REPORT 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 SELECT COMMITTEE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 EARL OF ELGIN’S COLLECTION 
 
 OF 
 
 SCULPTURED MARBLES; 
 
 &c. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for john Murray, albemarle-street, 
 
 BY W. BULMER AND CO. CLEVELAND-ROW, 
 
 ST. James’s. 
 
 1816. 
 
Ciii] 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 The Report - - - - 1 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. 1.— MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 
 
 WITNESSES ; 
 
 The Earl of Elgin - - - SI 
 
 Right Honourable Charles Long (a Member) - 54 
 
 William Hamilton, Esq. - - ibid 
 
 Joseph Nollekiiis, Esq. R. A. - - 6? 
 
 John Flaxraan, Esq. R. A. - - 70 
 
 Richard Westmacolt, Esq. R.A. ^ - 80 
 
 Francis Chauntry, Esq. - _ - - - 84 
 
 Charles Rossi, Esq. R, A. - - - 87 
 
 Sir Thomas Lawrence, Knt. R. A. - - 89 
 
 Richard Payne Knight, Esq. 92 
 
 William Wilkins, Esq. - - 104 
 
 Taylor Combe, Esq. - - - 115 
 
 The Earl of Aberdeen - - - 117 
 
 John Bacon Sawrey Morrit, Esq. (a Member) - 128 
 
 John Nicholas Fazakerley, Esq. (a Member) . 133 
 
 Alexander Day, Esq. - - - - 136 
 
 Rev. Dr. Philip Hunt, LL. D. - - 140 
 
 Questions to the President of the Royal Academy, with 
 his Answers thereto - - 148 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IV 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 No. 2.*- 
 
 No. 3.- 
 
 No. 4.- 
 
 No. 5.— 
 
 No. 6.— 
 No. 7. 
 
 No. 8. 
 No. 9.— 
 
 No. JO.—' 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 -Letter from Lord Elgin to the Right Honourable 
 N. Vansittart, dated London, 14 February, 1816; 
 —accompanying Lord Elgin’s Petition to the 
 House of Commons - . j 
 
 •Memorandum as to Lord Elgin’s exclusive Right 
 of Property in the Collection of Marbles Feb- 
 ruary, 1816 - - p. iii 
 
 •Memorandum as to the delay in transferring Lord 
 Elgin’s Collection to the Public; — February, 
 1816 - . p.V 
 
 Copy of a Letter addressed by Lord Elgin to the 
 Right Honourable Charles Long, in 1811; with 
 a Postscript, added February, 1816 - p. vii 
 
 Letter from Lord Elgin to Henry Bankes, Esq. 
 
 13 March, 1816 - - p. xvii 
 
 •Copy of a Letter from Charles Townley, Esq. to 
 J. Harrison, on the subject of Lord Elgin’s Mar- 
 bles ; February 8, 1803 . - - p, xxii 
 
 ■Translation of a Letter from Chevalier Canova to 
 the Earl of Elgin ; 10 November, 18 lo p. xxiii 
 Extract of a Despatch from His Excellency the 
 Earl of Elgin to Lord Hawkesbury; dated Con- 
 stantinople, January 13, 1803 - p. xxiv 
 
 ■Translation from the Italian of a FermaijLn^ or Offi- 
 cial Letter from the Caimacan Pasha (who filled 
 the office of Grand Vizier at the Porte, during 
 that Minister’s absence in Egypt) addressed to 
 the Cadif or Chief Judge, and to the’ or 
 
 Governor of Athens, in 1801 - - ibid. 
 
 Catalogue of the Elgin Marbles, Vases, Casts, 
 and Drawings, prepared from the MS. of Mons 
 Visconti - - - - - p, xxvii 
 
REPORT. 
 
 The SELECT COMMITTEE appointed 
 to inquire whether it be expedient that 
 the Collection mentioned in the Earl of 
 Elgi N^s Petition, presented to The House 
 on the l5th day of February last, should be 
 purchased on behalf of The Public, and 
 if so, what Price it may be reasonable to 
 allow for the same, 
 
 CONSIDER the Subject referred to them, as 
 divided into Four principal Heads; 
 
 The First of which relates to the Authority by 
 which this Collection was acquired : 
 
 The Second to the circumstances under which that 
 Authority was granted : 
 
 The Third to the Merit of the Marbles as works 
 of Sculpture, and the importance of making 
 them Public Property, for the purpose of pro- 
 moting the study of the Fine Arts in Great Bri- 
 tain ; — ^and 
 
 The Fourth to their Value as objects of sale; 
 which includes the consideration of the Expense 
 which has attended the removing, transporting, 
 and bringing them to England. 
 
 s 
 
2 
 
 Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 To these will be added some general Observations 
 upon what is to be found, in various Authors, 
 relating to these Marbles. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHEN the Earl of Elgin quitted England upon 
 his mission to the Ottoman Porte, it was his original 
 intention to make that appointment beneficial to the 
 progress of the Fine Arts in Great Britain, by pro- 
 curing accurate drawings and casts of the valuable 
 remains of Sculpture and Architecture scattered 
 throughout Greece, and particularly concentrated 
 at Athens. 
 
 With this view he engaged Signor Lusieri, a 
 painter of reputation, who was then in the service of 
 the King of the Two Sicilies, together with two 
 architects, two modellers, and a figure painter, whom 
 Mr. Hamilton (now Under Secretary of State) en- 
 gaged at Rome, and despatched with Lusieri, in the 
 summer of 1800, from Constantinople to Athens. 
 
 They were employed there about nine months, from 
 August 1800 to May 1801, without having any sort 
 of facility or accommodation afforded to them : nor 
 was the Acropolis accessible to them, even for the 
 purpose of taking drawings, except by the payment 
 of a large fee, which was exacted daily. 
 
 The other five artists wxre withdrawn from Athens 
 in January 1803, but Lusieri has continued there 
 ever since, excepting during the short period of our 
 hostilities with the Ottoman Porte. 
 
 During the year 1800, Egypt was in the power of 
 the French : and that sort of contempt and dislike 
 
Earl of Elgin* s Collection of Marbles, ^c. 3 
 
 which has always characterized the Turkish govern- 
 ment and people in their behaviour towards every 
 denomination of Christians^ prevailed in full force 
 The success of the British arms in Egypt, arid the 
 expected restitution of that province to the Porte, 
 wrought a wonderful and instantaneous change in 
 the disposition of all ranks and descriptions of people 
 towards our Nation. Universal benevolence and 
 good-will appeared to take place of suspicion and 
 aversion. Nothing was refused wich was asked; 
 and Lord Elgin, availing himself ot this favourable 
 and unexpected alteration, obtained, in the summer 
 of 1801, a'ccess to the Acropolis for general purposes, 
 with permission to draw, model, and remove ; to 
 which was added, a special licence to excavate in a 
 particular place. Lord Elgin mentions in his evi- 
 dence, that he was obliged to send from Athens to 
 Constantinople for leave to remove a house ; at the 
 same time remarking, that, in point of fact, all per- 
 missions issuing from the Porte to any distant pro- 
 vinces, are little better than authorities to make the 
 best bargain that can be made with the local magis- 
 tracies. The applications upon this subject, passed 
 in verbal conversations ; but the warrants or fermauns 
 were granted in writing, addressed to tiie chief 
 authorities resident at Athens, to whom they were 
 delivered, and in whose hands they remained : so 
 that your Committee had no opportunity of learning 
 from Lord Elgin himself their exact t nm , or of 
 ascertaining in what terms they noticed, or allowed 
 the displacing, or carrying away of these ivlarble 
 But Dr. Hunt, who accompanied Lord Elgin 
 
4 Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 chaplain to the embassy, has preserved, and has now 
 in his possession, a translation of the second fermaun, 
 which extended the powers of the first; but as he 
 had it not with him in London, to produce before 
 your Committee, he stated the substance, according 
 to his recollection, which was, That in order to 
 show their particular respect to the Ambassador of 
 Great Britain, the august ally of the Porte, with 
 whom they were now and had long been in 
 “ the strictest alliance, they gave to his Excellency 
 and to his Secretary, and the Artists employed by 
 “ him, the most extensive permission to view, draw, 
 and model the ancient Temples of the Idols, and 
 the sculptures upon them, and to make excavations, 
 and to take away any stones that might appear inte- 
 “ resting to them/’ He stated further, that no re- 
 monstrance was at anytime made, nor any displeasure 
 shown by the Turkish government, either at Con- 
 stantinople or at Athens, against the extensive inter< 
 pretation which was put upon this fermaun ; and 
 although the work of taking down and removing, 
 was going on for months, and even years, and was 
 conducted in the most public manner, numbers of 
 native labourers, to the amount of some hundreds, 
 being frequently employed, not the least obstruction 
 was ever interposed, nor the smallest uneasiness shown 
 after the granting of this second fermaun. Among 
 the Greek population and inhabitants of Athens, it 
 occasioned no sort of dissatisfaction ; but, as Mr. 
 Hamilton, an eye witness, expresses it, so far from 
 exciting any unpleasant sensation, the people seemed 
 to feel it as the means of bringing foreigners into 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles, ^c, 5 
 
 their country, and of having money spent among them. 
 The Turks showed a total indifference and apathy 
 as to the preservation of these remains, except when 
 in a fit of wanton destruction, they sometimes carried 
 their disregard so far as to do mischief by firing at 
 them. The numerous travellers and admirers of the 
 Arts committed greater waste, from a very different 
 motive ; for many of those who visited the Acropolis, 
 tempted the soldiers and other people about the for- 
 tress to bring them down heads, legs, or arms, or 
 whatever other pieces they could carry off. 
 
 A translation of the fermaun itself has since been 
 forwarded by Dr. Hunt, which is printed in the 
 Appendix. 
 
 II. 
 
 Upon the Second Division, it must be premised, 
 that antecedently to Lord Elgin’s departure for Con- 
 stantinople, he communicated his intentions of bring- 
 ing home casts and drawings from Athens, for the 
 benefit and advancement of the fine Arts in this 
 country, to Mr. Pitt, Lord Gre7iville,Sind Mr. Dundas, 
 suggesting to them the propriety of considering it as 
 a national object, fit to be undertaken, and carried 
 into effect at the public expense ; but that this recom- 
 mendation was in no degree encouraged, either at 
 that time or afterwards. 
 
 It is evident, from a letter of Lord Elgin, to the 
 Secretary of State, 13 January, 1803, that he con- 
 sidered himself as having no sort of claim for his 
 disbursements in the prosecuti'on of these pursuits, 
 though he stated, in the same despatch, the heavy 
 
6 Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 expenses in which they had involved him, so as to 
 make it extremely inconvenient for him to forego any 
 of the usual allowances to which Ambassadors at 
 other courts were entitled. It cannot, therefore, be 
 doubted, that he looked upon himself in this respect 
 as acting in a character entirely distinct from his 
 official situation. But whether the Government from 
 whom he obtained permission did, or could so con- 
 sider him, is a question which can be solved only by 
 conjecture and reasoning, in the absence and deficiency 
 of all positive testimony. The Turkish ministers of 
 that day are, in fact, the only persons in the world 
 capable (if they are still alive) of deciding the doubt; 
 and it is probable that even they, if it were possible 
 to consult them, might be unable to form any very 
 distinct discrimination as to the character in con- 
 sideration of which they acceded to Lord Elgin's 
 request. The occasion made them, beyond all pre- 
 cedent, propitious to whatever was desired in behalf 
 of the English nation ; they readily, therefore, com- 
 plied with all that was asked by Lord Elgin. He 
 was an Englishman of high rank ; he was also Am- 
 bassador from our Court : they granted the same 
 permission to no other individual ; but then, as Lord 
 Elgin observes, no other individual applied for it to 
 the same extent, nor had indeed the same unlimited 
 means for carrying such an undertaking into execu- 
 tion. The expression of one of the most intelligent 
 and distinguished of the British travellers, who 
 visited Athens about the same period, appears to your 
 Committee to convey as correct a judgment as can 
 be formed upon this question, which is incapable of 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles, ^c. 7 
 
 being satisfactorily separated^ and must be taken in 
 the aggregate. 
 
 The Earl of Aberdeen, in answer to an inquiry, 
 whether the authority and influence of a public 
 situation was in his opinion necessary for accomplish- 
 ing the removal of these Marbles, answered, that he 
 did not think a private individual could have accom- 
 plished the removal of the remains which Lord Elgin 
 obtained : and Doctor Hunt, who had better oppor- 
 tunities of information upon this point than any other 
 person who has been examined, gave it as his decided 
 opinion, that a British subject not in the situation 
 of Ambassador, could not have been able to obtain 
 from the Turkish Government a ferrnauii of such 
 extensive powers."’ 
 
 It may not be unworthy of remark, that the only 
 other piece of Sculpture which was ever removed 
 from its place for the purpose of export was taken 
 by Mr. Choiseul Gouffier, when he was Ambassador 
 from France to the Porte ; but whether he did it by- 
 express permission, or in some less ostensible way, 
 no means of ascertaining are within the reach of 
 your Committee. It was undoubtedly at various 
 times an object with the French Government to obtain 
 possession of some of these valuable remains, and it 
 is probable, according to the testimony of Lord 
 Aberdeen and others, that at no great distance of 
 time they might have been removed by that govern- 
 ment from their original site, if they had not been 
 taken away, and secured for this country by Lord 
 Elgin. 
 
8 
 
 Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 III. 
 
 The Third Part is involved in much less intricacy ; 
 and although in all matters of Taste there is room 
 for great variety and latitude of opinion, there w^ill 
 be found upon this branch of the subject much more 
 uniformity and agreement than could have been 
 expected. The testimony of several of the most 
 eminent Artists in this kingdom, who have been ex- 
 amined, rates these Marbles in the very first class of 
 ancient art, some placing them a little above, and 
 others but very little below the Apollo Belvidere, the 
 Laocoon, and the Torso of the Belvidere. They 
 speak of them with admiration and enthusiasm ; and 
 notwithstanding the manifold injuries of time and 
 weather, and those mutilations which they have sus- 
 tained from the fortuitous, or designed injuries of 
 neglect, or mischief, they consider them as among 
 the finest models, and the most exquisite monuments 
 of antiquity. The general current of this portion of 
 the evidence makes no doubt of referring the date of 
 these works to the original building of the Parthe- 
 non, and to the designs of Phidias, the dawn of 
 every thing which adorned and ennobled Greece. 
 With this estimation of the excellence of these works 
 it is natural to conclude, that they are recommended 
 by the same authorities as highly fit, and admirably 
 adapted to form a school for study, to improve our 
 national taste for the Fine Arts, and to diffuse a more 
 perfect knowledge of them throughout this kingdom. 
 
 Much indeed may be reasonably hoped and ex- 
 pected, from the general observation and admiration 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles, ^c. 9 
 
 of such distinguished examples. The end of the 
 fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries 
 enlightened by the discovery of several of the noblest 
 remains of antiquity, produced in Italy an abundant 
 harvest of the most eminent men, who made gigantic 
 advances in the path of Art, as Painters, Sculptors, 
 and Architects. Caught by the novelty, attracted by 
 the beauty, and enamoured of the perfection of those 
 newly disclosed treasures, they imbibed the genuine 
 spirit of ancient excellence, and transfused it into 
 their own compositions. 
 
 It is surprising to observe in the best of these Mar- 
 bles in how great a degree the close imitation of 
 Nature is combined with grandeur of Style, while the 
 exact details of the former in no degree detract from 
 the effect and predominance of the latter. 
 
 The two finest single figures of this Collection 
 differ materially in this respect from the Apollo 
 Belvidere, which may be selected as the highest and 
 most sublime representation of ideal form and beauty, 
 which Sculpture has ever embodied, and turned into 
 shape. 
 
 The evidence upon this part of the inquiry will be 
 read with satisfaction and interest, both where it is 
 immediately connected with these Marbles, and 
 where it branches out into extraneous observations, 
 but all of them relating to the study of the Antique. 
 A reference is made by one of the witnesses to a 
 sculptor, eminent throughout Europe for his works, 
 who lately left this metropolis highly gratified by 
 the view of these treasures of that branch of art, 
 which he has cultivated with so much success. His 
 
 c 
 
10 Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 own letter to the Earl of Elgin upon this subject is 
 inserted in the Appendix, 
 
 In the judgment of Mr. Payne Knight, whose 
 valuation will be referred to in a subsequent page^ 
 the first class is not assigned to the two principal 
 statues of this Collection ; but he rates the Metopes 
 in the first class of works in High Relief, and knows 
 of nothing so fine in that kind. He places also the 
 Frize in the first class of Low Relief j and consider- 
 ing a general Museum of Art to be very desirable, 
 he looks upon such an addition to our national col- 
 lection as likely to contribute to the improvement of 
 the Arts, and to become a very valuable acquisition ; 
 for the importation of which Lord Elgin is entitled 
 to the gratitude of his Country. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Ihe directions of the House in the order of refe- 
 rence imposes upon your Committee the task of 
 forming and submitting an opinion upon the Fourth 
 Head, which otherwise the scantiness of materials for 
 fixing a pecuniary Value, and the unwillingness, or 
 inability in those who are practically most conversant 
 in Statuary to afford any lights upon this part of the 
 subject, would have rather induced them to decline. 
 
 The produce of this Collection, if it should be 
 brought to sale in separate lots, in the present depre- 
 ciated state of almost every article, and more par- 
 ticularly of such as are of precarious and fanciful 
 value, would probably be much inferior to what 
 may be denominated its intrinsic value. 
 
 The mutilated state of all the larger Figures, the 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles, 11 
 
 want either of heads or features, of limbs or surface, 
 in most of the Metopes, and in a great proportion of 
 the Compartments even of the larger Prize, render 
 this Collection, if divided, but little adapted to serve 
 for the decoration of private houses. It should 
 therefore he considered as forming a Whole, and 
 should unquestionably be kept entire as a School of 
 Art, and a Study for the formation of Artists. The 
 competitors in the market, if it should be offered for 
 sale without separation, could not be numerous. 
 Some of the Sovereigns of Europe, added to such of 
 the great Galleries or national Institutions in various 
 parts of the Continent, as may possess funds at the 
 disposal of their directors sufficient for such a pur- 
 pose, would in all probability be the only purchasers. 
 
 It is not however reasonable nor becoming the 
 liberality of Parliamentto withhold upon this account, 
 whatever, under all the circumstances, may be deemed 
 a just and adequate price ; and more particularly in 
 a case where Parliament is left to fix its own valuation, 
 and no specific sum is demanded, or even suggested 
 by the Party who offers the Collection to the Public. 
 
 It is obvious that the money expended in the 
 acquisition of any commodity is not necessarily the 
 measure of its real value. The sum laid out in 
 gaining possession of two articles of the same in- 
 trinsic worth, may, and often does vary considerably. 
 In making two excavations, for instance, of equal 
 magnitude and labour, a broken Bust or some few 
 Fragments may be discovered in the one, and a per- 
 fect Statue in the other. The first cost of the broken 
 Bust and of the entire Statue would in that case be 
 
Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 the same ; but it cannot be said that the value is 
 therefore equal. In the same manner^ bj the loss^, or 
 detention of a Ship, a great charge maj have been 
 incurred, and the original outgoing excessively 
 enhanced ; but the value to the buyer will in no 
 degree be affected by these extraneous accidents. 
 Supposing again. Artists to have been engaged at 
 considerable salaries during a large period in which 
 they could do little or nothing, the first cost would 
 be burdensome in this case also to the employer, but 
 those who bought would look only at the value of 
 the article in the market where it might be exposed 
 to sale, without caring, or inquiring how, or at what 
 expense it was brought thither. 
 
 Supposing, on the other hand, that the thirteen 
 other Metopes had been bought at the Custom-House 
 sale at the same price which that of Mr. Choiseul 
 Gouffier fetched, it could never be said, that the 
 value of them was no more than twenty-four or 
 twenty-five pounds a piece. 
 
 It is perfectly just and reasonable that the seller 
 should endeavour fully to reimburse himself for all 
 expenses, and to acquire a profit also, but it will be 
 impossible for him to do so, whenever the disburse- 
 ments have exceeded the fair money price of that 
 which he has to dispose of. 
 
 Your Committee refer to Lord Elgin’ & evidence 
 for the large and heavy charges which have attended 
 the formation of this Collection, and the placing of 
 it in its present situation ; which amount, from 1799 
 to January 1803, to £.62,440, including £.23,240 
 for the interest of money ; and according to a sup- 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles, ^c. 13 
 
 plemental account, continued from 1803 to 1816, to 
 no less a sum than £.74,000, including the same 
 sum for interest. 
 
 All the papers which are in his possession upon 
 this subject, including a journal of above 90 pages, 
 of the daily expenses of his principal Artist Lusieri 
 (from 1803 to the close of 1814) who still remains 
 in his employment at Athens, together with the 
 account current of Messrs. Hayes, of Malta, (from 
 April 1807 to May 181 1) have been freely submitted 
 to your Committee ; and there can be no doubt, from 
 the inspection of those accounts, confirmed also by 
 other testimony, that the disbursements were very 
 considerable ; but supposing them to reach the full 
 sum at which they are calculated, your Committee 
 do not hesitate to express their opinion, that they 
 afford no just criterion of the Value of the Collection, 
 and therefore must not be taken as a just basis for 
 estimating it. 
 
 Two Valuations, and only two in detail, have been 
 laid before your Committee, which are printed ; 
 differing most widely in the particulars, and in the 
 total ; that of Mr. Payne Knight amounting to 
 £.25,000, and that of Mr. Hamilton to £.60,800. 
 
 The only other sum mentioned as a money price, 
 is in the evidence of the Earl of Aberdeen, who named 
 £.35,000, as a sort of conjectural estimate of the 
 Whole without entering into particulars. 
 
 In addition to the instances of prices quoted in Mr. 
 Payne Knight's evidence, the sums paid for other 
 celebrated Marbles deserve to be brought under the 
 notice of the House. 
 
14 Report of the Select Com^nittee on the 
 
 The Townley Collection which was purchased for 
 the British Museum in June 1805^ for £.20,000^ is 
 frequently referred to in the examinations of the wit- 
 nesses,, with some variety of opinion as to its intrinsic 
 value ; but it is to be observed of all the principal 
 Sculptures in that Collection, that they were in 
 excellent condition with the surface perfect ; and 
 where injured, they were generally well restored, and 
 perfectly adapted for the decoration, and almost for 
 the ornamental furniture of a private house, as they 
 were indeed disposed by Mr. Townley in his life 
 time. 
 
 In w'hat proportion the state of mutilation in which 
 the Elgin Marbles are left, and above all the cor- 
 rosion of much of the surface by weather reduce 
 their value, it is difficult precisely to ascertain ; but 
 it may unquestionably be affirmed in the words of one 
 of the Sculptors examined (who rates these works in 
 the highest class of Art) that the Townleyan Mar- 
 bles being entire, are, in a commercial point of view, 
 the most valuable of the two: but that the Elgin 
 Marbles, as possessing that matter which Artists 
 most require, claim a higher consideration.” 
 
 The iEgina Marbles which are also referred to, 
 and were well known to one of the Members of your 
 Committee, who was in treaty to purchase them for 
 the British Museum, sold for j6.6,0G0, to the Prince 
 Royal of Bavaria, which was less than the British 
 Government had directed to be offered, after a prior 
 negociation for obtaining them had failed ; their 
 real value however was supposed not to exceed 
 £.4000, at which Lusieri estimated them. They are 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Mariks, ^c. 15 
 
 described as valuable in point of remote antiquity^ 
 and curious in that respect, but of no distinguished 
 merit as specimens of Sculpture, their style being 
 what is usually called Etruscan, and older than the 
 age of Phidias. 
 
 The Marbles at Phigalia, in Arcadia, have lately 
 been purchased for the Museum at the expense of 
 £•15,000, increased by a very unfavourable exchange 
 to £.19,000, a sum which your Committee, after 
 inspecting them, venture to consider as more than 
 equal to their value. 
 
 It is true that an English gentleman, concerned 
 in discovering them, was ready to give the same sum ; 
 and therefore no sort of censure can attach on those 
 who purchased them abroad for our national gallery, 
 without any possible opportunity of viewing and 
 examining the sculpture, but knowing them only 
 from the sketches which were sent over, and the 
 place where they were dug up, to be undoubted and 
 authentic remains of Greek Artists of the best time. 
 
 When the first offer was made by the Earl of Elgin 
 to Mr. Perceval, of putting the Public in possession 
 of this Collection, Mr. Long, a Member of your 
 Committee, was authorized by Mr. Perceval to ac- 
 quaint Lord Elgin, that he was willing to propose to 
 Parliament to purchase it for £.30,000, provided 
 Lord Elgin should make out, to the satisfaction of a 
 Committee of the House of Commons, that he had 
 expended so much in acquiring and transporting it. 
 
 Lord Elgin declined this proposal, for the reasons 
 stated by him in his evidence : and until the month 
 
16 Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 of June 1815, no further step was taken on either 
 side; but at that time a petition was presented, on 
 the part of Lord Elgin, to the House, which owing 
 to the late period of the Session, was not proceeded 
 upon. Eighty additional cases have been received 
 since 1811, the contents of which, enumerated in 
 Mr. Hamilton's evidence, now form a part of the 
 Collection. The Medals also, of which the value is 
 more easily defined, were not included in the proposal 
 made to Mr. Perceval. 
 
 Against these augmentations must be set the rise in 
 the value of money, which is unquestionably not 
 inconsiderable, between the present time and the 
 year 1811 ; a cause or consequence of which is the 
 depreciation of every commodity, either of necessity, 
 or fancy, which is brought to sale. 
 
 Your Committee, therefore, do not think that they 
 should be justified, in behalf of the Public, if they 
 were to recommend to the House any extension of 
 Mr. Perceval's offer to a greater amount than £.5000: 
 and, under all the circumstances that they have 
 endeavoured to bring under the view of the House, 
 they judge Thirty-five thousand Pounds to be a rea- 
 sonable and sufficient price for this Collection. 
 
 Your Committee observing, that by the Act 45 Geo. 
 HI, c. 127, for vesting the Toxvnleyan collection in 
 the Trustees of the British Museum, § 4, the pro- 
 prietor of that Collection, Mr. Townley Standish, 
 was added to the Trustees of the British Museum, 
 consider the Earl of Elgin (and his heirs being Earls 
 of Elgin) as equally entitled to the same distinction. 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of MafUes, ^c. 17 
 
 and recommend that a clause should be inserted 
 to that elFectj if it should be necessary that an Act 
 should pass for transferring his Collection to the 
 Public. 
 
 It may not be deemed foreign to this subject, if 
 your Committee venture to extend their observations 
 somewhat beyond the strict limit of their immediate 
 inquiry, and lay before the House what occurs to 
 them as not unimportant with regard to the age and 
 authenticity of these Sculptures. The great works 
 with which Pericles adorned, and strengthened 
 Athens, were all carried on under the direction and 
 superintendence of Phidias ; for this there is the 
 authority of various ancient writers, and particularly 
 of Plutarch ; but he distinctly asserts in the same 
 passage, that Callicrates and Ictinus executed the 
 work of the Parthenon ; which is confirmed also by 
 Pausanias, so far as relates to Ictinus, who likewise 
 ornamented or constructed the temple of Apollo at 
 Phigalia from whence, by a singular coincidence, 
 the Sculptures in High Relief, lately purchased for 
 the British Museum, and frequently referred to in 
 the evidence, were transported. 
 
 The style of this work in the opinion of the Artists, 
 indicates, that it belongs to the same period, though 
 
 *■ The penultimate syllable should be pronounced long; 
 Phigalia closes two hexameter verses, one of which is quoted 
 by Pausanias, and the other by Stephanus Byzantinus, from 
 Rhianus, a poet of Crete. 
 
 D 
 
18 Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 the execution is rated as inferior to that of the Elgin 
 Marbles. In the fabulous stories which are repre- 
 sented upon both_, there is a very striking similarity ; 
 and it may be remarked in passing, that the subjects 
 of the Metopes, and of the smaller Prize, which is 
 sculptured with the Battle of the Amazons, cor- 
 respond with two out of the four subjects mentioned 
 by Pliny, as adorning the shield and dress of the 
 Minerva ; so that there was a general uniformity of 
 design in the stories which were selected for the 
 internal, and external decoration of the Parthenon. 
 The taste of the same artist, Ictinus, probablj led 
 him to repeat the same ideas, which abound in 
 graceful forms, and variety of composition, when he 
 was employed upon the temple of another divinity, 
 at a distance from Athens. 
 
 The statue of Minerva within the temple, was the 
 work of Phidias himself, and with the exception of 
 the Jupiter which he made at Elis, the most cele- 
 brated of his productions. It was composed of ivory 
 and gold : with regard to which, some very curious 
 anecdotes relating to the political history of that 
 time, are to be found in the same writers ; the earliest 
 of which, from a passage in a cotemporary poet, 
 Aristophanes, proves that the value of these materials 
 involved both Pericles and the director of his works 
 in great trouble and jeopardy ; upon which account 
 the latter is said to have withdrawn to Elis, and to 
 have ended his days there, leaving it doubtful whe- 
 ther his death was natural, or in consequence of a 
 judicial sentence : but Plutarch places his death at 
 Athens, and in prison, either by disease or by poison. 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles, ^c. 19 
 
 It has been doubted whether Phidias himself ever 
 wrought in Marble ; but, although, when he did 
 not use ivory, his chief material was unquestionably 
 bronze ; there are authorities sufficient to establish, 
 beyond all controversy, that he sometimes applied 
 his hand to marble. Pliny, for instance, asserts that 
 he did so, and mentions a Venus ascribed to him, 
 existing in his own time in the collection (or in the 
 portico) of Octavia. Phidias is called by Aristotle, 
 a skilful worker in Stone ; and Pausanias enumerates 
 a Celestial Venus of Parian Marble undoubtedly of 
 his hand : and the Rhamnusian Nemesis, also of the 
 same material. Some of his statues in bronze were 
 brought to Rome by Paulus .t^Imilius, and by 
 Catulus. 
 
 His great reputation, however, was founded upon 
 his representations of the Gods, in which he was 
 supposed more excellent than in human forms, and 
 especially upon his works in ivory, in which he stood 
 unrivalled.* 
 
 Elidas the Argive is mentioned as the master of 
 Phidias : which honour is also shared by Hippias. 
 His two most celebrated scholars were Alcamenes an 
 Athenian of noble birth, and Agoracritus of Paros ; 
 the latter of whom was his favourite ; and it was 
 reported, that out of affection to him, Phidias put 
 his scholar’s name upon several of his own works ; 
 among which the statue called Rhamnusian Nemesis 
 is particularized by Pliny and Suidas. 
 
 In another passage of Pliny, Alcamenes is classed 
 
 * Quintillian, 12, c. 10. 
 
20 Beport of the Select Committee on the 
 
 with Critias, Nestocles, and Hegias, who are called 
 the rivals of Phidias. The name of Colotes is pre- 
 served as another of his scholars. 
 
 The other great Sculptors, who were living at 
 the same time with Phidias, and flourished very 
 soon after him, were Agelades, Gallon, Polycletus, 
 Phragmon, Gorgias, Lacon, Myron, Pythagoras, 
 Scopas, and Perelius. 
 
 The passage in which Pausanias mentions the 
 Sculptures on the pediments is extremely short, and 
 to this effect ; As you enter the temple, which they 
 call Parthenon, all that is contained in what is termed 
 the(jEagZes) Pediments, relates in every particular to 
 the birth of Minerva ; but on the opposite or back 
 front is the Contest of Minerva and Neptune for the 
 land ; but the statue itself is formed of ivory and 
 gold.’^ The state of dilapidation into which this 
 temple was fallen, when Stuart visited it in 1751, 
 and made most correct drawings for his valuable 
 work, left little opportunity of examining and com- 
 paring what remained upon that part of the temple 
 with the passage referred to : but an account is pre- 
 served by travellers, who about 80 years earlier 
 found one of these pediments in tolerable pre- 
 servation, before the war between the Turks and 
 Venetians, in 1687, had done so much damage to 
 this admirable structure. The observations of one 
 of these (Dr. Spon, a French Physician) may be 
 literally translated thus : 
 
 The highest part of the front which the Greeks 
 called " the Eagle,’ and our architects " the Fronton,’ 
 is enriched with a groupe of beautiful figures in 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marhles^ ^c, 21 
 
 marble, which appear from below as large as life. 
 They are of entire relief, and wonderfully well 
 worked. Pausanias says nothing more, than that 
 this Sculpture related to the birth of Minerva. The 
 general design is this : 
 
 Jupiter, who is under the highest angle of the 
 pediment (fronton) has the right arm broken, in 
 which, probably, he held his thunderbolt ; his legs 
 are thrown wide from each other, without doubt to 
 make room for his eagle. Although these two cha- 
 racteristics are wanting, one cannot avoid recognizing 
 him by his beard, and by the majesty with which the 
 sculptor has invested him. He is naked, as they 
 usually represented him, and particularly the Greeks, 
 who for the most part made their figures naked ; on 
 his right is a statue, which has its head and arms 
 mutilated, draped to about half the leg, which one 
 may judge to be a Victory, which precedes the car 
 of Minerva, whose horses she leads. Tliey are the 
 work of some hand as bold as it was delicate, which 
 would not perhaps have yielded to Phidias, or 
 Praxiteles, so renowned for (representing) horses. 
 Minerva is sitting upon the car, rather in the habit 
 of a goddess of the sciences, than of war ; for she is 
 not dressed as a warrior, having neither helmet, nor 
 shield, nor head of Medusa upon her breast: she 
 has the air of youth, and her head dress is not 
 different from that of Venus. Another female figure 
 without a head is sitting behind her with a child, 
 which she holds upon her knees, I cannot say who 
 she is ; but I had no trouble in making out or 
 recognising the two next, which are the last on that 
 
Report of the Select Committee on the 
 
 side ; it is the Emperor Hadrian sitting, and half 
 naked, and. next to him, his wife Sabina. It seems 
 that they are both looking on with pleasure at the 
 triumph of the goddess, I do not believe that before 
 me, any person observed this particularity, which 
 deserves to be remarked : On the left of Jupiter 
 
 are five or six figures, of which some have lost the 
 heads j it is probably the circle of the gods, where 
 Jupiter is about to introduce Minerva, and to make 
 her be acknowledged for his daughter. The pedi- 
 ment behind represented, according to the same 
 author, the dispute which Minerva and Neptune had 
 for naming the city, but all the figures are fallen 
 from them, except one head of a sea-horse, which 
 was the usual accompaniment of this god ; these 
 figures of the two pediments were not so ancient as 
 the body of the temple built by Pericles, for which 
 there wants no other argument than that of the statue 
 of Hadrian, which is to be seen there, and the Mar- 
 ble which is whiter than the rest. All the rest has 
 not been touched. The Marquis de Nointel had 
 designs made of the whole, when he went to Athens ; 
 his painter worked there for two months, and almost 
 lost his eyes, because he was obliged to draw every 
 thing from below, without a scaffold.” — (Voyage 
 par Jacob Spon ; Lyons, 1678 ; 2 tom. p. 144.) 
 
 Wheler, who travelled with Spon, and published 
 his work at London (four years later) in 1682, says. 
 
 But my companion made me observe the next two 
 figures sitting in the corner to be of the Emperor 
 Hadrian and his Empress Sabina, whom I easily 
 knew to be so, by the many medals and statues I 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles, ^c. 23 
 
 have seen of them/^ And again, But the Em- 
 peror Hadrian most probably repaired it, and adorned 
 it with those figures at each front. For the white- 
 ness of the Marble, and his own statue joined with 
 them, apparently show them to be of a later age than 
 the first, and done by that Emperor’s command. 
 Within the portico on high, and on the outside of 
 the cella of the temple itself, is another border of 
 basso relievo round about it, or at least on the 
 North and South sides, which, without doubt, is as 
 antient as the temple, and of admirable work, but 
 not so high a relievo as the other. Thereon are 
 represented sacrifices, processions, and other cere- 
 monies of the heathens’ worship ; most of them w^ere 
 designed by the M. de Nointel, who employed a 
 painter to do it two months together, and showed 
 them to us when we waited on him at Constanti- 
 nople.” 
 
 Another French author, who published three years 
 -earlier than Spon, a work called Athenes Ancienne 
 & Nouvelle, par le S' de la Guilletiere ; a Paris, 
 1675,” — says, Pericles employed upon the Parthe- 
 non the celebrated architects Callicrates and Ictinus. 
 The last, who had more reputation than the former, 
 wrote a description of it in a book,* which he com- 
 posed on purpose, and which has been lost ; and we 
 should probably not now have the opportunity of 
 admiring the building itself, if the Emperor Hadrian 
 had not preserved it to us, by the repairs which he 
 caused to be done. It is to his care that we owe the 
 
 * Ictinus and Carpion were jointly concerned in this work, 
 for which we have the authority of Vitruviu?, lib, 7. prsefat. 
 
24 Heport of the Select Committee 07i the 
 
 few remains of antiquity which are still entire at 
 Athens.'* 
 
 In the Antiquities of Athens by Stuart, vol. ii. 
 p. 4, it is said, Pausanias gives but a transient 
 account of this Temple, nor does he say whether 
 Hadrian repaired it, though his statue, and that of 
 his Empress Sabina in the western pediment, have 
 occasioned a doubt whether the sculptures, in both, 
 were not put up by him. Wheler and Spon were of 
 this opinion, and say they were whiter than the rest 
 of the building. The statue of Antinous, now 
 remaining at Rome, may be thought a proof that there 
 were artists in his time capable of executing them, 
 but this whiteness is no proof that they were more 
 modern than the Temple, for they might be made of 
 a whiter marble; and the heads of Hadrian and 
 Sabina might be put on two of the ancient figures, 
 which was no uncommon practice arnongthe Romans ; 
 and if we may give credit to Plutarch, the buildings 
 of Pericles were not in the least impaired by age in 
 his time ; therefore this temple could not want any 
 material repairs in the reign of Hadrian.’* 
 
 With regard to the works of Hadrian at Athens, 
 Spartian says, thathedid much for the Athenians;”* 
 anda little after, on his second visit to Athens, going 
 to the East he made his journey through Athens, 
 and dedicated the works which he had begun there : 
 and particularly a temple to Olympian Jupiter, and 
 an altar to himself.” 
 
 The account given by Dion Cassius, is nearly to 
 
 * Folio Edit. Paris, 1620. p. 6 . 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles, ^c. 25 
 
 the same effect^ adding that he placed his own statue 
 within the temple of Olympian Jupiter, which he 
 erected . * 
 
 He called some other cities after his own name, 
 and directed a part of Athens to be styled Hadrian- 
 opolisif but no mention is made by any ancient 
 author, of his touching, or repairing the Parthenon. 
 Pausanias, who wrote in his reign, says, that the 
 temples which Hadrian either erected from the foun- 
 dation, or adorned with dedicated gifts and decora- 
 tions, or whatever donations he made to the cities of 
 the Greeks, and of the Barbarians also, who made 
 application to him, were all recorded at Athens in 
 the temple common to all the gods.*";]; 
 
 It is not unlikely, that a confused recollection of 
 the statue which Hadrian actually placed at Athens, 
 may have led one of the earliest travellers into a 
 mistake, which has been repeated, and countenanced 
 by subsequent writers ; but Mr. Fauvel, who will 
 be quoted presently, speaks as from his own exami- 
 nation and observation, when he mentions the two 
 statues in question ; which, it is to be observed, still 
 remain (without their heads) upon the pediment of 
 the entrance, and have not been removed by Lord 
 Elgin. 
 
 An exact copy of these drawings, by the Marquis 
 de Nointel’s painter, is given in M. Barry’s works ; 
 which are rendered more valuable on account of the 
 destruction of a considerable part of the Temple in 
 the Turkish war by the falling of a Venetian bomb, 
 
 * B. 69, c. 16. t Spartian, p. 10. J Pans. Att. p. 5. Ed. Xyl. 
 
