speak, a shadow fed upon shadows. Certain kinds of offerings were laid upon circular tables, which appear in the inscriptions under the form of, and. The alabaster table of Åțenȧ, a Kher heb who flourished at Abydos under the VIth dynasty, is seen with its unguent vessels upon it. The tablet upon which food and drink offerings were laid, and which was placed at the doorway of the "false door," or wherever the sepulchral stele stood, is a rectangular slab made usually of limestone, basalt, granite, etc., with a projection on one side which Stone Tablet for offerings made for Uashka. Vth or VIth dynasty. is often grooved and which was supposed to serve as a kind of spout. The Egyptians called it "Hetep," or things that were laid upon it "Ḥetepet," and the ог The tablet varies in size from 6 inches to 3 feet in length, and from about 4 inches to 15 inches in width. In addition to the figures of the offerings, rectangular hollows, presumably to hold libations, were cut in the face of the tablet, and in the tablet of Uashka (B.M. 1156)1 we see figures of the members of the family of the deceased bringing bread-cakes, vessels of unguents, etc. A figure of the tablet for offerings is outlined, and in the inscription the deceased asks Anubis for pert kheru daily and at every festival. The inscription begins with the words which probably means that the king has contributed towards the materials for the funerary offerings. In later times this formula was inscribed on every sepulchral stele and tablet, but it can only have been added as a matter of form. A good example of a Ḥetep, or tablet for offerings, of the Old Kingdom is B.M. 1345,2 which is inscribed with a text stating that it was dedicated to the official 1 See Hieroglyphic Texts, Pt. I, pl. 23. Kanefer, by his pious son. A very interesting model in bronze in the British Museum (5315) shows that the Hetep was sometimes mounted on a stand with four legs, and so became a veritable table. This Hetep is made of sheet bronze and is 12 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 7 inches high; on one side and one end are projections in the form of the handle shown in. Arranged on it are bronze models of three flat saucers, one with a raised rim, eight small vases, one vessel shaped like a wine-glass, one libation vessel one bottle, two vases with long spouts, two unguent pots, one jar with a painted base, and parts of two other vases. On the front edge the inscription 01 4,"The Pert Kheru of the Smer uāt, the Kher ḥeb Åțenȧ," is engraved twice. This stand and its models tell us what the Pert Kheru, for which every deceased person prayed, was like. The reliefs of the offerings on the tablets vary in number according to the period. Under the New Kingdom the vessels used in the ceremonies connected with offerings were represented prominently on the Hetep, but little by little the number of the figures of the objects offered increased until, as we see in the case of Cairo 23013, they filled most of the surface-space. In this example the offerings are arranged in the order in which they were presented, and it is interesting to note that some of the cakes bear impressions of seals and have special names. This custom of stamping sacred bread has been perpetuated by the Copts in their sacramental cakes. On many Ḥeteps two rectangular hollows are cut for libations, and two libation vases are sculptured near them, and it is probable that one hollow and one vase were used for the wine or beer of Upper Egypt, and the other hollow and vase for the wine or beer of Lower Egypt. The inscription on a fine, large Ḥetep contains the name and titles of the deceased, and prayers, which are usually addressed to Anubis, Thoth, and Osiris, for funerary offerings. In the Graeco-Roman Period the decoration of Heteps was modified very considerably. The hollows, which were formerly rectangular, are now made in the form of a cartouche ; the offerings represented are few in number, and a very favourite scene, which is cut into or sculptured on the main surface, represents the deceased seated receiving on his hands the water of life from the goddess Nut or Hathor, who stands in a sycamore tree. Sometimes two trees, each with a goddess, are represented, and in these cases the deceased stands whilst he receives the celestial water from one, and sits whilst he receives it from the other. The texts that accompany these figures are badly written and inaccurate versions of Chapters LIX and LXII of the Book of the Dead. In the Vignette of the former we see Nut in her tree pouring out water for the deceased, who kneels before her, and in the text he entreats her to give him air and water. In the text of Chapter LXII the deceased prays that access to the "mighty flood" may be granted to him by Osiris, and that Thoth-Ḥapi, the Nile-god, will grant him power to drink at will. During the Graeco-Roman Period models of Ḥeteps were attached to statues, and even to mummies, apparently as amulets. Examples are B.M. 26813, which has a pierced projection so that it may be suspended, and measures 5 inches by 4 inches, and B.M. 53999; on the former four cakes are represented, and on the latter one only. An interesting Hetep of the Roman Period is B.M. 48509. Here we have two cartouche-shaped libation hollows, two libation