the  earliest  example 
yet  found  of  the  use  of  hieroglyphs.  Hieroglyphic  writing  has 
been  known  to  exist  in  a  well-developed  form  as  early  as  the 
first  dynasty,  but  this  slate  belongs  to  a  period  considerably 
before  Menes,  the  first  king  of  the  first  dynasty." 

Writing   again    with    modified   views    on    this   subject    in    his 


FIG.  58. — PALETTE  IN  FORM  OF  A  BIRD. 
Brussels  Museum  ;   height,   IO  cm. 

memoir  on  the  excavations  at  El  Amrah,  Mr.  Maclver  points 
out,  with  Petrie  and  Griffith,  the  analogy  of  the  sign  on  the 
palette  with  one  of  the  standards  of  ships  (we  shall  speak 
of  these  later),  and  with  the  signs  engraved  on  the  archaic 
statues  of  the  god  Min  discovered  by  Petrie  at  Koptos,  and 
he  carries  his  hypothesis  no  farther  than  the  statement  that 
we  have  here  a  sign  similar  to  the  emblem  of  this  god 
Min.2 

Reduced  to  these  proportions,   the   discovery  became  no   less 

1  MACIVER,  D.   R.,  A  Prehistoric  Cemetery  at  El  Amrah  in  Egypt :  Pre- 
liminary Report  of  Excavations,  in  Man,  i.  No.  40,  April,  1901. 

2  MACIVER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pp.  37,  38. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE    ART.          89 


FIG.  59.— PAI.ETTKS  OF  BIRD  FORM. 


90  PRIMITIVE    ART   IN    EGYPT. 

important,  because,  as  the  author  remarks,  it  was  the  first 
example  of  palettes  carved  in  relief.  The  MacGregor  Collection 
furnishes  us  with  another  example  of  this  (Catalogue  1,75811). 
At  the  top  of  this  palette  two  birds  are  carved  in  relief; 
they  face  each  other,  and  their  bodies  follow  the  outline  of 
the  palette.  The  interest  of  this  piece  is  very  great,  as  it 
shows  as  clearly  as  possible  the  transition  between  the  pre- 
historic palettes  and  the  proto-dynastic  palettes  of  which  we 
have  such  remarkable  specimens  (Fig.  64). 

Our  first  acquaintance  with   these  was   owing  to  the   excava- 
tions of  Mr.  Quibell  at  Hierakonpolis,  which  led  to  the  discovery 


FIG.  60. — BIRD-SHAPED  PALETTE. 
University  College,  London. 

of  two  marvellous  palettes  covered  with  carvings  in  low  relief. 
These  constitute  evidence  of  the  first  order  for  the  history  of 
the  making  of  Egypt.  They  have  the  great  merit  of  having 
definitely  fixed  the  'period  to  which  should  be  allocated  various 
fragments  of  objects  of  the  same  kind  preserved  in  different 
museums.  Here  the  simple  palettes  for  grinding  malachite, 
which  arc  found  in  the  greater  number  of  prehistoric  tombs 
at  the  period  of  the  earliest  dynasties,  have  developed  into 
objects  of  luxury,  votive  offerings  deposited  in  the  temples  and 
perhaps  intended  to  commemorate  important  religious  festivals. 
This  is  another  instance  of  the  evolution  of  decorated  objects 
of  which  we  spoke  at  the  Commencement  of  this  chapter.  We 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE    ART.          91 

shall  return  later  to  the  scenes  depicted  on  these  great  palettes, 
on  the  assumption  that  they  relate  more  to  sculpture  than 
to  decorative  art. 

The   same    may  be  said  of  the  votive  maces  from  the  same 
temple  of  Hierakonpolis,  \\hich  furnish  another  instance  of  common 


FIG.  61. — PALETTES  DECORATKD  WITH  INCISED  FIGURES. 


objects  becoming  actual  objects  of  luxury,  of  huge  proportions, 
and  in  consequence  rendered  entirely  unfit  for  their  original 
purpose. 

Speaking  generally,  stone  mace-heads  may  be  divided  into 
two  principal  classes.  The  first,  and  the  most  ancient,  are  in 
the  form  of  a  disc.  These  are  most  frequently  found  in  syenite 


92 


PRIMITIVE    ART   IN    EGYPT. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART. 


93 


and  porphyry,  and  more  rarely 
in  alabaster.1  The  others  are 
pear-shaped,  and  are  found  in 
basalt,  haematite,  breccia,  alabaster, 
and  above  all  in  a  compact  white 
limestone.  This  latter  form  ap- 
pears at  least  as  early  as  the 
fourth  dynasty,  and  throughout 
all  the  history  of  Egypt  as  an 
emblem  in  the  hands  of  the  king. 

A     hieroglyphic     sign,    ?,    which 
A 

conveys  the  idea  of  whiteness  and 

distinction,  has 
also  perpetuated 
the  figure.2 


FIG.  63.— PALETTE. 

With  a  sign  (hieroglyphic  ?) 
in  relief. 


FIG.  64.  — I'ALKTTE. 

"With  two  birds  carved  in  relief. 
MacGregor  Collection. 


Two  speci- 
mens dis- 
covered at 
D  i  os  pol  is 
Purva  still  retain  their  handles,3  one 
of  ivory  and  one  of  horn.  Some 
mace-heads  are  of  a  different  form, 
resembling  a  double  hammer  with 


1  At  the  British  Museum  these  objects  are 
not  considered  to  be  mace-heads.     See  BUDGE, 
A  Guide  to  the  Third  and  Fourth  Egyptian 
Rooms,  1904,  p.  48,   Nos.   63-84.     The   proof 
that  these  pieces  are  really  mace-heads  will  be 
found  in  the  representations  on  painted  coffins 
of  the  Middle  Empire.     See  LEPSIUS,  Aelteste 
Textc  des  TodtcnbucJis  nach  Sarcophagen  des 
altagyptischen   Reichs  im   Berliner  Museum, 
Berlin,  1867,  pi.  xxxviii.     LACAU,  Sarcophages 
anterieurs    au    nouvel    empire :     Catalogue 
general  des  antiquites  egyptiennes  du  muse'e 
du  Caire,  1904,  pi.  Ixiii.  277. 

2  PETRIE,  Diospolis  par-va,  p.  24  and  pi.  iv. ; 
Naqada,  pi.  xvii. 

*  PETRIE,  Diospolis  pan>a^  pi.  v. 


94 


PRIMITIVE    ART   IN    EGYPT. 


pointed  ends1  (Fig.  65).  These  mace-heads  are  usually  without 
ornamentation.  Nevertheless,  a  specimen  in  limestone  was  dis- 
covered at  El  Amrah  decorated  with  black  spots.2  I  am  disposed 
to  believe  that  some  objects  discovered  by  Petrie  at  Naqada 
are  of  the  same  class.  He  considers  them  to  be  a  form  of 
toy,  having  regard  to  the  materials  of  which  they  are  made — 
limestone  and  soft  sandstone 3  (Fig.  66). 

At  Hierakonpolis,  besides  the  show  pieces  I  have  just  alluded 
to,  Mr.  Quibell  discovered  an  enormous  number  of  mace-heads,4 
which  must  have  been  merely  for  ceremonial  use,  judging,  with 
Mr.  Quibell,  from  the  fact  that  the  hole  for  the  handle  is  not 


FIG.   65. -MACE-HEADS  FROM  HIERAKONPOLIS  AND  NAQADA. 

always  completely  pierced.  Mace-heads  are  occasionally  found 
decorated  with  incised  lines  extending  from  the  summit  to  the 
base  (see  Fig.  65,  No.  23).  The  Berlin  Museum  possesses  a 
curious  mace-head  in  hard  stone,  which  has  been  carved  with 
weird  effect  in  the  shape  of  a  tortoise  (No.  15,716,  Fig.  67). 
Another  in  the  same  museum  (No.  15,142)  is  decorated  with 
three  designs  derived  from  the  bull's  head  type,  of  which  we 
shall  speak  presently.  The  MacGregor  Collection  at  Tamworth 
possesses  two  mace-heads,  on  one  of  which  a  human  head  is 
carved,  and  on  the  other  two  human  heads,  similar  to  those  on 
the  vase  of  our  Fig.  69  (Nos.  3,495  and  3,779). 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.   xvii.   23  (Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford).     A   hammer- 
shaped  mace  in  the  MacGregor  Collection  (No.  1,720)  is  terminated  at  one  end  by 
an  animal's  head. 

2  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  x.  6  and  p.  16. 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  vii.  and  p.  35  (Ashmolean  Museum). 

4  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  xxvii.  p.  41. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE    ART. 


95 


Finally,  there  are  two  mace-heads  or  sceptres  which  cannot 
be  compared  with  any  others  known.  One  is  of  ivory,  and  is 
carved  with  three  rows  of  captives,  represented  with  their  arms 
tied  behind  their  backs,  and  fastened  together  in  single  file  by 
a  cord  passed  round  their  necks1;  the  other  is  in  serpentine, 
carved  in  relief  with  alternate  figures  of  dogs  and  lions.2  These 
two  pieces  belong  to  the  commencement  of  the  historic  period, 
and  are  masterpieces  of  workmanship  (Fig.  68). 

The  perfection  of  the  form  of  these  mace-heads,  made  of  the 
hardest  stones,  and — at  any  rate  in  the  earliest  period — without 


OfftS 

**&^f^    ^1^      %*^ 


FIG.  66. — DKCORATED  MACE-HEADS  IN  SOFT  STONE. 

the  aid  of  metal  tools,  is  marvellous.  Our  amazement  can 
only  increase  if  we  examine  the  stone  vases  which  arc  found 
in  the  tombs  as  early  as  the  commencement  of  the  prehistoric 
period. 

Of  these    Pctrie   writes :    "  Throughout    the  whole    prehistoric 
age,  from  immediately  after  the  rude  savage  burials  of  (sequence 

1  QUIBELI.,  ///>/, //vy;//WA,  i.  pi.  xii.  and  ii.  pi.  xxxvii. 

*  QUIBELL  &  GRKKN,  Hicrnknnpolis%  ii.  pi.  xxiii.  Ixvi.  and  p.  38;  i.  pi.  xix. 
On  Fig.  68  is  another  mace-head  1mm  Hirrnkonpolis  representing  the  fore  part  of 
two  bulls  or  rams.  Hicrakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xix.  3,  xxv.  and  p.  8  ;  ii.  p.  38.  An 
analogous  specimen  from  I  In  is  now,  like  the  preceding  pieces,  in  the  Ashmolcan 
Museum,  Oxford. 


96  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

date)  30  down  to  the  end,  stone  vases  are  abundant.  Moreover, 
the  taste  for  hard  stone  was  kept  up  in  the  historic  times ; 
hundreds  of  stone  bowls  were  buried  with  each  king  of  the  first 
dynasty,  and  many  are  found  in  tombs  of  the  third  and  fourth 
dynasties.  But  in  the  twelfth  dynasty  the  softer  serpentine  and 
alabaster  supplanted  the  fine  diorites  and  porphyries,  and  in  the 
eighteenth  dynasty  the  art  of  working  hard  stones  was  forgotten 


FIG.  67. — MACE-HEAD  CARVED  IN  FORM  OF  A  TORTOISE. 
Berlin  Museum. 

for  anything  but  statuary.  From  the  point  of  view  of  magnificence, 
and  skill  in  using  hard  and  beautiful  stones,  we  must  say  that 
the  Egyptians  gradually  rose  to  their  highest  level  in  the  later 
prehistoric  and  early  dynastic  times,  and  that  the  sixth,  twelfth 
or  eighteenth  dynasties  cannot  for  a  moment  compare  with  the 
archaic  splendours."  l 

1  PETRIE,  Diospolis  parva,  p.  18. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART. 


97 


We  must  not  linger  here  to  study  in  detail  the  forms  of 
these  vases,  and  I  will  content  myself  with  referring  the  reader 
to  Petrie's  remarks,  and  to  the  numerous  plates  on  which  all  the 
forms  discovered  up  to  the  present  time  are  reproduced.1  We 
must  turn  to  the  decoration  of  pottery,  and  to  those  examples 


FIG.  68. — SCEPTRE-  OR  MACE-HEADS  FROM  HIERAKONPOLIS. 

1  PETRIE,  Diospolis  pan>a,  pp.  18,  19,  and  pi.  iii.  for  the  diagram  showing  the 
evolution  of  forms  during  the  prehistoric  period  (Mr.  Petrie  tells  me  that  lie  has 
reserved  his  opinion  with  regard  to  the  evolution  of  the  stone  vases  of  cylindrical 

7 


98  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

where  the  vase  itself  has  been  given  a  form  either  animal  or 
human. 

Most  frequently  the  vase  is  without  decoration  ;  occasionally 
there  is  a  simple  representation  of  a  cord  which  encircles  the 
neck,  and  care  has  been  taken  in  working  out  the  detail.  In 
other  instances  it  is  a  mere  sinuous  rounded  line,  which,  in 
some  cases,  is  not  even  continuous.1  More  rarely  the  vase  is 
decorated  with  regular  ribs  worked  with  wonderful  perfection 2  ; 
or,  again,  it  is  faced  with  a  decoration  of  shells  closely  arranged 
in  rows  and  overlapping  each  other. 

On  one  vase  there  is  a  network  of  plaited  cords  repre- 
sented in  slight  relief,  forming  a  sort  of  fillet,  in  which  the 
vase  might  have  been  placed.3  This  is  an  example  of  those 
skeuomorphic  designs  to  which  we  have  referred  earlier  in  the 
chapter.  A  second  is  to  be  found  in  the  fragment  of  a  marble 
vase,  where  the  exterior  is  carved  to  represent  a  plaited  basket.4 

Finally,  a  whole  series  of  vases,  dating  for  the  most  part  from 
the  commencement  of  the  historic  period,  show  us  figures  in  relief 
—heads  and  figures  of  human  beings,  animals,  etc.  We  will  rapidly 
pass  them  in  review. 

I  know  of  only  one  vase  which  is  decorated  with  human  heads. 
This  is  in  the  Petrie  Collection  at  University  College,  London, 
and  from  its  form  it  should  belong  to  the  time  between  the  com- 
mencement of  the  prehistoric  period  and  the  sequence  dates  60-70  ; 

form,  of  which  the  sequence  dates  were  based  on  Mr.  Quibell's  observations, 
and  which  Mr.  Petrie  did  not  himself  check  closely)  ;  Naqada,  pi.  viii.-xvi. ; 
Diospolis,  pi.  ix.  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xvi.  PETRIE, 
Abydos,  i.  pi.  xxvii.  xlii.  xlvii.  ;  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  Ixvi.-liii.^ ;  Abydos,  i.  pi.  ix.  x. 
QUIBELL,  El  Kab,  pi.  ii.  iii.  vi.  x.  xxvii,  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  i. 
pi.  xxxi.-xxxiv.  xxxvi.  xxxvii.  ;  ii.  pi.  xxx.  These  indications  refer  also  to  the 
vases  of  the  first  Egyptian  dynasties.  See  also  A.  H.  SAYCE,  The  Stone  Vases 
of  Ancient  Egypt,  in  The  Connoisseur,  a  Magazine  for  Collectors,  iv.  1902, 
pp.  159-165,  with  beautiful  photographs  of  vases  in  the  Berens  Collection. 

1  Examples  :  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  x. ;  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  xlvii.  b,  Hi.  liii.  liii.# 
and  liii./.  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxxiii. 

*  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  ii.  p.  184.  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  lix.  7. 
PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  xlix.  pi.  v.  12  ;  i.  pi.  xxxviii.  i  and  2. 

3  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  vi.  27,  xxix.  21-25,  an^  xu-  94-     DE  MORGAN, 
Recherches,  ii.  fig.  823,  p.  245. 

4  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  ix.  12. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE    ART.          99 

it  is  therefore  entirely  of  the  prehistoric  period.  There  we  see  two 
human  heads,  sculptured  in  relief  on  the  body  of  the  vase,  and  of 
the  same  type  we  have  already  met  with.  The  mouth  is  indicated 
by  a  strongly  accentuated  horizontal  line,  and  the  eyes  marked  by 
means  of  two  beads  fixed  into  the  cavities  of  the  stone  l  (Fig.  69). 

Two  fragments  of  vases  in  the  Berlin  Museum  bear  in  light 
relief  barks  and  human  figures  (Nos.  15,084  and  15,693).  The 
fragment  No.  15,084  is  specially  remarkable  for  the  representation 


FIG.  69.—  STONE  VASE. 
Decorated  with  two  human  heads. 

of  a  warrior  armed  with  a  hatchet,  driving  a  prisoner  before  him. 
The  style  of  this  figure  is  somewhat  similar  to  those  we  find 
later  on  the  votive  maces  and  palettes  (Figs.  70  and  71). 

At  Hierakonpolis  Mr.  Quibell  discovered  a  whole  series  of 
vases  decorated  with  figures  of  animals.  There  are  heads  of 
feline  creatures  above  a  sign  which  resembles  the  hieroglyph 


1  A  fragment  of  a  similar  vase  was  found  by  Mr.  Quibell  at  Dallas.     See 
PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xlii.  26,  and  p.  42. 
1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xvii. 


100 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


FIG.  70.— FRAGMENT  OF  VASE— WARRIOR 

ARMED  WITH  A  HATCHET. 

Berlin  Museum. 


of  which,  unfortunately,  can 
be  identified  with  certainty. 
An  alabaster  vase  from  the 
same  locality  is  incised  at 
the  base  with  a  series  of 

signs, 

1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi. 
xvii.  and  xxiii. 

2  Id.  i.  pi.  xix.  xx.  and  xxv. 

3  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakon- 
polis, ii.  pi.  lix. 

4  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  v. 
15,   vi.rt,  22,   23;    i.    pi.  xxxviii.   4, 
and  ii.  pi.  \\.Ii,  335. 


a  figure  of  a  scorpion  * 
(Fig.  72)  ;  and,  finally,  a 
very  curious  group,  which 
I  am  tempted  to  consider 
as  a  pictographic  repre- 
sentation, without,  how- 
ever, being  able  to  suggest 
any  reading  of  it.  It  is 
more  especially  the  fact 
of  the  bow  being  depicted 
that  makes  me  suspect  it 
to  be  something  of  this 
description2  (Fig.  73). 
Other  pieces,  unfortunately 
fragmentary,  show  a  bird's 
head,  and  also  a  strange 
object  terminated  by  a  star.3 
The  royal  tombs  of  the 
first  dynasty  at  Abydos 
have  afforded  few  frag- 
ments of  this  nature.  On 
some,  curious  ornaments 
are  carved  in  relief,  none 


p1G>  7 1. —FRAGMENT  OF  VASE  WITH  BOAT  IN 

Low  RELIEF. 
Berlin  Museum. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        101 

We  must  mention  that  ivory  was  also  used  for  vases,  and, 
judging  from  a  very  fine  fragment  discovered  at  Abydos,  it 
was  decorated  in  the  same  manner  as  stone.1 

To  pass  to  vases  of  fantastic  shapes,  one  of  the  most 
curious  is  that  discovered  by  Petrie  at  Abydos,  which  represents 


FIG.  72. — STONE  VASES  WITH  ANIMAL  FIGURES  IN  RELIEF. 

a  leather  bottle2  (Fig.  74).  Other  specimens  from  Naqada 
represent  birds,  frogs,  and  hippopotami  (Figs.  75  and  76).  At 
Hierakonpolis  Mr.  Quibcll  discovered  two  vases  of  steatite  and 
serpentine  in  form  of  birds.3  In  the  MacGregor  Collection  at 
Tamworth  there  is  a  small  steatite  vase,  at  the  base  of  which 

1   I'I.IKIK.  Koyal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  vi.  22. 

*  Id.  i.  pi.  xxxviii.  },  and  p.  28. 

8  Quii'.Ki  L,  ///V;-,iXv////W/V,  i.  pi.  xx.  2  and  4,  and  p.  8;  ii.  p.  38. 


IO2 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


is  the  head  and  four  paws  of  a  small  animal,  which  appears 
to  support  the  vase  with  its  body  (Catalogue  3,544).  In  the 
same  collection  there  is  a  vase  shaped  like  a  frog,  which  still 
preserves  its  ancient  gold  mounting.  The  lateral  handles  covered 
with  gold  leaf  are  crossed  by  a  thin  strip  of  metal,  to  which 
the  artist  has  given  the  form  of  a  serpent.  Very  fine  and 
delicate  gold  chains  are  attached  to  the  serpent,  and  served  to 
suspend  the  vase. 


FIG.   73. — PICTOGRAPHIC  (?)  INSCRIPTION  ON  A  STONE  VASE. 

The  Berlin  Museum  possesses  several  unpublished  pieces. 
One  is  a  stone  vase  in  form  of  an  elephant  (No.  14,146);  another 
is  a  vase  in  form  of  a  hippopotamus  (No.  14,147)  ;  a  third  is 
a  vase  in  form  of  a  dog  (No.  1 2,590) x  (Fig.  77).  Another  is  a 
vase  in  form  of  a  frog  (No.  14,403),  and  the  last  of  the  series 
represents  a  fish  (No.  16,025). 

In  the  Petrie  Collection  at  University  College,  London,  is  a 
vase  which  represents  what  is  probably  an  elephant.  Two 

1  Konigliche  Musecn  zu  Berlin — Ausfiihrliches  Verzeichnis  der  iigyptischen 
Altcrtilmcr  und  Gipsabgiisse,  2nd  ed.  Berlin,  1899,  p.  36  and  fig.  2,  where  one 
can  indistinctly  see  No.  12,590. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        103 

fragments    from    the   same   collection    exhibit    two    hippopotamus 
heads,  and  there  is  another  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  recognize 


FIG.  74.— STONE  VASE  IN  FORM  OF  A  LEATHER  BOTTLE. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

the    subject.      Is    it    in    reality   a   representation    of    an    animal 
(Fig.  78)  ? 


FIG.  75.— STONE  VASE  IN  FORM  OF  A  BIRD. 

Most   of  the   forms  met  with   in    stone  vases,  and  also  most 
of  the  decorations  found  on  them,  we  shall  find  again  in  pottery. 


IO4 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


But,  to  begin  with,  we   must  enquire  whether,  as  regards  Egypt, 
we    can    verify    the    hypothesis    which    attributes    the    origin    of 


FIG.  76. — STONE  VASES  IN  FORM  OF  FROGS,  HIPPOPOTAMUS,  AND  BIRDS. 

primitive   pottery  to   moulding,  or,  at    least,  to    copying  a  basket 
in  plaited  work.1 

Did    the    primitive    Egyptian    understand    basket    work  ?       In 


FIG.  77. — VASE  IN  FORM  OF  A  DOG. 
Berlin  Museum. 

the    earliest    prehistoric    tombs    either    the    body    was    wrapped 
in    matting,  or  the    bottom    of  the  tomb  was   lined   with   a  mat.2 

1  For  the  same    fact   in    primitive  Greek  civilization,   see    JOHN  L.  MYRES, 
Textile  Impressions  on  an  Early  Clay  Vessel  from  Amorgos,  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Anthropological  Institute,  xxvii.  November,    1897,  pp.   178-180  and  pi.  xii. 

2  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  15,  tomb  31  ;  p.  23,  tomb  B  14  ;   p.  25,  tomb  42  ;  p.  27, 
tomb  722.     MACIVER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  p.  31,  and  pi.  xi.  5,  6. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE    ART.         105 

Mats  were  frequently  employed  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
Ancient  Empire,  both  as  carpets  and  for  decorating  the  walls 
of  rooms.  The  representations  of  tombs  of  the  fifth  dynasty 
show  to  what  a  degree  of  perfection  they  had  attained  at  this 
period.1 

In  the  tombs  of  the  prehistoric  cemetery  of  El  Amrah  were 
found  baskets  of  the  usual  spherical  form  containing  malachite.2 
The  patterns  on  several  specimens  recall  the  baskets  made  at 


FIG.  78. — VASE,  AND  FRAGMENTS  OF  VASES,  IN  FORM  OF  ANIMALS. 


the  present  day  in  the  Soudan.  The  same  comparison  was  made 
by  M.  Amelineau  on  discovering  in  one  of  the  chambers  of  the 
tomb  of  King  Khasakhmui  a  large  quantity  of  objects  in  basket 
work  :  "...  I  found  there,"  he  says,  "  fairly  long  pieces  of 
wood  covered  with  matting.  These  I  met  with  again  through- 
out the  chamber.  I  promptly  recognized  that  these  pieces  of 
wood  with  matting  round  them  were  remains  of  broken  chairs, 
for  one  of  the  ends  was  not  covered  with  matting.  These 
chairs  were  at  least  o™4O  high  and  about  om6o  broad,  which 
gives  the  well  known  form  of  a  species  of  high  stool.  Upon 
these  chairs  were  placed  other  specimens  of  basket  work,  which, 

1  PETRIE,  Egyptian  Decorative  Art,  pp.  44,  45. 

1  MAC!VER,  A  prehistoric  cemetery  at  El  Amrah  in  Egypt,  in  Man,   1901, 
No.  40,  p.  52  ;  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xi.  2,  and  p.  42. 


io6 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


plaited  with  a  kind  of  parti-coloured  straw,  resembled  the  basket 
work  still  made  in  the  Soudan  and  sold  in  the  bazaar  at  Assouan. 
When  I  asked  my  workmen  whether  they  had  anything  of  the 


FIG.  79.— RED  VASES  WITH  WHITE  PAINT,  IN  IMITATION  OF  BASKET  WORK. 

same  kind  inside  their  houses,  they  replied  in  the  negative,  but 
told  me  that  the  work  closely  resembled  the  Margone  made  by 
the  Berbers.  The  word  struck  me,  and  I  immediately  recalled 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        107 

the  word  MAPKflNI,  which  I  had  met  with   in  the  Coptic  life 
of  Pakhome.  .   ,  ." » 


1  u..  &x — BLACK  INCISED  POTTERY,  WITH  DECORATION  IN  IMITATION  <>r 
BASKET  WOKK. 

Independently    of   ceramic    art,   the    industry    of   the    basket 

1  AMELINEAU,  Les  nouvellcs  fouilles  d'Abydos,  second  season,  1896-7. 
Compie  rcndn  in  i:i/?nxt>,  Paris,  1902,  pp.  176,  177;  I*s  nouvelles  fouilles 
d'Abydos  (1896-7),  Paris,  1897,  p.  40.  See  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  i.  p.  15. 


io8  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

maker,    as    Petrie    has    remarked,1    left    numerous    traces    on    the 
decorative  art  of  the  first  dynasty. 

The  imitation  of  the  basket  in  prehistoric  pottery  is  especially 
noticeable  in  two  classes  of  pottery.  The  first  of  these  is  what 
is  called  by  Petrie  cross-lined  pottery — a  polished  red  surface 
with_designs  in  white,  which  is  only  found  in  the  most  ancient 
tombs  (sequence  dates  31-34);  the  other  is  a  black  pottery, 
with  incisions  filled  with  a  whitish  paste,  and  probably  imported  2 
(Figs.  79  and  So).  Several  specimens  with  imitations  of  basket 
work  also  belong  to  the  class  of  decorated  pottery.3 

Here  we  must  also  note  that  a  considerable  number  of  pottery 
vases  are  decorated  to  imitate  hard  stone,  and  are  intended  as 
substitutes  for  vases  made  of  more  valuable  materials.  Petrie 
has  remarked  that  in  tombs  where  fine  stone  vases  are  found, 
of  pottery  vases  there  are  few  or  none.4 

With  the  mention  of  occasional  instances  of  vases  modelled 
from  a  gourd,  as  in  the  example  published  by  Herr  von  Bissing,5 
we  have,  I  think,  observed  all  the  principal  cases  where  designs 
which  are  skeuomorphic  or  derived  from  technique  are  met 
with. 

We  will  now  consider  the  decoration  of  the  vases  inde- 
pendently of  the  origin  of  the  various  designs  found  on  them. 
The  first  class  of  pottery  which  should  arrest  our  attention  is 
that  of  vases  of  a  brilliant  red  colour,  on  which  the  designs  are 
painted  in  white.  As  we  have  already  remarked,  these  belong 
to  the  earliest  period.  The  striking  analogy  which  exists  between 
this  pottery  and  that  made  at  the  present  day  by  the  Kabyles 
has  several  times  been  pointed  out.6 

1  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pp.  35,  39. 

2  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  38  and  pi.  xxviii.  34,  36,  46,  xxix.  52-79,  xxx. ;  Diospolis 
parva,  p.  14,  pi.  xiv.  55-70.     MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xv. 

3  PETRIE,  Nagada,  p.  40,  and  pi.  xxxiii.  12,  29.     SCHWEINFURTH,  Ornamentik 
der  dltesten  Cultur-Epoche  Aegyptens,  in  the  Verhandlungen  der  b.  Gescllsch. 
fur  Anthropologie,  Ethnologic,  and  Urgeschichte,  1897,  pp.  397,  398. 

4  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  40,  pi.  xxxiii.  i,  xxxv.  62,  63,  65,  67;  Diospolis  p  irva, 
pp.  15  and  1 8. 

6  VON  BISSING,  Les  origines  de  I'Egypte,  in  r Anthropologie,  ix.  1898,  p.  254 
and  pi.  iv.  fig.  i.  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxvi.  40-43,  50-52. 

6  PETRIE,  Diospolis  parva,  p.    14 ;  Naqada,  p.  38.      MAC!VER    &    WILKIN, 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        109 


We  have  said  that  pottery  was  often  decorated  with  lines  in 
imitation    of    basket    work  ;    but    in    addition    to    these   we    find 


floral  designs,  representations  of  animals  and  human  beings,  and 
also  a  seTIes  of  zigzag  Hnes,  the  whole  in  the  same  ~s~tyle~as 
the  painted  patterns  on  the  archaic  statuettes  which  we  have 
already  described. 

When   floral   designs   make   their   appearance    it  is  as  simple 


FIG.  81. — VASES  PAINTED  IN  WHITE  WITH  FLORAL  DESIGNS. 

branches  much  conventionalized,  with  which  one  is  tempted  to 
compare  the  similar  decorations  of  certain  Greek  prehistoric 
vases  discovered  at  Santorin.1  We  give  reproductions  of  two 

Libyan  Notes,  frontispiece.  JOHN  L.  MYERS,  Notes  on  the  History  of  the  Kabyle 
Pottery,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  xxxii.  January — June, 
1902,  p.  248-262  and  pi.  xx. 

1  VON  BISSING,  Les  origines  de  I'Egypte,  in  V Anthropologie,  ix.  1898, 
pi.  iii.  i  and  3.  PETRIE,  Kaqada,  pi.  xxviii.  40-42;  pi.  xxix.  69,  76,  85^;  the 
application  of  the  laws  of  transformation  of  natural  designs  into  geometrical  will 
be  found  in  the  specimens  figured,  pi.  xxviii.  40,  42,  46,  48;  pi.  xxix.  52,  54,  61, 
63,  64,  etc.  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xv.  10,  20,  21. 


110 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


L 


vases  showing  branches  which  are  fairly  decorative.  Both  sides 
of  the  smaller  vase  are  figured  in  a  position  to  show  distinctly 
the  floral  decorations1  (Fig.  81). 

The  other  face  of  the  vase  in  the  centre  of  Fig.  81,  decorated 
with  human  figures,  has  already  been  reproduced  as  an  illustration 
of  the  hairdressing  of  the  men  (Fig.  13).  Two  other  vases 


FIG.  82.  — BOWL  PAINTED  IN  WHITE  WITH  FIGURES  OF  HIPPOPOTAMI 
AND  A  CROCODILE. 

discovered — one  at  Abydos  and  the  other   at    Meala — also  show 
human  figures.2 

^R£pr^sjrita.tions^  of  animals  are  more  numerous.  The  hippo- 
potamus  occurs  most  frequently  ;  antelopes  of  various  species  are 
also  found,  and  other  animals  which  cannot  always  be  identified 

1  PETRIE,  Prehistoric  Egyptian  Pottery,  in  Man,  1902,  No.  83,  pi.  H,  2. 
*  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  i.  pi.  ii.  5  and  pi.  iii.  fig.  i.     VON  BISSING,  loc.  tit. 
pp.  246,  247. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        in 

with  certainty — fish,  birds,  crocodiles,  scorpions,  etc.  It  will  be 
sufficient  to  describe  a  few  instances  of  these.  A  large  oval  bowl 
in  the  Petrie  Collection,  University  College,  London,  is  decorated 
in  the  centre  with  a  crocodile ;  at  the  upper  part  with  three 
hippopotami ;  below,  at  the  lower  part,  with  lines  crossing  each 
other  at  right  angles,  which,  according  to  Petrie,  may  indicate 
the  ripples  of  water1  (Fig.  82).  Another  vase  from  the  same 
collection  is  decorated  with  a  floral  design,  a  deer,  and  an 
animal  that  Petrie  calls  a  hedgehog,  although  I  am  not  absolutely 


Fie.  83.— VASES  PAINTED  IN  WHITE  WITH  REPRESENTATIONS  OF  ANIMALS. 


convinced  of  the  accuracy  of  this  identification  *  (vase  in  centre 
of  Fig.  83). 

A  vase  which  apparently  comes  from  Gebelein  shows  some 
extremely  curious  figures.  On  one  side  two  antelopes,  placed 
above  a  series  of  zigzag  lines  ;  on  the  other  side,  a  strange  animal 
with  a  body  greatly  elongated,  and  a  small  head  surmounted 
by  two  pointed  ears.  At  first  one  would  be  disposed  to  consider 
it  a  giraffe,  but  the  way  in  which  the  body  is  drawn  precludes 

1  PETJUE,  Prehistoric  Egyptian  Pottery,  in  Man,  1902,  No.  83  and  pi.  H,  5. 
1  Jb.  No.  83  and  pi.  H,  4.' 


I  12 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


this  hypothesis.  A  fragment  discovered  at  Naqada  (xxix.  98) 
shows  us  in  how  characteristic  a  fashion  the  giraffe  was  repre- 
sented. May  not  the  animal  here  figured  have  been  the  okapi, 
recently  discovered  in  the  Belgian  Congo,  and  which  was  certainly 
known  to  the  ancient  Egyptians,  as  Professor  Wiedemann  has 
demonstrated?1  (Fig.  83). 

A    vase   found,  according   to    Herr  Von    Bissing,  at    Abydos, 

according  to  M.  de  Morgan, 
at  Gebelein,  is  equally  worthy 
of  our  attention.  It  is  a 
most  curious  specimen  of  this 
class  of  vase.  In  the  centre 
is  a  scorpion  ;  surrounding 
it  are  various  animals :  a 
hippopotamus,  crocodiles,  fish, 
birds,  tortoise,  and  other 
figures  which  are  unrecog- 
nizable. But  the  most  inter- 
esting object  is  the  drawing 
of  a  ship,  similar  to  those 
we  shall  soon  have  to  ex- 
amine, and  which  ordinarily 
appear  upon  another  class  of 
pottery2  (Fig.  84). 

These  examples  are  sufficient  to  give  an  idea  of  vases 
showing  animal  figures,3  and  it  only  remains  for  us  to  mention 
two  specimens  decorated  with  geometrical  designs  and  with 
strange  figures  of  which  the  explanation  has  yet  to  be  found. 

1  WIEDEMANN,  Das  Okapi  im  alien  Aegypten,  in  Die  Umschau,  vi.  1902,  pp. 
1002-1005;  Das  agyptische  Set-Thier,  in  the  Orientalistische  Litteratur  Zeitung, 
v.   1902,  col.  220-223.     PETRIE,    Prehistoric  Egyptian  Pottery,    in  Man,    1902, 
No.  83,  pi.  H,  i. 

2  DE  MORGAN,  Rccherches,  i.  pi.  ii.  5.     VON  BISSING,  loc.  cit.  pi.  iii.  fig.  2,  and 
pp.  246,  247. 

3  See  also  PETRIE,  Naqada,   pi.   xxix.  91-97;   Diospolis,    pi.  xiv.   93  £,   96; 
Prehistoric  Egyptian  Pottery,  in  Man,  1902,  No.  83,  pi.  H,  6.    MAC!VER  &  MACE, 
El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xv.  17,  18  ?  (conventionalized  animal  ?).    DE  MORGANA 
Recherches,   i.   pi.  ii.   i  ;   pi.    iii.    2,   3.     VON    BISSING,  loc.  cit.  pi.  iii.    i  and  3 ; 
pi.  iv.  5. 


FIG.  84. — VASE  PAINTED  IN  WHITE  WITH 
A  BOAT  AND  VARIOUS  ANIMALS. 

After  VAnthropologie. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART 


These    two    vases    belong    to   the    Petrie    Collection,    University 
College,  London1  (Fig.  85). 

Of  an  entirely  different  type  is  the  "  decorated  pottery,"2  to 


FIG.  85. — VASES  PAINTED  IN  WHITE. 
University  College,  London. 

which  we  must  now  turn  our  attention.     The  earliest  specimens 

1  PETRIE,  Prehistoric  Egyptian  Pottery,  in  Man,  1902,  No.  83.  pi.  H,  3,  p.  133  : 
"  The  upper  figures  might  be  adzes  or  hoes,  the  lower  figures  are  curiously  like 
lictors'  fasces,  but  no  such  forms  are  known  in  Egypt;  they  may,  however,  be  a 
form  of  stone  axes  set  in  handles.  Certainly  neither  can  be  the  hieroglyphic 
neter  sign,  as  that  had  double  projections  down  to  dynastic  times." 

*  HOERNES,  M.,  Urgcschichtc  der  bildenden  Kunst  in  Europa  von  den 
Anffingen  bis  urn  500  vor  Chr.,  Vienna,  1898,  Nachtrage,  2,  Neolithische 
Vascnmalerci  in  Aegypten,  pp.  687-689. 


H4 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


are  almost  contemporary  with  the  white  painted  pottery,  but  it 
is  after  the  sequence  date  40  that  they  are  most  frequently 
met  with.  It  appears  that  the  origin  of  this  kind  of  pottery 
should  be  sought  for  at  a  distance,  and  if  the  specimens  of 
the  white  painted  type  are  related  to  Kabyle  pottery,  it  is  in 
the  direction  of  the  Syrian  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  that 


FIG.  86. — VASES  PAINTED  IN  IMITATION  OF  HARD  STONES. 


we   look    for    the    starting    point    of    the   manufacture   of    these 
"  decorated  vases."  l 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  specifying  the  classes  of 
pottery,  we  mentioned  vases  coloured  in  imitation  of  stone.  It 
is  sometimes  breccia2  that  is  thus  copied,  sometimes  various 
kinds  of  marble  ;  but  the  most  interesting  imitation  is  that 
of  nummulitic  limestone,  represented  by  a  series  of  spirals, 
according  to  a  most  ingenious  identification  made  by  Petrie 

1  Petrie  has  termed  these  vases  "  decorated  pottery,"  and  we  will  continue  to 
apply  this  term  to  them. 

8  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxiii.  i,  and  p.  40,  xxxi.  6  (wavy  handled) ;  Diospolis, 
pi.  xv.  5,  1 8 b  and  c  (wavy  handled);  xvi.  64,  76 b.  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El 
Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xiv.  W/3  (wavy  handled). 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE    ART. 


FIG.  87. — VASES  DECORATED  IN  IMITATION 
OF  BASKET  WORK. 


and  Schwcinfurth.1  Little  by  little  the  spirals  were  developed, 
after  the  recollection  of  that  which  they  originally  represented 
was  lost,  and  eventually  the  decorator  was  satisfied  to  trace 
two  or  three  enormous  spirals  on  his  vase  by  way  of  ornamenta- 
tion2 (Fig.  86). 

This  ornamentation  has  been  wrongly  interpreted  by  several 
observers,  who  considered  the  spirals  to  be  intended  as  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  sea.  Unfortunately  for  this  theory,  spirals  and 
representations  of  ships  are  never,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge, 
met  with  on  the  same  piece 
of  pottery.3 

\Ve  must  call  attention  to 
the  representations  of  vases 
of  hard  stone  which  are  found 
in  certain  tombs  of  the  Old 
Empire,  representations  which 
follow  the  same  lines  as  those 
of  the  primitive  decorators.1 

Other  vases — and   this  is 

merely  a  repetition  of  what  I  have  previously  stated — are  decorated 
with  lines  representing  the  covering  of  plaited  straw  with  which 
the  vase  was  covered,  a  covering  sometimes  loose,  at  other  times 
tightly  twisted.5 

It  is  thus  that  a  vase  published  by  De  Morgan,  discovered 
in  Upper  Egypt,  and  showing  a  slightly  different  style  of  work, 
reproduces  most  exactly,  according  to  Schweinfurth,  "  those 
great  baskets  for  milk  that  the  present  inhabitants  of  Somali- 
land  weave  with  much  skill  out  of  the  roots  of  leather-like 
toughness  of  the  bushy  Asparagus  retroflexus"*  (Fig-  87). 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxv.  67 a,  b,  c,  and  p.  40.  SCHWEINFURTH,  Ornamentik 
dcr  iiltfsten  Cultur-Epoche  Aegyptens,  in  the  Verhandlvngcn  dtr  b.  Gescllsch. 
fur  Anthropologie,  Ethnologic  und  Urgeschichte,  1897,  pp.  397,  398. 

J  PEFRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxiv.  310-33^;  Diospolis,  pi.  xv.  jc. 

3  A  propos  des  bateaux  egyptiens,  in  I 'Anthropologie,  xi.  1900,  pp.  115,  347. 

4  DAVIES,  The  Rock  Tombs  of  Deir  el  Gebratvi,  i.  pi.  xvii.  xix.  and  pp.  22,  23. 
I'M  KIE,  Naqada,  pi  xxxii.  xxxv.  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xv.  xvi.     MAC!VER  &  MACE, 

El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xiv. 

6  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  i.  pi.  ix.  i.  Compare  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxv. 
76.  VON  BISSING,  Les  origints  de  I'Egypte,  in  I ' Anthropologie,  ix.  1898, 


r 


ii6  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

It  is  undoubtedly  in  this  method  of  decoration  that  we  may 
hope  to  find  the  origin  of  those  parallel  lines  scattered  in 
more  or  less  regular  groups  over  the  surface  of  the  vase.  In 
some  specimens  they  are  carefully  arranged  in  chequer,  sug- 
gesting a  draughtboard  effect ;  in  other  cases,  again,  they  are 
merely  lines  which  appear  to  be  drawn  at  hazard1  (Fig.  87). 

Frequently,  also,  we  find  on  the  vase,  sometimes  combined 
with  imitations  of  plaiting  or  of  other  designs,  a  series  of  small 
triangles  which  probably  represent  mountains.2  In  one  instance 
there  are  human  beings  and  animals  placed  on  the  triangles, 
exactly  as  on  the  famous  statues  of  Min  discovered  at  Koptos, 
a  resemblance  pointed  out  by  Petrie3  (Fig.  88). 


FIG.  88. — VASES  DECORATED  WITH  A  SERIES  OF  TRIANGLES. 

One  of  the  most  curious  representations  which  has  been 
found  upon  these  vases  is  that  of  a  plant  grown  in  a  pot, 
which  Schweinfurth  has  recognized  to  be  the  aloe,  a  plant 
which  does  not  belong  to  the  spontaneous  flora  of  Egypt.  One 
still  meets  with  it  in  Egypt,  cultivated  in  cemeteries  or  placed 

pp.  247,  248.  SCHWEINFURTH,  Uebet  'den  Ursprung  der  Aegypter,  in  the  Ver- 
handlungen  der  b.  Gesellsch.  filr  Anthropologie,  Ethnologie  und  Urgeschichte, 
1897,  p.  281  ;  Ornamenlik  der  dltesten  Cultur-Epoche  Aegyptens,  ib.  p.  397. 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxiii.  u,  12,  20,  21,  23,  24,  26;  Diospolis}  pi.  xv. 
3,  4/,  2o£,  2.oc,  21  b,  2$a. 

*  See  MACIVER  &  WILKIN,  Libyan  Notes,  London,  1901,  p.  65,  note  2: 
"The  so-called  'mountain'  pattern  found  on  prehistoric  Egyptian  decorated 
pottery  occurs  everywhere  in  Kabyle  work,  where  it  has  clearly  nothing  to  do 
with  mountains,  but  arises  from  a  combination  of  the  triangles  which  enter  as 
units  into  almost  all  these  rectilinear  designs." 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxiv.  and  Ixvii.  13-15,  17,  and  p.  49 ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xvi. 
534  54,  59^78^. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE    ART.        117 

above  the  doors  of  houses  as  a  symbol  of  vital  force  and  as 
a  preservative  against  the  evil  eye.  The  funerary  character  of 
this  plant  should  be  borne  in  mind,  and  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  refer  to  it  later  on1  (Fig.  89). 

Other    representations    appear    to    be    intended    to    indicate 

trees,  and  are   sufficiently  like  the   hieroglyph   Q  to  permit   this 

identification.  I  suppose  it  is  to  these  that  Petrie  alludes  when 
he  speaks  of  representations  of  bushes,  which,  combined  with 
signs  of  mountains,  should  indicate  the  landscape,  in  the  midst 
of  which  are  animals,  men,  and  boats.2 


FIG.  89.— REPRESENTATIONS  OF  ALOES  AND  TREES. 

*— 

The    animals    represented    are    few    in    number.     One    finds 

ostriches  and  various  kinds  of  gazelles  and  antelopes  ;  in  excep- 

!    cases   the  crocodile    and   the  chameleon  appear.3     A  very 

remarkable    vase   discovered   at    Abydos    shows   the  figure  of  a 

kudu  and   of  two  long-horned  sheep,4  and    also  a  representation 

1  SCH WEI XFI  KIH,  Ornamentik  dcr  iiltfstcn  Cultur-Epoche  Aegyptens,  loc. 
cit.  p.  392.  PETRIE.  Diospolis,  p.  16. 

*  PEFKIK.  l)i»xpolis,  p.  16. 

8  SCHWEIM  t  KIH,  Ornnmcntik,  etc.,  p.  399:  "  Man  erkennt  unter  ihnen  die 
Sabel-  und  Beisa-Antilope  (Oryx  leucoryx  und  Oryx  Beisa),  ferner  Addax- 
Antilopen,  bexiehungsweise  WasserbOcke,  vielleicht  auch  Kudus.'' 

4  THILENIUS,  l>us  <i^y/>tische  Hausschaf  in  the  Recueil  de  travaux  relatifs 
<i  l,i  f'hil'ilogic  ,-f  ,i  I  archeologie  egypticnncs  et  ussyrienncs,  xxii.  1900,  pp.  199-212. 
DURST  &  CLAUDE  GAILLARD,  Studien  tiber  die  Geschichte  des  itgyptischen 
Hausschafes,  ib.  xxiv.  1902,  pp.  44-76. 


PRIMITIVE   ART   IN    EGYPT. 


FIG.  90. — DECORATED  VASE  WITH  REPRESENTATIONS  OF  ANIMALS,  AND  A  TREE 
WITH  BIRDS  PERCHED  ON  IT. 


FIG.  91. — VARIOUS  DESIGNS  ON  DECORATED  POTTERY — BOATS,  HUMAN  BEINGS, 
ANIMALS,  TREES,  SHIELDS  (?),  ETC. 

of  a  tree,  figured    in  a  different  manner   from  that  we  ordinarily 

meet  with,  and  on  which  birds  are  perched.1     With  this  we  can 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos^  i.  pi.  1.  and  p.  23. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART.        119 


compare   a  vase  showing  an   aloe   on  which  are  two  birds1  and 
another  similar  fragment2  (Fig.  90).  ^  _ 

More  rarely  human  figures  appear  ;  of  these  the  principal  I 
ones  will  be  found  on  Fig.  91.  pTcre  we  first  find  female  figures, 
extremely  diagrammatic  ;  occasionally  even  the  arms  are  not 
indicated  ;  the  body  is  resolved  into  two  triangles  superimposed 
one  on  the  other,  and  surmounted  by  an  oval  black  mass  for  the 
head.3  Ordinarily  the  females  appear  in  an  attitude  identical 
with  that  of  the  statuette  reproduced  in  Fig.  5  of  this  book,  and 
which,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
similar  representations  on  the  tombs 
of  the  Ancient  Empire,  should  be  a 
characteristic  indication  of  dancing.^. 

If  this    interpretation    is    accepted  — 

we  shall  see  presently  what   founda- 

tion there  is  for  it  —  the  two  persons 

represented    before    a    "  dancer  "    on 

the    vase    discovered    at    El    Amrah 

will   be   recognized,  as   they  are  by 

Mr.  Maclvcr,  as  castanette  players5 

(Fig.  92). 

With  the  exception  of  this  instance 

I  have  just  referred  to,  when  men  are 

represented  we  sec  them  upright  and 

walking,  sometimes  with   indications 

of   the    sheath    or   karnata    described    in    Chapter    II.      On    one 

specimen  an  attempt  has  perhaps  been  made  to  represent  them 

chasing  antelopes;  they  carry  sticks  or  boomerangs  (?)  6  (Figs.  88 

and  91).  — 

The  most  startling  objects  met  with  on  these  primitive  vases 


FIG.  92.— VASE  WITH  REPRESENTA- 
TIONS OF  CASTANETTE  PLAYERS  (?) 
BEFORE  A  DANCER  (?). 
From  El  Amrah. 


MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xiv. 

PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixvi.  3. 

MACIVER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xiv. 

DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  ii.  p.  65. 

MAC!VER  &  MACE,.  £7  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xiv.  046,  and  p.  42. 

Vases  with  human  figures  :  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxv.  77  ;  Ixvi.  5,  7  ;  Ixvii.  17. 
CECIL  TORR,  Sur  quclques  pretendus  navires  egyptiens,  in  I'Anthropologie,  ix. 
|898,  p-  33.  fig.  1  1  P-  34,  figs.  3«  and  3*;  p.  35,  figs.  5*  and  5*.  DE  MORGAN, 
Recherches,  i.  pi.  x.  2  a,  ib. 


I2O 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IiN    EGYPT. 


are  the  representations  of  ships.  They  occur  on  a  fairly  large 
number  of  vases— boats  with  oars  or  even  with  sails,  and  com- 
bined with  figures  of  human  beings  and  animals  in  a  landscape 
of  trees  and  mountains,  they  enliven  the  pottery  with  scenes 
the  signification  of  which  we  shall  study  later.  We  must  content 
ourselves  for  the  moment  with  remarking,  with  Schweinfurth, 
that  without  exception,  these  boats  are  drawn  showing  the  left 
side  (larboard).  The  Egyptians,  he  remarks,  orientate  them- 
selves towards  the  south,  and  for  them  the  west  being  on  the 
right  hand  and  the  east  on  the  left,  the  position  of  the  boats 
indicates  that  they  are  being  navigated  against  the  current1 
(Figs.  91  and  94). 


FIG.  93. — VASE  DECORATION  REPRESENTING  GAZELLES  FIGHTING. 

We  must  here  refer  to  a  class  of  objects  to  which  we  shall 
return  later.  These  are  pottery  boats,  found  in  several  tombs, 
one  of  which  is  painted  in  a  very  unsophisticated  manner  with 
figures  of  rowers,  each  with  an  oar  in  his  hand2  (Fig.  91). 

There  is  a  curious  vase  where  the  artist  has  represented  a 
fi^ht  between  gazelles ;  also  fish,  a  crocodile,  an  ostrich,  and 
two  boats.  A  strange  ornamentation  is  several  times  repeated, 
which  I  believe  to  be  unique,  consisting  of  lozenges,  half  black, 
half  white3  (Fig.  93). 

Occasionally  on  these  decorated  vases,  close  to  the  boats, 
one  finds  zigzag  lines,  intended  to  represent  water.  Several 

1  SCHWEINFURTH,  Ornamentik,  etc.,  p.  400. 

2  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxvi.  80  and  Ixvi.  i. 

3  LEGRAIN,  Ao/es  d1  inspection,  vi.  ;  La  necropole  archaique  du  Gebcl  Silsilch, 
in  the  Annales  du  service  des  antiquites  de  rfcgypte,  iv.  1903,  pp.  218-220,  and 
figs.   5,  6. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART.        121 

vases  show  a  curious  object  difficult  to  identify,  considered  by 
Petrie  to  be  a  mast  and  sail,  and  which  in  that  case  might 

be   compared    to   the   hieroglyph    ?  ^  ?  .l       Schweinfurth   sees    in 

them  shields  made  of  skin,  which,  by  analogy  with  the  similar 
weapons  of  the  Dinkas,  Baris,  and  Kaffirs,  would  be  secured  by 
means  of  a  long  pole,  and  these  in  Egypt  would  carry  the  ensign 
at  the  upper  end2  (Fig.  91). 

On  the  vases  are  also  found  a  series  of  signs  in  the  form  of 
S,  N,  and  Z,3  for  which  it  may  perhaps  be  difficult  to  account. 
When,  however,  we  remember  that  we  have  previously  remarked 
hair-pins  Decorated  with  birds  which  occasionally  present  forms 


FIG.  94.— VASE  WITH  VARIOUS  REPRESENTATIONS. 
From  de  Morgan. 

very  similar  to  an  S,  we  may,  I  think,  presume  that  these  sign* 
are  derived  from  a  summarized  form  of  a  row  of  ostriches 
am  much  inclined  to  find  a  similar  abbreviation  of  forms 
a  vase  discovered  by  Petrie  at  Abadiyeh,4  where  there  is  a 
series  of  the  sign  y,  which  I  regard  as  a  very  summary  drawing 
of  female  figures  represented  with  the  arms  raised  above  the 
head  (Fig.  95^ 

There  are  other  vases  the  decoration  of  which  can  scarcely 
be  classed  with  any  of  those  we  have  passed  under  review. 
Among  these  are  the  vases  on  which  there  is  a  five- pointed 


star1;  another  with  human  figures  drawn  reversed  and  in  a  very 

— 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ixvi.  6,  9,  10,  and  p.  49. 

*  SCHWEINFURTH,  Ornamentik,  etc.,  p.  399. 

3  Ib.  p.  398- 

4  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  xx.  8. 

*  Ib.  pi.  xv. 


122 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


k 


summary  fashion  1 ;  and,  finally,  a  small  number  of  vases  on  which 
are  crocodiles — one  of  which  is  pierced  with  harpoons — scorpions, 
and  serpents 2  (Fig.  97).  I  include  in  this  series  a  specimen 
in  the  Berlin  Museum,  on  which  are  painted  serpents,  crocodiles, 
ostriches,  and  giraffes  (No.  15,129;  Fig.  96). 

We  must  now  deal  with  the  rare  vases  decorated  with  designs 
in  relief,  of  which  a  specimen  discovered  at  Naqada  shows  the 
figure  of  a  lizard  and  another  of  a  scorpion  3  (Fig.  97). 


