Figs. 1. and 2. Mode of placing the lid when the box was opened. 3. Man opening a box, from a painting at Thebes. 4. and 5. A painted box of Mr. Salt's collection, showing how the lid opened. 6. and 7. Boxes from the paintings of Thebes. 8. Another box with a shelving lid, from a tomb at Thebes, in Mr. Salt's collection. them, representing offerings presented by members of his family." Several boxes have been found at Thebes; and the British Museum possesses some formerly belonging to M. Salt, one of which is remarkable for the brilliancy of the colours imparted to the pieces of ivory with which it is inlaid. The box is of ebony; the ivory, painted red and blue, is let into the sides and edges, and the lid is ornamented in the same manner. There is in this a substitute for a hinge, similar to the one before mentioned, except that here the back of the cross bar, cut to a sharp edge along its whole extent, fits into a corresponding groove at the end of the box: the two knobs are fixed in their usual place at the top and front. The lids of many boxes were made to slide in a groove, like our small colour boxes, as that given in a preceding wood-cutt; others fitted into the body, being cut away at the edges for this purpose; and some turned on a pin at the back, as I have shown in the long-handled boxes before mentioned. + In opening a large box they frequently pushed back the lid, and then either turned it sideways § and left it standing across the breadth of the box, or suffered it to go to the ground; but in those of still larger dimensions, it was removed altogether and laid upon the floor. Figs. 4. and 8. † Wood-cut, No. 269. p. 361. Vol. II. With the carpenters may be mentioned the wheelwrights, the makers of coffins, and the coopers; and this subdivision of one class of artisans, showing a systematic partition of labour, is one of many proofs of the advancement of this civilised people. I have already shown that the Egyptian chariot was of wood*, and have pointed out what portion of it was the province of the carpenter and the currier† ; and having described the war chariot, and the curricle of the towns, it only remains to notice the travelling car, or light plaustrum, which was drawn by oxen. Though so frequently used in Egypt, it is singular that one instance alone occurs of this kind of car, in a tomb I opened at Thebes in 1827; and this ought to show how wrong it is to infer the non-existence of a custom from its not being met with in the sculptures. The same remark also applies to the camel, which, in consequence of its not being found either in the paintings or hieroglyphics, is conjectured by some to have been unknown in Egypt at an early period; though, as I have already observed §, it is distinctly mentioned in the Bible among the presents given to Abraham by the king of Egypt. * Vol. I. p. 342. I have observed that the Egyptian chariot had only two wheels, and one instance is alone met with of a four-wheeled carriage. Pliny says waggons with four wheels were an invention of the Phrygians, lib. vii. 56. + Vol. I. p. 348. I have noticed an instance of it on a seal I found in Nubia, of uncertain date. In chap. viii. The plaustrum was very similar to the war chariot and the curricle, but the sides appear to have been closed, and it was drawn by a pair of oxen instead of horses. The harness was much the same, and the wheels had six spokes. In a journey it was occasionally furnished with a sort of umbrella, fixed upon a rod rising from the centre, or back part, of the car: the reins were the same as those used for horses, and apparently furnished with a bit; and besides the driver, a groom sometimes attended on foot, at the head of the animals, perhaps feeding them as they went. The accompanying wood-cut represents an Ethiopian princess, who is on her journey through 1 2 3 No. 366. An Ethiopian princess travelling in a plaustrum, or car drawn by oxen. Over her is a sort of umbrella, S, an attendant. 4, the charioteer or driver. Thebes. *It has been always a matter of surprise how the ancients could traverse hilly countries, where no roads were made, with so much facility in chariots. 66 Upper Egypt to Thebes, where the court then resided; but whether it was on the occasion of her projected marriage with the king, the brother of the third Amunoph, or merely to present her homage to him, is uncertain. A large tribute is brought at the same time from her countrymen, the "Cush," or Ethiopians;" which seems to show that it merely relates to a visit of ceremony from the queen or princess of that country; and the fact of the charioteer and some other of the attendants being Egyptians, suggests that the plaustrum was also provided from Egypt, as was the case when Pharaoh sent for Jacob, and his family, to bring them to Egypt. The plaustra are called in Genesist "waggons: they were commonly used in Egypt for travelling; and Strabo performed the journey from Syene, to the spot, where he crossed the river to visit Philæ, in one of those carriages.‡ * Besides the plaustrum, they had a sort of palanquin §, and a canopy or frame-work, answering the purpose of a sedan chair, in which they sometimes sat or stood, in their open pleasure boats, or in situations where they wished to avoid the sun; and these were also the work of the cabinet-maker. Certain persons were constantly employed in the towns of Egypt, as at the present day in Cairo and other places, to pound various substances in large stone mortars; and salt, seeds, and other things were probably taken, in the same manner, * Genes. xlv. 19. by, wheeled carriages. Gen. loc. cit. |