Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 2.djvu/146

 124 A History of Art in Ancient Egypt. The last or, it may be, the first question, which is asked in con- nection with the form of column employed by any particular race, has to do with its origin. We have preferred to make it the last question, because we thought that the analysis of form which we have attempted to set forth would help us to an answer. There are many difficulties in the matter, but after the facts to which we have called attention, it will not be denied that the forms of wooden construction, which were the first to be developed in Egypt, had a great effect upon work in stone. Ever since men began to interest themselves in Egyptian art, this has found an important place in their speculations. In the two forms which alternate with one another at Thebes, many have seen faithful transcriptions of two plants which filled a large space in Egyptian civilization by their decorative qualities and the practical services which they rendered ; we mean, of course, the lotus and the papyrus. There were in Egypt many species belonging to the family of the NymphceacecB, a family which is represented in our northern climates by the yellow and white nenuphars or water-lilies. Besides these Egypt possessed, and still possesses, the white lotus {^Nyiuphcea lotus of Linn£Eus), and the blue lotus {^Nyinphisa ccerulea of Savigny) ; but the true Egyptian lotus, the red lotus (the Nymphcea nelwnbo of Linnaeus, the Nelumbium speciosum of Wild) exists no longer in a wild state, either in Egypt or any other known part of Africa (Fig. 97). The accurate descriptions given by the ancient writers have enabled botanists, however, to recognize it among the fiora of India. It is at least one third larger than our common water-lily, from which it differs also In the behaviour of its leaves and of the stems which bear the flowers. These do not float on the surface of the water but rise above it to a height of from twelve to fifteen inches.^ The flower, which stands higher than the leaves, is borne upon a stalk which instead of being soft and pliant like that of the water-lily has the firmness and consistency of wood. It has an agreeable smell like that of anise. In the bas-reliefs the ancient Egyptians are often seen holding it to their nostrils. The fruit, which Is shaped like the rose of a watering-pot, contains seeds as large as the stone of an olive. ^ These upstanding fiowers and stalks form the distinguishing characteristic of the Nelumbo species.