Granite bowls offered for sale by vendors of antiquities are frequently made up of fragments. Perhaps, when the bowl was discovered, a third part of it may have been missing, but a few bits were found from time to time, and these were carefully preserved and put away. On turning over heaps of debris, more bits are found, and when there are sufficient pieces the missing part of the bowl is made up of composition or wax, and the fragments stuck in in such a way as to reproduce the characteristics of the stone. Then the whole is carefully rubbed with dirt, and set to harden. Later on, a tourist pays £10 or £20 for that which is in part a real antiquity, but in part is only composition. I remember seeing in a museum two bowls which had fallen to pieces since they had been placed in the case. It was supposed that the influence of the air had caused them to crumble away, but this was not so. They had been made up with wax. The museum authorities had bought them from a dealer, and for years they had stood in the case. Then the wax gave way, and they fell to pieces. Examination with a glass showed mould on the wax. I have repeatedly been offered similar bowls, and at first I found it difficult to tell which was the made-up part. One way is to engage the seller’s attention with something else, and then scratch the suspected part with the finger nail, or some other suitable instrument. It is quite certain that the finger nail will not make an impression on granite, so that, if an indentation or a scratch appears, you may be sure that the bowl is made up; but if the material used to make up the bowl is scagliola, it becomes more difficult to tell, and you may require the aid of a powerful magnifying glass before the fraud can be detected. [Illustration: The Goddess Taurt] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: PLATE XIII. BLUE PORCELAIN. 1 A winged scarab. 2, 3, 4 & 5. The four genii. 6 & 8. Poppy heads. 7. Sacred eyes. 9. Chinese bottle. 10 & 13. Pectorals. 11. Lotus vase. 14. Winged scarab.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER X MUMMIES AND MUMMY CASES IT may be thought hardly possible that the makers of spurious antiquities could copy the mummies and their cases. And yet there is no doubt that this has been done. In the tale told by Dr. G. A. Reisner in the next chapter, he mentions that in a tomb which had been “faked up,” there were coffins and other objects.