Jean Capart Primitive Art in Egypt

PRIMITIVE
EGYPT
BY JEAN CAPART
PRIMITIVK ART
IN
EGYPT
PRIMITIVE ART
IN
EGYPT
BY
JEAN CAPART
KEEPER 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 208 ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
H.
S3,
GREVEL
1905
& CO.
KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W .C.
PRINTED AND BOUND BY

HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY,
LD.,
LONDON AND AYLESBURY.
XLO
PROFESSOR
A
W. M.
FLINDERS PETRIE
TOKEN OF PROFOUND GRATITUDE
PREFACE.
^
^HIS book made
its
first
appearance
in
the form of
la
-^
a series of articles
in
the Annales de
vols,
xvii.-xviii.,
Soci^td
d' Archdologie
de
it
Bruxelles,
1903-4.
In
March 1904
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

edition.
and enlarged
be
In this
that
way my book
which
is
will naturally
brought
before
public
perhaps most
prepared both to receive and to
criticise
it.
The works
Lubbock,
Gillen,
of English ethnologists, more especially of
Tylor,
Lang,
first
Haddon,
Frazer,
to a
Spencer, and
were the
to
draw attention
whole series
of problems of the greatest importance for a study of the

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

English scholars.
The
materials have, to a largfe extent, been

vii
drawn from
viii
PREFACE.
publications
ot
the
two
English
societies,
the
Egypt
;
Exploration
Fund and
I
the Egyptian Research
Account
from their pages
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
primitive
me
to study
and
to
photograph
in
the
relics
of
at
Egypt, gathered together

I
his
collection
University College, London.

I
cannot express
in
how much
am
indebted to him for the lessons

I
Egyptian archaeo-
logy that
of the
have received from him
at the yearly exhibition If
Egypt Exploration Fund.
my
it
book
is in
is
of a
first
nature to render any assistance to students,
the
instance to Professor Petrie that thanks are due.
Two
visits to
Oxford have enabled me
to
complete
my
I
collection
of notes and of photographic reproduction.

to
am happy
have
for
this opportunity of
thanking Mr. Evans
and Mr. Bell
their
generous reception of
me
at
the
Ashmolean Museum.
Owing
Shafer,
I
to
the
kindness
of
to
Professors
Erman and
have been able
utilise
I
much unpublished
i>'ladlv
material from the Berlin
Museum.
avail
mvself
of this opportunity of offering them
my
sincere thanks.
The
cordial
hospitality
received
to
from the
Rev.
W.
Macgregor has enabled me

of important pieces
in
draw attention
collection
to a
number
his
fine
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

It
is
also a pleasant duty to

Griffith
for
my disposal. express my warm

in
thanks
to
Miss
the
admirable manner
which
she has accomplished the task of translating this book.

AUDERGHEM, December
1904.
ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE
Chapter
I.
Preliminary Considerations
Chapter
II.
Personal Adornment
21
Painting the
Body
21
Painting the Eyes
23
Tattooing
Mutilations
30 34
35
Pins
The Hair Combs and

Wigs
Beards
Face-veils
40
42
43
45
Ornaments
Shells
47 ^7 47
Beads
Pendants
Bracelets
48
49 50
52 52
Rings
Clothing
Girdles
Tail
54
54
55
Karnata
Animal's Skin
Loin-cloth
56
56
Mantle
Chapter
III.
Ornamental and Decorative Art

J)
Generalities
.......
xi
59
sign
Transformation of a Natural Design into a Geometric Designs derived from Technique
59 60
f'3
Transformation of a Useful Object into an Ornament
64
Xll
ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTEXTS.

III.
Chapter
{continued).
Object of Decoration Art

.
65
65 65
Information
Luxury and Power Religion and Magic

Knives
66 66
67
71
Spoons
Combs
Pins
72
75
Pendants
Palettes
.
76
77
Incised Palettes
82
Maces and Sceptres

Stone Vases
94
95
Skeuomorphic Decorations
98
Human
Decorations
98
99
[OI
Animal Decorations
Stone Vases of Fantastic Forms
-
Pottery
[03 [04
Basket
Work and Matting

Work
.
Pottery copied from Plaited
108 108 [08 [08 to9
\V^hite
Hard Stone
Gourds Painted Vases
Floral Designs
Representations of
,,
Human
Animals
Boats
Figures
10 10
12
,,
,,
Decorated Pottery
,,
13
in
Imitation of

Hard Stones Plaited Work

.
14
15
Representations of Mountains Plants

,,
,,
16
16
i7
Animals
,,
,,
Human
Boats
.
Beings
19
,,
20
21
,,
Various
in Relief
.
Vases decorated with Figures with Decoration inside ,,
22
25
Incised Decoration
26
26
of Fantastic
Forms

Chapter
III.
{continued').
Xlll
PAGE
Vases of
,, ,,
Human Forms
Animal Forms
28
Decorated Boxes
Furniture and Personal Property
33
The Hearth
Ivory Carvings
Pottery Marks Primitive Hieroglyphs
"
"
[35
'39 [42
Alphabetiform
Characters
t5i
Cylinders
Chapter
IV.
Sculpture and Painting

Animal Forms
'52
Flints of
^52
Human Statuettes Men Women

Dwarfs
Captives Servants
.
54
f55
t6o
72 72
74
Vases
in
form of
Human
Figures
75
[76
Figures of Animals
Hippopotami
Lions
76
178
Dogs Apes
Cattle
183
'85
Quadrupeds Various
Birds
[88
189
[90
191
Fish
Crocodiles
[92
Scorpions
Frogs
Griffins
[92 [92
Bulls'
Head Amulets
.
'93
195
Double Bulls
Magical Instruments with Boats
Human F gures
196 199
Houses
200
201
201
Fortified P^nclosure
Sculptures in Relief
Drawing and Painting
202
xiv

IV. {lontinued).
Chapter
Graffiti
Painted
Tomb
Boats
Animals
Men
.... .... ....
of Hierakonpolis
Object of Paintings and of
Graffiti
Chapter V. The Earliest Pharaonic Monuments

Archaic Statues of Koptos
Statue of Hierakonpolis
First Cairo
Votive Palettes
Fragment
at the British
Fragments
Museum and
.
the Iôuvre
Small Palette of Hierakonpolis
Louvre Palette
.....
Museum
.
Small Fragment at the British Second Cairo Fragment
PYagments
at
the British
Museum and Ashmolean

. .
Fragment
at the
Louvre
Great Palette of Hierakonpolis Small Fragment at the Louvre

Ivory and Wooden Plaques Plaque of the Chief of the Anou
Private
Votive Mace- heads of Hierakonpolis
and Royal Stelae from Abydos

.
Statues of Libyans
Cairo Statue, No. Archaic Statues

Statues of
I.
King Khasakhmui
.
Hierakonpolis Lion
Figure of
Cheops
Chapter
VL
Generalities
Dancing Music
Poetry
...... ....... ....... .......

Conclusions
Dancing, Music, and Poetry
Chapter
Index
VII.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Fig.
I.
2.
The Geese The Geese
of
Medum of Medum
. .
........
of Hosi.
. . .
3.
Fragment of one of the Panels

.
.
From
a photograph
4.
5.
by Petrie Fragment of one of the Panels of Hosi

Figure of a
Figures of
....
Whole Body
Grey
clay
6
7
with Designs painted over the with black clay Grey paint
Woman
......
London.
6.
Women.
University College,
with greenish paint

7.
24
Slate Palettes used for Grinding Paint
8. 9.
Ivory
Box
in
Form
of a
Duck
.....
25
*
28
ol
Tatoo-marks of the Primitive Egyptians compared with those

the Libyans.
From VAnthropologie
....
Men
ID. 11.
Libyans from the
Tomb
of Seti
Fragment of a Statuette with Tatoo-marks on the Breast and Cabmet des Medailles, Paris Right Shoulder.
33
12.
Wooden
Statuette
ornaments
13.
.........
in
the
Bologna Museum, with Ivory
Pâr
Pottery Vase with Designs in White representing

Ivory Statuette.
14.
15.
16. 17. 18. ig.
Figure of a
A Woman
crouching captive
in
Ostrich Eggs.
Glazed Pottery. From Naqada and Hu
..... .....
.
fighting
36
37
Discovered at Abydos
38
40
41
Combs and
Band
a Pin, decorated with
of False Hair.
Animal and Bird Figures From the Tomb of King Zer
42 43
Head
of one of the Libyans from the
Tomb
20. 21.
Figure from the MacGregor Collection Ornaments for the Forehead
.....
of Seti
I.
.
44
46 48
22.
Pendants
of an
23.
Bone and Ivory
Arm
24.
Ivory Rings
....... .......
Bracelets,
and a Spoon with a Handle
in
Form
wearing a Series of Similar Bracelets

XV
xvi
PAGE
Fig. 25.
Huntsman.
Warriors.
Wearing
Clothed
a feather on his head, and the
tail
fixed to
his girdle
,,
54
in a
26.
panther skin, or holding a shield formed

56
in cloaks,
of a similar skin
27.
Figures of
Women. Wrapped
one of which
is
decorated
S7
,,
28.
Below are fragments of leather with painted decoration Evolution of the Representation of the Alligator in Ancient
Columbian
Art.
From Holmes
,,
29.
Evolution of the Representation of the nesian Art. From Haddon

Tortoise-shell
..... ......
Human
of a
61
Figure in Poly
63
30.
Ornaments from Torres

(a).
Straits, in imitation of the
Fish-Hook
,,
From Haddon
65
31.
Magical Decoration on a
Haddon
,,
32.
Flint
Knife,
worked and retouched on both Faces.

;
Museum
,,
.......... .......
Comb
Malacca Tribe.
length, 25 cm.
to
From
66
Brussel
67
largi
33.
Gold Leaf with Incised Designs, sewn on Flint Knife to form the Handle
Figures of
,,
34.
Women
and of
,,
35.
36.
,,
Ivory Knife-handle in the Pitt-Rivers Collection Petrie Collection Ivory Knife-handle.
,,
37. 38.
,,
Small Flint Knife with Ivory Handle. Petrie collection Fragment of an Ivory Knife-handle with a Figure of an Antelope
Berlin
Museum
..... ..... ......

a
one end of a
68
Boat on a gold Knife-handle

.
69
70
71
72
73
,,
39.
40. 41. 42.
43.
,,
Ivory Spoon-handles Ivory Combs with Human Figures.
74
Petrie Collection
75 75
Ivory
Ivory
,,
Combs Combs
with Figures of Antelopes and Giraffes with Figures of Birds
76
,,
Ivory
with the Figure of an Antelope and Ornaments derived from Bird Forms
Comb
,,
44.
45.
Ivory
,,
Comb, Recto. Ivory Comb, Verso

Slate
Davis Collection
,,
46.
47. 48. 49.
50.
51.
Ivory Pius decorated with Figures of Birds and a Bull's
,,
,,
,,
and Ivory Pendants Slate and Ivory Pendants decorated with Derived Designs Stone and Ivory Pendants with Incised Line Decoration
Plaque
in the Berlin
...... ..... ........ .......

Shell
(?) (?)
.
n
78 78
Head
79 80
81
82 83 83 84
,,
Pla(]ue in the Berlin
,,
52.
53. 54.
55.
Palette with a
Museum (Recto). Museum (Verso). Shell Human Figure at the Top
....
. .
.
,,
Palette with the Figure of an Antelope, the Palette in
,,
,,
Palettes in
,,
55A. Palette in
Form of Antelopes. Form of Elephants and Hippopotami Form of a Lion. MacGregor Collection
......
Head missing
84
85
86
87
Fig
xvu
XVIIl
9596.
Fig.
Decorated Vase irom Abadiyeh
.....
. . . .
pac;e
122
Vase with Representations of Giraffes, Ostriches, Crocodiles and Snakes. Berhn Museum
Decorated Vases
with
123
,.
97-
Ornamentations

,,
.......
Designs
in
Relief
and
Other
Rare
124
125
98. 99-
Black-topped Pottery with Figures
in
Relief
Vase of Black-topped Pottery with an Incised Decoration inside

Rough-faced Pottery with Incised Decorations Black Polished Vase in Form of a Woman
.
126
127
100. 101. 102. 103.

104. 105.
,,
.,
Clay Vases Clay Vases
Form of Animals in Form of Birds Clay Vase in Form of a Vulture

in
Pottery Boxes with Various Designs
..... ..... ..... ....

in
128
129
130
131
106.
Clay Fire-places decorated with Designs
Imitation of
aited
Work
134
.
107. 108. log.

1
Ivory Feet for Furniture, in the Shape of Bulls' Legs
135
,,
Fragments of Ivory carved with Various Figures
136
137
,,
10.
Fragments of Ivory Objects carved with Various Designs Carved Ivory Cylinders
Pottery Marks
M
,,
III.
112. 113114. 115116.
n
,.
Hieroglyphic (?) Signs of the Prehistoric Period Table of " Alphabetiform Signs Impressions taken from Cylinders
"'
...... ........ ..... ....

.
138
141
'45
147
150
153
117.
118.
Worked Worked Worked Worked
Form of Animals Berlin M useum Flint in Form of an Antelope (Bubalis). Berlin Museum Flint in Form of a Wild Goat. Berlin Flint in Form of a Wild Barbary Sheep. Museum.
Flints in
. . . .
'54
'55
........
Ashmolean Museum Ashmolean Museum
Berlin
155
119.
Figures of
Men
of the Primitive Period
156
157
120. 121.
1
T1
discovered at Hierakonpolis Heads discovered at Hierakonpolis Ivory Statuette from Ivory Abydos
Ivory Figures of
Men
.....
Museum
.
158
159
161
n
,,
123. 124. 125.
Steatopygous Clay Figures. Steatopygous Clay Figures.
162
163
u
,,
.Steatopygous Figure in Clay (complete).
126.
127.
Clay Female Figure.
University College,
London
164
165
128.
129.
Female Figure in Vegetable Paste. Berlin Museum Female Figures in Pottery, Ivory, Lead, and Vegetable Paste Female Figures
Figure of a
Ivory
in Ivory.
166
167
MacGregor
Collection
130.
131132.
'33-
u
,.
Woman carrying a C'iiiid on her Figure of a Woman carrying a C'hild.

.
Siioulders
Berlin
168
169
Museum
Ivory Figures discovered at Hierakonpolis
170
171
..
Ivory Figures discovered at Hierakonpolis
'34-
XIX
Small I'igure
IvoF}^
in Lapis-lazuli I'rom
135136. '37138.
Figures of Dwarfs
Figures of a
Vases
in
Woman standing Form of Women

in
..... .....
Hierakonpolis
in a
172
173
Large Jar
174
175 177
Figures of Hippopotami in Clay, Glazed I'ottery, and .Stone
139.
Hippopotamus
Black and White Granite
178 179
140. 141.
i4-\
'43-
.Small Figures of Lions. University College, London Small Figures of Lions Limestone Statue of a Lion from Kojjtos
.....
Dog
180
181
Ivory Carvings of a
Museum
[44.
Figures of Dogs
145146.
Part of an Ivory Figure of a
Natural Flints roughly worked to represent Baboons

Figures of
147.
[4.S.
Monkeys
in
....... ....... .... ......

....
Museum
.
Dog and of a Lion from Abydos.
Brussels
182
183
184
185
187
I'îgures of Cattle
149[50.
Camel's
Head
and Pigs. Ashmolean Museuni Clay, found at Hierakonpolis
188
189
191
Figures of Birds and of Griffins
,1.
152. 153154-
Figures of Frogs and of ,Scor])ions
193
.
Head Amulet in Ivory. Bull's Head Amulets Double Bull's Head Amulets.
Bull's
]5erliii
194
Hilton Price Collectio
55156.
Magical Instruments (?) in Ivory Magical Instrument made of Horn, from Katanga.
College,
....
Berlin
196
197
London
in
......
.
University
198 199
57158.
Models of Boats
Pottery Boat witii
Clay and Ivory Figures of Men.
59.
160.
161.
162.
.63.
Clay Model of a House discovered at El Clay Model of a Fortified Enclosure Graffiti from the Rocks of Upper Egypt Paintings on the Primitive Tomb of Hierakonpolis
.
Museum Amrah
200
201
202
204 208
209 210
Paintings on the Primitive

.Standards on
tiie
Tomb
of Hierakonpolis
164.
165.
Primiti\e Boats
in
Gazelles caught
From
166. 167.
the painted
Trap and Religious tomb of Hierakonpolis

at
('."')
Representations
211
O '> -^
Statues of the god Min discovered
Koptos
Hammered Designs on
Archaic
Statue
the Archaic .Statues of the
God
I\liii
2:5
i68.
discovered
Museum, Oxford
1
......
at
Hierakonpolis.
Asinnuleai
227
69.
Fragment
.Slate
of a Slate Palette,
("airo
Museum
Louvre and British
229
170. 171.
Palette with Hunting Scenes.
Museum
0.\ford
Slate Palette with Representations of Animals (Recto). Slate Palette with Representations of Animals (Verso).
232 233
Oxford
XX
Fig
CHAPTER
I.
PRELIMINAR Y CONSIDERATIONS.
^^HE special
extreme antiquity of Egyptian

attraction
to
civilization lends a
its
very
the
study of
minds are so constituted that, reaching back welcome every fresh clue that will guide us
point whence we can on paths which have
trace the
led to
first
into to
Our productions. the past, we

the
starting-
feeble steps taken
by man
more
or less brilliant civilization.
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
this
From
the rest of the world was
still
plunged
in the
Until the last few years, however,

curiosity
setting
;
Egypt has
deepest barbarism. not satisfied our
before
she only rendered it more intense from day to day, us a riddle the solution of which appeared un-
attainable.
about the
At the time of her first appearance in history, at commencement of the fourth dynast}-, she already
possessed a civilization which was practically fixed and complete. Language, writing, administration, cults, ceremonies, etc. all of
these
we found already
observe
traces
established,
and
it
was rarely that we
could
here and
there
of what
may
be
st}-led
"archaism."
One might
suppose, as did Chabas, that about iour
thousand years would be necessary to allow for the dexelopment " " is a of such a civilization. Four thousand years," he says,
period
race.
of time
If v/c
sufficient for the
development of an
intelligent
were watching the progress of transitional races, it would perhaps not be enough. In an\- case this figure makes
no pretensions to exactitude
to the exigencies of all facts
its
only merit
is
that
it
lends
itself
which are known
uj) to the present

I
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS.
So far as it was possible to trace accept any other explanation. back to the earliest dynasties, their productions rarely presented traces of archaism, and only peculiar circumstances, such as the
presence of a
that the
statues,
king's
name, permitted certain
bas-reliefs to
It
is
be
true
attributed to a period anterior to the fourth dynasty.
museums
of
Europe and Egypt contained

but
the
certain rude
which might be dated as belonging

d\'nasties
;
to the period of the
three
first
attention
it
of scholars
in
was never
seriously
drawn
to
them, and
a of
is
only
quite recent years
that their true character has
begun
of
to be recognized.^
Recently,
however,
current
at
series
important
Professor
discoveries
P'linders
has
changed
of
the
research.
Petrie
discovered
the
first
god
J//'//,
Koptos, in 1893, some roughly-worked statues on which were carved, in very low relief,
singular figures of animals, of mountains, and an archaic form At of hieroglyph employed to write the name of the god Min. the same time pottery was found of a peculiar type, which had
previously been known be correctly dated."
only
in
rare specimens,
which could not

Quibell, found
The
following year,
Dr. Petrie, aided
by Mr.
in the Naqada an enormous necropolis, where similar pottery to that found at Koptos, at the same time as the Researches carried out statues of Min, was extremely abundant.
neighbourhood of
simultaneously by M. de Morgan proved that they were dealing with I cannot prehistoric cemeteries. attempt to enter here into details
of these excavations, as
in
an article
in
have recently given an account of them I will the Revue de r Ujiiversite de Bruxelles?
I
content
myself
with
mentioning
the
principal
ex'cnts
which
followed the publication of that work. During the winter 1898-99, Professor Petrie and his fellow workers explored various prehistoric
These discoveries, b\' supplecemeteries at Abadiych and llu. material for establishing in those at afforded menting Naqada,
^
Berlin,
]5olngna,
Brussels, Cairo, Leyden,

fuoiiiimefiis cgyplicns,
London, Naples,
Brussels,
1902.
Paris, Turin.
See C'ArARP, Rccueil dc plates ii. and iii.

-
Remarks
011
Petrie, Koptos, London, 1893. Capaut, Aotes sur Ics ori<^/7tes de VEgyptc d'apri-s Us foidUcs rcccntcs, the Revue de V UiiiversUc de Biuxelles, iv. 189CS-9, pp. 105-139, tig. and pi.
^
in
PRIMITIVE ART IN EGYPT.
At a preliminary fashion the main outlines of prehistoric Egypt. the same time, Mr. Ouibell 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

excavations of Professor Petrie
dynasties at
in
in
the
the
following year by the royal tombs of the first
Abydos, which shortly before had been negligently
L
Fig. 3.-
-Frag.ment of one of the Panels of Hosi.
From
a photograph
by
Petrie.
Finally, the excavations in the explored by M. Amelineau. 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
welding together of prehistoric
complete and incontestable and the historical dynasties. Egypt Other excavations carried out at l^l-Ahuiwah and Naga-cd-Dcr,^
for a
'
The
result of these excavations

in
Dr. Reisner will be found
is not yet publisiied. the Ardiaological Report of the
short note
by
Egypt
I'.xploration
Fund, 1900-1901, pp. 23-25 and
2 ])lates.
and
under the direction of Dr. Reisner, for the University of Cahfornia, 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
to
in
the rituals, to discover
many
vestiges of that
civilization
which the archaic cemeteries bear witness.

clusions to be
The
general
con-
drawn from these
discoveries as a whole are, that
IG.
4.
KAl.Mt.NT
Ol'
ONE UF THE
1'ANEI.S
OF
llosi.
From
a photograph by Petrie.
there was a civilization anterior to the Pharaonic civilization, and

that this civilization produced works of art.
We
must here mention the principal works
in
which the
results
Most of these are in English, and of excavations were published. The most are simply reports of excavatitnis of cemeteries.
important arc
' :
Naqada}
Ballas,
Diospolis!;
The Royal Tombs of

c"vr
the First
Naqada and
with chapter by
"^
1895, by VV. M. Flinders Petrie Spurrell, London, Oiiaritch, 1896. Diospolis Parva, the Cemeteries uf Abadiyeh and lift,
F. C. J.
J.
F.
Ouihell,
189S-9, by
W. M.

(i.
Dynasties'^
and
(i.
ii.),
Abydos'ii.),
(i.
and
ii.),
due
to
Petrie
Hierakonpolis"^
and
Green; and,
tions
finally,
El
published by Mr. Quibell and Mr. Ainrali^ gives the results of the excavain
by Mr. Maclver and Mr. Wilkin

addition
to
the cemetery at
that
locality.
In
these
books,
each of which constitutes
monograph on a prehistoric cemetery, a work by M. de Morgan must be mentioned, entitled RechercJics sur Ics on'giiics de l' Egypte.^
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
This
is
the only book in
rapidly
deal
became out of
the
date,
in
those
generally with
primitive
chapters at least which ethnology of the inhabitants
of the Nile Valley.
We
must not
fail
to
of Leipsic, who a whole class of artistic remains belonging to the archaic period,
was the
mention the work by Professor Steindorff first to give an accurate judgment on
of which mention will frequently be
made
in this book.'"
Being at
Flinders
last
in
possession
chapters by
of Egyptian artistic
A.
C.
productions
1901
Petrie,
with
Mace,
London,
{Egypt
Exploration Fund).
1 Ihc Royal Toitibs of the First Dynasty^ 1900, i. by W. M. F. Petrie, with chapter by F. Ll. Griffith, London, 1900 {Egypt Exploration Fund). The Royal Tojnbs of the Earliest Dynasties., 1901, ii. by VV. M. Flinders
Petrie, London, 1901 {Egypt Exploratiofi Fund). ^ 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). ^ Hierakonpolis, i. by J. E. Quibell, with notes by W. M. Flinders Petrie, London, Quaritch, icyoo {Egypt Research Account). Hierakonpolis, ii. by J. E. Quibell & F. W. Green, London, Quaritch, 1902 {Egypt Research Account). El A?nrah and Abydos, by D. Pandall MacIver & A. C. Mace, with a
**
chapter by F. Ll. Griffith, London, 1902 {Egypt Exploratinn 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 were
les origines de V Egypte. L'dge de la pier/e et des nictaux, by J. DE Morgan, Paris, 1896. Recherches sur les origines de rE^gyptc. Elthnographie prehistorique et tombeau royal de Negadah, by J. de Morgan, Paris, Leroux, 1897. ^ SvEi^XiOKYV, Eifie ncuc Art agyptischcr Kiinst \x\ Acgyptiaca. Festschrift
''
concluded. Recherches sur
fi'ir
Georg Ebers^
Leipsic, 1897, pp. 122- 141.
anterior to the dynasties,
it
becomes possible
in
to enquire
whether
the question of the origin of art
Eg}-pt can be raised with
any hope of arriving at a But here we are face
solution.
to face
with an unforeseen
;
difficult}-.
The remains
furnish
are extremely abundant

statuettes,
the contents of the tombs

utensils
in
pottery,
and
various
limited number.
Of
all
these what should

are
in
we choose
can claim
this
of
almost unall
these
multiple
artistic}
objects
which
they that
to
the
title
is
of
The
in
is
because
of what
difficulty replying order to arrive at a solution
question
great,
we must
give a definition
art.
it
rendering
Unhappily this only transfers the problem without more easy of solution. We know how opinions
true
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
vary on
the
nature of
art.
there are 'i&w subjects in the world of which one can say with
Qnut capita tot census. were possible to transcribe the whole of the pages written by Professor E. Grosse on this subject.'Ît was his work, as I specially wish to observe, which first started me on the
truth,
I
more
wish
it
researches which have resulted in the production of this book but to do this would appear excessive, and I must content m^'self
with giving a
l)rincipally
"
summary
of
them
as briefly as possible, dwelling

"
on those points which should act as our guide.

of a science," says Professor Grosse,
is
The duty
this
to
establish
is
and explain a certain group of phenomena. All science therefore theoretically divided into two parts the descriptive
: ;
which is the description of facts and their nature and the explanatory part, which refers these facts to their general Docs the science of art fulfil these conditions? h'or the laws."
part,
first
part the repl\-
may
be
in
It
the afiirmalive
but can
is
it
be so
as regards the second part?
open and here Professor Grosse j)rovcs himself very severe concerning the productions of art criticism, which, in addition to complete
it
appears that
to doubt,
systems,
"
usually
infallibility
'
which
arrogate to themselves that majestic is the distinctive sign of .swstems

cclitimi, Paris,
air
ol
of
tiie
Grossi, Lcs Debuts de I'Art, Frencli
Alcan, 1902.
lo
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 The basis, from that moment we must refuse to accept them.
essential principle of scientific research
is
always and everywhere
the
it
same
should
whether research concerns a plant or a work of art, It is in consequence of not always be objective."
this necessity that the
in
having obeyed yet succeeded

artistic
philosophy of art has not
providing us with a satisfactory explanation of phenomena, notwithstanding the mass of material placed
the history of
lies art.
at
its
command by
"
The
task which
before the
science
of art
is
this
to
describe and explain the
denomination of
has two sides
"
an
phenomena which are classed under the phenomena of an artistic character." This task
indi\idual and a social one.
In the
first
case,
the object must be to understand an isolated

entire
work of
art, or the
work of one
artist
artist,
to discover
the relations which exist
between an
and
his
individual work,
and
to explain
the
work of
under certain conditions."
individuality working This individual side of the problem, is possible to study it with if it precision during the centuries most nearly approaching our own times, becomes more and more
art
as the product of an artistic
complex
as
we reach
side.
"
further back into the past,
we
the
find
ourselves forced to
If
it
and very soon abandon our attempt and to adopt
social
character
of a
work
impossible to explain the individual of art by the individual character of the

is
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 our
of
nation
is
or
of an
The
first
aspect
problem
therefore
epoch. psychological, the
entire
second sociological."
logical
As
Professor Grosse observes, this socio-
aspect
as
et
cjf
the
[iroblem
in
has
his
not
been
overlooked
critiques
as
early
poesie
1719
la
Abbe Dubos,
Reflexions
sur la
opened the wa\' to the sociology of art. Herder, Taine, Hennequin, and Guyau successively attempted
peinture,
to
ii
form general theories, or

;
decessors
but
sociological
else combated those of their preunfortunately, if the results obtained b\' these 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
all
by
the
erroneous
method which
forms the basis of
these
researches.
at the beginning.
other branches of sociology we ha\e learnt to begin 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
In
all
.
. .
"
the explanation of those which are more complicated. sociological schools have, one after another, attempted to find
All
new
All
roads
the science of art alone pursues
its
mistaken methods.
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
of primitive nations offered by not yet capable of resolving the problem under its more difficult If we would one cla\' arrive at a scientific comprehension aspect.
despises the rough productions ethnology. The science of art is
of the art of civilized nations, we must, to begin with, investigate the nature and conditions of the art of the non-civilized. must
We
know
task
the multiplication table before resolving problems of higher

It is for this
mathematics.
of the
reason that the
first
and most
pressing-
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 exi)ressions
employed.
Wc
begin with vague terms,
which we attem[)t by degrees

our
to define, only to find
on arriving at
first conclusion that there again is a term wanting in precision and requiring definition. Which, in fact, are the nations who can be called primiti\-e ? Here again the mcjst diverse opinions ha\c been expressed, and when stud)ing the proposed classifications, we meet at every step
with errors which lead us
to
:
Only
to
quote one example
review the results with suspicion. " Between an inhabitant of the
12

Islands
is
Sandwich
than
and
man
in
indigenous
civilization
to
the
Australian
Continent there
a difference
greater, no doubt,
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 Pol>-nesians and Australians in one group."
'
'
there any method of determining the relative degrees of civilization? That which is called civilization is so one any complicated, even in its simplest forms, that it is impossible, at
Is
any
rate in our day, to determine with

it.
any certainty the
factors
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 easil}-, if we
that produce
If
;
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 condiof production
tions indicated,
and that
is
production.
The form
adopted exclusively, or almost exclusively, in a social group

is
that
to
say, the
their food
manner
a fact
is
which the members of that group produce which is easy to observe directl}', and to
in
determine with sufficient
precision
in
any form of
civilization.
Whatever may be our ignorance of the

of the Australians,
religious or social beliefs
we can have no doubt
as to their productions
It
is
the Australian
is
a hunter and a collector of plants.
perhaps
impossible for us to
Peruvians,
know but we know

:
the intellectual civilization of the ancient

that the citizens of the empire of the that
is
Incas were agriculturists
is
a fact which admits of no doubt.
To have
nation,
established what
the form of production of a given
however, would not be sufficient to attain the end that
to oursehcs, if we could not prove at the same time that the special form of civilization depends upon the special form (^f ])roduction. The idea of classifying nations according to
wc have proposed
In the donn'nunt principle cjf their production is in no way new. 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
13
their countries.
full
Few
historians, however,
seem
to
have understood
It is easier to underrate than to the importance of production. exaggerate it. In ever\' form of civilization, production is in some
way
the centre of
life
it
on the other factors of
civilization.
has a profound and irresistible influence It is itself determined, not bv^
factors of civilization but
by natural
factors
by the geographical
One would
and meteorological character of a country.

in calling
not be
altogether wrong 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
Religious ideas have certainly not grown out of the necessities of production nevertheless, the form of the
independent
origin.
dominant
religious ideas of a tribe can
be traced
in
part to the
The belief in souls which exists among form of production. but its particular form the Kaffirs, has an independent origin
;
the
belief in
an
hierarchic
less
;
order of the
souls
of
ancestors
is
nothing more nor
than a reflection of the hierarchic order

in
its
among
the living
which
turn
is
the consequence of pro-
duction, of the breeding of cattle, of the warlike and centralizing
tendencies which result from
it.
It
life
is
for this reason that
among
hunting
cial
tribes,
whose nomad
order.
does not admit of a fixed so-
organization, one finds indeed the belief in souls but not of
the hierarchic
The importance
of
production,
however,
manifests
family.
family
nowhere so evidently as in the organization of the The strange forms which have been taken by the human forms which have inspired sociologists with still more
itself
strange hypotheses appear to us perfectly comprehensible the moment that we consider them in their relation to the forms
of production. The most primiti\'e people depend for their food on the product of the chase the term "chase" being taken in its
broadest meaning
If
and the plants which they
collect.^
we survey the world in search of tribes living in this elementary stage, we shall not find them in large numbers, (irossc ejuickly " The immense continent of Africa contains disposes of them.
'
pp. 26, 27.
14
but one hunting tribe

to
leaving
out of account the
pygmy
tribes
of the centre, the civilization of
whom
is
Kalahari Bushmen, huntsman find true we America In and surrounding countries. the Aleutians and the tribes only in the north and the south less agricultural, with or more others are All the I-ûegians.
us
are
these
completely
of the
unknown
the
the vagrants
the exception of
some
Brazilian tribes, such as the
Botocudos,
who
still
still
live
under very primitive conditions.

the Mincopies
of the
all its
In Asia there are

Islands,
scarcely any but
Andaman
purity
;
who
of
exhibit the primitive state in
the
Veddahs
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
being
that
its
whole extent by a primitive people
made of its European colonies we can also consider from an

not
exception
this
is
Australia, a continent
ethnological point of view as
the last trace of a vanished world."
Why
artistic
Here an objection arises. take into account the prehistoric populations, whose 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
degree, in the case of primitive Egypt, where the records is already such that we can picture to ourselves the
of the primitive Egyptian with sufficient accuracy I think, to distinguish those productions which merit the
to
same abundance of
in
the
life
be able,
title
of "artistic"
and with
pounded, with some

to solve
"
it.
return to the problem just proadditional likelihood this time of being able
this
we
In collections of Australian objects," says Professor Grosse,^
"one almost invariably finds wooden sticks covered with comIt is almost impossible to disbinations of points and lines.
tinguish these designs at the
'
first
loc. cit.
glance from
p. 17 ct seq.
those which are
Grosse,
'
15
found on the Australian clubs and shields, and which arc ordinarilyThere is, notwithstanding, an essential ornaments.' styled
difference between
the
two classes of
that
patterns.
Eor some time
we have
sticks
been
aware
else
the
so-called
desii^ns
upon
stick
nothing intended to remind the messenger

essential points of his message.
are
than a rude
kind
of
\\riting
marks
these
who
carries
the
of the
They have therefore a practical

In this instance our
and not an
aesthetic signification.
;
knowledge
the
prevents our falling into error instances where it is otherwise?
but
how numerous must be
could authoritatively assure us that the figures on the Australian shields are actually ornaments ? Is it not possible that they are marks of property or
tribal
Who
are religious symbols ? almost every time we look at the ornamentation of any primitive race. In very few instances can we give an answer. Notwithstanding the great niunber of
signs
?
Or
possibly these figures
These questions
arise
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 If the religious symbols, but they also serve as ornaments.
choice
determined by a religious consideration, the execution and the combination with other motifs, whether different or analogous, are always affected by aesthetic
is
of an
ornamentation
needs."
is easy to see what are the difficulties of the subject, and impossible it would be to discuss the cjuestion if one had resolved from the outset to izive onlv' definite and assured
It
how
data on
all
subjects.
It
is
therefore necessary to confine oneself
to multiplying observations
in
and studying the doubtful instances,

light
the
hope
that
tf)
permitting us
artistic
spring forth from them, trace with a sure hand the laws which goxcrn
one day
may
phenomena.
ideas, to
"
y\s it is necessary, a definition of Art, we will give

' '
in
sa\'
'
order
to
fix
our
:
with
'
M. Grossc
acti\it\final
is
activity
to
Speaking broadly, we mean by lesthetic or which is intended b\- its exercise, or

excite
a
direct
arti.stic
an
b\'
its
result,
sensation, which
in
most
cases
one
ot
i6
pleasure."

But we are careful
is
^
that
"our definition
is
add immediately, with our author, a merely scaffolding to be demolished when

to
our edifice
built."
some extent
outset
This has been a very long parenthesis, and it appears to to be a digression from "Primitive Art in Egypt." Nevertheless, I believe it will be of service in warning us at the
of the
difficulties
that
we
shall
encounter
for
at the
same
time
it
shows us what we
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
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
is
it
may hope
in
the future from a
asked ourselves? or
continuation
the primitive artistic productions and
those of dynastic Egypt ? W'c 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
ii.
arts of repose.
The
differ-
ence which separates them has Fechner (Vorsc/iu/e der A es^/ie///i',
been very clearly indicated by

5).
The
first
seek to please
by forms
masses
in
in
repose, the others

;
following one another in time

repose,
by forms either in movement or the first transforms or combines
and the other produces the movement of the or in time capable of attaining the result aimed at body, changes
by
art.
"
We
will
commence with
object
first
the
is
"
arts in repose,"
commonly
called
the plastic arts."
Decoration
of these, and as the
probably the most primitive adorned is the human bod}-,
we
the
'
will
most primitive
J.
begin with the study of personal adornment. folk are not content to adorn
in his
But even
the
body
Collier,
J'rimer of
Art (London,
creative operation of the intelHgence a view to utihty or pleasure."
"
the
1882),
p.
making of sometiiing
36, defines art as a either witii
PRELIMIXARY CONSIDERATIONS.
;
17
onl\they must also embellish their weapons and utensils. The ornamentation of these objects will occupy the second place in We shall then examine the free plastic our study of the subject. art (J'reic Bildnerei), which aims not at decoration but at the
creation of works which are in themselves artistic.
the transition between the
arts of repose
and the
Dancing forms arts of move-
animated (Jebende Bildnerei)

is
ment.
It
may
be defined
it
as "the art
plastic
which creates movement"

.
art.
Among
.
primitive
always united with song people dancing a convenient mode of transition to poetry.
study primitive
treated
in
and thus we have

.
Finally
we
will
music."
The
three last subjects

in
can only be
most summary fashion
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,

give
think
it
necessary to
some dates
in
order to fix our ideas.
Authors
differ
first
enormously
in
their opinions
on the subject of
Egyptian dynasty. which have been proposed. Champollion-Figeac gives the year Bunsen, 3623 Bockh, 5702 Lepsius, Wilkinson, 2320 5869
;
; ; ;
the date of the
Here are some of the dates
3892
Brugsch, 4455
Unger, 5613
Lieblein,
5004
Mariette,
5004
Lauth, 4157.-
Dr. Budge, Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities of
the British
Museum,
in his
recent History of Egyptf having quoted
the dates given by Champollion-Figeac, Bockh, Lei)sius, Mariette, " Of these writers, the Bunsen, Wilkinson, and Brugsch, ends thus
:
only ones whose chronological views are to be seriously considered
and Lepsius, Mariette, and lirugsch, between who.sc highest Viewed in the light lowest dates is an interval of over iioo years.
are
of recent investigations, the date of Lepsius seems to be too low, whilst that of Mariette, in the same way, seems to be too high we
;
Grosse, loc. cit. pp. 38, 39. in According to the chronological table drawn u[) by Wiedemann with reserve the date 5650. Aegyptisclie Geschiclite, pp. 732, 733, which gives
2
'
iiis
RuDGE, History of Egypt, London, ii)i>2. p. 159.
i.
Egypt
in
tJic
NeolitJiic
and Arcliaic
2
Periods,
i8

for
have therefore to consider the date
Menes
(the
first
king of the
peuplcs de
Egyptian lists) M. Maspero,

Sneferu,
first
arrived at
in
by Brugsch."
large
his
Histoire ancien7ie des
r Orient} apparently
accepts a somewhat similar dating. He places of the fourth dynasty, at 4100 B.C., "with a king
possible error of several centuries
more or
less."
Professor Petrie, in one of his

reign of
more recent Menes between 4777 and 4715.

in
works," places the
VVe can therefore admit,
taking a
minimum
date, that all the

to
monuments
dealt with in
;
this
book are anterior
the fourth
but having thus obtained a provisional date for the millenary termination of the primitive period, it would be equally advisable
B.C.
to assign
one also
is
for the
commencement
of that period.
But here
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,
the difficulty
still
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

find ourselves
in
to about
7000
B.C.^
As we
our
own country
face to face with
immense periods any precise dates

be established,
of prehistoric ages, without being able to assign

to
it
the different stages of civilization which can
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
has
chosen, and to that age the name of the deposit has been given. Thus terms have been created which are universally accepted, such It would be extremely as Chellean, Mousterian, Magdalenian, etc.
been
convenient to be able to do the same

^
in
Egypt, and new Guide

first
in
fact the
Paris, Hachette,
i.
1895, p. 347, note 2.

2,
In the
Museum,
5000
-
Cairo,
1903, p.
the
same author places the
to tlic Cairo dynasty at about
B.C.
Al)ydos, \. p. 22. 3 Mr. Maclver has recently attempted to combat these conclusions, but liis arguments are not conclusive. In his calculations he has not taken into account
that the tribe wlio interred in the El
Amrah cemetery may have been nomads
only return periodically to that locality, a circumstance tiiat would completely change the conclusions to be drawn from the number of tombs. See
who would
MacIver & Mace, El Amrah and Abydos,
pp. 50-52.
Naqada
which has been explored,
19
age, so called from the principal cemetery of that period is a term already applied to the entire
In scientific books the Naqada civilization, the primitive period. men 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 scries of 50. To these he has applied numbers ranging from 30 to 80, which numbers
To these represent the successive periods of the prehistoric age. numbers he applies the term sequence dates. The contents of a
tomb, when studied on the basis of these
classifications, furnish a
maximum and
This
minimum number,
the average of which indicates
the relative age of the burial.
scheme originated by Petrie

large
is
very ingenious,
of
intact
and
is
only rendered possible by the which have been discovered.

criticisms
to
number
Notwithstanding
the
graves various
to
which
his
m.cthod has been subjected, up
the
facts
present time no one has apparently been able to bring forward to contradict his results. It is owing to this system that
a statuette or of a
we can say of the type of
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

that
in the
pages of
this
book.
VVc must explain
numbers previous to 30 have been reserved in case a lucky find should bring to light monuments more ancient than
the
As I have previously mentioned, the point any already known. of union between 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.in

;
PEruiE, Sequences in Prehistoric Remains,

Institute,
tlie
Journal of
tlie
Antliropari'a,
xi.
pological
pp. 4-12;
^
xxix.
1900,
ol'
pp.
tlie
295-301
Petkie,
in
Diospolis
S.
Reinach, Review
i.
preceding
I' Antliropologie,
u/)o,
pp. 759-762.
Petrie, Abydos,
p. 22.
20
It
is

on the basis of these sequence dates that we can state during the
of certain objects that they are specially numerous first or second half of the prehistoric periodI
have endeavoured to multiply the

in
illustrations,
which can
text
is
be sufficiently numerous intended merely to serve as a
never
work
where
the
summary
of
:
commentary on the
is
monuments.
cated
in
The
source
of
each
the illustrations
indi-
When, for instance, there is following manner Ixiv. and Diospolis Parva^ the in text 'j'^, Naqada, pi. quoted ix. 23, the mark 78 will be found at the side of the illustration
the
taken from Naqada, and D. 23 beside that taken from Diospolis. R. T. Royal tombs A. signifies Abydos Am., A., or El, El
\
\
Amrali
etc.
These annotations,
I
in
connection with those at the

it
foot of the page, should,
think, render
easy to trace the originals

cases,
of the illustrations.
in Figs. 7
In
some very exceptional
especially
it
and
17,
which give examples of objects which
is
necessary to
identification
refer
to again later, the indications relating to the
of the objects will be found in

in detail.^
the passage where
thc}' are treated
concluding these preliminary remarks, I do not attempt It is, in fact,, to conceal the defects this work ma\' contain.
In
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 dav. I sincerely hope that in a few years new discoveries
will
have rendered
this
book
it
altogether
inadequate.
have
simply endeavoured to render

that
it
it
as complete as possible,
hoping
will
remain, at any rate, a
summary
of the question as
existed at the
1
moment
example
of publication.
of
Following
the
M.
Salomon
,
Rkixach
I
in
La
Sculpture
drawn the greater part of these figures (except those signed with a monogram). These must, however, fie considered entirely as sketches, by no means intended to
C7iropeenne
avant
les
influences grcco-rotnai7ies
have
myself
supersede the original putjlications.
21
CHAPTER
II.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
PRIMITIVE only exception
races paint almost the whole of the body. are the Esquimaux, who cover
The
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
In daily life he yellow ochre in his pouch. various smears on his cheeks, shoulders, or chest
is
content with
but on solemn
occasions he daubs the whole of his body.^

Is
it
possible to prove that
any
similar
custom existed among
the primitive Egyptians? First we must remark that "colouring such as red and N'ellow ochre, malachite, and sulphide materials, of antimony, are frequently found in the tombs " these
;
colouring materials are
usually contained near the hands of the deceased person.^
in
small bags, placed
There
is
no evidence,
believe, to
show
that the)- painted the
whole of the body, but there is a clay statuette which has designs painted over the whole body. This interesting object was discovered at Tukh it represents a woman, standing, with her arms
;
above her head,

ration
shall
of vases.
make
again in the decowith that subject we chapter dealing an attempt to determine, if possible, the meaning of
in
a pcxsition the
we
shall
find
In
this attitude.
designs painted on this statuette are of various kinds. In the first place there arc figures of animals, goats or antelopes,
The
which Pctrie remarks are absolutely identical with those on the

'
^ ^
Gkosse, Lcs Debuts de VArt^ P- 4iRechcrches sur lcs origincs dc I'Egyph-, Petrie, Naqada, p. 30.
De Morgan,
ii.
p. 51.
22
red pottery with white line decoration. should next observe the zigzag patterns, and finally the nnotives borrowed from plants.
All these decorations occur
We
the
commencement
upon the pottery contemporary with 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
THE
Woman with Designs Whole Body.
painted over
Gre}' clay with black paint.
in
the caves of the south of France

this
reproducing
find a
large
M. de Morgan, (Fig. 5). same figure, remarks that "it would be easy to number of analogies among the tribes of Central
^
Africa, of Asia,
'
and of Oceania."
Petrie, Naqada, pi. lix. 6 (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford). The examples of pottery quoted by Petrie for comparison with the paintings are the following
:
pi.
x.wiii.
-
34,
48;
pi.
xxix.
-jj,
^d,
91-95.
De Morgan,
Recherches
siir les origincs
dc I'Kgypte,
ii.
p.
56, tip.
ini.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
The most
intcrestini;
23
comparison from
this
one indicated by Petrie, who observes how designs on the body recall the tatoo-marks of the populations to the west of Egypt, those Tiinihu (Libyans) who, as we
shall frequently
point of view is greatly the painted
have occasion to remark, present
many
analogies
with the primitive Egyptians. consider presently.
The
in
subject of tatooing
we
shall
Two
clay female
figures
the Petrie collection, University
College, London, and
similar
fragment
in
the
Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford,
those on the
It
are also
painted with designs analogous with

6).
Tukh
statuette^ (Figthat
will
is
body
were
Also,
in
it
evidence relating to painting the very scanty, and only enables us to assert that women the habit of decorating the body with various patterns.
thus
be seen
we
not absolutely certain, in the objects quoted here, that it is only the discovery of have not to deal with tatooing
is
;
colourin"- materials in
the tombs that leads us
to
believe
that
they are instances of painting.-
On
clearer
the subject
of painting
for this
the
to powder and
purpose apparently mixed with some With this paint a rather broad line was drawn
:
evidence
eyes we happily possess far malachite was used, ground

fatt\-
substance.
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. '1 he same author compares the coating of colour which [)reser\-cd the e)'c 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 (jf the snow.'
My attention has been drawn to similar figures at the Turin Museum, which show distinctly the line ol" paint below the eyes which we are about to
'
consider.
'^
For
painting
the
body
and
tatooing
in
pre-Mycenajan
Greece,
see
Blinkenberg,
civilisatiofi
de
tudc sur la plus ancwnnc prcinyccnicniics. la G/rcc; in the IVlcmoircs dc la Sucliitc royalc dcs antiqiiaircs
Atitiqtiiics
du Noni, new
^
series,
1896, pp. 46-50.

\>.
Petkik, Dlospolis parva,
20.
24
Fig.
6.
Figures
of
Women.
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
Shells containing green paint have been discovered in the tombs,^ and similar traces of colour have
during the primitive period.
Petrie, Naqada,
p.
6,
toml) 522
Ballas
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.^
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 grinding- (Eig. 7)
Petrie
has
also
occasionally
found
traces
of
h.ematite
on
them.
The
torn])
palettes were
fated
to
fulfil
brilliant
destiny.
Later
87 Ballas.
The same use
of sliells in the fourth dynasty has also been

"
:
Tlic shell See Petrie, Median, London, 1892, pi. x.\i.\-. 17, p. 3.1 contains powdered blue carbonate of copper as paint." Petrie, Naqada, pp. 10, 19, tomb 5 Naqada. A tine specimen of a palette
established.
'
with traces of paint, from Gebelein, at Oxford. * Petrie, Naqada, p. 43.
26

art,
on we find them developed into real works of size and apparently employed ceremonially.
of
immense
must mention the custom that existed in the primitive of paintintj the bones of the deceased with red colour. period Australians the adolescent is painted red for the the Among
first
We
time at his
"
initiation,
when he
^
joins the
community
of the
life,
is
men.
Painting with red, characteristic of entrance into

also for death."
employed Without more evidence than we possess we cannot determine how far this custom was general among the primitive
Egyptians.
Petrie.'^
I
have only met with one instance mentioned by
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
?
P'rom the earliest times the skin of the

is
men on
yellow.
the
monuments
generally represented as being of a brownish red colour, dark

tone,
in
while
the skin of the
women
is
M. Maspero,
expresses
in his Histoire ancienne des peuplcs de
V Orient
classiqiief
himself thus on the subject

red
all
"
:
The men
are generally coloured
in
these
pictures
in
fact,
one can observe

at
among them
the shades
seen
among
the population
the present day,
from the most delicate pink to the colour of smoked bronze.
The women, who

the upper classes."
are less exposed to the glare of the sun, are

if
usually painted yellow, the tint being paler
they belonged
to
It even might very easily be accepted. to the the red and yellow colourings which exceptions explains we observe on a certain number of monuments, where the
This explanation
skin
of
is
the
women,
nearly
fen"
instance,
instead
colour.
of
being
painted
1
yellow,
will
in
very
the
natural
As an example
mention the figure of a daughter of Prince Tehuti-hctep, the tombs of V\ Bersheh or, again, the representations
^
;
Grossi-:, loc.
cit.
pp. 41, 42.
Naqada,
Vol.
i.
p. 25,
tomb
234.
''
p. 47.
i.
Newberry, El Bersheh,
frontispiece.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
of
27
Queen
Aahmes
flesh
at
Deir-el-Bahari,
and
of
Queen
Thiti,
where the pink

of other
ladies
colours
in
contrast with
those of thousands
painted
bright
yellow on the walls of their

in
tombs.^
I,
however,
am
disposed to see
the
singular colouring of
Egyptians a custom resembling that of primitive nations, especially as the colours employed, red and yellow, are those
the
most frequently
"
in
use
among
them.
Analysing the primitive

"
:
palette,"
Grosse thus expresses

is
himself
Red,
especially
yellowish red, it is of almost
the
all
favourite
. . .
colour of primitive
his FarbenleJire he
It
is
peoples, as
nations.
Goethe undoubtedly expresses

for this
the general sentiment
when
in
exciting
influence of a yellowish red.
speaks of the reason that
in
red has always played an important part in the toilet, especially 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.

