RERAMIC STUDIO 
EGYPTIAN SYMBOLISM 
MANY were the symbols employed by the Egyptians to give 
expression to their religious beliefs. The hawk upon the 
head of Horus was symbohc of the flight of that bird toward the 
sun. The scarabceus laid its egg and enclosing it in a little ball 
of mud, placed it out of reach of the waters of the Nile. The 
Egyptian knew not that the ball enclosed an egg; to him, out of 
the earth came a new life, consequently the scaraboeus became a 
sacred symbol of rebirth, resurrection and eternal life. Beside 
being a symbol of immortality, it was emblematic of creative 
power. Scarabs reproduced in stone, gold, ivory or wood and 
of various sizes were used as amulets for the living and the dead , 
They were buried with the mummy in large numbers : those two 
or three inches long were placed over the heart. So placed it 
was believed that they would assist in driving away evil spirits 
during the transmigration stage. And as in the resurrection 
the heart would be the first to receive vitalitj^, the scarab, as the 
sacred symbol of rebirth would be of great significance. In the 
Book of the Dead, a copy of which was buried with every mum- 
my, are found the words : " My heart that comes to me from my 
mother, my heart that is necessary to me for my transformation." 
Other passages of great interest recall parts of the Hebrew 
Scriptures; for instance, we read the translation: "I have 
given bread to the hungry; I have given water to the thirsty; I 
have given clothes to the naked." The Scaraboeus was espec- 
ially sacred to the god Ammon-Ra. It was so much allied to 
the worship of the sun that it was often represented with the 
sun's disk. It was frequently employed in decoration and in 
the hieroglyphic writings, to signify "To be, to become, to 
raise up." 
The Egyptian evidently did not associate death and 
tomb with unmitigated horror. In many pictures found upon- 
the monuments, the departing soul is represented as being trans 
ferred in a boat across the river. Upon the boat is pictured the 
tomb, its doorway almost completely covered by a sail, which is 
the symbol of coming breath or renewed life. The winged sun- 
disk is also a most interesting symbol. It was placed over 
doorways and upon the lintels of passageways and entrance 
pylons. The outspread wings were emblematic of divine pro- 
tective power. On both sides of the disk appears the Uraeus 
serpent to signify royalty. The lotus is one of the most typical 
features in Egyptian decoration. It is represented in every 
imaginable form of outline from the bud to the fidl blossom. 
It is a sjTnbol of resurrection and inunortality. Siicli use of 
svmbols we find in modified form in carh' Christian art. The 
fish is emblematical of Christ, the dove of the Holy Spirit and 
the cock of Christian watchfulness; while the four evangeHsts 
were often represented by the angel, the lion, the ox and the 
eagle. — From Egypt, the Land of the Temple Btnlders, by Walter 
Scott Perry. 
STUDIO NOTE 
Miss Mabel C. Dibble, of Chicago, will go north about May 
1st to teach for three weeks, and will not resume her Chicago 
classes before June 1st. 
BOWL-OLIVE SHERMAN 
DESIGN OP WASPS, From "Art et Decoration." 
