252 
EGYPTIAN ART. 
were procured by Mr. Layard in the mound of Amram, at Babylon; 
the rest by Colonel Rawlinson, C.B., and Mr. J. R. Steuart. The 
inscriptions have been deciphered by Thomas Ellis, Esq., of the 
Department of Manuscripts; and appear to be charms and exorcisms 
against the devil. The earliest may be as old as the 2nd or 3rd cen¬ 
tury, B.C., the latest as late as the 5th century, a.d. 
In 91, and along, the upper shelves of 95-97, are a few small terra¬ 
cotta vessels procured by Mr. Layard from Arban on the Khabur, the 
country to which a portion of the Ten Tribes was carried by Shal¬ 
maneser. 
No. 92 contains a considerable number of small clay seal impres¬ 
sions, similar to those in 89-90 ; and 93-94, some very beautiful 
fragments of glass from Kouvunjik. Among these is one very perfect 
glass vessel, covered with a bright green irridescence. 
In 95-97, along two upper shelves, are several specimens of highly- 
ornamented bronze bowls and dishes, in some cases inlaid with silver 
studs. The same series is continued along the upper shelves of 
101-103. The ornaments on these bowls, which have been cleaned 
so far as.their decayed state admitted, are generally men and animals, 
interspersed with fancy patterns of the lotus and other plants. They 
have been embossed, in most instances, by a blunt instrument, and the 
graving tool has been seldom, if at all used. 
In 98-100 are less perfect specimens of the same bowls, which 
were too much decayed to admit of their being cleaned. 
In 107-109, on the second shelf, are a large number of miscella¬ 
neous objects, the majority procured forty years ago by Mr. Rich, and 
consisting chiefly of small figures of animals in bronze, carnelian, and 
agate. The exact localities whence they came is not known ; but they 
may be attributed, for the most part, to Assyria and Babylonia. 
Below is a collection of terracotta tablets; some from Babylon, 
but the majority from Warka. They are placed here as specimens of 
many hundreds which have been found all over Assyria, and as bearing 
the names of well-known monarchs, such as Nabopollasar, Cyrus, 
Darius, Artaxerxes, &c. &c. 
Nos. 110-112 contain a miscellaneous collection of objects, chiefly 
from Babylonia, procured by Mr. Rich and Sir Robert Ker Porter. 
Among them are, a brick from Babylon (110), and some of the reeds 
(111) which were placed between the layers of bricks in the ruins of 
that ancient capital. These were presented by Sir R. K. Porter. 
Art of the Egyptians .—From the specimens of the architecture and 
sculpture of the Egyptians which remain to us, we see that their art was 
of a peculiar character, remarkable for its colossal proportions and mag¬ 
nificence. The earliest known architecture, the pyramids of the 4th dy¬ 
nasty, exhibits simple forms of vast magnitude, and of the minutest finish. 
In the more complicated structure of the tombs of Benyhassan, under 
the 12th dynasty, the elements of Doric architecture may be traced in 
the columns and triglyphs. Under the 18th dynasty, the columns 