I
."
believe
ciples to
by no means impossible to apply these printhe Egyptians, and although do not wish to assert
it
is
that
in
the
custom
at
all
of
painting
the
I
skin
in
this
manner
a
rise in
was
fairly
vogue
periods,
yet
suppose
that
during
long period it was sufficiently convention of representing men
general to in red and
give
to
the
women
yellow.^
The custom
can
with
round the eyes with green or, more accurately, of underlining the eye with a dash of green paint
of painting
much
greater
certainty
be
attributed
to
Egyptian
civilization.
Petrie reports that he discovered in a
(M.
I.
tomb of the first dynasty in a small i\or>- box some malachite Abydos) powdered
Naville, Dcir-el-Bahari, iii. pi. l.wii. Benedite, Le Jombcau dc la rcine Memoires de la Mission atrlieologif/i/c ffaufaisc du Cairc, v. p. 397. ^ Grosse, Les Debuts de PArt, pp. 45-47. " 3 Maspero, Histoire ancicnne dcs peiiples dc l' Orient class/(/itc, i. p 54 Je on d'liiiile.' de mrml)res ils s'enduisaieiit tons Ics bien debut fjraissc pense (lu'au
Thiti, in the
:
Why
not grease, or
oil,
however, Schweinfurth,
coloured by means of mineral or vegetable dyes ? See, Origin and present cofidition of the Egyptians, in
.xx.xvi.
Baedeker, Egypt,
5th ed. Leipsic, 1903, p,
28
in

the
very interesting object as prototype 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 - (Fig. 8).
of the numerous boxes
form of a duck
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
The monuments
named Sokar-khabiu,
"
who was
called
Hathornefer-Hotep as her
this woman's features great name, and Toupis as her short name she has a line of green paint under the recall the Nubian type ^ The celebrated statues of eyes."
;
Sepa and of Nesa have the same lines.

the
eyelids,
at
"
the
Louvre
pupils,
The
eyebrows are painted black, and below the eyes

Fig.
and the
'
S.-^kv
Box
in
Form
''^
'^
^'^^
of green."
The
mummy
com-
OF A Duck.
of Ranefcv,
who
lived about the
mencement of the fourth dynasty, was closely enveloped in linen wrappings, and on these the eyes and eyebrows were painted
green.'''
The green powder used

in
in
small bags, which
are frequently
as
preparing the paint was enclosed represented in the lists of

these
the
pictured
offerings.
They were made,

or
skin,"
show,
of leather
and
specimens
representations 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
paints
in
in 'use at
Pharaonic Egypt, nor stop to describe the various the same period. It would have no bearing on
Petrie,
I
pi.
xxxvii.
-
Diospolis see 27
p.
fiaum,
;
p.
20.
Published
in
Petrie, Royal
Tombs,
i.
id.
ii.
p. 37.
in Petrie, Kahim, Giirob and Hazvara, pi. xviii. 10, and two Others in Leemans, Acj^yptisc/ie oiiumcntcn van Jict Nedoiandschc Muscn77i van Oudheden te Lcydcn, ii. pi. xxxvi. 565, 567. Maspero, Guide to the Cairo Museum, Cairo, 1903, p. 40, No. 62.
p.
An example
;
35
''
'
^ "
De Rouge, Notice des monu^ncnts, A Petrie, Medmn, p. 18.

Griffith, Beni Hasan,
iii.
36-38, pp. 26, 27,
pi.
iii.
27, p. 14.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
the
subject
29
of this
I
work, and
done by
others.^
it h;is ah-cady been admirably must, however, mention the traces left in
green paint. hieroglyphic sign :^&= clearly shows the line of colour drawn below the eye, and this sign, in addition to other uses, serves
Egyptian writing and
ritual
b\'
this use of
to determine the
name
Uazii
Y^ o
of the
powder and of
green paint.^
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 Uaait, the painted eye, was called the sound
In
the
rituals
or healthy eye.
This
point
has
been
rendered perfectly clear

in
by Maspero, who has several times The daily ritual of the divine
funerary rituals,
henlthy with
I'inally,
written on the subject.^

cult
Egypt, and also the
mention bringing a bag of green paint as a means whereby the god, or the deceased person, " makes himself
all
that
is
in
him.""*
is
curious
text
expressed
for
in
these terms
"
:
He
brings thy right eye, green paint [another paint] for thy left eye."'' The designs with which primitive man paints his skin ha\-c
to
thee
and
mcstein
no persistency of character
others
substituted.
they can be got rid of at Under some circumstances it

;
will
and
be
may
Wiedemann, A., Varieties of ancie)it Ko/il,'' in PErRU';, Medioii, pj). 41-44. Florence & Loret, Le collyre 7ioir et le collyrc vert du toinbcau dc la princesse Nonbhotep, in De Morgan, Fouilles a Dalichour, March Jnne, 1894,
'
''
1895, Review of Davies, April 22nd, 1901, p. 308. Ptahhotcpy i. see pi. v. 33 for tlie exact representation of the sign. Masi'ero, Notes au jour le jour, 25, in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archa;ology, xiv. 1902, pp. 313-316, and La table d'offrandes des tombeaux egyptiens, in the Revue de I'histoire des religions, xxxv. 1897, p. 297 (separate
pp.
153-164; also printed separately, Vienna,
16 pp.
Maspero, Revue
;
critique,
'*
reprint,
p.
23).
Fetrie, en
Medum,
pi.
xiii.
Mariette,
Monuments
divers,
recueillis en li.gypte et
Italic, Târis, 18S9, pi. xix. b,
where
^ If
[)
occurs from a
000
mastaba of the beginning of the fourtli dynasty. " See Moret, Le rituel du culle divin journalier
en-
figyple, in the
Annates
du Musee
'
Guiifict,
Von
Bibliotheque d' etudes, xiv. p]>. 71, 109, 199. Lemm, Das Ritualbuch des Ammondienstes, Leipsic, 18S2,
p.
68.
30
PRLMITIVE ART IN EGYPT.

them
indelible
desirable to render
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 from the primitive Egyptian figures between distinguish clearly
what was tatooed and what was painted.

were apparently
in
The same
patterns
use for both.
As
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 ( 1 iiniJiu) of the tomb of Scti I. This comparison, extended
^
Fig. 9.
IB
Tatoo-marks
of the Primitive Egyptians compared with those of the libyans.
From
V Anihyopologie.
to the tatoo-marks of the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria, has
shown
close analogy
between them
all
(Fig. 9).
We
Seti
to
I.^
reproduce here a group of Libyans from the tomb of (Fig. 10), to which we shall several times have occasion
It
is
is
refer.
especially
interesting
to
note
that
one
of
the
tatoo-marks
>cz3:;,
glyph
of
the
very accurate reproduction of the hieroand in this symbol of the goddess Neitk
a
;
connection
we
are
led
to
consider
the
name
of
the
wife
an Egyptian king of the first dynasty called Meri-Neith. " M. Maspero writes thus on the subject The name of Mcri:
Wiedemann, Die U?'2ett Aegyptens iind seine dlteste Bevolkcrung, in Die Umsc/iau, September 23rd, 1899, pp. 756-766. Lcs modes d'cttsci'elisscment dans la necropolc de Negadah ct la. question de I'origine dii peiiplc cgypticii^ in
'
De Morgan,
Naqada,
xi.
-
Rechei-ches sitr les origincs de rj^gypie,
ii.
pp. 221, 222.
Petrie,
pp. 45, 46.
Tatouages des indigejies dc I'Algerie, in
r AntJiropologie,
136.
1900, p. 485.
Lei'sius, Detikmiiler aus
Aegyptoi mid Aethiopicn,
iii.
pi.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
Neith
is
31
"
interesting," apart
we were already aware from

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

/\^S/,^yvNAy
VI
I'lG.
10.
LlBYA.Nb
FROM THE ToMli UK
Si, 11
1.
of the
one.
This leads us to enquire whether the painting and tatooing body had not some other object, in addition to an aesthetic
In order to
answer
this
we must examine our
ethnolosfical
evidence.
and as
divinity
it
Family and tribal marks are generally to be recognized, sometimes happens that a tribe selects the symbol of a
its
for
distinctive
mark, there
is
chance of finding
religious signs
'
among
the
tatoo-marks.^
ctilique,
Maspero,
in
Revue
November
I2th,
1900, p. 366.
For the
contrary opinion, hut witli inadequate arguments, see MacIver & Wilkin^ For Meri-Neith see Sethe, Bcitriigc Liliyan Notes, London, 1901, pp. 69, 7c. zur dltesten Geschichte Aegyptens {U/ife/snchu/igen zur (ieschichte uiid Aller-
thuniskunde Aegypletts, herausgegeben von Kurt Sethe, ^ Grosse, loc. cit. p. 55 ct. scq.
iii.
i),
pp. 2y, 30.
32
Occasionally tatoo-marks are actually pictographic, and convey a meaning. An American Indian, for instance, bore on his arm.
Also, tatooing mysterious power." zigzag lines signifying may be intended to serve a medical purpose.^ The Egyptians of the classical period tatooed themselves occasionally on the
breast
or
"
^
on the
This
divinities.
arms with the names or representations of custom was perhaps exclusively confined to
;
the
Second Theban Empire
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 Aten tatooed upon the breast and arms. With reference to this subject Professor Wiedemann remarks that Libyan influence can clearly be traced during this ^ A stela in the Pesth Museum shows a personage conreign.
temporary with Thothmes
III.,
who
bears
on
his
right
arm a
cartouche of that king.* 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.^
Another statue
in
the
Leyden
Museum (D
Amon-Ra,
'
19) bears on the right shoulder a small figure of and on the left shoulder the cartouche of Amenophis
Tentli Atmual Report of tlie Bureau of Ethnology, xvii. Washington, p. 235. E.xamples by HoERNES, 1893, \i\. Urgeschichte der bildendcn Kunst in Europa von den Anfdngcn bis jnn 500 vor There the author also mentions the Libyans Chr., Vienna, 1898, p. 31, note 4.
Garrick Mallei^y,
1888-9,
of the
^
tomb of Seti I. FouQUET, Le Tatouage medical en fUgypte dans

in
I'antiquite et a
xiii.
Vepoque
et
scq.
actuellc,
the Archives d' anthropologic criniinelle, See BuscHAN in the Ccntralblatt fur Anthropologic,
1899, p. 09.
1899, p.
270
R.
iv.
p. 75,
and
Verxeau
tlie
in I'Anthropologie, x.
Professor Petrie draws
my
attention to
of a priestess of the sixth dynasty, in Cairo, wlicre there are tatoo-mariis on the body.
^
mummy
numerous
Urzeit Aegyptens ... in Die Umschau, iii. 1899, P- 7^6, and Recherches sur les origines de I'Egyptc, ii. p. 222. For the Professor Petrie figured representations see LEPsms, Denkmdleri iii. pi. 106, 109. has remarked to me that in this case tlie so-called tatoo-marks may be, in reality,
Wiedemann, Die
in
De Morgan,
small plaques of glazed pottery fixed on fine muslin. plaques are found with the name of the god Aten.
'
At Tel-el-Amarna similar
dliistoirc,
in
Maspero, Azotes sur differcnts points de g7-ammaire et Melanges dârcheologic cgyptienne ct assyrienne, i. 1872, p. 151.
*
the
M.\SPEô, Histoire ancie7tnedes peuplesde I' Orie}itclassique,'\\.
p. 531, figure.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
^
33
[I. ?]
a sculptor
K
Another example from the same museum (V 82) represents who bears on his breast and shoulders the tatooed sign
temple of Ptah.
Finally,
n^
a small
statuette,
of which
the upper part alone remains, in the Cabinet des Medailles in Paris, shows that on {the breast and shoulders signs were tatooed, the meaning of which we cannot always follow, and which bear considerable 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 Medailles, Paris.
With regard
rare
to
decorative
tatoo-marks, they arc
somewhat
occur,
on Egyptian remains of the classical period. however, on a small figure of a woman in faience
They
in
the Bcrlm
Museum
'
(No. 9,583),- on a stela in the Cairo
Museum
(No. 20,138),
Leemans, Aegyplischc Monitmente7i van hct Ncdcrlandsche Muscinn van Oudhcdcn ic Lcyden, ii. pi. 4. ZfifStratz, Ueber die Kleiditng der ligyptischen TUnzennncn in tlic
'^
schrift
fur dgyptische
Sprachc,-i^\.\\\\\. igoo, p. 149.
34

is
where a man
finally
PL
decorated on the breast with tatoo-marks,^ and

of
in
representation
tomb
of the
Second Theban
is
m pi re."
The
perforation of the ear, the nose, or the lips
done with
hole
view to
;
placing
this
some kind of ornament
in
the
thus
obtained
form of mutilation
may
or
therefore be considered
as a natural step towards the second
ment, which
the body."
'^
consists
I
in
placing
certain
method of personal adornhanging ornaments upon

the prehistoric
I
am
not
that
practised these mutilations, nevertheless,
Egyptians wish to draw attention

;
to the use of ear-studs in the classic period
and,
first,
we
will
Libyans of the tomb of Seti I. is from the plates published by Belzoni wearing ear-studs, judging and by Champollion. Lepsius, in the plate of which our
observe
that
one of the
Fig.
Fig.
lo
19.)
represents
part,
has
not
noted the ear-stud.^
(See
In
at
the
Egypt the wearing of ear-studs is fairly frequent, but only commencement of the eighteenth dynasty. As Erman
these
remarks,''
rings.
ear-ornaments are either broad
discs
or
large
During the reign of Amenophis IV. one wore these ear-ornaments as much as women."
'
finds that
men
Lange & ScHAEFER, Grab- mid Denksteine des. mittlcren Reichs (Cataiv. logue general des antiquites Egyptiennes du Musee du Caire), i. p. 163
;
pi.
Ixxxvi. p. 465.
-
Lepsius, Denkytidlcr,
216.
fig.
p.
p.
54,
iii. 2. See Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 230 and See Maspero, Histoire a7tcien7ie des peuplcs dc V Orient classique, i. and note 3. See Alfred Herz, Taftozuirimg, Art und Verhrcitung,
Leipsic,
tatooing
'
1900 (Doctor-dissertation, Universitat Erlangen). and painting the body among the Greeks,
On
see
the subject of
Wolters,
P.,
Hermes, xxxviii. pp. 265-273. Deniker, Les races et Ics peuples de la tcrrc, Paris, 1900, p. 209. Belzoni, Plates illustrative of the Researches and Operations of G. Belzoni in Egypt and Njihia^ London, 1821, pi. viii. Champollion, Mofinments de For a reproduction of the head after this plate see Perrot & r/igypte, pi. ccxl. It is much CiiiPiEZ, Histoire de I'ait dans Vantiqiie^ i. fgvpte, tig. 528, p. 796.
'
EXacpoaTiKTos, in
to be regretted that the various publications of this important representation vary so greatly in tlic details. It is very desirable that an edition definitive should
be made.
''
Erman, Life in A?icient Egypt, p. 228. Steindorff, Vier Grabstelcn aus der Zeit Atnenophis
IV., in the Zeitsclnift
filr 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-ornaments, and is gravely pushing one of them forward, either to
show
it
^
off
or to assure
discs
herself that
the jewel
is
safely in
its
place."
These
are
found not
infrequently
in tombs of the Second Theban Empire, and a certain number
appear to have
fixed
in
been
of
intended
the
ear,
to
be
the
lobe
which
greatly
must
necessarily
have
been
distended.^
Professor
Schweinfurth
brocatel
lished a ring in
pubbelonging to
judging from its
has
the
primitive
its
period,
which,
also
from
shape
profile,
and
can
external
only have
been
used as a
lip-ring.'"
We now
Egypt.
pass to the consideration

in
of methods of hairdressing
ancient
On one
of the earliest vases of

"
the kind called

pottery,"
by Petric which was only
cross-lined
in
Fig. 12.
use
at
Wooden Statuette THE Bologna Museum,. WITH Ivory Ear-ornaments.

IN
the beginning of the
primitive period (sequence dates 31-34), a combat between two men is represented One of the combatants has his hair divided on the (Fig. 13).
toj:)
of the head into four tresses, which hang
down
his back.'
Maspero, Histoire ancieime des petiples dc V Orient classiqitc, ii. p. 533 and where the author states, probably erroneously, that tlie statuette belongs to the Turin Museum. Petrie's photograph of the same, from which he has reproduced it, is No. 83 of the Italian series, but has the letter B, indicating Bologna. If it is doubted that such a distension of the car, in some cases very considerable, can be a fact, such examples as are represented by Scmuktz, Urgcschichtc dcr Kiilti/r, Leipsic, 1900, p|). 65 and 396, will carry most comElliott SMrni, Report on the Mitmmv of the Priestess Ncsiplete conviction. tet-neh-ta/ii, in the Annates di/ service des Antiquites de VEgypte^ iv. 1903, p. 15S.
'
fig.,
'
Schweinfurth,
Uetier einen Attiigyptischcn
Ring aus
Brocatelle, in the
Verhandlungeti der t)erl. Anthropol. Gesellscha/t {Vcbvuixxy, 1902, pp. 99, 100). " M. Schweinfurth avait emis I'idee (juc Petrie, Diospolis parva, p. 14 les nôlithiques egyptiens se teignaient les cheveux en blond (par decoloration
' :
'
'
36
primitivp:
art
in
egypt.
in
a variety
Other remains of more recent date show the hair arranged of ways, the hair worn long and divided into
two rows of
face
curls,
framing the
to the
in
and hanging down

^
;
shoulders
"
or
short
hair
small curls, either round or of

form, arranged in rows from the nape of parallel the neck to the crown of the
corkscrew
"
head-;
again, in other inwhole of the hair the stances,

or,
massed
in a
single thick plait,
which, falling from the crown of the head, hangs down the
back
(Fig.
14).
All these
methods of
hair-
dressing
for
found
on
the
men are also monuments of

respect
to
the Ancient Egyptian Empire,
where
in
this
the
faith-
Egyptians appear
fully followed
have
the traditions of
their predecessors.
plait,
The
no
this
single
however,
;
is
worn by men
by
longer time it
a I'aide de chaux ou d'urine) ou en roux (par coloration avec du hemic).
M. Vircliow
.
croit devoir ecarter cette

.
." Salomon Reinach, hypothese. review of ViRCHOw, Ueber die cthnoIo<iischc Stelbitig der priihistorisclicn
FiG.
13. Pottery Vase with Designs in White representing Men fighting.

\.
mid protoliistoriscliei) Acgypter [Abhandhmgcn der Preuss. Akadetnie

der VVisscfischaften,
lAnthropolofîc,
ix.
Berlin,
1898),
in
1898, p. 447.
QuiBELL, HierakonpoUs, pi. ii. and vi., and Petrie, The Races of Early Egypt, in tlie Joiirtial of the Anthropological Institute, xxxi. pi. xix. Ii and 12. ' QuiBELL, IIierako?ipolis, i. pi. xi. and xxvi. , and Petrie, Royal Tombs of
-
Id. pi. V.
the Earliest Dynasties,
ii.
pi. iv. 4.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
is
37
worn only by children, or as one of the distinctive marks of In this case, princes and certain high sacerdotal dignitaries.
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.^ 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
It
crouching captive.
The
hair, in a thick plait or twist, is
hanging down the back.
is
of
'
probable, however, that this is owing to the inexperience the artist, who did not understand how to render hair.-'
For the types of wigs of
pp.
tlio
Ancient Empire, see Erman, Life in

of
children
Amicnt
i/>.
Egypt,
2ig-222.
P'or
the side-locks
and of
j)rinces,
pp. 117, 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 b}' Darwix, G. H., IJ evolution dans le veienwfit, in the Revue de
rUniversite de Bruxellcs, v. 1899-1900, pp. 3S5-411, 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

find
Towards the end of the primitive period, on the contrary, we two distinct modes of hairdressing, a short and a long one.
the
first
In
case
side
the hair
is
divided on
is
the forehead, and, falling
on each
of the
face,
cut
short
above the shoulders.^
When worn
tresses
long
the
hair
hangs loose down the back, some
being drawn over the shoulders and hanging over the breasts.A statuette discovered at Abydos (1902-3) by Professor
I'iG.
15.
Figure
of a
Woman
in (Jlazeu
Poitery.
Discovered at Abydos.
Petrie
being drawn
shows yet another arrangement, the whole of the hair slightly to one side in a thick plait, which hangs
I5)-
down
'
the right shoulder-blade^ (Fig-
QuiBELL, Ilicrakonpolis^ i. pi. i.v. Petrie, Royal Tom/js, ii. pi. iii. a, 8. QuiBELL, loc. cit. i. pi. i.v. xi. Sec, 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 hairdressing to support the curls, as they are found used in Greece {tettiges) and in the Funic tombs. See Gsell, Foitillcs de Gouraya : Sepultures puniqucs de la
-
cote algcrieiine (publication of the Association
Histonque de I'Afrique du
A'ord),
Paris, Leroux, 1903, p. 39.

'
Petrie, Abydos,
ii.
pi. iv. p. 25.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
39
Here, again, \vc find modes of dressing the hair identical with those in use among women at the commencement of the Ancient
statues of Nofrit, at Cairo,
Empire, such as are represented, for instance, in the celebrated and of Nesa, at the Louvre.'
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
first
;
custom
prevailing
feathers,
among
the
primitive
men
worn
Egyptians. stuck in their

of
this'
We
hair
meet with
is
which the
this
in
specially
Louvre.'^
noticeable
on a
fragment
in
slate
palette
ostrich
the
The
is
feathers
way
are
feathers,
and
it
a question
this
whether there was not
religious
significance
in
method
of employing them. The feather is found later as the headdress of the goddess Maat, and also it is employed in writing
her name, which, in the Pyramid texts, On bearing the feather on its head.-'
is
determined by a hawk
of the
the ancient statues dis-
covered at Koptos by Petrie, the emblem surmounted by an ostrich feather.^

I
god
Min
is
must mention here that

tombs,
ostrich
eggs have been found in
prehistoric
(Fig.
16).
showing
The custom
been
several
history.'^
'
times
painting and engraving of depositing ostrich eggs in tombs has observed at different periods of Egyptian
traces
of
At Hu
Petrie discovered clay models of ostrich eggs
See Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, pp. 222, 223. Heuzey, figyptc OH Chaldce, in the Co7nptes rendus dc VAcademie des See, farther on, our Fig. 25. inscriptions et belles lettres, 1899, P^- " P- ^6. ^ Griffith, in Davies, The Mastaba of Ptalihetcp and Akhethctep at
2
Sa(/(/are/i,
^
i.
p. 15.
'
Petrie, Koptos, pi. 3. !Qe Morgan, Recherches
siir les or'igines

;
de rfUgyptc,
ii.
pp. 35, 69,
and
100.
Petrie,
A V/fl'^^,
p.
19,
tomb 4
p. 28,
tomb 1480 (Aslimolean Museum,
O.xford).
At the historic period, ostrich eggs and feathers were imported from tlie land of Punt, and perhaps also from Asia, if we credit a scene in the tomb of Harmhabi. See Bouriant, Le Tombcaii d' Harmhabi, in the Mcmoires dc la Mission ^Ve must archcologi(/iir franraise du Cairc, v. pp. 420 and 422, and pi. iii. and iv. 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 (piestions whether ostrich eggs were not decorated by the Greeks of Kgypt or of Asia Minor), and even in a tomb of the valley of Betis in Spain {l' Anthropologic, xi. 1901, It must, See also Petrie, A'aukratis, i. p. 14 and pi. x.x. 15. p. 469).
nevertheless, be
remembered
tliat
the ostrich egg
was employed
for industrial
40
one of these
of cords
^
;

is
decorated with black

are
the others
simply
zigzag lines in imitation ^ painted with white spots
(Fig
i6).
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
preserv'ed
Scti
I.
in
the
hieroglyph
i^
.^
The Libyans of
the
tomb of
have two feathers stuck
in their hair.
^^^
Fig.
i6.
Ostrich
Eggs.
fragment with incised figures; also clay models showing traces of painting. Naqada and Hu.
From
The women
for fastening
delighted in the use of decorated combs and pins up their hair these were made of bone or ivory,
;
p. 18.
See Tylok <& Griffith, T/ie Tomb of Paluj-i at El Kah, pi. iv. and purposes. Petrie, Illahi(7i, Kalmn and Giiroh, pi. xxii. and p. ig. Petrie, Kahim, Gurob atid Haivara, 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
in
trade in ostrich eggs persists.
The
eggs, as far as
Tunis and Tripoli (in 1897), come via Kano, along witli the consignments of featliers, and emerge at the Mediterranean seaboard termini, where they are in request as pendant ornaments in the mosques." Petrie, Diospolis parva, pi. v. and p. 33 (tomb B 101). Hit, tomb B262 and B 56 (2 examples), (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford). ^ See the remarks of Max Muller, Asien imd Eiiivpa nacit altdgypHschen
could ascertain
'
Denkmdlcrn,
p. 3 et scq.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
and were often decorated
occasionally
at
41
even
human
combs
top with figures of animals; Petrie figure is found on them.

the
remarks
that
these
of
were
especially
numerous
^t,
at
the
commencement
the
prehistoric
period
between
and 44
(sequence dates), while the pins, of which the most common
type
is
decorated with a small

of a
bird,
figure
are
found
of
throughout
prehistoric
the
whole
^
the
17).
period
these
(Fig.
We
of
shall
have an opportunity
examining
but
more
in
detail
art,
that
when studying ornamental we will here observe it is possible these combs

hairpins
is
and
purpose, as
in
had a magical notably the case

decorating
the
China."
The
hair
art
of
and of arranging it in a complicated manner does not

appear to have been raised to
any
high
level
in
primitive
Egypt.
certain
to
Nevertheless, there are

indications which
to
it
seem
to
Fig.
17.
point
Is
more
not
elevated
ideal.
possible
Combs
Anim.\i.
recognize in the of certain kings,

divinities
'
head-dresses
queens,
WITH
and a Pin, decorated and Bird Figures.
and
of
the
classical
on
monuments
period
survivals
of
and
See pi. vi., where pins, a combined comb p. 2[. and also a spoon are to be seen still entangled in the hair of a woman. "Among J. J. M. DE Groot, The Religions Systefu of China, pp. 55-57 the hairpins provided for a woman's burial is almost always one whicii is adorned with small silver figures of a stag, a tortoise, a peach, and a crane. These being emblems of longevit}-, it is supposed that tlic 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 (juoted by Frazer, The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. i. p. 48.
Petrie, Diospolis parva,
pin,
i.
:
42

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

solitary
fact
One
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.^
Fig. i8.
Band
King
of False Hair.
Zer, of the
first
From the tomb
of
dynast}'.
Under the
and
a of his
Ancient Empire the charge of the king's hair wigs was bestowed on great personages. Maspero
inspector
of
mentions
director
an
of
wig-makers to
to
the
king,
and
also
with
the fourth
wig-makers king, contemporary and fifth dynasties.^ Petrie discovered in the

Zer, of the
i8),
first
the
with
tomb
of
King
(Fig.
dynasty, at Abydos, a band of
false hair
composed
this
of curls, and apparently intended
'
See an example of
the Louvre (C 13), dating
head-dress upon the stela of Queen Nubkhas in back to the tiiirteenth dynasty. It is the earliest
example I know. Grosse, Les Debuts de VArt, pp. 67, 68. ^ SciiURTZ, Urgesc/iic/ite der Kultm; Leipsic, 1900, p. t^'^c) ct scq. * Maspero, llistoirc anciamc dcs pciiplcs dc V Orient classh/Jte,
note
I.
i.
p.
278,
PERSOxXAL xADORNMENT.
to
43
be
I.
worn on the forehead.^

are
Seti
hair,
which
19).
The Libyans of the tomb of rows of two simihir curls between their wearing is divided and falls on both sides of the head
(Fig.
their beards
Very numerous examples show that the men ordinarily wore 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

ear-ring, the
Seti
I.
Showing the
rows of curls on the forehead, and the hair

over the right shoulder.
falling
We
in
must here pause a moment
to consider a curious
figure
the the
MacGrcgor
beard,
is
Collection- (Fig. 20),

in
it
where the
as
hair, as well
as
pletely
1
conceals
enveloped them. If
iv.
a
is
kind of
not,
pouch which comsuggests,
Naville
"a
Petrie, Abydos,
It is
i.
pi.
made, entirely on a band of

that age.
=*
hair,
and p. 5 "The fringe of locks is e.\(iuisiteiy showing a long acqnaintance with hair work at
:
now
in the Pitt-Rivers
Museum
at
Oxford."
ii.,
Navillk, Fiiiiiriiics cgyf)ticnncs dc Vepoquc nrr/njn/ife, iravaux rclalifs a la philologic ct a Varchcologic cgyptifiincs
1900,
pi. vi.
in the
Rccucil dc
x.xii.
ct assyrh'tincs,
and
p. 68.
44
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.
Was can have been the object of this sort of covering ? it used in order to ensure purity, for instance, during religious ceremonies? May not the custom which prevailed among the
What
Egyptian
simply
a
priests
of completely shaving
themselves
all
have been
radical
measure
for
avoiding
contamination that
Fig. 20.
Figure
from the MacGregor Collection.

sheatli to protect the
With
a bag for the hair
and beard, and a
lower part
of the bodj^
might
to
'
arise
from
I
the
hair
and
out,
beard
This
I
is
suggestion which
insist
throw
and on which
do
merely a not wish
unduly.'-
comparison might be suggested with the
One might compare this with the liabit of our modern surgeons, who occasionally cover the hair and beard during operations in order to avoid any risk of infection for the patient.
* On the subject of wearing a natural or false beard see Erman, Life Ancient Egypt, especially pp. 225, 226, and tlie vaiions passages quoted in the index under "Beard." The motive suggested byMoKET, Coup d'ocil sur V llgypte primitive, p. 5, for the wearing of wigs and false beards, seems to me to be unfounded.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
paddn of the Magian^
religion
;
45
or, again,
with the Jewish custom
of covering the beard as a sign of mourning.^ 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 These are small objects of shell, period (sequence dates 50-61).
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

the
still
in position
it
manner
in
which
was
upon a skull, and shows clearly worn. One specimen, decorated
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
with
materials would the
survive
(Fig.
21).
Other specimens have not
hook
at
the
as
worn merely
belonging
figures.
It
is
end, and must therefore have been Two specimens ornaments on the forehead.
lower
to
the
Petrie
Collection
are
in
the
form of female
possible
that
the
pendants and
as
veil
before
the
face
were worn by
men
as well
by women, or even exclusively

the
by men,
of
to
judge by the custom of

Arabs.-^
certain
After
this
prehistoric
Touaregs, and also times in Egypt there

the
face,
are
'
no
traces
of
custom
of
veiling
and
it
In the Magiaii religion the officiant has the lower part of the face covered veil, the paddn (av. paitidana), which prevents the breath from defiling Cf. Darmesteter, Zc7id the sacred fire, and the hands covered with gloves.
with a
He also wears i\\^ paddn in eating, in order not to contaminate Avesia, i. p. l.xi. the food, which he swallows at one gulp between two intakings of breath
ib.
ii.
The paddn was worn by the magi of Cappadocia, at No. 31. the time of Strabo (Augustus), xv. 733c", nupas ttiXcotus KadeiKVius iKaTipmdiv (Note contributed by M. Franz /xf\pi Toi) KdXviTTfiv Tu XeiXi] Tiis Tvapciyvaîdas.
p. 214,
Cumont.) Benzinger, Hcbrdischc Arclidologic (Grundriss der theologischen Wissenschaften, Zweite Reihe, Erster Band), Freiburg i. B. and Leipsic, 1894,
p.
165.
^
Frazer,
Tlic
all
Golden Bought 2nd
ed.
i.
p.
313:
"Among
the
Touaregs
of the Sahara
(and not the women) keep the lower part of their face, in especially the mouth, veiled constantly; the veil is never put off, not even " Amongst the Arabs men sometimes veiled eating or sleeping." Also note 3
the
:
men
their faces."
46
PRIMITIVE ART LX EGYPT.

introduced
it
was the Arabs who

century A.D.^
once
more
in
the
seventh
Grosse, in his book Les Debuts de
r Art'^
refers to
in
an interesting
selecting
remark
of Lippcrt
"
:
The
principle
followed
the
Fig.
21. Ornaments for the Forehead.

for
The two upper ornaments have been used
hanging a
veil
before the faee.
portions of the
body
to be
adorned with ornaments
is
governed
con-
by
'
practical
considerations,
and
is
principle
into which
Petrie, NcKiada, \A. Ixii. 21-23, '^"'^ P- 47 D/ospolis pafua, pi. iii. and p. 22. P?xhtstoric Egyptian Catin/igs, in Alan, 1902, No. 1 13, pp. 161, 162, and pi. 1. 5-7. See SociN, A., Doctrines of El Islam, in Baedeker, Egypt, 5th ed. 1902, " The practice of wearing veils dates from very remote times (Gen. xxiv. p. Ixvii.
J
Isa. iii. 22, 23), though 65 ancient Egyptians, as veiled

;
it
is
doubtful whether
it
was customary among the
women
never appear upon the monuments.''
Pp. 63, 64.
PERSOXx'\L
siderations
ADORNMENT.
enter.
.
47
.
.
of ideal
arrangement do not
to
The
parts
of the
carry ornaments are those contracted above larger portions which are bony or muscular. the forehead and the temples, These parts are the following with the projecting bones below and the support afforded by
body which are destined

:
the ear, the neck and shoulders, the sides and hips with the legs with the arms, the biceps, the it is the part above the ankles
; ;
wrist,
and
all
in
a lesser degree the fingers.

;
Primitive
man makes
use of
these for affixing ornaments
but he was not led to this
choice by aesthetic reasons, but by purely practical considerations." have already spoken of the arrangement of the hair among
We
the primitive Egyptians.

waist-belts, bracelets,
We
rings,
and
must now study their necklaces, and see in what manner clothing
may have
The
developed out of these entirely elementary decorations. simplest form of such decoration consists in attaching to
" body thongs of leather, sinews of animals, or herbaceous fibres."^ These in turn were hung with shells,
different parts of the
beads, claws of animals, etc.

In
Egypt
shells frequently occur in prehistoric
tombs.
Pierced
with a hole, they were evidently used as ornaments,- 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.^
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.^
Most of the ivory objects found

as necklace ornaments.
in
the tombs, \\hich

I
Petrie
believes to be stoppers for leather bottles,

"
am
inclined to consider
They
are a s[)ecies of pendant, formed
DknuvER, Lcs races
ct Ics peitples de la tcrrc, p. 211 ct scq.
'
De Morgan, Rcclicrchcs siir lcs origincs de Vflgyptc, ii. p. 59. De Morgan, Fouilles a Dahchour, March June, 1894, Vienna,
and
xxiv.
pi. iv.
1895,
pi.
xxiii.
^
and
p. 27.
48

rib or tusk of
by the severed end of the

at the top
wards
deeply grooved
consequently,
at
an animal, often pierced
they must have been worn point downthe wider end, and covered with broken
22).
lines or with
rudimentary geometric designs"^ (Fig.

;
Some
of
others are hollow, and may have these pendants are of stone 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.^
0-J1
Fig. 22.
Pendants.
Showing the
imitation of claws and of horns, decorated with incised or painted Hnes.
have opportunity to discuss these pendants more It should, however, in detail when we treat of ornamental art. be observed that a certain number of these ornaments are made
shall
in
We
imitation
of horns or claws, and
copy of still " the cords made of them with the collars of the Bushmen, 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
^
merely a conventional We can compare more rudimentary ornaments.

are
De Mohgan,
Recherches
siir Ics origines
Petrie, Naqada, pp.
46, 47, pi. lix.-lxiv.
de I'Agypte, ii. p. 62, 63, Diospolis parva, p. 21, pL

;
iii.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
unguents, partly as amulets, and for the of personal adornment."
^
49
most part as objects
need scarcely remark on the prevalent use of beads and A collection such as that of pendants in Pharaonic Egypt.
I
with regard to these objects. necklaces comprising claws,
Professor Petrie at University College, London, is highl}- instructive Such a wealth of pendants for
shells,
and
various
amulets
is
well worth studying, as
they are
rarely
found
figured
on the
not always justifiable to deny the existence of a custom from an argument based solely on the absence of
It
is
monuments.
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 The jewellery found by Petrie in the tomb of King anklets.
;
Zer,
of
the
first
dynasty, enables
b\'
us
to
appreciate
the
skill
the Egyptians at that period in combining already acquired and grouping various materials and producing results which are
truly marvellous.
The
perfection of the jewellery
is
so great that,
is
as Petrie remarks, with the exception of the gold beads, there
no bead
for
in
an>'
one of the bracelets which could be exchanged
any other of another bracelet, without completely destroying the harmony of the whole.^
But, besides these
bracelets
circlets
formed
must notice the simple

are
made
of separate pieces, we of various materials. They

flint,
found
in
ivory,
bone,
into
copper,
shell,
hard stone^
the
etc.^
This use
first
survived
at
historical times,
and
tombs of the
Abydos have yielded an immense number of dynasty fragments of bracelets in ivory, horn, shell, slate, and stone.' A
'
'
Grosse, Les Debuts dc PAii, ]>. 68. Petrie, Royal Tombs, ii pi i. pp. 16-19. See QuiBELL, El Kab, pp. 6, 7, 9, 10, 18, and
pp. 34, 42, 47. pp. 14, 47.
5,
pi.
li.
2.
Petrie, Xa(/ada,
tb. pp. 14, 47. Ivory: Petkie,
pi. xliii.
Alabaster: Petrie, Naqada,
p. 29.
Shell:
p. 37.
Horn,
lb.
Copper: Petrie, Diospolis parva,

29,
Naqada, pp.
ib.
14,
47;
Diosjjolis, pi. X. 23.

"
Beads:
ib.
Bone: Petrie, Diospolis parva, p. 21, pi. x. Flint Schist Petrie, Naqada, p. 14. p. 33.
:
pp. 14, 51, 59; Diospolis, p. 36; Abydos,
i.
p.
16.
Shell
ib.
:
Petrie, Abydos,
pp. 24, 35,
i.
;
Ivory: Schist
ii.
Abydos,
p.
ib.
17.
ii.
Horn: Petrie, Eoyal Totnbs, ii. p. 39. Stone: Royal Tombs, ii. pp. 35, 37. 37 Abydos, p. 5. Bracelets of Aha Royal Tombs, pp. 5, iS, 29 ii. p. 5.
\.
p.
17.
i.
i.
Bracelets of Zer
i)p.
17,
iS.
.1
-r
50

^
spoon
(Fig- 23), the handle of which resembles an

in
arm adorned
to
with a large number of these bracelets, similar
size
shows us that they were worn

sort of
in
numbers
sufficient
and form, form a
armature.
Pleyte observes that this recalls the
"Danga
child,
Bohr
"
which Schweinfurth found among the Bongoes.discovered

a
Petrie
tomb containing
with
this
fact,
the
body of a
rings,
wearing on the arm nine or ten of these ivory

mentions,
in
and he
of
a
connection
that
carving
woman
of the
reindeer age in France
shows the same system
o^
0.26
C
Fig. 23.
miKraiid?
Bone
and Ivory Bracelets, and a Spoon with a Handle
in
Form
OF an
Arm Wearing
It
is
a Series of Similar Bracelets.
of ornamentation.^
probable that these

in
rings
were also
worn on the
legs, as
shown
the representation
of the chief
of the land of Punt at Deir-el-Bahari.*
As
question
of
stone-working
rings
in
flint.''
it
is
astonishing to
find
primitive
'
man making
Many
conjectures have
Petkie, Naqada, pi. .\liii. i (Ashmolean Museum, Oxtord). Pleyte, Chapitrcs siipplc7ncntaires du Livrc des Marts, Schweinfurth, Artes Africanac, Leipsic and London, 1875, pi. ^ Petrie, Naqada, pp. 42 and 47.
^
*
i.
pp.
12.
147,
148.
iii.
Pleyte,
ib. fig.
facing p. 147.
siir les
De Morgan,
Recherches
origines de V]i,gypte,
ii.
pp. 60, 61,
pp:rsonal
been
liazarded
to
adornment
manner
the
to
in
51
explain
it
the
for
which
jthis
was
accompHshed, Seton Karr at Wady-el-Sheikh

the work.^
but
remained
fortunate
all
discoveries of
show us
the
phases of
frequent occurrence on Egyptian monuments of Pharaonic times of collars, bracelets, and anklets has frequently
The
been remarked on, and we need not therefore dwell longer on

that point.-
primitive Egyptian was also well acquainted with fingerrings, especially in ivory, either plain or decorated with a knob.
The
Twô very curious
specimens show that
occasionally they were
O.i'i
D.
23
D.iS
Fig. 24.
Ivory
;
Rings.
one of these has two feline decorated with figures of animals animals on it,-^ and on the other are four haw^ks ^ (Fig. 24).
So
and
far
we have not
is
dealt
not,
with the decoration of the hips,

to
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
this
because there
my
of leather
round the
Rut
'
it
is
difficult to
pendants. say whether the beads and pendants which
waist
adorned with beads
or
ScHWEiNFURTH, Aegyptischev Ringe aus Kiescbnassc, in the Zcitschrift Forbes, Ott a collection of stotie fiir EtJmologic, xxxi. 1899, p. 496 ct scq. implements i)t the Mayer Musciitn, made by M. H. IV. Seton Katr, in mines of
Egyptians discovered by hitti on the plateaux of the A'ile Valley, in the Bulletin Liverpool Museum, ii. Nos. 3 and 4, pp. 78-80, and tig. on p. 82. 2 Erman, Life in Aticicnt Egypt, p. 227.
the ancient
'
'
Petrie,
X. 24,
specimen in the MacGregor Collection, Tamworth (No. 1,409 rt). Ixiv. 78 and p. 47. Diospoiis, Naqada, pi. Ixii. 30 25, and pp. 21, 22.
;
ix.
23
52

may
not ha\-c decorated
that part of the
as appropriately as they did the neck, arms,
have been discovered
body
and
legs.
By
;
analogy, therefore,
we can imply
and here we verge on the

clothing.
the use of ornamental girdles interesting subject of the origin of
"The
round
mantle.
skin of an
throat,
animal
is
suspended
it
from
the
cord
tied
the
and
forthwith
this
is
transformed
of
into
With
the
Fucgians
piece
skin
it
that, in order to protect the
body
effectually,
is so scanty 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
their waist-belts,
the
which are thrust by the Veddahs under pieces of bark held by the same belt
'
'
among
supplies
the
Niam-Niam, the
sarang
^
of the Indo-Malay, -which
the elements both of petticoat and of girdle
all
these
are the prototype of the petticoat." Writing of the indigenous inhabitants Islands, Grosse expresses himself as follows
of
"
the
Andaman
is,
There
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."" 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 be called articles of clothing

call
down
;
in front.^
These can scarcely
them
I
ornaments,
that
in
if
one
and yet one would hesitate to were not assured by numerous

cases
this
ethnological parallels.
may add
loins
some
as
simple
this
cord
knotted
I
round the
quote the
V
^
'
served
an
amulet.
On
subject
will
curious
observ'ation
of Dr.
Stacqucz,
who, on
the
Deniker, Les races et les peiiplcs de la terrc, Grosse, Lcs Debuts de VArt, p. 70. Er.man, Life in Ancient Egypt, \>. 212.
p. 312.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
subject of the
:
53
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 eirdle
To go
these
to
entirely naked was the natural course of events for folks, but it would have been the height of indecency
tie
have omitted to
of such
it
thread round their

in
loins,
and no one
I
would have dared to show himself

reason
existed
that
told
state.
asked the
that
a custom, and
was
that
it
had always
their
was considered that the thread concealed

it
nakedness, and that

not
wear owing
to
represented the garments that they could the high temperature of the country. I
myself believe that the thread should be considered as a species

of amulet, and
the
for
this
reason
in
some
parts
of
Egypt
it
is
have a small cord tied by the sheikh round the wrists and ankles as a preservative against sprains and other
habit
to
accidents while working or walking. It is therefore possible that the thread encircling the loins among the inhabitants of Thebes
is
is
a similar
forgotten."
It
practice
^
passed into a habit, of which the reason
should also be remembered that under the Second Theban

slaves and
Empire the young female

ornamented.^
the
dancing
women wore
have been
as their only clothing a girdle, which occasionally
may
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 are several personages whose only garment appears to be a girdle knotted round the waist. The
same
is
locality,
on the palettes and mace-heads from the same where the fcjrms are already verging on those of the
seen
Ancient Empire.''
Stacquez, I'Egypte, la basse Niihic ct Ic Sinai, Liege, 1865, pp. 252, 253. See also Maspero, Histoire anciauie des peuples dc V Orient dassiquc, ii. ]x 526. Erman, loc. cit. p. 216. Stratz, Ueber die Klcidung dcr iigyptischcn
Tdnzerinnen,
''
'
in
the Zeitschnft fiir dgyptische Spraclie

fete de
mid
Altertuinskundr,
xxxviii. 1900, ])p. 148, 149.
Capakt, La
1901, p. 255.
frapper
les Anait, in the
Revue
d' histoire des religions,
xliii.
54

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

find
bodv.
The
warriors
or
huntsmen that we
represented on the
fragment of the Louvre palette wear the tail of an animal, possibly It is interesting to a jackal, attached to their girdle (F"ig. 25). note that this caudiform decoration is
found
among
tail
a considerable
number
of
nations.^
age, the
In Egypt, during the Pharaonic is an ornament of princes
and
priests,
and the Marseilles Museum
actually
The
a specimen in wood.representations of tails on the objects

possesses
at
found
Hierakonpolis form exactly the transition between the tails of the
Fig.
Huntsman. 25.
a
primitive period of the Louvre palette, and those of the king and gods on
Wearing
feather on his
tail
head, and the

to his girdle.
Egyptian
classical
monuments.
to
fixed
With
reference
its
the
sheath
just
and
well
its
mentioned, purpose has been recognized It can be specially signification explained by M. Naville.'^
the
statuette
in
recognized on
the
MacGregor
Collection
figured above (Fig. 20), and also upon a considerable This is ivory figures which we shall consider later.
number
of
is
how
it
described by M. Naville:
statuette
is
"The most
characteristic feature in this
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.
It is composed This sheath extends half-way up the stomach. of a cylinder, to which is joined another narrower one, at the
^
For a
fine example see DenUvER, op. tit. frontispiece. Maspero, Histoire ancieime dcs peiip/es dc V Orient
3.
classique,
i.
p.
55,
note
^
Grosse, Les Debuts de VAi't, p. 70, mentions among the Botocndos of de Wied, an " etui de feuilles qui cache Ics parties See Yrjo Hn<N, The Origins of Art, London, 1900, pp. 215, 216. genitales.''
Brazil, according to Prince
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
commencement
'
. .
55
of which are two ovoid protuberances, which are ." an attempt to imitate nature. M. Naville was enabled to identify this with complete
certainty
by a
similar covering, which

trait
is,
he says,
"
a tradition,
characteristic
of
that
Libyan
itself
group
the
w^hich,
during
of
the
the
nineteenth
dynasty, allied
with
Mediterranean to march against Egypt."

the
This
people sheath
;
during
called
Egyptian
period
bore
special
name
it
is
to
same time the girdle, it was

the
At
that the
tail
and the sheath were attached
also possible to
hang from
it
the skin
of
an
animal, a
created.
The
ornament on
a piece of stuff, and the loin-cloth was animal's skin could with ease be placed as an the shoulders it was easy to wrap oneself in a
mat, or
mat, a skin or a piece of
woven
stuff,
and
in
this
manner
the
mantle was evolved.

in
All these elementary garments are
found
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
Placed of the Upper Nile at the time of the nineteenth dynasty. on the shoulders, it had become one of the insignia of certain
priests
One
and nobles as early as the beginning of the Ancient Empire.*' of the wârriors of the painted tomb of the primitive age
is
at Hierakonpolis
adversary
'
clothed in a panther's skin, while his holding a shield formed of a similar skin (Fig. 26).
is
thus
'
Naville, Figiirincs cgyptiomes de Vcpoqiic arcJtaiquc, ii., in the Recucil dc travaux relatifs a la pjiilologie ct a Varclicologic cgyptietmcs ct assyricniics,
xxii. p.
^
Zi(7- antht'opologischcn Stellung der alien Acgypier, Globus, Ixxi.w 1901, pp. 197-200: "Aenliclie Taschen nun giebt es heute nocli im Westlichen Sudan, besonders bei den Moba im Nordlichen Togo, wo sie
in
69 et seq. See F. VON LusHAN,
ganz allgemein von alien Mannern getragcn werden." Maspero, Histoire ancienne des paiplcs de l' Orient classiqiic, and p. 53, note a.
'
i.
pp. 53
and
55,
" I take the figure of tlie Greex, Hierakonpolis, ii. j)!. Ixxvi. his back, and has it on lie Itas had the as tliat skin liolding up showing had to remove it to nse 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.
'
Qlmbell
&
man
I do not think that by Professor Petrie.
But
it
is
here
shown as
a defensive shield alone."
-Note
56
PRIMITIVE ART IN P:GYPT.

The
loin-cloth, either
narrow or wide, is frequently represented on the primitive monuments on the palettes and maces of Hierakonpolis, in the tomb paintings, and again on the ivory figures.^
I
am
is
not at
all
certain that the
women wore wide

I
loin-cloths,
and
it
with
of
considerable doubt that
refer
here
tomb
Hierakonpolis.
cannot assume
to the painted 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

to be noteworthy.
female figures on the pottery appears
has been
long cloak, the use of which in historic times ably dealt with by M. Maspero," appears several times on the remains of the primitive age. There is, for instance,
Finally, the
so
Fig. 26.
Warriors.
Museum,^ and several ivory show the cloak, sometimes
Clothed in a panther skin, or holding a shield formed of a similar skin.
the figure of a
woman
in the British
statuettes from Hierakonpolis, which plain
and sometimes decorated with geometric patterns."' Petrie has very justly compared the decorated mantle on one of these
figures with the
by him
at
fragments of leather painted in zigzag lines found Naqada, and they again may be compared with the
.Seti
I.''
clothing of the Libyans of the tom.b of

'
(Fig. 27).
These
For the loin-cloth or short skirt in Egypt during the Ancient Empire see in Ancient Egypt, pp. 202-206, and Sfiegelberg, Varia, xlviii. Zii dent Galaschurz dcs alien RcicJtcs^ in the Rcciieil dc travatix rclatifs a la pliilo-
Erman, Life
Ivgie et d VarcJicoloiîe cgyptienftcs ct assyricnncs, xxi. 1S99, pp. 54, 55. Maspero, Histoirc aticienne des peuples de rOtie7it classiqtie, i. pp. 55-57.
^
''
'
Budge, A History of Egypt, i. p. 53. Qui BELL, Hieraiconpolis, pi. ix. and x. Petrie, Naqada, pi. Ixiv. 104 and p. 48. See
i.
also Petrie, T/ie
Royal Tombs
0/ the Earliest Dynasties,
ii.
pi. iv. 3, 4, 5.
PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
decorations
ivory
57-
probably represent
embroideries,
as
shown
in
the
of a king of the first dynasty discovered by Abydos, of which reproductions are given farther on.^ Finally we must mention a small figure of a woman tightly
statuette
Petric at
Fig. 27.
Figures
of Women.
of
Wrapped
in cloaks,
one of which is decorated. Below arc fragments leather with painted decoration.
wrapped
in
a cloak, discovered by Petrie at Abydos, and dating

first dynasty.cloak was fastened by means of studs intended to
from the commencement of the
The long
'
'
Petrie, Abydos, ii. pi. ii. and xiii. p. 24. Petrie, The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties,
ii.
pi.
iii
a,
and
p. 21.
58
be slipped through loops, on the principle of ouv military frogs. Petrie discovered examples of these in glazed pottery in the teinenos
of the temple of Osiris at Abydos.^ have now arrived at the close of our study of personal adornment as it existed in primitive Egypt this earliest mani-
We
festation
which
is
}'et
so rich in artistic feeling.
The immediate
is
conclusion to be drawn from
these
researches
that
it
is
not
at possible
sequence of ideas to prove that there were sudden and radical changes at the commencement of
an\' rate
in
this
the Pharaonic
period,
ot
and that there
is
no glaring discrepancy
between the habits

find
the primitive people and those which
we
seen whether
is
under the Ancient Egyptian Empire. It now remains to be we can maintain this conclusion when our attention
directed to the examination of ornamental art.

