supplied us with an annual importation, to the amount of nearly 100,000 pounds.

The tanning and preparation of leather was also a branch of art, in which the Egyptians evinced considerable skill; the leather cutters constituted one of the principal subdivisions of the fourth-class; and a district of the city was exclusively appropriated to them, in the Libyan part of Thebes; where they were known as 66 the leather-cutters of the Memnonia,"

Leather is little capable of resisting the action of damp, and other causes of destruction, so that we cannot reasonably expect to find much of it in a good state of preservation; but the fine quality of the straps, placed across the bodies of mummies, discovered at Thebes, and the beauty of the figures stamped upon them, satisfactorily prove the skill of “the leather cutters,” as well as the antiquity of embossing; and those bearing the names of Sheshonk (Shishak), the contemporary of Solomon, and the other kings of that dynasty, are perfectly preserved.

Many of the occupations of their trade are portrayed on the painted walls of the tombs at Thebes. They made shoes, sandals, the coverings and seats of chairs or sofas, bow-cases, and most of the ornamental furniture of the chariot; harps were also adorned with coloured leather, and shields and numerous other things were covered with skin prepared in various ways. They also made skins for carrying water, wine, and other liquids; coated within with a resinous substance, as is still the custom in Egypt.

Part of the process of curing the skins is introduced in the sculptures; and that of dyeing them is mentioned in the Bible,* being doubtless borrowed by the Jews from Egypt. In one instance, a man is represented dipping the hide into a vase, probably containing water, in which it was suffered to soak, preparatory to the lime being applied to remove the hair; a process very similar to that adopted at the present day in the East.

The Arabs prefer the acrid juice of a plant growing in the desert, for the purpose; as its effect is still more rapid, and as it has the advantage of making the skin better and more durable.

*Exod. xxv. 5, "And rams' skins dyed red."

This plant is the Periploca Secamone; its stalks contain a white milky juice, which exudes from it when bruised, and which is so acrid as to be highly injurious to the eye, or to the wounded skin. It supports itself by winding around every neighbouring shrub, and its not ungraceful stalks appear to have been occasionally used by the ancient Egyptians, for the same ornamental purpose as the ivy, the nightshade, and the convolvulus, in forming festoons. But though there is no proof of its having been employed by them in curing skins, it is very probable, as they were so well acquainted with the properties of the plants of the desert and the valley of the Nile; and curriers are represented in the sculptures of Thebes, pounding something in a mortar, which is either the periploca, lime, or some other substance required for the purpose. According to the Arabs, the method of preparing skins with the periploca (their Ghulga) is as follows:-"The skins are first put into flour and salt for three days, and are cleansed of all the fat and impurities of the inside. The stalks of the plant, being pounded between large stones, are then put into water, which is applied to the inner side of the skin for one day, and the hair having fallen off, the skin is left to dry for two or three days, and the process is completed."

The mode of stretching or bending leather over a form is frequently represented at Thebes; and the semicircular knife, similar to that of our modern curriers, is commonly used by them. The curriers and shoemakers had also a sort of chisel, the common awl (specimens of which have been found at Thebes, similar to our own), a stone for polishing the leather, the cutting table, the bending form, the horn, and a few other utensils; and a prepared skin, the emblem of their trade, was suspended, together with ready-made shoes and other articles, to indicate their skill, and to invite a customer. (Woodcuts 333, 390, and 392, part 1.)

The shops of an Egyptian town were probably similar to those of Cairo and other Eastern cities, which consist of a square room, open in front, with falling or sliding shutters to close it at night; and the goods, ranged on shelves or suspended against the walls, are exposed to the view of those who pass. In front is generally a raised seat, where the owner of the shop and his customers sit

during the long process of concluding a bargain previous to the sale and purchase of the smallest article; and here an idle lounger frequently passes whole hours, less intent on benefiting the shopkeeper than in amusing himself with the busy scene of the passing crowd.

Among the many curious customs introduced in the paintings, and still retained in the East, is that of holding a strap of leather, or other substance, with the toes, which, if always free and unin

b

391.

Currier holding a strap of leather with his toes, while cutting it.
bb are straps tied up, and deposited in the shop.

Thebes.

cumbered with tight shoes, retain their full power and pliability; and the singular, I may say primitive, mode of tightening a thong with the teeth, while sewing a shoe, is also portrayed in the paintings of the same time.

It is probable that, as at the present day, they ate in the open front of their shops, exposed to the view of every one who passed; and to this custom Herodotus may allude, when he says, "the Egyptians eat in the street."

There is no direct evidence that the ancient Egyptians affixed the name and trade of the owner of the shop, though the presence of hieroglyphics, denoting this last, together with the emblem. which indicated it, may seem to argue in favour of the custom; and the absence of many individuals' names in the sculptures is readily accounted for by the fact, that these scenes refer to the occupation of the whole trade, and not to any particular person.

Of all people, we may suppose Egyptian shopkeepers most likely to display the patronage received from royalty, the name

Part 2. Men employed in polishing a column, probably of wood.

Thebes.

2. Tightening a thong with his teeth.
c to i. Various tools; 7 an adze.

Fig. 1. Making a hole with an awl. bb. Sandals hanging up in the shop. of a monarch being so often introduced in the most conspicuous manner on the coffins of private individuals, and in the paintings of the tombs; many of the scarabæi they wore presenting the name of a king; and the most ordinary devices being formed to resemble a royal oval. But whether or not they had this custom, or that of affixing the name and occupation of the tradesman, it is difficult to determine; and indeed in those cities where certain districts were set apart for particular trades, the latter distinction was evidently uncalled for and superfluous.

The great consumption of leather in Egypt, and the various purposes to which skins, both in the tanned and raw state, were applied, created a demand far greater than could be satisfied by the produce of the country; they, therefore, imported skins from foreign countries, and part of the tribute levied on the conquered tribes of Asia and Africa consisted of hides, and the skins of wild

animals, as the leopard, fox, and others; which are frequently represented in the paintings of Thebes, laid before the throne of a Pharaoh, together with gold, silver, ivory, rare woods, and the various productions of each vanquished country.

For tanning they used the pods of the Sont, or Acacia (Acacia, or Mimosa, Nilotica), the acanthus of Strabo and other writers, which was cultivated in many parts of Egypt, being also prized for its timber, charcoal, and gum; and it is probable that the bark and wood of the Rhus oxyacanthoïdes, and the bark of the Acacia Séál, both natives of the desert, were employed for the same purpose.

Many persons, both men and women, were engaged in cleaning cloths and stuffs of various kinds; and the occupations of the fuller form some of the numerous subjects of the sculptures. It is probable that they were only a subdivision of the dyers. In

a b. Inclined tables.

с

Fullers.

Beni Hassan.

c c. The water running off into the trough below.

early times, before, and even after, the invention of soap, potash, nitre, and several earths, were employed for cleansing cloths, as well as various herbs, many of which are still in use among the Arabs, one of which was doubtless the alkaline plant boréeth, mentioned by Jeremiah (ii., 22) and Malachi (iii., 2). Many of the Suædas and Salsolas, and other alkaline plants, are found in the Egyptian deserts, as well as the gilloo, also called "the soap plant;" and the people of Cairo and the Barbary coast use certain woods for cleansing manufactured stuffs.