No. 8 represents a frog cut in serpentine.
No. 9 is a crocodile made of slate. Part of the tail is lacking.
Nos. 10 and 11. Few people buy these as antiquities now. Their principal use seems to be that of paper-weights. They are made of plaster of Paris, and coloured. The price is about 1s. or less, but there is no doubt that some years ago they were freely sold as genuine antīcas.
Sandstone Tablet and kneeling figure
The figure on page 54 shows the statue of a kneeling man holding a tablet. It was said to have been taken out of a serdab, but the inscription has no meaning. The statue was some fifteen inches in height, and the maker had reproduced the old colours very cleverly.
The history of this tablet is somewhat curious. It was bought at Luxor for £50, and brought down to Cairo, where a doubt was cast upon its authenticity. A corner of the tablet was cut off with a saw, and it was found to be composed of sandstone. Eventually the owner became convinced that it was not a real antīca, and being unwilling to burden his luggage with so heavy a weight, gave it away. I found it standing in an out-of-the-way corner, with its face to the wall. It is an undoubted fraud.
On another occasion a Jewish collector of antiquities was approached by a Bedouin who said that he had some things to sell. A day was arranged, and they proceeded to inspect the find. There was a large stone statue and some small, almost worthless articles. After long haggling, a price was agreed upon, £75 for the lot, apportioned in the following way. The small articles were priced by the Bedouin at £35, £30, and £5 respectively, leaving £5 only as the price of the statue.
The Arab seemed very stupid and it was hard to make him understand, but eventually the bargain was struck, and the relics were taken to the Jew’s house. There photographs of the statue were taken, and sent to Paris and Berlin. After a time, the reply came back that the statue was an imitation.
The Jew made a great outcry, but the Bedouin, who no longer appeared stupid, pointed out that no question had been raised about the genuineness of the smaller objects, nor could there be, as they were real, and that only £5 had been paid for the statue. To show his good faith, he would return the £5 and let the Jew keep the other antīcas at the price he had paid for them, and this was eventually accepted.