'
Petrie, Abydos,
ii.
pi.
i.
and
viii.
141-143, and
p.
26.
On
the subject of
comparing primitive clothinc; in Egypt with that of the Ancient Empire, I think it After describing the garments found in the well to quote a remark of Fetrie's. 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 Hence the monumental dress must have been shoulder-straps along the arms. Petrie, Deshasheh, London, only an artistic survival in the Old Kingdom.'"
:
1898, p. 31.
59
CHAPTER
III.
ORNAMENTAL AND DECORATIVE
ART.
THE
and
at
decorative art
the
problem of the earliest beginnings of ornamental and is one of the most difficult to deal with,
same time one of those which appear to have been most neglected by art critics.^ In the last few years, however, ethnologists have contributed numerous indications which give us some hope of arri\'ing 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

"
is
is
people," says Deniker,
this
among primitive All artistic designs are inspired

for
by
real
objects
there
no feeling
for
still
what
is
purely and
reasons, are
voluntarily ornamental, nor,

there
more
forcible
till
any geometrical
of
figures, as
was believed
recently.
All
figures
which appear to be of
animals,
objects,
etc.
this
ings
The
nature are simplified drawdesigns 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
;
Often the entire object (phytomorphic) are extremely rare. 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." This is the wa\- in which objects arc dccoratetl
'
but
:
why
is
Nevertheless, two important works on this subject must he (juoted Semi'KU, De7' Stil in den technischcn iind tck/onischcn Kiatstcn, Miiuchen, 187S-9, 2 vols.
and RiEGL,
Berlin, 1893.
^
Stilf7-a;^cn,
(i}-it)t(ilcgu}vj;c)i
zii
ciiin-
Gcschichtc dcr Ornamciitik,
DENUiKK, Lcs races
et Ics pciiples
dc la
/rire, Paris, 1900, ]ip. 237-240.
6o
it

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

principles
in
These
to
are
established,
but
before
apply them
consider
the
case of
the
it
primitive
proceeding to Egyptians, in order
is necessary that we should 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
render our statement clear,
this geometric design will enable us to discover the laws which govern the treatment
;
an
animal can
be transformed
into
of natural models.
One
view
is
most interesting examples from this point of furnished by Holmes' important work on the ancient
of the
art of the province of Chiriqui,
Colombia- (Fig.
alligator,
28).
The
principal
theme
is
the
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
tion,
do the successive phases of this transformalogically accounted for by two great principles which dominate the whole question. The first is the principle
explanation
can
which
is
of simplification,
child,
by virtue
to to
is
of
which
primitive
represents
attempts give a form which
animals
and
this
man, like the objects which he
fixed
and easily recognizable, and
which he simplifies more and

to
idleness
diverging,
in
can only be owing more and more widely consequence,
more
from the original model.^

'
Haddox, Evolution
1895, pp. 4,
5,
in
Art as
illi(stralcd by the Life-histories
of designs,
in the
London,
-
illustration
on
p.
see also pp. 200-306.
Holmes, W.
H., Aucietit art
of the province of Chiriqui^ Colombia,
Sixth
Annual Report of
is
the
My
^
mention of the work
Bureau of Ethnology, 1884-5, Washington, 1S88. taken from Haddon's book mentioned in the precedI'Art, pp. 107
ing note.
Grosse, Les Debuts dc
and
19.
ORNAMENTAL AND DFXORATIVE

The second
preceding,
is
ART.
with
6i
the
says,
principle,
which
unites
order,
itself
closely
as
that
art
of
rhythmic
least
which,
Grosse
in
"
"dominates the
of the
civilized
nations
the
same
manner
that
it
does that of the most advanced."
We may
truly say," continues the
same author,
"
that
rhythm everywhere
^'''Zi>-^^^S^
!^^
^^Ô
c\yo
<^^;î;^^;g^
/sis\
J3
Fig. 28.
EvoLUTioN_OF
the Reprlsent.mion of the Alligator Columbian Art.
in
Ancient
From Holmes.
affords
the
Rhythm consists in pleasure to mankind. of a sound, of a regular repetition of any sort of imit
the isame
movement,
or, as
in
this case, of a
'
figure."
Gkosse,
/oc. cit. p.
113.
62

And
if
we seek
its
to
review
"
the
origin
of
tliis
taste
for
rhythm among primitive men, Grosse gives

planation of
genesis
:
us
concise
ex-
If
we
is
attribute an aesthetic importance
to this rhythmic order,

art
which
of hunting tribes,
we do
so prevalent in the decorative not in any wây pretend that its
origin was of the same order.
We
are,
on the
contrarx',
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
material in a
habit,
at
basket-maker, regular manner.

for
;
who
It
is
obliged
to
arrange
it
his
is
probable that
that
textile
was from
and not
imitated
aesthetic
it
pleasure,
designs were
was only by degrees that their aesthetic was value recognized, and that the artist began to combine and enrich these regular series. Obviously it would be difficult
first
to
say where
;
mechanical imitation
in
ends
and where
aesthetic
work begins
assert
any
case,
it
would be equally
has
as
justifiable
to
that
regular
in
arrangement
experienced
that
it
^
observing
is
that
symmetry, pleasure which has provoked

designs
inspired
produced the would be it

regular
pleasure
to
assert
arrange-
ment."
In
other words,
by manufactured objects
on designs derived
to
its
(skeuomorphs) have imposed from natural objects.

Thus,
in
their derivatives
the foregoing example,

alligator
;
there
is,
begin with, a
copy of an
this
is
next reduced to
its
most characfeatures, its
teristic features,
and from the time
fundamental
of the general lines, have been recognized, the representations the and to animal are symmetrically combined, space adapted
The whether square, oblong, or circular. the successive here leads to order of repetition rhythmic principle of the same figures, in such a way as to form the decoration
to
be
decorated,
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)
Grosse,
loc. cit.
pp. 114, 115.

distinctly
ART.
63
shows the degradation of the human

principles.^
figure, following
the
same
The
fairl}^
stone idols of the
Aegean Islands
afford another
proof.
In addition to small figures, where the
representation is there also others "in the are accurate, shape of a violin."floral
human
design it will be sufficient to quote the instance of the lotus, which has been so admirably worked out by Goodyear'^ as to render it unnecessary to dwell longer on this point.
For the successive transformations of a
Fig. 29.
Evolution
of the Representation of the Polynesian Art.
Human
Figurf- in
From Haddon.
With regard
the
to
designs
inspired
to
two most important types

from the
;
by manufactured be mentioned are

:
designs
objects^
derived
unite
'
thongs
two objects
or cords which originally served toand designs copied from the work of the
See another Haudon, Evo/uM'on Ari, hg. 124, 125, 127, 128, pp. 271, 273. example in Collier, Primer of Art, London, 1882, fig. 3, series of paddles, p. 7 (now in the Pitt-Rivers Collection, University Museum, Oxford). Blinkenbekg, Cm?., Aittiquiics prcinycciiioiiu's, in tlie Mcmoircs dc la
Socicte royale dcs antiqiiaircs
'
Goodyear, W.
H.,
du Nord, new series, 1896, pp. The Granwiar of the Lotus, 1891.
13,
14.
64

Both of these occur with equal frequency, and a
suffice
basket-maker.
few words
will
to
When
two objects
for
explain
of
the
how they came

and handle
the
latter
instance, a blade
are
an
in
into
being.
by strapping, the
interlacing
If
straps
is
forms
joined actual
geometrical decoration. material in one single
copied
another
would naturally occur piece, these mind to to the primitive interlacing lines, and reproduce this is what invariably occurs.
the
idea
1
will
recall the
its
well-known instance of architecture

forms to architecture
in stone.
in
wood
Another very communicating typical example has also been established as presented on the
I refer to the decoration repottery of almost all countries. formed on vases most frequently at their a cord sembling 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.^
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-
The
making
often
commences with
"
cast taken
from an interior
mould, usually a basket, or some other object of basket-work which burns immediately in the baking." It is easily understood that in this case the combinations of
or exterior
'^
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.

is
of this chapter I stated that an object transformed frequently by decoration, and becomes unfit for the purpose for which it was originally destined. We shall have
the
At
commencement
-occasion later on to deal with curious

this
examples of
this.
To make
point
clear
without delay
will,
however, quote the very
'
Petri E, Eiryptian Decot-ative A?-i, p. 92. SciiwEiNFURTH, DenuvER, op. cit. p. 184.
Onuimcutik
b.
dcr
dltcstcn
Cultur-Epoclic Acgyptc7is, in the Ver/iaiidli/ngc?i dcr

J>ologie, Ethnologie,
Gcscllsck.
fur
Antliro-
imd
Urgeschichte, 1897, pp. 377, 378.

interesting instance of the tortoise-shell
Straits, which,
ART.
65
ornaments from the Torres
diverging from the copy of a simple fish-hook, modifications and symmetrical development ^ acquire successive by ornamental forms, which only recall the original model in the
most distant manner
"
(Fig. 30).
We
objects.
will
now
briefly
examine some examples of the various

in
motives which actuate primitive man
the
ornamentation of
The
first
motive
for
decorating an object
is
purely
artistic,
and requires no additional explanation.
Fig. 30.
Tortoise-shell
Ornaments from Torres Straits,

OF the Fish-Hook
(a).
in imitation
From Haddon.
Decoration
is
also
may
be that
the
maker
it emplo)-ed with a view to information on an a mark which places object

;
constitutes an actual signature, or

him.self gives
sign.
it
it
a mark of ownership such,

typical
may
be that the proprietor

for instance, as a tribal
The most
their
example
is
that
in
mark
'
arrows with a distinct sign,

for
of the savages, who order to be able to
For the origin of the taste

398.
symmetrical decoration see Schweinfurtu,

44, p.
"]].
loc. cit. p.
^
Haddon, Evolution
in Art,
fig.
66
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 of its development.
It
during the most primitive stages

rise
was the desire

objects,
for
ostentation which gave

to
to highly
decorated
especially
into
weapons of
It
state,
which thus
desire for
rapidly developed
tokens of power.
was the
luxury which produced those objects which are absolutely useless, but the possession of which ensured to their proprietor a substantial reputation
among
the tribe.
In a parallel manner, votive

to
objects developed where the attempt was made value by employing either a more precious
augment
their
material,
or
by
applying more studied and complicated ornamentation.
tiG. 31.
Magical
Decoration on a Comb of a Malacca Tribe.
From Haddon.
for decorating objects magic, and the magical combs of a Malacca The women wear furnish us with an excellent example.
F"inally,
is
one of the most usual reasons

or
religion
tribe
in
their
hair a variety of decorated
combs, with the object of

maladies.
for
preserving the
wearers
from certain specified

in
They
possess about twenty or thirty of these maladies, and cause them to be placed
combs
their
different
graves as a
safeguard
world.
for
possessor from those ailments in the ne.xt different design corresponds to each malady, and the
their
designs are purely geometrical^ (Pig. 31)well known, show us how important it
plaining
the
is
Other instances, equally to be cautious in ex-
ornamentation of any object. It may have some meaning, but without explanation from the natives we cannot
Unfortunately, with objects of interpretation. the necessary explanations are almost entirely wanting. antiquity, These fundamental principles are established, and without losing
find
the
correct
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
sec/.,
tig.
120, p. 240.
ART.
^-j
there not already artistic feeling in the act of the primitivê man,
who, not content with supplying himself with tools suited to the requirements the>' are intended to fulfil, attempts to give
them
have
forms
the
as
perfect
and
of
opportunity
elegant as possible ? pointing out how far the

in
We
shall
primitive
Egyptians attained perfection

review.
each class of objects

believe
in
we
pass in
We
gerate
will
begin
I
with
in
flint
knives.
do not exag-
when
say that
no other country
the world has the
Fig. 32.
Flint
Knife,
worked and retouched on both

Museum;
length,
Faces.
Brussels
25cm.
It
is
to
working of admire
flint
been carried to such perfection.

the
perfection
not easy
sufficiently
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
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
left
such precision that the ribs
the centre of the blade "^ (Fig. 32).

'
De Morgan,
107-109.
Rcchcrchcs
stir les
origines de Vl'igyptc,
pi.
i.
pp.
iri,
112;
in
ii.
pp.
See Petrie, Naqada^
Ix.wi.,
and
passages indicated
the
68

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. these handled knives is in the Cairo
The most remarkable of Museum.^ The eold 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 See Quibell, Flint dagger from Gebclcin, in the Annales dii period is traced. service des antiquites de I'Jigy'ptc, ii. 1901, pp. 131, 132, etc.
etre a
De Morgan, Kecherches, i. p. 112, "Environs d'Abydos, peut" " ii. Saghel-el-Baglieli on a Abydos mcme Qui provient de p. 266, Guebel-el-Tarif." A's\Kh\NKA\j, Les nouvellcs fouil/cs d'Ahydos, 1895-6; Comptc
'
Provenance:
rendu in exlenso, Paris, 1899, p. 267: " Les fouilles d'El-Amrah ont fourni ^galement des silex en petit quantity. Lor.sque j'eus retire les ouvriers, I'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.''
:

which covers a part of the knife
is
ART.
69
not
soldered, but
sewn on
by means of gold
terlaced
rosettes
;
the point at one side two inserpents are engraved, the spaces being filled up with on the other side there are nine figures of animals
thread.
On
lions, gazelles,
antelopes, and a fantastic animaP
(Fig. 33).
The
meet
design
with, as
of interlaced
it
serpents
is
especially
interesting
to
is
also seen on the

at
Chaldean monuments."
is
In the
solid
same museum
Cairo there
also a
dagger with a
The handle
gold handle fixed to the blade by means of three rivets. on one side are three is decorated with incised figures
:
women, one of
whom
holds a fan
on the other
side, there is
a boat
Fig. 34.
Figures
of
Women and
of a Boat on a gold Knife-handle.
Another dagger from the same place had an ivory and in the Pitt-Rivers handle, only fragments of which remain
(Fig. 34).
;
Collection,
Farnham, Dorset, there

is
is
a large Hint knife, the ivory

series
handle of which
decorated
on both faces with a
of
animals* (Fig. 35).

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

and
ii.
;
De Morgan,
Re.cher&hcs,
i.
pp. 112-115,
fig.
136
[)1.
v.
Sculptured vase of Gudea. See Heuzey, Mhscc national dii Louvre: Catalogue des antiqidtes chaldcennes ; Sculptiife et grai'/ire d la pointc, Paris,
^
1902, pp. 280-285.
QuiBELL, Flint dagger from Gebeleitt, loc. cit. p. 131. Petrie, Nar/ada, pi. l.\-xvii. and p. 5 1. De Morga.n, Rcclwrchcs, ii. pp. 266, 267. The whole of the knife has been produced in a plate intended for a work on the A Pitt-Rivers Collection, but which, I believe, has never been published.
''
copy of
the University another copy is m 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."
this plate is exhibited in the Pitt-Rivers Collection at
;
Museum, Oxford
ô
there
are

two interesting pieces. bearing on one of its
feline
One
faces
is
a handle, possibly of
frequently a
there
is
knife,
design
;
which
on
the
occurs
other
sees
animal
chasing
gazelle
a quaint representation, in which
Professor Petrie
the hippopotamus goddess Tanrt seizing a crocodile, perhaps to
Fig.
35. Ivory Knife-handle
in
the Pitt-Rivi:rs Collection.
devour
it.
With her
right
left
hand
she
grasps
its
a
(Fig.
foot
36).
of
the
crocodile, and with her
she holds
tail
Upon
is
a steatite prism discovered by Greville Chester at Karnak, and
presented
Ijy
him
to the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford,
there
standing and holding a crocodile by the tail. This representation may perhaps be connected with the figures of the
man
ORNAMENTAL AND DECORATIVP:

intaglios of the
ART.
71
Greek
islands,
tail.^
on which personages are figured

flint
holding animals by the
The
other object
is
a small
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 to be a hedgehog^ (Fig. ^y). of a similar specimen

in
by Petrie
A fragment
the
Berlin
Museum
(Fig.
that this animal
(No. 15,137) proves, however, is a species of antelope In the case of the knife, 38).
in
the
way
which the handle
is
fastened
to the blade entirely confirms a
remark
to
made by Mr.
Quibell with regard
the ivory-handled knife at Cairo.

states that the part of the knife
is
He
which
fixed to the handle
is
so minute that
certainly the
knife
could
only
cere-
have
been
employed
monially.-'
The same
representations of
jt
animals arc found on decorated

spoons, of which several interest-
ing specimens have been discovered^ (Fig. 39). Mr. Quibell
Fig. 36.
Ivory
Knife-handle.
Petrie Collection, University College,
has
published
the
handle
of
London.
some instrument, now disappeared, which has two small animal

Evans, Arthur J., Further disco7>cries of Cretan a?td Aegcati Script with Libyan and proto- Egyptian Co?nparisons, in \.\\q Journal 0/ Hellenic Studies, .wii.
'
898, pp. 362-372.

-
Petrie, Prehistoric Egyptian Carvings,

pi.
1.
in
Mail,
cit.
ii.
1902,
No.
113, p. 161,
and
'
3,
iii.,
and
4,
iv.
Quibell, Flint dagger from Gcbclcin, he.

:
p. 132.
See Lefehure,
E.,
Rites cgyptiens
des
lett?-cs,
^
Construction cl p7-otection des edifices {^Publications dc I Ecole d' Alger), Paris 1890, p. 37,
pi.
Ixi.
Petrie, Naqada,
Rechcrches,
ii.
2,
3,
5,
6,
8,
p.
47
Diospo/is,
i.
p.
22.
De
Morgan,
p.
131.
Quibell, Hierakonpolis,
pi. xii. 9.
72
figures^

(Fig39,
No.
instrument a spoon
or a knife
is
7)
and there
in
is
also
the
handle of an
form of a
in the
lion,
which probably
came from Hierakon polls, and

Oxford.
now
Ashmolean Museum,
much greater variety of types, and enable more closely the evolution of the forms. Both single the most frequent type was that and double combs were used
Combs
present a
us to follow
of a small
or animal figure, furnished with teeth at the lower part, as a means of fixing it in the hair. There are several
human
--'
^
_:-:.^**'
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
The
is is
represented (Fig. 40). representations of animals offer still
is
more
variety.
It
remarkable
how
the antelope, which

to
in
is
very clearly characterized,

unrecognizable,
by degrees degraded
the
point of being
and of being confused, as

1
the last specimen of Fig. 41, with
QuiBELL, FIhit dagger f1-07)1 Gcbclein, he. cit. pi. i. 7. De Morgan, Rccherchcs, Petrie, Naqada, pi. lix. 5.
fig.
i.
p.
147,
fig.
342,
and
ii.
p. 62,
136.

the type derived from the figure of
in
;i
ART.
T:
bird.'
Petrie beUeves that

I
two instances he can

it
identify representations of the giraffe.
believe that
is
more probably a
is
simplification
of the type of
antelope- (Fig. 41).
Another type
the
head of a
shall see
bull,
full
face,
also
found
among
the amulets, as
we
later."'
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. 1^.
Fragment
of an Ivory Knife-handle with a Figure of an Antelope.

Berlin
Museum.
simplified forms,
which only remotely suggest the

again intervenes to
original.
The
end
symmetry by placing the same conventional
principle of
augment
the confusion,
'
figure of a bird
at each
Petrie,
i-
ih. Ixiii.
59, 63,
66
Ixiv.
cS;
and
p.
87.
De Morgan,
Recherches,
fig-
343. P- 148.
^
*
Petrie, Petrie,
ib. pi. xliii.
60-62,
and
p. 47.
ib. pi. xliii. 57, 57^:.
Petrie, Naqada,
Recherches,
i.
pi.
Ixiii.
and
Ixiv.
Diospolis,
ix.
x.
and
i.
p.
20.
De
Morgan,
p.
148.
Budge,
History 0/ Egypt,
p.
54.
74

comb
(Fig. 42).
of the axis of the
Other specimens, again, show

'
the combination of the

(Fig- 43)-
two designs of quadrupeds and birds

I
Owing
to the
generous kindness of Herr von Bissing,
am
able to reproduce here a magnificent ivory comb decorated with This comb belongs to M. Theodor M. Davis, figures of animals.
and
\'ôn
Bissing
will
shortly
publish a detailed
account of
it.
IDITJTT^-^^ ^^m^-^t^
Fig. 39.
Ivory
Spoon-handles.
which
will
enable us to draw interesting conclusions from this
very Before
fine piece of
work
this
(Figs.
leaving reader of the magical role which these intended to fulfil, and on which I have
length.
^
44 and 45). subject, I must once more remind the
combs were apparently already dwelt at some
De Morgan,
Recherches,
i.
y.
148, fig. 243.

hair-pins, while they show same zoomorphic designs as birds and bulls' heads the combs
ART.
/ 3
The
the
have
first
'
also regular
itself,
incised
lines
on the pin
which form the

of an
fl'
example we meet with
ornamentation derived from technique.
They evidently represent

wrapped round
it
the binding
pin,
the
\ <
which attached
the carved ornament

bird, etc.
firmly
to
Fk.
Uii^
bull's
at the top
head,
40.
Ivory
*1|MU^
Combs with Human
Figures.
Petrie Collection.
(Fig. 46).
KhM
6^
lli.VLVii
Fig. 41.
Ivory
Combs with Figures of Antelopf.s and

l.viii.
CiIkakI'Es.
'
Petrie, Naqada,
I4<S,
pi.
i.
pp.
149.
MacIvkr
&
and l.\iv. D/ospolis, pi. \. Dk Mokgan, RcchcrchcSy Mace, El Ainrali, jii. .\ii. 2, 3.
;
76

When wc
turn
to
tlie
consideration
of
pendants,
we
find
reappearing on a whole series of Their purpose is not easy stone, ivory, objects were mere ornaments. They have to determine possibly they a groove and hole at the lower end, and if suspended by them,
exactly the
in
same
designs
and bone.
Fig. 42.
Ivory
Combs with Figures of Birds.
to enable
This may be a device the figures, of course, hang upside down. These objects the wearer to see them as they hang. are carved with representations of human figures (F'ig. 47), with
birds
'
more or
less
conventionalized, with bulls' heads,* and also
Men: Petrie, Naqada, pi. lix. Ix. Birds: ib. lix. Ixii. and Ixiv. DiospoUs xi. xii. Dk Morgan, (Jrigmcs, ii. pp. 64 and 143. MacIvkr & Mace, El Amrali and Abydos, pi. x. 7. Bulls: Petrie, Naqada, pi. Ixii. 37 and 51;
;
pi. X.
DiospoUs,
vii.
1.

with a singular ornament which of bird (Fig. 48).
is
ART.
17
perhaps derived from a type

is
formed by the pendants of necklaces, which have already been mentioned in Those of most the chapter on personal adornment.
Another
class of decorated objects
frequent occurrence are merely engraved on the two sides with various short strokes at regular intervals.
The
decoration of others
starting
is
in
imitation of a cord,
coils
which,
from
the
base,
round
the
pendant
lines,
to the top.
Others, again, have intercross-
ing 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.^
In the Berlin
Museum
there
is
a small shell
13,797),
(?)
plaque
of
fine
workmanship (No.
which
perhaps should be considered as a pendant for a necklace. It is decorated with figures of animals,
which
and
should be
compared
on
the
with
those
we
shall
presently
51).^
study
all
slate
palettes
(Figs.
50
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
Beyond
m
V\G.
43
Ivory Comb
^''^^
'^"^ figure of an antelope
worked out the chronological succession of these palettes, and we need not therefore dwell long on
the subject.'*
and ornaments
ticnved
The
earliest of these
are rhomboids,
from
bird forms.
and
this
form was probably suggested, accordmg to

slate rock.
Petrie,
afterwards
'
by some natural cross-cleavages of the natural forms appear, which we

pi.
l.\i.
Shortly
shall
now examine,
Petrie, Naqada,
ixii.
and
Ixi;-.
Recherches, i. pp. 62, 63, with a blackisli piaster.

^
fig.
137-147.
The
De Morgan, Diospolis, pi. x. incised lines are frequently filled up

;
Ko7ii<(lichc Miiscen
zu Berlin
iii.
AusfilJirlicJics
Vc7-zeiclttiis
dcr ligyptisclicn
Altertilmcr ujid Gipsabgilssc, 2nd ed. Berlin, 1899,

^
p. 38.
Petrie, Diospolis,
pi.
78
and from which new forms were eventually derived which were
solely geometrical.
I
know only one

52).
palette
which represents the human form.

in the
It
London belongs to the Petrie Collection, University College,

Another specimen
(P"ig.
same
collection
is
a palette
head of which figure of an antelope (?), the on the contrary, other has disappeared (Fig. 53). With specimens, of it is the entire palette which represents grosso viodo the lines
surmounted by the
Fig. 44.
Ivory
Comb, Recto.
Fig. 45.
ÎvoRY
Comb, Verso.
Davis Collection.
Davis Collection.
the animal.
notice
Among
one where
the palettes representing antelopes we must Petrie recognizes the ibex or the mouflon^
Other specimens are carved in imitation of the elephant, ^ hippopotamus- (Fig. 55), and lion (Fig- 55^). The palettes in
(F"ig. 54).
1
Petrie, Naqada,
i.
of Egypt,
pi.
Ix-iv.
-
p.
59,
Budge, History 1-4; Dwspolis, pi. xi. i. pi. xlvii. 20,910 and 35,049. Quibell & Green, Hierakonpolis, ii.
pl. xlvii.
17.
Petrie, Naqada,
5-8; Diospolis,
pi. xi. 4, 5.
Berlin, No. 11,341.
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 antelopes^ (Fig- 5^).
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 A remarkable example is losing all characteristic form (Fig. 57).
^
Petrie,
Naqada,
pi.
xlvii.
i.
9-12,
14,
and 18; Diospolis,

Berlin, No. 10,595.
pi.
.\i.
6,
9,
10.
Budge,
History of Egypt,
p. 60, 23,061.
8o

in
one
of our F\^. 57, where the tail of the fish has itself been transformed into a still smaller fish.^
the centre
4f
Fig. 47.
Slate
and Ivory Pendants.
The most
recognizable^
curious case
(Fig.
58),
it
is
that of the
bird.
At
first
easily
It
is
promptly becomes modified.

;
Petrie, Naqada, pi. xlviii. 51, 52, 60 Diospolis, pi. Newberry, Extracts frotn tfiy Notebooks, v. No.
xxiv. 1902, p. 251
xi.
15-18, 27, 29.

in
pi.
36,
the Proceedings
ii.
of the Society of Biblical Archceology,
and

carved
palette
;
ART.
8i
in duplicate, in
the
plain
surface
order to give a symmetrical form to the 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
would be impossible to recognize the original type, had not the intermediate specimens been preserved ^ (Fig. 59).
it
c^
^ w
iÔ
0@GOO
"^
r~^
I
Q O
O)
HiiH ^niim
im
"-UWUUUOLUlUUAAAiJ
Fig. 48.
Slate
and Ivory Pendants decorated with Derived Designs.
wish to draw special attention to a palette

belonging to
the
Pctrie
in
form of a
College,
bird
Collection,
University
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
21, 23, 24, 29,
palettes.
An
.\li.x.
attempt
was
Petrie, Naqada,
S6, 89, 91, 92.
pi. xlvii.
30,
32
pi.
64, 6y, 72, 81, 82,
Diospolis,
pi. xii.
35, 38.
82
PRIMITIVE ART
to
IN
like
EGYPT.
models by the aid form of a fish, where the
their
made
render them
still
more
of incised lines, especially on those in
shape was
or
birds.^
less
characteristic than
those
representing
antelopes
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 foundothers have representations of the crocodile,"" and also
;
In connection with
these
Fig. 49.
Stone and
IN
Ivory Pendants with Incised Line Decoration, some Cases filled up with a Blackish Paste.
figure of
at
an indeterminate animal* (Fig.

Diospolis
61).
A
in
palette dis-
covered
(tomb B
102)
also
bears
low
relief
figure difficult to identify^ (Fig. 61).

In addition to the jialettes mentioned
will
'
tlie
pr( ccdini^
notes,
ji.
numerous
vii. viii.
specimens
pi.
xi.
xii.
be found
p.
in
Petrie, Naqada,
pi.
xlvii.-l.
and
43; Diospolis^
jil.
and
20.
MacIver
pi. v.
&
xii.
Mace, EI
43.
yb/iiali
and
A/iydos,
and
*
^
*
X.
Petrie, Diospolis,
and
j).
Ue Morgan, De Morgan,
Origincs,
ib.
ii.
144,
and Berlin Museum, No.
12,877.
Petrie, Diospolis,
pi. v.
102.
-0RNAMP:NTAL
and decorative
belonging
to
art.
83
very
fine
specimen
the
Petrie
Collection,
Fig.
50.
Plaque
in
the Berlin Museum (Recto).

Shell (?).
University
College,
London,
is
engraved
on
both
faces
with
1'
iG.
51.
Plaque
in
the Berlin
Shell (?).
IVIuseuhi (Veuso).
ibex
facing
each other
62).
cavities
(Fig.
Two
ivory beads are inserted in the eye other specimens, one discovered at
84
TRIMITIVE ART IN EGYPT.
(Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) and the other of unknown provenance (University College, London) are inscribed with very
Hu
Fig. 52.
Palette with a Human Figure at the Top.
Fig.
Palette with a 53. Figure of an Antelope, THE Head missing.
summary
designs of animals
is
(Fig. 62).
Finally,
the
most
in-
teresting discovery
'
somewhat recent one by Mr. Maclver,

by Petrie, Diospolis,
The
first is
the specimen published without description
pi. XX. 20.

who found
carved
in
85
palette
relief
on the
important point wc
palettes
signs resembling hieroglyphs Before stopping to dwell on this must remark that a considerable number of
face.
with
two
arc
that they could
employed
proves be hung or carried on the body ready to be for grinding colour while the smaller ones indicate
;
pierced
with a
hole
for
suspension, which
that in course of time these palettes were occasionally converted
Fig.
54.
Palettes
in
Form of
Anieloi'es.
into amulets.
tion
The accuracy
of this instance of the transforma-
of the ordinary object into an ainulet 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 Hippopotaml
Fig.
56.
Palettes
in
Form ok Tortoises.
Fig. 55A.
Palette
MacGregor
in
Form of a
Lion.
Collection.
X
en
O
0;
tn
H H U -1 <
88
We
must now turn our attention

Maclver
at
to
the
6],).
palette
found by
are
Mr. Randall
El
Amrah
(Fig.
What
the
signs carved on it, and what is their meaning ? In an article published at the time of the discov'cry of this ^ "It is by far the earliest example palette Mr. Maclver wrote
:
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
king of the first dynasty." Writing again with modified views on this subject
first
in
his
'^m"^
Fig. 58.
Palette
in
;
Form of a Bird.
height, lo cm.
Brussels
Museum
at
memoir on
out, with
the excavations
El
Amrah, Mr. Maclver points
Petric
and
of
Griffith,
palette
with
one
the
the analogy of the sign on the standards of ships (wc shall speak the
of these
statues
later),
and with the signs engraved on
archaic
of the
his
he carries
god Min discovered by Petrie at Koptos, and hypothesis no farther than the statement that
a
sign
similar
to
we
have
here
the
emblem
of
this
god
less
Min.2
Reduced
'
to these proportions,
R.,
the discovery
became no
in
MacIver, D.
P7-ehistoric
Cemetery at
El Amrah
Egypt
Pre-
limi?iary Report of Excavations, \n

^
MacIveh
&
Man, i. No. Mace, El Amrah and Abydos,
40, April, 1901.
pp. 37, 38.
ART.
89
Fig. 59.
Pai F.TTKS
of Bird Form.
90

remarks,
it
important, because, as the author example of palettes carved in relief.

furnishes
was
the
first
The MacGregor
Collection
us
At
the
the
top
with another example of this (Catalogue i,758h). of this palette two birds are carved in relief;
their
they face each other, and

palette.
bodies
piece
follow
is
the
outline
of
it
The
interest
of this
the
very great, as
between the preclearly possible historic palettes and the proto-dynastic palettes of which we have such remarkable specimens (Fig. 64).
shows
as
as
transition
Our
first
acquaintance with these was owing to the excava-
tions of Mr. Ouibell at Hierakonpolis,
which led
to the discovery
Fig. 60.
Bird-shaped
Palette.
of two
These constitute evidence of the

the
marvellous palettes covered with carvings in low relief. first order for the history of
making of Egypt.
They have
definitely fixed the period
merit of having to which should be allocated various

the
great
fragments of objects of the same kind
preserved
for
in
different
Here museums. which are found

at
the
in
simple
earliest
palettes
grinding
of
malachite,
the the
greater
number
prehistoric
tombs
into
period objects of lu.xury, votive offerings deposited
the
of
dynasties, have
in
developed
the temples
and
perhaps intended to commemorate important rcligimis festivals. This is another instance of the evolution of decorated objects
of which
we spoke
at the
cuinmencement of
this chapter.
VVe

shall return
later to the scenes depicted
ART.
91
on the assumption
to decorative art.
that
they relate
on these great palettes, more to sculpture than
The same may be
said
of the votive maces from the
same
temple of Hierakonpolis, which furnish another instance of
common
Fig.
61.
Palettes
decokatkd with Incised Figures.
objects
becoming actual objects of luxury, of huge proportions,

consequence rendered
entirely
unfit
for
and
in
their
origmal
purpose.
be divided into Speaking generally, stone macc-heads may two principal classes. The first, and the most ancient, arc ni
the form of a disc.
These are most frequently found
in
syenite
o c o
"o
if

and
in
ART.
93
]X)rphyry,
alabaster.^
and
more
are
rarely
The
and
in
others
are
in
pear-shaped,
found
basalt, haematite, breccia, alabaster,
and above
limestone.
all
a compact white
latter
This
form ap-
pears at least as early as the fourth dynasty, and throughout the history of Egypt as an all
emblem
A-
in
the hands of the king.

sign,
j,
hieroglyphic
which
conve\-s the idea of whiteness and

distinction,
has
.^SB^
also
perpetuated
the-figure.-
Two specimens discovered

at
1 i
Fig. 63.
Palette.
handles,^ one
D
of
With
a sign (hieroglyphic ?)
in relief.
po
Parva
still
retain their
ivory
and
a
one
of
horn.
Some
with
mace-heads are of a different form,

resembling
double
hammer
not considered to be mace-lieads.
At the British Museum these objects are See Budge, Guide to the Third and Fourth Egyptian
1
tiuit
The proof Roo7ns, 1904, p. 48, Nos. 63-84. these pieces are really mace-heads will be
in tlie representations on painted coffins See Lei'SIUS, Aclicste of the Middle Empire.
found
altiigyptischcn
Berlin, 1867,
Texte des Todtcnbuchs nach Sarcophagen dcs Reichs iin Berliner Museum,
pi.
xx.wiii.
Lacau, Sarcophages
empire
: Catalogue general des antiquites cgyptiennes du musee
antericurs
au
nouTel
Fig. 64.
Palktte.
Collection.
du
Caire, 1904,
-
pi. Ixiii.
277.
p.
Petrie, DiospoUs parva,

pl. xvii.
24 and
pl. iv.
With two
birds carved in reliei.
Naqada,
*
MacGregor
Petrie, Diospolis pan'a,
pl. v.
94
^
Tliese mace-heads are usually without pointed ends (Fig- 65). ornamentation. Nevertheless, a specimen in limestone was dis-
decorated with black spots.^ I am disposed to believe that some objects discovered by Petrie at Naqada
covered at El
Amrah
are
toy,
of the
same
class.
He
^
considers
them
to
be a form of
having regard to the limestone and soft sandstone
materials of which they are

(Fig. 66).
made
At Hierakonpolis,
besides the
show
pieces
have just alluded
to, Mr. Quibell discovered an enormous number of mace-heads,^ which must have been merely for ceremonial use, judging, with
Mr. Ouibell, 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
in
hard stone, which has been carved with

15,716,
is
weird effect
the
shape of a tortoise (No.

15,142)
Fig.
6j^.
Another
three
shall
in
the
same museum (No.

from the
bull's
decorated
with
designs derived
head type, of which we

Collection at
speak
presently.
The MacGregor
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
'
P'ig.
pi.
69 (Nos. 3,495 and

xvii.
3,779).
Oxford).
Petrie, Naqada,
in the
23 (Aslimolean
Museum,
liaminer-
shaped inace
an animal's
''
MacGregor Collection (No.
1,720) is terminated at
one end by
liead.
MacIver
Quibell
&
&
Petrie, Na(/ada,
'
Mace, El Amrah and Ahydos, pi. x. 6 and p. pi. vii. and p. 35 (Aslimolean Museum). Green, Hic7-akonpolis, ii. pi. xxvii. p. 41.
16.

Finally, there
ART.
95
two macc-heads or sceptres which cannot One is of ivory, and is be compared with any others known. carved with three rows of captives, represented with their arms
are
tied
behind their backs, and fastened together the other a cord passed round their necks
^
;
in
is
single
in
file
by
serpentine,
carved
in
relief
two pieces and are masterpieces of workmanship
with alternate figures of dogs and lions." These belong to the commencement of the historic period,
(Fig. 68).
perfection of the form of these mace-heads, made of the without at any rate in the earliest period hardest stones, and
The
Fig.
66.
Di corated
tools,
is
Mace-heads
in
Soft Stone.
the
aid
of
metal
if
marvellous.
the stone
Our amazement can

vases
onh' increase
in
we examine
which arc found

prehistoric
the
tombs
these
as early as the
"
:
commencement
of the
period.
Of
Petrie
writes
Throughout the whole
prehistoric
age, from immediately after the rude savage burials of (sequence
QuiEKLL, Ilierako)ipolis, i. pi. xii. and ii. pi. xx.xvii. xix. OuiBELL & Green, Hierakonpolis, ii. pi. xxiii. Ixvi. and p. 38; ]>1. On Fig. 68 is another mace-head from Hierakonpolis representing the lore part of two l)iil!s or rams. Hifrakonpolis, i. pi. xix. 3, xxv. and p. 8 ii. p. 38. An analogous specimen from IIu is now, like the preceding pieces, in the Ashmolcan
'
i.
Museum, Oxford.
96
date) 30
PRIMITIVE ART IX EGYPT.

down
for
to the end, stone vases are abundant. Moreover, hard stone was kept up in the Iiistoric times; hundreds of stone bowls were buried with each king of the first
the taste
and many are found in tombs of the third and fourth But in the twelfth dynasty the softer serpentine and dynasties. alabaster supplanted the fine diorites and porphyries, and in the
d}-nast\',
eighteenth dynasty the art of working" hard stones was forgotten
Fig. 67.
Mace-heau
Carved
in
Form of a Tortoise.
Berlin
Museum.
for
and
anything but statuary. From the point of view of magnificence, skill in using hard and beautiful stones, wc must say that
to
their highest level in the later
sixth, twelfth
Avith
the Egyptians gradually rose
prehistoric and early dynastic times, and that the
or eighteenth dynasties cannot for a archaic splendours." ^

^
moment compare
p. 18.
the

We
must not
linL,êr
ART.
97
here to study in detail the forms of content myself with referring the reader to Petrie's remarks, and to the numerous plates on which all the
these vases, and
I
will
forms discovered up to the present time are reproduced.^
We
must turn
to
the decoration of pottery, and to those examples
Pig. 68.
'
Scepihe-
or Mace-heads from Hierakontoi.is.
Petrik, Diospolis parTdy p|i. 18, 19, and pi. iii. for the diagram showing the evolution of forms during tiic preliistoric period (Mr. Petrie tells me that he has reserved his opinion with regard to the evolution of the stone vases of cylindrical
98

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

there
is
is
without decoration
a simple representation of a
occasionally cord which encircles the

;
neck, and
care
has been
it
other
instances
cases,
is
is
taken in working out the detail. In mere sinuous rounded line, which, in
continuous.'
some
not even
More
rarely
the
vase
is
^
;
decorated with regular ribs worked with wonderful perfection 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

in
of of
is
plaited
fillet,
cords
in
repre-
sented
vase
slight
relief,
forming
placed.'^
sort
which the
might have been

to
This
an example of those
earlier
in
skeuomorphic designs
chapter.
vase,
which we have referred
the
second
is
to be found in the
is
fragment of a marble
basket."^
where the exterior
carved to represent a plaited
the
most part from of the historic period, show us figures in relief heads and figures of human beings, animals, etc. will rapidly
Finally, a whole series of vases, dating for the
commencement
We
pass them in review. of only one vase which is decorated with human heads. the Petrie Collection at University College, London, and from its form it should belong to the time between the comI
know
is
This
in
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. ;
;
Mace, El Ani7-ah and Abydos, pi. xvi. Petrie, Abydos, i. pi. xxvii. xlii. xlvii. Royal To??ibs, ii. pi. Ixvi.-liii.^'^ Abydos, pi. ix. x. QuiBELL, El A'ab, pi. ii. iii. vi. x. xxvii, Ouibell & Green, Hierakonpolis, i. ii. These indications refer also to the pi. xxxi.-xxxiv. xxxvi. xxxvii. pi. xxx. vases of the first Egyptian dynasties. See also A. H. Sayce, Ihc Sto?ie Vases of Ancient Egypt, in The Connoisseur, a Magazine for Collccio7-s, iv. 1902,
Dtospolis,
pi. ix.
MacIver
&
;
i.
pp. 159-165, with beautiful photographs of vases in
tlie
Berens Collection.
ii.
Examples: Petru:, iXaqada, pi. and liii./. Quibell, Hicrakoupolis,

^
'
x.
Royal Tombs,
pi. xlvii./',
Iii.
liii.
liii.^?
\.
pi. xxxiii.
De Morgan,
Rechcrchcs,
ii.
p. 184.
i)l.
Petrie, Royal Tombs, ii. pi. xlix. ^ Petrie, Royal Tombs, ii. pi.
Rcctie7-chcs,
ii.
v.
12
;
Quibell, Hierako?ipolis, and 2. pi. xxxviii.

i.
1
i.
pi.
iix.
7.
vi.
27, xxix. 21-25,
'i"*^'
-'^''-
94-
De Morgan,
fig.
823, p. 245.
ii.
Petrie, Royal Tombs,
pi. ix.
12.

it
ART.
99
is
therefore entirely of the prehistoric period.
human
the
heads, sculptured
in
relief
There we see two on the body of the vase, and of

with.
same type we have already met
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 (Fig. 69).
Two
relief
fragments of vases in the Berlin Museum bear in light barks and human figures (Nos. 15,084 and 15,693). The
is
fragment No. 15,084
specially remarkable for the representation
Fig. 69.
bro.NE
Vase.
heads.
Decorated with two
human
of a warrior
armed with a
of this
figure
hatchet, driving a prisoner before him.

is
The
later
style
somewhat
similar to those
we
find
on the votive maces and palettes (Figs. 70 and 71). At Hierakonpolis Mr. Quibell discovered a whole series of
with
figures
vases decorated
feline creatures
'
of animals.
There arc heads of
above a sign which resembles the hieroglyph CM^,In-
A fragment of a similar vase was found Petrie, Naqada, pi. xlii. 26, and p. 42.
*
Mr. Ouibcll at
iiallas.
See
i.
pi. xvii.
100

a
figure
of
;
'
scorpion
finally,
(Fig.
72)
and,
very curious group, which I am tempted to consider

as
pictographic
without,
repre-
sentation,
howIt
ever, being able to suggest
any reading of it. more especially the

of the
that
to
is
fact
bow being depicted

it
makes me suspect
of
"
be something
this
description (Fig. Jj^). Other pieces, unfortunately frao-mentarv, show a bird's head, and also a strange
object terminated
by a star.^ The royal tombs of the

dynasty
afforded
at
first
Abydos
frag-
have
few
ments of
Fig. 70.
this nature.
On
none
Fragment
Berlin
of Vase Warrior ARMED WITH A HaTCHET.
Museum.
some, curious are carved in
ornaments
relief,
of which, unfortunately, can
be identified with certainty. An alabaster vase from the
same
the
locality
is
incised
at
base
with
series
of
signs,
'
xvii.
^
QuiBELL, Hierakonpolis, i. pi. and xxiii. Id. i. pi. xix. XX. and xxv. OunÊLL & Green, Hicrakonii.
polis,
pi. lix.
Petrie, Royal
vi.rt,
ii.
Toitibs,
pi.
ii.
pi. v.
Fig. 71.
Fragment of Vase with Boat

Low
Berlin
in
15,
22,
23;
i.
xxxviii.
4,
Relief.
and
pi.
Ii.//,
335.
Museum.

We
To
curious
ART.
loi
must mention that ivory was

from
a
in
also
used
for vases, and,
judging was decorated

pass
is
very
the
vases
fine
fragment
fantastic
discovered
at
Abydos,
the
it
same manner
of
as stone.^
to
shapes,
one
of
most
that discovered
by
Petrie at
Abydos,
whicli represents
Fig. 72.
Stone
Vases with Animal Ficures
in
Relief.
leather
bottlebirds,
(Fig.
74).
Other
s[)ecimeiis
from
Naqada
At represent frogs, and hippopotami (Figs. 75 and jG). Mr. and Hicrakonpolis Quibcll discovered two vases of steatite In the MacGregor Collection at serpentine in form of birds.'*
Tamworth
*
there
is
a small steatite
ii.
vase,
at
the base of which
Petrie, Royal Totnbs,

Id.
i.
pi. vi.
22.
^ '
pi. xx.xviii. 3,
and
p. 28.
i.
QunÊLL, Hicrakanpol/s,
pi. .xx. 2
and
4,
and
p.
ii.
p. 38.
I02
is

the vase
the head
to
support
and four paws of a small animal, which appears with its body (Catalogue 3,544). In the
there
is
same
collection
its
a vase
shaped
like
a frog, which
still
preserves with gold

the
artist
ancient gold mounting. The lateral handles covered leaf are crossed by a thin strip of metal, to which
has
given
the
form
of a
to
delicate gold chains are attached
serpent. Very fine and the serpent, and servêd 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 third is of a hippopotamus (No. 14,147) Another is a a vase in form of a dog (No. 12,590)' (Fig. yy).
;
a vase in form
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
vase
'
which
represents
what
is
probably an
elephant.
Two
KdiiigUche Musceii sit Berlin Ansfilhrliches VerzeicJuiis der iigyptischen Altcrlihncr U7td Gipsabgiissc, 2nd ed. Brrlin, 1899, p. 36 and fig. 2, where one can indistinctly see No. 12,590.
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
representation
of
an
animal
(Fig. 78)
Fig.
75.^Stone Vase
in
Form of a Bird.
Most of the forms met with

of the
in
stone vases, and also most

shall find again in potter}-.
decorations found on them, wc
104

we must enquire whether,
hypothesis
as regards Egypt,
But, to begin with,
we can
verify
the
which
attributes
the
origin
of
Fig. 76.
Stone
Vases
in
Form of Frogs, Hippopotamus, and Birds.

least, to
primitive pottery to moulding, or, at

in
copying a basket
?
plaited work.^
Did the primitive Egyptian understand basket work
In
Fig. 77.
Vase
Berlin
in
Form of a Dog.
Museum.
the
in
earliest
prehistoric
tombs
cither
the
body was wrapped

lined with
matting, or the
bottom of the tomb was
a mat.^
' For the same fact in primitive Greek civilization, see John L. Myres, Textile Impressions on an Early Clay Vessel froiti A?norgos, in the Journal of the Afiihropolofîcal Institute^ xxvii. November, 1897, pp. 178-180 and pi. xii.
Petrie, Naqada,
722.
p. 15,
tomb
MacIver
&
tomb 31 p. 23, tomb B14; Mace, El Attirah and Abydos, p.

;
p. 25,
tomb 42
pi.
p. 27,
31,
and
xi. 5, 6.

Ancient Empire, both as carpets
ART.
105
Mats were frequently employed throughout the] whole of the 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.^
In the tombs of the prehistoric cemetery of El Amrah were found baskets of the usual spherical form containing malachite.^ The patterns on several specimens recall the baskets made at
Fig.
78.
Vase,
and Fragments of Vases,
in
Form of Animals.
day in the Soudan. The same comparison was made by M. Amelineau on discovering in one of the chambers of the
the present
tomb
work
:
of
King Khasakhmui a "... I found there,"

chamber.
I
large quantity of objects in basket
he
"
says,
I
fairly
long
these
pieces
of
wood covered with matting.

out the
These
met with again throughpieces
promptly recognized that

covered
with
of
wood with matting round them were remains of broken

for
chairs,
one of the
at
ends was not

least
matting.
broad,
These
which
chairs were
o"'40
high and about

of a
o"'6o
gives Upon species of high stool. these chairs were placed other specimens of basket work, which,
Petrie, Egyptian Decorative Art, pp. 44, 45. MacIver, a prehistoric cc7nctery at El AtnraJi in Egypt, No. 40, p. 52 MacIver & Mace, El Amrah and Alydos, pi. xi.
^
;
the
well
known form
'
in
2,
Man,
and
1901,
p. 42.
io6

made
asked
in the
plaited with a kind of parti-coloured straw, resembled the basket
work
still
I
Soudan and
sold in the bazaar at Assouan.
When
my workmen whether they had anything
of the
MH^
mm
in
Fig.
79. Rkd Vases with White Paint,
in Imitation
of HASKiiT
Work.
same kind
told
mc'
inside their
tlie
houses, they replied in the negative, but
tliat
the Berbers.
work closely resembled the Margone made by The word struck me, and I immediately recalled

the
ART.
107
word
MAPKflNI,
1
which
had met with
in
the Coptic hTe
of Pakhome. ..."
Fig. 80.
Black
Incised Pottkkv, with Decoratio.n
i.n
Imit.\tio.n
of
Basket Work.
Independently
_r.
'
of
ceramic
art,
the
indiistr\-
of
the
basket
1896-7.
Amelineau,
Lcs
nonvellcs
I'aris,
fouilles
1902,
d'Abydos,
pp.
176,
second
I.es
season,
Co7npte rendu in cxienso,
177;
iioiniellcs fouilles
i.
d'Abydos (1896-7),
Paris,
1897, p. 40.
Sec Petrie, Royal Tombs,
p.
15.
io8

left
maker, as Pctrie has remarked,'

decorative art of the
first
numerous
traces
on the
dynasty.
imitation of the basket in prehistoric potter)' is especially The first of these is what noticeable in two classes of pottery.
is
The
called
by
Petrie
cross-lined pottery
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
(Figs. 79
filled
and 80). work also belong to the class of decorated pottery.^ 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 arc found,
of pottery vases there arc few or none.^ With the mention of occasional instances of vases modelled
with a whitish paste, and probably imported ^ Several specimens with imitations of basket
from a gourd, as
in
we
have,
think,
example published by Herr von Bissing,^ observed all the principal cases where designs
the or
which
with.
are
skeuomorphic
derived
from technique
of
the
are
met
inde-
We
The
will
now
consider
the
decoration
vases
pendently of the
first
origin of the various designs found on them. 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 to the earliest period.
this pottery and that has several times been pointed out.
^
we have already remarked, these belong The striking analogy which exists between made at the present day b}- the Kabyles
Petrie, Royal Tombs, ii. pp. 35, 39. Petrie, Naqada, p. 38 and |j1. xxviii. 34, 36, 46, xxix. 52-79, xxx. Diospolis parva. p. 14, pi. xiv. 55-70. MacIver & Mace, El Amrah atid Ahydos, pi. xv. Petrie, Naqada, p. 40, and pi. xxxiii. 12, 29. Schweinfurth, Orna?nentik der dltestcn Cidtiir-Epoclie Acgyplcfts, in the Verhandltingen der h. Gcscllsch.
^
;
'
Jur Anthropologic, Ethnologie, and

^
Petrie, Naqada,
1
p. 40, pi. xxxiii.
Urgeschichte, 1897, pp. 397, 398. i, xxxv. 62, 63, 65, 67; Diospolis pjrva,
pp.
''
and
18.
V.)\ BissiNG, Lcs 07-igincs de I'Plgypte, in

pi. iv. fig.
i.
V Antliropologie,
p.
ix.
1898, p. 254
and
"
Petrie, Naqada,
p.
pi.
xxvi. 40-43, 50-52.