FIG.  95. — DECORATED  VASE  FROM  ABADIYEH. 

On  a  vase  in  the  British  Museum  (No.  36,328)  decorated  with 
ostriches,  triangles,  and  boats,  two  of  the  handles  are  surmounted 
with  figures  of  birds.  On  the  same  vase  there  are  two  figures 
which  cannot  be  identified,  symmetrically  arranged,  in  relief.4 
Another  specimen  at  University  College,  London,  is  decorated  in 
relief  with  figures  of  a  crocodile,  a  crescent,  and  a  harpoon. 

In    the   collection   of  the  Ashmolean    Museum,  Oxford,   there 

1  PETKIE,  Naqada^  pi.  xxxv.  77. 

2  Ib.  pi.  xxxv.  78  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xvi.  78^,  78^  78^. 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxvi.  87,  and  p.  41 . 

4  BUDGE,  A  Guide  to  the  First  and  Second  Egyptian  Rooms,  2nd  ed.   1904, 
p.  32,  No.  164. 


ORNAMENTAL    AND    DECORATIVE    ART.        123 

are  three  red  vases,  with  the  upper  edge  blackened  (black-topped 
pottery),  which  date  from  the  commencement  of  the  historic 
period,  and  possess  special  interest  (Fig.  98).  On  the  first, 
found  at  Naqada  (tomb  1,449),  is  seen  a  head  roughly  worked 
in  relief;  this  is  carried  on  by  a  line  in  relief,  which  descends 
perpendicularly,  becoming  gradually  thinner.  I  believe  this  re- 


FIG.  96.— VASE  WITH  REPRESENTATIONS  OF  GIRAFFES,  OSTRICHES,  CROCODILES,  AND  SXAKES. 

Berlin  Museum. 

presents  the  body  of  the  man.  From  each  side  near  the  top, 
two  ascending  lines  in  relief  are  detached,  which  represent  the 
arms.  Near  the  base,  at  a  certain  distance  from  the  central 
line,  can  be  distinguished,  also  in  relief,  two  circular  knobs, 
from  which  two  lines  ascend  somewhat  abruptly  to  the  top  of 
the  vase.  The  man  must  be  clasping  the  vase,  in  a  position 


124 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


which  is  difficult  to  imagine,  and  can  only  be  explained  by  the 
inexperience  of  the  primitive  artist,  who  has  not  omitted  to 
represent  the  head  full-face  (the  two  photographs  in  the  centre 
of  Fig.  98  are  two  fragments  of  a  similar  vase).  The  special 
interest  of  this  curious  vase  consists  in  its  permitting  us  to 
watch  the  operation  of  that  law  of  extreme  simplification  which 
we  have  recently  been  considering.  This  is  carried  still  further 


FIG.  97.  -DECORATED  VASES  WITH  DESIGNS  IN  RELIEF  AND  OTHER  RARE 
ORNAMENTATIONS. 

on  two  other  vases  from  Hu  (tombs  U  179  and  B  101),  which, 
according  to  sequence  dating,  are  more  recent  than  the  Naqada 
specimen,  and  show  as  decoration  two  ornaments  in  relief,  con- 
sisting simply  of  a  circular  knob,  from  which  a  line  rises  to 
the  top  of  the  vase.  It  is  thus  an  exact  copy  of  the  legs  of 
the  figure  on  the  vase  first  described.  I  think,  as  a  consequence 
of  frequent  copying,  the  meaning  of  the  lines  was  lost,  and,  more 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        125 


especially  in  the  Hu  specimens,  it  was  not  known  that  they  had 
any  connection  with  the  human  figure.  Thus  the  ornament  re- 
sembles two  serpents  facing  each  other,  and  I  should  not  be  surprised 
if  the  primitive  artist  had  that  idea  when  he  made  the  vase.1 

A  vase  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford,  discovered  at 
Naqada  (tomb  1,871,  sequence  date  46)  introduces  us  to  a  very 
rare  scheme  of  decoration.  The  vase  itself  is  red,  with  the 
blackened  upper  edge.  The  interior  is  also  blackened,  as  is  usual 


FIG.  98. — BLACK-TOPPED  POTTERY  WITH  FIGURES  IN  RELIEF. 

with  these  vases  ;  but  there  is  besides,  roughly  cut  in  the  clay 
previous  to  baking,  a  number  of  crude  designs,  which  probably 
represent  serpents  and  plants  (Fig.  99).  It  may  possibly  have 
figured  as  a  magic  vase  (?).  What  is  certain  is  that,  with  the 
exception  of  two  small  fragments,  of  identical  technique,  in  the 
same  museum,  there  is  no  piece  in  existence— at  least,  to  my 
knowledge — at  all  comparable  with  this.2 

1  The  vase  to  the  left  is  figured,  without  description  in  the  text,  by  PETRIE, 
Diospolis,  pi.  xiv.  66. 

1  See  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxv.  71.  A  vase  in  the  British  Museum,  decorated 
inside  with  fantastic  signs,  is  apparently  only  a  modern  fraud. 


126  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

A  certain  number  of  vases  of  rough-faced  pottery  are  decorated 
with  incised  lines,  but  this  mode  of  ornamentation  appears  to  have 
been  employed  only  rarely l  (Fig.  100,  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford). 

Such  are  the  various  classes  of  ornamentation  with  which 
archaic  Egyptian  pottery  was  decorated.  So  far  as  they  can 
be  cursorily  summed  up,  they  are  all  either  skeuomorphic,  or  else 
derived  directly  from  some  natural  object — mountain,  plant,  animal, 
man,  etc.  It  is  an  excellent  proof  in  support  of  the  theories 


FIG.  99. — VASE  OF  BLACK-TOPPED  POTTERY  WITH  AN  INCISED  DECORATION  INSIDE. 

propounded  at  the  commencement  of  this  chapter,  and  on  which 
it  is  not  necessary  to  insist  further. 

We  must  now  rapidly  review  the  pieces  of  pottery  to  which 
the  primitive  artist  has  attempted  to  give  either  a  human  or  an 
animal  form.2 

An  extremely  curious  vase,  of  brilliant  black  glaze,  found  in 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  41,  and  pi.  xxxv.  74,  76  ;  xxxvi.  93 a  and  b;  xxxvii.  41. 
Diospolis,  pi.  xvi.  74  b  and  93  c ;  xvii.  49.    In  our  figure  the  upper  vase  =  Diospolis, 
xvi.  74  £  ;  below,  beginning  at  the  left, — I  =  Naqada,  xxxvi.  93  £  (smoke-blacked 
brown  pottery):   2  =  Diospolis,   xvi.    93 c  (Hu,  U  126);    3   (Hu,    6158);  4  = 
Diospolis,  xvii.  49  (Hu,  U  170). 

2  I  reserve  for  the  chapter  on  sculpture  some  vases  in  stone  and  clay  repre- 
senting human  figures  where  the  "vase"  disappears  before  the  sculptured  figure. 


ORN AM  FATAL    AND    DECORATIVE    ART.         127 


Dr.  Petrie's  excavations  at  Abadiyeh,  was  discovered  in  a  tomb 
of  the  first  half  of  the  prehistoric  period  (sequence  dates  33-41). 
The  primitive  artist  has  endeavoured  to  give  to  the  vase  a  female 
form,  and  he  has  succeeded  in  making  a  figure  which  docs  not 
differ  greatly  from  the  clay  female  statuettes  of  the  same  period, 
which  we  will  consider  later,  and  of  which  we  have  already  given 
specimens  as  illustrating  clothing  and  personal  adornment.  A 
mere  pinch  in  the  clay  serves  to  indicate  the  nose,  the  ears,  and 


FIG.  loo. — ROUGH-FACED  POTTERY  WITH  INCISED  DECORATIONS. 

shoulders ;  the  breasts  are  summarily  formed  and  pendant,  as 
they  are  with  negresses.  Finally,  the  vase  swells  out  suddenly 
behind,  attempting  to  portray  the  extraordinary  development  of 
the  buttocks  (steatopygy),  which  is  also  seen  on  the  statuettes1 
(Fig.  101). 

Another  vase  of  human  form  must  be  mentioned  which 
appears  to  represent  a  captive  crouching  on  the  ground  in  a  most 
uncomfortable  attitude.  The  primitive  artist  has  only  attempted 
to  render  the  head  with  fidelity.2 

1  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  v.  B  102.  »  Ib.  p).  vi.  B  83. 


128 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


The  same  excavations  at  Hu-Abadiyeh  also  effected  the  dis- 
covery of  two  vases  in  the  form  of  hippopotami.  In  one,  care 
lias  been  taken  to  render  the  form  of  the  animal  as  accurately  as 
possible  ;  in  the  other  the  design  is  very  summary,  and  decorated 
with  two  lateral  handles1  (Fig.  102).  The  same  is  the  case  with 

a  vase  in  the  form  of  a  hippopotamus, 
now  in  the  museum  at  Cairo,  which 
was  published  by  Von  Hissing  some 
years  ago.2 

The  special  interest  of  this  last 
piece  lies  in  the  paintings  which  have 
been  added  by  the  primitive  artist. 
Herr  von  Bissing  speaks  thus  of  it : 
"  The  hippopotami  of  the  Middle 
Empire  are  decorated,  as  Maspero 
remarks,  with  reeds,  lotus,  and  butter- 
flies, because  they  live  in  the  midst 
of  reeds,  where  butterflies  are  flitting 
round  them.  In  the  same  way  the 
artist  could  decorate  the  two  sides  of 
the  hippopotamus-shaped  vase  with 
the  long  series  of  marsh  birds,  with 
their  long  necks  and  large  feet, 
characteristic  of  the  most  ancient 
Egyptian  art,  because  they  actually 
saw  the  hippopotamus  in  nature 
surrounded  by  such  birds.  Another 
explanation  must  be  found  for  the 
harpoons,  which  are  in  groups  of  two 
or  three  upon  the  handles,  under  the 

lip,  the  head,  and  the  tail.      Apparently  it   was  desired  to  show 
the  hippopotamus  hunted  and  taken  by  harpoons."3 

These  very   apt   remarks   are    interesting,  and  we  shall   again 

1  PETRIE,  ib.  pi.  vi.  R  134,  and  pi.  xiv.  67.     On  the  latter  specimen  traces  of 
painting  may  still  be  seen,  notably  harpoons  painted  under  the  body  of  the  animal. 

2  FR.  W.  v.  BISSING,  Altagyptische   Gcfasse   im  Museum   zu   Gisc,   in  the 
Zeitschrift  filr  agyptuche  Sprache,  xxxvi.  1898,  pp.  123-125. 

3  We  have  already  remarked  the  same  detail  in  a  representation  of  crocodiles. 


FIG.   101. — BLACK  POLISHED  VASE 
IN  FORM  OF  A  WOMAN. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART.        129 

have  occasion  to -refer  to  them.  Herr  von  Bissing  notes  at  the 
same  time  the  frequent  occurrence  of  vases  of  animal  forms  in 
primitive  Egyptian  art,  as  in  the  art  of  all  primitive  people. 
Among  these  vases  of  ancient  Egypt  are  some  shaped  as  fish,1 
and  others  more  numerous  in  bird  form2  (Fig.  102).  Occasionally 
the  vase  represents  t\vo  birds  side  by  side3  (Fig.  102).  The  Petrie 
Collection,  University  College,  London,  contains  a  certain  number 


FIG.  102. — CLAY  VASES  IN  FORM  OF  ANIMALS. 

of  bird-shaped    vases,   one    of  which    is   very   remarkable   as   an 
attempt  at  representing  a  vulture4  (Figs.   103  and  104). 

1  PETRIE.    Naqada,    pi.    xxvii.     68  a-c,    and    p.    37.     QUIBELL  &  GREEN, 
Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  Ixvi.  and  p.  50. 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxvii.  (jya-c.     DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  i.  p.  160,  fig. 481. 

3  PETRIE,  haqada,  pi.  xxxvi.  90. 

4  "  I  am  inclined  to  connect  this  bird  (with  mouth  on  top  and  spout  in  front) 
with  the  bird  vase  said  to  be  used  by  the  Ansairiyeh  in  Syria,  called  Taus  (the 
peacock)  from  which  they  receive  sacramental  wine  in  their  secret  rites." — Note 
by  Professor  Petrie. 

9 


1 3o 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


f  ! 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART.        131 

Here,  again,  the  copy  differs  widely  from  the  model,  and  it  is 
only  by  the  aid  of  the  intermediate  forms  that  we  can  realize 
what  it  is  the  primitive  artist  wished  to  represent.1 

In  some  tombs  small  rectangular  pottery  boxes  have  been 
discovered,  which  are  decorated  on  the  outside  in  the  same 


FIG.  104.  —CLAY  VASE  IN  FORM  OF  A  VULTURE. 


manner  as  the  vases.  One  of  these  boxes  from  Diospolis  shows 
a  row  of  triangles  in  imitation  of  mountains,  and  also  rows  of 
parallel  lines,  which  slope  in  alternate  directions  from  one  row 
to  the  next2  (Fig.  105,  D  73). 

Another  specimen  belonging  to  the  British  Museum  is  decorated 

1  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  vi.  R  131  ;  xix.  71. 
1  Ib.  pi.  xvi.  73. 


132 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


with  boats,  ibex,  groups  of  parallel  lines,  and  with  S-shaped 
signs1  (Fig.  105). 

There  is  a  cover  of  a  similar  box  in  the  Petrie  Collection, 
University  College,  London.  Before  baking  the  clay,  the  primitive 
workmen  engraved  on  the  cover  an  ostrich,  a  scorpion,  and  two 
human  figures,  one  of  the  most  ancient  representations  of  this 
class  that  we  know.2 

Finally,    Mr.    Maclver,    in    the    El     Amrah    excavations,    dis- 


-  AVI1 . 

FIG.    105.— POTTERY  BOXES  WITH  VARIOUS  DESIGNS. 

covered  a  box  of  the  same  kind,  on  which  different  scenes 
were  drawn  in  charcoal.  On"  one  of  the  sides  appears  a  hippo- 
potamus, on  the  second  a  boat,  beneath  which  is  a  crocodile. 
The  third  side  is  at  present  inexplicable,3  while  with  regard  to 
the  fourth,  various  interpretations  are  attempted.  Mr.  Maclver 
sees  in  it  a  series  of  six  animals  with  long  necks  (probably 

1  BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  p.  98,  fig.     British  Museum,  No.  32,639. 

2  PETRIE,   Prehistoric  Egyptian  Figures,  in  Man,   1902,  No.   14,  p.   17  and 

pi.  B,  22. 

3  See    PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  liii.  113.  where  a  pottery  mark  is  given  similar  to 
the  design  on  this  side  (Fig.  105). 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        133 

giraffes)  proceeding  towards  the  right ;  their  bodies,  he  remarks, 
are  drawn  diagrammatically,  and  resemble  palings.  Below  these 
is  a  row  of  triangles.1  The  drawings  of  the  period,  greatly 
simplified  as  they  arc,  have  not  accustomed  us  to  such  extremely 
diagrammatic  representations  of  animals.  I  consider  it  as  more 
probably  a  palisade,  of  which  the  upper  part  of  the  posts  are 
decorated  with  bucrania.  It  has  been  proved  on  several  occasions 
that  at  this  period  animals'  skulls  were  employed  not  only  for 
decoration,  but  also  for  magical  or  religious  purposes2  (Fig.  105). 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  close  of  our  examination  of 
decorative  pottery  of  the  primitive  era.  There  is  another  series 
of  designs  which  we  must  mention  in  this  connection,  although 
they  can  scarcely  be  considered  as  a  form  of  decoration  ;  these 
are  the  marks  and  signs  engraved  on  the  pottery,  the  sludy  of 
which  is  of  primary  importance.  As,  however,  this  subject  would 
lead  us  to  treat  of  questions  somewhat  outside  the  domain  of 
decorative  art,  it  will  be  preferable  to  reserve  it  for  the  end  of 
the  chapter,  when  we  have  finished  our  examination  of  decorated 
objects  of  the  primitive  period. 

The  furniture  of  the  primitive  Egyptians,  as  may  easily  be 
imagined,  was  extremely  rudimentary.  The  materials  employed 
for  this  purpose,  less  resistant  than  ivory  or  pottery,  have  been 
almost  or  quite  destroyed  by  the  action  of  time.  We  cannot, 
therefore,  be  surprised  that  we  have  but  little  information  on  this 
subject.  We  must  wait  for  the  commencement  of  the  historic 
period  to  find  precise  indications. 

We  can,  however,  mention  several  objects  brought  to  light 
by  recent  excavations,  and  first  the  fire-places  of  the  primitive 
houses,  of  which  Professor  Pctric  discovered  several  examples 
in  the  small  prehistoric  town  which  lay  close  round  the  earliest 
temple  of  Osiris  at  Abydos.  These  fire-places  closely  resemble 
pottery  cisterns.  Charcoal  was  burnt  in  them,  and  cinders  were 
found  in  one  of  them. 


1  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xii.  10-13,  and  P-  42-  Tnis 
decorated  box  is  now  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

1  CAPART,  f.n  J\:tc  </<•  frnftfu-r  Ics  Anon,  in  the  Revue  d  histoire  des  religions, 
xliii.  1901,  pp.  252,  253. 


134 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


They  all  have  designs  in  imitation  of  plaited  work  incised 
in  the  pottery  on  the  flat  rims.  Two  specimens  are  specially 
remarkable.  The  design  represents  a  serpent,  whose  head  projects 
inside  the  rim  so  that  the  creature  appears  to  be  hanging  over 
the  fire.  The  decorator,  remarks  Professor  Petrie,  has  combined 
the  agathodemon,  the  domestic  fetish  ot  prehistoric  times,  with 
the  hearth-place1  (Fig.  106). 

We  have  already  spoken  of  fragments  of  furniture  with  plaited 
work  attached,  found  in  the  royal  tombs.  The  excavations  of 
M.  de  Morgan  at  Naqada,  of  Messrs.  Amelineau  and  Petrie  at 


A.tt. 


A.18 


.A17. 


FIG.   106. — CLAY  FIRE-PLACES  DECORATED  WITH  DESIGNS  IN  IMITATION  OF 
PLAITED  WORK. 

Abydos,  and  of  Mr.  Quibell  at  Hierakonpolis,  have  unfortunately 
only  produced  fragments  of  small  importance,  which  give  a  very 
vague  idea  of  furniture  in  the  primitive  age.  All  that  has  been 
found  are  parts  of  small  coffers,  or  of  seats  or  low  beds. 
They  are,  however,  sufficient  to  show  that  the  feet  which 
supported  these  pieces  of  furniture  were  in  the  form  of  legs  of 
bulls,  and  were  treated  in  a  manner  which  reminds  Dr.  Petrie  of 
Italian  cinque  cento  work,  rather  than  of  archaic  efforts2  (Fig.  107). 

1  PETRIE,  Excavations  at  Abydos,  in  Man,  1902,  No.  64,  p.  89  and  figs.  6-8. 
Abydos,  i.  pi.  liii.  13-18,  and  p.  25, 

2  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  \.  p.  27. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        135 

It  is  specially  interesting  to  observe  the  pronounced  taste  of 
the  decorators  for  inlaying.  Small  plaques  in  ivory,  wood,  and 
glazed  pottery  with  incised  lines  are  very  numerous.1 


FIG.    107. — IVORY  FEET  FOR  FURNITURE,  IN  THE  SHAPE  or  BULLS'  LEGS. 

The  models  which  inspired  the  decorators  are  borrowed 
principally  from  matting,  cords,  and  feathers.  The  human  figure 

1  Petric  discovered  at  Abydos  a  large  number  of  gla/ed  pottery  tiles  which 
had  served  as  a  wall  decoration.  Sec  PETRIE,  Ahydos,  ii.  pi.  viii.  and  p.  26. 
This  entails  an  entire  revision  of  the  opinions  given  in  BORCHARDT,  /Mr 
Geschichte  dcr  Pyramidcn  I.  Thttr  aus  der  Stufenpyramide  hei  Sakkara, 
lii-rlint-r  Muslim,  No.  1185,  in  the  Zcitschrift  flir  tlgyptische  Sprachc,  xxx.  1892, 
pp.  83-87  and  pi.  i.  WIEUEMANN,  review  of  QUIBELL.  Hicrakonpolis,  i.,  in 
the  Orientalistischc  I.ittcmtiirzeitung,  iii.  1900,  col.  331.  PETRIE.  Koyal  Tombs, 
ii.  p.  36. 


136 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


is  also  used  as  a  support,  and  already  one  finds  kneeling  captives 
supporting  seats,  as  they  are  found  later  on  during  the  historic 
period  l  (Fig.  14). 

Certain  ivory  fragments  found  at  Hierakonpolis  are  perhaps 
the  arms  of  chairs  ;  they  are  ornamented  with  figures  of 
animals  in  the  same  style  as  those  found '  on  the  handles  of 
knives.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  is  a  fantastic  animal 
with  the  neck  lengthened  out  of  all  proportion.  Occasionally  a 
man,  standing,  seizes  the  neck  of  one  of  these  animals  with 
both  hands,  in  an  attitude  which  is  specially  familiar  to  us  in 
Mycenaean  and  Chaldean  art2  (Figs.  108,  109). 


FIG.    108. — FRAGMENTS  OF  IVORY  CARVED  WITH  VARIOUS  FIGURES. 

The  same  excavations  at  Hierakonpolis  brought  to  light  ivory 
cylinders  decorated  with  figures  of  men  and  animals,  treated  in 
the  same  style.  Judging  by  the  sceptre  discovered  at  Abydos,3 
they  might  be  considered  as  fragments  of  a  sceptre.  One  of  these 
cylinders  in  particular,  which  bears  the  name  of  King  Nar-Mer,  is 
interesting  as  a  curious  example  of  a  pictographic  and  hieroglyphic 

1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i   pi.  xi.  and  p.  7;  ii.  p.  37. 

•  Ib.  i.  pi.  xii.-xiv.  xvi.  xvii.  xxxii.  ;  fantastic  animal,  pi.  xvi.  2  and  xvii. 
EVANS,  The  Mycenaan  tree  and  pillar  cult  and  its  Mediterranean  relations,  with 
illustrations  from  recent  Cretan  finds,  London,  1901  (reprinted  from  the 
Jotirnal  of  Hellenic  Studies],  p.  65  et  seq.,  and  figs.  43-45.  We  shall  later  have 
occasion  to  return  to  this  point. 

3  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  ix.  i. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART.        137 


138 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


inscription    similar    to    that    engraved    on    a    slate    plaque    in   the 
Cairo  Museum,  of  which  we  shall  speak  later  on1  (Fig.   no). 

When  we  recall  the  various  types  of  decoration  that  we  have 
had  occasion  to  pass  in  review,  there  is  one  which  appears  to  be 
more  especially  striking.  The  primitive  Egyptians  were  accurate 
observers  of  nature  ;  men,  plants,  and  animals  almost  exclusively 
supplied  them  with  models.  We  have  rarely  met  with  what 


FIG.   no. — CARVED  IVORY  CYLINDERS. 

might  be  called  geometric  patterns  beyond  those  which  sprang 
spontaneously  from  the  imitation  of  materials  employed  by  primitive 
industries,  especially  from  basket  work  and  matting.  In  fact 
decorative  genius,  as  distinguished  from  a  fancy  for  decoration, 
appears  to  have  been  absent  among  the  primitive  Egyptians.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  they  achieved  very  mediocre  results  from  the 
natural  models  they  copied.  This  mediocrity  is  especially  flagrant 
in  the  "decorated  pottery,"  and  one  may  even  ask  oneself  if 

1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xv.  7,  inscription  of  Nar-Mer. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        139 

the  primitive  man  who  traced  on  the  clay  those  representations 
of  boats,  birds,  plants,  gazelles,  and  men,  really  wished  to  decorate 
the  vase,  or  whether  they  had  not  some  other  object  in  view. 
Art  for  the  sake  of  art  is,  I  believe,  an  exception  among  primitive 
people,  and  a  purpose  which  is  truly  aesthetic  can  only  very  rarely 
be  found  among  them.  The  study  we  shall  devote  to  the  paintings 
of  the  tomb  at  Hierakonpolis  will,  I  believe,  partly  enable  us 
to  elucidate  this  point,  which  is  of  great  importance  for  the  just 
appreciation  of  the  decorative  art  of  the  primitive  Egyptians. 
The  period  of  the  Ancient  Egyptian  Empire  does  not  differ  very 
greatly  in  this  respect  from  the  primitive  age,  and  on  this  point 
also  it  is  difficult  to  find  any  radical  modification  between  the 
two  periods.  There  is  nothing,  I  think,  which  should  prevent 
our  seeing  in  the  art  of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  dynasties  the 
natural  outcome  of  the  gradual  development  of  ideas  which  were 
first  evolved  by  their  distant  predecessors  of  primitive  times. 
I  hope  to  show  in  due  course  that  the  decorations  of  walls  of 
mastabas  of  the  Ancient  Empire  are  no  other  than  the  develop- 
ment of  the  ideas  which  the  primitive  Egyptians  expressed  in 
adorning  their  pottery  with  painted  figures.  Besides  scenes  and 
designs  borrowed  directly  from  nature,  these  tombs  merely  show 
us  imitations  of  hard  stones,  of  plaiting  and  weaving,  or  even 
of  the  graining  of  wood.1 

To  return  to  those  marks  found  on  pottery,  which  can 
scarcely  be  regarded  as  decoration.  The  motives  for  inscribing 
these  incised  lines  seem  to  have  been  various,  although  at  the 
present  day  it  is  impossible  always  to  determine  them  with 
certainty.  Professor  Petric  has  recognized  that  in  some  instances 
they  appear  to  have  been  a  mark  of  property,  various  pieces  of 
pottery  in  one  tomb  bearing  the  same  mark.2  Frequently,  I 
think,  they  should  be  considered  as  a  kind  of  signature  placed 
by  the  potter  upon  the  vases  which  issued  from  his  hands.  Dr. 
1'ctiie  has  remarked  to  me  that  all  these  marks  were  inscribed 
after  the  baking  of  the  vase.  It  should  be  observed  that  there 

1  PETRIE,  Egyptian  Decorative  Art,  pp.  44,  89,  and  chap.  iv.  Structural 
decoration. 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  44. 


HO  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

are  two  classes  of  pottery  on  which  they  are  commonly  found— 
the  black-topped  and  the  red  polished.  On  the  other  pottery 
we  have  studied,  the  cross-lined  and  the  decorated,  they  do 
not  occur.1 

If  we  follow  Petrie  in  classifying  these  marks  under  different 
headings,  the  results  we  shall  gather  are  as  follows2  (Fig.  1 1 1). 

The  human  figure  rarely  appears.3  In  one  instance  an 
animal,  which  is  difficult  to  identify,  is  apparently  devouring 
the  head  of  a  man,  a  group  which  recalls  the  mythological 
Makes.''  Figures  of  animals  occur  more  frequently,  and  with 
one  exception  they  differ  little  in  style  from  those  painted  on 
vases,  and  perhaps  resemble  most  closely  those  on  the  cross- 
lined  pottery.  The  most  usual  types  are  the  elephant,  hippo- 
potamus, various  kinds  of  antelope,  and  possibly  the  giraffe.5 

Birds  are  less  frequent,  and  the  species  represented  are  not 
easily  identifiable  ;  one  recognizes,  however,  the  bird  with  long 
feet,  and  with  the  neck  curved  into  an  S,  which  frequently 
occurs  on  the  decorated  pottery.6  Crocodiles  and  serpents  are 
often  found.7  Floral  designs  are  limited  to  summary  sketches 
of  the  palm-tree  and  of  various  kinds  of  vegetation  not  easy 
to  determine.8  Boats,  while  they  are  rare,  are  not  entirely 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  44. 

2  The   marks  D  20  are    from  a  slate    palette  which  Petrie  has   omitted   to 
describe  in  Diospolis.     The  original  is   in  the.Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford,  and 
is    reproduced    earlier    in    the    book    in    dealing    with    palettes    with    incised 
ornamentation. 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  li.  i,  2,  7. 

4  According  to  PLEYTE,  Chapitres  supplemcntaires  du  Livre  des  Morts,  i.  p.  41, 
"  Ce  n'est  pas  qu'apres  la  xx".  dynastic  que  le  titre  ou  nom  de  Mahes  dsvient  un 
nom  de  dieu."     I  believe  the  representations  of  this  god  to  be  rare.     I  will  quote 
Naos  029  at  the  Louvre  (PIERRET,  Pantheon  egypticn,  fig.  on  p.  79),  a  whip 
handle   at   the  Leyden   Museum,  i.   77  (LEEMANS,   Monuments,  ii.   pi.  Ixxxiv.), 
and    a    magical    boomerang    at    University   College,    London,    of    the    twelfth 
dynasty. 

5  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  li.  7-27  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xx    13-29.     MAC!VER  &  MACE, 
El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xvii.  19-24.    NEWBERRY,  Extracts  from  my  Notebooks, 
v.  No.  37,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  xxiv.  1902, 
p.  251  and  pi.  i.  5. 

6  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi  li.  28-32  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xx.  30-35,  xxi,  51. 

7  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  li.  33-38  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xxi.  36-43. 

8  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Hi.  52-69  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xxi.  53-72.    MAC!VER  &  MACE, 
El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xvii.  25-29. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        141 


absent,    but    they    only  recall  very  vaguely  those   that  \ve  know 
on  the  decorated  pottery.1 


S^v 

FIG.   in. — POTTERY  MARKS. 

Men,  elephants,  hippopotami,  lions,  antelopes,  giraffes,  birds,  plants,  reptiles, 

boats,  etc. 

These  are  almost  the  only  representations  which  it  is  possible 
1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Hi.  70,  71  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xxi.  52. 


142  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

to  recognize  at  a  first  glance.  Before  continuing  our  examina- 
tion of  these  marks,  we  should  therefore  ask  ourselves  a 
question  of  some  importance. 

Among  those  figures  which  are  easy  of  identification,  do 
we  meet  with  signs  that  we  could  designate  as  "  hieroglyphs"? 
In  other  words,  ought  we  to  consider  hieroglyphic  writing  as 
an  importation  brought  by  conquerors  from  Asia,  from  Upper 
Nubia,  or  from  some  other  region  ;  or  is  it  possible  to  discover 
anything  on  these  objects  belonging  to  the  primitive  Egyptians 
that  suggests  that  they  employed  a  method  of  writing  of  which 
the  later  hieroglyphs  are  but  a  development  ? 

We  must  recall  some  remarks  of  Von  Bissing  on  the  subject 
of  the  African  origin  of  hieroglyphs. 

"Hieroglyphic  writing,"  he  says,  "in  my  opinion  presents  a 
character  which  is  entirely  Egyptian.  A  fairly  large  number 
of  extremely  ancient  signs  are  drawn  from  plants  and  animals. 
The  papyrus  is  assuredly  an  Egyptian  plant.  Now  a  group 
which  occurs  frequently  with  the  meaning  of  verdant  repre- 
sents the  stem  and  flower  of  this  plant.  It  is  also  the  standard 
of  Lower  Egypt  and  the  sign  for  the  north.  As  to  the  lotus, 
it  occurs  so  often  that  the  sign  for  tlwusand  in  Egyptian  is 
actually  the  stem  of  the  Nymphcea  cerulea,  with  a  leaf  floating 
on  the  water.  The  flowers  of  Nymphaea  on  a  basin  is  the 
earliest  form  of  the  letter  S  where  the  papyrus  enters  later. 
I  do  not  know  that  the  Nymph&a  cerulea  and  the  Nymphaea 
lotus  are  natives  of  Asia,  and  it  is  precisely  these  plants,  as 
proved  by  Messrs.  Borchardt  and  Griffith,  which  one  meets  with 
from  the  earliest  times  in  Egypt,  while  the  Nymplwea  nelumbo, 
which  probably  comes  from  Asia,  is  not  found  except  on  the 
monuments  of  the  late  period. 

"  With  regard  to  animals,  the  result  is  the  same.  Above  all, 
the  crocodile  and  the  hippopotamus,  which  one  could  not 
separate  from  the  archaic  civilization  and  from  the  earliest 
mythological  conceptions  of  the  Egyptians,  do  not  exist  in 
Asia  (the  Indian  species  differ  considerably  from  the  African 
specimens  figured  on  the  monuments).  The  eagle,  which  is  in 
reality  a  black  vulture,  the  bald-headed  vulture  (sacred  bird 


ORNAM  FATAL   AND    DECORATIVE   ART.        143 

of  the  goddess  Mut),  the  sparrow-hawk  (which  should  be 
termed  a  falcon),  the  owl,  and,  above  all,  the  ibis,  offer  types  which 
are  absolutely  African,  or,  at  least,  are  in  no  way  characteristic 
of  Asia. 

"  It  is  the  same  with  the  different  animals,  such  as  the  jackal, 
symbol  of  various  gods  of  the  dead  (I  am  told  that  it  is  more 
nearly  a  fox),  the  gazelles  (among  others  the  Oryx  leukoryx, 
which  is  unknown  in  Asia),  even  the  elephant,  which  presents 
the  African  type,  the  hyaena,  and  many  others.  If  we  come  to 
snakes,  insects,  and  fish — among  all  these  we  find  species  known 
as  existing  in  Egypt  at  that  period  :  the  uneus,  scarab,  scorpion, 
and  various  fish  that  one  sees  in  the  hieroglyphs  and  meets  with 
again  in  the  mural  decorations  of  the  Ancient  Empire.  Natur- 
ally the  Egyptians  must  have  long  been  acquainted  with  a  large 
number  of  the  animals  here  mentioned  before  they  learnt  to 
attribute  to  them  the  conventional  meaning  they  received.  How 
many  times  did  they  see  the  hippopotamus  thrust  his  head  out 
of  the  water  to  breathe  in  air,  before  finding  in  the  head  of  the 
animal  appearing  above  the  water  a  graphic  expression  for 
that  which  we  call  a  minute"*  For  a  long  time  the  ancient 
Egyptian  must  have  watched  the  beetle  making  his  mud  balls, 
before  seeing  in  him  the  symbol  of  perpetual  creation,  the 
formation  of  the  egg.  If  it  were  possible  that  the  hippopotamus, 
strictly  speaking,  had  struck  the  new  arrivals  at  their  first  entry 
into  Egypt,  and  had  suggested  to  them  the  very  strange  idea 
of  symbolizing  an  instant,  it  cannot  at  any  rate  have  been  the 
case  with  the  beetle.  In  any  case,  the  Egyptians  before  entering 
Egypt  could  have  had  no  word  for  an  instant  or  to  become, 
as  the  very  words  which  designate  these  ideas  arc  native  to 
Egypt."  l 

Basing  his  argument  partly  on  these  considerations  and 
partly  on  the  pottery  marks,  and  the  graffiti  of  which  we  shall 
speak  presently,  M.  Zaborowski  came  to  the  conclusion  that 

1  F.  VON  BISSING,  Les  origines  de  rfcgyptc,  in  I' Anthropologie,  ix.  1898, 
pp.  409-411.  In  these  last  lines  there  appears  to  me  to  be  a  confusion,  which  I 
am  convinced  the  author  would  not  make  at  the  present  time.  See  ERMAN, 
liramnmtik,  2nd  ed.  Berlin,  1902,  §  36,  p.  17. 


144  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

the  origin  of  hieroglyphic  writing  should  in  reality  be  sought 
for  in  the  graffiti.1 

At.  first  sight  these  conclusions  are  extremely  attractive, 
and  it  seems  rational  to  evolve  the  classical  hieroglyphs  from 
a  system  of  elementary  pictography.  This  evolution,  according 
to  Von  Hissing,  being  effected  in  Egypt,  the  deductions  of 
M.  Zaborowski  appear  to  be  absolutely  correct.  On  looking 
more  closely  into  the  question,  however,  it  does  not  appear  to 
me1  to  be  a  certainty. 

The  inscriptions  of  the  first  dynasty  have  not  the  appearance 
of  hieroglyphs  in  course  of  formation.  The  concordance  of  the 
sequence  dating  with  the  dates  of  the  kings  of  the  Ancient 
Empire,  as  Dr.  Petrie  has  established  them  from  the  results 
of  his  excavations  in  the  temenos  of  Osiris  at  Abydos,  leaves 
little  hope  at  present  of  discovering  any  hieroglyphs  that 
could  form  a  link  between  the  pottery  marks,  the  graffiti,  and 
the  classical  hieroglyphs.  We  may  ask,  however,  whether  there 
is  not  a  chance  that  excavations  may  some  day  lead  to  the 
discovery  of  some  relics  of  those  "  worshippers  of  Horus,"  whose 
real  significance  Professor  Sethe  has  recently  been  able  to  solve.2 

The  pottery  marks  we  have  already  mentioned  include  few 
hieroglyphs.  There  is  a  sign  representing  the  plant  of  the 
south,3  and  another  which  is  nothing  else  than  the  crown  of 
Lower  Egypt,4  the  crown  of  the  goddess  Neith,  which,  being  of 
Libyan  origin,  as  we  have  mentioned  previously,  might  very 
well  have  been  introduced  as  a  pictographic  sign  into  a  system 
of  writing  which  was  already  constituted. 

I  will  also  refer  to  the  sign  engraved  on  a  slate  palette,  the 
sign  of  the  god  Min,  which  occurs  rather  frequently  among  these 
pottery  marks.5  This  could  only  have  become  a  hieroglyphic 

1  ZABOROWSKI,  Origines  africaines  de  la  civilisation  de  Vandenne  £gypte,  in 
the  Revue  scientifique ,  4th  series,  xi.,  March  nth,  1899,  pp.  293,  394. 

2  SETHE,  Beitrdge  zur  iiltesten   Geschichte  Aegyptcns  {Untersuchungen  zur 
Geschichte  und  Alterlhumskundc  Aegyptens,  herausgegeben  von  Kurt  Sethe,  iii.  i), 
pp.  3-21  :  die  "  Horusdiener" 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Iii.  74. 

4  Id.  pi.  Iii.  75. 

6  Ib.  pi.  liii.  117-122  ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xxi.  67,  69,  73-79. 


ORNAMENTAL  AND  DECORATIVE  ART.  145 
sign  by  the  adoption  of  an  indigenous  god  by  the  conquering 
population.  It  also  seems  possible  to  recognize  the  sign  £J , 
which  would  confirm  the  interpretation  which  I  gave  of  it  some 
years  ago  (Fig.  U2).1 

Another  sign  which  is  found  on  the  pottery,  where  it  is  not 
possible  to  explain  it,2  is  found  apparently  on  an  interesting  in- 
scription discovered  in  the  tomb  of  King  Den  of  the  first 
dynasty,  where  also  it  has  so  far  proved  inexplicable3  (Fig. 
112,  No.  78). 

These  indications  are  very  faint,  and  do  not  warrant  any 
serious  conclusions.  I  believe,  until  fresh  evidence  is  obtained, 


FIG.   112. — HIEROGLYPHIC  (?)  SIGNS  OF  THE  PREHISTORIC  PERIOD. 

we  cannot  assert  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  were  in   possession 
of  any  system  of  hieroglyphic  writing. 

Were  they  in  possession  of  any  other  kind  of  writing  ?  One 
of  the  greatest  surprises  of  the  later  discoveries  has  been  to 
perceive  the  possibility  of  their  having  employed  alp Jiabeti form 
characters.4  It  is  precisely  these  characters  that  have  been 
discovered  among  the  pottery  marks,  and  it  is  with  these  that 
we  must  now  deal. 

1  PKTRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  xxi.  48,  68,  97.     CAPART,  Note  sur  la  decapitation  en 
fcgypte,  in  the  Zeitschrift  ftir  tlgyptische  Sprache,  xxxvi.  1898,  pp.  125,  126. 
*  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Hi.  p.  78  et  seq. 

3  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  i.  pi.  x.  11,  and  pi.  xvi.  20;  ii.  pi.  xxvi.  59,  and  xxvii. 
102.     See  EVANS,  ARTHUR  J.,  Further  discoveries  of  Cretan  and  Aegean  Script 
li'ith  l.ihyan  and  Proto- Egyptian  Comparisons,  in  \hn  Journal  of  Hellenic  Studies, 
xvii.  1897,  p.  378. 

4  I  must  apologize  for  this  barbaric  term,  which  in  my  eyes  possesses  the 
advantage  of  not  prejudicing  the  question  of  the  value  of  the  signs. 

IO 


146  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

In  the  course  of  the  excavations  at  Naqada  Professor  Petrie 
found  a  certain  number  of  marks  of  geometrical  forms,  and 
he  states  that  "  few  of  them  are  striking,  or  like  any  definite 
alphabetical  series  ;  nor  are  any  to  be  found  in  sequence  to  suggest 
that  constant  ideas  were  attached  to  them."1 

But  the  excavations  in  the  royal  tombs  of  Abydos  have 
supplied  new  materials  for  the  study  of  this  question,  and  the 
researches  of  Mr.  Evans  among  the  Cretan  pictographs  and 
the  linear  systems  of  the  Creto-Aegean  world  prepared  the  way 
for  the  conclusions  that  Petrie  has  drawn  from  them. 

The  examination  of  this  question  would  lead  us  far  from 
our  subject,  and  I  must  content  myself  with  a  few  summary 
indications,  and  with  referring  the  reader  to  works  where  he 
will  find  more  complete  information.2 

Dr.  Petrie  noted  on  the  pottery  of  the  royal  tombs  of  the 
first  dynasty  a  series  of  marks  which  showed  themselves  identical 
with  the  alphabetiform  marks  of  the  prehistoric  vases.  At  the 
same  time  he  confirmed  what  Mr.  Evans  had  already  observed— 
that  is  to  say,  the  identity  of  the  Creto-Aegean  linear  alphabets 
with  the  pottery  marks  discovered  in  Egypt  at  Kahun  and 
Gurob,  on  vases  of  the  twelfth  and  eighteenth  Egyptian  dynasties. 
This  time  a  step  in  advance  was  taken  in  showing  that  the 
tabulated  marks  of  the  twelfth  and  eighteenth  dynasties  corre- 
spond exactly  with  the  marks  of  the  royal  tombs  of  the  first 
dynasty  and  of  the  prehistoric  pottery.  Finally,  the  primitive 
alphabets  of  Karia  and  Spain  present  a  series  of  identical  signs. 
If  the  table  drawn  up  by  Petrie3  is  examined,  it  is  seen  that 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  i.  p.  44,  pi.  liii.  et  seq. ;  Diospolis,  pi.  xxi.-xxiii.     See  also 
some  marks  in  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xvii. 

2  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  i.  pp.  31,  32.     EVANS,  Primitive  Pictographs  and  a 
Pre-Phcenician  Script  from  Crete,  in  the  Journal  of  Hellenic  Studies,  xiv.  1894, 
p.  270  et  seq.,  and  London,  Ouaritch,  1895  ;  Further  Discoveries  of  Cretan  and 
Aegean  Script,  with  Libyan   and  Proto- Egyptian  Comparisons,  ib.  xvii.   1897, 
PP-  327-395,  and  London,  Quaritch,  1898.     SERGI,  The  Mediterranean  Race  :  A 
Study  of  the  Origin  of  European  People,  London,  1901,  pp.  296-305,  and  figs.  79-93. 

3  The  sources  whence  this  table  was  derived  are  as  follows,  from  information 
kindly  supplied  by  Dr.  Petrie.      PETRIE,  Naqada ;  Royal  Tombs,  i.  ;    Kahun, 
Gurob   and  Hawara,    London,    1890.       SAYCE,    The   Karian   Language   and 
Inscriptions,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archeology,  ix.  1887, 
pp.  112-154.     BOUDARD,  P.  A.,  Essai  sur  la  numismatique  iberienne,  Paris,  1859. 


ORNAMENTAL   AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        147 


few  of  the  signs  are  missing  from  any  one  of  the  series,  and 
that  the  signs  which  are  found  in  all  rarely  present  variants 
which  differ  seriously  from  the  most  ancient  signs  (Fig.  113). 

It  must,  therefore,  have  been  a  system  of  signs  which 
was  well  established  from  the  first,  and  that  underwent  few 
modifications  in  the  course  of  ages.  It  may  even  with  some 
probability  be  compared  with  the  Libyan  signs,  and  with  tifinagh, 
which  are  still  employed  in  the  present  day  in  the  writing  of 
the  Touaregs.  The  conclusion  that  may  be  drawn  from  these 


,  * 


hO 


M 


ip 

r 


rv 
Z 


9 


K 

f  Af 


mt  rmm/W 


M 


rr 


1 1 


XJ 

X 


! 


FIG.   113. — TABLE  or  "  ALPHABETIFORM  "  SIGNS. 
From  Petrie. 


researches  has  already  been  foreseen  by  M.  Berger  in  his  recent 
Histoire  de  Ftcriture  dans  rantiquit^  A  system  of  writing,  or 
at  least  of  marks  in  universal  use,  must  have  existed  from 
prehistoric  times  over  the  whole  of  the  Mediterranean  basin. 
Where  was  the  centre  of  dispersion  of  this  system  ;  what  people 
propagated  it  ?  These  are  difficult  questions  to  answer,  and  the 
solution  will  probably  only  be  obtained  in  the  distant  future. 
The  relation  of  these  marks  with  more  recent  alphabets  seems 
to  be  undeniable,  and  with  Petrie  we  ask  ourselves  what  becomes 
of  the  Phoenician  legend  of  the  origin  of  the  alphabet. 

1  BERGER,  Histoire  de  Vecriture  dans  fantiq^ite,  Paris,  1891,  pp.  324,  332. 


148  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

Here  is  Dr.  Petrie's  reply  :  "  Certainly  the  so-called  Phoenician 
letters  were  familiar  long  before  the  rise  of  Phoenician  influence. 
What  is  really  due  to  the  Phoenicians  seems  to  have  been  the 
selection  of  a  short  series  (only  half  the  amount  of  the  surviving 
alphabets)  for  numerical  purposes,  as  A  =  I,  E  =  5,  I  =  10, 
N  =  50,  P  =  100,  <£  =  500,  etc.  This  usage  would  soon  render 
these  signs  as  invariable  in  order  as  our  own  numbers,  and  force 
the  use  of  them  on  all  countries  with  which  the  Phoenicians 
traded.  Hence  before  long  these  signs  drove  out  of  use  all  others, 
except  in  the  less  changed  civilizations  of  Asia  Minor  and  Spain."  l 
M.  Weill,  in  a  recent  article  in  the  Revue  arcJifologique?  contested 
these  results,  but  I  must  confess  that  his  arguments  have  in  no 
way  convinced  me.  I  do  not  think  it  possible  for  any  one  to 
say,  as  the  result  of  his  demonstration,  as  he  himself  says,  that 
"  of  Dr.  Petrie's  table  and  deductions  not  one  word  nor  one 
fact  is  left  standing."  It  seems  to  me  that  he  has  lost  sight  of 
one  point  of  primary  importance ;  it  is  the  presence  of  "  alphabeti- 
form "  signs  on  prehistoric  pottery  from  the  commencement  of 
the  primitive  period,  If  we  must  admit,  as  he  wishes,  that  the 
linear  signs  are  merely  a  degradation  of  the  hieroglyph  signs, 
it  would  also  be  necessary  to  believe  that,  previous  to  the  earliest 
known  remains,  a  hieroglyphic  system  was  in  existence  which 
had  been  long  enough  in  use  for  the  signs  to  develop  a  linear 
form.  Of  these  only  a  very  small  number  had  been  retained 
(thirty-three  in  Petrie's  table),  which  must  have  been  propagated 
in  the  Mediterranean  world  in  so  strange  a  manner  as  to  render 
it  possible,  after  several  thousands  of  years,  to  compare  them 
with  the  identical  signs  (to  the  number  of  thirty)  discovered  on 
the  primitive  remains  in  Spain.  Up  to  the  present  time  we 
have  failed  to  recover  those  hieroglyphs  which  have  left  only 
very  doubtful  traces  on  prehistoric  remains,  and  the  criticisms 
of  M.  Weill,  who,  I  think,  has  not  faced  that  side  of  the 
question,  do  not  seem  to  me  in  any  way  to  have  touched  Petrie's 
tables  and  deductions. 

1  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  i.  p.  32. 

2  WEILL,  R.,  La  question  de  Vecritnre  lineaire  dans  la  Mediterranee  primitive, 
in  the  Revile  archeologique,  1903,  i.  pp.  213-232. 


ORNAMENTAL  AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        149 

Now,  how  can  we  explain  the  fact  that  these  "  alphabet! form  " 
signs  are  found  in  Egypt  at  the  prehistoric  age,  and  under  the 
first,  the  twelfth,  and  the  eighteenth  dynasties?  I  think  there 
are  two  hypotheses  which  should  be  considered.  At  these 
different  periods  Egypt  may  have  been  in  touch  with  the 
country  where  this  system  originated,  or  else  the  Egyptians 
from  primitive  times  may  have  preserved  the  knowledge  of  this 
system  in  addition  to  their  hieroglyphic  writing. 

We  have  already  remarked  on  the  analogies  with  the  Libyans 
presented  by  the  primitive  Egyptians.  We  have  mentioned  the 
resemblances  of  their  primitive  alphabetical  system  with  the 
Libyan  alphabets,  and  also  the  relations  between  the  Libyan  and 
the  Creto-Aegean  peoples  have  several  times  been  established. 
I  do  not  think  it  is  too  bold  to  definitely  attribute  the 
appearance  of  these  marks  at  different  periods  of  Egyptian 
history  to  contact  with  the  Aegean  people,  either  directly  or 
through  the  intermediary  of  the  Libyans.  These  relations  are 
indicated  at  the  same  time  by  the  appearance  of  vases  of  a 
special  type ;  this  is  the  black  incised  pottery,  with  a  whitish 
paste  in  the  incisions ;  specimens  of  this  pottery  have  been 
found  in  Spain  and  Bosnia,  at  Hissarlik,  in  Crete  (Knossos), 
and  in  Sardinia,  and  when  found  in  Egypt  it  is  evidently  an 
importation.1  I  believe  also  that  to  these  relationships  must  be 
attributed  the  appearance  in  Egypt  during  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  dynasties  of  small  nude  figures  of  women,  which  had 
disappeared  from  Egyptian  art  since  primitive  times.  Again, 
one  finds  them  reappearing  in  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  and  the 
phenomenon  is  interesting  to  note.  The  proof  of  the  relations 
of  Egypt  with  the  Libyo-Aegean  people  during  the  first  dynasty 
is  easily  found  in  the  vases  discovered  by  Dr.  Petrie  at  Abydos,  in 
the  royal  tombs,  and  in  the  temple  of  Osiris;  during  the  twelfth 
dynasty,  in  the  fact  that  at  Knossos  there  are  Egyptian  remains  of 
that  period,  and  perhaps  also  in  the  appearance  of  "  pan  graves." s 

1  MACIVER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  p.  43.  PETRIE,  Methods  and 
Aims  in  Arc/neology,  London,  1904,  fig.  61,  pp.  160-162. 

*  The  description  of  these  will  be  found  in  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pp.  45-49 ;  the 
term  employed  by  Petrie,  "pan  graves,"  is  merely  an  abbreviation  of  "pan-shaped 
graves." 


ISO  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN   EGYPT. 

The  presence  of  these  graves  in  the  vicinity  of  Abydos,  at 
the  end  of  the  route  from  the  oases,  indicates  the  direction 
which  must  have  been  taken  after  the  twelfth  dynasty  by  these 
people,  whose  Libyan  character  is  so  evident.1  Foreign  relations, 


-P.T.TL.35. 
FIG.  114. — IMPRESSIONS  TAKEN  FROM  CYLINDERS. 

especially  with  the  Mycenaean  civilization,  were  so  numerous 
during  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  that  it  is  useless  to  insist  on 
this  point  ;  we  have  already  pointed  out  the  Libyan  influence 
under  Amenophis  IV. 

1  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  loc.  cit.  pp.  67,  68. 


ORNAMENTAL  AND   DECORATIVE   ART.        151 

As  to  the  hypothesis  of  a  continued  use  of  "  alphabetiform  " 
signs  in  Egypt,  it  must,  I  think,  be  rejected,  for  the  reasons 
pointed  out  by  Mr.  Mace  in  connection  with  the  "  pan  graves," 
and  the  objects  there  discovered.  He  also  establishes  the  fact 
that  this  incised  black  pottery  we  have  just  mentioned  is — with 
the  exception  of  one  or  two  sporadic  examples  under  the  third 
dynasty — completely  absent  during  the  whole  of  the  period  which 
separates  the  prehistoric  people  from  those  of  the  pan  graves.1 

I  must  apologize  for  these  reflections,  of  the  unsubstantial 
nature  of  which  I  am  fully  aware.  As  I  have  discussed  the 
primitive  writings,  I  may  be  permitted  in  closing  this  chapter 
to  refer  to  the  cylinders,  which  make  their  appearance  at  the 
earliest  period  of  the  history  of  Egypt,  only  to  disappear  with 
considerable  rapidity.  Some  of  these,  in  addition  to  hieroglyphic 
inscriptions,  present  representations  of  personages  and  animals 
of  so  archaic  a  style  as  to  connect  them  completely  with  the 
primitive  art.2  We  thus  return  to  our  subject,  from  which  in 
these  last  pages  we  have  somewhat  diverged  (Fig.  114). 

1  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  loc.  tit.  p.  69. 

1  I  wish  specially  to  quote  two  ivory  cylinders  at  Berlin,  Nos.  15,337  and 
1 5,338.  SCHAEFER,  Neue  A  Iterthumer  der  "  new  race  "  aus  Negadah,  in  the  Zeit- 
schtift  fur  dgyptische  Sprache,  xxxiv.  1896,  p.  160,  fig.  4.  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs, 
ii.  pi.  x.  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches,  ii.  p.  169,  fig.  560,  and  p.  170,  fig.  561. 
PETRIE,  Abydos,  i.  pi.  Ii.  No.  1 1  ;  Royal  Tombs,  i.  pi.  xix.  8,  9 ;  ii.  pi.  xiii.  95  ; 
xiv.  101-104.  MAX  MULLER,  An  archaic  cylinder  from  Egypt^  in  the  Orientalis- 
tische  Litter aturzeitung,  v.  1902,  col.  90-92,  and  fig.  DENNIS,  ib.  col.  210,  211. 
EVANS,  Further  Discoveries  of  Cretan  and  Aegean  Script,  in  the  Journal  of 
Hellenic  Studies,  xvii.  1897,  p.  362  et  seq. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

SCULPTURE  AND  PAINTING. 

