=Handicrafts.=—The Egyptian of all periods was a skilled =potter=. In the earliest times the potter’s wheel was unknown, and every vessel was shaped by the potter’s hand or foot. Vessels of all sorts, shapes, and sizes were made with great skill, and in later periods were decorated with linear and other designs. The art of the potter throve until the advent of the conquerors from Asia, when it began to languish; and in a few centuries earthenware vessels were superseded by stone. Good examples of Predynastic and Archaïc pottery will be found in the cases on the Landing of the North-West Staircase, and of the pottery of the later periods in the Fourth Egyptian Room. The =Basket-weaver= wove rush matting, plaited mats and sandals, and made ropes and baskets of all kinds. Specimens of his work will be seen in Table-case A in the Third Egyptian Room, and in Wall-cases 182-187 in the Fourth Egyptian Room. Owing to the abundance of flax in Egypt the trade of the =linen-weaver= was in all periods most flourishing, and the “fine linen of Egypt” was famous throughout Western Asia and the seaports of the Mediterranean. A staff of linen weavers appears to have been attached to each temple, and the sale of their work produced a large revenue; a portion was paid to the king, and the rest was kept by the priests. The city of Ȧpu (Panopolis, the modern Akhmîm) was one of the chief seats of the linen industry, and to this day the dyed curtains of Akhmîm are used throughout Egypt. The craft of the =jeweller= was very important, for, in addition to the rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, earrings, etc., which he made in gold and silver, he cut the =amulets= and ornaments in amethyst, garnet, agate, onyx, chalcedony, carnelian, jasper, mother-of-emerald, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, rock-crystal, basalt, porphyry, haematite, obsidian, coral, mother-of-pearl, etc. (See Table-cases F, J.) The finest work of the jeweller belongs to the XIIth dynasty, and the workmen of that period brought the art of =inlaying precious stones= and metals to a very high pitch of perfection. Some think that the Egyptians understood the art of =enamelling=, but authorities are not agreed on this point.