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famous for its linen industry was 0

2

Apu, the Pano- Panopolis

the great

linen

weavers.

polis of the Greeks, the use or in of the Copts, centre of and Akhmîm of the Arabs; but as Egypt exported great quantities of this material, and also used immense quantities for bandages of mummies, it is probable that other cities also possessed large linen manufactories.

3

The length and breadth of mummy bandages vary from Mummy bandages. about 3 feet by 24 inches, to 13 feet by 4 inches; some are made with fringe at both ends, like a scarf, and some have carefully made selvedges. Large linen sheets several feet square are also found in tombs. The saffron coloured pieces. of linen with which mummies are finally covered measure about 8 feet by 4 feet. Usually two or three different kinds of linen cloth are used in bandaging mummies. Mummy cloths are with very few exceptions quite plain, and it is only in the Greek times that the fine outer linen covering is decorated with figures of gods, etc., in gaudy colours. Several square pieces of linen in the Museums of Europe are ornamented with blue stripes, and it is pretty certain that the threads which form them were dyed with indigo before they were woven into the piece. As far back as the time of Amenophis III. it was customary to inscribe texts in the hieratic and hieroglyphic characters upon mummy cloths, and at that period large vignettes accompany the chapters from the Book of the Dead; after the XXVIth dynasty hieratic only appears to have been used for this purpose, and the bandages, which are rarely more than four inches wide, are frequently so coarse that the text is almost illegible. Badly drawn vignettes, drawn in outline, usually stand at the top of each column of writing.

The marvellous skill which the Egyptians displayed in Duration making linen did not die out with the fall of the native linen

1 Πανῶν πόλις, λινουργῶν καὶ λιθουργῶν κατοικία παλαιά, Strabo, XVII., 1. 42. "Akhmîm has a population of about 10,000 souls, and of these 1000 are Christians.

In the map published by Yates (Textrinum Antiquorum, p. 250) to show the divisions of the ancient world in which sheep's-wool, goat's-hair, hemp, cotton, silk, beaver's-wool, camel's-wool, camel's-hair and linen are found, the only other districts where linen was made besides Egypt are Colchis, Cinyps, and a district near the mouth of the Rhine.

of the

industry in Egypt.

sovereigns of Egypt, and the Copts, or native Christians of that country, carried on the industry with splendid success until the twelfth century of our era. Although they ceased to mummify their dead, for the hope of the resurrection of the body given by Christianity practically killed the art of embalming, they continued to dress them in garments which are remarkable for the beauty of the embroidery and Discovery tapestries with which they are decorated. A great "find"

of Christian necro

polis at

of fine examples of this work was made at Akhmîm, the ancient Panopolis, in 1884. The graves at Akhmîm are Panopolis. about five feet deep, and are not indicated by any mound.

the bodies.

The bodies appear to have been buried with natron sprinkled over them, for many of their garments are covered with crystals of this substance; and they appear also to have been buried with their best clothes on. The head was provided with a band or cap, and was sometimes supported on a pillow. The body wore a tunic, and the feet had stockings, sandals or shoes upon them; the head, breast, arms, and fingers were decorated with ornaments. The condition in life of the deceased was indicated by inscriptions on rectangular wooden tesseræ (see p. 188), or by his tools, which were buried with him. The body was entirely covered over with linen and laid upon a board, and thus dressed was then deposited in the Ornaments earth. The chief ornaments found in the tombs at Akhmîm found upon are: hair-pins and combs made of wood or bone; earrings of several shapes and forms made of glass; silver and bronze filigree work, gold with little gold balls, and iron with pendent agates; necklaces made of amber, coloured glass, and blue and green glazed faïence beads; torques, or neck-rings, made of bronze; bracelets, open and closed, made of bronze, iron, glass and horn; finger-rings of bronze; and bronze belt buckles made in the form of a Christian cross. A large number of ivory crosses are also found; the cross which is found so often on these objects was not used merely as an ornament, but as a special symbol and emblem of Christianity.1 Age of the The most ancient and the greater number of the tombs which necropolis. 1 I owe these details to Forrer, Die Gräber und Textilfunde von Achmim -Panopolis. Strassburg, 1891, pp. 12, 13. This book contains 16 plates on which are photographed, in colours, 250 pictures of the textile fabrics and the other most interesting objects found at Akhmîm.

contained these belong to the second or third century after Christ, and the most recent to the eighth or ninth century;1 they are taken from bodies of Christians and heathen which were buried with or without coffins, or in private or common burial places. The Museum of Gobelins possesses a piece of cloth, the threads of the woof of which are made of pure silk, and this is said by M. Gerspach, the Director of the National Manufactory at Gobelins, to belong to a period subsequent to the eighth century, because silk does not appear in Egyptian tapestries until that century. It may then be considered that the Coptic linen work found at Akhmîm covers a period of eight centuries, viz., ii-ix. M. Gerspach adds, "Il est fort probable que les Coptes ont continué, pendant plusieurs siècles encore, une fabrication dans laquelle ils excellaient; ils ont vraisemblablement travaillé à ces milliers de pièces représentant les grands hommes de l'Islam, montrant des villes, des paysages et des animaux que possédait le calif Mostansser-Billah et qui furent brûlées au Caire en 1062 avec les immenses richesses accumulées dans le Dépôt des étendards" (p. 2). Of the character, style, design, and antiquity Gerspach of Coptic linen work he says, "Le style est plus ou moins pur, linen work on Coptic mais il dénote constamment une grande liberté de composition and designs. et de facture ; il est exempt de minuties et de subtilités, même lorsque nous ne comprenons pas très bien la pensée de l'artiste. Quand il ne se rattache pas à la décoration romaine ou à l'art oriental, il est original, il a un caractère propre, une saveur particulière, qu'il soit fin comme nos dentelles ou épais et obtus comme les ornements des races inférieures; il constitue alors, dans une manifestation intime et populaire, un genre spécial qu'on nommera peut-être bientôt le style copte. A première vue, en effet, on retrouve l'antiquité dans les pièces les plus simples, qui sont aussi les plus anciennes; en général, ces morceaux sont d'une seule couleur pourpre ou brune, avec

