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HALL 2. 
Continuing the exhibits of Alcoves 123 and 124, Hall 2 con- 
tains a valuable set of casts of Asiatic antiquities, mainly Chaldean 
and Assyrian. 
HALL 3. 
EGYPTIAN ARCH/EOLOGY. 
In this hall are now installed the extensive collections brought 
together by Mr. Ayer during his recent trip to Egypt. The 
nucleus of the collection is a set of twenty mummies representing 
a wide range of characters and covering a period of nearly two 
thousand years of mummy-making, closing with the coming of 
Christ. 
Notable examples may be briefly referred to. In the small 
floor case are mummies of two young girls with elaborate gilt 
masks. The two wide, low cases contain neatly prepared mum- 
mies in their original coffins, three of which are of wood, and one, 
a unique specimen, of interlaced bulrushes. 
Two striking coffins occupy cases near the north end of the 
hall; one is a box with arched lid and corner posts, and is elabo- 
rately painted with symbolic designs and hieroglyphs; the other is 
what is known as a mummy-shaped case, and is a fine example of 
the more ornate painted coffins. 
In wall cases at the east and west are two pairs of coffins 
placed in an upright position, and against the south wall is a case 
containing five mummies of young persons. One of^ these is 
remarkable in having a portrait painted on wood substituted for 
the usual mask, and another has the wrapping removed so that a 
good idea of the state of preservation may be gained. 
The oldest mummy, so far as the inscriptions have been read, 
is that contained in a coffin with light colored lid crossed with 
yellow bars, placed near the middle of the room. Its date is 1500 
years B. C. 
In other floor cases and in the wall cases are many interesting 
relics of art, including utensils of bronze, wood, iron, earthenware 
and stone; mortuary tablets, canopic jars, alabaster vases and 
gold, glass, earthenware, and stone jewelry. 
On the upper line are several good examples of theironts of 
balcony windows from modern Cairo, and several specimens of 
mushraba colored glass screens. The alcove to this hall, opening 
out into the East Court, contains numerous excellent casts of 
ancient Egyptian sculptures in relief and in the round. 
