River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1874-08-28
FOUR THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE
CHRIST.
The Ari Of Ancien, ,:ayp,.

HAb 4 AbAtAN iAOlAA lAkS,G ~ WV AOAAONAilA
fascinating account Of the statuaIy ex-
humed at Marietta Bay and stored in
the Egyptian Museum at Cairo.
One Of the statues represents Il priest
named Ra Meier, another a civil official,
Till, whose tomb still remains entire at
Memphis, where these and other similar
figures of smaller dimensions were
found. The most of these date from
the WITH to the With dynasties. The
colors are rs brilliant as if but yester-
day applied to the stone. The climate
Of Egypt and the sand under which the
sepulchral chambers have so long been
buried, seems absolutely to prevent de-
cay, and thus these ancient re, cred
monuments appearto be modern COM
pari8on with those which were exposed
to the AIR. In 1851, shortly otter my
meeting with Marietta mt Memphis, he
discovered the unyiolated tomb Of an
Apisbull On first entering The tomb
lie saw upon light LAYER Of dustc0ver-
ing the floor the footprints OF the men
who had placed the mummy in the sar-
cophagls 3, zoo years before
Passing on to the main hall, the first
objects / sought were the wooden stat
hes belonging t. the WITH dynasty THAT
OF Cheops, about 1 235 b. Co., discoy-
cred not long since. The light from
the ceiling, falling on the close cropped
crown of the old "yillage maeis-
trate (Sheku.cl-5cHcd. rs ne il now
called by the Egyptians, gave him the
reality ofaliving figure, among SO many
which seemed to bedead or asleep in
the shadows. The statue, which is about
three feet eight inches IN height, is
carved ont of sycamore wood which
has now become hard and resonant as
metal. 1t represents a corpulent man
Of about forty-fve years Of age, holding
in one hand long staff Of Office, while
the other, clenched, hangs ut his side.
His only garment is Il cloth wound
around the loins and falling 10 the
knees The face is remarkably intelli-
gent, cheerful and benevolent
Shakesperean head, one might say, It
gives such evidence of a large rich and
attractive nature The nose is slightly
aquiline, with sensitive nostrils of only
moderate breadth, the lips large and
half smiling, equally ready to open
for joke or a blessing, and the cheeks
and chin full, but fully rounded and
not puffy. The eyes, especially, are re
markable specimens Of the earliest Pre-
Raphaelite attempts torepresent nature.
They are inserted, and with a fnesse
Of invention which almost seems a
higher art. The laShes are thin rims
of bronze the whites are formed of
white opaque quartz, the iris Of rock
crystal, and in the centre of each is set
a small crystal with many facets;
which from every side reflects keen
point of light. like that in the human
eve, Herr Brugsch said to me there
are times when this head absolutely
lives" and / could well believe him.
The statue is probably 5000 years old,
thus antedating by Zoo years ull other
relics Of art which are in any way
worthy IF being placed beside it.
There are two other heads 81 wood,
with tursos. Of the same era whether
broken OF muhlated eould not ascer.
tain. One, a woman, possesses the
same Individuality as the just and
good magistrate. There are differences
in the two sides Of the face. which
show tile most careful study 81 the orig
iual She is neither handsome nor
ugly, but You see at once she was no or.
binary person. and that, in her day,
you would much rather have lad her
for friend than on enemy.
viii hasten through two intpytn-
ing chambers 90 ,each what impressed
me as the most interesting group IN
the whole collection II WIS found
only eighteen months ago. and in nm
ancient metropolis, beside very singu-
lar pile Of masonry, called by the ma
tiyes the HdTdW ci-hedab, or Lying
Pyramids, On the western bank Of the
Nile, about fifty miles south of Cairo.
On a broad pyramidal base rises 4
tower, the sides of which are nearly
perpendicular, terminating In Il plat
form. from which springs a smaller tow.
err the entire height cannot he less than
250 feet This singular structure has
never been opened or even adequately
examined, but the conjecture of some
nrchpologists that ID was built i King
Sne-frou. the predecessor of Chops is
possibly confirmed 10y Mariette's dis
coyery Of the two painted limestone
statues which belong tathe Illd dynasty
The inscriptions show Tint they rep.
resented the prince Ra- Hotep ana the
princess Nefert. who may have been
either ms wife or sister. The size IL
life, they sit side by side ON plain mas
siye chairs but the attitudes arr easy
and natuml, and the hands are not
laid upon the knees. Only the drapery
ia LON cloth for the man and a simple
white garment, without folds for the
woman, is stitIiy and awkwardly repre-
seuted. The muscles Of tire chest and
limbs, the joints. hands and feet are
carefully modelled. and the heads
might be boldly set beside the best
portrait busts ever made. H. Hoteps
flesh is painted fresh. ruddy color,
and Nefert's pale olive yet the fea.
lures indicate that they belonged t.
the same race Nothing can h. finer