In some of the antiquity shops in Luxor there may be seen cases containing admitted imitations of ancient pottery ware. The prices asked for these imitations are from £l 10s. to £3 each. When I pointed out to the dealer that this was a stiff price to pay for what was an admitted forgery, he indignantly denied any intention of fraud, and declared that these objects were artistic in design and execution, and well worth the money he asked for them. One cannot help feeling, however, that should an unwary tourist or an ignorant collector arrive on the scene, it is possible that he might become the possessor of one of these porcelain objects without having any idea that it was not a genuine antiquity.
PLATE X.
PORCELAIN, WOOD AND GLASS.
1. Bottle with two handles.
2. Wooden jar with handle.
3, 7 & 8. Vases made of composition and coloured.
4. A glass figure made to represent Lapis Lazuli.
5. Blue bowl.
6. Blue vase.
On [Plate XII] are shown some very beautiful objects. No. 3 is a winged scarab, which represented the sun crossing the heavens from east to west within a day. It is a fine piece of work, but is made of plaster of Paris and painted.
No. 2 shows a lotus cup, well designed, copied from the original, and made of soft composition, but spoilt in the firing. This, however, gives the effect of age. It is beautifully coloured, and the date is about the eighteenth dynasty. By the side of it is a lotus bowl (No. 1) made by the same maker. These are really charming objects of interest, and are very cleverly made; the shape, however, is not quite right. Large sums of money were asked for them, but they were purchased for a few shillings each at the end of the season, when the up-river men were anxious to go home to their villages, and did not want to take back any unsold goods with them on their long journey, preferring during the summer to make fresh objects for the next season.
[Plate XII], No. 4 is a blue jug having a piece of genuine mummy cloth stuffed in it. It was offered to me at Deir-el-Bahari. The seller asked £1 for it, but after some bargaining I bought it for 5s. It is made of very soft material and irregularly glazed.
No. 5 shows a false-necked bottle. This is a good copy and has also been buried in manure.
[Plate XIII], No. 1 is a well-made winged scarab, but the four little figures, 2, 3, 4, 5, representing the sons of Horus, are not correct, as the faces should be those of a man, a dog-faced ape, a jackal, and a hawk; 6 and 8 are poppy heads, of beautiful colour.
No. 7. The egg-shaped object represents sacred eyes. It is composed of soft material, is a very exact copy, and must have been most difficult to make.