ginality, and have no
more distinction than the thousands of coloured statuettes of saints and
Virgins which stock the shelves of our modern dealers in pious wares. An
exception must, however, be made in favour of the images of animals, such
as rams, sphinxes, and lions, which to the last retained a more pronounced
stamp of individuality. The Egyptians had a special predilection for the
feline race. They have represented the lion in every attitude--giving chase
to the antelope; springing upon the hunter; wounded, and turning to bite
his wound; couchant, and disdainfully calm--and no people have depicted him
with a more thorough knowledge of his habits, or with so intense a
vitality. Several gods and goddesses, as Shu, Anhur, Bast, Sekhet, Tefnut,
have the form of the lion or of the cat; and inasmuch as the worship of
these deities was more popular in the Delta than elsewhere, so there never
passes a year when from amid the ruins of Bubastis, Tanis, Mendes, or some
less famous city, there is not dug up a store of little figures of lions
and lionesses, or of men and women with lions' heads, or cats' heads. The
cats of Bubastis and the lions of Tell es Seba crowd our museums. The lions
of Horbeit may be reckoned among the _chefs-d'oeuvre_ of Egyptian statuary.
Upon one of the largest among them is inscribed the name of Apries (fig.
282); but if even this evidence were lacking, the style of the piece would
compel us to attribute it to the Saite period. It formed part of the
ornamentation of a temple or naos door; and the other side was either built
into a wall or imbedded in a piece of wood. The lion is caught in a trap,
or, perhaps, lying down in an oblong cage, with only his head and fore feet
outside. The lines of the body are simple and full of power; the expression
of the face is calm and strong. In breadth and majesty he almost equals the
fine limestone lions of Amenhotep III.

[Illustration: Fig. 282.--Bronze lion from Horbeit, Saite.]

[Illustration: Fig. 283.--Gold worker.]

The idea of inlaying gold and other precious metals upon the surface of
bronze, stone, or wood was already ancient in Egypt in the time of Khufu.
The gold is often amalgamated with pure silver. When amalgamated to the
extent of 20 per cent, it changes its name, and is called electrum
(_asimu_). This electrum is of a fine light-yellow colour. It pales as the
proportion of silver becomes larger, and at 60 per cent. it is nearly
white. The silver