 E 
 
26 Repoi't of the Select Committee on the 
 
 within a short time after the year in which they were 
 made ; which^ however^ must have been prior to the 
 date of 1683j affixed to the plate in Barry’s works, 
 (2 vol. p. 163. London, 1809.) 
 
 Some notes of Mr. Fauvel, a painter and anti- 
 quarian, who moulded and took casts from the 
 greatest part of the Sculptures, and remained fifteen 
 years at Athens, are given with the tracings of these 
 drawings; in which it is said, with regard to these 
 pediments, These figures were adorned with bronze, 
 at least if we may judge by the head of Sabina, which 
 is one of the two that remain ; and which, having 
 fallen, and being much mutilated, was brought to 
 Mr. Fauvel. The traces are visible of the little 
 cramps which probably fixed the crown to the head. 
 The head of the Emperor Hadrian still exists. Pro- 
 bably this group has been inserted to do honour to 
 that Emperor, for it is of a workmanship different 
 from the rest of this Sculpture.” 
 
 Your Committee cannot dismiss this interesting 
 subject, without submitting to the attentive reflection 
 of the House, how highly the cultivation of the Fine 
 Arts has contributed to the reputation, character, and 
 dignity of every Government by which they have 
 been encouraged, and how intimately they are con- 
 nected with the advancement of every thing valuable 
 in science, literature, and philosophy. In contem- 
 plating the importance and splendor to which so 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles^ ^c. 27 
 
 small a republic as Athens rose, by the genius and 
 energy of her citizens, exerted in the path of such 
 studies, it is impossible to overlook how transient the 
 memory and fame of extended empires, and of mighty 
 conquerors are, in comparison of those who have 
 rendered inconsiderable states eminent, and immor- 
 talized their own names by these pursuits. Bu lif it 
 be true, as we learn from history and experience, that 
 free governments afford a soil most suitable to the 
 production of native talent, to the maturing of the 
 powers of the human mind, and to the growth of 
 every species of excellence, by opening to merit the 
 prospect of reward and distinction, no country can 
 be better adapted than our own to afford an honour- 
 able asylum to these monuments of the school of 
 Phidias, and of the administration of Pericles; 
 where secure from further injury and degradation, 
 they may receive that admiration and homage to 
 which they are entitled, and serve in return as models 
 and examples to those, who by knowing how to 
 revere and appreciate them, may learn first to imitate^ 
 and ultimately to rival them. 
 
 March 25, 1816. 
 
C 31 ] 
 
 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE 
 
 Taken before the Select Committee, respecting 
 The Earl of Elgin^'s Marbles. 
 
 N. B. — The Theseus and Hercules are used in the 
 Evidence with reference to the same Sta- 
 tue^ which was at first called Theseus ; 
 and the appellation of Ilissus or The 
 RWer Godj is also given indifferently to 
 another Statue, which was sometimes called 
 Neptune. 
 
 Jovis, 39° die Februarii, 1816. 
 Henry Banres, Esquire^ in The Chair. 
 
 The Earl of Elgin, called in, and Examined. 
 
 Your Lordship will be pleased to state the circum- 
 stances under which jou became possessed of this 
 Collection^ and the authority which you received 
 for taking the Marbles from Athens ? — The idea was 
 suggested to me in the year 1799, at the period of my 
 nomination to the Embassy at Constantinople, by 
 Mr. Harrison, an architect, who was working for 
 me in Scotland, and who had passed the greater part 
 of his life in Rome ; and his observation was, that 
 
32 Minutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 though the Public was in possession of every things 
 to give them a general knowledge of the remains of 
 Athens^ yet they had nothing to convey to Artists^ 
 particularly to Students^ that which the actual repre- 
 sentation by cast would more effectually give them. 
 Upon that suggestion, I communicated very fully 
 with rny acquaintances in London 1 mentioned it to 
 Lord Grenville, Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Dundas, upon the 
 idea that it was of such national importance as that 
 the Government might be induced to take it up, not 
 only to obtain the object, but also to obtain it by the 
 means of the most able artists at that time in England. 
 The answer of Government, which was entirely ne- 
 gative, was, that the Government would not have 
 been justified in undertaking any expence of an 
 indefinite nature, particularly under the little proba- 
 bility that then existed of the success of the under- 
 taking. Upon that understanding I applied to such 
 artists here as were recommended to me as likely to 
 answer the purpose, in particular to Mr. Turner, to 
 go upon my own account. Mr. Turner’s objection 
 to my plan was, that as the object was of a general 
 nature, and that the condition I insisted upon was, 
 that the whole results of all the artists should be 
 collected together and left with me ; he objected, 
 because he wished to retain a certain portion of his 
 own labour for his own use; he moreover asked 
 between seven and eight hundred pounds of salary, 
 independently of his expenses being paid, which of 
 course was out of my reach altogether ; therefore 
 nothing was done here preparatory to the undertaking 
 at all. When I went to Sicily, I met Sir William 
 
the Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles. 33 
 
 Hamilton, to whom I explained my views ; he en- 
 couraged my idea, and applied to the King of Naples 
 for permission for me to engage his painter Lusieri, 
 who was at that time employed in picturesque views 
 of Sicily for the Sicilian government; who went with 
 Mr. Hamilton to Rome, and, upon the plan arranged 
 with Sir William Hamilton, engaged the live other 
 artists, who accompanied him ultimately to Turkey ; 
 those five persons were, two architects, two model- 
 lers, and one figure painter. Lusieri was a general 
 painter. They reached Constantinople about the 
 middle of May 1800, at the time when the French 
 were in full possession of Egypt, and of course no 
 -attempts could be made with any prospect of general 
 success. I sent them to Athens, however, as soon as 
 an opportunity offered : for several months they had 
 no access to the Acropolis, except for the purpose of 
 drawing, and that at an expense of five guineas a 
 day ; that lasted from August 1800 till the month of 
 April 1801. 
 
 That limited access lasted about nine months ? — 
 Yes. 
 
 The fee of five guineas was one usually demanded 
 from strangers ? — There were so few strangers there 
 I do not know, but in the instances which came to my 
 knowledge, it was so. During that period my artists 
 were employed in the buildings in the low town of 
 Athens. In proportion with the change of affairs in 
 our relations towards Turkey, the facilities of access 
 were increased to me and to all English travellers ; 
 and about the middle of the summer of 1801 all 
 difficulties were removed ; we then had access for 
 
34 Mmutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 general purposes. The same facilities continued 
 till my departure from Turkey in January 1803^ at 
 which period I withdrew five out of the six artists ; 
 and having sent home every thing that was in the 
 collection, till the year 1812 Lusieri remained^ with 
 such instructions, and such means^ and such powers, 
 as enabled him to carry on the same operation to the 
 extent that then remained to make it, as I concluded, 
 more perfect: but from that period of 1803 till the 
 present day, during my imprisonment in France, and 
 during the remaining years, he has acted without 
 any interruption, in the enjoyment of the same faci- 
 lities, with a renewal of the same authorities ; he has 
 incurred the same expenses and done the same as 
 before. 
 
 Where is he now ? *—Remaining there still; he was 
 not there during the war, but he has obtained a re- 
 newal of the same authorities since. 
 
 Your Lordship has stated, that when the change 
 took place in the political relations between this 
 country and Turkey, a facility of access was con- 
 tinued to you and all your artists ? — Yes. 
 
 And in 1801 all difficulties were removed which 
 applied to the erecting scaffolding and making ex- 
 cavations; was the same permission to erect scaffold- 
 ing and make excavations given to other persons at 
 Athens at that time ? — I do not know of any such 
 instance ; other persons made use of the same scaf- 
 folding of course. I do not know tliat any specific 
 permission of this kind was applied for ; I believe 
 the permission granted to me was the same in sub- 
 stance and in purport as to any other person, with the 
 
the Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marhles. 35 
 
 difference of the extent of meanSj and an unlimited 
 use of money. There was nobody there^ I believe^ 
 who was doing any thing but draw. 
 
 Did the permission specifically refer to removing 
 statues, or was that left to discretion ? — No ; it was 
 executed by the means of those general permissions 
 granted ; in point of fact, permission issuing from 
 the Porte for any of the distant provinces, is little 
 better than an authority to make the best bargain you 
 can with the local authorities* The permission was 
 to draw, model, and remove ; there was a specific 
 permission to excavate in a particular place. 
 
 Was the permission in writing ? — It was, and ad- 
 dressed by the Porte to the local authorities, to whom 
 I delivered it ; and I have retained none of them. 
 In a letter I addressed to Mr. Long in the year 1811, 
 I made use of these words That the ministers of 
 the Porte were prevailed upon, after much trouble 
 and patient solicitation, to grant me an authority to 
 remove what I might discover, as well as draw and 
 model.” 
 
 Does your Lordship suppose this to have been the 
 same form of permission that had been given to 
 other people ; and that your Lordship employed it to 
 a greater extent than other people — It was so far 
 different, that no other person had applied forpermis* 
 sion to remove or model. 
 
 Does your Lordship know whether any permission 
 had been granted to any other person to remove or 
 model ? — Monsieur de Choiseul had the same per- 
 mission ; and some of the things he removed are now 
 in my collection. 
 
 F 
 
36 
 
 Minutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 He removed them while he was minister at the 
 Porte ? — -Ves, 
 
 Had that permission ever been granted to excavate 
 and remove^ before Monsieur Choiseul had it ? I 
 do not know. 
 
 There seems to be a considerable difference be- 
 tween, to excavate and remove, and to remove and 
 excavate ; the question was not, whether your Lord- 
 ship was permitted to remove what you should find 
 on excavation, but whether your Lordship was per- 
 mitted to remove from the walls — I was at liberty 
 to remove from the walls ; the permission was to 
 remove generally. 
 
 Was there any specific permission alluding to the 
 statues particularly ? — I do not know whether it spe- 
 cified the statues, or whether it was a general power 
 to remove. I was obliged to send from Athens to 
 Constantinople, for permission to remove a house. 
 
 That was a house belonging to the Turkish go- 
 vernment j did not your Lordship keep any copy of 
 any of the written permissions that were given to your 
 Lordship ?— I kept no copies whatever ; every paper 
 that could he of use at Athens, was left there as a 
 matter of course, because Lusieri continued there : 
 the few papers I brought away with me, were burnt 
 on my detention in France ; my private papers I 
 mean, and all my accounts, which I had brought 
 away from Turkey. 
 
 In point of fact, your Lordship has not in England 
 any copy of any of those written permissions ? 
 
 None. 
 
 Did the Committee understand you to say, that it 
 
the Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 37 
 
 is possible Lusieri has such copies ? — -Certainly; they 
 will be at Athens^ either in his possession or in the 
 possession of the authorities there. 
 
 Has your Lordship any distinct recollection of 
 having had such copies of the authorities^ and of 
 having left them in Lusieri’s possession ? — I cannot 
 speak to the fact so precisely as the Committee may 
 wish ; the authority itself was given over to the 
 proper officer ; and then Lusieri obtained from him 
 any part of it that was necessary to be exhibited on 
 any future occasion. 
 
 Did your Lordship, for your own satisfaction, keep 
 any copy of the terms of those permissions ? — No, 
 I never did ; and it never occurred to me that the 
 question would arise ; the thing was done publicly 
 before the whole world. I employed three or four 
 hundred people a day; and all the local authori- 
 ties were concerned in it, as well as the Turkish 
 government. 
 
 When your Lordship stated, that the permission 
 granted to your Lordship was the same that had been 
 granted to other individuals, with the difference only 
 of the extent of means, did you mean to convey to the 
 Committee, that permissions to remove Marbles and 
 carry them away had been granted to other indivi- 
 duals ? — No ; what I meant to say was this, that as 
 far as any application was made to the Turkish 
 government through me, or to my knowledge, the 
 same facilities were granted in all cases. . I did not 
 receive more as ambassador than they received as 
 travellers ; but as I employed artists, those permis- 
 sions were added to my leave. I am not aware of 
 
38 
 
 Minutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 any particular application being made for a specific 
 lea ye that '.vas not granted where a similar leave was 
 granted to myself. 
 
 Your Lordship has stated, that no individual had 
 applied for leave to remove ?- — To the best of my 
 recollection no application had been made to remove. 
 
 No application, either through you or to your 
 knowledge ? — Yes ; as far as I can recollect. 
 
 Of course your Lordship means to except the per- 
 mission that you stated before had been long antece- 
 dently given to Monsieur Comte de Choiseul ? — Yes. 
 
 Do you know, in point of fact, whether the same 
 permission was granted to Monsieur Comte de Choi- 
 seul as was granted to you ^ — He exercised the same 
 power. 
 
 But you do not know whether he had the same 
 permission ? — No. 
 
 Then within your Lordship’s knowledge there is 
 no instance of a private individual having obtained 
 such permission ? — I have no knowledge of any 
 individual having applied for it, and I do not know 
 whether it has been granted or not ; I do not know 
 that there was any difficulty in the way of removing, 
 by anybody. 
 
 Was it necessary that those powers should be 
 renewed after your Lordship came away, and that the 
 artists already employed by you are employed osten- 
 sibly by the ministers there ? — I do not know what 
 distinction there is between Lusieri and any other 
 artist. 
 
 Is he acting under the permission your Lordship 
 obtained } — There has been war since. 
 
the Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles 39 
 
 Has it been renewed to your Lordship^ or indi- 
 vidually to themselves ? — They have made the ap- 
 plication through the channel they thought proper ; 
 what it was I do not know ; but it was probably the 
 same permission that Lord Aberdeen had;, and many 
 other travellers that have been there. 
 
 Your Lordship does not know whether it was 
 renewed to your Lordship or to Mr. ListoO;, or 
 whether they are acting under a permission granted 
 to him, or individual permissions granted to the 
 artists? — I do not know what the detail is; I conclude 
 they are acting exactly as any other traveller there is: 
 there is no advantage from the ambassadorial title 
 that I had then, that can apply to them now, because 
 there has been war since. 
 
 Have they power to excavate, model, and remove ? 
 — They have removed a great deal from thence. 
 
 And you do not know in what shape those powers 
 have been renewed since the war ? — No, I do not. 
 
 In the Letter to Mr. Long, which you have stated, 
 you speak as having obtained these permissions after 
 much trouble and patient solicitation ; what was the 
 nature of the objections on the part of the Turkish 
 government ? — Their general jealousy and enmity to 
 every Christian of every denomination, and every 
 interference on their part. I believe that from the 
 period of the reign of Louis the Fourteenth the 
 French government have been endeavouring to ob- 
 tain similar advantages, and particularly the Sigean 
 Marble. 
 
 They rested it upon that general objection ? — 
 Upon the general enmity to what they called Christian 
 Dogs. 
 
40 Minutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 That was not the manner in which they stated their 
 objection ? — No ; but that is the fact ; it was always 
 refused 
 
 Without reasons ? — Without reasons assigned ; 
 every body on the spot knew what those reasons were^ 
 that they would not give any facility to any thing that 
 was not Turkish. 
 
 All your Lordship’s communications with the Porte 
 were verbal ? — There was nothing in writing till an 
 order was issued. 
 
 The objection disappeared from the moment of the 
 decided success of our arms in Egypt ? — Yes ; the 
 whole system of Turkish feeling met with a revolu- 
 tion^ in the first place, from the invasion by the 
 French, and afterwards by our conquest. 
 
 Your Lordship has stated in your Petition, that 
 you directed your attention in an especial manner 
 to the benefit of rescuing from danger the remains of 
 Sculpture and Architecture; what steps did you take 
 for that purpose ? — My whole plan was to measure 
 and to draw every thing that remained and could be 
 traced of architecture, to model the peculiar features 
 of architecture ; I brought home a piece of each 
 description of column for instance, and capitals and 
 decorations of every description ; friezes and moulds, 
 and, in some instances, original specimens; and the 
 architects not only went over the measurements that 
 had been before traced, but by removing the foun- 
 dations were enabled to extend them and to open the 
 way to further enquiries, which have been attended 
 since with considerable success. 
 
 You state, that you have rescued the remains from 
 danger From the period of Stuart’s visit to Athens 
 
the Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 41 
 
 till the time I went to Turkey, a very great destruc- 
 tion had taken place. There was an old temple on 
 the Ilissus had disappeared. There was in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Elis and Olympia another temple, which 
 had disappeared, At Corinth, I think Stuart gives 
 thirteen columns, and there were only five when I 
 got there ; every traveller coming, added to the 
 general defacement of the statuary in his reach : 
 there are now in London pieces broken olF within our 
 day. And the Turks have been continually defacing 
 the heads ; and in some instances they have actually 
 acknowledged to me, that they have pounded down 
 the statues to convert them into mortar : It was upon 
 these suggestions, and with these feelings, that I 
 proceeded to remove as much of the sculpture as I 
 conveniently could ; it was no part of my original 
 plan to bring away any thing but my models. 
 
 Then your Lordship did not do any thing to 
 rescue them, in any other way than to bring away 
 such as you found ? — No ; it was impossible for me 
 to do more than that; the Turkish government 
 attached no importance to them in the world ; and 
 in all the modern walls, these things are built up 
 promiscuously with common stones. 
 
 It has been stated, that in a despatch from Turkey, 
 at a very early period after your Lordship went out, 
 that your Lordship had an occasion to write to His 
 Majesty’s government concerning your public ap- 
 pointment as a minister, and that you stated some 
 circumstances distinctly to them at that time, which 
 showed your understanding and their understanding, 
 that your proceedings in Greece were entirely upon 
 
42 Minutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 your own private account ; is that statement correct^ 
 that there is a document in existence, dated in the year 
 1803, which will prove that fact? — There is, pre- 
 cisely what is alluded to in a despatch at the period 
 of my leaving Turkey. 
 
 In point of fact, did the Turkish government know 
 that your Lordship was removing these statues under 
 the permission your Lordship had obtained from 
 them ? — No doubt was ever expressed to me of their 
 knowledge of it; and as the operation has been 
 going on these seventeen years without any such 
 expression, so far as I have ever heard, I conclude 
 they must have been in the intimate knowledge of 
 every thing that was doing. 
 
 In point of fact, your Lordship does not know that 
 they were ever apprised of it ? — It is impossible for 
 me to have any doubt about it. 
 
 Did your Lordship ever apprise any of the Govern- 
 ment of it in conversation ? — The chance is, that I 
 have done it five hundred times, but I cannot answer 
 specifically when or how. 
 
 Did not the Committee understand your Lordship 
 to say, that they must have so well understood it, that 
 in one instance your Lordship got a special order to 
 remove a particular thing? — There was a special 
 permission solicited for the house ; when I did ex- 
 cavate in consequence of getting possession of that 
 liouse, there was not a single fragment found ; I ex- 
 cavated down to the rock, and that without finding 
 any thing, when the Turk, to whom the house be- 
 longed, came to me, and laughingly told me, that 
 they were made into the mortar with which he built 
 hi s house. 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marties. 43 
 
 Then the permission was to buy the house? — To 
 pull it down. 
 
 Since 1803 has Lusieri continued to remove things ? 
 — I can answer that question by a fact of consider- 
 importance. When I was in Paris a prisoner, in the 
 year 1805, living in Paris, perfectly tranquilly with 
 my family, I received a letter from an English tra- 
 veller, complaining of Lusieri’s taking down part of 
 the frieze of the Parthenon. The next morning a 
 common gens d’arme came and took me out of bed, 
 and sent me into close confinement, away from my 
 family. Such was the influence exercised by the 
 French to prevent this operation. 
 
 Your Lordship attributed it entirely to the French ? 
 — Yes ; the French sent me in that way down to 
 Melun. 
 
 In reference to what was stated in a passage of 
 your Lordship’s Petition, will your Lordship be so 
 good as to say whether you have ever heard of the 
 Turkish government taking any care that the works 
 of art should not be destroyed ? — Certainly not ; 
 within my knowledge nothing of the sort was ever 
 done; the military governor of the Acropolis en- 
 deavoured to keep them, after people had appeared 
 anxious to get them away. 
 
 So that the hesitation on the part of the Govern- 
 ment your Lordship attributes to a dislike to the 
 Christians ? — The general apprehension of doing any 
 act displeasing to the French operated at the time the 
 French were in Egypt. 
 
 Has your Lordship any knowledge of any par- 
 ticular application made to the Turkish governmerit 
 
 G 
 
44 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 by any individual^ and granted^ of an equal extent 
 with your Lordship’s? — I have not any knowledge of 
 what has passed since,, except the details of Lusieri’s 
 own operations. 
 
 From an observation in part of your Lordship’s 
 evidence, the Committee concluded that your Lord- 
 ship has, since 1812, received several of these Mar- 
 bles ?— In the year 1812, about eighty cases arrived. 
 
 Have there been any received subsequently ? — I 
 believe there have; but I am not very certain, having 
 been out of the country myself. 
 
 Did Monsieur Choiseul take down any of the me- 
 topes and the frieze ? — One piece of the metope and 
 some of the frieze ; the metope I bought at a public 
 sale at the custom-house. It was at the time I 
 returned fsoiii Fiance ; my things were dispersed all 
 over the country ; and my agent told me of some 
 packages in the custom-house without direction ; 
 and I gave four or five-and-twenty pounds for them 
 at a lumber sale. 
 
 Thinking those packages to be your Lordship’s ? 
 —Yes. 
 
 When your Lordship heard of those cases being 
 to be sold at a rummage sale, did your Lordship 
 make any application to the Government, stating that 
 they had any interest in it, and that therefore you 
 ought not to be obliged to purchase ? — No ; cer- 
 tainly not. 
 
 It was a matter of private purchase ? — Yes ; these 
 things had been left at Athens during the whole of 
 the French Revolution. Buonaparte allowed a cor- 
 vette to call and bring these things for Monsieur 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of MarUes, 45 
 
 Choiseul^ who was an intimate acquaintance of Mon- 
 sieur Talleyrand’s ; from the delay which occurred, 
 they did not get away in time to escape our crnizers. 
 Monsieur Choiseul applied to me to make interest 
 with Lord Nelson, and I wrote to him, and he 
 directed them to be sent home; and applied to Lord 
 Sidmouth and Sir Joseph Banks, wishing Govern- 
 ment to make such a purchase as to secure the captors, 
 but at the same time to restore the ai’ticles to Monsieur 
 Choiseul. When I left Paris, Monsieur Choiseul 
 remained in the belief that they were still at Malta, 
 consequently I had no clue to guess these were liis at 
 tlie tune o-f the purchase in the year 1806 ; but I imme- 
 diately wrote to him to state what these things wej:e, 
 as I had no doubt they were his by the naetope ; and 
 in the year 1810 he wrote tome, stating that his were 
 stiM at Malta; when I went over to Paris last year, 
 I took a memorandum with me for him, and satisfied 
 him they were his; but he has never yet sent about 
 them, and I do not know what he means to do at all ; 
 but there they are, marked among my things as 
 belonging to him. 
 
 Does your Lordsliip know, that subsequent to your 
 coming away, and during the time we were at war, any 
 similar permission was applied for, and obtained by 
 the French ? — I do not know any thing about that ; 
 but in point of fact, my cases were at the harbour 
 during the whole of the war ; and if the French 
 government had had any thing they .could have put 
 afloat, they would have taken them. 
 
 Did that seizure apply to the property of all 
 
46 Minutes of Evidence respecting flie 
 
 English characters ; or^ did it apply to your Lord- 
 ship^s as a public character^ and therefore the pro- 
 perty of the country ? — Besides the boxes at the 
 harbour^ Lusieri^s magazines were filled in the town 
 of Athens ; and immediately after his flight they 
 broke those open, and sent them to Yanana, and from 
 thence to Buonaparte. 
 
 Was not Lusieri considered as an agent of your 
 Lordship’s in your public character ? — No ; cer- 
 tainly not. 
 
 Your Lordship had applied for him to do what he 
 was doing ; and was he not in that way considered 
 as your Lordship’s agent, and therefore subject to 
 the same liability as your Lordship was, to have 
 whatever was in his possession seized ? — He was 
 considered as an English subject, as far as his con- 
 nection with me went ; but his property was stolen 
 in fact : his property and mine was promiscuously 
 taken ; they did not do it officially. 
 
 Was any objection made by the chief magistrate of 
 Athens, against taking away these Marbles, as ex- 
 ceeding the authority received from Constantinople 
 ——There was no such objection ever made. 
 
 Was ever any representation made of any kind ? - 
 None that I ever heard of. 
 
 Does your Lordship believe, to the best of your 
 judgment, that you obtained, in your character of 
 ambassador, any authority for removing these Mar- 
 bles, which your Lordship would not have obtained 
 in your private capacity, through the intervention of 
 the British ambassador ? — I certainly consider that I 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection cf MarUes. 47 
 
 obtained no authority as given to me in my official 
 capacity (I am speaking from my own impression;) 
 the Turkish government did not know how to express 
 their obligation to us for the conquest of Egypt, and 
 for the liberality that followed from Government, 
 and of course I obtained what I wanted ; whether I 
 could have obtained it otherwise or not, I cannot 
 say ; Lusieri has obtained the same permission seven- 
 teen years, in the course of which time we have been 
 at war with Turkey. Monsieur De Choiseul had 
 permission, under very different circumstances ; but, 
 in point of fact, I did stand indebted to the general 
 good-will we had ensured by our conduct towards 
 the Porte, most distinctly I was indebted to that ; 
 whether Monsieur ChoiseuPs example could be 
 quoted or not, is a matter of question. 
 
 In your Lordship’s opinion, if Lord Aberdeen had 
 been at Constantinople at the time your Lordship was 
 ambassador there, could you have obtained the same 
 permission for Lord Aberdeen as an individual, that 
 you did as ambassador obtain for yourself .? — I can 
 only speak from conjecture. The Turkish govern- 
 ment, in return for our services in Egypt, did offer 
 to the British government every public concession 
 that could be wished. They were in a disposition 
 that I conceive they would have granted any thing 
 that could have been asked ; 1 entered upon the 
 undertaking in the expectation that the result of our 
 expedition for the relief of Egypt would furnish 
 opportunities of this sort. 
 
 Then the result of the impression on your Lord- 
 
48 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 ship's mind would be, that other advantages granted 
 by the Turkish government were on the same prin- 
 ciple as the permission to your Lordship to remove 
 these Marbles, and rather out of public gratitude for 
 the interference of England? — •! believe it vras 
 entirely that, and nothing else ; I was not authorized 
 to make any application in the name of Government 
 for this ; but I wish it to be distinctly understood, 
 that I looked forward to this, as that which was to 
 enable me to execute the plan ; and to that I am 
 indebted for it. Whether under other circumstances 
 I could have obtained the facilities Monsieur Choi- 
 seul had had before, I cannot answer. 
 
 When your Lordship received this, which you 
 considered as a proof of the public gratitude of the 
 Turkish government to England, did your Lordship 
 mention the circumstance in any of your despatches 
 to Government ? — I should suppose not in any other 
 despatch than that which has been alluded to. 
 
 That was upon leaving Turkey, was not it? — Yes. 
 
 If your Lordship considers it as a mark of the public 
 gratitude of the Porte to Great Britain, does not your 
 Lordship consider that mark of gratitude essentially 
 connected with your character of representative of 
 the Court of Great Britain at the Porte ? — I did not 
 ask it in that character, nor did I ask it as a proof of 
 the disposition of the Porte ; but I availed myself of 
 that disposition to make the application myself. 
 
 Does your Lordship suppose, that if that application 
 had been made at that particular period by any other 
 person than the ambassador of Great Britain, it would 
 
Earl of Elgin* s Collection of Marbles. 49 
 
 have been granted ?— In my own mind I think it 
 wouldj if he had had means of availing himself of 
 it; that is to say, if he had determined to risk his 
 whole private fortune in a pursuit of such a nature. 
 
 When your Lordship mentioned that general dis- 
 position of the Turkish government, do you mean 
 that it was as well to individuals in their private 
 capacity, as to any demand made by the Government? 
 — To every body. 
 
 In short it w'as a disposition of good-will towards 
 Englishmen ? — Of cordiality towards Englishmen, 
 to an extent never known before. 
 
 In making the application to the Turkish govern- 
 ment for permission to remove these Marbles, did your 
 Lordship state to them the objects you had in view 
 in so removing them, whether for the purpose of 
 collecting an assemblage of these things as matter of 
 curiosity for yourself, or for the purpose of bringing 
 them to this country for the improvement of the arts? 
 — In explanation it must have been so stated; y^he- 
 ther there was any formal application bearing upon 
 your question, I cannot undertake to say. 
 
 Was it or not stated to the Turkish government, 
 that it was for the purpose of forming a private 
 museum, or for public uses ? — I am afraid they 
 would not have understood me, if I had attempted a 
 distinction. 
 
 In what way did your Lordship distinguish, in 
 your applications to the Turkish government, between 
 your private and public capacity ? — I never named 
 myself in my public capacity, not having authority 
 
50 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 to do so; this was a personal favour, and it was 
 granted quite extra officially to me. 
 
 And asked as such? — Asked as such, and granted 
 as such. 
 
 The Fermauns granted to your Lordship were not, 
 as the Committee collect from your statement to-day, 
 permissions to take particular pieces, one from the 
 city and one from the citadel, and so on ? — No ; I 
 had never been at Athens, and could not specify any 
 thing. 
 
 In point of fact the Fermaun was not so ? — It was 
 not ; there could not have been an application for 
 specific things. 
 
 Suppose the transaction had passed in this way, 
 that your Lordship was anxious to have some of 
 these Marbles, the Government were willing to 
 grant you a limited permission to take one or two 
 pieces? — Certainly it was not so; it must have been 
 quite general. 
 
 . Your Lordship has no certain recollection how it 
 was ? — No ; only that I did not know any thing of 
 the state of Athens, and consequently my application 
 must have been general. 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles. 51 
 
 Veneris, V die Martii, 1816. 
 
 H ENRY Bankes, Esquire, in The Chair. 
 
 The Earl of Elgin again called in, and Examined. 
 
 WILL your Lordship be pleased to state the view 
 under which the Collection was made ? 
 
 [The Earl of Elgin, in answer, delivered in 
 the following papers which were read.] 
 
 A letter dated London, 14th of February, 1816, 
 signed Elgin, addressed to the Right honourable 
 Nicholas Vansittart. 
 
 A memorandum as to his Lordship's exclusive 
 right of property in the Collection, dated Fe- 
 bruary, 1816." 
 
 A memorandum as to the delay in transferring 
 the Earl of Elgin’s Collection to the Public." 
 
 Has your Lordship any account from which you 
 can state to the Committee the actual sums which 
 your Lordship has paid in obtaining these Marbles, 
 and in transporting them to this country, 
 
 [His Lordship handed in a copy of a letter 
 addressed to Mr. Long on the 6th of May, 
 1811, with a postscript dated 29th of Fe- 
 bruary, 1816, addressed to the Chairman 
 of this Committee ; which was read.] 
 
 Has your Lordship any paper which exhibits the 
 total ? — No other than as it is stated in that letter, 
 which I do not ofler as a precise account, but it is 
 
 H 
 
52 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 merely to inform the Committee what was the nature 
 of the expense. 
 
 Was any specific offer as to price, for obtaining 
 those Marbles for the Public, made to your Lordship, 
 by Mr. Perceval, and in what year ? — Yes ; I believe 
 it was a few days after the date of the above letter to 
 Mr. Long, in the name of Mr. Perceval ; he did inti- 
 mate to me, as I understood, that Mr. Perceval would 
 be disposed to recommend the sum of £30,000. to 
 be given for the Collection as it then stood. 
 
 What passed in consequence of that offer ? — I be- 
 lieve it is mentioned in the memorandum which I 
 have given in, accounting for the delay — paper 
 marked No. 3 — and which exactly states the grounds 
 on which I declined the offer ; it follows immediately 
 after the extract from the Dilettanti publication, in 
 these words: — So that when Mr. Perceval, in 1811, 
 proposed to purchase this collection, not by proceed- 
 ing to settle the price, upon a private examination 
 into its merits and value, but by offering at once a 
 specific sum for it; I declined the proposal, as one 
 which, under the above impressions, would be in the 
 highest degree unsatisfactory to the public, as well 
 as wholly inadequate either in compensation of the 
 outlay occasioned in procuring the collection, or in 
 reference to (what has since been established beyond 
 all doubt) the excellence of the sculpture, and its 
 authenticity as the work of the ablest artists of the 
 age of Pericles. 
 
 Mr. Vansittart never made any specific offer on the 
 part of the public ? — No, never except in what 
 passed last year, which was afterwards dropped. 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 53 
 
 What further has passed relating to the transfer of 
 those Marbles to the Public, since 1811 ? — In the 
 spring of 1815, Burlington House having been sold. 
 Lord George Cavendish intimated a desire that I 
 should remove the Marbles from thence in conse- 
 quence. I applied to the Trustees of the British 
 Museum to take them in deposit, considering that 
 the circumstances of the times might not make it 
 convenient for the Public to enter upon the transfer. 
 In reply, the British Museum rejected my proposal 
 as not being consistent with their usual mode of pro- 
 ceedings, and they appointed three of their Members 
 to enter into negociation with me for the transfer ; 
 which nomination, after some discussion, led to the 
 Petition which 1 presented to Parliament in the month 
 of June following. 
 
 Is there any price, in your Lordship’s estimation of 
 these Marbles, lower than which you would not wish 
 to part with them ? — No ; there is no standard fixed 
 in my mind at all. 
 
 Are there any persons by whom this Collection has 
 been valued ? — Not any one, to my knowledge. 
 
 Are the gentlemen mentioned in the list you have 
 delivered in, designed on your Lordship’s part to be 
 examined as to the value of the Collection ? — I gave 
 in that list as thinking them proper persons, without 
 consulting them on the occasion ; they are the indi- 
 viduals best acquainted with the subject; and I fancy 
 it would be satisfactory to the Public that they should 
 be examined. 
 
 Are there any and what additional articles now 
 offered, that were not included in the offer to Mr. 
 
54 Minutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 Perceval,, in 1811 ? — To the best of my knowledge 
 about eighty additional cases of Architecture and 
 Sculpture have been added^ and also a collection of 
 Medals. 
 
 The Right Honourable Charles Long (a Member of 
 the Committee) Examined. 
 
 YOU having been referred to in Lord Elgin’s 
 evidence^ do you recollect what passed on that occa- 
 sion ? — Early in the year 1811 I was desired by 
 Mr. Perceval to endeavour to ascertain, as far as 
 I could, the value of Lord Elgin’s collection. I 
 consulted various persons upon this subject ; and 
 after having done so, Mr. Perceval asked me, 
 whether I was satisfied that the Collection was worth 
 ^.30,000; I told him I had no doubt it was worth 
 that and more, from the testimony of those whom 
 I had consulted ; upon which he authorized me to 
 state to Lord Elgin, that he was willing to propose 
 that sum to Parliament for the purchase of the Col- 
 lection, provided he made out, to the satisfaction of 
 a Committee of the House of Commons, that he had 
 expended a sum equal to that amount in obtaining 
 the Collection and transporting it to this country. 
 Upon my interview with Lord Elgin, his Lordship 
 stated an account of his expenses amounting to double 
 that sum, and declined the offer of Mr. Percival. 
 
 William Hamilton, Esquire, called in, and 
 Examined. 
 
 HAVE you looked into Lord Elgin’s correspon- 
 dence at the Foreign Office, when he was ambassador. 
 
the Earl of Elgin* s Collection of Marbles. 55 
 
 and do jou find any correspondence on the subject 
 of these Marbles ? — I have examined the correspon- 
 dence, and I have with me an extract of a dispatch 
 from his Lordship to Lord Hawkesbury, dated the 
 13th of January 1803. [It was delivered in, 
 
 and read.] 
 
 Is that the only trace of reference to his Lordship’s 
 pursuits in Greece, that you can find in the public 
 correspondence ? — I have not examined the whole of 
 the correspondence, so that I cannot precisely say 
 whether it is the only reference, but it is that to 
 which my attention was particularly called. 
 
 Are you enabled to throw any light upon the 
 question, whether these Marbles were to be consi- 
 dered as having been acquired by his Lordship in 
 his public capacity as ambassador to the Porte } — I 
 never heard any grounds whatever for that opinion, 
 until within a few years during the time that I was 
 in Turkey ; it was never, to my knowledge, men- 
 tioned by individual travellers, or by any of His 
 Majesty’s officers. 
 
 Do you recollect any circumstances that have a 
 contrary tendency? — I particularly recollect, when 
 I was in Egypt, asking, by desire of Lord Elgin, 
 Sir Richard Bickerton to assist his Lordship in carry- 
 ing away from the coast of Greece some part of his 
 collection ; he asked me whether those Marbles were 
 intended by Lord Elgin for the Public, or whether 
 they were his sole private property ; I told him ex- 
 clusively the latter. 
 
 Did you not attend Lord Elgin to Greece : and 
 were you not acquainted with much of the detail of 
 
56 Minutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 the means of obtaining permission to remove those 
 statues^ as well as of the circumstances attending 
 their removal ? — I attended Lord Elgin on his way to 
 Greece, only as far as Sicily; from whence I went to 
 Rome by his desire, for the purpose of engaging the 
 artists who were to carry on his operations at Athens. 
 I joined Lord Elgin at Constantinople, in May 
 1800 ; my employment in his family did not neces- 
 sarily put me exactly in the way of being acquainted 
 with his communications with the Turkish govern- 
 ment respecting this subject. I was more immedi- 
 ately employed in the public business of the embassy; 
 and about twelve months afterwards I went to Egypt, 
 and never returned to Constantinople during Lord 
 Elgin’s Embassy. 
 
 Have you any impression on your mind, as to the 
 nature of the permission that was granted by the 
 Turkish government? — None of my own knowledge. 
 
 Through whom, and with whom, were the com- 
 munications upon the subject of these permissions to 
 obtain Marbles and objects from Greece, carried on ? 
 — All communications between the British ambas- 
 sador at Constantinople, and any persons connected 
 with the Turkish government, were carried on through 
 the interpreter of the embassy, and the individuals in 
 the Turkish government who were particularly applied 
 to on this subject by Lord Elgin, were the Captain 
 Pacha and the Sultan’s mother. 
 
 Were you present at Athens during the removal of 
 any part of the Marbles ? — Yes, I was. 
 
 During the removal of those that were taken from 
 the Parthenon ? — Yes, I was ; I cannot say that I was 
 
the Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 57 
 
 present at Athens when any one particular object was 
 taken down from the Parthenon ; but the operations 
 in general were going on while I was there. I had 
 nothing to do with them myself, being at Athens 
 quite as a private individual. 
 
 Did it appear to create any sensation either among 
 the principal persons or the inhabitants of Athens ? — 
 No unpleasant sensation whatever ; they seemed rather 
 to feel it as a means of bringing foreigners into the 
 country, and of having money spent amongst them. 
 
 Can you form any opinion of the danger of de- 
 struction to which those Marbles would have been 
 exposed, if Lord Elgin had not removed them } — 
 From the state of degradation in which they were, and 
 the injury they had evidently suffered during the last 
 fifty years, it was clear that there was a continued 
 system of destruction going on, as well from the 
 wantonness of the Turks, who amused themselves 
 with firing upon the objects ; and from the invitation 
 that was held out by occasional travellers to the 
 soldiers, and other people about the fortress, to bring 
 them down heads, legs or arms, or whatever else 
 they could easily carry off. 
 
 Have you ever seen Nointel’s drawings of the 
 Parthenon, as it appeared in the year 1678 ? — Yes, 
 I have. 
 
 Have not great dilapidation and degradation of the 
 monuments taken place since that period, supposing 
 Nointel’s drawings to be correct ? — Very great de- 
 gradation indeed. As one instance, there was one 
 large colossal figure, which is in the centre of the 
 west pediment, almost entire in Nointel’s time, of 
 
58 Minutes of Evidence respecting 
 
 which Lord Elgin has only recovered, and that with 
 difficulty, (it having been found amongst the ruins of 
 the temple) a small part of the chest and shoulders. 
 
