be highly admired, even though seen amidst the grandeur of the monuments of Remeses. These columns are 3 ft. 4 in. in diameter, and 16 ft. 8 in. high*; they have sixteen faces or grooves, each about eight inches wide, and so slight and elegant that their depth does not exceed half an inch. One of the faces, which is not hollowed into a groove, is left for the introduction of a column of hieroglyphics. The roofs of some of the grottos of Beni Hassan, are cut into a slight segment of a circle, in imitation of the arch, which, as I have had occasion to observe, was probably known in Egypt at this early period; and it is remarkable, that the walls are stained and sprinkled with colour, to give them the appearance of red granite. This is the general character of the larger and northernmost grottos; the others differ, both in the form and style of the columns, and in their general appearance; but the transverse section of one of them will suffice to show the elegance of their depressed pediment, which extends, in lieu of architrave, No. 383. Section of one of the southern grottos of Beni Hassan. over the columns of the interior,-and the simplicity of their general effect. The most favourite Egyptian capitals were those in form of the full blown water plant, supposed by some to be the papyrus, which was emblematic of the lower country*, and the unopened bud of the same, or of the lotus; and that this last gave the original idea of the Doric capital is not improbable, since, by removing the upper part, and bringing down the abacus, it presents the same appearance as the early Greek style. † Fig. 1. Columns in the portico of the northern grottos of Beni Hassan. 2. Columns of the interior. 3. Horizontal section of fig. 2, showing the grooves. 4. One of the grooves on a larger scale. 2 5. An Egyptian capital, which seems to have been the origin of the Doric: fig. f. * Vide Capitals of Columns, Frontispiece of this Volume. + Vide wood-cut, No. 384. figs. 5, 6. PAINTING. Of painting, apart from sculpture, and of the excellence to which it attained in Egypt, we can form no accurate opinion, nothing having come down to us of a Pharaonic period, or of that epoch when the arts were at their zenith in Egypt; but that, already in the time of Osirtasen, they painted on board, is shown by one of the subjects at Beni Hassan, where two artists are engaged in a picture, representing a calf, and an antelope overtaken by a dog. The painter holds his brush in one hand, and his palette or saucer of colour in the other; but, though No. 385. Artists painting on a board, and colouring a figure. Beni Hassan. the boards stand upright, there is no indication of a contrivance to steady or support the hand. Mention is made of an Egyptian painting by Herodotus, who tells us that Amasis sent a portrait of himself to Cyrene*, probably on wood; and some, of uncertain period, have been found in the tombs of Thebes. Two of these are preserved in the British Museum, but they are evidently of Greek time, and, perhaps, even after the conquest of * Herod. ii. 182. Egypt by the Romans. It is therefore vain to speculate on the nature of their painting, or their skill in this branch of art; and, though some of the portraits taken from the mummies may prove that encaustic painting with wax and naphtha was adopted in Egypt, the time when it was first known there is uncertain, nor can we conclude from a specimen of Greek time, that the same was practised in a Pharaonic age. Pliny states, in his chapter on inventions*, that Gyges, a Lydian, was the earliest painter, in Egypt; and Euchir, a cousin of Dædalus, according to Aristotle, the first in Greece; or, as Theophrastus thinks, Polygnotus the Athenian." But the painting represented at Beni Hassan evidently dates before any of those artists. Pliny, in another placet, says, "the origin of painting is uncertain : the Egyptians pretend that it was invented by them 6000 years before it passed into Greece; a vain boast, as every one will allow." It must, however, be admitted, that all the arts were cultivated in Egypt long before Greece existed as a nation; and the remark he afterwards makes‡, that painting was unknown at the period of the Trojan war, can only be applied to the Greeks; as is shown by the same unquestionable authority at Beni Hassan, of the remote era of Osirtasen, who lived upwards of 1700 years before our era, between five and six hundred years previous to the taking of Troy. *Plin. vii. 56. + Plin. xxxv. 3. He also mentions line drawings as an invention of the Egyptians. Plin. xxxv. 3., at the end. STYLE OF THEIR DRAWING. The skill of the Egyptian artists in drawing bold and clear outlines is, perhaps, more worthy of admiration than any thing connected with this branch of art; and I have had occasion to notice the freedom, with which the figures in the unfinished part of Belzoni's tomb at Thebes are sketched. I have also noticed the manner in which they began those drawings previous to their being sculptured and painted. The walls having been ruled in red squares "the position of the figures was decided by the artist, who traced them roughly with a red colour; and the draughtsman then carefully sketched the outlines in black, and submitted them to the inspection of the former, who altered (as appears in some few instances here) those parts which he deemed deficient in proportion or correctness of attitude; and in that state they were left for the chisel of the sculptor." Sometimes the squares were dispensed with, and the subjects were drawn by the eye, which appears to have been the case with many of those in the tomb here alluded to. In some pictures, we observe certain conventional rules of drawing, which are singular, and perhaps confined to the Egyptians and Chinese, an instance of which may be seen in the frontispiece to my • Materia Hieroglyphica.' The subject represents Amunra the god of Thebes seated on his throne, and presenting the emblem of life to Remeses the Great, who stands before him. The deities Khonso and Bubastis are also present. The god being con * Egypt and Thebes, p. 107. |