Ushebti figures in blue porcelain, of varying sizes, are now being made in Luxor, and I believe also in the Delta, near Zagazig. The modelling is good in some cases, and very bad in others, but the glaze is the wrong colour. The old Egyptian glaze was thin, and evenly distributed, while the new glaze is thicker in parts, patchy, and not quite the proper blue (see Frontispiece), but these faults will probably be rectified in a very short time.

The old Egyptian blue is commonly supposed to have been produced by grinding down turquoise, but there is no evidence that the Egyptians used these stones for such a purpose, although they mined turquoise in Sinai from prehistoric times.

Some time ago I came across a visitor and a friend sitting examining some specimens of Egyptian antiquities with a view to purchase. The seller, an Arab, was squatting on the ground beside a small table, which was covered with various objects from scarabs to small statues. Near by were sitting two charming ladies, who watched the proceedings with much interest.

I came up in time to hear an offer of £20 for a small, but handsome, black statue of Isis with the infant Horus, and some blue ushebti figures. The goddess and her son were represented as being seated upon a kind of throne.

“You know about these things,” said the visitor to me. “Come and tell me what you think.”

Modestly disclaiming any special knowledge, I took a seat and examined the figures for which I had heard the offer of £20. The model of Isis and Horus was beautifully cut, and appeared to be made of polished diorite, but close examination showed that it was composed of plaster of Paris, coloured black, similar to the black scarab (No. 8 on Plate VIII). The three ushebti figures were also very suspicious, for the blue was not the right colour, and the glaze was too uneven to be the work of the old Egyptians. As I laid the figures down, the Arab, who knew me well, looked straight into my face. Not a feature moved, and his eyes were steady and expressionless. Then, pushing a tin box towards me, he said, “Here are some very good scarabs. Look at them.”

“What do you think of the figures?” whispered the visitor.

At that moment Providence sent a wandering Egyptologist on the scene.

“Ah, here is the man who knows,” was my reply. By careful shepherding, the expert was got across to the table, and comfortably settled in a chair. I saw an angry look come over his face when he caught sight of the specimens, and I very quietly withdrew. As I left I heard the visitor say, “Ah well, you wouldn’t take my offer of twenty pounds, and now I shall retire from the business.”

An hour later, the charming ladies who had watched the scene fell foul of me for having permitted an ignorant visitor to be robbed of twenty pounds for worthless frauds.

“Why, we could see that they were not genuine!” they cried.

“Then why didn’t you say so?” was my testy reply.

“It was not our business; he didn’t ask us,” they said scornfully. “But we heard him ask you, and you did not answer.”

Now, it was quite useless to explain that I had stopped the sale by bringing the Egyptologist into the affair. I was put down as “a mean thing,” and not forgiven for some time after. Nor was this all the misfortune that befell me, for later the Egyptologist said huffily, “Look here, when next your opinion is asked upon antiquities, spurious or otherwise, do the work yourself, and don’t bring me into it.”

Later, the visitor loftily denied that he had offered £20 for the figures. Then it was that the ladies partly forgave me, for they had heard the offer made.

PLATE VII.

Recently a bronze statue was sent from the Oasis of Khargeh to a dealer in Cairo, with the statement that it had just been discovered there. The sum of £500 was asked for it. Curiously enough, on the dealer’s shelf stood a reproduction of that particular statue. A comparison of the two showed that they were identical. The new piece was probably made by Italians and taken to the Oasis, where it was buried, and after a time dug up and sent to the dealer, who blandly refused to buy it.

Khargeh is an oasis in the Libyan Desert, lying more than one hundred miles to the west of the Nile. In the ancient days the Romans had an outpost there. Now it is the scene of the labours of a land company, and the Egyptian Government sometimes banishes habitual criminals and bad characters to this place.

On another occasion, when I was purchasing spurious antiquities, the seller produced a well-made statue of Isis with the infant Horus. It was cut in white stone, and the work was very good. He offered it to me for a low price, but I unfortunately tried to beat him down. At this he took umbrage, although he carefully concealed it from me. When I said that I would take the statue, he quietly pointed out to me that the price was £6, not 6s. Nor would he abate one piastre, but wrapping his statue up in some old rags, saluted me and went away. Later on I inquired from Ibrahim why it was that the man had become angry; his reply was, “These men are like that; sometimes they will sell you a thing cheaply and make no trouble over being beaten down; another time they will take offence, and though you may afterwards offer them their own price, yet they will not sell the thing to you, but will wrap it up and take it away.”