 How much, according to your best recollection, 
 did remain of the numerous, and in many instances, 
 perfect figures, which Nointel describes as existing 
 in the west pediment } — There appears to be nine- 
 teen, in Monsieur Nointel’s drawing of the west 
 pediment. I do not think, when Lord Elgin’s 
 artist’s began, that there were above seven or eight 
 remaining ; the whole of the centre had fallen to the 
 ground long before the time that I was at Athens ; 
 I understood that one of the heads of the figures that 
 are still left, was broken off by a Turk, and dashed 
 in pieces on the marble pavement. 
 
 Are you acquainted with the transaction relating 
 to the purchase of the Phygalian Marbles ? — Yes, 
 I am ; the best information I can give to the Com- 
 mittee, on the subject of the purchase of the Phygalian 
 Marbles, is contained in a memorandum, the copy of 
 which I put into Mr. Long’s hands, about ten days 
 ago : This is the paper. [It was read as follows.] 
 
 Memorandum on the purchase of the Phygalian 
 
 Marbles, on account of the British government. 
 
 '' When the first intelligence of the discovery of 
 the Phygalian Marbles, by a party of English and 
 German travellers, in the month of 
 1812, was received in England, I heard, owing to 
 my intimacy with the family of Mr. Cockerell, 
 father of one of the fortunate discoverers, frequent 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marhles. 59 
 
 and detailed accounts of the beauty of these remains 
 of antiquity, and the extraordinary state of preserva- 
 tion in which they had been found, notwithstanding 
 the lapse of more than twenty centuries since they 
 had been sculptured. In that and the subsequent 
 year, drawings of the bas-reliefs were received in 
 England by various hands, particularly some very 
 correct ones by Mr. C. R. Cockerell, brought by 
 Mr. Frederick North, all attesting the beauty of 
 the composition, and eminently satisfactory with 
 regard to the age in which they had been made. 
 These drawings I saw frequently exhibited to per- 
 sons the most competent to form a judgment of the 
 merit of the originals ; and they met with universal 
 admiration, both in general society, and particularly 
 at the meetings of the Dilettanti Society. It was on 
 all hands hoped, that they might be purchased by the 
 British government, and that they would not be 
 deterred by the bad success of the negociation for 
 the iEgina Marbles, from becoming competitors also 
 for these; these feelings were also expressed by 
 several of the Trustees of the British Museum, but 
 in such general terms, that I was not very sanguine 
 of what seemed to be the wish of all being brought 
 about by the efficient co-operation of a few ; though 
 I was aware that this offered the only chance of 
 success. Perhaps the failure of the two successive 
 attempts, which had been made for the purchase of 
 the jiEgina Marbles, damped, in some measure, the 
 disposition of those who, from their public situation, 
 and correct judgment in all matters of taste, were 
 qualified and entitled to interfere. However it was. 
 
 I 
 
60 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 the time for the public sale^ announced for the 1st of 
 May l8J4was fast approaching, and no steps were 
 taken for the attainment of the object, of which I was 
 aware, beyond a few visits, which I received about 
 that time from General Turner, to express the hopes 
 of the Prince Regent, to whom the drawings, 
 brought home by Mr. North, had been submitted by 
 Mr. Cockerell, the father, that the Marbles in ques- 
 tion would be purchased ; and from Mr. Planta, to 
 express the same hopes on the part of the British 
 Museum, though unauthorized officially by the 
 Trustees. 
 
 With regard to the supposed value of these 
 Marbles, as none had been seen in England, and 
 scarcely any traveller of taste or judgment who had 
 seen them at Corfu, except Mr. North, had given his 
 opinion in this country as to their relative or compa- 
 rative merit; the only criterions that any one could 
 go by were, first, a comparison between the drawings 
 of them, and the original works of Phidias in the 
 Elgin Collection ; and secondly, the price put upon 
 them by the proprieters, below which it was formally 
 declared that they would not be parted with ; and a 
 sum equal to which I was assured that one of the 
 proprietors had offered to give, if the public sale 
 could be dispensed with, or if no larger sum were 
 offered. His price was ^15,000. or 60,000 Spanish 
 dollars; the Collection might in fact be worth that 
 sum, or more or less ; it was not possible to anticipate. 
 However, I felt confident, from the degree of merit 
 which it was evident they must possess, at the sight 
 of drawings sent home by Mr. R. Cockerell, a 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of MnrMes. 61 
 
 gentleman incapable of disguise^ as well as from the 
 interest which must necessarily be felt in every work 
 of Grecian art executed in the age of Pericles, or at 
 least in that immediately subsequent; considering 
 likewise the general disappointment and regret which 
 would be felt if the moment were lost, and they should 
 irrecoverably get into the hands of one of the Con- 
 tinental sovereigns, I was convinced that it would be 
 desirable for the cause of the arts in England, that 
 the purchase should, if possible, be effected. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh being at this time absent on 
 the Continent, I applied forthwith to the First Lord 
 of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 and the Colonial Secretary of State ; and on laying 
 before them the above considerations, I received 
 from them severally their consent, that the Governor 
 of Zante should be authorized to effect the purchase 
 at a public sale to the amount mentioned. A mes- 
 senger was immediately sent off, who arrived a few 
 days previous to the sale, and the bargain was con- 
 cluded for 60,000 dollars.” 
 
 Was the purchase effected at £15,000. ?— The price 
 was 60,000 dollars, by the course of exchange it 
 came to <£19,000, 
 
 To what circumstance was it owing, a public sale 
 could not be dispensed with ? — Because the property 
 belonged half to Germans and half to Englishmen, 
 and they would not allow any one, even of the dis- 
 coverers, to make the purchase without a public 
 sale. Mr. Lee, one of the Englishmen, a gentleman 
 of large fortune in Warwickshire, I was assured. 
 
6s Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 offered the money if he was allowed to take them 
 without a public sale., and I have that in Mr. 
 Cockerell’s hand-writing. 
 
 Do you know what the expense of bringing them 
 to England was? — Noj I do not; they came over in 
 a ship of war or a transport., therefore I should think 
 the expense would be very little. 
 
 You mentioned that the public were disappointed 
 respecting the ^gina Marbles; in what way was 
 that? — They were discovered about two years before., 
 by two English travellers and two German travellers. 
 Mr. Cockerell was one of the English discoverersj 
 and he wrote a detailed account of it home to his 
 father^ and mentioned, that the value they set upon 
 them at Athens at that time was £6,000. This being 
 communicated, and being the subject of conversation 
 at the Dilettanti Society, Lord Hardwicke, who is a 
 member of that society and a trustee of the British 
 Museum, undertook to recommend to the trustees of 
 the British Museum, to request the authority of 
 Government to make an offer of £6,000. The offer 
 was made in the first instance through Mr. Cockerell, 
 but on these conditions, that we should be allowed 
 to bring home the Marbles to England, and if they 
 were found worth £6000. that we should have the 
 refusal of them : if not, they should be allowed to 
 be exported, free of duty, for any other purchaser. 
 This offer having arrived at Athens, was not accepted ; 
 for they said it was a kind of blind bargain ; that 
 they did not know what might become of them. 
 Afterwards the British Museum sent out Mr. Coombe, 
 the superintendent of antiquities, to Malta, to bid 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 63 
 
 j£8j000. at a sale of them expected to take place on 
 the first of November. He arrived a few days before 
 that date ; he waited the month of November^ but 
 no sale took place^ and he left, his commission 
 with the Governor of the island; but in the mean 
 time a private sale had taken place at Zante to the 
 Prince Royal of Bavaria ; but notwithstanding they 
 were sold to the Prince Royal of Bavaria^ they were 
 conveyed for a few months to Malta^ for greater 
 security; And there was a considerable difference of 
 opinion whether we ought not to have insisted upon 
 a second sale^ having been disappointed in the first 
 sale not having taken place at Malta as it was pub- 
 licly announced; but it was ultimately determined 
 to give up the matter. 
 
 Can you state what sum the Prince Royal of Ba- 
 varia gave for those Marbles? — I understood <£6^000. 
 
 Do you know of what those ^Egina Marbles con- 
 sisted? — think there were seventeen figures with 
 sixteen heads^ which were found under the two pedi- 
 ments of the temple of Jupiter at iEgina. 
 
 Of what proportions were the figures ? — I should 
 say between three and four feet. 
 
 Do you recollect what part of the collection of 
 my Lord Elgin was received after the year 1812? — 
 Yes; I have here a memorandum^ which I will read 
 in answer to the question. — I have not been able to 
 ascertain with precision, all the objects of sculpture 
 arid architecture which were added to Lord Elgin’s 
 collection in the year 1812; but the following list 
 contains the descriptions of all which are already 
 ascertained ; 
 
64 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 A. From the Tympanum, 
 
 1 . The neck and shoulders of the colossal central 
 
 figure of the west pediment, called by 
 Visconti, Neptune. 
 
 2. The forehead and eye-sockets of Minerva. 
 
 3. Two horses heads in one block. 
 
 B. Metopes, 
 
 4. Three Metopes, called severally in Visconti’s 
 
 list, N°* 6, 9, and 13 : they are three of the 
 most perfect in the collection. 
 
 C. Frieze. 
 
 5. Twenty slabs of the Procession, of which 
 
 eighteen are marked 1812: the other two 
 are not yet ascertained. Eight or ten of 
 these eighteen are amongst the least mutilated 
 of the collection : six of them are very 
 
 much mutilated. 
 
 D. Detached Pieces of Scidpture, ^c. 
 
 6. Ten or twelve heads of statues from Athens. 
 
 7. A large proportion of the Marble vases, with 
 sculptures and inscriptions. 
 
 8. All the sepulchral monumental sculptures, 
 which, however, are of later times, and of 
 inferior merit. 
 
 9. All the earthern vases from Athens. 
 
 10. All the ex-votos. 
 
 1 1 . The Sarcophagus, with a cover, which is in 
 
 very bad taste, and worth only the marble. 
 
 12. An antique lyre, in cedar wood. 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of MarUes, 65 
 
 13. Two antique flutes, in cedar wood. 
 
 14. A richly- wrought bronze urn, with a marble 
 
 urn which enclosed it. 
 
 15. A variety of inscriptions, which I have not 
 
 yet been able to ascertain ; but which I can 
 designate on reference to a book in which I 
 copied all which were received at an earlier 
 date. The inscriptions of the greatest interest 
 were, however, received prior to 1812. 
 
 i 6. The medals added here, as they were not in- 
 cluded in the offer to Mr. Perceval.'* 
 
 Of what antiquity do you consider the lyre and the 
 flutes ? — 1 have always conceived them to be of the 
 best times of Greece — the time of the Grecian 
 Republic. 
 
 Have you looked at this Collection, with any view 
 to its money value? — Yes, I have; I have made a 
 valuation, which I will read if it is desired. 
 
 Theseus 
 
 Ilissus 
 
 Female group 
 
 £.4,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 4.000 
 
 2.000 
 2,000 
 
 500 
 
 2,000 
 
 - - 
 
 Iris 
 
 Three horses heads 
 Torso of Neptune 
 Remainder of the Pediment 
 
 Metopes (19) 
 
 22,500 Pediment. 
 
 10,000 
 
 Fifty-three pieces of at £.400. 20,300 
 
 Carried forward £ 52,800 
 
66 
 
 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 £ 52,8000 
 
 Bacchus 
 
 1,000 
 
 Caryatis 
 
 700 
 
 Casts from the Parthenon 
 
 - , 1,000 
 
 Doric columns and architecture 400 
 
 Ionic d® & d“ 
 
 800 
 
 Inscriptions 
 
 2,000 
 
 Etruscan bas-reliefs 
 
 200 
 
 Vases from Athens 
 
 400 
 
 Bronze Vase 
 
 200 
 
 Medals 
 
 800 
 
 Drawings 
 
 500 
 
 £. 60,800 
 
 Articles on which no Value whatever is set in the 
 foregoing List ; 
 
 Casts from the Temple of Theseus. 
 
 D® from the Choragic Monument. 
 
 Sun Dial. 
 
 Various heads from Athens. 
 
 An unique Lyre in cedar wood. 
 
 Two flutes in d° 
 
 Sarcophagus — fragments of architecture and 
 sepulchral monuments* 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles. 67 
 
 Lunce, 4^ die Martii, 1816. 
 Henry Bankes, Esquire, in The Chair. 
 
 Joseph JVbllekins, Esquire, R. A. called in, and 
 Examined. 
 
 ARE you well acquainted with the collection of 
 Marbles brought to England by Lord Elgin ? — 
 I am. 
 
 What is your opinion of those Marbles, as to the 
 excellency of the work ? — ^ They are very fine; the 
 finest things that ever came to this country. 
 
 In what class do you place them, as compared 
 with the finest Marbles which you have seen formerly 
 in Italy ? — I compare them to the finest of Italy. 
 
 Which of those of my Lord Elgin’s do you hold 
 in the highest estimation ? — I hold the Theseus and 
 the Neptune two of the finest things ; finer than any 
 thing in this country. 
 
 In what class do you place the bas reliefs ? — They 
 are very fine, among the first class of bas relief work. 
 
 Do you think that the bas reliefs of the Centaurs 
 are in the first class of art ? — I do think so. 
 
 Do you think the bas relief of the frieze, repre- 
 enting the Procession, also in the first class of the 
 art ? — In the first class of the art. 
 
 Do you conceive those two sets to be of or about 
 the same date ? — I cannot determine upon that. 
 
 K 
 
68 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Have jou ever looked at this Collection^, with a 
 view to the value of it ? — No, I have not. 
 
 Can you form any sort of estimate of the value of 
 it ? — I cannot say any thing about the value. 
 
 Do you think it very desirable, as a National 
 object, that this Collection should become public 
 property ? — Undoubtedly. 
 
 Can you form any judgment as to the date of those 
 works, comparing them with other works that you 
 have seen in Italy ? — I suppose they are about as old ; 
 but they may be older or later. 
 
 To which of the works you have seen in Italy do 
 you think the Theseus bears the greatest resemblance ? 
 I compare that to the Apollo Belvidere and Laocoon. 
 
 Do you think the Theseus of as fine sculpture as 
 the Apollo ? — I do. 
 
 Do you think it is more or less of ideal beauty 
 than the Apollo ? — I cannot say it is more than the 
 Apollo. 
 
 Is it as much ? — I think it is as much. 
 
 Do you think that the Theseus is a closer copy of 
 fine nature than the Apollo ? — No ; I do not say it 
 is a finer copy of nature than the Apollo. 
 
 Is there not a distinction amongst artists, between 
 a close imitation of nature, and ideal beauty I 
 look upon them as ideal beauty and closeness of study 
 from nature. 
 
 You were asked just now, if you could form any 
 estimate of the value of this Collection ; can you put 
 any value upon them comparatively with the Townley 
 Marbles ? — 1 reckon them very much higher than the 
 Townley Marbles for beauty. 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of MarUes. 69 
 
 Suppose the Townley Marbles to be valued at 
 £20j000., what might you estimate these at? — 
 They are quite a different thing ; I think the one is 
 all completely finished and mended up, and these are 
 real fragments as they have been found, and it would 
 cost a great deal of time and expense to put them in 
 order. 
 
 For the use of artists, will they not answer every 
 purpose in their present state ? — Yes, perfectly ; I 
 would not have them touched. 
 
 Have you seen the Greek Marbles lately brought 
 to the Museum ? — I have. 
 
 How do you rank those in comparison with these ? 
 — Those are very clever, but not like those of Lord 
 Elgin’s. 
 
 Then you consider them very inferior? — No; I 
 consider them inferior to Lord Elgin’s, not very in- 
 ferior, though they may be called inferior. 
 
 Were you ever in Greece yourself ? — No, never 
 further than Rome and Naples. 
 
 When you studied in Italy, had you many oppor- 
 tunities of seeing remains of Grecian art ? — I saw all 
 the fine things that were to be seen at Rome, in both 
 painting and sculpture. 
 
 Do you remember a piece of bas relief representing 
 Bacchus and Icarus in the Townley collection ? — I 
 recollect all those things ; I used to spend my Sun- 
 days there with Mr. Townley. 
 
 Do you happen to recollect particularly that piece? 
 — No, I do not recollect it among the great quantity 
 of things. 
 
 Have you formed any idea of the value of these 
 
70 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 objects in the light of acquisitions to individuals^ as 
 objects of decoration^ if sold individually ? — I cannot 
 put a value upon them ; they are by far the finest 
 things that ever came to this country. 
 
 Do you mean by that, that you consider them so 
 valuable, that you cannot put a value upon them } — 
 No, I do not know ; as to fine things, they are not to 
 be got every day. 
 
 Do you consider part of the value of the Townley 
 Collection to have depended upon the cost and labour 
 incurred in restoring them — As for restoring them;* 
 that must have cost a great deal of money ; I know 
 Mr. Townley was there for years about them. 
 
 Have the Elgin Collection gained in general esti- 
 mation and utility since they have been more known 
 and studied } — Yes. 
 
 John Flaxman, Esquire, R. A. called in, and Exa- 
 mined, 
 
 ARE you well acquainted with the Elgin collec- 
 tion of marbles ? — Yes, I have seen them frequently, 
 and I have drawn from them ; and I have made such 
 enquiries as I thought necessary concerning them 
 respecting my art. 
 
 In what class do you hold them, as compared with 
 the first works of art which you have seen before ? — 
 The Elgin Marbles are mostly basso-relievos, and the 
 finest works of art I have seen. Those in the Pope’s 
 Museum, and the other galleries of Italy, were the 
 Laocoon, the Apollo Belvidere ; and the other most 
 celebrated works of antiquity were groups and statues. 
 
Earl o f Elgin's Collection of MarUes. 7 1 
 
 These differ in the respect that they are chiefly basso- 
 relievoS;, and fragments of statuary. With respect to 
 their excellence, they are the most excellent of their 
 kind that I have seen ; and I have every reason to 
 believe that they were executed by Phidias, and those 
 employed under him, or the general design of them 
 given by him at the time the Temple was built ; as 
 we are informed he was the artist principally em- 
 ployed by Pericles and his principal scholars, men- 
 tioned by Pliny, Alcamenes, and about four others 
 immediately under him ; to which he adds a catalogue 
 of seven or eight others, who followed in order ; and 
 he mentions their succeeding Phidias, in the course 
 of twenty years. I believe they are the works of 
 those artists ; and in this respect they are superior 
 almost to any of the works of antiquity, excepting the 
 Laocoon and Toro Farnese ; because they are known 
 to have been executed by the artists whose names are 
 recorded by the ancient authors. With respect to 
 the beauty of the basso-relievos, they are as perfect 
 nature as it is possible to put into the compass of the 
 marble in which they are executed, and that of the 
 most elegant kind. There is one statue also which 
 is called a Hercules or Theseus, of the first order of 
 merit. The fragments are finely executed ; but I do 
 not, ill my own estimation, think their merit is as 
 great. 
 
 W^hat fragments do you speak of ? — Several frag- 
 ments of women ; the groups without their heads. 
 
 You do not mean the Metopes .? — No ; those statues 
 which were in the east and west pediments originally. 
 
 In what estimation do you hold the Theseus, as 
 
72 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 compared with the Apollo Belvidere and the Lao- 
 coon ? — If you would permit me to compare it with a 
 fragment I will mention, I should estimate it before 
 the Torso Belvidere. 
 
 As compared with the Apollo Belvidere, in what 
 rank do jou hold the Theseus ? — For two reasons, I 
 cannot at this moment very correctly compare them 
 in my own mind. In the first place, the Apollo 
 Belvidere is a divinity of a higher order than the 
 Hercules ; and therefore I cannot so well compare 
 the two. I compared the Hercules with a Hercules 
 before, to make the comparison more just. In the 
 next place, the Theseus is not only on the surface 
 corroded by the weather ; but the head is in that 
 impaired state that I can scarcely give an opinion 
 upon it ; and the limbs are mutilated. To answer 
 the question, I should prefer the Apollo Belvidere 
 certainly, though I believe it is only a copy. 
 
 Does the Apollo Belvidere partake more of ideal 
 beauty than the Theseus.?* — In my mind it does 
 decidedly : I have not the least question of it. 
 
 Do you think that increases its value ? — Yes, 
 very highly. The highest efforts of art in that class 
 have always been the most difficult to succeed in, 
 both among ancients and moderns, if they have suc- 
 ceeded in it. 
 
 Supposing the state of the Theseus to be perfect, 
 would you value it more as a work of art than the 
 Apollo ? — No ; I should value the Apollo for the ideal 
 beauty before any male statue I know. 
 
 Although you think it is a copy ? — I am sure it is 
 a copy ; the other is an original, and by a first rate 
 artist. 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 73 
 
 The Committee is very anxious to know the reason 
 you have for stating so decidedly your opinion^ that 
 the Apollo is a copy ? — There are many reasons ; and 
 I am afraid it would be troublesome to the Committee 
 to go through them. The general appearance of the 
 hair, and the mantle of the Apollo Belvidere, is in 
 the style more of bronze than of marble ; and there 
 is mentioned in the Pope's Museum (Pio Clementine) 
 by the Chevalier Visconti, who illustrated that mu- 
 seum, that there was a statue in Athens, I do not 
 know whether it was in the city or some particular 
 temple, or whether the place is mentioned, an Apollo 
 Alexicacos, a driver away of evil, in bronze by 
 Calamis, erected on account of a plague that had been 
 in Athens ; from the representations of this statue in 
 basso-relievos with a bow, it is believed that this 
 figure might be a copy of that. One reason I have 
 given is, that the execution of the hair and cloak 
 resembles bronze. But another thing convinces me 
 of its being a copy ; I had a conversation with Vis- 
 conti and Canova on the spot ; and my particular 
 reason is this, a cloak hangs over the left arm, which 
 in bronze it was easy to execute, so that the folds on 
 one side should answer to the folds on the other ; the 
 cloak is single, and therefore it is requisite, that the 
 folds on one side should answer to the folds on the 
 other; there is no duplication of drapery ; in bronze 
 that was easy to execute, but in marble it was not ; 
 therefore I presume, the copyist preferred copying the 
 folds in front, but the folds did not answer to each 
 other on one side and the other ; those on the back 
 appear to have been calculated for strength in the 
 
74 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 marble^ and those in front to represent the bronze^, 
 from which I apprehend they were copied. There is 
 another reason^ which is, that the most celebrated 
 figure of antiquity is mentioned by Pliny and its 
 sculptor, the Venus of Cnidus by Praxiteles ; and he 
 mentions it in a remarkable manner, for he says the 
 works of Praxiteles in the Ceramicus, not only excel 
 those of all other sculptors, but his own ; and this 
 Venus excels all that he ever did. Now it seems 
 inconceivable, that so fine a statue as the Apollo 
 could have been executed without its name being 
 brought down to us, either by Pliny or Pausa- 
 nias, if it had been esteemed the first statue in the 
 world. 
 
 Do you think it of great consequence to the pro- 
 gress of art in Britain, that this Collection should 
 become the property of the Public ? — Of the greatest 
 importance, I think ; and I always have thought so 
 as an individual. 
 
 Do you conceive practically, that any improve- 
 ment has taken place in the state of the arts in this 
 country, since this Collection has been open to the 
 Public ? —Within these last twenty years, I think 
 sculpture has improved in a very great degree, and 
 I believe my opinion is not singular ; but unless 
 I was to take time to reflect upon the several causes, 
 of which that has been the consequence, I cannot 
 pretend to answer the question : I think works of such 
 prime importance could not remain in the country 
 without improving the public taste and the taste of 
 the artists. 
 
 In what class do you hold the Metopes as com- 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles* 75 
 
 pared with the Frieze ? — I should think, from a 
 parity of reasoning adopted between the Metopes and 
 the flat basso-relievos with that adopted between the 
 Apollo Belvidere and the Theseus or Hercules, the 
 Metopes are preferable to the flat basso-relievos, in- 
 asmuch as the heroic style is preferable to that of 
 common nature 
 
 Should you have judged the Metopes to be of very 
 high antiquity if you had seen them, not knowing 
 from what temple they were brought ? — I should 
 certainly have taken them to be of the age to which 
 they are attributed, the age of Phidias. 
 
 What characteristic marks do you observe of high 
 antiquity, as compared with the other works of anti- 
 quity? — In the first place, I observe a particular 
 classification of the parts of the body; and I have 
 adverted to the medical writer of that age, Hippo- 
 crates, and find that the distinctions of the body, 
 when they have been taken from the finest nature in 
 the highest state of exercise, and in the best condition 
 in all respects, which might be expected from those 
 who possessed great personal beauty and cultivated 
 habits of living, most likely to produce it, and who 
 were accustomed to see it frequently in public exer- 
 cises; this classification, which they appeared to 
 prefer, is conformable to the distinctions in the 
 statues. It is well known, that in the writings of 
 Hippocrates a great deal of attention is paid to the 
 economy of the human body and its interior parts, 
 but that its exteriors are not described as our modern 
 anatomists describe them, but in a simpler manner, by 
 a general classification of parts and muscles. What 
 
 L 
 
76 
 
 JMinutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 I would particularly say on the subject is this : 
 Hippocrates describes the edges of the ribs as forming 
 a semicircle at the bottom of the upper thorax ; he 
 describes^ with some accuracy, the meeting and form 
 of the upper part of the scapula and acromion with 
 the collar bone: that part is particularly marked in 
 these figures. He describes the knee-pan as a single 
 bone; and that was their manner of making the knee 
 in the statues of that time ; and if I remember right, 
 also he describes the upper part of the basin bone, 
 which is particularly marked in the antique statues. 
 In a few words, the form of the body has a classifica- 
 tion of a simple kind in a few parts, such as I find in 
 the ancient anatomists, and such as are common in 
 the outlines of the painted Greek vases : besides, as 
 far as I can judge from our documents of antiquity, 
 the painted Greek vases for example, those that come 
 nearer to the time in which these Marbles are believed 
 to be produced, are conceived in the same character, 
 and drawn in the same manner. 
 
 Did not that classification continue much later than 
 the time of Pericles ? — Yes, it did continue later, but 
 it became more complicated, and in some cases more 
 geometrical. 
 
 Does the anatomy of these figures agree with the 
 anatomy of the Laocoon or of the Toro Farnese ? — 
 They agree most with the Toro Farnese. I cannot 
 judge very accurately of that at this time, for it was 
 about to be removed from Rome at the time I was 
 there, and it is very much broken. In respect to the 
 Laocoon, I believe it to be a very posterior work, 
 done after a time when considerable discoveries had 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 77 
 
 been made in anatomy in the Alexandrian school ; 
 which I think had been communicated not only 
 among physicians, but among artists all over Greece ; 
 and in the Laocoon the divisions are much more 
 numerous. 
 
 Do you observe any considerable difference in the 
 conformation of the horses, between the Metopes and 
 the Procession ? — It is to be recollected, both in the 
 Metopes and the Procession, that different hands have 
 been employed upon them, so that it is difficult, 
 unless I had them before me, to give a distinct 
 opinion, particularly as the horses in the metopes have 
 not horses heads ; I do not think I can give a very 
 decided opinion upon it, but in general the character 
 appears to me very much the same. 
 
 Should you have judged the metopes and the frieze 
 to be of the same age, if they had not come from the 
 same temple ? — Yes, undoubtedly I should. 
 
 Have you ever looked at this Collection, with a 
 view to its value in money ? — I never have ; but I 
 conceive that the value in money must be very con- 
 siderable, judging only from the quantity of sculp- 
 ture in it ; the question never occurred to me before 
 this morning, but it appears to me that there is a 
 quantity of labour equal to three or four of the 
 greatest public monuments that have lately been 
 erected ; and I think it is said either in Chandler’s 
 Inscriptions or in Stuart’s Athens, that the Temple 
 cost a sum equal to £500,000. 
 
 Have you seen the Greek Marbles lately deposited 
 in the British Museum ? — Yes. 
 
 In what class do you place those, as compared with 
 
78 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 the basso-relievos of Lord Elgin’s collection? — With 
 respect to the excellence of workmanship^ the metopes 
 and the basso-relievos of Procession are very superior 
 to those in the Museum^ though the composition of 
 the others are exquisite. 
 
 Which do you think the greatest antiquity ? — Lord 
 Elgin’s ; the others I take to be nearly twenty years 
 later. 
 
 In what rate do you class these Marbles^ as com- 
 pared with Mr. Townley‘s collection ? — I should 
 value them more, as being the ascertained works of 
 the first artists of that celebrated age; the greater 
 part of Mr. Townley’s Marbles, with some few ex- 
 ceptions, are perhaps copies or only acknowledged 
 inferior works. 
 
 Do you reckon Lord Elgin’s Marbles of greater 
 value, as never having being touched by any modern 
 hand ? — Yes. 
 
 In what class do you hold the draped figures, of 
 which there are large fragments ?— They are fine 
 specimens of execution ; but in other respects I do 
 not esteem them very highly, excepting the Iris, and 
 a fragment of the Victory. 
 
 Do you consider those to be of the same antiquity ? 
 —I do. 
 
 Be pleased to account for the difference in their 
 appearance ? — I think sculpture at that time made a 
 great stride. Phidias having had the advantage of 
 studying painting, first gave a great freedom to his 
 designs — that freedom he was able to execute, or to 
 have executed, with great ease in small and flat works ; 
 but as the proportions of the particular drawings of 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 79 
 
 the figures were not so well understood generally 
 as they were a few years afterwards, there are 
 some disproportions and inaccuracies in the larger 
 figures : the necessary consequences of executing 
 great works when the principles of an art are not well 
 established. 
 
 Do you recollect two figures, that are sitting 
 together with the arras over each other ? — Yes. 
 
 Is your low estimation of the draped figures ap- 
 plicable to those? — My opinion may be incorrect, 
 and it may be more so by not having the figures be- 
 fore me ; but I meant my observation to apply to all 
 the draped figures. 
 
 Were the proportions of those statues calculated to 
 have their effect at a particular distance ? — I believe 
 not; I do not believe the art had arrived at that 
 nicety. 
 
 You have remarked probably those parts, particu- 
 larly of the Neptune and some of the Metopes, that 
 are in high perfection, from having been preserved 
 from the weather ? — 1 have remarked those that are 
 in the best condition. 
 
 Did you ever see any statue higher finished than 
 those parts, or that could convey an idea of high 
 finish more completely to an artist ? — I set out with 
 saying, that the execution is admirable. 
 
 In those particular parts have not you observed as 
 high a finish as in any statue that ever you saw ? — 
 Yes ; and in some places a very useless finish, in my 
 opinion. 
 
 Do you think the Theseus and the Neptune of 
 equal merit, or is one superior to the other ? — Che- 
 
80 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 valier Canova, when I conversed with him on the 
 subject, seemed to think they were equal ; I think the 
 Ilissus is very inferior. 
 
 You think the Ilissus is inferior to the Theseus ? — 
 Extremely inferior; and I am convinced if I had had 
 an opportunity of considering it with Chevalier 
 Canova, he would have thought so too. 
 
 Can you inform the Committee, whether the 
 climate of England is likely to have a different effect 
 upon the statues, from the climate from which they 
 were brought, and whether it would be possible, by 
 keeping them under cover, to prevent the effect of the 
 climate ? — Entirely. 
 
 You know the has relief in the Townley Collection 
 of Bacchus and Icarus ? — Yes. 
 
 What do you consider the workmanship of that, 
 comparatively with any of Lord Elgin’s bas reliefs ? 
 — Very inferior. 
 
 Richard Westmacott, Esquire, R. A. called in, and 
 Examined. 
 
 ARE you well acquainted with the Elgin Marbles? 
 —Yes. 
 
 In what class of art do you rate them ? — I rate them 
 of the first class of art. 
 
 Do you speak generally of the principal naked 
 figures, and of the metopes and the frieze ? — I speak 
 generally of their being good things, but particularly 
 upon three or four groups; I should say that two are 
 unequalled ; that I would oppose them to any thing 
 we know in art, which is the River God and the 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 81 
 
 Theseus. With respect to the two principal groups 
 of the draped figures, I consider them also of their 
 kind very superior to any thing which we have in 
 this Country in point of execution. 
 
 Do you reckon the metopes also in the first class 
 of art ? — I should say generally, for style, that I do. 
 
 Do you say the same of the freize ? — I think, both 
 for drawing and for execution, that they are equal 
 to any thing of that class of art that I remember. 
 
 Do the metopes and the freize appear to you to be 
 of the same age ? — They do not appear to me to be 
 worked by the same person, but they appear to me of 
 the same age ; the mind in the compositions, the 
 forms, and consent of action, only lead me to think 
 so ; their execution being not only unequal in them- 
 selves, but very inferior to the Panathenaean Pro- 
 cession. 
 
 Do the general proportions of the horses appear to 
 you to be the same ? — Generally so, I think. 
 
 Should you have judged the metopes to be of very 
 high antiquity, if you had not known the temple from 
 which they came ? — I should consider them so from 
 their form. 
 
 In what rate should you place the Theseus and the 
 Ri ver God, as compared with the Apollo Belvidere 
 and the Laocoon } — Infinitely superior to the Apollo 
 Belvidere. 
 
 And how as to the Laocoon ? — As to the Laocoon it 
 is a very difficult thing for me to answer the question, 
 more particularly applying to execution, because 
 there is not so much surface to the Theseus or Ilissus 
 as there is to the Laocoon ; the whole surface to the 
 
82 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Laocoon is left^ whereas to the other we cannot saj 
 there is more than one-third of the surface left. 
 
 Which do you prefer ; the Theseus, or the River 
 God ? — They are both so excellent that I cannot 
 readily determine ; I should say the back of the 
 Theseus was the finest thing in the world ; and that 
 the anatomical skill displayed in front of the Ilissus, 
 is not surpassed by any work of art. 
 
 As compared with the figures that are on Monte 
 Cavallo, how should you class those two woiks.^ — 
 I consider them, in regard to nature and form, equal ; 
 but that in playfulness of parts, the Theseus and the 
 Ilissus are superior. 
 
 Do they seem to approach nearly the same ages to 
 execution ? — ^There is not sufficient surface for me to 
 judge of the execution in either. 
 
 Do you consider the remains of the draped female 
 figures to be of the same excellence with the figures 
 just mentioned } — Yes ; certainly. 
 
 Probably the same hand } — Yes ; I have very little 
 doubt of it. 
 
 Have you ever considered this Collection, with a 
 view to value in money ? — No, I have not, 
 
 Have you any means of forming such a calcula- 
 tion ? — I should not know how to form such a 
 calculation, not knowing any similar works to com- 
 pare them with. 
 
 In what class do you estimate the Elgin Marbles, 
 as compared with the Townley Marbles — Superior. 
 
 Are you acquainted with the Phygalian Marbles 
 lately brought to the British Museum ?— I have seen 
 them, and have examined them. 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Mariks. 83 
 
 As compared with the Elgin has reliefs^, which are 
 superior ? — The Elgin has reliefs. 
 
 Which do you consider most ancient? — I should 
 think they are both of the same age, they both seem to 
 be the effort of a great mind ; but that the Phygalian 
 Marbles do not appear to have had men to execute 
 them of the same talents with the persons who executed 
 the others. There are parts of the Phygalian Marbles 
 which are equal in execution to the Elgin Marbles 
 (I am now speaking of the draperies) but in propor- 
 tions they are unequal to the Elgin Marbles, which 
 possess truth united with form, which is the essence 
 of sculpture. 
 
 Do you think it of great consequence to the im- 
 provement of art, that this collection should become 
 the property of the public ?— Decidedly so ; from the 
 great progress which has been made in art in this 
 country for the last fifty years, we have every reason 
 to think, that even the present men, as well as young 
 men rising up, having these things to look to, are 
 less likely to be mannered. 
 
 Do you think these Marbles are well calculated 
 for forming a school of artists ? — I have no doubt 
 of it. 
 
 You state, that you think the Theseus much 
 superior to the Apollo Belviderc ; upon what parti- 
 cular view do you form that opinion ? — Because I 
 consider that the Theseus has all the essence of style 
 with all the truth of nature ; the Apollo is more an 
 ideal figure. 
 
 And you think the Theseus of superior value on 
 that account ? — Yes,; that which approaches nearest 
 
 M 
 
84 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 to nature, with grand form. Artists give the prefer- 
 ence to. 
 
 Do you think there is any comparison as to the 
 value between these and the Townley Marbles ? 
 This collection I consider as more a collection for 
 Government, and to form a school of study ; the 
 Townley Marbles have a certain decided value ; you 
 can form a better estimate of those, because you can 
 make furniture of them ; these you could not, they 
 are only fit for a school : The Townleian Marbles 
 being entire, are, in a commercial point of view, 
 most valuable; but the Elgin marbles as possessing 
 that matter which artists most require, claim a higher 
 consideration. 
 
 Do not you think they might be divided into three 
 or four lots, that might be desirable to different 
 countries for that purpose ? — I think it would be a 
 pity to break such a connected chain of art. 
 
 Do not you think it would answer that purpose ? 
 —No ; 1 think each nation would regret that it had 
 not the other part, and that it would lower their 
 value. 
 
 Francis Chauntnj, Esquire, called in, and Examined. 
 
 ARE you well acquainted with the Elgin Marbles ? 
 — I have frequently visited them. 
 
 In what class as to excellence of art, do you place 
 them ? — Unquestionably in the first. 
 
 Do you speak generally of the Collection ? — I 
 mean the principal part of the Collection, that part 
 that belonged to the Temple of Minerva. 
 
 As compared with the Apollo Belvidere and 
 
±larl of Elgin’s Collection of Mariks. 85 
 
 Laocoorij in what class should you place the Theseus 
 and the River God ? — I look upon the Apollo as a 
 single statue ; the Theseus and the River God, form 
 a part of a group. I think, looking at the group in 
 general, I should say they are in the highest style of 
 art ; that degree of finish which you see in the Apollo, 
 would be mischievous in them. I think they are 
 quite in a different style of art from the Apollo. 
 
 Are they not more according to common, but 
 beautiful nature, than the Apollo ? — Certainly ; I 
 mean nature in the grand style, not the simplicity of 
 the composition visible in every part ; but simplicity 
 and grandeur are so nearly allied, it is almost im- 
 possible to make a distinction. 
 
 Do you place the metopes, and the frieze of the 
 Festival, in the highest class of art ? — The frieze, I 
 do unquestionably ; the bas relief, I mean. 
 
 Do you think that superior in execution and design, 
 to the alto relievo ?— I do not know, speaking of them 
 comparatively ; they are different in their style. 
 
 Do they appear to you to be of the same age ? — I 
 think they do ; I never thought otherwise. 
 
 Do the horses appear to you to be treated in the 
 same manner, and to he formed according to the 
 same principles ? — Considering the difference between 
 basso relievo and alto relievo, I think they are ; but 
 that makes a great difference in the general appear- 
 ance of them. 
 
 In what class of art do you place the draped female 
 figures ? — As applied to their situation, I place them 
 also in the first class ; but, if they were for the insi 
 of a building, I should say they were not in the 
 
86 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 class ; those were for a broad light, consequently 
 the drapery is cut into small parts, for the sake of 
 producing effect ; for we find through the whole of 
 that collection, effect has been their principal aim, 
 and they have gained it in every point. 
 
 Have you ever looked at this Collection, with a 
 view towards its value in money ? — I really do not 
 know what to compare them with. 
 
 In what class should you estimate these, as com- 
 pared with the Townley Marbles ? — In the Townley 
 Marbles we find individual excellence but in these 
 we find a great deal more ; we find individual excel- 
 lence combined with grand historical composition. 
 
 Do you reckon these of superior value, from never 
 having been restored or retouched ? — I should cer- 
 tainly think them not the worse for being in their 
 present state. 
 
 Have you seen the Greek has reliefs, lately brought 
 to the Museum ? — Yes, I have seen them. 
 
