SELECT BRONZES,
GREEK, ROMAN, AND ETRUSCAN.
IN I ill
DEPARTMENTS OF ANTIQUITIES
BRITISH MUSEUM.
Gree-k. \ Vovnain AvV
SELECT BRONZES,
GREEK, ROMAN, AND ETRUSCAN,
IN THE
DEPARTMENTS OF ANTIQUITIES
SEVENTY-THREE PLATES
WITH A COMMENTARY BY
H. B. WALTERS, M.A., F.S.A.
ASSISTANT-KEEPER IN THR DEPARTMENT OF OKEEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES.
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PREFACE
\\'m.\ the Catalogue of nronzc^ C.rcck, Roman ami Etruscan,
in the Department of Greek and Roman slntn/uitic* u.i.s ilraun
up by Mr. H. B. Walters in 1899, several of the principal
specimens were left unillustrated, with the intention that they
should be dealt with in a separate volume, with illustrations
of finer quality than those appropriate to a Catalogue.
In fulfilment of that scheme, the present volume contains
the most important Greek, Roman and Etruscan bronze-,
previously unillustrated. To these have been added :— (i) Some
of the best specimens among those already given ; (2) some
important recent accessions; and also (3) six plates (Nos. XL..
LI., LX, LXIL, LXVIL, LXXII.) of choice examples which
were found in this country, and are preserved in the
Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities.
The commentary and arrangement are the work of
Mr. H. B. Walters. The proofs have also been read l>\
Mr. F. N. Pryce and by myself.
A. H. SMITH.
March i, 1915.
LIST OF PLATES.
Ft Alt
I. MOUNTED WARRIOR.
II. FEMALE FIGURE WITH EYES or
DIAMOND.
III. APOLLO (AFTER THE STATUE BY
CANACIIOS).
IV. (i) VICTORY (NIKE) RUNNING.
(2) LIONESS FROM CORFU.
V. PAIR OF GREAVES.
VI. APHRODITE (?), ARCHAIC, FROM
SOUTHERN ITALY.
VII. EARLY ETRUSCAN HEAD.
VIII. ETRUSCAN WARRIOR.
IX. ETRUSCAN WARRIOR FROM THE
LAKE OF FALTERONA.
X. HERAKLES (ETRUSCAN).
XI. ETRUSCAN AMPHORA.
XII. GREAVED LEG, FROM A STATUE.
XIII. HEAD FROM A COLOSSAL STATUE
(APHRODITE ?).
XIV. HEAD OF HYPNOS (SLEEP).
XV. HEAD OF AFRICAN FROM CYRENE.
XVI. MARSYAS (AFTER MYRON).
XVII. APOLLO FROM THESSALY.
XVIII. APOLLO FROM PARAMYTHIA.
XIX. POSEIDON (?) FROM PARAMYTHIA.
XX. ZEUS FROM PARAMYTHIA.
XXI. ZEUS SARAPIS FROM PARAMYTHIA.
XXII. ONE OF THE DIOSCURI FROM
PARAMYTHIA.
XXIII. GANYMEDES(?) FROM PARA-
MYTHIV.
XXIV. DIONE(?) KROM PARAMYTHIA.
PLAT*
XXV. APHRODITE FROM PARAMYTHIA
XXVI. HERMES FROM PARAMYTHIA
XXVII. RELIEF FROM PARAMYTHIA
XXVIII. APHRODITE FASTENING SANDAL.
XXIX. HEAD OF HERV
XXX. SEILENOS SUPPORTING A CISTA.
XXXI. THE SIRIS BRONZES.
XXXII. HEROIC FIGURE FROM THE I.
in BKA< CU
XXXIII. MIRROR WITH STAND
XXXIV. MIRROR-STAND (APHRODITE).
XXXV. HYDRIA FROM CHALKK.
XXXVI. SlTULA (BUCKET) FROM OFFIDA.
XXXVII. Two ETRUSCAN WOMEN.
XXXVIII. PORTRAIT FIGURE FROM THE LAKE
OF FALTERONA.
XXXIX. ZEUS FROM HUNGARY.
XL. JUPITER FROM RUTLAND
XLI. APOLLO FROM EGYPT.
XLII. APOLLO (TOWNI.EY COLL).
XLIII. APHRODITE ADJUSTING HER SAN-
DAI
XLIV. (i) APHRODITE (CNIDIAN T\i
(2) APHRODITK WITH MIRROR.
XLV. POURTALES APHRODITI .
XLVI. APHRODITK WITH THE CEM
XLVII. Two FIGURES OF APIIRODITK
(GRAECO-ECYPTIAX TYPE).
XLVII I. HERMES (PAYNE KNIGHT COLL.).
XLIX. HERMES FROM SAPONARA.
L. HERAKLES FROM BYBLI
LI. HERCULES FROM CUMBERLAND
LIST OF PLATES-/v////wW.
PLAT*
LI I. HERCULES (GALLO-ROMAN).
LIII. DIONYSOS (PAYNE KNIGHT COLL.).
LIV. DIONYSOS FROM POMPEII.
LV. DIONYSOS FROM PORTO.
LVI. DIONYSOS FROM LOCRI.
LVII. MELEAGER.
LVIII. AUTUMN.
LIX. BUST OF AFRICA.
LX. ROYAL PERSONAGE (ALEXANDER
THE GREAT ?).
LXI. HEADOFTHEEMPEROR AUGUSTUS.
LXII. HEAD OF THE EMPEROR HADRIAN.
LXI 1 1. Two BUSTS OF Lucius VERUS.
PLATE
LXIV. PORTRAIT-HEAD OF POET.
LXV. SEATED PHILOSOPHER (Aais-
TIPPUS ?).
LXVI. HEAD OF ROMAN PRIEST.
LXVII. ARCHER FROM LONDON.
LXVIII. NEGRO BOY.
LXIX. BOY PLAYING THE GAME OF
MORRA.
LXX. HEAD OF BOY (POURTALES
COLL.).
LXXI. Two PORTRAIT-HEADS.
LXXII. HELMET FROM RIBCHESTER.
LXXIII. HEAD OF MULE, FROM A COUCH.
CONCORDANCE OF CATALOGUE NUMBERS WITH PLATES.
Cat. No. 192 =
Plate II.
Cat. No.
285 =
Plate XXXI.
Cat. No. 835 =
Plate LXIII.
„ 209 =
„ HI.
286 =
„ XXXII.
847 =
„ LXIV.
,i 232 =
„ IV.
11
287 =
„ XXVII.
848 =
„ LXV.
.i 249 =
„ v.
,.
3°3 =
„ XXXIII.
i, 850 =
„ LXX.
265 =
„ XII.
11
312 =
„ XXXV.
„ 909 =
„ XXXIX.
266 =
„ XIII.
447 =
,, VI.
i, 987 =
„ XLII.
„ 267 =
„ XIV.
11
455 =
„ VIII.
i, 1079 =
„ XLIV.
a68 =
„ XV.
11
459 =
„ ix.
„ 1084 =
„ XLV.
269 =
„ XVI.
11
463 =
„ x.
n H95 =
„ XLIX.
271 =
„ XVII.
11
491 =
„ IV.
"V T
1326 =
„ LIII.
i, 272 =
274 =
„ XVIII.
„ XIX.
YY
11
11
11
557 =
612 =
613 =
ii XI.
„ XXXVII.
„ XXXVII.
„ LIV.
„ LV.
ti *75 —
i, -AA.
W T
It
650 =
„ XXXVI. » '453 =
„ LVII.
277 =
„ XXI.
„ XXII.
II
679 =
787 =
„ XXXVIII.
. LII.
ii 1513 =
11 1524 =
„ LVIII.
„ LIX.
278 =
„ XXIII.
II
If
825 =
„ XLVIII.
ii 1614 =
„ LXVI.
279 =
„ XXIV.
11
826 =
„ LXIX.
.. 1691 =
„ LXXI.
280 =
„ XXV.
11
827 =
,, L.
1692 =
„ LXXI.
282 =
„ XXVIII.
828 =
11 XLI. „ 2562 =
„ LXXIII.
283 =
„ XXIX.
11
829 =
„ XLIII. „ 3209 =
„ XXXIV.
n ' 284 =
„ xxx.
834 =
„ LXIII. )( 32I2 _
„ VII.
INTRODUCTION.
Tin: Bronzes illustrated in this volume include the
examples of Greek and Roman sculpture in this material in
the British Museum. They have been acquired from all parts
of the ancient world, and have passed into the Museum
collection in various ways, by bequest, gift, and purchase.
In some cases their history can be traced back even further,
as, for instance, the head of a poet (Plate LXIV.), formerly
known as Homer, which was brought from Constantinople
for the Earl of Arundcl at the beginning of the seventeenth
century. It is shown in a painting by Van Dyck, now in
Arundel Castle, and remained in the possession of the family
until 1721. It was then purchased by Dr. Mead, and
subsequently by the Earl of Exeter, who in 1760 bequeathed
it to the newly-founded Museum. The collection of Sir
William Hamilton, acquired in 1772, contained numerous
bronzes, but none of special importance. On the other hand,
that of Charles Townley, partly purchased in 1805, and partly
from Peregrine Towneley in 1814-15, included several fine
bronzes, such as the Herakles (Plate L.), the Apollo
(Plate XLII.), and the remarkable helmet (Plate LXXII.)
found in 1796 at Ribchester, in Lancashire.
In 1824 the collection was very greatly enriched by the
bequest of Richard Payne Knight, which included some of
the finest examples of ancient sculpture in bronze now in
existence. Chief among these were the Paramythia bronzes,
a group of ten found with nine others in 1792 and 1796 at
Paramythia, near Dodona, in Epirus.* Some of them were
purchased at Janina by a Greek merchant, who saved them
from being melted down, and from him they came partly
into the possession of the Czernicheff family, partly into the
hands of M. de Wierislowsky. The latter's share (eight in
all) was purchased by Payne Knight, and formed one of the
chief attractions of his collection, which passed to the British
Museum in 1824. Two smaller bronzes were given to Payne
Knight by the Earl of Aberdeen, and the Zeus (Plate XX.)
was acquired by him from a Greek dragoman. The Czernicheff
share of the bronzes numbered five ; another found its way
to Russia ; and two came into the possession of Mr. John
Hawkins, and were finally acquired by the British Museum
from Mrs. C. H. A. Hawkins in 1904. Of the Payne Knight
bronzes eight are illustrated on Plates XVIII.-XXV. ; the
two Hawkins bronzes are given on Plates XXVI., XXVII.
These bronzes date from the third century B.C., and are fine
examples of Greek sculpture produced under the influence of
Lysippos; with the exception of the relief (Plate XXVII.),
all are statuettes of deities varying in height from 6 to
13 inches.
Among the other Payne Knight bronzes the two most
important are the Apollo after Canachos (Plate III.) and
the Hermes (Plate XLVIIL). The interesting 'story of the
discovery of the latter is related by Payne Knight in his
manuscript catalogue of his collection.! We may also note
the head of Hermes (Plate XXIX.) and the large statuette
of the youthful Dionysos (Plate LI II.). Most of his finer
specimens were published by the owner in the Specimens of
See Edwards, Lives of the Founders of the British Museum, p. 407 ;
Catalogue of Bronzes, p. xiv.
t See text to Plate XLVIII., and Catalogue of Bronzes, p. xiv.
Aiiti<-iit Sculpture, a magnificent work in two volumes issued
by the Dilettanti Society in 1809 and 1835. Payne Knight
was regarded as tin- leading connoisseur of his time, and as
he denied the possibility of beauty and magnitude existi-.
together, he devoted all his energies to the acquisition of the
smaller products of ancient art.*
The most important acquisitions of the succeeding quarter
of a century were the Siris bronzes (Plate XXXI.), the head of
Hadrian found at London Bridge in 1834 (Plate LXII.), and
some valuable remains of Etruscan art, including the objects
from the Lake of Falterona. The circumstances of the
discovery of the last-named are of some interest.! They were
found on the shores or in the bed of a lake high up on Mount
Falterona, in the Apennines, near the source of the Arno. They
formed part of a series of six or seven hundred figure
apparently votive offerings, and it is supposed that the shrine
in which they were placed had been hurled into the lake in a
landslip. The figures which came from this site arc illustrated
on Plates IX., X., XXXVIII.
Some fine bronze statuettes were also acquired with various
collections between 1850 and 1870, including a Dionysos from
the Temple Collection (Plate LIV.) in 1856, an Aphrodite
(Plate XLV.) from the Pourtales Collection, and the fine portrait-
head from the excavations at Cyrene (Plate XV.). Some of
•
the greatest treasures, including the beautiful head of Hypnos
(Plate XIV.), another splendid head usually identified as
Aphrodite (Plate XIII.), the figure from the Lake of Bracciano
(Plate XXXII.), and the archaic figure with diamond eyes
(Plate II.), were obtained from the noted Roman dealer Signer
• Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, p. 1 19 ff. ; Edwards, Lives of
the Founders, p. 401 ff.
t See Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, ii., p. 108.
Castellan! between 1865 and 1884. The chief acquisitions of
the last quarter of the century and onwards were the Marsyas
(Plate XVI.) in 1876, the greaved leg from the Piot Collection
(Plate XII.) in 1886, and the head of Augustus (Plate LXI.)
in 1911, besides the two additional Paramythia bronzes already
mentioned.