vases, with lotus flowers and a modified form of the †, resting on a conical base, between them. Above, arranged in two groups, and in relief, are twenty stamped bread-cakes, and below the libation vases is a small frieze with a number of offerings in relief. These include a gazelle, with its legs tied together for sacrifice, a bull's head, B, a joint of meat with the bone, &, ten bread-cakes, stamped as before, vegetables, flowers, and a large two-handled water-pot, with its pointed end resting in a stand, and a stopper made in the form off. A channel for the libations is marked on all four sides of these reliefs. The edges of the Ḥetep are decorated with a pattern of rosettes and lotus flowers. Besides the Hetep tablet for the canonical offerings, the Egyptians also heaped up their miscellaneous gifts to the dead on a stand or kind of table, which was placed in the tomb. This rested either on a single central support, , or on four legs,, and was called "Khaut," I, in Coptic &нore or cнre, i.e., altar. The table with a single support has survived in the small table which was found in the house of every well-to-do person in Cairo and Syria, and is called "Khuwân," 2 , and the table with four legs in the altar which is seen in Coptic churches. The Egyptians also had another word for altar, IN - Y, khait, but this appears to have been an altar that was specially set 1 See Ahmed Bey Kamal, Tables d'Offrandes (in the Cairo Catalogue), Cairo, 1909, pl. XLI ff. 2 Khuwan is a Persian word, and its literal meaning is a large tray with a foot; it is doubtful if it is connected with the Egyptian Khaut, as has been suggested. apart for the burning of incense. Among the offerings that were laid upon the Ḥetep was incense, 15, or senther or senter, or, sthi neter, i.e., "smell of the god,” in Coptic ConTe. Incense was burnt in the tomb, and water in which natron had been dissolved was sprinkled on the ground before the presentation of the offerings began; that this was done is proved by the Vignettes in the Papyrus of Ani and the Papyrus of Hunefer. The censer was usually made wholly of bronze, and consisted of a long handle made in the form of a pillar with a lotus capital, the lower end of which terminated in a head of Horus wearing a disk. From the capital of the pillar a flat shovel projected, and a small pot attached to the handle held the incense that was to be burnt. One of the names of the censer was "Hand of Horus," , and the British Museum possesses a fine example of this form of the instrument (B.M. 41606). It is 18 inches in length, and from the capital of the lotus pillar which forms the handle a hand projects, and on this rests the pot that contained the red-hot ashes on which the incense was sprinkled. The other end terminates in a head of the hawk of Horus wearing a disk and uraeus. On the handle is a kneeling figure of a man with his hands resting upon a receptacle for incense in the form of a cartouche. In every set of vessels that are represented on the Ḥeteps there is a large one that resembles the lustration vase, , but it has no spout. Two good examples of this vase are B.M. 25567 and 25566. The former is 12 inches in height, and is inscribed with the name and titles of Princess "Nesitanebtȧshru, the great chief lady of the ladies of the high [priest of] Åmen-Rā, king of the gods," The latter is 11 inches in height, and is inscribed with the name of Åstemkhebit I, wife of Menkheperra, the son of Painetchem I, and with a prayer to Isis for a Ḥetep and libations. The inscription is on the flat rim and opens with the usual words, Another important adjunct to the ordinary equipment of the Hetep was the libation bucket, of which few, if any, ancient examples are known. There are several fine ones in the British Museum, and the following is a description of the typical example 38212. This bucket is pear-shaped, and is made of bronze; it is about 16 inches in height, and its massive solid copper handle is securely attached to it by means of the two lugs on the rim. The sides are ornamented with two scenes, in which all the figures and texts are cut in outline: 1. The deceased Her adoring Osiris, who is standing with a table of offerings before him, and saying, "I grant ww AD unto thee from myself all strength,' Behind Osiris stands Ḥernetchteff presenting "life," f, and saying, “I give ww Δ X to thee victory over thy enemies," Next come figures of Isis and Nephthys, the latter saying, "I give thee from myself every kind of pleasant, pure and sweet thing and the former, "I give thee from myself offerings of rich food in abundance." 2. The deceased standing upright and offering incense and a libation of natron water to his father and his mother, who are seated on chairs of state, with an altar heaped with offerings before them. He says to his father, "This thy water is given to thee, thy water is to thee before Horus in this thy name of Qebḥ,' a formula that is well known from the Pyramid Texts. A single line of text runs round the bucket under these scenes and reads, father of Her was called Peța-ȧmen-neb-nest-taui, and his mother, who was a sistrum-bearer of Amen-Ra, Ariru (?). From two lines of text which run round the upper end of the bucket we learn that he was a priest of Sebek and other gods, and also of King |