;
14
Naqada,
38.
MacIver
&
V\ ilkin,

We
have said that pottery was often decorated
of
imitation
ART.
\\ith h'nes
109
in
basket work
but
in
addition
to
these
we
find
floral designs,
representations of animals antl
human
the
beings,
and
as
also
a series
of zigzag
lines,
the
whole
in
same
style
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 Flokal
Designs.
branches
much
conventionalized, with which one

similar
is
tempted
to
compare the
decorations
Santorin.^
of
certain
Greek
prehistoric
vases discovered at
We
give
reproductions
of two
Libyan Notes, frontispiece. John L. Myers, Notes on the History of the Kabylc tiie Journal of the Anthropological Institute, xxxii. January Jiuie, 1902, p. 248-262 and pi. XX. Von Bissing, Les origines <lc I'Kgyptc, in V Anthropologic, ix. 189S, pi. iii. I and 3. Petrie, Naqada, pi. xxviii. 40-42; pi. xxix. 69, 76, 85^/; the application of the laws of transformation of natural designs into geoim-trical will be found in the specimens HgurL-d, pi. xxviii. 40, 42, 46, 48; jil. xxix. 52, 54, 61,
Pottery, in
63, 64, etc.
MacIver
&
Mace, El
Amrah and Abydos,
pi. xv.
10, 20, 21.
lO

are fairly decorative.
in
vases showing branches which
Both sides
distinctly
of the smaller vase arc
figured
a position to
show
the floral decorations^ (Fig. 8i).
The other face of the vase in the centre of F"ig. 8i, 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
at
painted in
White with Figures of Hippopotami AND A Crocodile.

the other at
discovered
one
Abydos and
Meala
also
show
human
figures."
Representations of animals arc more numerous. The hippopotamus occurs most frequently antelopes of various species are also found, and other animals which cannot always be identified
;
Petrie, Prehistoric Egyptian Pottery,
in
Man,
j^l. iii.
1902, No. 83, pi. H,

fig.
i.
2.
De Morgan,
Nechcrches,
i.
pi.
ii.
and
Von
Bissing,
loc. cit.
pp. 246, 247.

with
certainty
ART.
It
1 1 1
fish,
birds, crocodiles, scorpions, etc.
will
be
sufficient to describe a
in
few instances of these.
large oval
is
l)o\\i
the Petric Collection, University College, London, the
decorated
in
centre with
;
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 ^ Another vase from the same the ripples of water (Fig. 82). collection is decorated with a floral design, a deer, and an
animal that Petrie
calls a
hedgehog, although
am
not absolutely
v.^_
Fig.
83.
Vases
painted in White with Representations of Animals.
convinced of the accuracy of this identification

of Fig. 83). A vase which
(vase in centre
apparently comes from Gebelein shows some

figures.
extremely curious
On one
;
side
above a
with
a
series of zigzag lines
on the other
by two
it
body greatly elongated, and At first one would be disposed to consider pf)inted ears. giraffe, but the way in which the body is drawn jiiccludcs
in
placed animal strange a small head surmounted

side, a
two antelopes,
'
''
lb.
Petrie, Prehistonc Egyptian Pottery, No. 83 and ])!. H, 4.'
Man^
1902, No. 83
and
pi.
H,
5.
112
this
A fragment discovered at Naqada (xxix. 98) hypothesis, shows us in how characteristic a fashion the giraffe was represented.
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
(Fig. 83).
vase
found, according
to
Herr Von Bissing,

at Gebelcin,
is
at
Abydos,
according to M. de Morgan,
of
our
attention.
equally worthy It is a
this
most curious specimen of

class of vase.
is
it
In the centre
;
a
are
scorpion various
surrounding animals a
:
hippopotamus,
birds,
crocodiles, fish,
tortoise,
and
are
other
figures
nizable.
which
unrecoginter-
But the most

is
esting object of a ship, similar

Fig, 84.
the drawing
to
those
to
Vase
After
we
painted in
shall
soon have
ex-
White with
A Boat and Various Animals.
amine, and which ordinarily
rA iilliropologie.
are
sufficient
appear upon another class of

pottery^ (Fig- 84). to give an idea of
vases
These
examples
showing animal figures,'' 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.
Wiedemann, Das Okapi im alien Acgypteti, in Die Ihnschau, vi. 1902, pp. Das (igyptisclie Se(-T/i/rr, in the Orieiitalistischc IJtteratio- Zcitung^ col. Hetrie, l')-eliistoric Egyptian Pottery^ in Man, 1902, 220-223. igo2,
'
;
1002-1005
V.
No.
^
83, pi. II,
I.
De Morgan,
Redierches,
i.
jil.
ii.
5.
Von
Bissing,
loc. cit. pi.
iii.
fi<T.
2,
and
96;
pp. 246, 247. * See also Petrie, Naqada,

Prefiisioric
pi.
x.xi.v.
91-97;
Diospolis,
j)l.
pi.
xiv.
93;^,
Egyptian
i.
Pottery, in
iii.
Man,
2,
1902, No. 83,
II, 6.
MacIver
?).
&
i
Mace,
and 3;
Pll /hfirah
Peciie?rJies,
pi.
iv.
5.
and Abydos,
pi.
ii.
i
;
pi. .\v. 17,

pi.
18 ? (conventionalized animal
3.
De Morgan,
iii.
Von
Bissing,
loc.
cit.
pi.

These
College,
113
two
vases
belong
(Fig. 85).
to
the
Petrie
Collection,
University
London^
Of an
entirely different type
is
the "decorated pottery,"^ to
Fig. 85.
Vases
painted
in
White.
which we must now turn our attention.

'
The
earliest
specimens
:
Petrie, Pre/iisto?ic Egypfiati Pottery, in Man, 1902, No. 83. pi. H, 3, p. 133 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 fteter sign, as tiiat had double projections down to dynastic times.'' ^ HoEKNES, M., Urgcschichtc der bildciidcn Kunst in Europa von d^n
"The
Anfmigen
fn's uni ^00 vor C/ir., Vienna, Vasennialerci in Acgypten, pp. 687-689.
1898,
Naciitrage,
2,
Ncolithische
114
are
almost contemporary witli the white painted pottery, but it is after the sequence date 40 that they are most frequently met witli. 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
"
It
for
the
starting
^
point
of
the
manufacture of
the
these
decorated vases."
will
be
rem.embered
that,
in
specifying
in
classes
of
It
pottery,
is
we mentioned vases coloured

breccia^
;
imitation
of stone.
sometimes
nummulitic
to
that
is
thus
copied,
sometimes
imitation
series
various
is
kinds
of
of marble
but the
most
interesting
that
limestone,
represented
by
of
b}-
spirals,
according
'
most
ingenious
identification
made
Petrie
Petrie has termed these vases "decorated pottery," and we will continue to apply this term to them. Petrie, Naqada, pi. xxxiii. i, and p. 40, xxxi. 6 (wavy handled) DiospoUs, MacIver & Mace, El c (wavy handled); xvi. 64, 76 /^ pi. XV. 5, 18/7 and
;
Amrah and Ahydos,
pi. xiv.
W/3 (wavy
handled).

and Scliwcinfurth.^
after
ART.
115
Little
by
the
little
the
spirals
were developed,
the
lost,
recollection
of that which
was
and
eventuall\-
they originally represented decorator was satisfied to trace

his vase
two or three enormous

tion''
spirals
on
by way of ornamenta-
(Fig. 86).
This ornamentation has been wrongly interpreted by several observers, who considered the spirals to be intended as a repre-
Unfortunately for this theory, spirals and of representations ships are never, to the best of my knowledge, met with on the same piece of pottery.^
sentation of the sea.
We
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.^ Other vases and this is
Fig. 87.
Vases
decorated in Lmitation OF Basket Work.
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.'^
thus that a vase published by De Morgan, discovered in Upper Egypt, and showing a slightly different style of work,
It
is
those reproduces most exactly, according to Schweinfurth, 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 retrofiexus"^ (I"ig- 87).

Petrie, Naqada, pi. xx.w. 67 c?, b, c, and p. 40. Schweinfurth, Ontaffientik Cultur-Epoche Aegyplcns, in the Verhandlungen dcr b. Gcscllsch. fur Anthropologie, Ethnologie imd Urgcscliichtc, 1 897, pp. 397, 398. ^ Petrie, Naqada, pi. x.x.\;iv. 3irt-33-5'; Diospolis, pi. xv. ^c. * A propos des bateaux cgypticns, in VAnthropologie, xi. 1900, pp. 115, 347. Davies, The Rock Totnhs of Deir cl Gcbrawi, i. pi. xvii. xix. and pp. 22, 23.
'
der
(tltesten
'>
Petrie, Naqada^
pi. xxxii.
xxxv.
Diospolis,
pi. xv. xvi.
MacIver
& Mace,
pi.
ix.
El Amrah
"
atid Abydos^
pi. xiv.
i.
76.
De Morgan, Recherches, pi. ix. i. Compare Petrie, Naqada, Von Bissing, Lcs origines de VEgypte, in V Anthropologic,
xxxv.
1898,
ii6
It
is

undoubtedly
find
in
this
method of decoration
those
parallel
lines
that
we mayin
hope
to
the
origin
of
scattered
more or less regular groups over the surface of the vase. In some specimens they are carefully arranged in chequer, suggesting
a
merely
lines
in other cases, again, they are draughtboard effect which appear to be drawn at hazard^ (Fig- 87);
Frequently, also, we find on the vase, sometimes combined with imitations of plaiting or of other designs, a series of small In one instance triangles which probably represent mountains.^
there
are
human
exactly as on the
beings and animals placed on the triangles, famous statues of Min discovered at Koptos,
a resemblance pointed out
by Petrie^
(Fig. 88).
Fig. 88.--
Vases decorated with a Series of Triangles.
One
which
of
the most
curious
is
representations
of
a
which
has
in
been
a
pot,
found upon these vases Schweinfurth has
that
plant
grown
the
recognized
to
be
aloe,
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, Uebct den (h'sprwtg der Aegyptcr,
in the Ver-
ha?idhingett der b. Gesellsch. fur Anthropologic, Ei/mologie und Urgcschichte, Ornamcntik der dltesten Cultur-Epochc Aegyp/cus, ih. p. 397. 1897, p. 281
;
'
Petrie, Naqada,
pi.
xxxiii.
11,
12,
20,
21, 23,
24,
26; Diospolis,
pi.
xv.
3,
^f, 20b, 20c, 2\b, 2â.

*
"The
See MacIver & Wilkin, Libyan Notes, London, 1901, p. 65, note 2: 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." ^ Petrie, Naqada, pi. xxxiv. and Ixvii. 13-15,
17,
and
p.
49
Diospolis,
pi. xvi.
53
f,
54, 59^,
78
r.

above the doors of houses as a symbol of
a
vital
ART.
force
117
and as
preservative against the evil eye.
The
plant should be borne in mind, and to refer to it later on^ (Fig. 89).
this
we
funerary character of shall have occasion
Other
trees,
representations
sufficiently
appear
like
to
be
intended
()
to
indicate
this
and are
the
hieroglyph
to permit
I identification. 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."
r^^
Fig.
89. Representations of Aloes and Trees.
The animals
ostriches
tional
One finds represented are few in number. and various kinds of gazelles and antelopes in excepcases the crocodile and the chameleon appear.^ A very
;
remarkable
vase
discovered
at
Abydos shows
the figure of a
kudu and of two long-horned

'
sheep,' and also a representation

iiltesteii
ScHWEiNFURru, Ontamentik dcr

Petrie, Diospolis, p. Petrie, Diospolis, p. 16.
392.
16.
Ctiltur-Epoche Aegyptcns,
loc.
cit. p.
=*
ScHWEiNFURTii,
Sabel- und
Ofviat/icnti/c, etc., p. 399: Beisa-Antilope {Oryx leucoryx und
"
Man
O/yx
erkeiiiit
uiiter ihiieii
die
Antilopen, be/iehuiigsvveise Wasserbocke,

TiiiLE.Nius,
Bcisa), ferner vielleicht aiuli Kudus."'
Addax-
la philologie ct
DiJRST
&
Das (is^yplisc/ie Haiisschaf in the Rccucil dc iravaux relatifs a I'arckcologic cgyplictincs ct assyricnucs, x.\ii. 1900, pp. 199-212. Claude Gaillai^d, Studicn fiber die Geschichtc dcs iigyptischen
ib.
Hausschafcs,
xxiv. 1902,
|ip.
44-76.
ii8
FRLAirnVE ART IN EGYPT.
Pig. 90.
Decorated
Vase with Representations of Animals, and a Tree WITH Birds perched on it.
Fig. 91.
Various
Designs on Decorated Pottery Boats, Animals, Trees, Shields (?), etc.

in a different
Human
Beings,
of a tree, figured
manner from
ami
that
meet
with,
and on wliich birds arc perched.^

'
we ordinarily With this wc can
Petrie, Abydos,
i.
pi.
1.
p. 23.
ORNAMENTAL .AND DECORATIVE

compare
a vase
ART.
^
119
showing an aloe on wliich are two birds
and
another similar fragment' (Fig. 90).
More
ones
will
rarcl\-
human
figures
appear
of
first
these
the
principal
be found on Fig. 91.

;
Here we
find female figures,
extremely diagrammatic
indicated
;
the
body
is
occasionally even the arms are not resolved into two triangles sui)crimposed
one on the other, and surmounted by an oval black mass for the head." Ordinarily the females appear in an attitude identical
with that of the statuette reproduced which, if we may judge from the
similar representations on the
in
Fig.
of this book,
and
tombs
of the Ancient Empire, should be a

characteristic
If
indication of dancine.'
is
accepted we shall see presently what foundation there

is
this
interpretation
for
it
the
a
two persons
dancer
El
"
represented the vase discovered

will
before
"
on
at
Amrah
be recognized, as they are by Mr. Maclvcr, as castanctte players '
(Fig. 92).
With the exception

I
of this instance
Fig. 92.
Vase with
From
El
Representa(?).
have just referred
to,
when men
are
tions OF Castanette Players (?)
them upright and sometimes with indications walking,

represented
the
see
we
BEFORE a Dancer
Amrah.
of
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 (?)" (Figs. 88
and
91).
The most
1
startling objects
met with on these primitive vases

pi. .\iv.
MacIver
&
Mace, El
Amrah and Abydos,
1)49.
Petrie, Naf/ada,
pi. Ixvi. 3.
pi. .\iv. I)
MacIver & Mace, El Am?-ah and Abydos,
ôb.
De Morgan,
Recherchcs,
ii.
p. 65.
MacIver & Mace, El Amrah and Abydos, pi. xiv. D46, and p. 42. Vases with human figures Petrie, Naqada, pi. x.xxv. 'Jl Ixvi. 5, 7 Ixvii. 17. Cecil Torr, Sur quelc/iccs pretendus ?tavires cgypt/rus, in l' Anthropologic, ix. De MORGAN, 1898, p. 33, fig. p. 34, figs. 3rt and 3/-'; ]). 35, figs. 5^; and z^b.
'"
'
Recherchcs,
i.
|)1.
x.
ia, 2b.
I20
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

of trees
human
beings and animals
in
a landscape
and mountains, they enliven the pottery with scenes We must content the signification of which we shall study later.
ourselves
for
the
moment
The
with
remarking, with Schweinfurth,
that without
side
exception, these
(larboard).
boats are drawn showing the left Egyptians, he remarks, orientate them-
selves
right
hand and the

that
towards the south, and for them the west being on the east on the left, the position of the boats
they are being
94).
indicates
(Figs. 91
navigated
against
the
current
and
Fig. 93.
Vase
Decoration representing Gazelles fighting.
We
return
must here
later.
refer to a class of objects to
which we
several
shall
These are pottery

is
boats, found
in
tombs,
one of which
figures
very unsophisticated manner with painted of rowers, each with an oar in his hand- (Fig. 91).
in a
is
There
fight
a curious vase where

gazelles
;
the
a
artist
has
between
also
fish,
crocodile,
represented a an ostrich, and
two boats.
which
I
strange ornamentation is several times repeated, believe to be unique, consisting of lozenges, half black,
'^
half white
(Fig. 93).
Occasionally on
these
decorated
to
vases,
close
to
the boats,
one
'
finds
zigzag
lines,
intended
represent
water.
Several
ScHWKiMURTH, Oniamefitik, etc., p. 400. Petrie, Naqada, pi. xxxvi. 80 and Ixvi. i. 3 Legrain, Aoles d'mspeciion, vi. La necropole archdiquc du Cebel Silsileh, in the Aiinales du service des atitic/uiies de VEgypte, iv. 1903, pp. 218-220, and
2
;
figs.
5,
6.

vases
ART.
121
show a curious object difficult to identify, considered by Petrie to be a mast and sail, and which in that case mi^ht
to
be compared
the
hieroglyph
)^
.^
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
at the
a long pole,
and these
in
Egypt would
carr}' the
ensign
upper end- (Fig. 91). the vases are also found a series of signs in the form of S, N, and Z,^ for which it may perhaps be difficult to account. When, however, we remember that we have previously remarked
On
hair-pins decorated with
birds which occasionally present forms
Fig. 94.
Vase
with Various Representations.
From dc Morgan.
very similar to an S, we may, I think, presume that these signs are derived from a summarized form of a row of ostriches. I
am much
a vase
series
inclined to find a similar abbreviation Petrie

I
of forms
upon
is
by of the sign O, which

figures
discovered
at
Abadiyeh,^ where
there
regard as a very
summary drawing
of female
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
star""';
these
arc
the
vases
on
which there
is
five-pointed
in a
another with
'
human
figures
drawn reversed and

10,
very
Petrie, Naqada,
pi. l.xvi. 6, 9,
and
p. 49.
^ 3
.Schweinfurth,
Jh. p. 398.
Or>iatiicntik\ etc., p. 399.
*
'
Petrie, Diospolis,
Ih. pi. XV.
pi. xx. 8.
22

fashion
^
;
summary
arc
crocodiles one
-
and, finally, a small of which

97).
I
number
of vases on which
is
and serpents
(Fig.
pierced with harpoons scorpions, 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 ' (Fig. 97). figure of a lizard and another of a scorpion
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,
Another specimen
relief
at University College,
symmetrically arranged, in relief.^ London, is decorated in
In
with figures of a crocodile, a crescent, and a harpoon. the collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, there
lb. pi.
Peirie, Naqada, pi. xxxv. xxxv. 78; Diospolts,

pi.
Jj.
3
*
Petkie, Naqada,
]5UDGE,
pi. xvi. 78*5, 78c, J^d. xxxvi. 87, and p. 41 Guide to the First afid Second Egyptian Rooms,
.
ir\i\
ed.
1904,
p. 32,
No. 164.
ART.
12-
are three red vases, witli the upper edge blackened (black-topped pottery), which date from the commencement of the historic
period,
and
possess
special
interest
i''
(Fig.
98).
On
the
first.
found at Naqada (tomb

in
1,449),
seen
line
a
in
relief;
this
is
carried
on by a
head roughly worked relief, \\hich descends

I
perpendicularly, becoming
gradually thinner.
believe this re-
FiG. 96.
Vase
with Representations of Giraffes, Ostriches, Crocodiles, and Snakes. Berlin Museum.
presents
the
body of the man.

relief arc
From each
side near
the top,
two ascending lines in arms. Near the base,

line,
detached, which represent the at a certain distance from the central

also
in
relief,
can
be
ciistinguished,
lines
two
circular
knobs,
from which two

the
vase.
ascend
somewhat
clasping
abiu[Hl\' to
the top of
a
The man must be
the vase, in
position
124

is
which
difficult
to imagine,
and can only be explained by the

artist,
inexperience
of
the
primitive
who has not omitted
to
represent the head full-face (the two photographs in the centre The special of Fig. 98 arc two fragments of a similar vase).
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

according to specimen, and show as
sisting
Hu
(tombs
179 and
15
10 1), which,
sequence dating, arc
more recent than the Naqada decoration two ornaments in relief, con-
the top of the vase. the figure on the vase
simply of a circular knob, from which a line rises to It is thus an exact copy of the legs of
first
described.
think, as a consequence
lost,
of frequent copying, the
meaning
of the lines was
and, more

especially in the
ART.
125
Hu
specimens,
any connection with tlie sembles two serpents facing each

if
was not known that they had human figure. Thus tlie ornament reit
other,
and
should not be surprised

the vase.^
the primitive artist had that idea
when he made
vase
in
the
discovered
at
Naqada (tom.b 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, roughl}' cut in the clay
previous to baking, a
figured as
number of crude
designs, which probably
represent serpents and

a
It may possibly have plants (Fig. 99). vase is What is that, with the certain magic (?). exception of two small fragments, of identical technique, in the
same museum, there

knowledge at
'
is
no piece
in
existence at
least,
to
my
all
comparable with
left is figured,
this.'-^
The
vase to the
pi. xiv. 66.
without description
in
the text, by Pktrik,
Diospolis,
*
See Petrie, Naqada,
pi.
is
xxxv. 71.
A vase in tlie British
JVluseum, decorated
inside with fantastic signs,
apparently only a modern fraud.
126
certain
number
lines,
of vases of rough-faced pottery arc decorated

this
with incised
but
mode
^
of ornamentation appears to have
been employed only rarely
(Fig. lOO,
classes
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford).

ornamentation with which
Such are the various

archaic
of
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, It is an etc. excellent in man, proof support of the theories
Fig. 99.
Vase
of Black-topped Pottery with an Inxised Decoration inside.
propounded
it
at the
commencement
of this chapter, and on which
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
is
animal form.-
An
'
extremely curious vase, of
brilliant black glaze,
found
in
DiospoUs,
xvi.
;
Petrie, Naqada, p. 41, and pi. xxxv. 74, 76 xxxvi. 93a and b\ xxxvii. 41. xvii. 49. In our figure the upper vase = DiospoUs, pi. xvi. 74 h and 93 c i =^ ']\b below, beginning at the left, Naqada, xxxvi. 93;^ (smoke-blacked
; ;
93 f (llu, U 126); 3 (Hu, B158); 4 49 (Hu, U 170). I reserve for the chapter on sculpture some vases in stone and claj' representing human figures where the "vase" disappears before the sculptured figure.
brown pottery):
xvii.
Diospolis,
xvi.
DiospoUs,

of the
ART.
127
Dr. Petrie's excavations at Abadiyeh, was discovered in a tomb first half of the pn historic 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 does not
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
differ greatly
yjj-^rf^
,M
.MttJI-
1-iG.
100.
Rough-faced
breasts
are
Pottery with Incised Decorations.
shoulders
the
summarily formed and pendant,
as
they are with negresses.

behind, attempting to
Einally, the vase swells
out suddenly
portray the extraordinary development of the buttocks (steatopygy), which is also seen on the statuettes^
(Fig. loi).
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.\)\.
Petrie, Diospolis,
v.
102.
//'.
pi. vi.
83.
128

The same excavations
at
Hu-Abadi}-eh also effected the
dis-
the form of hippopotami. In one, care has been taken to render the form of the animal as accurately as in the other the design is very summary, and decorated possible
covery of
two vases
in
with two lateral handles

c-
(Vig. 102).
The same
is
the case with
a vase
in
the form of a hippopotamus,
now
museum at Cairo, which was published by Von Bissing some

in
the
years ago.^
The
special
interest
of
this
last
the paintings which have piece been added by the primitive artist.
lies in
"
Herr von Bissing speaks thus of it The hippopotami of the Middle

are
Empire
flies,
decorated,
lotus,
live
as
remarks, with reeds,
Maspero and butterthe
because they
in
midst
of reeds, where butterflies are flitting round them. In the same way the
artist
ccnild
decorate the two sides of
the the
their
hippopotamus-shaped long series of marsh

long
vase
birds,
with with
feet,
necks
of
and
the
large
characteristic
most
ancient
Eg\'ptian saw the
art,
because
hippopotamus
b\'
they actually in nature
surrounded
Fig. ioi.
I.N
such birds.
Another
-Hlack Polished Vase
explanation
or three
must
be found for the

in
Form of a Woman.
harpoons, which arc
groups of two
upon Apparently it was desired to show the hippopotamus hunted and taken by harpoons."^ These ver)- apt remarks arc interesting, and we shall again
lip,
the handles, under the
the head, and the
tail.
'
Petrie,
painting
^
On the latter specimen traces of pi. vi. K 134, and pi. xiv. 67. may still be seen, notably harpoons painted under the body of the animal. Fr. W. v. Bissing, Altiigyptische Gcfdsse h?i Museum 211 Gisc, in the
/I/,
Zcitschrift fur dgyptischc Sfirachc, xxxvi. 1898, pp. 123-125. ^ have already remarked the same detail in a representation of crocodiles.
We
ORXAMl'ATAL AND Dl^COK ATI VIC ART.

have occasion to
refer to
129
them.
Ilcrr
von
13i.ssin<;
notes at the
in
same time the frequent occurrence of vases of animal forms

primitive Egyptian art, Among these vases of ancient
as
in
the
art
of
all
primitive
people.
as
fish,'
Egypt
are
some shaped
and others more numerous
in bird form'-^ TFig. 102).
Occasionally
the vase represents two birds side

Collection,
by side^ ^Fig- 102). The Petrie University College, London, contains a certain number
P'iG.
102.
Clay
one
Vases
in
Foum of Animals.
is
of hirrl-shaped
vases,
of which
'
very remarkable as an
103 and
p.
altcinpL at representing a vulture

'
(Figs.
104).
Pi.iKii;,
Nru/ada,
ii.
\)\.
xxvii.
p. 50.
68rt-<r,
and
37.
QuiBELL
i.
&
Green,
481.
JJlcra/con/jolis,
^ '
'
pi. Ixvi.
and
Petkie, Nat/ada, Pethie, Aac/ada,

"
I
pi. xxvii. ()i.)a-c.

pi.
IJe
MfjuGAN, Rcchaxhcs,
p. 160, fig.
xxxvi. 90.
am
inclined to connect this bird (with
with
tlie
bird vase said to be nsed
peacock; I'rom jjy Professor Petrie.
month on top and spout in front) by tlu; Ansairiyeh in .Syria, called Tnns'Uhe Note wiiich they nneive sacramental wine in their secret rites."
I30
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
In
it is
the primitive artist wished to represent.^
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
a row of triangles in
parallel lines,
of these boxes from Diospolis shows imitation of mountains, and also rows of
in
which slope
(Fig.
105,
alternate directions
from one row

decorated
to the next
D 73).
to the British
Another specimen belonging

'
Museum
is
Petrie, Diospolis,
lb. pi. xvi. 73.
pi. vi.
1^
131
xix. 71.
132

boats,
1
with
signs
ibex,
105).
groups of parallel
similar
lines,
and with S-shaped

the Petrie Collection,
(Fig.
is
There
a cover of a
box
in
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.Mr.
Finally,
Maclver,
in
the
El
Amrah
excavations,
dis-
Fig.
105.
Pottery
the
Boxes with Various Designs.
covered
box
in
of
same
kind,
on
which
different
scenes
were drawn
one of the sides appears a hippopotamus, on the second a boat, beneath which is a crocodile.
charcoal.
On
The third side is at present inexplicable,'' while with regard to the fourth, various interpretations are attempted. Mr. Maclver sees in it a series of six animals with long necks (probably
^
Budge,
Pethik,
History of Egypl,
i.
p. 98, fig.
British
in
Museum, No.
1902, No.
is
32,630.
|).
Prehistoric Egyptian Figures,
Man,
14,
17
and
pi.
B, 22.
^
i
See Petrie, Naqada, \A. liii. the design on this side (Fij^. 105).
13.
where
a pf)ttery marlv
given similar to

giraffes)
ART.
133
proceeding towards the right
their bodies, he remarks,
drawn diagrammatically, and resemble palings. Below these The drawings of the period, greatly is a row of triangles.^ have not accustomed us to such extremely as arc, they simplified
are
diagrammatic representations of animals. I consider it as more probabl}' a palisade, of which the upper part of the posts are It has been proved on several occasions decorated with bucrania.
period animals' skulls were emploNxd not only for decoration, but also for magical or religious ])urposes (Fig. 105).
that at this
We
have now arrived at the close of our examination of
There is another series decorative pottery of the primitive era. of designs which we must menti(jn in this connection, although
these they can scarcely be considered as a form of decoration are the marks and signs engraved on the pottery, the study of
;
which
is
of primary importance.
As, however, this subject would

of
lead us to treat of questions
somewhat outside the domain
decorative
art,
it
will
the chapter, when objects of the primitive period.
be preferable to reserve it for the end of we have finished our examination of decorated
The furniture of the primitive Egyptians, as may easily be The materials employed imagined, was extremely rudimentary. for this purpose, less resistant than ivory or potter)^ 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
can,
must wait
for the
commencement
of
the
historic
period to find precise indications.
We
by
in
hcnvever,
mention several objects brought to

first
light
recent excavations, and
houses,
of which
Professor
the fire-places of the primitive Petrie discovered several examples
the small prehistoric
temple of Osiris at Abydos.

pottery cisterns.
town which lay close round the earliest These fire-places closely reseinble Charcoal was burnt in them, and cinders were
found
in
(jne of
them.
'^'I's
'
decorated box
-
MacIver & Mace, El Amrah and Abydos, pi. .\ii. 10-13, is now in tlie Ashniolcaii Museum, O-xforci. Capart, La fete de frapper les Anon, in tlic Rn'ne d'histaire
1901, pp. 252, 253.
^'^''^^
P- 4--
dcs re/iiîons,
xliii.
134

They
all
have designs in imitation of plaited work incised Two specimens are specially in the pottery on the flat rims. The design represents a serpent, whose head projects remarkable.
inside the rim so that
the creature appears to be hanging over
the
fire.
The
decorator, remarks Professor Petrie, has

fetish ot
combined
the agathodemon, the domestic the hearth-place^ (Fig. io6).
prehistoric times, with
have already spoken of fragments of furniture with plaited work attached, found in the roval tombs. The excavations of
i\I.
We
de Morgan at Naqada, of Messrs. Amelineau and Petrie at
j^.n
A.18.
Fig.
Io6.
Clay
i^S^Z-j
^
in
Fikk-places df.corated with Designs Plaited Work.
Imitation of
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
Air.
Abydos, and of
found
arc
are,
parts
of
small
coffers,
or
of
seats
or
low
feet
beds.
wliich
They
however,
sufficient
to
show
that
the
supported these pieces of furniture were in the form of legs of bulls, and were treated in a manner which reminds Dr. I'etrie of
Italian cinque cento work, rather than of archaic efforts'- (Fig. 107).
Vv.XKW., Excavations at Abydos, Abydos, |)1. liii. 13-] 8, and p. 25. ^ pKTKn., Royal Toml>s, 1. ]). 27.
'
i?i
Mail, 1902, No. 64,
p.
8y and
tigs. 6-8.
i.

It
is
ART.
135
tlie pronounced taste of in ivory, wood, and Small plaques inlaying. are with incised lines numerous.^ very glazed pottery
specially interesting^' to observe
the decorators for
Fig.
107.
Ivory
Fekt for Furniture,
in
the Shape of Bulls" Legs.
The
models
which
inspired
the
decorators
are
borrowed
figure
principally from matting, cords,

'
and
feathers.
The human
and
Petrie discovered at
Abydos
a large
number of glazed pottery

ii.
tiles wliioh
had served as a wall decoration. See Petrie, Abydos, This entails an entire revision of the opinions given
Berliner
pi. viii.
p.
26.
Gcschichte dcr Pyi-aviiden I. Thiir ai/s dcr Museum, No. 1185, in the Zeitschrift fur iigyptischc Sprac/ic, x.\.\. 1892, pp. 83-87 and pi. i. Wieijemanx, review of Ouibell, Hicrako/tpo/is, i., in the Oricntalistiiche Littcraturzeitiing^ iii. 1900, col. 331. Petkie, Royal Tombs,
ii.
Borciiardt, Zur Stufcnpyramidc hei Sakkara,

in
p. 36.
136
is

and already one
later
also used as a support,
finds kneeling captives
supporting seats, as they are found

^
on during the historic
period (Pîg. 14). Certain ivor}' fragments found at Hierakonpolis arc perhaps the arms of chairs they are ornamented with figures of
;
animals
knives.
in
the
same
style
as
those
of
found on the
is
handles of
The most remarkable
these
fantastic
animal
with the ne:ck 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 Mycenaean and Chaldean art" (Figs. 108, 109).
in
Fig.
108.
Fra(;ments
of Ivory carved with Various Figures.
at Hierakonpolis brought to light i\'ory decorated with cylinders figures of men and animals, treated in the same style. Judging by the sceptre discovered at Abydos,^
they might be considered as fragments of a sceptre.

in particular,
One
of these
which bears the name of King Nar-Mer, is cylinders interesting as a curious example of a pictographic and hieroglyphic
'
OuiBELL, HicrnkofipoUs,
lb.
i.
pi. xi.
and
;
pi.
xii.-xiv. xvi.
xvii.
xxxii.
p. 7; ii. p. 37. fantastic animal,
pi.
xvi.
and
xvii.
Evans, The Mycenccan

illustrations
tree
and
pillar cult
and its Meditcfrancan
relations,
with
from
recent
Journal of Hellenic
'
Studies'),
Cretan finds, London, 1901 (reprinted from the shall later have p. 65 ct scq., and figs. 43-45.
We
occasion to return to this point.
ii.
pi. ix.
i.
ORNAMENTAL AND DFXORATIVP:
ART.
^37
Q
in
>
O 2 <
>
< u
(/)
H U M
P3
O m H Z H o <
o o
138
inscription

similar
to
that
engraved on a
shall
slate
plaque
^
in
the
Cairo
Museum,
of which
we
speak
later
on
(Eig.
no).
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
When we
recall the various
observers of nature
men,
plants,
supplied
them with models.
and animals almost exclusively We have rarely met with what
H^
H5.
.H6
M3jm
Fig.
no.
Carved
Ivory Cylinders.
might be called geometric patterns beyond those which sprang spontaneously from the imitation of materials employed by primitive
In fact industries, especially from basket work and matting. decorative genius, as distinguished from a fancy for decoration, It appears to have been absent among the primitive Egyptians. must be admitted that they achieved very mediocre results from the
natuial models they copied. This mediocrity is especially flagrant " in the decorated pottery," and one may even ask oneself if
'
OunjELL, Hierakonpolis^
i.
[il.
xv. 7, inscription of
Nar-Mer.

the primitive
ART.
139
man who
traced on the cla\' those representations
of boats, birds, plants, gazelles, and men, rcalK' wished to decorate
the vase, or whether they had not
some other
object
in
view.
Art
for the
sake of art
is,
believe,
is
an exception
shall
I
among
primitive
people, and a purpose which
truly az^sthctic can only very rarely
be found
of the
among them. The study we tomb at Hierakonpolis will,

which
is
devote to the paintings believe, partly enable us
to elucidate this point,
appreciation
of the
decorative
of great importance for the just art of the primitive Egyptians.
The
greatly
period of the Ancient Egyptian Empire does not differ very in this respect from the primitive age, and on this point also it is difficult to find any radical modification between the
two periods.
our seeing
in
There
is
nothing,
think, which
fifth,
should
prevent
and sixth dynasties the natural outcome of the gradual development of ideas which were
the art of the fourth,
first
I
evolved
to
hope mastabas of the Ancient Empire arc no other than the development 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.^
by show
their
in
distant
predecessors
of primitive
times.
due course that the decorations of walls of
To
return
to
those
marks
found
on
potter}',
which
can
scarcely be
these incised
regarded as decoration. The motives for inscribing lines seem to have been various, although at the
it
impossible always to determine them with Professor Petrie has recognized that in some instances certainty. they appear to have been a mark of property, various pieces of
present
day
is
pottery
in
one tomb bearing
the
same mark.-
Frequently,
think, they should

b\-
be considered as a kind of signature placed upon the vases' which issued from his hands. Dr. Petrie has rciuarkcd to me that all these marks were inscribed
the potter
after the
'
baking of the vase.
It
should be observed that there

jjp.
Petrie, Egyptian Decorative Art,

Petrie, Nagada,
p.
44, 89,
and
cluip.
iv.
Stntrtitral
decoration.
''
44.
I40
PRIMITIVE ART
oti
IN
EGYPT.
are two classes of pottery the black-topped and the
which they are commonly found

polished.
red
On
the
the
other pottery
we have
not occur.^
If
studied,
the
cross-lined
and
decorated,
they do
different
i
wc
follow Petrie in classifying these
marks under
In
headings, the results
we
shall gather are as follows^ (Fig-
n)-
The human
animal, the
figure
is
rarely
to
appears.^
identify,
is
one
the
instance
an
which
of
difficult
apparently devouring
mythological frequently, and with
head
man, a group which

of
recalls
Makes}
Eigures
animals occur more
one exception they differ little in style from those painted on vases, and perhaps resemble most closely those on the crosslined pottery.
The most
usual types
are
the
elephant,
hippo-
potamus, various kinds of antelope, and possibly the
giraffe.'''
Birds are less frequent, and the species represented are not one recognizes, however, the bird with long easily identifiable
;
feet,
and with the neck curved

the
into
occurs on
often
decorated
Floral
pottery."
found.'
of the
to
1
palm-tree determine.^ Boats,
designs are and of various kinds of
an S, which frequently Crocodiles and serpents are limited to summary sketches

are
while
they
rare,
vegetation not easy are not entirely
Petrie, Naqada, p. 44. The marks D 20 are from a slate

in
palette which Petrie has omitted to
describe
is
Diospolis.
earlier
The
in
original
is
in the in
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and

with
palettes
reproduced ornamentation.
'
the
book
dealing
with
incised
Petrie, Naqada, pi. li. i, 2, 7. According to Pleyte, Chapitres suppWncntaires d^c IJvre dcs Marts, i. p. 41, " Ce n'est pas qu'apres la xx^ dynastie que le titre on nom de Mahes davient un nom de dieu." I believe the representations of this god to be rare. I will quote Naos D 29 at the Louvre (PiERRET, Pantheon egypticn^ fig. on p. 79), a whip
*
handle
at
the
and
'
magical
"]"] Leyden Museum, (Leemans, Mo7iunients, boomerang at University College, London,

i.
ii.
pi.
Ixxxiv.),
of
the
twelfth
dynasty.
Petrie, Naqada,
pi.
li.
7-27
Diospolis,
El Amrah and Ahydos,

V.
pi. xvii.
19-24.
MacIver & Mace, pi. xx 13-29. Newberry, Extracts from 7?ty Notebooks,
xxiv. 1902,
No.
^
'
37, in the /Proceedings
of the Society of Biblical A?x/i ceo logy,

Diospolis, pi. xx. 30-35, xxi, 51.
pi. xxi.
pi. xxi.
p. 251
and
pi.
i.
5.
Petrie, Naqada, Petrie, Naqada, Petrie, Naqada,
pi
pi.
pi.
li.
li.
28-32
52-69
33-38; Diospolis,
;
36-43.
53-72.
lii.
Diospolis,
MacIver
&
Mace,
El Amrah and Abydos,
pi. xvii.
25-29.

absent, but they on the decorated
ART.
141
only
recall
very vaguely those that
we know
pottcr\-.^
D44.
Fig.
III.
Pottery
boats, etc.
Marks.
giraffes, birds,
Men, elephants, hippopotami, hons, antelopes,
plants, reptiles,
hcsc are almost the only representations which

'
it
is
possible
Petkie, i\a(/ada,
pi. Hi. 70,
71
Diospolis,
\A. xxi. 52.
142

first
to recognize at a tion
glance.
of
these
marks,
we
Before continuing our examinashould therefore ask ourselves a
question of
some importance.
those
figures
Among
In
which
are
easy of
identification,
do
we meet with
an
signs that
other words, ought
we could designate as "hieroglyphs"? we to consider hieroglyphic writing as

;
importation brought by conquerors from Asia, from Upper or is it possible to discover Nubia, or from some other region
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.
character
"Hieroglyphic writing," he says, "in which is entirely Egyptian.
my
opinion presents a
large
fairly
number
of extremely ancient signs are drawn from plants and animals. The papyrus is assuredly an Egyptian plant. Now a group
\\hich
occurs
sents the stem
frequently with the meaning of verdant repreand flower of this plant. It is also the standard
sign for the north.
of
it
Lower Egypt and the

occurs
so
often
As
in
to the lotus,
that
the
sign
for
thousand
Egyptian
is
actually the
stem of the NyinpJicca
on
the
water.
The
the
flowers
letter
of
ceridea, with a leaf floating NympJuva on a basin is the
earliest
I
S where the papyrus enters later. do not know that the Nymphcea cerulca and the Nynipluva
form of
are
lotus
of Asia, and it is precisely these plants, as Messrs. Borchardt and Griffith, which one meets with proved by
natives
earliest
Egypt, while the Nymphcea nciuii/bo, which probably comes from Asia, is not found except on the
in
from the
times
monuments of the late period. " With regard to animals, the

the
crccodile
result
is
the same.
Above
could
the
all,
and
the
the
hippopotamus,
civilization
which
one
not
separate
from
archaic
and
from
earliest
in
mythological conceptions of the Egyptians, Asia (the Indian species differ considerably from
do not exist
the
African
is
specimens figured on the monuments). The eagle, which reality a black vulture, the bald-headed vulture (sacred
in
bird

of
the
ART.
should
143
goddess
Mut),
the
sparrow-hawk
all,
fwhich
be
termed a
of Asia.
" It is
falcon), the owl, and, above
the
ibis, offer types
which
are absolutely African, or, at least, are in
no way characteristic
the
same with the

the
different animals, such as the Jackal,

(I
symbol of various gods of the dead

nearly a
fox),
am
told that
it
is
more
gazelles
in
(among others
the
the
On'.r
leîkoryx,
which
is
unknown
Asia), even
elephant, which
others.
If
presents
the African type, the hyaena, and

snakes, insects, and fish
as existing in
among
many
:
all
these
we
find
we come to species known
Egypt
at that period
the
iirceits,
scarab, scorpion,
and various
in
fish
that one sees in the hieroglyphs
and meets with
Naturagain the have must been with a ally long Egyptians acquainted large number of the animals here mentioned before they learnt to
the mural decorations
of the Ancient Empire.
them the conventional meaning they received. How times did they see the hippopotamus thrust his head out many of the water to breathe in air, before finding in the head of the
attribute to
animal
that
appearing above the water a graphic expression for which we call a iniimtel For a long time the ancient
before seeing
Egyptian must have watched the beetle making his mud balls, him the symbol of perpetual creation, the in
formation of the egg.
If
it
were possible that the hippopotamus,

arrivals at their
first
strictly speaking,
had struck the new
entry
Egypt, and had suggested to them the very strange idea of symbolizing an instant, it cannot at any rate have been the
into
case with the beetle.
Egypt
as
could have
In any case, the Egyptians before entering had no word for ait i>istaut or to become,
to
the
very
1
words which designate these ideas arc native
Egypt."
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
F.
VON BissiNG,
Ill
pp. 409-411.
I.es origines dc I'/igypte, in V A7ithropologii\ ix. 1898, these last lines there appears to me to be a confusion, which I
am
convinced the author would not
make
at
the present time.

p. 17.
See Ek.ma.x,
Aegyptischc Gfammati/c, 2nd ed. Berlin, 1902, 36,
144
the
origin
PRLAIITIVE
of hieroglyphic
these
ART
IN EGYPT.
in
writing should
reality
be sought
for in the graffiti.^
At
and
to
it
first
sight
conclusions
are
extremely
attractive,
seems rational to evolve the
classical
hieroglyphs
from
a system of elementary pictography.
Vôn
Bissing,
being
effected
in
This evolution, according Egypt, the deductions of

correct.
it
M. Zaborowski appear to be absolutely more closely into the question, however,
On looking does not appear to
me
to be a certainty.
The inscriptions of the first d}'nasty have not the appearance of hieroglyphs in course of formation. The concordance of the the dates of the kings of the Ancient sequence dating with
of his
little
Empire, as Dr. Petrie .has established them from the results excavations in the temenus of Osiris at Abydos, leaves
hope
at
present
of
discovering
any
hieroglyphs
that
form a link between the pottery marks, the graffiti, and the classical hieroglyphs. We may ask, however, whether there
could
is
not
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.^
The
south,''
pottery marks
we have already mentioned

a sign
is
include
of
few
the
hieroglyphs.
There
is
representing
the
plant
and another which
nothing
else
than the crown of
Lower Egypt,* 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.
will also refer to the sign engraved on a slate palette, the of the god Min, which occurs rather frequently among these sign pottery marks.^ This could only have become a hieroglyphic
I
the
Zaborowski, Origiues africaincs dc la civilisaiioti dc Vancicnne J^gypte, in Revue scieniifique, 4th series, xi., March iltli, 1899, pp. 293, 394. ^ Sethe, Beitriige zur dltesten Geschichte Aegyptens {UntersucJiungen siir
'
Geschichte
pp. 3-21
^
' :
und Altcr//iict?iskiinde Aegyptens, herausgegeben von Kurt

die
'*
Setlie,
iii.
i),
Hon/sdiecr."
pi. hi. 74.
Petrie, A'aqada,
I/k pi.
Jb. pi.
iii.
75.
1
liii,
17-122
Diosfiolis, pi.
x.xi.
67, 69, 73-79.

sign
It
ART.
145
by the adoption of an indigenous god by the conquering

also
population.
seems
possible
to
recognize the
I
sign
it
which would confirm the interpretation which

years ago (Fig. 112).^
gave of
some
is
Another sign which

possible to explain
scription
it,-
is
found on the pottery, where

the
it
not
infirst
is
found apparently on an interesting
discovered
in
it
tomb of
so
far
King Den
of
the
dynasty, where also

112, No. 78).
has
proved inexplicable^ (Fig.
These indications are very

serious conclusions.
I
faint,
and do not warrant any

fresh
believe, until
evidence
is
obtained,
fAn
^
.111.
.74.
\V^
-IT.
^^VtDl
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
It
is
of their
characters.*
precisely
these
having employed alphabetifofm characters that have been

it
discovered
among the we must now deal.

'
pottery marks, and
is
with these that
Petrie, Diospolis,
\A. xxi.
48, 68, 97.
Capart, Note suy
la decapitation en
Egypte, in the Zeitscinift fiir agyptische Sprache, xxxvi. i8g8, pp. 125, 126. Petrie, Nac/ada, pi. lii. p. 78 et scq. ^ Petrie, Royal Tombs, i. pi. x. 11, and pi. xvi. 20; ii. pi. xxvi. 59, andxxvii. 102. See Evans, Arthur J., Ftirther discoveries of Cretan and Aegean Script witli Ijhyan and Proto-Egyptiati Comparisons, in \.\iQ Journal of Hellenic Stndies,
xvii. 1897, p. 378.
'
must apologize
for this barbaric term, uhicli

tlie
in
my
eyes possesses the
advantage of not prejudicing the question of
value of the signs.
10
146

In the course of the
excavations at
of
Naqada
Professor Petrie
forms,
found
certain
"
number
marks
of
geometrical
and
few of them are striking, or Hke any definite nor are any to be found in sequence to suggest series alphabetical that constant ideas were attached to them."^ he states that
;
But the excavations

supplied new
researches
in
the
royal
tombs
of
Abydos have
and the
materials for the study of this
question,
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
our subject, and
indications,
will
I
of this
question
would lead us
far
from
must content myself with a few summary and with referring the reader to works where he
the pottery of the royal
find
more complete information.tombs of the

identical
series of
Dr. Petrie noted on

first
dynasty a
marks which showed themselves
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
pottery marks discovered in Egypt at Kahun and on vases of the twelfth and eighteenth Egyptian dynasties. Gurob,
the
in advance was taken in showing that the marks of the twelfth and eighteenth dynasties correspond exactly with the marks of the royal tombs of the first dynasty and of the prehistoric pottery. Finally, the primitive
This time a step

tabulated
alphabets of Karia and Spain present a series of identical signs. If the table drawn up by Petrie^ is examined, it is seen that
See also liii. et scq. Diospolis, pi. xxi.-xxiii. Mace, El Amrali and Abydos, pi. xvii. Petrie, Royal Tombs, i. pp. 31, 32. Evans, Prhnitive Pidograplis ami a Pre-Phcetiician Script f?-om Crete, in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, xiv. 1894, Further Discoveries of Cretan and p. 270 et seq., and London, Ouaritch, 1895 Aegeati Script, with Libyan and Proto-Egyptian Comparisons, ib. xvii. 1897, PP- 327-395, and London, Ouaritch, 1898. Sergi, The Mediterranean Race: A Study of the Origin of European People, London, 1901, pp. 296-305, and figs. 79-93. The sources whence this table was derived are as follows, from information
^
Petrie, Naqada,
in
i.
p. 44, pi.
some marks
MacIver
&
'
kindly supplied by Dr. Petrie.
Petrie,
Naqada
Royal Tombs,
i.
Kahun,
Sayce, The Karian Language and 1890. Inscriptions, in the Transactiois of the Society of Biblical Archeology, ix. 1887, Boudard, p. a., Essai sur la mcmismatique iberiennc, Paris, 1859. pp. II 2- 1 54.
Gurob and Ilawara, London,
ART.
Â7
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
first,
was well established from

modifications
in
the
system of signs which and that underwent io.^
It may even with some course of ages. with the be Libyan signs, and with tifinagh, compared probability which are still employed in the present day in the writing of
the
the Touaregs.
^.-^.c^
The
conclusion
that
may
be
drawn from these
148

Here
is
is
:
" Dr. Petrie's reply Certainly the so-called Phcenician letters were familiar long before the rise of Phoenician influence.
What
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,
etc.
as
A=
i,
E=
5,
10,
This usage would soon render 100, 500, 50, these signs as invariable in order as our own numbers, and force the use of them on all countries with which the Phoenicians
N =
traded.
Hence
before long these signs drove out of use
all
others,
^
except
in the less
changed
I
civilizations of
Asia Minor and Spain."

ar'cJieologiqiie^
M,
Weill, in a recent article in the
Revue
his
it
contested
in
these results, but
must confess that

I
arguments have
no
to
way convinced me.

"
do not think
possible for
any one
say, as the result of his demonstration, as he himself says, that
of
Dr.
is
Petrie's
table
and deductions not one word nor one

It
fact
left
standing."
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.
linear
it
If
we must admit,
as he wishes, that the
signs
are
merely a degradation of the hieroglyph signs,
would
also be necessary to believe that, previous to the earliest
known
form.
had been long enough
remains, a hieroglyphic system was in existence which in use for the signs to develop a linear Of these only a very small number had been retained
(thirty-three in Petrie's table), which

in the
it
must have been propagated
Mediterranean world
after
in
so strange a
manner
as to render
possible,
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 of M. Weill, who,

question,
tables
'
on
I
prehistoric
remains, and
faced
to
the criticisms
side
think,
to
has
in
not
that
of the
Petrie's
do not seem
me
any way
have touched
and deductions.
i.
p. 32.
Weill,
R.,
La
question de Vccrittire lineaire dans la Mcditerrance primitive,

i.
in the Rcviic archeologique, 1903,
pp. 213-232.
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 I think there first, the twelfth, and the eighteenth dynasties ? At these are two hypotheses which should be considered.
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.
have already remarked on the analogies with the Libyans presented by the primitive Egyptians. We have mentioned the
resemblances
primitive alphabetical system with the and also the relations between the Libyan and Libyan alphabets, the Creto-Aegean peoples have several times been established.
We
of
their
do
not
think
of
it
is
too
bold
at
to
definitely
attribute
the
appearance
history
to
these
marks
the
different
periods
of
Egyptian
or
contact with
Aegean
people,
either
directly
through
indicated
special
the intermediary of the Libyans.

at
;
These
relations
are
the
same time by the appearance of vases of a

the
;
type
in
this is
black
incised
pottery, with a
this
whitish
paste
the
incisions
specimens
at
of
found
in
Spain and
I
Bosnia,
Hissarlik,
in
pottery in Crete
it
liave
been
and
in
Sardinia,
and when found
Egypt
is
(Knossos), evidently an
importation.^
attributed
believe also that to these relationships
must be
the
appearance
in
Egypt
since
thirteenth dynasties of small
nude
art
in
during the twelfth and figures of women, which had

primitive
times.
disappeared from
Egyptian
Again,
one finds them reappearing
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 grdves."
MacIver & Mace, El Anirah and Abydos, p. 43. I^ktkie, Methods and Aims in Arc/urology, London, 1904, fig. 61, pp. 160-162. ^ The description of these will be found in Petrie, Diospolis, pp. 45-49 the
i
term employed by Petrie, "pan graves,"

graves."
is
merely an abbreviation of "pan-shaped
ISO

The presence
end of the
of these graves in the vicinity of Abydos, at route from the oases, indicates the direction
after the twelfth
is
the
which must have been taken
dynasty by these
Foreign relations,
people, whose Libyan character
so evident.^
!;Trw:TlCDrrrcrr.crrnr,nnr-r|i
IvJ'
tLCLIrrncprrnrrrrnhDlDlJIiy'^
1 "
Vi
I
fA.561.
.M.StO.
r
.a.Ti.e
kSvs^
!(1
m;
.P>T.I.9.
1/
^-"oa
,
.R.T. I.IOJI.
R,
T.I
-101.
.J^.W.
-P.
T.1L.35.
I'lG.
Impressions 114.
Mycenaean
dynasty,
taken from Cylinders.
especially
with
the
civilization,
were
useless
so
to
numerous
insist
during
this
the
;
eighteenth
that
it
is
on
we have already pointed out point under Amcnophis IV.

1
the
Libyan influence
MacIver
&
Mace,
loc. cit.
pp. 67, 6S.