 How do you estimate them as works of art, as com- 
 pared with the Elgin has reliefs ? — Hook upon them 
 as very fine in composition ; but in execution, what 
 we must expect in works taken from the outside of 
 buildings ; works done by different people : they are 
 very fine of their kind, but in point of execution 
 much inferior to Lord Elgin’s and indeed inferior in 
 design. 
 
 Which appears to you to be of the highest anti- 
 quity ? — I cannot say. 
 
 As compared with the figures on Monte Cavallo, 
 how do you rate the Theseus ? — It is very much in 
 the same style. 
 
Ea/rl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles. 87 
 
 Do you judge they are nearly of the same age ? — 
 That I cannot say ; that is a point that has been so 
 much disputed. 
 
 Do you think it of great importance to the art of 
 sculpturOj that this collection should become the 
 property of the Public ? — I think it of the greatest 
 importance in a national point of view. 
 
 When you mention that these statues are rather 
 calculated for a distant effect, do you mean they are 
 not very highly finished? — Yes; and that is very 
 surprising ; they are finished to a high degree, but 
 the airangement is calculated to be seen at a great 
 distance. 
 
 Charles Rossi, Esquire, R. A. called in, and 
 Examined. 
 
 ARE you well acquainted with the Elgin Marbles } 
 —Yes. 
 
 In what class of art do you reckon them ? — The 
 finest that I have ever seen. 
 
 Do you think any figures in Lord Elgin’s Collec- 
 tion equal to the Apollo Belvidere and the Laocoon } 
 —I think they are superior in my judgment. 
 
 Which do you consider as superior ? — The Theseus 
 j^nd the River God, and the Torsos also ; there are 
 one or two of them, but they are very much mutilated. 
 
 In what class of art do you reckon the metopes } 
 
 The metopes I do not think so fine as the rest of 
 the has reliefs. 
 
 Do you think the metopes are of the same antiquity 
 as the frieze and other parts ? — Yes, I suppose they 
 are. 
 
88 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Do you reckon the frieze of the Procession in the 
 highest class of art ? — Yes ; — they are in a superior 
 style ; — I should say they were jewels. 
 
 In what class do you reckon the draped female 
 figures ? — One in particular is a very fine things I 
 think. 
 
 Generally speaking, in what class do you place 
 them ? — In the very first. 
 
 Have you looked at this Collection, with a view 
 to its money value ? — Never. 
 
 Have you seen the Greek Marbles lately brought 
 to the British Museum ? — Yes. 
 
 In what class do you place them, as compared with 
 the basso relievos of the frieze ? — I consider them 
 materially inferior to any of those of Lord Elgin’s. 
 
 Do you think them of the same antiquity, or later 
 or earlier ? — I have never thought about that. 
 
 Do you think it of great consequence to the pro- 
 gress of art in this Country, that this Collection 
 should become the property of the Public ? — I think 
 it is ; it is the first Colleetion in the world, I think. 
 I wrote a note to my friend Canova, at Paris, as an 
 inducement for him to come over, saying, — If he 
 had not seen Lord Elgin’s marbles, he had seen 
 nothing yet ; and when he saw them, he was satisfied 
 they were as fine things as he had ever seen. 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marhlesl 89 
 
 Martisy 5° die Martii, 1816. 
 
 Henry Bankes, Esquire, in The Chair. 
 
 Sir Thomas Lawrence, Knt. R. A. called in^ and 
 Examined . 
 
 ARE you well acquainted with the Elgin Mar- 
 bles ? — Yes, I am. 
 
 In what class of art do you consider them ? — In the 
 very highest. 
 
 Do you think it of importance that the Public 
 should become possessed of those Marbles, for the 
 purpose of forming a school of art ? — I think they 
 will be a very essential benefit to the arts of this 
 Country, and therefore of that importance. 
 
 In your own particular line of art, do you consider 
 them of high ioiportance as forming a national 
 school ? — In a line of art which I have very seldom 
 practised, but which it is still my wish to do, I con- 
 sider that they would ; namely, historical painting. 
 
 Have you had opportunities of viewing the antique 
 sculpture which was formerly in Italy, and recently 
 at Paris ? — Very recently at Paris. 
 
 Can you form any estimate of the comparative 
 merit of the finest of the Elgin Marbles, as compare/! 
 with the finest of those works of art ? — It is rather 
 difficult ; but I think that the Elgin Marbles present 
 examples of a higher style of sculpture than any I 
 have seen. 
 
90 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Do you conceive any of them to be of a higher 
 class than the Apollo Belvidere ? — I do ; because I 
 consider that there is in them an union of fine com- 
 position, and very grand form, with a more true and 
 natural expression of the effect of action upon the 
 human frame, than there is in the Apollo, or in any 
 of the other most celebrated statues. 
 
 Are you well acquainted with the Townley collec- 
 tion of Marbles ? — Yes, I am. 
 
 In what comparative class should you place the 
 Elgin Marbles, as contrasted with those ? — As 
 superior. 
 
 Do you consider them as more valuable than the 
 Townley collection — Yes, I do. 
 
 Is that superiority, in your opinion, applied to the 
 fitness of the Elgin Marbles for forming a school of 
 art, or is it as to what you conceive to be the money 
 value ? — I mean as to both. 
 
 Are you acquainted with the Phygalian Marbles 
 lately brought to the Museum ? — Yes. 
 
 Compared with the Elgin has reliefs, in what 
 class do you estimate them ? — I think generally, that 
 the composition of them is very fine ; that some of 
 the designs are fully equal to those in the Elgin 
 Marbles; but the execution generally is inferior. 
 
 Have you any thing that leads you to form any 
 conjecture as to the age of the Phygalian Marbles, 
 compared with the age of the Elgin Marbles } — I 
 should guess that they must have been very nearly of 
 the same age. 
 
 Do you consider the metopes to be of equal or in- 
 ferior sculpture to the frieze ? — I think that the frieze 
 
Earl of Elgin’ s Collection of Marbles, 91 
 
 of the Panathenaic Procession is of equal merit 
 throughout. I do not think the same of the metopes ; 
 hut I think that some of the metopes are of equal 
 value with the frieze. 
 
 Do they appear to you to be of the same age ? — 
 YeSj I think so. The total and entire difference of 
 the character of relief appears to have arisen from 
 the difference of situation in which they were placed. 
 
 You have stated, that you thought these Marbles 
 had great truth and imitation of nature ; do you 
 consider that that adds to their value ? — It consider- 
 ably adds to it, because I consider them as united 
 with grand form. There is in them that variety that 
 is produced in the human form, by the alternate action 
 and repose of the muscles, that strikes one particu- 
 larly. I have myself a very good collection of the 
 best casts from the antique statues, and was struck 
 with that difference in them, in returning from the 
 Elgin Marbles to my own house. 
 
 What do you think of the Theseus, compared with 
 the Torso Belvidere ? — I should say that the Torso is 
 the nearest, in point of excellence, to the Theseus. 
 It would be difficult to decide in favour of the 
 Theseus ; but there are parts of the Torso in which 
 the muscles are not true to the action, and they inva- 
 riably are in what remains of the Theseus. 
 
 Do you happen to know at what price that was 
 valued in the collection at the Louvre } — I do not. 
 
 You have seen the Hercules of Lord Lansdowne’s 
 Collection .? — Yes. 
 
 What comparison does that bear to the Theseus or 
 the Neptune ? — I think it inferior. 
 
92 
 
 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Do you think it much inferior ? — ^There are parts 
 that are very inferior. There are parts in that that 
 are very grand, and parts very inferior. 
 
 Do you think any estimate might be placed on 
 these marbles, by comparison with pictures ? — -No ; 
 it would be very difficult : I cannot do it myself. 
 
 Do you consider, on the whole, the Theseus as the 
 most perfect piece of sculpture, of a single figure, 
 that you have ever seen ? — Certainly, as an imitation 
 of nature ; but as an imitation of character, I could 
 not decide, unless I knew for what the figure was 
 intended, 
 
 Richard Payne Knight^ Esquire, called in, and 
 Examined. 
 
 ARE you acquainted with the Elgin Collection ? 
 — ^Yes : I have looked them over, not only formerly', 
 but I have looked them over on this occasion, with 
 reference to their value. 
 
 In what class of art do you place the finest works 
 in this Collection ? — I think of things extant, I should 
 put them in the second rank — some of them ; they 
 are very unequal ; the finest I should put in the 
 second rank. 
 
 Do you think that none of them rank in the first 
 class of art ? — Not with the Laocoon and the Apollo, 
 and these which have been placed in the first class 
 of art ; at the same time I must observe, that their 
 state of preservation is such I cannot form a very 
 accurate notion ; their surface is gone mostly. 
 
 Do you consider them to be of a very high anti- 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles. 9S 
 
 quity 1 — We know from the authority of Plutarch, 
 that those of the Temple of Minerva, which are 
 the principal, were executed by Callicrates and 
 Ictinus, and their assistants and scholars ; and I 
 think some were added in the time of Hadrian, from 
 the style of them. 
 
 Do you consider what is called the Theseus and 
 the River God, as works of that age ? — The River 
 God I should think, certainly — of the Theseus I 
 have doubts whether it was in that age or added by 
 Hadrian; there is very little surface about it, there- 
 fore I cannot tell : the River God is very fine. 
 
 Do you consider the River God as the finest 
 figure in the collection ? — Yes, I do. 
 
 In what class do you rank the fragments of the 
 draped female figures ? — ^They are so mutilated I 
 can hardly tell, but I should think most of them were 
 added by Hadrian : they are so mutilated I cannot 
 say much about them : they are but of little value 
 except from their local interest, from having been 
 part of the Temple. 
 
 In what class of art do you consider the metopes ? 
 — The metopes I consider of the first class of relief : 
 I think there is nothing finer : but they are very 
 much corroded : there are some of them very poor : 
 but the best of them I consider as the best works of 
 high relief. 
 
 Do you consider them as of high antiquity ? — I 
 consider most of them as executed at the time of the 
 original building; the others might have been 
 finished since. 
 
 What proportion of them do you think are of the 
 first class ? — I should think a half at least. 
 
9i Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 In what class of art do you reckon the frieze of 
 the Procession ? — I think it is of the first class of low 
 relief : I know nothing finer than what remains of it ; 
 there is very little of it. 
 
 Do you considerthatasof the same high antiquity ? 
 — Certainly; all of it I think has been executed at 
 the first building of the Temple, as far as I can 
 judge ; they are very much mutilated. 
 
 Can you form any judgment as to what may be the 
 money value of that collection or of the parts ? — I 
 have gone over them to make an estimate, and I will 
 state the grounds on which I have done it ; I have 
 been over them three times, to form the value. I 
 valued that statue of Venus, which Lord Lansdowne 
 paid <£700. for, at £1,400. ; and I valued Lord 
 Elgin's accordingly; and I put on fifty per cent, in 
 consideration of their local interest. I valued the 
 draped figures, which I think would be worth very 
 little if it were not for their local interest, at £2,000. 
 
 I do not know the value of the drawings. 
 
 |]The Witness delivered in a paper, which was 
 read as follows.] 
 
 Such of the Sculptures of the Temple of 
 Minerva at Athens, as are of the time of Pericles, 
 are the work of Callicrates and Ictinus, or their 
 assistants and scholars, to which the testimony 
 of Plutarch, the only ancient authority, is pre- 
 cise • — rov h iKOirofxzi'iSov Tloc^^evuva 
 u^yx^sTo nxi IxTim — Phidias only made the statue 
 of the Goddess, and presided (f7r<raT») over the 
 works of Pericles in general.” — Plutarch's life 
 of Pericles. 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles 95 
 
 The Prices which have been paid to Roman 
 dealers, within my knowledge, for important articles 
 in this country, are as follows ; — 
 
 By Mr. Townley, to Jenkins, for the Disco- 
 bolus - - - £700 
 
 By the Marquis of Lansdowne, to D“, for a 
 
 Hercules - 600 
 
 By Mr. Townley, to D°, for the Relief of 
 
 the Feast of Icarus - - 400 
 
 By IP, to Gavin Hamilton, for a large Venus 700 
 (I learn since that Mr. Townley paid 
 about £350. more in fees to have 
 the Venus exported.) 
 
 By the Marquis of Lansdowne, to D% for a 
 
 Mercury - - 700 
 
 The two last articles were, however, unreasonably 
 cheap even at that time (forty years ago) — Hamilton 
 not having been allowed a fair competition ; and the 
 last having been clandestinely brought from Rome. 
 I think each of them worth more than any two 
 articles in Lord Elgin’s collection, especially the 
 latter, which is, in my judgment, of better sculpture; 
 and both are a thousand per cent, better in preserva- 
 tion, which has always been considered as of the 
 utmost importance. 
 
 Recumbent statue of Hercules, as on the 
 coins of Croto, with little of the surface 
 remaining - - £1,500 
 
 Trunk of a male statue recumbent - 1,500 
 
96 
 
 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Back and shoulders of a trunk_, on which 
 the head of Hadrian appears to have 
 been . . - , 200 
 
 Fragment of the head of a horse^ very fine 250 
 Fragments of about ten draped trunks, 
 from the pediments of the Parthenon, 
 most of which appear to be the age of 
 Hadrian - - 2,000 
 
 Fourteen metopes, of various degrees of 
 merit, all corroded, and mostly much 
 mutilated - - 7,000 
 
 Twelve pieces of frieze of the cell, with 
 parts entire - _ - 3,600 
 
 About thirty-five more, completely ruined 1,400 
 Three capitals, and part of a column, from 
 
 the same temple - - 500 
 
 Plaster casts, from d* and other temples 2,500 
 A granite scarabous - - 300 
 
 A white marble soros complete and entire, 
 
 but coarse, - _ « 500 
 
 Various shafts and blocks of marble - 350 
 
 D“ of porphyry - - 350 
 
 Various fragments of statuary and relief 500 
 Various d® of architecture - - 300 
 
 Caryates from the Propylaea, much injured 2C0 
 Nine broken marble urns - - 450 
 
 One wrought brass d® - - 150 
 
 One inscribed earthen d° - 150 
 
 Inscriptions, &c. - - 300 
 
 Medals - . 1,000 
 
 £25,000 
 
 Drawings 
 
Earl of Elgin* s Collection of MarUes. 97 
 
 Do you conceive that if this Collection were to be 
 publicly sold, it would produce the prices that are 
 named here ? — No, not near half, if sold in detail ; 
 what any of the Sovereigns of Europe might give for 
 them collectively, I cannot pretend to say. 
 
 Do you conceive that the medals, if sold in Eng- 
 land, would produce as much as they are valued at ? 
 — Yes, certainly ; and I think the cameo would. 
 
 Upon what authority do you state, that a great part 
 of these marbles belong to the time of Hadrian ? — 
 From no other authority than Spon and Wheler 
 having thought one of the heads to be of that Em- 
 poror, and later travellers having found no symbols 
 of any deity upon it ; also from the draped trunks, 
 which seem to be of that complicated and stringy 
 kind of work which was then in fashion; that is 
 mere matter of opinion ; there is no authority as to 
 the time when particular articles were made. 
 
 Upon which of the figures is it that you understand 
 Spon and Wheler to have recognized the head of 
 Hadrian ? — 1 can give no opinion on this point, 
 having misunderstood Lord Aberdeen, from whose 
 conversation I had formed an opinion. 
 
 Have you ever seen Nointel’s drawing of that pedi- 
 ment, as it was at the time when Spon and Wheler 
 saw it I have seen a copy of it, but it is so long 
 since that I do not recollect. 
 
 Do not you recollect that Spon and Wheler’s 
 observations were exceedingly loose, and in some 
 cases wholly inaccurate ? — Very loose, certainly. 
 
 And in some cases wholly inaccurate ? — It is a 
 long while ago since I have adverted to them. 
 
98 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Do you recollect that Spon and Wheler mistook 
 the subjects of the Eastern for the Western pediment^ 
 and vice versa ? — Mr. Visconti says so^ but I have 
 never examined it. 
 
 Do you not know that Stuart proves that fact ? — I 
 do not recollect it at all. 
 
 How would you value the Theseus^ in com- 
 parison with the Belvidere Torso ; how would you 
 class it ? — I should think it inferior in value ; what 
 is called the Torso Belvidere I believe to be a copy 
 of Lysippus’s Hercules. 
 
 Do you happen to know the value that was put 
 upon it, in the collection of the Louvre.?* — No. 
 
 Do yon happen to know what was paid for the 
 Borghese Collection ? — I do not know what was to 
 be paid ; I know what has been paid. 
 
 Do you recollect a bas relief of Mr. Townley’s, of 
 Bacchus and Icarus ? — Yes. 
 
 Do you happen to know what that cost ? — Mr. 
 Townley paid Mr. Jenkins £400. for it. 
 
 Was not there a great deal of difficulty in remov- 
 ing any good work of art from Rome ?- — Very great, 
 and that is the reason why that Venus, in the British 
 Museum, was sold so low. 
 
 There was great difficulty ? — The Pope had a selec- 
 tion always, and his judges were a little susceptible, 
 I believe, sometimes, and Were bribed. 
 
 Did not the Pope, or the Sovereign of the country, 
 claim a pre-emption of any thing valuable ? — Yes. 
 
 Therefore you would consider any good piece of 
 sculpture brought to this Country, as greatly in- 
 creased in value from the difficulties of removing it 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of MarUes. 99 
 
 from Rome ? — All that was included in the price that 
 was paid by Lord Lansdowne ; every thing that is 
 sent out of Rome^ unless it is smuggled outj must 
 have the Pope’s permission. 
 
 You valued Lord Lansdowne’s Marbles ?~Yes. 
 
 What value did you put on the Hercules? — 
 £lj000. ; it cost Lord Lansdowne £600. at Rome; 
 and I think I put the Mercury at £1,400. The 
 trustees of William Lord Lansdowne let John Lord 
 Lansdowne have the collection at prime cost, as 
 nearly as they could find it, which was £7,000. I 
 valued it at £11,000. 
 
 How would you class the bas-relief of Bacchus 
 and Icarus in M^r. Xownley’s collection, relatively 
 to the frieze of the Temple of Minerva? — Inferior 
 in sculpture, but so much better in preservation, 
 that I think to an individual it is of as much value 
 as any one of the pieces of the frieze. 
 
 Are you acquainted with the Phygalian Marbles ? 
 — Yes • very well. 
 
 In what rank do you place them, as compared 
 with the bas-rclievos of the frieze ; — I think they are, 
 in high relief, next in merit to the high reliefs of the 
 metopes : I never saw any thing so fine ; and they 
 are far superior in preservation to the frieze. 
 
 Do you think them of superior value, on account 
 of their preservation ? — They are in much better 
 preservation; and taking quantity for quantity, I 
 think they are equal to the best of the metopes ; they 
 are a continued series of two stories. I think upon 
 an average, taking piece by piece, those of Phygalia 
 are worth more than the metopes ; because they are 
 
 o 
 
100 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 in a state of preservation to be used as furniture^ 
 which the metopes are not. 
 
 Considering the superior preservation of one to 
 counterbalance the superior execution of the other,, 
 you think thenij foot for footj as being of the same 
 value? — No; I think the Phjgalia are superior in 
 foot by foot. 
 
 Do you consider the best in execution of the Phy- 
 galia Marbles equal to the best of the metopes ? — No ; 
 but very superior to the worst of the metopes. 
 
 What you have said of their value, if they came 
 for sale, refers to their being offered for sale to indi- 
 viduals, but not as offered to Europe in general ? — 
 I supposed the market open to all Europe; to indi- 
 viduals they would not sell for much in this Country; 
 there are no collectors here. 
 
 Have those statues which have lost their surface, 
 suffered materially as models to artists? — Very greatly, 
 I think. 
 
 Have you examined minutely the parts that are 
 most perfect in the River God? — Yes: the under 
 parts. 
 
 Do not you think that is as highly finished as any 
 piece of sculpture you know? — It is highly finished, 
 but it is differently finished from the first-rate pieces; 
 there are no traces of the chisel upon it; it is finished 
 by polishing. In the Laocoon and the things of 
 acknowledged first-rate work, supposed to be ori- 
 ginals, the remains of the chisel are always visible. 
 That is my reason for calling these of the second- 
 rate. 
 
 Do you not consider those parts as being a perfect 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles. 101 
 
 imitation of nature ? — Yes ; I think them very fine ; 
 as fine as any thing in that way. 
 
 Are the marks of the chisel visible on the Venus 
 de Medicis ? — No^ they are not. 
 
 Are they visible on the Apollo Belvidere? — No ; 
 they are not ; I think it a copy from brass. 
 
 In the opinion you gave as to the artists who 
 executed the works of the Parthenon,, you did not 
 mention the name of Phidias^ by whom they are most 
 commonly supposed to have been designed .? — No^ I 
 did not; and Plutarch expressly excludes him. 
 
 Does not Plutarch decidedly say that Callicrates 
 and Ictinus worked it ? — Yes ; I understand him to 
 say they undertook the working of it. 
 
 Do you recollect the Greek expression,, which is 
 supposed to be used by the superior artists who 
 designed and perhaps executed such figures as the 
 Venus and the Apollo^ to express the share they had in 
 those compositions ? — There were different expressions 
 at different periods; the first of the time of Phidias, 
 cited by Cicero of Milo, a cotemporary of Phidias, 
 was simply the name inscribed in the genitive case : 
 the word afterwards used was ETrojn, in the imperfect 
 tense, which Pliny remarks they used out of modesty, 
 — that they were still about it. The inscription upon 
 the Venus is in the completely past tense ; and there- 
 fore it is supposed to be a copy from a Venus of 
 Praxiteles, which I suppose it is. 
 
 Do you know any instance in which the share, 
 which a great sculptor had in any of those works of 
 art, is expressed the word ? — No ; I believe 
 
 no artist would describe it so himself; it is the 
 historical expression. 
 
102 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Though Plutarch applied the word to the 
 
 share Callicrates and Ictinus had in the works of the 
 Parthenon, does he not state generally, that Phidias 
 was employed by Pericles in the superintendence or 
 general design of the works of Pericles ? — In the 
 superintendence, certainly ; of the general design I 
 know nothing. 
 
 What do you think of the value of the River God, 
 compared with the Torso of Belvidere ? — I really 
 can hardly speak to that ; I have not perfect recol- 
 lection enough of the surface of the Torso, and I 
 never considered it in a pecuniary view ; I cannot 
 speak to the execution, not having a recollection of 
 the surface ; but as a part of a statue, I think the 
 River God inferior. I cannot speak to the value, 
 but I should not put the River God at so much under 
 as fifty per cent. 
 
 Do you consider the River God as considerably 
 superior to the Theseus? — Yes, I do. 
 
 Then do you consider the Theseus as vastly inferior 
 to the Torso of Belvidere ? — I consider it consider- 
 ably inferior, not vastly inferior ; it is difficult to 
 speak to the degrees of things of that kind, especially 
 when the surface is so much corroded. 
 
 Do you consider the Torso of Belvidere as having 
 any value whatsoever, but as a model or school for 
 art ? — Yes ; I think it has value in every respect to 
 collectors as well as students. 
 
 It has no furniture value? — No; a corroded, 
 dirty surface people do not like. 
 
 Do you think the corrosion of the surface of the 
 Torso of Belvidere renders it, in any considerable 
 degree, less valuable as a model or school for art? — 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles. 103 
 
 If it is corroded, it certainly does ; but I do not 
 recollect whether it is or not : it is very much stained 
 I know. 
 
 Do you recollect in what degree the River God is 
 corroded ? — The upper parts that have been exposed 
 to the weather are corroded ; the under parts are 
 entire, and very perfect. I think it is not so much 
 corroded as the Theseus ; but I think there is more 
 than half of it corroded ; the back and the side, which 
 are very fine, are not corroded. 
 
 Have you formed any estimate of the value of these 
 Marbles, wholly unconnected with their value as 
 furniture, and merely in the view of forming a 
 national school for art ? — The value I have stated, 
 has been entirely upon that consideration of a school 
 of art ; they would not sell as furniture ; they would 
 produce nothing at all. I think, my Lord Elgin, in 
 bringing them away, is entitled to the gratitude of the 
 Country ; because, otherwise, they would have been 
 all broken by the Turks, or carried away by indi- 
 viduals, and dispersed in piece-meal. I think there- 
 fore the Government ought to make him a remune- 
 ration beyond the amount of my estimate. 
 
 The Committee observe, that in the paper you have 
 given in of your estimate of the value, you lead to 
 lliat value, by an enumeration of the prices of five 
 different pieces of sculpture ; the Committee beg to 
 know, whether all those pieces are not fit for what 
 may be called furniture ^ — Certainly. 
 
 Do you consider our own Artists as proper judges 
 of the execution of ancient works of art ? — Those 
 
104 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 I am acquainted with^ Mr. Nollekens and Mr. West- 
 macott^ are very good judges. 
 
 Do you happen to be acquainted with Mr. Flax- 
 man ? — Yes ; they are all good judges. 
 
 They are competent judges ? — Yes. 
 
 Have you reason to think that the art of Sculpture 
 has advanced in this Country since this Collection 
 has been brought into England ? — NOj certainly not; 
 the best thing that has ever been done in this country, 
 in my judgment, is the monument of Mrs. Howard, 
 by Mr. Nollekens, many years ago. 
 
 Do not you conceive that the purchase of my Lord 
 Elgin's collection by the Nation, for the purpose, of 
 forming a great National school of art, would con- 
 tribute very much eventually to the improvement of 
 the arts in this Country ? — A general Museum of Art 
 is very desirable, certainly. I dare say it will con- 
 tribute to the improvement of the Arts ; and I think 
 it will be a valuable addition to the Museum. 
 
 Do }ou think that these Statues were calculated to 
 be seen from any particular situation ; and that they 
 have lost any thing by being removed ? — I think 
 they were calculated for being seen near, as well as 
 at a distance ; the Phygalia friezes are finished as if 
 they were only to be seen close, and so are many of 
 these. 
 
 William Wilkins, Esquire, called in, and Examined. 
 
 AS an Architect are you well acquainted with the 
 architectural part of the Elgin Marbles .? — Yes ; 
 
 I am pretty well acquainted with them. 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of JMarUes. 105 
 
 In what class of Art do you rank them ? — I reckon 
 them to be of the very highest order. 
 
 Do you consider it of importance to the Public 
 that they should become Public property ? — I do 
 consider it of very great importance. 
 
 Are there any considerable pieces of architectural 
 remains, which were not known before by drawings 
 or engravings ?— None in that Collection I believe. 
 
 Is there not some part of the roof of the Parthenon, 
 which was not known before — I am not aware that 
 there is any thing relating to the ceiling of the Par- 
 thenon in the Collection of Lord Elgin ; of the 
 Temple of Theseus, there is I know. 
 
 Do you conceive the architectural remains to be 
 of very high antiquity ? — I conceive them to be of 
 the age of Pericles. 
 
 In what year where you at Athens — In the sum- 
 mer of 1802, I believe. 
 
 Were these Marbles removed from Athens at that 
 time } — Lord Elgin was then in the act of removing 
 them. 
 
 Is there a very great difference in the value, as the 
 means of instruction, between the models and casts 
 of those particular parts of architecture, and the 
 originals themselves ? — I am not aware that there are 
 any models of them existing. I think drawings and 
 models would convey all the information that these 
 fragments will. 
 
 Do you think that they lose much of their value as 
 models of instruction, by being removed from the 
 edifices to which they originally belonged ? — I do 
 not conceive they can possibly lose any thing ; for 
 
106 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 there are so many on the spot still, that the artist who 
 goes there will find an ample field for study. 
 
 Does each particular piece of architecture lose its 
 value, as a model of instruction, by its being removed 
 from the edifice ? — No, I conceive not, because the 
 means by which it is connected with the pieces ad- 
 joining are obvious. 
 
 Are the designs we have of the remains of Athens, 
 particularly those published by Stuart, correct ? — 
 perfectly correct I know, from having measured a 
 great many of them myself. 
 
 Do you think the temples themselves much injured 
 as schools for art, in consequence of what Lord Elgin 
 has taken from them ? — Not at all. 
 
 Can you charge your recollection with the number 
 of metopes that must have been in the original temple } 
 — Ninety-two, I believe. 
 
 Two in each intercolumniation ? — Precisely so. 
 
 Do you recollect how many of those were in ex- 
 istence and in place, at the time when you saw the 
 temple ? — At the time that I saw the temple Lord 
 Elgin was in the act of removing them. I do not 
 know how many he had taken down before I was at 
 Athens, but I believe there might have been about 
 fifty-four, including those in both fronts, which are 
 twenty-eight in number. 
 
 From Stuart’s Plans it appears that sixteen inter- 
 col umniations or thereabouts had been totally de- 
 stroyed ? — That may be the number. 
 
 Of course all the metopes belonging to those inter- 
 columniations must have fallen and been destroyed 
 also ?— Yes, certainly ; at least that number. 
 
Earl of Elgin' s Collection of Marbles. 107 
 
 Have you heard or do you know from any other 
 source, that some of the metopes had been removed, 
 or had been attempted to be removed, by M. de 
 Choiseul ? — It was a story very prevalent at Athens, 
 and I believe the fact was so. 
 
 It follows of course that oul; of the total number of 
 ninety-two metopes, upwards of two-and-thirty must 
 have been already removed, and probably destroyed 
 before Lord Elgin commenced his operations ? — 
 That must necessarily have been the case ; I do not 
 know the number of intercolumniations, but that 
 would set the question at rest. 
 
 Did your personal observation corroborate the 
 statement of Stuart, that even in his time the greater 
 part of the metopes were miserably broken on the 
 south side, but that they were entirely defaced on the 
 north side and the two fronts ? — If that is Stuart’s 
 statement I am tempted to believe it quite correct, 
 because I went with Stuart’s book in my hand, and 
 some drawings of my own, and examined the build- 
 ings from them, and I was amazingly struck with the 
 great precision and accuracy of that work. 
 
 The frieze which was in the walls of the cell 
 was also destroyed by the destruction of the walls, 
 to a considerable extent ; do you recollect to what 
 proportion of the whole frieze the destruction may 
 have taken place ? — I beg to state to the Committee, 
 that I have at this time a work in the press which 
 I have delayed till this question should be set at rest ; 
 because I did not wish that my views should influence 
 the disposal of the Marbles in any way, and I have 
 only now recently put it into the hands of the Printer, 
 
 p 
 
108 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 in the expectation that this question would be settled 
 before the book would appear in print. There were 
 nearly two hundred feet of that frieze then remaining, 
 the whole being about 520 feet. 
 
 Do not you know or have you not heard that 
 between Stuart’s visit and Lord Elgin’s, the French 
 embassy under M. de Choiseul had already removed 
 part of the frieze ? — I have heard of it, but I have no 
 means of ascertaining the fact. 
 
 From the general and scrupulous accuracy of 
 Stuart’s delineations, and particularly from the care 
 with which Stuart marks any degradation of the 
 frieze which he represents, are you of opinion that 
 those heads which Stuart represented as entire, but 
 which were defaced or knocked off at the time you 
 saw them, must have been so defaced or knocked off 
 between Stuart’s visit and that time ? — From my 
 general impression of the accuracy of that work, 
 1 should be tempted to believe that every act of 
 violence tliat has been inflicted on them of which he 
 does not speak, has occurred since his visit. 
 
 Is there in Stuart any special drawing or account 
 of any of the figures from either of the Tympanums, 
 which have been rem.oved by Lord Elgin F — Stuart 
 gives very few; I think^there are three or four in 
 the Western pediment, particularly the group called 
 Hadrian and Sabina. 
 
 From the differences you must have observed 
 between the state of the temple in the time of Stuart 
 and when you saw it, and the knowledge you acquired 
 on the spot, of the danger to which those objects 
 would be subject from the wanton barbarity of the 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of MarUes. 109 
 
 Turks, do you think that Lord Elgin may not be 
 considered, in removing these statues, as having 
 rescued and preserved them from imminent destruc- 
 tion? — By the statues is it meant the sculpture in 
 general ? 
 
 It was meant in general, hut it will be satisfactory 
 to the Committee, to have your opinion on particular 
 parts ? — I think, that by removing the portions of the 
 frieze, that Lord Elgin has certainly preserved that 
 which would otherwise have been lost; for the frieze 
 is much more easily accessible. As to the metopes 
 and the figures in the Tympanum in the pediment, 
 I am not quite so sure; for although they have suf- 
 fered since the time that Stuart’s representations were 
 made, it may have been in consequence of their being 
 more exposed to the action of the elements ; the cornice 
 of the building, which has been their great protection, 
 having fallen from time to time. At the time that 
 Lord Elgin was at Athens, there existed amongst the 
 Turks certainly a great desire to deface all the sculp- 
 ture within their reach ; and I believe that that would 
 still have prevailed, if Lord Elgin’s operations in 
 Greece had not given them a value in the eye of the 
 Porte : For at present, I understand, from people 
 lately returned from Greece, that the Turks show a 
 greater disposition to preserve them from violence. 
 
 Do not you imagine, that by travellers going there 
 frequently when the country was open to the English, 
 the same effect would have been produced as by Lord 
 Elgin’s attention to them ? — I think it is probable 
 that would, because the Turks have since been in a 
 way interested in their preservation. 
 
110 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Do you recollect about the time you were at Athens^ 
 that one of the only remaining heads on the Western 
 pediment was struck off and destroyed by the Turks ? 
 I do not remember the circumstance. 
 
 Do you recollect that Stuart^ as one of the reasons 
 for not giving any drawings or detailed account of 
 the figures that remained in the Eastern pediment, 
 states, that there was no place from which he could 
 get an opportunity of seeing them and making the 
 necessary observations ? — I do not remember that 
 Stuart makes that observation ; but 1 think it is very 
 possible he could not get access to them. 
 
 Lord Elgin had, when you got there, cleared away 
 any obstructions, if there were any on that side ? — 
 He had. 
 
 Are you of opinion, that the study of these originals 
 w'ould not be more useful to architects, than drawings 
 and casts ? — I am not aware that any artist would 
 obtain much more information than what might be 
 conveyed from drawings. 
 
 The Committee wish to have your general opinion 
 as to the merit of the sculpture of the Elgin Marbles 
 compared with any other Collection in the Country ? 
 — The sculpture of the Parthenon had very many 
 degrees of merit ; some are extremely fine, while 
 others are very middling ; those of the Tympanum 
 are by far the best. The next in order are the 
 metopes ; some parts of the frieze in the cell are 
 extremely indiflferent indeed. I think a very mistaken 
 notion prevails, that they are the works of Phidias, 
 and it is that which has given them a value in the 
 eyes of a great many people ; if you divest them of 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. Ill 
 
 that recommendation, I think that they lose the greater 
 part of their charm. 
 
 Do you speak of the frieze alone now, or of the 
 sculpture generally ? — Of the sculpture generally. I 
 have before stated those of the Tympanum are far 
 superior to the others. 
 
 Is it your opinion that none of the statues are the 
 works of Phidias? — I do not believe he ever 
 worked in Marble at all. Pausanias mentions two 
 or three instances only, and those are rather doubtful. 
 Phidias was called, by Aristotle, Lythourgous, in 
 contradistinction to Polycletus, whom he terms a 
 maker of statues, and this because he commonly 
 worked in bronze. If any thing could be inferred 
 from this distinction, it would be that Phidias worked 
 wholly in marble, which is contrary to the known 
 fact. Almost all the instances recorded by Pausanias, 
 are of statutes in ivory and brass. I think the words 
 of Plutarch very clearly prove that Phidias had 
 nothing at all to do with the works of the Parthenon. 
 
 Where he mentions Callicrates and Ictinus ^ — 
 Yes. 
 
 Though two other persons appear in Plutarch to 
 have actually worked on the Parthenon, from the 
 general statement of Plutarch, and the common 
 consent of all antiquity, do not you believe that 
 Phidias was emploped in giving the designs at least 
 of the Parthenon ? — That is my firm belief. 
 
 Were not those two artists, Callicrates and Ictinus, 
 architects ^ — They were ; but the profession of 
 architect and sculptor were most commonly united. 
 
 But do not you think it more probable that Phidias, 
 
1 12 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 being merely a sculptor, should have superintended 
 the sculpture, than the architects ? — Certainly, he 
 superintended the whole of the work, according to 
 Plutarch ; but he states him merely to have been a 
 director and inspector. 
 
 But whoever was the director must have made de- 
 signs ? — I do not doubt he did. 
 
 Do not you think it more probable that Phidias 
 made the designs than Callicrates and Ictinus ? — I 
 believe Phidias made the designs of the sculpture. 
 
 Have you ever thought of these Marbles in point 
 of value, with reference to the Phygalia collection ? 
 — I have not seen the Phygalia Marbles, except by 
 drawings. 
 
 You say you rate the merit of the statues in this 
 order : — First, the Tympanum ; secondly, the Me- 
 topes ; and thirdly, the Frieze ; and then you add, 
 that the frieze is of very unequal execution. Now all 
 the Evidence has stated, that the metopes are of very 
 unequal execution; but that the frieze is of a very equal 
 execution, and generally by artists, if not the same, 
 at least of the same degree of skill : the Committee, 
 therefore, think it fair to ask you whether or not you 
 may not have made some mistake between the metopes 
 and the frieze ? — When I spoke of different degrees 
 of merit, I spoke of the sculpture generally ; but at 
 the same time, I think the sculpture of the frieze is 
 not all the same : some of it is much better. The 
 drawing in some part of the frieze is liner than in 
 others. 
 
 Is not there a great difference both in the drawing 
 and execution of several of the metopes ? — Very great 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles, 113 
 
 indeed. When I speak of the frieze I allude to a 
 part which Lord Elgin has not got; the western 
 frieze is much finer and in better relief than any 
 other part of the temple. 
 
 By better relief you mean higher relief — Yes. 
 
 Do you not conceive it to be part of the great art 
 of those sculptors^ that they gave to the metopes and 
 those parts which were exposed to a broad and even 
 lights a high degree of relief^ whereas to the frieze, 
 which was lighted from the intercoluminations in 
 order to avoid false effect, they gave a low degree 
 of relief } — I think that the relief of the statues is 
 calculated for the positions that they were each to 
 occupy ; but I attribute in a great measure the 
 mediocrity of the sculpture of the frieze to the cir- 
 cumstances under which they alone can be seen, 
 they can with difficulty be seen at all. 
 
 Do you mean by mediocrity, mediocrity in merit ? 
 — I mean in style ; it was impossible to see them 
 without approaching within thirty feet of the temple ; 
 and then the eye had to look up to a height of more 
 than forty feet, and there was no light from above. 
 
 Did not the distance at which the statutes were 
 placed in the Tympanum from the wall, add very 
 much to their effect by reflected light ? — Very 
 much. 
 
 Do you think the value of this Collection very 
 considerable, as laying the foundation of a school 
 of the fine arts in general ? — In one point of view I 
 think that they are valuable as architectural sculp- 
 ture ; that where a sculptor should be called on to 
 
114 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 ornament an architectural building, they would afford 
 a very fine school of study ; but that considering 
 them as detached and insulated subjects, I do no 
 think them fit models for imitation. I mean taking 
 the detached figures two or three together ; but tak- 
 ing the whole together, the general effect is beautiful, 
 as they add to the architecture. 
 
 Have you had an opportunity of comparing the 
 merit of Lord Elgin’s Collection with those lately in 
 Rome ? — I have very lately visited Rome : there are 
 certainly very many things in the collection of the 
 Louvre very far superior to the generality of the 
 Elgin Marbles. I think in this kingdom we have 
 some much finer statues than in the Elgin Collection ; 
 I think the Venus of the Towneley Collection is one 
 of the finest statues in the world, and the Hercules of 
 the Lansdowne collection is equally fine. 
 
 Speaking of them as architectural subjects, have 
 you attended to the finish about the River God, par- 
 ticularly the left leg and thigh ? — I have, and as far 
 as my judgment goes I think it a very fine figure, 
 but certainly not equal to the figure in the other 
 pediment, which is called the Theseus. 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Marbles. 115 
 
 Jovisj 7^ di^ Martii, 1816. 
 Henry Bankes, Esquire, in The Chair. 
 