The use of bronze by the Greeks and Romans was far
more extensive than it has been in modern times. It took
the place of many other materials now in use, such as iron
and steel for armour and implements, wood for furniture, and
glass or clay for utensils of all kinds. Before the introduction
of iron it was naturally the only metal which was worked
besides gold and silver, and even afterwards it still retained
its vogue owing to the superstitious regard in which iron was
for a long time held, and to unfamiliarity with the properties
of the latter metal. This extensive use of such a permanent
metal as bronze in ancient times helps us to form some notion
of the fine decorative sense of the Greeks, and also in some
degree of the Etruscans and Romans ; we learn that their
artistic work was not confined to sculpture in bronze, but was
universally applied to such things as vases or articles of
furniture.
But besides the purely artistic interest of Greek bronzes
regarded as individual works of art, they are of great importance
to us for the light they serve to throw on the history of Greek
sculpture. This is, of course, principally true of the statuettes,
but also to some extent of the finer decorative reliefs, such as the
Siris bronzes. Not only have almost all the original works of
sculptors in bronze now perished, but also the copies in marble
are of much later date, and untrustworthy as exact reproductions
of their originals. We know, for instance, that many of the
great sculptors, such as Lysippos, worked almost exclusively
in bronze, and their style may be more closely reproduced by
small statuettes in that material or by relief-work of almost
contemporary date than by marble copies <>t Roman times
More may be learned from such sources of the principles of
such masters as Lysipjx»s. and of the method in which they
worked, than from mechanical and often soulless imitation-,
A good example of this is the Marsyas illustrated on Plate XVI.,
which goes back to an original by Myron. A more faithful
copy of the original may be seen in a marble statue in the
Lateran at Rome, but the artistic merit of the Museum bronze
is really greater.
The decorative instincts of the Greeks were largely
encouraged to display themselves in this material by the fact
that it so readily lends itself to being worked for ornamental
purposes, by means of modelling, chasing, and engraving. In
addition, the development of the processes of production from
the primitive methods of riveting beaten plates or casting
figures solid, to the convenient and effective method of hollow-
casting, known as the cire perdue process, greatly facilitated the
production of innumerable bronze statuettes for the adornment
of domestic shrines or for attachment to articles of furniture
and household use. These are often of great artistic merit, and
not a few are valuable as imitations of known masterpieces.
A few words may now be devoted to the consideration of
the technical processes enumerated above, which, as will be
seen, are six in number: for sculpture in the round, beaten
plates of metal, solid casting, and hollow casting or cire perdue ;
for relief-work, repousse", chasing, and engraving.
The earliest Greek and Italian bronze figures are either
cast solid or made by the process known as o$vpi\\urov
('welded by the hammer'), in which plates of bronze were
beaten up into the form required and riveted together. A
good example of this latter process is the bronze bust from
the Pollcdrara tomb in the Museum (Cat. No. 434). The early
Etruscan statuette illustrated on Plate VI. is cast on an iron
core, showing a later development; the head on Plate VII., on
the other hand, is cast solid. Both these methods seem to
have lasted down to the sixth century B.C., when hollow-
casting was introduced. Doubtless the waste of valuable
material and inconvenient weight of the solid-cast statues led
to the invention of this later process, which, when perfected,
held the field throughout the whole history of classical art,
and in a modified form has continued in use down to the
present day. Its invention (or, rather, introduction from Egypt)
was usually attributed to the sculptors Theodores and Rhoicos,
about the beginning of the sixth century B.C. It is, at all
events, probable that they were the first to produce bronze
statues with the aid of clay models. From this was developed
the tire perdue process, the essential feature of which is the
use of a wax model, which was melted away and replaced by
molten bronze. The wax was laid on over the surface of a
clay or plaster model which roughly reproduced the sculptor's
conception, and in this outer coating of wax all the details
were executed with careful accuracy. An outer mould of clay
was then placed over the wax, which was melted in a furnace
and ran out through holes, into which the molten bronze was
then introduced. Subsequently the outer envelope of clay
was removed, and the inner core extracted. The statue was
then touched up and completed where necessary by hand, and
was often further adorned with colouring, lacquering, or gilding.
A vase-painting in the Berlin Museum,* which dates from
about 500 B.C., has an interesting representation of a bronze-
• Baumeister, Denkmaeler, i., p. 506, fig. 547.
foundry uith statiu-N in profits of completion; it shou-, that
the casting was often done in several pirn-,, the parts being
afterwards welded together.
The process known as repoussi* (»/iT««rru-r/) plays a very
I. n •-(• part in ancient bronze work. The early \ of
a$vp\]\aTuv already described is a variety of the former. The
method employed was to heat a plate of thin metal and y
it on to a tray of pitch ; the pattern was then roughly blocked
out, and the process was repeated for the reverse side, after
which the design was hammered out and then worked up with
a sharp graving-tool. The Siris bronzes (Plate XXXI.) arc
the finest known instances of rejxmsst' work, and many of the
designs in relief on Greek mirrors are also exceedingly beautiful
and of elaborate workmanship (cf. Plate XXVII.). Closely
connected with it was the process of chasing (ropt-ru-i/). which
was in effect the necessary complement of the other. The
process of incising or engraving designs on bronze was not
much practised by the Greeks, but was brought to the pitch
of perfection by the Etruscans in their cistae and mirrors.
The bronzes reproduced in the present volume are repre-
sentative of the various phases of Greek, Etruscan, and
Roman art, from the archaic period (beginning about 550 B.C.)
to the later days of the Roman empire. They include the
finest specimens of decorative work in relief, as well as
the principal statuettes in the collection, selected for their
beauty, size, or archaeological interest.
The bronzes of the archaic period (Plates I.-XI.), which
cover the period 550-460 B.C., are partly Greek, partly Italian
or Htruscan in origin; but the influence of Greek art, and
especially of Ionia, was so strong in Central and Southern
Italy during the archaic period that it is not always easy to
8
distinguish purely native work from that of genuinely Greek
origin. Of the finest age of Greek art, extending over the
period 460-300 B.C., we have several examples worthy to rank
with the known masterpieces of great sculptors, notably the
head from Armenia (Plate XIII.) and the head of Hypnos
(Plate XIV.), in which we may see respectively reflected
the styles of Scopas and Praxiteles ; the Siris bronzes
(Plate XXXI.) and the heroic figure from Lake Bracciano
(Plate XXXII.), which have close affinities with Lysippos
and his school. Associated with these are specimens of
Etruscan work which belong to the same period, and are
among the best efforts of that people in a line in which they
were never really at home. Their lack of creative instinct,
except in the direction of portraiture, caused them to turn
their attention chiefly to decorative work, and in their
engraved mirrors and cistae they showed themselves worthy
rivals of the Greeks, who attempted less in this branch of
art. But that Greek bronze-work in relief has never been
surpassed is shown not only by the Siris bronzes but by other
specimens, of which the Paramythia relief (Plate XXVII.)
and the relief illustrated on Plate XXXV. are among the
finest we possess. The group of statuettes known as the
Paramythia bronzes (Plates XVIII.-XXVII.) are the best
representatives of the art of the age immediately succeeding
the Finest Period, namely, the beginning of the third century.
Most of them show that the spirit of the preceding century
had not yet died out, but the choice of such subjects as the
Zeus Sarapis and the Ganymede is a foreshadowing of the
influences at work on the art of the Hellenistic age.
Almost the whole of the latter half of the volume is
devoted to examples of what with some lack of chronological
precision we must call the Roman period. Such works it is
usually imj>ossible to tlat<- within .1 <mtiir\ ;-t in
the case of portraits or works of historical significance.
They are therefore arranged in the presmt cast- purely
according to subject \\ e may call attention to three prin>
features of the art of Rome which are exemplified in this
selection. The first is its success in portraiture, of which the
head of Augustus (Plate LXl.) and in a lesser degree that
of Hadrian d'latc LXII.) are notable examples In this
branch of plastic art the Roman tendency to realism, originally
acquired from the Etruscans, finds its best expression.
Secondly, we note the growing popularity of foreign religious
cults in Rome, and the preference not only for foreign deities
such as Sarapis, Isis, and Harpocrates, but also for representing
Greek deities in a quasi-Oriental guise, as is the case with
the figures of Aphrodite with the attributes of Isis or other
Oriental deities, illustrated on Plate XLVII. These hybrid
types, however, were mostly produced in Egypt and Syria,
where they would be more readily accepted. Thirdly, the
growth of an independent provincial art, in which not only
Roman, but purely Greek influences, are apparent, is illus-
trated by several fine statuettes found in Gaul and Britain
(Plates XL., LI.. LIT., LX., LXII., LXVII.).
PLATE I.
MOUNTED WARRIOR.
This figure may be regarded as one of the most remarkable
examples of Greek bronze-work of the sixth century B.C. It
is in perfect condition, the surface being covered with a
beautiful light green patina. The horse and the rider are
separately modelled and detachable ; both are cast solid. The
rider, who is beardless, wears a helmet which completely covers
his head and is ornamented with engraved lotos-flowers ; the
crest is now wanting. In his hands he has held the reins,
which are now wanting ; he wears a short chiton fastened round
the waist with a belt, and his hair falls in a wavy V-shaped
mass down his back. The horse's mane and forelock are
carved in relief, and on each flank the folds of skin are
indicated by sweeping parallel lines. The style and treatment
are characteristic of Corinthian art of the sixth century, and
the bronze was probably imported by Corinthian colonists
into Southern Italy, where it is said to have been found.
Height 10 inches ; length 10$ inches. From Grumentum, in Lucania (?).
Formerly in the Forman Collection (Sale Catalogue No. 53) ; bought 1904.
Burlington Fine Arts Club Catalogue (1903), pis. 27, 28, No. 53.
c
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Z
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PLATE II.
FEMALE FIGURE.
This very gracefully executed figure dates from the end of
the archaic period (about 480 B.C.), and in style and treatment of
drapery may be compared with the archaic statues of priestesses
found on the Acropolis at Athens. The woman is represented
drawing aside her skirt with her left hand ; her right hand,
which is now wanting, has been held out, probably with a flower
or similar attribute. She is attired in a long chiton, the border
of which is inlaid with a maeander or fret pattern in silver, and
over her right shoulder a himation falls in rich folds, being
fastened down the right arm with studs in the form of silver
rosettes. The hair is arranged in a row of formal curls over the
forehead, and is covered at the back with a cap, from which
escape three long locks falling over each shoulder. The eyes are
inlaid with diamonds for the pupils, but the date of insertion
must be regarded as doubtful. The figure stands on a pedestal
which cannot be accepted as ancient.
Height 6 inches ; with pedestal, "j\ inches. Found at Verona, and acquired
in the Castellan! Collection, 1873. Murray, Greek Bronzes, pi. I, p. 28 ; Catalogue
of Bronzes, No. 192.
fit
FEMALC FIGURE
PLATE III.
APOLLO.
Apparently a later copy of a famous statue by Canachos,
the Apollo Philesios of Miletus, the type of which is reproduced
on the later copper coins of that city ; this statue was executed
before 479 B.C., in which year it was carried off by Xerxes.
It was restored by Seleucus Nicator about B.C. 300, and the
copy may therefore be considered not older than the third
century B.C. On the other hand, it may be a reproduction of
a similar statue in wood, made by Canachos for Thebes.
The god holds a small fawn lying down on the palm of
his extended right hand, and his left has held a bow. His
hair is elaborately arranged in a double fringe of curls over
the forehead, with three ringlets falling over each shoulder,
while the long back hair is turned up at the ends in a double
fold, crossed by a thick fillet which encircles the head.
We read in Cicero that the statues of Canachos were
regarded as too rigid to be true to nature, a criticism which
applies in a measure to this statue ; but at the same time
there is in the treatment of the nude form a certain softening
down and rounding off of the outlines, which are accounted
for if we regard it as a copy of some centuries later.
Height 7§ inches. Probably found in Etruria ; formerly in the Payne Knight
Collection. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 209; Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 11.
PLATE IV.
(i) VICTORY (NIKE) RUNNING.
This figure is an interestin. i .irch.iu < ,ivc-k
work in bronze, and a rare instance of an early representation
of winged Victory. Though worked in the round it is
practically a relief, the figure being very flat at the back.
She is represented as moving to the left in the conventional
attitude of archaic running figures (cf. Plate V.), with both
knees bent at a sharp angle, the forward arm raised and the
other held downwards ; her feet rest on a stand which
appears to be a rough representation of a ship, with a triple
ram at one end and part of the stern-ornament (atyXaarov) at
the other. In the raised right hand she holds a small object
which cannot be identified ; with the fingers of the left she
catches up her skirt, a gesture frequently met with in archaic
art (cf. Plate XXXIV.). Her hair falls in long curls over
her shoulders, and is encircled with a broad diadem in front ;
her body is wrapped in a mantle which falls in formal
angular folds over the right shoulder. Behind her is spread
a pair of large recurved wings. The whole treatment of the
figure is in accordance with the principles of archaic work in
relief, but the swiftness of her movement is well expressed,
in spite of conventions. This work should be compared with
the marble Nike attributed, to Archcrmos in the Museum at
Athens, which it closely resembles.
Height 6J inches. From the Payne Knight Collection. Catalogue of Br<nt*est
No. 491 ; Murray, Greek Bronses, p. 15, fig. 4.
(2) LIONESS.
She is represented in the act of gathering for a spring,
with the head turned round towards the right. She has the
mane of a lion, arranged in formal zig-zag rows. The style
is that of Ionic Greek art of the end of the sixth century B.C.,
and this figure may be compared with a gem of that period
found in Etruria, on which is engraved a lioness of similar
type (Furtwaengler, Antike Geminen, pi. viii., No. 43).