As
signs
in
ART.
151
"
" to the hypothesis of a continued use of alphabetiform
Egypt,
it
must,
think, be
rejected,
for
"
the reasons
pan graves," pointed out by Mr. Mace in connection with the and the objects there discovered. He also estabHsbes the fact with that this incised black pottery we have just mentioned is
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.^
I must apologize for these reflections, of the unsubstantial As I have discussed the nature of which I am fully aware.
primitive writings,
to
refer to
earliest
chapter appearance at the period of the history of Egypt, only to disappear with
I
may be
permitted
in
closing
this
the cylinders,
which make
their
considerable rapidity.
inscriptions,
of so
present archaic a style as to connect them completely with the thus return to our subject, from which in primitive art."
of these, in addition to hieroglyphic representations of personages and animals
Some
We
these last pages

'
wc have somewhat diverged

loc. at. p.
(Fig.
114).
MacIver
I
&
Mace,
69.
wish specially to quote two ivory cylinders at Berlin, Nos. 15,337 and " 1 ScHAEFER, Nette Iterthuvter der " new race atis Ncgadah, in the Zeit5,338. Petrie, Royal Tombs, schiift fiir dgyptische Sprache, xxxiv. 1896, p. 160, fig. 4. De Morgan, Rccherches, ii. p. 160, fig. 560, and p. 170, fig. 561. ii. pi. X. Petrie, Abydos, i. pi. Ii. No. 1 1 Royal To77ibs, i. pi. xix. 8, 9 ii. pi. xiii. 95
-
xiv. 101-104.
Max Muller, An
archaic cylmder
from Egypt,
Dennis,
in the Orientalisib. col.
tische Litter atiirzeitiing,
v. 1902, col. 90-92, and fig. Evans, Further Discoveries of Cretan and Aegean
210, 211.
Script, in the
Journal of
Helletiic Studies, xvii. 1897, p. 362 et seq.
CHAPTER
IV.
SCULPTURE AND PAINTING.
WE
hitherto
have now arrived at the
most
difficult,
and
our
at
the
same time
the
most
interesting,
part
of
study.
Objects illustrating our subject become increasingly numerous, and will, perhaps, enable us to decide some points which
have been
here
left
in
uncertainty.
One
of
our greatest
difficulties
has been to establish the exact line of demar-
cation
commencement
to
between remains of prehistoric times and those of the of the Egyptian historical age. It has seemed
advisable
for
me
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
an inscription or royal nucleus, round which the various objects which arc closely to them can be grouped.
with certainty, owing to their bearing name. These specimens form a distinct
allied
To
begin
with,
we
will
consider
flints
which
have
been
shaped into the forms of animals.
As
early as 1890 an
example
Professor representing a hippopotamus was discovered at Kahun. Petrie is inclined to assign it to the twelfth dynasty ^ 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,

are
'
London, there
several
most interesting examples
snake from Koptos,

;
Petrie, Kahun, Gurob and Hawara, London, 1890, p. 30 and pi. viii. 22 Years' Digging in Egypt, 2nd ed. London, 1893, p. 127 Prehistoric Egyptian Figures, in Man, 1892, No. 14, p. 17 and pi. B, 20.
Ten
152

a
153
dog (?), and also a bird represented in flight' (Fig. 115). The Berhn Museum possesses three remarkable specimens, in the form of an antelope {buhalis), a wild goat, and a wild Barbary
the figures of sheep, which resemble in a most striking manner M. Schweinfurth, animals engraved on the vases (Figs. 116-118).
has recently published them, also compares them with the At the British which we shall consider later on.Sraffiti,
who
Museum
there
1
(No. 30,41
),
an unpublished specimen in form of an antelope and also another in form of a bull's head (No. 32,124).
is
=^
Fig.
115.
Worked
Flints in Form of Anim.\ls.
In the MacGregor Collection, Tamworth, there is a large specimen of the bull's head form, about 19 cm. in height. few specimens have been found i/i situ among other remains of the i^rimitivc age.
These are crocodiles and hippopotami (?), discovered prehistoric town surrounding the temple of Osiris
'
in
the small
at
Abydos.^
Petrie, Prehistoric Egyptian Figures,
loc. cit. p.
17, pi.
B, 17-iq.
Schweinfurth,
G.,
Acgyptische
Umschau, vii. 1903, pp. 804.-806 d'aiiimaicx fabriqtces en silcx et provenent de I'Fgypte, in
d'Anthro/iologie de Paris,
'
Tierbilder als Kicselartefalde, in Die French translation and fig. Figures

:
tlie
Revue de VRcolc
x\.
1903, pp. 395-399.
figs.
87-89.
Budge,
'
History of Egypt, i. fig. of p. 84, No. 32124. Petrie, Excavations at Abydos, in Man, 1902, No. 64, p.
292-294, and
p.
89,
No. 3; Abydos^
i.
pi. -x.wi.
\1.
154

testify to
These curious pieces
remarkable dexterity
in
flint
working (Fig.
115).
The only analogous
pieces
known
in
in
other countries
have been discovered
Russia and America.^
Fig. 116.
Worked Flint IX
Form of an Antelope
(BUBALIS).
Berlin Museum."
Small figures of human beings are very numerous, and specially
My colleague, Baron de Loe, keeper of the prehistoric antiquities of the Royal Museums of Brussels, has been good enougli to communicate to me his A flint in form of a fish comes from Archangel. Another, notes on this subject. A specimen from the in form of a bird, from the Government of Vladimir.
'
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
profiles
of a boat
others the
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 Government of Irkutsk a flint lias 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 tlie valleys of the Ohio and
See Wilson, Th., representing a bird, another a serpent. Classification des pointcs dc /leches, des pointcs des lances, et des couteaux de in the Compte rendu du Congirs i7itci-national d' anthropologic ct pief're,
Mississippi, one
d'archeologie prehistoriq71.es,
pp. 320-322, and
-
twelfth session,
at
Paris,
in
1900,
Paris,
1903,
fig.
14.
Reproduction after Die UviscliaH. Ubersicht iiber Fortschritte und Bewegungen auf dem Gesamtgebiet der Wissenschaft, Technick, Litteratur und
Kunst.
Francfurt a/Main, H. Bechhold, Verlag.

at
155
in
the
earliest
period of Egyptian history
various materials
pottery,
clay, stone, ivory, glazed

I
they are found
and
lead.
will
remind
the
reader of the figures of men carved on the combs, and also of the pendants of human
form
there
of
which
illustrations
have
been
given earlier in
is
the
book, and of which

further.
no need to speak
statuettes
The
rare
:
of
men
are
somewhat
by
not
one
specimen was found
Petrie in
the vast necropolis of Naqada.
At
Diospolis a few
rude examples were

at ^6
found,
made apparently
dates).
;
and 33-55
figures
(sequence
Several
are
represented standing
be seated.
or sheath
In
On
;
another appears to most of them are to be

of the kaimata,
Fig. 117.
seen distinct
indications
is
Worked Flint in
Museum. -
Form of a Wild Goat.

Berlin
the beard
it
carefully marked.^
said
is
general,
may
be
that
the
that of the
in
rendering of these figures

the
not more perfect than

representations
relating
to
human
(Fig.
we examined
decorative
chapter
119).
art
Another
Gebel
el
statuette,
in
in
pottery, discovered
Tarif,
is
the
necropolis
yellowish of
It
more
interesting.
Fig. 118.
IN
Worked
Flint
Form of a Wild Barbary Sheep.

Berlin Museum.^
shows a bearded personage kneeling, the Here arms hanging down the body.
already the face is better formed, and the nose and ears are well indicated.*^
Petrie, Diospolis, are of clay, painted red.

:
and p. 36. The two statuettes U96 were discovered by Mr. Garstang, at iii. Alawanyeh see Garstang, Mahdsna and Bet Klialldf, London, 1903, pi. See also two specimens in ivory in the MacGregor Collection. Naville, Figurines
1
pi. v.
U96;
vi.
19,
Two
similar pieces
in the Rccueil de travaiix relatifs a hi egyptieimes de Vepoqiic archaique, ii., et a ct assyrienncs, xxii. 1900, pi. v. Varchcologie cgypUmnes philologie,
-
After Die Unisdiait,

lb.
lac. cit.
3
*
De Morgan,
Rcchcrches sur
les origines,
i.
p.
151, hg.
373
'
^8-
"'-
P- 54-
156
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,"
Aegean
the
its
Islands
he says, "from the primitive marble 'idols' of the in its bent knees and arms held close to
it
side,
yet
shows a remarkable
;
resemblance to them
flat- topped
in
it
general
shape
while
in
its
recurved
head

characteristic features reproduces one of their most
"
^
157
ig(Fi^
119.
M.
R
In
III).
the
excavations
at
El
Amrah
Mr.
Maclver discovered
several figures type as the specimens found at Diospolis, and always characterized
of men of the same
by the karnata or sheath- (Fig. 1 19). There are several other statuettes in the Berlin Museum/ and one
without
legs,
its
history unkrtow^n,
in the Petrie Collection,
University
Figures of men College, London. occur more frequently in the mass of ivories discovered at Hierakonpolis,
and
at the
same time we note

the
a real
pieces.
advance on
preceding
are unfor-
These
ivories
tunately in rather and a serious effort
bad condition,
is
necessary in
order
before
see,
to
realize
their
they were We can mutilation.
what
however, that they were standing figures, clothed in a loin-cloth held

its
in
was
place by a girdle, to which The attached the karnata.
Fic.
beard,
in
when
represented,
is
enclosed
Ivory Figures of Mex i.:u. DISCOVERED AT HiERAKONPOLIS.
In the bag already described. the most short, it appears that
The heads probably do not belong to the bodies. Ashmolcan Museum,
Oxford.
frequent
type
was that of which
Mr. MacGregor's ivory figure supplies the best specimen' (Figs.

20,
'
19,
120,
and
121).
Evans, Further Discoveries of Cretan and Aegean Script, in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, xvii. 1897, p. 380, and tig. 33, p. 381. * MacIver & Mace, El Afurah and Abydos, pi. ix. 1, xii. 7, pi'. 4'. \-' ScHAEKER, Nctcc Altertiwicr der "new race" aus Negadali in the Zcitschrift
1
fiir dgyptisclie Sprache, xxxiv. 1896, pp. 160, 161, figs.
8,
11.
QuiBELL,
Hie?-akotipolis,
i.
pi. vii. viii. x.

ii.,
and pp.
6, 7.
Naville, Figurines
travaiix rclatifs a la
egyptiennes de Vcpoque archai'r/ue,
in
the
Neci/eil dc
158

From an examination
Petrie
statuettes, Dr.
considers
of the physiological type of all these that they represent individuals

to
of the
Libyans have already met with several times. There is an ivory head (Fig. 121) which is especially characteristic.^
primitive
race, anterior
the Egytians
those
whom we
Fig.
121.
Ivory
Heads discovered at Hierakonpolis.
On
another head of a
man we
see
kind of high-pointed
There are philologie et a Varcheologie egyptiennes et assyriennes, xxii. igoo, p!. v. two small ivory figures in the MacGregor Collection similar to the specimens
found at Hierakonpolis. QuiBELL, Hierakonpolis,
'
i.
pi.
v.
vi.
4,
5,
p.
6.
Schweinfurth, Die
tieiiesten
Griibcrfundc in Obcnigyptett uiid die Stellung der noch lebenden Wilsten-StaDimcti zii de?- altagyptischcn Bcvolkerung, in the Verhandlungcn dcr
berl.
anthropo/ogischcn Gcsellsdiaft, 1898, pp.

in i\\e
Early Egypt,
pi. xviii. 6.
Journal of
lite
180-186. Petrie, TJlc Races of Anthropological Institute, xxxi. 1901, p. 250,
159
casque, suggestive of the white crown' (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
This is undoubtedly the masterpiece of of the historic period. of the Professor Petrie speaks thus ivory carving primitive age.
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 Upi)cr
I'^gypt
and a
thick embroidered robe.

stiff
it
embroidery
found.
edge represented, no such dress

:
P^rom the nature of the pattern and the looks as if this robe were quilted with
is
known on any Egyptian
figure yet
The work belongs
to an unconventional
;
school, before
in It
it of fixed traditions might have been carved and where any age country good natural work was done.
the
rise
'
QuiBELL, HicrakonpoUs,
i.
pi. vii. viii. 6.
i6o

a
shows
power
of
dealing
with
in
individuality
which
stands
its unshrinking figuring of age apart from all the later work and weakness with a subtle character. It belongs to the same
school of art as the figures
and these reveal a

as
style
which
has hitherto been
quite
unsuspected,
preceding
122).
;
the
more
formal style of the Old
Kingdom
"
(p-ig.
position of the ears should be noticed perpendicularly on the head, and seem to
size.
The
they are placed be of abnormal
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 Abydos"' (Fig. 132,

far
No.
14).
Female
to
statuettes are
more numerous, and enable us

It is
to
follow closely the evolution of the type.
necessary, however,
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 development of fat, principally in the lower limbs, and especially the
It is known that this deformity is frequently thighs (steatopygy). found among the Hottentots, and it has been compared with a representation in the temple of Dcir el Bahari of an African
and xiii. Mexican statue in the Ethnographical See Woerman, Gcschichte Museum, Berlin, shows a similar deformity. der Kunst allcr Zeite7i iind Volker, i. Leipzic, 1900, fig. p. 88. Pliny, Natural " The island of the Fanesii, in which the inhabitants, History^ iv. 27, 5 who are naked, completely cover themselves with their ears, which are ol
'
Petrie, Abydos,
lb.
ii.
ii.
p. 24, pi.
ii.
3,
'^
pi.
iii.
17-19,
and
p.
24.
size.'' Male, E., Lart reUgeux du xiii'. siecle en France, Paris, 1902, " Men with ears as large as winnowing fans." 77 (the Portal of V6zelay) Delakosse, M., Snr des traces probables dc civilisation cgyptientic et d'lwvnnes " Ces de race blaitclie a la cote d'ivoire, in V Antliropologic, xi. 19CO, jx 679,
excessive
p.
leurs oreilles etaient si grandes qu'ils peau blanclie vue d'un homme de la terre." P. 684, " Tous ceux (jui en ont vu ou en ont entendu parler disent que, pour ne pas etre reconnus, ils prenaient Icurs oreilles avec les mains et les ramenaient sur Information contributed by MM. Bayet, Macoir, M. Hebert, leur visage." and F. de Zeltner.
fils
du Ciel avaient
.
la
s'en cachaient leur visage a la
sculpturp: and painting.

queen, the queen of Punt.'
positions,
i6i
in in
These curious statuettes arc

or
seated.-
two
the
cither
standini^
The specimens
reproduced here, are
of a greyish clay, covered with a brilliant red glaze,
and
black
124,
still
show
traces
of
paint
125).
(Figs.
123,
The
Berlin
Museum
one
I
possesses a seated
I
figure, the
only complete
of (Fig. 125).
know
We
here encounter an
important
problem
con-
^1
cerning the history of the of migrations primitive

peoples.
Should
statuettes
these
Egyptian
taken
as
be
proof of the
a
presence
Dr.
after
of
Hottentot
race in prehistoric
Egypt
Fouquet
writes,
the
examination of
discovered
"
:
the
bones
in
the
tombs
At
South
for
for
Naqada, the cephalic index the men, 72, yî

I
the
women,
y^,
13
induces a comparison with those of the Hottentots,

the
123.
Steatopygous
Bushmen
(72,
itself
Clay Ashmolean Museum.
TiciURKS.
(72, 42) the

54).
Kaffirs
Naqada
The discovery made of steatopygous statuettes

y,.
b}-
Flinders
to
Petrie
at
suggested
him the
Petrie, Naqada,
34.
and Cairo,
-
1878, ii. pi. 62, j)]). 72, les peuples de la ictre, 10, 111. jip.
i
M.ariette, Voyage dans Ic Haute Agypte, Paris See, however, DenmvER, /.es races et 73.
p 34
I I
Petkie,
i\a(/aif<i,
\)\.
vi
1-4,
l62

idea,
same
final
which he does not appear to have adopted on a It is known, however, that this race penetrated analysis. is it and into France, 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
^
:
writes
"
who have examined these objects. M. de Villenoisy 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 duellers in
:
the land of Punt (now Somaliland) in the time of the Egyptian Queen Hatasu (eighteenth dynasty), Abyssinians and Bolofs (who
must
at
and Hottentots.
out,
'
one time have been neighbours of Egypt), Bushmen The insistence with which M. Piette pointed
on
the
Pyrenean
palaeolithic
figures,
peculiarities
taillec
which
FouQUET, Redierches
sitr les
cranes de I'epoque de la picrrc

ii.
en Kgypte,
Piette,
in
De Morgan, Kcchcrchcs sur les orighies^ ^ De Villenoisy, Lhiatus prehisiorique
p. 378.
et les decoiivertcs
dc
M. Ed.
in tlie
Bulletin de la Societc de spelcologie, April to June and July to September,
1896, pp. 97, 98.

among women
African,
163
of contemporary races are found to be exclusively
did
not
at
first
succeed
in
fixing
attention
it
was
considered that they were merely the result of accidental circumstances, or lack of skill on the part of the sculptor. great in advance was of taken at the the Acadeniie when, step meeting
dcs
the
Inscriptions,
November
that
23rd,
great
similarity
exists
M- Maspero recognized between the legless figures of

1894,
He Bassempuy and those deposited in the tombs of Egypt. believes them to be inspired by the same religious conception."
Fig.
125.
Steatopygous Figure
Berlin
in
Clay (complete).
Museum.
in F AntJiropologie} expresses himself in the same " with The comparison way regard to the Hierakonpolis figures may have very slender foundation, yet I cannot resist finding a certain resemblance between some of these reproductions and
M. Boule,
those on the sculptures found by M. Piette at Mas d'Azil, and I received the same impression on examining the steatopygous
female figures Tound by Professor Flinders Petric and Mr. Quibell

at
Naqada and
Ballas."
V Anthropologic,
xi.
1900, p. 759.
164
Notwithstanding Boule's doubts, it seems probable that this resemblance is not without foundation. We find analogous
figures in the P^rcnch caves/ in
Malta,-' in
the regions of Thrace
and
Illyria,
at Butmir, Cucuteni,
Sereth, in
Crete."''
Poland/
in
Greece/
and the Aegean
Islands, notably
But by the side of these steatopygous

in
figures,
Egypt
as also in France, statuettes of another
type are found, characteristic of a race of less
The best specimen that bulky proportions.'' can be quoted is the figure decorated with
There paintings already reproduced (Fig. 5). are statuettes of this type in clay, ivory, and lead, where the legs are summarily indicated.
means
Frequently the arms are merely represented by of a nip in the clay, causing the shoulder
at other
to project.
indicated
of them.
'
Occasionally the breasts are clearly times there is not a trace
We
must notice a curious specimen,
Petrie, Naqada, p. 34, where he quotes I' AnthropoHoERNES, Ufgcsc/iic/i/e dcr bildettlogic, vi. 1895, 129-151. deii Kunst, pi. ii. figs. 9-13. Reinach, S., Statuette de
luic decoitverte
femme
dans
tine des grottes

i.
de Menton,
in
l'
Anthro-
pologic,
-
ix.
i8g8, pp. 26-31, pi.
ii.
in
i.
Mayk, Die vorgeschichtlichen Denkiniilcr von Malta, tlie Abhandlungcn der k. baycr. Akadonie dcr ll'iss.,
CI., xxi.
Bd.,
I
iii.
Abth. Mi'mchen, 1901, pp. 699-703, and
pi. X. 2, xi.
and
2.
Review by Arthur Evans,

fig. 3,
;
in
Man,
1902, No. 32, pp. 41-44,

Fig,
126.
Clay
xi.
Female Figure.
pi.
reproduces fig. 2 of pi. of Mayr more clearly tatoo-marks are distinguishable. HoERNES, Urgeschichtc dcr bildcndc7i Ki/nst,\). 192 and
p. 43,
'
iii.
The
statuette of Cucuteni (Rounuuiia)

in
University Col'ege,
London.
Iceland
are reproduced
Reinach,
(separate reprint, p. 39). of our Fig. 23.

1
Europe avant les injiriences Compare especially tlic

Histoii'c
and that of en greco-romaines, fig. 94 and 95 figure from Poland with those
S.,
I.a sculpture
Perrot
&
Chipiez,
fig.
de Part dans rantiquitc,
vi.,
Jm
Grece
piimitive, I'art mycenien,

^
Evans, Arthur, The
325, p. 736, and figs. 333 and 334, p. 741. Neolithic Settlcjnent at Knossos and its Place in the
History of Early Aegca?t Culture, in Man, 1901, No. 146, pp. 184-186, and fig. They appear again in Egypt in the eighteentli dynasty. See MacIver & Mace, El Atnrah and Ahydos, pi. iv. D 8. Garstang, EJ Arabnh, London, 1901,
pi.
xix.
^
178.
p. 34.
Petrie, Naqada,

of
165
unknown provenance,
hands
the
are
at
University
College,
London, where
the
the
clasped
(Fig.
is
as
of
body
in
126).
though There
to
is
hide
also
lower
part
specimen which
Museum
127).
almost perfect at the Berlin 14167 (Pig. vegetable paste, No.
Another very early example (sequence date 38) in vegetable paste moulded on a reed core is
painted red and
face
black.
The lower
part
of the
the
appears to be covered with a veil. thighs there is a belt curved at the

at
Round
lower
both ends so as to form a point between edge There the legs when joined^ (Fig- 128, No. 11).
is
specimen in the Petrie Collection, University College, London, as well as another

a similar
lead (Fig. 128). Tlie excavations at Diospolis
in
have furnished other
examples,
date
34),
tomb B
with
loi
(sequence
notably, from a small figure

(Fig.
128,
the
loi).
arms
carefully
carved-
D.
B
In
same necropolis, in tomb B 83 excavations date have 33-48), brought (sequence a female statuette, already worked to light more in detail, where the legs and also the
the
hair
arc
at
least
indicated
(Pig.
128,
in
D.
the
B
of
83). fig. i27.-Female
The arms
rudimcntary
are
still
represented
as
in
same
the
fashion
the
Figure ^^^^
Berlin
in
Veget-
figures
Museum.
Aegean
In
Islands."*
mous.
the series of ivory female statuettes the progress is enorUnfortunately there has been no specimen found in the
course of scientific excavation to furnish a relative date for these

objects.
The examples we can

lix.
(ûote present a great variety in
moleaii
P-
Petrie, Naqada, pi. Museum, Oxford. Petrie, Diospolis,
11; Diospolis, p. 26. Identical fragments \\\\Diospolis,
Now
\A.
at
v.
the
Ash-
B mi, and
33'
yX. v.
p.
33.
lb. pi. vi.
83, p. 32.
66
PRIMITIVE ART IN EGYPT
Fig.
128.
Female
Figures
in
Pottery, Ivory, Lead, and Vegetable Paste.

the
position
;
167
the
of
the
arms.
the
body
left
sometimes
to
only
Sometimes they hang down right arm is pendant, while
the
folded
appears on the
support the breasts.

breast
;
One
figure
has
the
arms
others
have one hand
placed
on the
stomach, while the second hides the lower part of the body. Most have the head shaved some, on the contrar}', wear the
;
hair
long,
with
two
locks
hanging
down
in
front
over
the
Fig.
129.
Female
Figures
in Ivory.
MacGregor
Collection.
shoulders,
on
the
framing the lower part of

arranged
inlaid
face.
On some
body
is
the
specimens the hair crudely rendered by a

e\-es
series
of holes,
carved,
sometimes
of these
fan-shape. with round
The
are
^
sometimes
(I'igs.
bone beads
at
128
and
129).
Some
means
'
later
figures
have a tenon
fastened
to
the
base,
by
to
of
which
they
were
stands,
similar
British Museum, 32,125, 32,139-42. Budge, A History of E<rypt, i. p. 52. MacGregor Collection Navilll", University College, London see our Fig. 128 Fi>rurhirs c_<(v/)ficiincs de Icpoquc arc/iai'f/itc, ii., in tlie Rccucil dc travai<xrclatifs (} la f'hilolo'îe ct a I ardicoloiîe cgyptifiiftcs ct assyricnnes, xxii. 1900, pi. iv. of
: :
liicli
our Fig. 129
is
a reproduction.
68

some of
British
tlic
those of
Hierakonpolis ivories which wc are about

(No. 32,143) possesses a statuette of a
in
to consider.
The woman
which
Museum
standing, wrapped
is
a large
left
cloak, the
fringed,
leaving
the
breast
upper edge of uncovered on her

;
shoulder she carries a child, whose body is hidden beneath the folds of the cloak ^ (Fig- 130). type of the woman carrying her child also occurs in an ivory figure in the Berlin
The
Museum
tremely
(Fig.
(No.
14,441)
style
of
of
exwoi
1-:
rough
130-
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

Fig 130. Figure of a
Woman carrying A Child on her Shouledrs.

British
age shortly befoie the

the
fact,
first
rise
is,
of
in
Museum.
dynasty.
There
progress
made
between
one group and the next, and altliough the pose and the arrangement of the hair mav be the same, one is conscious that the artist has a feeling for the individuality of the type which is
preceding examples, a fair number of these statuettes have the e^'es inlaid. I cannot attempt to describe all these carvings. I'hcy present but few varieties beyond those I have mentioned. In higs. 132
figures.
completely
absent
in
the
earlier
Like
the
and 133 are reproductions of the best ivories found at Hierakonnow at the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford. wish polis, and
I
however,
to
draw attention
to
the
figures
cloaks which
we have already
dealt with,
large wrapped and also to remark on

in
sts'lc
in
two small
1
statuettes,
on bases,^ identical
with an ivory
Budge,
For
tlie
History of gyp/, i. p. 53, No. 7. Hierakonpolis ivories see Quibell, Hierakonpolis,
i.
\)\.
ix.
x.

statuette
169
discovered
during
first
the
winter of
1902-3
and dating from the

of children
carved
in
excellent
Egyptian dynasty. style, and
at Abydos, These are figures
free
from
conven2).
No. tionality^ (Fig. 132, Nos. I Stand 21, and Fig. 133, at The same excavations
Abydos
carvings
have
of
contributed
children,
other
the
with
fineer in the
attitude^ which
mouth, a traditional we had previously

in
met with
konpolis
Also,
at
in
a figure from Hierachrysocolla.''
carved
Abydos,
of
two
a
ivory
statuettes
women were
shows
the
128,
found,
one
of
which
to
strong
affinity
carvings'* (Fig.
Hierakonpolis Ab 5) while
;
the other, according to Dr. Petrie,
already shows signs of the formalist style of the Ancient Empire."''
There are various other figures which are unimportant, with the
exception of some specimens
clay and
in
glazed pottery," and the gla/cd pottery

illustrate
pretty statuette in
reproduced
dressing (Fig.
to
15).
hairFig. 131. list
Finall}', to
terminate this
-Ivory Figure of a Wom.\n CARRYING A ChiLD.

Berlin
of female figures,
we must mention
Museum.
an interesting statuette
The
in lapis-lazuli, discovered at tlicrakonpolis. the of hands, the slender proportions of the body, position
ii.
* '
lb.
IÊTRIE, Abydos, ii. pi. ii. 7, 8
\A.
ii.
1,
and
j).
23.
])1.
iii.
18.
i.
QuiuELL, Hierakonpolis,
ii.
])1.
xviii. 4.
Petrie, Abydos, female fitûres fouiul

pi.
\\\.b,
in
and p. 21. comptc rendu in cxlenso, T'aris, 1899, pi. xxxi. Petrie, Abydos, ii. pi. ii. 2 and pp. 23, 24.
8,
''
ami j). 24. The same is the casse with the the royal tombs at Abydos. Petrie, Royal Toi>d>s, ii. Amelineau, Les nouvelles foi/illt:s d' Abydos, 1895-6.
pi.
ii.
"
Ih.
ii.
pi. ix.
184,
xi.
23c.
lyo
o cu z o < w
X V
O
3 U 3
01
E~
<
in
IN
CO
171
-J
o z o
<
a w
> o
^ o
S 3 o
in
11
^ 5
<
"1
o >
172
pRiMirivi':
bciKliiiL^f
ART
IN i<:GYi'r
and the
of
tlic
knees recall to an astonishing degree the
small figures of the Greek Islands^ (Fi^- ^34)I
and female
tomical
have intcntionall}' omitted a class of male figures, because they represent anamalformations
curious
at
"
which
-
Some
figures
and these
f>f
specimens once elicited a comparison with the Ptah in embryo" (A the historic age.''
in
suggest rickets. have been published,
There are two examples
ivory
in
the Petrie
We shall C(;llcction, University College, London. ])rcscntl)' have occasion to enquire what was the
meaning of these deformed
reason
figures,
in
and
for
what
they were
H'îg.
deposited
the
tombs and
temples
13SJ.
We
Fk;.
must
also class in a separate category the
134. S.mall Figure IN Lapis-
I.AZULIFROM
inr.KAKOM'oi.is.
which represent human beings either squatting or in positions which seem to be imThis is the case with men represented possible.
statuettes
'
AFlimolean
standing
.Li
or kneeling, with the arms

1
bound behind
Ti is an i here the back, and apparently captives. in the to this with instructive point, regard ivory figure, very from was O.xford it Ashmolcan Museum, brought I'^gypt in
u
1
Museum.
i-\
1891
'
by Greville Chester (159-91
J,
and
is
stated
to
have been
QUHJELL, Hierako7ipoUs, i. pi. xviii. 3, and i>. 7 ii. p. 38. Navu.le, Fijjûrines egypiienncs de iepoque archait/ue, ii., in the Recueil de travanx rclatifs a la philologie et a Varcheologie cgyptieimes et assyriennes, x.\ii.
;
"
1900,
pi. xi.
pi.
5.
13UUGE,
History of Egypt,
\).
ix. p. 52, 2.
Quibell, Hicra/conpolis,
ii.
i.
and
xviii. 7, 19,
and
ii.
;
i)p.
37, 38.
Petrie, Abydos,
in the
i)l.
v.
44,
48
X.
213, pp. 25, 27.

'
See Vn^cHOW, Die I'hokovtelen ufid das Barcinvciby

berl.
VeJ-hatidlungcn
Gcsetlsdiaft fm- Antliropologie, Jithnologie und Urgeschichte, 1898, Dk. Parrot, Sur I'originc d'tme dcs fortnes du pp. 55-61, uith fig. and |)late. dicii I'tali, in tiie Rcciicit dc travaux telatifs a la pliilologie et a I'archcologic et assyricfutcs, ii. 1880, pp. 129-133, and plate (reproduction I'rom the
der
cgyptiennes Bulletins de la Societe d' antliropologie de J'aris, 1878,
p.
296).
Dr. Eifer,
L'Achondroplasic, in See .SchweinI'URI 11, Verhandlungen der

Urgeschichte,
tin?
Correspo7tdant medical, vi. 120, September 15th, 1899. Ueber wcstafrikanischc Figiiren aus 'I alksidiicfcr, in the
Gescllscluift fiir
fig.
berl.
Anthropologic,
"
Jiilinologie
und
1901, pp. 329, 330 and " SciiAEFEK, Neue Altertilnier der
new
race
aus Negadah,
3, p.
in the Zeitschrift
filr Hgyptisrhc S/>rarhe, xxxiv. 1896, p. 159,
and
fig.
160
SCUTJ^TURE
found
well
at
AND
PAINTING.
tliis
173
lies
Thebes.
The main
interest of
f;l>jcct
in
the
preserved leather belt, which

in
represents
the
tightly
drawn
In all crouching position. other specimens this leather thoni^ has disappeared, but this example shows how similar statuettes should be interpreted (type
thony that held the captive
his
of our Fig. 132, No.
19;.
The Hierakonpolis
ivories
give
several
examples of these
Ik-;.
135.
iv(ji'.y
J-
iolkls
(if
Dwaki...
MacGregor
Collection.
captives, the
arms bound
There
beliind
the-
back
'
(Fig. 14).
Objects of
noticed at
the
same
type, but in glazed pottery, were found at Hierakonpolis

is
and Abydos.^
al.so
in
a small
a
figure
to
be
University College, London, of rock crystal, and another

top
'
hard red limestone, with eyes
of the
head.-'
Objects
i.
of
fragment of crystal inlaid (>\\ the the first dynasty, where scenes
fjuiBELL, JJieraUoiipolis,
Jb.
i.
pi. xi. xii,
'^
''
F-'etkik, Ahydos, ii. pi, v. 37, and p. 25. I'ETRIE Prehistoric Egyplian Figures, in Matt, 1902, No. 14, p. 17,
pi.
xxi.
2,
3, xxii.
3.
pi.
Ii, 1.
174
primitivp:
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
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
it
personages (whether male or female is difficult to say) having a vase
on the head.
The eyes
at
are indicated
7).
by beads
of
(Fig. 119, No.

is
One
these
London, and
also
University College, the head of a
similar piece in alabaster.
There are some specimens at the Berlin Museum, which arc supposed
to
have come from

be
included
Naqada, which
in
must
Fig. 136.
this
list
of a
Figure
S3,
statuettes,
of a
although
they
are
of
Woman
STANDING IN A LaRGE JaR.
very different style.
Some
of these
(Fig. 119,
8,
and
11).
formed part of the crew of a boat One of the most curious is the figure
standing in a large jar, occupied in crushing someThe left hand is upon her hip, and with thing under her feet. the right she supports herself by resting it on the edge of the vase ^ (Fig. 136).
of a
I
woman
have reserved
Petrie, Naqada,
is
for
this
chapter some vases of

p. 21
;
human form
pi. lix. 7,
and
Diospolis, p. 26,
dit
where the sequence

1902, pp. 96, 97,
date 38
given.
Compare Heuzey, Musee national

gravure a
*'
Louvre, Catalogue des
antn/uites chaldeettyies, sculpture ct

105, III, 305, 306, 313-318.
^
la pointe^ Paris,
ScHAEFER, Neue
at
Altertibfter der
new
7-ace'''
fiir dgyptische Sprache, .xxxiv. 1896, pp. 160, 161.
Naqada see Petrik, Naqada, pi. xxxvi. 95, and p. 41 id. unknown provenance (Fig. 119); an unpublished piece at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and a head at University College, It seems that the woman, standing in the jar, is occupied in the London. See Borchardt, Die preparation of beer, made by means of bread.
has been found
;
aus Negadah, in i\\c Zeitschrift A fragment of a similar figure
pi.
xxxvi. 96, another piece of
Dii'ucrstatuen aus den Grdbcrn des alien Reiches, in the Zeitschrift, xxxv. pp. 128 et seq. and lig. p. 129; Kat. 1895, No. 91.
1897,

published
175
by M. Naville as belonging to the primitive period, and which appear to belong rather to sculpture than to decorative The first of these are two vases of hard stone and the art.
Fig.
137.
Vases
in
Form of Women.
fragment of a third vase belonging to the
fine collection
in
of Mr.
MacGregor.
this object
One
is
a kneeling
1
woman, holding
that
her hand an
object resembling a horn.
was struck with the analogy which

attribute
presents with the
appears on a large
176

of
number
European
prehistoric
sculptures.^
The
other
is
dwarf of a t)-pe already known, while the fragment appears to M. Naville compares these with be part of a female figure.two terracotta figures in the Athens Museum. With Erman
and
Petrie,
do not hesitate to attribute them to the eighteenth
dynasty.^
regards the figure of the standing woman, bought by M. Naville at Luxor and published at the same time as the two
As
preceding ones,
work,
have
difficulty in believing
it
to
be Egyptian
school
of
and
art
am
which
inclined
to
connect
the
it
with
incised
the
ceramic
produced
black
pottery
137).
with
strange to remark that the primitive artists in general understood better the rendering of animals than of human figures. They carved a great of and sometimes in both hard and materials animals, variety
It is
whitish paste, of which we have spoken earlier Figures of animals are extremely numerous.
(P'ig.
valuable.
classifying
Of
these
we
will
note the most interesting specimens,
them according to their species. The hippopotamus has been found in almost all the excavations at Plierakonpolis, Abydos, Diospolis, and at Gebelein Sometimes it is in clay,' sometimes in glazed pottery," and also,
at times, in stone''
(Fig.
138),
There
is
figure
of
hippo-
Reinach,
S.,
La
13,
sculpture en
18-20,
Europe avant
les influences
greco-romaines,
Angers, 1896, pp.
and
figs. 26, 28, 44,
46-49.
^ Naville, Figurines egyptiennes de I'epoque archatque, ii., in tlie Recucil de travaux relaiifs a la philologie et a I arclieologie egyptiennes et assyriennes, xxn.
1900, pp. 65, 66,

'
pi. i.-iii.
Naville, ib. xxi. 1899, pp. 212-216, pi. ii. iii. These vases may be compared with those fonnd at Abydos. See Garstang, El Arabali, pi. xix. K 178. MacIver & Mace, El Anirali and Abydos, pi. xlviii. and notice of J. L.
1
,
Myres,
*
ib.
pp. 72-75.
pi. v. B 101 (Ashmolcan Musenm, Oxford); Abydos, (Musees royanx de Bruxelles), and p. 26; ii. pi. ix. 188, and p. 27,
i.
Petrie, Divspolis,
35
pi.
liii.
x.
225.
Von
Bissing, AltagyptiscJie Gejdsse

1898, p.
pi. xviii.
fur iigyptische Sprache, xxxvi. Amrali and Abydos, pi. ix. 5.

^
124,
im Museum zuGise, in the Zeitsclmfi and fig. MacIver & Mace, El

(i^)
QuiBELL, Hierakonpolis,
:
i.
18 (see xlviii.
(Ashmolean Museum
;
Petrie, Abydos, ii. pi. vi. 70, 71, 73, and p. 25. Limestone Petrie, Diospolis, pi. v. B loi, 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 \i. 50, tomb 153
Oxford).
''

potamus
which
at
177
to
merits
special
it
attention
it
belongs
the
the
museum
Athens, where
It
is
forms
black
is
part
of
Di Demetrio
Collection.
carved
in
and white
granite,
and
is
extremely polished. block the head only has been treated with some
;
The
beast
scarcely disengaged from the

detail.
The
Fig.
138. Figures of Hippopotami
in
Clay, Glazed Pottery, and Stone.
University College, London, and Ashmolean Museum.
whole
effect
is
heavy and
piece, does
thickset,
but
nevertheless
it
is
not
without
to
this
character.
Professor
Wiedemann, who drew

to
attention
it
curious
not hesitate
:
attribute
to
the
(Ethnograpliical Museum, Cambridge). Alabaster Petrie, Ahydos, ii. pi. 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
178

(Fig.
139),
Naqada period^
and
this impression
is
confirmed by-
comparison with the figures of lions belonging to the primitivê period which were discovered by Dr. Petrie at Koptos.^
type is specially interesting. The earliest were discovered by Mr. Ouibell in a tomb at Ballas.
lion
The
in
pieces
They
head
are
low,
ivory,
and
tail
show
twisted
part
the
animal
the
and
they
the
over
lying back.
down,
It
is
the
considered
that
formed
of a
game.^
Other specimens, almost
Fig.
139.
Hippopotamus
in
Black and White Granite.
contemporaneous, were purchased by Dr. Petrie, and arc now at University College, London. They were probably found at
Gebelein, w^hcre 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
Wiedemann, Zu Nagada
Petrie, Koptos,
pi. v. '5,
Periodc^
p. 7
in
the Orientalisiisdic Litteraturzeitung
iii.
1900, col. 86.

^
and
(one of these at the Ashmolean Museum,.

12, 16,
17,
Oxford).
^
Petrie, Naqada^
pi. vii.
Q711,
pi. Ix.
and pp.
14, 35, 46.
SCULPXaRE AND PAINTING.

ones^ (Fig. 140).
179
more
with
Another example of uncertain provenance is massive, and is scarcely disengaged from the block of
limestone.^
The
has
royal
tomb of Naqada, apparently contemporary

lions
Menes, yielded two figures of crystal, of crude work, recalling the earlier
one
of
rock
pieces'^;
the other of
Fig.
140.
Small
Figures of Lions.
sculptor has endeavoured details, carefully indicating the ears and mane.^
ivory,
in
which
the
to
render
the
'
Petrie, Naqada,
Ib.,^\.
Ix.
pi. Ix.
24-26.
'^
23.
De 'M.owGhn^RcchejxJics sh?- Ics oriifincs,\\-'^'^-loo,T\.w(\
pp. 193, 194.
There
is
second example, probably also from Naqada, in tlie MacGrcgor Collection (No. 533). * De Morgan, Recherches siir Ics origines, ii. figs. 699 and b, and pp. 192-194. Von Bissing, Les origines de I'^gypte in l'A7ith7-opologie, ix. 1898, pi. iii. 8, and
A similar specimen is in the collection of Mr. Hilton Price, London. 249. See Hilton Price, Notes i/pon so?ne Pre-dynastic and Early Dynastic Antiquities
p.
from Egypt
in
the writers
collection,
in
is
Archceologia,
Ivi.
1899 (published
in the
separately, p. 5, fig. 5/;, Collection (No. 504).
and
p. 10).
Tliere
another specimen
MacGregor
i8o
The ivory lions discovered in one of the private tombs which surround the tomb of King Zer, show a further improvement 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 he also points out that the position of the tail Mesopotamia
;
Af.^3
Fig.
141.
Small
Figures of Lions.
in
this figure, twisted over the
back and curved at the end,

prehistoric
is
identical
with
to
those
of
the
is
carvings.^
lines
in
The
relief
final
peculiarity define the outline of the muzzle (Fig.
be observed
that
two
in
clearly
141).
The
excavations
of
Amelineau,
the
Abydos, had previously produced a

'
lion in ivory,-
same and
tombs
also a
at
head
Petrie, Royal Tombs, ii. pi. vi. 3, 4, and p. 23. Amelineau, Les tioiivel/cs fouillcs d' Abydos,
pi.
1895-6,
Compte
reiidit
in
extenso, Paris, 1899,
xxxi.

on which the two
h'ncs
i8i
of the muzzle are inore clearly defined.^
There
is
an example of larger size in which this peculiarity of special interest. This is a limestone statue discovered by
is
Petrie at Koptos, which
reproduces the principal characteristics
of the small figures TFig. 142).
One would
gladly assign
it
to
Fig.
142.
Limestone
and
the
this
Statue of a Lion from Koptos.

O.'cford.
Ashmolean Museum,
the
age
of
Zcr,
at
date
would
equally
apply
to
to
the
are,
hippopotamus
however, not
museum
at Athens.
to
These si)ecimcns
fix
sufficiently
abundant
enable us
with
certainty the appearance of a type.'
Amelineau, Les nouvelles foiiilles dÂhydos,

p. 7.
jil.
xlii.
p.
307,
where they are
quoted as figured on pi. xli. ^ Petkie, Koptos, pi. V. 5, and
82
In

the
Randolph Berens
Collection,
now deposited
at
the
South Kensington Museum, there arc two large lions in black granite and in alabaster found at Abydos. They bear witness to
an art
far
more powerful than

carried
that of the great lion of Koptos,

I
and they should be attributed,
think, to the
in
first
The excavations
Abydos
on
the
temple
dynasty. of Osiris
at
during the winter 1902-3 yielded a series of ivory lions
Fig.
143.
Ivory
Carvings of a IJog
'
and of a Lion- from Abydos.
Brussels Museum.
Dr. Petrie, from the style, attributes of excellent workmanship. them to a date later than that of Zer or Menes. Two of them
are lionesses, and, strange to say, they arc wearing collars.
Did
the
artist
intend thus to
indicate
that
they were domesticated
animals?
1
Another has the eyes

the
inlaid with chalcedony.^
Petrie, Abydos,
thhiites in
ii. iii. CArAUx, Antiquites de Vcpoque 22, p. 24. pi. Bulletin des Musees royaux des arts decoratij's et indiistriels
a Bruxcllcs, iii. 1904, p. 83, fig. ^ Capart, ib. p. 83, fig. 4.

in
2.
Petrie, Abydos, chalcedony 29.

:
ii.
pi.
iii.
23-29,
and
p.
24.
Lionesses
26 and 28.
Eye

The excavations
remarkable figure
at
183
of a
Hierakonpolis led to the discovery of a lion in terracotta, which we shall have
opportunity to discuss in connection with the earliest Egyptian To conclude our examination of figures of lions, antiquities.
ue must notice an example

from Abydos.^
Figures of dogs are
into
less
in
glazed pottery, which also comes
numerous.
two principal
groups the
They must
be divided
more archaic
type, represented
by glazed pottery
figures discovered at Hierakonpolis
and Abydos,-
h^
13.
H.iO
Fig.
144.
Figures
of Dogs.
and the
suggest
later
type represented by ivory carvings, which already resemblance to the lion figures of the time of the
143).
earliest sovereigns of
the first dynasty^ (Fig. have a collar round the throat (Fig. 144)Petrie, Ahydos, ii. \i\. xi. 246, and p. 28. OuiBELL, Hierakonpolis, pi. xx. 13 and p. Petrie, Ahydos, ii. pi. vi. 67, 68 (?j, and p. 25.
'
These dogs
i.
13
(monkey)
ii.
p.
38 (monkey?).
and p. 192. RccJicrches stir Ics origincs, ii. figs. 698 rz and Lcs origines dc V Egypt, in I'Aiithropologic, ix. 1898, pi. iii. Petrie, Royal Tombs, ii. pi. \\.a, xxxiv. 21, 22, and figs. 7, 9, II, and p. 249. Ahydos, ii. pi. ii. 13, iii. 22 (Mnsees royanx de Bruxelles), and p. 24. p. 37 There is also a specimen in tlie MacGrcgor Collection, Tamwortli (No. 534).
^
De Mokga.x,
BissiNG,
l>,
Von
i84

:
There are two breeds of dogs to be distinguished a kind of mastiff, strong and powerful, which was employed in lion-hunting^
;
breed of large running dogs, of slender build, with the head much like our modern foxhound, and ears, pendant with a coat either black and white, or white and reddish brown. ^
also a
It
is
and
to
this
class
of animal
that
the
dog belongs which

at
is
now
ivory represented by in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford^ (Fig-
an
carving
discovered
Hierakonpolis,
HS)
^'so
two
rough fragments
in
clay,
which Mr. Ouibell recognizes as dogs.^
Fig.
145.
Part
of an Ivory Figure of a Dog.
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
They
with
are
specially
interesting
European figures'' (Fig. examples of this species which have been found.
^
from the analogy they present These are almost all the 144).
Fig.
^
Petrie, Abydos, 68 of this book.

cJiasse et
ii.
pi.
ii.
13.
Ouibell, Hierakonpolis,
c7?iployes
i.
pi.
.xi.x.
6,
and
See Lenormant, Fr.,

a
Sw les animaicx
par
Ics
a la
la guerre, in
the Cumptes rcftdits dcs seances dc
anciens ligyptiens V Acadhfiie des
sciences dc Paris, October 31st, November 7th, I4t!i, and 28th, 1870. in h'otcs sur itn voyage en fi.gypte, Paris, Gauthier-Villars, 1870.
^
Reprinted
were carved separately and are now missing. It is the dog of was publislied by Quibell, Hierakonpolis, xii. 7. ]il. The same breed is found, especially at Beni Hasan, under the twclftli dynasty. .See Newberry, P. E., Be7ii Hasati, i. pi. xxx. See on the dogs of Egypt,
'Ihe feet
which
a portion only
i.
besides Lenormant's
article,
Antefaa
''
//.,
in
pi.
tlie
quoted in tiic preceding note, Bn<CH, TJic Tablet of Transaciioiis of the i>ociety of Biblical Archceology/w. 1S75,
and fig. Green, Hierakonpolis, ii. pi. Ixiii. 7, 10, and p. 50. * Reinach, S., La sculpture en Europe avant les influc7tccs greco-romaincs, Hoernes, Urgeschichte der bildenden Kunst ini Europa, pi. xv. fig. 366, p. 125. The figure, fiicrakoftpolis, Ixiii. 7, appears to me to represent -14, and p. 522.
pp. 172-195,
Ouibell
&

In
185
Hierakonpolis, as in that of Abydos, enormous numbers of figures of apes were found, in stone and ivory, and also in glazed pottery, white and brown, light green, and blue or purple.
the
temple
at
pieces are blocks of stone from Abydos, and of which the head only is clearly indibarely roughed out, cated (Fig. 146). By the side of these there was a natural flint,
The most
curious
with a projection bearing a vague

a
resemblance to the head of

likeness
monkey.
Petrie
remarks that
this
was the cause of
Fig.
146.
Natural
Flints roughly
in the
worked to resemble Baboons.
Found
temple of Abydos.
" The great natural flint seems to have being preserved. been kept," he says, "as being like a quadruped, and [another]
its
for its likeness to a

in
baboon.
No
other large
flints
were
found
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 stones picked up because of their likeness to sacred animals, and perhaps venerated before any
a hull,
.Spain
and should be compared with those discovered at tlie station of Argar, in see Siret, H. & L., Lcs p7'eviicrs ages du metal da/is Ic sud-est dc l' Kspairjic, Anvers, 1887, pi. xvii. 1-3, and pp. 123, 124; also with those discovered at Cncuteni. See BuTZUREANO, Gr. C, Note sur Couconteni et plusieurs autrcs stations dc la Moldavie du nord, in tlie Conipte 7'cndu du Cong7rs intcniational d' antln'opologie
:
et d'areheologic prr/iistoriqiirs,
pp. 299-307
and
pi.
ii.
17,
18.
1S89, Informatinn idntrihuted by the Baron de Loc.
tenth
session,
at
Paris,
in
Paris,
1891,
86

^
Wc will not insist on this images were attempted." on the which touches purpose of these figures a subject point, with which we will deal later.
artificial
From
the
temple of Hierakonpolis
there
is
another very
rough stone figure.^ The species of monkey here represented is the c\'nocephalus, seated on the ground, the fore-paws resting
on
Figures of this class are extremely numerous, from the same type, sometimes summarily, somealways copied
the
knees.
times worked with
careful
observation
and a regard
for
detail
is quite remarkable.^ One group gives the figure of two All these statuettes small apes seated in front of a large one.^ which is in are in glazed pottery, except one, ivory'' (Fig. 147).
which
We
must
monkey which inspired the These were found degree.

represent a
arms,^ the
mention, as exceptions to these, another kind of primitive artist to a remarkable

at
monkey who
little
holds
Hierakonpolis and Abydos, and her young one tenderly in her
turning its head round and looking back with a gesture of alarm. Or, again, there is the ape seated, its fore- paws In this last example the the touching ground.
one
artist
has completely separated the paws, which rest in a perfectly natural manner on a small square base." There is also a figure
of
a
baboon
walking,
where
the
gait
has
been
seized
and
rendered with
much
spirit**
(Fig.
in
147)-
The
Museum,
finished
head of
Oxford,
an
ape
pottery,
now
formed
in
the
part appears specimen than the numerous examples just quoted
to
have
of
Ashmolean a more
in
glazed pottery.^
'
Petrif, Ahydos,
ii.
pi. ix.
190-196, p. 27.
Green, Hierakonpolis^ ii. pi. xxxii. i, and p. 43. ' ii. pi. vi. 50-61, 64, 65, and p. 25 Petrie, Abydos, 1, and p. ;j5 pi. liii. 7-9, ix. 197, 202, and p. 27 x. 217-219, and p. 27 xi. 233, 235, 238, 247, 24S, 253, and xxii. 11, 12. OuiBELL, Uiaakonpolis, p. 28. pi. xxi. 10, 11 < Petkie, Abydos, ii. pi. vi. 49, and p. 25. lb. ii. pi. xi. 12, and p. 24. " lb. ii. pi. iv. V. 41, and p. 25 (glazed pottery). OuiBELL, Hierakonpolis,
i.
1
;
OuiBELL
&
i.
'
i.
pi. xviii.
'
(stone).
ii.
Petrie, Abydos,
lb.
ii.
pi.
iii.
16,
and
p.
24 (ivory).
pi. Ixii.
i,
*
'
pi.
i.
vii.
86,
and
p.
25 (glazed pottery).
ii.
Qun-!ELL
& Green,
Hierakonpolis,
and
p. 49.
187
Fig.
147.
I'lGUKiis
or Wonkkys.
i88
in
Representations of bulls, cows, and calves were already use in the prehistoric cemeteries, as was proved by the These animals are discoveries of Mr. Maclver at El Amrah.
sometimes grouped
are
in
rows of four on the same base.

of
Most
mud, and so frequently they extremely friable that it is difficult to preserve thcm.^ OccaAt sionally one or two are found which have been baked. where been have and other discovered, Abydos pieces Diospolis
simply formed
unbaked
189
pig^ (Fig. 148), the jackal,- the antelope,^ the bear,' the hare," and, finally, of the camel, which up to the present has been considered
an animal introduced into Egypt at a very recent period." Two camels' heads were discovered at Ab\-dos and
konpolis,
in
Hieraof
terracotta,
where
the
as
characteristic
to
its
movement
(Fig.
the
lower
lip
leaves
no doubt
identity
149).
Fig.
149.
Camel's
Head
in
Clay, found at Hierakonfolis.
The camel must, therefore, have been introduced the commencement of the historical era, only
'
into
to
Egypt
at
disappear
MacIver & Mace, El Amrah and Abydos,

66,
pi. ix.
i.
(?).
Petrie, Abydos^
ii.
ii.
pi. vi.
and
p. 25.
Quibell, Hicrakonpolis,
i.
pi. xxi.
xxii. 8,
and
p.
and
''
p. 39.
pi. xx. 12,
;
and p. 8 (dog ?) ii. p. 39 (hyena ?). and p. 8 ii. p. 39. M. F. de Zeltner writes to me on Petrie, Abydos, ii. pi. ii. 15, and p. 24. " this subject L'ours ne semble avoir jamais existe (en Afrique) que dans les montagnes de I'Atlas, ou il n'est d'ailleurs pas 6teint, quoique tres rare." ' Petrie, Naqada, pi. vii. Ix. 17, and pp. 14, 35.
Quibell, Hicrakonpolis,
i.
Jb.,
pi. xxi.
13,
xxii. 13, 17,
"'
"
See, for the latter view,
Von
Bissing,
xxxviii.
Znr
Gcschicliic dcs Kaniels, in the
Zcitschrift fiir a<(yptisc/ic referred to by the author

series.
Sprachc,
1900,
pp. 68, 69.
To
the
books
first
must be added. Bulletin dc
I'lnstifiif i\<^y/<ficn,
No.
14,
1875-8, pp. 57, 61, 62.
190
According to the theory promptly, leaving practically no trace. of M. Zippelius, it appears that it was the same with the
horse.^
Small figures of birds make their appearance with the com-
mencement
of the primitive
period.
arc in quartz, glazed pottery, stone, bone, and lead.^ is the most frequently represented, without feet, as
The specimens discovered The hawk

though
it
were mummified,
in
the
position
so
often
found on
Egyptian
monuments, more especially on the stelae of Hierakonpolis.^ A fair number have been discovered at Hierakonpolis ^ and
Abydos."
body, as
The
in
feet
are
occasionally
folded
back
under
the
figure found at Koptos, now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford." These representations appear to have been little modified during the first dynasties, to judge
the limestone
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.'
Does
this
indicate
that they were copied from a fixed
t}'pe,
and that the
artist
did
to
not venture to depart from the model?