WE  have  now  arrived  at  the  most  difficult,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  most  interesting,  part  of  our  study. 
Objects  illustrating  our  subject  become  increasingly  numerous, 
and  will,  perhaps,  enable  us  to  decide  some  points  which 
hitherto  have  been  left  in  uncertainty.  One  of  our  greatest 
difficulties  here  has  been  to  establish  the  exact  line  of  demar- 
cation between  remains  of  prehistoric  times  and  those  of  the 
commencement  of  the  Egyptian  historical  age.  It  has  seemed 
to  me  advisable  for  the  present  not  to  attach  too  great 
importance  to  this  distinction,  and  to  reserve  for  the  chapter 
devoted  to  the  earliest  Egyptian  remains  those  objects  only 
which  can  be  classified  with  certainty,  owing  to  their  bearing 
an  inscription  or  royal  name.  These  specimens  form  a  distinct 
nucleus,  round  which  the  various  objects  which  are  closely  allied 
to  them  can  be  grouped. 

To  begin  with,  we  will  consider  flints  which  have  been 
shaped  into  the  forms  of  animals.  As  early  as  1890  an  example 
representing  a  hippopotamus  was  discovered  at  Kahun.  Professor 
Petrie  is  inclined  to  assign  it  to  the  twelfth  dynasty l  ;  but  the 
whole  group  of  similar  finds  induces  me  to  consider  it  rather  as 
being  of  the  primitive  period. 

In  the  Petrie  Collection,  University  College,  London,  there 
are  several  most  interesting  examples ;  a  snake  from  Koptos, 

1  PETRIE,  Kahun^  Gurob  and  Hawara,  London,  1890,  p.  30  and  pi.  viii.  22  ; 
Ten  Years'  Digging  in  Egypt,  2nd  ed.  London,  1893,  p.  127  ;  Prehistoric 
Egyptian  Figures,  in  Man,  1892,  No.  14,  p.  17  and  pi.  B,  20. 

152 


SCULPTURE    AND    PAINTING. 


153 


a  dog  (?),  and  also  a  bird  represented  in  flight l  (Fig.  1 1 5). 
The  Berlin  Museum  possesses  three  remarkable  specimens,  in  the 
form  of  an  antelope  (bubalis\  a  wild  goat,  and  a  wild  Barbary 
sheep,  which  resemble  in  a  most  striking  manner  the  figures  of 
animals  engraved  on  the  vases  (Figs.  116-118).  M.  Schweinfurth, 
who  has  recently  published  them,  also  compares  them  with  the 
graffiti,  which  we  shall  consider  later  on.2  At  the  British 
Museum  there  is  an  unpublished  specimen  in  form  of  an  antelope 
(No.  30,41 1),  and  also  another  in  form  of  a  bull's  head3  (No.  32,124). 


FIG.   115. — WORKED  FLINTS  IN  FORM  OF  ANIMALS. 

In  the  MacGregor  Collection,  Tarn  worth,  there  is  a  large  specimen 
of  the  bull's  head  form,  about  19  cm.  in  height.  A  few  specimens 
have  been  found  in  situ  among  other  remains  of  the  primitive  age. 
These  are  crocodiles  and  hippopotami  (?),  discovered  in  the  small 
prehistoric  town  surrounding  the  temple  of  Osiris  at  Abydos.4 

1  PETRIE,  Prehistoric  Egyptian  Figures,  loc.  cit.  p.  17,  pi.  B,  17-19. 

2  SCHWEINFURTH,    G.,    Aegyptischc    Tierbildcr  als  Kieselartefakte,   in   Die 
Umschau,   vii.     1903,    pp.    804-806  and    fig.         French    translation :    Figures 
(fanimaux  fabriques  en  silc.v  ct  provcnent  de  I'Egypte,  in  the  Revue  de  I  Ecole 
d  Anthropologie  de  Paris,  xi.  1903,  pp.  395-399,  figs.  87-89. 

3  BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  fig.  of  p.  84,  No.  32124. 

4  PETRIE,  Excavations  at  Abydos,  in  Man,  1902,  No.  64,  p.  89,  No.  3  ;  Abydos, 
i.  pi.  xxvi.  292-294,  and  p.  12. 


154 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


These  curious  pieces  testify  to  a  remarkable  dexterity  in  flint 
working  (Fig.  115).  The  only  analogous  pieces 
known  in  other  countries  have  been  discovered 
in  Russia  and  America.1 


FIG.  1 1 6.— WORKED  FLINT  IN 
FORM  OF  AN  ANTELOPE 

(BUBALIS). 

Berlin  Museum.2 


Small  figures  of  human  beings  are  very  numerous,  and  specially 

1  My  colleague,  Baron  de  Loe,  keeper  of  the  prehistoric  antiquities  of  the 
Royal  Museums  of  Brussels,  has  been  good  enough  to  communicate  to  me  his 
notes  on  this  subject.     A  flint  in  form  of  a  fish  comes  from  Archangel.     Another, 
in  form  of  a  bird,  from  the  Government  of  Vladimir.     A  specimen  from  the 
same  neighbourhood  perhaps  represents  a  human  figure.     Several  worked  flints 
from  the  Volossovo  bed,  Government  of  Vladimir,  present,  he  says,  exceptional 

forms.  Some  show  the  outline 
of  a  boat  ;  others  the  profiles 
of  animals,  more  or  less  deter- 
mined, among  which  a  bird  may 
be  distinguished.  .  .  .  Volossovo 
was  a  centre  of  habitation  in  the 
neolithic  age.  ...  In  the  Go- 
vernment of  Irkutsk  a  flint  has 
been  discovered,  also  of  bird 
form.  These  specimens  are  all 
of  extremely  fine  work,  the  contour  being  retouched  with  extraordinary  delicacy. 
Other  similar  pieces  have  been  discovered  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi,  one  representing  a  bird,  another  a  serpent.  See  WILSON,  TH., 
Classification  des  pointes  de  fleches,  des  pointes  des  lances,  et  des  couteaux  de 
pierre,  in  the  Compte  rendu  du  Congres  international  d'anthropo logic  et 
d' archeologie  prehistoric/ ues,  twelfth  session,  at  Paris,  in  1900,  Paris,  1903, 
pp.  320-322,  and  fig.  14. 

2  Reproduction  after  Die  Umschan.     Ubersicht  iiber  Fortschritte  und  Bewe- 
pungen   auf    dem   Gesamtgebiet    der  Wissenschaft,   Technick,    Litteratur   und 
Kunst.     Francfurt  a/Main,  H.  Bechhold,  Verlag. 


SCULPTURE    AND   PAINTING. 


155 


at   the   earliest   period  of  Egyptian  history  ;    they  are  found   in 

various  materials — clay,  stone,  ivory,  glazed 

pottery,    and    lead.      I    will    remind    the 

reader  of  the  figures  of  men  carved  on  the 

combs,  and  also  of  the  pendants  of  human 

form    of    which    illustrations    have    been 

given  earlier  in    the   book,  and  of  which 

there  is  no  need  to  speak  further. 

The  statuettes  of  men  are  somewhat 
rare :  not  one  specimen  was  found  by 
Petrie  in  the  vast  necropolis  of  Naqada. 
At  Diospolis  a  few  rude  examples  were 
found,  made  apparently  at  36  and  33-55 
(sequence  dates).  Several  figures  are 
represented  standing ;  another  appears  to 
be  seated.  On  most  of  them  are  to  be 
seen  distinct  indications  of  the  karnata,  FIG.  117.— WORKED  FLINT  IN 

FORM  OF  A  WILD  GOAT. 

or  sheath  ;  the  beard  is  carefully  marked.1 

Berlin  Museum. - 

In    general,    it    may    be    said    that    the 

rendering  of  these  figures  is  not  more  perfect  than  that  of  the 
human  representations  we  examined  in 
the  chapter  relating  to  decorative  art 
(Fig.  119). 

Another  statuette,  in  a  yellowish 
pottery,  discovered  in  the  necropolis  of 
Gebel  el  Tarif,  is  more  interesting.  It 
shows  a  bearded  personage  kneeling,  the 
arms  hanging  down  the  body.  Here 
already  the  face  is  better  formed,  and 
the  nose  and  ears  are  well  indicated.4 


FIG.  1 1 8. — WORKED  FLINT 
IN    FORM    OF    A    WILD 
BARBARY  SHEEP. 
Berlin  Museum.3 


1  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  v.  1)96;  vi.  B  1 19,  and  p.  36.  The  two  statuettes  Ug6 
are  of  clay,  painted  red.  Two  similar  pieces  were  discovered  by  Mr.  Garstang,  at 
Alavvanyeh:  see  GARSTANG,  Mahdsna  and  B€t  Khalldf,  London,  1903,  pi.  iii. 
See  also  two  specimens  in  ivory  in  the  MacGregor  Collection.  NAVILLE,  Figurines 
egyptiennes  de  I'epoque  archaique,  ii.,  in  the  Recueil  de  travauv  relatifs  d  la 
philologie,  eta  tarcheologie  egyptiennes  et  assyriennes,  xxii.  1900,  pi.  v. 

*  After  Die  Umschau,  he.  cit. 

»  Ib. 

4  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les  origines,  i.  p.  151,  fig.  373  ;  ii.  fig.  1 1 1,  p.  54. 


1 56 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


Mr.  Evans  has  drawn  an  extremely  able  comparison  between 
this    figure    and    a    marble   idol    found    at   Amorgos.      "Though 


FIG.   119. — FIGURES  OF  MEN  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD. 

differing,"  he  says,  "from  the  primitive  marble  'idols'  of  the 
Aegean  Islands  in  its  bent  knees  and  arms  held  close  to 
the  side,  yet  it  shows  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  them  in 
its  general  shape  ;  while  in  its  recurved  flat-topped  head  it 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


157 


reproduces  one  of  their  most  characteristic  features"1  (Fig.  119, 
M.  R  in). 

In   the   excavations   at    El    Amrah    Mr.    Maclver   discovered 
several  figures  of  men  of  the  same 
type    as    the    specimens    found    at 
Diospolis,  and  always  characterized 
by  the  karnata  or  sheath2  (Fig.  1 19). 

There  are  several  other  statuettes 
in  the  Berlin  Museum,3  and  one 
without  legs,  its  history  unknown, 
in  the  Petrie  Collection,  University 
College,  London.  Figures  of  men 
occur  more  frequently  in  the  mass 
of  ivories  discovered  at  Hierakon- 
polis,  and  at  the  same  time  we  note 
a  real  advance  on  the  preceding 
pieces.  These  ivories  are  unfor- 
tunately in  rather  bad  condition, 
and  a  serious  effort  is  necessary  in 
order  to  realize  what  they  were 
before  their  mutilation.  We  can 
see,  however,  that  they  were  standing 
figures,  clothed  in  a  loin-cloth  held 
in  its  place  by  a  girdle,  to  which 
was  attached  the  karnata.  The 
beard,  when  represented,  is  enclosed 
in  the  bag  already  described.  In 
short,  it  appears  that  the  most 
frequent  type  was  that  of  which 

Mr.  MacGregor's  ivory  figure  supplies  the  best  specimen4  (Figs. 
20,  119,  i?o,  and   121). 

1  EVANS,  Further  Discoveries  of  Cretan  and  Aegean  Script,  in  the  Journal 
of  Hellenic  Studies,  xvii.  1897,  p.  380,  and  fig.  33,  p.  381. 

1  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  ix.  n,  xii.  7,  pp.  41,  42. 

3  SCHAEFER,  Neue  Altertumer  der  "  new  race  "  aus  Negadah  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fiir  dgyptische  Sprache,  xxxiv.  1896,  pp.  160,  161,  figs.  8,  u. 

1  (JUIBELL,  Hicrakonpolis,  i.  pi.  vii.  viii.  x.  and  pp.  6,  7.  NAVILLE,  Figurines 
igyptiennes  de  fepoque  ardni/t/nt',  ii.,  in  the  Recueil  de  travaux  relatifs  a  la 


FIG.  1 20. — IVORY  FIGURES  OF  MEN- 
DISCOVERED  AT  HlERAKONPOUS. 

The  heads  probably  do  not  belong  to 
the  bodies. — Ashmolean  Museum, 
Oxford. 


158 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


From  an  examination  of  the  physiological  type  of  all  these 
statuettes,  Dr.  Petrie  considers  that  they  represent  individuals 
of  the  primitive  race,  anterior  to  the  Egytians — those  Libyans 
whom  we  have  already  met  with  several  times.  There  is  an 
ivory  head  (Fig.  121)  which  is  especially  characteristic.1 


FIG.   121. — IVORY  HEADS  DISCOVERED  AT  HIERAKONPOLIS. 
On   another  head   of  a   man  we    see    a    kind   of  high-pointed 

philologie  et  a  Varcheologie  cgyptiennes  et  assyriennes,  xxii.  1900,  pi.  v. — There  are 
two  small  ivory  figures  in  the  MacGregor  Collection  similar  to  the  specimens 
found  at  Hierakonpolis. 

1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  v.  vi.  4,  5,  p.  6.  SCHWEINFURTH,  Die 
neuesten  Grdberfunde  in  Oberdgyptcn  und  die  Stellung  der  noch  lebenden 
Wusten-Stammen  zu  der  altdgyptischen  Bcvolkerung,  in  the  Verhandlungen  der 
berL  anthropologischen  Gesellschaft,  1898,  pp.  180-186.  PETRIE,  The  Races  of 
Early  Egypt,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  xxxi.  1901,  p.  250, 
pi.  xviii.  6. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  159 

casque,  suggestive  of  the  white  crown1  (Figs.  121  and  132),  and 
the  same  head-dress  is  found  on  a  small  ivory  statuette  discovered 
in  the  temple  of  Abydos,  which  dates  from  the  commencement 
of  the  historic  period.  This  is  undoubtedly  the  masterpiece  of 
ivory  carving  of  the  primitive  age.  Professor  Petrie  speaks  thus 
on  the  subject,  and  we  may  entirely  rely  on  his  judgment : 


FIG.  122. — IVORY  STATUETTE  FROM  ABYDOS. 

"  He  is  figured  as  wearing  the  crown  of  Upper  Egypt  and  a 
thick  embroidered  robe.  From  the  nature  of  the  pattern  and  the 
stiff  edge  represented,  it  looks  as  if  this  robe  were  quilted  with 
embroidery :  no  such  dress  is  known  on  any  Egyptian  figure  yet 
found.  The  work  belongs  to  an  unconventional  school,  before 
the  rise  of  fixed  traditions  ;  it  might  have  been  carved  in 
any  age  and  country  where  good  natural  work  was  done.  It 

1  QUIBELL,  Hicrakonpolis,  i.  pi.  vii.  viii.  6. 


160  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

shows  a  power  of  dealing  with  individuality  which  stands 
apart  from  all  the  later  work  in  its  unshrinking  figuring  of  age 
and  weakness  with  a  subtle  character.  It  belongs  to  the  same 
school  of  art  as  the  figures  .  .  .  and  these  reveal  a  style  which 
has  hitherto  been  quite  unsuspected,  as  preceding  the  more 
formal  style  of  the  Old  Kingdom"1  (Fig.  122). 

The  position  of  the  ears  should  be  noticed ;  they  are  placed 
perpendicularly  on  the  head,  and  seem  to  be  of  abnormal 
size.  It  may  be  questioned  whether  this  is  not  a  trace  of  a 
custom  of  intentional  malformation  of  the  ears,  the  more  so  that 
the  same  anomaly,  with  even  greater  exaggeration,  is  seen  on 
other  ivory  heads  from  Hierakonpolis  and  Abydos2  (Fig.  132, 
No.  14). 

Female  statuettes  are  far  more  numerous,  and  enable  us  to 
follow  closely  the  evolution  of  the  type.  It  is  necessary,  however, 
to  begin  by  setting  completely  on  one  side  certain  figures  of 
extraordinary  appearance,  of  which  we  have  already  given 
illustrations  of  two  specimens  when  treating  of  painting  the 
body  (Fig.  6). 

These  figures  are  characterized  by  an  exaggerated  develop- 
ment of  fat,  principally  in  the  lower  limbs,  and  especially  the 
thighs  (steatopygy).  It  is  known  that  this  deformity  is  frequently 
found  among  the  Hottentots,  and  it  has  been  compared  with 
a  representation  in  the  temple  of  Deir  el  Bahari  of  an  African 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  p.  24,  pi.  ii.  3,  and  xiii. 

2  Ib.  ii.  pi.  iii.  17-19,  and  p.  24.     A  Mexican  statue  in  the  Ethnographical 
Museum,    Berlin,    shows    a    similar    deformity.      See    WOERMAN,     Geschichte 
der  Kunst  alter  Zeiten  und  Volker,  i.  Leipzie,  1900,  fig.  p.  88.     PLINY,  Natural 
History,   iv.    27,    5 :    "  The    island    of  the   Fanesii,    in   which    the    inhabitants, 
who   are   naked,  completely  cover   themselves   with   their   ears,  which   are  of 
excessive  size.''     MALE,  E.,  L'art  rcligeux  du  xiiie.  siecle  en  France,  Paris,  1902, 
p..  77  (the  Portal   of  Ve"zelay) :    "  Men  with  ears  as  large  as  winnowing  fans." 
DELAFOSSE,  M.,  Sur  des  traces  probables  de  civilisation  egyptienne  et  d'hommes 
de  race  blanche  a  la  cote  d'ivoire,  in  rAnthropologie,  xi.  1900,   p.  679,  "  Ces 
fils    du  Ciel   avaient   la  peau  blanche  ;    leurs    oreilles  etaient  si  grandes   qu'ils 
s'en  cachaient  leur  visage  a  la  vue  d'un  homme  de  la  terre."     P.  684,   "  Tous 
ceux  qui   en   ont  vu   ou  en  ont  entendu  parler  disent  que,  pour  ne  pas  etre 
reconnus,    ils    prenaient  leurs   oreilles   avec   les  mains    et  les   ramenaient    sur 
leur  visage." — Information    contributed    by    MM.    Bayet,    Macoir,    M.    Hebert, 
and  F.  de  Zeltner. 


SCULPTURE    AND    PAINTING. 


161 


queen,  the  queen  of  Punt.1  These  curious  statuettes  arc  in  two 
positions,  cither  standing  or  seated.2  The  specimens  in  the 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Ox- 
ford, reproduced  here,  are 
of  a  greyish  clay,  covered 
with  a  brilliant  red  glaze, 
and  still  show  traces  of 
black  paint  (Figs.  123, 
124,  125).  The  Berlin 
Museum  possesses  a  seated 
figure,  the  only  complete 
one  I  know  of  (Fig.  125). 

We  here  encounter  an 
important  problem  con- 
cerning the  history  of  the 
migrations  of  primitive 
peoples.  Should  these 
Egyptian  statuettes  be 
taken  as  a  proof  of  the 
presence  of  a  Hottentot 
race  in  prehistoric  Egypt  ? 

Dr.  Fouquet  writes, 
after  the  examination  of 
the  bones  discovered  in 
the  tombs  :  "  At  South 
Naqada,  the  cephalic  index 
— for  the  men,  72,  73 ; 
for  the  women,  73,  13  — 
induces  a  comparison  with 
those  of  the  Hottentots, 
the  Bushmen  (72,  42)  the 
Kaffirs  (72,  54).  The  discovery  made  by  Flinders  Petrie  at 
Naqada  itself  of  steatopygous  statuettes  suggested  to  him  the 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  34.  MARIETTE,  Voyage  dans  U  Haute  £gypte,  Paris 
and  Cairo,  1878,  ii.  pi.  62,  pp.  72,  73.  See,  however,  DENIKER,  Les  races  et 
les  peuples  de  la  terre,  pp.  no,  in. 

1  PETRIE,  Kaqada,  pi.  \i    1-4,  p.  34 


KM..    123.— STEATOPYGOUS  CLAY  FIGURES. 
Ashmolean  Museum. 


162 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


same  idea,  which  he  does  not  appear  to  have  adopted  on  a 
final  analysis.  It  is  known,  however,  that  this  race  penetrated 
into  France,  and  it  is  possible  that  they  returned  by  way  of 
Egypt.'" 

This  impression  appears  at  the  first  glance  to  be  extraordinary  ; 
but  we  hasten  to  add  that  it  is  identical  with  that  entertained 
by  all  those  who  have  examined  these  objects.  M.  de  Vilienoisy 
writes 2 :  "  The  excavations  at  Brassempuy  have  effected  the  dis- 
covery of  a  series  of  ivory  statuettes  representing  women  with 
whose  head-dress  there  is  nothing  analogous  except  in  Egypt, 


FIG.   124. — STEATOPYGOUS  CLAY  FIGURES. 
Ashmolean  Museum. 

and  whose  physiological  characteristics  are  found  only  in  Africa, 
among  the  most  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  soil :  the  dwellers  in 
the  land  of  Punt  (now  Somaliland)  in  the  time  of  the  Egyptian 
Queen  Hatasu  (eighteenth  dynasty),  Abyssinians  and  Bolofs  (who 
must  at  one  time  have  been  neighbours  of  Egypt),  Bushmen 
and  Hottentots.  The  insistence  with  which  M.  Piettc  pointed 
out,  on  the  Pyrenean  palaeolithic  figures,  peculiarities  which 

1  FOUQUET,  Recherches  sur  les  cranes  de  lepoque  de  la  pierre  tailleeen  £gypte, 
in  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les  origincs,  ii.  p.  378. 

2  DE  VILLENOISY,  U hiatus  prehistoriqne  et  les  decouvertes  de  M.  Ed.  Pictle, 
in  the  Bulletin  de  la  Socicte  de  speleologic,  April  to  June  and  July  to  September, 
1896,  pp.  97,  98. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  163 

among  women  of  contemporary  races  are  found  to  be  exclusively 
African,  did  not  at  first  succeed  in  fixing  attention  ;  it  was 
considered  that  they  were  merely  the  result  of  accidental  circum- 
stances, or  lack  of  skill  on  the  part  of  the  sculptor.  A  great 
step  in  advance  was  taken  when,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academic 
des  Inscriptions,  November  23rd,  1894,  M.  Maspero  recognized 
the  great  similarity  that  exists  between  the  legless  figures  of 
Bassempuy  and  those  deposited  in  the  tombs  of  Egypt.  He 
believes  them  to  be  inspired  by  the  same  religious  conception." 


FIG.   125.  -STEATOPYGOUS  FIGURE  IN  CLAY  (COMPLETE). 
Berlin  Museum. 

M.  Boule,  in  I '  Antliropologie^  expresses  himself  in  the  same 
way  with  regard  to  the  Hierakonpolis  figures:  "The  comparison 
may  have  very  slender  foundation,  yet  I  cannot  resist  finding 
a  certain  resemblance  between  some  of  these  reproductions  and 
those  on  the  sculptures  found  by  M.  Piette  at  Mas  d'Azil,  and 
I  received  the  same  impression  on  examining  the  steatopygous 
female  figures  found  by  Professor  Flinders  Petrie  and  Mr.  Quibell 
at  Xaqada  and  Ballas." 

1  fAnthropologie,  xi.  1900,  p.  759. 


164 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


Notwithstanding  Boule's  doubts,  it  seems  probable  that  this 
resemblance  is  not  without  foundation.  We  find  analogous 
figures  in  the  French  caves,1  in  Malta,2  in  the  regions  of  Thrace 
and  Illyria,  at  Butmir,  Cucuteni,  Sereth,  in  Poland,3  in  Greece,* 
and  the  Aegean  Islands,  notably  Crete.5 

But  by  the  side  of  these  steatopygous  figures, 
in  Egypt  as  also  in  France,  statuettes  of  another 
type  are  found,  characteristic  of  a  race  of  less 
bulky  proportions.6  The  best  specimen  that 
can  be  quoted  is  the  figure  decorated  with 
paintings  already  reproduced  (Fig.  5).  There 
are  statuettes  of  this  type  in  clay,  ivory,  and 
lead,  where  the  legs  are  summarily  indicated. 
Frequently  the  arms  are  merely  represented  by 
means  of  a  nip  in  the  clay,  causing  the  shoulder 
to  project.  Occasionally  the  breasts  are  clearly 
indicated  ;  at  other  times  there  is  not  a  trace 
of  them.  We  must  notice  a  curious  specimen, 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  34,  where  he  quotes  tAnthropo- 
logie,  vi.  1895,  129-151.     HOERNES,  Urgeschichte  der  bilden- 
den  Kunst,  pi.  ii.  figs.  9-13.     REINACH,  S.,  Statuette defemme 
nue  decouverte  dans  une  des  grottes  de  Menton,  in  V A nthro- 
pologie,  ix.  1898,  pp.  26-31,  pi.  i.  ii. 

2  MAYR,  Die  vorgeschichtlichen  Dcnkmdler  von  Malta, 
in  the  Abhandlungcn  der  k.  bayer.  Akadcmie  der  IViss., 
i.  Cl.,  xxi.  Ed.,  iii.  Abth.  Munchen,   1901,  pp.  699-703,  and 
pi.  x.  2,  xi.  i  and  2.     Review  by  ARTHUR  EVANS,  in  Man, 
1902,  No.  32,  pp.  41-44,  fig.  3,  p.  43,  reproduces  fig.  2  of  pi. 
xi.  of  Mayr  more  clearly  ;  tatoo-marks  are  distinguishable. 

3  HOERNES,  Urgeschichte  der  bildenden  Kunst,  p.  192  and 
pi.  iii.      The  statuette  of  Cucuteni  (Roumania)  and  that  of 
Poland   are  reproduced   in .  REINACH,  S.,  La  sculpture  en 
Europe  avant  les  influences  greco-romaines,  fig.  94  and  95 

(separate  reprint,  p.  39).     Compare  especially  the  figure  from  Poland  with  those 
of  our  Fig.  123. 

4  PERROT    &    CHIPIEZ,    Histoire  de  Part  dans  lantiquite,    vi.,    La    Grece 
primitive,  I'art  mycenien,  fig.  325,  p.  736,  and  figs.  333  and  334,  p.  741. 

5  EVANS,  ARTHUR,  The  Neolithic  Settlement  at  Knossos  and  its  Place  in  the 
History  of  Early  Aegean  Culture,  in  Man,  1901,  No.  146,  pp.  184-186,  and  fig. 
They  appear  again  in  Egypt  in  the  eighteenth  dynasty.     See  MAC!VER  &  MACE, 
El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  iv.  D  8.      GARSTANG,   El  Arabali,   London,   1901, 
pi.  xix.  t;  178. 

6  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  34. 


FIG,  126. — CLAY 
FEMALE  FIGURE. 

University  College, 
London. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  165 

of  unknown    provenance,  at    University   College,  London,    where 

the    hands    are    clasped    as     though    to    hidel    the    lower    part 

of    the    body    (Fig.     126).        There     is     also     a 

specimen   which    is  almost   perfect    at    the    Berlin 

Museum    in    vegetable    paste,    No.     14167    (Fig. 

127). 

Another  very  early  example  (sequence  date 
38)  in  vegetable  paste  moulded  on  a  reed  core  is 
painted  red  and  black.  The  lower  part  of  the 
face  appears  to  be  covered  with  a  veil.  Round 
the  thighs  there  is  a  belt  curved  at  the  lower 
edge  at  both  ends  so  as  to  form  a  point  between 
the  legs  when  joined1  (Fig.  128,  No.  11).  There 
is  a  similar  specimen  in  the  Petrie  Collection, 
University  College,  London,  as  well  as  another 
in  lead  (Fig.  128).  The  excavations  at  Diospolis 
have  furnished  other  examples,  notably,  from 
tomb  B  101  (sequence  date  34),  a  small  figure 
with  the  arms  carefully  carved2  (Fig.  128, 
D.  B  101). 

In  the  same  necropolis,  in  tomb  683 
(sequence  date  33-48),  excavations  have  brought 
to  light  a  female  statuette,  already  worked 
more  in  detail,  where  the  legs  and  also  the 
hair  are  at  least  indicated  (Fig.  128,  D.  B  83).  ,FJG  I27  _FEMALE 
The  arms  are  still  represented  in  the  same  FIGURE  IN  VEGET- 
rudimentary  fashion  as  in  the  figures  of  the  ABLE  PASTE- 

Berlin  Museum. 

Aegean   Islands.1* 

In  the  series  of  ivory  female  statuettes  the  progress  is  enor- 
mous. Unfortunately  there  has  been  no  specimen  found  in  the 
course  of  scientific  excavation  to  furnish  a  relative  date  for  these 
objects.  The  examples  we  can  quote  present  a  great  variety  in 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  lix.  1 1  ;  Diospolis,  p.  26.  Now  at  the  Ash- 
molean  Museum,  Oxford.  Identical  fragments  in  \Diospolis,  pi.  v.  B  101,  and 
P-  33- 

1  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  v.  p.  33. 

3  Ib.  pi.  vi.  B  83,  p.  32. 


1 66 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


FIG.  128. — FEMALE  FIGURES  IN  POTTERY,  IVORY,  LEAD,  AND  VEGETABLE  PASTE. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  167 

the  position  of  the  arms.  Sometimes  they  hang  down  the 
body ;  sometimes  only  the  right  arm  is  pendant,  while  the 
left  appears  to  support  the  breasts.  One  figure  has  the  arms 
folded  on  the  breast  ;  others  have  one  hand  placed  on  the 
stomach,  while  the  second  hides  the  lower  part  of  the  body. 
M««st  have  the  head  shaved;  some,  on  the  contrary,  wear  the 
hair  long,  with  two  locks  hanging  down  in  front  over  the 


FIG.   129. — FEMALE  FIGURES  IN  IVORY. 
MacGregor  Collection. 

shoulders,  framing  the  face.  On  some  specimens  the  hair 
on  the  lower  part  of  the  body  is  crudely  rendered  by  a 
scries  of  holes,  arranged  fan-shape.  The  eyes  are  sometimes 
carved,  sometimes  inlaid  with  round  bone  beads1  (Figs.  128 
and  129). 

Some  of  these  later  figures  have  a  tenon  at  the  base,  by 
means  of  which  they  were  fastened  to  stands,  similar  to 

1  British  Museum,  32,125,  32,139-42.  BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  p.  52. 
I  'niversity  College,  London  :  seeour  Fig.  128  MacGregor  Collection  :  NAVILLE, 
J'/^nr/Hi-s  i-^y/ificnnts  de  lepoquc  archa'iquc,  ii.,  in  the  Recucil  de  travaiix  relatifs 
it  l'i  philologu  et  <t  I  <u;lu'nhgie  egypticnn<-s  cf  assyrifnnes,  xxii.  1900,  pi.  iv.  of 
v  hich  our  Fig.  129  is  a  reproduction. 


1 68 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


those  of  some  of  the    Hierakonpolis  ivories  which  we  are  about 
to  consider. 

The  British  Museum  (No.  32,143)  possesses  a  statuette  of  a 
woman  standing,  wrapped  in  a  large  cloak,  the  upper  edge  of 
which  is  fringed,  leaving  the  left  breast  uncovered  ;  on  her 
shoulder  she  carries  a  child,  whose  body  is  hidden  beneath  the 

folds  of  the  cloak1  (Fig.   130). 

The  type  of  the  woman 
carrying  her  child  also  occurs 
in  an  ivory  figure  in  the  Berlin 
Museum  (No.  14,441)  of  ex- 
tremely rough  style  of  work 

(Fig.  131). 

At  Hierakonpolis  we  find 
the  same  female  figures,  and 
these  enable  us  to  decide  that 
the  examples  described  in  the 
preceding  lines,  which  are  of 
uncertain  provenance,  are  to  be 
considered  as  belonging  to  the 
age  shortly  before  the  rise  of 
the  first  dynasty.  There  is,  in 
fact,  progress  made  between 
one  group  and  the  next,  and  although  the  pose  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  hair  may  be  the  same,  one  is  conscious  that  the 
artist  has  a  feeling  for  the  individuality  of  the  type  which  is 
completely  absent  in  the  earlier  figures.  Like  the  preceding 
examples,  a  fair  number  of  these  statuettes  have  the  eyes  inlaid. 
I  cannot  attempt  to  describe  all  these  carvings.  They  present 
but  few  varieties  beyond  those  I  have  mentioned.  In  Figs.  132 
and  133  are  reproductions  of  the  best  ivories  found  at  Hierakon- 
polis, and  now  at  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford.  I  wish 
however,  to  draw  attention  to  the  figures  wrapped  in  large 
cloaks  which  we  have  already  dealt  with,  and  also  to  remark  on 
two  small  statuettes,  on  bases,2  identical  in  style  with  an  ivory 


FIG   130. — FIGURE  c 

A  CHILD  ON  HER  SHOULEDRS. 
British  Museum. 


1  BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  p.  53,  No.  7. 

2  For  the  Hierakonpolis  ivories  see  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  ix.  x. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


169 


statuette  discovered  during  the  winter  of  1902-3  at  Abydos, 
and  dating  from  the  first  Egyptian  dynasty.  These  are  figures 
of  children  carved  in  excellent  style,  and  free  from  conven- 
tionality1 (Fig.  132,  Nos.  i8«and  21,  and  Fig.  133,  No.  2). 

The  same  excavations  at 
Abydos  have  contributed  other 
carvings  of  children,  with  the 
finger  in  the  mouth,  a  traditional 
attitude2  which  we  had  previously 
met  with  in  a  figure  from  Hiera- 
konpolis  carved  in  chrysocolla.3 
Also,  at  Abydos,  two  ivory 
statuettes  of  women  were  found, 
one  of  which  shows  a  strong 
affinity  to  the  Hicrakonpolis 
carvings4  (Fig.  128,  Ab  5) ;  while 
the  other,  according  to  Dr.  Petrie, 
already  shows  signs  of  the  forma- 
list style  of  the  Ancient  Empire.6 

There  are  various  other  figures 
which  are  unimportant,  with  the 
exception  of  some  specimens  in 
clay  and  glazed  pottery,6  and  the 
pretty  statuette  in  glazed  pottery 
reproduced  to  illustrate  hair- 
dressing  (Fig.  15). 

Finally,  to   terminate   this  list 
of  female  figures,  we  must  mention 
an  interesting  statuette  in  lapis-lazuli,  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis. 
The  position  of  the  hands,  the  slender  proportions  of  the  body, 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  ii.  i,  and  p.  23. 
f  Ib.  ii.  pi.  ii.  7,  8;  pi.  iii.  18. 

3  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xviii.  4. 

4  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.   pi.  ii.   5  and  p.  24.     The  same  is  the  case  with  the 
female  figures  found  in  the  royal  tombs  at  Abydos.     PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii. 
pi.  iii.o,  8,  and   p.  21.     AMELINEAU,  Les  nouvelles  fottilles  d' Abydos,    1895-6. 
compte  rend  ii  in  extcnso,  Paris,   1899,  pi.  xxxi. 

*  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  ii.  2  and  pp.  23,  24. 
6  Ib.  ii.  pi.  ix.  1*4,  xi.  230. 


FIG.  131. — IVORY  FIGURE  OF  A  WOMAN 

CARRYING  A  CHILD. 

Berlin  Museum. 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


SCULPTURE   AND    PAINTING. 


171 


1 


I  ! 

O          M 
2        3 


172 


PRIMITIVE    ART   IN    EGYPT. 


and  the  bending  of  the  knees  recall  to  an  astonishing  degree  the 

small  figures  of  the  Greek  Islands1  (Fig.   134). 

I  have  intentionally  omitted  a  class  of  male 
and  female  figures,  because  they  represent  ana- 
tomical malformations  which  suggest  rickets. 
Some  curious  specimens 2  have  been  published, 
and  these  at  once  elicited  a  comparison  with  the 
figures  of  "  Ptah  in  embryo"  of  the  historic  age.3 
There  are  two  examples  in  ivory  in  the  Petrie 
Collection,  University  College,  London.  We  shall 
presently  have  occasion  to  enquire  what  was  the 
meaning  of  these  deformed  figures,  and  for  what 
reason  they  were  deposited  in  the  tombs  and 
temples  (Fig.  135). 

We  must  also  class  in  a  separate  category  the 

FJG.    134.— SMALL     statuettes    which    represent   human    beings    either 
FIGURE  IN  LAPIS-     SqUatting  or   in   positions   which  seem   to   be  im- 

LAZULI       FROM 

HIERAKONPOLIS.  possible.  This  is  the  case  with  men  represented 
standing4  or  kneeling,  with  the  arms  bound  behind 
the  back,  and  apparently  captives.  There  is  an 
ivory  figure,  very  instructive  with  regard  to  this  point,  in  the 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford  ;  it  was  brought  from  Egypt  in 
1891  by  Greville  Chester  (159-91),  and  is  stated  to  have  been 

1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xviii.  3,  and  p.  7  ;  ii.  p.  38. 

2  NAVTLLE,  Figurines  egyptiennes  de  repoque  archaique,  ii.,  in  the  Recueil  de 
travaux  relatifs  a  la  philologie  et  a  Varcheologie  egyptiennes  etassyriennes,  xxii. 
1900,  pi.  5.    BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  ix.  p.  52,  2.     QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i. 
pi.  xi.  and  xviii.  7,  19,  and  p.  7  ;  ii.  pp.  37,  38.      PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  v.  44,  48  ; 
x.  213,  pp.  25,  27. 

3  See  VIRCHOW,  Die  Phokomelen  und  das  Bareniveib^  in  the  Verhandlungen 
der  berl.   Gesellschaft  fur  Anthropologie,  Ethnologie    und  Urgeschichte,   1898, 
pp.  55-61,  with  fig.  and  plate.     DR.  PARROT,  Sur  I'origine  d'une  des  formes  du 
dieu  Ptah,  in  the  Recueil  de  travaux  relatifs  d  la  philologie  et  d  Varcheologie 
egyptiennes  et  assyriennes,  ii.  1880,  pp.  129-133,  and  plate  (reproduction  from  the 
BulUtins  de   la  Societe  d' anthropologie  de  Paris,  1878,   p.    296).     DR.  EIFER, 
LAchondroplasie,  in  the  Correspondant  medical,  vi.  120,  September  i5th,  1899. 
See  SCHWEINFURTH,   Ueber  westafrikanische  Figuren  aus  'lalkschiefer,  in  the 
Verhandlungen   der    berl.    Gesellschaft  filr    Anthropologie,    Ethnologie    und 
Urgeschichte,   1901,  pp.  329,  330  and  fig. 

4  SCHAEFEK,  Neue  Altertumer  der  "  new  race  "  aus  Negadah,  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fur  dgyptische  Sprache,  xxxiv.  1896,  p.  159,  and  fig.  3,  p.  160 


Ashmolean 
Museum. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  173 

found  at  Thebes.  The  main  interest  of  this  object  lies  in  the 
well  preserved  leather  belt,  which  represents  the  tightly  drawn 
thong  that  held  the  captive  in  his  crouching  position.  In  all 
other  specimens  this  leather  thong  has  disappeared,  but  this 
example  shows  how  similar  statuettes  should  be  interpreted  (type 
of  our  Fig.  132,  No.  19). 

The    Hierakonpolis    ivories    give    several    examples   of    these 


FIG.  135.— IVORY  FIGURES  or  DWARFS. 
MacGregor  Collection. 

captives,  the  arms  bound  behind  the  back1  (Fig.  14).  Objects  of 
the  same  type,  but  in  glazed  pottery,  were  found  at  Hierakonpolis 
and  Abydos.2  There  is  also  a  small  figure  to  be  noticed  at 
University  College,  London,  in  a  hard  red  limestone,  with  eyes 
of  rock  crystal,  and  another  fragment  of  crystal  inlaid  on  the 
top  of  the  head.3  Objects  of  the  first  dynasty,  where  scenes 

1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xi.  xii. 

*  Ib.  i.  pi.  xxi.  2,  3,  xxii.  3.     PETRIE.  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  v.  37,  and  p.  25. 

3  PETRIE  Prehistoric  Egyptian  Figures,  in  Man,  1902,  No.  14,  p.  17,  pi.  B,  i. 


174 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


occur  representing  captives,  and  which  we  shall   consider  farther 
on,  afford  proof  of  the  accuracy  of  this  interpretation. 

Finally  we  will  deal  with  the  statuettes  representing  servants. 
At  Naqada,  in  a  tomb  (No.  271),  Petrie  discovered  a  row  of  four 

ivory  statuettes  placed  upright,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  tomb,  several 
centimetres  apart.  They  represented 
personages  (whether  male  or  female 
it  is  difficult  to  say)  having  a  vase 
on  the  head.  The  eyes  are  indicated 
by  beads1  (Fig.  119,  No.  7).  One 
of  these  is  at  University  College, 
London,  and  also  the  head  of  a 
similar  piece  in  alabaster. 

There  are  some  specimens  at  the 
Berlin  Museum,  which  are  supposed 
to  have  come  from  Naqada,  which 
must  be  included  in  this  list  of 
statuettes,  although  they  are  of  a 
very  different  style.  Some  of  these 
formed  part  of  the  crew  of  a  boat 
(Fig.  119,  83,  8,  and  11).  One  of  the  most  curious  is  the  figure 
of  a  woman  standing  in  a  large  jar,  occupied  in  crushing  some- 
thing under  her  feet.  The  left  hand  is  upon  her  hip,  and  with 
the  right  she  supports  herself  by  resting  it  on  the  edge  of  the 
vase2  (Fig.  136). 

I  have  reserved   for  this  chapter  some   vases  of  human    form 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  lix.  7,  and  p.  21  ;  Diospolis,  p.  26,  where  the  sequence 
date  38  is  given.  Compare  HEUZEY,  Musee  national  du  Louvre,  Catalogue  des 
antiquites  chaldeennes,  sculpture  et  gravure  d  la  pointe,  Paris,  1902,  pp.  96,  97, 
105,  in,  305,  306.  313-318. 

3  SCHAEFER,  Neue  Altertumer  der  "  new  race  "  aus  Negadah,  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fiir  dgyptische  Sprache,  xxxiv.  1896,  pp.  160.  161.  A  fragment  of  a  similar  figure 
has  been  found  at  Naqada — see  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxvi.  95,  and  p.  41  ;  id. 
pi.  xxxvi.  96,  another  piece  of  unknown  provenance  (Fig.  119);  an  unpublished 
piece  at  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford,  and  a  head  at  University  College, 
London.  It  seems  that  the  woman,  standing  in  the  jar,  is  occupied  in  the 
preparation  of  beer,  made  by  means  of  bread.  Sec  BORCHARDT,  Die 
Dienerstatuen  aus  den  Grdbern  des  alien  Reiches,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  xxxv.  1897, 
pp.  128  ct  seq.  and  fig.  p.  129;  Kat.  1895,  No.  91. 


FIG.  136. — FIGURE  OF  A  WOMAN 
STANDING  IN  A  LARGE  lAR. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


175 


published  by  M.  Naville  as  belonging  to  the  primitive  period, 
and  which  appear  to  belong  rather  to  sculpture  than  to  decorative 
art.  The  first  of  these  are  two  vases  of  hard  stone  and  the 


FIG.   137. — VASES  IN  FORM  OF  WOMEN. 

fragment  of  a  third  vase  belonging  to  the  fine  collection  of  Mr. 
MacGregor.  One  is  a  kneeling  woman,  holding  in  her  hand  an 
object  resembling  a  horn.  I  was  struck  with  the  analogy  which 
this  object  presents  with  the  attribute  that  appears  on  a  large 


i;6  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

number  of  European  prehistoric  sculptures.1  The  other  is  a 
dwarf  of  a  type  already  known,  while  the  fragment  appears  to 
be  part  of  a  female  figure.2  M.  Naville  compares  these  with 
two  terracotta  figures  in  the  Athens  Museum.  With  Erman 
and  Petrie,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  attribute  them  to  the  eighteenth 
dynasty.3 

As  regards  the  figure  of  the  standing  woman,  bought  by 
M.  Naville  at  Luxor  and  published  at  the  same  time  as  the  two 
preceding  ones,  I  have  difficulty  in  believing  it  to  be  Egyptian 
work,  and  I  am  inclined  to  connect  it  with  the  school  of 
ceramic  art  which  produced  the  black  incised  pottery  with 
whitish  paste,  of  which  we  have  spoken  earlier  (Fig.  137). 

Figures  of  animals  are  extremely  numerous.  It  is  strange  to 
remark  that  the  primitive  artists  in  general  understood  better  the 
rendering  of  animals  than  of  human  figures.  They  carved  a  great 
variety  of  animals,  and  sometimes  in  materials  both  hard  and 
valuable.  Of  these  we  will  note  the  most  interesting  specimens, 
classifying  them  according  to  their  species. 

The  hippopotamus  has  been    found  in  almost  all  the  excava- 
tions— at    Hierakonpolis,    Abydos,    Diospolis,    and    at    Gebelein 
Sometimes  it  is  in  clay,4  sometimes  in  glazed  pottery,5  and  also, 
at  times,  in  stone6   (Fig.   138).     There    is    a    figure    of    a    hippo- 

1  REINACH,  S.,  La  sculpture  en  Europe  avant  les  influences  greco-romaines, 
Angers,  1896,  pp.  13,  18-20,  and  figs.  26,  28,  44,  46-49. 

3  NAVILLE.  Figurines  cgyptiennes  de  I'epoque  archaique,  ii.,  in  the  Recueil  de 
travauv  relatifs  a  la  philologie  et  d  larcheologie  egyptiennes  et  assyriennes,  xxii. 
1900,  pp.  65,  66,  pi.  i.-iii. 

3  NAVILLE,  ib.  xxi.  1899,  pp.  212-216,  pi.  ii.  iii.     These  vases  may  be  compared 
with  those   found   at   Abydos.      See  GARSTANG,    El  Arabah,    pi.    xix.    E  178. 
MAC!VER  &   MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  xlviii.    1.,  and  notice  of  J.  L. 
MYRES,  ib.  pp.  72-75. 

4  PETRIE,  Diospolis,   pi.  v.  B  101   (Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford);  Abydos,  \. 
pi.  liii.  35  (Musees  royaux  de  Bruxelles),  and  p.  26;  ii.  pi.  ix.   188,  and  p.  27,  x. 
225.     VON  BISSING,  Altagyptische  Gefasse  im  Museum  zu  Gise,  in  the  Zeitschrift 

fur  agyptischc  ^prache,  xxxvi.    1898,  p.  124,  and  fig.      MAC!VER  &  MACE,  El 
Amrak  and  Abydos,  pi.  ix.  5. 

5  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xviii.   18  (see  xlviii.  £)  (Ashmolean  Museum 
Oxford).     PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  vi.  70,  71,  73,  and  p.  25. 

6  Limestone  :  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  v.  B  101,  and  p.  33  (Ashmolean  Museum)  ; 
Naqada,  pi.  Ix.  22,  and  p.  46  (bought  at  Gebelein,  University  College,  London). 
Calcite:  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  Ixiv.  5,  and  p.  50,  tomb  153 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


177 


potamus  which  merits  special  attention  ;  it  belongs  to  the 
museum  at  Athens,  where  it  forms  part  of  the  Di  Demetrio 
Collection.  It  is  carved  in  black  and  white  granite,  and  is 
extremely  polished.  The  beast  is  scarcely  disengaged  from  the 
block  ;  the  head  only  has  been  treated  with  some  detail.  The 


jffi 


FIG.  138. — FIGURES  OF  HIPPOPOTAMI  IN  CLAY,  GLAZED  POTTERY,  AND  STONE. 
University  College,  London,  and  Ashmolean  Museum. 

whole  effect  is  heavy  and  thickset,  but  nevertheless  it  is  not 
without  character.  Professor  Wiedemann,  who  drew  attention 
to  this  curious  piece,  does  not  hesitate  to  attribute  it  to  the 

(Ethnographical  Museum,  Cambridge).  Alabaster  :  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  x.  226, 
and  p.  27,  a  specimen  in  quartzite  in  the  MacGregor  Collection,  Tamworth  (3,334). 
Three  similar  pieces  belong  to  the  Randolph  Berens  Collection  at  the  South 
Kensington  Museum. 

12 


i;8  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

Naqada  period1  (Fig.  139),  and  this  impression  is  confirmed  by 
comparison  with  the  figures  of  lions  belonging  to  the  primitive 
period  which  were  discovered  by  Dr.  Petrie  at  Koptos.2 

The  lion  type  is  specially  interesting.  The  earliest  pieces 
were  discovered  by  Mr.  Quibell  in  a  tomb  at  Ballas.  They 
are  in  ivory,  and  show  the  animal  lying  down,  the  head 
low,  and  the  tail  twisted  over  the  back.  It  is  considered 
that  they  formed  part  of  a  game.3  Other  specimens,  almost 


FIG.   139. — HIPPOPOTAMUS  IN   BLACK  AND  WHITE  GRANITE. 


contemporaneous,  were  purchased  by  Dr.  Petrie,  and  are  now 
at  University  College,  London.  They  were  probably  found  at 
Gebelein,  where  there  is  a  vast  prehistoric  necropolis,  which  un- 
fortunately has  not  yet  been  subjected  to  regular  and  scientific 
excavation.  These  lions  in  limestone  are  of  a  type  similar  to 
the  Ballas  lions ;  but  already  one  sees  in  two  of  them  a 
movement  of  the  head  which  is  found  in  almost  all  the  later 

1  WIEDEMANN,  Zu  Nagddo.  Periode^  in  the  Orienialistische  Litteraturzeitung, 
iii.  1900,  col.  86. 

2  PETRIE,  Koptos,  pi.  v.»5,  and  p.  7  (one  of  these  at  the  Ashmolean  Museum, 
Oxford). 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  vii.  Q7ir,  pi.  lx.  12,  16,  17,  and  pp.  14,  35,  46. 


SCULPTURE   AND    PAINTING. 


179 


ones1  (Fig.  140).  Another  example  of  uncertain  provenance  is 
more  massive,  and  is  scarcely  disengaged  from  the  block  of 
limestone.2  The  royal  tomb  of  Naqada,  apparently  contemporary 
with  Menes,  has  yielded  two  figures  of  lions — one  of  rock 
crystal,  of  crude  work,  recalling  the  earlier  pieces3;  the  other  of 


FIG.   140. — SMALL  FIGURES  OF  LIONS. 
University  College,  London. 

ivory,    in    which    the    sculptor    has    endeavoured 
details,  carefully  indicating  the  ears  and  mane.4 


to    render   the 


1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ix.  24-26. 

1  7£.,pl.   Ix.  23. 

*  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  surles  origines,  ii.  fig.  700,  and  pp.  193, 194.  There  is  a 
second  example,  probably  also  from  Naqada,  in  the  MacGregor  Collection  (No.  533). 

4  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les  origines,  ii.  figs.  699 a  and  b,  and  pp.  192-194. 
VON  BISSING,  Les  origines  de  VEgypte  in  I '  Anthropologie,  ix.  1898,  pi.  iii.  8,  and 
p.  249.  A  similar  specimen  is  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  Hilton  Price,  London. 
See  HILTON  PRICE,  Notes  upon  some  Pre-dynastic  and  Early  Dynastic  Antiquities 
from  Egypt  in  the  writers  collection,  in  Archaologia,  Ivi.  1899  (published 
separately,  p.  5,  fig.  5 h,  and  p.  10).  There  is  another  specimen  in  the  MacGregor 
Collection  (No.  504). 


i8o 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


The  ivory  lions  discovered  in  one  of  the  private  tombs 
which  surround  the  tomb  of  King  Zer,  show  a  further  improve- 
ment in  form.  On  one  of  these  Professor  Pctrie  notices  two 
spots  marked  above  the  eyes.  This  peculiarity  is  not  met 
with  on  Egyptian  work,  but  is  frequently  observed  in  that  of 
Mesopotamia  ;  he  also  points  out  that  the  position  of  the  tail 


FIG.  141.— SMALL  FIGURES  OF  LIONS. 

in  this  figure,  twisted  over  the  back  and  curved  at  the  end,  is 
identical  with  those  of  the  prehistoric  carvings.1  The  final 
peculiarity  to  be  observed  is  that  two  lines  in  relief  clearly 
define  the  outline  of  the  muzzle  (Fig.  141). 

The    excavations    of    Amelineau,    in     the     same     tombs    at 
Abydos,  had  previously  produced  a  lion  in  ivory,2  and  also  a  head 

1  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  vi.  3,  4,  and  p.  23. 

2  AMELINEAU,    Les   nouvelles  fouilles  d' Abydos,    1^95-6,    Compte  rendu   in 
extenso,  Paris,  1899,  pi.  xxxi. 


SCULPTURE   AND    PAINTING. 


181 


on  which  the  two  lines  of  the  muzzle  are  more  clearly  defined.1 
There  is  an  example  of  larger  size  in  which  this  peculiarity 
is  of  special  interest.  This  is  a  limestone  statue  discovered  by 
Petrie  at  Koptos,  which  reproduces  the  principal  characteristics 
of  the  small  figures  fFig.  142).  One  would  gladly  assign  it  to 


FIG.   142. — LIMESTONE  STATUE  OF  A  LION  FROM  KOPTOS. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

the  age  of  Zcr,  and  this  date  would  equally  apply  to  the 
hippopotamus  at  the  museum  at  Athens.  These  specimens  are, 
however,  not  sufficiently  abundant  to  enable  us  to  fix  with 
certainty  the  appearance  of  a  type.-' 

1  AMELINEAU,  Les  nou-uelles  fourths  d'Abydos,  pi.  xlii.  p.  307,  where  they  are 
quoted  as  figured  on  pi.  xli. 

*  PETRIE,  Koptos,  pi.  v.  5,  and  p.  7. 


1 82 


PRIMITIVE    ART   IN   EGYPT. 


In  the  Randolph  Berens  Collection,  now  deposited  at  the 
South  Kensington  Museum,  there  are  two  large  lions  in  black 
granite  and  in  alabaster  found  at  Abydos.  They  bear  witness  to 
an  art  far  more  powerful  than  that  of  the  great  lion  of  Koptos, 
and  they  should  be  attributed,  I  think,  to  the  first  dynasty. 

The  excavations  carried  on  in  the  temple  of  Osiris  at 
Abydos  during  the  winter  1902-3  yielded  a  series  of  ivory  lions 


FIG.  143. — IVORY  CARVINGS  OF  A  Doc1  AND  OF  A  LioN2  FROM  ABYDOS. 
Brussels  Museum. 

of  excellent  workmanship.  Dr.  Petrie,  from  the  style,  attributes 
them  to  a  date  later  than  that  of  Zer  or  Menes.  Two  of  them 
are  lionesses,  and,  strange  to  say,  they  are  wearing  collars.  Did 
the  artist  intend  thus  to  indicate  that  they  were  domesticated 
animals?  Another  has  the  eyes  inlaid  with  chalcedony.3 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  iii.  22,  p.  24.  CAPART,  Antiquites  de  Vepoque 
thinites  in  the  Bulletin  des  Musees  royaux  des  arts  decoratifs  et  industriels 
a  Bruxelles,  iii.  1904,  p.  83,  fig.  2. 

