up into it through a hole in the pedestal. From its neck hangs a menat on which is inscribed “Osiris, lord of eternity,"

The splendidly coloured papyrus which was found in it is now in the British Museum (9901).

Another typical painted Osiris figure is B.M. 20868. The god is in the form of a mummy, and his hands, which hold the and, rest on his breast. He wears the White Crown, with plumes, and a collar, and his cloak or shoulder-cape is decorated with large black spots and surrounded by a circle of small white spots. The body, from the waist downwards, is covered with scale (?) work, or perhaps feather-work. The face and hands are painted green, which suggests old age in the god; the menat hanging behind from the neck is uninscribed. The pedestal is in the form of maāt, and through a hole in it a roll of papyrus was pushed up into the hollow figure of the god. This papyrus was the copy of the Book of the Dead which was written for Anhai,

a priestess of Amen-Rã about B.C. 1000, and is now in the British Museum (10472). But not every Egyptian official could afford to have a large roll of papyrus in its case placed in his tomb, and the custom grew up of making the figure of the god solid and placing a small roll of papyrus in a rectangular cavity sunk in the pedestal. The god was now called Asår-Seker,,i.e., “Osiris, the coffined one," and he was given the Atef Crown inscriptions on the figure also were of a different character.” Thus on B.M. 23046 the inscription down the front contains a prayer that Osiris will give sepulchral offerings to the deceased Peta-Mut, priest of Amen-Ra, king of the gods, and scribe of the That of

Mentu, lord of Thebes,

The

1. On each side of the figure are painted two

of the Four Sons of Horus. The figures made at Apu (Panopolis) are differently fashioned and ornamented. They are not hollow in their entire length, and only a small cavity is made in the breast of the figure to hold the papyrus, the entrance to it being at the back of the neck. In the example B.M. 16784 the figure wears the Atef Crown, the face is gilded, and the whole front of the body is covered with a large hawk-headed pectoral painted in bright colours. Above the lower part of the abdomen is a figure of the goddess Nut, with widely extended arms, and she holds a feather, I,

symbolic of air, in each hand. Down the back of the figure runs a line of hieroglyphs giving the name of the deceased, Ani, the son of

Ani and Meḥttath, which is followed by a prayer to Osiris and SekerOsiris dwelling in Apu for funerary offerings. The body of the figure is painted the deep red colour that is a characteristic of all funerary objects from Apu (Akhmîm). In the Saïte and GraecoRoman Periods the Seker-Osiris figures were much smaller, and no attempt was made to place the papyrus inside them. When the papyrus to be placed under the protection of the god was a hieratic copy of the Book of the Dead it was inserted in a long cavity made in the side of the pedestal (B.M. 9870), and when it was a very small roll the cavity was made in the pedestal just in front of the feet of the figure. Under the XXVIth dynasty we find that not only papyri were inserted in the pedestal, but sometimes portions of the body of the persons for whom the figures were made. In such cases the portion of the body was mummified and wrapped in bandages and laid in a rectangular cavity cut in the fore-part of the pedestal. On this a cover made in the form of a sarcophagus was fitted, and upon this was set the figure of a hawk,, HorusSept. Frequently each angle-post was surmounted by a hawk. The object of placing a part of the body of the deceased in the pedestal is clear. It was believed and hoped that the mortal part of the man would be changed, and that the deceased would become the very bone and flesh of the god; the presence of Seker-Osiris was sufficient to effect this. And when Ptah is associated with SekerOsiris, it was believed that the resurrection of the deceased would follow as a matter of course, and that he and the triune god of the resurrection would share and share alike. Under the influence of this belief the character of the inscriptions changed, and in one (B.M. 9742) we read, “Homage to thee, O flesh and bone proceed

ing from this god, Efflux proceeding from Tem," It & L

. And on the pedestal

of this figure, after the now common opening words

the King gives an offering," comes a long prayer that Ptaḥ-Seker will give to the deceased Pekhet,

, or Pakhet,

the son of Her,, funerary offerings and truth-speaking before all the gods. And Osiris is to protect him and enable him to live again in the Tuat, and to go forth from it [at pleasure].

The pedestals of some of the figures are supposed to represent the lake of cool water in which the deceased will bathe and enjoy himself. On the top of one pedestal a rectangular lake or tank is painted (B.M. 36424) with lotus flowers and buds growing in it. And the long inscription begins, "Thou art cleansed, Osiris, the cool water that comes forth from Elephantine bathes thee,"

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soul lives, thy seed germinates, thou renewest thy youth as governor

of the Living Ones," fA·

f. The name of the deceased appears to have

been Tchau,, the son of Ḥer-ȧru,

@ III'

and both father

and son were engaged in the linen trade at Panopolis (?).

FIGURES OF ANIMALS, BIRDS AND REPTILES,
SACRED TO THE GODS

THE figures of animals found in the temples, tombs and ruined houses of Egypt may, like those of the gods, be divided into three classes:—(1) Votive; (2) those worn as amulets either by the living or dead; (3) those that stood in houses. They are made of hard stone, bronze, steatite, basalt, faïence, wood, wood gilded, lapis-lazuli, wax, plaster, and many other materials. Those in bronze, stone, and wood were usually made for temples, and to stand in tombs; those in faïence, lapis-lazuli, and other semiprecious stones were placed on the bead-work or under the folds of the wrappings of mummies, or were worn suspended to necklaces by the living; those placed in the walls of houses, but which have not sufficient distinguishing characteristics to give many details, were usually made of faïence cast in moulds. A comprehensive collection containing many examples of all three kinds will be found exhibited in the British Museum (Fifth Egyptian Room). The animals, birds and reptiles of which figures are most commonly found

are:

1. Ape, dog-headed,, wearing disk and crescent, sacred to Thoth and Khensu. Figures in bronze, stone, wood and faïence, in which he is represented sitting, sometimes on a pedestal with steps, or standing, are common; sometimes he holds (B.M. 1442),

and sometimes a goat (B.M. 11910).

2. Hippopotamus,

瓦

o, Ta-urt, Thoueris, standing on the hind-quarters of a lion, and holding the tail of a crocodile ; figures in bronze and faïence are common. The most beautiful example of this composite animal in green basalt is preserved in the Museum at Gîzah, a cast of which is exhibited in the Egyptian Gallery of the British Museum (1075). See also the fine example in red and yellow agglomerate (B.M. 35700).

3. Cow, sacred to Hathor, with disk between her horns,