СНАР. ІХ. RINGS. 337 finger: the left was considered the hand peculiarly privileged to bear those ornaments, and it is remarkable that its third finger was decorated with a greater number than any other, and was considered by them, as by us, par excellence the ring finger, though there is no evidence of its having been so honoured at the marriage ceremony. They even wore a ring on the thumb; and I have seen, upon the right hand of a wooden figure, a ring on the thumb, and two on the third finger; and upon the left, one upon the thumb and little finger, two on the fore and second finger, and three on the third. One on the third finger is in the form of a trochus shell, very common in the Red Sea. Some rings were simple; others were made with a scarabæus, or an engraved stone; and they were occasionally in the form of a shell, a knot, a snake, or some fancy device. They were mostly of gold; and this metal seems to have been always preferred to silver, for rings and other articles of jewellery. Silver rings, however, are occasionally met with; and two in my possession, which were accidentally found in a temple at Thebes, are engraved with hieroglyphics, containing the name of the royal city. Bronze was seldom used for rings, though frequently for signets. Some have been discovered of brass and iron (the latter of a Roman time); but ivory and blue porcelain were the materials of which those worn by the lower classes were usually made. The scarabæus was the favourite form both for rings and the ordinary ornaments of necklaces; in some the stone, flat on both faces, turned on pins, like many of our seals at the present day, and the ring itself was bound round at each end, where it was inserted into the stone, with gold wire. This was common not only to rings but to signets, and was intended for ornament as well as security. One of the largest signets I have seen, contained twenty pounds worth of gold. (Woodcut 470, figs. 4, 5, 6, 7.) It consisted of a massive ring, half an inch in its largest diameter, bearing an oblong plinth, on which the devices were engraved one inch long, ths in its greatest, and ths in its smallest, breadth. On one face was the name of King Horus, VOL. II. Z Fig. 1. Bronze bracelet, or bangle, in the Museum of Alnwick Castle. 2. Gold bracelet in the Leyden Museum, bearing the name of Thothmes III., 14 inch high, and 3 inches in diameter. 3. Scarabæus of amethyst, with a sphinx, emblematic of the king trampling on a prostrate enemy; over it is the expression "Good God, Lord of the world." 4. A gold signet, mentioned in the last page. 5, 6, 7. The three other sides of the plinth. 8. A gold ring. 9. The engraved face of it. 10. A gold earring, about 14 inch in diameter. 11. The face of it, of the real size. 12. A gold ring, in my possession, four-fifths of an inch in diameter. 13. Gold ring with two asps. 14. A snake bracelet of gold. stone scarabæus. 16. Gold earring. 17. Gold earring with two pearls, a and b. 19. 20. Other gold earrings. 21. Gold earring, 1 inch high and six-tenths broad. Ring of porcelain, or blue glazed pottery. Museum of Alnwick Castle. 15. A 18, 22, 23. CHAP. IX. ORNAMENTS, MOSTLY GOLD. 339 of the 18th dynasty; on the other a lion, with the legend "lord of strength," referring to the monarch; on one side a scorpion, and on the other a crocodile. Two cats sitting back to back, and looking round towards each other, with an emblem of the goddess Athor between them, seem to have been a favourite device on gold rings; and I have seen three or four of this pattern. (fig. 11.) They also had large gold anklets or bangles, armlets, and bracelets, frequently inlaid with precious stones or enamel, and worn by men as well as women. Some were simple bands, or rings of metal; others in the shape of snakes-the last a favourite device among women in all ages, who still continue to be ignorant of the connexion between their taste and Eve's temptation by the serpent, so gravely set forth by Clemens in condemnation of this graceful ornament. Kings are often represented with armlets and bracelets; and in the Leyden Museum is a gold bracelet bearing the name of the third Thothmes, which was doubtless once worn by that monarch. (fig. 2.) Handsome and richly ornamented necklaces were a principal part of the dress, both of men and women; and some idea may be formed of the number of jewels they wore, from those borrowed by the Israelites at the time of the Exodus, and by the paintings of Thebes. They consisted of gold, or of beads of various qualities and shapes, disposed according to fancy, generally with a large drop or figure in the centre. Scarabæi, gold, and cornelian bottles, or the emblems of Goodness and Stability, lotus flowers in enamel, amethysts, pearls, false stones, imitations of fish, frogs, lions, and various quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, flies, and other insects, shells and leaves, with numerous figures and devices, were strung in all the variety which their taste could suggest; and the sole museum of Leyden possesses an infinite assortment of those objects, which were once the pride of the ladies of Thebes. Some wore simple gold chains in imitation of string, to which a stone scarabæus, set in the same precious metal, was appended; but these probably belonged to men, like the torques of the CHAP. IX. CYLINDERS. TOILET TABLE. 341 Romans.* A set of small cups, or covered saucers, of bronze gilt, hanging from a chain of the same materials, were sometimes worn by women, a necklace of which has been found, belonging to a Theban lady-offering a striking contrast in their simplicity to the gold leaves inlaid with lapis lazzuli,† red and green stones, of another she wore; which served, with many more in her possession, to excite the admiration of her friends. The devices engraved on scarabæi, rings, and other objects of ornamental luxe, varied according to the caprice of individuals. Rings frequently bore the name of the wearer; others of the monarch in whose reign he lived; others, again, the emblems of certain deities; and many were mere fanciful combinations. The greater number consisted of scarabæi, mounted upon a gold ring passing through them: the scarabæus itself was of green stone, cornelian, hæmatite, granite, serpentine, agate, lapis lazzuli, root of emerald, amethyst, and other materials; and a cheaper kind was made of limestone, stained to imitate a harder and dearer quality; or of the ordinary blue pottery. Cylinders of stone or blue pottery, bearing devices or hieroglyphics, were also common in necklaces and as signets; one of which, bearing the name of Osirtasen I. (in the Alnwick Museum), proves them to have been of the earliest date in Egypt, and the origin of, rather than derived from, the Cylinders of Assyria. From the number of scarabæi discovered, some have hastily supposed they served as money; but they were either ornamental, funereal, or historical: and some of these last of great size, bearing the name of Amunoph III. and his queen Taia, relate to his conquests, his lion hunts, her parentage, or to public works executed during their reign. Of the various objects of the toilet, found at Thebes, and other places, the principal are bottles, or vases, for holding ointment, and kohl or collyrium for the eyes, mirrors, combs, and the small boxes, spoons, and saucers already mentioned. The ointment was scented in various ways; some preserved in the * Pharaoh "put a gold chain about (Joseph's) neck," Gen. xli. 42; and “ ring upon Joseph's hand." See woodcut 471, fig. M. Woodcut 471, figs. B, I. a. "a |