Assyria; and we may conclude that it was neither a
recent discovery there, nor confined to that country.

[Illustration: ANCIENT GLASS VESSELS.]

Winkleman is of opinion that "the ancients carried the art of
glass-making to a higher degree of perfection than ourselves, though
it may appear a paradox to those who have not seen their works in this
material;" and we may even add that they used it for more purposes,
excepting of course windows, the inconvenience of which in the hot sun
of Egypt would have been unbearable, or even in Italy, and only one
pane of glass has been found at Pompeii, in a place not exposed to the
outer light.

[Illustration: GLASS BROACH.]

That the Egyptians, more than 3,000 years ago, were well acquainted
not only with the manufacture of common glass, for beads and bottles
of ordinary quality, but with the art of staining it with divers
colors, is sufficiently proved by the fragments found in the tombs of
Thebes; and so skillful were they in this complicated process, that
they imitated the most fanciful devices, and succeeded in
counterfeiting the rich hues, and brilliancy, of precious stones. The
green emerald, the purple amethyst, and other expensive gems, were
successfully imitated; a necklace of false stones could be purchased
at an Egyptian jeweler's, to please the wearer, or deceive a stranger,
by the appearance of reality; and some mock pearls (found lately at
Thebes) have been so well counterfeited, that even now it is difficult
with a strong lens to detect the imposition.

Pliny says the emerald was more easily counterfeited than any other
gem, and considers the art of imitating precious stones a far more
lucrative piece of deceit than any devised by the ingenuity of man;
Egypt was, as usual, the country most noted for this manufacture; and
we can readily believe that in Pliny's time they succeeded so
completely in the imitation as to render it difficult to distinguish
false from real stones.

Many, in the form of beads, have been met with in different parts of
Egypt, particularly at Thebes; and so far did the Egyptians carry this
spirit of imitation, that even small figures, scarabaei, and objects
made of ordinary porcelain, were counterfeited, being composed of
still cheaper materials. A figure, which was entirely of earthenware,
with a glazed exterior, underwent a somewhat more complicated process
than when cut out of stone and simply covered with a vitrified
coating;