^
The proof appears
OuiBELL & Green, Hierakonpolis, \\. pi. Ixii. 2, and p. 49, where it is considered as the head of an ass. Petrie, Abydos, ii. pi. \. 224, and pp. 27, 49 Zippelius, Das Pfcrd i7n Pharaoiicnlande, (read Zippelius instead of Zippelin).
in
the
2
ZcitscJirift filr
Pferdekimde und Fferdezucht (Wiirzburg),

149-151-
xvii.
1900,
pp.
125-127,
133-135, 142-144,
Oxford,
^
*
Petrie, Naqada, pi. Ix. 14, 15, 18-20, and p. 46 (Ashmolean .Museum, with the exception of 20, which is at University College, London).
i.
Diospoiis, p. 26.
QuiBELL, Hierakonpolis^
lb.,
i.
pl. xlvi. 7,
11.
pl.
xxi.
14,
xxii.
14,
15.
Ouibell
;
&
Green, Hierakonpolis,
vii.
ii.
pl.
(beads of glazed pottery in form of birds). Petrik, Abydos, i. pl. liii. 6 (limestone) ii. pl. the base pl. ix. 198 (?), 199 (limestone) (quartz)
xxiii.
''
is
79-83 (glazed pottery), 84 hollowed to allow of the

;
See p. 27 xi. 242 figure being placed on a staff or at the top of a standard. See also Petrie, Diospolis, pl. vii. (no precise description (glazed pottery). There is a specimen of imcertain provenance in the MacGregor in the text).
Collection (No. 3,813), and three others of unusual dimensions in Berens Collection, deposited at the South Kensington Museum.
^
'
tlie
Randolph
Petrie, Koptos, pl. v. 6, and p. 7. " Petrie, Medum, London, 1892, pl. xxix. t-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 I think probably, therefore, the eighteenth dynasty, nor Iiardly of the twelftii. that these are contemporary with the decease of Sneferu, and tlie oldest small
:
figures
known"
(1892).

be
191
found
in
small
in
fi<ûre
from
Hierakonpolis,'
which shows
the admirable
the artists
which the hawk was represented when way were not forced to adhere closely to a model.
of a
pelican, or
Finally, the excavations at Hierakonpolis yielded a statuette,
which
is
unique,
perhaps a turkey,
in
glazed
pottery- (Fig. 150). In the great tomb at
series of fish in ivory, pierced at the
Naqada M. de Morgan discovert d a mouth for suspension. On
Fig.
150.
Figures of Birds and of Griffins.
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and University College, London.
several
examples
lines are carefully
inscribed on
the surface
to
supply the
details.''
Hierakonpolis.' the model of a basket in steatite decorated with

'
Ancjther fish in glazed pottery comes from The same excavations have also contributed
fish,"
and from
OuiBELL, Hierakonpolis,
;
i.
pi.
xviii.
(schist),
p.
(Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford)
ii.
p.
38
"
:
Found
of a diorite bowl
-
of later date tlian the rest, v\ itli the name of
temple, hut not in main deposit, it is doubtless and has been put in this place by error, as a fragment
in tlie
Khufu
les
incised.
."
OuiBELL, Hierakonpolis^
i.
pi. xxi.
15, xxii.
16,
ii.
and
p. 8.
'
De Morgan,
Rccherches
stir
origines,
figs.
701-713,
and
p.
193.
Capakt, Aoies sur les origines de VRgypte d'apres les fouilles reccntes, in the Revue de VUniversitc de Bruxellcs, iv. 1898-g, p. 128, note 4 and fig. (separate A similar fragment was discovered at Abydos. Petrie, Royal reprint, p. 28). ToniOs, ii. pi. iii. , 10, and p. 21.
'
''
OuiBELL, Hierakonpolis, i. pi. lb. i. pi. xix. 2 = XX. 7, and p.
xxi. 16, xxii

8.
18.
192
PRhAlITIVE
ART
IN EGYPT.
in glazed
the excavations at
pottery.^
Abydos come
figures of crocodiles
Figures of scorpions in carnelian are frequently found at the close of the primitive period (sequence dates 70-80) ^ they were found in large numbers in the temple of Hierakonpolis, and are
;
made
in
various
materials
(Fig-
serpentine,
rock
crystal,
haematite,
and glazed pottery^

Figures
period/
of
frogs
iSOfound,
are
commencing
at
the
primitive
They
are of frequent occurrence at Hierakonpolis'' and
Abydos,'^ both in stone
and
in
In conclusion,
we must mention
College,
glazed pottery (Fig. 151). a curious figure of a feline

at
creature with a bird's head,
discovered
Naqada."
;
similar
specimen animal is
is
at
University
London
gold
^^.
the
body of the
This
ornamented with
two
tt
bands.
or
still
may
be
or
identified with the weird animal
K\ S, sga
sag,
which
in
the twelfth
dynasty was
represented
are
by the
for
Egyptians
in
fair
number
hunting scenes'* (Fig. 150). of these animal figures

the
that
pierced
that
suspension, admitting supposition have already seen in Chapter amulets.
they were
III.
used as
several
We
schist
form present the same characteristic. We will, therefore, now admit provisionally that several of these Amulets of figures had either a magical or a religious purpose.
palettes of animal
this description, representing crocodiles, frogs, fish, birds, scorpions,

1
in serpentine,
-
Petrie, Abydos, i. pi. vi. 74-76, and p. 25 sequence date 52. PEruiE, Diospolis, p. 27, and pi. iv.
Diospolis, p. 26, figures a crocodile
QuiBELL, Hierako7ipolis,
i.
pi.
xviii.
XX. 10 (haematite); xxi. 4 xxxii. (haematite).

*
''
(serpentine), 16 (crystal), 22
xxii.
4 (glazed pottery);
xix. 5
;
ii.
pi. xxiii.
(glazed beads)
Petrie, Naqada,
pi. Iviii.
Diospolis, p. 26 (sequence date 65).

pi. xviii.
QuiBELL, Hierakonpolis, Petrie, Abydos, ii. pi.
i.
10,
11,
14.
vi.
xi.
240, 245 (glazed pottery).
72 (glazed pottery); x. 214 (glazed pottery); Several stone specimens in the Petrie Collection,
College, London, and three Collection, deposited at South Kensington
University
^
examples
in
the
Randolph Berens
Museum.
Maspero,
fig.
Petrie, !\'aqada,
pi. Ix.
13.
CiiJ^BPiS,tiides sttr Paniiquiie histofique, Paris, 1873, pp. 399-400. Lectures historiques : Histoire ancienne, Paris, 1892, pp. 116, 117, and
67.

jackals, lions, etc.,
19:
are found
among
the
antiquities of classical
Egypt.
are speaking of amulets, I will quote what Dr. Petrie has said with regard to a class of objects which are in the form
As we
bulls'
of
heads
. .
bull's
head.
The oldest form of amulet found is the The origin of this form was a puzzle until an
at
"
example was found
Abydos, on
which the
flat
front
and
Fig.
151.
Figures
of Frogs and of Scorpions,

Univcrsitj' College, London.
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and
muzzle form of the lower end

copied from a and continues
bull.
It
left
no doubt that
it
must be
in
use
till
begins at sequence sequence date 6"],
date 46, or earlier,
when
it
is
vcr}-
form, ai)parcntly continued from this, is found in degraded. blue marble with beads of the twelfth dynasty, so it may c\en
iiavc lasted
on as
late.
Jût
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
of carnelian at
PRIMITIVE ART IN P:GYPT.

about
the
close
in
of
the
fifth
prehistoric
[era],
and
this
such continued to be used

gradually dwindling
fact
in
the
and
sixth
dynasties,
size."
Dr.
Petrie
compares with
"
the painted skulls of bulls discovered in the " and continues Looking to the West, we find
:
pan graves,"
bronze bull's
Spain,
head
large
amulets
in
and
to
in
bronze
bulls'
heads
hang
1897,
up
on
buildings
Majorca
amulets
{Revue arcJieologique, Gold bull's head 138).

are
found
in
Cyprus
present
and Mykenae, and

cows' skulls are
at
hung on houses
in Malta, and fruit trees in Sicily and Algiers, to avert the evil eye.
The whole
is
subject of
bucrania
Fig.
152.
Bulls
Berlin
prehistoric bull's
opened by these head amulets."^

specimen
to
in
Head Amulet
Museum.
in
A
ivory
Ivory.
very
fine
belonging
(No.
the
Berlin
Museum
clearly that
it
14,964)
152).
shows
is
intended for a
;
bull's
head (Fig.
;
in
ii.
^ Petrie, Diospolis, p. 26 Naqada, pi. Iviii. Prelusioric Egypticai Carx'ings, Mail, 1902, No. 14, p. 17, pi. B, 8-16; Abydos, i. pi. li. 4, 5, and p. 23; '' ScHAEFER, Neue Altertimier der nezv race'^ aus pi. .xiv. 2cSi, and p. 30.
Ncgadah,
in the Zcitsc/ir/Jf fiir iigyptische SpracJic, xxxxv. 1896, fig. 6, p. 180. the subject of bucrania in Egypt see Wiedemann, Zii Petrie s nciicn Fmidcii, in the Orientalistische Litteraturzeitung, ii. 1899,001. 182-184; Compte rendu dc Hierakonpolis, i. ib. col. 331. Golenischeff, l.cttre a M. G. Maspero siir irois
On
pctitcs trouvailles egyptologigues, in tlie Recueil de traTaux relatifs a la philnlogie et a Varclieologie egyptien/irs et (issvrieiutes, xi. 1889, p. 98. Lefebure, Les Huttes
de Cham,
in the Museo/i, xvii. 1898, p. ^yô et sc(/.\ Rites egyptiens : Constructio7i et protection des edifices {Pi/blicatiotts de PJicole des lettres d' Alger : Bulletin de coiTCSpondance africaine), Paris, i8go, p. 20 et seq. Naville, The Festival
Hall of Osorkon II. in the great temple of Bubastis, London, 1892, pi. ix. 9, and Daressy, Catalogue gateral des mitiquitcs cgyptiennes du Musce du Cai?c; p. 21. Ostraca, pi. v. No. 25,019 Crevers), and p. 5. Masi'ERO, La Pyramidc du roi Ounas,
in the
assyrienfies,
ib. V.
Recueil de travaux relatifs a la philologie et a Varclieologie egyptiennes et and the variants in La Pyramidc du roi Teti, iv. 1883, p. 48, line 423
;
1884, p. 29, line 242.

xliii.
Capart, La fete dcfrapper
les
Anou,
in the
Revue de
rhistoire des religions,
1901, pp. 252, 253 (separate reprint,
jip. 4, 5).

These
bull's
195
in
head amulets bear
sufficient
resemblance
it
their
general aspect to a
to note the
Mykenean
ornainent, to render
interesting^
analogy^ (Fig- I53)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
f\i..i3^
S.6
Fig.
VJ
153.
Bull's
;
Head Amulets.
two
there
as M. Salomon Reinach remarks, back an important museum which does not possess scarcely some of them. Similar figures arc also found in primitive Egypt, more especially on the cylinders. They will be found in our
bulls,
is
back
to
Fig.
114
(M
560),
and
also
upon a palette with

later.
figures in relief
which we
shall
deal
with
The
Hilton
Price
Collection,
London, includes three curious ivories representing these double Like some of the feet are not indicated. bulls, where the
'
Perrot
&
Chipiez,
Histoire
fig.
de Vart dans
546.
Vantiquiti'^
vi.,
La
Grccc
primitive, /'art myccniaiy

-
223, p.
pp. II 3-
Reinach, S., La sculplurc en Europe avant 1 5, and figs. 320-327.

1
Ics influences
grcco-romaincs,
196

figures,
European
they have a tenon
in
the
middle of the back
to permit of their being suspended^ (Fig. 154). In certain tombs of the earHest primitive period, between the
sequence dates 3^ and 44, there

or tusks.
is
found a pair of ivory horns

hollow.
One
is
always solid, the other
They
are
Fig.
154.
Double
Bull's
Head Amulets.
Hilton Price Collection.
sometimes quite undecorated, ending in a point," and pierced that end for suspension sometimes at the pointed end there
;
at
is
a groove and ring. In this case there are two eyes, and lines a beard indicating engraved on the surface of the horn in some
;
Hilton Price, Some Ivories from Abydos,
in
the
Proceedings of
tlic
The block of onr Society of Biblical Archcrology^ xxii. igoo, p. 160 and plate. Fig. 154 has been lent by the kindness of the Society of Biblical Archaeology.
'^
Petrie, Diospolis,
p.
21.
MacIver
&
Mace, El
Amrah and
Abydos,
pi. vii. 2,
and
p. 48.

^
197
instances the eyes are represented by beads. Occasionally, also, and this is the most interesting form, the horns terminate in a
human
is
head, worked with care.
On
the top of the head there
a ring for suspension- (Fig. 155). The precise purpose of these objects
is
difficult to
determine.
Fig.
155.
Magical
I.nstruments
(?)
in Ivory.
University College, London, and Ashmolean Museum.
Dr. Petric supposes that they formed

sorcerer, or
i)art
of the equipment of a
medicine man.
of the negroes of the
The horns remind him of the belief Gold Coast, who imagine that white men
souls
can
by enchantment catch the

;
of
the
natives
in
horns.
Petrie, Naqada^ ])1. Ixi. 34, 35 |)]. Ixiv. <Si, and jij). 19, 21, 47. Hilton Price, Two objects fro?n prehistoric tombs, in the Zcitschrift fiir Notes upon some Predynastic (igypt/sc/ie Sprache, xx.\vii. 1899, p. 47 and fig.
-
and Early Dynastic
Anti(jii/tics
from Egypt
p. 2,
in
tlie
fig.
writer's collection,
1).
in
Archaologia, hi. 1899 (separate reprint,
and
198

to
their
and convc}' them thus

toil
own country
to
make them
for
them.^
In
the
Congo
certain
negroes believe that the
possession of human souls, enclose them in sell them to the white men, who make them and horns, ivory work in their country on the sea coast. They imagine that a
sorcerers
can gain
large
number of labourers
at the coast are
men who have been

manner.
procured
in
this
When
one
of the natives goes there for purposes of commerce, he frequently searches
anxiously for his dead relations.
The
over
in-
man whose
to
soul
will
is
thus
given
or
slavery
die
rapidly
stantaneously."
would gladly connect with this belief the custom observed by Alice Werner in British Central Africa. An
I
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
this
Egyptian
ivories,
life,
was called
or her soul.
by
Fig.
woman
her
156. Magical Instrument MADE OF Horn, from Katanga. ,, ^ ^ University College, London.
.
Naturally, she WOUld not part with

a
colonist
1 .
tried
in
vam
to
.1buy
it;
it
of her.^
This interesting ethnological comparison appears to be confirmed by an object said to come from Katanga, which I have
recently
instrument
had the good fortune to acquire (F"ig. 156). is made of horn the patina which covers
;
The magic
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.
21.
i.
Petrie, Naqada, p. 47; DiospoUs, p. Frazer, The Golden Bough, 2nd ed.
lb.,
p. 279.
2nd. cd.
iii.
p.
407, note 4.

Certain
of
the
prehistoric
199
cla}'
tombs of Naqada contain
models of boats, sometimes decorated with paintings (Fig. 157). We have already seen that one of these boats was painted in
an
unsophisticated
fashion
rowers.^
on
the
figures representing
at
The
edge with small human crew was also represented

(Fig.
158).
times
by
small
clay
figures-
According
to
Professor
intended
they were not paintings to represent boats built of wood, but those made of
Petrie,
these
show
that
Fig.
157.
Models
of Boats
in
Clay and Ivouy.
reeds
or
papyri
the
tightly
bound
together,
historical
such
period
as
in
were
in
use
throughout
whole of the
Egypt.''
specimen shows this method of construction.'

Similar
'
in alabaster,
from the ro\al tombs of Abydos, distinctly
boats have
been discovered
in
the
excavations
:
at
p. 48.
-
Petrie, Naqada, pi. xxxvi. 80, ^\ a and h, and y\K ij, 41 pi. Ixvi. i, and De Morgan, Recherches siir Ics origincs, ii. p. 91, figs. 235-237, p. 90. " " ScHAEFER, Nc7tc Altcrtumer dcr nczu race aus NegadaJi, in tlie Zeitschrift
161, fig.
scq.
fur (igyptlschc Sprachc, xxxiv. 1896, pp. 159, ^ P2rman, Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 479 et
'
Petrie, Aliydos,
i.
pi. ix. 4.
200

They
also occur frequently in
EI Amrah^ and at Abydos.recalls the
the
great find of ivories at Hierakonpolis.
The shape
of one of these
Venetian gondola^ (Fig- I57)- The presence at these various sites of boats in clay and ivory is of We shall have occasion to refer to it very great importance.
specimens strangely
again,
more
clay
idea
in
detail.
A
us an
model of a house, discovered

of the
habitations
at
El Amrah, gives
of the
primitive Egyptians, and
Fig. 15S.
Pottery
Berlin
Boat with Figures of Men. Museum.
shows that they were made of beaten mud, probably covered with strips of palm wood imbedded in clay wattle and mud.
door
is
inserted
in
;
the wall
end arc two windows
at one end, and at the other the door already shows the principal
characteristics of the door-shaped stelae of the Ancient

(Fig.
'
Empire'
159)-
MacIver
&
Mace, El
ii.
Amrah and Abydos,

iii.
pi. ix. 8,
;
and
p. 41.
Petrie, Abydos,
pi.
20,
and
p.
24 (ivory)
vii.
89, 90,
and
p.
26 (glazed
pottery).
QuiBELL, Hierakonpolis, pi. v. and p. 6. MacIver, a Prehistoric Cemetery at El Amrah in Egypt: Preliminary Report of Excavations, in Man, 1901, No. 40, p. 51, and fig. i, p. 50. MacIver &
i.

A
tomb discovered
fortified
201
model of a
DiospoHs contained fragments of a enclosure, with figures of two men looking

at
over the walP (Fig. i6o).
have now completed our examination of the principal in the round, and we should proceed to study the primitive drawing and painting. We must, however, not
pieces carved
We
Fig.
159.
Clay
Modki. of a Hol'sf. discovkkkd at
Ki.
Amkaii.
omit to mention the carvings in low chapter on ornamental art reliefs on
relief
described
slate
in
the
the
palettes,
on
handles of knives, on
pottery and stone.
We
fragments of furniture, and on vases in shall see in the following chapter that
pi.
.\-.
Mace, El Ainrah and Abydos,
1-3,
and
]>.
42.
.Soo, 011
the houses of
tlie
primitive age, Petrie, T/ie Sotirces and Growth of Architcctior, in the Journal of the Royal InsttUitc of British Architects, third series, viii. 1901, pp. 341-343,
and
'
figs. 1-4.
Petkie, Diospolisy
pi. vi.
83,
and
ji.
32 (Ashmolcan Musi'inn,
().\fnrd).
202
this art
developed greatly at the commencement of the historical and that it produced masterpieces of extraordinary power. period, The primitive drawings and paintings arc to a large extent
already
known
to
us.
We
have
met with them
in
personal
decoration,
on the
slate
upon the pottery. examine two classes of drawings, the graffiti engraved on the rocks and the paintings of a prehistoric tomb discovered by
Mr. Green not
palettes, on the vases, and principally In this chapter it only remains for us to
Upon
from Hierakonpolis. the rocks of the Arabian and

far
Libyan
mountains
Fig.
160.
Clay
Model of a Fortified Enclosure.
and copied, although unfortunately in a very incomplete fashion, a scries of drawings of men, animals, and boats in a style identical with that of the pottery marks and
there has been observed
the paintings on decorated pottery.^

'
This has led to the legitimate
Wiedemann, Lcs
tnodes d'cnsevcUsscmciit dans la nccropolc de NcgadaJi et
la questio7i de I'origine die
peuple egyptien,
222,
i.
in
i,
De Morgan,
Recherches
sicr les
oiigines de I'J^gypie,
quoted
De Morgan,
ii.
p.
and note
loc. cit.
p. 162 ct
Utie cxcHi'sion d Bcraiicc, in the Rcciieil
where the following works are Golenischeff, seq. and figs. 487-492. dcs traiumx rchitifs a la philologic et
xiii.
n Varcheologie
cgyptieiities
et assyriennes,
i8go,
j)l.
iv.
17,
pi.
vii.
62.
:
Petrie, Teti Years' Digghigy 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 tliat we know. The usual figures are of men, horses, and boats, but there are also camels, ostriches, and elephants to be seen."
203
These conclusion that they also belong to the primitive age. mixed with representations accompanied drawings are frequently by hieroglyphic inscriptions, and in some cases it is extremely
difficult
to
establish
clear
line
of demarcation
between the
In
primitive
cases,
graffiti
and
there
those
is
of
more recent
doubt.
date.^
I
some
quote
however,
no
this
possible
must
as
respect 'some graffiti copied by specially noteworthy M. Legrain at Gebel-Hetematt,^ which closely resemble those at
in
Silsileh noticed
by Dr.
Petrie.-''
The most important

with
the
graffiti,
which appear
to the primitive period, will
be found
in Fig. 161.
pottery marks in P'ig. 1 1 1 is of these animal figures are arranged in squares, as on the Certain curious representations red pottery with white paintings.
to belong Their analogy particularly remarkable.

to
me
Some
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
seems
of
these
graffiti
merits
special
into
notice.
A man
is
apparently
to
thrusting
harpoon
an
animal's
be stretched on the ground, with
hide, which another harpoon
In this representation I see an analogy with already fixed in it. that of an ivory tablet discovered in the tomb of King Den
Setui, of the first dynasty.'
In Nile
Wady Hammamat,
the great the
road which
connects
the
has
Valley with the noted several graffiti
coast of
Red
which
also
Sea, M. Golenischeff seem to belong to the
and even primitive period, notably representations of the ostrich,

from those of the hiôric period primitive graffiti can be distinguished See SchweinI'L-rth, G., Aegyptischc patina which covers them. " Diese Ticrbildcr ah Kicsclartefakte, in Die Umschau, vii. 1903, p. 806: Tierbilder versetzen uns im Geiste in jene Zeiten, da die Urbewohner von Acgypten und Nordvvestafrika iihnliche Zeichnungen in die Felsvvande
'
The
by
the
einkratzten, die in den Sandsteintalern Oberiigyptens hiiufig angetroffen warden und von deren hohem Alter die briiunHche Patina Zengnis ablegt, mit der die Linien bedeckt erscheincn, wilhrend datierte Inschriften aus der Zeit der 5. und
6.
Dynastic (bei
'
el
Qab), die
z.
T. iiber di^ alteren liinweg eingeritzt wurden,

162.
aussehen
'
von gestern, wie Prof. Sayce bezeugen kann." De Morgan, Recharhcs siir Ics ori;îiies dc Vligyptc, i. fig. 487, p. Petrie, Ten Years' Digging in Egypt, p. 75. ^g- 57Petrie, Royal Tombs, ii. pi. vii. 11 Ahydos, i. pi. \\. 8.
als vvaren sie
;
204
^r-^
Fig.
i6i.
riKAriTii
irom thk Rocks of Ui'pkr Ecypt.

tlic
The
three figures at the bottom arc from the soutli of
province of Oran.
sculpturp: and painting.

of a
205
man
lassoing an ostrich.
it
We
is
must also mention a boat
not absolutely identical with here, although the primitive boats, and it should perhaps be attributed to the
which occurs
Ancient Empire.^
a
large
The
of
quarries
of Silsileh have also furnished
number
similar
graffiti,
etc.-
In
conclusion,
we must mention
personages, ships, animals, the graffiti of A Kab,

is
and more especially of a boat which

those of the
consider.^
It
is
an exact counterpart of
shall
tomb of Hierakonpolis, which we
presently
scarcely necessary to mention that similar graffiti have
been
found
among
peoples differing widely from each other the Australians,' the Bushmen,^ and even in the French
among
prehistoric graves."
most striking resemblance
exists
between
the Egyptian graffiti and those in the south of the province of The comparison, Oran here the identity is almost absolute.
;
when extended
is
to the designs
engraved on the vases (Fig.
iii),
find here a new proof of the close exceedingly striking, connection between the primitive Egyptians and the Libyans.^ M. Zaborowski has attempted to demonstrate that these graffiti
and we
constitute
we
^
of hieroglyphic writing.** What have already said on the subject of primitive hieroglyphs will
the embryonic forms
GoLENiscHEFF,
1-3, pi. xiii.
"
"
Inscripiio7is dii Oiiady
Havwianiaf,
in the
Mcmoires de
ii.
la
Section orientate de la Societe itnpcfiale russc d\irchcologie (in Russian),

pi. V.
-
1887,
Antiquities
in
Egypt:
7,
Prehistoric
Rock Drawings,
in
the
Graphic,
January
^
ist,
1898,
fig.
with four photos.

Kal), in the
Green, Prehistoric Draivings at El
Proceedings of the Society

pi.
of Biblical ArchfBology, xxv. 1903, pp. 371, 372, witli Crosse, Les Dclnds de I' Art, pp. 125 et scq.
*
and
fig.
'"
Crosse,
ib.
p.
138 et scq. and
pi.
iii.
Christoll, Fred.,
xi.
An
snd de
VAfrique, Paris, 1897, Co mptc rendu

^
in
V Anthropologie,
1900, p. 78 et scq.
H. Breuil, Les gravnres sur les parols See, among others, L. Capitan, L. des grottes prchistoz-iqites, la grotlc dc Combarcllcs, in the Rc7/uc de I'Ecole d'anthropologie de Paris, xii. 1902, pp. 33-46.
'
&
Bonnet,
"
:
Les gravtircs
viii.
snr roches
du
fig.
snd
d^cthtiographie,
P-
1889, pp. 149-158
and
Compare
Oranais, in tlie Revue fig. 6 with our Fig. in;
on de
Ouelqucs personnages ont les bras leves dans I'attitude de I'admiration Csell, Les nwnunicnts antiques de PAlgcrie, i. Paris, 1901, priere. i'lie ram bearing the disc on his head, fig. 13, p. 46, pp. 41-54, and figs. 10-14. may be compared to our Fig. 1 1, Am 19. Z.vborowski, Origines africaincs de la civilisation de Pancicnne ligyptc, in the Revue scientifique, fourth series, xi. 1899, pp. 293, 294.
155
la
1
**
2o6
PRIMITIVE ART
how
IN
EGYPT.
is
for
probably be sufficient to show such an explanation.
small a foundation there
The
back
to
graffiti,
moreover, the earliest of which
may
probably date
show points of resemblance with the wc have already seen, are more especially as pottery marks, which, vases on of the black topped, and of the red polished met with the
palaeolithic times,
It is, however, with the scenes on the decorated pottery pottery. that we should compare the paintings in the prehistoric tomb
at Hierakonpolis.' In the course of the second season of excavations in this locality, a workman
disco\'ered in 1899
by Mr. Green
neighbourhood reported that, at the extreme southof east the prehistoric cemetery, there were walls with traces of
living in the
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.-
The tomb was

with
entirely constructed of bricks, plastered

5
over
mud
mortar,
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,
condition.^
happily the longest, has retained its decoration in fairly good 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
damaged by the action of time and by and we cannot be sufficiently grateful to Mr. Green pillagers, for the care which he brought to the execution of the work. His work in various places was rendered more difficult by
difficult,
the wall being
the
primitive
artist,
it,
sometimes effaced
ground,
who, having made his sketch in red, had and in doing so stained with red the yellow
on
which
he
all
once
attentive study of
'
the details, Mr.

ii.
more drew the figure. After an Green came to the very

p.
OuiBELL
//a
//'.
ii.
&
54
;
note,
20
ci
sc(j. pi.
Ixxv.-lxxviii.
'
p.
by Professor Petrie.
]).
21, pi. Lwiii.

important conclusion that the
to arrange his figures in
artist
207
any
definite order
apparently did not attempt the different scenes

;
are inserted where he found
room
to place them, after finishing
the larger objects, such as the ships. will now examine these representations
We
somewhat
closely
(Figs. 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 wê 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.

serve
is
In
the centre
two
sliszht
constructions
as
cabins.
On one
of
the
drawings the
hinder cabin
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.

of these
In the stern of one

in
boats a
man
is
seated,
working a long oar, ending
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 rcalit}'
indications
of a
rampart
in
that
the
straight
;
shorter
lines,
the
so-called oars, indicate
a species of glacis
this
that the gaj) which
can
be
;
observed
row indicates
the
the
approach
to
the
and, finall)', rampart objects considered as cabins arc in reality small towers placed on the two sides of the entrance to the rampart."
that
^
i\I.Lorct has
'
resumed M.Cecil Torr's arguments, but modif)-ing

(/itclqucs prcicmiiis
Cecil T(iRK, Sur

p. 35.
navircs cgypticns,
in
I'
Anthropologic,
ix.
1S98,
208
rRIMITIVE ART IN EGYPT.

some
extent.
"
I
his conclusions to
believe," he says,
"
that these
so-called
vessels
represent,
in
with
the
less
dexterity
in
the
drawing
as
and greater awkwardness

the
sign
(
perspective, the
same thing
part
^^^
^
r;^
The curve
^
represents
of
the
circumference of the Kdiii
all
be able to view
at
one glance
in
that a spectator facing it would the lines are intended for a

;
palisade, interrupted
front of a gateway, which opens
between
two
fortified
buildings.
The presence
of the palms on the slope
î^
^.
4k
^^<f \fhh^,
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."
arguments employed by these scholars are of it is very desirable to mention them here, in great importance,
of the
Some
order to refute them as far as possible.

It is the begin with, there is one fact important to note. discovery of a drawling on a vase of a sailing vessel (Fig. 91), the general form of which resembles closely one of the repre-
To
sentations of the Hierakonpolis tomb.^

'
K61H or Tell
LoRET,
mound,
hillock.
Lc
mot
fl
c^ ^;~^
u^^^
Paris,
1902,
p.
7.
Extract
ii.
from
the Revue Egyptologique, x. ' Compare the hieroglyph of the boat in Lepsius, Deitkmdler,
18,
where

are
209
Torr and Loret object that, although gazelles and ostriches found above and below these so-called vessels, fish and aquatic animals are nc\er represented.
On
84 and
this
point
it
is
only
boats
necessary to
are
refer
to
our
Figs.
93,
where the
fish.
surrounded
by hippopotami,
vertical or
crocodiles,
and
"Rowers
are never seen figured," they say,
"and the
they represent oars, should start from the upper oblique line of the hull, and not from the lower part."
lines, if
The oarsmen,
said,
in fact, are
not represented
but as we have just

is
on one of the boats
in the
Hierakonpolis tomb, there
,^S^
.*
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 Even at that date M. de Morgan the vertical lines are not oars.
was inclined
to consider
them rather as
fishing tackle.'
is
An argument
Petrie,
tions,
of far greater
importance
supplied
by Dr.
who
has found these same lines

it
where
to represent a ship.
of Seti
I.,
impossible In fact, in one of the halls of the temple at Abydos, there is a very careful drawing of the
is
is
to
in Egyptian representadoubt that the}' are intended
bark of the god Sokaris, and the prow, which

the
very high,
is
prow rises well above the cabin. SeeSrEiNDORKr, Eiuc ncuc Art agyptischcr KuHst, in Aegyptiaca, Festschrift fiir Georg Ebcrs, p. 125. De Morgan, Rccherches sur les origines, ii. p. 91.
14
210
actually

decorated
with
a series of
lines
recalling
those
that
we
It is a curious fact that the find on the primitive boats.^ sacred bark has three oars with broad blades, acting as rudder,
seen on one of the prehistoric representations.The temple of Denderah also presents a bark of the god Sokaris, of later date, where the lines we speak of have almost disappeared.'^
such as
is
palm branches placed in the bows, thc\- shade the place where the pilot is seated.^ With regard to the emblems placed on a post above the cabin, wc must agree with Dr. Petric and M. dc Morgan in
to the
As
considering them to be signs indicating either the proprietor of the boat, the tribe, or the port of sailing.^ Petrie, in this recalls a told Strabo of the connection, story by sign of a ship
Fig.
164.
Standards
;
on the Primitivk Boats.
lost
when exposed in the market-place Alexandria it was recognized by a mariner of Gades (Fig. 164). In the space unoccupied by the boats various figures
in
the
Red Sea
at
are
hunting represented, principally The trapped are las.soed, or caught in a trap shaped like a wheel. animals are gazelles of various kinds (Fig. 165), and this drawing
recalls the decoration
relating to
wild
beasts,
which
of a cup discovered
by Mr. Maclver
at
* Petrie, Archao logical Notes, in Caulfield, The Teinple of the Kings at Abydos, London, 1902, pp. 15, 16, and pi. vi.
^
'
See
Fig. 91.
"
Mariette, Denderah, iv. pi. 64 (after Petrie). Budge, A History of Egypt, Petrie, Naqada, p. 48.
is
i.
p.
71 et seq.,
where
thoroughly discussed. De Morgan, Rcchcrches sur les The author believes rather tliat it is intended origines, ii. figs. 240-264, and p. 92. for the sign of the tribe to which the proprietor of the vessel belongs. * De Morgan, Recherches sur les origincs, ii. p. 93, and fig. 247-264.
the question of barks

El
21
University Museum, Oxford.^ On the upper part of the wall, to the left, a man brandishing a club Another personage is drawing a bow. Farther attacks a lion (?).
Amrah, now
in
the
on,
antelopes
of
various
kinds,
which
it
would
be
rash
to
attempt to identify precisely, are scattered here and there, and is It birds, one possibly a bustard. very tempting to on and in the to do so would the figures right recognize equidê
also
;
be perfectly in accordance with the observations we have already made.
On
one of the boats, above the stern cabin, there are two
P'iG.
165.
Gazelles
caught
in
a Trap and Religious
(?)
Representations.
Painted tomb of Hierakonpolis.
human figures roughly women arc standing, their arms

small
of dancing.
sketched
above the boat three
raised in the attitude characteristic
line
left
The most interesting scenes are depicted under the boats in a On the immediately above the painted base of the wall.
holding a cord, which is tied round tiic necks of three crouching captives, whom he is preparing to snn'te 01^ the head with his mace. This is an important representation,
see a
'
we
man
MacIver
&
Mace,
loc. cil. pi.
xv. 17.
212
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.
of
is
whom
in
In front of this group there are two personages, each holds in his hand the sceptre which in the historic age
the attribute of divinities and of the king, and which does not
appear
any other capacity, except in the hands of shepherds.^ Immediately afterwards one comes to a strange group consisting of a man standing, holding two lions (?) by the neck while they
feet.
stand on their hind

figured
We
It
is
have already spoken of a similar

in
engraved on the ivories discovered

difficult to
the
temple
of
in
it
Hierakonpolis (Fig. io8).

this
avoid recognizing
group a
religious
scene,
especially
when one compares
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

is
another antelope which

in
be dismembering with his hands lying on the ground with the feet tied,
to
we know already on the two pieces discovered at May we not recognize in this scene the capture of the victim by means of the lasso, as Seti I. depicted it at Abydos," and then the dismemberment of the animal
the position
Hierakonpolis and Abydos.
probably before a religious symbol.

exactly what
I
It
is
difficult
is
to
identify
is
the object in front of the

to
man who
it
sacrificing.
111,
am much
inclined
recognize
I
in
the
pillar
in
which
would confirm an hypothesis which work ' (Fig. 164).

'
put forward
a former
V. ScuEiL, To7nbeaux thchains, h Tomheaii d'Apoin, in tlie Mi'moircs publics paries i/icmbrcs dc la Mission a?-cheologique franfaisc du Cairc, v. p. 610, and pi. ii. Mariette, Fouilles exeaitees en Rgypte, en Nubie et an Soudan, Paris, On comparing the te.\t of Unas, 423, and Teti, 242, with these 1867, ii. pi. 50. scenes, I am disposed to rt'cognize the hunting of Apis quoted on tlie Palermo stone. See Masfero, review of Pellegrini, Nota supra ufia Iscrizionc Egizia del Museo di Palermo, in the Revue ciitique^ 1899, P- 4Naville, La piefTe de Palermo, in the Reciieil de travaux, xxv. 1903, p. 71. Schaefer, Ein BruchstUch altdgyptischer Annalen, Berlin, 1902, pp. 21, 23. ^ Capart, La fate de frapper Ics Anou, in the Revue de I'liisloire des Spiegelberc, Dcr Stabkultus bei den Aegypten, 7-eligions, xliii. 1901, pp. 266, 267.
.in
the Recucil des travaux, xxv. 1903, p. 190, note
3.

Following
this
213
scene of dismemberment \vc find two groups
of combatants, of which
(Fig. 26),
we have already given

(?)
a reproduction
and three women

also
crouching on the ground.

of painting
We
figures
would
of
point
out,
on another wall of the tomb, two

style
men
walking,
the
having already
progressed.
sceptre
1
Both carry a
staff
curved at
the top, and also the
forked at the base.^
The information given on the subject of the colours employed The ground, as we have already stated, is yellow ochre or white. " The blacks are a blue-black, and do not seem
is
as follows.
to be
pounded charcoal. All the boats, except one, have been painted white, over which a wash of bright green, granular in The structure, probably pounded malachite, had been put. exception is a boat with a high prow and comparatively low
stern,
which
is
was drawn
first
The outline of the figures painted blue-black. in red ochre the white of the dresses has in
;
many
v/ith
instances overlapped
this
outline.
;
The eyes were put
in
pasty lump by a blue-black spot on this."

If
a thick
of white
^
the pupil being represented
we attempt
of
to
recapitulate, in
graffiti,
few words, the scenes

that they
depicted on the paintings and

consist
we should say
hunting scenes, navigation, and possibly, as at We must remember that on Hierakonpolis, of religious scenes. the decorated pottery, independently of the skcuomorphic designs,
of
we have only found representations of
similar character.
P'gyptian inscribed such scenes on the rocks, on the sides of tombs, and on his earthen-
We may
ask
why
the
primitive
ware vases?
VV'as
The
question
he obeying an imperative artistic craving? has recently been solved, at least in part, in an
important article by Al. Salomon Rcinach on LWrt ct la magic a propos des pcintnrcs ct dcs gravurcs dc I'dgc du rcnnc? The
primitive
evidence
interest
if
Egyptian culture, we believe, on this subject, and perhaps
contributes
it
invaluable
will
not
be
without
we
'
linger over
it
for a
short
time.
ii.
OuiBELL
lb. p. 21.
111
&
pi. l.xxix.
'
rAittliropologie, xiv. 1903, pp. 257-266.
214
PRIMITIVE ART L\ EGYPT.

M. Salomon Reinach thus expresses himself on the subject
"
:
of the art of the cave-men
To
begin with,
have estabHshed
what has long

the
since been observed, that designs
borrowed from
;
animal world
are
by
far
the
most numerous
for food
also
what
be
appears to
me
to be new, that
the animals represented
may
termed exclusively such as are used and fishermen these animals being
by
tribes of hunters
desirable, while others
which
were not thus used

desirable
may
be classed as undesirable.
tribe,
These un-
animals include the great feline
such as the lion
and
etc.
is
tiger,
From
the hyena, jackal, the wolf, and various kinds of snakes, the establishment of this fact an important deduction
arrived at
the
fix
knowledge that the troglodytes,

not
their
in
drawing,
in
painting,
and
in sculpture, did
leisure, or to
visual
memories
merely seek to occupy their in order to gain from
The severe companions admiration for their dexterity. choice which presided over their artistic activity implies for this
their
same
activity
some
object less trite than
those which have been
They knew what they were doing alleged up present. and why they did it. They were not idlers and dreamers, into the
scribing
or
painting
any
familiar
silhouette,
no matter what,
following the fancy of the moment."

the
as
Availing himself, therefore, of the contributions of ethnology, French scholar recalls the fundamental principles of magic,
established
by Frazer's grand work.

ideas serve
as
first
In
simple
and
all
logical
the
is
basis
magic, two very of all ceremonies,

like
manipulations. or that an effect resembles
and of
The
its
which have once been

In the
in
produces like, " cause"; and second, that things contact, but have ceased to be so,
if
that
"
continue to act on each other as

first
the contact
still
'
persisted."
case
we have
imitative
magic
in
the
second, sym-
Imitative magic consists in representing a being, pathetic magic. 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, combined with imitative magic.
;
is
always
'
Frazer, The Golden Bough,
i.
p. 9,
2nd
ed. 3 vols. 1900.

In as
215
is
the
case
we
are considering the distinction
not easy,
regarded
When we
that
believe
of view of primitive mentality. an animal figure in order to bring of drawing speak animal into existence or to act upon it, we actually
from the point
that
we
are
is
dealing
with
imitative
magic,
if
while
for
primitive sentation
it
man
there
nothing of the sort.
In fact,
is
the repre-
has any influence on the being which
represented,
owing to the fact that this representation is has emanated from that being, absolutely as which something case be the with his reflection in a mirror or in water. would
is
entirely
"
of the consequences of this idea is to inspire people holding with a dread of being represented in effigy, a fear is which widespread and which certain forms of religion have
this belief
One
taken
the
into
account
^
in
forbidding the
painting or sculpture of
human
figure."
These general ideas of the fundamental principles of magic among primitive people need development but this branch of I can only refer to study would lead us far from our subject.
;
Frazer's work,- requesting the reader to forgive

to lay before
him more completely the proofs
my being unable of my assertion.
French primitive man, according to M. .Salomon Reinach, must have drawn and inscribed figures of the desirable animals
upon the walls

the
or
of
the caverns,
with the object of procuring

"
of multiplying the species. like, of a very crude but very intense religion,
the expression consisting of magic

It is
'
practices having for their sole object the supply of daily food."
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,
ceremony
clans,
called
inticliiunia,
differing
periodically celebrate a according to the various
"
but having the immediate object of multiplying the particular species, whether animal or vegetable, which is the totcin
'
p. 260.
-
Reinach, La sculpture en Europe avant Frazer, loc. cit. i. p. 295-297. Frazer, The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. 3 vols
Reinach,
loc. cit. p.
Ics
injluences
i^rcco-ronianus.
Macinillaii,
London,
1900.
265.
2i6
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 eiiin 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
in chorus, while the chief, or master of the ceremonies, explains the details of the drawings. Having been told the object of these rites,
the
men
of the
clan
come
to crouch
and sing
we have an
incontestable
example of the magic use of a painted

^
image Sometimes these

in places
to induce the multiplication of the model."
figures
are
painted
on the sides of rocks
which are
strictly taboo for
these representations there arc imprints of the footsteps of Vv'omen of the mythological period
women and children. Among animals, human heads, and the
of Central Australia."
Certainly," says
for
M. Reinach,
"
it
would be rash
to postulate
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
of
tribes
of to-day than historic France.
among
the the
agricultural
people
Gaul
or
of
Now
representation in
for
the depths of our

I
caves, of animals suitable
food, to the exclusion, as
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."-^ 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
wc,
on
Reinach,
Ioc. cit. p.
262.
figs.
Gillen, The Native Tribes of Central Australia, London, 1899, 124 and 132. See, on the subject of the ititic/iiuma ceremonies, the work
Spencer
&
by DURKHEIM, E., Siir le totanisjne, in the Annce sociohîqite, v. 1902, pp. 82-121. Compte rendu by S. Reinach in I'Anthropologie, xii. 1902, pp. 664-9. ^ Reinach, Ioc. cit. p. 263.

coming
of the
to the
217
close of this chapter, say that the representations
" will clearly prove whether their Egyptians religious condition was similar to that of the Aruntas"? The patina which covers the graffiti of the rocks of Upper
primitive
Egypt
buted.
testifies
remote age to which they must be attriAs we have already said, animals and boats are most
to the
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 expeditions.
The
tribes
of
nomad
in
hunters
the
could
easily
if
transport
themselves to fresh
in
localities
flotilla.
Nile Valley,
they were
a
possession
of a
These boats possibly had also

in
religious object,
It
and were used
magical ceremonies.^
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
'
See the curious

xiii.
\\\
I Anthropologic,
1902, p. 788.
Boat and
its
use,
by Salomon Reinach, Le navirc dii cholera, in G. A. Dorsey, The Dzvamish Indian Spirit the Free Afiiseion of Science and Art, Department of
article
ArchcBology, Utiiversity of Pennsylvania, Bulletin, iii. 1902, p. 227, with five plates. Comptc rendu by Dr. L. LLaloy], in V Anthropologie, xiv. 1903,] pp. 349-351. M. Salomon Reinach quotes an ivory boat of tlie 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 represent the deceased persons. The part played by the ostrich egg in the ancient the personages on religions of the East would be in favour of my hypothesis 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 iti the boats, but above them, a fact which is scarcely explained by any other interpretation vvliich has been adopted on this subject." Review of Weigher, Der Seelcnvogel in der
;
alte?t
Litteratnr ntid Kunst,

It
L,fi\\:)Sic^
1902, in the
Rev ice Archcologiquc,
1903,
ii.
must be remembered that the bark of the god Sokaris, already mentioned, is ornamented at the prow with bird figures. 1 think that wlicn ostriches and gazelles are placed above as well as below the boats, it is because
pp. 378-9. 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
have stated
in
infers that they
were suspended
the chapter on personal adornment that Wilkinson in tlie temples of the Egyptians as they still
are in the churches of the Copts. Marshall, James, Some points of resemblance between ancient ?iations of the East and IVest, in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archccology, xiv. 1^9 1-2, p. 6.
2i8
religion.^
It
is

permissible to suppose that, under certain circumassembled in certain localities sacred to the
stances, the tribes

cult in the
same way that the Australians celebrate the inticJiiinna in certain localities, which are always the same.Greek authors relate how^ numerous barks laden with entire populations habitually
went to Bubastis
to celebrate the feast of the goddess.^
The
it
ideas of death entertained
easily comprehensible why with scenes analogous or identical with those found on the rocks, If the living multiplied the purport of which savours of magic. useful animals and made representaand of paintings sculptures
by all primitive people render the walls of tombs were inscribed
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,
his
drawn on the
it
sides of the jars

this
which contained
so
provisions, and
is
for
reason that
many
aloes,
vases
are
find,
painted
with
boats
and
animals.
The
Egypt
plants
that
we
and
that
we have already
pots,
mentioned, are
in
which
present
are cultivated in
and
still
retain
evil
to the
day the property of averting the

scenes
eye.
As
to the dancing
we believe we have recognized, they would be the explained by funerary and magical nature of primitive dances. will speak of them in a special chapter.
which
We
Certain figures of the Hierakonpolis painted tomb, moreover, the religious nature of these representations, and they reproduce, as we suppose, the ceremonies of the cult.^
confirm
When
^
Pharaonic Egypt makes
its
appearance
in
the paintings
edifices, p.
2
See, for example, Lefebure, Rites egyptiens: Construc/ioii et protection des 86 et seq.
Spencer
&
Gillen,
ii.
Herodotus,
60.
loc. cit. fig. 24, p. 171, and fig. 33, p. 195. See Wiedemann, Herodots zwcitcs Buck mit
saclilichen
Eriduternitgen, Leipzic, 1890,

''
p.
253 etscq.
I
Hj,
On
the subject of
tlie
cult of tlie pillar
am
struck with the frequent
appearance of the pole

loc. cit.
in
Australian ceremonies.
See Spencer
&
Gillen,
passim.
Index, "Pole."

and sculptures of the tombs of the Ancient Empire,
that
it
219
seems
things
also scenes
doubt
is
changed. occur repeatedly. Here, where no longer possible, we are certain of the reason of these
of
arc
but
h"ttle
Figures of animals and
navigation
still
representations.
for
They
the deceased
of
exist solely for the purpose of procuring the realization of the objects depicted on the
tomb. The religious formulae which accompany 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 arc only the dewalls
the
these
scenes
velopment of those employed by

doubt this
is
his primitive predecessors.
No
We
numerous primitive sculptures. have mentioned models of boats, and also of animals.
the explanation of
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 of the undesirable animals
we have
hippopotamus, crocodile, scorpion, frog, lion, jackal, monkey, and even the griffin with the body of a lion and the head of a bird.
the
seen, there are also
figures
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
object of
in supposing that, in addition to magic formulae, the 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
at
;proof of the existence
of such cults
the
Egypt afford sufficient commencement of

hippopotamus,
;
Egyptian history
the
to enable us to recognize, in the

^
;
goddess Thueris
in
the crocodile, the god Sebek

;
in
;
the
in
scorpion, the goddess Selkit
in
the frog, the goddess Hekit
The figures of the hippopotamus are perhaps intended to enable the deceased to enjoy the pleasure of hippopotamus hunting. See Prisse D'AvENNES, Histoire dc Part egypticn, atlas ii. \A. x. At the British Museum there is a statue in breccia of the goddess Thueris in liippopotamus form, wliicii was
'
at first attributed to the Sai'tic period,
have been raised as to

.a proof.
its
authenticity,
then to the arcliaic age but as doubts I have not dared to make use of it as
;
See Budge,
fig. p.
5,
History of E}(ypf,
ii.,
i^gypt under the Great
Pyramid
Jitiilders,
Britisii
Museum, No.
35,700.
220
the
the
lion,

the goddess
;
Sekhmet
god Anubis god Mentu, etc.
the ape,The cults of these divinities apparently did not

in
;
in the jackal, god Atum the god Thot in the griffin, the
or the
exist at this age with
all
their later
developments
but
see in
the fact that these Egyptian divinities of the historic age were represented by these animals, the proof that from primitive times
If it were possible for me to they had been the object of a cult. enter here into details of theories relating to fetishism such as
is
it
practised
by the negroes
to
of the coast of Guinea, or of totemism,.
would be easy
existence
these animals, on
and
it clear how it could happen that was supposed that the well-being of the entire tribe depended, became actually
make
it
which
desirable.
Thus
of
the
theory proposed by M. Salomon
Reinach
of
finds a striking confirmation
Models
boats
among the primitive Egyptians. frequently occur in Egyptian tombs
Pharaonic times, and also models of houses have been found. The primitive tombs have yielded representations of servants,
of
the
women, and of dwarfs, whose presence may be explained in same way. The servants are given to the deceased to
in
accompany him
to
the
other
life,
and the numerous statues of
servants found in the mastabas of the Ancient

the persistence
of
this
husbands, and a statuette

of a
bed,'^
Empire bear witness Wives accompany their discovered at Naqada, with a model
custom.
representations
of
recalls
similar
Pharaonic times.
Dwarfs and deformed persons served to amuse the deceased^ as did the buffoons for the living and here, again, the representations on the tombs of the Ancient Empire confirm this view.
;
The
religious
texts
indicate
the
importance of dwarfs
in
the
next world.'
The figures of captives, which we have previou.sly mentioned
would be more
'
difficult
to
explain
if
the
foundation
rites
of
On the subject of lions and apes see also Lefebure, Kites cgyptlens : Construction ct protection des edifices, P- 5^ et seq.
^
The
figures of apes are perhaps intended to provide the deceased with pet
anirnaliJ.
'
See Lepsujs, Doikindlcr, ii. 13. Naqada, pi. xx.xvi. 83, and p. 4I. Maspero, 6ur line formule die Livre des Pyramides,
FÊTKiE,
ii.
iu
tlie
fUudcs de
tnytliologie et darcheologic cgyptienncs^
pp. 429-443.
221
tombs, of temples, and of houses amongst the primitive people did not come to our aid and indicate the motive for their
presence.^
These are victims
sacrificed
as
guardians
of
the
monument, and Egyptian
civilization did not succeed in entirely
The representations on a Theban tomb banishing this custom. of the New Empire furnish us with a conclusive proof of this.It
may
be considered surprising that the primitive temples
of Hierakonpolis and Abydos contribute so many objects similar This coincides with the conception to those found in the tombs. of the Egyptians not to say of all primitive nations of the
house,
to
the temple, and the tomb, between which there seems be no essential difference. The tomb is the house of the
;
dead
the
temple
is
god or the
tomb of
the dead god.
probably cither the house of the living Unfortunately we can only
briefly indicate these points,
without entering into the developments which are not directly connected with our subject.
The
that
results of
our investigations
there
in
this
chapter tend to show
any between the sculptures and paintings of the primitive Egyptians and those
of radical
differences
are scarcely
of Pharaonic times.
following chapter, devoted to the earliest Pharaonic monuments, will show that if the style of art productions was
The
transformed, this
transformation
follow
it
was effected
in
manner
in
that
we can
step
art
introduced,
the
but the
primitive
by step. was only changed by them

a
New
so gradual a elements were
same manner
as that in which
nation itself alters
b}'
frequent admixture of foreign blood.