 Taylor Combe, Esquire^ called in^ and Examined. 
 
 ARE you well acquainted with the Medals col- 
 lected by my Lord Elgin ? — I am. 
 
 Of what number do they consist ? — 880 ; namely, 
 66 Gold, 577 Silver, and 237 Copper. 
 
 Can you ascertain the value of the Collection ? — 
 After having carefully examined the Collection, with 
 a view to this particular object, I am of opinion, that 
 it is worth the sum of 1,000 guineas. 
 
 Are many of them excellent in point of workman- 
 ship ? — Several of them ; namely, one of Aetolia, 
 one of Carystus in Euboea, some of the Coins of 
 Thebes, Philip, Alexander, Lysimachus, &c. 
 
 Are many of them valuable on account of their 
 rarity ? — Yes ; among the gold, the following coins 
 may be considered as rare ; namely, a Daric, and a 
 didrachm of Philip Aridaeus with the type of Alex- 
 ander the Great, and likewise the coins of Athens, 
 Aetolia, Argos, Carystus, Aegina, and Miletus : 
 Among the silver, there are many rare coins of 
 Thebes ; also of Archelaus, Cos, Cyrene, Phlius, 
 Ossa, Tenedus, Philippi, Neapolis in Macedon, and 
 
 Q 
 
116 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 a coin of Macedon, with the legend MAKEAONXIN. 
 AEYTEPA2. 
 
 Have you duplicates of many of these already in 
 the Collection ? — Yes; I suppose about one-third of 
 the Collection would be duplicates. 
 
 Do you know whether these are better or worse 
 than your duplicates ? — Several are better, and 
 several are worse. 
 
 Are many of the gold, duplicates ^ — I think a very 
 small proportion of the gold would be duplicates. 
 
 Which of the medals of the whole Collection do 
 you reckon the most valuable ? There are two 
 equally valuable — the gold Daric, and the gold 
 Athenian 
 
 At what price do you value the two ? — At 50 
 guineas each. 
 
 c5 
 
 Do you consider it of consequence to the Collec- 
 tion now in the Museum, that this collection should 
 belong to it ? — I think it would form a very valuable 
 addition to the Museum Collection. 
 
 Would these Medals complete the present collec- 
 tion in any one class ? — Certainly not ; I believe 
 there is no collection in the world complete in any 
 one class. 
 
 What proportion of these Medals will fill up the 
 chasms in the collection already deposited in the 
 Museum ? — About two-thirds of them. 
 
 Is the present Collection of Greek Medals in the 
 Museum, a valuable Collection ? — A very valuable 
 one. 
 
 In what rank does it stand with the other known 
 collections ? — It is inferior to the French Collection, 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles, 1 17 
 
 and inferior^ I believe, to the Vienna Collection ; it 
 is inferior also to the Collection of Mr. Payne 
 Knight ; it is, however, superior to the Collection of 
 Dr. William Hunter, now at Glasgow, in the coins 
 of cities, but inferior to it in the coins of kings. 
 
 Veneris, 8** die Martii, 1816. 
 Henry Bankes, Esquire, in The Chair. 
 
 The Earl of Aberdeen attending, by permission of 
 the House of Lords, was examined. 
 
 IN what year was your Lordship at Athens ? — In 
 1803. 
 
 Were any part of the Marbles now in the Elgin 
 collection, removed at that time ?— Yes, a consider- 
 able part. 
 
 W'as the work of removal going on ? — It was. 
 
 Did that appear to excite any sensation among 
 the magistrates or the inhabitants of Athens ? — Not 
 much that I perceived. 
 
 In what state was the Western pediment at that 
 time ? — I believe those two figures (the second and 
 third figures from the left in Nointel’s drawing) were 
 remaining ; nothing else. 
 
 Was the head upon the second figure ? — It was 
 when I arrived at Athens, and was destroyed while I 
 was there ; I believe in the hope of selling it to some 
 
118 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 traveller^ it had been knocked ofF^ and falling on the 
 pavement was broken to pieces. 
 
 Had your Lordship any opportunity of observing 
 the head before it was knocked off?^ — I saw it fre- 
 quently before it was knocked off. 
 
 Did it appear to your Lordship to resemble any 
 particular head you had seen in antiquity ? — It has 
 been called the statue of Hadrian ; but the head was 
 so mutilated and corroded by time,, that I should have 
 thought it impossible to trace any resemblance to 
 any head whatever. 
 
 Did the work of that head or figure appear dif- 
 ferent from the general character of the work of the 
 Western pediment .? — Not the least. 
 
 In what class of art does your Lordship place the 
 best of the Marbles that have been brought home by 
 Lord Elgin ? — In the highest class of art. By this 
 term^ however^ I beg to be understood only as ex- 
 pressing a very high degree of excellence^ and not 
 as^ in strict language^ comparing them with the most 
 perfect specimens of the art on the Continent, or 
 even in this Country. 
 
 Do you consider them of the antiquity that is usu- 
 ally attributed to them ? — Unquestionably. 
 
 Does your Lordship consider the metopes as of the 
 same age } — I see no reason for doubting it ; indeed, 
 I should say they must be of the same age, for the 
 stones on which they are sculptured are let into the 
 building, and must have been so let in before the 
 roof was put on. 
 
 Does your Lordship imagine, that if those works 
 had been left in their old places, they would have 
 
Earl of Elgin* s Collection of Marbles, 119 
 
 been much longer preserved ? — I think they were in 
 a state of great danger, and exposed to increasing 
 danger, from the multitude of travellers that of late 
 years resorted to that country.. 
 
 Were the travellers in the habit of procuring frag- 
 ments from the works of art ? — Some travellers were 
 in that habit; but the natives had a notion that all 
 travellers were desirous of it, and therefore they 
 destroyed them accordingly. 
 
 Did they destroy them for the purpose of selling 
 them to the travellers ? — I presume so. 
 
 Does your Lordship consider the draped female 
 figures as being in the first class of art ? — I do ; 
 keeping in view the explanation which I have already 
 given. 
 
 Did your Lordship bring home any Marbles ? — 
 Some inscriptions ; some fragments ; not of these. 
 
 From other parts of Greece ? — Yes. 
 
 Did your Lordship obtain any particular permis- 
 sion to have any casts taken or drawings made, from 
 any part of Athens ? — No. 
 
 The figure that was called Hadrian, was then not 
 the centre figure of the pediment ? — Certainly not. 
 
 Is your Lordship well acquainted with the bas 
 reliefs of Mr. Townley’s collection ? — Yes, I am. 
 
 Does your Lordship think they bear any compa^ 
 rison to those of my Lord Elgin ? — Their preserva- 
 tion being infinitely better, they may be considered 
 in some respects as more valuable ; but, as works of 
 art, I consider the best of Lord Elgin’s to be quite 
 equal, or superior. 
 
 Has your Lordship any notion of the money value 
 
 
Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 of such a Collection as this ? — That is certainly a 
 question to which it it is very difficult to give an 
 answer which will be at all satisfactory ; undoubt- 
 edly I have formed in ray own mind a general 
 opinion of their value^ and if the Committee please, 
 I will state it, and the grounds upon which it is 
 formed. This Collection is very extensive, and, I 
 think, may be generally divided into two classes : 
 the first comprises sculpture from different parts of 
 Greece, but particularly from the Temple of the 
 Parthenon at Athens: this I consider to be extremely 
 valuable, not only from the excellence of the work, 
 but as belonging to the most celebrated Temple in 
 Greece, and as affording undoubted specimens of the 
 state of art at the time of its greatest perfection in 
 that country : The other class comprises a great 
 
 collection of inscriptions from different parts of 
 Greece, which are extremely interesting from th^ir 
 high antiquity, and peculiarities of language; they 
 afford historical documents of the progress and 
 changes of the Greek language, which I think it 
 would be difficult to find elsewhere ; this, it is 
 obvious, to private individuals would be compa- 
 ratively of little value, but in a national point of 
 view, especially where attention is paid to the study 
 of the Greek language, I conceive them to be of 
 considerable importance. There are also other ob- 
 jects of more or less value ; and I would particularly 
 mention the architectural fragments, which are mem- 
 bers of some of the most perfect buildings in Greece. 
 On the whole, therefore, from these considerations if 
 I name the sum of five-and-thirty thousand pounds. 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of MarMes. 121 
 
 I feel confident that the late Government of France 
 would willingly have given a greater amount ; and 
 I am not at all certain that some of the Governments 
 of Europe^, notwithstanding the present state of their 
 finances^ might not be disposed to exceed that also. 
 
 Has your Lordship any reason to know that the 
 late Government of France had it at all in contem- 
 plation to offer a sum ? — It is from no positive 
 knowledge of any such offer^ but from the general 
 impression and opinion among persons in Paris who 
 were listened to, that I conceive it probable. 
 
 Does your Lordship happen to know whether 
 there are any princes in Europe who are now col- 
 lecting and will be likely to purchase such a collec- 
 tion, if ofiered to them ? — I think it extremely pro- 
 bable the King of Bavaria might, but I have no 
 knowledge of that ; and very possibly the Emperor 
 of Russia ; indeed the King of Prussia has bought a 
 large collection of pictures ; but this is mere con- 
 jecture. 
 
 Your Lordship has no doubt of the importance it 
 would beto this country as the foundationof anational 
 school of art, as well as from the other considerations 
 you have mentioned, to purchase this Collection ? — 
 I have certainly a very high opinion of this Collection, 
 both with respect to the art, and as interesting objects 
 of antiquity. 
 
 In your Lordship’s opinion could any private 
 traveller have had opportunities of accomplishing the 
 removal of these Marbles ; or does your Lordship 
 imagine it would have been necessary to take advan- 
 tage of the authority and influence a public situation 
 
122 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 gives ? — I do not think a private individual could 
 have accomplished the removal of the remains which 
 Lord Elgin obtained. I will state a fact concerning 
 myself; when I was at Constantinople, I happened 
 on going there to have some interest in a question 
 that had been a good deal discussed at the time, con- 
 cerning the credibility of Homer's relation of the 
 Siege of Troy ; and I thought a very natural method 
 of procuring some sort of illustration of that, would 
 be to open some of the barrows and mounds which 
 remained in that country, and which are appropriated 
 to different Heroes. I accordingly obtained per- 
 mission at Constantinople to open such of those 
 tumuli as I thought fit ; and 1 went to the Plain of 
 Troy in company with the Captain Pacha of the time, 
 W'ho gave me every sort of assistance in his power, 
 but the natives opposed such obstacles that I was 
 unable to effect it : Therefore I conceive it certainly 
 must have required very considerable influence not 
 only with the Government, but in the country, to be 
 able to carry it into execution. 
 
 Does not your Lordship think there would be 
 considerable difference in point of difficulty, in 
 removing any remains from a building in existence, 
 and excavating and removing things under ground ? 
 -^Very possibly ; but it is very difficult to say what 
 might be the conduct of the Turkish government; 
 it seems to be governed entirely by caprice ; at one 
 time there might be no difficulty, and at other times 
 it might be very difficult. 
 
 Your Lordship is not aware of any permission 
 given to individual travellers, of the same nature as 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of MafUes. 1^3 
 
 that given to Lord Elgin ? — No, I am not ; but 
 again I would beg to be understood, as not saying it 
 would be refused ; I obtained the permission I asked 
 for from the Government, without any difficulty. 
 
 That was a permission to excavate ? — Yes, 
 
 In point of fact, your Lordship obtained all the 
 facility from the Turkish government which you 
 wished for ? — I certainly did. 
 
 Can your Lordship form any judgment whether a 
 great expense was not necessarily incurred by Lord 
 Elgin in these operations ? — Very great indeed. 
 
 Not only with regard to conducting the operations, 
 but towards conciliating the good will of the local 
 authorities r — I dare say it might have been necessary, 
 in obtaining any such permission, to conciliate those 
 authorities by means of presents ; but the difficulty 
 of removing the objects themselves was very great 
 indeed. I think when I was at Athens, there was 
 but one cart in the whole city, and that did not 
 appear calculated to bear any great weight. 
 
 Can your Lordship form any estimate whatever of 
 the probable degree of expense that Lord Elgin must 
 have incurred there ? — -Indeed I cannot ; but it must 
 have been very great. 
 
 Does your Lordship conceive that the value of 
 £3bj000. which you are inclined to suggest, would 
 cover all the expenses that may probablj' have arisen 
 from this removal ? — I have no knowledge whatever 
 of the expenses incurred ; they must have been very 
 great, perhaps to that amount. 
 
 Does your Lordship happen to recollect that a 
 ship belonging to my Lord Elgin, containing a con- 
 
 R 
 
1 . jvjLinuvco 0 j Evidence respecting the 
 
 siderable portion of those Marbles^ was lost off the 
 sland of Cerig'o^ and afterwards weighed ? — Yes. 
 
 Does your Lordship include in the sum of five- 
 and-thirty thousand pounds the medals ? — No^ I do 
 not ; I include nothing but the Marbles^ the In- 
 scriptionsj and Sculpture. 
 
 Does your Lordship include the casts and moulds ? 
 —The estimate I have given is a very general one ; 
 it never had occurred to me to separate the casts and 
 the marbles ; certainly I did not consider the casts 
 as of any great value. 
 
 Your Lordship has alluded to the circumstance of 
 the head of the figure called Hadrian, having been 
 broken off during the time your Lordship was at 
 Athens, is your Lordship enabled to give an opinion 
 as to how the Committee might estimate the service 
 done to art or the disservice, by the removal of the 
 other fragments ? — I think the danger the Marbles 
 at Athens were in, arose not so much from the 
 destruction by the Turks, as from the frequency of 
 travellers going to that country, and from the con- 
 tinued endeavours of the French government to 
 obtain possession of them ; and therefore I think 
 that at no great distance of time they probably might 
 have been removed from Athens ; and in that view 
 I certainly have always been very well pleased to see 
 them here. 
 
 Was your Lordship apprized of the steps taken by 
 Count de Choiseul for their removal .? — I frequently 
 heard of it. 
 
 In fact, not one of the figures on either of the 
 pediments was perfect ? — No, I believe not ; they 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of J\Iarl)les. 125 
 
 had suffered very much from the Turks at one time ; 
 but that violence had subsided completely ; the 
 Turks never injured them, they never thought of 
 them. 
 
 Had Lord Elgin purchased the two houses under 
 the Eastern pediment, at the time your Lordship w^as 
 there ? — He had ; the Temple was cleared in con- 
 sequence. 
 
 It was in those houses, and in the excavations 
 under them, that he found some considerable part of 
 the Marbles ? — I believe so. 
 
 Has your Lordship any opinion whether these 
 sculptures are the work of Phidias'? — I have no 
 idea that any of them are of the wmrks of Phidias ; 
 but from the testimony of ancient authors, there can 
 Le no doubt that the whole was executed under his 
 immediate direction. 
 
 From the great difference in merit between some 
 of these Marbles, is it not probable that they were 
 executed by different artists ? — Very probably ; but 
 in a temple of that description, magnificent, and 
 superintended by Phidias, I have no doubt the artists 
 were good. 
 
 Does not you Lordship consider it highly probable 
 that Phidias may himself not only have designed, 
 but even touched some of the heads, or the naked 
 figures, that were in the Tympanum of the Par- 
 thenon ? — I should think probably not ; I have said, 
 I have no doubt the whole was executed under his 
 immediate direction. 
 
 From the nature of the work, your Lordship 
 
126 
 
 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 cannot judge whether that was the case or not ? — The 
 surface of most of the sculptures is so corroded, it is 
 difficult to see the hand of a master upon it. 
 
 Is jour Lordship of opinion that the designs of 
 these pieces of sculpture were probablj furnished bj 
 Phidias himself? — I think verj probablj, but of that 
 I can be no better judge than the Committee; it is 
 from ancient testimonj I judge. 
 
 Is there anj work so incontestiblj the work of 
 Phidias, with which jour Lordship can compare them, 
 that jour Lordship can form anj opinion upon the 
 subject? — I believe there is no work existing incon- 
 testiblj of Phidias ; one of the statues on the Monte 
 Cavallo at Rome, has been called the work of Phidias. 
 
 Has jour Lordship ever seen the Phjgalian Mar- 
 bles ? — I have. 
 
 How do jou estimate the value of those Marbles, in 
 comparison with Lord Elgin’s ? — I consider those 
 Marbles to be of the same age, and of the same 
 scale of excellence ; in manj respects thej’ are better 
 pieserved ; but, on the other hand, ihej are in other 
 respects not so interesting as Lord Elgin’s. 
 
 In what respect does jour Lordship consider them 
 as inferior to Lord Elgin’s?— In the first place, al- 
 though I do not believe that anj of these Marbles 
 were touched bj Phidias, I consider thej receive an 
 additional interest from being executed immediatelj 
 , under his direction. The Marbles of Phjgalia came 
 from a temple built bj the same architect, who was 
 the builder of the Parthenon, but of the sculpture 
 nothing is said. 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection ofMarUes. 127 
 
 By what architect was the temple of Phygalia 
 built ? — By Ictinus. 
 
 Does not your Lordship think that the manual 
 execution of the Phygalian Marbles is extremely 
 inferior to those of the Parthenon ? — The relief is 
 much bolder, and perhaps the workmanship may be 
 inferior to the best of Lord Elgin’s Marbles. 
 
 Does your Lordship consider that the superior 
 preservation in which they are^ at all compensates for 
 the inferiority of execution ? — It undoubtedly adds 
 very greatly to their value. 
 
 Has your Lordship formed any relative idea of the 
 value of the two Collections ? — I think there is no 
 comparison ; that Lord Elgin’s is greatly superior, 
 I consider the Marbles of Phygalia to be worth about 
 the price given for them ; and I have already stated 
 what I consider to be the value of Lord Elgin’s. 
 
 Though the Marbles on the Parthenon and on the 
 Temple at Phygalia may have been designed by the 
 same artist, does not your Lordship think the execu- 
 tion of the Marbles of the Parthenon are so different, 
 not to say superior, to those of Phygalia, as to render 
 it very unlikely that they were worked by the same 
 hand — I am not at all sure they were designed by 
 the same artist: the same architect built both temples, 
 but I will not answer for the sculpture having been 
 designed by the same person. In fact, I think they 
 are not very different ; I think the style of work is 
 very much the same ; the difference arises from the 
 higher relief of the Phygalian Marbles. 
 
 Is the relief of the Phygalian Marbles as high 
 as the metopes of the Parthenon ? — Very nearly ; but 
 their preservation is infinitely superior. 
 
128 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Does your Lordship think that the proportions of 
 tlie figures in the Phygalian Marbles are short and 
 coarse in comparison to the best of the Marbles of 
 the Parthenon ? — I think generally the style of work 
 is the same. 
 
 Does your Lordship observe any difference in the 
 style of drapery^ or whether there was the same sim- 
 plicity ? — I do not think the simplicity of drapery is 
 remarkable in Lord Elgin’s Marbles ; on the contrary, 
 I have been surprised at the complicated drapery, if 
 I may say so, that there is in both. 
 
 Does your Lordship recollect to have read, that 
 Callicrates was employed on any other works but 
 the Parthenon and the Long Wall ? — 1 recollect no 
 other. 
 
 John Bacon Sawrey Morritt, Esquire, a Member of 
 the House, Examined. 
 
 IN what year were you at Athens ? — In the spring 
 of 1795. 
 
 In what state was the Western pediment of the 
 Parthenon at that time ? — I recollect the three left 
 hand figures, but I do not recollect that so many of 
 the heads remained as appear in this drawing ; of the 
 others some of the trunks did, the centres certainly 
 did not. 
 
 In what year did you lea ve Athens ? — I staid at 
 Athens nearly three months. 
 
 Did you observe the head of the second figure in 
 the Western pediment ? — The head was on at that 
 time, I recollect. 
 
 Did it appear to you resembling any character that 
 you kneWp by reference to coins or statues ? — It had 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of Mariks. 129 
 
 been said to resemble Hadrian ; the head was not 
 very perfect, and I did not think the resemblance 
 so strong as to enable me to decide that it was so ; 
 the antiquarians and the few people I saw there that 
 knew any thing at all about it, had adopted that 
 as a system probably from books which had been 
 published. 
 
 Do you imagine, that there is any ground for sup- 
 posing the heads commonly called Hadrian and 
 Sabina, had been added to figures which were more 
 ancient — I did not observe any appearance of it ; 
 but at the period that I was at Athens, my own know- 
 ledge of the subject was not sufficiently matured to 
 make my observation of the least consequence ; I did 
 not know enough of the style at that period to form 
 an adequate judgment. 
 
 Was there in the Turkish government and people 
 a desire of preserving these remains, or did they seem 
 careless about their being broken to pieces and pulled 
 down ? — When I was there, the Turkish government 
 totally neglected the care of such Marbles as were 
 loose or thrown down, but certainly interfered to 
 prevent any Marbles from being removed which were 
 standing and in their places. 
 
 Was one of the pieces of the frieze removed by 
 Monsieur de Choiseul, the Fiench ambassador, prior 
 to your being there ? — I really do not know whether 
 it Was or not ; it was not done while I was there, that 
 I recollect ; it was so generally understood that the 
 Government wished to prevent any thing from being 
 removed, that the local governors of Athens, who 
 were assailable by bribery, endeavoured to conduct 
 
130 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 the business as secretly as they couldj whenever any 
 thing was to be removed^ even of the Marbles which 
 were down. I myself negotiated with the commander 
 of the citadel for the removal of one or two pieces of 
 the frieze, that were thrown down and neglected 
 among rubbish ; he was very willing to do it for a 
 sum of money, if he could do it without the know- 
 ledge of any person whatever. This negotiation 
 coming however to the ear of the French agent, 
 who wanted it for himself, he prevented my getting it, 
 by threatening the magistrate to make it known to his 
 superiors, in consequence of which it remained where 
 it was. 
 
 You understood there was always a great difference 
 between the Marbles already thrown down, and those 
 that were standing in their places ? — had endea- 
 voured to include in the bargain one of the metopes 
 which had not fallen, but which was so loose that it 
 appeared on the point of coming down. I found him 
 much more scrupulous on this point than with respect 
 to those which had fallen ; and I think that he would 
 not on any consideration have allowed those that were 
 secure, to be removed. I do not know how far the 
 Government might have relaxed afterwards ; but 
 I met with the same difficulty at Ephesus, and at 
 Amyclce, where I wished to procure the Marbles, 
 Lord Aberdeen has since successfully brought over ; 
 they all were looked upon as the property of the 
 State. The answer given to me was that they should 
 be extremely glad to sell them ; and the magistrate 
 told me, he valued the money more than the Marbles, 
 but that it was as much as his head was worth. 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of MarUes. 131 
 
 Do you think the Greeks were anxious that tliose 
 Marbles should not be removed from Athens ? — 
 They were decidedly and strongly desirous that they 
 should not be removed. 
 
 Are you of opinion that nothing but the influence 
 of a public character could have obtained the per- 
 mission to remove these ? — The different views of an 
 arbitrary Government in Turkey change so from year 
 to year, that I can speak to it only for the time I was 
 there. When I was there in 1796, I certainly con- 
 ceived nothing but the influence of a public character 
 could obtain that permission. 
 
 Do you think that even the influence of a public 
 character could have obtained it at that time ? — It is 
 impossible, so little as I know of the politics of the 
 Court of Turkey, to answer that question. 
 
 Did you try at Constantinople to procure permis- 
 sion to remove any Marbles — I did not. 
 
 Were you acquainted with any circumstances at- 
 tending either the acquisitions of Monsieur Choiseul’s 
 Marbles, or their removal from Greece ? — ^Monsieur 
 Fauvel, who has since been the French consul, 
 believe, and who for some time had been employed 
 in collecting for Monsieur Choiseul, informed me 
 that much influence had been used by Choiseul, in 
 order to procure the collection he made ; and a part 
 of that collection, which was still in Turkey, and 
 some of it in Fauvel’s own hands, was detained by 
 him, and by the French Ambassador for the Republic, 
 as the property of the Great Nation, as he called it ; 
 Monsieur Choiseul having at that time become a 
 
133 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 candidate for employment under the then existing 
 French Government. , 
 
 It was considered that those Marbles^ which had 
 been obtained by Monsieur Choiseul in his public 
 character,, had been obtained in a manner which 
 constituted them the property of the French govern- 
 ment ? — 1 believe they were at that time considered 
 as the property of the French government, under the 
 emigration of Monsieur Choiseul, and the confisca- 
 tion of his property by the Government. 
 
 Are you acquainted with the Elgin Marbles ? — ■ 
 I am. 
 
 I what class of art do you esteem them ? — I esteem 
 them, many of them, as the purest specimens of the 
 finest age of Greece, 
 
 Do you consider it of consequence to the welfare 
 of art in this Country, that this Collection should 
 become the property of the Public ? — In my own 
 judgment, I should say it was of the first importance 
 to the progress of art. 
 
 Have you ever looked at this Collection, with a 
 view to its money value ? — I cannot say that I can 
 form any judgment upon that subject; so much of 
 the value of works of art is ideal. I consider it as 
 unique, certainly, in point of design, and as an un- 
 doubted specimen of the best age of Greece ; but the 
 state of mutilation in which it is left, and above all, 
 the corrosion of much of the surface by the weather, 
 must greatly reduce its value. 
 
 Do you consider that those works were in continual 
 danger of destruction, if they had been permitted to 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of J\Iarl)les. 133 
 
 remain in their old places ? — From the manner of the 
 people at the time I was there, I should say that the 
 pieces that were thrown down were liable to injury ; 
 but that of those which remain standing, and in their 
 places, I saw no reason whatever, except the state of 
 decay in which time had placed them, to anticipate 
 any destruction whatever. 
 
 Did the Turks ever fire at the figures of the Tym- 
 panum ?— Certainly not, as a practice ; nor did I 
 ever hear of such an instance. 
 
 Of the twenty figures, some of them quite perfect, 
 which appear in Nointel’s drawing, do you recollect 
 that more than three or four remained when you saw 
 them, and that none of those three or four were 
 perfect? — I recollect that none of the figures were 
 perfect; I speak from imperfect recollection; but I 
 should say that seven or eight remained. I think 
 that part of the car and horse remained, but a very 
 imperfect part; and part of several of the others, I 
 think six or seven, much mutilated. 
 
 John Mcholas Fasakerley, Esquire, a Member of 
 the Committee, Examined. 
 
 IN what year were you at Athens ? — In 1810 and 
 1811. 
 
 From your observation of the state in which the 
 remaining monuments at Athens now are, have you 
 reason to believe that those which were removed by 
 Lord Elgin, would have been subjected to great 
 risk and loss, if that operation had not been per- 
 formed ? — My impression certainly is, that all the 
 Marbles at Athens were exposed to very considerable 
 
134 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 danger^ from the avidity of travellers to acquire 
 particular objects^ and the bribery which was em- 
 ployed with magistrates on the spot to obtain them. 
 I should add^ that at this moment the Turks have an 
 interest to preserve the monuments which remain 
 upon the citadel at AthenS;, because they obtain 
 money by exhibiting them. It is very obvious^ from 
 the dilapidations which took place in former years, 
 the same causes continuing in a great degree still to 
 operate, that the marbles were exposed to great risk. 
 
 Does your recollection of the state of the Temple 
 agree in general with the evidence which Mr. Wil- 
 kins gave ? — It does. 
 
 Had you an opportunity of seeing the ^dEgina 
 Marbles ? — I saw them in 1811. 
 
 Will you have the goodness to give the Committee 
 your opinion of those Marbles ? — The iEgina Mar- 
 bles I always understood, from persons much more 
 competent to give an opinion than myself, as pieces 
 of sculpture, were rather curious from the age of 
 w'hich they were specimens, than valuable from any 
 particular beauty ; they were in considerable pre- 
 servation : And there was one particularity in them 
 which has seldom been remarked in other monuments 
 of antiquity, which was, that it goes to corroborate 
 an idea that has been entertained, that the Ancients 
 painted their statues, and employed gilding on parts 
 of the face ; in the eyes of some of them there are 
 remains of painting and gilding, which much added 
 to their value as matters of curiosity. 
 
 In your judgment then, as specimens or models of 
 the Fine Arts, the i^gina Marbles have very little 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 135 
 
 value from their beauty ? — Very little from their 
 beauty, but very great from their antiquity and their 
 rarity. 
 
 Of what age were they ? — They were of the age 
 commonly called that of Etruscan Art. 
 
 You were at Athens at the time the yEgina Mar- 
 bles were removed ? — No ; I was there immediately 
 prior to their removal. 
 
 Do you know whether the proprietors of those 
 Mai hies experienced great diflSculty in removing 
 them out of Greece ? — Certainly, very great ; the 
 iEgina Marbles in 1811 were deposited in a building 
 almost under ground, and considered there in some 
 degree in secret : they were not generally shown, 
 and it was understood that the Turkish government 
 had opposed impediments to their removal ; and Mr. 
 Cockerell called upon me to consult with the English 
 Consul upon the means of enabling him to remove 
 them from Athens to Zante. The English Consul, 
 when we consulted him on the subject, told me that 
 he felt great embarrassment on the subject, and that 
 they must be removed either in secret or by bribery : 
 by the Turkish Government I mean the local go- 
 vernment 
 
 How much prior to the age of Pericles do you 
 conceive the date of the iEgina Marbles to be I 
 do not know precisely what number of years may 
 have intervened. 
 
 Is there much of that style in Greece called Etrus- 
 can } — I recollect hearing of one or two specimens 
 in the Morea. 
 
136 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Is there any thing in that style at Athens ? — No ; 
 I think not. 
 
 Do you know what value was put upon the iEgina 
 Marbles? — Mr, Galley Knight and myself were 
 anxious to purchase those Marbles for the British 
 Museum ; and we requested Mr. Lusieri to put some 
 value upon them ; at his suggestion we offered the 
 sum of £2000. ; the Marbles belonging to two 
 English proprietors^ and to two Germans ; the 
 English proprietors consenting to relinquish their 
 share of the profits, in hopes that the Marbles should 
 come to England : so that the offer implied that the 
 Marbles were worth £4,000. I think it justice to 
 those two English gentlemen, who made this liberal 
 offer, to mention their names ; Mr. Cockerell and 
 Mr. Foster. 
 
 LuruB, W die Martii, 1816. 
 Heistiiy Bankes, Esquire, in The Chair. 
 
 Alexander Day, Esquire, called in, and Examined, 
 
 ARE you acquainted with the Elgin Collection of 
 Marbles ? — Yes ; I have had the pleasure to visit 
 them often. 
 
 In what class of art do you rank the best of these 
 Marbles ? — I rank them in the first class, as I know 
 of nothing superior to them. 
 
 Which pieces among the Marbles do you rank 
 
Earl of Elgin's Collection of MarUes. 137 
 
 as in the highest class? — The Theseus and the 
 Ilissus. 
 
 How do jou rank these^ as compared with the 
 figures on the Monte Cavallo? — I think their merit 
 seems to correspond^ as if they were the production 
 of the same master ; but I make a distinction between 
 the two figures on Monte Cavallo^ ranking that which 
 is called the work of Phidias as the highest. 
 
 Is that the figure now in the King’s Mews ? — Yes, 
 
 Do the horses on the Monte Cavallo seem to be of 
 the same age and class as the Centaurs in the Me- 
 topes ? — Yes, 1 should think they do. 
 
 As compared with the Apollo Bel videre, the Torso, 
 and the Laocoon, in what rank do you estimate the 
 Theseus and the Ilissus? — I should judge them 
 superior ; particularly were they less mutilated, a 
 better judgment could be formed. 
 
 In what particulars do you judge them to be 
 superior ? — I judge from seeing those parts which 
 are best preserved, that the style of the sculpture is 
 superior to either the Apollo, the Torso, or the 
 Laocoon. 
 
 Do you mean by superior in sculpture, superior 
 in execution, or superior in design ? — I mean with 
 respect to the style and character of the workmanship. 
 
 Do you mean as they conform more to general 
 nature, and give a more exact imitation of it ? — 
 They conform more to what the artists call sublimated 
 Nature, not common nature, but nature in its highest 
 perfection. 
 
 Have you been a dealer in Marbles yourself? — 
 No, I have not ; I never bought an entire statue, but 
 
138 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 any fragments that came in my way^ merely for my 
 own study and amusement. 
 
 Have you ever looked at Lord Elgin’s Collection, 
 with a view of estimating its money price } — No, 
 never. 
 
 Have you purchased pictures of great known 
 merit, for sale ? — I have. 
 
 And you have met with a ready sale? — Yes, I 
 have. 
 
 Have you long resided in Rome ? — Between 30 
 and 40 years in Italy, but mostly in Rome. 
 
 Have you directed your attention, in the greater 
 part of that time, to the Fine Arts in general. — 
 Entirely. 
 
 Though not a dealer in Marbles, have you not 
 been, in a considerable degree, conversant with 
 transactions of that nature during your residence 
 there ? — Yes, naturally. 
 
 Can you form any opinion what price might have 
 been asked for the Theseus at Rome, supposing it to 
 have been dug up at Hadrian’s Villa, for instance ? 
 — In answer to that question, I can only say in what 
 price it may be esteemed, because no purchaser 
 would be allowed to take such an example of sculp- 
 ture out of Rome ; but I cannot take upon myself to 
 put that estimation upon so fine an object of art ; it 
 is not capable of pecuniary estimation, having no 
 intrinsic value, but depending on taste. 
 
 Are you not the proprietor of the cast of one of 
 the figures from the Monte Cavallo, which is now 
 exhibiting in the Mews ? — I am. 
 
 Can you state to the Committee, the prices at 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 139 
 
 which any remarkable and well known statue has 
 been sold, or offered for sale? — Yes; the statue 
 known by the name of the Barbarini Faun, has 
 lately been sold for the price of about £3,000. 
 sterling. 
 
 When was it sold ? — About two years ago, to the 
 agent of the Prince Royal of Bavaria ; it was not 
 known at the time of the purchase for whom it was 
 bought. 
 
 Were there any competitors for the purchase ? — 
 Yes ; but as it was declared that the statue should 
 never go out of Rome, then it was relinquished by 
 all except the agent of the Prince Royal of Bavaria, 
 who accepted it ; after this the statue was arrested in 
 the street, when they were removing it, and is at 
 present deposited in the Museum at Rome. 
 
 Have you any acquaintance with any of the per- 
 sons who were competitors for the purchase ? — Yes, 
 Torlonia, the banker at Rome, was one. 
 
 Do you know, if permission could have been ob- 
 tained for the removal, whether as much or more 
 would have been given by any of the competitors ? 
 — I can only say, that the price which was paid was 
 considered very inadequate to its value. 
 
 How do you estimate the value of that statue, as 
 compared with any of the statues in the Elgin collec- 
 tion? — I consider the Elgin Marbles as of a higher 
 class. 
 
 How do you estimate it with the Theseus ? — I 
 consider it as very inferior. 
 
 Would the different state of the preservation com- 
 pensate for that difference in your opinion ? — The 
 
 T 
 
140 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Faun itself is not perfect ; the legs of it are restored 
 in stucco ; the hands also ; the head and torso are 
 tolerably perfect. The statue was restored in my 
 time, by Pacchetti. 
 
 As compared with the Ilissus, how do you estimate 
 the value of the Faun ? — I consider the Ilissus to be 
 the superior statue by far. 
 
 Is not part of the Ilissus in very perfect preserva- 
 tion ? — Yes, the back particularly. 
 
 Mercurii, 13'’ die Martii, 1816. 
 Henry Bankes, Esquire, in The Chair. 
 
 Reverend Dr. Philip Hunt^ LL, D, called in, and 
 Examined. 
 
 IN what year were you at Constantinople, and in 
 what character ? — I went out with Lord Elgin, as his 
 chaplain, and occasionally acting as his secretary. 
 
 Did you ever see any of the written permissions 
 which were granted to him for removing the Marbles 
 from the Temple of Minerva ? — Yes ; I found on 
 my first visit to Athens that the fermauns which had 
 been granted to Lord Elgin’s artists were not suffici- 
 ently extensive to attain the objects they had in view, 
 that their operations were frequently interrupted by 
 the Disdar or military governor of the Citadel, and 
 by his Janizaries, and other considerable obstacles 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 141 
 
 thrown in their way, by sometimes refusing them 
 admission and destroying their scaffolding : on my 
 return therefore to Constantinople, in 1801, I advised 
 Lord Elgin to apply to the Porte for a fermaun 
 embracing the particular objects I pointed out to 
 him; and as I had been before deceived with respect 
 to the pretended contents of a fermaun, I begged 
 that this might be accompanied by a literal trans- 
 lation ; the fermaun was sent with a translation, and 
 that translation I now possess. It is left at Bedford, 
 and I have no means of directing any person to obtain 
 it ; I would have brought it if I had been aware I 
 should have been summoned by this Committee before 
 I left Bedford. 
 
 What was the substance of that fermaun? — It 
 began by stating, that it was well known to the Sub- 
 lime Porte that foreigners of rank, particularly English 
 noblemen and gentlemen, were very anxious to visit 
 and examine the works of ancient art in Greece ; 
 particularly the Temples of the Idols ; that the 
 Porte had always gladly gratified that wish ; and 
 that in order to show their particular respect to the 
 Ambassador of Great Britain, the august ally of the 
 Porte, with whom they were now and had long been 
 in the strictest alliance, they gave to his Excellency, 
 and to his Secretary, and the artists employed by him, 
 the most extensive permission to view, draw, and 
 model the ancient temples of the idols and the 
 sculptures upon them, and to make excavations, and 
 to take away any stones that might appear interesting 
 to them. 
 
 Was this fermaun granted after the conquest of 
 
142 JSlinutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Egypt by the British arms ? — It was after their first 
 successes. 
 
 Was the obstruction^ which you mentioned in your 
 former answer^ before the success of the British 
 arms ?— r-It continued to be shown till I arrived with 
 the second fermaun. 
 
 Was the tenor of the second fermaun so full and 
 explicit as to convey upon the face of it a right to 
 displace and take away whatever the artists might 
 take a fancy to ? — Not whatever the artists might 
 take a fancy to ; but when the original was read to 
 the Vaivode of Athens^ he seemed disposed to gratify 
 any wish of mine with respect to the pursuits of 
 Lord Elgin’s artists ; in consequence of which I 
 asked him permission to detach from the Parthenon 
 the most perfect, and, as it appeared to me, the most 
 beautiful Metope : I obtained that permission, and 
 acted upon it immediately : 1 had one carefully 
 packed and put on board a Ragusan ship, which was 
 under my orders, from which it was transferred to a 
 frigate, and sent to England. The facility with 
 which this had been obtained, induced Lord Elgin 
 to apply for permission to lower other groupes of 
 sculpture from the Parthenon, which he did to a 
 considerable extent, not only on the Parthenon, but 
 on other edifices in the Acropolis. 
 
 Was this under the authority of the same fermaun } 
 — It was. 
 
 Was there any difficulty in persuading the Vaivode 
 to give this interpretation to the fermaun ? — Not a 
 great deal of difficulty. 
 
 Was there any sum of money given to the Vaivode 
 
Earl of Elgin* s Collection of Mariles. 143 
 
 anterior to his interpretation of the fermaun ? — 
 Presents were given to him at the time of presenting 
 the fermaun; but I am not aware of any money 
 being given. 
 
 Do you recollect what was the essential difference 
 of the two fermauns ? — I never saw any translation of 
 the first, but found it had been inefficient. 
 
 Have you any idea of the difficulty and expense of 
 obtaining the fermauns from the Porte ? — I am not 
 aware of difficulty or expense being incurred at 
 Constantinople in obtaining that fermaun. 
 
 Did you ever hear of any negociations with the 
 servants of the Sultana Valide ? — I recollect none ; 
 but that negociation might have taken place without 
 my knowledge, and if it did, it miist have been 
 through the agency of the dragoman of the British 
 embassy. 
 
