Ancient Glass and Pottery. 9 



In the Egyptian tombs have been found many heavily 

 glazed pottery images called ashebties. These probably 

 comprise the oldest glazed pottery among the ancient nations. 

 This pottery ware has the ancient hieroglyphic symbols, 

 which bear the dates of the dynasties under which the burials 

 were made, running back to the remote ages as far as three 

 thousand years or more B. C. 



These ashebties were buried sometimes in considerable 

 numbers with each mummy, as all those who were of suffi- 

 cient, importance in the world to go into a tomb were sup- 

 posed to be people of some fortune; these ashebties were 

 placed with the bodies of the men in proportion to their pre- 

 sumed standing or wealth while living, or to represent their 

 estates after death. These little images were supposed to 

 be able to look after the welfare of their principal, and 

 prevent his spirit from being annoyed and troubled, and to 

 pay his way or work out his taxes or affairs in the other 

 world. There were buried with the bodies of the priests a 

 peculiar ashebtie called the "-Recorder" whose mission was 

 supposedly to look after the various personal interests, either 

 spiritual or temporal, and to see that the taxes were paid 

 and religious rites were attended to. These small figures 

 were formed of potteryware and were heavily glazed in many 

 cases with the strongest blues and, in others, with lighter 

 blue and occasionally with grey colors, but mostly in the 

 blues of different shades. Some of these, after lying two or 

 three thousand years in the tombs, look as though they were 

 of recent origin, excepting when more carefully examined. 

 They have on them the hieroglyphic or written language of 

 the ancient Egyptians which gives the dates, names, etc., the 

 dates being only the name or the seal of the dynasty under 

 which the images were made, the same as in the old Chinese 

 records. 



'Hi ere was also buried with each body, not only of the 

 men, but of the women also, what is called a scarab. This 

 is the ancient emblem of the origin and continuance of life. 

 The scarab, or tumble bug, whose history dates back to the 

 earliest ages, not only of the Egyptians, but also of other 

 nations, although not as emphatically as among the Egypt- 

 ians, was looked upon as a most absolutely essential pro- 

 tection against annihilation. They believed that the indi- 

 vidual should be protected during his life here by wearing 

 or carrying one or more, or many, scarabs, but it was more 



