26 ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRlXrSH MUSEUM. 



Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities. 



1. — Arrangement and Cataloguing. 

 Egyptian Division : — 



Twenty-three stone and thirty-four bronze figures, one inscription, one stone boat, two 

 spliinxes, two heads, one altar, and one terracotta have been mounted on plinths ; two 

 hundred and thirty fragments of sculpture have been inlaid in stone ; one hundred and 

 eighty-seven wooden figures have been mounted on pedestals ; the sepulchral tablets and 

 jars in the Egyptian Gallery have been fixed to the shelves ; one hundred and twelve 

 objects have been repaired ; seven hundred and twenty-four gems, five bronzes, and three 

 figures have been cleaned ; two thousand and twenty objects, including scarabei, gems 

 with plaster casts, symbolic eyes, etc., have been mounted ; sycamore stands have been made 

 for the cartonnage head of a mummy and seventeen terracotta vases and jars ; shelves and 

 sliding trays have been prepared and fitted in the cases in the studies ; false bottoms for 

 mummy cases and beading for the doors in the third Egyptian Room have been provided; 

 the recent acquisitions have been incorporated in the collection and arranged ; a selection 

 of duplicate objects available for presentation has been made ; the ostraka have been ar- 

 ranged in boxes, and ten papyri have been unrolled. 



Twenty-seven hieroglyphic papyri, fifteen inscribed linen bandages, and two hundred and 

 fourteen miscellaneous objects have been catalogued ; twelve hundred and sixty-six objects 

 have been registered ; six hundred and forty-four labels have been written ; one thousand 

 and sixty-one have been painted ; the revision of the text of the Coffin of Amam has 

 been continued ; and collections offered for sale have been examined. 



Assyrian Division: — 



Two bronze shields have been mounted on wainscot plinths in the Assyrian Koom ; 

 the Assyrian plaster moulds In the store room have been re-arranged ; two Portland-stone 

 plinths and a slate shelf have been prepared for the glazing of Assyrian sculptures ; two 

 frames have been provided for the case containing the Balawat gates ; twelve deal trays 

 have been made ; sixty-four terracotta tablets and one cylinder have been cleaned, re- 

 paired, and protected from further decay ; casts have been made of two Assyrian tablets 

 and twenty-one engraved cylinders; six hundred and five pieces of Assyrian tablets 

 have been joined; sixty desci'iptive labels, and two thousand seven hundred and sixty- 

 four numbers have been printed In the Department ; twenty-one objects have been 

 mounted on velvet-covered blocks ; tracings of inscriptions have been made for the use of 

 students; the casebooks of the Kouyunjik Gallery have been continued; fragments 

 of anciently broken tablets have been identified and joined; bilingual fragments in the 

 Babylonian character and fragments of tablets supposed to relate to the downfall of the 

 Assyrian empire have been classified. 



Collections offered for sale have been examined, and two thousand one hundred and 

 forty-seven objects have been registered ; thirty-six labels and seven hundred and nine- 

 teen catalogue slips have been Avritten ; seven hundred and forty-four contract tablets 

 have been copied ; the contents of two cases in the Nimroud Central Saloon have been 

 re-arranged, and the manuscript of the descriptive Guide to the same has been completed; 

 fourteen hundred and eighty-one tablets have been labelled and arranged in glass boxes. 



Phoenician, Palmyrene and Hamathite : — 



The plaster cast of the lion from Marash has been mounted on a pedestal ; two large 

 fragments of sculpture from Jirbas have been mounted on plinths; nineteen fragments of 

 sculpture from Jirbas have been inlaid in Caen stone ; two fragments of an inscription 

 from Carchemish have been mounted ; the sculptures in the Phoenician Room have been 

 re-arranged ; a marble head has been mounted, and a cast of a trilingual inscription 

 made; Phceniclan objects have been described ; and seven Palmyrene busts have been 

 fixed on a wall in the Phoenician Room. 



827 students and others seeking information about objects in the Egyptian and Assyrian 

 collections have visited the Department during the year 1885. 



II. — Purchases. 

 Egyptian : — 



The following objects in bronze: — 



Statue of Neith; statue of Horus; double hawk-headed deity for pendant; seal of the 

 Temple of Amen ; ichneumon and young ones ; hinge ; pair of cymbals ; mirror case ; 

 bolt of a door ; chisels ; knives ; armlet ; plate with lions ; razor blade ; fire altar ; and 

 two objects the use of which is unknown. 



Gold 



