No traces of amber have been discovered in Egypt, and Egyptologists tell us that no word for it is to be found in the language. [Illustration: FIGS. 317, 318.--Rings. Louvre.] [Illustration: FIGS. 319, 320.--Ear-rings. Louvre.] A complete idea of Egyptian jewelry and work in the precious metals cannot be given without colour; without its assistance the brilliance, softened into completest harmony by the action of time, which distinguishes the objects of which we have now been speaking, can only be guessed at. Our best advice to those who wish to thoroughly appreciate their beauty, is to examine them in the museums where they are exposed. But even in the black and white of our draughtsman the excellent taste which animated the Egyptian jeweller may be fairly estimated. Other races, the Greeks, for instance, gave more lightness and a more refined grace to their trinkets, but our familiarity with their productions does not prevent us from recognizing the nobility and amplitude of these designs. Their originality, too, is strongly brought out by their affinity to the style and decoration of the great national buildings; we might almost be tempted to think that their designs and colour compositions were supplied by architects. [Illustration: FIG. 321.--Ivory Plaque. Boulak.] The same characteristics are to be recognized on the vases figured in the royal tombs at Thebes.[394] They are coloured yellow and blue, and both their form and tint forbid us to suppose that they were of any material but metal, of gilt bronze or gold, or of silver. Incrustations in enamel or coloured _pietra dura_ relieve the monotony of the metal surface. Some of these pieces seem to have been very large. Their decoration and design is rich and complex. Flowers and half-opened buds, lions' heads, masks of Bes and of negroes, birds, sphinxes, etc., are introduced. We may presume that such objects were made for presentation to the gods and preservation in treasure-houses; few of them could have been put to any practical use. The great men of Egypt followed the example of Pharaoh in enriching the temples. The stele of Neb-oua, chief prophet of Osiris in the reign of Thothmes III., runs thus: "I have consecrated numerous gifts in the temple of my father Osiris; in silver, in gold, in lapis-lazuli, in copper, and in all kinds of precious stones."[395] [394] See two plates of PRISSE entitled: "_Art Industriel. Vases en Or Émaillé_; _Rhytons et autres Vases_." [395] MARIETTE, _Notice du Musée_, No. 93. [Illustration: FIG. 322.--Ivory Castanet. Louvre.] [Illustration: FIG. 323.--Fragment of an Ivory Castanet. Louvre.] § 4. _Woodwork._