A guide to the Egyptian collections in the British MuseumBritish Museum. Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities
History
A guide to the Egyptian collections in the British Museum
British Museum. Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities
Egypt -- Antiquities
XVIIIth-XXVIth dynasties they were written on rolls of papyrus which were
placed in the coffin with the mummy, or between the legs of the mummy,
or in a niche in the wall of the tomb. Sometimes the mummy was wrapped
wholly in inscribed papyrus, and sometimes the texts were written on the
linen swathings. =8.= A =set of vessels= (bowls, jars, vases, bottles,
etc.) for holding unguents, oils, astringent liquids, etc., for use in
the Other World. These were made of granite, diorite, breccia, alabaster,
etc., and their shapes are often exceedingly graceful. A very complete
collection of them will be seen in the Fourth Egyptian Room; the oldest
date from the Archaïc Period, and the series continues to the XXVIth
dynasty at least. =9.= Royal ladies and priestesses were usually provided
with a =toilet box= containing combs, mirror, hair-pins, hair-tweezers,
sandals, tubes of eye-paint, flasks of sweet unguent, etc.; for an
example see Standard-case L, in the Fourth Egyptian Room. =10.= A
=Pillow= made of wood, ivory, alabaster, etc.
[Illustration: Painted limestone figures of Ka-ṭep and his wife
Ḥetep-ḥeres.
IVth dynasty, B.C. 3750.
[Vestibule, East Doorway, No. 14.]]
The tombs of the wealthy were provided with chairs, tables, couches,
stools, boxes, painted and inlaid to hold jewellery, scents, etc., and
many articles which the Egyptians used daily in their professions. The
sistrum, cymbals, and bells which the priestess used in the temple
were buried with her; the bow and arrows of the hunter, the favourite
inscribed staff of authority of the official, the spear, dagger and axe
of the warrior, the palette and colour-pots of the artist, the sceptre
or symbol of office of the governor, children’s toys and dolls, dice,
draughts, and counters used in games—all these things went to form the
equipment for the tomb in individual cases, and examples of them are to
be seen in the Third and Fourth Egyptian Rooms.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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