Height 3^ inches ; length 6| inches. From Corfu ; acquired with the
Woodhouse Collection, 1 868. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 232.
rio 1 WINDED GOOOeSS
fIGi UONtSS
I lit)
PLATE V.
PAIR OF GREAVES.
These pieces of bronze armour belong to the first half of
the fifth century B.C. They are ornamented with repousst
and incised patterns ; round the edges are holes for sewing a
leather lining. Each one is decorated with the figure of a
Gorgon, partly embossed and partly engraved, who is represented
as running, in the conventional archaic manner with face to the
front, knees bent at a right angle, and hands downwards.
The hair is arranged in stiff formal curls, indicated by
incisions, and falls in a thick plait down each side of the face ;
each has a pair of recurved wings, also incised. They wear
short girt chitons ornamented with engraved patterns, and
high winged boots. Each holds a serpent in either hand, and
below each are two more serpents confronted. The eyes are
hollow and were originally set with gems ; the tongue and
protruding teeth are of ivory.
Height of each, 16 inches. From Ruvo. Bequeathed by Sir-W. Temple, 1856.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 2/49.
PAIR OF GREAVES
(*•*••»
PLATE VI.
APHRODITE (?).
This figure is a very interesting example of archaic Italian
art. It is also remarkable as a very early instance of bronze-
casting in statuary. It has been cast on an iron core, which
still remains, but owing to the unequal expansion of the iron
the bronze has split on the right side of the figure. The arms
have been cast separately and soldered on.
The goddess represented cannot be identified with certainty.
She makes the gesture of holding a flower in her right hand,
standing in a stiff attitude, with feet close together. She wears
a long chiton over which is a close-fitting garment something
like a jacket, falling in rounded curves over the hips ; it is
ornamented on the breast and sleeves with incised floral
patterns. Her hair falls in a mass down the back, and she
wears the characteristic Etruscan shoes with turned-tip toes.
Height 2 feet. Found in the neighbourhood of Naples ; bought 1864.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 447.
APMROOITEI'I
(**')
PLATE VII.
EARLY ETRUSCAN HEAD.
This head of a beardless youth is a fine example of early
Etruscan work, in which Greek influence is visible. It is cast
solid, and part of the back is now broken away. The hair
is rolled up all round the head in a thick mass, and falls in
elaborate curls over the forehead. Similar heads are to be
seen on the early coins of Tarentum.
Height 6 inches. Found in Etruria ; formerly in the possession of Castellani,
and then in the Tyszkiewicz Collection. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 3212 ;
Collection Tyszkiewicz, pi. 13.
EARLY ETRUSCAN HEAD
(Mil)
PLATE VIII.
WARRIOR.
The warrior is fully armed, with sword (the blade wanting)
and shield ; he wears a helmet with the cheek-pieces turned
up, surmounted by a large crest, and a cuirass of scales with
rows of fringed flaps below. His armour is richly ornamented
with incised patterns. As an example of early Etruscan art
this figure has several parallels, notably the Falterona figure
(Plate IX.), which is perhaps the finest example of this class.
There is a replica of this figure from Todi in the Archaeo-
logical Museum at Florence (Milani, Guida Figurata al Reale
Museo Arch., pi. 30).
Height 12^ inches. Formerly in the Payne Knight Collection. Catalogue
of Bronzes, No. 455 ; Specimens of Antient Sculpture, ii., pi. 4.
ETRUSCAN WARRIOR
PLATE IX.
WARRIOR.
A finely-executed specimen of Etruscan art of the fifth
century B.C., representing a fully-armed warrior, with shield on
left arm ; his left hand holds a sword, and the right has held
a spear. He wears a helmet with large horse-hair crest, the
cheek-pieces of which are turned up ; an egg-pattern is incised
over the forehead. Over his short tunic he wears a cuirass
of elaborate work, formed of overlapping metal plates, with a
double row of leather flaps over the hips ; it is freely ornamented
with engraved geometrical patterns. The arms and shield
have been cast separately and added subsequently. For the
circumstances of the discovery of this figure see Introduction,
P- 3-
Height I2g inches. From the Lake of Falterona, Tuscany. Catalogue of
Bronzes, No. 459. A similar cuirass is worn by a figure from Todi in the Vatican
(Rayet, Monuments de I' Art Antique, ii., pi. 68).
WARR I OR
PLATE X.
HERAKLES.
This figure is of interest as showing the difference between
Etruscan and genuine Greek art in the archaic period. The
Etruscan artist, in endeavouring to produce a robust and
muscular figure, such as would be appropriate to the conception
of Herakles, can only attain his end " by the sacrifice of
exactness and precision in the details of the bodily forms and
by an extraordinary degree of exaggeration " (Murray). An
instance of the latter error is the treatment of the lion's skin,
which is fastened in a gigantic knot on the breast. The pose of
the head, too, is awkward, and the features much exaggerated.
The hero is represented beardless, with no clothing except
the lion's skin ; he has probably held his club and bow, but
both attributes are now lost. The figure is in fine condition,
with a beautiful green patina.
Height 7| inches. Found in the Lake of Falterona, with the preceding
example. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 463 ; Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 27, fig. 9.
HERAKLES
PLATE XI.
ETRUSCAN AMPHORA.
This vase is an admirable specimen of Etruscan work of
the late archaic period, executed with much boldness and
felicity of design. The shape approximates to that of the
Greek amphora of the red-figure period (500-400 B.C.), the
body being slim and egg-shaped. The handles are in the
form of two nude youthful athletes whose bodies are bent
backward so as to support the rim of the vase ; they have
long thick hair, and their muscles are highly developed. In
their hands they hold the tails of two lions, seated one each
side under the rim. They stand on lotos-flowers, below which
are Sirens facing to the front, with wings recurved, wearing
in their hair fillets ornamented with rosettes ; below each is
a large palmette with volutes and smaller palmettes. The
rim of the vase is ornamented with scroll-patterns.
Height 22f inches. From Vulci. Acquired from the Pourtales Collection.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 557.
pouRTAi.es VASC
PLATE XII.
GREAVED LEG, from a colossal statue, probably of Ares.
The right leg of an armed figure, wearing a greave,
which from its size is more likely to have been that of a
deity than a human warrior; it has therefore been identified
as part of a colossal statue of Ares. It has, however, been
suggested that the treatment of the muscles indicates a
runner in the armed foot-race or possibly a hero mounting his
chariot. The muscles of the leg are carefully marked through
the greave, and in strict accordance with nature ; a vein is also
shown. On the upper part of the greave is a Gorgon's
head in relief, treated in the style of archaic convention,
with protruding tongue and formal curls of hair round the
forehead and cheeks ; in the hair is a beaded fillet. Some
slight flaws in the casting have been repaired by the
insertion of oblong strips. With the leg were found three
fragments of drapery with a broad border of maeander or
fret pattern, orginally inlaid with silver, and also ten
fragments of armour; the former are from the skirt of a
short chiton such as was usually worn under armour. The
date of this work is about the middle of the fifth century B.C.
Height 2 feet 8 inches. Found in Southern Italy, probably at Anzi or Potenza
in the Basilicata (ancient Lucania) ; bought from M. Piot 1886. Catalogue of
Bronzes, No. 265 ; Jonrn. Hell. Stud., vii., p. 189, pi. 69.
CREAVCO LEG
PLATE XIII
HEAD FROM A COLOSSAL STATUE.
This magnificent head, which has usually been interpreted
as representing Aphrodite, i-, of heroic size, and has evidently
belonged to a statue from which it has been torn away.
Though the back of the head is considerably damaged, the
face has fortunately escaped with little injury. The hair is
waved each side, with two curls falling on the forehead, and
gathered under a thick fillet, in which ornament have IK< n
inserted; a ringlet hangs in front of each ear. and another
on each side of the neck. The mouth is slightly open ; the
eyes have been inlaid with precious stones or enamel.
With this head was found a left hand holding a
fragment of drapery, which from the style and condition
of the bronze appears to have belonged to this statue.
It was therefore suggested by M. Rayet that the original
was a copy of the Cnidian Aphrodite of Praxiteles, in which
the left hand held the drapery at her side, as in the statue
in the Vatican. But it is now generally recognised that
the head reflects the style of Scopas rather than that of
Praxiteles, and the low broad forehead, the intensely-gazing
deep-set eyes, and the large heavy nose, arc all characteristic
of the strongly-marked individuality of that sculptor's heads.
Moreover, it is by no means certain that the head represents
Aphrodite, and it has much in common with some of the
effeminate fourth-century types of male deities, such as
Apollo or Dionysos, closely resembling the head of the
latter god shown in Plate LI 1 1.
The style of sculpture is characterised by largeness and
simplicity, and the work may be assigned to the middle
of the fourth century B.C. Sir Charles Newton writes of
this head : " \Ye have here one of those finely balanced
ideal types in which the ancient sculptor sought to blend
superhuman majesty and superhuman faultlessness of
proportion with a beauty so real and lifelike that the whole
conception of the work is kept as it were within the pale
of human sympathy, and the religious impression enhanced,
not impaired, by the sensuous charm. The first impression
produced by this head is that of majestic godlike beauty,
simple but not too severe. It comes nearer to our conception
of the work of a great master than any bronze yet
discovered."
Height 15 inches. Found at Satala, now Sadagh, near Erzingan, in Armenia
Minor, and acquired in 1873 from Castellani. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 266;
Newton, Essays in Art and Archaeology, p. 400; Murray, History of Greek
Sculpture, ii., pi. 24, p. 274.
APHWODITI
(•••i
PLATE XIV.
HYPNOS (SLEEP).
This bronze head was acquired for the Museum in 1866,
having been previously identified by Brunn as that of
Hypnos, the god of sleep, from its resemblance to the head
of a statue in Madrid. Recently the head has been mounted
on a cast of the torso of the Madrid statue, and has
greatly gained in effect by being thus posed at a correct
angle and seen in relation to the statue of which it
originally formed part.
The head as now mounted is inclined forward, and the
figure may be supposed to have been hovering downwards ;
to either temple has been attached a wing, but only that
on the right side now remains. It was Professor Owen
who first pointed out that it is the wing of a night-hawk
(KVfuvdis), a bird to which sleep is compared by Homer
(//. xiv., 290).* The lips are slightly parted, and the eyeballs
are absent ; the hair is parted and waved each side and
gathered in a knot at the back, with two thick curls
falling behind each ear over a fillet.
This head was found near Perugia, but may be regarded
as a Greek masterpiece "which reveals the qualities of
Praxiteles perhaps better than any other ancient work." It
has also been compared to the head of the Apollo
Sauroctonos by that sculptor. In the treatment of the hair,
the freedom and flow of the lines and their perfect
mastery over the material are specially deserving of study.
Height of head, 8 inches. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 267 ; Murray, Greek
Bronzes, pi. 2.
* See Life of Sir Richard Owen, by R. S. Owen, ii., p. 256.
Height cH
Bronzes, pi. M
• Sel
PLATE XV.
HEAD OF AFRICAN FROM CYRENE.
This head represents an unknown male personage, whose
features are of an African type ; it has probably formed
part of a statue, perhaps of a king of Numidia or
Mauretania. It was found in 1861 by Messrs. Smith and
Porcher on the site of the temple of Apollo at Cyrene, on
the north coast of Africa. The head is slightly bearded,
and the eyebrows and moustache are marked by notched
lines ; the hair is arranged in close curls, finished with
great care and refined yet broad treatment. Each lip is
formed of a separate piece of bronze, perhaps originally
coated with a thin plate of silver. The eyes have been
formed of inlaid vitreous pastes, remains of which are still
visible in the sockets.
Throughout there is a scrupulous rendering of nature,
and the head seems to be an example of the realistic
school of portraiture introduced by Lysippos and his
followers towards the end of the fourth century B.C. One
of the chief representatives of this school was Lysistratos,
brother of Lysippos, and it has been conjectured that this
bronze may be attributed to him. But we know nothing
of Lysistratos to make it more than a mere possibility.
Height 1 2 inches. Smith and Porcher, Discoveries at Cyrene, p. 94, pi. 66 ;
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 268 ; Hekler, Greek and Roman Portraits, pi. 36.
•
AFRICAN FROM CYRCNC
PLATE XVI.
MARSYAS.
A statuette rather less than half life-size, representing
the Satyr Marsyas at the moment before picking up the
flutes thrown down by Athena. He starts back in surprise,
standing on tip-toe, with his right hand raised to the level
of his head and the left arm extended, and looking down
at the flutes (which have not been preserved). The Satyr
is bearded, with shaggy hair; his eyes have been inlaid.
This work appears to date from the fourth century B.C.,
but the motive is doubtless derived from the statue of the
Satyr admirantem tibias attributed by Pliny (H.N. xxxiv., 57)
to Myron. There are several other representations of the
subject in Greek art, notably the marble statue in the
Lateran at Rome, which is a more faithful copy of the
original, being less free from archaic conventions than our
bronze. The latter only preserves the general attitude of
Myron's work, and in proportions, expression, and such
details as the hair and beard, shows the influence of Lysippos
and his school.
Height 2 ft. 6 inches. Found at Patras, Greece. Bought 1876. Catalogue
of Bronzes, No. 269; Rayet, Monnm. de FArt Antique, i., pi. 34.
MARSYAS
PLATE XVII.
APOLLO.
The god stands in an easy, indolent pose, with the left
leg crossed over the right, looking to his left ; the arms
are now wanting, but it is probable that the right arm
was flung round the back of the head in an attitude of
repose, as in the type of Apollo Lykeios, which is thus
described by Lucian in his dialogue, the Anacharsis: "the
statue leaning on a column, holding the bow in the left
hand, while the right hand, which is flung over the head,
shows that the god is resting after prolonged labours." Of
this type many replicas exist. The attitude of the figure
also recalls the Praxitelean S-shaped curve which that
sculptor gives to so many of his figures ; but A. S.
