The most ancient funerary statuettes yet found--those, namely, of the Eleventh Dynasty--are of alabaster, like the canopic vases; but from the time of the Thirteenth Dynasty, they were cut in compact limestone.

The workmanship is very unequal in quality.

Some are real _chefs-d'oeuvre_, and reproduce the physiognomy of the deceased as faithfully as a portrait statue.

Lastly, there are the perfume vases, which complete the list of objects found in temples and tombs.

The names of these vases are far from being satisfactorily established, and most of the special designations furnished in the texts remain as yet without equivalents in our language.