8  CAPART,  ib.  p.  83,  fig.  4. 

3  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  iii.  23-29,  and  p.  24.  Lionesses  :  26  and  28.  Eye 
in  chalcedony  :  29. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


183 


The  excavations  at  Hierakonpolis  led  to  the  discovery  of  a 
remarkable  figure  of  a  lion  in  terracotta,  which  we  shall  have 
opportunity  to  discuss  in  connection  with  the  earliest  Egyptian 
antiquities.  To  conclude  our  examination  of  figures  of  lions, 
we  must  notice  an  example  in  glazed  pottery,  which  also  comes 
from  Abydos.1 

Figures  of  dogs  are  less  numerous.  They  must  be  divided 
into  two  principal  groups — the  more  archaic  type,  represented 
by  glazed  pottery  figures  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis  and  Abydos,2 


FIG.   144. — FIGURES  or  DOGS. 

and  the  later  type  represented  by  ivory  carvings,  which  already 
suggest  a  resemblance  to  the  lion  figures  of  the  time  of  the 
earliest  sovereigns  of  the  first  dynasty3  (Fig.  143).  These  dogs 
have  a  collar  round  the  throat  (Fig.  144). 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  xi.  246,  and  p.  28. 

1  OUIHKLI  ,  Ilifmkonpolis,  i.  pi.  xx.  13  and  p.  13  (monkey) ;  ii.  p.  38  (monkey  ?). 
PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  vi.  67,  68  (?),  and  p.  25. 

3  DE  MORGAN,  Rccherches  sur  Us  origines,  ii.  figs.  698  a  and  b,  and  p.  192. 
VON  HISSING,  I^s  origines  de  l'£gypt,  in  PAnthropologic,  ix.  1898,  pi.  iii. 
figs.  7,  9,  ii,  and  p.  249.  PETKIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  vi.  a,  xxxiv.  21,  22,  and 
p.  37;  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  ii.  13,  Hi.  22  (Musees  royaux  de  Bruxelles),  and  p.  24. 
There  is  also  a  specimen  in  the  MacGregor  Collection,  Tamworth  (No.  534). 


1 84  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

There  are  two  breeds  of  dogs  to  be  distinguished  :  a  kind  of 
mastiff,  strong  and  powerful,  which  was  employed  in  lion-hunting1 ; 
and  also  a  breed  of  large  running  dogs,  of  slender  build,  with 
pendant  ears,  the  head  much  like  our  modern  foxhound,  and 
with  a  coat  either  black  and  white,  or  white  and  reddish  brown.2 
It  is  to  this  class  of  animal  that  the  dog  belongs  which  is 
represented  by  an  ivory  carving  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis, 
now  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford3  (Fig.  145);  also  two 
rough  fragments  in  clay,  which  Mr.  Quibell  recognizes  as  dogs.4 


FIG.   145. — PART  OF  AN  IVORY  FIGURE  OF  A  DOG. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

They  are  specially  interesting  from  the  analogy  they  present 
with  European  figures5  (Fig.  144).  These  are  almost  all  the 
examples  of  this  species  which  have  been  found. 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  ii.  13.  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xix.  6,  and 
Fig.  68  of  this  book. 

3  See  LENORMANT,  FR.,  Sur  les  animaux  employes  par  les  anciens  Egyptiens 
a  la  chasse  et  d  la  guerre ;  in  the  Cumptcs  rendus  des  seances  de  r  Academic  dcs 
sciences  de  Paris,  October  3ist,  November  7th,  I4th,  and  28th,  1870.  Reprinted 
in  Rotes  sur  un  voyage  en  Egypte,  Paris,  Gauthier-Villars,  1870. 

3  The  feet  were  carved  separately  and   are  now  missing.     It  is  the  dog  of 
which  a  portion  only  was    published    by  QUIBELL,   Hierakonpolis,   i.  pi.  xii.  7. 
The  same  breed  is  found,  especially  at  Beni  Hasan,  under  the  twelfth  dynasty. 
See  NEWBERRY,  P.  E.,   Beni  Hasan,  i.  pi.  xxx.     See  on   the  dogs  of  Egypt, 
besides  Lenormant's  article,  quoted  in  the  preceding  note,  BIRCH,  The  Tablet  of 
Antefaa  II.,  in  the   Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archeology,  iv.  1875, 
pp.  172-195,  pi.  and  fig. 

4  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  Ixiii.  7,  10,  and  p.  50. 

5  REINACH,  S.,  La  sculpture  en  Europe  avant  les  influences  greco-romaincs, 
fig.  366,  p.  125.     HOERNES,  Urgeschichte  der  bildenden  Kunst  im  Eiiropa,  pi.  xv. 
1 1-14,  and  p.  522.     The  figure,  hierakonpolis,  Ixiii.  7,  appears  to  me  to  represent 


SCULPTURE    AND    PAINTING. 


185 


In  the  temple  at  Hierakonpolis,  as  in  that  of  Abydos, 
enormous  numbers  of  figures  of  apes  were  found,  in  stone  and 
ivory,  and  also  in  glazed  pottery,  \vhite  and  brown,  light  green, 
and  blue  or  purple. 

The  most  curious  pieces  are  blocks  of  stone  from  Abydos, 
barely  roughed  out,  and  of  which  the  head  only  is  clearly  indi- 
cated (Fig.  146).  By  the  side  of  these  there  was  a  natural  flint, 
with  a  projection  bearing  a  vague  resemblance  to  the  head  of 
a  monkey.  Petrie  remarks  that  this  likeness  was  the  cause  of 


FIG.   146. — NATURAL  FLINTS  ROUGHLY  WORKED  TO  RESEMBLE  BABOONS. 
Found  in  the  temple  of  Abydos. 

its  being  preserved.  "  The  great  natural  flint  seems  to  have 
been  kept,"  he  says,  "  as  being  like  a  quadruped,  and  [another] 
for  its  likeness  to  a  baboon.  No  other  large  flints  were  found 
in  the  whole  temple  area,  and  these  must  have  been  brought  a 
mile  or  more  from  the  desert.  As  they  were  placed  with  the 
rudest  figures  of  baboons  that  we  know,  it  seems  that  we  have 
here  the  primitive  fetish  stories  picked  up  because  of  their  like- 
ness to  sacred  animals,  and  perhaps  venerated  before  any 

a  bull,  and  should  be  compared  with  those  discovered  at  the  station  of  Argar,  in 
Spain :  see  SiRET,  H.  &  L.,  I. cs  premiers  ages  du  metal  dans  Ic  sud-estde  VEspagne, 
Anvers,  1887,  pi.  xvii.  1-3,  and  pp.  123,  124;  also  with  those  discovered  at  Cucuteni. 
Si-e  BUTZUREANO,  GR.  C.,  Note  sur  Couconteni  et  plusieurs  autres  stations  de  la 
M«ldirt'if  du  nnrd,  in  the  Compte  rendu  du  Congrcs  international d'anthropologie 
et  d'archeologic  prehistoriqucs,  tenth  session,  at  Paris,  in  1889,  Paris,  1891, 
l»l>.  299-307  and  pi.  ii.  17,  18. — Information  contributed  by  the  Baron  de  Log. 


1 86  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

artificial  images  were  attempted."  l  We  will  not  insist  on  this 
point,  which  touches  on  the  purpose  of  these  figures— a  subject 
with  which  we  will  deal  later. 

From  the  temple  of  Hierakonpolis  there  is  another  very 
rough  stone  figure.2  The  species  of  monkey  here  represented  is 
the  cynocephalus,  seated  on  the  ground,  the  fore-paws  resting 
on  the  knees.  Figures  of  this  class  are  extremely  numerous, 
always  copied  from  the  same  type,  sometimes  summarily,  some- 
times worked  with  careful  observation  and  a  regard  for  detail 
which  is  quite  remarkable.3  One  group  gives  the  figure  of  two 
small  apes  seated  in  front  of  a  large  one.4  All  these  statuettes 
are  in  glazed  pottery,  except  one,  which  is  in  ivory6  (Fig.  147). 

We  must  mention,  as  exceptions  to  these,  another  kind  of 
monkey  which  inspired  the  primitive  artist  to  a  remarkable 
degree.  These  were  found  at  Hierakonpolis  and  Abydos,  and 
represent  a  monkey  who  holds  her  young  one  tenderly  in  her 
arms,6  the  little  one  turning  its  head  round  and  looking  back 
with  a  gesture  of  alarm.  Or,  again,  there  is  the  ape  seated, 
its  fore-paws  touching  the  ground.  In  this  last  example  the 
artist  has  completely  separated  the  paws,  which  rest  in  a  perfectly 
natural  manner  on  a  small  square  base.7  There  is  also  a  figure 
of  a  baboon  walking,  where  the  gait  has  been  seized  and 
rendered  with  much  spirit8  (Fig.  147). 

The  head  of  an  ape  in  pottery,  now  in  the  Ashmolean 
Museum,  Oxford,  appears  to  have  formed  part  of  a  more 
finished  specimen  than  the  numerous  examples  just  quoted  in 
glazed  pottery.9 

1  PETRIF,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  ix.  190-196,  p.  27. 

2  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  xxxii.  i,  and  p.  43. 

3  PETRIE,  Abydos,  i.  pi.  liii.  7-9,  1 1,  and  p.  25  ;— ii.  pi.  vi.  50-61,  64,  65,  and  p.  25  ; 
ix.  197,  202,  and  p.  27 ;  x.  217-219,  and  p.  27  ;  xi.  233,  235,  238,  247,  248,  253,  and 
p.  28.     QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxi.  10,  ii  ;  xxii.  n,  12. 

4  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  vi.  49,  and  p.  25. 

5  Ib.  ii.  pi.  xi.  12,  and  p.  24. 

6  Ib.  ii.   pi.  iv.  v.  41,  and  p.  25  (glazed  pottery).     QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis, 
i.  pi.  xviii.  i  (stone). 

7  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  iii.  16,  and  p.  24  (ivory). 

8  Ib.  ii.  pi.  i.  vii.  86,  and  p.  25  (glazed  pottery). 

9  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  Ixii.  i,  and  p.  49. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


187 


A*  S3. 


FIG.   147. — FIGURES  OK  MONKKYS. 


1 88  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

Representations  of  bulls,  cows,  and  calves  were  already 
in  use  in  the  prehistoric  cemeteries,  as  was  proved  by  the 
discoveries  of  Mr.  Maclver  at  El  Amrah.  These  animals  are 
sometimes  grouped  in  rows  of  four  on  the  same  base.  Most 
frequently  they  are  simply  formed  of  unbaked  mud,  and  so 
extremely  friable  that  it  is  difficult  to  preserve  them.1  Occa- 
sionally one  or  two  are  found  which  have  been  baked.  At 
Diospolis  and  Abydos  other  pieces  have  been  discovered,  where 


FIG.   148. — FIGURES  OF  CATTLE  AND  PIGS. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

the  animal  intended  to  be  represented2  (Fig.  148)  cannot  always 
be  identified  with  certainty.  Two  pieces — one  in  ivory,  the  other 
in  glazed  pottery — represent  a  calf  lying  down,  with  the  four 
feet  bound  together.3 

We    will    rapidly    pass    in    review    the    representations   of   the 

1  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  EL  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  ix.  1-3,  6,  9.  10,  and  p.  41. 
MAC!VEK,  A  Prehistoric  Cemetery  at  El  Amrah  in  Egypt :  Preliminary  Report 
of  Excavations,  in  Man,  1901,  No.  40,  p.  51,  and  fig.  2,  p.  50. 

3  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  vi.  B  109  (?).  Abydos,  i.  pi.  liii.,  40-42,  and  p.  26  ; 
pl.vi.63,  and  p.  25  ;  pi.  ix.  204,  and  p.  27  (ivory  calf). 

3  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxi.  5  =  xxii.  7  (glazed  pottery).  PETRIE,. 
Abydos,  ii.  pi.  ii.  30,  and  p.  24  (ivory,  hollowed  in  form  of  a  flat  dial,  similar  to 
pieces  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  and  later). 


SCULPTURE   AND    PAINTING.  189 

pig1  (Fig.  148),  the  jackal,2  the  antelope,3  the  bear,4  the  hare,6  and, 
finally,  of  the  camel,  which  up  to  the  present  has  been  considered 
an  animal  introduced  into  Egypt  at  a  very  recent  period.0 

Two  camels'  heads  were  discovered  at  Abydos  and  Hiera- 
konpolis,  in  terracotta,  where  the  characteristic  movement  of 
the  lower  lip  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  its  identity  (Fig.  149). 


Fie.   149. — CAMEL'S  HEAD  IN  CLAY,  FOUND  AT  HIEKAKONTOI  i^. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

The   camel  must,  therefore,  have  been  introduced  into  Egypt  at 
the    commencement    of    the    historical    era,    only    to    disappear 

1  MACIVER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  ix.  4  (?).  PETRIE,  Abydos, 
ii.  pi.  vi.  66,  and  p.  25.  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxi.  7  -  xxii.  8,  and  p.  8  ; 
ii.  and  p.  39. 

*  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xx.  12,  and  p.  8  (dog  ?) ;  ii.  p.  39  (hyena  ?). 

*  Jb.,  i.  pi.  xxi.  13,  xxii.  13,  17,  and  p.  8 ;  ii.  p.  39. 

4  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  ii.  1 5,  and  p.  24.  M.  F.  de  Zeltner  writes  to  me  on 
this  subject :  "  L'ours  ne  semble  avoir  jamais  exist6  (en  Afrique)  que  dans  les 
montagnes  de  1'Atlas,  ou  il  n'est  d'ailleurs  pas  eteint,  quoique  tres  rare." 

4  PETRIE,  Nagada,  pi.  vii.  Ix.  17,  and  pp.  14,  35. 

6  See,  for  the  latter  view,  VON  BISSING,  Zur  Geschichtc  des  Kamels,  in  the 
y.i-itschrift  fttr  Itgyptische  Sprachc,  xxxviii.  1900,  pp.  68,  69.  To  the  books 
referred  to  by  the  author  must  be  added.  Bulletin  de  Mnstihtt  egypticn,  first 
series,  No.  14,  1875-8,  pp.  57,  61,  62. 


190  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

promptly,  leaving  practically  no  trace.  According  to  the  theory 
of  M.  Zippelius,  it  appears  that  it  was  the  same  with  the 
horse.1 

Small  figures  of  birds  make  their  appearance  with  the  com- 
mencement of  the  primitive  period.  The  specimens  discovered 
are  in  quartz,  glazed  pottery,  stone,  bone,  and  lead.2  The  hawk 
is  the  most  frequently  represented,  without  feet,  as  though  it 
were  mummified,  in  the  position  so  often  found  on  Egyptian 
monuments,  more  especially  on  the  stelae  of  Hierakonpolis.3 
A  fair  number  have  been  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis 4  and 
Abydos.5  The  feet  are  occasionally  folded  back  under  the 
body,  as  in  the  limestone  figure  found  at  Koptos,  now  in  the 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford.6  These  representations  appear  to 
have  been  little  modified  during  the  first  dynasties,  to  judge 
by  the  models  of  birds  found  at  Medum,  in  the  temple  of  the 
pyramid  of  Sneferu,  which  Petrie  attributed,  even  at  the  time 
of  their  discovery,  to  a  very  remote  age.7  Does  this  indicate 
that  they  were  copied  from  a  fixed  type,  and  that  the  artist  did 
not  venture  to  depart  from  the  model?  The  proof  appears  to 

1  QUIBELL  &   GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  Ixii.  2,  and  p.  49,  where   it   is 
considered  as  the  head  of  an  ass.     PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  x.  224,  and  pp.  27,  49 
(read  Zippelius  instead  of  Zippelin).     ZIPPELIUS,  Das  Pferd  im  Pharaonenlande, 
in   the   Zeitschrift  fur  Pferdekunde  und  Pferdezucht  (Wiirzburg),  xvii.    1900, 
pp.   125-127,   133-135,  142-144,   149-151. 

2  PETRIE,    Naqada,    pi.  Ix.   14,   15,    18-20,  and  p.  46  (Ashmolean  Museum, 
Oxford,    with  the    exception  of  20,   which  is  at   University   College,    London). 
Diospolis,  p.  26. 

3  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xlvi.  7,  n. 

4  Ib.,   i.   pi.  xxi.  14,  xxii.   14,  15.     QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi. 
xxiii.  (beads  of  glazed  pottery  in  form  of  birds). 

5  PETRIE,  Abydos,  i.  pi.  liii.  6  (limestone) ;  ii.  pi.  vii.  79-83  (glazed  pottery),  84 
(quartz) ;  pi.  ix.  198  (?),   199  (limestone) ;  the  base  is  hollowed  to  allow  of  the 
figure  being  placed  on  a  staff  or  at  the  top  of  a  standard.     See  p.  27  ;  xi.  242 
(glazed   pottery).     See  also  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  vii.  (no  precise  description 
in  the  text).     There  is  a  specimen  of  uncertain  provenance  in  the  MacGregor 
Collection  (No.  3,813),  and  three  others  of  unusual  dimensions  in  the  Randolph 
Berens  Collection,  deposited  at  the  South  Kensington  Museum. 

6  PETRIE,  Koptos,  pi.  v.  6,  and  p.  7. 

7  PETRIE,  Medum,  London,  1892,  pi.  xxix.  1-5,  and  p.  9,  35  :  "  Glazing  of  No.  3, 
a  clear  light  purplish  blue,  with  dark  purple  stripes,  is  also  early,  and  cannot  be  of 
the  eighteenth  dynasty,  nor  hardly  of  the  twelfth.     I  think  probably,  therefore, 
that  these  are  contemporary  with  the  decease  of  Sneferu,  and  the  oldest  small 
figures  known"  (1892). 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


191 


be  found  in  a  small  figure  from  Hierakonpolis,1  which  shows 
the  admirable  way  in  which  the  hawk  was  represented  when 
the  artists  were  not  forced  to  adhere  closely  to  a  model. 

Finally,  the  excavations  at  Hierakonpolis  yielded  a  statuette, 
which  is  unique,  of  a  pelican,  or  perhaps  a  turkey,  in  glazed 
pottery2  (Fig.  150). 

In  the  great  tomb  at  Naqada  M.  de  Morgan  discovered  a 
series  of  fish  in  ivory,  pierced  at  the  mouth  for  suspension.  On 


FIG.   150.— FIGURES  OK  BIRDS  AND  OF  GRIFFINS. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford,  and  University  College,  London. 


several  examples  lines  are  carefully  inscribed  on  the  surface  to 
supply  the  details.3  Another  fish  in  glazed  pottery  comes  from 
1 1  icrakonpolis.4  The  same  excavations  have  also  contributed 
the  model  of  a  basket  in  steatite  decorated  with  fish,5  and  from 

1  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xviii.  5  (schist),  p.  7  (Ashmolean  Museum, 
Oxford) ;  ii.  p.  38 :  "  Found  in  the  temple,  but  not  in  main  deposit,  it  is  doubtless 
of  later  date  than  the  lest,  and  has  been  put  in  this  place  by  error,  as  a  fragment 
of  a  diorite  bowl  with  the  name  of  Khufu  incised.  .  .  .'' 

*  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis^  i.  pi.  xxi.  15,  xxii.  16,  and  p.  8. 

8  DE  MORGAN,  Rccherches  sur  les  origines,  ii.  figs.  701-713,  and  p.  193. 
CAPART,  Aotes  sur  les  origines  de  l'£gypte  d'apres  les  f out  lies  recentes>  in  the 
Revue  de  rUniversite  de  Bruxelles,  iv.  1898-9,  p.  128,  note  4  and  fig.  (separate 
reprint,  p.  28).  A  similar  fragment  was  discovered  at  Abydos.  PETRIE,  Royal 
Tombs,  ii.  pi.  iii.  a,  10,  and  p.  21. 

1  (JUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxi.  16,  xxii.  18. 

5  Jb.  i.  pi.  xix.  2  =  xx.  7,  and  p.  8. 


192  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

the  excavations  at  Abydos  come  figures  of  crocodiles  in  glazed 
pottery.1 

Figures  of  scorpions  in  carnelian  are  frequently  found  at  the 
close  of  the  primitive  period  (sequence  dates  70-80) 2  ;  they  were 
found  in  large  numbers  in  the  temple  of  Hierakonpolis,  and  are 
made  in  various  materials — serpentine,  rock  crystal,  haematite, 
and  glazed  pottery3  (Fig.  151). 

Figures  of  frogs  are  found,  commencing  at  the  primitive 
period.4  They  are  of  frequent  occurrence  at  Hierakonpolis5  and 
Abydos,0  both  in  stone  and  in  glazed  pottery  (Fig.  151). 

In  conclusion,  we  must  mention  a  curious  figure  of  a  feline 
creature  with  a  bird's  head,  discovered  at  Naqada.7  A  similar 
specimen  is  at  University  College,  London  ;  the  body  of  the 
animal  is  ornamented  with  two  gold  bands.  This  may  be 

identified  with  the  weird  animal     /\      \\    or  — H—    V\    S,  sga  or 

tAi         rrxs-  rrxs' 

sag,  which  in  the  twelfth  dynasty  was  still  represented  by  the 
Egyptians  in  hunting  scenes8  (Fig.  150). 

A  fair  number  of  these  animal  figures  are  pierced  for 
suspension,  admitting  the  supposition  that  they  were  used  as 
amulets.  We  have  already  seen  in  Chapter  III.  that  several 
schist  palettes  of  animal  form  present  the  same  characteristic. 
We  will,  therefore,  now  admit  provisionally  that  several  of  these 
figures  had  either  a  magical  or  a  religious  purpose.  Amulets  of 
this  description,  representing  crocodiles,  frogs,  fish,  birds,  scorpions, 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  i.  pi.  vi.  74-76,  and  p.  25  ;  Diospolis,  p.  26,  figures  a  crocodile 
in  serpentine,  sequence  date  52. 

2  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  p.  27,  and  pi.  iv. 

3  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.   xviii.  5  (serpentine),  16  (crystal),  22  ;  xix.  5 
=  xx.  10  (haematite);  xxi.  4  =  xxii.  4  (glazed  pottery); — ii.  pi.  xxiii.  (glazed  beads)  ; 
xxxii.  (haematite). 

4  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Iviii. ;  Diospolis,  p.  26  (sequence  date  65). 

5  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xviii.  10,  u,  14. 

6  PETRIE,  Abydos,    ii.    pi.   vi.  72  (glazed  pottery) ;  x.  214  (glazed  pottery) ; 
xi.  240,  245  (glazed  pottery).     Several  stone  specimens  in  the  Petrie  Collection, 
University    College,    London,    and    three    examples    in    the    Randolph    Berens 
Collection,  deposited  at  South  Kensington  Museum. 

7  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  Ix.  13. 

8  CnA>KA$>,£tudessur  Tantiquite  histortqtie,  Paris,  1873,  pp.  399-400.    MASPERO, 
Lectures  historiques  :  Histoire  ancienne,  Paris,  1892,  pp.  116,  117,  and  fig.  67. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


193 


jackals,  lions,  etc.,  are  found   among  the   antiquities  of  classical 
Egypt. 

As  we  are  speaking  of  amulets,  I  will  quote  what  Dr.  Petrie 
has  said  with  regard  to  a  class  of  objects  which  are  in  the  form 
of  bulls'  heads :  "  The  oldest  form  of  amulet  found  is  the 
bull's  head.  .  .  .  The  origin  of  this  form  was  a  puzzle  until  an 
example  was  found  at  Abydos,  on  which  the  flat  front  and 


FIG.   151. — FIGURES  OF  FROGS  ANI>  OF  SCORPIONS. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford,  and  University  College,  London. 

muzzle  form  of  the  lower  end  left  no  doubt  that  it  must  be 
copied  from  a  bull.  It  begins  at  sequence  date  46,  or  earlier, 
and  continues  in  use  till  sequence  date  67,  when  it  is  very 
degraded.  A  form,  apparently  continued  from  this,  is  found  in 
blue  marble  with  beads  of  the  twelfth  dynasty,  so  it  may  even 
have  lasted  on  as  late.  But  the  connection  with  the  bull's  head 
had  disappeared  early,  while  the  idea  of  such  an  amulet  seems 
to  have  continued,  as  we  find  well-made  bull's  head  amulets 

13 


194 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN   EGYPT. 


of  carnelian  at  about  the  close  of  the  prehistoric  [era],  and 
such  continued  to  be  used  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  dynasties, 
gradually  dwindling  in  size."  Dr.  Petrie  compares  with  this 
fact  the  painted  skulls  of  bulls  discovered  in  the  "  pan  graves," 
and  continues :  "  Looking  to  the  West,  we  find  bronze  bull's 

head  amulets  in  Spain,  and 
large  bronze  bulls'  heads  to 
hang  up  on  buildings  in 
Majorca  (Revue  archeologique, 
1897,  138).  Gold  bull's  head 
amulets  are  found  in  Cyprus 
and  Mykenae,  and  at  present 
cows'  skulls  are  hung  on  houses 
in  Malta,  and  fruit  trees  in 
Sicily  and  Algiers,  to  avert  the 
evil  eye.  The  whole  subject  of 
bucrania  is  opened  by  these 
prehistoric  bull's  head  amulets."1 
A  very  fine  specimen  in 
ivory  belonging  to  the  Berlin 
Museum  (No.  14,964)  shows 
clearly  that  it  is  intended  for  a  bull's  head  (Fig.  152). 


FIG.   152. — BULL'S  HEAD  AMULET  IN 
IVORY. 

Berlin  Museum. 


1  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  p.  26  ;  Naqada,  pi.  Iviii. ;  Prehistoric  Egyptian  Carvings, 
in  Man,  1902,  No.  14,  p.  17,  pi.  B,  8-16;  Abydos,  i.  pi.  li.  4,  5,  and  p.  23; 
ii.  pi.  xiv.  281,  and  p.  30.  SCHAEFER,  Neue  Altertttmer  der  "new  race'''  aus 
Ncgadah,  in  the  Zeitschrijt  fur  dgyptische  Sprache,  xxxiv.  1896,  fig.  6,  p.  180. 
On  the  subject  of  bucrania  in  Egypt  see  WIEDEMANN,  Zu  Petrie s  neuen  Funden, 
in  the  Orientalistische  Litteraturzeitung,  ii.  1899,  col.  182-184;  Compte  rcndu  de 
Hierakonpolis,  i.  ib.  col.  331.  GOLENISCHEFF,  Lcttre  a  M.  G.  Maspero  sitr  trots 
pctites  trouvailles  cgyptologiques,  in  the  Recuetl  de  travaux  relatifs  d  la  philologie 
et  d  V  archcologie  egyptiennes  et  assyriennes,  xi.  1889,  p.  98.  LEFEBURE,  Lcs  Huttes 
de  Cham,  in  the  Museon,  xvii.  1898,  p.  ^oetseq.;  Rites  egyptiens :  Construction 
et  protection  des  edifices  (Publications  de  l'£cole  des  lettrcs  d'Alger  :  Bulletin  de 
corrcspondance  africaine),  Paris,  1890,  p.  20  et  scq.  NAVILLE,  The  Festival 
Hall  of  Osorkon  II.  in  the  great  temple  of  Bubastis,  London,  1892,  pi.  ix.  9,  and 
p.  21.  DARESSY,  Catalogue  general  des  antiquites  egyptiennes  du  Musee  du  Caire ; 
Ostraca,  pi.  v.  No.  25,019  (revers),  and  p.  5.  MASPERO,  La  Pyramide  du  rot  Oitnas, 
in  the  Recueil  dc  travaux  relatifs  d  la  philologie  et  d  rarcheologie  egyptiennes  ct 
assyriennes,  iv.  1883,  p.  48,  line  423  ;  and  the  variants  in  La  Pyramide  du  roi  Teii, 
ib.  v.  1884,  p.  29,  line  242.  CAPART,  La  fete  defrapper  les  Anou,  in  the  Revue  de 
rhistoirc  des  religions,  xliii.  1901,  pp.  252,  253  (separate  reprint,  pp.  4,  5). 


SCULPTURE   AND    PAINTING. 


195 


These  bull's  head  amulets  bear  sufficient  resemblance  in  their 
general  aspect  to  a  Mykenean  ornament,  to  render  it  interesting 
to  note  the  analogy1  (Fig.  153). 

European  prehistoric  remains  have  furnished  a  large  number 
of  figures  representing  "  animals  back  to  back,  with  the  bodies 
united  at  the  croup,  so  as  to  present  the  appearance  of  a  single 
body  terminated  by  two  heads,  forming  a  pendant."  * 

Most  frequently  these  are   small  bronze   pendants,  formed  of 


Fto.  153. — BULL'S  HEAD  AMULETS. 

two  bulls,  back  to  back  ;  as  M.  Salomon  Reinach  remarks, 
there  is  scarcely  an  important  museum  which  does  not  possess 
some  of  them.  Similar  figures  are  also  found  in  primitive  Egypt, 
more  especially  on  the  cylinders.  They  will  be  found  in  our 
Fig.  114  (M  560),  and  also  upon  a  palette  with  figures  in  relief 
which  we  shall  deal  with  later.  The  Hilton  Price  Collection, 
London,  includes  three  curious  ivories  representing  these  double 
bulls,  where  the  fee,t  are  not  indicated.  Like  some  of  the 

1  PERROT  &  CHIPIEZ,  tiistoire  de  Part  dans  /'</»//>/////<•',  vi.,  La  Grece 
primitive,  I 'art  mvccnicn,  fig.  223,  p.  546. 

-  KHNACH,  S.,  La  sculpture  en  Europe  avant  Ics  influences  greco-romaines, 
pp.  113-115,  and  figs.  320-327. 


196  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

European  figures,  they  have  a  tenon  in  the   middle  of  the  back 
to  permit  of  their  being  suspended1  (Fig.   154). 

In  certain  tombs  of  the  earliest  primitive  period,  between  the 
sequence  dates  33  and  44,  there  is  found  a  pair  of  ivory  horns 
or  tusks.  One  is  always  solid,  the  other  hollow.  They  are 


FIG.  154. — DOUBLE  BULL'S  HEAD  AMULETS. 
Hilton  Price  Collection. 

sometimes  quite  undecorated,  ending  in  a  point/'  and  pierced  at 
that  end  for  suspension  ;  sometimes  at  the  pointed  end  there  is 
a  groove  and  ring.  In  this  case  there  are  two  eyes,  and  lines 
indicating  a  beard  engraved  on  the  surface  of  the  horn  ;  in  some 

1  HILTON   PRICE,  Some  Ivories  from  Abydos,   in   the  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  xxii.  1900,  p.  160  and  plate.     The  block  of  our 
Fig.  1 54  has  been  lent  by  the  kindness  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology. 

2  PETRIE,  Diospolis,   p.  21.     MAC!VER  &    MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos, 
pi.  vii.  2,  and  p.  48. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


197 


instances  the  eyes  are  represented  by  beads.1  Occasionally,  also, 
and  this  is  the  most  interesting  form,  the  horns  terminate  in  a 
human  head,  worked  with  care.  On  the  top  of  the  head  there 
is  a  ring  for  suspension2  (Fig.  155). 

The  precise  purpose  of  these  objects  is  difficult  to  determine. 


FIG.   155. — MAGICAL  INSTRUMENTS  (?)  IN  IVORY. 
University  College,  London,  and  Ashmolean  Museum. 

Dr.  Petric  supposes  that  they  formed  part  of  the  equipment  of  a 
sorcerer,  or  medicine  man.  The  horns  remind  him  of  the  belief 
of  the  negroes  of  the  Gold  Coast,  who  imagine  that  white  men 
can  by  enqhantment  catch  the  souls  of  the  natives  in  horns, 

1  I'KTRIK,  \tv/ada,  pi.  Ixi.  34,  35  ;  pi.  Ixiv.  81,  and  pp.  19,  21,  47. 

3  HILTON  PRICE,  Two  objects  from  prehistoric  tombs,  in  the  Zcitschrift  fUr 
ligyptischc  Sprac/tc,  xxxvii.  1899,  p.  47  and  fig.  Notes  upon  some  Predynastic 
,111,1  l-'.nrly  Dynamic  Anti</uitics  from  Egypt  in  the  writers  collection,  in 
Arc/in  ol'i^ia,  Ivi.  1899  (separate  reprint,  p.  2,  and  fig.  i). 


I98 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


and  convey  them  thus  to  their  own  country  to  make  them 
toil  for  them.1  In  the  Congo  certain  negroes  believe  that  the 
sorcerers  can  gain  possession  of  human  souls,  enclose  them  in 
ivory  horns,  and  sell  them  to  the  white  men,  who  make  them 
work  in  their  country  on  the  sea  coast.  They  imagine  that  a 
large  number  of  labourers  at  the  coast  are  men  who  have  been 

procured  in  this  manner.  When  one 
of  the  natives  goes  there  for  purposes 
of  commerce,  he  frequently  searches 
anxiously  for  his  dead  relations.  The 
man  whose  soul  is  thus  given  over 
to  slavery  will  die  rapidly  or  in- 
stantaneously.2 

I  would  gladly  connect  with  this 
belief  the  custom  observed  by  Alice 
Werner  in  British  Central  Africa.  An 
old  woman  carried  round  her  neck  a 
hollow  ivory  ornament,  about  3  inches 
in  length  and  in  the  form  of  a  round 
peg,  pointed  at  the  top,  with  a  slight 
groove  by  which  it  could  be  suspended. 
This  object,  which  exactly  corresponds 
to  the  Egyptian  ivories,  was  called 
by  this  woman  her  life,  or  her  soul. 
FIG.  156.— MAGICAL  INSTRUMENT  Naturally,  she  would  not  part  with  it; 

MADE  OF  HORN,  FROM  KATANGA.  ,          .  ... 

a   colonist    tried    in    vain    to    buy    it 

University  College,  London. 

of  her.3 

This  interesting  ethnological  comparison  appears  to  be  con- 
firmed by  an  object  said  to  come  from  Katanga,  which  I  have 
recently  had  the  good  fortune  to  acquire  (Fig.  156).  The  magic 
instrument  is  made  of  horn  ;  the  patina  which  covers  it,  as  well  as 
the  deep  grooving  formed  by  long  use  in  the  suspension  holes, 
indicate  that  it  dates  back  a  very  considerable  number  of  years. 
It  is  now  at  University  College,  London. 

1  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  47;  Diospolis^  p.  21. 

*  FRAZER,  The  Golden  Bough,  2nd  ed.  i.  p.  279. 

3  /£.,  2nd.  ed.  iii.  p.  407,  note  4. 


SCULPTURK    AND   PAINTING. 


199 


Certain  of  the  prehistoric  tombs  of  Naqada  contain  clay 
models  of  boats,  sometimes  decorated  with  paintings  (Fig.  157)- 
We  have  already  seen  that  one  of  these  boats  was  painted  in 
an  unsophisticated  fashion  on  the  edge  with  small  human 
figures  representing  rowers.1  The  crew  was  also  represented 
at  times  by  small  clay  figures2  (Fig.  158).  According  to 
Professor  Petrie,  these  paintings  show  that  they  were  not 
intended  to  represent  boats  built  of  wood,  but  those  made  of 


FIG.   157. — MODELS  OF  BOATS  IN  CLAY  AND  IVORY. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

reeds  or  papyri  tightly  bound  together,  such  as  were  in  use 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  historical  period  in  Egypt.3  A 
specimen  in  alabaster,  from  the  royal  tombs  of  Abydos,  distinctly 
shows  this  method  of  construction.' 

Similar    boats   have   been    discovered    in    the   excavations    at 

1  PETRIE,  Xaqada,  pi.  xxxvi.  80,  81  a  and  6,  and  pp.  13,  41  :  P1-  Ixvi.  *•  and 
p.  48.  DE  MORGAN,  Rec.herchcs  stir  les  origines,  ii.  p.  91,  figs.  235-237,  p.  90. 

1  SCHAEKEK,  \ene  Allcrtiimer  der  "  new  race  "  aus  Negadah,  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fiir  iig\-f>tische  Sprachc,  xxxiv.  1896,  pp.  159,  161,  fig. 

'  KK.MAN,  Life  in  Audi-ill  A,;T/V,  p.  479  et  seq. 

4  PETRIE,  Abydos,  i.  pi.  ix.  4. 


200 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


El  Amrah1  and  at  Abydos.2  They  also  occur  frequently  in  the 
great  find  of  ivories  at  Hierakonpolis.  The  shape  of  one  of  these 
specimens  strangely  recalls  the  Venetian  gondola3  (Fig.  157).  The 
presence  at  these  various  sites  of  boats  in  clay  and  ivory  is  of 
very  great  importance.  We  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  it 
again,  more  in  detail. 

A    clay    model   of  a   house,    discovered   at   El    Amrah,   gives 
us  an   idea   of  the   habitations   of  the   primitive  Egyptians,  and 


FIG.  158. — POTTERY  BOAT  WITH  FIGURES  OF  MEN. 
Berlin  Museum. 

shows  that  they  were  made  of  beaten  mud,  probably  covered 
with  strips  of  palm  wood  imbedded  in  clay — wattle  and  mud. 
A  door  is  inserted  in  the  wall  at  one  end,  and  at  the  other 
end  are  two  windows  ;  the  door  already  shows  the  principal 
characteristics  of  the  door-shaped  stelae  of  the  Ancient  Empire4 
(Fig.  159). 

1  MACIVER  &  MACE,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  ix.  8,  and  p.  41. 

2  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  iii.  20,  and  p.  24  (ivory) ;  vii.  89,  90,  and  p.  26  (glazed 
pottery). 

3  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  v.  and  p.  6. 

4  MAC!VER,  A  Prehistoric  Cemetery  at  El  Amrah  in  Egypt :  Preliminary 
Report  of  Excavations,  in  Man,  1901,  No.  40,  p.  51,  and  fig.  I,  p.  50.     MAC!VER  & 


SCULPTURE   AND    PAINTING. 


201 


A  tomb  discovered  at  Diospolis  contained  fragments  of  a 
model  of  a  fortified  enclosure,  with  figures  of  two  men  looking 
over  the  wall1  (Fig.  160). 

We  have  now  completed  our  examination  of  the  principal 
pieces  carved  in  the  round,  and  we  should  proceed  to  study 
the  primitive  drawing  and  painting.  We  must,  however,  not 


Fie.  159. — CLAY  MODEL  OF  A  HOUSE  DISCOVERED  AT  EL  A.MKAII. 

omit  to  mention  the  carvings  in  low  relief  described  in  the 
chapter  on  ornamental  art — reliefs  on  the  slate  palettes,  on 
handles  of  knives,  on  fragments  of  furniture,  and  on  vases  in 
pottery  and  stone.  We  shall  see  in  the  following  chapter  that 

M.\<  i-:,  El  Amrah  and  Abydos,  pi.  x.  1-3,  and  p.  42.  See,  on  the  houses  of  the 
primitive  age,  PETRIE,  The  Sources  and  Growth  of  Architecture,  in  the  Journal 
of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects,  third  series,  viii.  1901,  pp.  341-343. 
and  figs.  1-4. 

1  PETRIE,  Diospolis,  pi.  vi.  B  83,  and  p.  32  (Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford). 


202 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


this  art  developed  greatly  at  the  commencement  of  the  historical 
period,  and  that  it  produced  masterpieces  of  extraordinary  power. 

The  primitive  drawings  and  paintings  are  to  a  large  extent 
already  known  to  us.  We  have  met  with  them  in  personal 
decoration,  on  the  slate  palettes,  on  the  vases,  and  principally 
upon  the  pottery.  In  this  chapter  it  only  remains  for  us  to 
examine  two  classes  of  drawings,  the  graffiti  engraved  on  the 
rocks  and  the  paintings  of  a  prehistoric  tomb  discovered  by 
Mr.  Green  not  far  from  Hierakonpolis. 

Upon    the    rocks    of    the    Arabian    and    Libyan    mountains 


FIG.  1 60.— CLAY  MODEL  OF  A  FORTIFIED  ENCLOSURE. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

there  has  been  observed  and  copied,  although  unfortunately  in 
a  very  incomplete  fashion,  a  series  of  drawings  of  men,  animals, 
and  boats  in  a  style  identical  with  that  of  the  pottery  marks  and 
the  paintings  on  decorated  pottery.1  This  has  led  to  the  legitimate 

1  WIEDEMANN,  Les  modes  d'ensevelissement  dans  la  necropnle  de  Negadah  et 
la  question  de  rorigine  du  peuple  egyptien,  in  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  Ics 
origines  de  l'£.gypte,  ii.  p.  222,  and  note  i,  where  the  following  works  are 
quoted  : — DE  MORGAN,  loc.  cit.  i.  p.  162  et  seq.  and  figs.  487-492.  GOLENISCHEFF, 
Vne  excursion  a  Berenice,  in  the  Recueil  des  travaux  relatifs  a  la  philologic  et 
d  Varcheologie  egyptiennes  et  assyriennes,  xiii.  1890,  pi.  iv.  17,  pi.  vii.  62. 
PETRIE,  Ten  Years'  Digging^  1881-91,  London,  2nd  ed.  1893,  p.  75,  fig.  57  : 
"  To  judge  by  the  weathering  of  the  rock,  it  seems  probable  that  they  were 
begun  here  long  before  any  of  the  monuments  of  Egypt  that  we  know.  The 
usual  figures  are  of  men,  horses,  and  boats,  but  there  are  also  camels,  ostriches, 
and  elephants  to  be  seen." 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  203 

conclusion  that  they  also  belong  to  the  primitive  age.  These 
drawings  are  frequently  mixed  with  representations  accompanied 
by  hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  and  in  spme  cases  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  establish  a  clear  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
primitive  graffiti  and  those  of  more  recent  date.1  In  some 
cases,  however,  there  is  no  possible  doubt.  I  must  quote 
as  specially  noteworthy  in  this  respect  some  graffiti  copied  by 
M.  Legrain  at  Gebel-Hetematt,-  which  closely  resemble  those  at 
Silsileh  noticed  by  Dr.  Petrie.3 

The  most  important  graffiti,  which  appear  to  me  to  belong 
to  the  primitive  period,  will  be  found  in  Fig.  161.  Their  analogy 
with  the  pottery  marks  in  Fig.  1 1 1  is  particularly  remarkable. 
Some  of  these  animal  figures  are  arranged  in  squares,  as  on  the 
red  pottery  with  white  paintings.  Certain  curious  representations 
may  perhaps  indicate  the  use  of  the  horse.  This  remark  should 
be  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  theory  of  M.  Zippelius,  to 
which  we  have  recently  alluded. 

One  of  these  graffiti  merits  special  notice.  A  man  is 
apparently  thrusting  a  harpoon  into  an  animal's  hide,  which 
seems  to  be  stretched  on  the  ground,  with  another  harpoon 
already  fixed  in  it.  In  this  representation  I  see  an  analogy  with 
that  of  an  ivory  tablet  discovered  in  the  tomb  of  King  Den 
Setui,  of  the  first  dynasty.4 

In  Wady  Hammamat,  the  great  road  which  connects  the 
Nile  Valley  with  the  coast  of  the  Red  Sea,  M.  GolenischefF 
has  noted  several  graffiti  which  also  seem  to  belong  to  the 
primitive  period,  notably  representations  of  the  ostrich,  and  even 

1  The  primitive  graffiti  can  be  distinguished  from  those  of  the  historic  period 
by  the  patina  which  covers  them.  See  SCHWEINFURTH,  G.,  Aegyptische 
Ticrhililcr  als  Kieselartefakte,  in  Die  Umschau,  vii.  1903,  p.  806:  "  Diese 
Tierbilder  versetzen  uns  im  Geiste  in  jene  Zeiten,  da  die  Urbewohner  von 
Aegypten  und  Nordwestafrika  ahnliche  Zeichnungen  in  die  FelswSnde 
einkratzten,  die  in  den  Sandsteintalern  Oberagyptens  haufig  angetroffen  werden 
und  von  deren  hohem  Alter  die  braunliche  Patina  Zeugnis  ablegt,  mit  der  die 
Linien  bedeckt  erscheinen,  wfthrend  datierte  Inschriften  aus  der  Zeit  der  5.  und 
(>.  Dynastic  (bei  el  Qab),  die  z.  T.  fiber  die  alteren  hinweg  eingeritzt  wurden, 
ausseh«-M  als  wiiren  sie  von  gestern,  wie  Prof.  Sayce  bezeugen  kann." 

*  DE  M ••!<(.. \N,  Rechcrchcs  sur  les  origincs  >tc  I'tigyptc,  i.  fig.  487,  p.  162. 
I'KTRIE,  Ten  iivwV  Digging  in  Jigr/>/,  p.  75,  fig-  57- 

4  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  vii.  1 1  ;  Abydos,  i.  pi.  xi.  8. 


2O4 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


•••--  \\ 

FIG.   161. — GRAFFITI  FROM  THE  ROCKS  OF  UPPER  EGYPT. 
The  three  figures  at  the  bottom  are  from  the  south  of  the  province  of  Gran. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  205 

of  a  man  lassoing  an  ostrich.  We  must  also  mention  a  boat 
which  occurs  here,  although  it  is  not  absolutely  identical  with 
the  primitive  boats,  and  it  should  perhaps  be  attributed  to  the 
Ancient  Empire.1  The  quarries  of  Silsileh  have  also  furnished 
a  large  number  of  similar  graffiti,  personages,  ships,  animals, 
etc.-  In  conclusion,  we  must  mention  the  graffiti  of  El  Kab, 
and  more  especially  of  a  boat  which  is  an  exact  counterpart  of 
those  of  the  tomb  of  Hierakonpolis,  which  we  shall  presently 
consider.3 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  mention  that  similar  graffiti  have 
been  found  among  peoples  differing  widely  from  each  other ; 
among  the  Australians,4  the  Bushmen,5  and  even  in  the  French 
prehistoric  graves.0  A  most  striking  resemblance  exists  between 
the  Egyptian  graffiti  and  those  in  the  south  of  the  province  of 
Oran  ;  here  the  identity  is  almost  absolute.  The  comparison, 
when  extended  to  the  designs  engraved  on  the  vases  (Fig.  in), 
is  exceedingly  striking,  and  we  find  here  a  new  proof  of  the  close 
connection  between  the  primitive  Egyptians  and  the  Libyans.7 

M.  Zaborowski  has  attempted  to  demonstrate  that  these  graffiti 
constitute  "  the  embryonic  forms  "  of  hieroglyphic  writing.8  What 
we  have  already  said  on  the  subject  of  primitive  hieroglyphs  will 

1  GOLENISCHEFF,  Inscriptions  du  Omnly  Hammamat,  in  the  Memoires  de  la 
Section  orientate  de  la,  Socicte  imperiale  russe  d^archeologie  (in  Russian),  ii.  1887, 
pi.  v.  1-3,  pi.  xiii. 

J  Antiquities  in  Egypt:  Prehistoric  Rock  Drawings,  in  the  Graphic, 
January  ist,  1898,  fig.  7,  with  four  photos. 

3  GREEN,  Prehistoric  Drawings  at  El  Kab,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society 
of  Biblical  Archeology,  xxv.  1903,  pp.  371,  372,  with  pi.  and  fig. 

4  GROSSE,  Les  Debuts  de  I'Art,  pp.  125  et  seq. 

5  GROSSE,  ib.  p.  138  et  seq.  and   pi.  iii.      CHRISTOLL,  FRED.,  An  sud  de 
rAfrique,  Paris,  1897,  Compte  rendu  in  PAnthropologie,  xi.  1900,  p.  78  et  seq. 

8  See,  among  others,  L.  CAPITAX,  L.  &  H.  BREUIL,  Les  gravures  sur  les  parois 
des  grottes  prehistoriques,  la  grottc  de  Combarelles,  in  the  Revue  de  I'Ecole 
d'anthropologie  de  Paris,  xii.  1902,  pp.  33-46. 

7  BONNET,    Les  gravures    sur   roches    du    sud    Oranais,    in    the    Revue 
d'ethnographie,  viii.  1889,  pp.  149-158  and  fig.     Compare  fig.  6  with  our  Fig.  1 1 1  ; 
p.  155  :  "  Quelques  personnages  ont  les  bras  Iev6s  dans  Pattitude  de  1'admiration 
ou  de  la  priere.     GSELL,  Les  monuments  antiques  de  I'Algerie,  i.  Paris,  1901, 
pp.  41-54,  and  figs.  10-14.     The  ram  bearing  the  disc  on  his  head,  fig.  13,  p.  46, 
may  be  compared  to  our  Fig.  in,  Am  19. 

8  ZABOROWSKI,  Origines  africaines  de  la  civilisation  de  I'ancienne  Egypte, 
in  the  Revue  scientifique,  fourth  series,  xi.  1899,  pp.  293,  294. 


206  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

probably  be  sufficient  to  show  how  small  a  foundation  there  is 
for  such  an  explanation. 

The  graffiti,  moreover,  the  earliest  of  which  may  probably  date 
back  to  palaeolithic  times,  show  points  of  resemblance  with  the 
pottery  marks,  which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  are  more  especially 
met  with  on  the  vases  of  the  black  topped,  and  of  the  red  polished 
pottery.  It  is,  however,  with  the  scenes  on  the  decorated  pottery 
that  we  should  compare  the  paintings  in  the  prehistoric  tomb 
discovered  in  1899  by  Mr.  Green  at  Hierakonpolis.1  In  the  course 
of  the  second  season  of  excavations  in  this  locality,  a  workman 
living  in  the  neighbourhood  reported  that,  at  the  extreme  south- 
east of  the  prehistoric  cemetery,  there  were  walls  with  traces  of 
painting.  The  tomb  had  unhappily  been  pillaged  two  or  three 
years  previously,  but  it  nevertheless  contained  sufficient  pottery, 
which  had  been  judged  valueless  by  the  pillagers,  to  render  it 
possible  to  date  the  tomb,  approximately  at  least,  to  sequence 
date  63.2 

The  tomb  was  entirely  constructed  of  bricks,  plastered  over 
with  mud  mortar,  5  millimetres  thick.  The  walls  were  finally 
washed  over  with  yellow  ochre  or  whitewash.  Some  of  these 
walls  were  decorated,  and  at  the  present  time  one  of  the  sides, 
happily  the  longest,  has  retained  its  decoration  in  fairly  good 
condition.3  The  lower  part  was  painted  blue-black  to  a  height 
of  about  27  centimetres.  This  lower  part  was  separated  from 
the  scenes  by  a  line  of  red  ochre,  of  a  width  of  about  2  centimetres. 
The  task  of  copying  these  invaluable  representations  was  extremely 
difficult,  the  wall  being  damaged  by  the  action  of  time  and  by 
pillagers,  and  we  cannot  be  sufficiently  grateful  to  Mr.  Green 
for  the  care  which  he  brought  to  the  execution  of  the  work. 

His  work  in  various  places  was  rendered  more  difficult  by 
the  primitive  artist,  who,  having  made  his  sketch  in  red,  had 
sometimes  effaced  it,  and  in  doing  so  stained  with  red  the  yellow 
ground,  on  which  he  once  more  drew  the  figure.  After  an 
attentive  study  of  all  the  details,  Mr.  Green  came  to  the  very 

1  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis^  ii.  p.  20  et  seq,  pi.  Ixxv.-lxxviii. 
-  Ib.  ii.  p.  54 ;  note,  by  Professor  Petrie. 
3  Ib.  p.  21,  pi.  Ixviii. 


SCULPTURE    AND   PAINTING.  207 

important  conclusion  that  the  artist  apparently  did  not  attempt 
to  arrange  his  figures  in  any  definite  order  ;  the  different  scenes 
are  inserted  where  he  found  room  to  place  them,  after  finishing 
the  larger  objects,  such  as  the  ships. 

\Ve  will  now  examine  these  representations  somewhat  closely 
.  162,  163).  The  first  objects  which  strike  us  arc  the  six  large 
boats  which  occupy  the  greater  part  of  the  space,  and  which 
remind  us  of  the  boats  on  the  decorated  pottery,  and  also  of  the 
terracotta  models  which  we  have  already  described.  The  difference 
which  distinguishes  these  boats  from  those  painted  on  the  vases 
is  that  we  see  no  more  of  the  parallel  lines  which  start  from 
the  lower  edge  and  descend  vertically.  At  the  bows  we  notice 
the  cable  for  tying  up  the  boat ;  on  the  deck  some  palm  branches 
cast  a  shade  over  a  small  erection.  In  the  centre  two  slight 
constructions  serve  as  cabins.  On  one  of  the  drawings  the 
hinder  cabin  is  seen  surmounted  by  a  post,  a  kind  of  small  mast, 
to  which  emblems  are  attached.  This  is  also  met  with  on  the 
drawings  of  boats  on  the  decorated  pottery.  In  the  stern  of  one 
of  these  boats  a  man  is  seated,  working  a  long  oar,  ending  in 
an  oval  blade,  which  acts  as  rudder. 

As  we  have  hitherto  studied  all  the  objects  relating  to  boats,  we 
may  refer  to  a  very  serious  objection  which  has  been  raised  on 
this  subject,  and  which,  I  think,  is  refuted  by  successive  discoveries. 

Basing  his  remarks  on  the  drawings  of  boats  on  the  decorated 
pottery  published  by  M.  de  Morgan  and  Dr.  Petrie,  and  also 
on  the  specimens  at  the  British  Museum  and  at  the  Ashmolean 
Museum,  M.  Cecil  Torr  considered  that  "the  long  curved  lines, 
which  have  been  considered  as  representing  ships,  are  in  reality 
indications  of  a  rampart  ;  that  the  straight  shorter  lines,  the 
so-called  oars,  indicate  a  species  of  glacis ;  that  the  gap  which 
can  be  observed  in  this  row  indicates  the  approach  to  the 
rampart  ;  and,  finally,  that  the  objects  considered  as  cabins  are 
in  reality  small  towers  placed  on  the  two  sides  of  the  entrance 
to  the  rampart."1 

M.Loret  has  resumed  M.Cecil  Torr's  arguments, but  modifying 

1  CECIL  TORR,  Suryuclgues  prclcndus  navires  cgyptiens,  in  f  Anthropologie, 
ix.  1898,  p.  35. 


208 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN   EGYPT. 


his  conclusions  to  some  extent.  "  I  believe,"  he  says,  "  that  these 
so-called  vessels  represent,  with  less  dexterity  in  the  drawing 
and  greater  awkwardness  in  the  perspective,  the  same  thing  as 

the    sign  (I  ^g\    ^  ^    ( .      The    curve    represents    part    of    the 

circumference  of  the  Kom  l — all  that  a  spectator  facing  it  would 
be  able  to  view  at  one  glance ;  the  lines  are  intended  for  a 
palisade,  interrupted  in  front  of  a  gateway,  which  opens  between 
two  fortified  buildings.  The  presence  of  the  palms  on  the  slope 


FIG.  162.  —  PAINTINGS  ON  THE  PRIMITIVE  TOMB  OF  HIERAKONPOLIS.    • 

are  accounted  for  quite  naturally,  and  also  the  standard  bearing 
the  emblem  or  totem  of  the  tribe  inhabiting  the  Kom."2 

Some  of  the  arguments  employed  by  these  scholars  are  of 
great  importance.  It  is  very  desirable  to  mention  them  here,  in 
order  to  refute  them  as  far  as  possible. 

