Particulars concerning the unrivalled and still-inedited discoveries,
during the years 1851—54 at Memphis, of M. A ug ust e M a r ie t t e ,
now one of the Conservateurs of the Louvre Museum, are supplied
by our collaborator Mr. Gliddon [ Chapter V. infra']. With that
frank liberality which is so honorable to scientific men, MM. d e
R ougê, M a r ie t t e , and D e v é r ia , not merely permitted Mrs. Gliddon
to copy whatever, in that gorgeous Museum, might become available
to the present work ; but the last-named Egyptologist kindly presented
her husband with the photographic originals (taken by M.
Devéria himself from these scarcely-unpacked statues,—May, 1855,)
from which our copies have been transferred directly to the stone,
without alteration in any perceptible respect. In these complaisant
facilities, the very distinguished photographer of J erusalem, M. A u g .
Salzmann, also volunteered his skilful aid \ and we reproduce [(see
Pl. H.] the facsimile profile of the “ Scribe,” due to his accurate
instrument. Hot to be outdone in generosity towards their transatlantic
colleague, Ch e v . L e p s iu s , who had just been surveying these
nouveautés archéologiques at the Louvre, subsequently forwarded
from Berlin, to Mr. Gliddon in London, a complete series of archaic
Egyptian portraits, drawn on stone also from photographs, which
included likewise copies of those already obtained from M. Mariette
s Memphite collection. Such are some of those inequitable
favors through which we are enabled to be the first in laying documents
so precious before fellow-students of ethnology. Their powerful
bearing upon the question of permanence of type in Egypt during
5000 years, upon that of the effects of amalgamation among distinct
types, in elucidation of the physiological law that the autochthonous
majority invariably, in time, absorbs and effaces the foreign
minority ; and as supplying long-deficient criteria whereby to analyze
and compare the ethnic elements of less historical nations -than the
Egyptians,—these interesting points fall especially within the province
of Dr. Hott; and he has discussed them in his Prefatory Remaries
to this volume.
With these brief indications, we proceed to test our theoiy of the
Principles that characterize the Art of different nationalities ; calling
to mind, with regard to these most antique specimens of all statuaiy,
hat, until their arrival at Paris in the autumn of 1854, it had
scarcely been suspected that the primordial Egyptians attained the
art of making statues “ ronde-bosse” much before the Xllth dynasty
[> out 2200 b . c.]. The authors of “ Types of Mankind,” in their
üe investigation of iconographie data, were unable to produce any
-—° sculpture more ancient than bas-reliefs.æ Exceptional doubts,
68 Op. cit., pp. 241-3, Pl. I. IV.