1 According to Forrer (p. 26), the foundation of the cemetery at Akhmîm may be dated in the first or second century after Christ, and the decay of the art of the best kind is to be sought at the end of the seventh or in the course of the eighth century after Christ.

2 Les Tapisseries Coptes, Paris, 1890, p. 2. This most interesting work contains 153 reproductions in one or more colours of the most important designs found on Akhmîm linen.

B. M.

des filets clairs en lin écru. Le dessin est sommaire, net, sobre, bien combiné, harmonieux, d'une grande franchise plastique, dans le style qu'adoptera ultérieurement l'art héraldique; naturellement, dans la figure il est plus faible que dans l'ornement, car le tapissier, avec sa broche, ne trace pas aussi facilement que le céramiste avec son pinceau; nous devons excuser les tapissiers Coptes, leurs successeurs de tous les temps et de tous les pays ayant comme eux fait plus ou moins de fautes de dessin . . . . . Les tapisseries polychromes1 sont généralement postérieures à cette première série, mais il importe de faire remarquer que certains modèles primitifs n'ont pas été abandonnés et qu'on les retrouve dans les tissus modernes du bas Danube et de l'Orient..... Jusqu'ici le 2 dessin est clair et lisible; maintenant nous arrivons à une suite inférieure; les lignes se compliquent et les formes deviennent épaisses; . . . . . . l'ornement est encore dans un bon esprit, mais les figures sont faibles . . . . . . Avec les siècles suivants, nous tombons dans une décadence relative, moins profonde que celle de la mosaïque au IXe siècle; le corps humain est contourné, strapassé; les têtes sont bestiales; les animaux sont difformes et fantastiques, pourvus de sortes de tentacules; ils se transforment en ornements; la flore n'est même plus ornemanisée ni conventionelle; certains motifs sont incompréhensibles; l'ornement, mieux tenu, présente toujours des combinaisons intéressantes; . . . . même dans leurs fautes, les Coptes continuent à prouver qu'ils sont décorateurs."

....

CANOPIC JARS OR VASES.

"Canopic jars" is the name given to the series of four jars in which the principal intestines of a deceased person were placed. They were thus named by the early Egyptologists, who believed that in them they saw some confirmation of the legend handed down by some ancient writers that Canopus, the pilot of Menelaus, who is said to have been buried at Canopus, in Egypt, was worshipped there under the forin of a jar with small feet, a thin neck, a swollen body, and

1 Of the fourth century.

2 Fifth century.

a round back. Each jar was dedicated to one of the four genii of the underworld, who represented the cardinal points, and each jar was provided with a cover which was made in the shape of the head of the deity to whom it was dedicated. The names and characteristic heads of each are:-1. Mesthȧ

or Amset, man-headed.

, dog-headed. 3. Tuamāutef

The four

genii of

2. Hāpi the dead. jackalheaded. 4.4¶¶¶↓ Qebḥsennuf, hawk-headed.

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Mesthȧ represented the south, Hapi the north, Ṭuamāutef the east, and Qebḥsennuf the west. These four gods are, in some texts, said to be the children of Horus, and in others the children of Osiris. Each jar was hollowed out and received one of the larger intestines after it had been steeped in bitumen and wrapped up in bandages; the covers of the jars were then fastened on by plaster. Mr. Pettigrew examined the contents of one set of vases, and it was found that the vase dedicated to Mestha contained the stomach and large intestines; that dedicated to Ḥāpi, the small intestines; that dedicated to Tuamautef, the lungs and heart; and that dedicated to Qebhsennuf, the liver and gall-bladder. Canopic jars Age of Canopic first appear about the XVIIIth dynasty, and they continue in jars. use until the XXVIth dynasty, after which time the Egyptians appear to have been somewhat careless about them, and either to have preferred to bury the intestines inside the body or to have forgotten the significance of their use. In the XVIIIth dynasty they are made of the most beautiful alabaster and arragonite, and fine calcareous stone; in the XXVIth dynasty they are still made of these substances, but green and blue glazed faïence and wood also appear. Later they are made of terra-cotta, and the covers are all made in the same shape; sometimes they have the shape of a vessel of the same diameter at the bottom as at the top, the gods being traced upon them, in outline, on the outside surface. Frequently the jars. are made of wood, painted with bright colours, and sometimes solid wooden models only are found in the tombs, a fact which shows sometimes the poverty of the deceased, and sometimes probably the dishonesty of the funeral furnisher. When the intestines were not buried in jars they were returned to the

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