PAINTING. 69 
to strike sparks with a steel. According to this view their reliefs and 
paintings were a sort of mosaic prepared in a moist state. Perhaps we 
have here the first trace of fresco painting, an opinion which seems in the 
highest degree probable. 
But although these Egyptian paintings may rank very low as artistic 
productions, yet for the study of the history of the manners and customs of 
the Egyptians they are of inestimable value; for they afford us an insight 
into the domestic and social life of the people which scarcely leaves anything 
to be desired. This is especially true of the paintings which adorn the 
royal tombs and the Egyptian tombs in general, as these paintings usually 
relate to the former occupations of the deceased (see Architecture p. 10, 
or p. 10 of this volume). Thus we find in one tomb scenes from the life of a 
shepherd or of a husbandman, in another hunting scenes, in a third, 
fishing, &c. In one grave we find represented arms and implements of 
war, in another musical instruments, and a third shows us the religious and 
domestic usages and institutions of the Egyptians in their smallest details. 
The scene in pl. 12, fig. 1, will serve as an example. It represents the 
hallowing of the water of the Nile, a domestic ceremony which took place at 
each overflow of the river. The Nile water is celebrated for its palatable 
and salubrious qualities, and at the time of the overflow a stock of it was 
laid up in every household. Our view represents the interior of an Egyp- 
tian house. We see the whole family assembled in the principal apartment, 
with the master of the house at their head, and engaged in the act of 
blessing the water, of which we see a stock already stored up together with 
other provisions along the upper part of the walls; while other vessels of water 
are being brought in, as it appears,from out of doors, which have just been 
drawn. In the upper corner of the picture we see, in a sort of green- 
house or garden-house, a similar transaction going on. Another Egyptian 
picture is given in fig. 2, in which two parties are seen playing a game 
which bears a very close resemblance to our chess. In these two pictures 
will be found confirmed the assertion which we made respecting the 
drawing and the monotonous attitudes of the figures; although it cannot be 
denied but there are many points, as e. g. the distinction between the races 
of mankind, which evince a talent for accurate observation. Both of these 
paintings are from tombs. In the temples paintings are of rarer occurrence, 
and were in general confined to the coloring of reliefs; but where actual 
paintings exist, as in the halls of Carnak, they relate for the most part to 
historical events and to sacred rites. 
B. The Etruscans. 
We have already, in speaking of the sculptures of the Etruscans, had 
occasion to express our opinions respecting the origin and the progress of 
civilization of this people and concerning the remains of sculptures and 
castings which have come down from them to our times. Of their skill in 
painting and drawing we also possess valuable relics in the wall-paintings 
of the tombs, the pictures on vases, and the engravings on metallic mirrors. 
The subjects delineated were usually taken from domestic life or from their 
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