1
M[onseur],
E.,
Ics traditiotis et Ics superstitions
review of Sebillot, Les travaux publics ct Ics mines dans de torts les pays, Paris, 1894, in the Bulletin dc
iv. ii. fasc. iii. 1893, p. 177, where the bibliographical indications The same primitive beliefs may also relating to this point are to be found. " Le but de ces sacrifices est de procurer a la explain certain animal figures.
Folklore,
construction un genie protccteur."

les
Maspero, Le tombcau dc Mcntouhikhops/iouf, in the Manoires publics par mcmbrcs de la Mission arc/icologique fraufaise an Cairo, v. fasc. 3, pp. 435-468.
222
CHAPTER
V.
THE EARLIEST PHARAONIC MONUMENTS.
DURING on the
discovered
a
the winter of 1893-4, in the course of excavations

site of
the temple of Koptos, Petrie and Ouibell

^
number of stone monuments " quite apart from anything known in Egyptian work." They comprised three
human
bird,
statues considerably over life size, three lions, and a and are entirely hammer-worked, showing no trace of the
any metal tool. have previously had occasion to speak of the lions and the bird, and we have seen that, owing to recent discoveries, it
chisel or of
We
is
possible to
assign
them
their
position in the classified series
of
remains,
extending
statues
attitude
from the primitive

150).
period
to
the
first
Egyptian dynasties (Figs. 142 and
The
Min.
three
represent
personage standing
the
to
in
the
characteristic
assigned
The
slight
legs are parallel
by Egyptians and joined, and are marked

;
the
god
only
by a
the
groove
in
front
and behind
indicated.
The
;
arms,
position
roughly worked,
of the
right
the knees are scarcely project but little from

differs
body
the
arm
from
;
that
of
instead representations of the god Min in the classical period of being raised to hold a whip, it is hanging down the side. The fist is clenched, and a hole pierced through the hand shows
hold some kind of emblem, possibly the The only garment indicated is a girdle formed of whip a piece of material wound eight times round the body one end falls down the right side, broadening to the base (Eig. 166).
that the figure should
itself.
;
'
Petrie, Koptos,
p. 7.

On
this
223
end
there
arc
various
designs,
indicated
by outHnes
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.
a stake,
below
this are
On
poles,
of which enters the mouth of the animal two ptcroceras shells. the second statue there are also two ptcroceras shells,
the
top
two saws of
the saw-fish
of
the
Red
Sea,
and,
finally,
two
with
on the top of which arc fixed emblems identical
224
the
sign

which
later
on was
El
used
the
for
writing the
name
a
of
the god
palette
Min, and
discovered
recalling
at
sign of
Amrah,
engraved upon which we have given
slate
reproduction (Fig. 6^).
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 A case worked with a flint-knife instead of being hammered. of the Min emblems, and below knotted pole is joined to one
the other there are
is
a drawing
of an ostrich.
In addition, there
figure,
two
large
pteroceras
shells,
an
indefinite
then an
placed
elephant, a hyaena (?), and an ox, the feet of which are on small triangular objects^ (Fig. 167).
We
the
have already had occasion to notice similar figures on decorated pottery, Vihere we find men hunting animals
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
whose
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 Without insisting here on the deductions which have <iivinity.
been drawn from the presence of these statues at Koptos, we
may
those
say, in
passing, that they provide a powerful

to
argument
to
bring the dynastic Egyptians from the land of Punt, situated on the east coast of Africa, on the borders of
the
who wish
Sea.-
Red 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 Lcipzic. Judging from their style he attributed them to the prehistoric period.^ Petrie, on the
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 sufiered most. See Pktru:, ib. pi. v. 4 (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford).
Petrie, Koptos, pp. 8, 9. History of Egypt Sixteenth Dynasty, 4th ed. Loudon, 1899, p. 12.
'
from
the Earliest
Times
to the
yur
Steindorff, Eine neue Art dgyptlscher Georg Ebers, pp. 130, 140, notes i, 41.
Kiinst, in Aegyptiaca, Festschrift
225
Fig
167.
Hammered
Designs on the Archaic Statues of the god Min.

(l
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
and 2); Cairo Museum (3 and
4).
15
226
contrary, in a recent article, considers them as the earliest work of This divergence of opinion cannot be ignored. the dynastic race.^
archaic statue similar to those from which had been used as the threshold was discovered, Koptos
At
Hierakonpolis an
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.
to
a large cloak,
figure
left
which reaches
The clothing consists of the knees, fitting close to the
and supported by a broad band, which, passing over the
shoulder, leaves the right side of the chest uncovered.
As
the statues of Min, the right hand is pierced horizontally to hold a sceptre or staff.- The original, now in the Ashmolean
in
Museum, Oxford,
gives rather the impression of the statue of a
woman
(Fig.
i68).
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 These objects consist of fragments of slate palettes, opinion. on which figures of men and animals are sculptured in very
low
relief.
Museum,
insisted
M. Heuzey, the learned custodian of the Louvre on the resemblance of style between these
M. Maspero fragments and the monuments of Chaldean art. 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
to
his
successors).
Dr. Budge, the
keeper of the Egyptian

his turn considered
department of the British

be
offered
Museum,
in
them
the
Mesopotamian works imported into by the Mesopotamian princes to

to
Egypt
the
as
presents
kings
of
eighteenth dynasty.
Finally, Professor Steindorff, in the
article
we have already mentioned, came

'
the
conclusion,
\.\\q
after
Petrie, The Rise

^
and
Devclop?netit of Egyptian Art^ in

2isf, 1901, p. 594.
ii.
Journal of the
Society of Arts London,

^
June
QuiBELL
&
Green, Hierako7ipolis,
pi. Ivii.
pp. 15, 16, 47.

indeed Egyptian, but of the prehistoric age.^ It was at this time that Ouibell discovered
polis two pieces of the same furthermore, on one of them
class.
227
minute examination of the entire group, that these objects were

at
Hierakon-
They were complete, and

inscribed
in
was
hieroglyphic
characters
royal
name.
Unfortunately,
the
name does not
Fig.
68.
Archaic
Statue discovered at Hierakonpolis.
correspond with any of those

of later date, and
at
known
to us from the royal lists
present time opinion is still divided as to the exact position that should be assigned to it.It is,
the
'
M. de Morgan arrived
les origincs,
ii.
at the
fig.
same
and
conclusion.
p.
sur
-
pi.
ii.
iii.
864,
263 ct
in our Figs. Petrie, History of Egypt from the Earliest Titnes^ etc., 5th ed. 1903, FoucART, Les deux rois iticonnus d^ Hierakonpolis, in the Cojnptcs pp. 7-9. rendus de V Acadc7nic dcs inscriptimis et belles lettres, 1 90 pp. 24 1 -249. Naville, Les plus ancietis 7fio?uimeitts egypliens, iii., in the Recucil de travaux, etc., xxv.
1
,
them with the knife-handles shown
See De Morgan, RecJierchcs where M. Jequier compares 33 and 35.

scq.,
1903, pp. 206-208, 218-220.
228

who
is
nevertheless, incontestable that this king,
called
Nar-Mer
Egyptian
by general agreement, belonged

history.
polis,
to the earliest period of
He
deposited several objects in the temple at Hierakona great slate palette and an
in
among them
enormous mace-
which supply us with an instance of common objects diverted from their ordinary use to become ex-votos.^ Their discovery dispelled all doubt as
relief,
head, both decorated with scenes
low
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.
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
It is
pages-; nor can

of these objects.^
history of primitive
attempt to indicate the facts relating to the Egypt which have been drawn from the study
I must content myself with giving illustrations adding some remarks on the analogies which we notice between these pieces and those of primitive times or of
of them, and
the historic period.
our
style, we should place first on a fragment at Cairo (Fig. 169), published by Professor It represents a boat similar to those known to us Steindorff.'*
Basing our selection on the

list
Capart, La fete de frappcr les Anon, loc. cit. xliii. 1901, pp. 251, 252. Naville, Les plus ancients momiments egyptiens, iii. loc. cit. p. 223. * Legge, The Cafved Slates f7vm Hlerako7ipolis and elsewhere, in the Pro1
ceediiigs
loc. cit.
of the Society of Biblical Archa;ology,

Slate,
ib.
Another Carved
xxii. 1900, 125-39, with nine plates; Ca^'ved Slate^ pp. 270, 271, with one plate;
A New
Steindorff, Einc iieiie At't dgyptischer Kunst, in Aegyptiaca., Festschrift fiir Georg F.bers, pp. 122-141. J. L. ]VI[yres], review of Legge, Carved Slates from Hierakonpolis and clsewhei'e, in the Journal of the A7ithropological Institute, xxx. 1900; Anthropological Reviews
xxvi. 262, 263, with
one
plate.
Capart, La fete de frapper les Anoti, 1901, where an almost complete M. Bencdite, bibliography will be found of the great palette of Hierakonpolis. in a work on the new palette at the Louvre, gives a summary study of the whole Benedite, Une nojivelle palette eti schiste, in \.\\e Monutnents ct memoires group. and pjitblics par l' Academie des inscriptiojis ct belles lettres, x. 1903, pp. 105-122 See also Jolles, Die antithetischc Gruppe, in the Jahrbuch der Kaiserlich pi. XI.
und Miscellanea,
in
pp.
15, 16, pi.
B, C, D.
the
Revue de
riiistoirc dcs religions,
xxii.
deutschen Archeologischen Institut, xix. 1904, p. 37 et seq. 3 Newberry & Garstang, A Short History of Ancient Egypt, London, 1904,
pp. 14-19.
^
Steindorff,
loc. cit. fig. p.
124.

from the prehistoric remains.
This
is
229
surmounted by two signs
one of which
already on
in
is
the bird
which we have met with '^^, rekhyt,

Hierakonpolis, Professor
a vase
with relief decorations from

inscription
what may be a pictographic
(Fig. T"^.
Steindorff, with
exist
perfect accuracy, noted the resemblances which between the boat here represented and those figured in
the earliest hieroglyphs.
fragment at the Louvre and two
others
at
the
British
Fig. 169.
Fragment
of a Slate Palette.
Cairo Museum.
Museum belong
together,
palette^ (Fig. 170).
In
the centre there
and united form almost a complete 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

resistance.
'
The type
at the top there is a lion offering a vigorous of lion gives us at least a clue to the date
Heuzey, Egyptc OH Chaldec, in the Comptcs rcndiis de I'Acadcviic dcs inscriptions et belles le tires, i8gg, pi. of p. 66, and pp. 62, 63.
230
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,
tail
as
Steindorff remarked,
as in the prehistoric figures.
hollowed to contain a bead, All the men represented wear the

are
ostrich feathers in their hair.
attached to the girdle, and most of them have one or two Their weapons are characteristic
of prehistoric times. ^
If
it
several years ago on the subject of the
were possible to verify the hypothesis which I put forward 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.^
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 figures of animals, similar primitive age (Fig. 164). those on the decorated pottery, resemble also other pieces which are more accurately dated, especially a palette discovered
the
to
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
the
palette,
also,
the
central
piece.
cavity
appears
to
constitute
is
essential
part
of the
Here our attention
by the weird figures of feline animals with enormously which we have already seen on the Hierakonpolis necks, long ivories (Fig. 108), and which we shall meet with again. The various
attracted
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 dynasty^
One of the British Museum fragments is figured, with reference to the shape of the bow, in Schurtz, Urgescliichte der Kjtltiir, Leipsic, 1900, p. 345, " witii the astounding description, Assyrischc Jagdssenc." 2 Capart, Melanges, 2, Remarqtte siir une des palettes archatqiies du Musee Budge, A Britattniqtte, in the Recueil de travaux, etc. xxii. igoo, pp. 108-110.
^
History of Egypt, ii. 1902, Max the preceding work.

*
p.
11, where the author is not acquainted with Muller, W., Nachtrag zu Louvre, C, in the
iii.
Orientalistische Litteraturzeitiing,
1900, col. 433.
oti
ii. Heuzey, l^gypte pi. xxviii. and p. 41. 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 Tannvorth.
OuiBELL
& Green,
Hierakonpolis,
231
X
\^l
-^
^. -^ fV:
,-f.
/ ^
^v^
1V
n^-'
Fig.
170. Slate Palette with Hunting Scenes.

Louvre and British Museum.
232
(Figs.

171 and 172).
Mr. Ouibell, from information supplied by

gazelles,
antelopes, ibex, oryx, stags, vulture (more probably an ostrich), leopard, jackals, dogs, One of these a wild bull, a giraffe, and two fantastic creatures.
Captain
Flower, identifies
a
Fig.
171.
Slate
Pai.ette
with Representations of Animals (Recto).
is
griffin
with
out of the middle of
on
its
hind
feet,
hawk's head, and with birds' wings rising its back the other, a jackal (?), walking the body surrounded with a girdle, appears
;

to be playing a flute
(?).
233
Dr. Petrie remarks
on the
interest
from
a zoological
of animals,
point
of view
presented
by
these
representations
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).
M.
'
Beneditc
has
published a palette
recently acquired
Art, in
\.hc
by
Petrie, The Rise
and Development of Egyptian
Journal \of t/w
Society
of Arts,
xlix. 1901, p. 595.
234

in
him
is
Egypt
figures
for the
Louvre Museum
small
(Figs.
173
and
174).
It
closely
allied
to
the
Hierakonpolis palette, especially
in
the
of animals
whose outlines form the contour of
Fig.
173.
Slate Palette (Recto).

Louvre Museum.
the object,
four jackals
but
with this difference, that
in
this case there are
the
first
two
Here appears for (?) instead of two on each face. time a curious design treated very awkwardly namely, We shall find this motive tree. giraffes facing a palm
;

brilliantly
235
at the British
If
developed on a palette of which there are fragments Museum and at Oxford.^

to characterize the style of these last palettes,
we attempt
Fig.
174.
Slate
Paletie (Recto).
Louvre Museum.
which show so much similarity

say with M. Heuzey
^
in
the ornamentation,
st}'le,
it
wc
shall
"As
to the
is
in
cvcr>' respect
Benedite, Une notcvelle palette en
schistc, in
the Moiit07icnts et
x.
Memoircs
105-122,
publics
pi. xi.
-
par VAcadcJiiie des

See
p. 228,
loc. cit. p. 64.
inscriptions et belles lettrcs

2.
1903,
pp.
Legge.
note
Heuzey,
2^6

first,
such as we have defined from the

but
the
full
a reaHsm which
is
crude
of energy, which attempts to render movement, and at same time robust forms with salient muscles, not only in
figures,
human
but also
in
those of animals even of the lightest
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 tim.es, and if any one of these
and most
figures
had been shown
to us separately, without
any indication
'
1.'*'
./^^."^S
Fig.
175.
Fragment
of a Slate Palette (Recto).
Cairo Museum.
Chaldaa, 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
of
its origin,
it
is
to
included in this same category here at the top of the circular is cavity there part of a recumbent animal, and below are two
;
ostriches identical with those of the
two preceding
pieces.
second
differing very little
fragment from those on the preceding example.
at
Cairo
is
carved with representations

Instead,
237
however, of being scattered in haphazard fashion over the surface of the palette, the animals are regularly separated into three
rows:
rams.^
in
the
first
are bulls;
in
the second, asses; in the third,
This decoration recalls the figures of animals on the knife-handle in Fig. 35, in which Petrie recognized "the regular
^ With Egyptian style of the tombs of the Ancient Empire." these must also be compared the Hierakonpolis ivories reproduced in Fig. 109. Below the third register there are trees almost
Fig.
176.
Fragment
of a Slate Palette (Verso).
Cairo
Museum.
identical
with
those
which appear
that
in
the
hieroglyphs of the
should
be
beginning of the fourth dynasty.^
The
strongest
proof
the
Cairo
fragment
DiJRST
&
schafcs, in the Rcciicil

2
Gaillai^d, Studicn iibcr die Gcschichte dcs iigyptischcn llausde iravaux, xxiv. 1902, p. 46.
7.
Petrie, Naqada, p. 51. Lepsius, Defikfftiilcr, ii.
238
attributed
to

Pharaonic
is
Egypt,
in
notwithstanding
representations
its
analogies
with primitive pieces,

face,
the
on the second
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
Fig.
177.
Fragment
of Slate Palette (Recto).
arm, seize the captives.^ The palette of which this the largest piece is forms part has not been recovered entire
human
the
at
British
Museum.
On
one of the faces

are
is
two
giraffes,
standing on either side of a palm-tree,
eating the
leaves.
The
>
beauty of execution
of this group
admirably
described
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, Daiktndler,
iii.
74 c/.

by
M.
Beneditc.
239
a
"The palm
branches,"
he
says,
"form
The cluster of fruit at the top decoration of great elegance. adds a motive which assumes singular importance in the midst
of the
simplicity
of
in
detail
this
affected
it
by the
is
remainder of the
Finally, fragment impossible not to be palette. 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 Faleite (Verso).
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 lion has corpses, which arc being torn by birds of prey.
one of the corpses by the abdomen, and is attempting to tear out a piece. The inert body, which entirely abandons
seized
itself to
being seized,
is
most happily rendered.
The
lion bears
240
THE EARLIEST PHARAOXIC MONUMENTS.
241
16
142
primitivp:
to
art
in egypt.
described,
resemblance
the
figures
we have previously
this
principally in
the lines of the muzzle and the two spots on the

141).
forehead
(Fig.
in
Above
scene of carnage,
person
wrapped
large embroidered mantle, recalling that of the
Fig.
181.
Fragment of Slate Palette (Recto).

Louvre Museum.
small
a
ivory statuette of
prisoner,
whose
(?)
arms
Abydos (Fig. 122), pushes before him are bound behind his back, while a
heavy stone
The
on
is hung round his neck (Figs. 177 to 180). standards play a direct part in the scene engraved living Five ensigns a fragment of a palette from the Louvre.
surmounted by emblems of gods, among others of the god Min,

end
an
in
243
human hand grasping
a strong cord.
as
is
This
the
is,
in reality,
which pictographic inscription, of the palette a bull vigorously constitutes the upper part trampling a man under his feet, and about to transfix him with
actual
also
;
scene
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.^
Steindorkf, Elne neiie Art d^yptischcr Kunst, he. cit. p. 131, note i. Mr. Offord remarks that " in the epilogue to tlie Code of Hammurabi, the king, in the mighty steer who overthrows tlie boasting of his victories, calls himself
'
"
enemy.'
244
;r:.-j*-r
Fig.
183.
Slate
Palette of Nar-Mer (Recto).

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

Cairo Museum.
246

of the vanquished
The type
hair
enemy should be
observed, also the
and the curled beard, as well as the

is
girdle from
which the
the reverse of this palette the principal suspended. scene is repeated, but this time the place of the animated standards the second Cairo fragment, by crenellated is occupied, as in
karnata
On
walls representing fortified
towns.
In the centre of these walls of cities (Figs.

181
hieroglyphic signs give the
names
and
182).
Fig.
185.
Fragment
of Slate Palette.
Louvre Museum.
occurs
of the king, "Powerful Bull," destroying his enemies, on the great palette discovered at Hierakonpolis, again where the bull has overthrown with his horns the crenellated
The symbol
walls of a town.
raises
refer
'
discussions
to special
will
This palette, with the name of King Nar-Mer, of extreme complexity, for which we must
this subject.^
works published on
We
observe,
They
cit.
loc.
See
in
appendix,
be found recapitulated in Capart, La fete de frappe?- les Atiou, also Naville, Les plus anciens inontime7its egypiiens, iii. the Recucil dc travaitx, xxv. 1903, pp. 223-225. Weill, K.,

are also found on a Chaldêan
247
however, the great h'on-like animals with serpents' necks, which

cylinder at the Louvre.'
"
Such
an identity," says M. Heuzey, "between two motives, both of which arc of such precision and complexity, cannot be the effect
Fig.
186.
Great
Mace-head of King Nar-Mer.
Hieraconpolis ct
pp. 119-121.
'
les
origines de VEgypte, in the
Kevne
ii.
archc'ologique, 1902,
ii.
(juiBELL
&
Green,
Hiera/co?tpolis,
in
Heuzey, Egypte ou
CJialdcc,
the
pp. 41-43. Cot/tptes reiidus
dcs
seances
de
V Academic des The leopard (?)

Egyptian
in
art.
inscriptions ct belles leilres, 1899, pp. 66-68 and pi. of p. 62. witli tlie neck and head of a serpent is not without parallel in
It is
the fantastic animal
named
'ft.
cJii
seilja,
which
is
ligured
Imntmg scenes
at
Beni Hasan.
also occurs on tlie magical ivories de frapper les Anoit, lac. cit. p. 264.
See Newberry, Jkni Hasan, ii. pi. iv. It of the twelfth dynasty. See Capart, La fete
248
of chance.
It

can only be explained by very close relations
earliest
between primitive Chaldaa and the
Egyptian civilization. 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 populations of Africa the elements of an art which had already
The explanation only
gains in
force
simple and rational in itself, not only conforming to the traditions of humanity, but also to the laws
taken form.
This fact
is
of history
and
the
to
that
followed
palette
by
human race"
which we know of the great currents On this (Figs. 183 and 184).
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
head, a
singular group is sculptured, composed of a human bunch of papyrus stems, and a bird. Opinions are unanimous with regard to this it is intended to signify that
king,
the god
Horus, or the goddess Nekhbet, vanquished or seized six thousand foes, or perhaps that they overthrew the people
of the north. ^
There
is
also
a small
fragment
in
the
Louvre Collection,
There
is
extremely archaic, representing a group of people on the march,
which was bought at Beyrout " by Ary Renan. doubt that the fragment must be placed with the
class of objects (Fig.
185).
this
no
earliest of this
We
to
must not leave

details
what extent
are
series of objects without observing found which are allied to primitive
Egyptian art, by the side of others which are characteristic of Pharaonic monuments. The ivories of Hierakonpolis and Ab}'dos
stand alone in supplying a convincing and satisfactory succession, forming a link between prehistoric and historic work. We must
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,
bear
in
arrived
'
at
the conclusion
ib.
that
these
palettes
belonged
to
the
C APART,
p.
256.
Lettre de
M. Ary Renan
M.
G. Parol,
in
the
Revue aixhcologique,
tliird scries, ix.
1887, pp. 37, 38, with
fig.

prehistoric period.
249
Now
owing
palette
that
to
we
the
possess,
Hierakonpolis
a
discoveries,
bearing the
Egyptian
name of an king, we are

with
forced to recognize that
we
are
confronted
actual
Pharaonic monu-
ments.
The
hesitation
one
feels in
pronouncing
slate
judgment on these
palettes
to
appears
the
best
to
me
be
that
there
was
proof not at
any
of
given moment in Egypt a sudden change

direction
in artistic
conceptions.
We
have
already had occasion to remark this, and we will

return
to
it
when
we
our
have
to
formulate
conclusions.
King Nar-Mer, who dedicated the great

palette of Hierakonpolis,
also
in the deposited a head of the temple
mace
low
the
of
colossal
size,
inscribed with scenes

relief.
in
Several
of
this
personages
on
still
palette
the recognized
another on the
may
be
servant
carrying the sandals,

identity
250
of

whom
writers
are
reliefs
not
agreed/
this
and
the
men
carrying
the
mace-head show a roughness of workmanship which denotes a less practised hand (Figs. i86 and 187) than that which carved the great palette."
standards.
The
on
Without entering into a detailed study of the scenes on this mace,^ 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
dancers three
these objects
access.
Both before and behind these

objects
are
crescent-shaped
represented.
When
they
make
their
appearance
in the classical period,
have acquired a regular form. It is difficult to say what they We must be content to observe that in the texts represent.
these
"
crescents
"
occur
in the
composition of the
titles
of certain
officials.^
The remains of a second mace of more perfect type bear name of a king who has hitherto not been identified with any certainty." Among other scenes we here see the king preCan this be the siding over public works (Figs. 188 and 189).
the
opening of a dyke
"
On
one of the canals
there
may
be
seen the prow of a vessel which recalls those of the primitive In the lower angle at the right the remains are period.
'
Naville, Les plus ancicns vionunioits cgyptiens,
iii.
loc.
cit,
xxv.
1903,
pp. 223-225.
OuiBELL, Hicrakoiipolis, i. pi. xxvi. b. G., La plus vieillc Egyptc, ii., Les niottiwicjits com7ncmoratifs dti Scd a Hieraco7ipolis, in the Sphinx, v. igoi, pp. 102-106. Moret, A., L)n Caractere religieux de la royaute pha7-ao7iiqiie, Paris, 1902, p. 242, and fig. 71, Weill, R., Hicraco/ipolis et les 07'igi7ies de rgyple, in the Revue p. 240.
^
P'oucART,
arckeologique, 1902,
ii.
pp. 121, 122.
ii. Newberry, Bent Hasa7i, i. pi. xxxv. p. 41. 129. ScHiAPARELLi, Musco a7-cheologico di Fire7ize, A7itichita egizie, i. pp. 266, 267, See Griffith, Hic7-oglyphs, pi. iii. 36, and p. 64. 369, 468. FoucART, G., Les deux 7ois i7ico7i7ius d''IIieraco7ipolis, in the CotTtptes rcndus des seances de V Acadetnie des inscripiio7is et belles leiires, 1900, pp. 230-241.
Lepsius,
DeTt/cTniiler,
xxvi. c, pp. 9, 10. M. Maspero here recogwith sufficient probability, the ceremony of Khebs to, "digging out the See Maspero, ground," which took place at tiie foundation of temples.
nizes,
Naville, Inc. cit. xxv. 1903, \>. 218. ^ Quibell, Hie7-akunpalis, i. pi.
Ma/iual of Egyptian
chapter, p. 353, note.
Archceology,
5th
ed.
London,
:
1902,
20.
supplementary
des
edifices, p. 32.
p.
Lefebure, Rites Mariette, Denderah,
cgyptie/is
p. 133,
Const7'uctio7i et protectio7i
i.
and
pi.
Brugsch, Die
Aegyptologie,
425.

distinguishable
251
that
of a
small
vaulted
construction
similar
to
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

differ in
idea of the whole design.'
These maces, which again
Fig.
88.
Great
Mace-head of an Unidentified King.

style from the
theless, to scenes
It
is
Egyptian classical monuments, introduce which reappear at subsequent periods.
us,
never-
the
in
same with
the
fiiirly
numerous
series
of
are
objects
discovered
royal tombs of Abydos.
These
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
Menes, the
scholars are apparently agreed to identify with first king of the first dynasty, according to the
QuiBELL, ilierakonpolis,
i.
'
pi.
xxvi.
a, aiui p. 8.
"52
Fig.
189.
Detail
of the Principal Scene on the Great Mace-head OF an Unidentified King.

See Archceolosiciil Report, 1897-8,
p.
7,
I'.lock lent
by the Egypt Exploration Fund.
plate.

historians of the classical period.^
253
are divided
into four
scenes and descriptions In the first at the superposed registers.
The
iiil
mi
V^Ca-jHTiS!*. !-'
r >vj*-' "-
^j^:.
\'^ j:'!i
-oy:^
'l^
Fig.
190.
Specimens
or Small Ivory and Woouex Plaques discovered THE Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty at Auydos.
ix
254
PRIMITIVE x\RT IN EGYPT.

two boats.
before
In
which there are

the
the
next
register
is
another
sanctuary with a sacred bird, similar to one of the figures on
temple is a bull hastening with two pegs, thus recalling ground The two lower registers are a scene of the Vaphio goblets. of boats and by by occupied figures inscriptions.^ On another tablet, that of the king Den-Setui, (or Semti or
;
mace of Nar-Mer
the
into a net, fastened
to the
Hesepui), we find a similar scene to that on the mace of Nar-Mer. is seated under a slight canopy, on a platform, to which access is afforded by a ladder. Before this small pavilion
The king
the king himself again appears, framed

"
crescents," performing a dance."
in two groups of three 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
history of Egypt.^ fragment of a plaque of the same king shows the king walking, holding the staff and mace, and preceded by the standard of the jackal
duration
of
the
with the
name
Anubis or
closely to
Apuat.'*
Here we
on
feel that
we
are approaching very
the classical
the
first
representations
of the Pharaoh, such as
we
find
in
place
in
the rocks at
Wady
Maghara,
in
Sinai.
name
ivory plaque MacGregor King Den, is especially instructive on this point.^ Special stress must be laid on the important discovery of M.
An
the
Collection, with the
of
Weill,
who
bas-reliefs at Sinai with
has succeeded in identifying the king of one of the King Mersekha of the first dynasty."
ii.
'
pi.
iii.a,
loc. cit.
x.
and pp.
21,
51.
Naville, Les plus
aiiciens
-
monuments
ib.
i.
cgyptieiis,
ii.,
xxiv. 1902, p. 120.

22, 40, 41.
Petrie,
pi. xi.
14
xv. 16,
and pp.
'
MoRET,
A.,
Du
Dr.
Budge, who
Caraclere rcligicux dc la royautc pharaoiiqjie, fig. 86, p. 262. 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. * Petrie, Royal Tombs, i. pi. x. 84 = xiv. 9, and p. 21. Spiegelberg, Ein neues Denkmal aus dcr Fruhzcit der dgyptischen Kunst, in the Zeitschrift fur dgyptische Sprache und Alterthumskunde, xxxv. 1897, pp. 7- II, and fig.
;
'>
Weill, Un nam royal egyptien de la periode thinite an Sinai, in tlie Comptes rendus de V Academie des inscriptions ct belles lettres, 1903, pp. 160-162 I/isCriptions I'gyplicnncs du Sinai, ii., Lcs bas-reliefs thinites du Ouadv MagharaJi, in the Revue archcologi(/ue, 1903, ii. pp. 230-234. M. Naville questions the reading
'' ;

Finally
255
on
Fig.
190
there
are
various
other
the
fragments
vanquished, possibly representing captives, servants, bringing tribute and rendering homage to their conqueror.^ The resemblance between these captives and those on the slate
and
Fig.
191.
Small
Plaque
in
Glazed Pottery discovered at Abydos.
palette of
note, as
of the
Oxford and of the

the
British
Museum
is
important to
in
also
representation
of the
personage
the
long
;
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, Lesplus anciens monuments egypiicns, iii., loc. cit. x.w. 1903, pp. 219, 220. 12, and pp. 21, 22. Petrie, Royal Tombs, ii. p. iii. i, 2, and iv. 4-6, 11, A fragment which tits on to that published by Petrie, pi. iv. 11, was discovered earlier by Amelineau. See Amelineau, Lcs noiivclles fouillcs d' Abydos, 1895-6, Co?7ipte rendu in cxtenso, Paris, 1899, pi. xlii. and p. 307, where the fragment is described as being on plate xli. It is now in the l^russels Museum.
rt:,
256
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
hill
Stel^ from the Royal Necropolis of the First Dynasty at Abydos.
men
of the
tribes of the eastern desert (Gebel
Dorkhan and
Gebel Ataka).^
very curious as regards style was discovered in the course of Petrie's excavations at Abydos during
object
An
which
is
the winter
pottery,
'
1902-3.
It
bearing in
a small plaque or tile of green glazed low relief a figure of a man walking, his
is in
Petrie, The Races of Early Egypt,
the Journal of the Anthropological

15.
Institute, x.xxi. 1901, p. 253,
and
pi.
.xi.x.
13,

staff in
257
his hand.
An
inscription, also in relief, occupies part of
Petrie the space left unoccupied in front of the figure (Fig. 191). "It has no groove or dovetail on writes thus on the subject
:
the back, but
is
quite plain
insert in
it
does not seem, therefore, to have

if
been intended to
a wall, but rather as
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
P^rom the inscription we must attribute him dynastic races. He to the Anu, who are known as an aboriginal people in Egypt. of the to be a called devoted to chief God,' Tera-Neter, appears
'
fortress
of the
Anu
in
the
town of Hemen."
The reading
of
the hieroglyphic inscription is very uncertain, at least as regards several of the signs of which it is composed.^' 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 we give some specimens^ (Fig. 192). If it were desirable to characterize in a few words this series of
might be said that they betray indecision. The artist appears to hesitate as to the manner in which he should dispose
objects,
it
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,

signs
who
copies
without understanding their meaning.

sign are considerable, and
first
The
variants of the
same
the publication
of hieroglyphs of the
will strongly
dynasty, announced by
Mrs. Petrie,
striking when emphasize one examines the hieroglyphs on the royal stelas of the first dynasty, which have not at any age been surpassed for dignity
this fact.
The
contrast
is
and beauty.^ 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
'
'
'
Petrie, Abydos, ii. pi. i. v. 33, and p. 25. Athcna-um, October 24th, 1903, p. 544. ii. Petrie, Royal To?nbs, pi. xxx.-xxxvi.
i.
;
pi.
xxvii.-xxx.
r?.
lb.
i.
frontispiece;
1895-6, p.
xlii.
ii.
pi.
xxxi.
Amelineau, Lcs
notivellcs foiiilles
d' Abydos,
17
258
first
PRBIITIVE ART IN EGYPT.

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
same opposition to official Pharaonic art.^ As a t}'pical I will a in stela the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford^ quote example A priest of the double, mentioned on of a person named Hekenen.
the
the stela, bears the
name
of Persci/,
fifth
name which
occurs
on
inscriptions of the fourth
and
The same
rivalry
which we have observed
dynasties^ (Fig. 193). in the case of

official
carving in relief as existing between the
Pharaonic art
Fig.
193.
biELA
of Hekknen.
and
that
of
private
least
individuals,
may
also
be
found
in
the
statuary, at
vations
at
during the three first dynasties. The excaHierakonpolis have furnished us with proofs of this.
found representing a man, one knee on the ground, and of a somewhat strange type. Of these one only proved po-ssible to preserve, and it is now at the Cairo Museum.
statues were
'
Two
See ScHWEiNFURTH,
Stellitiig
J)ic
ncucstcn
die
dcr
in
noch
lebenden
IViistcn-Sliiiiime
Grahcrfundeii hi Obcr-Ac;j;yptcii i/iid zii der all(igyj>iischcn

'
Bcvolkcrung,
^
1898, pp. 184, 185,
the Vcrhattdlungcn der berliner anthropologischcii Gescllschaft, where the author speaks of "Bauernkunst" and ''Herrenkunst.
De RouGt", Rcchcrches sur Ics 7)wimmcnts qu'on pent attribiccr aiix six premieres dynasties dc Mancthon, p. 53. Lefsius, Dcnkmiiler, ii. 83. Makiette, Les mastabas de V Ancien Empire, pp. 299-301, Paris, 1899.
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,^ the type of one of the standard bearers on the
The clothing consists of a girdle to great palette of Nar-Mer. which narrow strips are attached, which hang down between the
Fig.
194. Limicsto.ne Statue of a Libyan.

Cairo IMuscum.
legs,
a costume which
is
on the bas-reliefs of the Ancient
found on the palette of Nar-Mer and Professor Schweinfurth Empire.-''
draws special attention to the shortness of the neck, which appears to agree exactly with the length of the head, and the considerable
'
In OU113ELL, Hicfakonpolis,
i.
p. 6.
Capart, La fete de frapper

1901, p. 255.
Ics
Anoii^ in the
Rev it c de
lliistoirc
des rclig/ons,
xliii.
26o

lips.^
development of the
P^rom the ethnographic point of v'iew, Dr. Petrie considers that the type presents elements other than
Libyan and Negro

This
the
"
is
(Fig.
194).'-
head
not the case with another crouching statue, of which only could be preserved (Fig. 195), where the same
recognizes
scholar
definitely
The come from
short half curly hair
Negro-Libyan type. and the thick projecting lips clearly

the
^
the
mixed
the
Negro
while
long
face
and well-formed
nose are due to Libyan blood."
The eyes
are inlaid, and no
Fig.
195.
Head
of a Libyan in Limestone.
trace of colour can
be distinguished.
Dr.
Petrie
records
that
while travelling he met an individual who was absolutely idenHe learnt from him that he was from America, tical in type.
obviously
origin.
from
the
Southern
States,
and of Negro-European
the
first
A
^
comparison should be made between

ScHWEiNFURTH,
1
of
these
^
'
*
/oc. ctt. p. 84, and fig. pp. 182, 183. i. and ii. QuiBELL, Hierakonpolis, j)!. p. 35. pi. ii. p. 6 In OuiBELL, Hierakonpolis, i. p. 6, and pi. v. vi. ii. p. 36. Petrie, The Rise and Develop77ient of Egyptian Art, in
i.
;
tlie
Journal
oj
the Society of A7-ts, xlix. 1901, p. 594.

statues
261
Museum (No. i) which M. Maspero He has made some remarks dynasty. on this subject which I consider necessary to give here. "The workmanship," he says, "is archaic, but still more coarse than
and one
to
at the Cairo
attributes
the
third
Fig.
196.
Black
Granite Statue.
Cairo Museum.
differences in technique and in style be presented by works belonging to the same reign, according to whether they were executed in the immediate vicinity of the
archaic.
One knows what
may
.sovereign, in a large civilized
town, or
in
a locality remote from
262
PRIMITIVK ART I\ EGYPT.
Fig.
197.
Statui;
of a Princess
in
the Tuiun Museum.
THE KARLIIvST PHARAOXIC MOXUMKXTS.
263
Fig.
19S.
Statue
in
the Brussels Museum,
264
the
court.

...
is
In
any object it from whence
order to appreciate the relative antiquity of necessary to take into consideration the locaUty
it comes, and the importance of that locaHty at the time when the object was made. Memphis, or the town which preceded it, was very obscure before the fourth dynasty, and
One must not, therefore, be royalty did not yet reside there. astonished if its monuments are ruder than those discovered in
cities
frequented by the Pharoah
Ahmar, for example and it would be a mistake, in comparing them with the carefully executed bas-reliefs of Khasakhmui,
or with the palettes
inferiority that
Thinis-Abydos
to
or at
Kom
el-
dedicated
by Besh,
conclude from their
they are far older than the latter objects.
Our
a provincial work, and perhaps its importance lies in the fact that it does not so much indicate a remote antiquity
statue
is
as
that
it
is
proof of the want of

in the
skill
"
^
of the artists
who
were then living

It
is
Memphite nome
(Fig. 196).
impossible better to express the dualism that existed the official art, the art of the masters, between these rival arts
;
and the art of the subject, the peasant art, to adopt Schweinfurth's The peasant art is the logical sequence of the art expression.
of the primitive
population, and
at
the
commencement
of the
in
Egyptian occupation, it the immediate neighbourhood of the residence of the
was not radically transformed except

ruler.
A
rise
similar
of
phenomenon Theban art, when
might be proved
the
political
in
the history of the
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 the art of the and between profane art (Profankunst) court (Hoflûnst),
religions art (Religosckunst)."
J
pi.
xiii.
Maspero, text of Le miisee egypticn, i. p. 13. The statue is figured on See also De Morgan, Rechcrches sur Ics orfgincs, ii. pi. iv. and
pp. 253, 254.
Spiegelberg, Gescliiclitc dcr ngyptisclicn Kiinst im Alniss dargcstcllt, " " I include under the name of profane art artistic works created Leipzic, 1903. beliefs of the the primitive times, in opposition to by popular religion, following the official religion of tlie Pharaonic invaders.
-
Fig.
199.
Statuh:
ok Nesa,
in tiii;
Lulvki:
266
PRIMITIVK ART IX 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.
in
They
are the archaic statues preserved
various
European
Turin,
Paris.
museums Bologna,
Le}'den,
Brussels,
London,
Berlin,
Naples, and
These lead us on by
realistic
fifth
gradual gradations to the pieces of the fourth and
master-
dynasties.^
We
Figs.
give
various
199.
specimens
of
them
in
19; to
is
There
or
mentioned,
sill
another object which should be a stone door
socket
found
at
decorated Hierakonpolis, with a human head. Here

the
artist
evidenth'
represent
b}-
in-
tended
captive
to
a
the
crushed
weight of the door.-
We
now
Fig.
have
t
seen
he
2CO.
St.\tue
of
sculpture of the
first
Khasakhmli.
Aslimolean Museum, Oxford.
official
d)'nasties
with the excep-
tion
art.
of
to
the
works of
Up
the present the royal statues us by are onl}' know to
two
the
specimens.
They
are
sufficient,
however, to show
difference
wide
that
Fig. 201.
Statue
notice
in
of Khasakhmui.
O.xford.
existed
'
between
I\ccjicil
them
de
and
Ashiiiolcaii
Museum,
Capart, Steindorff,
Anzciger,
-
i/ionm/iciils
cgypticiis,
of plates
tlie
ii.
and
iii.
Uebe7'
ai'chtiische
dgyptlsche
Statitcn,
Archiiologischer
I/istit/it, \iii.
in the Jahrlnirli
dcs kaiscrlich deutsclicn arckaologisclicn

i.
1893, pp. 64-66.
OuiBELL, Hierakonpolis,
]>!.
iii.
and
p.
ii.
p. 36.
THE EARLIEST PHARAOxNIC MOxXUMENTS.

the
private sculptures
267
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 third' (Figs. 200, 201, 202).
M. Weill has given a very

description
precise
".
.
.
of
these
statues.
Two
small seated statues, of strange workmanship, so delicate as to be
almost
fragile,
somewhat
early
exceedingly unlike the massive statuary of the

of
part
first
the
Ancient Empire.
of
limestone,
is
The
body
ably
statue,
broken, and
is
the
;
upper part
of
the
the head, part of missing which has been recovered, is remarkexpressive,
young,
melancholy,
and
the
in
serious.
Tlic attitude and
costume arc the

the other
same
as
of slate
statue, which is and almost intact. The
Fig. 202.
Head
of the Statue of
Khas.\kiimui.
body is draped in a flowing garment widely open on the

chest, with sleeves

left
which cover
. .
.
the arms to the wrist.
The
on
the
arm
is
folded over the bod)', and
the
right
hand
rests
is
the knee and holds the end of a sceptre.
On
the head
great white crown.
The
bases of both statues are surrounded
with
unconventional
the
represent
thrown
'
in
designs engraved with the point, which routing of multitudes and figures of men overThe singularly unexpected and varied positions.
Maspero, Guide to the Cairo Museimi, English ed. 1904, p. 244. Navillic, Les plus anciens juoiiumeiits egypt/ens, iii. loc. cit. x.xv. 1903, pp. 237-239, "of tlie third dynasty." 5th ed. 1903, pp. 27, 27*, 28, 28* Iêtkie, History of Egypt, and ninth of tht- scrontl dynasty. 29, who distingnislies two kint^s, tlie eighth QuuiELL, Hierakonpolis, p. 5 "After tlie first dynasty, and probably not before
i.
i.
:
the middle of the second
"
268

slain
numbers of the in tablets, and

that the eye
is
enemies are also recorded on these small

of the
feet
front
of
^
the
It
statue
there
is
the
cartouche of the
Horus Khasakhmui."
lines
has been remarked
painted with
of colour continuing to the ear, a fashion which, according

to
theory
published
some
until
years not
the
ago by
its
Borchardt, did
make
sixth
appearance
dynasty.-
These
painted lines, the photograph taken at the time of the discovery,

in
which are obvious
have
traces
stone,
now
a
left
only
few
on the surface of the

fact
which may be
and 202, taken at the AshIt
is
ascertained
by examining the
Figs, 200, 20 1
.^,â
.'^^^
^^^^^^^1 -v^^^^Bp^T^H
from the original molean Museum.

îÎq
î-^^^
prob-
study of the royal statues of Hierakonpolis

light
^y^
attentive
would
the
throw
fresh
on the question
of
royal
fourth
of the
age
the
Fig. 203.
statues
at
of
the
dynasty
-Pottery
A Lion.
Figure of
Museum, and that this study would to some extent

Cairo
Asbmolean Museum, Oxford.
modifv the conclusions arrived
at by several scholars.^ have already observed the frequent occurrence of figures of animals in the primitive period, and with what perfection
We
'
Weill, HieraconpoUs
ii.
et les origincs
dc Vfigypt,
in
the
Revue archeologique,
;
OuuiELL, Hicrakonpolis^ i. pi. xxxix.-xli. and p. 11 ii. p. 44. BoRCUARDT, Uebcr das Alter dcs Sphinx bci Gisc/i, in tlie Silzungsbcrichte der koniglich preussischen Akadc7)iic dcr Wissenschaften zu Berlin, xxxv. 1897,
1902,
p. 123.
pp. 752-755-
Borchardt, Uebcr das Alter der Chefrenstatnen, in the Zcitschrift fiir dgyptische Sprache t(nd Altcrthumskunde, xxxvi. 1898, pp. 1-18.
'
IS
270

Beside
the
fine
the artist seized the character of each kind of animal he represented.
ivory
dog,
an illustration of which
is
given on Fig.
145, the excavations at

in
it
which
magnificent figure of a lion it was found enable

hesitation
to
Hierakonpolis yielded a The circumstances in red pottery.
to be assigned without
any serious
dynasty.^
the
period which
precedes
the fourth
Fragments of
at
figures of the
same material and technique have,
according to Dr. Petrie and Mr. Quibell, been found at Koptos,
Medinet Habu, and at Abydos." The comparison made by Mr. Quibell between the Hierakonpolis lion and the lion figures which decorate a table of offerings
the
Ramasseum,
at
at
the Cairo
Museum, adds a powerful argument

attribute
this
in
support of
period.'^
those
Better
who
lion
statue
to
the
archaic
than any description, Fig. 203 will enable the reader to appreciate the vigour with which this fine piece of work has
been executed.
have thus rapidly passed in review the principal monuments which can be attributed to the period which separates
the
primitive
We
Egyptians
from
those
contemporary
with
the
Before attempting to draw conclusions from dynasty. the collected results of our researches, we should briefly examine
fourth
the evidence
the arts of
poetry.
which enables us to gain at

in
movement
primitive
some idea of Egypt dancing, music, and

least
But before closing this chapter I cannot resist the pleasure of reproducing here three views of the head of a small ivory at Abydos, and figure, discovered during the winter 1 902-3
which gives us a portrait of King Cheops, the builder of the Great Pyramid at Gizch (Fig. 204). As M. Maspero wrote, in an article published in 1901 "Barely six years ago Egyptian than the age when the Great no further could history penetrate
^
: '
Quibell
''
Green, Hierakonpolis, ii. pi. xlvii. and p. 45. See Quibell, Hierakonpolis, pp. 11, 12. pi. v. and p. 5. BoRCHARDT, loc. cit. xxxvi. p. 5, fig. 3. Wiedem.\nn, Compte rendu of
Petrie, Koptos,
i.
&
col.
i.,
in the OrientaUstische
Littcratiirzeitung,
iii.
1900,
333; Zjir Nagada Pcriodc, ih. col. 85. * The Ten Tejnples of Abydos, m. Petrie, Ahydos, pi. xiii. xiv. and p. 30. Hatpcr's Monthly Magazine, No. 642, November 1903, fig. 6, and pp. S39, 840.

Pyramids were
their
built.
271
The Colossi of Gizch appeared to interthe plane of the world in which we between pose live and the remote distance of bygone ages. The pick of
bulk
.
the excavator has suddenly hid the primitive
made
a breach in the obstacle which

^
dynasties
from our view."
That which only

the
result
a short time ago appeared
to be the starting point of a world,
may now
be
regarded
with
certainty
as
of
the
evolution of an entire civilization.

'
rccentes, in
Maspero, Lcs premiers tetnps de Fliistoire d'Egyptc d'apres The Lotus, Alexandria, No. 4, July 1901, p. 185.
les dccoiivertes
2/2
CHAPTER
YI.
DANCING, MUSIC, AND POETRY.
IN sculpture we
generally magical.
the origin of the arts of repose decoration, painting, and have found a utiHtarian purpose which was
must not leads us to the same result. music, and poetry to a the afford ourselves long delay necessary complete and
detailed demonstration of this
typical instances.
" 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
;
stud)' of the arts of
movement dancing,
We
it
will
be sufficient to quote some
An
old historian of
take food in their
own
houses.
they impart strength, courage, and good fortune This custom they observe very religiously."
^
The}- believe that by dancing to their husbands.
"
Similarly,
among
the
Thompson
River
Indians
of British
Columbia, while the men were on the war-path the women performed dances at frequent intervals. Those dances were believed
to secure the success of the expedition.
their
The
dancers flourished
knives,
sticks
with
threw long sharp-pointed sticks forward, or drew hooked ends repeatedly backward and forward.
sticks forward
Throwing the
off the
was symbolic of piercing or fighting
supposed enemy, and drawing them back was symbolic of The stick with this hooked drawing their men from danger.
end was the one supposed to be the best adapted

purpose. enemies' country."
'
for the latter
The women always pointed

-
their
weapons toward the
Frazer, The Golden Bough, addenda p. 465. n>.

i.
i.
p. 31.

Lucien observes:
in
273
"You
cannot find a
.
siniÎe
ancient mystery
'
This much all men know, not dancing. that most people say of the revealers of the mysteries that they " Clemens of Alexandria uses dance them out {eôp')(ela6aL).
which there
is
'
the
same terms when speaking of
his
own
"
appalling revelations."
So
closely connected are mysteries with dancing
among
savages,
that,
when Mr. Orpen 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."
We must also keep in mind the animal dances of Australia, and the dances performed at funerals among most savage nations.These dances are almost invariably accompanied by very
primitive
musical
to the
instruments.
Some
of these are
intended
to
give rhythm of instruments of percussion, of sonorous wood struck in cadence, tambourines, etc., which simply serve to supplement the clapping of hands.^
movements, and most frequently they consist
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 " " " or bull-roarer Schwirrholz," Bushmen,' and, above all, the
the geographical distribution of which is so wide."' Occasionally the instruments are intended to drive away evil spirits during the celebration of ceremonies
;
the sistrum
is
is
one of these.
Another characteristic
the
chief
is
fact
accompanied on
that in certain parts of Africa his expeditions by a band of
'
Lang, Myth, Ritual, attd Religion, new

1899, p. 272. See, for example,
edition,
London,
New
York, and
Bombay,
-
Kingsley,
Mary
H., Travels in
West Africa, London,

ed.
1900, p. 331*
See, on
1
tliis
subject, the
et
book by Bucher, Arbeit iind Rythmus, 2nd

dc la
tcrre,
figs.
Leipzic,
'
899.
les peiiples
Deniker, Les races

tig.
70,
71,
pp.
250 251,
and
*
135,
p. 495.
Frazer, The Golden Bough, iii. p. 424, note. Lang, loc. cit. p. 272. Cook, A. B., Les Galets pcints dii Mas d'Azil, in r Anthropologic, .\iv. 1903, Schurtz, Urgeschichtc der Kiiltur, Leipsic, 1900, p. 50 et scq. pp. (357-659. and p. 512.
IS
274
musicians.
rings,
"

Each performer, regardless of the discordance, blows
bangs, or rattles on his own account, interpreting a very short air which forms the dominant note in this direful din." ^
Fetish
men
is
are often very skilled musicians.
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
There
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
to
is
the object of the musicians or dancers.

to refer
Under various aspects we have already had occasion

dancing scenes.
5,
I
may
mention
first
the
Tukh
statuette repro-
duced on Fig.
her head.
in
where the dancer has both arms raised above

vases have
The decorated
shown us
figures of
women
the
same
position (Figs. 91, 94).
They
arc sometimes accom-
panied by
pieces of
men who appear
wood
together a species
the
to beat time to the
dance by clapping
of castanettes (Pig. 92).
Two
female figures from the painted tomb of Hierakonpolis, also, by the position of their arms, suggest these dancers (Fig. 162).
At
funerals
dancing men and
women were employed

;
to execute
dances, accompanied by lamentations Professor Erman, we examine the representations
and
this
if,
with
in the tombs
of the Ancient Empire,
we
shall at
once recognize that
custom
persisted long after the rise of

figures discovered
in
Pharaonic Egypt.-
The
terracotta
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
recent
work by
M. Collignon.^
Notes a7ialyti(]ues stir Ics collcctiofis ethnographiqucs du Musee du Congo {Annalcs du Musec du Congo, Ethnographie et anthropologie, Serie iii.), vol. i.
'
fasc.
-
i.
pp.
17, 18.
Erm.\n, Life in Ancient Egypt, always present at the Feast of Eternity deceased." P. 246.
that
p.
245 et seq.
is,
"Dancers were almost
the feast held in Iiononr of the

in
CoLLiGNON,
De
Vorigine du type dcs plcureuses dans

xvi. 1903, pp.
I'art grcc,
tiie
Revue dcs etudes grecques,
299-322.

