Grey is wood ash, mixed with lime white, or powdered gypsum.
Lime white is merely ordinary lime which has got stale or slacked.
A Winged Scarab and the four Genii.
CHAPTER VIII
ALABASTER
Alabaster jars were used in the old days to contain pigments, ointment, kohl, and similar commodities. They were also placed in large numbers in the graves, hence the quantity that comes into the market. The price is moderate, from a few shillings to several pounds, and one would hardly have thought it worth while for the forgers to copy them; yet it is now regularly done. But there is something about the old alabaster jar or pot which makes it somewhat easier to distinguish from forgeries than is the case with scarabs. In the old pots there are certain irregularities of make, a kind of lumpiness from the way in which they were cut out. The pots are thin and drilled out to the bottom with the bow-drill, and the outsides are worn. Forgeries are made on the lathe, and are turned out regular in shape. They are thicker, heavier, and not drilled down to the bottom. The work on the interior is rough, and gives signs of having been hastily done. Some of the smaller pots are made in two halves, an upper and a lower, and joined by a cement about the middle. Sometimes old pots are recut or re-shaped, in order to give them a better appearance. The ones most difficult to tell from the originals are those made with the old bow-drill, for here comes in the slight irregularity of shape, and the work approaches much more nearly to that of the ancient Egyptians, as it is most probable that the originals were made in the same way.
PLATE IX.
ALABASTER.
1, 3, 4, 6 & 8. Kohl pots.
2. A head, Greek period.
5, 7 & 9. Vases.
10 & 11. Bowls.