Murray has pointed out that there is a formality and
stiffness about this statuette which forbids it being regarded
as more than a mere reflection of a Praxitelean type. The
hair is waved and rolled up on either side of the head
and is gathered in a mass at the back, with ringlets falling
over the shoulders ; on the feet are sandals.
Height 8| inches. Found in Thessaly. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 271 ;
Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 68.
APOLLO.
(a 71 1
PLATE XVIII.
APOLLO.
The god is represented bending slightly forward, with the
hands extended downwards ; the le(t hand is unfortunately
wanting, but the attitude seems to be that of bending or
stringing his bow. The feminine treatment of the hair is
remarkable : the front hair is plaited over the crown of the
head and tied at the end in a club, the back hair being
gathered in a knot at the back, and the side locks tied in a
bow over the forehead. The figure is covered with a fine
patina. This and the following series of bronzes (Plates
XIX.-XXVIII.) were all found at Paramythia, near Dodona,
in Epirus ; see Introduction, p. 2.
Height 10 inches. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 272 ; Specimens of Antient
Sculpture, i., pis. 43, 44.
APOLLO FROM PARAMYTHIA.
(*7C)
PLATE XIX.
POSEIDON (?).
The god stands with the right leg drawn slightly back-
wards, the right arm raised, and the left extended with open
palm ; he has richly-curled hair, beard, and moustache. It is
probable that the right hand has held the trident, and the
left a dolphin or tunny-fish ; but the figure has also been
identified as Zeus. It probably belongs to the school of
Lysippos, to whom is attributed the creation of the recognised
type of Poseidon in art. The powerful bodily form is rendered
with extraordinary refinement ; and the minute details of the
workmanship, especially in the treatment of the hair, are
worthy of attention. The length of the legs in proportion to
the torso, usually regarded as a characteristic of the Lysippian
principles, should also be noted. The figure is nearly
complete, except for the right fore-arm, and is covered with a
fine dark green patina.
Height 8g inches, or with the ancient base lof inches. From Paramythia.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 274 ; Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 76, fig. 32.
-ful
POSEI DONl'l
(•7*)
PLATE XX.
ZEUS.
This figure in many respects resembles the one last
described, but the position of the arms is different. The god
looks downwards, and stands with left foot drawn back ; the
left hand is raised, and probably held a sceptre. The right
hand is here extended, and may have held a thunderbolt ;
over the arm falls a small chlamys or scarf. The eyes have
been inlaid with silver. This figure may also be claimed as
belonging to the school of Lysippos, and like the Poseidon
is remarkable for the minute finish of detail in the hair.
The bodily proportions are also Lysippian, but the body is
not so finely modelled as the Poseidon.
Height 7§ inches. From Paramythia. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 275 ; Murray,
Greek Bronzes, p. 81, pi. 3.
zeus
PLATE XXI.
ZEUS SARAPIS.
The type of Zeus was in the Hellenistic Age often adapted
to represent his Egyptian counterpart Sarapis, whose worship,
like other Egyptian cults, in the time of the Ptolemies became
popular in the Greek and Roman world. Hardly any of the
existing representations, however, are earlier than the Roman
Imperial period, and it is remarkable that two representations
of Sarapis should have been found at Paramythia which can
hardly be dated later than the third century B.C. One is a
small silver statuette in the British Museum ; the other, the
bronze figure here represented.
This figure shows the god, as usual, seated, but the seat
or throne is now wanting. He has richly-curling hair and
beard, and on his head is a high cylindrical calatlios, the
invariable headgear of deities of the nether world. He is
fully draped in long chiton, himation, and chlamys, and wears
sandals. The type of the head recalls the well-known Zeus
of Otricoli. Both arms are wanting, but probably the right
hand held a phiale and the left a sceptre.
Height 6J inches. From Paramythia. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 276 ;
Specimens of Antient Sculpture, i., pi. 63 ; see Journ. Hell. Stud., vi., p. 295.
-
zeos SAKAPIS
PLATE XXII.
ONE OF THE DIOSCURI.
Of the Twin Brethren, it is probable that this figure
represents Castor. He is represented as a young man with
thickly-curling hair, wearing a conical cap, in the front of
which a hole is visible, as if a star (the emblem of the
Dioscuri) had been fixed there. A scarf is doubled over his
left shoulder, and passes over the left fore-arm. The eyes
have been inlaid with silver. From the action of the left
hand he would seem to have been leading a horse, and for
this reason the figure is more likely to represent Castor than
the boxer Pollux. The figure is dignified, the style and
execution good. The type does not appear to have been
created before the fourth century B.C., and existing examples
in sculpture are rare.
Height 13 inches. From Paramythia. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 277 ;
Specimens of Antient Sculpture, ii., pi. 22.
DI<
th;
ONt Or THE DIOSCURI
PLATE XXIII.
GANYMEDES (?).
It is not certain that this figure actually represents
Ganymedes, the cup-bearer of Zeus ; the type corresponds
rather to that of the Roman Lar, of which there are many
examples in bronze statuettes. But it must at least portray
some Greek conception corresponding to the Lar, unless we
are to regard it as of Roman date, and therefore much later
than the other bronzes from Paramythia. The left arm is
unfortunately lost, but the hand appears to have been held
out horizontally, while the right is raised above the head.
In all probability the left hand held out a patera or libation-
bowl, while the raised right held a drinking-horn from which
the liquid spouted into the bowl.* The figure is youthful,
with thick curly hair tied in a bow over the forehead, and
wears an upper and under chiton fastened round the waist
with a broad girdle, the sleeves being looped up with silver
studs.
Height 9 inches. From Paramythia. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 278 ; Murray,
Greek Bronzes, fig. 33, p. 79.
* Such a motive occurs twice on the frieze of the Nereid Monument (Brit.
Mus. Cat. of Sculpture, ii., p. 31.
It is
Ganymede?
rather to t
examples i
some Grecl
are to rega
than the j
unfortunate
out horizor
In all prol
bowl, while
the liquid
with thick
wears an i
with a bre^
studs.
Height 9 ir
Greek Bronzts,
* Such a n
Mtts. Cat. oj '
CANVMEOCS
PLATE XXIV.
DIONE (?).
This figure represents a somewhat matronly goddess,
fully draped, standing with the left hand extended, palm
downwards ; the right arm is wanting. She wears a long
chiton, the sleeves of which are fastened up with studs,
and a himation wrapped round her left arm and lower
limbs. Her hair is gathered in a knot at the neck and
falls in two ringlets on each shoulder. On her head rests
a bird with slightly-curved beak, apparently a vulture, the
wings outspread as if brooding. The eyes are inlaid with
silver. The right hand was originally restored holding a
sceptre or spear, the left resting on a shield. The figure
has generally been supposed to represent Dione, the mother
of Aphrodite, a primitive form of earth-goddess worshipped
at Dodona, but in truth the type of Dione is very little
known. Possibly the figure may be Aphrodite herself. It
may be compared with two statues of Aphrodite, the
Valentini in the Ny-Carlsberg Glyptothek at Copenhagen,
and the Venus from Falerone in the Louvre, both of which
stand in close relation to the Aphrodite of Melos, though
in both cases the upper part of the body is draped, as in
our bronze.
Height 12 inches. From Paramythia. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 279 ;
Specimens of Antieiit Sculpture, ii., pi. 23.
1*4
DION
PLATE XXV.
APHRODITE.
The goddess is represented in the attitude of adjusting
her left sandal, a type which is also to be found in two
other bronzes in this collection (Plates XXVIII., XLIII.).
She is stooping forward with the left leg bent up at a
sharp angle, the left hand being raised as if it had rested
on some support; the right arm is wanting, and both
legs below the knees are restored. The exact attitude
of the figure must be inferred from that represented on
Plate XLIII. The goddess is nude, and wears a sphendone
in her hair, which is rolled up on either side of her head.
Height 61 inches. From Paramythia. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 280.
APHRODITE
(•eo)
PLATE XXVI.
HERMES.
This charming figure must be regarded as one of the
earliest of this group of bronzes, the largeness of modelling
and combination of nobility and suppleness being clearly
an inheritance from the period of Pheidias. It is in almost
perfect preservation, and covered with a smooth dark green
patina. The rock on which Hermes is seated is a skilful
restoration by the sculptor Flaxman, to whose imagination
are also due the cock at the side of the god and the
tortoise at his feet ; these two attributes may also be seen
on a bronze of similar type from France in the Museum
(Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 806). The most famous example
of the type is the bronze Hermes from Herculaneum in the
Naples Museum, formerly assigned to the school of Lysippos,
but now, like our bronze, regarded rather as Pheidian in
treatment. The latter may also be compared with the
Hermes in the frieze of the Parthenon.
The god is represented as a full-grown youth on the
threshold of manhood, as in the statue by Praxiteles. He
is seated on a rock in an attitude of repose, but only
momentary ; as his winged cap implies, he is on a journey,
resting half-way. This combination of repose and activity
is expressed with great skill and subtlety.
Height 9 inches. From Paramythia. Presented by Mrs.. C. H. T. Hawkins,
1904. C. Smith in Burlington Magazine, vi., Dec. 1904, p. 219; Specimens of
An f tent Sculpture, ii., pi. 21.
HERMES
PLATE XXVII.
RELIEF FROM PARAMYTHIA.
This relief is one of the finest examples we possess of
Greek toreutic work of the fourth century n.c. From its size
and form it is not likely to have been attached to a mirror-
case, as were most of the reliefs of this class which we
possess, and it has probably formed part of the decoration of
some piece of furniture, or else was a votive offering. The
subject of the relief presents some difficulties of interpretation
The scene takes place on rocky ground, representing a
mountain-side, on which reclines a youth of effeminate
appearance in an attitude of idle repose. His costume is
Asiatic, consisting of spotted trousers, and a tunic with
embroidered sleeves, over which is apparently a linen tunic ;
behind arc visible the empty hanging sleeves of an embmid
garment of the same thick material as the undcr-tunic and
trousers. On his head is a Phrygian cap, from beneath which
escape long curls of hair ; he wears a necklace, bracelets, and
anklets, and on his feet are shoes of soft leather. A large
sheep-dog lies curled up beneath him. Beside him is seated
a woman who turns towards him, drawing aside part of her
mantle, so as to display the upper part of her body ; her
lower limbs are covered with the mantle, which is wrapped
round her left wrist, and she wears a necklace and bracelets.
An Eros visible in the background assists her to draw aside
the veil, and another seated on her right regards the scene
with a smile.
The scene has usually been interpreted as the visit of
Aphrodite to Anchises on Mount Ida, the story of which is
told in the Homeric hymn to that goddess ; on the whole
this seems the most satisfactory explanation, although such a
subject has no parallel in ancient art, and the only known
representations of Anchises are as an old man, the father of
^neas. The name of Adonis has also been suggested for
the youthful lover, but he is a hunter rather than a shepherd,
and the dog suggests the latter. The effeminate costume
and attitude of the youth would be more appropriate to Paris,
and it is not impossible that we have here a shortened form
of the Judgment of Paris story, in which the successful
goddess alone is represented with her judge.
This relief, which measures 7 by 6 inches, was acquired at the Hawkins Sale
in 1904, with the aid of subscriptions from the National Art-Collections Fund
and others. It is published and discussed by Mr. (now Sir) Cecil Smith in the
Burlington Magazine, XX., Nov., 1904, p. 99. See also Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 287 ; Specimens of Antient Sculpture, ii., pi. 20.
The scene has usually been interpreted as the visit of
Aphrodite to Anchises on Mount Ida, the story of \\hieh is
"lpr'r hvirm tr) fhat rmdflp^ ; on the whole
PLATE XXVIII.
APHRODITE.
This type of the goddess is familiar in bronze statuettes,
and is also represented by the examples on Plates XXV.,
XLIII. She stands on her right foot, raising the left and
bending her body forward, as if in the act of fastening or
unfastening her left sandal, but both arms are lost and the
sandals are not actually represented. The goddess is entirely
nude, and her hair is gathered under a fillet and rolled up
at the back.
The original motive of this figure is known by a com-
parison of a number of extant repetitions of the same
composition ; the goddess is conceived as preparing to enter
or having just left her bath ; the left arm usually rests on a
column or rudder. Marble statuettes of this type have been
found in Cyrene, Rhodes, and elsewhere, and it appears on
the coins of Aphrodisias in Caria, and in an alabaster statuette
from Byblos recently acquired by the Museum.
Height 2i£ inches. Found near Patras, perhaps at Olympia ; bought 1865.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 282; Gazette ArchM., 1875, pi. 13.
st:
her 1
'
tl.
. raisir
if in the act of fasten;
but both arms are I
ented. The r entirely
;ered under a fillet and rolled up
in-
fant : me
on
in Caria, and in an
•
APHRODITE.
PLATE XXIX.
HEAD OF HERMES.
The simplicity and beauty of the treatment in this bronze
make it probable that it is a fragment from a statue of the
best period of Greek art, i.e., the latter half of the fourth
century B.C. The rendering of the hair in short crisp curls
is characteristic of the school of Lysippos ; the nose and
mouth are executed with great delicacy. The eyes have
been inlaid.
Height 6^ inches. Payne Knight Collection. Formerly in the possession of
the Due de Chaulnes. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 283 ; Specimens of Antient
Sculpture, pis. 18, 19.
.«*-
PLATE XXIX.
HEAD OF HERMES.