On
the
earliest
275
monuments
of
Pharaonic
Egypt wc 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. 1 90), to which the monuments of the Pharaonic age afford numerous parallels.
Without waiting
in
the
bas-reliefs
two
of
these
of funerary dancing Egypt, it appears to me that representations should for a moment hold our of Pharaonic
to describe the scenes
attention.
In the
tomb
of Anta, at Deshasheh,^ there

in
is
a series of
men
dancing, holding
their
hands short curved
sticks,
which end
Fig. 205.
Dancers
from the To.mb of Anta, at Deshasheh.
has compared with these accessories of dancing certain fragments of decorated ivory found at Hierakonpolis, two specimens of which are shown in
in
gazelles'
heads (Fig. 205}.
Dr.
Petrie-
P"ig.
109
of personal property and furniture. fact which lends very special interest to this scene is that the
among remains
Pyramid texts mention the people of the Tuat,
C^We
The determination
of this
name
is
composed
of an
arm holding
gazelle.
an instrument which terminates
in
the head of a
may, therefore, question whether the dancers of Deshasheh were not also people of the Tuat, and whether in the Egyptian period
'
Petrie, Deshashehy
pi. xii.
and
i.
p. 8.
In OuiBELL, Hiera/cotipolis,
p. 7.
Maspero, La Pyramidc
1.
dtt
roi
Pcpl
I.,
in the Rcciicil
de Iravutx,
vii.
1SS6,
pp. 148,
245.
276
the
task

of
performing
funerary dances
was not reserved
for
them.
The people
of the Tuat are the inhabitants of the Tuat,

;
and in that one of the underworlds of Egyptian mythology ^ case we should be witnessing the dance of inhabitants of that
In the Tuat we are inclined to recognize the mysterious region. 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,less
several
tribes
appear
to
have
left
traces
of
migrations no
considerable (Macae and Maxyes, Berbers and

etc.).
Barabras, Numidians and Nobadae,
The
conclusion
to
be drawn
that the region of the dead
the Tuat may originally have

fit
from these remarks would be

been
perfectly with
a real and actual country, and this result would
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.^
We
must remember that

still
as late as
at
the eighteenth dynasty Deir el Bahari.^

'
Libyan dances were
portrayed
find in a recent
work
which had not hitherto been given some importance. Writing of his
says
:
a strange piece of information, related by a traveller, to the world, and which therefore may be of
"Tous
visit to the royal tombs at Thebes, the author ces corridors sont remplis de peintures, de reliefs, qui representent
Thades {s/c), dans le Touat, ou, si vous le voulez, La premiere fois que j'ai oui parler de Touat, plus simplement dans I'enfer. cetait a Tunis je voyais un Touareg dont la presence causait un veritable evenement, meme parmi les indigenes. Sa figure, completement voilee par une
ce qu'il y a dans les livres de
;
son manteau d'un brun ionce causaient un vrai C'est un Touareg, c'est un diable Ouelqu'un du pays me dit vomi par I'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 I'editeur responsable de cette 6tymologie, et je reviens aux Egyptiens." Baron du Gabe,
etoffe noire tres epaisse, sa mise,
rassemblement.
'
iLclicUes
'*
du Levant, Impressions
d'n>i
Franrais, Paris, 1902,
p. 84.
Grande Oasis et les idees qui s'y de niythologie et d'archeologie egyptie7ines, ii. [BiblioIês Hypogces royauxde T/iches, ih. p. 12 tlieqiie cgyptologique, ii.), pp. 421-427. Chassinat, Ca et Id, iii. in tiie Recueil de travaux relatifs a la philologie ctseq.
'
Maspero,
Private letter of January 25th, 1903. G., Le notn antique de la
ratiaclicnt, in the iLtndes
et
a rarchcologic cgypdicnnes et assyrienjics, xvii. 1895, p. 53. Naville, Tlie Tejuple of Deir el Bahari, iv. pi. xc. and
is
p. 2
"
:
It is
curious
if
that in other festivals the dancing
done
also
by these Africans, the Tamahu, as
277
Among the numerous representations of dances observed and described by Professor Erman, there is one which shows women whose clothinc^ is merely a loin-cloth, a garment reserved for the
men, and whose hair
of
is
dressed in imitation of the white crown
" Upper Egypt.' The dance executed by them is called under the feet," and is simply a somewhat burlesque copy of the scene
mace to strike the head of a vanquished such as we observed on the great palette of Nar-Mer. barbarian, The name of this dance, says Professor Erman, is taken from the
of the king raising his
saying of the king, which is ordinarily given on inscriptions accompanying this scene, that
"
all
nations bound together are struck

feet."
down
beneath his
This curious dance should apparently be compared with the similar scene on the
painted
tomb
of
Hierakonpolis
(P'ig.
162),
and we thus acquire one more example of traditions uninterrupted from prehistoric times
down
sisted
to the twelfth dynasty."
Fig. 206.
Steatite
Professor
Erman remarks
that music con-
Figure from Hierakonpolis.
almost exclusively of accompaniments to dances. We have just mentioned the scene

players
Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford.
of castanette
on a prehistoric vase.
Under
the
Ancient
Empire we
likewise
observe
flutes
and
musical instruments presenting a funerary or religious In the excavations at Hierakonpolis^ there was found character.
harps as
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, Lekj^bure, La politique religieuse des Grecs en IJhye (extract from the BuUctin de la Socictc de geographic d' Alger et de
VAfrique du Nord, 3rd and 4th trimestres, 1902), Algiers, 1902, de la religion libycnne, cote orgiaqiir, \)\). 30-34. As Professor Wiedemann remarks to me, these dances are
'
vi.,
Le
caracterc
in reality
panto-
mimes, the first germ of theatrical representations. Also later. See Benedite, Un gucrricr libyen, Jigiirine egyptiennr en bronze incruste d'argenf^ co/isert>ce an Alitsee du Louvre, in iha Afonumcnts ct
Mcmoires puhlies par

Piot),
*
V Acadcmie
des hiscriptious el Belles Lcttres (Fondation

ii.
ix.
1903, p. 123 et scq.
QuiBELL
&
pi. xlviii.
/',
left-hand column.
278
a hole
is

pierced
;
the two arms,

it
now broken
off near the
body,
were outstretched, and

a
flutist.
This
may
be
probable that the iigure was that of compared to the stone figures of the
is
Greek islands belonging to the Aegean period, which represent a flutist and a harpist.^
funerary purpose of these musical instruments v/ere " might be quoted in questioned, a painted scene at Beni Hasan which is in the form of the the side On stela, proof (Fig. 207).
If
the
of a door representing the entrance intended for the use of the soul, The two lower registers various people are bringing offerings.
are occupied
by women engaged
in
a musical performance.
Two
as an
play on the harp, while three others clap their hands in cadence accompaniment to the singing behind, a woman is shaking This is a sistrum, while another is using a strange instrument.
;
certainly intended
in
for
songs and music of a religious character,
The presence of the performed of the cult in order an ceremonies instrument used at sistrum,
honour of the deceased.
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
It must have produced a kind of deep buzzing sound. performer. In many countries an instrument is in use which is of the
same character
as our
"
ethnologists term a
Egyptian apparatus. This is what English " Schwirrholz," bull-roarer," and Germans a
terms which have no exact French equivalent.
The
"
Schwirrholz,"
says Professor Schurtz,^ consists of a long, thinnish piece of wood,

1 Perrot & Chipiez, Histoirede Vart dans Vantiqidte, vi., La Grece primitive, Vart mycenien, pp. 760-762, and fig. 357, 358. Koehler, Prcehistorisches von den griechisclicn Jnscln, in the Mittheilnngen der kaise?iich deiiischen archeologischen See a stone Instiiitts, AtJioiische Abteihitig, ix. 1884, pp. 156-162, and pi. vi. sarcophagus with painted scenes, discovered by Paribeni, near Phsestus, in
Kako, Altkreiische Kiiltslatte7t,

p.
130, note
I.
''
Hinter
communicated by M. J. the Attic lecythi, where harpists and ceremonies. See Pottier, Ktude siir
Paris, 1883, specially pp. 73, 74.
^
''
in the Archiv fiir Reiigionwissenschaften, vii. 1904, Opfertisch steht ein Flotenbliiser." (Information de Mot.) Here is already the origin of the paintings of
dem
flutists
are represented in their funerary
les lecythes blattcs attiques
a repi'esentations
fasc. xxx.),
fimcraires {Bib/iothrque des ecoles fraiiâises d'Athencs ct de Rome,

Betii Hasatt,
iv. ])1. xvi. and p. 5. pi. xii. ScHURTZ, Urgeschichte der Ktclltir, Leipzic,
i.
;
1900, p. 50.

which
is
279
shaped like a fish, or decorated ,with engraved A string is fastened to the end, by or painted ornaments. means of which it is whirled round in the air, producing a
either
buzzing noise.
We
must
add
that
the
object
thus
described
is
never
Fig. 207.
Musical
Instruments, from a Painting at
Bkm
PIasan.
employed as an amusement, or
ments.
to respond to
any musical requireis
The
feasts
tribes
who
the
use
it
it
consider there
it
something superprincipally
to
natural in the
in
booming
for
produces, and
in
is
used
wliich
the
dead, or
other ceremonies
only the initiated have access.
28o
I

am
^
very
much
a
inclined to
see in the instrument

to
depicted
at
13eni
Hasan
must
musical instrument analogous
this "bull-
roarer."
We
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 The Greeks made use of it regulating the march of soldiers.
to give a
to
this
rhythmic swing to collective work. Also in reference point we can cite a group in terracotta from Boeotia,
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.

or
Thus
the
incantations
characterized
funerary songs
of
primitive
people,
habitually
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
primitive people. Empire there are
On
very high idea of the poetic instinct of the inscribed monuments of the Ancient
songs which vary only slightly from
to
several
these rudimentary poetic efforts.

It
would be hazardous to attempt

Egyptian songs.
assign
prehistoric
origin to these
translated
Nevertheless, M. Maspero has 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 ha\"c been completely
understood, even
by the
I
scribes
under Unas and
the
two Pepi.
Eor
my
part,
believe that they belong to the
most
aux
C APART, J., Sur deux livres rccents rclattfs aiix anclcns hieroglypJies et ancienties representations figurees de rgypte, in tlie Bulletin de la Societe d' anthropologic de Bruxellcs, xx. igoi-2, Brussels, 1903, p. xiii.
in the Biclletin de
Pottier, Les Sujets de genre dans les figurines archaicjues de terre correspondance hellenique^ xxiv. 1900, pp. 519, 520, and BiJCHER, Arbeit uiid Rythmus, 2nd ed. Leipzic, 1899.
cuite,
pi. ix.

ancient
ritual,
281
and that they date back
to
time before the
reign of Mena.
Some
of
them
are evidently cadenced,

;
and were
all of them probably originally the songs of snake-charmers of in the class what with us is may be included, more or less,
called gibberish.
twines round the
from the
womb
'The serpent entwines; it is the serpent that Oh, thou that art on thyself, who issuest thou hast devoured that which of the earth
calf.
;
Cometh
forth
from
thee
serpent
is
that
"
!
descendest,
lie
down
castrated!
Fall, slave!'
Here
one of the most comprehensible,

^
from which the others
may
be judged
We
to
have now studied

arrived at
in succession
all
the classes of objects
which ethnologists have attributed an

for us briefly
artistic character.
We
have, therefore,
only remains
the conclusion of our study, and it to sum up the general results which
it.
appear to us to flow from

'
en
Maspero, Premier rapport a Vlnstitut egypticn sur Ics fouillcs execiitees et d' arch co logic JtLgypte dc iS8i a iSSj, in the Etudes de mythologie
La religion egyptietmes, i. {Bibliotheque cgyptologiquc, i.), pp. 153, 154. egyptienne d'apres les pyra?)iidcs de la V^ et de la VP dynastic, in the Revue de lliistoire des religions, xii. 1885, pp. 125, 126, where the same passage is
reproduced word for word.
282
CHAPTER
VII.
CONCLUSIONS.
attempting to draw general conclusions from the foregoing
IN study,
of ideas
place,
it
appears to
me
that there are two different orders In
which we must take into consideration.
the
first
this it is which general ethnology; in the has more special interest for us the origin of Egyptian art as
second and
of the fourth dynasty. From the ethnological point of view the results of the discoveries of the last few years appear to show that the artistic
find
it
we
at the
commencement
of primitive Egypt are closely allied with those of other nations which have been observed at an equal stage In applying to the primitive inhabitants of the of civilization.
manifestations
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
in their main outlines. In my opinion of the evidence these Egyptian discoveries enables us to establish the utilitarian origin of those manifestations, which we group
and methods, at any rate
together
is
under the term "aesthetic."
This
utilitarian
purpose
rather
in
almost every case confused with a religious,
or
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 commencement of the fourth dynasty Egypt heid already developed
constituted.
her language, writing, administration, cults, ceremonies, were all Another fact which struck us forcibly was the
CONXLUSIOXS.
extreme realism of the
us
into
face
artistic productions, a realism
283
to
face with
this
alternative
either art
which brought was imported
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 this question ? The task of replying shall be
petent pens
;
us to
left
decide
on
to
more com-
but
give categorical
inclined to think that, before attempting to answers to this question, we should await the
I
am
result of excavations
will
which arc now being carried on, and which

the solution
certainly occupy several years longer.
appears to
mc
that
In the meantime,
it
if
it
is
ever arrived at
will
not be absolutely on one side or the other. We shall probably in the formation of as of the entire civilization art, distinguish
of the Egyptians,
many
contributions from different sources.
Nevertheless, without feeling obliged to give numerous biblio-
graphical references, I should like to the commencement of art in Egypt, as
sketch
it
the
problem of
itself to
presents
my
mind
at
the
present time.
hypothetical character of this
do not attempt to conceal the outline, which can only be definitely

I
shown when the
known
If
and,
origins of
Egyptian
to
civilization are completely
unfortunately, that
we ask anthropologists
inhabitants of the
day is yet far distant. what race we should assign the

Nile,
earliest
valley of the
we
shall
at the
very conunencement meet with a divergence of opinions and a multitude of contradictions.
From
the pala;olithic 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.
It
is
The
that
flints
which formed
their
tools
have
been found cither simply

also
utilized
by them or chipped
into shape.
possible
the
rocks,
which
with
well
afford,
some of those rude graffiti found on as we have already said, such striking
of South Oran, there
analogies
the
graffiti
may
be their work.
a
We may
suppose
that
was originally
population
284
PRIMITIVE ART I\ EGYPT.

of
composed
towards
antiquity
black
races,
the
south
by
the
which were insensibly driven back white races, which " from earliest
the
were settled on
Mediterranean
borders
of
the
continent, and who perhaps themselves came from Southern Europe. They would creep into the valley from the ^ west or south-west."
Libyan
Libyan people that we should attribute the which the prehistoric cemeteries whose productions we have been and to have made known us,
It
is
to
these
brilliant
neolithic
civilization
studying
in
detail
At
different
times
it
throughout the course of this book. we have had occasion to insist on the
has been thought might be established between this earliest Egyptian civilization and that of the Libyans of
analogies which
the historic period.
of Egypt,
Many
of these must have been driven out
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 An account of a journey undertaken at the time at war with them. 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 frequently in communication with the Mediterranean civilization,
perhaps actually by means of
this
Greek
traditions,
referring
to
the
route along the oases. relations of Greece and

;
The
the
at later times, when Cyrenaica, need only a passing reference 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 tion and the Aegean civilization.

countries diminish after the
'
The
Egyptian primitive civilizarelations between these

Nile
conquest of the valley of the
Maspeko,
Ilistoire aticienne des peitplcs
dc I'Ofient, 6th ed. Paris, 1904,
p.
19.
CONXLUSIONS.
by
the
285
Pharaohs
until
the
twelfth
Mr. Evans has occur frequently. facts which confirm this theory.^
dynasty, when they again noticed in Crete numerous
These
relations
also explain
the presence in
"
black incised pottery and
the
"
alphabetiform
Egypt of the marks which we
have studied
If
in
an
we
follow
as
earlier chapter.
we have
as
originated
by Dr.
sequence dates Petrie, we are forced to agree with that
hitherto done
the
brilliant archaeologist, in
civilization
recognizing a decadence in the primitive towards the end of the prehistoric period. There does
not seem
to
it
mc
to
be any difficulty
in
accounting for
this.
We
see
which
the result of the period of trouble and insecurity accompanies the arrival of bands of invading foreigners.
in
Were
tion
these invasions sudden, or the result of a gradual infiltra-
which
continued
arrive
many
years, not
to say centuries?
Did
these
invaders
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
for centuries
?
but which had been separated These are questions which cannot be answered
race,
without further evidence than

I
we
to
possess.
am, however,
different
I
disposed
routes.
believe
in
frequent
invasions
of successive groups, relatively few in
number, penetrating into

already
said
in
Egypt by
the
texts
have
another
are in
publication that
believe, with
E. dc Rouge,
that there
traces of a
great
in
have occupied Egypt

later.
It
is
probably to
called the Ann, which must same manner as the Hyksos did them that we should attribute those
tribe
the
religious
conceptions
that
had
for
their
centre
the
town of
Plin}',"'
Heliopolis, which, according to was founded by the Arabs.

'
tradition
related
by
Petrie, Methods and Amis in Archaology, London, 1904, p. 163 ct seq. l^rofessnr Maspero, Histoire ancicnnc dcs peuples de r Orient, p. 16. Wiedemann writes: "Nach einer spiiten Notiz war Heliopolis eine Griindung dor
^
Araber, worunter an der betreffenden

ist,
.Stelle ein
ciii
semitischer
Stamm
zii
verstehen
dieser
Angabe konnte
selir wolil
riclitiger
Kern zu Grande
liegen,
und
286
invasion of the Auii that the It is probably also to this decadence in the primitive industries towards the close of the
prehistoric
not,
period
should be
attributed.
These industries did
however, entirely disappear, and

their footsteps
in
is
we
have
several
times
that,
followed
historical P^gypt.
Further than
we have seen
tain the belief
nothing which permits us to enterthat there was a hiatus, a sudden cleavage, between
that there
On the contrary, Egypt and Pharaonic Egypt. that are so numerous them between they have conanalogies vinced certain writers that the Pharaonic civilization is only a
primitive
development of that of primitive Egypt.

I
think, rather, that
this
phenomenon should be
the
invasions
of
the
attributed
to
the
actual
character
of
Pharaonic
movements of nations who destroy They Egyptians. before them a whole civilization, but rather from and sweep away
are not the
a slow infiltration of groups of people of a higher civilization into a population which had already attained a certain degree
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
of development.
all
periods of
its
history.
;
Egyptian population it is transformed its invaders, and has adapted them to

It
is
Foreigners have never changed the the country which has always rapidly
its
environments.
the
clearly
as
result
of
this
principle
to
that
Pharaonic
Egyptians were
of
irresistibly influenced
in
continue the traditions

to
art
primitive people, both religious and funerary beliefs.
the
regard
and
in
their
At
a given moment, however, there

in
is
new element which
which requires explanation. appears On several occasions we have insisted on the contrast between
this
it
Egypt, and
is
the private and the royal
monuments, between the
style of the
court and that of the people, between religious and profane art. have also shown that the primitive Egyptians were not
We
acquainted with hieroglyphic writing, and that

Ileliopolis
it
suddenly made
und
seiii
Soniienkult
eiiier
das Delta ihren Ursprung verdanken."

1904, col. 146, 147.
Orlaiialistischc
vorhistorischen Semiteneiinvanderung in
Littcfaturzeitiing, April,
CONCLUSIONS.
its
287
ofificial
appearance thoroughly formed.

religion,
This
style
attached
to an official
were brought into

stituted
:
the
this
we may
final
complicated system of writing, country from without, completely conassert without hesitation. But from what
?
I
and
this
country were they brought

In
these
pages
cannot
enter
into
complicated
almost alone can
anthropology comparative philology I can merely say that apparently the Pharaonic invaders came from Asia, perhaps from Yemen,
controversy,
intervene.
where
and
and that they had common origin >vith the ancient Chaldeans. This theory would explain the analogies which are established between the earliest Pharaonic remains and those of Chaldea^
more
especially, the
in
they were pass direct from Asia to the Nile Valley "Africanized" before penetrating into Egypt, properly so-called.
;
quickly did not
use of cylinders, which disappeared fairly the Nile Valley. One fact is very clear the Semites
:
The
tion
clearest proof of this has
been obtained by the examinarepresented

is
of
the
fauna and
character
of
flora
in
the
the African
which
striking.
hieroglyphs, glance at the

a time have
map
of Africa
shows where the Semites must
for
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
little
naturally
at
possible from country differing A study of the population, the regions they had abandoned. the languages, and the customs of Ethiopia shows the close
first
occupy
as
as
affinity
which exists between that country and the south of Arabia. One part of these regions, situated on the coast, appears to
classical period
have been designated by the Egyptians of the
by the name of
this
Pniit.
The Egyptians,
follow
it
it
in
writing the
of the
name
of
country, did
not
with the determinative sign of

the
"
foreign
1
land
they called
L., les
Land
a
Gods," and
See
Heuzey,
Constntcllon
decouvertcs dc
antcrieiirc
Our-\i/ui,
viii.,
mentaircs d'apres
M.
dc Sarsec,
notes complcComparaisoits avcc

v.
2,
ViLgyptc primitive, in the Revue d'assyrioIo<îe ct d'archcologic orientate^ Note contributed by Mr. Offord. 1899, pp. 53-56.
288
derived

from
it
the origin of a
certain
number
all
of their
most
ancient divinities.
pacific
Also, the Egyptians at
times maintained
its
relations
with
this
country,
and
when
inhabitants
as
are
race
:
represented on
the
monuments, they appear

is
mixed
same
the superior race
similar to the Egyptians in physical
type, beard, and costume, while the other portion shows the
type crossed with negro blood.

tions between
The
is
Egypt and Punt

in
proof of the relafurnished by a representation

earliest
of an
inhabitant of Punt
the
tomb
of a
son
of Cheops of
the fourth dynasty.^ 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 to
Egypt was very

traverse
far
from easy.
necessary regions of formidable even at the present day. Upper Nubia, journey By water it was necessary, first of all, to reach the Nile by
it
By
road
was
a
the
desert
means of one
to the river.
of the valleys which extend
from the Red Sea
In historic times the route most frequently chosen was the Wady Hammamat, which unites Kosseir and Koptos.
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 route is long and dangerous.
to
Now
race
It
the
statues of Min.
This
could not have been accessible
hordes of
human
into the midst of tribes already civilized.
beings attempting a tumultuous invasion It is this consideration
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
to
which induces
me
long stay on African soil before discovering and following the route to the valley of the Nile. There,
a
in
Semites had
made
the country occupied by the Gallas, the Abyssinians, and the
Somalis,
reveal
we may one day hope

history
to discover remains
which
will
the
of the development of Pharaonic civilization
in the earliest periods of its evolution.
The
invaders brought
'
with them hieroglyphic writing

ii.
illus-
Lepsius, Dcnkmciler,
23.
CONCLUSIONS.
trating the language spoken
289
by them. They also brought religious which were already extremely developed, and which conceptions
constituted
classical
the
basis
of
the
official
religion
of
Egypt
at
the
epoch.
the autochthones, so
Their funerary beliefs differed from those of far, at least, as the destiny of the deceased
;
and perhaps wc may here find the explanation of the absence in the royal tombs of representations similar to those that cover the walls of mastabas, and of which
kings
was concerned
we have
Repreon the palette of Nar-Mer and on the plaques of the royal tombs of Abydos, show how far this ritual Connected with these already resembled that of later times.
sentations, such as those
religious
seen the prototype in a prehistoric tomb. Egyptian ritual is constituted in the same manner.
and funerary beliefs and with this ritual we find a of art which is already considerably advanced, and even system
to
art,
some extent already

which contrasts
in
hieratic
and
fixed.
This
is
the
official
such a striking manner with the naturalistic

contact of these two forms of
art of the primitive people.
What was
art,
the result of the
arrived at such different stages of development and inspired

? it
with such contradictory tendencies
The answer
is
to this question
we have
greatly on
that
already
indicated,
and
needless for
us to
insist
this point.
The meeting
of which
of these
two systems produced
duality
of art
in
Professor
Spiegelberg has again

its
reminded us
so clear a
We
how
free
it
shall find that
manner by his recent publication.' the more widely the central power exerted
influence the
more is came about mencement of the

and
to
the official art in favour.
We
can understand
at the
is
that under the Ancient

fourth
Empire
comso
naturalistic,
dynasty the private and in some measure we
art
still
shall
even be
prepared
in in
justify the
the earlier
its
remark made by Nestor I'Hote, quoted pages of this book: "We know Egyptian art only
decadence."
Spiegelberg, Geschichte dcr dgyptischcn Kunst im Abriss dargestellt, See Wiedemann, Winckebnann s Vrtheil iiher die agyptische 1903. Kintst und die Profankiinst der alien Argypier, in tlie JaJirhiidicr dcs Vcreiiis Ton Altcrtliiimsfrciindcn im Rlicinlandc, Ix.xvii. 1884 (separate reprint, p. y
Leipsic,
et s (/.).
'
19
290

Our conclusions arc as follows us at the commencement of
:
Egyptian
the
art, as
it
is
revealed
to
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
of which was
This art, the principal object (Aegean and Anu ?). utilitarian and magical, should by virtue of this
represent
it
very
their
object
nature with
all
possible
fidelity.
The
in
funerary ideas which

full
was intended
in
to serve
may
be found
development Empire, entirely dominated by the great formula of " Like acts on like." magic,
the funerary beliefs of the Egyptian

imitati\'e
The second element
is
the art
of which the earliest stages of evolution
of the Pharaonic Egyptians, still completely elude us.
When
express
survive
it
reaches
religious
Egypt
it
is
conceptions of advanced
thoroughly fixed, and serves to development, which
in
PLgypt, with only very slight modifications, until the
close of the Pharaonic period.
struggle between these two forms of art, and the reciprocal influence that they exerted upon each other, are similar to those
The
we
establish between the popular religion

official
between
struggles
in
and the official religion, The story of the idioms. and language vulgar these various domains reaches back to the earliest
to conceal
period of the Ancient Empire.

I
do not attempt
in
the fact
that these last pages
bear a decisive character very far removed from the uncertainties
which
reality are present in crowds, and I have hesitated I before hope greatly allowing them to assume such a character. I may not incur severe blame, after having brought some modest
materials
to
in
the foot of the scaffolding,

a
if
have indulged
for
moment
arise,
dream of a splendid palace which may one day and of which perhaps they may form a part when utilized
architect of genius.
by an
INDEX
PAGE
PAGE
Aahmes
Abadiych
. .
Abydos
6,
19,
38,
27 5, 121, 127, 128 42, 49, 57, 58, 68

.
Amon-Ra
A??iorgos
.
.
32
156
Amulets
49, 53, 73, 85, 192, 193

.
100, loi,
no,
112, 117, 133, 134, 135
Ancient Empire
2, 39,
42, 52, 53, 55
169 173, 176, 180, 182, 183, 85, 186, 188 190, 192, 193, 199, 200, 209, 212, 221
136, 144, 146, 149, 153, 159, 160,
J
169,200,205,219 220, 237, 257, 259, 267, 277, 280, 289 Andaman Islands I4> 52
56, 58, 115, 144, 160,
.
.
242, 248, 251, 256, 257, 270, 289
Animals
no,
5,
21, 41,
52, 69, 71,
99,
102
Abyssitiiaiis
162,
.
288
275 282
165
112,
n7,
Accessories of dancing Administration

.
142, 152,
126, 129, 136, 138, 140 176 et seq., 202, 203, 210
i,
215, 216, 218, 219, 224, 229, 230, 234
Aegean
civilization
and
.
art
156,
284, 290
Islajtds
.
period
....
.
. . . .
.164
278 212
Animals, aquatic domestic

,,
edible
fantastic
Ae<{eo-Cretaii
146,
,,
(See Greek.) 4, 40, 162, 248, 273, 287 Aftica. British Central 198
.
indeterminate
pet sacred
,,
,,
.... .... .... ....

.
236, 237, 268
209 216
232
.182
69, 136, 230,

82,
no, 140 220

185
Agathodemon
.134
Aha-Menes
Alabaster
.
(see
Menes).
93, 96, 100, 174, 1S2, 199
with long necks (See Feline animals.) Anklets

,,
.
.
132, 136,
23c
49, 50, 51
Alawanyeh
Aleutians
155
14
Ansairiych
.129
275
1
Anta
Antelope 21, 48, 69, 117, n9, 140, 153, Antelope (Addax)
,,
Alexandria
Algeria
Alligator
210
194
71, 72, 78, 79,
10
30.
.
189, 212, 232,
236
153
Aloes

,,
116, 119,
60 218
149 146
147
(Bubalis)
or
Alphabet, Libyan
linear,
Anu
Anubis
Apes Arab
. .
257, 285, 290
Creto-Aegean
.
Apuat
Phcenician origin
primitive
.
220, 254 185 et seq., 220
145
12,46, 285
.
"
Alphabetiform" characters I45etseq.

.
Archangel
Architecture
154
64
185
AMf:LINEAU
6, 105,
I
134, 180,
255
32 32
Amenophis
America
Atnericati,
Argar Arms of
.
chairs
136
IV
Soiitli,
Art
,,
9.65
154
oC
decorative
otlicia!
.
59 et seq., 138
258, 264, 2S7, 289
.
Negro260
291
,,
European parentage
,,
of
movement
16,
272
et
i;e(].
292
Art of repose of the Court masters ,,
.
INDE}^.
PAGE
16
264, 286
Page
Beard
43
et seq., 155, 157, 196,

in sign of
.
246
,,
peasants
subjects
.
,,
264 264 264

59 et seq. 16
17
,,
covered
mourning
.
259 45 220
,,
covering for
44, 157
134,
Beds
Beer,
ornamental
plastic
,,
.
made
with bread
animated
free
.
Benedite Beni Hasan.

Berbers
.
....
. .
.
.174
233, 239
184,247,278,280
17
264, 286
.106,
276
147
popular
profane
Berens, Randolph
177, 182, 190, 192
264, 286, 289

264,
Berger
Berlin
5,
religious
286
264 216
33,
71, 77,
94, 99, 168,
122,
151
Theban
Arufitas
153,
157,
160,
161,
174,
266
Besh
Betis
Ashmolean Museum (see Oxfoj'd). Asia .4. 142, 143' 248, 287
.
.
......
loi,
264
Beyrout
Birds 41, 73, 76, 80, 81, 90,
39 248
iii
Minor
148
115
190,
.
Asparagus retroflexus Ass
Assuan
Assyria
237 106
112, 119, 121, 122, 129, 140, 153, 190 et seq., 211, 222, 229, 239, 248
Birds of prey
,,
236
32
Aten
Aikefts
representing deceased persons .217

.
177. 181
.
,,
sacred
.... ....
. .
. .
239
Alias
189
Black
254 213
251
Atum
Australia
14, 215,
,
Australians
12, 21,
Central
220 216 205, 218 216

.
(See Blue-black.) Blackish })aste
']'],
.
Balias
25, 99, 163, 178, 179

.
Bfiraby-as
Barbarian, v anquished
276 277
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 Capt ives, Enemy, Prisoners.) Barca 284

. .
(See Ship, Vessel.)
BOECKH
Boeotia
17
Bari
121
280
162
Bark, funerary
,,
217
217
Bolof
,,
magical sacred
.
Bologna
5.
35.
266
190
50
210, 217
Bone
49, 76, 167,

.
Basalt
Basket maker
93 62, 64
B07lgOCS
I5oomerangs
work
Baskets
,,
45, 64, 98, 104, 105 et seq.

109, 134, 138, 139
BORCHARDT
Bosnia
Botocudos
.
140 142, 268

1
19,
149
14-
64, 105, 191
54
163
for milk
115
BOULE.
for paint
28
160
174
Bow
100, 211, 230,

.
273
1
Bayet. Beads
.
47, 49,
51,
83,
99,
167,
Boxes, decorated pottery Bracelets
131, 134
38, 49. 50. 5

.
Bear
....
190, 193,
.
230
189
Brasscmpny
Breccia
162
93. 114
219
INDEX.
Bricks
British
293
PAGE
......
Museum
56. 93, 122,
PAGE
206
153
Castanettes
Cattle
.119,
274, 277
131,
(See Wood, sonorous.)

188
.
168, 207, 229, 230, 235,
255
35
17
Brocatel
Caves
22, 164, 205, 214, 215,

. .
.
216
282
Bronze
194, 195
.
Cephalic index
.161
212,
Brugsch
flriissels
5,
Ceremonies,
,,
i,
71, 217, 218, 250,
176,
S3,
.
Bubasiis
263 218
religious
218
BiJCHER
Bucrania
(Sec Bulls heads.)
280
(See Cult.) Ceylon

.
14
I
^33. 195
Chabas
Chalcedony Chaldea
,,
.
182
Budge
Buffoons
Bull
95,
134,
17, 226,
254 220
236, 248, 287

.
art
69, 136,
226
247
36
105
17
188,
193,
232, 237, 243
,,
cylinder
.
246, 254
Chalk
Chairs
Bull-roarer
Bulls'
273, 278 et seq.

153, 194, 195
heads 73, 75, 76, 95, (See Bucrania. Bulls" heads, double
) .
ClIAMPOLLION-FlGEAC
Charcoal
132, 133. 213.

.
.
216
276
18
-195
17
Chassinat
Chellcan
BUNSEN
Bt/slimeu
14, 48, 161, 205,
.
273
21
1
Cheops
(See Khufu.)
270, 288
Bustard
Butmir
Butterfly
164 128
Chequer pattern
Child
.
116 169
41
37, 168,
Cabins Cable
Cairo
....
.
China
207, 210
CJiiriqui
60
169
133
207
Chronology
Chrysocolla Cinders
Cingalese
Civilization
17 et seq.
.
3, 5, 28, 32, 33, 39, 68, 69, 71 128, 138, 228, 236, 237, 246, 258, 261
266, 270
14
12
Calcite
Calf
176 188
177
189, 202
Clapping of hands
Cambridge
Claws
Clay
.....
in
cadence 273, 278 48, 49

169,
176, 199,
Camel Cameleon
.
21,
155,
161,
164,
184
117
200
Canal
250
15
pipe
. .
. . .
216
273
56 et seq., 168, 226
et seq., 159
Canoe
Clemens of Alexandria
Cloak
(See Mantle.) 47, 52 Clothing (See Cloak, Mantle.)
.
Canopy
Cappadocia Captives 95,
.
254 45
127, 136, 172 et secj., 211
220, 238, 255, 266
(See Barbarian, Enemy, Prisoners.) 48 Carapaces of tortoises

.
Club
211
Carnclian
Carnivora
Carpet. Carving in relief
Casque
(See Crown.)
294
Colour.
INDEX.
Columbia
... .....
British.
. . .
. . .
PAGE
26, 27,
213 60 272 213
Combatants.
35,
(See Warriors.)
Combs
37, 39, 40, 41,
72 et seq., 155
.
magic
.
41, 66,
1
74
igS
Congo Copper
Cop/s
12,
45 217
Cords
40, 52,
63 64, 95, 173, 243
Corpse
contracted
239 218
188
Cow
Crescent
Cfrie
. .
122, 250, 146, 149, 164,
254
285
164,
I.
INDEX.
PAGE
295
I'AGE
Neith, Nekhbet, Osiris, Ptah, Sebek, Selkit,
Mut,
Sokaris,
Taurt,
Thot,
Ensigns of vessels Equidjc (See Ass, Horse.
88, 210,
.
230
211
Thueris). Dogs 95, 102, 153, i83etseq., 232, 270 Door 200, 266, 278
Erman
Esquhnaicx
Ethiopia
.
52,
176, 274,
277
....
or socket
.
21,23
. . .
287
sill
266
European
figures
145, 146,
184, 196 156, 285

.
Double hammer
bull
.
.
94, 95
Evans
195 et seq.
.
Duck Dwarf Dyke
28
Evolution of Clothing Ex-votos
52
228
Dyeing the hair

. .
...
. .
172 et seq., 176, 220

35,
Eyes, inlaid 99, 167, 168, 173, 174, 182

197,
,,
36
painted
. .
.
260
.250
57,
.213
Dynasty
88, 96,
I.
5,
17, 19, 30, 42, 49,
85
173
108,
146,
149, 168,
169,
Fan
182, 203, 230, 251, 254,
Dynasty
II.
5,
257 255, 267
III.
4, 5,
I,
96, 151, 261,

25,
28,
267
IV.
96, 139, 237,
5,
18,
42, 93
258, 264, 266, 270, 282

288,
290
Dynasty V.
VI.
42, 58, 105, 139, 194
203, 258, 266, 288
32,97, 139, 194, 203,268
284
XII.
34, 97, 146, 149, 150, 152
184, 190, 192, 193, 230, 247, 277,
285
149 150
Dynasty XIII
XVIII.
M
96, 97,
146,
149,
162, 164, 176, 188, 190, 226,
276
55
XIX
XXII
226
142
Eagle
Ear (see Deformities). El Ahartvah El Amrali 7, 18, 68,
....
88,
6
119
94,
105,
132, 157, 188, 200, 211,
El Bcrshch El Kab or El
Elephant
.....
(Jab
. . .
224 26
205 224
78, 82, 102, 140, 143, 202,
Emblems
88, 207,
208, 210,
223,
230
2 J.2
Embroidery. Enemy, vanquished

.
57, 159, 223,

.
242
212, 246, 267
(See Barbarian, Captives, Prisoners.) Engraving with the point 267 Ensigns 121, 242
....
.
(See Standards.)
296
INDEX.
INDEX.
Hebert
297
298
INDEX.
INDEX.
Mantle
Marble
,,
299
PAGE
52, 55,
PAGE 56 et seq., 168, 243
Mortar.
206 224
275
32 217
(See Cloak.)
.
114
193 106
17
Mountains Mourners
5,
n6,
126, 131. 2 17, 274,
blue.
Mummy
Munich
Music
.
of priestess
17, 273, 274,
.
Margone Mariette
Marks,
,,
2, 4,
"
"
277 et seq.
alphabetilbrm
146
31
Musicians
n9, 274
family
Mut
Muzzle
143
geometric
pottery 33,
133,
146
Mutilation
34
144 et seq.,
203, 206
181, 242
136, 150, 194, 195
Mycenae
property
,,
.15, 65, 139,
210 210
tatoo- (see Tatooing).

tribal
.
. .
15, 31, 65,

.
Marseilles
-54
280
210 220 276
(See Ornaments, Painting the body, Tatooing.) Myres 40 Mysteries 273
Masd'Azil Maspero 4,
Mast Mastabas Mats
.
.
.....
17,
163 28, 29, 31, 42, 56, 128
163, 226, 250, 261, 270, 276,

121, 207,
.
Naga-ed-Der
55, 104, 105, 135

.
Maxyes Media
.
no
270
284
190
Medinct-Habti
Mediterranca7i
,,
40, 114, 148
civilization
.
.
Medum
Mc7nphis
2, 3, 4,
264
Men
26, 35 et seq., 45, 109,
no,
n7
121, 123, 126, 132, 136, 138, 139, 140 154 et seq., 201, 202, 203, 205, et seq., 224, 243, 250, 256, 258, 267
2n
274
Menes
Mentu
or
Mena
18, 19, 88, 179,
182 281
220
30. 31
Meri-Neith
Mersekha
Mesopotamia
180,
254 226
29
Mestem
Metal
.
47. 54
Mexican statue
160
Min
5,
39, 88,
n6,
144,
222 et seq. 226, 242

14
Mincopies
Mississipi
. . . .
-154
.
Moba
Models of
55 ostrich eggs 39 (See Fortified enclosure, Houses.)

.
ôo
INDEX.
PAGE
dt
Ornamentation
utensils
.
\vea[)ons
and
17
Pantomime
Papttan.
277
15
Ornaments
,,
15.63
. .
body
forehead
46 et seq. 45
Papyrus Paribeni Paris

.
142, 199
.
278
5i
33
Ornamentation, geometrical
,,
in relief
99
194
(See Louvre.) Patina

.
198, 203, 217

-
,,
,,
Mycenaean symmetrica
Pavilion
65
Peacock, Taus
Pebbles, polished Pelican
254 1 29
25
191
Orpen.
Oryx
,,
,,
.
273
.
beisa
117
117- 143
Pendant
Pepi
47
et se([., 51,
76 et seq. 155
195
leucoryx
Osiris
Ostrich 117, 121, 122,
eggs enclosures
.
254 132, 202, 205, 209 217, 224, 232, 236 39, 40, 217 217
.
280
Persen
Pcsth
......
5,
258 32
95
127
Petrie
97,
98,
8,
18, 19, 24, 32,
36, 39, 41
71,
43- 48, 49i 501 99,
55.
58, 69,
88,
feathers
39' 40,
230
143
22J.
loi,
108,
114,
121,
Owl
129, i33i 134. 139. 140. 144.
146, 147
Ox
Oxford
I-},,
148, 149, 152, 155, 158, 159, 161, 163 169, 176, 178, 180, 181, 182, 185, 190
25, 39, 41, 43, 63, 72, 84,
94
122, 125, 133, 140, 161, 165, 168, 172

174, 176, 178, 184, 186, 190, igi, 207
193, 194, 197, 199, 203, 207, 209,
210
222, 224, 233, 255, 259, 260, 270, 275

285, 288
211, 224, 226, 232, 238, 255, 258, 268
Petrie,
Petticoat
Mrs
Padan
45
107
Phacstus
Phcvnicians
Pakhome
PalaiKjuiu
..... .....
.
.
257
52
147,
.
278 148
146
Pictographs, Cretan
Palermo
Palettes, as amulet
Pictography
85
81 et seq.
144, 192
32, 100, 136, 229, 243,
248
PlETTE
Pillar
incised
slate
162, 163 212, 218
25, 39, 54, 78,
Pilot
210
189
.
.
.
195, 202, 224, 230, 251, 255

,,
votive
.
226
et seq.
Pig Pins
39, 41, 73, 75, 121

. .
Painting
,,
26, 199,
202 et seq., 214

26etse(], the
.
PlTT-RlVERS
Plaiting
.69
116
the
body
,,
21,
1 J'
Pitt-Kivers Collection (see Oxford).
,,
among
in
Greeks
,, ,,
34
(See Hair.)
Plants 116, 117, 126, 138, 139, 140, 142
pre-Mycenaean Greece
218
27 26
,,
,,
,,
Roman generals
.
of the south
,,
the bones of the dead
Plaques
268 208 239 4
,,
.....
. . .
.
. .
.144
275
with red
,,
glazed pottery
ivory
shell
32, 135
the eyes
. .
23, 27 et seq.,
.
Palisade
.133,
...
.
135, 251 et seq.
11
Palms
Panels,
140, 207, 208, 210, 238,
wood
....
wood
.
135, 251 et seq.

.
Platform
250, 254
INDEX.
PAGE
301
PAGE
Pleyte Pliny
.
50
Quartz
190
6,
8,
285
164 12, 62
93.
OUIBELL
71, 90, 99. 101, 134, 163
Poetry
17,
272, 280 et seq.

.
178, 222, 227, 232,
270
Poland
Polynesia7ts
Races
256, 283
Porphyry
Pottery
120, 133,
96 134, 155. 202, 270
Rahotep Ram
Rampart
....
3
95, 205,
(See Terracotta.) Pottery, black incised 108, 149, 151, 176
Ramcsseiwi
237 270 207 28
black topped
cross-lined
.
285 123 et seq. 140 206

.
Ranefer
Red
,,
....
.
26, 27, 2o()

.
Roman
Sea
generals painted
27
108, 140
decorated 113
glazed
et seq., 138,
202
203, 210, 223, 285, 287, 288

128, 165, 199
206, 207, 224, 230, 274
169 188 173.176, 183, 18S, 186,

32. 47. 58- i35. 155-
Reeds Reinach, Reisner
S.
214
et seq.
Rekhyt
Religion
60,
190, 191, 192,

. .
256
229 66, 289

.- 1
,,
I.
108, 114, 116 kabyle of 64, 104 origin making, 126 rough-faced
.
Religious scene
;)
Renan, Ary
POTTIER
Prayer
.
280
205
176
195
Rhythm
Rib of animal
Rickets
61 et seq.,
248 273, 280 4B

.
172
Prehistoric remains (European)

Priest of the double or
Rings
,,
38, 49.
.
50 34
ear
finger
lip
Prism
Prisoners
..... ....
.
Ka
258 70 99, 242

. .
47. 51
.
35
(See Anklets.)
Ritual
.
(See Barbarian, Captives.) 12 et seq. Production

.
. .
.
28,
.
Rivets
289 69
Prophetess of Hathor Neith

Protecting genius Provisions the dead
3^
31
Rock
crystal
3.
'79. 192
Rosettes
69, 71
o,
22
.
Ptah
,,
in
.... ....
embryo
.
.
218
33
172
Rowers Royal workshops Rudder

Russia
.
209 258 207, 209

199,
.
Pteroceras
Public works
Punt, Poini, or
Tupil of the eye
.... .... ....

.
154
223, 224
250
/'oiinf 39, 50, 161, 162
224, 288 213
Sacramental win Sacred rites

.
129
129
212, 221
.
Sacrifice
Pyginics
H
162
Saghel-el-Baglieh
.Sailing vessel Sails of boats
68
208
39, Pyramid texts Pyrennean paloeolitliic

.
275, 280 et seq.
120, 121
figures
Sanctuary Sandals
254 249
12
QiNG Ouadrupeds
.
273 74
205
Sandwich hhvidc rs
Sanlorin
Sarang, Indo-Mal ly
109
52
Ouarries
302
INDEX.
INDEX.
Statuettes 21 et seq., 30, 33, 38, 56, 57
119, 155, 158, 160 et seq., 270,
303
PAGE
Tliebcs
Tliinis
53, 173,
Steatite
70, loi, 191,

.
274 277
264 264
27
Steatopygy
127, 160 et seq.

8,
(See Abydos.) Thiti

.
Steindorff
Stela
.
224, 226, 228, 248

et seq., 155, 176
Thongs
of leather
.
200, 258 et seq., 278
Thot
47 220
32
Stones 49,
76, 91,
96
Thothmes
Thueris
Thrace
.
III
185, 186, 192,
266
219
163
53
hard.
,,
49, 95, 108, 115, 139
soft
sandstone
...
.
Stone-working
Stool
Stoppers lor leather bottles 47 Strabo
Straw Studs
,,
for the ears
or toggles for cloaks
Sues
.... .... .... ....

.
50,
94 96
105
Thread round the waist

Tifinagh
147
Tiger
Tiles
214
135
-.3,
et seq.
45,
210
TbniJiu
j^,
277
55
106, 115
(See IJhyaiis.)
34,35 57.58
285
21
Togo
Tombs
206
et seq., 218,
22 1
(See Graves.)
Sulphide of antimony
TORR
207, 217
Sun worship,
Syenite
origin
286
91
Torres Straits
Tortoise
,,
.
65
79, 94,
1
12
Symbol of
,, ,,
divinity
31
shell
65
208, 215
of the king
religious
.
.
15,
246 212
114
Totem Totemism
Touaregs
220
45, 147,
Symmetry
Syria
....
.
62, 73
.
Toupis
Towers
Trap
Trees
in
.
276 28
207 210
Table of offerings
Tablet, ivory
270
203 216
shape of a wheel
117, 118, 234,
16, 122,
Taboo
Tails of animals
54, 55,
Tambourine
Tatooing
3,
230 273
34
Triangles Tribal marks
131, 133,
238 224
15
Tribute
Tripoli
255
30
et seq.
40
.
among
at
the Greeks
Troglodites
214, 216
Malta
decorative
164 33 et seq.
.
Tuat
Tukh
Tunis
Ttirin
275, 276 22 et seq., 274
in pre-Mycenoean Greece medical

,,
5.
23, 32, 35-
40 266
191
religious
Taurt
Tchoiiktdiis
.
30 et seq. 70
14
Turkey Tusks
or pelican
.
48. 198
Teeth
Tehuti-hetep
Tcl-cl-Aynarna
48 26
32
.
Uazu Unas
Unger
29 280
17
Unguents
Univei-sity Colleg e (see London).
49
36
143
.
Temples Tendons
Terracotta
.
221, 253, 254
176, 189,
48 207, 274
.
.
Urine Urccus
(See Pottery.)
Tettiges
78
Utensils for grinding paint
:5
Uzait
29
304
INDEX.
PAGE
PAGE
Vaphio goblets
Vases, ivory
-254
War
Water
,.
217
loi
Warriors
.
54, 55-
99
120
II
I
pottery, black incised
108, 149
151
ripples
.
black-topped I22etseq. 140, 206

with
design in relief
,,
Weapons
,,
of state
.
230 66
198
55
122
et seq.
Weill. Werner, Alice Wcsic?-n Sudan
148, 254, 267

.
cross-lined
108, 140
Whip
White
,,
140,
.
222
21
,,
decorated
113 et seq.
202, 206,
in imita-
clay
274
paint Whitevvasli
206
285
tion
of
hard
108,
1
Wiedemann
115 126
17, 32, 11 2, 177, 277,
stones
14,
of fantastic forms
et seq.
,,
Wigs Wilkin Wilkinson

.
37.42 7,8
217 200
17,
.
rongh faced
.126
Window
Wolf
.
,,
white painted (red polished) 108 et seq 140, 206
214
34
160
W'olters
Women
et
21, 23, 37, 38, 39, 40, 45, 51

56, 57,
stone
96etseq., 201
97 cylindrical fantastic forms 101 et seq.
.
seq.,
119,
121,
127,
et seq., 162, 175,
211, 213, 220, 226

274, 277, 278
Vaulting
251
14,
Wood
,,
Veddahs
Vegetable paste
Veil
.
52
sonorous
....
.
.4-54.
135. 139
273
144
142
164
"
(.See Castanettes.)
45, 46, 165
Vessel
sailing
250
Worshippers of Horus Writing

Egyptian
"
.
15. 66,
.
i,
282
(See Bark, Flotilla.) Vibration
hieroglyph
primitive
4,
85,
88,
142 et
273
.
seq.,
,,
. .
288
15'
Vladinm'
Volossovo
54
154
74, 108,
112,
Von BissiNG
128,
129
Inscriptions, Hieroglyphs, (See Marks, Pictography, Signature.)
142, 144
Votive objects 66, 90 et seq. (See Maces, Palettes.) Vulture 42, 129, 142, 232
.
. .
Yellow
Yc??ich
27,
.
206
287
205
Zaborowski
Wady-el-Shcikh Haminaffiat
.
144,
51
203, 288
212, 254
Zer
Zigzag
.
.42, 49, 180, 182

22, 40, 109, III, 120
.
Magarah
ZiPFELIUS
190.
203
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Jean Capart Primitive Art in Egypt

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Jean Capart Primitive Art in Egypt

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PRIMITIVE

FROM THE REVISED AND AUGMENTED ORIGINAL EDITION

WITH 208 ILLUSTRATIONS

KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W .C.

PRINTED AND BOUND BY

LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

TOKEN OF PROFOUND GRATITUDE

^HIS book made

was published as a separate volume,

without any modification of the text.

have been much

Co. to issue an English translation of a revised

prepared both to receive and to

of English ethnologists, more especially of

of problems of the greatest importance for a study of the

that those points

give the book

appearance of a compilation, borrowed from the works of

materials have, to a largfe extent, been

the Egyptian Research

from their pages

have gathered a large number of

of the greatest importance.

Professor Petrie, who,

with his habitual courtesy, has for

Egypt, gathered together

University College, London.

indebted to him for the lessons

have received from him

at the yearly exhibition If

Egypt Exploration Fund.

nature to render any assistance to students,

instance to Professor Petrie that thanks are due.

Oxford have enabled me

of notes and of photographic reproduction.

thanking Mr. Evans

and Mr. Bell

have been able

material from the Berlin

of this opportunity of offering them

Macgregor has enabled me

Manor House, Tarn worth.

London, have been good enough

several photographic reproductions at

also a pleasant duty to

my disposal. express my warm

she has accomplished the task of translating this book.

ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Painting the Eyes

The Hair Combs and

Ornamental and Decorative Art

Transformation of a Natural Design into a Geometric Designs derived from Technique

Transformation of a Useful Object into an Ornament

ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTEXTS.

Object of Decoration Art

Luxury and Power Religion and Magic

Maces and Sceptres

Work and Matting

Pottery copied from Plaited

108 108 [08 [08 to9

Gourds Painted Vases

Hard Stones Plaited Work

Representations of Mountains Plants