ABSTRACT
The interior arrangements correspond to the necessities of comfort or of special usages, and it is particularly noteworthy that in Egypt the house, the temple and the tomb present the most striking analogies. The Egyptians were passionately fond of flowers, although the flora of Egypt is not a rich one. The lotus was employed in many different uses: on feast-days the Egyptians hung garlands of it from the walls, they tied it on to the cornices of kiosks and canopies, wound it round vases, and made collars and crowns of it. The Egyptian texts speak of the erection of temples “of millions of years” and of monuments and houses “for eternity.” The primary purpose has almost disappeared, and the maker’s talent is concentrated on producing a pretty object to tempt the fair lady whose artistic taste is thereby revealed. Art-teaching was probably carried out in the schools attached to the temples, where all the traditions of the profession were learned.
