Fig. 20.—House with a tower, from a painting; Wilkinson, i. p. 361.
"Doors and windows opened generally in the middle. They opened inwards, and were fastened by means of bolts and latches. Some of them had wooden locks like those which are still in use in Egypt. Most of the inner doors were closed merely by hangings of some light material. For the decoration we must turn to the pictures in the rock-cut tombs. The walls of the houses were coated with stucco, and painted with religious and domestic scenes. The galleries and columns of the porch were coloured in imitation of stone or granite. The ceilings were covered with what we call arabesques and interlacing ornaments of all kinds, while the floors were strewn with mats woven of many-coloured reeds."[30]
Fig. 21.—Battlemented house; from Wilkinson, i. p. 362.
Fig. 22.—Decorated porch; from Wilkinson, i. p. 346.
Fig. 23.—House with inscription; from Wilkinson, i. 32.
Fig. 24.—House, storehouse, and garden; from Prisse, p. 218.
We shall describe the tasteful and convenient furniture which these rooms contained in our chapter upon the industrial arts.