number are mere articles of commerce, made upon the same pattern, and perhaps in the self-same moulds, century after century, for the delight of devotees and pilgrims.  They are rounded, vulgar, destitute of originality, and have no more distinction than the thousands of coloured statuettes of saints and Virgins which stock the shelves of our modern dealers in pious wares.  An exception must, however, be made in favour of the images of animals, such as rams, sphinxes, and lions, which to the last retained a more pronounced stamp of individuality.  The Egyptians had a special predilection for the feline race.  They have represented the lion in every attitude—­giving chase to the antelope; springing upon the hunter; wounded, and turning to bite his wound; couchant, and disdainfully calm—­and no people have depicted him with a more thorough knowledge of his habits, or with so intense a vitality.  Several gods and goddesses, as Shu, Anhur, Bast, Sekhet, Tefnut, have the form of the lion or of the cat; and inasmuch as the worship of these deities was more popular in the Delta than elsewhere, so there never passes a year when from amid the ruins of Bubastis, Tanis, Mendes, or some less famous city, there is not dug up a store of little figures of lions and lionesses, or of men and women with lions’ heads, or cats’ heads.  The cats of Bubastis and the lions of Tell es Seba crowd our museums.  The lions of Horbeit may be reckoned among the chefs-d’oeuvre of Egyptian statuary.  Upon one of the largest among them is inscribed the name of Apries (fig. 282); but if even this evidence were lacking, the style of the piece would compel us to attribute it to the Saite period.  It formed part of the ornamentation of a temple or naos door; and the other side was either built into a wall or imbedded in a piece of wood.  The lion is caught in a trap, or, perhaps, lying down in an oblong cage, with only his head and fore feet outside.  The lines of the body are simple and full of power; the expression of the face is calm and strong.  In breadth and majesty he almost equals the fine limestone lions of Amenhotep III.

[Illustration:  Fig. 282.—­Bronze lion from Horbeit, Saite.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 283.—­Gold worker.]

The idea of inlaying gold and other precious metals upon the surface of bronze, stone, or wood was already ancient in Egypt in the time of Khufu.  The gold is often amalgamated with pure silver.  When amalgamated to the extent of 20 per cent, it changes its name, and is called electrum (asimu).  This electrum is of a fine light-yellow colour.  It pales as the proportion of silver becomes larger, and at 60 per cent. it is nearly white.  The silver came chiefly from Asia, in rings, sheets, and bricks of standard weight.  The gold and electrum came partly from Syria in bricks and rings; and partly from the Soudan in nuggets and gold-dust.  The processes of refining and alloying are figured on certain monuments