THE ONYX MARBLES. 555 



The materials employed in the Temple of the Sphinx in Egypt are 

 rose granite and " alabaster," The supporting piers are of granite, the 

 lining slabs of the walls and the ceiling of " alabaster" without carving 

 or any form of relief. 



Onyx was also employed for statuettes, some few of which are pre- 

 served in the museums of to-day. The statue of Eameses, now in the 

 Musee du Louvre, in Paris, is stated by Chateau to be of Egyptian 

 alabaster, while in the Boulak 31useum at Cairo are '' alabaster" statues 

 of Queen Ameneritis, mounted on abase of gray granite; also of Osiris, 

 the scribes Xeferhotep and Awi. 



According to Hull,* a beautifully iridescent variety of the Egyptian 

 stone was used in constructing the four columns, each about 8 feet in 

 height, which adorn the Sala containing the cabinets of gems in the 

 Galleria degli Ufflzi at Florence. He also describes large cinerary urns 

 formed from this material, one of the finest being in the museum of the 

 Vatican at Eome, which measures 9 feet in length and 4 feet in depth. 

 Also tables in the Galleria Pitti at Florence. 



During the reign of Moliamed Ali, the founder of the present 

 dynasty, onyx from the Beni-Souef quarries was largely atilized in the 

 embellishment of the celebrated "Alabaster Mosque" at Cairo. This, 

 it will be remembered, was partly completed in its present form by Said 

 Pasha in 1857. The alabaster used for the incrustation of the masonry 

 consists partly of blocks and partly of slabs. The beautiful yellow 

 tint of the stone fades on prolonged exposure to the sun.t I am 

 informed by Mr. H. A. Ward that the stone here used is so translucent 

 that when the sun is shining upon it, shadows of passers-by upon the 

 street are distinctly noticeable fi'om within, even where the wall is 18 

 inches in thickness. 



Following the Egyptians, the Romans, with their characteristic lux- 

 uriousness, did not fail to overlook so promising a material, and early 

 adopted it for similar puri^oses. A portion of the vessels found in 

 Grecian and Roman ruius are of undoubted Egyptian materials and 

 manufacture. The quarries at Ain Tembalek were worked with great 

 activity at a very early period by the Romans. This is proven not 

 merely by the abundance of works of art in this stone among the 

 Roman ruins, but also by the finding of actual quarry sites. In all the 

 Arabian monuments found in the region, especially at Tlemcen, there 

 has been frequent use made of the onyx. In the grand mosque D'jama- 

 Kebir, built during the tweltth century, may be seen the remains of an 

 old court flagged with onyx, in the center of which is a fountain of the 

 same material. In the mosque Djama-Abou'l Hassen, the numerous 

 columns supporting the arcade are also of onyx. Beautiful examjiles 

 of the character of the (juarry product are also to Toe seen at Sidi Bon 

 Medin and at the museum at Tlemcen. The onyx columns of the 



"^ Building and Ornamental Stones, page 150. 

 t Baedeker, Guide to Lower Egypt. 



