The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-08-30
OLD AR. Z in JE w ELS.
EGYPTIAN work FOUND IN THE
PYRAMIDS.



Beautiful and Artistic Combina-
tions-Prodigal Gifts OF Precious
Is Stones. 81. N lls5l @f5
Think of toying with a pair OF ear
rings, bracelet, or a diadem which
Moses perhaps presented to one Of his
royal sweethearts 1000 years ago while
counting Pharaoh's court!
Priceless jewels, costly ornaments Of
gold, silver, and precious stones, bur
led for more than forty centuries in the
sepulchers of the Egyptian pyramids,
and now Wrested from the breasts and
decayed tabernacles Of the dead in large
quantities wonder that ancient
Mitsrraim offers such irresistible at
fractions to the exploring archaeolo-
gist!
pers contained the report Of the great
find Of N. de Moegan N the Dahschur
! rylamids The world ,narveled and
many doubted that the jeweled treas
ures of such a remote period could be
of the artictic and laborious finish de-
scribed.
It is due to the good will of Brugsch
Bey, conservator of the Gizeh M scum,
| that Photographic reproductions of
! some of the most important articles
which adorned the prisons and palaces
| of King Amosis and Queen Aah-Hotpe
and of contemporary princes and prin-
! ceSseS can be given to the public at
this early period) They were worn
| $500 years ago. But with these fac
SMILES, which the cultured world was
anxiously waiting to behold, the di-
rector sends also copies of gold breast
| plates from the twelfth dynasty of i'm
mense value, and artistically finished
| images of animals, flowers and plants,
! which excel the efforts Of most modern
goldsmiths and lapidaries.
! These results of primitive Egyptian
art deserve the recognition and adj
miration of the present most progress
sive period, not only because Of the
! fidelity in execution but also on ac-
/ count Of the taste displayed in the ap-
4 plication of the material. The metals
and jewels used were gold, silver,
bronze, turquois, lapis lazuli carnelian,
felspar, etc.
| What is most astonishing about this
latest elimination is the excellent state
of preservation in which nearly all the
articles were found. Their date has
been ascertained with incontrov ertible
accuracy. That part of the find known
as the name-rings leaves no doubt as
to the identity of their ancient owners.
Besides their own names the engrav-
ings elucidate the fact that they belong
20 al y,a1of t0 a
Kings Ositarsen III. and III. and Am
enemhat Ill Of the Twelfth Dynasty.
Theirs is known as the classical period
of Egyptian history, during which art,
literature and industry enjoyed the
highest state Of development. AS evi-
dence of this the scientists point to
the numerous grottOeS or catac combs
which have been eXcavated in the cal
careous hills of Reni-Hassan in Central
Egypt These were used as tOmbs by
the people of Hermopolis 1900 years
4 before the Christian era, one of them
bearing the date Of the forty-third year
of Ositarsen I.
Here are apartments sixty feet long
and forty feet wide, in which are pill
lars of the native rock sixteen feet in
+ height and five feet in diameter. The
sides of the grottoes are covered with
paintings designed with skill and good
!; taste. These tombs are among the
most remarkable in Egypt. Some OF
the tombs are 200 feet above the level
Of the river, resembling Doric temples
, hewn from the solid rock, with perfect
precision; no modern square, OF line, OF
plulnmet could make them more true
Pick and shovel have unearthed a
superabundance Of proofs that not only
,, massive and practical architecture, but
. that all crafts were in a phenomenally
f1ourishing condition. Artists inscribed
their names on their fanciful creations
Of wood and stone and on their chefs
d'oeuvre generally a small portrait OF
the artist is found in some modest cor
| ner.
The Greek writer Herodotus speaks
Of Persian king Kambyses, who made
it his business to play the ghouI in
. Egyptian tombs, but more than a thou
, sand years prior to his reign large
; gangs Of grave robbers would commit
their dissertations in the sepulchers OF
royalty and steal whatever jewelry
could be easily transported Legal doc
,, uments describing in detail the bodies
sg -