fine expression of countenance, the inner corner of the eye
displaying a slight curve ; ,.the cheek-bones are more prominent,
and form, with the marked and acute angle of the jaw
and the comer of the mouth, a more regular triangle ;* the
lips are thick without being turned out, as in the Negroes ;
and the teeth are well formed, regular and less projecting ;
the alveolar edges are less extensive : the complexion of
Abyssins is the colour of copper. “ These characters,” says
M. Larrey, “ are common, with slight shades, of difference,
to the Abyssinians and the Copts. They are likewise recognised
in "the statues of the ancient Egyptians, and above
all in the Sphinx, as well as several of the Egyptian mummies.
“ Pour vérifier ces faits,” he continues ; “ j ’ai recueilli
un certain nombre de crânes dans plusieurs cimetières des
Qobtes, dont'la démolition avoit été necesité par les travaux
publies.^ Je les ai comparés avec ceux des autres races, surtout
avec ceux de quelques Abyssins et Ethiopiens, et je
me suis convaincu que ces deux espèces de crânes présentent
à peu-près les mêmes formes.” He says* that the mummy
heads found at Saqqarah, displayed precisely the< same
character, viz. the prominence of the cheek-bones, and of the
zygomatic arches, the peculiar shape of-the nasal fossae, and
the comparatively slight projection in the alveolar edges,
when compared with the corresponding structure in the
Negro skull.
M. de Chabrol in describing the Copts, says that they
have decidedly an African character of physiognomy^ which,
as he thinks, -establishes the conclusion that they are indigenous
inhabitants of Egypt, and identifies them with the
ancient inhabitants. “ On peut admettre que leur race a su
se conserver pure de tout mélange avec' les Grecs, puisqu’ils
n’ont entre eux aucun trait de ressemblance.”^ This African
* “ Les joues forment avec les angles prononcés de la-mâchoire et de la bouche
un triangle plus régulier/’
+ Notice sur la conformation physique des Egyptiens, et des différentes races
qui habitent l’Egypte, par M. le Baron Larrey. Description de l ’Egypte, Etât
Moderne,- tom. ii.
X Essai sur les moeurs des habitans modernes de l’Egypte, par M. de Chabrol.
Description de l ’Egypte. Etât Moderne, tom. ii. part. 2, p. 36L.
physiognomy fistesvidentJy the character,of countenance termed
Ethiopian, and rgéji that, of the Negro.
Dr. Riippell has likewise1, described the Ethiopian character
of countenance.; and. bodilytconformation as peculiar and
distinct from the type both of the Arabian and the* Negro.
He describes this character as/more 'especially belongjkg/to
the Barâbra ©r Berberins, jamong whom he rfcsided ; but hé
says, that it is common to them with the Ababdeh and the
Bishari, and in part with the Abyssinians. This type; according
to Dr. Riippell, bears a striking’resemblance, td the character
of the ancient Egyptians arid Nubians, as displayfedlby
statùes and sculptures in the tempteé and sepulchral excavations
along the course of the Nlferf I shall have-occasion/td
cite Dr. RiippelFs observations on this subject more fully
when . I proceed to describe the Barâbra.
In the former edition of this work J selected the portrait
of the learned Abyssinian monk, Abbas Gregorius, the friend
and instructor of Ludolf, which was drawn from the lifeby
Van Sand, and engraved by Heiës, in 1691, and which- had
been alluded to by Blumenbach in his “ Beytraege,” as a specimen
of the Abyssinian physiognomy, f Ludolf informs us,
that Gregorius was of a genuine Amharic family, of the race
of Abyssinian nobility, bom in a town in the province of
Amhara.J He says, “ justæ staturæ et subnigrôbotoris erat ;
capillos crispos ut cæteri Æthiopes, sed vultum iiberaliôrem
habebat.” There is something of the African types in the
countenance of Gregorius, though scarcely approaching thé
Negro character. But the portrait of the Abyssinian bishops
engraved in the second tome of the modem division of the
splendid French work on Egypt, affords a better exemplification
of the Ethiopian physiognomy. f A copy of it forms
the frontispiece of the present volume. In this may be ob-
* Reissen in Nabein Kordofan, &c. Non Dr. EdWärd Riippell.
+' Beyträge zen Naturgeschichte, p. 87.
X Gregorius said of hirnsdf— Genus meum, 6 dilecte mi! ne videatur tibi
ex hominibus humilibus (esse) sed ex domo Amharä (est) prosapifc nobilium, qui
rectores sunt populi Althiopici, Principes, Duces, Praesides, et consiliarii Regis’
Regum /Ethiopia, qui ad oificia promovent et indedeponunt, et imperant nomine
Regis.” Jobi Ludolfi Commentar. ad procem, Hist, JEthiop.