The simplicity and beauty of the treatment
make it probable that it is a fragment from «j
best period of Greek art, i.e., the latter hal/
century B.C. The rendering of the hair in :
is characteristic of the school of LysippoJ;
mouth are executed with great delicacy?
been inlaid.
Height 6| inches. Payne Knight Collection. FdH
the Due de Chaulnes. Catalogue of Bronzes, Npy
Sculpture, pis. 18, 19.
HCAO OF MCRMCS
(••3)
PLATE XXX.
SEILENOS SUPPORTING A CISTA.
This figure, which is a fine work of the Graeco-Roman
period, stands on a large antique base of triangular shape ;
it has formed the support of a candelabrum or lamp-stand,
of which only a calyx of leaves forming its base now
exists. On his head the Seilenos supports a cista or
cylindrical basket, on which the lamp-stand rested ; the
incised patterns with which it is ornamented show that
it is of wicker-work. The cista is placed on a pad on the
top of the Seilenos' head, round which he wears an ivy-
wreath ; he has sandals, and a piece of drapery is twisted
round his loins. The base stands on three lion's claws, and
is ornamented with floral patterns, in relief and engraved.
The cista resembles those used in the Dionysiac mysteries,
and the figure may have been copied from an original which
formed part of a choragic monument commemorating a
dramatic victory. The type also occurs in a marble statue
at Petworth (Specimens, i., pi. 69) and a Pompeian wall-
painting (Museo Borbonico, xii., pi. 8).
Height 2 ft. 7 inches. Found at Aegion, in Achaia ; bought 1869. Catalogue
of Bronzes, No. 284.
SUPPORTING A CISTA
SI-
This fig
period, si
it has
of whtc
exists,
cylind
incis(
it
t(
>emble<
•
.
forming' its
ipports
, .
h it
mas
iree Hoi
pain i •
in the Di<
pi. 69) am!
pl. 8).
of Bronzes,
SEILENOS SUPPORTING A CISTA
(t»*>
PLATK XXXI.
THE SIRIS BRONX I
These famous works of art form two groups embossed in
very high relief, and were anciently attached to a cuirass, as
ornaments to cover the clasps by which the breast-plate and
back-piece were united on the shoulders. In each group is
represented a combat between a Greek warrior and an
Amazon. In that belonging to the right shoulder a Greek,
who wears a chlamys over his left arm and floating behind
him, presses his left knee into the right side of an Amazon,
whose head he grasps with his left hand. She kneels
sideways, facing to the front, with head twisted round to her
right ; she wears a short chiton and high boots, and on the
ground behind her lies her shield. The face of the Greek
has been broken away owing to the extreme delicacy and
thinness of the bronze. The other group is similar, except
that the figures are reversed, the Greek facing to the
left instead of the right, and the Amazon holds up a shield
as. a defence; below is a lion's mask in relief. The face of
the Greek in this group is perfect, and is exquisitely modelled.
The first group probably represents Achilles slaying Penthc-
silcia, or perhaps Ajax the son of Olleus slayiog Dcrinoe
(Quint. Smyrn., i., 258) ; in the other, the Greek may be Ajax
the son of Telamon. The inner edge of each group is much
injured. The parts where the relief is highest, such as the
faces, appear to have been made separately and attached ;
traces of gilding may be observed.
These two groups have long been celebrated as the finest
extant examples of Greek metal-chasing. Brondsted, who
first published them, observes that " although the relief is
extremely prominent, so that some of the most salient parts
appear to be almost detached from the ground, nevertheless
all is gained upon the plate itself, which proves that the
ancients had an extraordinary skill in this kind of workman-
ship." Nothing can be more masterly than the composition
of these reliefs ; the action of the two groups corresponds
without monotonous repetition ; the figures, where the surface
has been preserved, are modelled with consummate knowledge
and refinement of execution carried out into the smallest
details, as Pliny remarks of the work of Lysippos (Hist. Nat,,
xxxiv., 65). Thorwaldsen considered that " these bronzes
afforded the strongest possible proof of this truth, that the
grandiose does not consist in mere mass, since these
diminutive works are truly great ; while many modern
colossal figures are, notwithstanding their dimensions, petty
and mean." The groups were probably executed by some
artist of the school of Scopas, about the latter half of the
fourth century B.C. ; the style much resembles that of the
frieze of the Mausoleum.
Height 6£ and 7 inches respectively. Said to have been found near the
River Siris, in Southern Italy, 1820 ; purchased by subscription and presented
to the Museum in 1833. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 285 ; Brondsted, The
Bronzes of Siris (Dilettanti Soc., 1836) ; Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 82, fig. 34.
u
N
Z
o
B
a
,
i
u
z
h
PLATE XXXII.
HEROIC FIGURE.
A figure of a young hero in a semi-reclining attitude,
modelled almost in the round ; his lower limbs are covered
with a himation, the feet resting on a rock. The eyes are
inlaid with silver. Two holes are bored in the drapery, for
attachment to some object, probably a vase. The treatment
of the folds of drapery and of the short curls of hair is very
fine ; the length of the body and modelling of the head and
hair justify the attribution of this figure to the time of
Lysippos. The right hand and left arm are wanting ; the
figure is covered with a fine green patina.
Height 6J inches. Found near the Lago cli Bracciano, to the north-west of
Rome, and acquired from Castellani, 1873. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 286;
Murray, Greek Bronzes, pi. 4, p. 81.
PLATE XXXII.
HEROIC FIGURE.
A figure of a young hero in a semi-reclining attitude,
modelled almost in the round ; his lower limbs are covered
with a himation, the feet resting on a rock. The eyes are
inlaid with silver. Two holes are bored in the drapery, for
attachment to some object, probably a vase. The treatment
of the folds of drapery and of the short curls of hair is very
fine ; the length of the body and modelling of the head and
hair justify the attribution of this figure to the time of
Lysippos. The right hand and left arm are wanting ; the
figure is covered with a fine green patina.
Height 6J inches. Found near the Lago di Bracciano, to the north-west of
Rome, and acquired from Castellani, 1873. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 286;
Murray, Greek Bronzes, pi. 4, p. 81.
HEROIC riGURE
(•MI
PLATE XXXIII.
MIRROR WITH STAND.
The mirror is supported on an open-work rectangular
frame on which is a relief representing Aphrodite and
Adonis, surrounded by a border of tendrils, with clusters
of grapes and small birds above. Adonis kneels, with his
right hand grasping a rock and raising his left arm, which
is covered with his chlamys, as if for a shield. He wears
hunting-boots. Aphrodite stands over him looking down on
him and supporting his right arm. Her drapery, which she
holds over her head, appears to be blown out by the wind.
The subject represented is the carrying off of the young and
beautiful hunter by the goddess. There are no exact
parallels in any existing work of art, but Plautus in the
Menaechmi (i. 2, 35) speaks of wall-paintings in which the
subject was depicted. The style is that of the Hellenistic
period.
The mirror itself is ornamented with a border of the
pattern known as the Lesbian cymatiuin, inlaid in silver,
and on the top is an open-work design of flowers and
foliage, in the middle of which are two Erotes with a
mixing-bowl between them.
Height 19 inches. Found at Locri in Southern Italy. Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 303.
'
•
art,
)f wall-paint!
imentecl with a
id in
t
IICH
MIRROR WITH STAND
PLATE XXXIV.
MIRROR-STAND (APHRODITE).
This figure forms the stand of a mirror, which rests on
a curved piece supported by volutes ; at either end of the
curved piece is a flying Eros, hovering over the goddess.
She holds a dove on the palm of her extended right hand,
while the left draws aside the edge of her skirt — a motive
very frequent in archaic Greek art. Her hair is knotted up
at the back, and she wears a long chiton with over-fold.
Below her is a plinth supported by two Pegasi with recurved
wings; their legs are outstretched as if galloping at full speed.
Greek work of the best period, about the middle of the fifth
century B.C. A figure of Aphrodite as a support for a mirror
is a favourite subject in archaic Greek art (cf. Catalogue of
Bronzes, 238-243, for other Museum examples).
Height 17] inches. Bought 1898. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 3209.
MIRROR-S'J vPHlv'
1
cu"
the pal f her •
while the left dra
uent in arch • up
at the back, ami >li \vith Id.
Below her is a plinth supported by two Pe^asi with recun
; their k\ ,f galloping at full
^rk of :iod, about th !th
' ' :
•«
MI RHOR- STAND tAPMftODrre)
PLATE XXXV.
HYDRIA.
A large hydria or water-pitcher of a beautiful form not
uncommon in red-figure vases of the fifth century, in which the
body and shoulder are not separated by a sharp angle as in
the earlier type of hydria, but form a graceful curve. The lip
is ornamented with an egg-moulding, the foot with the pattern
known as the Lesbian cymatium. The three handles are
fluted, those at the sides ending in rosettes with lotos-flowers
between the points ; the back-handle ends above in a shield-
shaped plate with foliated patterns and rosettes in relief, and
below in a large plate with two rosettes and leaves above.
On this plate is a relief representing Dionysos and Ariadne ;
Dionysos faces to the front, with right hand resting on a rock,
and turns to his right towards Ariadne, who looks round at
him. Dionysos is beardless, and his hair falls in long curls ;
he wears a wreath round his head, shoes on his feet, a mantle
round his lower limbs and left arm, and a fawn-skin over the
right shoulder. Ariadne raises both hands to fasten up her
hair behind ; she wears an ivy-wreath, bracelets, sandals, and a
long chiton over which is a mantle. Behind Ariadne is a
thyrsus. The vase is a work of the fourth century B.C.
Height of vase i8£ inches. From the island of Chalke, near Rhodes;
bought 1875. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 312.
MYORI A
PLATE XXXVI.
SITULA (BUCKET).
This vase is one of the finest examples of Etruscan
decorative work which we possess, dating from the fifth
century n.c. It is in the form of a flat-bottomed bucket
with two movable handles, inserted in rings, standing on
three feet in the form of lion's claws, on moulded plinths.
The handles are spirally twisted, passing through double
rings on the rim and terminating in large buds; between the
rings are scallop-shells. Round the upper part of the vase
is a broad band of ornament, consisting of a broad lotos-
and-honcysuckle pattern between bands of zig-zags; round
the lower part, a similar band, with chains of oblique
palmcttes in place of the honeysuckle. Round the up|>er and
lower rims are narrow bands of egg-pattern. Underneath the
handles on each side is attached a relief representing a winged
Death-goddess in the form of a Siren, with human head but
a bird's body and legs, facing to the front ; she wears a short
girt chiton, and her hair is arranged in a plait over the top
of the head. In cither hand she grasps the wrist of a nude
youth, as does a similar figure on an Etruscan vase of the
sixth century in the Berlin Museum.
Above each foot is another relief representing Mcrakles
strangling the Ncmcan Lion : he kneels to the right on his
right knee, and grasps the lion round the neck ; the latter
squats on its haunches and places its left fore-paw on the
hero's knee. He is represented as youthful and beardless,
and wears a short chiton with a cuirass over it. A ridge
of plaited hair extends along the lion's back from mane to
tail a peculiar treatment of animal hair to be noted in another
Etruscan bronze in the Museum (Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 642). The type of this group differs slightly from the
Ionic ' wrestling-type ' usually depicted on black-figured vases.
Height 15! inches. Found at Offida, in Picenum ; bought 1883. Catalogue
of Bronzes, No. 650.
ETRUSCAN SITULA
(eso)
PLATE XXXVII.
TWO ETRUSCAN WOMEN.
These two figures seem to form a pair, the style and
treatment being very similar. The one looks down to her left
and holds in her right hand a bunch of flowers ; the other
has her hands extended in an attitude of prayer. Their hair
is waved and rolled up at the back under a diadem
(arre<f>dvii), which in the case of the latter is decorated with
incised rings. Both are draped in himatia; the second one
has a necklace, and her mantle has borders of incised rings.
The eyes of the first have been inlaid. Both figures are
carefully executed and are of good style and effective
composition.
Height 6i and 54 inches. From Etruria ; obtained at the Castellani Sale,
1884. Catalogue of Bronzes, Nos. 612, 613 ; Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 28, fig. n.
\
PLATE
TWO ETRUS(
These two figures seem
treatment being very similar,
and holds in her right hand
has her hands extended in a,
is waved and rolled up
(ore^ar//), which in the case
incised rings. Both are
has a necklace, and her mr
The eyes of the first h;
carefully executed and
composition.
Height 6i and 5i inches.
1884. Catalogue of Bronzes, N(
PI »t
TWO ETRUSCAN WOMEN
PLATE XXXVIII.
PORTRAIT FIGURE.
A beardless young man wearing a garment round his
loins which is caught up over the left arm ; his left hand is
extended. This figure is an Etruscan work of the best
period, about 300 B.C., in which the inherent inclination of
this people to naturalism in art is well exemplified. These
tendencies found a ready outlet in portraiture, a branch of
art which appealed to the Etruscans much more than it did
to the idealising Greeks. This essentially Italian quality
holds its own all through the history of classical art on that
soil, and was inherited by Rome from Etruria.
Height 20 inches. Found in the Lake of Falterona (see Introduction, p. 3).
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 679.
(•70)
loi
ex
tl
t<
PORTRAIT FIGURE
PLATE XXXIX.
ZEUS.
A seated figure of the god, who holds in his right hand
a sceptre (restored), and in his left a thunderbolt. On his
head is a large laurel-wreath. The type of head is of the
character more usually associated with Poseidon than with
Zeus, and it would be rash to attempt to regard the figure
as a copy of the Olympian Zeus of Pheidias. The intensity
of expression is at variance with the calm dignity and repose
of the Olympian Zeus, and is more characteristic of later
Greek and Graeco-Roman art. On the other hand, the posture
and the disposition of the drapery point to the influence of
the Olympia statue. The figure is accurately modelled, and
in excellent condition.
