Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 2.djvu/357

 GLASS. 327 of importance. 1 It was only in the time of the Rameses and Thothmes that Phoenicia became first the agent and then the pupil of Egypt, that she learnt the secrets of an art for whose productions there was a constant and ready market. Egyptian glassmakers were, then, in full possession of their industry ; their successors might perfect it and learn how to make it yield new and more complex effects, but they added to it in no essential particular. They already understood how to produce transparent glass of a very rich tint and to decorate it with designs in a distinct colour. This is proved by the oldest vase with a date, a little bottle now in the British Museum, on which the name and style of Thothmes III. may be read. The body is a fine turquoise blue, contrasting well with the yellow of the hieroglyphs and ornamental details. The handle is dark blue with yellow and white lines upon it. 2 We have no reason to doubt the Egyptian origin of this vase, or that it belongs to the reign of the king whose oval appears upon it. But were it not for this indication, we could just as easily accept it as Phoenician. There are no sure signs by which Egyptian glass can be distinguished from that of Syria. Among the specimens figured on our plates VII., VIII., and IX., some, perhaps, were made in the Nile valley. We have included them all in this part of our history, and have postponed all detailed 1 Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. II., p. 375. For all that concerns Egyptian glass- making we may add these to the references already given : WILKINSON, The Manners and Customs, &c., vol. iii., p. 89. ROSELLINI, Monumenti, Vol. II., plate Iii. CAILLAUD, Recherches sur les Arts et Metiers de fancienne Egypt, plate x. fig. i (painting from the hypogea of Gournah). 2 FROEHNER, La Verrerie antique ; Description de la Collection Charvet (Le Pecq, 1879; a folio of 139 pages and 34 plates). We shall have more than one occasion to quote this work, from which we have learnt much. We are also greatly indebted to M. Grdau, whose collection of ancient glass is certainly the richest in Europe now that the Charvet collection has gone to America. M. Greau, has been most generous in opening to us the stores of knowledge resulting from his long experi- ence, and from the experiments on the composition of ancient glass which he has carried out with the help of specialists. Moreover he has allowed us to reproduce some of the best examples in his collection, those for instance in our plates vii., viii. and ix. We need hardly do more than mention the work of DEVILLE, Histoire de la Verrerie dans rAntiquite, 1873, 4to (Morel). Its author is more especially interested in glass of the Roman period, while his very mediocre plates give a most inexact idea of their originals. On the other hand CARL FRIEDRICH'S criticism on the work of Froehner may be consulted with advantage (Jahrbucher des rercins fitr alterthums freundcn im Rheinlande, Heft, LXXIV., Bonn, 1881, pp. 164-180).