 Have you any information to give the Committee 
 with regard to the expense incurred in the way of 
 bribes, either in obtaining the fermaun at Constanti- 
 nople, or on acting upon it at Athens? — Nothing 
 sufficiently precise, to enable me even to conjecture 
 the amount. 
 
 Did Lord Elgin’s local expences at Athens pass 
 through your hands ? — No : I merely gave the pre- 
 sents to the local authorities on my audience. 
 
 Can you give any information to the Committee 
 respecting the subsequent expenses incurred by Lord 
 Elgin in the operation of removing the Marbles, and 
 bringing them to England ? — No, I cannot. 
 
 Was there any interference used by any persons to 
 pr'cvent the removal of these Marbles ? — Not that 
 
144 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 I recollect ; as the permission to lower the Metope 
 was given me by the Vaivode, who has the highest 
 authority at Athens. 
 
 Was any opposition shewn by any class of the 
 natives ? — None. 
 
 Did you continue at Athens after the removal of 
 the first Metope } — I remained there a few weeks^ 
 and revisited Athens subsequently. 
 
 Did Lord Elgin experience any diflSculty in re- 
 moving his Marbles from Turkey ? — Interruptions 
 were given by some of the Janizaries residing in the 
 Acropolis^ from fear of their houses being injured 
 by the operations of his Lordship’s artists^ but those 
 houses were bought by his Lordship and pulled 
 dowoj and excavations made where they had stood ; 
 no subsequent opposition was given on the part of the 
 Turkish Government, and I found the common inha- 
 bitants of Athens always very ready to act as labourers 
 in removing the sculptures. 
 
 Do you conceive that a firmaun of such extensive 
 powers would have been granted by the Turkish 
 Government at any other period, to any British sub- 
 ject ? — Certainly not ; and if it had not been at so 
 favourable a moment, I should not have thought of 
 proposing many of the requests it contained. 
 
 Do you think that any British subject, not in the 
 situation of ambassador, would have been able to 
 obtain from the Turkish Government a firmaun of 
 such extensive powers ? — Certainly not. 
 
 In your opinion, was this permission given to Lord 
 Elgin entirely in consequence of the situation he held 
 as British ambassador ? — I am inclined to think such 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles^ 145 
 
 a permission would not have been asked for by any 
 person not an ambassador of a highly favoured ally, 
 nor granted to any other individual. 
 
 Does it appear to you, that the permission under 
 which Lord Elgin acted, was granted as a private 
 favour to himself, or as a tribute of respect and gra- 
 titude to the British nation ? — I cannot presume to 
 explain the motives of the Porte, but I think it was 
 influenced by great personal respect to the ambas- 
 sador, as well as gratitude for the successful efforts 
 of our army in Egypt; but I always thought the 
 objects so to be obtained, were to be the property of 
 Lord Elgin. 
 
 Did you see any particular ferniaun granting 
 authority to purchase and pull down a house ? — No ; 
 I am confident no such permission was in thefirmaun 
 I took to Athens, though it contained general per- 
 mission to excavate near the temples. 
 
 In what year did you return to Athens ? — I was 
 there at different times, and sailed from thence, with 
 the ambassador, at the termination of the embassy, 
 having procured for him, at different visits, most 
 of the inscriptions and many detached pieces of 
 sculpture. 
 
 When you finally left Athens, were all the Marbles 
 now in Lord Elgin’s collection, removed or lowered 
 from their original places ^ — I believe most of them 
 were. 
 
 Were all the large figures lowered } — They had 
 been, during my absence from Athens. 
 
 Was one of the Caryatides removed at that time ? — 
 I think it was. 
 
146 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 Do you know whether the removal of that piece of 
 sculpture created any discontent or sensation among 
 the people of Athens ? — I had no personal knowledge 
 that it did ; no such discontent was ever expressed 
 to me. 
 
 Do you imagine that the firmaun gave a direct 
 permission to remove figures and pieces of sculpture 
 from the walls of temples, or that that must have been 
 a matter of private arrangement with the local autho- 
 rities of Athens ? — That was the interpretation which 
 the Vaivode of Athens was induced to allow it to 
 bear. 
 
 In consequence of what was the Vaivode induced 
 to give it this interpretation ? — With respect to the 
 first metope, it was to gratify what he conceived to be 
 the favourable wishes of the Turkish Government 
 towards Lord Elgin, and which induced him rather 
 to extend than contract the precise permissions of the 
 fermaun. 
 
 Can you form any idea of the value of the presents 
 which you gave to the Vaivode ? — I cannot now ; 
 they consisted of brilliant cut glass lustres, fire-arms, 
 and other articles of English manufacture. 
 
 Can you form any estimate of the expense incurred 
 by Lord Elgin in forming this Collection of Marbles 
 and bringing them to England ^ — I have no data on 
 which to form any accurate idea of the expense of 
 procuring them and putting them on board ship ; 
 hut it must have been very considerable, both in 
 procuring them, and the great local difficulties he 
 met with in taking them to the Piraeus. 
 
 Do you know the weekly or monthly expenses 
 
JSrtrZ of Elgin's Collection of MarUes. 147 
 
 incurred on Lord Elgin’s account during your staj_j 
 at Athens ? — I do not ; but it must have been very 
 considerable/ owing to the expense of the salaries 
 and maintenance of his numerous artists,, and the 
 continued presents that were given to the Turkish 
 officers at Athens^ and the numerous labourers em- 
 ployed in transporting the heavy masses of Marble. 
 
 Do you know the weekly sums paid in salaries to 
 the artists or the labourers employed by Lord Elgin ? 
 — 1 do not; I believe all pecuniary disbursements on 
 his Lordship’s account at Athens were made by Signor 
 Lusierh his principal artist. 
 
 Can you conjecture whether,, upon thewholcj Lord 
 Elgin’s expenses are likely to have exceeded the sum of 
 £ SOjOGO.? — I have no means of forming any opinion 
 upon that subject: His Lordship was indefatigable 
 in his researches^ not only at Athens and its neigh- 
 bourhood^ but throughout the Morea and Proper 
 Greece, and the shores of Asia Minor^ in endeavour- 
 ing to procure whatever might tend to the improve- 
 ment of the artSj particularly in sculpture, architec- 
 ture, and medals, as well as ancient inscriptions, 
 tending to elucidate the progress of the Greek lan- 
 guage from the Bisf^o(pYi'^ov mode of writing, through 
 all its changes to the latest periods of Greece; he also 
 procured specimens of the different orders of archi- 
 tecture, such as capitals and bases, &c. from the 
 earliest to the latest styles. 
 
 V 
 
148 
 
 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 QUESTIONS sent to the President of 
 the Royal Academy^ his Health not 
 permitting him to attend the Com- 
 mittee ; with his answers thereto. 
 
 1. Are you well acquainted with the Elgin col- 
 lection ? 
 
 2. In what class of art do you rank the best of 
 these Marbles ? 
 
 3. Whichj among the Marbles^, do you consider 
 as the most excellent ? 
 
 4. In what class do you rank the draped female 
 figures ? 
 
 5. Do you consider the draped female figures as 
 of high antiquity ? 
 
 6. In what class do you rank the metopes ? 
 
 7. Do they appear to you the work of the same 
 artists ? 
 
 8. In what class do you rank the frieze of the pro- 
 cession ? 
 
 9. Does that frieze appear to you superior or 
 inferior in excellence to the metopes ? 
 
 10. Does it appear^ in general^ to be the work of 
 the same artists ? 
 
 11. Does that frieze appear to be works of the 
 same period with the metopes^ and the larger statues ? 
 
 12. As compared with the Apollo BelviderOj the 
 Torso of the Belvidere^ and the Laocoon, how do you 
 estimate the Theseus or Hercules and the River God 
 or Ilissus ? 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of MarUes. 149 
 
 13. Do jou consider it of importance to promoting 
 the study and knowledge of the Fine Arts in Great 
 Britain^ that this Collection should become public 
 property ? 
 
 14. As connected with the study of painting, do 
 you consider that great improvement of our British 
 artists may be expected from this acquisition ? 
 
 15. Can you form any estimate of the money value 
 of this collection, and if so, what is that value, and 
 upon what data do you form your estimate ? 
 
 16. In what consists the characteristic distinction 
 between the stile of the best of the Marbles from the 
 Temple of Minerva, and that of the Laocoon, Apollo 
 Belvidere, and other works of excellence which you 
 have seen ? 
 
 17. Does the close imitation of nature (in your 
 opinion) which is observable in the statues of the 
 Theseus, Ilissus, and some of the best Metopes, take 
 from or add to their excellence ? 
 
 18. Have you ever drawn from these Marbles ; 
 and are you sensible of any improvement from having 
 studied them ? 
 
 19. Are not some of the metopes as highly finished 
 as the Theseus or the Ilissus? 
 
 20. Have you seen and examined Mr. Knight’s 
 collection of Bronzes, and in what does their cha- 
 racter materially differ from the best of Lord Elgin’s 
 Marbles ? 
 
 21. Have you ever seen sculpture that was, in your 
 opinion, so incontcstibly the work of the greatest 
 artists as the Theseus, Ilissus, and some of the Me- 
 
150 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 topes, or so v-aluable as models for the artists, not- 
 v/ithstanding the partial loss of siiface and mutilation ? 
 
 22 — 27. Have jou seen and examined the Phy- 
 galian Marbles at the Museum ? 
 
 2S. How should you class the Theseus or Ilissus, 
 compared with the Barbarini Faun ? 
 
 29. Should you consider either of the above sta- 
 tues, in their present state, as equal or superior in 
 money value to the Barbarini Faun ? 
 
 SO. Can you compare, in money value. Lord 
 Elgin’s Marbles, or any part of them, with the 
 money value of the Phygalian, or the Townley Col- 
 lection ? 
 
 ANSWERS to the foregoing Questions. 
 
 1. I AM- -having drawn the most distinguished 
 of them the size of the original Marbles. 
 
 < 2 . — In the first of dignified art, brought out of 
 
 nature upon unerring truths, and not on mechanical 
 principles, to form systematic characters and syste- 
 matic art. 
 
 S. — The Theseus, the Ilissus, the breast and shoul- 
 ders of the Neptune, and the horse’s head. 
 
 4. — In the first class of grandeur. 
 
 5. — At the same time of the Theseus, and the 
 equestrian troops are of the same period. 
 
 6. — III the grand and simple style of composition. 
 
 7. One mind pervades the whole, but not one hand 
 has executed them. 
 
Earl of Elgin* s Collection of MarUes. 151 
 
 8. — The equestrian groups in this frieze or pro- 
 cession are without example^ in the energies of the 
 horses^ the grace and beauty of the youths who sit 
 upon them, and the life which is to be found in all. 
 The whole does not appear to be the efforts of the 
 human hand, but those of some magic power, which 
 brought the marble into life. 
 
 9. — The metopes are superior in their finishing, 
 and many of them are more appropriate to the studies 
 of sculpture, than the less polished groups in the 
 frieze ; but the energy of the latter is without an 
 example in art, excepting the two works by Raphael, 
 in the Vatican, viz. the Expulsion of Heliodorus, 
 and the invading Army of Rome, under King Attila. 
 These two works of art embrace the same soul, as 
 they sprung from the Marbles now under the consi- 
 deration of the Committee, and which were communi- 
 cated to Raphael by his agents sent to Athens and 
 other parts of the Grecian islands. 
 
 10. — In this frieze 1 perceive one mind and one 
 hand, in all that animated nature of which the groups 
 hre composed. 
 
 11. — The same hand which produced this frieze, 
 was capable of producing the metopes and the large 
 figures. 
 
 12. — The Apollo of the Belvidere, the Torso, and 
 the Laocoon, are systematic art; the Theseus and the 
 Ilissus stand supreme in art. 
 
 13. — I think them of the highest importance in art 
 that ever presented itself in this Country, not only for 
 instruction in professional studies, but also to inform 
 the public mind in what is dignified in art. 
 
152 Minutes of Evidence respecting the 
 
 14— It is in these Marbles which is seen the 
 source from whence they grew, and that source is 
 now as open as when they were raised into being, 
 because it came from nature, which is eternal ; and 
 as Raphael was benefitted by them, so may our 
 British Artists. 
 
 15. — To such works as these, which have appeared 
 but once in the world, I cannot set any pecuniary 
 value, in competition with the mental powers which 
 are to be seen in those Marbles. 
 
 16. — The same answ^er as that of !N^o. 12. 
 
 17. — The close imitation of nature visible in these 
 Figures, adds an excellence to them which words are 
 incapable of describing, but sensibility feels, and 
 adds to their excellence. 
 
 18. — I have drawn from and studied the figures 
 and groups of men and horses, which I found most 
 excellent in those Marbles. Whether in studying 
 them, I have added any celebrity to the productions 
 of my pencil, I leave the Select Committee to deter- 
 mine, on viewing my two Works, subsequent to 
 those studies, viz. Christ in the Temple, and Christ 
 Rejected, which are before the Public. 
 
 19. — ^They are, in many of their bodies, and also 
 in some of the bodies of the Centaurs. 
 
 20. — I have seen them, and they are of the first 
 class, as Bronzes. They, as most Bronzes, are of 
 systematic art ; but there are some in that Collection 
 of pure art; in particular, I remember a young 
 Apollo. 
 
 21. — I have never seen any works of sculpture, 
 which prove themselves to be so decidedly the works 
 
Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Marbles. 153 
 
 of the greatest masters^ as must be seen in the figures 
 mentioned ; and also the same powers are visible in 
 the Barbarini Sleeping Faun. 
 
 22 — 27. — I have^ and find groups and figures 
 among them deserving of praise^ but greatly deficient 
 in the just proportion of heads, legs, and arms, and 
 the draperies much confused in their folds ; though 
 when taken in the whole, they are an acquisition in 
 art to this Country, although inferior to those which 
 are here from the temple of Minerva. 
 
 28. — 29. — These three figures are in the highest 
 style of sculptured art, and the very able restoration 
 of the feet, and other parts of the Barbarini Faun, ren- 
 ders it more agreeable to the view as a whole, hut not 
 more valuable or superior in style of art, or equal to 
 the figures of the Theseus, or the Ilissus, in the truth 
 of nature, particularly in the knees, shoulders, and 
 backs, where time has most injured them. Respecting 
 the money value of these three figures, I suppose 
 they are nearly on a balance, in their mutilated state ; 
 but in the refinement of what is transcendant in art, 
 as in the Theseus and the Ilissus, I cannot put any 
 nominal value. 
 
 30. — I judge of the Elgin Marbles, from their 
 purity and pre-eminence in art over all others I have 
 ever seen, and from their truth and intellectual power ; 
 and I give them the preference to the Phygalian 
 and Townley Collection, most of which is systematic 
 art. 
 
154 
 
 Minutes of Evidence^ ^c. 
 
 If the above Answers to the Questions,, with which 
 I have been honoured by the Select Committee of 
 the House of Commons, tend in any way to assist 
 them in their enquiries respecting tlie Merits of 
 the Elgin Marbles, I shall feel myself highly gra- 
 tified. 
 
 With the greatest respect, 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 The Committee’s most obedient 
 humble Servant, 
 
 Benjamin West. 
 
 March 18 , 1816 . 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 No. 2. — Letter from Lord to the Right Honour- 
 
 able N. Vansittart; accompanying his Petition to the 
 House of Commons. 
 
 Sir, London, 1 4th February, 1816. 
 
 JN pursuance of the advice you were good enough to give 
 me at our last interview, I have the honour of transmit- 
 ting to you a copy of the Petition which you last year pre- 
 sented to the House of Commons, in my name, for the dis- 
 posal of my Collection of Athenian Sculpture, and other 
 objects of Grecian Antiquity, to the Public. 
 
 Since that period, the relations between this country and 
 the Continent have afforded a fresh accession of means to the 
 most distinguished and learned foreigners to bear their testi- 
 mony of admiration to the real merit of ray Marbles; which, 
 I may venture to say, have essentially gained in the public 
 opinion, even on a comparison with the chef-d’oeuvres of 
 ancient Art which, till lately, adorned the Gallery of the 
 Louvre. 
 
 Within this period also, the fate of that Gallery, and the 
 influence of the dispersion of it, have eminently exemplified, 
 in the face of Europe, the importance of collections of this 
 nature, in a national point of view. 
 
 a 
 
11 
 
 jlppendix to Report, S^c. 
 
 I should have been most highly gratified in presenting 
 my collection (the fruits of many years anxiety and trouble) 
 gratuitously to my country, could I have done so, with 
 justice to my family. Situated, however, as I am, I can 
 only transfer it to the Public for such a consideration as 
 the House of Commons may judge proper to fix. 
 
 In proceeding to the appreciation of it, it will readily be 
 admitted, under all the peculiarities of the case, that I can 
 be possessed of no standard which could authorize me to 
 name a price. Whereas if (as I have presumed to suggest 
 in my Petition) a Committee of the House of Commons 
 would enter upon the examination of the most competent 
 evidence which can be adduced, they would, upon that evi- 
 dence, be able to determine the intrinsic value to the Coun- 
 try of what I offer ; and would, I have no doubt, arbitrate 
 satisfactorily as well as fairly, between the Public and me. 
 It is therefore not my Avish to name any particular price, 
 nor to enter into any statement of my own views, with 
 respect to the value of my Collection. I leave this question 
 entirely in the hands of the Committee of the House of 
 Commons, to whom I shall be happy to afford all the 
 information in my power. 
 
 In conclusion, I beg leave to express my hope and ex- 
 pectation, founded on the concurring testimonies of the first 
 authorities in this and other countries of Europe, that the 
 fullest investigation which can be bestowed on this subject 
 will prove, in the most unexceptionable manner, that I have 
 been so fortunate as to confer a real benefit on my Country ; 
 and that the collection with which I enrich it, will be emi- 
 nently useful to the progress of the Fine Arts, not only in 
 Great Britain, but throughout Europe. 
 
 I have the honour, &c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 The Right Honourable N. Vansittart, 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 ELGIN. 
 
Ill 
 
 Appendix to Report^ &jc. 
 
 3^ — MemoTandum as to Lord Elgin’s exclusive Right 
 of Property in the Collection of Marbles. 
 
 February 1816. 
 
 1. BY reference to the Journals of the House of Commons, 
 it does not appear, that, on the occasion of the transfer of 
 Sir William Hamilton’s Collection to the Public, any idea 
 was entertained calling in question his exclusive property 
 in what he offered to Parliament. 
 
 In point of fact, the Royal Family of Naples took a great 
 interest in Sir William Hamilton’s researches: aided him 
 materially j and it was understood, contributed considera- 
 bly to his Collection. 
 
 It is also known that, subsequently. Sir William Hamil- 
 ton formed other collections, and disposed of these to indi- 
 vidual collectors. 
 
 2. M. le Comte de Choiseul Gouflier, during his embassy 
 in Turkey, previous to the French Revolution, entered upon 
 the same plan which Lord Elgin has prosecuted; employ- 
 ing a number of artists at his own expense, and making 
 every preparation for moulding, and removing sculpture, 
 &c. from Athens. The Revolutionary Government seized 
 some of the acquisitions which he had sent to France ; but 
 Buonaparte, in the short peace, allowed a corvette to bring 
 away, on M. de Choiseul’s account, what still remained of 
 his property at Athens. And when, in 1803, this vessel was 
 captured by a frigate in Lord Nelson’s squadron, his Lord- 
 ship, on M. de Choiseul’s solicitation, considered the cargo 
 as private property, and directed it to be preserved for him 
 accordingly. 
 
 3. Sir Robert Ainslie, Lord Elgin’s predecessor in T urkey, 
 made considerable Collections there, his property in which 
 was never disputed. 
 
 4. The greater part ofLord Elgin’s Collection was obtained 
 during hisembassy. But from the termination of it in January 
 1803 till the present time, his operations have continued 
 
IV 
 
 Jppendix to Report j <Sfc. 
 
 uninterruptedly — (excepting only during the interval of 
 war with Turkey.) Accordingly, a very valuable addition 
 of statuary, &c. (acquired within that period) was joined 
 to the Collection in 1812. 
 
 5. A public despatch from Lord Elgin, dated January 
 13th, 1803, conveying a request on the subject of his salary, 
 contains the following passage: ‘‘The private expense I 
 “ have incurred to the extent of many thousand pounds, in 
 “ improving the advantages before me, towards procuring 
 “ a knowledge of the Fine Arts in Greece, and rescuing some 
 “ of their remains from ruin; and the loss of a valuable 
 “ vessel of mine, solely employed in that service, would 
 “ make any defalcation of the appointments affixed to ray 
 “ rank, a matter of serious inconvenience to me.” 
 
 6. On the other hand. Government not only never inter- 
 fered in any way, in Lord Elgin’s operations in Greece, but 
 let it be distinctly understood, before his leaving England, 
 that they could not authorize any expenditure, on an under- 
 taking attended with so much uncertainty and risk ; it being 
 beyond doubt that, had they given instructions, or even 
 any formal encouragement, they would, with the advantages, 
 liave been liable also in any loss. 
 
 7. In fact, no instance is known of the Public claiming 
 an interest in what foreign Ministers, Governors, Naval or 
 Military Commanders, &c. &c. may at any time have 
 acquired by their own means, or received from foreign 
 Sovereigns to whom they were accredited. 
 
 8. A letter from the late Mr. Townley to Mr. Harrison 
 the architect, dated in the year 1803, will prove that the 
 clear understanding of the Public in general, and of the 
 Dilettanti Society in particular, was, that Lord Elgin was 
 carrying on his pursuits at his own private risque, and 
 without any assistance whatever from Government. A copy 
 of this letter is hereunto annexed, enclosed in one from Mr. 
 Harrison to Lord Elgin. 
 
V 
 
 Jpptndix to Report^ Sfc. 
 
 No« Ai.-^Memorandum, as to the Delay in transferring 
 Lord Elgin’s Collection to the Public. 
 
 February 1816. 
 
 AS it may appear to require some explanation, why this 
 Collection is only now transferred to the Public, after a 
 considerable part of it has been so many years in the country ; 
 Lord Elgin begs leave to state : 
 
 That on being arrested in France, and becoming appre- 
 hensive that his detention might be much protracted, he 
 directed the Collection to be made over to Government 
 unconditionally. But his family (with whom alone he was 
 then permitted to correspond) from being wholly unac- 
 quainted with the object, delayed complying with this 
 direction till the year 1806, when he reached England. 
 
 Within ten days after his arrival, while none of the 
 packages were yet opened, though some were partially 
 broken ; a gentleman of the very greatest weight in this 
 country on all matters of taste and ancient art, publicly 
 declared in Lord Elgin’s presence, and supported his 
 opinion by allusions to classical authority : 
 
 “ That Phidias did not work in marble : that the sculp- 
 “ tures which decorated the pediments of the Parthenon 
 “ were executed, at soonest in the time of Hadrian ; and 
 could not rank otherwise than as Roman work.” 
 
 The respectable quarter whence this opinion originated, 
 imposed upon Lord Elgin the indispensable obligation of 
 laying his Collection open to public inspection, before he 
 could feel justified in bringing it forward as an object of 
 national importance. Some time, however, after he had 
 so exposed it to view, a volume published in 1809, by the 
 Dilettanti Society of London, denominated “ Specimens 
 “ of Ancient Sculpture selected from different Collections 
 in Great Britain,” not only did not advert to any of Lord 
 Elgin’s statues, or include any of them in its selection of 
 specimens, but contained the following very striking pas- 
 
vi Appendix to Report, Sfc. 
 
 sage: of Phidias’s style of composition, the frieses and 
 
 metopes of the Temple of Minerva at Athens, published 
 by Mr. Stuart, and since brought to England, may afford 
 “ us competent information. But as these are merely 
 architectural sculptures, executed from his designs, and 
 ‘‘ under his directions, probably by workmen scarcely 
 ranked among artists, and meant to be seen at the 
 “ heighth of more than forty feet from the eye, they can 
 throw but little light upon the more important details of 
 ‘‘ his art. From the degree and mode of relief in the frieses, 
 “ they appear to have been intended to produce an effect 
 like that of the simplest kind of mono-chromatic paint- 
 “ ings when seen from their proper point of sight, which 
 effect must have been extremely light and elegant. The 
 “ relief in the metopes is much higher, so as to exhibit the 
 figures nearly complete, and the details are more accu- 
 rately and more elaborately made out ; but they are so 
 “ different in their degrees of merit, as to be evidently the 
 “ works of many different persons, some of whom would 
 “ not have have been entitled to the rank of artists in a 
 “ much less cultivated and fastidious age.” 
 
 So that when Mr. Perceval in 1811, proposed to pur- 
 chase this Collection, not by proceeding to settle a price 
 upon a previous examination into its merits and value, but 
 by offering at once a specific sum for it. Lord Elgin declined 
 the proposal, as one, that under the above impressions, 
 would be in the highest degree unsatisfactory to the Public, 
 as well as wholly inadequate, either in compensation of the 
 outlay occasioned in procuring the Collection ; or in refe- 
 rence to (what has since been established beyond all doubt) 
 the excellence of this sculpture, and its authenticity as the 
 work of the ablest artists of the age of Pericles, 
 
vii 
 
 Appendix to Report ^ 
 
 No. 5. — Copy of a Letter addressed by Lord Elgin to the 
 
 Right Honourable Charles Long, iwlSll: — with a 
 
 Postscript added February 1816. 
 
 Sir, 6, Park Lane, May 0th, 1811. 
 
 IN requesting you to be so obliging as to offer to Par- 
 liament, in my name, a proposal for constituting my 
 Athenian Collection national property, I feel desirous of 
 putting you as fully as possible in possession of my ideas 
 connected with this transfer. 
 
 The Memorandum recently published, on the subject of 
 my pursuits in Greece (of which I did myself the honour of 
 sending you a copy), and the inspection of my Museum, 
 will sufficiently explain that my undertaking could have 
 had no other object than that of endeavouring (though it 
 never before had been found practicable) to secure, as far 
 as it could yet be traced, a full and accurate knowledge of 
 the School of Phidias, while he had the direction of the 
 works of architecture and sculpture during the most brilliant 
 period of the history of Athens. 
 
 That in the hopes, but before the existence of any favour- 
 able circumstances to which alone, however, I could look 
 forward for a probability of success, I engaged, at my own 
 risk, such persons as the artists in England had instructed 
 me were necessary for that object. 
 
 And that, by being thus prepared, I was enabled to 
 complete the plan in all its details, and to an extent far 
 beyond what could have been foreseen. 
 
 The article (Beaux-Arts) in the Moniteur of the 20th 
 ultimo (which, giving an account of a translation now 
 making in Paris of Stuart’s Athens, calls the ornaments 
 belonging to the Parthenon, the only undoubted works of 
 Phidias in existence) will, on the other hand, show in what 
 estimation the collection I have brought to England is held 
 in France; and afford a ground of judging, far less excep- 
 tionably than on any assurances from me, whether, during 
 
viii Appendix to Report^ Sfc, 
 
 my detention of three years there, it must not have been 
 constantly in my option to have made the most advan- 
 tageous terms for ceding them to the French Government. 
 
 I state this, in proof that pecuniary emolument was not in 
 ray contemplation ; and that it has ever been ray steady 
 purpose to render these acquisitions conducive to the advan- 
 tage of my Country. 
 
 In this view, as soon as they could be at all arranged, I 
 afforded every facility and encouragement for the inspec- 
 tion of them, in order that the Public might form their 
 opinion without bias or restraint; and I accordingly have 
 the satisfaction of receiving continually, from every artist 
 without exception, from men of taste and men of literature, 
 the most enthusiastic testimonies of the admiration which 
 they feel in the contemplation of ray Drawings, my Casts, 
 Marbles, Inscriptions, and lesser Sculptures, representing 
 various interesting scenes in private life. They trace in 
 these, hitherto unknown works, the same superiority of in- 
 tellect and genius, which characterises all other productions 
 of the best times of Greece ; and they look to the establish- 
 ment of such a school as this assemblage would furnish for 
 the study of art and the formation of taste, as the means of 
 giving to this Country those rational advantages, the im- 
 portance of which has been of late so much brought into 
 evidence, by the many valuable Collections of ancient art so 
 studiously concentrated in Paris. 
 
 Such impressions, I have the strongest reason for believing, 
 would have been found to be the sentiments of the persons 
 of the description I allude to, who might have been called 
 upon to report on the value of this Collection as a national 
 acquisition. And while they would have awarded a fair 
 reimbursement of my expenses, which the state of ray 
 family and my affairs would not justify me in foregoing; 
 they would at the same time have stamped the transaction 
 as wholly differing from a pecuniary bargain, and would 
 
IX 
 
 Appendix to Report, S{c. 
 
 have pronounced on the service I had been the means of 
 conferring on the Country, in a way to have presented a 
 powerful recommendation and claim in my favour, for some 
 mark of Royal approbation. 
 
 Such were my sentiments on the subject in question, when 
 1 was lately called to London, at the desire of The Speaker, 
 for the purpose of concerting the mode of transferring this 
 Collection to the Public. And I found The Speaker de- 
 cidedly of opinion, that a Statement of my expenses, with 
 the interest upon them, should form the basis of the trans- 
 action ; and that beyond this. Parliament would take under 
 consideration, as a separate subject of remuneration, the 
 merit attending the procuring and offering these objects to 
 the Public. 
 
 But a delay arose most unexpectedly, from an idea being 
 entertained, that, as I, at the time, held a diplomatic ap- 
 pointment, I had not the full and uncontrouled right over 
 my acquisitions : an idea, which would have given to Go- 
 vernment a claim upon any acquisition, which not only 
 ministers, but governors abroad, and naval and military 
 commanders, and every person employed, &c. &c. might 
 have opportunities of obtaining at their own risk and outlay 
 and trouble, or be permitted to receive from Foreign Sove- 
 reigns. Independently, however, of plain reason and uni- 
 versal practice; and of the instances of Sir William Hamil- 
 ton, who sold part of his Collections to Parliament, and 
 part to individuals and foreigners; and of my predecessor 
 Sir Robert Ainslie, whose entire property in his valuable 
 Collections has never been interfered with ; it is now known, 
 that I engaged in the enterprize under review, only because 
 the British government would not have been authorized to 
 undertake any thing of so doubtful an issue. 
 
 When this diflfiiculty appeared to be removed, and The 
 Speaker still adhered to the opinion he had before iccom- 
 
 b 
 
X 
 
 Jppendix to Report^ S^c. 
 
 mended as to the mode of proceeding, I could no longer 
 hesitate in acquiescing in his advice ; and T herewith trans- 
 mit to you accordingly as ample a view of my outlay as the 
 materials still in my possession enable me to furnish, of a 
 transaction so peculiar in itself, and differing entirely from 
 the circumstances attending every other Collection. Here 
 the objects were not purchased, or got for fixed prices. 
 They were not selected by the taste of an individual; nor 
 were they, generally speaking, the results of accidental dis- 
 covery from excavation. But, in the face of difficulties till 
 then found insurmountable, a plan was undertaken for se- 
 curing one great series, the success of which depended upon 
 unwearied patience, abundance of means, and the most 
 prompt and uncalculating decision in the use of them. 
 With all this, it must be recollected, the expenses are those 
 of a person acting under no responsibility, with all the 
 keenness and impetuosity which may be supposed to have 
 animated the attempt to rescue inestimable treasures from 
 oblivion and destruction. 
 
 The collection I offer consists of 
 tst. The Drawings and Casts. 
 
 2nd. The Sculptures and Inscriptions now in England. 
 
 1st, The Drawings and Casts. 
 
 In appreciating the expenses of this article, which con-^ 
 stituted the whole of the original plan, it must be borne in 
 mind that the instructions I acted upon were traced by 
 artists in England, who on a full investigation of the existing 
 works relating to Athens, pointed out in what respects infor- 
 mation was further wanting from thence. Indeed, a few 
 years before, M. de Choiseul Gouffier had taken to Turkey 
 nearly the like establishment of draughtsmen, on a similar 
 attempt, which, however, failed. Besides, the obstacles, 
 the interruptions atid discouragements, created by the ca>^ 
 
Jppendix to Report^ ^c. xi 
 
 priee and prejudices of the Turks, even under the most 
 favourable circumstances, are such that any undertaking 
 in that country, when connected with their establishments, 
 houses, &c. and requiring time, is placed in no parallel 
 whatever with similar works carried on elsewhere. In fact, 
 my Artists were several months at Athens without being 
 able to enter the Acropolis, unless on paying fees nearly 
 amounting to bl. sterling each visit; nor till long after, 
 were they permitted to erect scaffoldings. 
 
 The expense of the six Artists I had, of whom four were 
 without doubt the most eminent of their day in Italy, ne~ 
 cessarily included their salary, board, accommodations, and 
 attendance, and literally all their supplies, as well as the cost 
 of all the materials they used ; i\\eix scafoldings^ packing- 
 cases, &c. &c. These charges may be supposed to have 
 amounted, upon an average, as near as can be calculated, to 
 400^. for each per annum. (The professional men in Eng- 
 land who had been applied to for this expedition, declined 
 leaving their occupations in London, under towards 700/. 
 per annum iox salary alone, besides having all their expenses 
 paid, and retaining a part of their works). 
 
 The six Artists remained together on this under- 
 taking three years and a half ; which at 400/. each 
 per annum, would amount to - - .£.8,400 
 
 J3.— -One continued some time lon- 
 ger in finishing the picturesque tour in 
 Greece. 
 
 One came to England, where he re- 
 mained two years, for the purpose of 
 engraving his own drawings, an intention 
 which my detention in France defeated, 
 incurring a further expense of - - 800 
 
 Carried over ...<£. 0,200 
 
xii Appendix to Report^ Sfc. 
 
 Brought forwiird . , . 9,900 
 
 The conveyance of these Artisis from 
 Rome to Constantinople, thence to Athens, 
 and their journies in general, may have 
 been about ------ 1,500 
 
 10,700 
 
 This sum may be considered as forming the costs of the 
 casts, drawings and measurements; though the same per- 
 sons, and in many respects the same expenses, were equally 
 necessary and contributed towards the other parts of the 
 collection. 
 
 2. — The Sculptures and Inscriptions, and Vases, 
 now in England. 
 
 In alluding to some of the articles which more exclusively 
 compose the cost attending the Marbles and Inscriptions, it 
 is dilBcult, even in the most confidential communications to 
 enter into explanations. The case is, that the ministers of 
 the Porte were prevailed upon, after much trouble and pa- 
 tient solicitation, to grant to me an authority to excavate and 
 remove what I might discover, as well astodravv and model. 
 It was an authority differing from those granted to other 
 English gentlemen, then travelling in Turkey, only in the 
 degree which the extent of the means I employed made 
 necessary. But the plain import of such a permission in 
 Turkey is nothing more, than it affords an introduction, by 
 means of which secret negociations may be carried on with 
 such persons in office or in power, as have some superinten- 
 dence, or immediate concern with the objects in question. 
 Upon such persons, it is equally undeniable, that no in- 
 fluence can possibly be efficient, from a Christian, excepting 
 only weight of gold; and the amount of this is, in all cases. 
 
xm 
 
 Appendix to Report, 8^c. 
 
 proportioned to the rank of the parties, the sacrifice to be 
 made, and the eagerness shown for the acquisition. At the 
 period under review I held the dignity of ambassador : I 
 had to transact with the highest personages in the state. 
 The objects I requested were — leave to occupy situations 
 about the ruins, commanding the interior of Turkish houses : 
 to remove blocks forming parts of their fortifications ; and 
 inscriptions, &c. occasionally built up in their Mosques : 
 And ray perseverance under constant difficulties and disap- 
 pointments, sufficiently showed to them the importance 
 attached to my enterprize. 
 
 The above Expenses and the numbers of Workmen em- 
 ployed, may be calculated at <£. 15 , 000 . 
 
 It may easily be conceived what extent of manual labour 
 was required in a country, in which the habits are those of 
 the most obstinate listlessness and indolence : which is wholly 
 unprovided with wheel-carriages, or mechanical instru- 
 ments: when great masses of ruins were to be removed 
 in search of hidden pieces of Sculpture ; large blocks of 
 Marble to be lowered from great heights; and so many 
 immense weights conveyed to a distance of above four 
 miles, along a track which had barely the appearance of 
 a road. 
 
 The removal of the Cases from Athens to England: for, 
 though I received much very friendly assistance in this 
 respect, from officers, commanding King’s ships, yet I em- 
 ployed two vessels of ray own on that service, and several 
 country ships : 
 
 The Expenses at Malta, where the cases were generally 
 placed in deposit <£. 2 , 500 . 
 
 Commission and Agency ; which in all instances, especi- 
 ally when out of the ordinary line of business, are very con- 
 siderable in Turkey, £. 
 
xiv j^ppendix to Report, Sfc. 
 
 Interest on Money borrowed, which is, legally, at 12 pef 
 cent, and often much more, £. 
 
 A great variety of minor Expenses, inseparable from so 
 vast an undertaking, £, 
 
 This outlay was at a time when not more than 12 or 13 
 piastres could be got in exchange for the pound sterling. 
 
 The charges thus stated for the Artists, the obtaining and 
 removing the Collection, are of*. 28,200. 
 
 There was, besides the loss of my Vessel (the Mentor), an 
 English copper-bottomed yacht which was cast away off 
 Cerigo, with no other cargo on board than some of the 
 sculptures. The price and charges on this vessel (which, 
 from the nature of her voyage, could not be insured in 
 Turkey) and the operations, which continued three years, 
 in recovering the Marbles, cannot be stated under £. 5,000. 
 
 This expenditure having been incurred between the years 
 1709 and 1803, leaves a claim of interest from that time. 
 
 Interest for fourteen years, at 5 percent. £» 23,240. 
 
 There has been since the charge of landing this immense 
 number of heavy Cases in various ports of England, trans- 
 ferring them to London, and placing them at the Duke of 
 Richmond’s in Privy Gardens ; removing them afterwards 
 three times; erecting convenient and sufficient buildings 
 where to place the Marbles ; arranging the casts ; atten- 
 dance on the Collection, &c. &c. The expense of this part 
 of the transaction must have been fully .£.6,000. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) ELG IN. 
 
 To the Right Honourable Charles Long, 
 
 Sfc. 4rc. Sfc. 
 
Jppendix to Report, Sfc. xv 
 
 Sir, London, February 29th, 1816. 
 
 The above Statement refers altogether to the great body 
 of the Collection, such as it had been laid open to public 
 inspection in my house in Park-Lane, and in Burlington- 
 House, from the year 1807 to 1812 ; consisting of all the 
 large statues (excepting the Sternum of the colossal figure 
 of Neptune, the group of two horses heads, and the forehead 
 of Minerva) ; eleven of the metopes ; a large proportion, 
 but not the best preserved groups of the frieze ; various 
 minor pieces of sculpture ; all the moulds and casts ; some 
 specimens of architecture; all the drawings; and original 
 inscriptions. 
 
 Towards the end of 1812, about eighty additional cases of 
 architecture and sculpture reached England; having been 
 collected subsequently to ray departure from Turkey, and 
 now forming part of ray Collection in Burlington-House. 
 
 To these are now added a collection of Medals. 
 
 I beg leave generally to observe, that though I had not 
 regulated ray expenses or my outlay, under any expectation 
 of their being ever inquired into, still 1 brought with me 
 from Athens an accurate and detailed journal of the daily 
 expenditure there, down to my departure in 1803, made 
 out by a gentleman of the strictest honour and regularity, 
 who had the direction of all my opei;ations, and in whom 
 I have placed the utmost confidence. This has been lost, 
 probably when, on my arrest as prisoner of war in France, 
 I was under the necessity of burning my papers. But I 
 have recently received the continuation of that journal from 
 January 1803 to the end of 1814, together with the account 
 current of my agent, an eminent merchant at Malta, from 
 October 1807 to May 1811, which documents enable meto 
 specify the leading articles of outlay incurred since my 
 leaving Turkey. 
 
xvi Appendix to Report^ 
 
 The Journal itself amounts to - p 112,170 
 
 ^hich at l6 Piastres, the ayerage 
 rate of Exchange, is equal to - jg. 7 >010 12 6 
 M. Lusieri’s salary from 1805 
 
 to 1816 - 2,800 
 
 His personal loss, during his 
 flight from Athens - 200 — — 
 
 And that part of the Account 
 Current of the Agent at Malta, not 
 included in M. Lusieri’s Journal - 2,400 
 
 £. 12,410 12 6 
 
 Besides, the Expenses at Malta before October 1807, 
 and after May 1811. 
 
