Domestic utensils and small household instruments were mostly made in bronze.
Bronze came into use for statuary purposes from a very early period; but time unfortunately has preserved none of those idols which peopled the temples of the ancient empire. Whatsoever may be said to the contrary, we possess no bronze statuettes of any period anterior to the expulsion of the Hyksos. Some Theban figures date quite certainly from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties. The chased lion's head found with the jewels of Queen Aahhotep, the Harpocrates of Gizeh inscribed with the names of Kames and Ahmes I., and several statuettes of Amen, said to have been discovered at Medinet Habû and Sheikh Abd el Gûrneh, are of that period. Our most important bronzes belong, however, to the Twenty-second Dynasty, or, later still, to the time of the Saïte Pharaohs. Many are not older than the first Ptolemies. A fragment found in the ruins of Tanis and now in the possession of Count Stroganoff, formed part of a votive statue dedicated by King Pisebkhanû.
The idea of inlaying gold and other precious metals upon the surface of bronze, stone, or wood was already ancient in Egypt in the time of Khûfû. The gold is often amalgamated with pure silver. When amalgamated to the extent of 20 per cent, it changes its name, and is called electrum (asimû). This electrum is of a fine light-yellow colour. It pales as the proportion of silver becomes larger, and at 60 per cent. it is nearly white. The silver came chiefly from Asia, in rings, sheets, and bricks of standard weight. The gold and electrum came partly from Syria in bricks and rings; and partly from the Soudan in nuggets and gold-dust. The processes of refining and alloying are figured on certain monuments of the early dynasties. In a bas-relief at Sakkarah, we see the weighed gold entrusted to the craftsman for working; in another example (at Beni Hasan) the washing and melting down of the ore is represented; and again at Thebes, the goldsmith is depicted seated in front of his crucible, holding the blow-pipe to his lips with the left hand, and grasping his pincers with the right, thus fanning the flame and at the same time making ready to seize the ingot (fig. 283). The Egyptians struck neither coins nor medals.