=Furniture.=—The Egyptians did not fill their houses with furniture like Western Nations. Their =bedsteads= were made of wood, which usually came from the Sûdân, and consisted of a strong rectangular framework, about 15 or 20 inches high, across which was stretched plaited palm fibre, or rope; the _ankarîb_ of the Sûdân is the modern equivalent. The covering of such beds was formed of thick padded linen sheets, and the =pillow= was a support made of wood, or ivory, more or less ornamented, with a curved top for the neck to fit into. (See Wall-cases Nos. 97, 98, in the Third Egyptian Room.) =Carpets= were unknown, but plaited palm leaf or straw mats took their place. =Chairs= (see Standard-case H in the Fourth Egyptian Room) and =tables= were found in the houses of the wealthy, but only low =stools= were known in poor abodes. (For examples of a painted table, chairs inlaid with ivory and ebony, a couch-frame, stools, inlaid box, etc., see Standard-case L in the Fourth Egyptian Room.) Men, women, and children squatted or sat on the floor, or reclined upon mats, and in later days upon cushions made of padded linen. In houses of moderate size there was probably a raised mud bench, covered with mats in the receiving or eating room, for the use of the male members of the house, or their guests. There was also, probably, a raised mud bench built against the _outside_ of one of the walls of the house for the use of friends who sat there in the cool of the evening and for the men of the house to sleep on during hot nights. Niches, or square cavities cut in the walls, served as =cupboards=, and in one of these the =lamp= (see Wall-case No. 176 in the Fourth Egyptian Room), usually made of earthenware, stood. [Illustration: Ivory head-rest, or pillow, of Ḳua-ṭep. XIIth dynasty. [No. 69, Wall-case 98, Third Egyptian Room.]]