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Copyright. 191,1. It) the : Star Company. Great Britain Rights Reserved. Clever Imitation of a Winged Scarab of Great Value. Blue Jar with Ar.ubis Head. Which the Maker Said Was a Genuine Antique, Because the Earth Was Old. Handsome Forged Mummy of the Ptolemaic Period That Sold for $5,000. Imitation Sacred Cat, Alleged to Come from the Temple at Thebes. Wooden Dove, Copied from the Statuettes Placed One of the Little_ Ushebti Funerary Figures Counterfeited in Enormous Quantities. all periods is one ot the most profitable occupations of the antiquity forgers. A handsome mummy case, like the one of the Ptolemaic period shown on. this page, will sell for $5,000 or even more, and the original cost need not be more than $20 One transaction of this kind win support a thrifty Egyptian for life. In making the mummy case a frag ment of genuine old case if. frcqu mtly used so that the workers may keep the style and tone -perfectly. A bundle of rags and cow bones may be used in place of the mummy, or if it iB intended to make a very fine Job a genuine old be inserted. Unidentified in Ancient Egyptian Tombs. HE fabrication of forged an- | £ tiqultles has become one of fofigjjia the most profitable industries of modern Egypt Every year more and more wealthy American and European tourists go to the sunny and salubrious land of the Pharaohs Practically every one of these tourists wishes to take away some relic of the ancient Pharaohs as a souvenir To sup ply this demand the modern Egyptians are working night and day making very attractive articles In the ancient style The Egyptian law now requires that every person finding antiquities shall re port the fact to the government, which reserves the right to purchase them This law really favors the antiquity forgers, for they represent to their cus tomers that they are offering them con traband goods, which offer usually has the effect of whetting the appetite to buy. , A scholar and Egyptologist, Dr T G Wakeling, has made a lifelong study of the methods of the antiquity forgers, and published a very Interesting book on the subject. It is Illustrated with re markable specimens of forgeries which the author has collected himself. The manufacture of mummy cases of sented it as the tomb of some forgotten pharaoh or chief minister of three thou sand years ago. He filled it with stelae, ushebti, jewelry, mummies, vases and other forged antiquities, all apparently covered with the dust of ages. An American millionaire enjoyed the privilege r,f first visiting this tomb. Ho was conducted there secretly at dead of night in order to avoid the government guards who constantly watch the an tiquities of this district. He was so im pressed by what he saw that he cheer fully gave up $100,000 for the contents of the tomb. It has been filled up again sc oral times sinco then. Purchasers of antiquities are tempted by the fact that the objects are some times worth what Is asked for them, even though forged. Dr. Wakeling men tions the case of forged antiquities of real gold that were sold for no more than the value of the metal. The mod ern workmanship was excellent. Tourists will gratify their secret long ing to buy antiquities in obscure places in spite of the warnings of archaeologists and reputable dealei'3. An American woman showed the author a handsome necklace of yellow beads, which she had bought for $50. He remarked that they were being made regularly for $2 apiece. "How can you say so, doctor," ex claimed the woman. "My donkey boy told me that he stole it from an old tomb himself, and he ha3 such an hon est little face!” Scarab3 furnish the greatest employ ment to the antiquity makers and deal ers. Some of the best scarabs are made in Europe and exported to Egypt, where the intelligent natives coll them to for eigners. Scarab making ha3 been car ried on for about a hundred years, it has reached such a point that learned Egyptologists are frequently unable to tell whether a specimen is genuine or not. The scarab, which represents the sa cred -beetle of Egypt, was used as a charm and buried in large numbers on a mummy's breast. It was supposed that the sacred beetle would ward rff the attacks of evil spirits. The forged scarabs are sometimes made of glass, stained to imitate some semi-precious stone such as carnelian, which was much used in the ancient specimens. In another the ancient glaze is imitated and then stained to give an appearance of antiquity. A capable ex pert can detect these two forms of for gery without much difficulty. Piece of Genuine Old Mummy Clot* \ Cleverly Painted b; 1 gHBKKj^^^Modern Egyptians in fci. Style mummy may old mummies are cheap and common in Egypt. The painted mummy c’oth is counter feited with great care Some-hues gen uine old cloth from a mummy of small value is used, as in the example shown here The painting is modern, and an expert can tell this because the colors have run. A genuine ancient painting follows the design with greater exactness. One of the most enterprising an tiquity dealers in Egypt, a leading chi- zen of Luxor, actually const, o, .ud a great tomb in order to pass off his for geries paore successfully. He repre-