To  begin  with,  there  is  one  fact  important  to  note.  It  is  the 
discovery  of  a  drawing  on  a  vase  of  a  sailing  vessel  (Fig.  91), 
the  general  form  of  which  resembles  closely  one  of  the  repre- 
sentations of  the  Hierakonpolis  tomb.3 


1  Kom  or  Tell  :  mound,  hillock. 

2  LORET,    Le    mot     fl 

1 


,   Paris,    1902,   p.    7.—  Extract    from 


the  Revue  £gyptologique,  x. 

3  Compare  thex  hieroglyph  of  the  boat  in  LEPSIUS,  Denkmciler,  ii.  18,  where 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  209 

Torr  and  Loret  object  that,  although  gazelles  and  ostriches 
are  found  above  and  below  these  so-called  vessels,  fish  and 
aquatic  animals  are  never  represented. 

On  this  point  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer  to  our  Figs. 
84  and  93,  where  the  boats  are  surrounded  by  hippopotami, 
crocodiles,  and  fish. 

"  Rowers  are  never  seen  figured,"  they  say,  "  and  the  vertical  or 
oblique  lines,  if  they  represent  oars,  should  start  from  the  upper 
line  of  the  hull,  and  not  from  the  lower  part." 

The  oarsmen,  in  fact,  are  not  represented  ;  but  as  we  have  just 
said,  on  one  of  the  boats  in  the  Hierakonpolis  tomb,  there  is  a 


FIG.  163.— PAINTINGS  ON  THE  PRIMITIVE  TOMB  OF  HIERAKONPOLIS. 

sailor  managing  the  rudder.  Again,  it  may  be  admitted,  without 
in  any  way  disproving  the  identification  of  these  drawings,  that 
the  vertical  lines  are  not  oars.  Even  at  that  date  M.  de  Morgan 
was  inclined  to  consider  them  rather  as  fishing  tackle.1 

An  argument  of  far  greater  importance  is  supplied  by  Dr. 
Petrie,  who  has  found  these  same  lines  in  Egyptian  representa- 
tions, where  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  they  are  intended 
to  represent  a  ship.  In  fact,  in  one  of  the  halls  of  the  temple 
of  Seti  I.,  at  Abydos,  there  is  a  very  careful  drawing  of  the 
bark  of  the  god  Sokaris,  and  the  prow,  which  is  very  high,  is 

the  prow  rises  well  above  the  cabin.     See  STEIN  DOR  FF,  Eine  neut  Art  figyptischcr 
Kunst,  in  Aegyptiaca,  Festschrift  fUr  Georg  Ebers,  p.  125. 
1  DE  MORGAK,  Recherches  sur  les  origines,  li.  p.  91. 

14 


2IO 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


actually  decorated  with  a  series  of  lines  recalling  those  that 
we  find  on  the  primitive  boats.1  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the 
sacred  bark  has  three  oars  with  broad  blades,  acting  as  rudder, 
such  as  is  seen  on  one  of  the  prehistoric  representations.2  The 
temple  of  Denderah  also  presents  a  bark  of  the  god  Sokaris,  of 
later  date,  where  the  lines  we  speak  of  have  almost  disappeared.a 
As  to  the  palm  branches  placed  in  the  bows,  they  shade  the 
place  where  the  pilot  is  seated.4 

With  regard  to  the  emblems  placed  on  a  post  above  the 
cabin,  we  must  agree  with  Dr.  Petrie  and  M.  de  Morgan  in 
considering  them  to  be  signs  indicating  either  the  proprietor  of 
the  boat,  the  tribe,  or  the  port  of  sailing.5  Petrie,  in  this 
connection,  recalls  a  story  told  by  Strabo  of  the  sign  of  a  ship 


-m-T* 


*    r 


FIG.  164. — STANDARDS  ON  THE  PRIMITIVE  BOATS. 

lost   in   the    Red    Sea ;    when    exposed    in    the    market-place    at 
Alexandria  it  was  recognized  by  a  mariner  of  Gades  (Fig.  164). 

In  the  space  unoccupied  by  the  boats  various  figures  are 
represented,  principally  relating  to  hunting  wild  beasts,  which 
are  lassoed,  or  caught  in  a  trap  shaped  like  a  wheel.  The  trapped 
animals  are  gazelles  of  various  kinds  (Fig.  165),  and  this  drawing 
recalls  the  decoration  of  a  cup  discovered  by  Mr.  Maclver  at 

1  PETRIE,  Archaeological  Notes,  in  CAULFIELD,   The  Temple  of  the  Kings  at 
Abydos,  London,  1902,  pp.  15,  16,  and  pi.  vi. 
3  See  Fig.  91. 

3  MARIETTE,  Denderah,  iv.  pi.  64  (after  Petrie). 

4  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  48.     BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  p.  71  et  seq.,  where 
the  question  of  barks  is  thoroughly  discussed.     DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les 
engines^  ii.  figs.  240-264,  and  p.  92.     The  author  believes  rather  that  it  is  intended 
for  the  sign  of  the  tribe  to  which  the  proprietor  of  the  vessel  belongs.    ' 

5  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches  sur  les  origines,  ii.  p.  93,  and  fig.  247-264. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING. 


21  I 


El  Amrah,  now  in  the  University  Museum,  Oxford.1  On  the 
upper  part  of  the  wall,  to  the  left,  a  man  brandishing  a  club 
attacks  a  lion  (?).  Another  personage  is  drawing  a  bow.  Farther 
on,  antelopes  of  various  kinds,  which  it  would  be  rash  to 
attempt  to  identify  precisely,  are  scattered  here  and  there,  and 
also  birds,  one  possibly  a  bustard.  It  is  very  tempting  to 
recognize  equidae  in  the  figures  on  the  right  ;  and  to  do  so  would 
be  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the  observations  we  have  already 
made. 

On   one   of  the  boats,  above  the   stern   cabin,  there  are  two 


FIG.  165.— GAZELLES  CAUGHT  IN  A  TRAP  AND  RELIGIOUS  (?)  REPRESENTATIONS. 
Painted  tomb  of  Hierakonpolis. 

small  human  figures  roughly  sketched  ;  above  the  boat  three 
women  are  standing,  their  arms  raised  in  the  attitude  characteristic 
of  dancing. 

The  most  interesting  scenes  are  depicted  under  the  boats  in  a 
line  immediately  above  the  painted  base  of  the  wall.  On  the 
left  we  see  a  man  holding  a  cord,  which  is  tied  round  the  necks 
of  three  crouching  captives,  whom  he  is  preparing  to  smite  on 
the  head  with  his  mace.  This  is  an  important  representation, 

1  MAC!VER  &  MACE,  loc.  at.  pi.  xv.  17. 


212  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

which  gives  us  the  prototype  of  the  monuments  of  the  Ancient 
Empire,  such  as  the  bas-reliefs  of  Wady  Magarah  or  of  Sinai, 
where  the  king  of  Egypt  brandishes  his  mace  over  a  vanquished 
enemy.  In  front  of  this  group  there  are  two  personages,  each 
of  whom  holds  in  his  hand  the  sceptre  which  in  the  historic  age 
is  the  attribute  of  divinities  and  of  the  king,  and  which  does  not 
appear  in  any  other  capacity,  except  in  the  hands  of  shepherds.1 

Immediately  afterwards  one  comes  to  a  strange  group  consisting 
of  a  man  standing,  holding  two  lions  (?)  by  the  neck  while  they 
stand  on  their  hind  feet.  We  have  already  spoken  of  a  similar 
figured  engraved  on  the  ivories  discovered  in  the  temple  of 
Hierakonpolis  (Fig.  108).  It  is  difficult  to  avoid  recognizing  in 
this  group  a  religious  scene,  especially  when  one  compares  it 
with  analogous  representations  of  the  Aegeo-Cretan  people. 

Continuing  the  examination  of  the  wall  to  the  right,  we  see 
an  antelope  caught  by  a  lasso  (the  hunter  has  disappeared)  ; 
then,  a  man,  who  appears  to  be  dismembering  with  his  hands 
another  antelope  which  is  lying  on  the  ground  with  the  feet  tied, 
in  the  position  we  know  already  on  the  two  pieces  discovered  at 
Hierakonpolis  and  Abydos.  May  we  not  recognize  in  this  scene 
the  capture  of  the  victim  by  means  of  the  lasso,  as  Seti  I.  depicted 
it  at  Abydos,2  and  then  the  dismemberment  of  the  animal 
probably  before  a  religious  symbol.  It  is  difficult  to  identify 
exactly  what  is  the  object  in  front  of  the  man  who  is  sacrificing. 

I    am    much    inclined     to    recognize   in    it    the   pillar    In,  which 

would  confirm  an  hypothesis  which  I  put  forward  in  a  former 
work  3  (Fig.  164). 

1  V.  SCHEIL,  Tombeaux  thebains,  le  Tombeau  d'Apoui,  in  the  Me'moires  pub  lie's 
paries  membres  de  la  Mission  archeologique  fran$aise  du  Caire,  v.  p.  610,  and  pi.  ii. 

3  MARIETTE,  Fouilles  executees  en  Egypte,  en  Nubie  et  an  Soudan,  Paris, 
1867,  ii.  pi.  50.  On  comparing  the  text  of  Unas,  423,  and  Teti,  242,  with  these 
scenes,  I  am  disposed  to  recognize  the  hunting  of  Apis  quoted  on  tl> .  Palermo 
stone.  See  MASPERO,  review  of  PELLEGRINI,  Nota  supra  una  Iscrizione  Egizia 
del  Museo  di  Palermo,  in  the  Revue  critique,  1899,  p.  4.  NAVILLE,  La  pierre 
de  Palermo,  in  the  Recueil  de  travaux,  xxv.  1903,  p.  71.  SCHAEFER,  Ein 
Bruchstiich  altdgyptischer  Annalen,  Berlin,  1902,  pp.  21,  23. 

3  CAPART,  La  fete  de  frapper  les  Anou,  in  the  Revue  de  Vhistoire  des 
religions,  xliii.  1901,  pp.  266,  267.  SPIEGELBERG,  Der  Stabkultus  bei  den  Aegypten, 
in  the  Recueil  des  travaiix,  xxv.  1903,  p.  190,  note  3. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  213 

Following  this  scene  of  dismemberment  we  find  two  groups 
of  combatants,  of  which  we  have  already  given  a  reproduction 
(Fig.  26),  and  three  women  (?)  crouching  on  the  ground. 

We  would  also  point  out,  on  another  wall  of  the  tomb,  two 
figures  of  men  walking,  the  style  of  painting  having  already 
progressed.  Both  carry  a  staff  curved  at  the  top,  and  also  the 

sceptre  j  forked  at  the  base.1 

The  information  given  on  the  subject  of  the  colours  employed 
is  as  follows.  The  ground,  as  we  have  already  stated,  is  yellow 
ochre  or  white.  "  The  blacks  are  a  blue-black,  and  do  not  seem 
to  be  pounded  charcoal.  All  the  boats,  except  one,  have  been 
painted  white,  over  which  a  wash  of  bright  green,  granular  in 
structure,  probably  pounded  malachite,  had  been  put.  The 
exception  is  a  boat  with  a  high  prow  and  comparatively  low 
stern,  which  is  painted  blue-black.  The  outline  of  the  figures 
was  drawn  first  in  red  ochre  ;  the  white  of  the  dresses  has  in 
many  instances  overlapped  this  outline.  The  eyes  were  put  in 
with  a  thick  pasty  lump  of  white  ;  the  pupil  being  represented 
by  a  blue-black  spot  on  this."  2 

f\{  we  attempt  to  recapitulate,  in  a  few  words,  the  scenes 
depicted  on  the  paintings  and  graffiti,  we  should  say  that  they 
consist  of  hunting  scenes,  of  navigation,  and  possibly,  as  at 
Hierakonpolis,  of  religious  scenes.  We  must  remember  that  on 
the  decorated  pottery,  independently  of  the  skeuomorphic  designs, 
we  have  only  found  representations  of  similar  character.  / 

We  may  ask  why  the  primitive  Egyptian  inscribed  such 
scenes  on  the  rocks,  on  the  sides  of  tombs,  and  on  his  earthen- 
ware vases?  Was  he  obeying  an  imperative  artistic  craving? 
The  question  has  recently  been  solved,  at  least  in  part,  in  an 
important  article  by  M.  Salomon  Reinach  on  L'Art  et  la  magie 
d  propo*^  des  peintures  et  des  gravures  de  I'dge  du  renne?  The 
primitive  Egyptian  culture,  we  believe,  contributes  invaluable 
evidence  on  this  subject,  and  perhaps  it  will  not  be  without 
interest  if  we  linger  over  it  for  a  short  time. 

1  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  Ixxix. 

'  lb.  p.  21. 

3  In  t  Anthropdogie^  xiv.  1903,  pp.  257-266. 


214  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

M.  Salomon  Reinach  thus  expresses  himself  on  the  subject 
of  the  art  of  the  cave-men  :  "  To  begin  with,  I  have  established 
what  has  long  since  been  observed,  that  designs  borrowed  from 
the  animal  world  are  by  far  the  most  numerous ;  also  what 
appears  to  me  to  be  new,  that  the  animals  represented  may  be 
termed  exclusively  such  as  are  used  for  food  by  tribes  of  hunters 
and  fishermen — these  animals  being  desirable,  while  others  which 
were  not  thus  used  may  be  classed  as  undesirable.  These  un- 
desirable animals  include  the  great  feline  tribe,  such  as  the  lion 
and  tiger,  the  hyena,  jackal,  the  wolf,  and  various  kinds  of  snakes, 
etc.  From  the  establishment  of  this  fact  an  important  deduction 
is  arrived  at — the  knowledge  that  the  troglodytes,  in  drawing,  in 
painting,  and  in  sculpture,  did  not  merely  seek  to  occupy  their 
leisure,  or  to  fix  their  visual  memories  in  order  to  gain  from 
their  companions  admiration  for  their  dexterity.  The  severe 
choice  which  presided  over  their  artistic  activity  implies  for  this 
same  activity  some  object  less  trite  than  those  which  have  been 
alleged  up  to  the  present.  They  knew  what  they  were  doing 
and  why  they  did  it.  They  were  not  idlers  and  dreamers,  in- 
scribing or  painting  any  familiar  silhouette,  no  matter  what, 
following  the  fancy  of  the  moment." 

Availing  himself,  therefore,  of  the  contributions  of  ethnology, 
the  French  scholar  recalls  the  fundamental  principles  of  magic, 
as  established  by  Frazer's  grand  work.  In  magic,  two  very 
simple  and  logical  ideas  serve  as  the  basis  of  all  ceremonies, 
and  of  all  manipulations.  The  first  is  that  "  like  produces  like, 
or  that  an  effect  resembles  its  cause";  and  second,  that  "  things 
which  have  once  been  in  contact,  but  have  ceased  to  be  so, 
continue  to  act  on  each  other  as  if  the  contact  still  persisted."1 
In  the  first  case  we  have  imitative  magic  ;  in  the  second,  sym- 
pathetic magic.  Imitative  magic  consists  in  representing  a  being, 
an  object,  or  an  action  with  the  object  of  bringing  into  existence 
the  being  or  the  object  which  is  represented,  or  to  provoke  the 
action  which  is  imitated,  perhaps  at  times  independently  of 
sympathetic  magic  ;  sympathetic  magic,  on  the  contrary,  is  always 
combined  with  imitative  magic. 

1  FRAZER,  The  Golden  Bough^  i.  p.  9,  2nd  ed.  3  vols.  1900. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  215 

In  the  case  we  are  considering  the  distinction  is  not  easy, 
as  regarded  from  the  point  of  view  of  primitive  mentality. 
When  we  speak  of  drawing  an  animal  figure  in  order  to  bring 
that  animal  into  existence  or  to  act  upon  it,  we  actually 
believe  that  we  are  dealing  with  imitative  magic,  while  for 
primitive  man  there  is  nothing  of  the  sort.  In  fact,  if  the  repre- 
sentation has  any  influence  on  the  being  which  is  represented, 
it  is  entirely  owing  to  the  fact  that  this  representation  is 
something  which  has  emanated  from  that  being,  absolutely  as 
would  be  the  case  with  his  reflection  in  a  mirror  or  in  water. 
"  One  of  the  consequences  of  this  idea  is  to  inspire  people  holding 
this  belief  with  a  dread  of  being  represented  in  effigy,  a  fear 
which  is  widespread  and  which  certain  forms  of  religion  have 
taken  into  account  in  forbidding  the  painting  or  sculpture  of 
the  human  figure."1 

These  general  ideas  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  magic 
among  primitive  people  need  development  ;  but  this  branch  of 
study  would  lead  us  far  from  our  subject.  I  can  only  refer  to 
Frazer's  work,2  requesting  the  reader  to  forgive  my  being  unable 
to  lay  before  him  more  completely  the  proofs  of  my  assertion. 

French  primitive  man,  according  to  M.  Salomon  Reinach, 
must  have  drawn  and  inscribed  figures  of  the  desirable  animals 
upon  the  walls  of  the  caverns,  with  the  object  of  procuring 
the  like,  or  of  multiplying  the  species.  "  It  is  the  expression 
of  a  very  crude  but  very  intense  religion,  consisting  of  magic 
practices  having  for  their  sole  object  the  supply  of  daily  food." 3 

An  interesting  confirmation  of  this  method  of  viewing  the 
matter  has  been  supplied  by  the  researches  of  Messrs.  Spencer 
and  Gillen  among  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  Central  Australia" 
"  These  tribes,"  as  M.  Reinach  relates,  "  periodically  celebrate  a 
ceremony  called  intichiuma,  differing  according  to  the  various 
clans,  but  having  the  immediate  object  of  multiplying  the  par- 
ticular species,  whether  animal  or  vegetable,  which  is  the  totem 

1  REINACH,  La  sculpture  en  Europe  avant  les  influences  greco-romaines, 
p.  260.  FRAZER,  lac.  tit.  \.  p.  295-297. 

1  FRAZER,  The  Golden  Bough,  2nd  ed.  3  vols  Macmillan,  London,  1900. 
3  REINACH,  loc.  cit.  p.  265. 


216  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

of  the  tribe.  Describing  the  ceremonies  of  the  emu  clan,  they 
(Spencer  and  Gillen)  state  that  certain  of  the  clan  let  their  own 
blood  drop  on  a  surface  of  three  square  metres  until  the  soil  is 
well  impregnated  with  it.  When  the  blood  has  dried  they  take 
pipe-clay,  yellow  ochre,  and  charcoal,  and  on  the  area  reddened 
by  the  blood  they  paint  the  sacred  image  of  the  emu  totem 
with  yellow  and  black  circles,  which  represent  the  bird's  eggs 
either  before  or  after  they  are  deposited.  It  is  round  this  figure 
that  the  men  of  the  clan  come  to  crouch  and  sing  in  chorus, 
while  the  chief,  or  master  of  the  ceremonies,  explains  the  details 
of  the  drawings.  Having  been  told  the  object  of  these  rites, 
we  have  an  incontestable  example  of  the  magic  use  of  a  painted 
image  to  induce  the  multiplication  of  the  model."  l 

Sometimes  these  figures  are  painted  on  the  sides  of  rocks 
in  places  which  are  strictly  taboo  for  women  and  children.  Among 
these  representations  there  are  animals,  human  heads,  and  the 
imprints  of  the  footsteps  of  women  of  the  mythological  period 
of  Central  Australia.2 

"  Certainly,"  says  M.  Reinach,  "  it  would  be  rash  to  postulate 
for  the  troglodytes  of  the  reindeer  age  totem  cults  identical 
with  those  of  the  Aruntas  of  Australia  at  the  present  time ; 
but,  short  of  wishing  to  renounce  all  attempt  at  explanation,  it 
is  more  reasonable  to  search  for  analogies  among  hunting  tribes 
of  to-day  than  among  the  agricultural  people  of  Gaul  or  of 
historic  France.  Now  the  representation  in  the  depths  of  our 
caves,  of  animals  suitable  for  food,  to  the  exclusion,  as  I  have 
already  remarked,  of  carnivora,  will  clearly  show  whether  the 
religious  condition  of  the  troglodytes  was  similar  to  that  of  the 
Aruntas,  as  studied  by  Messrs.  Spencer  and  Gillen."3 

Do  the  primitive  Egyptians,  with  the  numerous  artistic 
manifestations  that  we  have  studied  in  the  preceding  pages, 
permit  us  to  maintain  or  to  upset  this  theory?  Can  we,  on 

1  REINACH,  loc.  cit.  p.  262. 

2  SPENCER  &  GILLEN,  The  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia,  London,  1899, 
figs.  124  and  132.     See,  on  the  subject  of  the  intichiuma  ceremonies,  the  work 
by  DURKHEIM,  E.,  Surle  totemisme,  in  the  Annee  sociologiqtie,\.  1902,  pp.  82-121. 
Compte  rendu  by  S.  REINACH  in  I Anthropologie^  xii.  1902,  pp.  664-9. 

3  REINACH,  loc.  cit.  p.  263. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  217 

coming  to  the  close  of  this  chapter,  say  that  the  representations 
of  the  primitive  Egyptians  "  will  clearly  prove  whether  their 
religious  condition  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Aruntas  "  ? 

The  patina  which  covers  the  graffiti  of  the  rocks  of  Upper 
Egypt  testifies  to  the  remote  age  to  which  they  must  be  attri- 
buted. As  we  have  already  said,  animals  and  boats  are  most 
frequently  found  represented.  Their  object  was  to  ensure  success 
to  the  primitive  hunting,  and  also  possibly  to  supply  the  tribe 
with  a  numerous  flotilla  for  fishing,  or  even  for  warlike  expedi- 
tions. The  tribes  of  nomad  hunters  could  easily  transport 
themselves  to  fresh  localities  in  the  Nile  Valley,  if  they  were 
in  possession  of  a  flotilla.  These  boats  possibly  had  also  a 
religious  object,  and  were  used  in  magical  ceremonies.1 

It  should  be  remembered,  with  reference  to  this  subject,  that 
the  Egyptian  divinities  are  frequently  represented  in  barks, 
and  that  the  sacred  barks  play  an  important  part  in  Egyptian 

1  See  the  curious  article  by  SALOMON  REINACH,  Le  navire  du  cholera,  in 
/ '  Anthropologie,  xiii.  1902,  p.  788.  G.  A.  DORSEY,  The  Dwamish  Indian  Spirit 
Boat  and  its  use,  in  the  Free  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  Department  of 
Archeology,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Bulletin,  iii.  1902,  p.  227,  with  five  plates. 
Comple  rendu  by  Dr.  L.  L^ALOY],  in  V  Anthropologie,  xiv.  1903,)  pp.  349-351. 
M.  Salomon  Reinach  quotes  an  ivory  boat  of  the  prehistoric  age,  belonging  to  a 
private  collection  at  Munich,  in  which,  instead  of  men  seated,  there  are  birds. 
He  adds :  "  I  have  often  questioned  whether  the  boats  on  the  vases  published 
by  M.  de  Morgan,  which  Mr.  Cecil  Torr  has  attempted  to  identify  as  enclosures 
with  ostriches,  are  not  intended  for  funerary  barks  where  the  large  birds  repre- 
sent the  deceased  persons.  The  part  played  by  the  ostrich  egg  in  the  ancient 
religions  of  the  East  would  be  in  favour  of  my  hypothesis  ;  the  personages  on 
the  vases  in  question  might  be  interpreted,  moreover,  as  mourners,  either  male 
or  female.  I  must  also  say  that  the  birds  are  not  depicted  as  in  the  boats,  but 
above  them,  a  fact  which  is  scarcely  explained  by  any  other  interpretation  which 
has  been  adopted  on  this  subject."  Review  of  WEIGHER,  Der  Seelenvogel  in  der 
alten  Litteratur  und  Kunst,  Leipsic,  1902,  in  the  Revue  Archeologique,  1903,  ii. 
pp.  378-9.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  bark  of  the  god  Sokaris,  already 
mentioned,  is  ornamented  at  the  prow  with  bird  figures.  I  think  that  when 
ostriches  and  gazelles  are  placed  above  as  well  as  below  the  boats,  it  is  because 
the  artist  has  distributed  his  smaller  figures  in  the  vacant  spaces  after  drawing, 
the  principal  ones.  On  the  subject  of  the  part  played  by  ostrich  eggs,  I  will  add 
to  what  1  have  stated  in  the  chapter  on  personal  adornment  that  Wilkinson 
infers  that  they  were  suspended  in  the  temples  of  the  Egyptians  as  they  still 
are  in  the  churches  of  the  Copts.  MARSHALL,  J  AM  ES,  Some  points  of  resemblance 
between  ancient  nations  of  the  East  and  West,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society 
of  Biblical  Archaology,  xiv.  1^91-2,  p.  6. 


2i8  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN    EGYPT. 

religion.1  It  is  permissible  to  suppose  that,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, the  tribes  assembled  in  certain  localities  sacred  to  the 
cult  in  the  same  way  that  the  Australians  celebrate  the  intichiuma 
in  certain  localities,  which  are  always  the  same.2  Greek  authors 
relate  how  numerous  barks  laden  with  entire  populations  habit- 
ually went  to  Bubastis  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  the  goddess.3 

The  ideas  of  death  entertained  by  all  primitive  people  render 
it  easily  comprehensible  why  the  walls  of  tombs  were  inscribed 
with  scenes  analogous  or  identical  with  those  found  on  the  rocks, 
the  purport  of  which  savours  of  magic.  If  the  living  multiplied 
paintings  and  sculptures  of  useful  animals  and  made  representa- 
tions of  boats  with  a  utilitarian  object,  the  deceased,  who  in  his 
tomb  lived  a  life  scarcely  different  to  that  of  the  living,  would  have 
a  similar  desire  to  benefit  from  the  result  of  these  representations. 

The  tombs  in  Egypt  were  extremely  small,  and  could  scarcely 
contain  the  contracted  corpse.  Thus  the  walls  could  not  suffice 
for  the  representation  of  scenes  necessary  for  the  dead.  They 
were,  therefore,  drawn  on  the  sides  of  the  jars  which  contained 
his  provisions,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  so  many  vases 
are  painted  with  boats  and  animals.  The  plants  that  we 
find,  and  that  we  have  already  mentioned,  are  aloes,  which 
are  cultivated  in  pots,  and  still  retain  in  Egypt  to  the  present 
day  the  property  of  averting  the  evil  eye.  As  to  the  dancing 
scenes  which  we  believe  we  have  recognized,  they  would  be 
explained  by  the  funerary  and  magical  nature  of  primitive  dances. 
We  will  speak  of  them  in  a  special  chapter. 

Certain  figures  of  the  Hierakonpolis  painted  tomb,  moreover, 
confirm  the  religious  nature  of  these  representations,  and  they 
reproduce,  as  we  suppose,  the  ceremonies  of  the  cult.4 

When  Pharaonic  Egypt  makes  its  appearance  in  the  paintings 

1  See,  for  example,  LEFEBURE,  Rites  egyptiens:  Construction  et protection  des 
edifices,  p.  86  et  seq. 

2  SPENCER  &  GILLEN,  loc.  cit.  fig.  24,  p.  171,  and  fig.  33,  p.  195. 

3  Herodotus,  ii.  60.     See  WIEDEMANN,  Herodots  zweites  Buck  mit  sachlichen 
Erlautemngen,  Leipzic,  1890,  p.  253  et  seq. 

4  On  the  subject  of  the  cult  of  the  pillar  |,  I  am  struck  with  the  frequent 

appearance  of  the  pole  in  Australian  ceremonies.  See  SPENCER  &  GILLEN, 
loc.  cit.  passim.  Index,  "Pole." 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  219 

and  sculptures  of  the  tombs  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  it  seems 
that  things  arc  but  little  changed.  Figures  of  animals  and 
also  scenes  of  navigation  still  occur  repeatedly.  Here,  where 
doubt  is  no  longer  possible,  \ve  are  certain  of  the  reason  of  these 
representations.  They  exist  solely  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
for  the  deceased  the  realization  of  the  objects  depicted  on  the 
walls  of  the  tomb.  The  religious  formulae  which  accompany 
these  scenes  show  the  Egyptian  of  historic  times  employing 
magic  methods  in  order  to  ensure  to  the  deceased  a  peaceful 
and  happy  existence,  methods  which  in  reality  are  only  the  de- 
velopment of  those  employed  by  his  primitive  predecessors.  No 
doubt  this  is  the  explanation  of  numerous  primitive  sculptures. 

We  have  mentioned  models  of  boats,  and  also  of  animals. 
On  this  point  a  grave  objection  may  be  made  to  the  theory  of 
M.  Salomon  Reinach.  In  Egypt  it  is  not  only  desirable  animals 
that  are  represented.  As  we  have  seen,  there  are  also  figures 
of  the  undesirable  animals — the  hippopotamus,  crocodile,  scorpion, 
frog,  lion,  jackal,  monkey,  and  even  the  griffin  with  the  body 
of  a  lion  and  the  head  of  a  bird. 

The  answer  which  meets  this  objection  appears  to  us  a  simple 
one.  The  primitive  Egyptians,  when  we  first  know  them,  are 
already  advanced  to  such  a  degree  of  civilization  that  we  may 
be  justified  in  supposing  that,  in  addition  to  magic  formulae,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  secure  a  supply  of  food,  they  also  possessed 
religious  beliefs  of  higher  development,  such,  for  example,  as  the 
animal  cults.  The  monuments  of  ancient  Egypt  afford  sufficient 
proof  of  the  existence  of  such  cults  at  the  commencement  of 
Egyptian  history  to  enable  us  to  recognize,  in  the  hippopotamus, 
the  goddess  Thueris  l  ;  in  the  crocodile,  the  god  Sebek  ;  in  the 
scorpion,  the  goddess  Selkit ;  in  the  frog,  the  goddess  Hekit ;  in 

1  The  figures  of  the  hippopotamus  are  perhaps  intended  to  enable  the 
deceased  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  hippopotamus  hunting.  See  PRISSE 
D'AVEXNES,  Histoirc  de  Vart  egyptien,  atlas  ii.  pi.  x.  At  the  British  Museum  there 
is  a  statue  in  breccia  of  the  goddess  Thueris  in  hippopotamus  form,  which  was 
at  first  attributed  to  the  Sa'itic  period,  then  to  the  archaic  age ;  but  as  doubts 
have  been  raised  as  to  its  authenticity,  I  have  not  dared  to  make  use  of  it  as 
a  proof.  See  BUDGE,  A  History  of  Egypt,  ii.,  Egypt  under  the  Great  Pyramid 
Builders,  fig.  p.  5,  British  Museum,  No.  35,700. 


220  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN    EGYPT. 

the  lion,  the  goddess  Sekhmet  or  the  god  Atum  l  ;  in  the  jackal, 
the  god  Anubis ;  in  the  ape,2  the  god  Thot  ;  in  the  griffin,  the 
god  Mentu,  etc.  The  cults  of  these  divinities  apparently  did  not 
exist  at  this  age  with  all  their  later  developments  ;  but  I  see  in 
the  fact  that  these  Egyptian  divinities  of  the  historic  age  were 
represented  by  these  animals,  the  proof  that  from  primitive  times 
they  had  been  the  object  of  a  cult.  If  it  were  possible  for  me  to 
enter  here  into  details  of  theories  relating  to  fetishism  such  as 
is  practised  by  the  negroes  of  the  coast  of  Guinea,  or  of  totemism, 
it  would  be  easy  to  make  it  clear  ho\v  it  could  happen  that 
these  animals,  on  which  it  was  supposed  that  the  well-being 
and  existence  of  the  entire  tribe  depended,  became  actually 
desirable.  Thus  the  theory  proposed  by  M.  Salomon  Reinach 
finds  a  striking  confirmation  among  the  primitive  Egyptians. 

Models  of  boats  frequently  occur  in  Egyptian  tombs  of 
Pharaonic  times,  and  also  models  of  houses  have  been  found. 

The  primitive  tombs  have  yielded  representations  of  servants, 
of  women,  and  of*  dwarfs,  whose  presence  may  be  explained  in 
the  same  way.  JThe  servants  are  given  to  the  deceased  to 
accompany  him  in  the  other  life,  and  the  numerous  statues  of 
servants  found  in  the  mastabas  of  the  Ancient  Empire  bear  witness 
to  the  persistence  of  this  custom.  Wives  accompany  their 
husbands,  and  a  statuette  discovered  at  Naqada,  with  a  model 
of  a  bed,3  recalls  similar  representations  of  Pharaonic  times. 
Dwarfs  and  deformed  persons  served  to  amuse  the  deceased, 
as  did  the  buffoons  for  the  living  ;  and  here,  again,  the  repre- 
sentations on  the  tombs  of  the  Ancient  Empire  confirm  this  view. 
The  religious  texts  indicate  the  importance  of  dwarfs  in  the 
next  world.4 

The  figures  of  captives,  which  we  have  previously  mentioned 
would  be  more  difficult  to  explain  if  the  foundation  rites  of 

1  On  the  subject  of  lions  and  apes  see  also  LEFEBURE,  Rites  egyptiens  : 
Construction  et  protection  des  edifices,  p.  52  et  seq. 

*  The  figures  of  apes  are  perhaps  intended  to  provide  the  deceased  with  pet 
animals.  See  LEPSIUS,  Denkmdler,  ii.  13. 

3  PETRIE,  Naqada,  pi.  xxxvi.  83,  and  p.  41. 

4  MASPERO,  Sur  une  formule  die  Livre  des  Pyramides,   in   the  Etudes  de 
mythologie  et  darcheologie  egyptiennes,  ii.  pp.  429-443. 


SCULPTURE   AND   PAINTING.  221 

tombs,  of  temples,  and  of  houses  amongst  the  primitive  people 
did  not  come  to  our  aid  and  indicate  the  motive  for  their 
presence.1  These  are  victims  sacrificed  as  guardians  of  the 
monument,  and  Egyptian  civilization  did  not  succeed  in  entirely 
banishing  this  custom.  The  representations  on  a  Theban  tomb 
of  the  New  Empire  furnish  us  with  a  conclusive  proof  of  this.2 

It  may  be  considered  surprising  that  the  primitive  temples 
of  Hicrakonpolis  and  Abydos  contribute  so  many  objects  similar 
to  those  found  in  the  tombs.  This  coincides  with  the  conception 
of  the  Egyptians— not  to  say  of  all  primitive  nations — of  the 
house,  the  temple,  and  the  tomb,  between  which  there  seems 
to  be  no  essential  difference.  The  tomb  is  the  house  of  the 
dead  ;  the  temple  is  probably  either  the  house  of  the  living 
god  or  the  tomb  of  the  dead  god.  Unfortunately  we  can  only 
briefly  indicate  these  points,  without  entering  into  the  develop- 
ments which  are  not  directly  connected  with  our  subject. 

The  results  of  our  investigations  in  this  chapter  tend  to  show 
that  of  radical  differences  there  are  scarcely  any  between  the 
sculptures  and  paintings  of  the  primitive  Egyptians  and  those 
of  Pharaonic  times. 

The  following  chapter,  devoted  to  the  earliest  Pharaonic 
monuments,  will  show  that  if  the  style  of  art  productions  was 
transformed,  this  transformation  was  effected  in  so  gradual  a 
manner  that  we  can  follow  it  step  by  step.  New  elements  were 
introduced,  but  the  primitive  art  was  only  changed  by  them 
in  the  same  manner  as  that  in  which  a  nation  itself  alters  by 
frequent  admixture  of  foreign  blood. 

1  M[ONSEUR],  E.,  review  of  SEBILLOT,  Les  travaux  publics  et  les  mines  dans 
Us  traditions  et  les  superstitions  de  tous  les  pays,  Paris,  1894,  in  the  Bulletin  dc 
Folklore,  ii.  fasc.  iii.  iv.  1893,  p.  177,  where  the  bibliographical  indications 
relating  to  this  point  are  to  be  found.  The  same  primitive  beliefs  may  also 
explain  certain  animal  figures.  "Le  but  de  ces  sacrifices  est  de  procurer  a  la 
construction  un  ge"nie  protccteur.'1 

*  MASPERO,  Le  tombeau  de  Mcntouhikhopshouf,  in  the  Mcmoires  publics  par 
les  membrcs  de  la  Mission  arc/icologique  franfaise  au  Cairo,  \.  fasc.  3,  pp.  435-468. 


222 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS. 

DURING  the  winter  of  1893-4,  in  the  course  of  excavations 
on  the  site  of  the  temple  of  Koptos,  Petrie  and  Quibell 
discovered  a  number  of  stone  monuments  "  quite  apart  from 
anything  known  in  Egyptian  work." l  They  comprised  three 
human  statues  considerably  over  life  size,  three  lions,  and  a 
bird,  and  are  entirely  hammer-worked,  showing  no  trace  of  the 
chisel  or  of  any  metal  tool. 

We  have  previously  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  lions  and 
the  bird,  and  we  have  seen  that,  owing  to  recent  discoveries,  it 
is  possible  to  assign  them  their  position  in  the  classified  series 
of  remains,  extending  from  the  primitive  period  to  the  first 
Egyptian  dynasties  (Figs.  142  and  150). 

The  three  statues  represent  a  personage  standing  in  the 
characteristic  attitude  assigned  by  the  Egyptians  to  the  god 
Min.  The  legs  are  parallel  and  joined,  and  are  marked  only 
by  a  slight  groove  in  front  and  behind  ;  the  knees  are  scarcely 
indicated.  The  arms,  roughly  worked,  project  but  little  from 
the  body  ;  the  position  of  the  right  arm  differs  from  that  of 
representations  of  the  god  Min  in  the  classical  period  ;  instead 
of  being  raised  to  hold  a  whip,  it  is  hanging  down  the  side. 
The  fist  js  clenched,  and  a  hole  pierced  through  the  hand  shows 
that  the  figure  should  hold  some  kind  of  emblem,  possibly  the 
whip  itself.  The  only  garment  indicated  is  a  girdle  formed  of 
a  piece  of  material  wound  eight  times  round  the  body  ;  one  end 
falls  down  the  right  side,  broadening  to  the  base  (Fig.  166). 

1  PETRIE,  Koptos,  p.  7. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     223 

On  this  end  there  arc  various  designs,  indicated  by  outlines 
more  deeply  hammered,  and  which  probably  are  an  attempt  at 
rendering  embroidery. 

In    the   first   statue   the   designs   are   a   stag's  head    fixed  on 


FIG.   166. — STATUES  OF  THE  GOD  MIN  DISCOVERED  AT  KOPTOS. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

a   stake,   the   top    of    which   enters   the   mouth   of    the   animal ; 
below  this  are  two  pteroceras  shells. 

On  the  second  statue  there  are  also  two  pteroceras  shells, 
two  saws  of  the  sa\v-fish  of  the  Red  Sea,  and,  finally,  two 
poles,  on  the  top  of  which  are  fixed  emblems  identical  with 


224  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

the  sign  which  later  on  was  used  for  writing  the  name  of 
the  god  Min,  and  recalling  the  sign  engraved  upon  a  slate 
palette  discovered  at  El  Amrah,  of  which  we  have  given  a 
reproduction  (Fig.  63). 

On  the  third  statue  the  designs  are  more  complex.  The  two 
poles  with  the  Min  emblem  are  separated,  as  in  the  preceding 
specimen,  by  the  saws  of  saw-fish,  the  teeth  of  which  are  in  this 
case  worked  with  a  flint-knife  instead  of  being  hammered.  A 
knotted  pole  is  joined  to  one  of  the  Min  emblems,  and  below 
the  other  there  is  a  drawing  of  an  ostrich.  In  addition,  there 
are  two  large  pteroceras  shells,  an  indefinite  figure,  then  an 
•elephant,  a  hyaena  (?),  and  an  ox,  the  feet  of  which  are  placed 
on  small  triangular  objects1  (Fig.  167). 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  notice  similar  figures  on 
the  decorated  pottery,  where  we  find  men  hunting  animals 
whose  feet  are  placed  on  a  succession  of  triangles,  apparently 
intended  to  represent  mountains  (Fig.  88).  On  a  fragment  of 
sculptured  ivory  from  Hierakonpolis  elephants  are  likewise  seen 
standing  on  these  triangles  (Fig.  109).  We  may,  then,  connect 
these  archaic  statues  with  the  primitive  remains,  even  though 
they  are  manifestly  intended  for  a  representation  of  an  Egyptian 
divinity.  Without  insisting  here  on  the  deductions  which  have 
been  drawn  from  the  presence  of  these  statues  at  Koptos,  we 
may  say,  in  passing,  that  they  provide  a  powerful  argument  to 
those  who  wish  to  bring  the  dynastic  Egyptians  from  the  land 
of  Punt,  situated  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  on  the  borders  of 
the  Red  Sea.2 

With  the  exception  of  Professor  Petrie,  the  discoverer  of  these 
statues,  the  only  scholar  who  has  attempted  to  determine  their 
age  is  Professor  Steindorff,  of  Leipzic.  Judging  from  their  style 
he  attributed  them  to  the  prehistoric  period.3  Petrie,  on  the 

1  PETRIE,  Koptos,  pi.  iii.  iv.  and  pp.  7,  8.     The  head  of  one  of  the  statues  has 
been  found,  but  it  is  much  mutilated.     It  shows  that  the  god  was  bearded.    The 
face  has  suffered  most.     See  PETRIE,  ib.  pi.  v.  4  (Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford). 

2  PETRIE,  Koptos,  pp.  8,  9.     History  of  Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times  to  the 
Sixteenth  Dynasty,  4th  ed.  London,  1899,  p.  12. 

3  STEINDORFF,  Eine  neue  Art  dgyptischer  Kunst,  in  Aegyptiaca,  Festschrift 
fur  Georg  Ebers,  pp.  130,  140,  notes  i,  41. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.    225 


Fie    167. — HAMMERED  DESIGNS  ON  THE  ARCHAIC  STATUES  OF  THE  GOD  MIN. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford  (i  and  2);  Cairo  Museum  (3  and  4). 


226  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

contrary,  in  a  recent  article,  considers  them  as  the  earliest  work  of 
the  dynastic  race.1     This  divergence  of  opinion  cannot  be  ignored. 

At  Hierakonpolis  an  archaic  statue  similar  to  those  from 
Koptos  was  discovered,  which  had  been  used  as  the  threshold 
of  a  gateway  in  the  wall  of  the  ancient  town.  According  to 
Mr.  Green,  this  represents  a  man  standing,  the  left  leg  slightly 
advanced.  The  knees  are  summarily  indicated ;  the  left  arm  is 
laid  horizontally  on  the  breast,  and  the  right  arm,  dispropor- 
tionately long,  hangs  down  the  side.  The  clothing  consists  of 
a  large  cloak,  which  reaches  to  the  knees,  fitting  close  to  the 
figure  and  supported  by  a  broad  band,  which,  passing  over  the 
left  shoulder,  leaves  the  right  side  of  the  chest  uncovered.  As 
in  the  statues  of  Min,  the  right  hand  is  pierced  horizontally  to 
hold  a  sceptre  or  staff.2  The  original,  now  in  the  Ashmolean 
Museum,  Oxford,  gives  rather  the  impression  of  the  statue  of  a 
woman  (Fig.  168). 

The  same  excavations  at  Hierakonpolis  led  to  the  discovery 
of  two  very  important  monuments,  which  have  been  the  means 
of  dating  a  whole  series  of  similar  objects  dispersed  in  various 
museums,  and  about  which  there  had  been  much  divergence  of 
opinion.  These  objects  consist  of  fragments  of  slate  palettes, 
on  which  figures  of  men  and  animals  are  sculptured  in  very 
low  relief.  M.  Heuzey,  the  learned  custodian  of  the  Louvre 
Museum,  insisted  on  the  resemblance  of  style  between  these 
fragments  and  the  monuments  of  Chaldean  art.  M.  Maspero 
observed  points  which  were  completely  Egyptian,  and  believed 
that  for  one.  of  the  fragments  he  could  assign  a  date  during  the 
rule  of  the  Libyan  kings  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty  (Sheshonk 
and  his  successors).  Dr.  Budge,  the  keeper  of  the  Egyptian 
department  of  the  British  Museum,  in  his  turn  considered  them 
to  be  Mesopotamian  works  imported  into  Egypt  as  presents 
offered  by  the  Mesopotamian  princes  to  the  kings  of  the 
eighteenth  dynasty.  Finally,  Professor  Steindorff,  in  the  article 
we  have  already  mentioned,  came  to  the  conclusion,  after  a 

1  PETRIE,  The  Rise  and  Development  of  Egyptian  Art^  in  the  Journal  of  the 
Society  of  Arts,  London,  June  2ist,  1901,  p.  594. 

2  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  Ivii.  pp.  15,  16,  47. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC    MONUMENTS.     227 


minute  examination  of  the  entire  group,  that  these  objects  were 
indeed  Egyptian,  but  of  the  prehistoric  age.1 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Quibell  discovered  at  Hierakon- 
polis  two  pieces  of  the  same  class.  They  were  complete,  and 
furthermore,  on  one  of  them  was  inscribed  in  hieroglyphic 
characters  a  royal  name.  Unfortunately,  the  name  does  not 


FIG.  1 68. — ARCHAIC  STATUE  DISCOVERED  AT  HIERAKONPOLIS. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

correspond  with  any  of  those  known  to  us  from  the  royal  lists 
of  later  date,  and  at  the  present  time  opinion  is  still  divided 
as  to  the  exact  position  that  should  be  assigned  to  it.2  It  is, 

1  M.  de  Morgan  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion.  See  DE  MORGAN,  Recherches 
sur  Us  origines,  ii.  pi.  ii.  iii.  fig.  864,  and  p.  263  et  seq.,  where  M.  Jequier  compares 
them  with  the  knife-handles  shown  in  our  Figs.  33  and  35. 

1  PETRIE,  History  of  Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  etc.,  $th  ed.  1903, 
pp.  7-9.  FOUCART,  Ij;s  deux  rots  inconnus  d*  Hierakonpolis,  in  the  Comptes 
rcmlus  de  V  Academic  dcs  inscriptions  et  belles  lettrcs,  1901,  pp.  241-249.  NAVILLE, 
Les  plus  anciens  monuments  egyptiens,  iii.,  in  the  Recueil  de  travaux,  etc.,  xxv. 
1903,  pp.  206-208,  218  220. 


228  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN   EGYPT. 

nevertheless,  incontestable  that  this  king,  who  is  called  Nar-Mer 
by  general  agreement,  belonged  to  the  earliest  period  of  Egyptian 
history.  He  deposited  several  objects  in  the  temple  at  Hierakon- 
polis,  among  them  a  great  slate  palette  and  an  enormous  mace- 
head,  both  decorated  with  scenes  in  low  relief,  which  supply  us 
with  an  instance  of  common  objects  diverted  from  their  ordinary 
use  to  become  ex-votos.1  Their  discovery  dispelled  all  doubt  as 
to  the  age  of  similar  objects,  and  henceforth  they  must  be  dated 
from  the  close  of  the  .prehistoric  times,  or  the  commencement 
of  the  dynastic  era. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  here  a  detailed  description  of  these 
interesting  pieces,  as  it  would  be  necessary  to  raise  extremely 
difficult  questions,  the  solution  of  which  would  occupy  many 
pages2;  nor  can  I  attempt  to  indicate  the  facts  relating  to  the 
history  of  primitive  Egypt  which  have  been  drawn  from  the  study 
of  these  objects.3  I  must  content  myself  with  giving  illustrations 
of  them,  and  adding  some  remarks  on  the  analogies  which  we 
notice  between  these  pieces  and  those  of  primitive  times  or  of 
the  historic  period. 

Basing  our  selection  on  the  style,  we  should  place  first  on 
our  list  a  fragment  at  Cairo  (Fig.  169),  published  by  Professor 
Steindorff.4  It  represents  a  boat  similar  to  those  known  to  us 

1  CAPART,  La  fete  de  frapper  les  Anou,   loc.  cit.  xliii.   1901,  pp.    251,  252. 
NAVILLE,  Les  plus  anciens  monuments  egyptiens,  iii.  loc.  cit.  p.  223. 

2  LEGGE,  The  Carved  Slates  from  Hierakonpolis  and  elsewhere,  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaology,  xxii.  1900,  125-39,  witn  nine  plates  ; 
Another  Carved  Slate,  ib.  pp.  270,  271,  with  one  plate;   A  New  Carved  Slate, 
loc.  cit.  xxvi.  262,  263,  with  one  plate.     STEINDORFF,  Eine  neue  Art  agyptischer 
Kunst,  in  Aegyptiaca,  Festschrift  fur  Georg  Ebers,  pp.  122-141.    J.  L.  M[YRES], 
review  of  LEGGE,    Carved  Slates  from  Hierakonpolis  and  elsewhere,  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  xxx.  1900;  Anthropological  Reviews 
and  Miscellanea,  pp.  15,  16,  pi.  B,  C,  D.     CAPART,  La  fete  de  frapper  les  Anou, 
in  the  Revue  de  fhistoire  des  religions,  xxii.   1901,  where  an  almost  complete 
bibliography  will  be  found  of  the  great  palette  of  Hierakonpolis.     M.  Benedite, 
in  a  work  on  the  new  palette  at  the  Louvre,  gives  a  summary  study  of  the  whole 
group.     BENEDITE,  Une  nouvelle  palette  en  schiste,  in  the  Monuments  et  memoires 
publics  par  I'Academie  des  inscriptions  et  belles  lettres,  x.  1903,  pp.  105-122  and 
pi.  xi.     See  also  JOLLES,  Die  antithetische  Gruppe,  in  \hzjahrbuch  der  Kaiserlich 
deutschen  Archeologischen  Institut,  xix.  1904,  p.  37  et  seq. 

3  NEWBERRY&  GARSTANG,  A  Short  History  of  Ancient  Egypt,  London,  1904, 

PP-  14-19- 

4  STEINDORFF,  loc.  cit.  fig.  p.  124. 


THE  EARLIEST  PHARAONIC  MONUMENTS.  229 
from  the  prehistoric  remains.  This  is  surmounted  by  two  signs 
one  of  which  is  the  bird  '%*,,  rekhyt,  which  we  have  met  with 

already  on  a  vase  with  relief  decorations  from  Hierakonpolis, 
in  what  may  be  a  pictographic  inscription  (Fig.  73).  Professor 
Steindorff,  with  perfect  accuracy,  noted  the  resemblances  which 
exist  between  the  boat  here  represented  and  those  figured  in 
the  earliest  hieroglyphs. 

A   fragment   at   the   Louvre   and   two    others   at   the    British 


FIG.  169. — FRAGMENT  or  A  SLATE  PALETTE. 
Cairo  Museum. 

Museum  belong  together,  and  united  form  almost  a  complete 
palette1  (Fig.  170).  In  the  centre  there  is  a  round  cavity,  in- 
tended apparently  to  contain  the  green  paint  by  means  of  which 
the  divine  statue  or  the  king  officiating  in  the  temple  was  painted. 
Surrounding  the  cavity  are  traced  hunting  scenes.  To  the  right 
and  left  of  the  palette,  two  bands  of  huntsmen  are  chasing  the 
animals  of  the  desert ;  at  the  top  there  is  a  lion  offering  a  vigorous 
resistance.  The  type  of  lion  gives  us  at  least  a  clue  to  the  date 

1  HEUZEY,  £gypte  ou  Chaldee,   in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  I' Academic  des 
inscriptions  et  belles  lettres,  1899,  pi.  of  p.  66,  and  pp.  62,  63. 


230  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN   EGYPT. 

of  the  palette.  The  working  of  the  mane  recalls  very  exactly 
the  figures  previously  described  of  lions  contemporary  with  the 
kings  of  the  first  dynasty  (Fig.  141).  The  eyes  of  the  hunts- 
men, as  Steindorff  remarked,  are  hollowed  to  contain  a  bead, 
as  in  the  prehistoric  figures.  All  the  men  represented  wear  the 
tail  attached  to  the  girdle,  and  most  of  them  have  one  or  two 
ostrich  feathers  in  their  hair.  Their  weapons  are  characteristic 
of  prehistoric  times.1 

If  it  were  possible  to  verify  the  hypothesis  which  I  put  forward 
several  years  ago  on  the  subject  of  the  two  figures  inscribed  on 
the  upper  end  of  the  palette,  we  should  in  this  palette  have  one 
of  the  earliest  instances  of  the  use  of  hieroglyphic  writing.2 

Here,  again,  we  see  standards  formed  of  a  pole,  on  the  top 
of  which  an  emblem  is  fixed,  recalling  the  ensigns  of  boats  of 
the  primitive  age  (Fig.  164).  The  figures  of  animals,  similar 
to  those  on  the  decorated  pottery,  resemble  also  other  pieces 
which  are  more  accurately  dated,  especially  a  palette  discovered 
at  Hierakonpolis,  the  top  of  which  is  decorated  with  two  running 
jackals,  the  silhouette  of  the  two  animals  following  exactly  the 
outline  of  the  palette. 

In  this  other  palette,  also,  the  central  cavity  appears  to 
constitute  the  essential  part  of  the  piece.  Here  our  attention 
is  attracted  by  the  weird  figures  of  feline  animals  with  enormously 
long  necks,  which  we  have  already  seen  on  the  Hierakonpolis 
ivories  (Fig.  108),  and  which  we  shall  meet  with  again.  The  various 
animals  represented  here  are  somewhat  surprising.  There  is  the 
same  mixture  of  real  and  imaginary  creatures,  as  in  the  hunting 
scenes  depicted  on  the  walls  of  tombs  of  the  twelfth  dynasty3 

1  One   of  the  British   Museum  fragments  is  figured,   with  reference  to  the 
shape  of  the  bow,  in  SCHURTZ,   Urgeschichte  der  Kultur,  Leipsic,   1900,  p.  345, 
with  the  astounding  description,  "  Assyrische  Jagdszene" 

2  CAPART,  Melanges,  §  2,  Remarque  sur  une  des  palettes  archaiques  du  Musee 
Britannique,  in  the  Recueil  de  travaux,  etc.  xxii.  1900,  pp.  108-110.      BUDGE,  A 
History  of  Egypt,  ii.   1902,  p.  11,  where   the   author   is   not   acquainted  with 
the   preceding  work.      MAX    MULLER,   W.,   Nachtrag  zu  Louvre,    C1,   in  the 
Orientalistische  Litteraturzeitung,  iii.  1900,  col.  433. 

