a king buried in the
southernmost pyramid at Lisht are also of alabaster, as are the human heads
upon the lids. One, indeed, is of such fine execution that I can only
compare it with that of the statue of Khafra. The most ancient funerary
statuettes yet found--those, namely, of the Eleventh Dynasty--are of
alabaster, like the canopic vases; but from the time of the Thirteenth
Dynasty, they were cut in compact limestone. The workmanship is very
unequal in quality. Some are real _chefs-d'oeuvre_, and reproduce the
physiognomy of the deceased as faithfully as a portrait statue. Lastly,
there are the perfume vases, which complete the list of objects found in
temples and tombs. The names of these vases are far from being
satisfactorily established, and most of the special designations furnished
in the texts remain as yet without equivalents in our language. The greater
number were of alabaster, turned and polished. Some are heavy, and ugly
(fig. 215), while others are distinguished by an elegance and diversity of
form which do honour to the inventive talent of the craftsmen. Many are
spindle-shaped and pointed at the end (fig. 216), or round in the body,
narrow in the neck, and flat at the bottom (fig. 217).

[Illustration: Fig. 215.--Perfume vase, alabaster.]

[Illustration: Fig. 216.--Perfume vase, alabaster.]

[Illustration: Fig. 217.--Perfume vase, alabaster.]

They are unornamented, except perhaps by two lotus-bud handles, or two
lions' heads, or perhaps a little female head just at the rise of the neck
(fig. 218). The smallest of these vases were not intended for liquids, but
for pomades, medicinal ointments, and salves made with honey. Some of the
more important series comprise large-bodied flasks, with an upright
cylindrical neck and a flat cover (fig. 219). In these, the Egyptians kept
the antimony powder with which they darkened their eyes and eyebrows. The
Kohl-pot was a universal toilet requisite; perhaps the only one commonly
used by all classes of society. When designing it, the craftsman gave free
play to his fancy, borrowing forms of men, plants, and animals for its
adornment. Now it appears in the guise of a full-blown lotus; now it is a
hedgehog; a hawk; a monkey clasping a column to his breast, or climbing up
the side of a jar; a grotesque figure of the god Bes; a kneeling woman,
whose scooped-out body contained the powder; a young girl carrying a wine-
jar. Once started upon this path, the imagination