 Interest of Money. 
 
 Presents sent from England, &c. &c. 
 
 But the principal importance of these vouchers is, to 
 show the real nature of the expenses, to which, in point of 
 fact, this enterprize subjected me ; a subject, of which no- 
 thing but an acquaintance with the habits and practices in 
 Turkey, and the peculiar difficulties, necessities, and charges 
 attending this undertaking, could possibly afford any no- 
 tion. These documents show, that, even when 1 employed 
 only one instead of six artists, and my endeavours and their 
 results were reduced out of all proportion with my former 
 efforts; yet that during so much of this period as M. Lusieri 
 was at Athens, 
 
 1 . The cost of manual labour, was » p 37,464 
 
 2. - Ditto - of materials, &c. &c. - - 23,805 
 
 S. Presents, found necessary for the 
 
 local authorities, in Athens alone - 21,902 
 That interest on money borrowed there was as high as 
 15 and 20 per cent. 
 
xvii 
 
 Jppendix to Report, ^c. 
 
 And the agency for Malta, after commission and hrp-. 
 kerage on drafts being charged, was (6,000 on 33,663) equal 
 to 17 1 per cent. 
 
 I beg once more to repeat, that I do not offer this view of 
 ray expenses as a criterion of the intrinsic value of ray Col- 
 lection. I ever have been persuaded that, in justice to the 
 Public, that should be calculated on other grounds. But it 
 is, I trust, sufficient to prove, that in amassing these remains 
 of antiquity for the benefit of my Country, and in rescuing 
 them from the imminent and unavoidable destruction with 
 which they were threatened, had they been left many 
 years longer the prey of mischievous Turks, who mutilated 
 them for wanton amusement, or for the purpose of selling 
 them piecemeal to occasional travellers; 1 have been actu- 
 ated by no motives of private emolument; nor deterred 
 from doing what I felt to be a substantial good, by conside- 
 rations of personal risk, or the fear of calumnious misrepre- 
 sentations. 
 
 ELGIN. 
 
 To Henry Bankes, Esq. 
 
 Chairman of the Committee, IfC. SfC. Sfc. 
 
 No. 6,-^Letterfrom Lord Elgin to Henry Bankes, Esq. 
 
 Sir, London, 13th March, 1816. 
 
 AS I have been given to understand that some Members 
 of the Committee have expressed a w ish for more detailed 
 information with respect to my expenses in Turkey, con 
 nected with my Collection of Athenian Sculpture, &c. I 
 have thought it might be convenient for them to be in 
 possession of the following considerations, arising out of the 
 Italian Journal which I left with the Committee the second 
 time I had the honour of attending them ; I hope that they 
 will assist the Committee in forming an accurate notion of 
 the nature of the exertions and expenses which necessarily 
 
 c 
 
xviii 
 
 Appendix to Report, S^c. 
 
 attended the prosecution of an undertaking, which, I believe, 
 knows no parallel ; and, at the same time, to appreciate the 
 extent of what must liave been expended, prior to the first 
 date occuring in that document. 
 
 But before I enter upon this comparison, 1 beg to advert 
 to the expenses incurred in England since the Marbles began 
 to arrive, fourteen years ago, and the loss of my ship the 
 Mentor, two items in ray expenditure, not referred to in the 
 journal. 
 
 1. The expense of landing and warehousing the cases in 
 England ; collecting them first at the Duchess of Portland’s, 
 in Privy Gardens ; then transporting them to the Duke of 
 Richmond’s; afterwards to my house in Park-Lane: and 
 finally to Burlington House, (in each of which two last 
 places I had to erect suitable buildings for the purpose of 
 arranging and exhibiting the Statues and Bas-reliels;) the 
 figure-maker’s labour in putting together the moulds made 
 at Athens, a work of great nicety, and which took up 
 nearly a whole year ; attendance for the protection of the 
 collection, during ten years ; and various incidental charges : 
 All these sources of expense cannot, in my opinion, be 
 calculated at a less sum than six thousand pounds. 
 
 12. The loss of the Mentor, and the expense of weighing 
 up her cargo, consisting of large cases of Marble, being 
 parts of the frieze and metopes, sunk in ten fathoms water 
 (an operation which was not completed till the third year 
 after the shipwreck) forms my second item. Before the 
 employment of the divers, who were ultimately successful, 
 three unavailing attempts had been made to weigh up the 
 ship bodily. All the cases were finally recovered, and none 
 of the contents in any way damaged : They were forwarded 
 successively by the Consul at Cerigo, some of them to 
 Smyrna, and some to Malta, and from thence to England, 
 This operation, with the purchase of the Mentor, and her 
 Kcccssary expense, I have valued at five thousand pounds. 
 
xix 
 
 Appendix to Report, S^c. 
 
 3. The regular accounts sent home by M. Lusieri irt 
 1815, comprise, first, the manual labour he employed, 
 amounting to - 37,404 
 
 9. The materials he purchased for carrying on 
 his operations - -- -- -- -- -- 
 
 3. Presents to the Authorities at Athens - - 
 
 4. Lusieri’s board - - - -- -- -- 
 
 5. Interest on money borrowed by him, &c. 
 
 During these expenses, which were incurred between the 
 
 commencement of 1803 and the end of 1814, excepting 
 the interval of war, M. Lusieri was alone at Athens, and 
 procured what has been added to the Collection since 1811 $ 
 they form a total of 1 12,000 piastres, equal, at 16 ps. to 
 the pound sterling, to- - - -- -- - 7,000 
 
 To which are added the salary to the present period 2,800 
 
 His losses, when driven by the war, from Athens 200 
 
 And the sum of-----------^ 2,400 
 
 In all - ^ 12,400 
 
 being what Messrs. Hayes of Malta pass in account, beyond 
 what went through Lusieri’s bands, 
 
 I value therefore the three articles. Expenses in England, 
 the loss of the Mentor, and the works since the beginning 
 
 of 1803, - - at ^.6,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 12,000 
 
 ^.23,000 
 
 4. Now with respect to the works prior to 1803, 1 have 
 not the same data to proceed upon. The account furnished 
 me by M, Lusieri, on my leaving Athens, has been mislaid, 
 or destroyed in France. I must therefore arrive at an 
 approximation by analogy. 
 
 The mass of work done, and the difficulties surmounted 
 prior to 1803, may be described thus The acquisition of 
 all the large statues of the pediments ; of eleven out of the 
 
 23,805 
 
 21,902 
 
 24,000 
 
 5,000 
 
XX 
 
 Appendix to Report^ Sfc, 
 
 fourteen metopes ; of nearly for4y out of fifty-six or fifty- 
 eight pieces of the frieze ; the colossal statue of Bacchus ; 
 the bas-reliefs of the Temple of Victory ; many smaller 
 fragments of sculpture ; the greatest and most interesting 
 part of the inscriptions; many of the architectural speci- 
 mens, particularly those of the Ionic order ; all the casts ; 
 all the drawings ; all the medals ; the procuring the artists 
 from Rome ; their conveyance by way of Messina, Malta, 
 Girgenti, to Constantinople, and thence to Athens ; their 
 salaries, board, and absolutely every expense they incurred 
 from the winter of 1799 to the middle of 1803 ; their con- 
 veyance home; the maintenance of one of them (Ittar) one 
 year longer at Malta, in finishing his sketches; and of 
 another (the Calmonk) for two years longer in England, for 
 the purpose of his drawings ; the purchase and construction 
 of the materials required for the operations of the artists ; 
 the original breaking ground of the whole transaction, both 
 jn Constantinople and in Greece; the purchase of houses, 
 and removal of large masses of ruins for the recovery of 
 buried sculpture ; the manual labour at all times of a great 
 number of men, and very frequently of hundreds at a time, 
 in transporting great weights from Athens to the sea ; occa- 
 sional presents to sailors engaged to assist on the embarkation; 
 the conveyance of a part of the Collection to Alexandria or 
 to Malta, in private vessels hired for the purpose ; the 
 exorbitant demands in these countries for interest, agency, 
 and commission ; and the whole performed under the dis- 
 advantage of a very inferior rate of exchange, from eleven 
 to thirteen piastres only being then procured for the pound 
 sterling, whereas the calculation subsequent to 1803 is 
 founded upon the pound sterling producing sixteen piastres. 
 
 Under the foregoing considerations, I am confident that 
 I should not materially err, if I were to state my expenses 
 for the Collection, prior to 1803, at three times the amount 
 of those incurred subsequent to that date. This calculation 
 
Jppendix to Report, S^c. xxi 
 
 (even without taking into account the difference of 25 per 
 cent, on the exchange in favour of the latter period) would 
 raise the expenditure, prior to 1803 to c£.S6,000, whereas 
 in my letter to Mr. C. Long, 1 have rated it, on other 
 grounds, only at *.s^.28,000. To which, and to the c£.5,000 
 on the loss of the Mentor, I have added fourteen years 
 interest. 
 
 N.B. This sum singularly coincides with the conjecture formed 
 hy Lord Aberdeen, of the nature one? extent of the 
 operations he saw going on in Athens in 1803. 
 
 To recapitulate the above, I calculate, 
 jS. 6,000 Expenses in England. 
 
 5,000 Loss of the Mentor, and recovery of its cargo. 
 
 12.000 Expenses, as per Account, since January 1803, 
 
 28.000 Do. prior to that period. 
 
 23,240 Interest on of. 33,000, 
 
 But, I beg leave once more to repeat, that I do not, and 
 never have recommended my expenses as a criterion of the 
 value of my Collection to the Public. 
 
 I have the honour to be, with great respect, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient humble Servant, 
 
 ELGIN. 
 
 Henry Bankes, Esq, 
 
 Chairman of the Committee, S^c. SfC. ^c. 
 
 * Being the expense of the Artists, which ^ 
 
 comprises the whole of the original i Ps. 139,000 .. £. 10,700 
 Undertaking - - . J 
 
 That ofobtaining and removing the Marbles Ps. 224,900 .. .f. 17,300 
 
 In all - 
 
 Ps. 364,000 .. 28,000 
 
XXll 
 
 jilppendix to Report^ 8fc, 
 
 No. 7. — Cop^ a Letter from Charles Town ley. Esq. to 
 
 J. Harrison, on the subject of Lord Elgin^s Marbles. 
 
 Dear Sir, London, 8th Febrtiary, 1B03. 
 
 I FEEL myself exceedingly obliged to you, and most 
 highly gratified, by your kind communication to me of Lord 
 Elgin’s most laudable exertions towards collecting either 
 original Marbles, or Drawings or Casts of the most valuable 
 monuments of sculpture or architecture in Greece, 
 
 I have lost no opportunity of informing persons of taste 
 and judgment in the Fine Arts, of the interesting opera- 
 tions which Lord Elgin is now so eagerly carrying on. His 
 Lordship’s zeal is most highly approved and admired, and 
 every hope and wish is entertained for his final success. 
 But our Government is universally blamed for not contri- 
 buting their political influence as well as pecuniary aid 
 towards these operations, for the advancement of the Fine 
 Arts in this country. 
 
 You appear to decline Lord Elgin’s invitation to supply 
 Signor Lusieri with more documents and information rela- 
 tive to his further pursuits and researches in Greece. But 
 it is in contemplation with a few Members of the Dilettanti 
 Society, to whom I have communicated Lord Elgin’s letter, 
 to make a handsome remittance to Signor Lusieri, and to 
 engage him to make some researches, and execute some 
 plans and drawings of monuments, which shall be indicated 
 to him. 
 
 The Meeting of the Society will be on Sunday next. 
 Should any determinations be entered into, worthy of being 
 communicated to you, you shall know them ; at the same 
 time let me entreat you to put down on paper any hints you 
 can suggest, relative to objects in Greece, that are particu- 
 larly requisite to be investigated. 
 
 My health is still in a very weak state. I will conclude 
 this sheet by repeating my thanks for your kind communi- 
 
xxlii 
 
 Appendix to Report^ 8fc, 
 
 ration, and expressing my hopes of receiving from you 
 your thoughts upon the chief objects in Greece, that yet 
 remain, and ought to be investigated and drawn by Lusieri. 
 I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 Your most faithful obedient Servant, 
 
 C. TOWNLEY. 
 
 No. 8. — Translation of a Letter from the Cavalier Canova 
 to the Earl 0/ Elgin. 
 
 Mr Lord, London, 10th Nov. 1815. 
 
 PERMIT me to express the sense of the great gratifi- 
 cation which I have received from havingseen in London the 
 valuable antique Marbles which you have brought hither 
 from Greece. I think that I can never see them often 
 enough ; and although my stay in this great capital must 
 be extremely short, I dedicate every moment that I can 
 spare to the contemplation of these celebrated remains of 
 antient art. I admire in them the truth of nature united to 
 the choice of the finest forms. Every thing here breathes 
 life, with a veracity, with an exquisite kno^;tledge of art, 
 but without the least ostentation or parade of it, which is 
 concealed by consummate and masterly skill. The naked 
 is perfect flesh, and most beautiful in its kind. — I think 
 myself happy in having been able to see with my own eyes 
 these distinguished works ; and I should feel perfectly sa- 
 tisfied if I had come to London, only to view them. Upon 
 which account the admirers of art, and the artists, will owe 
 to your Lordship a lasting debt of gratitude, for having 
 brought amongst us these noble and magnificent pieces of 
 sculpture ; and for my own part I beg leave to return you 
 my own most cordial acknowledgements; and 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 CANOVA. 
 
XXIV 
 
 Appendix to Report, ^c. 
 
 No. 9. — Extract of a Despatch from his Excellency the 
 Earl of Elgin to Lord Hawkesbury, dated Constant 
 tinople. 
 
 January 13 til, 1803. 
 
 “ I do not demand any allowances corresponding; with 
 those of the late extraordinary embassies from Russia, 
 although the honours and public disbursements of mine have 
 been equally extraordinary ; nor can 1 have a wish to make 
 a charge of the many unusual expenses to which I have been 
 subjected ; Still I confess that the private expense which I 
 have incurred, to the extent of many thousand pounds, in 
 improving the advantages before me, towards procuring a* 
 knowledge of the Arts of Greece, and rescuing some of their 
 remains from ruin ; and the loss of a valuable vessel of mine 
 solely employed in that service, would make any defalcation 
 of the appointments affixed to my rank, a matter of serious 
 inconvenience to me.” 
 
 No. 10. '‘—Translation from the Italian of a Fermaun or 
 Official Letter from the Caimacan Pasha, ( who filled the 
 office of Grand Vizier at The Porte, during that Minister' s 
 absence in Egypt) addressed to The Cadi or Chief Judge, 
 and to the Vaivode or Governor of Athens, in 1801. 
 
 AFTER the usual introductory compliments, and the 
 salutation of Peace, — It is hereby signified to you, that 
 our sincere Friend his Excellency Lord Elgin, Ambassador 
 Extraordinary from the Court of England to the Porte of 
 Happiness, hath represented to us, that it is well known 
 that the greater part of the Frank (i. e. Christian) Courts are 
 anxious to read and investigate the books, pictures or figures, 
 and other works of science of the ancient Greek philosophers: 
 and thatin particular, the ministers or officers of state, philoso- 
 I>hcrs, primates and other individuals of England, have a 
 
XXV 
 
 Appendix to Report, S^c. 
 
 remarkable taste for the drahvings, or figures or sculptures, 
 remaining ever since the time of the said Greeks, and which 
 are to be seen on the shores of the Archipelago and in other 
 parts; and have in consequence from time to time sent men to 
 explore and examine the ancient edifices, and drawings or 
 figures. And that some accomplished Dilettanti of the Court 
 of England, being desirous to see fheancient buildingsandthe 
 curious figures in the City of Athens, and the old walls re- 
 maining since the time of the Grecians, which now subsist in 
 the interior part of the said place ; his Excellency the said 
 Ambassador hath therefore engaged five English painters, 
 now dwelling at Athens, to examine and view, and also to 
 copy the figures remaining there, ab antiquo : And he hath 
 also at this time expressly besought us that an Official 
 Letter may be written from hence, ordering that as long as 
 the said painters shall be employed in going in and out of 
 the said citadel of Athens, which is the place of their occu- 
 pations ; and in fixing scaffolding round the ancient Temple 
 of the Idols there; and in moulding the ornamental sculpture 
 and visible figures thereon, in plaster or gypsum ; and in 
 measuring the remains of other old ruined buildings there ; 
 and in excavating when they find it necessary the founda- 
 tions, in order to discover inscriptions which may have 
 been covered in the rubbish ; that no interruption may be 
 given them, nor any obstable thrown in their way by the 
 Disdar (or commandant of the citadel) or any other person : 
 that no one may meddle with the scaffolding or implements 
 they may require in their works ; and that token they wish 
 to take away any pieces of stone with old inscriptions or 
 figures thereon, that no opposition be made thereto. 
 
 We therefore have written this Letter to you, and expe- 
 dited it by Mr. Philip Hunt, an English gentleman. Secre- 
 tary of the aforesaid Ambassador, in order that as soon as 
 you shall have understood its meaning, namely, tliat it is the 
 explicit desire and engagement of this Sublime Court en~ 
 
 d 
 
xxvi Appendix to Report, Sfc. 
 
 dowed with all eminent qualities, to favour such requests as 
 the above-mentioned, in conformity with what is due to 
 friendship, sincerity, alliance and good will subsisting ab 
 antiquo between the Sublime and ever durable Ottoman 
 Court and that of England, and which is on the side of both 
 those Courts manifestly encreasing ; particularly as there is 
 no harm in the said figures and edifices being thus viewed, 
 contemplated, and designed. Therefore, after having fulfilled 
 the duties of hospitality, and given a proper reception to the 
 aforesaid Artists, in compliance with the urgent request of 
 the said Ambassador to that effect, and because it is incum- 
 bent on us to provide that they meet no opposition in walking, 
 viewing, or contemplating the figures and edifices they may 
 wish to design or copy ; or in any of their works of fixing 
 scaffolding, or using their various implements ; It is our 
 desire that on the arrival of this Letter you use your dili- 
 gence to act conformably to the instances of the said 
 Ambassador, as long as the said five Artists dwelling at 
 Athens shall be employed in going in and out of the said 
 citadel of Athens, which is the place of their occupations ; 
 or in fixing scaffolding around the ancient Temple of the 
 Idols, or in modelling with chalk or gypsum the said orna- 
 ments and visible figures thereon ; or in measuring the frag- 
 ments and vestiges of other ruined edifices ; or in excavating, 
 when they find it necessary, the foundations, in search of 
 inscriptions among the rubbish ; that they be not molested by 
 the said Disdar (or commandant of the citadel) nor by any 
 other persons, nor even by you (to whom this Letter is ad- 
 dressed ;) and that no one meddle with their scaffolding or 
 implements, nor hinder them from taking away any pieces of 
 stone with inscriptions or figures. In the above-mentioned 
 manner, see that ye demean and comport yourselves. 
 
 (Signed with a signet.) 
 
 SEGED ABDULLAH KAIMACAN. 
 
 N. B . — The words in Italian rendered in two places “ any pieces of 
 stone,” are “qualchepezzi di pietra.” 
 
xxvii 
 
 No. II. 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ELGIN MARBLES, VASES, CASTS, and DRAWINGS. 
 Prepared from the MS. of Mons. Visconti. 
 
 A« -'- The Pediments of the Parthenon. 
 
 B. -■■ T he Metopes. 
 
 C« The Prize - (East end.) 
 
 D. Ditto (North side,) 
 
 E. Ditto (West end.) 
 
 F. Ditto - - - - (South side.) 
 
 G. Ditto - - - - (not ascertained.) 
 
 H. — — -Prize of the Temple of Victory. 
 
 I. — —Doric Architecture. 
 
 J. Ionic Architecture. 
 
 K. Monuments relating to Bacchus. 
 
 L. Detached Heads. 
 
 M. Detached pieces of Sculpture. 
 
 N. Urns — Marble, Bronze, and Earthen. 
 
 O. Altars. 
 
 P. Cippi or Sepulchral Pillars, 
 
 Q. Casts. 
 
 R. Greek Inscriptions, 
 
 S. Drawings, 
 
xxviii Jppcndix to Report^ S^c. 
 
 PARTHENON, 
 
 STATUES and FRAGMENTS from the 
 EASTERN PEDIMENT. 
 
 A. — 1. Two Horses Heads in one block. 
 
 2. One Horse’s Head, 
 
 3. Statue of Hercules or Theseus. 
 
 4. Groupeoftwo Female figures. 
 
 5. Female figure in quick motion — Iris. 
 
 6. Groupe of two Female figures. 
 
 STATUES and FRAGMENTS from the 
 WESTERN PEDIMENT. 
 
 7. Part of the Chest and Shoulders of the colossal 
 
 figure in the center (supposed to be Neptune.) 
 
 8. Fragment of the colossal figure of Minerva. 
 
 9. Fragment of a Head (supposed to belong to the 
 
 preceding.) 
 
 10. Fragment of a statue of Victory. 
 
 11. Statue of a river-god called Ilissus. 
 
 FRAGMENTS of STATUES from the PEDIMENTS, 
 the names or places of which are not positively ascertained. 
 
 12. Female figure, sitting (supposed to belong to groupe, 
 
 marked No. 6.) 
 
 13. Fragment of a Female figure, (resembling Victory, 
 
 No. 10.) 
 
 14. Fragment of a Female figure, seated (supposed to 
 
 have been Latona, holding Apollo and Diana 
 in her arms.) 
 
 15. Fragment (supposed to have belonged to a groupe 
 
 of female figures.) 
 
 16. Fragment of the Neck and Arms rising out of the 
 
 sea, called Hyperion or the rising Sun. 
 
 17. Torso of a Male figure with drapery thrown over 
 
 one shoulder. 
 
Appendix to Report, S^c. xxix 
 
 The METOPES. 
 
 B.— 1. A Centaur with a long beard; raising himself for 
 the purpose of striking with a chib a Lapitha, 
 who attacks him. 
 
 2. A Lapitha has overpowered a Centaur, whose hands 
 
 are tied behind his back. 
 
 3. A Centaur, who has thrown down a Lapitha. 
 
 4. A Centaur is carrying off a Woman. 
 
 5. A Centaur has thrown down a Lapitha, who is still 
 
 defending himself, and holding up a shield. 
 
 6. A Lapitha struggling with a Centaur, whom he 
 
 holds by the hair and ear. 
 
 7. A Centaur is nearly overcoming a Lapitha. 
 
 8. A Lapitha seems to be successful against a Centaur. 
 
 9. A Centaur is throwing down a Lapitha, whom he 
 
 holds by the hair. 
 
 10. A Lapitha upon the croup of a Centaur, seizes his 
 
 neck, and endeavours to throw him down. 
 
 11. A Centaur successful against a Lapitha. 
 
 - 12. A Lapitha, with covered legs, appears to be suc- 
 
 cessful against a Centaur, who is retiring, and 
 holds a lion’s skin over his left arm. 
 
 13. Combat between a Centaur and Lapitha quite 
 
 naked. 
 
 14. A Centaur is rearing up; the figure of the Lapitha 
 
 is detached from the marble, but the Torso is 
 adjoining. 
 
 The PRIZE, representing the Procession for celebrating 
 the Panathenaean Festival. 
 
 THE EAST END. 
 
 C. — 1. The Slab which formed the south-east angle; re- 
 presenting a Bull on the south, and a Magistrate 
 or Director of the procession on the east side. 
 
XXX 
 
 Appendix to Report , 8^c. 
 
 2. Fragments of four Male figures moving to their 
 right. 
 
 3 Six Female figures, moving to their right, and 
 holding vases in their bands. 
 
 4, 5. Six Female figures, preceded by two Directors. 
 
 6,7. Eight Figures; the four which are standing sup- 
 posed to be four Directors ; the others are called 
 Castor and Pollux, Ceres and Triptolemus. 
 
 8. Slab, on which are five figures : called respectively, 
 
 beginning from the left. Victory, Minerva* 
 Jupiter, two Canephorae. 
 
 9. Slab, on which are five figures ; i. e. a Priestess, or 
 
 the Archontissa ; a Boy receiving the peplum 
 from the Archon, or one of the Directors; 
 Hygaeia, and Esculapius. 
 
 10. Two Directors. 
 
 11. Five figures corresponding with those marked No 6 
 
 and 7. 
 
 12. Five Females; carrying respectively, a candelabrum, 
 
 vases, and paterae. 
 
 From the NORTH SIDE of the FRJZE. 
 
 D. — 1. Two Scaphephori moving towards the left. 
 
 2. A Female in a car drawn by three horses, with one 
 
 of the Directors. 
 
 3. A Female in a car with two horses, and one of the 
 
 Directors. 
 
 4. A Female in a similar car ; with two Men, one of 
 
 them in armour. 
 
 5. Two Men, in a car drawn by three horses. 
 
 5. Fragment of a Car with two Horses; the point of a 
 
 sceptre appears above the horses. 
 
 6. Eight young Men on horseback, clothed in tunicks, 
 
 which are raised above the knee. 
 
 7 . Four Horses and three Riders. 
 
Appendix to Report y S^c, 
 
 xxxi 
 
 8. Three Horsemen with tunicks and buskins. 
 
 9. Three Horsemen in the same costume. 
 
 10. Three Horsemen ; one of them is naked, the feet of 
 
 the others are uncovered. 
 
 11. Three Horsemen ; one of which is almost eflfaced. 
 
 12. Four Horsemen; two with helmets, the others 
 
 naked. 
 
 13. Four Horsemen with tunicks: The last has a large 
 
 Thessalian hat hung over his shoulders. 
 
 14. North-west Angle of the Prize : — It represents three 
 
 Men and a Boy, on the western side, and one of 
 the Directors on the north side. 
 
 THE WESTERN END. 
 
 E. — 15 A single piece of the Prize, being a continuation 
 
 of the foregoing No. 14 : two Horsemen, the one 
 nearly naked ; the other has a breastplate : both 
 wear buskins. 
 
 SOUTH SIDE. 
 
 F. — 1. A Bull, with three Men, one of whom holds back the 
 
 animal. 
 
 2. Two Bulls and two Men. 
 
 3. Two Bulls and four Men ; one of the men places a 
 
 crown on his head, preparatory to the celebra- 
 tion of the sacrifice. 
 
 4. Two Bulls and four Men. 
 
 5. One Bullandfour Men; oneof whom holds back the 
 
 animal . 
 
 6. A Car with two Horses and four Figures : among 
 
 them is a young Man, whose tunick is drawn 
 up above the knee, and who holds a shield; he 
 appears ready to mount. 
 
 7. A Car with four Horses : in it is a Warrior standing 
 
xxxii 
 
 Appendix to Report, S^c. 
 
 up, with helmet, shield and chlamjde; the 
 other figure is seated, and drives the car. 
 
 8. A Car with two Horses moving in the same direc- 
 
 tion ; two Figures ; of which one, who is 
 getting into the car, holds a large shield. 
 
 9. Fragment of another Car, moving in the same 
 
 direction. 
 
 10. Fragment of a similar subject, 
 ll* Two Horsemen ; one nearly naked, seems to have 
 a Thessalian hat thrown over his shoulders. 
 
 12. Three Horsemen, all clothed intunicks. 
 
 13. Two Horsemen, one with buskins. 
 
 14. One Horseman, with several Horses. 
 
 Detached Parts of the FRIZE of the Celia of the 
 PARTHENON, the exact situations of which are not 
 yet ascertained. 
 
 G. — A. A Quadriga in slow motion ; a Youth in the tunick 
 with a shield, accompanies it; another points 
 behind him, with his arm naked. 
 
 B. Three Horses in quick motion towards the right ; 
 the Riders wear the tunick. 
 
 c. Three Horses ; the Riders are all clothed in tunicks, 
 I). Three Horsemen in armour. 
 
 E. Two Horsemen in tunicks; one has his right hand 
 
 on his horse’s head. 
 
 F. Two Horsemen in' armour : the foremost has an 
 
 helmet ; the other appears, from the holes which 
 are in the Marble, to have had some ornament 
 of metal fixed on the head. 
 
 G. Two Horsemen in tunicks ; part of three Horses, 
 n. Part of three Horses, and three Riders in cuirasses. 
 
 I . Fragment of Horsemen and Horses. 
 
 j. Fragment of four Horses and two Riders. 
 
xxxiit 
 
 Appendix to Report^ 8fc, 
 
 From the TEMPLE of VICTORY. 
 
 H. — 1. Bas-relief, representing a Combat between Greeks 
 and Barbarians. 
 
 2. Another, representing the same subject. 
 
 3. Another, representing the same subject. 
 
 4. Similar Bas-relief, representing a Combat between 
 
 Greeks and Amazons. 
 
 FRAGMENTS of ARCHITECTURE, 
 
 From the PARTHENON, PROPYLJ5A, and other 
 Doric Buildings. 
 
 I. — -1. A Doric Capital from the Parthenon, in two pieces. 
 
 2. One layer of a Doric column, from the same. 
 
 3. Fragments of the Prize of the Parthenon. 
 
 4. Fragments of the Architrave of Ditto. 
 
 5. Doric Capital from the Propyliea. 
 
 6. Part of a Doric Entablature, plain. 
 
 7. Two Tiles from the roof of the Ambulatory of the 
 
 Temple of Theseus. 
 
 From the TEMPLE of ERECTHEUS and adjoining 
 Buildings; also Specimens of Ionic Architecture. 
 
 J. — 1. One of the Caryatides which supported a roof, 
 
 under which the olive-tree sacred to Minerva 
 was supposed to have been preserved. 
 
 2. Part of a Column from the Temple of Erectheus, of 
 
 the Ionic order. 
 
 3. Base of Ditto. 
 
 4. Capital of Ditto. 
 
 5. Detached part of the rich Prize, from the same 
 
 Temple. 
 
 6. Four fragments of ornamented Ionic Entablature. 
 
 7. Three large Ditto. 
 
 8. One small Ditto. 
 
xxxiv 
 
 Jppendix to Report, &;c. 
 
 9. One large Fragment, with inscriptions. 
 
 10. Ditto, Ditto, Ionic Entablature. 
 
 11. Three upper parts of Columns of the Ionic order. 
 J2. Three large pieces of fluted Ionic Shaft. 
 
 IS. One Ditto, short. 
 
 14. Two pieces of small Ionic Shaft, fluted and reeded. 
 
 15. One Capital of Ionic pilaster. 
 
 16. Two Ionic Capitals. 
 
 17. Two parts of Ionic Entablature. 
 
 18. One large Ionic Capital. 
 
 MONUMENTS appertaining to the Worship and the 
 Theatre of BACCHUS. 
 
 K. — 1. A colossal Statue of Bacchus, which was placed 
 
 over the Theatre. 
 
 2. A Sun-dial, from the same. 
 
 S. A complete Series of Casts from the Bas-reliefs on 
 the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. 
 
 4. A Bas-relief with four figures, representing a Bac- 
 chanalian Dance. 
 
 DETACHED HEADS. 
 
 L. — ]. Portrait, larger than nature, with long beard and 
 
 deeply cut eyes, a diadem round the hair ; 
 perhaps Sophocles. 
 
 2. Portrait, somewhat similar to the preceding one. 
 
 3. Fragment of Augustus. 
 
 4. Fragment : the style, times of the Republic. 
 
 5. A bearded Hercules. 
 
 0. Same subject, smaller size. 
 
 7. Bacchus crowned with ivy. 
 
 8. Female Head. 
 
 9. One-half of a Head, without any beard, with long 
 
 hair, in the costume of Alexander, or of the 
 Dioscuri. 
 
XXXV 
 
 Appendix to Report, Src. 
 
 10. Fragment of an old Head, larger than nature. 
 
 11. Fragment of a Head with a beard ; it has a conical 
 
 cap : perhaps Ulysses or Vulcan. 
 
 12. Female Head, smaller than nature: the head-dressof 
 
 one of the Muses. 
 
 13. Female Head, smaller than nature. 
 
 DETACHED PIECES OF SCULPTURE. 
 
 M. 1. Small Figure erect, in the costume of the Muse 
 
 Polymnia : Found at Thebes. 
 
 2. Torso of a Male figure found at Epidauria. 
 
 3. Statue; supposed to be Cupid. 
 
 4. A Choragic Bas-relief on which is represented a 
 
 Temple of Apollo, with two figures. 
 
 5. Bas-relief of a Quadriga, in which is a Female 
 
 figure ; a Victory in air is approaching to crown 
 her. 
 
 6. Female Figure, without a head ; small size. 
 
 7. Figure of a Telesphore, attendant of Esculapius ; 
 
 without a head. 
 
 8. Fragment of a Bas-relief, on which is a young Man, 
 
 who appears to be on a chariot led by Victory. 
 
 9. Fragment of a Boy in alto relievo. 
 
 10. Bas-relief, representing a young Wrestler with his 
 
 Preceptor. 
 
 11. Bas-relief, representing Minerva in armour, and a 
 
 young Athenian. 
 
 12. Fragment of a Bas-relief; a Sacrifice, of which a 
 
 Hog is the victim. 
 
 13. Ditto, in which the victim is a Ram. 
 
 14. Two divinities — Jupiter seated, a Goddess stand- 
 
 ing up. 
 
 15. Two Goddesses taking a young Athenian under 
 
 their protection. 
 
 16. Fragment of a Bas-relief, on which are two young 
 
XXXVl 
 
 Appendix to Report, 
 
 Greeks, one holding an instrument of sacrifice, 
 called by the Romans capeduncula. 
 
 17. Small round Altar : four Female figures sculptured 
 
 on the four sides of it, are dancing, bolding 
 each others hands ; the first seems to be playing 
 on a lyre. 
 
 18. Torso of a Female figure in drapery. 
 
 19. Figure of a Horseman, apparently an ancient imi- 
 
 tation of part of (he Frizeof the Parthenon, in 
 smaller proportions, 
 
 20. Figure of a young Divinity, probably Bacchus, 
 
 taking an Athenian under his protection ; the 
 latter of smaller dimensions. 
 
 SiO b. Minerva, standing up in a kind of small temple. 
 
 21. Figure of Hygeia : she is offering her cup to the 
 
 serpent, which is her symbol; she is holding in 
 her left hand a kind of fan in (he form of leaves 
 of ivy ; her head is covered with the high dress 
 called tutulus. 
 
 22. Bas-relief, on which are represented five Figures : 
 
 in the midst is a Goddess on a kind of throne, 
 the other four are smaller ; three of them are 
 imploring the Goddess on behalf of their chil- 
 dren, whom they carry in their arms ; the fourth 
 is bringing oblations and votive offerings. This 
 bas-relief is from Cape Sigeum near the plain of 
 Troy. 
 
 23. Fragments similar to Nos. 12 and 13. There are 
 
 five figures, of which two are Youths preparing 
 to celebrate a sacrifice: the last of the large 
 figures has a basket on its head. 
 
 24. One small Bas-relief: one sitting, two standing 
 
 figures. 
 
 25. One Female figure sitting (much mutilated.) 
 
 26 . One trunk, with drapery (a young Man.) 
 
Appendix to Report ^ Sfc. 
 
 xxxvii 
 
 27. Two fragments of Grecian ornaments. 
 
 28. One Grecian fragment, with Vase in bas-relief. 
 
 29. One fragment, with two Figures in high relief. 
 
 SO. One Grecian Pilaster, with Corinthian Capital. 
 
 3 1 . F ragraent of a Female. 
 
 32. Fragment of a Female figure enveloped in drapery. 
 
 33. Sundry small fragments. 
 
 34. Egyptian Scarabaeus, brought from Constantinople. 
 
 URNS a. (Marble.) 
 
 1. Solid Urn, withGroupe in bas-relief, superscribed. 
 
 2. Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 3. Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 4. Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 5. Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 6. Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 7. Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 8. Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 9. One Ditto Ditto ornamented Sepulchral Urn. 
 
 10. Small fragment of a Vase, with figures. 
 
 11. Spherical Sepulchral Urn, broken in pieces. 
 
 N. B. — This contained the Bronze Urn (No. 12.) 
 
 URNS b. (Bronze.) 
 
 12. Richly wrought Urn, from the tomb called of 
 
 Aspasia,” in the plain of Attica. 
 
 13. Two bronze Urns, of rude shape and workmanship. 
 
 URNS c. (Earthen.) 
 
 14. Some hundreds of large and small earthenware 
 
 Urns or Vases, discovered in digging in the 
 ancient Sepulchres round Athens : none of great 
 beauty, or richly ornamented. 
 
xxxviii Appendix to Report, Sfc, 
 
 ALTARS. 
 
 O. — 1, Altar, with female Figure and Child. 
 
 S. Smaller Altar, with figures and inscription. 
 
 3. Fragment of a small Bacchanalian Altar; on one 
 
 side is a Bacchante, on the other a Fawn. 
 
 4. Small Altar, with inscription and figures. 
 
 5. Ditto. 
 
 6. Ditto. 
 
 7. Ditto. 
 
 8. Ditto. 
 
 CIPPI, or SEPULCHRAL PILLARS. 
 
 — 1* One large Sepulchral Pillar, with inscriptions. 
 
 2. One smaller Ditto Ditto Ditto. 
 
 3. One small Sepulchral Pillar. 
 
 4. One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 5. One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 6. One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 7. One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 8. One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 0‘ One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 10. One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 11. One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 12. One Ditto 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 1 3. Three fragments, with circular Pedestalsand Festoons. 
 CASTS. 
 
 Q — 1. Eighteen Casts, from the Prize of the Celia of the 
 Parthenon. 
 
 2. Twenty-four Ditto from the Prize and Metopes of 
 
 the Temple of Theseus. 
 
 3. Twelve Ditto from the Choragic Monument of 
 
 Ljsicrates — (mentioned above.) 
 
 4. One Cast from the great Sarcophagus in the cathedral 
 
 church at Girgenti in Sicily# 
 
 [Also the MOULDS of the above. J 
 
Jppendix to Reporty <^c. 
 
 XX XIX 
 
 GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 
 
 R. — 1. Epitaph in four lines, on two brothers, Diotrephes 
 and Demophon. 
 
 2. Sepulchral Column of Thalia. 
 
 3. Ditto of Theodotus. 
 
 4. Ditto of Socrates. 
 
 5. Ditto of Menestratus. 
 
 6. Votive Inscription of certain Sailors. 
 
 7. Sepulchral Column of an Athenian. 
 
 8. Fragment. 
 
 9. Decree of the People of Athens in favour of 
 
 Isacharas. 
 
 10. Votive Inscription of Antisthenes. 
 
 11. Votive Inscription ofPolyllus. 
 
 12. Sepulchral Column of Anaxicrates. 
 
 13. Votive Inscription of a Woman. 
 
 14. Agonistic Inscription. 
 
 15. Fragment of Sepulchral Inscription. 
 
 16. Choragic Inscription in the Doric dialect. 
 
 17. Epitaph in Verse, in two parts. Vide No. 34. 
 
 18. Votive Monument to Mercury and Hercules. 
 
 19. Sepulchral Stele ofHieroclea. 
 
 20. Ditto of Callis. 
 
 21. Ditto of Callimachus. 
 
 22. Fragment of a Decree, probably an ancient Treaty 
 
 between Athens and some other People. 
 
 23. Catalogue of Athenians who died in battle in the 
 
 year 424 B. C. 
 
