[105] WILKINSON, vol. i. p. 40. In the _Description de l'Égypte_ (_Antiquités_, vol. ii. p. 474), we find this shape accounted for by opposition of two lotus-flowers, one above another. Such an explanation could only be offered by one who had a theory to serve. The Egyptians were not always content with the paint-brush and chisel for the decoration of their capitals, they occasionally made use of metal also. This has been proved by a discovery made at Luxor in the presence of M. Brugsch, who describes it in these terms: "The work of clearing the temple began with the part constructed by Amenophis III. and gave some very unexpected results. The capitals of the columns were overlaid with copper plates, to which the contour of the stone beneath had been given by the hammer. They had afterwards been painted. Large pieces of these plates were found still hanging to the capitals, while other pieces lay among the surrounding _débris_. Thus a new fact in the history of Egyptian art has been established, namely, that stonework was sometimes covered with metal."[106] [106] Extract from a letter of M. Brugsch, published by Hittorf in the _Athenæum Français_, 1854, p. 153. This process was not generally, nor even frequently, employed, as we may judge by the vast number of capitals painted in the most brilliant colours, which remain. If the surface of the stone was to be covered up such care would not have been taken to beautify it. The fact that the process was used at all is, however, curious; it seems to be a survival from the ancient wooden architecture in which metal was commonly used. [Illustration: FIG. 92.--Bell-shaped capital, from the hypostyle hall of the Ramesseum. From the chief order.] [Illustration: FIG. 93.--Capital at Sesebi. From the elevation of Lepsius, _Denkmæler_, part i., pl. 119.] [Illustration: FIG. 94.--Capital from the temple of Nectanebo, at Philæ. From the elevation of Prisse.] The architrave which was employed with all these varieties of capital was sometimes of a kind which deserves to be noticed (Fig. 102). Whenever the dimensions of the column were sufficiently great the stone beams which met upon the die or abacus had oblique joints. The motive of the architect in making use of such a junction is obvious enough; it was calculated to afford greater solidity, and it was the most convenient way in which lateral architraves could be united with those disposed longitudinally. Any other arrangement would have involved a sacrifice of space and would have left a certain part of the abacus doing nothing.