Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 1.djvu/112

 were to be visible, in the structural details as in the ornamental painting and sculpture. By these signs you may recognize at once, that, from its foundation to its completion, the whole work was in the hands of artisans whom long practice had made perfect in their trade, and that each single individual among them had

A history of art in ancient Egypt (1883) (14769377491).jpg —Columns in the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak.

made it a point of honour to acquit himself worthily of the task entrusted to him. In the gangs of docile labourers who succeeded each other in the workshops of Memphis or Thebes, there was, of course, a certain sprinkling of men who had become qualified by