Height "j\ inches. Found in Hungary. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 909 ;
Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 63, fig. 25.
•
i fj-
ZEUS
Cxw)
PLATE XL.
JUPITER.
A finely-executed work of the Roman period, reproducing
a type of Zeus or Poseidon which closely resembles the
Paramythia figure on Plate XIX. It was unfortunately found
in a very fragmentary state, in two portions, one consisting
of the head with part of the neck and left shoulder, the other
of the lower part of the body, the right leg being complete.
The figure has been restored by Mr. Godwin. The god has
richly-curling hair and beard, and wears sandals.
This figure was found in a supposed Roman settlement on Ranksborough
Hill, near Langham, Rutland, and was presented to the Museum by Mr. A. W.
Franks in 1891. Victoria County History of Rutland, i., p. 90, fig. I.
Tl.
p. 90,
JUPITER
PLATE XLI.
APOLLO.
A life-size statue of the god, who is represented nude,
with hair falling in loose curls round the head, confined by
a twisted fillet. The right hand is slightly extended at the
level of the hips, and may have held a laurel-branch.
Professor Furtwaengler saw in this figure a reflection of an
original by the fourth-century artist Euphranor, who in his
opinion created the youthful male type of which the bronze
'Idolino' at Florence is the best example. It is a work of
the Hellenistic period, and finds parallels in the Sabouroft"
Apollo at Berlin and a bronze statuette from the Greau
Collection in the same Museum. But Furtwaengler's theories
as to an original by Euphranor, of whose work we know
little, must remain only a conjecture. The figure must be
assigned to the first century B.C., and as it was found in the
Egyptian Delta we are not surprised to see in it some traces
of the influence of Egyptian art.
Height 5 feet 3 inches. From Zifteh in the Egyptian Delta. Bought 1840.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 828 ; Furtwaengler, Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture,
P- 352.
'iich t'
But Furti
APOLLO
PLATE XLII.
APOLLO.
The figure is nearly half life-size, and stands with the
right hand extended, pointing downwards, and the left raised.
He wears a chlamys over the left arm, and his hair is tied
in a bow over the forehead in the manner characteristic of
Apollo. The base is antique. The pose of the head is that
characteristic of the type known as Apollo Lykeios, or Apollo
resting (see text to Plate XVII.) ; in the disposition of the
drapery we may see some resemblance to that by the side of
the Hermes of Praxiteles. It is possible that the figure is
derived from a Praxitelean original, but if so, it is not more
than a reflection of his style.
Height 2 feet 5^ inches. This statuette was purchased by Townley at the
Choiseul Sale in Paris in 1774, and acquired by the Museum with his collection.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 987 ; Museum Marbles, iii., pi. 7.
APOLLO
PLATE XLIII.
APHRODITE ADJUSTING HER SANDAL.
A third example of a type already illustrated by two of
the bronzes in this series (Plates XXV., XXVIII.); but this
one is of later date, and not earlier than the Roman Imperial
period. The goddess stands on her right foot, stooping down
to adjust her left sandal with the right hand ; she supports
herself with the left hand, which rests on a framework at
her side, and holds an apple. Round her hair, which is
gathered in a knot at the nape of the neck, with a tress
falling on each shoulder, she wears a high open-work metal
band or sphendone ; her mantle is wrapped round her arms
and floats behind so as to form a sort of canopy over her
head. On the top of the framework are two figures of Eros
standing on flowers ; one holds a mirror in his right hand,
and in the left the half of a bivalve shell ; the other appears
to be drawing an arrow from his quiver. At the back is a
large steering-oar, round which a dolphin is twisted, and on
the front are grouped the emblems of various deities : between
the Erotes, a pair of cymbals ; below are a mirror (?) and
head-band for Aphrodite ; a torch for Hecate and a hammer
for Hephaistos ; pipes for Pan and a club for Herakles ; a
bow and quiver for Apollo and Artemis ; an uncertain object
resembling the astronomical symbol for Venus ; and the eagle
of Zeus, of which only the feet now remain. The moulded
base is antique and has steps in front.
Height 7^ inches ; with ancient base, gf inches. Acquired from the Millingen
Collection. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 829.
of
and
-
::d her arms
i MI irr
ijjhin i
are
irch for Hec;
nd a <
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cct
ATM RO OIT C
IBM)
PLATE XLIV.
TWO FIGURES OF APHRODITE.
(i) Of these two statuettes the first represents the
' Cnidian ' type of the goddess, created by Praxiteles ; the
arms are wanting, but from what remains at the shoulders,
they were probably in the same respective positions as those
of the Aphrodite of Knidos, namely, the right hand placed
in front of the body, the left lifting a garment from a vase
at her side. The goddess stands with the right leg slightly
bent, looking down to her right ; the hair is waved back
under a spJiendone and fillet, and knotted up at the back.
The expression of the face also seems to suggest a comparison
with the Cnidian type.
Height loj inches. From Syria ; formerly in the Greau Collection ; acquired
1885. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1079.
(2) APHRODITE WITH MIRROR.
The goddess stands with the left leg bent, looking down
towards her left at the mirror which she has held up in her
left hand, but which is now wanting; with her right hand she
draws forward across her body a mantle which hangs down
behind over her left shoulder. Her hair is knotted up at the
back ; the navel is gilt. A good example of Roman work,
but not in very good condition.
Height loj inches. From Constantinople ; presented by Mrs. M. Zarifi, 1910.
\
\
FIG.1 . APHRODITE
FIGZ APHRODITE
PLATE XLV.
POURTALES APHRODITE.
•
The goddess is here represented very similarly to. Fig. i on
the preceding plate, except for the position of the arms, the
hands being raised as if to place a fillet round her head.
The feet and left hand are restored. The pose of the figure
seems also to suggest a Praxitelean original, and it has been
suggested that it is a copy of the Pseliumene, or goddess
adorning herself with a necklace, mentioned by Pliny. But
it is more natural to suppose that it is a variety of the
Anadyomene type, in which the goddess is represented as
tiring her hair after emerging from the sea.
Height roj inches. From the Pourtales Collection. Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 1084 ; Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 72, fig. 29.
PI
in <
the
POURTALCa APHRODITE
PLATE XLVI.
APHRODITE WITH THE CESTUS.
The goddess stands with her left foot drawn back and
left hand hanging downwards ; in her right hand she holds
up her girdle or cestus, doubled up. The motive occurs in
several bronze statuettes, chiefly found in Egypt or Syria ; and
as the girdle is sometimes replaced by a sandal, it may be
explained as Aphrodite chastising Eros, a subject characteristic
of the art of the Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman period. The
complete subject, with Eros holding on to the left hand of
the goddess in dread of the impending punishment, appears
on a Roman lamp in the Museum (Department of Egyptian
and Assyrian Antiquities; Catalogue of Lamps, No. 1234).
The goddess wears a wreath of flowers, and her hair falls in
tresses on her shoulders. Like the two figures on the next
plate, the style of this figure shows Oriental influence.
Height \2\ inches. From Jerusalem, 1907.
APHRODITE WITH THE CESTUS
PLATE XLVII.
TWO FIGURES OF APHRODITE.
(1) The goddess stands with the left hand in front of her
body, as in the Cnidian type, holding a fruit in her right
in front of her breast. Her head-dress is of an Egyptian
type, such as is usually associated with Isis, consisting of the
lunar disc within cow's horns, with feathers above and a
radiated diadem below. The hair is arranged in two rows of
formal coils over the forehead, with a knot at the back and
tresses falling on the shoulders ; on her arms are armlets.
The figure stands on an ancient hexagonal base. Com-
binations of Aphrodite and Isis are very common in art of
the Graeco-Roman period, especially in Graeco-Egyptian
bronze or terra-cotta statuettes.
Height 12\ inches. From Syria, 1912.
(2) The goddess stands looking to her right, holding a
wreath in her right hand and an apple in her raised left.
Her hair is gathered in a club at the back, and falls in
stray locks on the shoulders ; it is surmounted by a head-
dress in the form of a bird, probably a vulture, like the
Dione from Paramythia (Plate XXIV.). The right foot is
restored. Graeco-Egyptian style, as the preceding.
Height 8J inches. From Egypt, 1907. Jahreshefte, xiv., p. 115, fig. 114.
APHRODITE
ORACCO-
PLATE XLVIII.
HERMES.
This figure of Hermes may be regarded as one of the
finest specimens of Roman art in bronze, dating from the
first century of our era, though it is probable that it goes
back to an original of about the time of Lysippos. It is
remarkable for its elaborate finish and delicacy, especially
about the hair and features, and for the beautiful patina
with which the surface is covered.
The god holds a purse in his right hand, and in the
left he has held a caduceus ; he wears a chlamys (which
has been restored) fastened on the left shoulder with a gold
stud, and sandals. Round his neck is a Gaulish tore in
twisted gold. He has rich closely-curling hair and delicate
features, and the eyes are inlaid in silver. The base is
original, and is ornamented with a palmette-pattern inlaid
in silver.
This figure was found in 1732 in a cave at Pierre-en-
Luiset, near Lyons, by two labourers. They took it to
M. Janin, of Huis, in whose possession it remained till 1747,
when it was purchased by the Abbd Chalat. The latter at
his death in 1788 left it to the Abbe* Tessart, who in 1792
sold it to Payne Knight.
Height 6 inches (with base 8 inches). Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 825 ; Specimens
of Antient Sculpture, i., pis. 33, 34 ; Furtwaengler, Masterpieces, ed. Sellers, p. 232 ;
Murray, Greek Bronzes, p. 47.
ill silver.
inlaid
in a i
•rs. Tin
HERMES
<•*<)
PLATE XLIX.
HERMES.
A figure about one-fourth life-size, standing with left hand
placed on the hip ; the right hand appears to have held a
purse. He wears a large shady hat (petasus). Roman period.
Height 19^ inches. From Saponara, Southern Italy ; presented by R. Goff,
Esq., 1849. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1195.
HI
PLATE L.
HERAKLES.
The hero is represented as in the garden of the Hesperides,
standing in front of the tree from which he has just gathered
the golden apples, which he holds in his left hand. More
apples hang on the branches of the tree, round which is also
twined the recently-slain serpent, the head hanging down in a
lifeless manner, as in the description of Apollonius Rhodius
(iv. 1400). The upper branches of the tree appear to have
been restored. The hero is beardless, and has curly hair and
whiskers ; his right hand formerly held a club. The type
corresponds to the Tyrian Herakles on the coins of Thasos ;
the figure belongs to a late period of Graeco-Roman art.
There is a somewhat similar statue in the Vatican (Moiiumenti
deir Inst., viii., pi. 50).
Height 2 ft. 6J inches ; with the ancient base, 3 ft. 5| inches. Found in 1775
in the ruins of a temple at Gebail, the ancient Byblus, in Syria, and sent to
England in 1779 by Dr. Swinney, Chaplain to the Factory at Constantinople ;
then it passed into the collection of Charles Townley. Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 827 ; Specimens of Antient Sculpture, ii., pi. 29.
of the
•idd a cl
on tin
ie in the \
•it Bybh
UK)
HERAKUCS
PI.ATI-: LI.
HERCULHS.
This figure of Hercules will be seen at once to present
marked differences from the types of the hero with which \\«-
are familiar in such statuettes as may be seen, for instance,
in the Museum Collection (Bronze Room, Case 26). Having
been found near the Roman Wall in Britain, it is not
surprising that it exhibits provincial characteristics, and details
inconsistent with strictly classical art. The figure, which is
about one-third life size and is cast solid, is gilt all over,
the gold having been remarkably well preserved. He is
beardless, and wears a short close-fitting chiton, confined at
the waist by a broad girdle which is fastened with three
clasps in front. An unusual feature is the treatment of the
lion's skin ; it is worn over the head like a cap, with the
fore-paws knotted round the throat — a common method in
archaic Greek art* — but the skin of the body is drawn aside
and twisted round the left arm like a mantle, being treated
as drapery rather than as a skin. The right hand is raised,
with clenched fist, and must have held a club ; the left
hangs by the side with the fingers bent up, a parallel to
which may be observed in an archaic Etruscan figure of
Hcrakles in this collection (Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 464),
where the hand grips the tail of the lion's skin. The short
body and long legs of Heraklcs form another archaic feature.
The face of the hero, as A. S. Murray has pointed out, is of
• It may also be seen on Gaulish coins copied from those of Macedonia.
a type which came into Greek art about the time of Alexander
the Great, and is thus of a period which exercised consider-
able influence on later Gaulish art. Murray has also suggested
that there may be some connection between this statuette
and an altar to the Tyrian Herakles (a deity represented on
Gaulish coins) which was found at Corbridge, in Northumber-
land. It seems probable that the former was made in Gaul
about the first century of our era, and was brought to Britain
after the building of the Wall under Hadrian.
Height 17 inches. Found on the Roman Wall, probably near Birdoswald
(Amboglanna), in Cumberland ; presented by Sir A. W. Franks, 1895. Murray,
Greek Bronzes, p. 90, fig. 38 ; id. in Arctiaeologia, lv., p. 199, pi. 7.
a type which came into Greek
the Great, and is thus of
able influence on later G;
that there may
and an altar
Gaulish coil
land.
aboi
HERCULES
PLATE LI I.
HERCULES.