3  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  xxviii.  and  p.  41.     HEUZEY,  Egypte 
ou  Chaldee,  loc.  cit.  1899,  pi.  of  p.  66,  and  pp.  66,  67.     A  fragment  of  the  lower 
part  of  a  similar  palette  is  in  the  MacGregor  Collection  at  Tamworth. 


THE   EARLIEST    PHARAONIC    MONUMENTS.     231 


y*fj£  '.ir-  x 

vj'A^'Vv- 
i'^ 

--ivl^ 
V^T 

f^  Z  ^ 

Y-V 

s 


FIG.  170.— SLATE  PALETTE  WITH  HUNTING  SCENES. 
Louvre  and  British  Museum. 


232 


PRIMITIVE   ART   IN   EGYPT. 


(Figs. -171  and  172).  Mr.  Quibell,  from  information  supplied  by 
Captain  Flower,  identifies  gazelles,  antelopes,  ibex,  oryx,  stags, 
jackals,  dogs,  a  leopard,  a  vulture  (more  probably  an  ostrich), 
a  wild  bull,  a  giraffe,  and  two  fantastic  creatures.  One  of  these 


FIG.  171. — SLATE  PAI.ETTE  WITH  REPRESENTATIONS  OF  ANIMALS  (RECTO). 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 


is  a  griffin  with  a  hawk's  head,  and  with  birds'  wings  rising 
out  of  the  middle  of  its  back  ;  the  other,  a  jackal  (?),  walking 
on  its  hind  feet,  the  body  surrounded  with  a  girdle,  appears 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     233 

to  be  playing  a  flute  (?).  Dr.  Petrie  remarks 1  on  the  interest  from 
a  zoological  point  of  view  presented  by  these  representations 
of  animals,  some  of  them  of  species  which  at  the  present  day 
are  no  longer  to  be  found  in  Egypt. 


FIG.  172. — SLATE  PALETTE  WITH  REPRESENTATIONS  OF  ANIMALS  (VERSO). 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 


M.    Be'ne'dite    has    published  a  palette    recently  acquired    by 

1  PETRIE,  The  Rise  and  Development  of  Egyptian  Art,  in  \htjournal\ofthe 
Society  of  Arts,  xlix.  1901,  p.  595. 


234 


PRIMITIVE. ART    IN   EGYPT. 


him  in  Egypt  for  the  Louvre  Museum  (Figs.  173  and  174).  It 
is  closely  allied  to  the  small  Hierakonpolis  palette,  especially 
in  the  figures  of  animals  whose  outlines  form  the  contour  of 


FIG.  173.— SLATE  PALETTE  (RECTO). 
Louvre  Museum. 


the  object,  but  with  this  difference,  that  in  this  case  there  are 
four  jackals  (?)  instead  of  two  on  each  face.  Here  appears  for 
the  first  time  a  curious  design  treated  very  awkwardly  ;  namely, 
two  giraffes  facing  a  palm  tree.  We  shall  find  this  motive 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     235 

brilliantly  developed  on  a  palette  of  which  there  are  fragments 
at  the  British  Museum  and  at  Oxford.1 

If  we  attempt  to  characterize  the  style  of  these  last  palettes, 


FIG.  174.— SLATE  PALETTE  (RECTO). 
Louvre  Museum. 

which  show  so   much   similarity  in   the   ornamentation,  we   shall 
say  with  M.  Heuzey *:   "As   to  the  style,  it   is  in  every  respect 

1  BENEDITE,  Une  nouvelle  palette  en  schiste,  in  the  Monuments  et  Memoires 
publics  par  V Academic  des  inscriptions  et  belles  lettres  x.  1903,  pp.  105-122, 
pi.  xi.  LEGGE.  See  p.  228,  note  2. 

*  HEUZEY,  loc.  cit.  p.  64. 


PRIMITIVE   ART   IN    EGYPT. 

such  as  we  have  defined  from  the  first,  a  realism  which  is  crude 
but  full  of  energy,  which  attempts  to  render  movement,  and  at 
the  same  time  robust  forms  with  salient  muscles,  not  only  in 
human  figures,  but  also  in  those  of  animals  even  of  the  lightest 
and  most  agile  species,  such  as  the  ibex  and  antelope.  Nothing 
can  be  farther  from  the  Egyptian  style,  as  it  exists  early  on 
monuments  of  the  Pyramid  times,  and  if  any  one  of  these 
figures  had  been  shown  to  us  separately,  without  any  indication 


FIG.   175. — FRAGMENT  OF  A  SLATE  PALETTE  (RECTO). 
Cairo  Museum. 


of  its  origin,  it  is  to  Chaldaea,  or  Assyria,  or  one  of  the  countries 
bordering  on  these,  that  we  should  have  assigned  it." 

A  small  fragment  at  the  British  Museum  should  also  be 
included  in  this  same  category ;  here  at  the  top  of  the  circular 
cavity  there  is  part  of  a  recumbent  animal,  and  below  are  two 
ostriches  identical  with  those  of  the  two  preceding  pieces. 

A  second  fragment  at  Cairo  is  carved  with  representations 
differing  very  little  from  those  on  the  preceding  example.  Instead, 


THE    EARLIEST   PHARAONIC    MONUMENTS.     237 

however,  of  being  scattered  in  haphazard  fashion  over  the  surface 
of  the  palette,  the  animals  are  regularly  separated  into  three 
rows :  in  the  first  are  bulls  ;  in  the  second,  asses  ;  in  the  third, 
rams.1  This  decoration  recalls  the  figures  of  animals  on  the 
knife-handle  in  Fig.  35,  in  which  Petrie  recognized  "the  regular 
Egyptian  style  of  the  tombs  of  the  Ancient  Empire."  *  With 
these  must  also  be  compared  the  Hierakonpolis  ivories  repro- 
duced in  Fig.  109.  Below  the  third  register  there  are  trees  almost 


Fie.   176.— FRAGMENT  or  A  SLATE  PALETTE  (VERSO). 
Cairo  Museum. 


identical    with    those    which   appear    in   the   hieroglyphs   of   the 
beginning  of  the  fourth  dynasty.3 

The    strongest    proof    that    the    Cairo    fragment    should    be 

1  DURST  &.  GAILLARD,  Studien  Uber  die  GeschichU  de$  agyptischen  Haus- 
schafes,  in  the  Recutil  dc  travaux,  XMV.  1902,  p.  46. 
*  PETRIE,  Naqada,  p.  51. 
1  LEPSIUS,  DenkmdUr,  ii.  7. 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN   EGYPT. 

attributed  to  Pharaonic  Egypt,  notwithstanding  its  analogies 
with  primitive  pieces,  is  in  the  representations  on  the  second 
face,  where  we  see  hieroglyphic  writing,  combined,  it  is  true, 
with  pictography.  The  animals— a  lion,  a  scorpion,  and  a  hawk 
— treated  in  an  archaic  manner,  destroy,  by  means  of  a  hoe,  the 
crenellated  walls  on  which  they  are  perched  (Figs.  175  and  176). 
This  system  of  pictography  is  seen  again  on  a  fragment  at 
the  Ashmolean  Museum  ;  here  standards,  from  each  of  which  issues 


ittta 


FIG.   177. — FRAGMENT  OF  SLATE  PALETTE  (RECTO). 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 


a  human  arm,  seize  the  captives.1  The  palette  of  which  this 
forms  part  has  not  been  recovered  entire  ;  the  largest  piece  is 
at  the  British  Museum.  On  one  of  the  faces  two  giraffes, 
standing  on  either  side  of  a  palm-tree,  are  eating  the  leaves. 
The  beauty  of  execution  of  this  group  is  admirably  described 

1  This  same  symbol  of  standards  furnished  with  arms  is  frequently  found  on 
monuments  of  the  classic  period.  I  quote  one  example  from  among  a  thousand. 
LEPSIUS,  Denkmaler,  iii.  74  d. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC    MONUMENTS.     239 

by  M.  Bene'dite.  "The  palm  branches,"  he  says,  "form  a 
decoration  of  great  elegance.  The  cluster  of  fruit  at  the  top 
adds  a  motive  which  assumes  singular  importance  in  the  midst 
of  the  simplicity  of  detail  affected  by  the  remainder  of  the 
palette.  Finally,  in  this  fragment  it  is  impossible  not  to  be 
struck  with  the  interest  presented  by  the  position  of  the  head  of 
the  gigantic  animal.  Seeking  its  food  at  the  summit  of  the  tree, 
it  appears  to  inhale  with  extended  nostrils  the  appetising  scent 


FIG.  178. — FRAGMENT  OF  SLATE  PALETTE  (VERSO). 
Ashmolcan  Museum,  Oxford. 


of  the  fresh  palm  branches  and  of  the  pollen  of  the  blossom." 
Above  the  body  of  one  of  the  giraffes  a  large  bird  vaguely 
suggests  that  on  the  painted  tomb  of  Hierakonpolis  (Fig.  162). 
The  other  face  evidently  depicts  a  field  of  battle  strewn  with 
corpses,  which  are  being  torn  by  birds  of  prey.  A  lion  has 
seized  one  of  the  corpses  by  the  abdomen,  and  is  attempting 
to  tear  out  a  piece.  The  inert  body,  which  entirely  abandons 
itself  to  being  seized,  is  most  happily  rendered.  The  lion  bears 


240 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC    MONUMENTS.      241 


16 


242 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN   EGYPT. 


a  resemblance  to  the  figures  we  have  previously  described, 
principally  in  the  lines  of  the  muzzle  and  the  two  spots  on  the 
forehead  (Fig.  141).  Abpve  this  scene  of  carnage,  a  person 
wrapped  in  a  large  embroidered  mantle,  recalling  that  of  the 


FIG.   181.— FRAGMENT  OF  SLATE 
PALETTE  (RECTO). 

Louvre  Museum. 


small  ivory  statuette  of  Abydos  (Fig.  122),  pushes  before  him 
a  prisoner,  whose  arms  are  bound  behind  his  back,  while  a 
heavy  stone  (?)  is  hung  round  his  neck  (Figs.  177  to  180). 

The  living  standards  play  a  direct  part  in  the  scene  engraved 
on  a  fragment  of  a  palette  from  the  Louvre.  Five  ensigns 
surmounted  by  emblems  of  gods,  among  others  of  the  god  Min, 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     243 

end  in  a  human  hand  grasping  a  strong  cord.  This  is,  in  reality, 
an  actual  pictographic  inscription,  as  is  also  the  scene  which 
constitutes  the  upper  part  of  the  palette ;  a  bull  vigorously 
trampling  a  man  under  his  feet,  and  about  to  transfix  him  with 


FIG.  182. — FRAGMENT  OF  SLATE 
PALETTE  (VERSO). 

Louvre  Museum. 


his  horns.     This,  as  Schaefer  was  the  first  to  recognize,  is  already 
an  instance  of  a  king  "  Strong  Bull  "  overthrowing  his  enemies.1 

1  STEIN  DOR FF,  Eine  neue  Art  tlgyptischer  Kunst,  loc.  cit.  p.  131,  note  i.  Mr. 
Offord  remarks  that  "  in  the  epilogue  to  the  Code  of  Hammurabi,  the  king,  in 
boasting  of  his  victories,  calls  himself  '  the  mighty  steer  who  overthrows  the 
enemy.' " 


244 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


FIG.  183. — SLATE  PALETTE  OF  NAR-MER  (RECTO). 
Cairo  Museum. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC    MONUMENTS.     245 


Ig 

/  r  'Mjm 

A/lVtoS 


FIG.   184.— SLATE  PALETTE  OF  NAR-MER  (VERSO). 
Cairo  Museum. 


246  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

The  type  of  the  vanquished  enemy  should  be  observed,  also  the 
hair  and  the  curled  beard,  as  well  as  the  girdle  from  which  the 
karnata  is  suspended.  On  the  reverse  of  this  palette  the  principal 
scene  is  repeated,  but  this  time  the  place  of  the  animated  standards 
is  occupied,  as  in  the  second  Cairo  fragment,  by  crenellated 
walls  representing  fortified  towns.  In  the  centre  of  these  walls 
hieroglyphic  signs  give  the  names  of  cities  (Figs.  181  and  182). 


FIG.   185. — FRAGMENT  OF  SLATE  PALETTE. 
Louvre  Museum. 

The  symbol  of  the  king,  "Powerful  Bull,"  destroying  his  enemies, 
occurs  again  on  the  great  palette  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis, 
where  the  bull  has  overthrown  with  his  horns  the  crenellated 
walls  of  a  town.  This  palette,  with  the  name  of  King  Nar-Mer, 
raises  discussions  of  extreme  complexity,  for  which  we  must 
refer  to  special  works  published  on  this  subject.1  We  observe, 

1  They  will  be  found  recapitulated  in  CAPART,  La  fete  de  frapper  les  Anou, 
loc.  cit.  See  also  NAVILLE,  Les  plus  anciens  monuments  egyptiens,  iii. 
appendix,  in  the  Recueil  de  travaux,  xxv.  1903,  pp.  223-225.  WEILL,  R., 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     247 

however,  the  great  lion-like  animals  with  serpents'  necks,  which 
are  also  found  on  a  Chaldaean  cylinder  at  the  Louvre.1  "  Such 
an  identity,"  says  M.  Heuzey,  "  between  two  motives,  both  of 
which  are  of  such  precision  and  complexity,  cannot  be  the  effect 


FIG.  186. — GREAT  MACE-HEAD  OF  KING  NAR-MER. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 


Hieraconpolis  et  Us  origines  de  l'£gyptet  in  the  Revue  archeologtque,  1902,  ii. 
pp.  1 19-121.     QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pp.  41-43. 

1  HEUZEY,  £gypte  ou  Chaldee,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  des  seances  de 
r Academic  des  inscriptions  et  belles  lettres,  1899,  pp.  66-68  and  pi.  of  p.  62. 
The  leopard  (?)  with  the  neck  and  head  of  a  serpent  is  not  without  parallel  in 


Egyptian   art.      It  is  the  fantastic  animal  named  MJ.  sedja,   which  is  figured 

in  hunting  scenes  at  Beni  Hasan.  See  NEWBERRY,  Beni  Hasan,  ii.  pi.  iv.  It 
also  occurs  on  the  magical  ivories  of  the  twelfth  dynasty.  See  CAPART,  La  fete 
def rapper  Ics  Anou,  loc.  cit.  p.  264. 


248  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN   EGYPT. 

of  chance.  It  can  only  be  explained  by  very  close  relations 
between  primitive  Chaldaa  and  the  earliest  Egyptian  civilization. 
The  explanation  only  gains  in  force  and  emphasis  if  one  admits 
that  a  race  originally  Asiatic  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
and  founded  the  earliest  dynasties,  bringing  to  the  black  popu- 
lations of  Africa  the  elements  of  an  art  which  had  already 
taken  form.  This  fact  is  simple  and  rational  in  itself,  not  only 
conforming  to  the  traditions  of  humanity,  but  also  to  the  laws 
of  history  and  to  that  which  we  know  of  the  great  currents 
followed  by  the  human  race"  (Figs.  183  and  184).  On  this 
palette  we  find  a  use  of  hieroglyphs  similar  to  those  of  dynastic 
Egypt,  and,  nevertheless,  pictography  has  not  entirely  disappeared. 
On  the  recto,  above  the  head  of  the  barbarian  smitten  by  the 
king,  a  singular  group  is  sculptured,  composed  of  a  human 
head,  a  bunch  of  papyrus  stems,  and  a  bird.  Opinions  are 
unanimous  with  regard  to  this  ;  it  is  intended  to  signify  that 
the  god  Horus,  or  the  goddess  Nekhbet,  vanquished  or  seized 
six  thousand  foes,  or  perhaps  that  they  overthrew  the  people 
of  the  north.1 

There  is  also  a  small  fragment  in  the  Louvre  Collection, 
extremely  archaic,  representing  a  group  of  people  on  the  march, 
which  was  bought  at  Beyrout 2  by  Ary  Renan.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  fragment  must  be  placed  with  the  earliest  of  this 
class  of  objects  (Fig.  185). 

We  must  not  leave  this  series  of  objects  without  observing 
to  what  extent  details  are  found  which  are  allied  to  primitive 
Egyptian  art,  by  the  side  of  others  which  are  characteristic  of 
Pharaonic  monuments.  The  ivories  of  Hierakonpolis  and  Abydos 
stand  alone  in  supplying  a  convincing  and  satisfactory  succession, 
forming  a  link  between  prehistoric  and  historic  work.  We  must 
bear  in  mind  what  we  have  already  mentioned,  that  before 
anything  was  known  of  primitive  Egypt,  Professor  Steindorff, 
with  his  perfect  knowledge  of  Egyptian  art  and  archaeology, 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  these  palettes  belonged  to  the 

1  C APART,  ib.  p.  256. 

2  Lettre  de  M.  Ary  Renan  a  M.   G.  Perrot,    in   the  Revue  archeologique, 
third  series,  ix.  1887,  pp.  37,  38,  with  fig. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     249 

prehistoric  period.  Now 
that  we  possess,  owing 
to  the  Hierakonpolis 
discoveries,  a  palette 
bearing  the  name  of  an 
Egyptian  king,  we  are 
forced  to  recognize  that 
we  are  confronted  with 
actual  Pharaonic  monu- 
ments. The  hesitation 
one  feels  in  pronouncing 
judgment  on  these  slate 
palettes  appears  to  me 
to  be  the  best  proof 
that  there  was  not  at 
any  given  moment  in 
Egypt  a  sudden  change 
of  direction  in  artistic 
conceptions.  We  have 
already  had  occasion  to 
remark  this,  and  we  will 
return  to  it  when  we 
have  to  formulate  our 
conclusions. 

King  Nar-Mer,  who 
dedicated  the  great 
palette  of  Hierakonpolis, 
also  deposited  in  the 
temple  the  head  of  a 
mace  of  colossal  size, 
inscribed  with  scenes  in 
low  relief.  Several  of 
the  personages  on  this 
palette  may  still  be 
recognized  —  the  servant 
carrying  the  sandals, 
another  on  the  identity 


250  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN   EGYPT. 

of  whom  writers  are  not  agreed,1  and  the  men  carrying  the 
standards.  The  reliefs  on  this  mace-head  show  a  roughness  of 
workmanship  which  denotes  a  less  practised  hand  (Figs.  186  and 
187)  than  that  which  carved  the  great  palette.2 

Without  entering  into  a  detailed  study  of  the  scenes  on  this 
mace,3  we  must  notice  the  three  bearded  men  dancing  before 
the  king,  who  is  seated  under  a  dais  placed  on  a  platform,  to 
which  a  ladder  affords  access.  Both  before  and  behind  these 
dancers  three  crescent-shaped  objects  are  represented.  When 
these  objects  make  their  appearance  in  the  classical  period,  they 
have  acquired  a  regular  form.  It  is  difficult  to  say  what  they 
represent.  We  must  be  content  to  observe  that  in  the  texts 
these  "  crescents  "  occur  in  the  composition  of  the  titles  of  certain 
officials.4 

The  remains  of  a  second  mace  of  more  perfect  type  bear 
the  name  of  a  king  who  has  hitherto  not  been  identified  with 
any  certainty.5  Among  other  scenes  we  here  see  the  king  pre- 
siding over  public  works  (Figs.  188  and  189).  Can  this  be  the 
opening  of  a  dyke 6  ?  On  one  of  the  canals  there  may  be 
seen  the  prow  of  a  vessel  which  recalls  those  of  the  primitive 
period.  In  the  lower  angle  at  the  right  the  remains  are 

1  NAVILLE,  Les  plus  anciens  monuments  egyptiens,  iii.  loc.  cit.  xxv.  1903, 
pp.  223-225. 

8  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxvi.  b. 

3  FOUCART,    G.,  La  plus  vieille  £gypte,  ii.,  Les  monuments  commemoratifs 
du  Sed  a  Hieraconpolis,  in  the  Sphinx,  v.  1901,  pp.  102-106.     MORET,  A.,  Du 
Caractere  religieux  de  la  royaute  pharaonique,  Paris,  1902,  p.  242,  and  fig.  71, 
p.  240.     WEILL,  R.,  Hieraconpolis  et  les  origin.es  de  I'Egypte,  in  the  Revue 
archeologique,  1902,  ii.  pp.  121,  122. 

4  LEPSIUS,  Denkmdler,  ii.  129.     NEWBERRY,  Beni  Hasan,  i.  pi.  xxxv.  p.  41. 
SCHIAPARELLI,  Museo  archeologico  di  Firenze,  Antichita  egizie,  i.  pp.  266,  267, 
369,  468.     See  GRIFFITH,  Hieroglyphs,  pi.  iii.  36,  and  p.  64. 

5  FOUCART,    G.,    Les  deux  rois  inconnus  d"1  Hieraconpolis,   in   the  Comptes 
rendus  des  seances  de  rAcademie  des  inscriptions  et  belles  lettres,  1900,  pp.  230-241. 
NAVILLE,  loc.  cit.  xxv.  1903,  p.  218. 

6  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxvi.  c,  pp.  9,   10.     M.  Maspero  here  recog- 
nizes, with  sufficient  probability,  the  ceremony  of  Khebs  to,  "digging  out  the 
ground,"   which    took    place    at    the   foundation   of    temples.      See   MASPERO, 
Manual   of   Egyptian    Archceology,    5th    ed.    London,     1902,    supplementary 
chapter,  p.  353,  note.     LEFEBURE,  Rites  egyptiens:   Construction  et  protection 
des  edifices,  p.  32.     MARIETTE,  Denderah,  p.  133,  and  i.  pi.  20.      BRUGSCH,  Die 
Aegyptologie,  p.  425. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC    MONUMENTS.     251 

distinguishable  of  a  small  vaulted  construction  similar  to  that 
found  on  the  top  of  the  slate  palette  reproduced  on  Fig.  170. 
In  the  middle  register,  to  the  left,  some  persons  are  being  carried 
in  palanquins,  as  on  the  mace  of  Nar-Mer,  and  men  wearing  a 
long  tress  of  hair  hanging  down  their  backs  are  executing  a  dance. 
Dancers  with  this  same  tress  may  be  seen  on  the  fragment  of 
a  third  mace,  which  is  too  much  mutilated  to  allow  of  an  accurate 
idea  of  the  whole  design.1  These  maces,  which  again  differ  in 


FIG.   1 88. —GREAT  MACE-HEAD  OF  AN  UNIDENTIFIED  KING. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

style  from  the  Egyptian  classical  monuments,  introduce  us,  never- 
theless, to  scenes  which  reappear  at  subsequent  periods. 

It  is  the  same  with  a  fairly  numerous  series  of  objects 
discovered  in  the  royal  tombs  of  Abydos.  These  are  small 
plaques,  of  ivory  or  wood,  engraved  with  shallow  lines  sometimes 
filled  in  with  a  blackish  paste,  showing  a  great  variety  of  scenes 
and  inscriptions  (Fig.  190). 

The  largest  of  these  plaques  was  discovered  in  the  tomb  of 
the  king  whom  scholars  are  apparently  agreed  to  identify  with 
Menes,  the  first  king  of  the  first  dynasty,  according  to  the 

1  QUIBELL,  Ifierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxvi.  a,  and  p.  8. 


252  PRIMITIVE    ART   IN   EGYPT. 


FIG.   189. — DETAIL  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  SCENE  ON  THE  GREAT  MACE-HEAD 
OF  AN  UNIDENTIFIED  KING. 

Block  lent  by  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund.     See  Archaological  Report,  1897-8,  p.  7,  plate. 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     253 

historians  of  the  classical  period.1     The  scenes  and  descriptions 
are  divided   into  four   superposed  registers.     In   the  first  at   the 


FIG.   190.— SPECIMENS  or  SMALL  IVORY  AND  WOODEN  PLAQUES  DISCOVERED  IN 
mi    ROYAL  TOMBS  OF  THE  FIRST  DYNASTY  AT  ABYDOS. 

right   is   a   curious   representation   of  a   primitive   temple,  above 

1  This  identification  has  been  questioned  especially  by  NAVILLE,  Les  plus 
anciens  monuments  egyptiens,  i.,  he.  cit.  xxi.  1899,  108-112;  iii.  ib.  xxv.  1903, 
pp.  207,  208,  218-220. 


254  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN   EGYPT. 

which  there  are  two  boats.  In  the  next  register  is  another 
sanctuary  with  a  sacred  bird,  similar  to  one  of  the  figures  on 
the  mace  of  Nar-Mer ;  before  the  temple  is  a  bull  hastening 
into  a  net,  fastened  to  the  ground  with  two  pegs,  thus  recalling 
a  scene  of  the  Vaphio  goblets.  The  two  lower  registers  are 
occupied  by  figures  of  boats  and  by  inscriptions.1 

On  another  tablet,  that  of  the  king  Den-Setui,  (or  Semti  or 
Hesepui),  we  find  a  similar  scene  to  that  on  the  mace  of  Nar-Mer. 
The  king  is  seated  under  a  slight  canopy,  on  a  platform,  to 
which  access  is  afforded  by  a  ladder.  Before  this  small  pavilion 
the  king  himself  again  appears,  framed  in  two  groups  of  three 
"  crescents,"  performing  a  dance.2  This  scene,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
Hierakonpolis  mace,  has  been  recognized  as  a  representation  of 
the  feast  of  Heb-Sed,  which  was  celebrated  throughout  the  whole 
duration  of  the  history  of  Egypt.3  A  fragment  of  a  plaque 
with  the  name  of  the  same  king  shows  the  king  walking,  holding 
the  staff  and  mace,  and  preceded  by  the  standard  of  the  jackal 
Anubis  or  Apuat.4  Here  we  feel  that  we  are  approaching  very 
closely  to  the  classical  representations  of  the  Pharaoh,  such  as 
we  find  in  the  first  place  on  the  rocks  at  Wady  Maghara,  in 
Sinai.  An  ivory  plaque  in  the  MacGregor  Collection,  with  the 
name  of  King  Den,  is  especially  instructive  on  this  point.5 
Special  stress  must  be  laid  on  the  important  discovery  of  M. 
Weill,  who  has  succeeded  in  identifying  the  king  of  one  of  the 
bas-reliefs  at  Sinai  with  King  Mersekha  of  the  first  dynasty.6 

1  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  pi.  iii.a,  x.  and  pp.  21,  51.      NAVILLE,  Les  plus 
anciens  monuments  egyptiens,  ii.,  loc.  cit.  xxiv.  1902,  p.  120. 
3  PETRIE,  ib.  i.  pi.  xi.  14  =  xv.  16,  and  pp.  22,  40,  41. 

3  MORET,  A.,  Du  Caractere  religieux  de  la  royaute  pharaonique,  fig.  86,  p.  262. 
Dr.   Budge,  who  regards   the   seated   figure   as  Osiris,  draws   from   it  curious 
conclusions.     See  BUDGE,  The  Book  of  the  Dead  (Books  on  Egypt  and  Chaldea), 
London,  1901,  i.  pp.  xxxiv.-xxxvii. ;  A  History  of  Egypt,  i.  p.  194-198. 

4  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  i.  pi.  x.  84  =  xiv.  9,  and  p.  21. 

5  SPIEGELBERG,  Ein  neues  Denkmal  aus  der  Frilhzcit  der  agyptischen  Kunst, 
in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  dgyptische  Sprache    und  Alter  thumskunde,   xxxv.    1897, 
pp.  7- 1 1,  and  fig. 

6  WEILL,   Un  nom   royal  e'gyptien   dc  la  pcriode  thinite  au   Sinai,  in   the 
Comptes  rendus  de  VAcademie  des  inscriptions  et  belles  lettres,  1903,  pp.  160-162  ; 
Inscriptions  egyptiennes  du  Sinai,  ii.,  Lcs  bas-reliefs  thinites  du  Ouady  Magharah, 
in  the  Revue  archeologique,  1903,  ii.  pp.  230-234.     M.  Naville  questions  the  reading 


THE   EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     255 

Finally  on  Fig.  190  there  are  various  other  fragments 
representing  captives,  servants,  and  possibly  the  vanquished, 
bringing  tribute  and  rendering  homage  to  their  conqueror.1 
The  resemblance  between  these  captives  and  those  on  the  slate 


FIG.   191. — SMALL  PLAQUE  IN  GLAZED  POTTERY  DISCOVERED  AT  ABYDOS. 

palette  of  Oxford  and  of  the    British   Museum  is    important   to 
note,  as   also   the   representation   of  the   personage   in   the   long 

of  the  name  of  this  king  and  also  the  position  that  he  occupies  in  the  dynasties  ; 
he  reads  Khesket,  and  considers  he  is  not  earlier  than  the  second  dynasty.  See 
NAVILLE,  Lcs plus  anciens  monuments  cgyfitiens,  iii.,  loc.  tit.  xxv.  1903,  pp.  219,  220. 
1  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  ii.  p.  iii.  a,  i,  2,  and  iv.  4-6,  n,  12,  and  pp.  21,  22. 
A  fragment  which  fits  on  to  that  published  by  Petrie,  pi.  iv.  II,  was  discovered 
earlier  by  Amelineau.  See  AMELINEAU,  Lcs  nouvclles  fouilles  d'Abydos,  1895-6, 
Compte  rendu  in  c+tcnso,  Paris,  1899,  P'-  xn'-  an(^  P-  3°7>  xvnere  the  fragment  is 
described  as  being  on  plate  xli.  It  is  now  in  the  Brussels  Museum. 


256 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


mantle  on  the  same  piece.  The  strange  method  of  arranging  the 
hair  which  we  notice  on  Fragment  5  of  our  figure  is  seen  also 
on  two  of  the?Hierakonpolis  maces.  Petrie,  in  his  classification 
of  the  archaic  races  of  Egypt,  is  inclined  to  see  in  these  figures 


FIG.  192. — PRIVATE  STEL.E  FROM  THE  ROYAL  NECROPOLIS  OF  THE  FIRST 
DYNASTY  AT  ABYDOS. 

men  of  the  hill  tribes  of  the  eastern  desert  (Gebel  Dorkhan  and 
Gebel  Ataka).1 

An  object  which  is  very  curious  as  regards  style  was  dis- 
covered in  the  course  of  Petrie's  excavations  at  Abydos  during 
the  winter  1902-3.  It  is  a  small  plaque  or  tile  of  green  glazed 
pottery,  bearing  in  low  relief  a  figure  of  a  man  walking,  his 

1  PETRIE,  The  Races  of  Early  Egypt,  in  the  Joiirnal  of  the  Anthropological 
Institute^  xxxi.  1901,  p.  253,  and  pi.  xix.  13,  15. 


THK    EARLIEST   PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     257 

staff  in  his  hand.  An  inscription,  also  in  relief,  occupies  part  of 
the  space  left  unoccupied  in  front  of  the  figure  (Fig.  191).  Petrie 
writes  thus  on  the  subject  :  "It  has  no  groove  or  dovetail  on 
the  back,  but  is  quite  plain  ;  it  does  not  seem,  therefore,  to  have 
been  intended  to  insert  in  a  wall,  but  rather  as  if  made  for  a 
votive  offering.  The  figure  is  of  a  low  type,  the  negroid  variety 
of  the  prehistoric  people,  and  neither  of  the  pure  Libyan  or 
dynastic  races.  From  the  inscription  we  must  attribute  him 
to  the  Anu,  who  are  known  as  an  aboriginal  people  in  Egypt  He 
appears  to  be  a  chief  called  Tera-Neter,  '  devoted  to  God,'  of  the 
fortress  of  the  Anu  in  the  town  of  Hemen."  l  The  reading  of 
the  hieroglyphic  inscription  is  very  uncertain,  at  least  as  regards 
several  of  the  signs  of  which  it  is  composed.2  The  extreme 
rudeness  of  the  modelling  recalls  the  carving  in  low  relief  on 
the  private  stelae  discovered  round  the  royal  tombs  at  Abydos, 
of  which  \ve  give  some  specimens8  (Fig.  192). 

If  it  were  desirable  to  characterize  in  a  few  words  this  series  of 
objects,  it  might  be  said  that  they  betray  indecision.  The  artist 
appears  to  hesitate  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he  should  dispose 
of  his  figures  ;  the  hieroglyphs  are  carved  without  order,  very 
different  from  the  fine  regularity  of  the  inscriptions  of  the  Ancient 
Empire.  These  objects  betray  the  awkwardness  of  the  mason, 
who  copies  signs  without  understanding  their  meaning.  The 
variants  of  the  same  sign  are  considerable,  and  the  publication 
of  hieroglyphs  of  the  first  dynasty,  announced  by  Mrs.  Petrie, 
will  strongly  emphasize  this  fact.  The  contrast  is  striking  when 
one  examines  the  hieroglyphs  on  the  royal  stelae  of  the  first 
dynasty,  which  have  not  at  any  age  been  surpassed  for  dignity 
and  beauty.4 

It  was  evidently  at  this  period  that  the  fusion  occurred  between 
the  primitive  art  and  that  which  the  Pharaonic  Egyptians  may 
have  possessed  at  the  commencement  of  their  occupation  of  the 
Nile  Valley.  It  was  at  this  time  also  that  the  Egyptian  style 

1  PETRIE,  Abydos,  ii.  pi.  i.  v.  33,  and  p.  25. 
3  Athcnaum^  October  24th,  1903,  p.  544. 

3  PETRIE,  Royal  Tombs,  i.  pi.  xxx.-xxxvi. ;  ii.  pi.  xxvii.-xxx.rt. 

4  //'.    i.    frontispiece ;    ii.    pi.    xxxi.      AMELINEAU,   Les    novtvelles  fouilles 
JAIiydos,   1895-6,  p.  xlii. 

17 


258 


PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 


first  declared  itself  in  the  royal  workshops,  before  it  was  possible 
to  impress  it  on  the  whole  of  the  recently  acquired  and  unified 
kingdom.  Long  afterwards,  on  the  private  stelae,  one  can  detect 
the  same  opposition  to  official  Pharaonic  art.1  As  a  typical 
example  I  will  quote  a  stela  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford, 
of  a  person  named  Hekenen.  A  priest  of  the  double,  mentioned  on 
the  stela,  bears  the  name  of  Persen,  a  name  which  occurs  on 
inscriptions  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  dynasties2  (Fig.  193). 

The   same   rivalry   which    we    have    observed    in    the    case    of 
carving  in   relief  as   existing    between   the  official   Pharaonic   art 


FIG.   193.— STELA  OF  HEKENEN. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

and  that  of  private  individuals,  may  also  be  found  in  the 
statuary,  at  least  during  the  three  first  dynasties.  The  exca- 
vations at  Hierakonpolis  have  furnished  us  with  proofs  of  this. 
Two  statues  were  found  representing  a  man,  one  knee  on  the 
ground,  and  of  a  somewhat  strange  type.  Of  these  one  only 
proved  possible  to  preserve,  and  it  is  now  at  the  Cairo  Museum. 

1  See  SCHWEINFURTH,  Die    neucstcn    Grdberfunden  in  Ober-Acgyptcn  nnd 
die    Stellung    der    noch     lebenden     Wiisten-Stiimme    zn    der    altdgyptischcn 
Bcvolkerung)  in  the  Vcrhandlungen  der  berliner  anthropologischcn  Gescllschaft, 
1898,  pp.  184,  185,  where  the  author  speaks  of  "Bauernkunst"  and  "Herrenkunst. ' 

2  DE  ROUGE,   Rcchcrches  sur  les   monuments  qu'on  pent  attribuer  au.v  six 
premieres  dynasties  de  Mancthon,  p.  53.     LEPSIUS,  Denkmdlcr,  ii.  83.     MARIETTE,. 
Les  mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  pp.  299-301,  Paris,  1899. 


THE   EARLIEST    PHARAONIC    MONUMENTS.     259 

The  man  wears  his  hair  cut  short  above  the  shoulders.  This 
mode  of  cutting  the  hair  and  the  short  beard  resembles,  as 
Petrie  remarks,1  the  type  of  one  of  the  standard  bearers  on  the 
great  palette  of  Nar-Mer.  The  clothing  consists  of  a  girdle  to 
which  narrow  strips  are  attached,  which  hang  down  between  the 


Fin.   194.  —  LIMKSTONE  STATUE  OF  A  LIBYAN. 
Cairo  Museum. 

legs,  a  costume  which  is  found  on  the  palette  of  Nar-Mer  and 
on  the  bas-reliefs  of  the  Ancient  Empire.-  Professor  Schweinfurth 
draws  special  attention  to  the  shortness  of  the  neck,  which  appears 
to  agree  exactly  with  the  length  of  the  head,  and  the  considerable 

1  In  (JriBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  p.  6. 

•  CAPART,  La  fete  < /,•  J /;i/>/>cr  Ics  Anon,  in  the  Revue  de  rhistoirc  des  religions, 
xliii.  1901,  p.  255. 


260 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN   EGYPT. 


development  of  the  lips.1  From  the  ethnographic  point  of  view, 
Dr.  Petrie  considers  that  the  type  presents  elements  other  than 
Libyan  and  Negro  (Fig.  I94).2 

This  is  not  the  case  with  another  crouching  statue,  of  which 
the  head  only  could  be  preserved  (Fig.  195),  where  the  same 
scholar  definitely  recognizes  the  mixed  Negro-Libyan  type. 
"  The  short  half  curly  hair  and  the  thick  projecting  lips  clearly 
come  from  the  Negro ;  while  the  long  face  and  well-formed 
nose  are  due  to  Libyan  blood."  3  The  eyes  are  inlaid,  and  no 


FIG.  195. — HEAD  OF  A  LIBYAN  IN  LIMESTONE. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 

trace  of  colour  can  be  distinguished.  Dr.  Petrie  records  that 
while  travelling  he  met  an  individual  who  was  absolutely  iden- 
tical in  type.  He  learnt  from  him  that  he  was  from  America, 
obviously  from  the  Southern  States,  and  of  Negro-European 
origin.4 

A   comparison   should    be    made   between    the    first    of    these 

1  SCHWEINFURTH,  loc.  tit.  p.  184,  and  fig.  pp.  182,  183. 

2  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  ii.  p.  6 ;  ii.  pi.  i.  and  p.  35. 
:<  In  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  p.  6,  and  pi.  v.  vi. ;  ii.  p.  36. 

4  PETRIE,   The  Rise  and  Development  of  Egyptian  Art,  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Society  of  Arts,  xlix.  1901,  p.  594. 


THE   KARLIKST   PHARAOXIC    MONUMENTS.     261 

statues  and  one  at  the  Cairo  Museum  (No.  i)  which  M.  Maspero 
attributes  to  the  third  dynasty.  He  has  made  some  remarks 
on  this  subject  which  I  consider  necessary  to  give  here.  "  The 
workmanship,"  he  says,  "  is  archaic,  but  still  more  coarse  than 


FIG.  196. — BLACK  GRANITE  STATUE. 
Cairo  Museum. 

archaic.  One  knows  what  differences  in  technique  and  in  style 
may  be  presented  by  works  belonging  to  the  same  reign,  according 
to  whether  they  were  executed  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
sovereign,  in  a  large  civilized  town,  or  in  a  locality  remote  from 


262  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN   EGYPT. 


FIG.  197.— STATUE  OF  A  PRINCESS  IN  THE  TURIN  MUSEUM. 


THK    EARLIEST    I'HAKAONIC    MONUMENTS.     263 


In..  198.— STATUE  JN  THE  BRUSSELS  MUSEUM. 


264  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

the  court.  ...  In  order  to  appreciate  the  relative  antiquity  of 
any  object  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  consideration  the  locality 
from  whence  it  comes,  and  the  importance  of  that  locality  at  the 
time  when  the  object  was  made.  Memphis,  or  the  town  which 
preceded  it,  was  very  obscure  before  the  fourth  dynasty,  and 
royalty  did  not  yet  reside  there.  One  must  not,  therefore,  be 
astonished  if  its  monuments  are  ruder  than  those  discovered  in 
cities  frequented  by.  the  Pharoah — Thinis-Abydos  or  at  Kom  el- 
Ahmar,  for  example — and  it  would  be  a  mistake,  in  comparing 
them  with  the  carefully  executed  bas-reliefs  of  Khasakhmui, 
or  with  the  palettes  dedicated  by  Besh,  to  conclude  from  their 
inferiority  that  they  are  far  older  than  the  latter  objects.  Our 
statue  is  a  provincial  work,  and  perhaps  its  importance  lies  in 
the  fact  that  it  does  not  so  much  indicate  a  remote  antiquity 
as  that  it  is  a  proof  of  the  want  of  skill  of  the  artists  who 
were  then  living  in  the  Memphite  nome  "  1  (Fig.  196). 

It  is  impossible  better  to  express  the  dualism  that  existed 
between  these  rival  arts  ;  the  official  art,  the  art  of  the  masters, 
and  the  art  of  the  subject,  the  peasant  art,  to  adopt  Schweinfurth's 
expression.  The  peasant  art  is  the  logical  sequence  of  the  art 
of  the  primitive  population,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Egyptian  occupation,  it  was  not  radically  transformed  except 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  residence  of  the  ruler. 
A  similar  phenomenon  might  be  proved  in  the  history  of  the 
rise  of  Theban  art,  when  the  political  power  was  moved  to 
Thebes,  from  Memphis.  Quite  recently,  Professor  Spiegelberg  of 
Strasbourg  has  published  an  excellent  history  of  Egyptian  art, 
where  he  explains  its  successive  developments  by  the  constant 
struggle  between  popular  art  (Volkskunst)  and  tJie  art  of  the 
court  (Hofkunst),  between  profane  art  (Profankunst)  and 
religious  art  (Religosekunst).2 

1  MASPERO,  text  of  Le  musee  cgypticn,  i.  p.  13.  The  statue  is  figured  on 
pi.  xiii.  See  also  DE  MORGAN,  Rccherches  stir  les  origincs,  ii.  pi.  iv.  and 
pp.  253,  254. 

*  SPIEGELBERG,  Geschichte  der  dgyptischen  Kunst  im  Abriss  dargestellt, 
Leipzic,  1903.  I  include  under  the  name  of  "  profane  art  "  artistic  works  created 
by  the  popular  religion,  following  the  beliefs  of  primitive  times,  in  opposition  to 
the  official  religion  of  the  Pharaonic  invaders. 


IK..    199. — STATUE  OF  NKSA,  IN  THE  LOUVRK. 


266 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


With  the  statue  of  the  Cairo  Museum,  there  must  be  con- 
nected a  whole  series  of  sculptures,  to  which 
I  have  alluded  at  the  commencement  of  this 
book.  They  are  the  archaic  statues  preserved 
in  various  European  museums — Bologna, 

14   *.jjg;  London,    Berlin,     Turin,    Leyden,    Brussels, 

Naples,  and  Paris.  These  lead  us  on  by 
gradual  gradations  to  the  realistic  master- 
pieces of  the  fourth  and  fifth  dynasties.1 
We  give  various  specimens  of  them  in 
Figs.  197  to  199. 

There  is  another  object  which  should  be 
mentioned,  a  stone  door 
sill  or  socket  found  at 
Hierakonpolis,  decorated 
with  a  human  head.  Here 
the  artist  evidently  in- 
tended to  represent  a 
captive  crushed  by  the 
weight  of  the  dooiv 

We  have 
now  seen  the 
sculpture  of  the 
first  dynasties 
with  the  excep- 
the 


FIG.   200. — STATUE  OF 

KHASAKHMUI. 

Ashmolean  Museum, 

Oxford. 


t  tion  of 
official  works  of  art.  Up  to 
the  present  the  royal  statues 
are  only  know  to  us  by 
two  specimens.  They  are 
sufficient,  however,  to  show 
the  wide  difference  that 
existed  between  them  and 


FIG.  201. — STATUE  OF  KHASAKHMUI. 
Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 


1  CAPART,  Recucil  de  monuments  cgyptiens,  notice  of  plates  ii.  and  iii. 
STEINDORFF,  Ueber  archiiische  tigyptischc  Statucn,  in  the  Archaologischer 
Anzeiger,  in  the  Jahrbnch  des  kaiserlich  deutsclicn  archiiologischen  Institut,  viii. 
1893,  pp.  64-66. 

-  OUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  iii.  and  p.  6  ;  ii.  p.  36. 


THK    K. \RLIKST   PHARAOXIC    MONUMENTS.     267 


the  private  sculptures — a  difference  analogous  to  that  which  we 
have  already  established  in  the  carving  in  relief.  These  two 
statues  were  discovered  at  Hierakonpolis,  and  bear  the  name 
of  a  king  who  appears  to  have  reigned  towards  the  end  of 

the   second  dynasty  or  the  beginning 
of  the  third1  (Figs.  200,  201,  202). 

M.  \Yeill  has  given  a  very  precise 
description  of  these  statues.  ".  .  . 
Two  small  seated  statues,  of  strange 
workmanship,  so  delicate  as  to  be 
almost  fragile,  exceedingly  unlike  the 
somewhat  massive  statuary  of  the 
early  part  of  the  Ancient  Empire. 
The  first  statue,  of  limestone,  is 
broken,  and  the  upper  part  of  the 
body  is  missing ;  the  head,  part  of 
which  has  been  recovered,  is  remark- 
ably expressive,  young,  melancholy, 
and  serious.  The  attitude  and 
the  costume  arc  the  same  as 
in  the  other  statue,  which  is 
of  slate  and  almost  intact.  The 
body  is  draped  in  a  flowing 
garment  widely  open  on  the 
chest,  with  sleeves  which  cover 
the  arms  to  the  wrist.  .  .  .  The 
left  arm  is  folded  over  the  body,  and  the  right  hand  rests  on 
the  knee  and  holds  the  end  of  a  sceptre.  On  the  head  is  the 
great  white  crown.  .  .  .  The  bases  of  both  statues  are  surrounded 
with  unconventional  designs  engraved  with  the  point,  which 
represent  the  routing  of  multitudes  and  figures  of  men  over- 
thrown in  singularly  unexpected  and  varied  positions.  The 

1  MASPERO,  Guide  to  the  Cairo  Museum,  English  ed.  1904,  p.  244.  NAVILLE, 
Les plus  anciens  monuments  rgypticns,  iii.  loc.  cit.  xxv.  1903,  pp.  237-239,  "of  the 
third  dynasty.  I'KIKIK,  History  of  Egypt,  i.  5th  ed.  1903,  pp.  27,  27*,  28,  28^ 
29,  uho  distinguishes  two  kings,  the  eighth  and  ninth  of  the  second  dynasty. 
Or  i  in  1. 1.,  ///>;>/ /W//W/.V,  i.  ;>.  5  :  "  Alter  the  first  dynasty,  and  probably  not  before 
the  middle  of  the  second  " 


FIG.  202.  — HEAD  OF  THE  STATUE  OF 

KlI.\-v\KllMUI. 

Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 


268 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 


numbers  of  the  slain  enemies  are  also  recorded  on  these  small 
tablets,  and  in  front  of  the  feet  of  the  statue  there  is  the 
cartouche  of  the  Horus  Khasakhmui." l  It  has  been  remarked 
that  the  eye  is  painted  with  lines  of  colour  continuing  to  the 

ear,  a  fashion  which,  according 
to  a  theory  published  some 
years  ago  by  Borchardt,  did 
not  make  its  appearance  until 
the  sixth  dynasty.2  These 
painted  lines,  which  are  obvious 
in  the  photograph  taken  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery, 
have  now  left  only  a  few 
traces  on  the  surface  of  the 
stone,  a  fact  which  may  be 
ascertained  by  examining  the 
Figs.  200,  20 1  and  202,  taken 
from  the  original  at  the  Ash- 
molean  Museum.  It  is  prob- 
able that  an  attentive  study 
of  the  royal  statues  of  Hiera- 
konpolis  would  throw  fresh 
light  on  the  question  of  the 
age  of  the  royal  statues  of 
the  fourth  dynasty  at  the 

Cairo    Museum,  and    that  this 
FIG.  203. — POTTERY  FIGURE  OF 

A  LION. 


Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 


study  would  to  some  extent 
modify  the  conclusions  arrived 
at  by  several  scholars.3 

We  have   already  observed  the  frequent  occurrence  of  figures 
of   animals    in    the    primitive    period,   and    with    what    perfection 

1  WEILL,  Hieraconpolis  et  les  origines  de  r£gypt,  in  the  Revue  arche'ologique, 
1902,  ii.  p.  123.  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pi.  xxxix.-xli.  and  p.  1 1  ;  ii.  p.  44. 

-  BORCHARDT,  Ueber  das  Alter  des  Sphinx  bci  Giseh,  in  the  Sitzungsberichte 
der  koniglich  preussischen  Akadcmie  der  Wlsscnschaftcn  zu  Berlin,  xxxv.  1897, 

PP.  752-755- 

3  BORCHARDT,    Ueber  das  Alter  der  Chefrenstatuen,  in  the  Zcitschrift  filr 
und  Altcrthumskunde,  xxxvi.  1898,  pp.  1-18. 


270  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

the  artist  seized  the  character  of  each  kind  of  animal  he  repre- 
sented. Beside  the  fine  ivory  dog,  an  illustration  of  which  is 
given  on  Fig.  145,  the  excavations  at  Hierakonpolis  yielded  a 
magnificent  figure  of  a  lion  in  red  pottery.  The  circumstances  in 
which  it  was  found  enable  it  to  be  assigned  without  any  serious 
hesitation  to  the  period  which  precedes  the  fourth  dynasty.1 
Fragments  of  figures  of  the  same  material  and  technique  have, 
according  to  Dr.  Petrie  and  Mr.  Quibell,  been  found  at  Koptos, 
at  the  Ramasseum,  at  Medinet  Habu,  and  at  Abydos.2  The 
comparison  made  by  Mr.  Quibell  between  the  Hierakonpolis 
lion  and  the  lion  figures  which  decorate  a  table  of  offerings 
at  the  Cairo  Museum,  adds  a  powerful  argument  in  support  of 
those  who  attribute  this  lion  statue  to  the  archaic  period.3 
Better  than  any  description,  Fig.  203  will  enable  the  reader 
to  appreciate  the  vigour  with  which  this  fine  piece  of  work  has 
been  executed. 

We  have  thus  rapidly  passed  in  review  the  principal  monu- 
ments which  can  be  attributed  to  the  period  which  separates 
the  primitive  Egyptians  from  those  contemporary  with  the 
fourth  dynasty.  Before  attempting  to  draw  conclusions  from 
the  collected  results  of  our  researches,  we  should  briefly  examine 
the  evidence  which  enables  us  to  gain  at  least  some  idea  of 
the  arts  of  movement  in  primitive  Egypt — dancing,  music,  and 
poetry. 

But  before  closing  this  chapter  I  cannot  resist  the  pleasure 
of  reproducing  here  three  views  of  the  head  of  a  small  ivory 
figure,  discovered  during  the  winter  1902-3  at  Abydos,  and 
which  gives  us  a  portrait  of  King  Cheops,  the  builder  of  the 
Great  Pyramid  at  Gizeh  *  (Fig.  204).  As  M.  Maspero  wrote,  in 
an  article  published  in  1901  :  "  Barely  six  years  ago  Egyptian 
history  could  penetrate  no  further  than  the  age  when  the  Great 

1  QUIBELL  &  GREEX,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  xlvii.  and  p.  45. 

2  PETRIE,  Koptos,  pi.  v.  and  p.  5.    See  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  pp.  u,  12. 

3  BORCHARDT,  loc.  tit.  xxxvi.  p.   5,  fig.  3.      WiEDEMANN,  Compte  rcndu  of 
QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,   i.,  in  the  Oricntalistische  Litter aturzcitung,   iii.  1900, 
col.  333;  Zur  Nagada  Periode,  ib.  col.  85. 

4  PETRIE,  Abydos,  pi.  xiii.  xiv.  and  p.  30.      The  Ten  Temples  of  Abydos,  in 
Harper  s  Monthly  Magazine,  No.  642,  November  1903,  fig.  6,  and  pp.  839,  840. 


TIIK    KARLIEST    PHARAONIC   MONUMENTS.     271 

Pyramids  were  built.  The  Colossi  of  Gizch  appeared  to  inter- 
pose their  bulk  between  the  plane  of  the  world  in  which  we 
live  and  the  remote  distance  of  bygone  ages.  .  .  .  The  pick  of 
the  excavator  has  suddenly  made  a  breach  in  the  obstacle  which 
hid  the  primitive  dynasties  from  our  view." J  That  which  only 
a  short  time  ago  appeared  to  be  the  starting  point  of  a  world, 
may  now  be  regarded  with  certainty  as  the  result  of  the 
evolution  of  an  entire  civilization. 

1  MASPERO,  Les  premiers  temps  de  rhistoire  d'Egyptc  d'afircs  Ics  dc'coitvertes 
v,  in  The  Lotus,  Alexandria,  No.  4,  July  1901,  p.  185. 


2/2 


CHAPTER   VI. 

DANCING,   MUSIC,    AND   POETRY. 

IN  the  origin  of  the  arts  of  repose — decoration,  painting,  and 
sculpture — we  have  found  a  utilitarian  purpose  which  was 
generally  magical.  A  study  of  the  arts  of  movement — dancing, 
music,  and  poetry — leads  us  to  the  same  result.  We  must  not 
afford  ourselves  the  long  delay  necessary  to  a  complete  and 
detailed  demonstration  of  this  ;  it  will  be  sufficient  to  quote  some 
typical  instances. 

