Wilkinson, John Gardner; Birch, Samuel [Mitarb.]: The Egyptians in the time of the pharaohs: being a companion to the Crystal Palace Egyptian collections (London, 1857)

98

DOMESTIC HABITS OF THE EGYPTIANS.

Eemeses; and the cup of Thotlimes III. in the Louvre, all of
the same precious metal; which last measures about seven

(W. 73.)

inches in diameter, and has fish and other devices, with a
border of hieroglyphics in relief, punched upon it from within.

Though gold-beating in its modern improved state is an
improvement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the
Egyptians overlaid wood and other materials with leaf of great
fineness at a very remote age; and beating, damascening, en-
graving, casting, inlaying, wire-drawing, and other processes,
were adopted by them more than 3900 years ago. It is not,
therefore, surprising that Homer should mention the horns of
an ox overlaid with gold, as well as other arts long known in
Egypt. But the covering of gold was generally of considerable
thickness, compared to what we use at the present day.

Gold was the precious metal par excellence, and is shown to
have been used in Egypt at an earlier time than silver, this last
being called "white gold," or " noul-lat," whence hat," white,"
alone came to signify " silver." In this the Egyptians differed