PORCELAIN FIGURES
USHEBTI figures in blue porcelain, of varying sizes, are now being made
in Luxor, and I believe also in the Delta, near Zagazig. The modelling
is good in some cases, and very bad in others, but the glaze is the
wrong colour. The old Egyptian glaze was thin, and evenly distributed,
while the new glaze is thicker in parts, patchy, and not quite the
proper blue (_see_ Frontispiece), but these faults will probably be
rectified in a very short time.
The old Egyptian blue is commonly supposed to have been produced by
grinding down turquoise, but there is no evidence that the Egyptians
used these stones for such a purpose, although they mined turquoise in
Sinai from prehistoric times.
Some time ago I came across a visitor and a friend sitting examining
some specimens of Egyptian antiquities with a view to purchase. The
seller, an Arab, was squatting on the ground beside a small table, which
was covered with various objects from scarabs to small statues. Near by
were sitting two charming ladies, who watched the proceedings with much
interest.
I came up in time to hear an offer of £20 for a small, but handsome,
black statue of Isis with the infant Horus, and some blue ushebti
figures. The goddess and her son were represented as being seated upon a
kind of throne.
“You know about these things,” said the visitor to me. “Come and tell me
what you think.”
Modestly disclaiming any special knowledge, I took a seat and examined
the figures for which I had heard the offer of £20. The model of Isis
and Horus was beautifully cut, and appeared to be made of polished
diorite, but close examination showed that it was composed of plaster of
Paris, coloured black, similar to the black scarab (No. 8 on Plate
VIII). The three ushebti figures were also very suspicious, for the blue
was not the right colour, and the glaze was too uneven to be the work of
the old Egyptians. As I laid the figures down, the Arab, who knew me
well, looked straight into my face. Not a feature moved, and his eyes
were steady and expressionless. Then, pushing a tin box towards me, he
said, “Here are some very good scarabs. Look at them.”
“What do you think of the figures?” whispered the visitor.
At that moment Providence sent a wandering Egyptologist on the scene.
“Ah, here is the man who knows,” was my reply. By careful shepherding,
the expert was got across to the table, and comfortably settled in a
chair. I saw an angry look come over his face when he caught sight of
the specimens, and I very quietly withdrew. As I left I heard the
visitor say, “Ah well, you wouldn’t take my offer of twenty pounds, and
now I shall retire from the business.”
An hour later, the charming ladies who had watched the scene fell foul
of me for having permitted an ignorant visitor to be robbed of twenty
pounds for worthless frauds.
“Why, _we_ could see that they were not genuine!” they cried.
“Then why didn’t you say so?” was my testy reply.
“It was not our business; he didn’t ask _us_,” they said scornfully.
“But we heard him ask _you_, and you did not answer.”
Now, it was quite useless to explain that I had stopped the sale by
bringing the Egyptologist into the affair. I was put down as “a mean
thing,” and not forgiven for some time after. Nor was this all the
misfortune that befell me, for later the Egyptologist said huffily,
“Look here, when next your opinion is asked upon antiquities, spurious
or otherwise, do the work yourself, and don’t bring _me_ into it.”
Later, the visitor loftily denied that he had offered £20 for the
figures. Then it was that the ladies partly forgave me, for they had
heard the offer made.
[Illustration: PLATE VII. STONE AND OTHER FIGURES. 1, 2, 4 & 5. The Sons
of Horus, or the four genii, carved in bone. 3. Osiris figure, also in
bone. 6. Ram’s head in red granite. 7. Stone hawk. 8. Frog cut in
serpentine. 9. Crocodile made of slate. 10 & 11. Sphinxes made of
plaster, used as paper-weights.]
Recently a bronze statue was sent from the Oasis of Khargeh to a dealer
in Cairo, with the statement that it had just been discovered there. The
sum of £500 was asked for it. Curiously enough, on the dealer’s shelf
stood a reproduction of that particular statue. A comparison of the two
showed that they were identical. The new piece was probably made by
Italians and taken to the Oasis, where it was buried, and after a time
dug up and sent to the dealer, who blandly refused to buy it.
Khargeh is an oasis in the Libyan Desert, lying more than one hundred
miles to the west of the Nile. In the ancient days the Romans had an
outpost there. Now it is the scene of the labours of a land company, and
the Egyptian Government sometimes banishes habitual criminals and bad
characters to this place.
On another occasion, when I was purchasing spurious antiquities, the
seller produced a well-made statue of Isis with the infant Horus. It was
cut in white stone, and the work was very good. He offered it to me for
a low price, but I unfortunately tried to beat him down. At this he took
umbrage, although he carefully concealed it from me. When I said that I
would take the statue, he quietly pointed out to me that the price was
£6, not 6_s._ Nor would he abate one piastre, but wrapping his statue up
in some old rags, saluted me and went away. Later on I inquired from
Ibrahim why it was that the man had become angry; his reply was, “These
men are like that; sometimes they will sell you a thing cheaply and make
no trouble over being beaten down; another time they will take offence,
and though you may afterwards offer them their own price, yet they will
not sell the thing to you, but will wrap it up and take it away.”
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