An  old  historian  of  Madagascar  informs  us  that,  "  While  the 
men  are  at  the  wars,  and  until  their  return,  the  women  and  girls 
cease  not  day  and  night  to  dance,  and  neither  lie  down  nor 
take  food  in  their  own  houses.  .  .  .  They  believe  that  by  dancing 
they  impart  strength,  courage,  and  good  fortune  to  their  husbands. 
This  custom  they  observe  very  religiously."  l 

"  Similarly,  among  the  Thompson  River  Indians  of  British 
Columbia,  while  the  men  were  on  the  war-path  the  women  per- 
formed dances  at  frequent  intervals.  Those  dances  were  believed 
to  secure  the  success  of  the  expedition.  The  dancers  flourished 
their  knives,  threw  long  sharp-pointed  sticks  forward,  or  drew 
sticks  with  hooked  ends  repeatedly  backward  and  forward. 
Throwing  the  sticks  forward  was  symbolic  of  piercing  or  fighting 
off  the  supposed  enemy,  and  drawing  them  back  was  symbolic  of 
drawing  their  men  from  danger.  The  stick  with  this  hooked 
end  was  the  one  supposed  to  be  the  best  adapted  for  the  latter 
purpose.  The  women  always  pointed  their  weapons  toward  the 
enemies'  country."2 

1  FRAZER,  The  Golden  Bough,  i.  p.  31. 
a  II).  i.  addenda  p.  465. 


DANCING,   MUSIC,   AND    POETRY.  273 

Lucien  observes  :  "  You  cannot  find  a  single  ancient  mystery 
in  which  there  is  not  dancing.  .  .  .  This  much  all  men  know, 
that  most  people  say  of  the  revealers  of  the  mysteries  that  they 
4  dance  them  out '  "  (efop^eio-^at).  Clemens  of  Alexandria  uses 
the  same  terms  when  speaking  of  his  own  "  appalling  revelations." 
So  closely  connected  are  mysteries  with  dancing  among  savages, 
that,  when  Mr.  Open  asked  Qing,  the  Bushman  hunter,  about 
some  doctrines  in  which  Qing  was  not  initiated,  he  said,  "  Only 
the  initiated  men  of  that  dance  know  these  things."  1 

\Ye  must  also  keep  in  mind  the  animal  dances  of  Australia, 
and  the  dances  performed  at  funerals  among  most  savage  nations.2 

These  dances  are  almost  invariably  accompanied  by  very 
primitive  musical  instruments.  Some  of  these  are  intended  to 
give  rhythm  to  the  movements,  and  most  frequently  they  consist 
of  instruments  of  percussion,  of  sonorous  wood  struck  in  cadence, 
tambourines,  etc.,  which  simply  serve  to  supplement  the  clapping 
of  hands.3  Others  have  a  somewhat  different  origin.  Speaking 
broadly,  one  might  say  that  they  are  intended  to  produce  by 
vibration  a  buzzing  or  a  hissing,  in  which  the  primitive  mind 
would  see  something  sacred  or  mysterious.  As  an  instance  of 
this  we  must  quote  the  bow,  the  gora  of  the  Kaffirs  and 
Bushmen,4  and,  above  all,  the  "  bull-roarer "  or  "  Schwirrholz," 
the  geographical  distribution  of  which  is  so  wide.5  Occasionally 
the  instruments  are  intended  to  drive  away  evil  spirits  during 
the  celebration  of  ceremonies  ;  the  sistrum  is  one  of  these. 

Another  characteristic  fact  is  that  in  certain  parts  of  Africa 
the  chief  is  accompanied  on  his  expeditions  by  a  band  of 

1  LANG,  Myth,  Ritual,  and  Religion,  new  edition,  London,  New  York,  and 
Bombay,  1899,  p.  272. 

*  See,  for  example,  KINGSLEY,  MARY  H.,  Travels  in  West  Africa,  London, 
1900,  p.  331. 

3  See,  on  this  subject,  the  book  by  BUCHER,  Arbeit  nnd  Rythmus,  2nd  ed. 
Leipzic,   1899. 

4  DENIKER,  I^s  races  et  les  peuplcs  de  la  terre,  figs.  70,  71,  pp.  250  251, 
and  fig.   135,  p.  495- 

4  FRAZER,  The  Golden  Bough,  iii.  p.  424,  note.  LANG,  loc.  cit.  p.  272. 
COOK,  A.  B.,  Les  Galets  prints  du  Mas  d'Azil,  in  I'Anthropologie,  xiv.  1903, 
pp.  657-659.  SCHURTZ,  Urgeschichte  dcr  Kultur,  Leipsic,  1900,  p.  50  et  scq. 
and  p.  512. 

18 


274  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

musicians.  "  Each  performer,  regardless  of  the  discordance,  blows 
rings,  bangs,  or  rattles  on  his  own  account,  interpreting  a  very 
short  air  which  forms  the  dominant  note  in  this  direful  din."  l 

Fetish  men  are  often  very  skilled  musicians. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  both  music  and  dancing  very  rapidly 
acquired  a  pleasurable  use  in  addition  to  their  utilitarian  and 
magical  purposes.  The  various  examples  which  have  just  been 
quoted  show  that  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  magical  character 
of  these  arts  in  their  origin,  although  in  the  special  instances 
we  meet  with  it  may  not  be  possible  to  determine  precisely 
what  is  the  object  of  the  musicians  or  dancers. 

Under  various  aspects  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  refer 
to  dancing  scenes.  I  may  mention  first  the  Tukh  statuette  repro- 
duced on  Fig.  5,  where  the  dancer  has  both  arms  raised  above 
her  head.  The  decorated  vases  have  shown  us  figures  of  women 
in  the  same  position  (Figs.  91,  94).  They  are  sometimes  accom- 
panied by  men  who  appear  to  beat  time  to  the  dance  by  clapping 
pieces  of  wood  together — a  species  of  castanettes  (Fig.  92).  yfTwo 
female  figures  from  the  painted  tomb  of  Hierakonpolis,  also,  by 
the  position  of  their  arms,  suggest  these  dancers  (Fig.  162). 

At  funerals  the  dancing  men  and  women  were  employed 
to  execute  dances,  accompanied  by  lamentations ;  and  if,  with 
Professor  Erman,  we  examine  the  representations  in  the  tombs 
of  the  Ancient  Empire,  we  shall  at  once  recognize  that  this  custom 
persisted  long  after  the  rise  of  Pharaonic  Egypt.Jf  The  terracotta 
figures  discovered  in  the  Greek  tombs  show  the  same  funerary 
dancers  and  mourners,  and  the  appearance  of  this  type  in  Egypt 
in  the  earliest  times  must  certainly  be  of  a  nature  to  modify 
to  an  important  extent  the  conclusions  in  a  recent  work  by 
M.  Collignon.3 

1  Notes  analytiques  sur  les  collections  ethnographiques  du  Musee  du  Congo 
(Annales  du  Musee  du  Congo,  Ethnographic  et  anthropologie,  Serie  iii.),  vol.  i. 
fasc.  i.  pp.  17,  1 8. 

2  ERMAN,    Life   in   Ancient  Egypt,  p.  245  et  seq.      "  Dancers  were  almost 
always  present  at  the  Feast  of  Eternity — that  is,  the  feast  held  in  honour  of  the 
deceased." — P.  246. 

3  COLLIGNON,  De  Vorigine  du  type  des  pleureuses  dans  Vart  grec,  in  the 
Revue  des  etudes  grecques,  xvi.  1903,  pp.  299-322. 


DANCING,   MUSIC,   AND   POETRY.  275 

On  the  earliest  monuments  of  Pharaonic  Egypt  we  have 
observed  several  instances  of  these  religious  dancers.  They  are 
to  be  seen  on  the  Hierakonpolis  maces  (Figs.  186  to  188)  and 
on  the  plaque  of  King  Den  (Fig.  190),  to  which  the  monuments 
of  the  Pharaonic  age  afford  numerous  parallels. 

Without  waiting  to  describe  the  scenes  of  funerary  dancing 
in  the  bas-reliefs  of  Pharaonic  Egypt,  it  appears  to  me  that 
two  of  these  representations  should  for  a  moment  hold  our 
attention. 

In  the  tomb  of  Anta,  at  Deshasheh,1  there  is  a  series  of  men 
dancing,  holding  in  their  hands  short  curved  sticks,  which  end 


FIG.  205. — DANCERS  FROM  THE  TOMB  OF  ANTA,  AT  DESHASHEH. 

in    gazelles'    heads  (Fig.   205).      Dr.    Petrie2    has   compared    with 
these  accessories  of  dancing  certain  fragments  of  decorated  ivory 
found    at    Hierakonpolis,  two   specimens   of  which   are   shown  in 
Fig.   109  among  remains  of  personal  property  and  furniture. 
A  fact  which  lends  very  special  interest  to  this  scene  is  that  the 

Pyramid  texts  mention  the  people  of  the  Tuat,     ^  **^J}  * 

The  determination  of  this  name  is  composed  of  an  arm  holding 
an  instrument  which  terminates  in  the  head  of  a  gazelle.  We 
may,  therefore,  question  whether  the  dancers  of  Deshasheh  were 
not  also  people  of  the  Tuat,  and  whether  in  the  Egyptian  period 

I  PETRIE,  Deshasheh,  pi.  xii.  and  p.  8. 

II  In  QUIBELL,  Hierakonpolis,  i.  p.  7. 

3  MASPERO,  La  Pynwiiifi-  <ti<  roi  Pcpi  I.,  in  the  Recueil  de  travaux,  vii.  1886, 
pp.  148,  1.  245. 


276  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

the  task  of  performing  funerary  dances  was  not  reserved  for 
them.  The  people  of  the  Tuat  are  the  inhabitants  of  the  Tuat, 
one  of  the  underworlds  of  Egyptian  mythology l ;  and  in  that 
case  we  should  be  witnessing  the  dance  of  inhabitants  of  that 
mysterious  region.  In  the  Tuat  we  are  inclined  to  recognize  the 
modern  name  of  the  oasis  of  Tuat,  which  is  situated,  it  is  true, 
at  the  north-west  extremity  of  the  African  continent.  This  is 
not  a  unique  example  of  tribes  now  extremely  remote,  who  in 
ancient  times  were  in  close  contact  with  Egypt.  According 
to  M.  Lefebure,2  several  tribes  appear  to  have  left  traces  of 
migrations  no  less  considerable  (Macae  and  Maxyes,  Berbers  and 
Barabras,  Numidians  and  Nobadae,  etc.). 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  these  remarks  would  be 
that  the  region  of  the  dead — the  Tuat — may  originally  have  been 
a  real  and  actual  country,  and  this  result  would  fit  perfectly  with 
M.  Maspero's  researches  as  to  the  Great  Oasis,  the  field  of  reeds, 
and  those  of  M.  de  Chassinat  on  the  Isle  of  the  Double  and 
the  Land  of  the  Manes.3  We  must  rememher  that  as  late  as 
the  eighteenth  dynasty  Libyan  dances  were  still  portrayed  at 
Deir  el  Bahari.4 

1  I  find  in  a  recent  work  a  strange  piece  of  information,  related  by  a  traveller, 
which  had  not  hitherto  been  given  to  the  world,  and  which  therefore  may  be  of 
some  importance.  Writing  of  his  visit  to  the  royal  tombs  at  Thebes,  the  author 
says  :  "Tous  ces  corridors  sont  remplis  de  peintures,  de  reliefs,  qui  represented 
ce  qu'il  y  a  dans  les  livres  de  Thades  (sic),  dans  le  Touat,  ou,  si  vous  le  voulez, 
plus  simplement  dans  1'enfer.  La  premiere  fois  que  j'ai  oui'  parler  de  Touat, 
c'etait  a  Tunis  ;  je  voyais  un  Touareg  dont  la  presence  causait  un  veritable 
evenement,  meme  parmi  les  indigenes.  Sa  figure,  completement  voilee  par  une 
e'toffe  noire  tres  e"paisse,  sa  mise,  son  manteau  d'un  brun  lonce  causaient  un  vrai 
rassemblement.  Ouelqu'un  du  pays  me  dit :  '  C'est  un  Touareg,  c'est  un  diable 
vomi  par  1'enfer  dont  il  porte  le  nom  :  Touareg  vient  de  Touat,  qui  veut  dire 
enfer.'  Je  conte  cette  anecdote  qui  m'a  paru  curieuse,  sans  me  faire  1'editeur 
responsable  de  cette  etymologic,  et  je  reviens  aux  Egyptiens." — BARON  DU  GABE, 
£chelles  du  Levant,  Impressions  d'un  Franfais,  Paris,  1902,  p.  84. 

8  Private  letter  of  January  25th,  1903. 

3  MASPERO,   G.,  Le  nom  antique  de  la   Grande  Oasis  et  les  idees  qui  s^y 
rattachent,  in  the  Etudes  de  mythologie  et  d'archeologie  egypticnnes,  ii.  (Biblio- 
theque  egyptologique,  ii.),  pp.  421-427.     Les  Hypogees  royaux  de  Thebes,  ib.  p.  12 
etseq.     CHASSINAT,  Ca  et  Id,  §  iii.  in  the  Recueilde  travaux  relatifs  d  laphilologie 
et  d  rarchcologie  egyptiennes  et  assyricnnes,  xvii.  1895,  p.  53. 

4  NAVILLE,  The  Temple  of  Deir  el  Bahari,  iv.  pi.  xc.  and  p.  2  :  "  It  is  curious 
that  in  other  festivals  the  dancing  is  done  also  by  these  Africans,  the  Tamahu,  as  if 


DANCING,   MUSIC,   AND   POETRY.  277 

Among  the  numerous  representations  of  dances  observed  and 
described  by  Professor  Erman,  there  is  one  which  shows  women 
whose  clothing  is  merely  a  loin-cloth,  a  garment  reserved  for  the 
men,  and  whose  hair  is  dressed  in  imitation  of  the  white  crown 
of  Upper  Egypt.1  The  dance  executed  by  them  is  called  "  under 
the  feet,"  and  is  simply  a  somewhat  burlesque  copy  of  the  scene 
of  the  king  raising  his  mace  to  strike  the  head  of  a  vanquished 
barbarian,  such  as  we  observed  on  the  great  palette  of  Nar-Mer. 
The  name  of  this  dance,  says  Professor  Erman,  is  taken  from  the 
saying  of  the  king,  which  is  ordinarily  given 
on  inscriptions  accompanying  this  scene,  that 
"  all  nations  bound  together  are  struck  down 
beneath  his  feet." 

This  curious  dance  should  apparently  be 
compared  with  the  similar  scene  on  the 
painted  tomb  of  Hierakonpolis  (Fig.  162), 
and  \\e  thus  acquire  one  more  example  of 
traditions  uninterrupted  from  prehistoric  times 
down  to  the  twelfth  dynasty.2  FJG  2o6._STEATITE 

Professor  Erman  remarks  that  music  con-        FIGURE  FROM  HIERA- 
sisted   almost   exclusively  of  accompaniments        KOXPOLIS. 
to  dances.     We  have  just  mentioned  the  scene        Ashmoiean  Museum, 

Oxford. 

of  castanette    players    on    a   prehistoric   vase. 
Under    the    Ancient    Empire    we    likewise    observe     flutes    and 
harps   as   musical   instruments  presenting  a  funerary  or  religious 
character.     In  the  excavations  at  Hierakonpolis3  there  was  found 
a   small   seated   figure  in  steatite  (Fig.  206).      Below   the    mouth 

they  had  some  national  propensity  to  that  art,  like  the  Hungarian  gipsies  in 
modern  times."  See,  in  addition,  LEFEBURE,  La  politique  religieuse  des  Grecs 
en  Libye  (extract  from  the  Bulletin  de  la  Socicte  de  geographic  d'Alger  et  de 
I' Afrique  du  Nord,  3rd  and  4th  trimestres,  1902),  Algiers,  1902,  vi.,  Le  caractere 
de  la  religion  libyennc,  cdtc  orgiat/uc,  pp.  30-34. 

1  As  Professor  Wiedemann  remarks  to  me,  these  dances  are  in  reality  panto- 
mimes, the  first  germ  of  theatrical  representations. 

-  Also  later.  See  BENEDITE,  Un  gucrricr  libycn,  figurine  c'gyptienne  en 
bronze  imntsti'- t/',irxcnt,conservee  an  Musc'c  du  Louvre^  in  the  Monuments  et 
Mi  tn dircs  public's  par  r Academic  <ics  Inscriptions  et  Belles  Lettres  (Fondation 
Piot).  ix.  1903,  p.  123  ct  scij. 

3  QUIBELL  &  GREEN,  Hierakonpolis,  ii.  pi.  xlviii.  l>,  left-hand  column. 


278  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN   EGYPT. 

a  hole  is  pierced  ;  the  two  arms,  now  broken  off  near  the  body, 
were  outstretched,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  figure  was  that  of 
a  flutist.  This  may  be  compared  to  the  stone  figures  of  the 
Greek  islands  belonging  to  the  Aegean  period,  which  represent 
a  flutist  and  a  harpist.1 

If  the  funerary  purpose  of  these  musical  instruments  were 
questioned,  a  painted  scene  at  Beni  Hasan  2  might  be  quoted  in 
proof  (Fig.  207).  On  the  side  of  the  stela,  which  is  in  the  form 
of  a  door  representing  the  entrance  intended  for  the  use  of  the  soul, 
various  people  are  bringing  offerings.  The  two  lower  registers 
are  occupied  by  women  engaged  in  a  musical  performance.  Two 
play  on  the  harp,  while  three  others  clap  their  hands  in  cadence 
as  an  accompaniment  to  the  singing ;  behind,  a  woman  is  shaking 
a  sistrum,  while  another  is  using  a  strange  instrument.  This  is 
certainly  intended  for  songs  and  music  of  a  religious  character, 
performed  in  honour  of  the  deceased.  The  presence  of  the 
sistrum,  an  instrument  used  at  ceremonies  of  the  cult  in  order 
to  drive  away  evil  spirits,  may  suggest  a  similar  use  for  the  other 
instrument  which  accompanies  it.  It  consists  of  a  kind  of  small 
board  attached  to  a  stem,  which  revolves  in  a  handle  held  by  the 
performer.  It  must  have  produced  a  kind  of  deep  buzzing  sound. 

In  many  countries  an  instrument  is  in  use  which  is  of  the 
same  character  as  our  Egyptian  apparatus.  This  is  what  English 
ethnologists  term  a  "  bull-roarer,"  and  Germans  a  "  Schwirrholz," 
terms  which  have  no  exact  French  equivalent.  The  "  Schwirrholz," 
says  Professor  Schurtz,3  consists  of  a  long,  thinnish  piece  of  wood, 

1  PERROT  &  CHIPIEZ,  Histoirede  Vart  dans  rantiquite,  vi.,  La  Grece  primitive, 
Vart  mycenien,  pp.  760-762,  and  fig.  357,  358.  KOEHLER,  Prcehistorisches  von  den 
griechischen  Inseln,  in  the  Mittheilungen  der  kaiserlich  dentschen  archeologischen 
Instituts,  Athenische  Abteilung,  ix.  1884,  pp.  156-162,  and  pi.  vi.  See  a  stone 
sarcophagus  with  painted  scenes,  discovered  by  Paribeni,  near  Phaestus,  in 
Y^M*.Q>,AltkretischeKultstatten,  in  the  Archiv  filr  Religionivissenschaften,  vii.  1904, 
p.  130,  note  i.  "  Hinter  dem  Opfertisch  steht  ein  Flotenblaser." — (Information 
communicated  by  M.  J.  de  Mot.)  Here  is  already  the  origin  of  the  paintings  of 
the  Attic  lecythi,  where  harpists  and  flutists  are  represented  in  their  funerary 
ceremonies.  See  POTTIER,  £tude  sur  les  lecythes  blancs  attiques  d  representations 
funeraircs  (Bibliothcque  des  ecoles  fran$aises  d'Athenes  et  de  Rome,  fasc.  xxx.), 
Paris,  1883,  specially  pp.  73,  74. 

*  Beni  Hasan,  i.  pi.  xii.  ;  iv.  pi.  xvi.  and  p.  5. 

3  SCHURTZ,  Urgeschichte  der Kultur,  Leipzic,  1900,  p.  50. 


DANCING,   MUSIC,   AND    POETRY. 


279 


which  is  either  shaped  like  a  fish,  or  decorated  .with  engraved 
or  painted  ornaments.  A  string  is  fastened  to  the  end,  by 
means  of  which  it  is  whirled  round  in  the  air,  producing  a 
buzzing  noise. 

We    must    add     that    the    object    thus    described    is    never 


FIG.  207. — MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS,  FROM  A  PAINTING  AT  BENI  HASAN. 


employed  as  an  amusement,  or  to  respond  to  any  musical  require- 
ments. The  tribes  who  use  it  consider  there  is  something  super- 
natural in  the  booming  it  produces,  and  it  is  principally  used 
in  the  feasts  for  the  dead,  or  in  other  ceremonies  to  which 
only  the  initiated  have  access. 


28o  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    EGYPT. 

I  am  very  much  inclined  to  see  in  the  instrument  depicted 
at  Beni  Hasan  a  musical  instrument  analogous  to  this  "  bull- 
roarer."  l 

We  must  also  briefly  notice  the  use  of  music,  in  general,  for 
accompanying  and  regulating  work  done  in  combination.  At  the 
present  day  we  still  preserve  this  use  for  stimulating  and 
regulating  the  march  of  soldiers.  The  Greeks  made  use  of  it 
to  give  a  rhythmic  swing  to  collective  work.  Also  in  reference 
to  this  point  we  can  cite  a  group  in  terracotta  from  Bceotia, 
published  by  M.  Pottier,  who  refers  to  the  careful  studies  of 
Biicher  on  "  work  and  rhythm."  - 

As  an  accompaniment  to  dancing  and  music  the  human  voice 
is  forced  to  submit  to  the  obligations  of  rhythm.  Thus  the 
incantations  or  funerary  songs  of  primitive  people,  habitually 
characterized  by  repetitions  and  assonances,  are  actual  poems. 
The  meaning  of  these  is  generally  extremely  obscure,  and  the 
various  songs  of  savages  which  have  been  noted  are  not  of  a 
nature  to  give  us  a  very  high  idea  of  the  poetic  instinct  of 
primitive  people.  On  the  inscribed  monuments  of  the  Ancient 
Empire  there  are  several  songs  which  vary  only  slightly  from 
these  rudimentary  poetic  efforts. 

It  would  be  hazardous  to  attempt  to  assign  a  prehistoric 
origin  to  these  Egyptian  songs.  Nevertheless,  M.  Maspero  has 
translated  from  the  Pyramid  texts  several  incantations  against 
serpents,  to  which  he  does  not  hesitate  to  assign  a  very  remote 
antiquity.  He  thus  writes  on  the  subject:  "The  number  of 
prayers  and  of  formulae  addressed  to  venomous  animals  show 
with  what  terror  the  serpent  and  the  scorpion  inspired  the 
Egyptian.  Many  of  them  are  written  in  a  language  and  with 
combinations  of  signs  which  do  not  appear  to  have  been  com- 
pletely understood,  even  by  the  scribes  under  Unas  and  the 
two  Pepi.  For  my  part,  I  believe  that  they  belong  to  the  most 

1  C APART,  J.,  Sur  deux  livres  recents  relatifs  aux  anciens  hieroglyphes  et 
aux  anciennes  representations  jigurees  de  l'£gypte,  in  the  Bulletin  de  la  Societe 
d' anthropologie  de  Bruxcllcs,  xx.  1901-2,  Brussels,  1903,  p.  xiii. 

1  POTTIER,  T^es  Sujets  dc  genre  dans  les  figurines  archa'iques  dc  terre  cuite, 
in  the  Bulletin  de  correspondance  hcllenique,  xxiv.  1900,  pp.  519,  520,  and  pi.  ix. 
BUCHER,  Arbeit  und  Rythmus,  2nd  ed.  Leipzic,  1899. 


DANCING,   MUSIC,   AND   POETRY.  281 

ancient  ritual,  and  that  they  date  back  to  a  time  before  the 
reign  of  Mena.  Some  of  them  are  evidently  cadenced,  and  were 
probably  originally  the  songs  of  snake-charmers  ;  all  of  them 
may  be  included,  more  or  less,  in  the  class  of  what  with  us  is 
called  gibberish.  'The  serpent  entwines;  it  is  the  serpent  that 
twines  round  the  calf.  Oh,  thou  that  art  on  thyself,  who  issuest 
from  the  womb  of  the  earth ;  thou  hast  devoured  that  which 
cometh  forth  from  thee  ;  serpent  that  descendest,  lie  down 
castrated!  Fall,  slave!'  Here  is  one  of  the  most  comprehensible, 
from  which  the  others  may  be  judged  ! " l 

We  have  now  studied  in  succession  all  the  classes  of  objects 
to  which  ethnologists  have  attributed  an  artistic  character.  \Ye 
have,  therefore,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  of  our  study,  and  it 
only  remains  for  us  briefly  to  sum  up  the  general  results  which 
appear  to  us  to  flow  from  it. 

1  MASPERO,  Premier  rapport  d  FInstitut  egypticn  sur  les  fouilles  executees 
en  fcgypte  de  1881  d  1885,  in  the  ^udes  de  mythologie  et  d'archeo logic 
cgyptiennes,  i.  (Bibliotheqne  cgyptologique,  i.),  pp.  153,  154.  La  religion 
.^vf'tienne  tfapres  les  pyramides  de  la  V  et  de  la  VI*  dynastie,  in  the  Revue 
</r  r/ustoire  des  religions,  xii.  1885,  pp.  125,  126,  where  the  same  passage  is 
reproduced  word  for  word. 


282 


CHAPTER   VII. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

IN  attempting  to  draw  general  conclusions  from  the  foregoing 
study,  it  appears  to  me  that  there  are  two  different  orders 
of  ideas  which  we  must  take  into  consideration.  In  the  first 
place,  general  ethnology ;  in  the  second — and  this  it  is  which 
has  more  special  interest  for  us — the  origin  of  Egyptian  art  as 
we  find  it  at  the  commencement  of  the  fourth  dynasty. 

From  the  ethnological  point  of  view  the  results  of  the  dis- 
coveries of  the  last  few  years  appear  to  show  that  the  artistic 
manifestations  of  primitive  Egypt  are  closely  allied  with  those 
of  other  nations  which  have  been  observed  at  an  equal  stage 
of  civilization.  In  applying  to  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  the 
Nile  Valley  the  theories  and  methods  of  M.  Grosse,  in  Les  Debuts 
de  I'Art,  there  is  nothing  which  forces  us  to  modify  these  theories 
and  methods,  at  any  rate  in  their  main  outlines.  In  my  opinion 
the  evidence  of  these  Egyptian  discoveries  enables  us  to  establish 
the  utilitarian  origin  of  those  manifestations,  which  we  group 
together  under  the  term  "aesthetic."  This  utilitarian  purpose 
is  in  almost  every  case  confused  with  a  religious,  or  rather 
with  a  magical,  purpose.  In  this  respect  Egypt  affords  us  most 
valuable  evidence,  as  we  can  follow  the  development  of  beliefs, 
from  their  most  rudimentary  form,  until  in  historical  times 
they  constitute  an  actual  body  of  doctrine.  But  at  this  point 
we  enter  on  the  domain  of  special  conclusions,  and  these  require 
to  be  exhibited  methodically. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  book  we  showed  that  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  fourth  dynasty  Egypt  had  already  developed  : 
her  language,  writing,  administration,  cults,  ceremonies,  were  all 
constituted.  Another  fact  which  struck  us  forcibly  was  the 


CONCLUSIONS.  283 

extreme  realism  of  the  artistic  productions,  a  realism  which  brought 
us  face  to  face  with  this  alternative  ;  either  art  was  imported 
into  Egypt  with  all  the  other  manifestations  of  civilized  life — 
"Minerva  issuing  armed  from  the  brain  of  Jupiter" — or  else  it 
was  the  result  of  a  slow  and  progressive  evolution,  the  work 
of  several  previous  centuries.  Here  it  is  that  the  discoveries 
of  the  last  few  years  come  to  our  aid.  Is  the  evidence  which 
they  have  brought  to  light  sufficient  to  allow  us  to  decide  on 
this  question  ?  The  task  of  replying  shall  be  left  to  more  com- 
petent pens  ;  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that,  before  attempting  to 
give  categorical  answers  to  this  question,  we  should  await  the 
result  of  excavations  which  are  now  being  carried  on,  and  which 
will  certainly  occupy  several  years  longer.  In  the  meantime,  it 
appears  to  me  that  the  solution — if  it  is  ever  arrived  at — will 
not  be  absolutely  on  one  side  or  the  other.  We  shall  probably 
distinguish  in  the  formation  of  art,  as  of  the  entire  civilization 
of  the  Egyptians,  many  contributions  from  different  sources. 

Nevertheless,  without  feeling  obliged  to  give  numerous  biblio- 
graphical references,  I  should  like  to  sketch  the  problem  of 
the  commencement  of  art  in  Egypt,  as  it  presents  itself  to  my 
mind  at  the  present  time.  I  do  not  attempt  to  conceal  the 
hypothetical  character  of  this  outline,  which  can  only  be  definitely 
shown  when  the  origins  of  Egyptian  civilization  are  completely 
known — and,  unfortunately,  that  day  is  yet  far  distant. 

If  we  ask  anthropologists  to  what  race  we  should  assign  the 
earliest  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  we  shall  at  the 
very  commencement  meet  with  a  divergence  of  opinions  and  a 
multitude  of  contradictions. 

From  the  palaeolithic  period,  Egypt — or,  rather,  the  cleft  in  the 
north-east  plateau  of  Africa,  which  later  was  to  be  partially  filled 
by  the  alluvial  deposits  of  the  Nile — was  inhabited  by  tribes  of 
nomadic  huntsmen.  The  flints  which  formed  their  tools  have 
been  found  cither  simply  utilized  by  them  or  chipped  into  shape. 
It  is  also  possible  that  some  of  those  rude  graffiti  found  on 
the  rocks,  which  afford,  as  we  have  already  said,  such  striking 
analogies  with  the  graffiti  of  South  Oran,  may  be  their  work. 
We  may  well  suppose  that  there  was  originally  a  population 


284  PRIMITIVE   ART    IN    EGYPT. 

composed  of  black  races,  which  were  insensibly  driven  back 
towards  the  south  by  the  white  races,  which  "  from  earliest 
antiquity  \verc  settled  on  the  Mediterranean  borders  of  the 
Libyan  continent,  and  who  perhaps  themselves  came  from 
Southern  Europe.  They  would  creep  into  the  valley  from  the 
west  or  south-west."1 

It  is  to  these  Libyan  people  that  we  should  attribute  the 
brilliant  neolithic  civilization  which  the  prehistoric  cemeteries 
have  made  known  to  us,  and  whose  productions  we  have  been 
studying  in  detail  throughout  the  course  of  this  book. 

At  different  times  we  have  had  occasion  to  insist  on  the 
analogies  which  it  has  been  thought  might  be  established  between 
this  earliest  Egyptian  civilization  and  that  of  the  Libyans  of 
the  historic  period.  Many  of  these  must  have  been  driven  out 
of  Egypt,  and  greater  numbers,  again,  must  by  degrees  have 
become  "Egyptianized"  by  the  Pharaonic  invaders  entering  from 
another  country.  Under  the  earliest  dynasties  we  frequently  find 
the  Libyans  on  the  threshold  of  Egypt,  and  the  earliest  kings 
at  war  with  them.  An  account  of  a  journey  undertaken  at  the  time 
of  the  sixth  dynasty  tells  us  that  the  Libyans  were  established  in 
the  oases  as  far  as  the  neighbourhood  of  the  first  cataract  of 
the  Nile.  The  string  of  oases  extending  along  the  valley  of  the 
Nile  to  the  plateau  of  Barca  remained  entirely  in  the  possession 
of  the  Libyans  until  the  time  of  the  twelfth  dynasty. 

This  primitive  Libyan  civilization  of  the  Nile  Valley  was  fre- 
quently in  communication  with  the  Mediterranean  civilization, 
perhaps  actually  by  means  of  this  route  along  the  oases.  The 
Greek  traditions,  referring  to  the  relations  of  Greece  and  the 
Cyrenaica,  need  only  a  passing  reference  ;  at  later  times,  when 
the  maritime  nations  attacked  Egypt,  it  was  through  the  Libyan 
frontier  that  they  penetrated  into  the  country. 

This  fact  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  explain  the  intercourse  so 
frequently  established  between  the  Egyptian  primitive  civiliza- 
tion and  the  Aegean  civilization.  The  relations  between  these 
countries  diminish  after  the  conquest  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile 

1  MASPERO,  Histoire  ancienne  des  peuples  dc  V Orient,  6th  ed.  Paris,  1904, 
p.  19. 


CONCLUSIONS.  285 

by  the  Pharaohs  until  the  twelfth  dynasty,  when  they  again 
occur  frequently.  Mr.  Kvans  has  noticed  in  Crete  numerous 
facts  which  confirm  this  theory.1 

These  relations  also  explain  the  presence  in  Egypt  of  the 
black  incised  pottery  and  the  "  alphabetiform "  marks  which  we 
have  studied  in  an  earlier  chapter. 

If  we  follow — as  we  have  hitherto  done — the  sequence  dates 
as  originated  by  Dr.  Petrie,  we  are  forced  to  agree  with  that 
brilliant  archaeologist,  in  recognizing  a  decadence  in  the  primitive 
civilization  towards  the  end  of  the  prehistoric  period.  There  does 
not  seem  to  me  to  be  any  difficulty  in  accounting  for  this. 
We  see  in  it  the  result  of  the  period  of  trouble  and  insecurity 
which  accompanies  the  arrival  of  bands  of  invading  foreigners. 
\\Vrc  these  invasions  sudden,  or  the  result  of  a  gradual  infiltra- 
tion which  continued  many  years,  not  to  say  centuries?  Did 
these  invaders  arrive  by  one  single  road,  or  did  they  come, 
some  by  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  others  by  the  Upper  Nile,  or,  again, 
by  the  desert  which  separates  the  Red  Sea  from  the  valley 
of  the  Nile?  Did  the  invaders  all  belong  to  one  and  the 
same  group  of  nations,  or  did  they  form  part  of  groups  which 
sprang  perhaps  from  one  race,  but  which  had  been  separated 
for  centuries  ?  These  are  questions  which  cannot  be  answered 
without  further  evidence  than  we  possess. 

I  am,  however,  disposed  to  believe  in  frequent  invasions 
of  successive  groups,  relatively  few  in  number,  penetrating  into 
Egypt  by  different  routes.  I  have  already  said  in  another 
publication  that  I  believe,  with  E.  de  Rouge,  that  there  are  in 
the  texts  traces  of  a  great  tribe  called  the  Anu,  which  must 
have  occupied  Egypt  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Hyksos  did 
later.  It  is  probably  to  them  that  we  should  attribute  those 
religious  conceptions  that  had  for  their  centre  the  town  of 
Heliopolis,  which,  according  to  a  tradition  related  by  Pliny,- 
was  founded  by  the  Arabs. 

1  PETRIE,  Methods  and  Aims  in  Archccology,  London,  1904,  p.  163  et  seq. 

1  MASPERO,  Histoire  anrienne  des  peuples  de  r Orient,  p.  16.  Professor 
Wiedemann  writes:  "Nach  einer  spaten  Notix  war  Heliopolis  eine  Grilndung  der 
Araber,  worunter  an  der  betreflenden  Stelle  ein  semitischer  Stamm  zu  verstehen 
ist,  dieser  Angabe  konnte  selir  wohl  ein  richtiger  Kern  zu  Grunde  liegen,  und 


286  PRIMITIVE    ART    IN   EGYPT. 

It  is  probably  also  to  this  invasion  of  the  Anu  that  the 
decadence  in  the  primitive  industries  towards  the  close  of  the 
prehistoric  period  should  be  attributed.  These  industries  did 
not,  however,  entirely  disappear,  and  we  have  several  times 
followed  their  footsteps  in  historical  Egypt.  Further  than  that, 
we  have  seen  that  there  is  nothing  which  permits  us  to  enter- 
tain the  belief  that  there  was  a  hiatus,  a  sudden  cleavage,  between 
primitive  Egypt  and  Pharaonic  Egypt.  On  the  contrary, 
analogies  between  them  are  so  numerous  that  they  have  con- 
vinced certain  writers  that  the  Pharaonic  civilization  is  only  a 
development  of  that  of  primitive  Egypt. 

I  think,  rather,  that  this  phenomenon  should  be  attributed 
to  the  actual  character  of  the  invasions  of  the  Pharaonic 
Egyptians.  They  are  not  the  movements  of  nations  who  destroy 
and  sweep  away  from  before  them  a  whole  civilization,  but  rather 
a  slow  infiltration  of  groups  of  people  of  a  higher  civilization 
into  a  population  which  had  already  attained  a  certain  degree 
of  development.  A  point  to  be  noted  with  regard  to  this  is  the 
strange  power  which  the  soil  of  the  Nile  Valley  possesses  of 
absorbing  the  invader,  a  power  which  has  been  recognized  at 
all  periods  of  its  history.  Foreigners  have  never  changed  the 
Egyptian  population  ;  it  is  the  country  which  has  always  rapidly 
transformed  its  invaders,  and  has  adapted  them  to  its  environments. 
It  is  clearly  as  a  result  of  this  principle  that  the  Pharaonic 
Egyptians  were  irresistibly  influenced  to  continue  the  traditions 
of  the  primitive  people,  both  in  regard  to  art  and  in  their 
religious  and  funerary  beliefs. 

At  a  given  moment,  however,  there  is  a  new  element  which 
appears  in  Egypt,  and  this  it  is  which  requires  explanation. 

On  several  occasions  we  have  insisted  on  the  contrast  between 
the  private  and  the  royal  monuments,  between  the  style  of  the 
court  and  that  of  the  people,  between  religious  and  profane  art. 
We  have  also  shown  that  the  primitive  Egyptians  were  not 
acquainted  with  hieroglyphic  writing,  and  that  it  suddenly  made 

Heliopolis  und  sein  Sonnenkult  einer  vorhistorischen  Semiteneinwanderung  in 
das  Delta  ihren  Ursprung  verdanken." — Orientalistische  Litteraturzeitung,  April, 
1904,  col.  146,  147. 


CONCLUSIONS.  287 

its  appearance  thoroughly  formed.  This  official  style  attached 
to  an  official  religion,  and  this  complicated  system  of  writing, 
were  brought  into  the  country  from  without,  completely  con- 
stituted :  this  \ve  may  assert  without  hesitation.  But  from  what 
country  were  they  brought  ? 

In  these  final  pages  I  cannot  enter  into  a  complicated 
controversy,  where  anthropology  and  comparative  philology 
almost  alone  can  intervene.  I  can  merely  say  that  apparently 
the  Pharaonic  invaders  came  from  Asia,  perhaps  from  Yemen, 
and  that  they  had  common  origin  with  the  ancient  Chaldeans. 
This  theory  would  explain  the  analogies  which  arc  established 
between  the  earliest  Pharaonic  remains  and  those  of  Chaldea1 — 
more  especially,  the  use  of  cylinders,  which  disappeared  fairly 
quickly  in  the  Nile  Valley.  One  fact  is  very  clear :  the  Semites 
did  not  pass  direct  from  Asia  to  the  Nile  Valley  ;  they  were 
"  Africanized "  before  penetrating  into  Egypt,  properly  so-called. 
The  clearest  proof  of  this  has  been  obtained  by  the  examina- 
tion of  the  fauna  and  flora  represented  in  the  hieroglyphs, 
the  African  character  of  which  is  striking.  A  glance  at  the 
map  of  Africa  shows  where  the  Semites  must  for  a  time  have 
taken  up  their  abode  before  penetrating  into  the  valley  of  the 
Nile.  The  two  coasts  of  the  Red  Sea,  towards  the  southern 
end,  resemble  each  other  very  considerably  both  in  climate  and 
in  their  productions.  Any  tribes  leaving  Yemen  would  naturally 
at  first  occupy  a  country  differing  as  little  as  possible  from 
the  regions  they  had  abandoned.  A  study  of  the  population, 
the  languages,  and  the  customs  of  Ethiopia  shows  the  close 
affinity  which  exists  between  that  country  and  the  south  of  Arabia. 
One  part  of  these  regions,  situated  on  the  coast,  appears  to 
have  been  designated  by  the  Egyptians  of  the  classical  period 
by  the  name  of  Punt.  The  Egyptians,  in  writing  the  name  of 
this  country,  did  not  follow  it  with  the  determinative  sign  of 
a  foreign  land  ;  they  called  it  the  "  Land  of  the  Gods,"  and 

1  See    HEUZEY,    L.,    Construction    antcrieure    a    Our-Nina,    notes    compti- 
mcntaircs  d'apres  Us  decouvertes   de  M.  dc  Sarzec,  viii.,  Comparisons  avec 
/>/<•  primitive,  in  the  Revue  d '  assyriologie  et  d'archeologie  orientate,  v.  2, 
1899,  pp.  53-56.— Note  contributed  by  Mr.  Offord. 


288  PRIMITIVE    ART   IN    EGYPT. 

derived  from  it  the  origin  of  a  certain  number  of  their  most 
ancient  divinities.  Also,  the  Egyptians  at  all  times  maintained 
pacific  relations  with  this  country,  and  when  its  inhabitants 
are  represented  on  the  monuments,  they  appear  as  a  mixed 
race  :  the  superior  race  is  similar  to  the  Egyptians  in  physical 
type,  beard,  and  costume,  while  the  other  portion  shows  the  same 
type  crossed  with  negro  blood.  The  earliest  proof  of  the  rela- 
tions between  Egypt  and  Punt  is  furnished  by  a  representation 
of  an  inhabitant  of  Punt  in  the  tomb  of  a  son  of  Cheops  of 
the  fourth  dynasty.1 

A  list  of  gifts  to  the  temples,  drawn  up  towards  the  end  of 
the  fifth  dynasty,  mentions  enormous  quantities  of  objects  brought 
from  Punt. 

The  journey  from  Punt  to  Egypt  was  very  far  from  easy. 
By  road  it  was  necessary  to  traverse  the  desert  regions  of 
Upper  Nubia,  a  formidable  journey  even  at  the  present  day. 
By  water  it  was  necessary,  first  of  all,  to  reach  the  Nile  by 
means  of  one  of  the  valleys  which  extend  from  the  Red  Sea 
to  the  river.  In  historic  times  the  route  most  frequently  chosen 
was  the  Wady  Hammamat,  which  unites  Kosseir  and  Koptos. 
Now  Koptos  is  precisely  the  site  where  Professor  Flinders  Petrie 
discovered  what  he  considers  to  be  the  earliest  remains  that  can 
be  attributed  to  the  dynastic  race— the  statues  of  Min.  This 
route  is  long  and  dangerous.  It  could  not  have  been  accessible 
to  hordes  of  human  beings  attempting  a  tumultuous  invasion 
into  the  midst  of  tribes  already  civilized.  It  is  this  consideration 
which  induces  me  to  represent  the  arrival  in  Egypt  of  the 
dynastic  Egyptians  as  a  slow  and  progressive  infiltration. 

To  return  for  a  moment  to  our  former  subject,  the  Egyptian 
Semites  had  made  a  long  stay  on  African  soil  before  dis- 
covering and  following  the  route  to  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  There, 
in  the  country  occupied  by  the  Gallas,  the  Abyssinians,  and  the 
Somalis,  we  may  one  day  hope  to  discover  remains  which  will 
reveal  the  history  of  the  development  of  Pharaonic  civilization 
in  the  earliest  periods  of  its  evolution. 

The  invaders  brought  with  them  hieroglyphic  writing  illus- 
1  LEPSIUS,  Denkmdler,  ii.  23. 


CONCLUSIONS.  289 

trating  the  language  spoken  by  them.  They  also  brought  religious 
conceptions  which  were  already  extremely  developed,  and  which 
constituted  the  basis  of  the  official  religion  of  Egypt  at  the 
classical  epoch.  Their  funerary  beliefs  differed  from  those  of 
the  autochthones,  so  far,  at  least,  as  the  destiny  of  the  deceased 
kings  was  concerned  ;  and  perhaps  we  may  here  find  the  ex- 
planation of  the  absence  in  the  royal  tombs  of  representations 
similar  to  those  that  cover  the  walls  of  mastabas,  and  of  which 
we  have  seen  the  prototype  in  a  prehistoric  tomb. 

Egyptian  ritual  is  constituted  in  the  same  manner.  Repre- 
sentations, such  as  those  on  the  palette  of  Nar-Mer  and  on  the 
plaques  of  the  royal  tombs  of  Abydos,  show  how  far  this  ritual 
already  resembled  that  of  later  times.  Connected  with  these 
religious  and  funerary  beliefs  and  with  this  ritual  we  find  a 
system  of  art  which  is  already  considerably  advanced,  and  even 
to  some  extent  already  hieratic  and  fixed.  This  is  the  official 
art,  which  contrasts  in  such  a  striking  manner  with  the  naturalistic 
art  of  the  primitive  people. 

What  was  the  result  of  the  contact  of  these  two  forms  of 
art,  arrived  at  such  different  stages  of  development  and  inspired 
with  such  contradictory  tendencies?  The  answer  to  this  question 
we  have  already  indicated,  and  it  is  needless  for  us  to  insist 
greatly  on  this  point.  The  meeting  of  these  two  systems  produced 
that  duality  of  art  of  which  Professor  Spiegelberg  has  again 
reminded  us  in  so  clear  a  manner  by  his  recent  publication.1 

We  shall  find  that  the  more  widely  the  central  power  exerted  its 
influence  the  more  is  the  official  art  in  favour.  We  can  understand 
how  it  came  about  that  under  the  Ancient  Empire  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  fourth  dynasty  the  private  art  is  still  so 
free  and  naturalistic,  and  in  some  measure  we  shall  even  be 
prepared  to  justify  the  remark  made  by  Nestor  1'Hote,  quoted 
in  the  earlier  pages  of  this  book:  "We  know  Egyptian  art  only 
in  its  decadence." 

1  SPIEGELBERG,  Geschichte  der  tigyptischen  Kunst  im  Abriss  dargestellt, 
Leipsic,  1903.  See  WIEDEMANN,  Wtnckelmann's  Lrtheil  alter  die  Sgyptische 
Knnst  uint  <//<-  rrofankunst  der  alien  Aegypter,  in  the  Jahrbiicher  des  Vereins 
-,'nn  Allcrtliumsjrcmidcn  im  Klicinliindc,  Ixxvii.  1884  (separate  reprint,  p.  9 

19 


290  PRIMITIVE   ART   IN   EGYPT. 

Our  conclusions  are  as  follows :  Egyptian  art,  as  it  is  revealed 
to  us  at  the  commencement  of  the  fourth  dynasty,  appears  to 
be  composed  of  various  elements.  Primitive  art,  which  had  its 
birth  in  the  north  of  Africa  and  developed  during  the  course 
of  centuries,  was  only  to  a  small  extent  affected  by  foreign 
influences  (Aegean  and  Anu  ?).  This  art,  the  principal  object 
of  which  was  utilitarian  and  magical,  should  by  virtue  of  this 
very  object  represent  nature  with  all  possible  fidelity.  The 
funerary  ideas  which  it  was  intended  to  serve  may  be  found  in 
their  full  development  in  the  funerary  beliefs  of  the  Egyptian 
Empire,  entirely  dominated  by  the  great  formula  of  imitative 
magic,  "  Like  acts  on  like." 

The  second  element  is  the  art  of  the  Pharaonic  Egyptians, 
of  which  the  earliest  stages  of  evolution  still  completely  elude  us. 
When  it  reaches  Egypt  it  is  thoroughly  fixed,  and  serves  to 
express  religious  conceptions  of  advanced  development,  which 
survive  in  Egypt,  with  only  very  slight  modifications,  until  the 
close  of  the  Pharaonic  period. 

The  struggle  between  these  two  forms  of  art,  and  the  reciprocal 
influence  that  they  exerted  upon  each  other,  are  similar  to  those 
we  establish  between  the  popular  religion  and  the  official  religion, 
between  official  language  and  vulgar  idioms.  The  story  of  the 
struggles  in  these  various  domains  reaches  back  to  the  earliest 
period  of  the  Ancient  Empire. 

I  do  not  attempt  to  conceal  the  fact  that  these  last  pages 
bear  a  decisive  character  very  far  removed  from  the  uncertainties 
which  in  reality  arc  present  in  crowds,  and  I  have  hesitated 
greatly  before  allowing  them  to  assume  such  a  character.  I  hope 
I  may  not  incur  severe  blame,  after  having  brought  some  modest 
materials  to  the  foot  of  the  scaffolding,  if  I  have  indulged  for 
a  moment  in  a  dream  of  a  splendid  palace  which  may  one  day 
arise,  and  of  which  perhaps  they  may  form  a  part  when  utilized 
by  an  architect  of  genius. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Aahmes 27 

Abadiych      .         .         .5,  121,  127,  128 

Abydos  6,  19,  38,  42,  49,   57,   58,  68 

100,  loi,  no,  112,  117,  133,  134,  135 

136,  144,  146,  149,  153,  159,  160,  169 

173,  176,  180,  182,  183,  185,  186,  188 

H/),   192,   193,  199,  200,  209,  212,  221 

242,  248,  251,  256,  257,  270,  289 
Abyssinians  .  .  .  162,  288 
Accessories  of  dancing  .  .275 
Administration  I,  282 

Aegean   civilization   and  art   156,   165 
284,  290 

„         Islands  .         .        .        .164 

„         period    ....     278 

Aegeo-Crctan       .        .        .     146,  212 

(See  Greek.} 

Afft'ca.        .     4,  40,  162,  248,  273,  287 
„       British  Central        .        .198 
Agathodemon       .         .         .         .134 
Aha-Menes  (sec  Menesi. 
Alabaster      .  93,  96,  100,  174,  182,  199 

Alawanyeh 155 

Alenlinn* 14 

Atc.\;ini/riti 2IO 

Algeria         .         .         .         .        30,  194 

Alligator 60 

Aloes   .         .         .         .       116,  119,  218 

Alphabet,  Libyan          .         .         .     149 

„         lim-ar,  Creto- Aegean    .     \\^ 

„         Phoenician  origin .         .     147 

primitive       .         .         .145 

"Alphabetiform"  characters  I45etseq. 

285 

AMI  I.INEAU  .         .  6,  105,  134,  180,  255 
Amenophis     I         ...      32 

IV         ...  32 

Aini-rira 154 

American,     South,     of     Negro- 

Kuropean  parentage          .         .  260 


PAGE 

Amon-Ra 32 

Amorgos 156 

Amulets       .       49,  53,  73,  85,  192,  193 

Ancient  Empire  .     2,  39,  42,  52,  53,  55 

56,  58,  115,  144,  160,  169,200,205,219 

220,  237,  257,  259,  267,  277,  280,  289 

An  da  man  Islands        .        .          14,  52 

Animals  5,  21,  41,  52,  69,  71,  99,  102 

no,  112,  117,  126,  129,  136,  138,  140 

142,  152,  176  et  seq.,  202,  203,  210 

215,  216,  218,  219,  224,  229,  230,  234 

236,  237,  268 

Animals,  aquatic  ....     209 

„        domestic        .         .         .182 

edible     .        .        .        .216 

„        fantastic          69,  136,  230,  232 

,,        indeterminate         82,  no,  140 

„        pet          ....     220 

,,        sacred    .         .         .        ,185 

,,        with  long  necks   132,  136,  230 

(See  Feline  animals.) 

Anklets         .         .         .         .  49,  50,  51 

Ansairiyeh 129 

Anta 275 

Antelope  21,  48,  69,  71,  72,  78,  79,  no 

117,  119,  140,  153,  189,  212,  232,  236 

Antelope  (Addax)         .         .         .     117 

„        (Hubalis)       .        .        .     153 

Arm    ....      257,  285,  290 

Anubis  or  Apuat     .        .     220,  254 

Apes     ....  1 85  et  seq.,  220 

Arab    .        .        .        .          12, 46,  285 

Archangel 154 

Architecture         ....       64 

Argar 185 

Arms  of  chairs      .         .         .         .136 

Art 9,  65 

,,  decorative  .  .  59  et  seq.,  138 
„  official  .  .  258,  264,  287,  289 
,,  of  movement .  .  16,  272  et  seq. 


291 


INDEX. 


Art  of  repose 

„  of  the  Court  . 

,,  „      masters 

„  „      peasants 

,,  „      subjects 

,,  ornamental    . 

„  plastic   . 

,,  ,,      animated 

„  „      free     . 

,,  popular. 

,,  profane . 

„  religious 

„  Theban 

Aruntas 


.       16 

.     264,  286 

.        .    264 

.        .     264 

.     264 

.    59etseq. 

.        16 

.       17 

.       17 

.      264,  286 

264,  286,  289 

.      264,  286 

.         .     264 

216 


Ashmolean  Museum  (see  Oxford}. 
Asia     .         .         .4,  142,  143,  248,  287 

„     Minor 148 

Asparagus  retroflexus  .         .  1 1 5 

Ass 190,  237 

Assuan         .         .         .         .         .106 

Assyria 236 

Aten 32 

Athens         ....      177,  181 

Atlas 189 

Atum 220 

Australia     .        .        .        14,215,216 

Australians .        .        .  12,  21,  205,  218 

,,  Central     .        .        .216 

B alias .        .        .  25,  99,  163,  178,  179 

fiarabras 276 

Barbarian,  vanquished  .  .  277 
(See  Captives,  Enemy,  Prisoners.) 

Barca 284 

Bari 121 

Bark,  funerary  .  .  .  .217 
,,  magical  ....  217 
„  sacred  .  .  .  210,  217 

Basalt 93 

Basket  maker       ...          62,  64 

„      work  45,  64,  98,  104,  105  et  seq. 

109,  134,  138,  139 

Baskets         ...        64,  105,  191 
,,        for  milk  .         .        .  115 

„        for  paint          ...       28 

BAYET 160 

Beads.     47,  49,   51,  83,  99,  167,    174 

190,  193,  230 

Bear 189 


Beard  .     43  et  seq.,  155,  157,  196,  246 

259 

„      covered  in  sign  of  mourning      45 

„      covering  for        .  44,  1 57 

Beds 134,  220 

Beer,  made  with  bread  .  .174 
BE"NEDITE  ....  233,  239 
Beni  Hasan.  .  184,247,278,280 
Berbers  .  .  .  .  106,  276 
BERENS,  RANDOLPH  177,  182,  190,  192 
BERGER  .  .  .  .  .  147 
Berlin  5,  33,  71,  77,  94,  99,  122,  151 
153,  157,  160,  161,  168,  174,  266 

Besh 264 

Betis 39 

Beyrout 248 

Birds  41,  73,  76,  80,  81,  90,  101,  in 

112,  119,  121,  122,  129,  140,  153,  190 

et  seq.,  211,  222,  229,  239,  248 

Birds  of  prey        ....     239 

„     representing  deceased  per- 
sons        .         .         .         .217 

,,      sacred         ....     254 
Black 213 

(See  Blue-black.) 

Blackish  paste  .  .  .  77,  251 
Blocks  of  stone,  roughed  out  .  185 
Blue-black  ....  206,  213 
Boat  or  bark  69,  99,  120,  122,  132,  135 

140,  154,   174,  199  et  seq.,  202,  205 

207  et  seq.,  217,  218,  220,  228,  250 

254 

(See  Ship,  Vessel.) 

