throwing her arms round the feet of the mummy, with this appropriate legend, "I embrace thy feet;" at once explanatory of, and explained by, the action of the Goddess. A long line of hieroglyphics, extending down the front, usually contained the name and quality of the deceased, and the offerings presented for him to the Gods; and transverse bands frequently repeated the former, with similar donations to other Deities. But as the arrangement and character of these sacred ornaments vary in nearly all the specimens of mummies, it would be tedious to introduce more than a general notion of their character. Even the cartonage and different cases of the same mummy differ in all except the name and description of the deceased; and the figure of Netpe is sometimes replaced by a winged Sun, or a scarab. This Goddess, however, always occurs in some part of the coffin, and often with outspread arms at the bottom of the inner case, where she appears to receive the body into her embrace, as the protectress of the dead. The face of the cartonage was often covered with thick gold leaf, and richly adorned; the eyes inlaid with brilliant enamel; the hair imitated with great care, and adorned with gold: and the same care was extended to the three cases which successively covered it, though each differed from the next; the innermost being the most ornamented. Rich necklaces were placed or represented on the neck of each, for all were made in the form of the deceased; and a net-work of coloured beads was frequently spread over the breast, and even the whole body, worked in rich and elegant devices. The outer case was either of wood or stone. When of wood, it had a flat or a circular summit, sometimes with a short square pillar rising at each angle. The whole was richly painted, and it frequently had a door represented near one of the corners. At one end was the figure of Isis, at the other Nepthys; and the top was painted with bands or fancy devices.* In others the lid repre * Vide suprà (Vol. I. 2d Series), p. 359. of the Bull represented at the foot of some mummy cases. serted the curving top of the ordinary Egyptian The stone cases, usually called sarcophagi, were of otwang stage, having flat straight sides, like a box, w in a curved or pointed lid. Sometimes the gure of the deceased was represented upon the hter in red, and some were in the form of a King's name, or royal oval. Others were made in the shape of the mammied body, whether of basalt, garte sate, or limestone, specimens of which are net with in the British Museum and other collections. I have even seen one of this form†, found daring my stay at Thebes, of a red earthenware, very som lar to our tiles, made in two pieces sewed together, small holes having been made in the clay before it was baret for this purpose. The upper part was broken off, but it was evidently a continuation of the human figure in the form of the mummy it contained. It is unnecessary to examine in detail all the various substances used in embalming, as they have been already indicated by Mr. Pettigrew. With regard to the question when the custom of embalming the body ceased in Egypt, it may be observed that some are of opinion that it ceased at an early time, when Egypt became a Roman province. But this has been fully disproved by modern discoveries; and it not only appears that the * As that of the Queen of Amasis at the British Museum. I have seen a figure raised nine inches in relief, and cut in granite, on the sarcophagus of one of the kings at Thebes. tide Woodcut, No. 504., fig. 10. Chap. vi. early Christians embalmed their dead, but according to "St. Augustine mummies were made in his time, at the beginning of the fifth century." The custom may not have been universal at that period; and it is more probable that it gradually fell into disuse, than that it was suddenly abandoned from any accidental cause connected with change of custom, or from religious scruple. The disposition of various objects placed with the dead varied in different tombs according to the rank of the person, the choice of the friends of the deceased, or other circumstances, as their number and quality depended on the expense incurred in the funeral. For, besides the richly decorated coffins, many vases, images of the dead, papyri, jewels, and other ornaments were deposited in the tomb; and tablets of stone or wood were placed near the sarcophagus, engraved or painted with funeral subjects and legends relating to the deceased. These last resembled in form the ordinary Egyptian shield, being squared at the base, and rounded at the summit*; and it is probable, as already observed †, that their form originated in the military custom of making the shield a monument in honour of a deceased soldier. Many of the objects buried in the tomb depended, as I have already observed, on the profession or occupation of the individual. A priest had the insignia of his office; as the scribe his * Vide suprà, Woodcut, No. 456.; Vol. I. (2d Series) p. 401. inkstand or palette; the high priest the censer; the hieraphoros a small model of a sacred shrine, or a figure bearing an image or emblem of a Deity; and others according to their grade. In the soldier's tomb were deposited his arms; in the mariner's a boat; and the peculiar occupation of each artisan was pointed out by some implement employed in his trade. The four vases, each with the head of one of the Genii of Amenti, have been already mentioned.* There were also others of smaller size, of alabaster, hard stone, glass, porcelain, bronze, and other materials, many of which were of exquisite workmanship; but these were confined to the sepulchres of the rich, as were jewellery and other expensive ornaments. Papyri were likewise confined to persons of a certain degree of wealth; but small figures of the deceased, of wood or vitrified earthenware, were common to all classes, except the poorest of the community. These figures are too well known to need a detailed description. They usually present a hieroglyphic inscription, either in a vertical line down the centre, or in horizontal bands round the body, containing the name and quality of the deceased, with the customary presentation of offerings for his soul to Osiris, and a funereal formula very similar to many on the scarabæi. In the hands of these figures are a hoe and a bag of seed. Their arms are crossed in imitation of certain representations of Osiris, whose name and form I * Suprà, p. 467. |