This hero was a favourite subject in Gallo-Roman art,
being identified with the Celtic deity Ogmios, who represents
the Gaulish conception of the Supreme Deity ; he is described
by Lucian as wearing the attributes of Herakles, the lion's
skin, club, and bow. The figure under consideration, however,
only retains one of these, the club, which he holds in his
right hand, and part of this is now wanting. The type
corresponds to the bearded type of the hero with which we
are familiar in Greek art, and as the statuette was found
at Bavay in France, it is probably, like other figures of the
kind from this district, a native production under the influence
of Greek art.
Height I2j inches. Presented by C. W. A. Drummond, Esq., 1834. Catalogue
of Bronzes, No. 787, and see p. Iv.
MCRAKI.es
PLATE LI 1 1.
DIONYSOS.
The god is represented as a youthful figure, the features
being somewhat feminine in type, and the head approximating
in many details to the Castellani head of Aphrodite (Plate
XIII.). The hair is waved on each side and gathered in a
knot at the nape of the neck, with a curl falling on each
shoulder, and round the head is an ivy-wreath with berries.
The god stands with right arm extended ; his left was raised,
but has now been removed as modern. The eyes have been
inlaid with precious stones. The figure is fleshy, but the
hair and ivy-wreath are finely executed. Roman period.
Height 2 feet. Purchased by Payne Knight in a broker's shop in London.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1326; Specimens of Antient Sculpture, i., pi. 74.
DlONYSOS
PLATE LIV.
DIONYSOS.
A more youthful figure than the preceding, with childish
chubby face and the proportions of a young boy. In his
right hand he holds a thyrsus, and over his left shoulder is
a panther's skin; round his curly hair is an ivy-wreath with
berries, tied at the back. The eyes have been inlaid ; the
head and panther's skin have been modelled separately
and attached. The figure is finely modelled, and the metal,
which is in admirable preservation, shows the colour and
condition of the bronzes of Pompeii.
Height i8| inches; with the ancient base, 20 inches. Found at Pompeii;
bequeathed by Sir W. Temple, 1856. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1327.
PLATE LIV.
DIONYSOS.
A more youthful figure than the precedir,
chubby face and the proportions of a your/
right hand he holds a thyrsus, and over hi
a panther's skin; round his curly hair is ar
berries, tied at the back. The eyes have
head and panther's skin have been moc
and attached. The figure is finely modelleg
which is in admirable preservation, sho\*l
condition of the bronzes of Pompeii.
Height i8| inches; with the ancient base, 20 inchH
bequeathed by Sir W. Temple, 1856. Catalogue of BrM
DIONYSOS
(13*7)
PLATE LV.
DIONYSOS.
A youthful, somewhat effeminate figure, like that on Plate
LI 1 1. The right hand is raised, with the forefinger pointing
upwards, and like the preceding may have held a thyrsus. The
hair is rolled up all round the head in feminine fashion, and
round it is an ivy-wreath with berries, tied at the back ; on
the left shoulder are remains of a fawn-skin. The eyes have
been inlaid in silver ; the left arm is wanting, and the left
foot and right leg have been restored, the sandals being
copied from the figure on Plate LIII.
Height 20^ in. Found at Porto (Portus Trajani). Acquired from Castellan!,
1873. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1328.
A youthful, somewhat
LI 1 1. The right hand i
upwards, and like the prec
hair is rolled up all roun>
round it is an ivy-wreath
the left shoulder are rem;
been inlaid in silver ; th<
foot and right leg have
copied from the figure on
Height 20^ in. Found at Porte
1873. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. I !
OIONY50S
PLATE LVI.
DIONYSOS.
Of this figure there only remain the body and legs ;
but although the head and arms are wanting, the pose of the
body, which is inclined backwards, with the left foot drawn
back behind the right, shows that the type is that of Dionysos
leaning on Semele, who bends forward to embrace him, as
represented on an Etruscan mirror in the Berlin Museum
(Gerhard, Etrusk. Spiegel, pi. 83 ; Dennis, Cities and
Cemeteries of Etruria, i., frontispiece). The figure may there-
fore be identified as belonging to a group of Dionysos and
Semele. The bodily proportions are very graceful, and the
execution is admirable.
Height i8£ inches. From Locri. Payne Knight Collection.
/i/
f of Ei
cnti:
The
hes.
DIONYSOS
PLATE LVII.
MELEAGER.
This name has usually been given to the figure of a
youthful hero here represented, whose figure and attitude
suggest that he is a hunter plunging a spear into an animal.
It has therefore been interpreted as Meleager slaying the
Calydonian boar, a type familiar in gems and other works of
art. To some the action has also suggested Actaeon defending
himself against his hounds, as in the marble group in the
British Museum (Catalogue No. 1568); but the attitude of the
figure is quite different. The spear which the right hand has
held is now wanting; round the hero's body is wrapped a
mantle. The action is very spirited, and the figure well
modelled.
Height 1 8 inches. Formerly in the Collection of M. Fejervary-Pulszky ;
bought 1868. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1453.
MELC ACER
-
PLATE LVIII.
AUTUMN.
The Season is here personified as a goddess standing on
tiptoe, as if advancing forward ; she wears a long chiton
with looped-up sleeves which leaves the left shoulder bare,
and a mantle blown out by the wind, in the folds of which
she holds a variety of fruit. Her hair is parted and rolled
up over a fillet, and gathered in a knot at the back, and on
her feet are sandals. The eyes have been inlaid. A good
specimen of Roman workmanship. With this figure should
be compared the representations of Autumn which (with those
of the other Seasons) are frequent in decorative art of the
Augustan period. They are to be seen on marble
sarcophagi, on terra-cotta reliefs (as D 584 in Brit. Mus.), and
on Arretine vases (as L 54 in Brit. Mus.).
Height 12-} inches. Found near Padua, and acquired from Castellani in 1866.
Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1513.
AUTUMN
(1913)
PLATE LIX.
BUST OF AFRICA.
A female bust in high relief, with hair arranged in two
rows of wavy tresses falling on each side of the neck ; the
bust, which extends to the waist, is clad in a chiton with
overfold, and a folded chlamys hangs over the left shoulder.
The back of the head is covered with the skin of an elephant's
head, the upturned trunk being seen over the forehead, with
a tusk on each side, and at the back large flapping ears.
Below the right arm of the figure is an elephant's tusk, and
at the left side is a diminutive figure of a lion. The figure
may thus be identified as Africa, of which country the lion
and elephant are characteristic animals ; similar personifica-
tions occur on the coins of the Kings of Mauretania. A
figure of the same type forming part of the Boscoreale
treasure in the Louvre has been identified as Alexandria, being
more definitely characterised as such by the presence of
Egyptian and Ptolemaic emblems.
Height 9 inches. From the Hamilton Collection. Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 1524; on the subject see P. Gardner in Journ. Hell. Stud., ix., p. 72.
PLATE LIX.
BUST OF AFRICA.
A female bust in high relief, with hair arranged in two
rows of wavy tresses falling on each side of the neck ; the
bust, which extends to the waist, is clad in a chiton with
overfold, and a folded chlamys hangs over the left shoulder.
The back of the head is covered with the skin of an elephant's
head, the upturned trunk being seen over the forehead, with
a tusk on each side, and at the back large flapping ears.
Below the right arm of the figure is an elephant's tusk, and
at the left side is a diminutive figure of a lion. The figure
may thus be identified as Africa, of which country the lion
and elephant are characteristic animals ; similar personifica-
tions occur on the coins of the Kings of Mauretania. A
figure of the same type forming part of the Boscoreale
treasure in the Louvre has been identified as Alexandria, being
more definitely characterised as such by the presence of
Egyptian and Ptolemaic emblems.
Height 9 inches. From the Hamilton Collection. Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 1524; on the subject see P. Gardner in Journ. Hell. Stud., ix., p. 72.
BUST OF AFRICA
PLATE LX.
R<>Y.\L I'l RSONAGK (ALHXANI)HR Till- GREA1
This statuette, which is about one-third lifi ^i/f. rvpn ^ MN
;i beardless man standing with the left foot rni-.cd and the
right hand held up above his head, having presumably grasped
a spear; the left arm is wanting. Round his hrad i^ a plain
fillet or diadem, and on his feet arc high boots laced up in
front, leaving the toes bare. He wi.ir^ .1 short tunic which
falls in regular folds to the knees and has a fringe of I.I^M I-
over this is a cuirass of the usual Roman type with a border
of flaps and a belt fastened round the middle ; the ends of
the thongs which fasten the latter arc tucked up in it in
front. The cuirass is richly ornamented with inlaid pattern^
in silver and niello, the patterns consisting of ro.M-ttes of
various sizes with leaves alternately in one and the other
material; on the breast are leaves and tendrils. On the
shoulder-plates and flaps of the cuirass arc inlaid honeysuckle
patterns.
It is evident that the statuette represents some imj>ortant
personage, and it was originally identified as the Hm|>eror
Nero, subsequently as Britannicus. But although the details
of the costume and armour arc Roman, the possibility of its
representing an Imperial personage is precluded by the head-
dress. The earlier Roman emperors always wear a wreath,
usually of laurel, whereas the plain diadem is especially
distinctive of the Greek rulers from the time of Alexander
the Great onwards. The face has nothing in common with
those of Alexander's successors, as we know them from
coins, and the pose and expression of the figure arc quite
characteristic of the Great King himself, as we know from
the descriptions of ancient writers that he was represented by
Lxsippos. Although the style of the statuette is provincial
rather than purely classical, and it was probably executed in
Gaul, we need not be surprised at a representation of Alexander
by a provincial artist of this period, seeing that the influence
of Hellenistic and Alexandrine art was always stronger in
that region than that of purely Roman art. We meet with
the same phenomenon in the Herakles, Plate LI., which, like
the figure under discussion, was found in Britain. In spite
of certain small defects this statuette is one of the finest
existing specimens of Gaulish sculpture inspired by a Greek
original.
Height 22 inches. Found at Barking Hall, Suffolk, about 1795, and presented
by the Earl of Ashburnham, 1813. Vetusta Monumenta, iv., pis. u, 15 ; Murray,
Greek Bronzes, p. 87, fig. 36 ; Victoria County History of Suffolk, i., p. 297.
ROYAL PERSONAGE.
coins, and the pose and exprj
characteristic of the Great
the descriptions of ancient^
Lysippos. Although the
rather than purely clas
Gaul, we need not
by a provincial arjj
of Hellenistic
that region tl
the same pi
the figure
of certak
existii
orij
ROYAL PERSONAGE
PLATE l.xi
HEAD OF Tin: HMPI k<>k AIV.USTUS.
This remarkable head represents the Hmpcror in the prime
of early manhood, and is of hen>u ^/c ; it is undoubtedly a
contemporary portrait, and must be from one of the statues
of the Hmpcror ' in uniform ' which were erected in various
parts of the Roman Empire. That it actually represents
Augustus is placed beyond doubt from its remarkable
resemblance to the head of the well-known Prima Porta statue
found in the villa of Livia at Rome, although the latter
represents the Emperor some twenty years older. The
difference in age is marked by the freedom of the face from
lines and the absence of fleshiness alxuit the nose. In the
treatment of the hair the resemblance is most conspicuous.
On the other hand, the mouth is here treated in an unusual
manner, more as in the portraits of Augustus as a boy.
Professor Bosanquet points out that the piercing expression
of the eyes is exactly in accord with the descriptions gi\cn
by Suetonius and other writers. \Ve are fortunate in having
them here exactly as they were executed by the sculptor, the
pupil being of glass set in a ring of bronze, the iris of some
hard stone, partly black, partly yellow, while the whites are
of alabaster in a bronze setting. The large outstanding cars
are another characteristic of Augustus, as of all the Julian
family.
This head was found by Professor John Garstang at
Mrroe. on the Upper Nile, at a site some 400 miles beyond
the Roman frontier; it had been buried in sand at the
entrance to one of the chief buildings in the palace enclosure.
It is known that Augustus was travelling in Egypt about
B.C. 30, and it is possible that the statue commemorated his
visit at that time to Syene.
Height 17 inches. Acquired in 1911 through the generosity of the Sudan
Excavations Committee in consideration of a gift made by the National Art-
Collections Fund towards the Committee's excavations. Bosanquet in Liverpool
Annals of Archaeology, iv.( No. 2, pis. 12-16.
MCROC
PLATE LXII.
HEAD OF THE EMPEROR HADRIAN.
This fine head represents the Emperor at about the age
of thirty, and is probably from a colossal statue in which he
was portrayed in heroic costume. Though showing great
artistic skill in the modelling and execution, it is not so
successful as a portrait ; the forehead is too short, the ears
set too obliquely, and the back of the head projects too
strongly; the beard, too, is more closely cut than Hadrian
usually wore it.
The head was found in the River Thames in 1834, near
the third arch of the new London Bridge, then in course of
construction. A bronze hand found close by in Lower
Thames Street in 1845 maY possibly belong to the same statue.
Height 16 inches. Victoria County History of London, i., p. 109, fig. 49.
TF
of tf
We
ar
1845
MEAD OF HADRIAN
PLATE LXIII.
TWO BUSTS OF LUCIUS VERUS.
Of these two busts of an Imperial personage of the second
century after Christ, the first, representing a younger man
than the second, was formerly identified as Aelius Caesar, the
adopted son of Hadrian. But a comparison with coins and
other monuments shows that both busts represent his son
Lucius Verus, who was associated in the government with
M. Aurelius. In the one case we see him as a young man of
about thirty, in the other more middle-aged.