BOECKH 17 

Boeotia 280 

Bolof 162 

Bologna  .  .  .  .  5,  35,  266 
Bone  .  .  .  .49,  76,  167,  190 
Bongocs  .....  50 
Boomerangs  .  .  .119,  140 

BORCHARDT  .  .  .        142,  268 

Bosnia 149 

Botocudos     .        .        .        .          14,  54 

BOULE 163 

Bow  .  .  .  100,211,230,273 
Boxes,  decorated  pottery  .  131,  134 
Bracelets  .  .  .  38,  49,  50,  5 1 
Brassempny  .  .  .  .162 
Breccia  .  .  .  93,  114  219 


INDEX. 


293 


PACE 

Bricks 206 

British  Museum     56,  93,  122,   131,    153 

168,  207,  229,  230,  235,  255 

Brocatel        ...  -35 

Bronze         .        .        .  194,  195 

BRUGSCH 17 

Brussels  .  .  .  5,  176,  183,  263 
liulmstis 218 

BiVHER 280 

Bucrania       .         .         .         .      133,  195 

(See  Bulls'  heads.) 
BUDGE         .        .        .        17,  226,  254 

Buffoons 220 

Bull    95,   134,   188,  193,  232,  237,  243 
246,  254 

Bull-roarer  .  .  .  273,  278  et  seq. 
Bulls'  heads  73,  75,  76,  95, 153,  194,  195 

(See  Bucrania.) 
Bulls'  heads,  double     .         .         .195 

BrxsEx 17 

Bushmen      .         .  14,  48,  161,  205,  273 

Bustard 211 

Butmir 164 

Butterfly 128 

Cabins  ....  207,  210 

Cable 207 

Cairo  3,  5,  28,  32,  33,  39,  68,  69,  71 

128,  138,  228,  236,  237,  246,  258,  261 
266,  270 

Calcite 176 

Calf 188 

Cambridge 17? 

Camel 189,  202 

Cameleon 117 

Canal 250 

Canoe 15 

Canopy  .  .  .  234 

Cappadocia 45 

Captives  95,  127,  136,  172  et  seq.,  21 1 
220,  238,  255,  266 

(See  Barbarian,  Enemy,  Prisoners.) 
Carapaces  of  tortoises  ...  48 
Carnelian  ....  192,  194 

Carnivora 216 

Carpet 105 

( 'ar\  ing  in  relief  .  .  .  90,201 
Casque 159 

(See  Crown.) 


Castanettes  .         .         .      119,274,277 
(See  Wood,  sonorous.) 

Cattle 188 

Caves  .         22,  164,  205,  214,  215,  216 

Cephalic  index     ....     161 

Ceremonies.     I,  71,  217,  218,  250,  282 

„  religious   .        .     212,  218 

(See  Cult.) 

Ceylon 14 

CHABAS       i 

Chalcedony 182 

Chaldea  .  .  .  236,  248,  287 
,,  art  .  .  .  69,  136,  226 
„  cylinder ....  247 

Chalk 36 

Chairs 105 

ClIAMPOLLION-FlGEAC.  .  .         17 

Charcoal      .         .       132,  133,  213,  216 

CHASSINAT 276 

Chellean 18 

Cheops     ....     270,  288 

(See  Khufu.) 

Chequer  pattern  .         .         .         .116 
Child    ....        37,  168,  169 

China 41 

Chiriqui 60 

Chronology.         .         .         .   17  et  seq. 

Chrysocolla 169 

Cinders 133 

Cingalese 14 

Civilization 12 

Clapping  of  hands  in  cadence  273,  278 

Claws 48,  49 

Clay   21,  155,  161,   164,   169,  176,  184 
199,  200 

„     pipe 216 

CLEMENS  OF  ALEXAXDRIA   .        .    273 
Cloak  .         .         .    56  et  seq.,  168,  226 

(See  Mantle.) 
Clothing       .         .      47,  52  et  seq.,  159 

(See  Cloak,  Mantle.) 
Club    .         .        .         .         .         .211 

Coast,  East,  of  Africa  .        .        .224 

„      Gold 197 

„      of  Guinea  ....     220 

Coffers 134 

Coffins,  painted    ....      93 
Collars,  lionesses         .         .         .182 

COLLIGNON 274 


294 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Colour.         ...          26,  27,  213 

Columbia 60 

„  British.  .  .  .  272 
Combatants.  .  .  .  35,213 

(See  Warriors.) 

Combs        37,  39,  40,  41,  72  et  seq.,  155 
magic        .         .         .41,  66,  74 

Congo 112,  198 

Copper 45 

Copts 217 

Cords  .         40,  52,  63,  64,  95,  173,  243 

Corpse  .        .        .239 

„        contracted         .         .         .218 

Cow 188 

Crescent  .  .  .122,  250,  254 
Crete  .  .  .146,  149,  164,  285 
Creto-Aegean  (see  Aegeo-Cretan). 
Crew  .....  174,  199 
Crocodile  70,  82,  in,  112,  117,  122 
132,  140,  142,  153,  192,  209,  219 
Cross-lined  pottery  .  35,  108,  140 

(See  Pottery.) 

Crown,   White,  of    Upper  Egypt    159 
267,  277 

,,  of  Lower  Egypt  .  .144 
Cucuteni  .  .  .  .  164,  185 
Cult i,  282 

„    animal  ....      219,  220 

(See  Ceremonies.) 

CUMONT  .....  45 
Curls  .  .  .  .  .  36,  42 
Cylinders  .  136,  138,  151,  195,  247 
Cynocephalus  .  .  .  .186 

(See  Apes.) 

Cyprus 194 

Cyrenaica 284 


Dagger 69 

Dahchour 48 

Dancers,  male      .       250,  251,  274,  275 

female  .         .        53,  211,  274 

Dancing     17,   119,   211,   218,  254,   270 

272,  273  et  seq. 

Danga  Bohr 50 

DAVIS 74 

Decorated  pottery        .         .      113,  136 

(See  Pottery.) 
Decoration   .         .         .      16,  59  et  seq. 


PAGE 

Decoration,  geometrical        .  60  et  seq. 
,,  in  form  of  a  cord  on 

the  vases       .        .       64 
,,  lozenges,   half  black, 

half  white      .         .120 
„  transformation  of  an 

object  by   26,  64  et  seq. 
90,91 

Deer in 

Deformity,  anatomical          .         .172 

,,  of  the  ear   .         .         .160 

Deir-el-Bahari    .        .  27,  50,  160,  276 

DE  LOE        .        .        .        .154,  185 

DE  MORGAN  5,  8,  47,  112,  115,  134,  191 

207,  209,  217 

DE  MOT 278 

Denderah    .         .        .         .        .210 

DENIKER 59 

Den  Setui  or  Semti,  or  He- 

sepui  .  .  .  203,  254,  275 
DE  ROUGE  .....  285 
Dcshasheh  .  .  .  .  58,  275 

Designs 202 

,,        anthropomorphic  .         .       59 

,,        engraved    on   the   vases    133 

139  et  seq.,  205 

,,        floral  22,  63,  1 08,  109  et  seq. 

140 
„        geometric  48,  59,  60,  66,  112 

138 

,,  hammered  .  .  .  223 
„  natural  .  .  .  .139 
,,  phitomorphic  .  .  59 
„  skeuomorphic  59,  \  62,  74,  98 
108,  126 

„         textile    .         .         .        62,  138 

,,         with  the  point        .         .     267 

,,         zoomorphic    .  59,  74,  214 

DE  VILLENOISY    .         .         .         .162 

DE  ZELLTNER       .         .        .      160,  189 

Di  DEMETRIO       .        .        .        .177 

Dinka  .         .         .         .         .         .121 

Diorite 96 

Diospolis  82,   94,    131,    155,    157,   176 

188,  201 

Discs    .         .         .         .34,  35,  91,  205 

Divinities,  Egyptian  (see  Amon,  An- 

ubis,    Atum,    Hekit,    Horus, 

Maat,    Mahes,    Mentu,   Min, 


INDEX. 


295 


Mut,  Neith,  Nekhbet, 
Osiris,  Ptah,  Sebek,  Selkit, 
Sokaris,  Taurt,  Thot, 
Thuerisi. 

Dogs    95,  102,  153,  183  et  seq.,  232,  270 

Door    ....      200,  266,  278 

,,     sill  or  socket        .         .         .     266 

Double  hammer  ...          94,  95 

„       bull .         .         .  195  et  seq. 

Duck 28 

Dwarf  .         .         .  172  et  seq.,  176,  220 
Dyeing  the  hair   ...          35,  36 
Dyke    ......     250 

Dynasty  I.    5,  17,  19.  3°.  42,  49.  57,  »5 

88,  96,  108,  146,  149,  168,  169,  173 

182,  203,  230,  251,  254,  257 

Dynasty  II. .        .        .          5,  255,  267 

III.         4,  5,  96,  151,  261,  267 

„        IV.      i,  5,  18,  25,  28,  42,  93 

96,  139.  237,  258,  264,  266,  270,  282 

288,  290 

Dynasty  V.  .        .  42,  58,  105,  139,  194 

203,  258,  266,  288 

VI.      32,97,139,194,203,268 

284 

XII.    34,  97,  146,  149,  150,  152 
184,  190,  192,  193,  230,  247,  277,  285 

Dynasty  XIII 149 

XVIII.    96,  97,   146,  149,  150 
162,  164,  176,  188,  190,  226,  276 

.,        XIX 55 

XXII 226 

Eagle 142 

Ear  (see  Deformities). 
El  Ahaiu'ah         ....         6 
El  Amrah  7,  18,  68,  88,  94,  105,  119 
132,  157,  188,  200,  211,  224 

El  Bershch 26 

AV  A'r//>  or  A/  nub  .  .  .  205 
Elephant  78,  82,  102,  140,  143,  202,  224 
Emblems  88,  207,  208,  210,  223,  230 

242 

Embroidery.  .  57,159,223,242 
Enemy,  vanquished  .  212,  246,  267 

(See  Barbarian,  Captives,  Prisoners.) 
Engraving  with  the  point  .  .  267 
Ensigns  .  .  .  .121,  242 

(See  Standards.) 


Ensigns  of  vessels 
Equidae 

(See  Ass,  Horse.) 
ERMAN 
Esquimaux . 
Ethiopia 
European  figures 
EVANS . 
Evolution  of  Clothing  . 
Ex-votos 
Eyes,  inlaid  99,  167,  168, 

„      painted 


52, 


145, 


PAGE 

88,  210,  230 

.       211 

176, 274, 277 

21,23 

.     .  287 

.    184, 196 

146,  156, 285 

:      .     52 

.    228 

173, 174, 182 

197,  260 

.  213 


Fan 69 

Fane  si  i 160 

Far n  ham 69 

Feathers       .         .         .          39,  40,  135 

(See  Ostrich.) 

Feet  of  furniture,  bull's  leg  form.     134 

Feline  animals     .    51,  70,  99,  192,  214 

,,  with  bird's  head     .     192 

„  „     long  neck       .     230 

„      ,,  serpent's  head 

and  neck  .  247 

,,  ,,     serpent's  neck     247 

Festival  of  eternity      .         .         .     274 

Heb-Sed     .         .        .254 

„        religious.         ...       90 

Fetish 134,  185 

„      man 274 

Fetishism 220 

Field  of  battle  .         .         .239 

Figures  (see  Statuettes). 
Fish   80,  102,   in,  112,  129,   143,   154 
191,  192,  209,  223 

„     hooks 65 

„     saw 224 

Fishermen 214 

Fishing  tackle       .         .         .         .209 

Flints  .     49,  50,  67,  68,  69,  152  et  seq. 

„      natural,  fetish     .          185  et  seq. 

Flotilla 217 

(See  Bark,  Boat,  Vessel.) 

FLOWER 232 

Flute    .....     233,  277 

Flutist .278 

Foot-prints 216 

Forehead     .        .        .        .         43*  45 


296 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Fortified  enclosure       .         .     201,  202 
,,         towns    ....     246 

Fortress 257 

Foundation  rites  .         .         .      220,  221 

FOUQUET 161 

Fox 143 

Foxhound 184 

FRAZER  .  .  41,214,215,272 
Fringed  band  of  hair  ...  37 
Frog  ....  102,  192,  219 
Fuegtans  .  .  .  .  14,  52 
Funerals  ....  266,  267 
Furniture  .  105,  133  et  seq.,  201,  275 


Gades 210 

Gallas 288 

Games 94,  178 

GARSTANG   .        .        ,        .        .     155 

Gateway 208 

Gazelles     69,  70,    112,    139,    143,  209, 
210,  217,  232 

Gebel  Ataka         .        ,        .        .256 

„      Dorkhan    .        .        .  256 

„      el  Tarif     .        .        .        .155 

„      Hetematt   ....     203 

Gebelein       .         25,  in,  112,  176,  178 

Geese 4 

Giraffe     73,  in,  122,  133,  140,  232,  238 

„       facing  palm-tree        .     234,  238 

Girdles     47,  49,  52  et  seq.,   157,  222, 

230,  232,  246 

„       with  narrow  strips  attached   259 

Glacis 207 

Glazed  pottery     ....         3 
(See  Pottery.) 

Goats 21 

Gold     .        .        .49.  68,  69,  102,  192 
,,     chains 102 

GOLENISCHEFF       ....       203 

Gondola 200 

Gora 273 

Gourd 108 

Graffiti  143,  144,  153,  202  et  seq.,  213 
283,  284 

Granite         .         .         .         .      177,  182 

Graves          .         .         .        39,  218,  221 

„       Greek       ....     274 

„       pan  .         .         .      149,  151,  194 


PAGE 

Graves  prehistoric        .          206  et  seq. 

Punic        ....       39 

Grease.         .         .  .         .27 

Greece 164,  284 

,,      pre-Myccnccan .        .        .23 
,,      primitive.        .        .      104,  109 

Greek 34,  280 

GREEN.        .  6,  8,  202,  206,  226 

Green  paint  23,  25,  26,  27,  28  et  seq. 

213,  229,  256 

GREVILLE-CHESTER     .        .69,70,172 

Griffin.         .         .         .      191,  192,  219 

„       winged,  with  hawk's  head     232 

GRIFFITH     .        .  .88,  142 

Groove 257 

GROSSE        .        .        9  et  seq.,  61,  282 

Gudea 69 

Gurob 146 


HADDON 60 

Haematite     .         .  25,  192 

Hair     35  et  seq.,  168,  246,  251,  256,  259 

277 

(See  Wigs.) 

Hair-pins      .         .         .      39,  40,  41,  75 
Hair,   side  lock  of  children  and 

princes 36 

Hammered  designs      .         .         .     223 

Hammurabi 243 

Handles  of  daggers  ...  69 
,,  instruments  .  .  71 
„  knives  .  67  et  seq.,  69 
„  whips  .  .  .140 

Hare 189 

Harmhabi  39 

Harp 277,  278 

Harpist         .         .         .         .         .     278 
Harpoons     .         .         .122,  128,  303 

Hatasu 162 

Hatchet        .....       99 
Hathornafer-Hotpu      .        .      28 
Hawk  .         .         .  39,  51,  190,  191,  238 
(See  Sparrow-hawk.) 

Head-rest 42 

Heads,  animal      ....       99 

i,       bird  .         .         .         .        15,  100 

gazelle      .         .         .         .275 

„       human      .         99,  216,  248,  266 


INDEX. 


297 


llfl.KKT 

Heb-Sed  . 
Hedgehog  . 
Hekenen  . 
Hekit. 


Hemen 
Henna  . 
Herbaceous  fibre 

Hl.f/KY 


.  160 
.  254 
71,  in 

.  .  258 
.  219 
.  286 
.  257 

.    .   36 

•   47 

226,  235,  247 


(onpolis  6,  8,  54,  56,  72,  90,  91 
94,  99,  101,  134,  136,  139,  157,  160 
163,  168,  169,  173,  183,  184,  185,  186 
189,  190,  191,  192,  200,  202,  205,  206 

208,  209,  212,  2 1 8,  226,  227,  228,  229 

230, 234,  237, 239, 246, 248, 249, 254 
256,  258,  266,  268,  274,  275,  277 

Hieroglyphs  4,  85,  94,  99,  113,  121,  148 

151,  203,  205,  208,  230,  238,  246,  248 

257,  287 

Hieroglyphs,  primitive  142  et  seq. 

(See  Writing,  Inscriptions.) 

Hill  tribes 256 

HILTON  PRICE     .        .        .179.  195 
Hippopotamus   70,   78,    102,    103,    in, 

112,  128,  132,  140,  142,  143,  152,  153 
176  et  seq.,  209,  219 

Hissarlik 149 

Hoe 238 

HOLMES 60 

Horn    .         .         .48,  49,  94,  175,  196 
Horse  .         .         .  190,  202,  203 

(See  Equidae.) 

Horus 248 

Hosi 4 

11  nt  I  en  tots    .         .         .         .      1 60,  16 1 
s  .  .  .  .       200,221 

HA 5,  124,  i_s 

Human  figures,  drawn  reversed  .     121 

„  female,  nude       .     14<) 

incised        .         .       69 

in  relief  on  vus<  -s     1 17 

Hunting  13,  i<;j,  210,  213,  214,  216,  219 

229,  230,  247 

„        lion         .         .         .         .184 

„        of  Apis  ....     212 

Huntsmen    .         .         54,  217,  229,  283 

Hyena  ....       143,  2\ 

J/yksus 285 


PAGE 

Ibex     .         .         .         .78,  83,  132,  232 

Ibis 143 

Idols,    stone,    from    the    Greek 
Islands      .        .        63,  156,  172,  276 

lllyria 164 

Incantations         ....     280 

(See  Magic  formulae.) 
Indian  species  of  animals    .         .     142 
Information ....         60,  65 

Initiation 26 

Inlaying 135 

(See  Eyes,  inlaid.) 

Inscriptions,  hieroglyphic  136,  248,  254 

257 

„          pictographic   32,    100,    136 
229,  243,  248 
(See  Writing,  Hieroglyphs.) 

Insects 143 

Instruments,  magic  horn      .         .198 

„  „      ivory       196  et  seq. 

„  of  music    273,  278  et  seq. 

„        (?)      •         •     278 

Intaglios  of  the  Greek  Isles          .       71 

Intichiuma    .         .         .         .215,  216 

Irkutsk 154 

Ivory  27,  47,  50,  5'.  52,  55.  56,  57,  68 
69,  71,  74,  76,  83,  95,  loi,  133,  135 
136,  155.  !57,  159.  l6o,  162,  164,  165 
168,  169,  172,  174,  180,  183,  184,  185 
1 86,  1 88,  194,  195,  196,  198,  200,  203 
212,  217,  224,  237,  242,  248,  251,  270 

275 
Ivory  lx>x 27 

Jackal     143,    189,    193,    214,   220,   230 

232,  254 
Jackal,  fantastic  ....     232 

Jr<|llKT -'-'7 

Jewellery 49 

Jews 45 

Kahylcs  .  .  .  1 08,  114,  116 
Kujtirs.  .  .  13,  121,  1 6 1,  273 
Kali it it  .  .  .  .  146,  152 

Kano 40 

146 

70 

Karnata    .    54,  55-  "«>,  '55,  !57,  246 

Kntanga 198 

Khasakhmui    .    105,  264  267  et  seq. 


298 


INDEX. 


Khebs-to 250 

Khesket 255 

Khufu  (Cheops)  .  .  .  191 
King  ....  246,  250,  254 
Knives  .  .  67,  68,  69,  224,  227 

Knossos 149 

Kom 208 

Koni  el  Ahmar    ....     264 

(See  Hierakonpolis.) 
Koptos  5,  39,  116,  152,  178,  181,  182 

190,  222,  224,  270,  288 

Kosseir  .  .  .  .  .288 
Kudu 117 

Ladder  ....  250,  254 
Language,  Egyptian  .  .  I,  282 

Lapis-lazuli 169 

Lasso  ....      205,  210,  212 

LAUTH 17 

Lead  .         .  155,  164,  190 

Leather        .         .      48,  51,  54,  68,  173 

,,       bottles     .         .         .47,  101 

,,       painted   ....       56 

,,       thongs     .         .         .63,  173 

Lecythi 278 

LEFEBURE 276 

LEGRAIN 203 

LENORMANT  .  .  .  .184 
Leopard  .  .  .  .  71,  232 

LEPSIUS 17 

I^eyden  .  .  .  5,  32,  140,  266 
L'HoTE  ....  3,  289 
Libyan  influences  under  Ameno- 

phis  IV.    .         .         .         .        32,  150 

Libyans  23,  30,  32,  34,  40,  43,  55,  56 

147,  149,  158,  205,  226,  257,  260,  276 

284 

LlEBLEIN 17 

Limestone    .   45,  93,  178,  181,  190,  259 

260,  267 

Limestone,  compact  white   .         .       93 
,,  nummilitic          .         .114 

red    ....     173 
Linear  systemsof  the  Creto-Aegean 

world 146 

Lines,  crossing  at  right  angles  .  1 1 1 
„  incised  .  .74,  94,  126,  135 
„  magical  ....  77 
„  parallel  .  .  .  .116 


Lion     69,  72,  78,  95,   178  et  seq.,   193 

211,  212,  214,  219,   222,  229,  230,  238 

239, 270 

Lioness 182 

LIVINGSTONE        ....      23 

Lizard 122 

Loin-cloth    .         .         .55.56,157,277 

London     5,  23,  49,  69,  72,  78,  81,  83,  84 

93,  99,  102,  HI,   113,  122,  129,   130 

132,  140,  152,  157,  164,  173,  174,  176 

178,  190,  192,  198,  266 

(See  British  Museum.) 

LORET 209 

Lotus   ....        63,  128,  142 
Louvre     3,  28,  39,  42,  54,  140,  229,  230 

242,  247 

LUCIEN 273 

Ltixor 176 

Luxury         .         .         .         .60,  66,  90 


Maat  . 

Macae  . 
Mace  . 
Mace-heads . 


•       39 
.     276 

211,  212,  254,  277 

.      53,  91  et  seq. 


,,  tortoise  form     .         .       94 

,,  votive  90  et  seq.,   249  et 

seq.,  275 

,,  with  animal's  head    .       94 

„  „     handles     .         .       93 

,,  „     human  head      .       94 

MACGREGOR    43,  51,  54,  78,  85,  90,  94 

95.  153,  155.  157,  175.  183,254 

MACIVER,   RANDALL  7,  8,  18,  84,   88 

119,  132,  157,  188,  210 

MACOIR 160 

Madagascar  .  .  .  .272 
Magdalcnian  .  .  .  .18 
Magic  .  60,  66,  196  et  seq.,  214  et  seq. 

290 
Magic  formulae    .         .         .         .219 

(See  Incantations.) 

Magic  instrument          .         .         .     198 
Magical    purport    of    representa- 
tions         .         .         .          214  et  seq. 

Mahes 140 

Majorca  .  .  .  .  .194 
Malacca  .....  66 
Malachite  .  21,  23,  25,  28,  105,  213 
Malta 164,  194 


INDKX. 


299 


PAGE 

Mantle  52,  55,  56  et  seq.,  168,  242 

(See  Cloak.) 


Marble 

„       blue.         .        . 
Margonfi 
MARIETTE    . 
Marks,  "alpliabrtifonn  " 
family 
geometric 
„       pottery  33,    133, 


.  114 
•  193 
.  106 
.   2,  4,  17 

.  .  146 
•  31 

.  .  146 

144  et  seq., 
203,  206 

property.         .15,65,139,210 
„       tatoo-  (see  Tatooing). 
„       tribal         .         .    15,  31,  65,  210 

Marseilles 54 

Mas  d'Azil 163 

MASPERO  4,  17,  28,  29,  31,  42,  56,  128 


PAGE 

Mortar 206 

Mountains  .  .  5,  1 16,  126,  131,  224 
Mourners  .  .  .  217,  274,  275 
Mummy  of  priestess  ...  32 


Mnnicli 

Music  . 

Musicians 

Mut    . 

Mutilation 

Muzzle 

Mycenae 


.     217 

17,  273,  274,  277  et  seq. 
.      119.274 


•       34 
.      181,  242 
.       136,  150,  194,  195 
(See  Ornaments,  Painting  the  body, 
Tatooing.) 

MYRES 40 

Mysteries 273 


163,  226,  250,  261,  270,  276,  280 

Naga-ed-Der 

6 

Mast    ....       121,  207,  210 

Naples 

5,  266 

Mastabas     220 

Nar-Mer  136, 

228,  246,  249,  251,  254 

Mats     ...         55.  104,  105,  135 

259,  277,  289 

Maxyes         276 

Navigation    . 

.     207,  219 

Media  no 

Necklaces     . 

47,  49 

Mcdinct-llalm      .                                270 

Negroid 

.     257 

Mediterranean     .         .        40,  114,  148 

Negro-Libyan 

.     260 

,,              civilization    .         .     284 

Neith 

30,  31,  144 

Mcdutn                 .         .         2,  3,  4,  190 

Nekhbct 

.     248 

Memphis      .....     264 

Nesa  . 

.         .         •         28,39 

Men     26,  35  et  seq.,  45,  109,  1  10,  117 

Net      . 

.       98,  254 

121,  123,  126,  132,  136,  138,  139,  140 

Niam-Niam  . 

.       52 

154  et  seq.,  201,  202,  203,  205,  211 

Nile     . 

•         .         .         .     285 

et  seq.,  224,  243,  250,  256,  258,  267 

Nobadae 

.        .         .         .     276 

274 

Nofrit 

•  3,  39 

Menes  or  Mena   18,  19,  88,  179,  182 

North  Africa 

.     290 

281 

Noubkhas 

.      42 

Mentu        220 

Xubia  . 

.     142,  288 

Meri-Neith      .        .        .        3°.  3» 

Nubian 

.    '     .        .28 

Mersekha         .        .        .        .254 

Numidians  . 

.        .        .        .    276 

1  /•-//'                                       i  So   it  ft 

.     142 

Mestem    29 

Oars     . 

1  20,  207,  209 

Metal    47.  54 

Oasis    . 

150,  276,  284 

//  statue    ....     160 

,,      of  Tuat 

.        .        .        .    276 

Min     .    5,  39,  88,  116,  144,  222  et  seq. 

Ochre,  yellow 

21,  206,  213,  2l6 

226,  242 

„       red    . 

.  21,  48,  206,  213 

OFFORD 

•       243,287 

»./•__.•_  _/jt_*                                                                                  \  £  A 

Oil  to 

•       154 

mtSSlSStpt      .          .           .          •           •      1i)4 

MrtH-i                                                                                        C  H 

Oil 

27 

Models  of  ostrich  eggs                  .       39 

Okapi  . 

.       112 

(See  Fortified  enclosure,  Houses.) 

Oran,  South 

.       205,  283 

300 


INDEX. 


Ornamentation   of  weapons  and 

utensils     .         .         .         .  17 

Ornaments  .         .         .         .          15,  63 

„  body  .         .         .  46  et  seq. 

„  forehead    ...       45 

Ornamentation,  geometrical          .     138 

,,  in  relief       .         .       99 

„  Mycenaean  .         .     194 

„  symmetrical         .       65 

ORPEN 273 

Oryx 232 

„      beisa 117 

„      leucoryx       .         .         .117,  143 

Osiris 254 

Ostrich  117,  121,  122,  132.  202,  205,  209 

217, 224, 232,  236 

eggs  39,  40,  217 

„       enclosures        .         .         .217 
,,       feathers   .         .          39,  40,  230 

Owl 143 

Ox 224 

Oxford  23,  25,  39,  41,  43,  63,  72,  84,  94 
122,  125,  133,  140,  161,  165,  168,  172 
174,  176,  178,  184,  186,  190,  191,  207 
211,  224,  226,  232,  238,  255,  258,  268 


Padan  . 
Pakhome  . 

Palanquin     . 
Palermo 

Palettes,  as  amulet 
incised  . 


.  45 
.  107 
.  251 

.       212 
.  .         85 

.  8 1  et  seq. 


slate     25,  39,  54,  78,  144,  192 

195,  202,  224,  230,  251,  255 

,,         votive     .         .          226  et  seq. 

Painting       .     26,  199,  202  et  seq.,  214 

,,        the  body         21,  26  et  seq.,  31 

„  „         among  the 

Greeks        .       34 
,,  ,,         in     pre-Mycen- 

aean  Greece       23 
,,  ,,         Roman  generals      27 

,,          the  bones  of  the  dead 

with  red     ...       26 

„          the  eyes      23,  27  et  seq.,  268 

Palisade       .         .         .  133,  208 

Palms  .         140,  207,  208,  210,  238,  239 

Panels,  wood        ....         4 


PAGE 

Pantomime  .....     277 

Papuan 15 

Papyrus        .         .         .         .      142,  199 

PARIBENI 278 

Paris 5,  33 

(See  Louvre.) 
Patina  .         .         .         .198,  203,  217 

Pavilion 254 

Peacock,  Taus  .  .  .  .129 
Pebbles,  polished  .  .  .25 

Pelican 191 

Pendant  47  et  seq.,  51,  76  et  seq.  155 

195 
Pepi   ......  280 

Persen 258 

Pesth 32 

PETRIE  5,  8,  18,  19,  24,  32,  36,  39,  41 
43,  48,  49,  50,  55,  58,  69,  71,  88,  95 
97,  98,  99,  101,  1 08,  114,  121,  127 
129,  133,  134,  139,  140,  144,  146,  147 
148,  149,  152,  155,  158,  159,  161,  163 
169,  176,  178,  180,  181,  182,  185,  190 
193,  194,  197,  199,  203,  207,  209,  210 

222,  224,  233,  255,  259,  260,   270,  275 
285,  288 

PETRIE,  MRS 257 

Petticoat 52 

Phaestus 278 

Phoenicians  .  .  .  .  147,  148 
Pictographs,  Cretan  .  .  .146 
Pictography  32,  100,  136,  229,  243,  248 

PIETTE 162,  163 

Pillar 212,  218 

Pilot 210 

Pig 189 

Pins     .        .        ..      39,  41,  73.  75,  I21 

PlTT-RlVERS  ....         69 

Pitt-Rivers  Collection  (see  Oxford). 

Plaiting 116 

(See  Hair.) 

Plants  1 1 6,  117,  126,  138,  139,  140,  142 

218 
„   of  the  south   ...  144 

Plaques 275 

„        glazed  pottery         .       32,  135 

,,        ivory       .         .  135,  251  et  seq. 

shell        ....       77 

„        wood      .         .  135,  251  et  seq. 

Platform       .         .         .         .     250,  254 


INDEX. 


301 


PLEYTE 
PLINY  . 
Poetry . 
Poland 
Polynesians . 
Porphyry  . 


PAGE 

•       50 

.         .         .     285 

17,  272,  280  et  seq. 

.         .         .     164 

12,  62 

93,  96 


PAGE 

Quartz 190 

QUIBELL  6,  8,  71,  90,  99,  101,  134,  163 

178,  222,  227,  232,  270 


Pottery         120,  133,  134,  155,  202,  270 

(See  Terracotta.) 

Pottery,  black  incised  108,  149,  151,  176 

285 

„        black  topped  .  123  et  seq.  140 

206 

„        cross-lined    .        .       108,  140 

decorated  113  et  seq.,  138,  202 

206,  207,  224,  230,  274 

„        glazed  32,  47,  58,  135,  155,  169 

173,  176,  183,  185,  186,  188 

190,  191,  192,  256 

,,  kabyle  .  .  108,  114,  116 
„  making,  origin  of  .  64,  104 
„  rough-faced  .  .  .126 

POTTIER 280 

Prayer 205 

Prehistoric  remains  (Kuropean)        176 

'95 
Priest  of  the  double  or  Ka  .         .     258 

Prism 70 

Prisoners      ....       99,  242 

(See  Barbarian,  Captives.) 
Production  ....   i2etseq. 
Prophetess  of  Hathor  .         .        .       31 
„  Neith     .         .         .31 

Protecting  genius  .  .  .221 
Provisions— the  dead  .  .  .218 
Ptah  ...  .  33 

„  in  embryo  .  .  .  .172 
Pteroceras  ....  223,  224 
Public  works  ....  250 
/'//;//,  /'«//;/,  or  /'mint  39,  50,  161,  162 
224,  288 
Pupil  of  the  eye  ....  213 

Pygmies 14 

nl  texts       .    39,  275,  280  et  seq. 
Pyrrnnean  palaeolithic  figures      .     162 


Races  . 
Rahotep    . 
Ram     . 
Ratnesseum  . 
Rampart 
Ranefer    . 
Red 


.  256,  283 

3 

95,  205,  237 

.  270 

.  207 

.   28 

26,  27,  206 


(JIM.   . 

(Juadrupr.N 
<J  lurries 


273 

74 

-"5 


„    Roman  generals  painted       .       27 

„    Sea       203,  210,  223,  285,  287,  288 

Reeds  .        .        .        .128,  165,  199 

REINACH,  S.         .        .         214  et  seq. 

REISNER 6 

Rekhyt 229 

Religion  .  .  .  60,  66,  289 
Religious  scene  .  .  .  212,  213 
RENAN,  ARY  ....  248 
Rhythm  .  .  61  et  seq.,  273,  280 
Rib  of  animal  ....  48 

Rickets 172 

Rings 38,  49,  50 

,,      ear 34 

„      finger          .         .         .         47,  51 

„      Kp 35 

(See  Anklets.) 

Ritual 28,  289 

Rivets 69 

Rock  crystal  .  .173.  >79.  *92 
Rosettes  .  .  .  .  69,  71 
Rowers  .  .  .120,  199,  209 
Royal  workshops  .  .  .  258 
Rudder  ....  207,  209 
Russia 154 

Sacramental  wine         .         .         .129 

Sacred  rites 129 

Sacrifice  .  .  .  .  212,  221 
Saghel-el-Baglieh  ...  68 
Sailing  vessel  ....  208 
Sails  of  boats  .  .  .  120,  121 
Sanctuary  .  254 

Sandals 249 

Sandwich  Islanders     .        .        .12 

Stinlnrin 109 

Sarang,  Indo-Malay     ...       52 


302 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Sardinia      .        .        .        .        .149 

SAYCE 203 

Scarabaeus    .....     143 
Sceptre      95  et  seq.,  136,  212,  213,  226 

267 

SCHAEFER 243 

SCHURTZ        .....      278 

SCHWEINFURTH    .    35,   50,    1 1 5,   Il6,   I2O 

121,   153,  259,  264 

Schwirrholz          .         .  273,  278  et  seq. 

Scorpion     100,  HI,  112,   122,   132,  143 

192,  219,  238,  280 

Scribe  ......         3 

Sea 115 

Seats 134 

Sebek 219 

Sedja 247 

Sekhmet  .....     220 

Selkit 219 

Semites 287 

Sepa 28 

Sequence  dates    .     19,  96,  98,  108,  144 
193,  196,  285 

Sereth 164 

Serpents       122,  125,  134,  140,  143,  152 
154,  214,  280,  281 

,,        facing  each  other  .         .125 

,,        interlaced       .         .         67,  71 

„        on  vase  ....     102 

Servants       .   174  et  seq.,  220,  249,  255 

SETHE  .....       31,  144 

Seti  I .        .        30,  34,  40,  43,  56,  209 

SETON  KARR        .        .        .        .51 

Sga  or  Sag        .        .        .        .192 

Sheath   for  projecting   the  lower   part 

of  the  body  (see  Karnata). 

Sheep,  long-horned      .         .  117 

Sheikh  el  Beled   ....         3 

Shell    .        .        .        .        .45,  49,  77 

Shells  .        .        .24,  39,  47,  49,  223 

„       in  glazed  pottery       .         .       47 

„      metal         ....      47 

„       overlapping       ...       98 

Shepherd 212 

Sheschonk  ....  226 
Shcyk  Hainddeh  ....  69 
Shields  ...  55,  56,  121 
Ships  .  88,  112,  115,  120,  207,  210 
Sicily -194 


PAGE 

Signature     .         .         .         .       65,  139 

Signs,  Libyan  and  tifinagh  .         .147 

,,       resembling  S,  N,  Z,  Y     121,  132 

,,       unexplained       .         .         .     145 

Silsileh 203 

Simplification        .         .         .        60,  124 

Sinai 212,  254 

Sinews  of  animals        ...       47 
Sistrum         ....     273,  278 

Sketch 206 

Skin  or  hide         .         .          52,  55,  203 

„     panther         ...          55,  56 

Skulls  of  bulls,  painted        .         .     194 

(See  Bucrania.) 

Slate  49,  77  et  seq.,   138,   226,  228  et 

seq.,  267 

Slaves  ......       54 

Sneferu     .        .        .  18,  190 

Sokaris      ....     210,  217 

Sokar-khabiu  ....      28 

Soldiers        .....       40 

(See  Warriors.) 
Somaliland .         .         .         .      115,  162 

Song 17 

Songs 280,  281 

Sorcerer       .         .         .  197,  198 

Soudan         .        ,         .        .      105,  106 

Souhag 69 

Soul 197,  278 

South  Kensington  177,  182,  190,  192 
Spain  .  .  39,  146,  148,  185,  194 
Sparrow-hawk  .  .  .  .143 
SPENCER  &  GILLEN  .  .  215,216 
SPIEGELBERG  .  .  .  264,  289 
Spirals  .  .  .  .  114,  115 
Spoons  .  .  .  .41,  50,  71 

STACQUEZ 52 

Staff  or  stick         .       119,  226,  254,  257 
„  curved  at  top  .     213,  275 

Stag 223,  232 

Stake 223 

Standard-bearers.  .  .  250,  259 
Standards  .  88,  190,  208,  230,  254 

(See  Ensigns.) 
Standards,  animated    .      238,  242,  246 

Star 100,  121 

Statues  .  .  .32,  258  et  seq. 
,,  archaic  .  5,  88,  222  et  seq. 
„  royal  .  .  .  266  et  seq. 


INDEX. 


303 


Statuettes  21  et  seq.,  30,  33,  38,  56,  57 

119,  155,  158,  1 60  et  seq.,  270,  274 

Steatite         .  70,  101,  191,  277 

Steatopygy  .        .         .127,  160  et  seq. 

STEINDORFF         .  8,  224,  226,  228,  248 

St.la     .         .         .  200,  258  et  seq.,  2;<S 

Stones  49,  76,  91,  96  et  seq.,  155,  176 

185,  1 86,  192,  266 

„   hard.    .  49,95,  108,  115,  139 

,,       soft  sandstone ...      94 

Stone-working      .         .         .         50,  96 

Stool 105 

Stoppers  for  leather  bottles   47  et  seq. 

Strabo 45.  210 

Straw 106,  115 

Studs  for  the  ears         .        .         34,  35 
„      or  toggles  for  cloaks  .          57,  58 

Suez 285 

Sulphide  of  antimony  .         .         .       21 
Sun  worship,  origin      .         .         .     286 

Syenite 91 

Symbol  of  divinity        .         .        .31 

„       of  the  king       .         .         .     246 

„       religious .         .         .        15,  212 

Symmetry     .         .      •  .         .         62,  73 

Syria 114 


Table  of  offerings 

Tablet,  ivory 

Taboo  . 

Tails  of  animals   . 

Tambourine 

Tatooing 


.     270 
.     203 
.     216 
54,  55,  230 
•     273 
23,  30  et  seq. 


„         among  the  Greeks         .       34 
at  Malta         .         .         .164 

„         decorative      .         •  33  et  seq. 
in  pre-Mycenoean  Greece     23 

„         medical.         ...       32 

„         religious         .         .  30  et  seq. 

Taurt 70 

Tchonktchis 14 

Teeth 48 

Tehuti-hetep  ....  26 
Tcl-cl-Atniirna,  ....  32 
Temples  .  .  .  221,  253,  254 

Tendons 48 

Terracotta   .         .        176,  189,  207,  274 

(See  Pottery.) 
Tettiges 38 


PAGE 

T Itches.  53,  173,  264 
Thinis 264 

(See  Abydos.) 

Thiti 27 

Thongs  of  leather         ...       47 

Thot 220 

Thothmes  III  .        .  32 

Thueris 219 

Thrace 163 

Thread  round  the  waist        .         .       53 

Tifinagh 147 

Tiger 214 

Tiles 135 

Timihu         .         .         .         .23,  30,  277 

(See  Li/yans.) 

Togo 55 

Tombs.        .        .  206  et  seq.,  218,  221 

(See  Graves.) 

TORR 207,  217 

Torres  Straits      ....      65 

Tortoise        .         .         .         .79,  94,  112 

shell       ....      65 

Totem 208,  215 

Totemism 220 

Touaregs  ...  45,  147,  276 
Toupis  28 

Towers 207 

Trap  in  shape  of  a  wheel  .  .210 
Trees  .  .  .  117,118,234,238 
Triangles  .  116,  122,  131,  133,  224 
Tribal  marks  .  .  .  15 

Tribute 255 

Tripoli 40 

Troglodites  .  .  .  .  214,  216 
Tuat  .  .  .  .  275,  276 

Tukh    .  .         .   22  et  seq.,  274 

Tunis 40 

Turin  .  5,  23,  32,  35,  266 

Turkey  or  pelican          .         .         .     191 

Tusks 48,  198 

Uazu 29 

Unas 280 

UNGER 17 

Unguents 49 

University  College  (see  London). 

Urine 36 

Uroeus 143 

Utensils  for  grinding  paint  .  25,  85 
Uzait 29 


304 


INDEX. 


Vaphio  goblets      .         .         . 

Vases,  ivory          .         .         . 

,,       pottery,  black  incised 


PAGE 

-254 

.     101 

108,  149 


„  „        black-topped  I22etseq. 

140,  206 
1  1  ,.  .»  with 

design  in  relief    122 
et  seq. 

,,  ,,        cross-lined  .      108,  140 

„  „        decorated      ii3etseq. 

202,  206,  274 

,,  ,,  M         m  imita- 

tion    of     hard 
stones     108,  114,  115 
,,  „        of  fantastic  forms      126 

et  seq. 

„  „        rough  faced  .         .     126 

,,  ,,        white  painted  (red 

polished)   108  et  seq. 
140,  206 

,,       stone          .         .   96  et  seq.,  201 

,,  ,,      cylindrical        .         .       97 

,,  „      fantastic  forms  101  et  seq. 

Vaulting       .         .         .         .         .251 

Veddahs       .        .        .        .         14,  S2 

Vegetable  paste   ....     164 

Veil      ....          45,  46,  165 

Vessel  ......     250 

,,        sailing        ....     208 

(See  Bark,  Flotilla.) 
Vibration       .....     273 

Vladimir      .....     154 

Volossovo     .....     154 

VON  HISSING     74,   108,   112,   128,   129 

142,  144 
Votive  objects       .         .     66,  90  et  seq. 

(See  Maces,  Palettes.) 
Vulture         .         .         42,  129,  142,  232 


PAGE 

War  .  .  .  .  .  217 
Warriors  .  .  .  .  54,  55,  99 
Water 120 

,,  ripples  .  .  .in 

Weapons 230 

of  state  ...  66 
WEILL  .  .  .  .  148,  254,  267 
WERNER,  ALICE  .  .  .  .198 
Western  Sudan  .  .  .  -55 

Whip 140,  222 

White  clay 21 

..  paint  213 

Whitewash  .....  206 

WlEDEMANN    17,  32,   112,   177,    277,   285 

Wigs 37,  42 

WILKIN 7,  8 

WILKINSON  ....       17,  217 

Window 200 

Wolf 214 

WOLTERS        .....         34 

Women  21,  23,  37,  38,  39,  40,  45,  51 

et  seq.,    56,    57,    119,    121,    127,    160 

et  seq.,  162,  175,   211,   213,  22O,  226 

274,  277,  278 

Wood  .  .  .  .  4,  54,  135,  139 
,,  sonorous  ....  273 
(See  Castanettes.) 

"Worshippers  of  Horus"     .         .     144 

Writing        .         .         .          15,  66,  142 

»        Egyptian          .         .          I,  282 

„        hieroglyph   4,    85,    88,   142  et 

seq.,  288 

,,         primitive          .         .         •     I5I 

(See       Hieroglyphs,        Inscriptions, 

Marks,  Pictography,  Signature.) 


Wady-el-Shcikh  . 
„      Hammamat 
,,      Magarah  . 


•      51 
203,  288 

212,  254 


Yellow . 
Yemen . 

ZABOROWSKI 
Zer     . 

Zigzag . 
ZIPPELIUS    . 


27,  206 
.    .    .  287 

.   144,  205 
.42,  49,  180,  182 

22,  40,  109,  III,  120 
.    190,  203 


Pnnted  and  bound  by  Hazt'll,  Watson  &  Viney,  Ld.}  London  and  Aylesbuty. 


ti.  CreVel  &  Co/s  Publications. 

Manual  of  Egyptian   Archaeology  : 

And    Popular    Guide    to    the    Egyptian    Antiquities    for 
Students  and  Travellers. 

Chapter  I.  Civil  and  Military  Architecture.  Chapter  II. 
Religious  Architecture.  Chapter  III.  Tombs.  Chapter  IV. 
Painting  and  Sculpture.  Chapter  V.  The  Industrial  Arts. 

By  Professor  G.  MASPERO,  D.C.L.  Oxon. 
KiiLjlish  Edition,  with  Notes,  by  AMELIA  B.  EDWARDS,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

With  309  Illustrations. 

New  and  Cheaper  Edition,  revised  by  the  Author. 
Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra,  gilt  top.     6^. 

"It  is  a  marvel  of  erudition  and  condensation.  It  sums  up  the  long 
results  of  thousands  of  years  of  Egyptian  civilisation  in  language  precise 
enough  to  make  the  work  a  handbook  for  the  specialist,  and  popular 
enough  to  insure  its  becoming  a  guide  to  the  antiquarian  lore  of  the 
country  for  travellers  in  Egypt." — Scotsman. 

"The  Publishers  have  conferred  a  boon  alike  on  tourists  and  students 
by  their  issue  of  a  fourth  and  revised  edition  of  Professor  Maspero's  '  Manual 
of  Egyptian  Archaeology,'  as  translated  by  the  late  Miss  Amelia  B.  Edwards. 
In  its  essential  features,  which  could  not  indeed  be  easily  improved,  the 
work  remains  what  it  was  when  first  presented  to  the  English  public  some 
eight  years  ago,  but  the  present  edition  has  been  carefully  corrected,  in  view 
of  the  continued  progress  of  Egyptological  knowledge,  by  M.  Maspero 
himself;  additional  matter  has  been  inserted,  and  numerous  fresh  illustrations 
are  given.  It  should  also  be  mentioned  that  by  the  introduction  of  separate 
page-headings  and  other  improvements  the  worth  of  the  book  for  purposes 
of  reference  has  been  considerably  enhanced." — The  Guardian. 

"  It  is  enough  to  mention  this  new  edition  of  Mr.  Maspero's  well-known 
work,  which  has  been  revised  and  enlarged  by  the  author,  and  brought 
down  so  as  to  include  the  latest  researches  into  its  subject.  The  author 
is  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  most  eminent  authorities  on  Egyptian 
archaeology,  and  into  this  manual  for  students  he  has  compressed  the  result 
of  his  vast  learning.  On  the  qualifications  of  Miss  Edwards — herself  a 
learned  Egyptologist— as  a  translator,  nothing  needs  to  be  said.  Over  three 
hundred  well-executed  illustrations  are  given,  and  are  so  chosen  as  to  make 
the  text  transparently  clear." — JHrmingham  Daily  Post. 

H.  GREYEL  &  CO.,  33,  KING  STREET,  COYENT  GARDEN,  LONDON,  W  C. 

20 


H.  GreVel  &  Co.'s  Publications. 


The   Ancient  Egyptian   Doctrine  of 
the   Immortality  of  the  Soul. 

By  DR.  ALFRED  WIEDEMANN, 
Professor  of  Oriental   Languages  at  the  University  of  Bonn. 

With  21    Illustrations. 
Crown     Svo,    cloth.       3^ 

"  Professor  Wiedemann's  treatise  is  quite  a  perfect  thing  of  its  kind. 
He  treats  his  fascinating  subject  with  marvellous  clearness,  and  the  reader 
follows  his  guidance  through  the  mazes  of  the  great  system  of  immortality 
with  breathless  interest." — Saturday  Review. 

"This  book  is  extremely  interesting  and  valuable,  and  is  a  model  of 
what  such  a  monograph  should  be." — Glasgow  Herald. 

"  For  the  first  time  we  have  a  really  sensible  explanation  of  the  reason 
for  the  preservation  of  the  body  in  the  mummied  form,  and  of  the  various 
transfigurations  of  the  soul  of  the  deceased." — MancJiester  Guardian. 

"  Dr.  Wiedemann  unravels  with  much  skill  this  perplexing  subject,  and 
explains  by  these  means  the  elaborate  ceremonial  which  attended  the 
preservation  and  after  care  of  the  dead  in  Egypt." — Spectator. 

"  Prof.  Wiedemann's  little  book  appeals  not  only  to  the  Egyptologist, 
but  also  to  the  student  of  religion  and  history,  as  well  as  to  that  larger 
public  which  is  interested  in  all  that  relates  to  the  thoughts  and  beliefs  of 
civilised  men,  when  set  forth  in  lucid  language  by  a  skilful  and  learned 
interpreter.  Henceforward  it  will  be  impossible  not  to  have  a  clear  idea 
of  what  the  old  Egyptians  meant  when  they  spoke  of  ka  the  double,  of 
ba  the  soul,  of  ab  the  heart,  of  sahu  the  idealised  body  or  human 
form,  of  khaib  the  shadow,  and  of  the  '  Osiris '  of  the  dead  man  himself."  - 
Academy. 

H    GREYEL  &  CO.,  33,  KING  STREET,  COYENT  GARDEN,  LONDON,  W.C. 


H.  GreVel  &  Co.'s  Publications. 


The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians. 

By  DR.  ALFRED  WIEDEMANV 
Professor  at  the   University  at   Bonn. 

With  73   Illustrations  from  the  Monuments. 
Demy  8vo,  cloth.     12s.  (Jd. 

"Dr.  Wiedemann's  special  faculty  is  Egyptology,  and  his  present  hook 
is  based  throughout  on  original  texts,  of  which  the  most  significant  passages 
arc  rendered  as  literally  as  possible.  Professor  Wiedemann's  work  evinces 
sound  scholarship,  and  merits  the  attention  of  all  who  are  interested  in 
the  study  of  the  religions  of  the  world."-  Atoming  Post. 

"The  excellent  illustrations  and  the  full  index  complete  this  valuable 
addition  to  the  literature  of  a  subject  of  perennial  interest." — Daily  Chronicle. 

"The  volume  before  us  is  in  every  way  an  advance  on  the  (ierman 
edition."—  Academy. 

"It  contains  food  alike  suitable  to  the  digestion  of  tin-  Antiquary  and 
the  Divine.  U  gives  in  some  300  pages  the  results  of  the  religious  advance 
of  many  thousand  years." — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

"We  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  volume  l>efore  us  is  the 
most  lucid  and  thorough  monograph  in  English  on  the  religion  of  the 
Egyptians  as  disclosed  by  the  monuments." — Guardian. 

"  An  admirable  piece  of  work,  well  illustrated,  well  translated,  and  well 
indexed."-  Saturday  A'< : 


The   Demotic  Magical   Papyrus 

Of  London  and  Leiden. 

Kditcd  by  F.  LL.  GRIFFITH  (Reader  in  Egyptology  in  the  University 

of  Oxford,  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at 

Berlin)  and  HKRBERT  THOMPSON. 

210  pp.  Royal  8vo,  cloth,     los.  6d.  net. 
H.  GREYEL  &  CO.,  33,  KING  STREET,  COYENT  GARDEN,  LONDON,  W.C. 


H.  GreVel  &  Co.'s  Publications. 


Famous  Art  Cities  : 

A   Series  of  Illustrated    Monographs  on    the   History    of 
the   Great  Art  Centres  of  the  World. 

Edited   by   ARTHUR    SEEMAN. 
Price  per  i>oluinc,  richly  illustrated  and  tastefully  bound,  large  %i>o,  gilt  top,  ^s.  net. 

Vol.  I.  POMPEII.  By  Prof.  R.  ENGELMANN.  Translated  by  TALFOURD 
ELY.  With  145  Illustrations.  4$.  net. 

Vol.  II.  VENICE.  By  G.  PAULI.  Translated  by  P.  G.  KONODY. 
With  142  Illustrations.  4^.  net. 

Vol.  III.  NUREMBERG:  Development  of  its  Art  to  End  of 
the  i8th  Century.  By  P.  J.  REE.  Translated  by  G.  H.  PALMER. 
With  163  Illustrations..  45.  net. 

These  charming  volumes,  as  regards  excellence  of  taste  and  wealth  of 
illustration,  will  compare  most  favourably  with  the  most  expensive  works 
which  have  been  published  on  the  same  subjects. 

They  will  not  only  be  a  trustworthy  guide  to  the  history  and  works  of  art 
of  the  cities  to  which  they  refer,  but  also  a  permanent  reminder  and  a 
perpetual  souvenir  of  the  objects  seen  and  admired. 

Monographs  on  Artists. 

Edited  and  written  jointly  with  other  authors  by  H.  KNACKFUSS,  Professor 

at  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  Cassel. 
Price  per  volume,  richly  illustrated  and  tastefully  bound,  large  8?v,  gilt  top,  4.?.  net. 

These  charming  volumes,  unique  in  appearance  and  illustration,  will  form, 
when  complete,  a  history  of  the  great  periods  of  Art,  but  each  volume  is 
complete  in  itself,  and  may  be  obtained  separately. 

I.  RAPHAEL.     With   128  Illustrations.     4j.  net. 

II.  HOLBEIN.     With   151   Illustrations.     4*.  net. 

III.  REMBRANDT.     With   159  Illustrations.     4*.  net. 

IV.  VAN    DYCK.     With  55  Illustrations.     45.  net. 
V.  DURER.     With  134  Illustrations.     4*.  net. 

VI.  BOTTICELLI.     With  90  Illustrations.     4*.  net. 

VII.  LEONARDO  DA  VINCI.     With  128  Illustrations.  4*.  net. 

VIII.  DONATELLO.     With   141   Illustrations.     4*.  net. 

IX.  RUBENS.     With   122  Illustrations.     45-  net. 

"  The  series,  without  question,  is  one  of  the  best  now  being  published." — Daily  Chronicle. 

"  Such  a  series  as  this  is  a  most  worthy  addition  to  our  sources  of  artistic  education.  As 
to  its  appearance  and  general  production,  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  tasteful."—  /,/rr;/, ->ol 
A///I'  .Mercury. 

H.  GREYEL  &  CO ,  33,  KING  STREET,  COYENT  GARDEN,  LONDON,  W.C. 


I 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY 


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5350      Primitive  art  in  Egypt 
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