 24. Epitaph on Plutarchus. 
 
 25. Fragment of a Decree. 
 
 26. Ditto from Tenos. 
 
 27. Fragment of a Stele of Euphrosynus. 
 
 28. Ditto of a Sepulchral St^le of Musonia. 
 
 29. Fragment of an Epitaph in honour of Briseis. 
 
xl Appendix io Report, S^c. 
 
 SO. Fragment of an Address to Hadrian. 
 
 31. Ditto of a Decree of the People of Athens* 
 
 S2. Decree of the general Council of Baeolia. 
 
 33. Inscription of the Gymnasiarch Gorgias. 
 
 S4. The other part of No. 17. 
 
 35. Catalogue of the Public and Sacred Treasures at 
 
 Athens. 
 
 36. Ditto of Ditto 
 
 37. Ditto of Ditto. 
 
 38. Ditto of Ditto. 
 
 39. Fragment of a Treaty between Athens and Rhegium. 
 
 40. Ditto of a Column which supported the Statue of 
 
 Pison. 
 
 4], Antient Sepulchral Inscription. 
 
 42, 43. Catalogue of precious objects in the Opistho- 
 doraus. 
 
 44. Treaty between Erchomenos and Elataea. 
 
 45. Similar to Nos. 4§, 43. 
 
 46. Similar to the preceding. 
 
 47. Fragment of a Decree. 
 
 48. Ditto of a Decree from Corinth. 
 
 49. Ditto with the name of Hiera Pytna. 
 
 50. Catalogue of Public Treasures, more recent than 
 
 Nos. 42, 43, &c. 
 
 51. Decree in honour of Bacchus and Antoninus Pius. 
 
 52. Sepulchral StSle, with the names of Hippocrates 
 
 . and Baucis. 
 
 53. Sigsean Inscription, commonly called the Boustro- 
 
 phedon. 
 
 54. Sepulchral Inscription on an Entablature. 
 
 55. Sepulchral Column of Biotius. 
 
 56. Ditto - - - - ofThysta. 
 
 57. Ditto - - - - ofThrason. 
 
 58. St^le of Asclepiodorus. 
 
 59. Sepulchral Column of Aristides. 
 
Jppendix to Report, Sfc. xli 
 
 60. Eleven votive Inscriptions consecrated to Jupiter 
 Hypsistos, bearing respectively the names of 
 Claudia Prepoiisa, Evhodus, Paederos, Phile- 
 matium, Onesime, Isias, Eutychis, Olympiiis, 
 Tertia, Syntrophus. 
 
 61. Fragment of a Decree between Athens and some 
 
 other People. 
 
 62. Sepulchral Column of Botrichus. 
 
 63. Public Act of Athens respecting the Roads. 
 
 64. Epitaph in twelve elegiac verses, in honour of 
 
 those Athenians who were killed at the Siege of 
 Potidaea in the year 432 B. C. 
 
 65. Sepulchral Stele in honour of Aristocles. 
 
 66. Ditto in honour of Aphrodisias of Salamis, 
 
 FOR a Description of the preceding Inscriptions, reference 
 is given to the printed Catalogue drawn up by Mons. 
 Visconti ; the numbers of which are here preserved. 
 
 DRAWINGS. 
 
 S. — 1. Plans and Elevations of the Temples of Minerva and 
 Theseus at Athens. 
 
 2. Architectural details of the Temples of Minerva and 
 
 Theseus; of Minerva at Sunium; Plan of the 
 Pnyx ; Plans and Drawings of the Theatre of 
 Bacchus. 
 
 3. Drawings of the Sculpture on the Temples of 
 
 Minerva and Theseus; on the Temple of Victory ; 
 on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. 
 
 4. Ground-plan of Athens, marking the Walls, and the 
 
 site of the existing Ruins : Drawings of the Tower 
 f 
 
xlii 
 
 Appendix to Report, S^c. 
 
 of Andronicus Cyrrhestes; of the Propylaea; of 
 the triple Temple, of Minerva Polias, Erectheus 
 and Pandrosus. 
 
 5. A series of Drawings and Plans of ancient Remains in 
 many parts of Greece, taken in the year 1802. 
 
 ADDENDA: 
 
 One Lyre in Cedar wood ; and, 
 
 Two Flutes of the same material ; found during the exca- 
 vations among the Tombs in the neighbourhood of 
 Athens. 
 
INDEX 
 
 N.B. The Theseus and Hercules are used in the Evi- 
 dence and the Index with reference to the same statue, 
 which was at first called Theseus ; and the appella- 
 tion of Ilissus or the River God is also given 
 indifferently to another statue, which was sometimes 
 called Neptune. 
 
 Aberdeen, Earl of, his opinion respecting the Elgin Marbles, 7, 
 — valuation of them, 13, 120. — His Lordship’s evidence before 
 the Committee, 117. — at Athens in 1803.— a considerable part 
 of the Elgin'Marbles then removed. — the inhabitants of Athens 
 indifferent about their removal — state of the Western Pediment 
 at the above period, 1 17.—no apparent difference between the 
 head or figure called Hadrian, and the rest of the work of 
 that pediment, 118. — the best of the Elgin Marbles of the high- 
 est class of art — unquestionably of the age to which they are 
 usually attributed — the Metopes necessarily of the same age, 118. 
 — the Marbles in great danger, previous to their removal, and 
 why. — the draped Female Figures of the first class of art — the 
 best of the Elgin Bas-reliefs equal or superior to those of the 
 Townley collection, as works of art, 119. — ^the sculpture from 
 the Parthenon extremely valuable — the Greek inscriptions 
 valuable in a national point of view-r-value of the Elgin col- 
 lection 35,000i. — data on which that value is given, 120. a 
 
 much higher sum would probably be offered by some of the 
 sovereigns of Europe— the collection of importance both as 
 objects of art and of antiquity, 121. — no private individual 
 could have accomplished their removal — (unsuccessful attempt 
 of Lord A. to explore some of the barrows in the Plain of 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Troy, 122.) — None of the sculptures the work of Phidias, but 
 executed under his direction, 125.— no undoubted work of 
 Phidias extant.— The Phygalian Marbles of the same scale of 
 excellence as Lord Elgin’s, but less interesting, 126. — the 
 workmanship inferior to the best of the Elgin— of much less 
 value than the Elgin — the style of work much the same, 127. 
 
 ^gina Marbles sold to the Prince Royal of Bavaria, 14.— valu- 
 able only for their antiquity, 15. — account of their discovery 
 and sale, 62, 63.— prove that the ancients painted and gilded 
 their statues, 134.— not valuable as models for art— of the age 
 of Etruscan art. detail of circumstances respecting their 
 lemoval from Athens, 135.— few specimens of that art in 
 Greece, 135. — sum offered for them, 136. 
 
 Agelades, a sculptor in the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Agoracritus of Paros, one of Phidias’s most celebrated scholars ; 
 his name inscribed on the statue of the Rhamnusian Nemesis, 
 19. 
 
 Alcamenes of Athens, one of the most celebrated of Phidias’s 
 scholars, 19. 
 
 Apollo Belvidere, comparative excellence of that statue with 
 some of the finest of the Elgin Marbles, 8, 67, 72, 81, 85, 
 87, 90, 93, 101, 137, 151. — a copy from bronze, 72, 73. 
 
 Apollo Alexicacos, a bronze statue of, at Athens, by Calamis, the 
 original of the Belvidere Apollo, 73. 
 
 Aristotle cited, 19. 
 
 Aristophanes cited, 18. 
 
 BaJ^kes, Henry, Esq. Chairman of the Select Committee, 31 . 
 
 Letter to him from Lord Elgin, App. xxvii. 
 
 Barbarini Faun, statue of, bought for the Prince Royal of 
 Bavaiia, but prevented leaving Rome, 139.— inferior to the 
 Theseus and Ilissus, 139, 140. 
 
 Barrows in the Plain of Troy, unsuccessful attempt of the Earl 
 of Aberdeen to explore some of them, 122. 
 
 Barry, M. his works, noticed, 25. 
 
 Bas-relief of Bacchus and Icarus in the Townley collection, very 
 inferior to the Elgin Bas-reliefs, 80. 
 
 Bas-reliefs in Lord Elgin's collection, (sec Frieze and Metopes.) 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Bavaria, Prince Royal of, purchases the ^gina Marbles, 62. — 
 and the statue called the Barbarini Faun, 139. 
 
 Bickerton', Sir R. requested to take part of Lord Elgin’s Mar- 
 bles to England, 55. 
 
 British army, its victories in Egypt productive of a great change 
 in the conduct of the Turks, 3, 40. 
 
 Bronzes, Mr. Knight’s collection of, of the first class, 152. 
 
 Calamis, the worker of the bronze statue, of Apollo Alexicacos 
 at Athens, 73. 
 
 Callicrates executes the work of the Parthenon, in conjunction 
 with Ictinus, 17. 
 
 Gallon, a sculptor in the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Canova, Chev.his opinion of the Theseus and Neptune, 80. — his 
 letter to Lord Elgin, App. xxiii. 
 
 Carpion, the author of a book describing the Parthenon, 23. 
 
 Casts and moulds, list of, in Lord Elgin’s collection, App. xxxviii. 
 
 Catalogue of Lord Elgin’s collection of Marbles, &c. &c., App. 
 xxviii. 
 
 Catulus carries some of Phidias’s works to Rome, 19. 
 
 Critias, a rival of Phidias, mentioned, 20. 
 
 Chauntry, Francis, Esq. his evidence before the Committee, 
 84. — places the Elgin Marbles in the first class of art, 84. — the 
 Theseus and the River God in a style of art different fi'om 
 the Apollo Belvidere— the Bas-relief of the first class of art ; in 
 a style different from the Alto-relievo — of the same age, 85. — 
 the draped Female Figures of the first class of art under certain 
 considerations ; — effect, the principal aim in all the works in the 
 collection — their relative excellence to the Townley Marbles 
 — the Phygalian Marbles inferior in design and execution to 
 the Elgin Marbles — the Monte Cavallo figures much in the 
 same style as the Theseus, 86. — the Elgin Marbles objects of 
 the first consideration in a national point of view, 87. 
 
 Choiseul, {see Gouffier.) 
 
 Christ in the Temple, and Christ Rejected, two paintings by Mr. 
 West, referred to by him for evidence whether he has profited 
 by the study of the Elgin Marbles, 1 52. 
 
 Cippi, list of, in Lord Elgin’s collection, App. xxxviii. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Gogkebell, Mr., one of the discoverers of the Phygalian and 
 .^gina Marbles, 58, 62. — sends to England drawings of some 
 of the former, 59. — his liberal offer in regard to the latter, 136. 
 
 Coins in Lord Elgin’s collection — an enumeration of the most 
 rare and valuable, 115, 116. 
 
 Colotes, a scholar of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Committee, Select, Report of, on the Earl of Elgin's Marbles, 1. 
 its opinions on the excellence and value of the collection, 
 10-16. — its observations on the age and authenticity of the 
 Marbles, 17 et seqq. 
 
 Combe, Taylor, Esq. sent to Malta to purchase the ^Egina 
 Marbles, 62. — His evidence before the Committee respecting 
 the Medals, 115. — their number, metal, and value — several of 
 them of excellent workmanship — many of them valuable for 
 their rarity, 115. — about one-third of the collection would form 
 duplicates of those already in the British Museum— of these 
 some are better, others worse — few of the gold coins would be 
 duplicates — value of the gold Daric and gold Athenian — the 
 collection would form a valuable addition to that of the 
 Museum, and how — the Museum collection of Greek Medals 
 very valuable, 116. — inferior to the French and Vienna col- 
 lections, and that of Mr. P. Knight ; but superior to Dr. W. 
 Hunter’s, 116, 117. 
 
 Day, Alexander, Esq. his evidence before the Committee, 136. — 
 knows nothing superior to the best of the Elgin Marbles, 136. 
 — the Theseus and the Ilissus of the highest class — superior to 
 the Apollo Belvidere, Torso, and the Laocoon, and why — appa- 
 rently by the same hand as the Monte Cavallo figures — the 
 Monte Cavallo horses of the same age and class as the Centaurs 
 in the Metopes, 137- — detail of circumstances relative to the 
 purchase of the Barbarini Faun — that statue inferior to those 
 in the Elgin collection — very inferior to the Theseus, 139 — 
 and the Ilissus, 140. 
 
 Dilettanti Society, the singular declaration of one of its members 
 respecting Lord Elgin’s Marbles induced his Lordship to lay 
 them open to public inspection, Jpp. v. — citation respecting 
 the Marbles from one of the publications of the Society, App. vi. 
 
 Dion Cassius cited, 24, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Discobolus, statue of the, sum given for it by Mr, Townley, 95. 
 
 Drawings, list of, in Lord Elgin’s collection, App. xli. 
 
 Eipyx^ero, that word never employed by any great sculptor to 
 express his share in any work of art, 101. 
 
 Elgin, Earl of, artists engaged by him, and sent to Athens, 2. — 
 obtains permission for them to draw model, &c. there, 3.— his 
 propositions to Government, previous to his departure for 
 Turkey, 5. — his evidence before the Select Committee, 31- 
 54.— detail of circumstances under which he procured the 
 Marbles, 32, et seqq. — permissions granted by the Porte, 34-37. 
 — channel through which they were obtained, 56. — removes the 
 Marbles to rescue them from destruction, 40. — inditference of 
 the Turks respecting them— their removal known to the Turk- 
 ish Government, 42, 43. — character under which he obtained 
 permission to remove the Marbles, 47- — reasons for declining 
 
 Mr. Perceval’s offers for the purchase of the collection, 52. 
 
 offers it to the British Museum in deposit, 53. — Letter to 
 Mr. Vansittart, relative to the Marbles, and their transfer to 
 the public, App. ii. — Memorandum, respecting his Lordship’s 
 exclusive right in the Marbles, iii. — Memorandum as to the 
 delay in transferring them to the public, v. — Copy of a letter 
 from his Lordship to Mr. Long relative to the acquisition of 
 the Collection, its contents, and expenses incurred, vii. — Letter 
 from his Lordship to Mr. Bankes, containing a detail of ex- 
 penses incurred in obtaining the Marbles, xvii. 
 
 Elidas, the Argive, Phidias’s master, 19. 
 
 Ejroiu, why inscribed on their works by ancient sculptors, 101. 
 
 Etruscan Art, the Mginai Marbles of that class, 135. — few speci- 
 mens of it in Greece, ib. 
 
 Eaun, statue of. (See Barbarini.) 
 
 Fauyel, M. his notes on the engravings from the Marquis de 
 Nointel’s drawings, 26. — detains some of M. Choiseul’s Mar- 
 bles for the French Republic, 131. 
 
 Fazakerley, John Nicholas, Esq. M. P. his evidence before the 
 Committee, 133. — at Athens in 1810-11 — the Marbles at 
 Athens in danger chiefly from travellers — the ^gina Marbles 
 
more curious than valuable — confirm the fact that the ancients 
 painted and gilded their statues, 134. — of little value as models 
 for art — of the age of Etruscan art — detail of circumstances 
 respecting their removal from Athens, 135.— endeavours to 
 purchase them for the British Museum, 136. 
 
 Feast of Icarus, bas-relief of, sum paid for it by Mr. Townley, 95. 
 
 Fermauns, nature of those granted to Lord Elgin, 4, 50. — trans- 
 lation of one from the Caimaican Pasha to the Cadi, and to 
 the Vaivode of Athens, granting Lord Elgin permission to 
 remove marbles, excavate, &c. &c. App. xxiv. 
 
 Flaxman, John, Esq. R. A. — his evidence before the Committee, 
 70.— has drawn from the Elgin Marbles; thinks them the 
 finest works of art he has seen ; believes them the work of 
 Phidias and his scholars' — superior to almost any works of art 
 except the Laocoon and Toro Farnese, 71. — the Theseus 
 superior to the Torso Belvidere, but not to the Apollo Belvi- 
 dere, and why, 72. — thinks the Apollo Belvidere a copy from 
 bronze, and why, 72, 73.— the acquisition of the Elgin Mar- 
 bles an object of great importance to the arts, 74. — the 
 Metopes preferable to the Frieze.— thinks them of the age of 
 Phidias, and why, 75. — different hands employed on them, 
 77.~superior to the Phygalian Marbles, 78. — the Elgin 
 Marbles more valuable than the Townley collection. — does not 
 esteem highly the draped fragments, except the Iris and 
 Victory — reasons for it, 77> 78. — -the Ilissus inferior to the 
 Theseus, SO. — the Townley bas-relief of Bacchus and Icarus 
 very inferior to the Elgin Bas-reliefs, 80. 
 
 Fine Arts, the, contribute to the reputation and dignity of every 
 government, 26, 27. 
 
 Foster, Mr. one of the discoverers of the jiEgina Marbles, his 
 liberal offer regarding them, 136. 
 
 French, their continued endeavours to obtain the sculptures of 
 the Parthenon, &c. 124. 
 
 Frieze, the, different opinions as to its age and merit, 75, 80, 
 81, 83, 85, 88, 91, 95, 99, 112, 113, 119, 151. 
 
 Guilletiere, his account of Athens cited, 23. 
 
 Gorgias, a sculptor in the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Gouffier, M. Choiseul, removes some sculptures from Athens, 7, 
 44, — a part of these captured by the English, and bought 
 by Lord Elgin, 45, — had permission to remove marbles from 
 Athens, 47. — his plan the same as Lord Elgin’s, App. iii. 
 
 Hadrian, conjectures respecting his statue in the West pediment 
 of the Parthenon, 24, 5, 6.— his works at Athens noticed, 24. 
 — his statue placed in the temple of Olympian Jupiter, 25.— 
 did not repair the Parthenon, ib. 
 
 Hadrianopolis, a part of Athens so named by Hadrian, 25. 
 
 Hamilton, W. Esq. engages artists at Rome forLord Elgin, 2.— 
 his valuation of the Elgin Marbles, 13, 6.5. — his evidence before 
 the Committee, 54.- — character under which Lord Elgin ob- 
 tained the marbles, 55. — at Athens during their removal, 56. 
 — degree of degradation and destruction of the marbles since 
 1678 : 57, 8. — account of the discovery, sale, and value of the 
 Phygalia Marbles, 58, 9.— of the ^gina Marbles, 62, 3.— list 
 of articles added to the Elgin collection since 1812, 63-6. 
 
 Hardwicks, Lord, recommends the purchase of the ^gina 
 Marbles, 62. 
 
 Harrison, Mr. suggests to Lord Elgin the idea of removing the 
 marbles from Athens, 31.— Letter to him from C.Townley, 
 Esq. App. xxii. 
 
 Hercules, statue of. See Theseus. 
 
 Hercules, statue of, in Lord Lansdowne’s collection^ sum paid 
 for it, 95. — one of the finest statues in the world, 114. 
 
 Hippias, said to be the master of Phidias, 19. 
 
 Hippocrates cited, 75. 
 
 Howard, Mrs., monument of, by Mr. Nollekms, the best thing 
 ever done in this country, 104. 
 
 Hunt, Dr. Philip, LL.D., his opinion respecting the Elgin 
 Marbles, 7. — his evidence before the Committee, 140.— 
 nature of the Fermauns granted to Lord Elgin by the Porte, 
 140 . — substance of the second one, 141. — Dr. H.’s proceed- 
 ings at Athens, 142.— little opposition to Lord Elgin’s proceed- 
 ings. — none but an ambassador could have obtained a Fermaun 
 of such extensive powers, 144. — granted as a mark' of per- 
 sonal respect to Lord E. — and of gratitude for our successful 
 
 S 
 
INDEX. 
 
 efforts in Egypt, 145.— has no knowledge of Lord Elgin’s ex- 
 penses. —objects of Lord E.’s research in Greece, 147. 
 
 Ictinus, united with Callicrates in building the Parthenon, 17. — 
 builds the temple of Apollo at Phygalia, 17, 18. — composes a 
 description of the Parthenon in conjunction with Carpion, 23. 
 
 Ilissus, statue of, its comparative excellence with other statues, 
 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 93, 100, 137, 150, 151. 
 
 Insci iptions, Greek, in Lord Elgin’s collection, highly interest- 
 ing, and of great importance in a national point of view, 1 20. 
 —list of, App. xxxix. 
 
 Jupiter, statue of, at Elis, the most celebrated work of Phidias, 
 18. 
 
 Knight, R. P. Esq., his opinion of the Elgin Marbles, 10. — 
 his estimation of their value, 15. — his evidence before the 
 Committee, 92. — the Elgin Marbles very unequal — the finest 
 in the second rank of art— do not rank with the Laocoon and 
 Apollo, &G.— those from the Parthenon executed by Callicrates 
 and Ictinus, and their scholars— some added in the time of 
 Hadrian the River God of the age of Callicrates ; the finest 
 in the collection— the Theseus probably of the age of Hadrian 
 —most of the draped Female Figures added by Hadrian — of 
 little value divested of their local interest— the best of the 
 Metopes of the first class of high relief — some of them very 
 poor— most of them of the age of the building— half of them 
 of the first class, 93.— the Frieze of the first class of low relief 
 —nothing finer — co-eval with the building of the temple, 94. 
 —valuation of the Elgin Marbles, 95, 96.— data on which that 
 valuation is made, 94, 95 — the Townley Venus, or the Lans- 
 downe Mercury worth any two articles in the Elgin Collec- 
 tion, 95.— the medals would sell in England for the sum put 
 upon them.— reasons for thinking great part of the marbles of 
 the time of Hadrian— authority of Spon and Wheler— has 
 seen, but does not recollect, Nointel’s drawings of the pedi- 
 ments — Spon and Wheler’s observations very incorrect — had 
 not consulted them lately, 97.— has never examined into their 
 mistake respecting the subjects of the two pediments— does 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Slot recollect that Stuart proves the fact. — the Theseus inferior 
 to the Belvidere Torso, which is a copy of Lysippus s Her- 
 cules, 98. — valued the Lausdowne Marbles — sculpture of the 
 Bacchus and Icarus inferior to the Elgin Frieze— the Phygalia 
 Marbles next in merit to the Elgin Metopes— worth more 
 than the Metopes, 99. — of superior value foot for foot than the 
 Metopes— not equal to the best, but very superior to the worst 
 of the Metopes— the Elgin collection would not sell for much 
 in this country — loss of surface has materially injured them, 
 as models to artists — the finish of the River God the effect of 
 polishing, therefore of a second rate to the Laocoon and those 
 originals which bear the marks of the chisel, 100 — these not 
 visible on the Venus de Medicis, nor Apollo Belvidere the 
 latter a copy from brass — Phidias, on the authority of Plutarch, 
 did not execute the works of the l^arthenon— the work of 
 Jctinixs and Callicrates, on the same authority.— Modes in which 
 the ancient sculptors inscribed their works, 101^' Phidias 
 superintended the works of the Parthenon — the River God 
 inferior in value to the Torso Belvidere — superior to the 
 Theseus — the latter considerably inferior to the Torso, 102, 
 the Elgin Marbles only valuable as forming a school of art — 
 would not sell as furniture — Lord Elgin entitled to the grati- 
 tude of his country for removing them, and ought to receive a 
 remuneration beyond their estimated value, 103. Messrs, 
 Nollekins, Westmacott, and Flaxman, good and competent 
 judges of ancient works of art.— No improvement in the art of 
 sculpture since the arrival of the Elgin Marbles — Mr. Nolle- 
 kins’s monument of Mrs. Howard the best thing ever done in 
 this country““the Elgin statues and friezes calculated to be 
 seen from particular situations, 104, 
 
 Knight, Mr. Galley, endeavours to purchase the .^gina Mar- 
 bles for the British Museum, 136. 
 
 Lacon, a sculptor in the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Laocoon, that groupe compared with some of the finest of the 
 Elgin Marbles, 8, 71 , 87, 93, 100, 137, 151. 
 
 Lawrence, Sir Thomas, Knt. R. A. his evidence before the 
 Committee, 89. — the Elgin Marbles in the highest class of 
 
INDEX. 
 
 art’ will be of essential benefit to the arts — present examples 
 of a higher style of sculpture than the great works of Italy, 
 89.’— some of them of a higher class than the Apollo Eelvidere, 
 and why — superior to the Townley Collection both in value 
 and as forming a school of art — the designs of the Phygalian 
 Marbles equal to the Elgin, but interior in execution — nearly 
 
 . of the same age, 90. —some of the Metopes equally valuable as 
 the Frieze — of the same age — comparison of the Theseus and 
 Torso Belvidere— the Lansdowne Hercules inferior to the 
 Theseus or Neptune, 91. — and why, 92. 
 
 Lee, Mr., one of the discoverers of the Phygalian Marbles, offers 
 to purchase them, 61, 
 
 Letter from Lord Elgin to the Rt. Hon. N. Vansittart respect- 
 ing the transfer of the Marbles to the public, App. i. 
 
 Letter from Lord Elgin to the Rt. Hon. C, Long, relative to 
 the acquisition of his Collection, its contents, and expenses 
 incurred, vii. 
 
 Letter from Lord Elgin to H. Bankes, Esq. relative to his Lord- 
 ship’s expenses in forming his Collection, xvii. 
 
 Letter from Charles Townley, Esq. to Mr. Harrison respecting 
 Lord Elgin’s pursuits in Greece, xxii. 
 
 Letter, translation of, from Canova to Lord Elgin, on the excel- 
 lence of the Marbles, xxiii. 
 
 Long, Rt. Hon. C., M. P. communicates Mr. Perceval’s proposals 
 to Lord Elgin, 16. — his evidence before the Committee, 54. — 
 letter to, from Lord Elgin, App. vii. 
 
 Lusieri, Signor, sent to Athens by Lord Elgin, 2. — his valuation 
 of the .lEgina Marbles, 14, 136. — his magazines at Athens 
 broken open and plundered by the French, 46. 
 
 Lysippus, the Belvidere Torso a copy of his Hercules, 98. 
 
 Marbles, Earl of Elgin’s, their excellence, as compared with 
 other celebrated sculptures, 8, 14.’— fitted for the promotion 
 of the Fine Arts, 8, 9. — sums expended by Lord Elgin in 
 obtaining them, 12, 13.— valuations of them, 13. (see Elgin,) 
 
 Marbles, Phygalian, purchased for the British Museum, 15. (see 
 Phygalia). 
 
 Marbles, iEgina, sold to the Prince Royal of Bavaria, 14. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Lueieri’s valuation of them, 14.— valuable only for their anti- 
 quity, 15. (see jiEgina). 
 
 Medals collected by Lord Elgin, Mr. Combe’s evidence respect- 
 ing them : — 880 in number, 115. — see Coins. 
 
 Mercury, statue of, sum paid for it by Lord Lansdowne, 95. 
 
 Metopes, different opinions respecting their age and excellence, 
 75, 77, 81, 8b, 87, 91, 93, 99, 100, 112, 118, 150, 151. 
 
 Memorandum as to Lord Elgin’s exclusive right of property in 
 the Collection of Marbles, App. iii. — as to the delay in transfer- 
 ing the Collection to the public. App. v. 
 
 Mentor, the, some details respecting the wreck of that vesssel off 
 Cerigo, and the recovery of her cargo by divers, App. xviii. 
 
 Minerva, statue of, in ivory and gold, by Phidias, 18. 
 
 Monte Cavallo figures compared with the Theseus and Ilissus, 
 82, 86, 137. 
 
 Monument of Mrs. Howard, by Nollekins, Mr. P. Knight’s 
 opinion of it, 104. 
 
 Morritt, John Bacon Sawret, Esq. — his evidence before the 
 Committee, 128.— at Athens in 1795. — state of the Parthenon 
 then, 128. — the removing of marbles then prevented by the 
 Turks, 129. — his unsuccessful endeavours in that respect, 130. 
 — Greeks averse to the removal of Marbles — circumstances 
 relative to M. Choiseul’s Marbles, 131.— many of the Elgin 
 Marbles in the first class of art — of great importance to the 
 arts — their value greatly reduced by their corroded surface- 
 state of the pediments in 1795, 133. 
 
 Myron, a sculptor of the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Nemesis, Rhamnusian, statue of, by Phidias, 19. 
 
 Neptune, statue of, (see Ilissus), 
 
 Nestocles, a rival of Phidias, mentioned, 2.0. 
 
 Nollexins, Joseph, Esq. R. A. his evidence before the Com- 
 mittee, 67. — ^thinks the Elgin marbles the finest things in this 
 country — equal to the finest of Italy — the Theseus equal to the 
 Apollo Belvidere— more valuable than the Townley marbles, 
 for beauty, 67, 68. — perfectly useful to artists in their present 
 state, 69. — the Phygalian marbles inferior to Lord Elgin’s, 69. 
 — cannot value the latter, 70. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 No INTEL, Marquis de, drawings of the tympans of the Par- 
 thenon made by his order, 25. — copies of them published, by 
 M. Barry, ib. 
 
 North, Mr. Frederick, brings to England drawings of the 
 Phygalian marbles, 59. 
 
 Pacchetti, Sig. the restorer of the Barbarini Faun, 140. 
 
 Paintings, two by Mr. West, (see Christ.) 
 
 Parthenon, descriptions of the sculptures in its two tympans, 20 
 — 24. — greatly injured by the Venetians, 25. — Catalogue of 
 sculptures, &c. from thence in Lord Elgin’s collection, App. 
 xviii. 
 
 Paulus .(Emilius, brings some of Phidias’s w'orks to Rome, 19. 
 
 Pausanias cited, 17, 20, 25. 
 
 Perceval, Mr. proposes to purchase Lord Elgin’s collection, 15. 
 
 Perelius, a sculptor of the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Pericles, appoints Phidias to superintend the great Works at 
 Athens, 17- 
 
 Phidias, superintended the great works begun by Pericles, 17. — 
 his principal works, 18, 19. — withdraws to Elis, ib. — his death 
 differently related, ib. — some of his works carried to Rome, 19. 
 his master, 19. — his scholars, ib. 
 
 Phragmon, a sculptor of the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Phygalia, marbles discovered there, sold to the British Museum, 
 15. — Temple of Apollo there, built by Ictinus, 17. — proper 
 pronunciation of the name Phygalia, 17. 
 
 Phygalian marbles, inferior in excellence to those of Lord Elgin* 
 18. — memorandum by Mr. Hamilton respecting their pur- 
 chase, 58, etseqq. — their comparative excellence with the Elgin 
 Marbles, 70, 78, 83, 86, 88, 90, 99, 126, 153. 
 
 Pdlars, sepulchral. See Cippi. 
 
 Pliny, cited, 18, 19, 101. 
 
 Plutarch, cited, 17, 18, 93, 101. 
 
 Polycletus, a sculptor of the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Praxiteles, his statue of Venus Cnidus noticed, 74. — the Venus 
 de Medicis a copy of a Venus by him, 101. 
 
 Prince Regent anxious for the purchase of the Phygalian 
 marbles, 6. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Propylaea, list of pieces of architecture removed thence, in Lord 
 Elgin’s Collection, App. xxxiii. 
 
 Pythagoras, a sculptor of the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Quintillian, cited, 19. 
 
 Raphael, has imitated the energy of the groupes in the Frieze of 
 the Parthenon in two of his compositions, 151. 
 
 Report of the Select Committee on the Earl of Elgin’s Marbles, 1 
 
 Rhianus, a poet of Crete, mentioned, 17- 
 
 River God, statue of, (see llissus). 
 
 Rossi, Charles, Esq. R. A. his evidence before the Committee, 87. 
 — the Elgin Marbles the finest he has ever seen — the Theseus, 
 the River God, and the Torsos superior to the Apollo Belvidere 
 and Laocoon — the Metopes not so fine as the rest of the Bas- 
 reliefs, but of the same age, 87- — the Frieze of the Procession 
 in the highest class of art, 88. — the draped Female Figures in 
 the very first class of art, 88. — the Phygalian Marbles inferior 
 to the Elgin — the latter the finest collection in the world, and 
 of great consequence to the progress of art — Canova’s opinion 
 of them, 88, 
 
 Sculptors, celebrated, living in the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Scopas, a sculptor of the age of Phidias, 20. 
 
 Sculpture made great progress in the age of Phidias, 78. 
 
 Sculptors, ancient, modes of inscribing their works, 101.. 
 
 Spartian cited, 24. 
 
 Spon, his account of the sculptures of the Parthenon, 20—22, 24. 
 his observations very incorrect, 97* 
 
 Stephanus Byzantinus cited, 17- 
 
 Stuart’s Athens, cited, 24. 
 
 Suidas, cited, 19. 
 
 Temple of Erectheus, list of pieces of architecture removed 
 from thence, in Lord Elgin’s collection, App. xxxiii. 
 
 Temple of Victory, catalogue of sculptures removed from it in 
 Lord Elgin’s collection, App. xxxiii. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Theatre of Bacchus, list of pieces from thence in Lord Elgin’s 
 collection, ^pp. xxxiv. 
 
 Theseus, st atue of, its comparative excellence, with other statues, 
 67, 68, 7% 80, 81, 82, 85, 87, 91-93, 98, 102, 139, 150, 151, 
 153. 
 
 Torlonia, a banker at Rome, endeavours to purchase the statue 
 called the Barbarini Faun, 139. 
 
 Toro Farnese, 71, 
 
 Torso of the Belvidcre, compared with some of the finest 
 of the Elgin Marbles, 8, 71, 98, 100, 102, 137, 151. 
 
 Townley, Chahles, Esq. Letter from him to Mr. Harrison 
 respecting Lord Elgin’s pursuits in Greece, ^pp. xxii. 
 
 Townley Collection, comparative value, with that of Lord 
 Elgin, 14, 67, 68, 78, 82, 86, 90, 95, 114, 119. 
 
 Troy, Plain of, unsuccessful attempt of Lord Aberdeen to explore 
 some of the barrows there, 122. 
 
 Trustees of the British Museum, send Mr. Combe to Malta to 
 purchase the ^gina Marbles, 62. 
 
 Turks, their indifference respecting the removal of the Marbles, 5. 
 
 Turkish Government, its dislike of Christians, 3, 39. — guided 
 entirely by caprice, 122. 
 
 Turner, Mr. his reasons for declining to accompany the Earl of 
 Elgin to Greece, 32. 
 
 Vaivode of Athens, his concurrence in the general tenor of the 
 Fermauns granted to Lord Elgin by the Porte, 142, 143. 
 
 Vansittart, Right Hon. Nicholas, letter to him from Lord 
 Elgin, App. i. 
 
 Venus, statue of by Phidias, in the portico of Octavia, 19. 
 
 Celestial, statue of, by Phidias, 19. 
 
 of Cnidus, statue of, by Praxteles, mentioned by Pliny, 
 
 74. 
 
 , statue of, in Lord Lansdowne’s collection, sum paid for 
 
 it, 94. — the finest statue in the world, 114. 
 
 — statue of, sum paid for it by Mr. Townley, 25, — why 
 sold so low, 98. 
 
 Venus de Medicis, supposed a copy from a Venus by Praxiteles, 
 
 101 , 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Visconti, Chev. cited, 73.-— Catalogue of the Elgin collection, 
 from his MS. App. xxvii. 
 
 Vitruvius cited, 23. 
 
 Urns, list of, in Lord Elgin’s collection, App. xxxvii. 
 
 West, Benjamin, Esq. President of the Royal Academy — ques- 
 tions sent to him by the Committee, 148. — his answers, 1.50. — 
 has drawn most of the Elgin Marbles — ranks them in the first 
 class of dignified art — the Theseus, Ilissi.s, fragment of the 
 Neptune, and horse’s head the most excellent — the draped 
 Female Figures in the first class of grandeur — of the age of the 
 Theseus — the Metopes in a grand and simple style — the work 
 of different hands, 150. — the Frieze unexampled; appears more 
 than human work — the Metopes superior in certain respects — 
 the energy of the groups in the Frieze imitated by Raphael in 
 two of his compositions — the Frieze bears the marks of one 
 hand, which was also capable of producing the Metopes and 
 larger statues — comparative excellence of the Theseus and 
 Ilissus with the Belvidere Torso, the Apollo, and the Laocoon, 
 151. — the collection of the highest importance to the country, 
 151.— likely to be of great service to the arts — inestimable in 
 certain respects — the Theseus, Ilissus, and the best of the Me- 
 tdpes of indescribable excellence from their close imitation of 
 nature — has never seen any sculpture bearing such decided 
 marks of a great master as the Theseus, Ilissus, and some of 
 the Metopes, 151, 152 — the same powers visible in the Barba- 
 rini Faun, though not equal to the Theseus and the Ilissus — 
 the Phygalia and Townley Marbles inferior to those from the 
 Parthenon — the first a great acquisition to the country, 153. 
 
 Westmacott, Richard, Esq. R. A. his evidence before the Com- 
 mittee, 80. — rates the ElginMarbles, in the first elassof art — the 
 River God and Theseus unequalled by any thing in art, 80. — the 
 two principal groups of draped Figures superior to any thing 
 in this country, as to execution — the Metopes in the first class 
 of art for style— the Frieze equal to any thing of that class for 
 drawing and execution — the Metopes and Frieze of the same 
 age, but not by the same hands — the Metopes of high antiquity, 
 81. — the Theseus and River God, superior to the Apollo Bel- 
 
 h 
 
INDEX. 
 
 videre, 81. — and why, 83. — the back of the Theseus the finest 
 thing in the world— the anatomical skill of the front part of 
 the Ilissus not surpassed by any work of art — the Theseus and 
 Ilissus equal in some respects, and superior in others, to the 
 Monte Cavallo figures — the draped Female Figures of equal 
 excellence with the Theseus and the Ilissus, and by the same 
 hand— the Elgin superior to to the Townley Marbles, 82. — 
 the Bas-reliefs superior to the Phygalian Marbles in some 
 respects — the Elgin Marbles likely to be of great utility in the 
 improvement of art — calculated to form a school of art, 83. 
 — more valuable than the Townley Marbles for artists, 84. 
 
 Wheler, his account of the sculptures of the Parthenon, 22, 23, 
 24. — his observations very incorrect, 97. 
 
 WiLKif7s, William, Esq. his evidence before the Committee, 104. 
 - Architectural part of the Elgin Marbles of the very highest 
 order — of great importance to the public— previously known 
 by drawings or engravings — no part of the ceiling of the 
 Parthenon in the collection, but of the temple of Theseus— 
 the remains of the age of Phidias— at Athens in 1802— Lord 
 Elgin then removing the Marbles— drawings and models 
 would convey the same information as the fragments will, 
 105, 110. — their removal no diminution of their value, 105.— 
 and why, 106. — Stuart’s designs perfectly correct — the tem- 
 ples themselves no way injured as schools of art by Lord Elgin’s 
 removals— number of Metopes originally — evidence of the 
 great accuracy of Stuart’s work, 107, 108. — the removal of 
 the Frieze of the Parthenon has saved it from destruction— the 
 Metopes and figures of the tympans not in so much danger— 
 a prevalent desire in the Turks to deface the sculptures at the 
 time of Lord Elgin’s operations — not so at present, and why, 
 109. — of the Elgin Marbles, the figures of the tympans, the 
 best — the Metopes next in excellence — some parts of the 
 Frieze very indifferent, 110.— a mistaken notion that they are 
 by Phidias — believes Phidias never worked in marble, and 
 why— Plutarch’s evidence clear that he had no hand in the 
 works of the Parthenon — furnished the designs. 111. — super- 
 intended the whole work — designed the sculpture — the sculp- 
 ture and drawing of the Frieze of unequal merit, 112.— alludes 
 
INDEX. 
 
 to a part not in Lord Elgin’s collection — the western Frieze 
 the finer, 113. — great difference in the Metopes, 112.— the 
 mediocrity of the sculpture of the Frieze owing to its original 
 position — difficulty of seeing it — the collection valuable as 
 architectural sculpture, 113. — not fit models for imitation as 
 detached subjects — many things in the Louvre collection 
 superior to the generality of the Elgin Marbles— much finer 
 statues in this kingdom — the Townley Venus the finest statue 
 n the world — the Lansdowne Hercules equally fine— the River 
 God not equal to the Theseus, 114. 
 
 London : Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. 
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