The younger bust is looking to the right ; the hair is
arranged in thick curly locks, and there is a slight moustache
and short beard forming two tufts under the chin. The eyes
are inlaid in enamel and silver ; drapery is fastened on the
left shoulder. The figure is covered with a fine patina.
Height 7f inches. Acquired from Castellani, 1873. Catalogue pj Bronzes,
No. 834.
The older bust has very thick hair in short crisp curls ;
the moustache is still slight, and the beard is treated in two
curly locks on the chin. The surface is somewhat corroded.
Height 10 inches. From the Blacas Collection, 1867. Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 835.
r"
Height 73 1
No. 834.
The older
the moustache is
curly locks on the
Height 10 inches. From
No. 835.
/
I
.
PLATE LXIV.
PORTRAIT-HEAD OF POET.
A life-sized bearded head, with hair falling in smooth
curling waves from under a fillet ; the eyes are hollow, having
been inlaid. It was formerly considered to represent Homer,
though it does not correspond very closely to the marble
busts conventionally identified with that poet ; it has since
been conjectured to be Pindar or Sophocles, but certainly
does not resemble the extant portraits of the latter. The
surface is in excellent condition, with very fine dark patina.
Brought from Constantinople at the beginning of the
seventeenth century by the second Earl of Arundel, this
head remained in the possession of his family until 1721.
It was then purchased by Dr. Mead, after whose death it
passed to the ninth Earl of Exeter in 1755, who in his turn
gave it to the newly-founded Museum in 1760.
Height ii| inches. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 847 ; Michaelis, Ancient Marbles
in Great Britain, pp. 26, 32, 50, 93.
PLATE LXV.
SEATED PHILOSOPHER (ARISTIPPUS?).
A beardless figure seated with the right leg crossed over
the left, the feet being stretched out ; the head is inclined
forward, and is supported by the right hand, the right elbow
resting on the left hand. He wears a large himation passing
over the left shoulder and leaving the right arm and side
bare, his left arm being muffled in its folds ; on his feet are
sandals. The attitude is easy and natural, and the face
earnest and reflective ; the whole treatment is broad and
effective. The philosopher has been identified as the Cyrenaic
Aristippus, from the likeness to a statue in the Palazzo Spada
at Rome inscribed with his name. In type the figure resembles
a marble statue at Petworth. The seat is now wanting.
Height ?o inches. Said to have been found in dredging the harbour at
Brindisi. Acquired from Castellani, 1865. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 848 ;
Journ. Hell. Stud., xxxiv., pis. 2-3, pp. 47 ff.
PHILOSOPHER ARISTIPPUS-
PLATE LXVI.
HEAD OF ROMAN PRIEST.
Originally known as Diomedes, this head is clearly to be
identified as that of a Roman priest of an inferior order to
the flamen, from whom he is distinguished by the form of
the head-dress. The head is clean-shaven and covered with
a round closely-fitting cap fastened with thongs under the
chin ; this cap (tutulus) when worn by a flamen was sur-
mounted by a spike of olive-wood called the apex. The eyes
are hollow, and the lips have been inserted separately ; the
head is broken from a statue just below the jaw. The style
of art shows it to be an Italian work of about the end of
the third century B.C., having close affinities to the head of
the so-called Arringatore in Florence, which is also a work
of that period ; but the Italian artist was evidently familiar
with Greek conventions.
Height 8 inches. Sent from Rome in 1785 to Payne Knight, and acquired
with his collection. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1614 ; Journal of Roman Studies, '
i. (1911), p. 219, pi. 31.
'
•
- the apex.
the
,:' niti
'
iitly
Payn
HEAD OF ROMAN PRIEST
PLATE LXVII.
ARCHER.
This figure, although found in Britain, must rank among
the finest of the bronzes of the Roman period, and may
actually be of earlier date, i.e., purely Greek work. It repre-
sents an archer bending forward in the act of drawing his
bow ; the figure itself is perfect and in admirable preservation,
but the bow and arrow are wanting. "The bow and arrow
were probably of richer metal than the figure itself, but no
vestiges of them were discovered. The aperture for the bow
is seen in the closed left hand which held it, and the bent
fingers of the right appear in the act of drawing the arrc
to its full extent. . . . The eyes are of silver, with the p«
open ; the hair disposed in graceful curls on the head, as
as on the chin and upper lip. The left hand, which grasped
the bow and sustained the arrow, is so placed as to bring
the latter on a level with the eye ; and the steadfast look
and determined expression of the whole face are much
heightened by the silver eyes" (Roach Smith, Illustrated
Roman London, p. 71). If the figure is not actually Greek,
it is at all events full of the Greek spirit, admirable in con-
ception and execution, and worthy to be compared with the
Herakles from Cumberland (Plate LI.). It was found in
July, 1842, in the City of London, at the junction of Queen
Street and Watling Street.
Height ii inches. Victoria County History of London, i., p. 112, fig. 52.
AR CHER
PLATE LXVII.
ARCHER.
This figure, although found in Britain, must
the finest of the bronzes of the Roman per-'
actually be of earlier date, i.e., purely Greek
sents an archer bending forward in the act,
bow ; the figure itself is perfect and in adnv
but the bow and arrow are wanting.
were probably of richer metal than the
vestiges of them were discovered. The
is seen in the closed left hand which
fingers of the right appear in the acJ
to its full extent. . . . The eyes are
open ; the hair disposed in graceful
as on the chin and upper lip. Tw
the bow and sustained the arrow
the latter on a level with the
and determined expression
heightened by the silver
Roman London, p. 71). If
it is at all events full of
ception and execution, anj
Herakles from Cumber'
July, 1842, in the Cit)
Street and Watling
Height 1 1 inches.
ARCHER
PLATE LXVIII.
NEGRO BOY.
This work of the late Republican or early Imperial Roman
period represents a young negro of slender proportions standing
with left leg advanced and right hand on hip. The left arm
is raised, the hand being held out palm upwards as if it had
supported an object which appears to have been deliberately
cut away, but a small portion which remains suggests that it
was a shallow bowl or open lamp. The whole attitude is
suggestive of a cup-bearer or lamp-bearer, the latter being
perhaps the more likely. Athenaeus tells us that Cleopatra
provided Ethiopian lamp-bearers for her departing guests, and
we know that negro slaves were very popular in Egypt under
the Ptolemies and were employed at Rome in the early
Imperial period as cup-bearers.
The hair of the figure is arranged in long locks ending in
curls ; the pupils of the eyes are incised. It is in almost
perfect condition, but the left foot has been restored. The
surface is covered uniformly with a fine light green patina.
It stands on an antique circular base ornamented with an
egg-moulding round the top and resting on three feet in the
form of lion's paws. There is a similar figure in the Musde
de St. Germain-en-Laye. The club figured in the plate
belongs to the same donation, but it is not possible to
connect it with the figure.
Height 9.1 inches ; with base, 14 inches. Found at Perugia. Presented by
Mr. William C. Alexander through the National Art-Collections Fund, 1908.
Jmirn. Hell. Stud., xxix., p. 163, fig. 16.
.
I
•
•
h
Th(
NEGRO BOY
PLATE LXIX.
BOY PLAYING THE GAME OF MORRA.
A figure of a boy starting back, and holding up his left
hand with an animated gesture, while the right is concealed
behind his back. The action of his two hands suggests that
the boy forms part of .a group of two players in the game
known as micare digitis, played nowadays in Italy under the
name of morra. The players simultaneously exhibit a certain
number of fingers, the object of the challenger being to sho\v
the same number as his opponent. The thumb and first two
fingers of the left hand are raised, reckoning three, the other
hand being hidden in order to keep it from distracting or
misleading the other player; usually, however, it is the right
hand which is used in play. The treatment of the boy's hair
is peculiar : it is gathered into a broad plait which passes
over the crown and is fastened with a brooch at each end.
In this arrangement of the hair and the general character of
the head there is much to suggest Eros, but as the wings
are wanting, it may rather be identified as Ganymede, who is
described by Apollonius Rhodius as playing at boyish games
with Eros. The statuette is not earlier than the Roman
period, having much in common with bronze figures of Cupid
from Pompeii.
Height 2 feet 6J inches. Found at Foggia, in Apulia ; bought 1869. Catalogue
of Bronzes, No. 826; Journ. Hell. Stud., xviii., p. 131.
The thui!
.
;an tb
p. 131.
BOY PLAYING MOHRA
(a«ei
PLATE LXX.
HEAD OF BOY.
Though more probably a portrait-head, this head may be
meant for a Cupid or a Genius. The front hair is tied up
in a knot over the forehead, as is often the case with that
of boys or Cupids, the rest lying in flat curls ; the eyes have
been inlaid. A work of the Roman period.
Height 10 inches. Acquired from the Pourtales Collection. Catalogue of
Bronzes, No. 850.
PLATI
HF
Though more pr,d
meant for a Cur»M
in a knot
of boys or
been in«fa
•no
ROMAN BOY
(•90)
PLATE LXXL
TWO PORTRAIT-HEADS.
(1) The life-size head of a youth, broken from a bust or
statue, with part of the neck remaining. He has a prominent
aquiline nose and irregular features, and round his head is
a thick fillet. The head is an excellent piece of work,
probably dating from about the third century B.C., and is in
perfect preservation. It may possibly represent some member
of the Seleucid family.
Height loj inches. Found near Smyrna in 1820, and acquired by Payne
Knight for his collection. Catalogue of Bronzes, No. 1691.
(2) The head of a beardless man, life-size, placed on a
modern bust. The hair is carefully and realistically rendered,
even on the chin. The eyes and nose are restored ; the head
is covered with a good patina. A work of the Roman period.
Height 8£ inches. Found in 1771 on an island in the lake of Bolsena, in
Tuscany ; afterwards in Payne Knight's collection. Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 1692.
I
.
•
I
I
PLATI i.x.xn
HELMET.
This Roman helmet belong t.> a somewhat ran- but
very remarkable scries of ornamental helmets, examples (,f
which have been found in Britain, Germany, and Bulgaria.
They usually have a visor completely covering the face, which
is modelled to represent a human face or mask, cither iconic
or idealised; the back part is richly ornamented, often with
subjects in relief. The closed visor would make such helmets
extremely unpractical in actual use, and the thinness of the
metal also suggests that they were not really intended to be
worn. It is therefore supposed that they formed part of the
'parade-armour' of Roman soldiers, to be used in certain
ceremonies, and especially as death-masks, placed on the head
of the body when laid in the grave. On the other hand,
some of the helmets of this type found at Newstcad, in
Scotland, have woollen padding and show signs of having
been in use, and this is borne out by a passage in Arrian,
who describes such helmets as being worn by the Roman
cavalry when indulging in sports and exercises (Tact. 34. 2 ;
he wrote in the time of Hadrian).
The helmet here represented is made of very thin bronze,
and is fashioned in two parts fitting closely together, the
visor and the head-piece. The two parts appear to have
been united by thongs. The visor or mask, which includes
the brow and ears, has a high diadem over the forehead,
beneath which escape flowing locks of hair. This diadem is
very richly ornamented, and is divided into two parts, of
which the lower is modelled in the form of a mural crown ;
the upper forms a band with figures in relief. The crown
takes the form of a city-wall with a double gateway in the
middle and towers at intervals. In the middle of the upper
band is a medallion supported by two Victories ; these are
flanked by two nude female figures seated on sea-monsters,
and beyond each of these is another sea-monster to the
front, with human body ending in two long serpent-tails.
Along the arcaded upper edge are a series of infantile heads.
Two serpent's heads project from the locks of hair in front
of the ears on either side. The face appears to be an
idealised portrait of a Roman soldier, and is admirably
executed ; the eyes, nostrils, and mouth are pierced.
The head-piece has a vertical rim running all round the
front from side to side, and the whole surface is covered
with reliefs representing scenes of combat, with a band round
the neck below on which are a circular shield and two crossed
spears between two peltae. On the top of the head are two
horsemen charging at each other, between two foot-soldiers
turned in opposite directions ; above them, a foot-soldier
charging to the right ; in the upper field at the back are two
groups, each consisting of a horseman charging over a
prostrate soldier, who is defended by another foot-soldier ; in
the lower, a foot-soldier between two charging horsemen; all
the soldiers are armed with short swords. The details are
vague, and the style of these reliefs is inferior to that of the
front part of the helmet.
Height io£ inches. Found in 1796 at Ribchester, in Lancashire, and
purchased by Charles Townley, with whose collection it was acquired by the
Museum. Vetusta Monumenta, iv., pis. 1-3 ; Benndorf, Antike Gesichtshelme nnd
Sepnlcralmasken, pis. 4-6, p. 18. See also Curie, A Roman Frontier Post,
p. 1 68 ff., for a description of the remarkable series found at Newstead. These
helmets undoubtedly date from the first century of our era.
•
HELMET PROM RIBCMESTER
PLATE LXXIII.
HEAD OF MULE, FROM A COUCH.
This head forms part of a fulcrum or support of a couch,
which projected at the end of the seat and served for the
cushions to rest on. The tops of these fulcra were usually
ornamented with the heads of mules or asses wreathed with
vine or ivy, a practice to which Juvenal refers (Sat. xi., 97) :
parvis frons aerea lectis
vile coronati caput ostendebat aselli.
In this case the mule's head is wreathed with ivy, and
on the shoulder is a leather collar ornamented with maeander
and wave patterns inlaid in silver, turned down over a lion's
skin. The head is turned sideways, and the ears put back
with a vicious expression ; the modelling and execution are
admirable.
Height 6£ inches. Found in France; bought 1868. Catalogue of Bronzes,
No. 2562; Ransom, Studies in Ancient Furniture, pi. 13, p. 100.
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