BLUE PORCELAIN.
1 & 9. Represent the Goddess Taurt.
2. Jar with spout.
3. Anubis figure.
4. Boat with ram’s head.
5. Pectoral.
6. Buckle of Isis.
7. Lotus cup.
8. Ram-headed hawk.
The line engraving on page 108 represents a jar made of serpentine. It differs somewhat in shape from the originals, and has been made in two parts and then stuck together. The join is clearly shown in the illustration.
Jar made of serpentine
Two years ago I saw four granite bowls in a shop at Luxor. They were magnificent specimens, large and beautifully made, and seemed indeed objects to be coveted. The price asked was £250 each, or £1000 for the four. At first I looked at them with awe and admiration, but on making a careful examination, I found that they showed none of the small irregularities which are found on the old work, and that their edges were too clean cut. It seemed as if they must have been made, buried, and forgotten at once, as there were no signs of wear upon them. While handling them I felt sure that they were not genuine, but the work of some very clever sculptor, perhaps an Italian, for many of the latter were employed in working granite at the barrage at Aswan, and they are adepts in the art of working the harder stones. Last year I was again in Luxor, and, possessing somewhat more knowledge of antiquities, I called upon the dealer and asked to see the bowls again. He had sold them, but he told me, in a deprecating manner, clasping and unclasping his hands as though the luck had been too great and undeserved, that he had been fortunate enough to get three more, just like them. These he produced, and beautiful specimens indeed they were, but without committing myself too definitely, I should question very much their genuineness. But this man will sell them, as he sold the other four. Some one will buy them and take them to America or England, or some other country, and after a time they will, perhaps, find their way to a museum, where there will be whispered consultations amongst the experts, and queries as to the wisdom of looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Or it may be that they will adorn a private collection, in which case, sooner or later, some unfortunate Egyptologist will be brought face to face with them, and will have to make his escape the best way he can.
Think of what it means to this man at Luxor. Out of these seven bowls, he may make, allowing for the cost of producing them, about £1600 profit. He can buy about twelve acres of ground, perhaps more, for this sum. If he farms it himself, he may make as much as £300 a year from this. If he lets it out, preferring to sit in idleness and play the part of a big man, he will find his income increased by about £120 a year through this little transaction. This means that he is a comparatively rich man.
PLATE XII.
