joined together by means of pegs cut
in hard wood, or acacia thorns (never by metal nails), polished, and
finally covered with paintings. Chests generally stand upon four straight
legs, and are occasionally thus raised to some height from the ground. The
lid is flat, or rounded according to a special curvature (fig. 258) much in
favour among the Egyptians of all periods. Sometimes, though rarely, it is
gable-shaped, like our house-roofs (fig. 259). Generally speaking, the lid
lifts off bodily; but it often turns upon a peg inserted in one of the
uprights. Sometimes, also, it turns upon wooden pivots (fig. 260). The
panels, which are large and admirably suited for decorative art, are
enriched with paintings, or inlaid with ivory, silver, precious woods, or
enamelled plaques. It may be that we are scarcely in a position justly to
appraise the skill of Egyptian cabinet-makers, or the variety of designs
produced at various periods. Nearly all the furniture which has come down
to our day has been found in tombs, and, being destined for burial in the
sepulchre, may either be of a character exclusively destined for the use of
the mummy, or possibly a cheap imitation of a more precious class of
goods.

The mummy was, in fact, the cabinet-maker's best customer. In other lands,
man took but a few objects with him into the next world; but the defunct
Egyptian required nothing short of a complete outfit. The mummy-case alone
was an actual monument, in the construction of which a whole squad of
workmen was employed (fig. 261). The styles of mummy-cases varied from
period to period. Under the Memphite and first Theban empires, we find only
rectangular chests in sycamore wood, flat at top and bottom, and made of
many pieces joined together by wooden pins. The pattern is not elegant, but
the decoration is very curious. The lid has no cornice. Outside, it is
inscribed down the middle with a long column of hieroglyphs, sometimes
merely written in ink, sometimes laid on in colour, sometimes carved in
hollowed-out signs filled in with some kind of bluish paste. The
inscription records only the name and titles of the deceased, accompanied
now and then by a short form of prayer in his favour. The inside is covered
with a thick coat of stucco or whitewash.

[Illustration: Fig. 261.--Construction of a mummy-case, wall scene,
Eighteenth Dynasty.]

[Illustration: Fig. 262.--Mask of Twenty-first Dynasty coffin of Rameses
II.]

[Illustration: