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 THE MARLBOROUGH GEMS. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/marlboroughgemsbOOmarl 
 
THE MARLBOROUGH GEMS 
 
 BEING A COLLECTION OF 
 
 WOKKS IN CAMEO AND INTAGLIO 
 
 FORMED BY 
 
 GEORGE, THIRD DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH 
 
 CATALOGUED 
 
 DESCRIPTIONS, AND AN INTRODUCTION, 
 
 By M. H. NEVIL STORY-MASKELYNE, M.A., F.R.S. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF MINERALOGY, OXFORD : 
 KEEPER OF THE MINERAL DEPARTMENT, BRITISH MUSEIWI. 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION. 
 
 1870. 
 
PRINTED BY 
 BRADBUKY, EVANS, AND CO., WHITEFRIAES, LONDON. 
 
 ENTER 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The collection of cameos and intaglios of which this little volume 
 is a Catalogue, has for nearly a century deservedly possessed a wide 
 reputation. The two splendid volumes printed and distributed by 
 the third Duke of Marlborough in 1780 and 1791, wherein a hun- 
 dred of the most remarkable pieces iu his collection were described 
 and figured, would alone have sufficed to establish this fame for 
 the " Marlborough Gems." To the archaeologist, however, the 
 cabinet at Blenheim has always possessed an additional and a 
 singular interest, from its including the collection of gems that had 
 been formed by that famous Earl of Arundel who, during the 
 troubled times of the first Charles, found a solace for the abridg- 
 ment of his dignities in collecting works of art and monuments of 
 antiquity. 
 
 The Arundel Gems, however, formed only one part of the great 
 collection of works in cameo and intaglio brought together by George, 
 third Duke of Marlborough ; nor were gems the only, though probably 
 they were the favourite, objects that he collected. The paintings 
 on the walls of Blenheim Palace would alone suffice to illustrate the 
 splendid tastes of this " magnificent " Duke ; tastes for the gratifica- 
 tion of which an accumulated fortune, and the condition of Europe, 
 offered him a rare opportunity. 
 
 Among the pictures at Blenheim there is one famous canvas 
 on which Sir Joshua Reynolds has handed down to us the portrait 
 of the third Duke, his Duchess, and their elder children. In his 
 hand his Grace holds a large cameo, and at his side stands his son 
 the Marquis of Blandford, afterwards of White Knights celebrity, 
 carrying under his arm a red morocco case ; one of the ten similar 
 cases that still contain the collection of gems. This gem-case serves 
 
vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 at once to introduce a mass of effective colour into the picture, and to 
 complete the motive of the scene by presenting to us the Duke in his 
 character of a gem collector. 
 
 The particular cameo he holds is that numbered 390 in this Cata- 
 logue ; it was one of the gems collected individually by the Duke's 
 excellent taste, and it no doubt claimed on that account, no less than 
 from its high intrinsic importance, a place of honour among his gems. 
 
 The proportion which the part of the Collection thus formed by the 
 Duke, by separate purchases in Italy and at home, bears to the whole 
 of the Cabinet, amounts to about the half. 
 
 The remaining half is composed of two distinct collections united by 
 the Duke to his own, each of which was important and celebrated. 
 
 The one has already been alluded to as formed, in the early half 
 of the century previous to that in which the Duke was a collector, by 
 the illustrious Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, the Maecenas of the 
 Caroline period ; the other was brought together by William, second 
 Earl of Bessborough, and third Viscount Duncannon, a nobleman some 
 thirty years senior to the third Duke, who had no doubt cultivated his 
 taste, and in part formed his collection of gems during a period of 
 travel on the Continent, which terminated in 1739, the same year in 
 which the third Duke of Marlborough was born. 
 
 Of the two collections which thus became blended with the third 
 Duke's acquisitions, to shine with united lustre as " the Marlborough 
 Gems," the first to demand a notice is that formed by Lord Arundel. 
 Alike from the character of its contents and from its authentic pedigree, 
 the Arundelian Collection stands now almost alone in interest. One 
 has only to consider how very few of the existing gem collections in 
 Europe were in being before the beginning of the last century, and 
 what confusion was introduced into the study of gems as records of 
 the past, by the forgeries and fabrications carried on chiefly in Italy 
 during that century, in order to recognise the value that must needs 
 attach to a collection formed at the date when a Stuart sovereign held 
 in abeyance the ducal rank of the proud and accomplished head of the 
 house of Howard. In the midst of such a collection we stand so far 
 at least on solid ground, that we may feel sure of every gem with a 
 classical subject that we examine belonging either to the ages of 
 Greek or Roman art, or to that long-after age in which the classical 
 arts were revivified and seemed to burst forth into a sort of preter- 
 natural rejuvenescence. But the gem-engraver of the Revival never 
 or seldom copied slavishly the works of antiquity ; he aspired to convey 
 their sentiment, but with a freedom of treatment to which, in fact, 
 
INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 whatever was noble in the Renaissance school was due. He perfected 
 his technical methods, and in this respect could challenge the finest 
 works of Roman artists. That his hand never acquired the subtle and 
 spontaneous cunning, or his spirit the simply grand conception of the 
 Greek masters, is only to say that as " Greece was living Greece no 
 more," so, too, the myths of that once living Greece were dead. The 
 comparison of the gems of the cinque-cento or Renaissance school, is 
 therefore rather to be made with those that were called into existence 
 during the Roman Revival of art, under Hadrian and the Antonines, 
 than with the gems of the ages when Greek art nourished on its 
 own soil, or had been freshly imported into Imperial Rome. 
 
 It is more particularly with the gems of the latter class that the 
 works of the last century sought to compete, and sought too often to 
 compete, not in freedom of design and its attendant freedom of treat- 
 ment, but by simply bringing an improved and in fact almost perfect 
 technical method to bear in multiplying copies of antique originals. 
 
 From such gems as these, then, the Arundelian cases were entirely 
 free. Unfortunately — perhaps at the time their handsome mountings 
 were given them by the founder of the collection, or more probably in 
 accordance with the mischievous fashion of the last century— the very 
 noblest and best of these Arundelian gems have suffered at the hands 
 of the polisher. To remove by a few turns of a wheel that slight 
 dimming of the ancient lustre which Time has wrought, or, as it were, 
 breathed like a subtle film over the surface, is an easy task. But 
 with that wiping away of the breath of Time, there goes not only the 
 evidence of venerable age, but, too often, the most delicate and artistic 
 characteristics of the outline : a new surface and a new outline are 
 left in place of those the artist gave, and the degrees of relief of 
 different parts of the subject are modified. Several of the Arundelian 
 gems have certainly suffered much from this cause, but nevertheless 
 the collection remains an invaluable illustration of the gem-engraver's 
 art as it was known in the earlier half of the 1 7th century ; for Lord 
 Arundel's life of sixty years ended in 1646. 
 
 The gems — and we may presume the whole of them — were in- 
 cluded in the portion of Lord Arundel's property that descended to his 
 son and successor, Henry Frederick Lord Maltravers, and from him 
 they passed to the sixth Duke of Norfolk, his son — the Duke to whom 
 Oxford is indebted for one portion of the Arundelian Marbles. His son, 
 the seventh Duke, succeeded to the possession of them ; but now, by a 
 strange fate, they passed away from the House of Howard : for the 
 Arundelian antiquities, including the gems, were retained as her pro- 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 perty by the divorced Duchess, that Lady Mary Mordaunt who, in 
 1705, five years after the decree for her divorce was passed in the 
 House of Lords, died and bequeathed the whole of her estate to her 
 husband, Sir John Germain. She had previously sold the other 
 antiquities ; but the gems passed to Sir John under her will. 
 
 In 1718, Sir John married for his second wife the Lady Elizabeth 
 Berkeley, daughter of Charles, second Earl of Berkeley, and by his 
 will he left that lady in possession of all his property. 
 
 Thus the x\rundelian Cabinet of Gems passed by a second step of 
 alienation from Arundel Castle into the possession of Sir John's widow, 
 the Lady Elizabeth Germain. There seems no reason to suppose that 
 during these changes of ownership the collection had been despoiled of 
 any of its treasures ; so that we may fairly presume that Lady 
 Elizabeth possessed it much in the state in which it was left by the 
 noble connoisseur who formed it. And, fortunately, we have a valu- 
 able and trustworthy record of the contents of the collection at this 
 time in a catalogue, a copy of which, in manuscript, dated 1727, 
 exists in the library of the Society of Antiquaries. The " Lady Betty" 
 survived till 1769 ; but in October, 1762, her great niece, the Lady 
 Mary Beauclerk, was married to Lord Charles Spencer, brother of the 
 third Duke of Marlborough. This lady was the daughter of Lord 
 Vere Beauclerk, created Lord Vere of Hanworth, who subsequently 
 became fourth Duke of St. Albans, and whose wife was Mary 
 Chambers, daughter and heiress of Thomas Chambers, Esq., of 
 Hanworth, and Lady Mary, his wife, sister to Lady Elizabeth 
 Germain. 
 
 From her great aunt Lady Elizabeth, the Lady Mary Beauclerk, 
 the bride of 1762, received the gems — a splendid gift. Perhaps gems 
 were looked on as a sort of bridal appanage descending as a casket of 
 family jewels might have descended in each successive generation to 
 the lady through whose alliance a family hoped to be perpetuated : 
 such, at least, seems to have been the case with the bequest of the 
 Hunsdon gems at Berkeley Castle in 1603. 
 
 By a family arrangement, however, the Arundelian Collection now 
 passed from the hands of Lady Mary Spencer to add to the magni- 
 ficence, and embellish with a fresh archaeological value, the collection 
 which the Duke, her brother-in-law, was at that time busy in forming. 
 And it had now, after its various alienations of ownership, passed into 
 a haven of rest, in which, for above a century, it has lain undisturbed. 
 Once, indeed, some seven years before the gems had reached this final 
 destination, they had been offered by Lady Elizabeth to the trustees of 
 
INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 the then nascent British Museum for the great sum of £10,000. The 
 offer was not accepted. This sum, however, if the collection was still 
 entire, must have been much below what it had originally cost ; for the 
 Earl of Arundel is declared by Evelyn to have given that very sum for 
 a collection of gems that he purchased of Daniel Nys, of Venice ; and 
 Evelyn himself was employed by the Earl in collecting such objects in 
 Eome and other parts of Italy. 
 
 On examining the Arundelian Collection, one is struck with the 
 considerable number of the gems that are not antique. In cameos of 
 large size and importance it is rich, and it is particularly so in 
 such as are of a size adapted for a finger ring, but, as we should 
 expect, many of these are of the Medicean age. To this age we are 
 compelled to refer the beautiful cameo (No. 160) — the nuptials of 
 Cupid and Psyche ; a gem better known, perhaps, and more often 
 copied in various materials, than any other in any collection. To this 
 time, also, are referable two of the earliest examples (Nos. 201 and 
 325) of the shell cameos which, from the facility of their execution and 
 the cheapness both of their material and workmanship, have almost 
 extinguished the art of the cameo engraver on hard stones in 
 our age. Among the antique cameos particularly important from 
 their sizes and subjects must be noticed the interesting suite of 
 great cameo portraits of Imperial personages : such are the Antonia 
 (No. 414); the admirable cameo of Agrippina (No. 416); the two 
 busts of Claudius (Nos. 422 and 423) ; the bust of the uncle of Trajan 
 (No. 452); the Faustina (No. 466); the Commodus (No. 480); and 
 the two cameos, so remarkable, for the age to which they belong, of 
 Julia Paula and Julia Mamrnasa (Nos. 495 and 496); and to these 
 may still be added the Elagabalus (No. 494) ; and the bust, possibly of 
 Julia Massa (No. 557). 
 
 As an illustration of earliest Renaissance, or even pre-Renaissance 
 work, the singular little gem engraved on ruby or ruby spinel — the 
 crowned portrait of Charles cinq, king of France, No. 583 of this Cata- 
 logue, is most remarkable ; as its date must have been early in the 
 second half of the 14th century.* Among the important intaglios of 
 
 * That gems were engraved at so early a date is proved by an observa- 
 tion of Mr. King's, to whom I am indebted for the light thrown on the 
 date of this gem, while this work is passing through the press. Mr. King 
 observes, in confirmation of this ruby being the actual signet of Charles, 
 how Ammonato, in his "History of Florence" (p. 711), mentions that 
 Pemzzi the Florentine singolare ititagliatore di pietre forged the seal of 
 Durazzo in the year 1 379. 
 
 b 
 
x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Arundelian Cabinet, we may instance a famous gem (No. '611), the 
 Rape of the Palladium, from the Trojan Temple : — 
 
 Impius ex quo 
 Tydides sed enim, scelerumque inventor Ulysses, 
 Fatale adgressi sacrato avellere templo 
 Palladium, csesis sum mas custodibus arcis, 
 Corripuere sacram efiigiem. 
 
 The signature of the artist, Felix, and the name, probably of the 
 owner, Calpurnius Severus, have, of course, not passed unchallenged by 
 the scepticism of critics. Here, however, the pedigree of the Arundel 
 collection comes in as important evidence to rescue this gem from the 
 charge of being a modern fabrication, while the peculiar form of the 
 inscriptions on it is hardly compatible with its being a cinque-cento 
 forgery. The Medusa on a sapphire (No. 98) ; the marvellously fine 
 intaglio portrait (No. 122) of Marcia, or some lady of an earlier time, 
 on a sardine, as remarkable for its magnitude as for its fine execution, 
 in a style that we can scarcely attribute to the artists of the 
 Renaissance ; the beautifully designed little Racchus on a beryl 
 (No. 183), injured, alas! by a vigorous repolishing of the stone; the 
 noble intaglio bust of Mars (No. 109); the fine cameo representing 
 Ariadne (No. 194), may be cited among the more exquisite of the 
 antique works that had a place with the Arundelian Gems. 
 
 The MS. catalogue of the Arundelian Gems that has been alluded to 
 as existing in the library of the Society of Antiquaries (No. 43, Smart 
 Lethieullier), is a copy from an original catalogue " lent by the Right 
 Honourable the Lady Retty Jermain, owner of the cabinet." That 
 original, no doubt, passed with the gems into the possession of the 
 Duke of Marlborough ; and on it, and on Natter's catalogue of the 
 Bessborough gems, his Grace founded a catalogue, which, besides 
 giving an account of the Arundel and Bessborough collections, was to 
 ombrace the descriptions of the gems of his own private collection. 
 But this catalogue, which was to have been printed, seems never to 
 have been completed. Copies in manuscript, in various stages of 
 progress, remain, and in some of these the original descriptions of the 
 Arundel catalogue are simply copied, the Italian addenda to the latter 
 being converted into Latin. 
 
 The title of the MS. at Somerset House is as follows : — 
 
 Gemmae incisse excisseque, maxima ex parte antiquae, quas coelatura 
 insignes, auroque ornatas ingeus copia, multiplex color, magnitudo 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 lapidum sculptorum mirabilis et prorsus inimitabilis ars summopere 
 commedant. 
 
 Thesaurus olim Arundelliauus primis Europae cinieliis sane invi- 
 dendus qui nunc in iEdibus nobilis Matronae D mi ' Elizabethan Germain, 
 Londini suinma cura servatur. 
 
 The catalogue from which this is a transcript was, however, itself a 
 copy, made by some Italian hand, probably not far from the date of 
 the transcript, 1727 ; and to this copyist certain Italian notices, com- 
 pleting the descriptions, were due. The allusion to Stosch's work at 
 the end of the description of the gem (Thee. E. No. 2), the Rape of the 
 Palladium (No. 341 of this volume), and also in the account of the 
 cameo No. 160, is sufficient to show that the Italian annotator did not 
 write till after 1724. 
 
 The more remote original was undoubtedly a true Arundelian 
 Catalogue, describing the gems as they originally stood in the cabinet 
 of Lord Arundel. Indeed, a note at the end of the MS. at Somerset 
 House records it to have been : " Estratto del' antico catalogo delle 
 Gem me intagliate, e scolpite, che furono gia il tresoro piu riguardevole 
 del famosissimo Museo Arondelliano, le quali quasi tutte legate in oro, 
 che monta al valore di piu che quatro cento-cinquanta doppie. Sono 
 conservate in cinque casette notate con le lettere A, B, C, D, E, con 
 un ragguaglio piu distinto et esatto delle differenza accidentali di 
 quelle." 
 
 The Catalogue contains the description of 203 gems, arranged in the 
 five cases; 133 being intaglios, and 130 cameos. The descrij)tions 
 are in Latin ; an Italian addition, already alluded to, descriptive of the 
 stone, and often also of the setting, being appended to the account of 
 each gem.* What number of these 263 gems is now contained in the 
 
 * An illustration of the manner in which these descriptions are given may 
 be quoted in the case of one of the most conspicuous works of art in this 
 cabinet. It refers to the gem already alluded to (No. 160), the well-known 
 lovely cameo representing Cupid and Psyche in hymeneal procession. It is 
 the seventh gem in the " Tlieca quarta" of Lady Elizabeth's catalogue. 
 " Psyches et Cupidinis nuptiae TPT*nN EnOlEI, in onice di fondo ben negro, 
 scultura di bianco bruno, coperta d'oro smaltato, per la quale sola 6 stata piu 
 volte offerta la somma di cinque cento Lire sterline, che montano a piu di due 
 mila scudi, che percid il possessore di detta onice e pronto a rabattere le 500 
 lire ogni qual volta gli sia permesso da chi fara l'acquisto di tutto il resto." 
 Vide Spon. Miscellanea eruditas Antiquitatis, pag. 9 ; et Stoschii gemmas 
 antiquas, pag. 94. These additions seem thus to have been made with a view 
 to a catalogue for a sale. 
 
 b 2 
 
xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cases at Blenheim it is difficult with precision to say, as it is not in 
 every case possible to identify them with oertainty under the fanciful 
 descriptions given of them in the old catalogue. There can, however, 
 he little doubt as to the identification of some 235 of them. The 
 remainder, which that difficult kind of scrutiny, the compai'ison of 
 things described with the descriptions of them given in no definite 
 order, has not, even with great labour, enabled us to identify, amount 
 to eight intaglios, and twenty cameos. Of these, several certainly are 
 no longer among the Marlborough Gems.* Whether they were ejected 
 or changed for others by the Duke, or had been removed for use as 
 ornaments before the Collection passed into his hands, it may be 
 impossible now to ascertain. We may instance the following as 
 occurring in the Catalogue among the subjects that could not be so 
 disguised under any peculiarities of their attribution as not to be 
 recognisable when sought for in the Collection as it stands. f 
 
 Theca A. 39. Quinque facies imberbes, totidemque barbatse si spec- 
 tentur in versa?. Corniola. 2. 
 
 A representation of this often-repeated conceit of the Renaissance 
 artist is seen at the back of the Bessborough gem No. 255 in this 
 volume. 
 
 Theca B. 38. Caput Servatoris nostri Jesu X". — In pietra verde 
 nefritica, chiamata altrimente Giadro. Cinta 
 d'oro. 2. 
 
 ,, ,, 39. Ecce Homo. — In Diaspro verde con macchie di sangue. 
 Cinta d'oro. 3. 
 
 „ D. 17. Servator nostri Jesu X tus inter latrones cruci affixus. 
 Hierusalem a tergo. — In agata d'Alemagna di 
 fondo rosso incarnato ; scultura die rosseggia. 
 Cinta d'oro. 
 
 * That gems once in the Collection are not there now is curiously illustrated 
 by the absence from the Blenheim cases of the front-face Roman portrait on a 
 sard of perhaps a Ca?sar, with the inscription AEAIOC, Vol. ii. No. xxxi. of the 
 " Marlborough Gems " ; a gem which must have found its way into the Payne 
 Knight Collection, with which it was bequeathed to the British Museum. 
 
 + While this Introduction was passing through the press, the Duke of 
 Marlborough has found at Blenheim some of the very gems here alluded to. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xiii 
 
 Theca E. 5. Capita ad versa sanctorum Petri et Panli, hasta cum 
 crucis signo interposita, opus sane perantiquum 
 quod que eximium artificem seculi tertii sapit. — In 
 sarda questa il suo intaglio prova che nel secolo 
 d'ella primitiva chiesa, come parlamo i novatori, 
 quando accordano, che vujeva la vera dotrina 
 Apostolica, valeva I'uso delle Imagini sacre. 2. 
 
 „ E. 24. Mutius Scsevola dextram flammis inteudit. — In agata 
 
 The gems brought together by Lord Bessborough at the time the 
 Duke of Marlborough acquired them, had grown into a collection of 
 some importance, not only in consequence of the judicious selections 
 by which they had been increased, but notably by two considerable 
 purchases. By oiu of these his Lordship added to his Cabinet forty- 
 five gems, the property of Philip Dormer, fourth Earl of Stanhope ; 
 and by the other purchase, on the occasion of the sale by auction of the 
 collection of Medina, a Jew, at Leghorn, he acquired forty-seven more ; 
 and some of these must have been among the choicest in the Medina 
 Cabinet. That collection as a whole, indeed, had a bad repute for 
 containing many of the fabrications so rife in Italy at that time ; but 
 the selection made by or on behalf of Lord Bessborough, while con- 
 taining such gems as the fabricated Agrippina (No. 417), comprised 
 besides, several admirable and authentic pieces. Among these may be 
 instanced the interesting but mutilated statuette representing Marciana 
 in apotheosis (No. 457) ; and to this part of the collection of Lord 
 Bessborough belonged the gem (No. 316) once held worthy of passing 
 as a gift from an emperor to a pope. Here also is seen the beautiful 
 Muse in bust (No. 70), corrupted, however, by the false lettering 
 ZA<!> ; no doubt added at Leghorn to enhance its value. 
 
 Among the gems acquired from Lord Chesterfield was the famous 
 intaglio (No. 270), the dog star Sirius, deeply cut into a splendid 
 garnet, and taking the highest rank for its execution and finish among 
 the gems of any age. The taste of this accomplished nobleman is 
 also well illustrated in the interesting portraits that adorned his small 
 cabinet ; such as the fine little intaglio representing Marcus Junius 
 Brutus (No. 375), of which No. 376 is probably a copy by Natter's 
 hand ; the Sabina (No. 454) ; the Antoninus Pius (No 462) ; and the 
 head of Caracalla (No. 485), engraved on a fine sapphire, and interesting 
 as showing the mastery of the engraver at that period over so stubborn 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 a material ; nor should the beautiful little ring (No. 551) be omitted as 
 an exquisite exam >le among many of the goldsmith's art. 
 
 The acquisition of these two important additions nearly doubled the 
 number of gems that composed Lord Bessborough's Cabinet. Including 
 them, it now numbered two hundred pieces, and was catalogued in French 
 by Laurent Natter, the famous gem engraver, and published in the year 
 1761. The gems as described in Natter's Catalogue have, with the excep- 
 tion of four, been identified, and references are given to his descriptions 
 under the different gems in this volume. Without doubt, his Lordship 
 had been helped in his acquisitions by the use of Natter's professional 
 opportunities, and had been guided in his selections by the great 
 engraver's excellent taste and intimate acquaintance with the technical 
 details of his art. Moreover, some few of the gems (for instance those 
 numbered in this Catalogue 376, 498) in the part of the collection 
 formed by Lord Bessborough himself, savour not a little of the treat- 
 ment of that master-hand ; and though Natter is in his Catalogue 
 silent as to the sources of such gems, one may sometimes " read 
 between the lines " of his descriptions, and without much chance of 
 error attribute the workmanship to his wheel. That Natter was 
 himself no critical judge of the dates or styles of antique gems is 
 obvious to any one who studies his otherwise interesting " Traite de 
 la Methode de Graver en Pierres fines ; " or who reads his Catalogue 
 of the Bessborough Cabinet by the side of the gems he describes in it : 
 that he frequently copied antiques for practice and for profit is clear 
 also from that work and from the necessities of his occupation. The 
 only question is whether he sold his own works, whether copies or 
 originals, as antiques to his patrons, or whether he was content with 
 the smaller prices they might fetch as the acknowledged productions of 
 his wheel. His silence as to their authorship must not be too readily 
 accepted as condemnatory of him. No one could attribute the imperial 
 heads (No. 498, 1 to 40) under the circumstances to any hand but his ; 
 for he speaks of the care with which the choice of the stones had been 
 made, even while he does not assert himself to be their author ; indeed, 
 the Duke himself alludes to them as Natter's. It might remove the 
 doubts that have been thrown over gems attributed to him if one 
 could answer the above question in Natter's favour ; but it is not easy 
 to do so. 
 
 As evidencing the high character and value of many of the gems 
 collected by Lord Bessborough himself, we may instance the great 
 Medusa phalera (No. 100), one of the graudest works on such a hard 
 material, as chalcedony in the world ; or the deeply cut bust of Pallas 
 
INTRODUCTION. xv 
 
 (No. 81), on amethyst, a gem which carries an inscription and possesses 
 a pedigree lacking only one link to make it singularly authentic, and 
 which, if that link could be supplied, would place it with certainty on 
 the first hue among gems conspicuous for their archaeological interest. 
 Indeed, one should more correctly say that it occupies this place now ; 
 and if its rightful claim to that place is to be challenged, it must be 
 by some one who can produce the original by Eutyches, from which 
 so fine an intaglio as this has, as alleged, been taken. The noble 
 intaglio of Jupiter Serapis (No. 5), cut in a large amethyst pebble ; 
 the vast Nicolo (No. 256), with its strange African engraving ; the 
 Apollo mourning Coronis (No. 60) ; the Athlete (No. 621), on a 
 paste that has passed under so many names as a stone, and even 
 deceived the knowing eye of Natter ; these, too, are illustrations 
 of the skill and judgment with which the Earl of Bessborough — or, 
 rather, perhaps, we should say the Viscount Duncannon, for it was 
 under this his title of courtesy, through his earlier manhood that he 
 was best known to the gem amateur — was guided in his selections 
 for his Cabinet. 
 
 If we abstract from the Blenheim Collection as it now stands the 
 gems of the Arundelian and Bessborough Cabinets, we shall find 
 remaining a still noble collection of gems, amounting in number to 
 about the half, and enriched by many splendid pieces, as remarkable in 
 material as they are beautiful or interesting as works of art. This is 
 the portion of the Blenheim Collection that was formed by the third Duke. 
 Foremost among these gems stands the great sardonyx (No. 482); 
 one which will ever rank as one of the most important cameos known, 
 as well on account of the magnitude as of the beautiful character and 
 even deposit of the layers of sard that form the stone. 
 
 The uncertainty regarding the Imperial personages it represents, and 
 the date under the Roman Empire at which it was cut, somewhat 
 diminish the interest that should attach to its design, which, moreover, 
 is not of fine execution ; but, even apart from the design, the sardonyx 
 alone would possess a considerable value. Then, also, the Augustus 
 already alluded to (No. 390), is a cameo of rare interest and beauty. 
 
 Among the intaglios in his Grace's Collection notice may in particular 
 be drawn to the following: the Hermes (No. 165), a noble Greek work; * 
 
 * It is a very remarkable circumstance that this noble gem was not among 
 the " century " of gems selected by the third Duke for illustration in his work. 
 Worlidge figured it as an Apollo 1 but Raspe correctly describes the design 
 while he calls the stone a " beryll," "with a " bezle " (No. 2o75). He also 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Holderness Hermes fNo. 167), which, with its inscription of the 
 name AIOCKOYPI AOY, has, at least, an irreproachable pedigree ; 
 the extraordinary but puzzling gem, the green jasper Isis (No. 40) ; the 
 famous Hercules, with the name AAM0ON (No. 296) ; the exquisite 
 fragment of Augustus, in the character of Hermes (No. 387) ; and the 
 Julia of NIKANAPOZ, on a transcendent sard (No. 447). These 
 are beautiful specimens of the antique engravers' work, and of modern 
 works by Pichler and Marchaut there are several ; among which, 
 indeed, must especially be noticed that magnificent work of Marchant, 
 the Return of Alcestis from the Shades, engraved, by command from 
 the Duke of Saxony, as a present to the third Duke, in return for a 
 copy of the two noble volumes in winch a hundred of the gems in 
 this cabinet were so splendidly illustrated. 
 
 These two folio volumes were produced in the years 1780 — 1791. 
 Each volume contained copper-plate engravings of fifty gems selected 
 from the collection, with descriptions in Latin and in French : those in 
 the first volume being written in Latin by Mr. James Bryant, and in 
 French by M. P. H. Maty ; those in the second volume being written 
 by Mr. W. Cole, and translated into French by M. Dutens. The 
 engravings were done by Bartolozzi, from drawings made by Cipriani 
 from the gems. 
 
 A reprint of the work from the old plates, with an introduction more 
 remarkable for its style than for its learning, by the late Mr. Vaughan 
 Thomas, was brought out by the late Duke of Marlborough : but 
 Bartolozzi's fine engravings had lost something of their delicacy and 
 sharpness. 
 
 It would be difficult now r to trace the history of many of the gems 
 collected by the third Duke, or even to find through what channels he 
 obtained them. In the acquisition of many of the pictures at Blen- 
 heim he was aided by Air. John Udney, for whom the influence of the 
 Duke with Lord Halifax procured the appointment to the British 
 Consulship at Venice, about the year 1761. Through him, also, he 
 was in communication with Count Zanetti and other Italians, who 
 profited by the contemporary fashion of gem collecting. It was in this 
 
 describes two copies, one on " beryll," and one on " cornelian," by Bureh senior, 
 both in the Duke's Collection. Raspe implies by " beryll " a fine sard ; but 
 probably he has been in error as to the latter "beryll," which must be the 
 amethyst No. 1C>(> in this Collection. The cornelian copy may be that figured 
 by Spilsbury (1781-85) as a gem belonging to the Hon. C. Greville, to whom 
 the Duke may have parted with it, as it is not now among the gems of the 
 Collection. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xvii 
 
 way that the Duke acquired for £600 four gems, the Sabina (No. 455), 
 the Antinous (No. 501), the so-called " Phocion " (N >. 538), and the 
 Horatius Codes (No. 590). With Marchant, some twenty years later, 
 he was in correspondence, sometimes for the purchase of works by 
 Marchant' s own hand, sometimes for the acquisition of gems through 
 his agency. This admirable artist appears, so far as can be judged by 
 two or three of his letters, to have been a person of character and of 
 discrimination ; and through him his Grace seems to have acquired 
 tne beautiful fragment of the large intaglio of Augustus as Mercury 
 (No. 387), a gem with enough of the Greek touch in its treatment to 
 justify at once Marchant's description of it as a Greek work of import- 
 ance from its magnitude, and the price paid for it, 23 guineas, a sum 
 contrasting favourably with those paid to Zanetti. 
 
 The following gems belonged to one collection, but of the name of 
 the owner and the date of its purchase no record remains. The Isis 
 and Horus (No. 45), bought for 10 guineas; the Medusa (No. 99l, for 
 40 guineas; Bacchante's Head (probably that numbered 1971, for 
 70 guineas ; the Horatii (No. 609), for 30 guineas ; and the fine cameo 
 of a Lion seizing a Bull (No. 716), for 50 guineas. These prices are 
 interesting as examples of the sums paid towards the end of the last 
 century for gems. 
 
 From another collection, apparently the property of a French gentle- 
 man, the Duke selected the following : — The Isis on garnet (No. 44) ; 
 the Venus (No. 135); the little cameo (No. 159), with its exquisite 
 mounting, which is a marvel of the jeweller's work of the rarest and 
 most delicate kind; Mercury carrying the Infant Bacchus (No. 169); 
 two gems representing Hercules (No. 295 and No. 300) ; the portrait 
 of Mary Queen of Scots (No. 589); the Discobolus (No. 623); the 
 Elephant trampling a Fish (No. 705) ; and the Lion's Head in cat's- 
 eye (No. 717). The sources of a few other gems purchased by the 
 Duke are noticed under their several descriptions ; and if documents at 
 Blenheim are silent as to the channels through which his Grace pro- 
 cured some three hundred of the gems in his collection, the purchases 
 above recorded will suffice to prove that he had agents and corre- 
 spondents in many of the important centres of European commerce 
 and luxury. 
 
 A collection so famous as that brought together by the third Duke of 
 Marlborough requires some further notice than a merely historical 
 sketch of its component parts, or the enumeration of a few of its more 
 notable examples of the gem-engraver's art. One would wish, in short, 
 to offer, if not a critical analysis, at least something of a general survey 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of its contents, such as might serve to determine its position as a 
 collection in respect to the subject it illustrates. And in attempting 
 such a survey we have to bear in mind that a private collection of this 
 kind is not to be judged only by the somewhat narrow standard of 
 archaeological criticism. We must, at least, first ask with what 
 purpose it was formed. 
 
 The gems in the great public collections of Europe have been 
 brought together with the especial object of illustrating the art and the 
 life of times long past, by means of a class of monuments at once the 
 most varied in their character and the most imperishable in their 
 material. The private gem collector, on the other hand, while appre- 
 ciating and striving to obtain as perfect examples of this kind as may 
 lie in his power, rarely excludes from association with these antique 
 works the beautiful productions of the Italian Renaissance or of the 
 artists of the last century. And so for a gem to be beautiful is generally 
 a sufficient passport for it into such a private collection, while the 
 interest attaching to the subject, or the stone, or the workmanship, of 
 an antique gem is enough to give it admittance even though it lack the 
 charm of beauty. From a collection so formed, the fastidious archaeolo- 
 gist of our critical age would sift and sever the ancient wheat from 
 what in his eyes is but as a mushroom growth of modern tares, and 
 would pass with a cold indifference over the chased and enamelled 
 works of the goldsmith's art in which so many of the Marlborough 
 gems are mounted, and which give them so great a charm for the more 
 comprehensive taste. To form a collection thus representative of all 
 forms of classically treated subjects on gems, and of the best ornamen- 
 tation they can receive at the hands of the goldsmith, was certainly the 
 purpose which Lord Arundt 1 above two hundred years ago, and which 
 the Duke of Marlborough and other noble collectors among his contempo- 
 raries in England during the last century, set before them. These 
 collections, indeed, generally purported to be exclusively classical. 
 Even Natter, who evidently had no more critical knowledge of ancient 
 art than those who employed him or bought his works, while describing 
 the Bessborough Collection, as though to justify the presence in it of a 
 portrait of Oliver Cromwell, speaks of that gem as treated a V antique. 
 No doubt the fine portraits by Jacopo de Trezzo and other masters of 
 the cinque-cento time, were admitted into the Marlborough Collection 
 on similar grounds : on the other hand, several sacred subjects, or 
 subjects that had been so interpreted among the Arundelian Gems, 
 were excluded from his Collection by the Duke of Marlborough ; for 
 they are no longer to be found there. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 On reviewing the Blenheim Gems as a whole, one certainly is at 
 first disposed to feel disappointment at the comparatively few examples 
 they afford of very fine and beautiful specimens of the precious and semi- 
 precious materials employed by the gem engraver. On the other 
 hand, as we shall presently show in some detail, there are some very 
 splendid specimens of these materials : but it is also to be observed — 
 and we may appeal herein to the experience of any student of gems 
 — that in general the archaeological value of a collection is in an 
 inverse ratio to its wealth in large and beautiful stones. Indeed, 
 where we have two gems similarly treated, and the question arises 
 which is the antique and which the modern imitation, the palm 
 will usually be found awarded to that which is cut on the less 
 beautiful material. 
 
 Roughly speaking (for an exact statement is, of course, impossible), 
 the Marlborough Collection may be held to contain about four antique 
 gems to every three of Renaissance and modern age : while of the 
 latter epochs the modern gems slightly preponderate. 
 
 From the classical character of the tastes of the times when the 
 different parts of the Collection were formed, we should hardly expect 
 to find in it examples of the cylinders and stamps that for the fifteen 
 hundred years ranging from the dawn of history to the days of Darius 
 Hystaspis, were used by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia and Persia. 
 These interesting monuments of the art of engraving on hard stones, 
 through ages of which scarcely any other arts have survived, have only 
 of late years come to light in any numbers ; and though a few were 
 long known to exist in the different European collections, neither the 
 Arundel nor the other parts of the Marlborough Collection contained 
 any of them. Nor, transporting our inquiry from the arts of Asiatic to 
 those of European cities, shall we find in the Marlborough gem cases 
 any of the ruder efforts of an infant art to engrave the Scarabaei used 
 by the Etruscan people from the time of their appearance on the stage 
 of history in Italy. Nor even of the finer productions of Etruscan art 
 should we expect examples in a collection formed at a time when 
 Etruscan tombs were still unransacked. For somewhat similar 
 reasons not only the Scarabasi of Egypt, but those wrought with gem 
 subjects by Phoenician engravers are also absent : for Tharros had as 
 yet been undisturbed. We shall, moreover, look in vain for gems of 
 the archaic period of Hellenic art, a period, however, from which 
 more gems survive than from the period of its perfection, the age 
 of Pericles. That Greek art in its earlier forms should be represented 
 by so exceedingly small a number of gems in the Marlborough Cabinet, 
 
xx INTRODUCTION. 
 
 may be due chiefly to this scarcity ; but partly also to the tastes of the 
 time, which seem to have regarded with more favour the freer and 
 more flowing lines of the styles of the later Greek, the Roman, and 
 modern arts, than it did the severe and carefully, almost cautiously 
 laboured, yet somewhat grotesque, outlines of archaic works. Of the 
 less grotesque and finely finished character, especially as regards the 
 limbs and extremities, which distinguished the earlier Greek from the 
 Etruscan style even in its best time, we may perhaps cite the Horse 
 and Youth (No. 624) as a somewhat late example ; it is a beautiful gem, 
 and exhibits well the fine shallow engraving that characterises the 
 earliest as well as the best periods of Greek art. 
 
 A short digression may not be out of place here for the purpose of 
 glancing at one or two archaeological questions suggested by a review of 
 a collection like the one on which we are engaged. One such 
 question arises out of the rarity of gems belonging to the period 
 of finest art in Greece ; while the pre-Phidiac and post-Macedonian 
 periods are, comparatively speaking, richly represented in the gem 
 collections of Europe. It may certainly have been that, in the 
 days when Pericles guided the policy, and Phidias the arts, of Athens, 
 only a wealthy or fastidious few may have worn gems ; and that the 
 absence of rings from the fingers of even those graceful horsemen on 
 the frieze of the Parthenon, betokens the more usual custom of that 
 time. 
 
 In Solon's age, a century and a half earlier, the inviolability of the 
 signet was secured by a law against the reproduction by the seal- 
 engraver of a signet he had sold. It is not likely that the rings of that 
 age, and the devices on them, were alike always worked in metal ; that 
 they usually were so in the Greek world, is, however, probable. On the 
 other hand, the archaic-looking gems which we meet with, cut on sards 
 and tricoloured agates, and, at times, on harder and rarer materials, 
 must, one would suppose, have belonged to the Greek rings of those 
 three half centuries. Scarabsei, with such work on them, have — some 
 two or three of them only — been found on Hellenic soil ; and scara- 
 bajid-formed gems so found, carrying both early and somewhat later 
 works, are not so exceptionally rare. So that we must suppose that 
 the a(f>payLS was not always worn as a ring stone. But most of the 
 Greek gems of this archaic sort, including many with the engrailed or 
 beaded border, are found on oval stones, shaped to be worn in rings. 
 It is difficult to believe, then, that, during the age of Pericles, rings of 
 some sort were not more or less habitually worn in Athens ; and if 
 worn, then, also, we can hardly suppose that they would not have had 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxi 
 
 their devices, in at least the case of the rich and luxurious, cut od gem 
 stones. We know furthermore from Plato, that at least soon after the 
 death of Pericles, Athenian gentlemen crowded their fingers with 
 jewelled rings. Whether the stones, set in these rings, bore devices, 
 may be questioned ; but it is eminently improbable that among them 
 there were not many enriched by the labour of the gem-engraver. 
 Where then are these gems now ? Have we still new treasures to 
 discover in some as yet unviolated necropolis ? 
 
 It is improbable ; and our conclusion is, that gems engraved on 
 stones must either have been rarer during the Phidiac and immediately 
 post-Phidiac time than in the centuries before or after, or, that these 
 gem stones have been lost to us by some special cause. Indeed, we 
 have pastes enough remaining to our time made from fine Greek gems 
 of the class we are discussing, to prove that, in some shape or other, 
 such gems, either on stone or metal, existed in some numbers. 
 
 If they had been engraved on precious metal we need not go far to 
 explain their destruction ; but for such as were engraved on stone we 
 must look again perhaps to the preciousness of the material for our expla- 
 nation. An artist of a later age, for instance a Syracusan gem-engraver 
 in the reign of Hiero II., might possibly have looked on some fine stone 
 adorned with the shallow scooped work, the stately design and the correct 
 modelling of the severer Greek time as a valuable prize ; though not so 
 much from the work it carried as from its material, for it would have 
 afforded him a well selected stone on which he could cut some design 
 more in harmony with the deep relief and elaborate detail prized in his 
 own age and country, where wealth, and that natural development of 
 Arts from the severe into the voluptuous, must have begun to sap the 
 sentiment which made Magna Graecia imitate the Helladic cities in 
 the severity of the types employed on their coinages. 
 
 But if we are thus to offer one possible explanation for the disappear- 
 ance of such few gems as we assume must have belonged to the greatest 
 age of Art, we may perhaps be justified in asking whether the Art of 
 Greece really extended, in its perfection, beyond the soil of a few Helladic 
 States. In those States the architecture and adornment of temples 
 probably absorbed nearly the whole artistic energy and genius of the 
 people, and the men who copied the statues of a Phidias or a Polycletus 
 for signets would, from this cause no less than because the demand 
 would only arise when the statues had become famous, naturally be the 
 gem-engravers of a subsequent time ; a time when the schools of 
 Praxiteles and Scopas, on the one hand, or that of Lysippus on the 
 other, were rapidly bringing new artistic ideals into vogue. And it is, 
 
xxii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 moreover, not a little probable that a certain affectation of the archaic 
 may have lingered in the gem-engraver's art, as it did so long in some 
 cases with the kindred art of the die-sinker, and that thus many of the 
 finer gems that we should otherwise place in the previous centuries 
 may really have to be ascribed to these. 
 
 So, it may be, it happens that we meet occasionally even on scarabrei, 
 as also on the kind of gems usually considered to be early Greek, 
 subjects curiously resembling both in design and treatment those 
 which belong to the coinages of such cities as Corinth, Heraclea, 
 Tarentum, or Naxos. But however we seek to meet the great 
 difficulty presented by the comparative blank as regards Phidiac gems 
 in our collections, we feel that we are really baffled in our attempts to 
 explain it, and we are forced to acknowledge that it is only one out of a 
 thousand proofs of the very fragmentary nature of our knowledge about 
 the daily life of antiquity, in any time or country. 
 
 The broad features and outlines of some ancient scene we can with 
 more or less of verisimilitude depict ; but how often have we not to 
 call on our imagination to fill up the details, or to represeut, with the 
 living reality of colour, the men and women, the buildings — all, indeed, 
 save earth and sky — when we would for a moment climb with ancient 
 Greeks the Acropolis of Athens, or mingle in the throng of the Roman 
 Forum ! 
 
 The rare and noble portrait-heads of Macedonian, Ptolemaic, and other 
 Greek sovereigns, from the days of Alexander to those of Mithridates, 
 show us the various styles of work and degrees of finish attained by 
 the gem-engravers of that period of two centuries. They are generally, 
 however, rather vigorous than minutely laboured in their finish ; in 
 fact, just redeemed from being hard in treatment by their fine model- 
 ling : and we are strongly disposed to attribute to the latter part of this 
 period, and to the subsequent pre-Augustan and Augustan age the 
 more elaborately finished and delicate works of the Greek gem-engraver. 
 Indeed, the fine sards from India, and the adamantine materials for 
 engraving on them, must, at that time have begun to be common, and 
 to improve the technique of the art. The bold but elaborate treatment 
 of Syracusan coins, and of some of those of Magna Grrecia, seems to 
 suggest a parallelism with the deeply cut intaglios that we are 
 constrained by their very perfection of artistic design and technical 
 treatment to place in the period when the art was purely Greek ; and 
 this deep-engraving seems to have become a Roman taste, and to have 
 been adopted by some of the Greco-Roman gem-cutters of the Augustan 
 and of after times. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxiii 
 
 But who were these engravers of Greek and Roman signets ? 
 and whence did they draw the subjects for their designs ? A 
 skilled eye can without much hesitation recognise in the design 
 of a gem the source whence the artist drew it, whether a statue, 
 a bas-relief, or a mural fresco ; and undoubtedly all of these forms of 
 art suggested such designs. Many of the Etruscan and finer archaic 
 works present certainly the characteristics of the last of these forms of 
 art ; a form to which we know the inhabitants of Tuscany and Rome 
 to have been as partial in very early days as they continued to be until 
 the age of Raphael. Both in subject and treatment these pictorial 
 gems recall to mind the representations of heroic myths, handed down 
 to us on Greek vases of the period just bordering on the Phidiac age. 
 The gems of the later Greek style, on the other hand, frequently 
 consist of individual divinities in the sculpturesque attitudes character- 
 istic of the bronze or marble statues that drew the delight and 
 reverence of Greeks. But it is contrary to the genius of the two arts 
 to suppose that the scalptor and the sculptor were one and the same 
 person, that the ykvtyi) of the one and the y\a<f>v, if we may so use the 
 word, of the other, were the work of a single hand. It is a much more 
 natural supposition that if the gem-engraver's art was not entirely 
 distinct, its affinities with the art of the die-sinker would tend to make 
 the master-designer, whose artist hand cut the pattern pieces of a 
 noble Greek coinage, also the engraver of the choicest gems, and the 
 artizans who repeated the coin-dies would, in this case, be his natural 
 disciples in either art. The treatment of a design on a coin was indeed 
 generally somewhat stiffer and harder than on the gem, and the variety 
 of subjects was more restricted. The first of these results was 
 naturally due to the nature of the material and the mode of employing 
 it ; the second arose, of course, as in the case of vases, from the greater 
 variety of individual tastes, the subjects being much circumscribed in 
 the case of the coin by the special character of the associations that were 
 hallowed in a city or a nation. 
 
 But notwithstanding these differences iu the two arts, there re- 
 mained a great similarity in the subjects and in the motive of each of 
 them, a similarity that certainly seems to point to the mints of Grecian 
 cities as the probable schools from which the gem-engraver and the 
 master die-sinker would alike have emerged. In the Romau Imperial 
 age, it is hard to resist the conclusion, that the same hand must have 
 been master of both arts. 
 
 Yet here again we can only urge probability and the sort of argu- 
 ment that is drawn from analogy to support this view. But whatever 
 
xxiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 uncertainty and hesitation may prevent our fully and satisfactorily 
 answering the questions we have raised, we may feel very sure that 
 many a myth — including some that have heen in other forms lost to us 
 — is handed down to our days on the imperishable sard and in scarcely 
 any other tangible form ; and that of many a master-piece of the 
 Grecian Sculptor we have the general form and air perpetuated on 
 gems, that have been lost in every other shape ; and on this too we may 
 assuredly rely, that if we could but assemble in one collection the still 
 extant gem-signets of the different ages and families of man from the 
 days of Urukh to those of the latest Sassanian lungs, we should 
 have a more complete representation of the objects that stirred the 
 minds and ruled the hearts of men through all those many ages and 
 changes of circumstance, than would be afforded by any other single 
 form of their arts — indeed we may perhaps with justice say, than by all 
 the other forms of these that remain to us combined. 
 
 It is, of course, with more or less of conjecture, guided by a somewhat 
 halting experience, that we attempt to discriminate between the gems of 
 the post-Phidiac Greek schools, or even hazard an opinion regarding the 
 relative date of those belonging to the later Greek and early Imperial 
 Roman epochs. The works of Praxiteles and of the Lysippan school 
 indubitably formed subjects for the gem-engraver, and they must have 
 been copied, though particular subjects would of course have been in 
 fashion in different times and places, during the whole of the later 
 Greek and Greco-Roman periods. But not less indubitably must the 
 gem carry on its face now the evidence of the hand that worked it long 
 ago, if only our eyes be enough skilled in the sort of criticism that can 
 discern the differences of technique and treatment. How hard this is, 
 even with all the wealth of modem museums in statues, bronzes, 
 coins, and friezes, the accomplished archaeologist and most scholarlike 
 critic, perhaps the most deeply feels. That the student of a single 
 subject like gem engraving — though, indeed, such a subject cannot be 
 altogether singly studied — should feel this difficulty while hazarding 
 opinions regarding the age of the different gems he describes, is not to 
 be wondered at. But it seemed, nevertheless, better to face this diffi- 
 culty, and in the subjoined Catalogue to venture to assign to the 
 different works what seemed to its author their probable dates, than, 
 from the fear that some might be erroneous, to leave the finest works 
 in the collection with a bare and colourless description, unlinked by 
 any suggestion with either epoch in the history of Art. Whether that 
 grand ruin, the polished-out Apollo (No. 50), or that numbered 51 in 
 this Catalogue, both from the Arundclian Collection, one at least of 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxv 
 
 which seems to reflect the style of the Apollo of Miletus, were wrought 
 in the later iEginetan or the Phidiac, or even in a still later age ; whether, 
 again, the grand figure of Hermes (No. 165) is a work of near the age 
 of Lysippus or a copy by a great Greek hand in the later Greek or 
 early Greco-Roman period from a statue belonging to the Lysippan 
 school, one has really too little data — at least, our experience is not 
 enough — to say with any confidence. But that in these gems we are 
 looking on types familiar to the men who lived in those great epochs 
 of noble art, types which we see refracted, as it were, down to our days 
 through the sai-ds in which native Greek hands at some time during 
 the golden age had imaged them, is beyond doubt. Nor can 
 we hesitate in giving a Greek, though a less early Greek date, to the 
 workmanship, and perhaps to the design, of the Satyr rejoicing in the 
 grape (No. 215), on a lovely hyacinth ; or to the Muse (No. 70), or the 
 Mourning Apollo (No. 60). 
 
 When we have reached the Augustan age the numbers of good gems 
 in the Collection thicken on us ; and we may almost cease to par- 
 ticularise among them, or at least to do so further than will have been 
 done in other parts of this Introduction. In fact, it is to the centuries 
 between the reign of Augustus and the end of the Antonine period, that 
 we have to refer the major part of the gems in this as in most other 
 fairly selected collections of gems. And among these the gems are 
 most numerous and conspicuous that were worked about the period 
 of the reign of Hadrian, during the marked revival in that reign of 
 the arts that had receded so far in the previous reigns from the 
 perfection of the Augustan age. 
 
 To this time belongs of course that marvellously fine Antinous on a 
 black sard, that has been so often copied in the last century (No. 500 
 in this Catalogue) ; and to this age, too, must be referred several of the 
 polychrome cameos cut in the differently coloured layers of sardonyx 
 in that reign coming into vogue, the material of which was, perhaps, 
 then supplied in larger and choicer specimens by the extending com- 
 merce with the East. Possibly to this age is to be assigned that 
 marvel of art, the great chalcedony phalera (No. 100), though it is 
 difficult to believe that it is not a work of an earlier and a nobler 
 period in the history of Art. 
 
 Of the classes of gems, Egyptian in their subjects, but belonging in 
 date to the Ptolemaic and Romano-Egyptian periods, there are a few 
 examples in the Blenheim Collection. The portrait (No. 364) of 
 Demetrius Philopator, though not Egyptian, is of Ptolemaic date and 
 Greek workmanship ; and probably the splendid cameo (No. 366) of an 
 
xxvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Egyptian queen, may claim Greco-Ptolemaic date and origin. So, too, 
 may the cameo on lapis lazuli (No. 319) of two profile busts, probably 
 royal, as Hercules and Iole. The beautiful hyacinthine garnet, with a 
 head of Isis (No. 43), is Romano-Egyptian, if it be not even Ptolemaic ; 
 while the gems, Nos. 44 and 46, belong to the later of these periods. 
 On pages 49 and 50 will be found the description of five gems, also of 
 this later age. The heads of Serapis, so common under the Roman 
 Empire, were certainly engraved in other parts of the Empire besides 
 Egypt. Of the Mithraic subjects, which the infiltration of the 
 Persian religious system into the Empire had called into existence, 
 there are two examples, described in page 49. Nor are the rudely 
 worked gnostic gems unrepresented here ; gems with enigmatical 
 subjects, such as were the talismans and amulets of Basileides, 
 which, to judge from their numbers, must have sprung up, a plentiful 
 crop, from the Alexandrian hotbed of the Gnosis, in the second century. 
 The examples in this Collection are described on page 51. Of the 
 works of the Lower Empire after Severus Alexander, a period when 
 gem engraving in Rome had become well-nigh barbarous, we should 
 not expect to find examples in this Collection. Indeed there are not, 
 perhaps, half a dozen Roman gems in it of later date than the reign of 
 Elagabalus, even if we include some of the memorial rings and 
 souvenirs described on page 106 of this Catalogue. Nor, again, of 
 the very numerous gems remaining to our time from the days of the 
 Persian Empire under the Sassanian sovereigns — so conspicuous for 
 the exquisite stones on which their designs are engraved, and for the 
 coarse wheel-wrought character of the designs themselves — were any 
 considered worthy of a place in the Blenheim Collection ; probably, 
 indeed, its noble collector was not acquainted with them at all. Even 
 Byzantine gems are unrepresented in it. These gems are absent, no 
 doubt, for the reason that the art was ceasing to be " classical," as well 
 in subjects as in treatment. 
 
 But after the long sleep of the gem-engraver's, as of other classical 
 forms of Art, through those active centuries that we call the Dark 
 Ages, while the civilization and polities of modern Europe were 
 fermenting out from the great turmoil that attended, and partly 
 caused, the decadence of the divided Empire, came that age of the 
 1 icnaissauce, the era of the Medicis. 
 
 Of the re-awakened arts of that era gem engraving was one, and 
 it of course reflected the characters of the rest. Without entering on 
 the history of its growth and progress, we may point to a few of the 
 liner examples of the period in the great Collection under our review. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxvii 
 
 The spiuel or ruby signet of Charles cinq of France (No. 583), and 
 the exquisite and famous cameo, the Nuptials of Cupid and Psyche, 
 have already been alluded to when speaking of the Arundel Collection. 
 The latter illustrates by the charm of its drawing, the perfection of its 
 execution, its very errors in classical detail, and in the relation which 
 the design bears to the form and size of the surface it adorns, all the 
 characteristics of the best time of the Renaissance. 
 
 Among the many cameos and portraits of that period, none can 
 surpass the grand head (No. 538), probably representing some 
 personage contemporary with the famous artist Alessandro il Greco 
 who engraved it. The portraiture of that period of art is further 
 represented in the cameo likenesses of the Emperor Charles V., of 
 Philip II. (probably by Jacopo de Trezzo), of Henri IV., and of Cardinal 
 Mazarin. 
 
 Among the modern gems, which are especially numerous in the 
 portion of the collection formed by the third Duke himself, are to be 
 found works by Sirletti (the Laocoon, on amethyst, No. 349, is one), by 
 Natter, by Pichler, by Burch, and by Marchant, who aided his Grace 
 in the purchase of some of his finest and most authentically antique 
 gems while resident in Rome. 
 
 This sketch would be incomplete without some notice of the 
 materials to the durability of which we owe the preservation, and to 
 the beauty of which is due so much of the charm of a collection of 
 gems. The stones employed by the gem-engraver in ancient times 
 differ but little from those in use for the purpose in the Renaissance 
 and modern ages. The commonest material in each age has been 
 chalcedony in one or other of its numerous and varied forms. Next to 
 chalcedony come the garnets, the amethyst, lapis lazuli, the beryl, the 
 sapphire, the peridot, the emerald ; while some late gems, chiefly 
 amulets, engraved with gnostic and astrological subjects, are met with 
 on haematite and occasionally on magnetite, the mineral forms of two of 
 the oxides of iron. With the exception of the last two, these stones 
 engraved with antique work occur with a frequency represented by the 
 order in which we have recounted them. 
 
 But the chalcedonic minei'als offer the most coveted materials to 
 
 the gem-engraver, who prizes their fine grain, — or rather absence 
 
 of grain and crystalline cleavage — their toughness, and their hardness, 
 
 which is such as to yield most readily to the materials (diamond and 
 
 emery dust) wherewith he charges his wheel ; while on the other hand 
 
 they are able to resist the abrasion of ordinary materials, and the more 
 
 subtle erosion of Time. These stones also are all susceptible of an 
 
 d 2 
 
xxviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 excellent polish, and are many of them endowed with the gift of 
 beautiful colour. Hence to one stone of any other material we find 
 perhaps ten composed of some form of chalcedony. Chalcedony is com- 
 posed of silica in a form devoid of visible crystallisation, while quartz 
 is that earth completely crystallised. The amethyst and the citrine 
 are violet and yellow forms of quartz ; the former was the amethystus 
 (aixtQvcTTos) of antiquity; the latter is probably one of the stones 
 known to Pliny under the Greek term chrysolithus. 
 
 In passing, attention may be called to one or two of the beautiful 
 amethysts in this Collection. As specimens of large size and of the 
 streaked and paler colours, very usual in the antique ateliers, we may 
 mention the great pebble (No. 5) with the Serapis intaglio, and the 
 famous Pallas of Eutyches (No. 81), the stone of which bears a strong 
 indirect testimony to the genuineness of the work, for a modern 
 forger would have chosen an amethyst of at least a richer hue. 
 Quartz, crystallus [KpvcrTakhos), seldom occurs with antique work 
 upon it : a specimen of it, however, penetrated by fibres of rutile, a 
 rare material for a gem, is here seen with a figure of the Sun God 
 (No. 266). 
 
 We reserve the term chalcedony for the comparatively colourless 
 varieties of the mineral ; they generally have a pale smoky, yellowish 
 or bluish hue. When coloured with any of the tints of red and yellow 
 which the oxide of iron imparts to it, it becomes the sard (adphiov, 
 sarda), so called from this word meaning yellow in Persian, not from the 
 town of Sardis, Pliny's etymology ; the pale rich yellow kind, clear 
 yellow when looked through, and pale dull orange or brownish yellow 
 when looked at, is the golden sard ; the yellow sard being the name for 
 the less translucent specimens which lack the brightness of the former 
 and have a yellower or more orange tint when looked at. The golden 
 sard was the favourite stone of the Greek artist, who doubtless meant 
 the work he engraved on it to be seen as a transparency. The yellow 
 sard only occasionally carries antique work. 
 
 The sardine-stone or sardine, the sardoine of the French, is a dark 
 red translucent, but sometimes very transparent, sard, the aspect of 
 which is almost black ; its fine colour being only seen when it is 
 looked through. It often carries noble work of the late Greek, and 
 early Imperial Roman periods ; but still oftener the works of the 
 cinque-cento and modern artists. 
 
 The " hyacinthine " sard is the term applied to a rich and glorious 
 variety of this stone which possesses the orange-red tint, with almost 
 the transparency of the kind of garnet termed in France " hyacinthe 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxix 
 
 la belle." To these clear and beautiful kinds of sard, the writers of 
 the last century gave the name of beryl, a term that has introduced 
 many a case of confusion into the descriptions of gems in that century, 
 such as the account Raspe gives of the famous Hermes (No. 165) in 
 this Collection, which he states to be engraved on a beryl. 
 
 The duller transparent red kinds of sardine are the blood sard ; and 
 there are varieties of the sard of every tone of red, orange and brown, 
 from an opaque black 6ard on the one hand, to the pale golden kind on 
 the other. And the sard passes by gradual steps into the cornelian, 
 a stone from which it is, however, mineralogically distinguishable. 
 Thus the true sard presents in its fracture a dull, hackly aspect, due 
 probably to a microscopically-crystalline structure, not inconsistent 
 with its very homogeneous substance, and absence of grain. It is 
 also tougher and much harder than the cornelian, which is readily 
 chipped, and exhibits a smooth glistening surface of fracture. The 
 cornelian probably contains more of the opaline silica, the sard and* 
 the other chalcedonies possessing what has been termed a crypto-crys- 
 talline character, and therefore being more nearly of the nature of quartz. 
 
 In considering the other coloured varieties of chalcedony, we may 
 next pass to those that are green. They are known by the term 
 Plasma (a corruption, it is said, of Prasina). They present almost 
 every tint and hue of green, yellow-green, and bluish-green, and 
 sometimes almost rival the emerald in the beauty of the colour 
 transmitted through them, though in translucency and lustre they 
 can never compete with that splendid stone. Their colouring matter 
 is usually iron, but sometimes, also, it is the chromium which gives its 
 colour to the emerald. The chalcedony tinted by nickel, the chryso- 
 prase of mineralogy, if it ever occurs with antique work, which is 
 extremely doubtful, certainly only does so very rarely. It is rare, 
 indeed, to meet with gems on plasma, the transparency and homo- 
 geneity of which are not spoilt by flaws and flecks throughout their 
 substance. The jaspis of the Romans probably included some of 
 the less translucent varieties. 'Viret et ssepe tralucet iaspis, etiam 
 victa multis antiquitatis gloriam retinens," is Pliny's introduction 
 to the species of jaspis. Undoubtedly the " antiquitatis gloria " 
 must allude to the habitual use of the green jasper, for gems and 
 for ornaments, by the Egyptians and Phoenicians of the eld. They, 
 however, very rarely employed the translucent kinds of stone, 
 through which the green jasper passes into the plasma. The ex- 
 pression " saepe tralucet " shows that translucency was not the 
 essential characteristic of the jaspis, as advocated by some authors. 
 
xxx INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Some of the more transparent and richly tinted varieties of the plasma 
 fell certainly among the species of the smaragdus of Pliny. Probably 
 the Lao-iris of the Greeks included the same varieties of stone as 
 Pliny's " iaspis ; " but no Greek work that can certainly be attributed 
 to the better periods of art is known upon any of these materials. 
 A few archaic Greek works are, however, certainly known on a trans- 
 lucent plasma ; but the stone came first into general use and fashion 
 during the early Imperial epoch ; when good Imperial portraits were 
 engraved on it. A little later it became a very common material for 
 gems, and generally carries work remarkable for the beauty of the 
 drawing and design, but of rather coarse workmanship in the details. 
 These gems probably, if we may judge from the subjects common on 
 them, belong chiefly to the period between Titus and the Antonines. 
 Indeed, the Venus Victrix on the coins of that time is so frequent a 
 subject on the plasma, as to suggest the idea that it may have been 
 i» worn as a talisman or charm by the gentler sex (see No. 124). 
 
 A pale and delicate bluish chalcedony is that known as the sapphirine 
 chalcedony. Heads and figures of Jove are not very uncommon upon 
 it. An amethystine and a rose-tinted variety, the former usually 
 with Asiatic work, are also occasionally met with. 
 
 Of the stones that we recognise by the name of jasper, which are 
 chalcedonies charged with a sufficient amount of foreign matter to 
 render them opaque, and which present a beautiful variety and 
 vividness in their colours, none except the black or brownish-black 
 varieties seem to have been employed by the Greeks, though in 
 Roman Imperial times the other varieties came into vogue. 
 
 The Egyptians, indeed, as already mentioned, were partial to a dark 
 green jasper owing its colour to the mineral chlorite, and Phoenician 
 scarabaei are usually formed of this stone, some kinds of which are 
 very soft, from their containing an excessive amount of this ingredient, 
 or of the mineral termed " green earth." A pale green jasper, that 
 composing the material of the singular gem in this Collection (No. 46), 
 was also sometimes used by the Egyptians for their inlaid gold 
 cloisonnes work ; but as materials for gems of a good period of the 
 art, these green varieties of jasper are very rare. 
 
 Of the dark green jasper there are two other kinds : the bloodstone 
 is an opaque, and the heliotrope is a translucent variety which, in fact, 
 is a dark plasma ; both are characterised by red or sometimes yellow 
 opaque stains or spots. All these stones were employed during the 
 decline of the art in the second century — being favourite stones for 
 astrological and gnostic subjects ; the Sun God, with radiate crown and 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxxi 
 
 whip in hand, and often in a chariot, being frequently found engraved 
 on them. 
 
 The vermilion-coloured jasper — "hsematitis" of Pliny, and not to be 
 confounded with our haematite, which is the native oxide of iron, 
 though this is the colouring matter of the red jasper— is unknown as a 
 gem stone before the Imperial Roman era had set in ; in fact, Greek 
 work on it probably does not exist. A few fine antique gems are 
 known engraved on it, but in the best of them there is a coarseness of 
 manipulation and finish that generally reveals the fact that they were 
 worked by the wheel at the time when it was superseding all the other 
 tools of the engraver. This period was probably about the reign of 
 Trajan. The design on the red jasper is generally more stiff than on 
 the plasma, which seems to have preceded it by some years in the 
 fashions at Rome. The head of Vespasian (No. 441) in this Collection 
 is probably a contemporary work, and a very early example of this mate- 
 rial; but when we come to the days of Hadrian, and more particularly of 
 his Antouine successors, the red jasper often carries imperial portraits 
 with the characteristics of the work of those times. The influence of the 
 material on the art it embodies is interestingly exhibited in the red 
 jasper gems. As a material it seems not susceptible of the delicacy of 
 workmanship that the tough and grainless sard so admirably responds 
 to, and which was the first essential in a gem stone with the Greek 
 artist. The lines have, therefore, to be coarser on the jasper ; but, on 
 the other hand, its duller and more earthy lustre befits this coarser 
 work and sets it off well, while, from the brilliant colour of the stone, 
 the effect of none of the work on the red variety is lost. On the green 
 stones, aud this is particularly true of the plasmas, the duller hue, or 
 rather, the greater absorption of light and illuminating colours by the 
 stone, prevent the details and modelling of the work on these stones 
 from being well seen, unless by a lens or in strong light ; and this has 
 probably been the cause that while the engraver usually drew his out- 
 lines with freedom and artistic expression on the plasmas, the work 
 with which the details are put in on them is so often sketchy and almost 
 rude. And if the Greek preferred a transparent stone in general, that 
 his work might be enjoyed as a transparency, the Roman gem-engraver 
 seems to have wrought with a view to the effect of his work when seen 
 directly by reflected light. Probably with both the, so to say, business 
 use of the gem for forming an impression, was considered as of less 
 importance in the artistic point of view than its .being an object of 
 admiration as an ornament. In many cases, again, it was neither as a 
 signet nor as an ornament so much as in the character of a talisman 
 
xxxn INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that a gem was worn : and for this it was only necessary that a certain 
 subject should be engraved on a particular stone. The silent language 
 of Art had little power to persuade or elevate where superstitions like 
 these of the Orphic school of mystics, had dominated the reason and 
 sealed the senses. 
 
 And to this cause, as much as to any other, is due the decline of the 
 gem-engraver's art, even while other and kindred arts had made much 
 less progress towards their eclipse. 
 
 The onyx, sardonyx, and banded agate, are forms of agate ; and agate 
 is chalcedonic silica, deposited in successive layers, in general, in the 
 interior of the hollows that occur in trap rocks. The deposits that 
 have thus lined and gradually filled these hollows, must have been 
 formed by an intermittent action, as the outline, and often the colour 
 and other characters, of each are distinct. They seem to have been 
 produced by an infiltration — thus intermittent — of silicious waters 
 into the hollow ; the sihca depositing itself over the walls of the cavity, 
 or collecting round some nucleus within it. The result is a solid mass 
 of silica, built up of layers nearly parallel to each other, and following 
 the contortions and angles of the surface of the cavity. A section 
 through such a mass will, therefore, reveal a series of parallel bands or 
 stripes, sometimes angular, and curved, and curiously tortuous, some- 
 times, however, level and nearly straight, like the stripes of a ribbon. 
 The layers or bands in these stones present different properties. Thus 
 in the same stone some of the layers may have the quality of sard, and 
 like that stone, be somewhat porous; others, again, being colourless or 
 white, and resisting infiltration. The layers of the former kind have, 
 in some cases, been infiltrated by the weak solution of iron salts 
 occurring in the water that has permeated the rock, and have either 
 become subsequently coloured by the iron oxide, through exposure to 
 the air, or needed only the application of heat to develope in them the 
 red or yellow hues of the sard. To such, again, as have not been thus 
 naturally and throughly tinted, artificial colour may be imparted by the 
 absorption of colouring solutions of iron or other metals, or of honey, 
 and by a subsequent treatment by sulphuric and other acids, or by heat. 
 
 This art has particularly been practised in Germany, near Obersteiu, 
 where a more porous and inferior kind of agate is met with. The hills 
 of Malwa have from the earliest days, and those of Uruguay have 
 in quite recent times, supplied the finer kinds, rich in their layers of 
 true sard. The layers of the iuferior sorts belong to a variety of 
 chalcedony, more allied to the cornelian than to the sard. 
 
 The level and flatly laminated agates may be cut either parallel to or 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxxiii 
 
 transversely to the direction of the strata. The so-called onyxes and 
 sardonyxes of the gem-engraver are the stones produced by the former 
 method : the long, oval-formed, " banded " or " tri-coloured " agates 
 (No. 257 of this Collection), on which so many of the fine Etruscan 
 and later Greek works are engraved, are the transversely cut speci- 
 mens. The term agate is usually retained for those more irregular 
 varieties of stone in which the layers present angularities in their outlines. 
 The (achates) agate of Pliny, no doubt, was also applied to the less 
 transparent of these and to the more variegated kinds of jasper ; the 
 term onyx among the ancients having, been used in different senses at 
 diverse times. Our " banded agate " represents, perhaps, the ovv-^iov 
 of the Greeks, the more transparent of the fantastic and irregular agates 
 being the onyx of the Romans ; though the term seems also to have 
 been used for varieties of the sardonyx, the layers of which were not 
 sard. A sardonyx (aaphuos ovv£i, however, was certainly a stone in 
 which the strata lay superposed, and in which one layer at least was 
 sard. 
 
 Much confusion has been introduced into modern descriptions of 
 gems by the different senses in which the terms onyx and sardonyx 
 have been used. One fashion confines the term onyx to the two- 
 layered stones, and that of sardonyx to those in which more than two 
 layers are superposed, irrespective of their quality. 
 
 In the descriptions in the following Catalogue, the term ouyx will be 
 used to imply a stone in which chalcedouic layers of various hues and 
 kinds are superposed, provided none of these be of the sard character. 
 Where one of these is sard, the stone will be termed a sardonyx. 
 Practically, the two terms are difficult of very exact discrimination ; as, 
 for instance, where the sard-like layers are of inferior or opaque quality ; 
 in the last case, the stone passes into a jasper onyx. 
 
 But in all ambiguous cases the descriptions given of each stone will 
 render a more exact terminology unnecessary. 
 
 The sardonyx has always been the favourite material for cameos. 
 The artists of the Ptolemaic period probably first used its differently 
 coloured layers — at least, of the two-layered stones — in order to impart 
 a contrast to the different surfaces of their designs. The exaggerated 
 use of this artifice in stoues with several differently tinted layers 
 belongs to the Roman period ; its effect was to produce a strong and 
 conventional, rather than a pleasing, contrast. 
 
 The term nicolo — abbreviated from onyculo — is applied to a variety, 
 generally two-layered, of the onyx ; the base layer being usually an 
 opaque black jasper, sometimes artificially blackened, sometimes also a 
 
xxxiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dark sard, while the very thin surface layer is of a pale bluish-white 
 hue, due partly to the white of the upper layer not being pure, and 
 partly to the effect of the black stratum below it being dimly seen 
 through the translucent substance of this thin upper layer. Work of 
 an earlier time than the Augustan age, on the nicolo, is probably not 
 known ; but from that time onwards it carries fair but rarely very good 
 work, generally characterised by a certain clumsiness in the draw- 
 ing, and by inferior character in the treatment. The works on it 
 were done to present a pictorial effect, the thin bluish upper layer 
 being cut through to the dark* base layer of the stone ; so that the 
 design is seen in black on a bluish-white ground. To give effect to the 
 design — thus, dark on a white ground — a certain exaggeration in out- 
 line became necessary ; just as, had the white layer been that 
 employed to represent the subject, a more attenuated outline would be 
 found to be required. 
 
 The nicolo continued to be a rather favourite stone, so long as gem 
 engraving existed as an art ; and among the gems of the Sassanian 
 Dynasty in the Parthian Empire we find mingled with many luminous 
 and lovely sards, and with transcendent garnets, nicolos presenting the 
 finest contrasts in their colours ; all these stones carrying the singular 
 and rudely worked subjects which seem to have represented an art 
 inherited from the days of Mesopotamian cylinders and Persian conical 
 stamps, but modified in its technique by the introduction of methods, 
 especially the use of a coarse wheel, from the West. 
 
 This stone may have been the iEgyptilla of Pliny, " nigra radice, 
 ccerulea facie." 
 
 The interesting cameo, No. 4 in this Catalogue, representing the 
 Jupiter Axur, known also on the famous intaglio with the inscription 
 NEICOY at St. Petersburg; the Omphale, also in cameo, on the 
 historically interesting double nicolo (No. 316), composed of a black 
 stratum between two bluish-white strata, and perforated by the original 
 Indian boring ; the huge stone with its strange African representation 
 of the Lybian Astarte (No. 256) ; may be instanced among the 
 remarkable ancient nicolos in the Marlborough Collection. 
 
 Next in importance and frequency to the large family of chalcedonio 
 stones comes the mineralogical group known under the name of garnet, 
 the avOpa^ of the Greek, and carbunculus of the Roman writers. Not 
 to complicate the subject by mineralogical details, the garnets used by 
 the gem-engravers may be divided according to their colour. The 
 pure transcendently red varieties, without tints of orange on the one 
 hand, or of violet on the other, when seen by transmitted light, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxxv 
 
 known by various names, such as Bohemian garnet (slightly brownish 
 in its hue), Syriam garnet, so called from Syriam, the capital of Pegu, 
 and pyrope, form for our purpose one division : a second will be made 
 up of the kinds inclining to orange when examined by transmitted 
 light. These orange varieties, when toned with brown, and of the 
 tint of Tavel, or tawny port wine, are the " guarnaciuo " garnets of 
 the Italians. Those kinds in which the orange tends to an aurora red, 
 are the hyacinthine garnet — the hyacinths of the jewellers. They are 
 identical in colour with, but less lustrous than, the true hyacinth or 
 red jacinth, which is a zircon. Often they exhibit paler and more 
 yellow hues, and are internally seen to be full of stria? and b'ubble-like 
 impurities : these are the cinnamon stone. They are doubtless one of 
 the kinds of chrysolithus that were admired in Imperial Rome ; and 
 fine work of the Imperial age, and sometimes beautifully drawn and 
 modelled Greek art, are met with on them. 
 
 The next variety of the garnets — thus classed according to their 
 colours — is the kind which exhibits a violet hue mixed with the 
 red when the stone is seen by transmitted light. They are the 
 Oriental garnets of the jewellers, India furnishing some of the best of 
 them. They are also called the almandme garnets, possibly from the 
 ancient term alabniidici, as applied to a variety of the carbunculus 
 worked at and exported from Alabanda, in Caria. The modern term 
 carbuncle applies to any kind of garnet that is cut " en cabochon." 
 Fair work on this lovely stone, the almandine, is not rare in the 
 Roman period. There is generally a sort of characteristic roughness 
 and want of polish in the interior of the designs on this stone in 
 ancient times, contrasting curiously with the finer polish, which again 
 corresponds often with a higher quality in the work, on the guarnacino, 
 and hyacinthine, and cinnamon (or essonite) garnets of the epoch of 
 Imperial Rome, or of the late Greek art that existed just before that 
 epoch. The pretty gem (No. 27) representing Neptune, is a fine 
 example of ancient work on this stone. No. 229 is also a beautiful 
 example of Roman work on it. Of the hyacinthine garnet we have 
 examples in Nos. 43 and 330; while No. 123 is a garnet of the quality 
 known as the Syrian or Syriam garnet, with work that seems Roman 
 in date upon it. No. 728 may be another gem also of Roman work- 
 manship, on a similar stone, one worthy of comparison with that in 
 which the famous Sirius (No. 270) is sunk. 
 
 Lapis lazuli, the sapphirus (cra77(/>eipos) of antiquity, is a stone on 
 which Greek and Roman work of every age — unless, perhaps, of the 
 earliest (archaic) Greek time — is met with. Yet, though thus wide in 
 
 e 2 
 
xxxvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 its horizon - to use a geological phrase— it seems never to have been a 
 common material for gems. The Mercury (No. 17G) and the Hercules 
 and Iole cameo (No. 319), will serve to illustrate the use of this mate- 
 rial at two different periods ; and both are fine examples of the stone. 
 
 Among the rarer stones employed by the ancients, of which examples 
 are to be met with iu this Collection, the sapphire — the hyacinthus of 
 Roman authors — is the hardest, and is among the scarcest to be met 
 with. The Medusa (No. 98), and the head of Caracalla (No. 485), are 
 remarkable illustrations of the stone, and of the mastery the Roman 
 artists had acquired over its stubborn material. The beryl (beryllus), 
 a less rare stone in antiquity than the sapphire, and, like it, Oriental in 
 one at least of its sources, is well illustrated in the Neptune (No. 25) 
 and the Hippocampus (No. 734), both, it may be observed, marine 
 subjects — a class for which this material was often employed by the 
 ancients. 
 
 The Julia Domna (No. 484), the Bacchus (No. 183), and the Gryllus 
 (No. 690), are also excellent and very interesting examples of antique 
 work on the beryl, a stone in which the Blenheim Collection is thus 
 seen to be especially rich. 
 
 Of the ruby, the emerald, and the peridot, the Collection contains no 
 antique specimens. 
 
 The turquoise is represented by a gem of singular beauty, the Livia 
 and Tiberius cameo (No. 403). Pliny speaks of the callaina as having 
 the hue of the topazius (our peridot), only being opaque. This is 
 exactly the tint and character of this green turquoise — the favourite 
 variety with the Romans. Of the blue variety, no doubt the callais, 
 the little cameo (No. 532) seems to be an authentic antique specimen. 
 
 The gems in the Collection have all been marked with numbers, 
 generally in a vermilion colour ; and these numbers are those which 
 belong to the following Catalogue. 
 
 In this Catalogue, whenever a gem has been identified with one in 
 the collection of Lord Bessborough, as catalogued by Natter, a reference 
 is given to his published catalogue with the number in it of the gem. 
 The gems acquired from the collections of Lord Chesterfield and of 
 Medina, are severally distinguished by the letters C and M, and by 
 numbers also referring to the published catalogue of Natter. Similar 
 references are given to the gems that can be identified with those 
 described in the catalogue of the Arundel Collection, as it stood iu 
 Lady Elizabeth Germain's time. The gems of the former of these 
 collections stand at present in three of the cases at Blenheim, marked 
 B i, B xi, and B in, sufficiently nearly in the order in which they are 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxxvii 
 
 described in Natter's catalogue, to corroborate by their position in the 
 cases any opinion one might, in a few instances, have otherwise given 
 with hesitation, regarding their identification. The Arundelian Gems 
 are mixed up in the remaining cases with those acquired by the third 
 Duke. The greater part of these can he fairly well recognised under 
 the descriptions in the catalogue preserved at the Society of Antiquaries. 
 Some of the gems in that catalogue are certainly no longer in the col- 
 lection : a few, again, are not described so plainly as to be capable of 
 beiug identified with certainty, though this does not seem to apply to 
 any of the more important gems. A reference is occasionally made to a 
 catalogue already alluded to — drawn up by the third Duke — which was 
 probably intended ultimately for publication. But in general when no 
 reference is made to the Bessborough or Arundel collections, the gem 
 was one of those collected by the third Duke himself. The descriptions 
 given by His Grace of the Bessborough and Arundel gems are those 
 of Natter's, or of the Arundelian Catalogue, of which he must have pos- 
 sessed a copy; and they are but little altered. Raspe's catalogue of 
 Tassie's casts has also, of course, been among the many works ran- 
 sacked to trace the history of the gems. 
 
 In using the phrase " to the right," or " to the left," as applied to a 
 head or bust, the direction is that of the head on the gem itself as seen 
 by the spectator, not that on the cast from it. The terms "con- 
 fronted " and " conjoined " are used respectively for faces represented 
 as looking towards each other, or as looking the same way where one 
 is partly eclipsed by the other. 
 
 The term " conjugated " will be reserved for cases in which heads 
 are united, as in the Campanian coins of Janus, or as in the caprices 
 and medleys of masks, so common upon gems. 
 
 Inscriptions on the intaglios are to be considered as retrograde, unless 
 described as being otherwise. It remains only for the author of this 
 Catalogue to appear for a moment on the scene, to express personal 
 gratitude to many who have helped him with their wider experience and 
 larger learning. But first he has to explain the raison d'etre of this 
 Catalogue at all. 
 
 In 1861, the Archaeological Institute formed an exhibition of all the 
 collections of antique gems that could be brought together in London. 
 Her Majesty lent the Royal Collection from the Presence Chamber at 
 Windsor, and the Dukes of Marlborough and Devonshire committed 
 their famous Collections also to the care of the Institute. 
 
 The author of this Catalogue had, when living at Oxford, made some 
 study of the knowledge of minerals possessed by the ancients at various 
 
xxxviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 periods ; and such a rich assortment of the materials used in gem 
 engraving, as that brought together in 1861, seemed to offer a great 
 opportunity for practical research in this subject. But the difficult}- 
 of deciding the dates and styles of the work on gems, or even their 
 claims to antiquity, rendered a much more elaborate study of the gems 
 and of their subjects necessary. 
 
 The Duke of Marlborough was, at the close of the exhibition, 
 induced to lend his splendid inheritance of gems to the author for 
 his study and for inspection by those who might wish to see the collec- 
 tion in detail. 
 
 A catalogue was the first requisite for this study ; and a rough 
 catalogue of the gems as they stood was accordingly made, chiefly 
 during a first inspection of them with Mr. King of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. Mr. King published the result of his inspection in the 
 Archaeological Journal of 1802. Under the author's hand, however, 
 the catalogue grew, and he had, from time to time, opportunities of 
 studying the materials and the subjects they carried engraved on 
 them, in other gem collections, more particularly in those at the 
 British Museum (now enriched with the Blacas Cabinet), at Berlin, 
 at St. Petersburg, at the Bibliotheque Imperiale in Paris (including 
 the Due de Luynes' collection), and in the private collections of the 
 Earl of Home (consisting of a part of the Montague collection), of 
 Mr. Rhodes (including the Mertens-Schaffhausen, and Praun collec- 
 tions), of Mr. Heber Percy (the inheritor of the famous Beverley 
 Gems), in England, and of the two Barons Roger in Paris. By the 
 experience thus obtained, and by a still larger comparison of gem 
 subjects, illustrated by a considerable collection of electrotyped and 
 other casts that he has formed from several collections besides those 
 named above, he was enabled to give the catalogue a more critical cha- 
 racter than it had at first. It seemed but a natural if inadequate return 
 for the truly gracious loan of the Collection on the part of the Duke, 
 that a copy of this Catalogue should go to Blenheim with the gems. 
 
 His Grace, however, offered to have it printed in a shape uniform 
 with Mr. Scharf's admirable catalogue of the other treasures at 
 Blenheim Palace ; and this proposal suggested to the author the 
 propriety of putting the Catalogue into a more classified form, and 
 arranging the descriptions in it according to their subjects. This 
 re-casting of the Catalogue proved a very long labour, and even after 
 it was performed, and the Catalogue printed, the descriptions of some 
 of the gems, as seen in new light, after a second comparison with the 
 gems, have had to be shifted to other than their original places ; so 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxxix 
 
 that numbers have dropped out in a few instances, while in one or two 
 other cases they have been repeated. 
 
 The author is well aware of the incompleteness of his work. He 
 can only hope that great errors have not found their way into it. 
 Dates are sometimes, perhaps, too boldly assigned to the gems, and 
 are necessarily, in most such cases, more or less conjectural ; at least, 
 they rest on that kind of induction which is, as it were, instinctively 
 formed on the comparison of styles of treatment, or of the subjects 
 treated on various gems or other forms of ancient or modern art ; 
 an induction which results in a sort of personal experience, which if 
 it cannot always be supported by a direct appeal to the materials on 
 which it is built, has generally more or less sound materials for its 
 foundation. Of course the value of such an induction is to be 
 measured by the archaeological learning, the actual experience, the 
 powers of observation, and the aesthetical faculty of the person who 
 forms it, and the author is too well aware of the weakness of his own 
 qualifications in these several respects. Finally, in saying that the 
 study of the whole subject and the working-out of this Catalogue, have 
 been entirely a labour of love and a recreation ; that in the middle of 
 other and more engrossing duties, it has called into play faculties and 
 tastes upon which the associations of scientific pursuits make little or 
 no call, the author desires rather to explain the l'eason for the length of 
 time that has elapsed between his seriously undertaking the Catalogue 
 and his completion of it, than to shelter himself behind the cloak 
 of an amateur against the criticisms his work may provoke from the 
 archaeological or aesthetical critic. 
 
 To many of his friends, aud especially to the Rev. C. W. King, 
 as well from his labours as an author of books replete with learning, 
 as in the character of a friend always communicative of the lore he 
 has gathered, the author of this Catalogue is greatly indebted. Among 
 his colleagues at the British Museum he might name' individually every 
 officer of the Archaeological Departments, the resources of which in 
 coins have been so often opened to him by Mr. Vaux and Mr. Poole, 
 and in gems by Mr. Newton, while the valuable stores of those gentle- 
 men's knowledge and experience have been no less freely afforded him. 
 To Mr. Newton he is especially indebted for many valuable observa- 
 tions during a careful inspection of the Collection. And in particular 
 he has to express his obligations to Mr. Albert Way for the active 
 interest which he exerted, in the first place, to obtain the consent of 
 the Duke of Marlborough to the loan of his noble Collection. 
 
 Of what he owes to the Duke himself for the confidence reposed in 
 
xl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 him in entrusting so valuable a possession to his hands, and in paying 
 him the compliment of printing this Catalogue, the author can only 
 say that he is conscious of the smallness of the return which he may 
 be making for this kindness, if his Catalogue can add a fresh interest 
 to some of the gems in the Collection it illustrates. It will at least 
 remain as one among the many proofs that Blenheim affords of his 
 Grace's care in illustrating the magnificent inberitance with which 
 the public services of one, and the fine tastes of another of his ancestors 
 have endowed his title. 
 
 N. S.-M. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 I. — MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Section I.— THE GODS. 
 
 l.—THE TWELVE GREAT OLYMPIAN DIVINITIES. 
 
 Zeus Jupiter. 
 
 1. — Intaglio. A head of Jove to the left on haematite. A Roman 
 work of fine execution for this material. The stone has been 
 re-polished in modern times. 
 
 2. — An intaglio on a red sard, representing Jupiter standing hold- 
 ing a long sceptre in his right hand ; his eagle in the field. 
 The work is rude. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, No. 40). 
 
 3. — An intaglio head of Jupiter Amnion, to the left, on a sard 
 highly foiled. A bold Roman work resembling the head on 
 some of the Consular coins. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (N. Cat. No. 19 c) originally in the Collection of 
 Lord Chesterfield. Figured by Worlidge. 
 
 4. — Cameo cut in a nicolo, once covered with a film of brown, 
 which is reserved to form a rim, and also survives on the 
 paludamentum and eagle's wing. The beardless Jupiter, Jupiter 
 axur, — a full-length figure, standing with the thunderbolt 
 and sceptre, and the eagle, in the field. The ^Egis envelopes 
 his loins. The work is indubitably ancient, and probably 
 
THE GODS — ZEUS. 
 
 represents an emperor, perhaps Augustus himself, as Jove. 
 This figure is that designated as St. John the Evangelist in 
 mediaeval times. The famous intaglio at St. Petersburg, 
 signed NEICOY, is similar in its subject. 
 
 A gem from the Arundel Collection (Cat. Th. D, 13). 
 
 [Jupiter Serapis, &c] Nos. 5 to 11. 
 
 5. — An intaglio cut on the boss of a large pebble of amethyst, 
 
 polished in its original shape. A front-faced head of Jupiter 
 Serapis. It is Roman or Romano-Egyptian work of the finest 
 type ; the stone is 1| inch in diameter. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (N. Cat. No. 14). 
 
 6. — Intaglio head of Jupiter Serapis, represented in full face, cut 
 out of the black upper layer of a jasper onyx of which the base 
 layer is white. It is rude work of the second century. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, No. 3). 
 
 7. — Intaglio head of Jupiter Serapis, full face, on a plasma of rich 
 colour, a stone on which work of so much excellence is not 
 common. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, No. 2). 
 
 8. — A minute intaglio, representing Jupiter Serapis enthroned ; a 
 sceptre is in his hand, the modius on his head, and Cerberus 
 by his side. It is engraved in the yellow upper layer of a 
 sardonyx, exhibiting also a white stratum, under which is a 
 black base layer. The whole figure is not much above | inch 
 in length. 
 
 -Intaglio head of Serapis, to the left ; a Roman work of the 
 minutest dimensions, cut on an oval sardonyx bevelled away 
 to exhibit a yellowish-brown top layer, which is separated 
 from a grayish black base by a broad white band. It is a 
 counterpart of the Isis (No. 4-~>), but the colours of the stone 
 are even more brilliant. 
 
 10. — An intaglio of the renaissance period, cut in a pale sapphirine 
 chalcedony, and representing, in very rude workmanship, 
 Serapis enthroned between Isis and Pallas within a zodiac, 
 carried by Atlas. 
 
THE GODS— ZEUS. 3 
 
 11. — Confronted heads of Serapis and Isis ; an intaglio of very late 
 Roman work, on a yellowish sard. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, from the Chesterfield Collection (N. Cat. 
 
 No. 27 c). 
 
 12. — An onyx cameo, representing in profile the heads of Zeus and 
 Hera, both to the right. A fine Greek work, cut in a trans- 
 lucent white layer, backed by an understratum of bluish grey. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (N. Cat. 20). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 29. 
 
 13. — A cameo on a two-layered sardonyx ; the subject a fine head of 
 Jupiter f face, looking to the right. It is cut in a white 
 stratum over-lying a black base layer. The simple and 
 massive treatment of the head is in favour of its being the 
 work of an ancient artist. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. B, 31). 
 
 14. — A modern cameo head of Jupiter, to the right, on a superb 
 five-layered sardonyx. The uppermost layer, of a pale cinnamon 
 hue, is reserved to form a rim. Under a white layer in which 
 the head is cut is another brown stratum, below which a second 
 white layer is seen resting on a base of black sard. The stone 
 is bevelled to exhibit the beauty of its strata. 
 
 Associations and Attributes of Zeus. 
 
 15. — A renaissance, or perhaps modern copy, in intaglio on a sardonyx 
 of the famed cameo at Naples, representing Zeus Giganto- 
 machos, signed A0HNII2N. It is cut in a brownish l'ed 
 upper layer, below which are seen a white stratum and a 
 base of dark gray. It is a fine work, and worthy of the 
 stone, the layers of which are very equal in thickness. 
 
 [Europa.] 
 
 16. — A rude intaglio on yellowish chalcedony, representing Europa 
 and Jove in the character of the Bull. Possibly a Roman work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (N. Cat. No. 109). 
 
 [Leda.] 
 
 17. — Intaglio on a dark sardine. Leda and the Jove-swan with 
 Pickler's initial n. The work and the stone are of a quality 
 of which the subject is not worthy. 
 
 b 2 
 
4 THE GODS— ZEUS. 
 
 18. — A very small cameo of Leda with the Jove-swan by her side. 
 Excellent Roman work on onyx. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 13G). 
 
 19. — The same sifbject on a cameo of inferior workmanship : onyx. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, 144). 
 
 [Ganymede.] 
 
 20.— An intaglio on a dark sard. The eagle soaring with Ganvmede. 
 It is inscribed KOINOY. Probably the work of Natter, who 
 used this signature. It is an intaglio worthy of his hand. 
 
 Bought by the Duke who formed the Collection, from Cipriani ; 
 and figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. 42. 
 
 21. — An intaglio head of Ganymede to the right, with the eagle 
 introduced as a minute symbol in the field. It is a work of 
 Burch, unsurpassed in finish, upon a superb sardonyx of three 
 layers. The surface layer of a pale chestnut is cut away, 
 except where it forms a reserved rim. The next layer of 
 bluish white carries the intaglio, and under it is a base layer 
 of deep brown sard. The beautiful strata of the stone are 
 shown by its being bevelled, while from the depth of the 
 reserved rim the impression stands out like a medallion. The 
 gem carries the signature of the artist. 
 
 22. — A very fine cameo on an onyx, representing a head of 
 Ganymede to the right, in a Phrygian cap. The relief is in 
 a porcelain white layer, the base consisting of a horn like 
 stratum. It is a work veiy antique in its character. 
 
 23. — An apparently Roman cameo of the fine Imperial time, on 
 sardonyx, in a bluish white layer. Ganymede feeding the eagle 
 of Jove. A dark sard stratum forms the base of the stone. 
 
 It was an Arundel gem (Cat. Th. B, 44), and is figured, " Marl- 
 borough Gems," Vol. ii. 43. 
 
 Hera Juno. 
 
 24.— A small full-length figure of Juno on a fine nicolo. She holds 
 a sceptre, and in one hand a small conical object. It is good 
 work of Imperial Roman age. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, once Lord Chesterfield's. Natter (Cat. 34 c) 
 calls it Liberalitas. 
 
THE GODS— POSEIDON. 
 
 Poseidon Neptune. 
 
 25. — An intaglio, representing Neptune in full-length figure on a 
 beryl, a stone so often devoted by the antique artist to mari- 
 time subjects. As in the Neptune of Cenchrea: and that on 
 the coins of Demetrius Poliorcetes, his left hand holds a 
 dolphin, in his right is the trident, and his left foot rests on 
 the prow of a ship. In the exergue ai - e the letters cl.svp 
 (probably the owner's name). It is good, probably Roman 
 work, and finished with the " diamond point." 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 42). 
 
 26. — An intaglio of Neptune, somewhat similar in position and in 
 attributes to the preceding. It is engraved in a nicolo which 
 has become much worn, and appears to be a work of rather 
 late Roman date. 
 
 27. — An intaglio on a richly foiled convex almandine, represents 
 Neptune in figure similar to the last, but without the dolphin. 
 There is a hydria on the rock on which the right foot rests. 
 It is a large and finely cut gem of apparently an early Imperial 
 Roman date. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (numbered in Natter's Catalogue, 47). 
 
 28. — An intaglio on an inferior sard which has lost its polish, repre- 
 senting a bust of Neptune to the left. It is fine, probably 
 rather late Greek work. 
 
 It was figured by Worlidge, in his Etchings of Gems, No. 31. 
 
 Associations, Attributes, &c, of Poseidon. 
 
 29. — Intaglio on a red cornelian, in which Neptune and Amphitrite 
 are seen riding on a sea-horse. The work belongs to the 
 renaissance period. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th..A, No. 31). 
 
 30. — Head of a Triton to the left ; fins are appended to the mouth, 
 and the beard is represented as if wet. An intaglio of late 
 Roman work, representing a rather uncommon subject on a 
 jasper. 
 
 31. — Intaglio on an amethyst foiled to enhance its colour. A Nereid 
 on two dolphins, holding or reining a hippocampus, — a beau- 
 tiful but rather an extravagant work ; stated by the third 
 Duke to have been engraved by Natter. 
 
6 THE GODS— POSEIDON ; DEMETER. 
 
 32. — A deeply cut intaglio on a white chalcedony of a Triton and a 
 Nereid (Amphitrite ?). The somewhat floriated tail, as well as 
 the material, betrays a renaissance hand. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, No. 32). 
 
 33. — A renaissance cameo, on a three-layered onyx : a Triton and a 
 Nymph sport on the waves, with an elaborate background. 
 These, with a Triton and a hippocampus, are rendered in a 
 white layer of the stone below which lie a bluish and a horn- 
 like stratum. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (N. Cat. No. 27). 
 
 34. — A minute river-god reclining: an intaglio on a jasper onyx. It 
 is somewhat deeply cut in the black surface layer ; a white 
 and a black stratum are seen on the bevelled edge of the gem. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, No. 1(1). 
 
 35. — A renaissance onyx cameo, representing a river-god in an opaque 
 white layer on a black ground. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, being one of those purchased from Medina of 
 Leghorn (Cat. No. 22m). 
 
 Demeter Ceres. 
 
 36. — A cameo on sardonyx : it represents a head of Demeter to the 
 right, in fine Greek or Greco- Roman work. The face is ren- 
 dered in a white porcelain layer, the hair in one of coffee-brown 
 colour, under these is a bottom layer of black jasper. In the 
 hair is wreathed a chaplet of poppies, and over the head is a 
 veil. 
 
 37 — A veiled head and bust of Ceres, in very high relief, cut in 
 cameo out of a beautiful amethyst. The date uncertain. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 10). 
 
 Associations, &c, of Demeter. 
 
 38. — An onyx cameo with a representation of Ceres seated and 
 holding a cornucopia. Triptolemus before her, present bag 
 what appear to be wheat ears, leans on the rutrum. A column 
 with an urn fills up the design. Mr. King conceives the gem 
 
THE GODS— DEMETER. 7 
 
 to bear a flattering allusion to Germanicus ; Livia and Ger- 
 
 manicus being frequently thus represented. The stone is 
 
 1^ inch high ; the figures are carved in a porcelain-white 
 layer lying on a stratum of brown sard. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. D, 1 3). 
 
 39. — Abundantia, a head to the right, and bust with a cornucopia in 
 her left hand, in intaglio of unusually good work for the 
 material, which is haematite. 
 
 40. — An intaglio of very good Roman workmanship on a fine sard : 
 its subject is Abundantia, full-length figure ; wheat-ears in 
 one hand, a dish of fruit in the other ; an ant in the field. 
 
 41. — A singular " eyed " agate carrying an intaglio of poor Roman 
 workmanship, representing Vertumnus or Bonus Eventus in a 
 small full-length figure, nude, with wheat ears in one hand, 
 and fruit in the other. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. GO). 
 
 42. — An intaglio on cornelian ; Bonus Eventus carrying grapes and 
 wheat-ears : the work is of the rude kind met with in the 
 late Roman period. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, No. 95). 
 
 [Isis, &c] 
 
 43. — Isis, or rather an Egyptian queen to the left, in the character 
 of Isis, with the persea fruit on her head ; cut in intaglio on 
 a beautiful hyacinthine garnet. The art is rude but not 
 archaic ; it is probably Egypto-Roman, but may belong to 
 the Ptolemaic period. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (N. Cat. 04). Natter calls the stone a Hya- 
 cintho Quarnacino, and adds " il se nomme aussi Berill ; on appelle 
 Berill toutes les pierres rouges ou jaunes, quand elles sont d'une 
 couleur bien uuie, et bien transparente ; ceux qui sont d'un rouge 
 fonce sont nommes Hyacinthi Quamacini ; " a remark which explains 
 the peculiar use of the terms Beryl, Hyacinth, and Guarnacino garnet, 
 during the last century. This was a gem of the Chesterfield Collection. 
 
 44. — An intaglio of Isis in a full-length figure of rude but perhaps 
 Romano-Egyptian workmanship, cut on a convex garnet. 
 
 A purchase of the third Duke's ; see Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
8 THE GODS— DEMETER ; APOLLO. 
 
 45. — Isis suckling Horns ; an intaglio of the same minute dimensions 
 as the Serapis No. 9, the drawing of both being excellent. It 
 is on a similar sardonyx ; the surface layer in which the en- 
 graving is cut is yellowish brown, beneath is a white stratum 
 on a base layer of dark bluish-gray jasper. 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 46. — Isis ; a female head, of very Hebrew physiognomy, to the left ; 
 an intaglio on the pale green jasper, often used in ancient 
 Egyptian ornaments. On the head is the Vulture head- 
 dress, but devoid of the head of the bird : on the neck is 
 an Egyptian necklace. The subject and the carvesque cha- 
 racter of the engraving would point to an Egyptian origin 
 for this elaborate gem. The treatment of the details, which 
 are not of Ptolemaic character, would indicate a date for the 
 work not earlier than the Romano-Egyptian period. Mr. King 
 supposes it to be a portrait and even the signet of Cleopatra 
 herself ! But the Vulture attire invariably has, in the earlier 
 times, the head and neck of the vulture rising from the brow 
 — or this head attire is replaced by the asp's head — in the 
 authentic portraits of Egyptian queens and goddesses of whom 
 it is the attribute. Moreover, while the nose and face of this 
 gem represent the conventional features of Isis, they are very 
 unlike those of Cleopatra as rendered on coins. On the 
 reverse is an Egyptian distyle temple, having in its centre 
 the head and bust of Athor. A precisely similar gem on 
 the same material is figured by Tassio as a cameo, and stated 
 to have been the property of the Marquis Capponi at Rome. 
 It probably is this gem ; the place of which in the Blen- 
 heim Collection was among those acquired by the third Duke 
 of Marlborough. 
 
 Apollo. 
 
 47. — Intaglio on a fine red sard. A head of Apollo to the left. 
 Fine work, apparently by a rather late Greek artist. 
 
 A Bessborough gem. Natter in his Catalogue (No. 80) calls it a 
 " Berill tres bien travaille." 
 
 48. — Intaglio, on a dull red sard, of the head of Apollo, to the left, 
 a sprig of bay in the field. Fair Roman work. 
 
 A gem among the Chesterfield portion of the Bessborough Collection 
 (No. 16 c in Natter's Catalogue). 
 
 49. — Intaglio on a dark red sard. The same subject as the last, to 
 the left. The work is very rude, and of late Roman date. 
 
 Probably the Arundel gem termed " Pacis caput" (Cat. Th. A, 2.">). 
 
THE GODS — APOLLO. 9 
 
 50. — Intaglio, on a red sard, of Apollo playing the lyre ; a once fine 
 Greek gem of considerable size. It has been repolished, 
 almost to the extinction of the delicate and shallow work of 
 the intaglio. 
 
 An Arundel gem : the Apollo Citharoedus incidens of the Arundel 
 Catalogue (Th. A. 43). 
 
 51. — The remains of a magnificent gem, like the last in attitude and 
 subject — Apollo Musagetes — with the chlamys falling nearly 
 to the feet. It is a Greek work of noble simplicity. The oval 
 sard in which it is cut has been even worse treated than the 
 former, the work on it having been nearly polished away. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Th. A. 45). 
 
 53. — A very beautiful modern intaglio, on a fine sard. It repre- 
 sents Apollo much in the attitude of the " Belvedere." 
 
 54. — An early renaissance intaglio, representing Apollo with his bow 
 and a spread chlamys, cut in a fine jasper agate stone, banded 
 with brown and white. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 27). 
 
 55. — Intaglio on a fine sard. A head to the left, probably of 
 Apollo. It is a fine gem, that might have been wrought in 
 Magna Grrecia. The hair falls in beautifully worked curls, 
 and the face is of the true Greek type. 
 
 56. — A deeply-cut intaglio. Apollo tuning his lyre ; on a nicolo of 
 
 great beauty. It is probably modern, though Natter (Cat. 
 
 No. 32) describes it as " ouvrage tres ancien." It was a 
 Bessborough gem. 
 
 57. — Intaglio on a fine transparent sard. The "placable" Apollo 
 (as on coins of the Seleucidse) holds downwards the arrow with 
 his right hand, the bent bow being in his left. It is somewhat 
 deeply cut work, perhaps Greek, but not very highly finished. 
 
 58. — Intaglio on a sard. Apollo Citharoedus ; in the field an altar. 
 The work seems of renaissance time, the details not being in 
 the antique manner. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, No. 44). 
 
10 THE GODS— APOLLO. 
 
 59. — A small intaglio, on a fine oval sard, that has been somewhat 
 polished down. A nude figure, apparently of Apollo, stands in 
 the middle of the gem ; on his head is a somewhat conical 
 object, and in his hand he holds what may be a mask. His 
 lyre, on the ground, rests against a tree on which sits a bird 
 like a crow. On the other side is also a tree, with a similar 
 bird upon it ; and on its stem a female head appears as 
 though part of the tree : perhaps Daphne, or Apollo's fa- 
 vourite, Oyparissus, pining aw T ay into a cypress out of grief for 
 the slaughter of a favourite stag ; or it may be only a 
 comic mask. Beneath this tree is a hind suckling an infant 
 (Telephus ?). This curious little gem exhibits the characters 
 of late Roman work. 
 
 60. — An intaglio, cut in a shallow manner, in a beautiful golden 
 sard, of fine but late Greek work. 
 
 Apollo mourning the death of Coronis. The youthful god, 
 loosely robed in the chlamys, leans against a tree, and mourn- 
 fully contemplates the lifeless figure of the maiden, whom he 
 slew on the accusation of a crow. The crow sits on a rock 
 over her. Winckelman (" Monum. Inediti ") calls this group 
 Achilles mourning the death of Penthesilea. What appears 
 to be a shield by the maiden's side is perhaps the result of a 
 conchoidal fracture in the stone? There is at Berlin a paste 
 with this subject, called ancient by Toelken, which had been 
 in the collection of Stosch. It appears, however, to be really 
 a modern paste, taken no doubt from this gem itself. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. ,'S7), on " Berill," says Natter. 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. 40. 
 
 61. — A cameo on a sardonyx, perhaps a Roman gem, reworked in 
 later time, representing a laureated bust of Apollo to the 
 right. The face is worked in a white stratum, the wreath and 
 part of the robe being in a brown surface layer on a dark vase ; 
 backed with gold. 
 
 62. — -A cameo, head of Apollo to the right, somewhat in the garb of 
 a Muse ; the hair, which is laureated, is done in a fine rich 
 brown layer of a sardonyx, the face in a white layer, a trans- 
 lucent grayish-black material forming the base. The profile is 
 beautiful, but effeminate, and Greek in character. The gem is 
 lj| inch high by l T ' ff inch. 
 
 63.— Head of Apollo, laureated, to the left, on an onyx. A cameo 
 in a stiff style, and doubtless a modern copy, in which the 
 hardness is affected, the fresh surface of the stone betnvying 
 its true character. The head is in a bluish-white layer on a 
 black ground. 
 
 One of the Medina gems in the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 16 m I. 
 
 64. — A paste cameo of Apollo's head, to the right. 
 
 I 
 
 
THE GODS — APOLLO. 11 
 
 Associations, &c, of Apollo. 
 
 65. — A beautiful intaglio on a sard. A bust of Clio, to the right, 
 with the historic roll of papyrus hi her hand. It is figured in 
 Worlidge. It may, perhaps, be a Greek work : the treatment 
 of the hair, however, suggests doubts as to its antiquity, 
 and it may be a modified copy from an antique original. 
 There is a gem like it in the Florentine Collection. 
 
 An Arundel gem, called in the Catalogue (Th. E. 23) " Semiramis — 
 the roll representing her dagger." It has the same attribution in the 
 " Marlborough Gems," where it is figured, Vol. i. 2G. 
 
 66. — A Muse to the left. Intaglio on a sard. Rude Roman work. 
 
 67. — An Intaglio on a fine, long, oval cornelian ; Terpsichore tuning 
 her lyre. By her a cippus carrying a statue of Pallas. The, 
 antiquity of the gem is more than dubious ; the style, though 
 finely finished, being weak in character, and much after the 
 manner of Marchant. 
 
 68. — A modern intaglio on a fine golden sard. Melpomene holding 
 a mask ; a cippus behind her. 
 
 69. — An intaglio on a very fine plasma. Melpomene holding a 
 mask ; a cippus behind her ; in the field a shield and a falchion. 
 The work, though not very good, is superior to what is usual 
 on this stone in Roman times, and the form of the falchion 
 confirms the suspicion thus raised as to its antiquity. It 
 seems a cinque-cento work. 
 
 An Arundel gem, designated in the Catalogue (Th. A, GO) as 
 " Tornyris Scytharum regina," the mask standing for the head of 
 Cyrus, and the falchion for the weapon of her vengeance. 
 
 70. — Intaglio on a fine sard, representing the head and bust of a 
 Muse to the left. The letters ZA<I> have been scratched in 
 at some later period. The lyre is introduced in the field with 
 a bee. It seems to have been a Greek work of a late period 
 of the art. Both Tassie and Worlidge have figured it. It is 
 also represented by a plate in the " Marlborough Gems," 
 Vol. ii. No. 5. It was in the Medina portion of the Bess- 
 borough Collection, and probably the mis-spelt lettering was 
 added when in Medina's possession (Cat. 23 m). 
 
 c 2 
 
12 THE GODS — ARTEMIS; HEPHAISTOS. 
 
 Artemis Diana. 
 
 71. — An intaglio head of Artemis to the right, with the end of her 
 quiver showing over her shoulder ; on a brown sard which 
 has been re-polished on the surface ; it is a large and curious 
 gem of apparently early workmanship. 
 
 An Axundel gem (Cat. Th. E, 7). 
 
 72. — A head of Artemis to the right. A cameo upon a fine sar- 
 donyx ; the hair arranged with the Kpw^vXos is rendered in 
 a very dark brown sard upper layer, one curl however being 
 yellow : the face, in a layer of ivory-white, is relieved by a fine 
 sard background. The work seems to be antique. 
 
 73. — A full-length standing figure of Diana holding out an arrow, a 
 cippus behind her ; an intaglio in a beautiful hyacinthine 
 sard. The work is exceedingly good, and if not Greek belongs 
 to the best Roman period. It has been re-polished, but not to 
 
 » its injury. 
 
 74. — Diana leaning on a pillar, a stag in the field, on a fine trans- 
 parent yellowish sard. It is a very rude probably late Roman 
 intaglio. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Th. A, 57). 
 
 75. — Intaglio on a sardonyx. The " Diana of the Hills." It is 
 signed AIIOAAIINIOY, a signature which is admitted by 
 Kohler as genuine in the case of the small Diana on amethyst 
 at Naples. This however is a modern work copied from the 
 antique. It is cut in a layer of orange red sard, below which 
 lie two strata of white and brown. 
 
 A Bessborough gem ; Natter's Diana Montana (Cat. 100). 
 
 Hephaistos Vulcan. 
 
 77. — A modern intaglio on a beautiful agate. Vulcan at work 
 shaping a helmet. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 103). 
 
 78. — A modern Italian intaglio on a cornelian, Vulcan's workshop, 
 with a great many figures. The setting is one of a series in 
 the collection exhibiting a delicately pencilled and richly 
 coloured pattern of tulips and other flowers painted on a 
 white ground. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 1 ). 
 
THE GODS— HEPHAISTOS; PALLAS. 13 
 
 79. — Intaglio on cornelian, "Vulcan seated, a veiled lady by him; 
 gives the sword and shield to a youthful warrior." Dr. Brunn 
 considers it to be a copy from an Alban sarcophagus, with the 
 marriage of Peleusaud Thetis (Millin. Gal. Myth. t. 152. n. 551). 
 It is a modern intaglio carrying a false signature AAMX2N. 
 The white cornelian on which it is engraved was rarely used 
 by the ancient, though it has been a favourite stone with 
 modern engravers. 
 
 A Bessborough gem ; described by Natter (Cat. No. 95), who omits 
 to mention the signature, as Brutus imposing an oath on Collatinus to 
 avenge Lucretia. 
 
 Pallas Athene Minerva. 
 
 80. — A minute intaglio of a head of Pallas to the right, engraved with 
 the point alone on a yellow sard. The gem is let into a 
 small rim of ivory-white chalcedony. Like the gem No. 618, 
 signed l.s., this gem is doubtless the work of Louis Siriers, 
 a Frenchman who worked at Florence about 1740, and who 
 received from Mariette the eulogy he was wont to bestow on a 
 French artist. Giulianelli and St. Laurent also sing his praises. 
 His works are frequently let into a little frame, in the manner 
 here seen. 
 
 81. — Bust of Pallas, full face; a deeply cut intaglio in a large pale 
 amethyst. It carries the signature 
 
 EYTYXHC 
 
 AIOCKOYPIAOY 
 
 AITIAIOC En. 
 
 In comparing this inscription with that quoted by Biimn from 
 the MS., we find that in the latter it is continued in the form 
 
 AITIAIOC ■ EPOI 
 El 
 
 Its present form is explained by the gem having evidently 
 been reduced by working down its edge all round, so as to 
 form a bevil for the setting. The crest of the helmet is 
 thereby apparently in part cut away. Possibly the original 
 edge of the gem had been injured. An A and a second 
 letter seem erased on the opposite side of the field. A 
 doubt has been raised whether this gem is a copy of one of 
 the best authenticated of the signed gems with which we 
 
U TUP: GODS— PALLAS ATHENE. 
 
 arc acquainted. The gem in question is described in a MS. in 
 the Vatican, dated in the beginning of the fifteenth century as 
 a head of Alexander the Great on crystal. The description 
 is by Cyriacus of Ancona, who saw the amethyst in 1445 in 
 the possession of Giovanni Delfino, a Venetian admiral. Stosch 
 described and figured this gem (Pierres antiques Gravees, 
 No. XXXIV.) in 1724; it being then in the collection of 
 Prince Salviati Colonna, into which it had come from the 
 cabinet of the Princes Salviati. Dr. Brunn supposes the 
 Marlborough gem to have been a copy from the Colonna gem, 
 which latter he slates to have been transmitted, " as he be- 
 lieved," through the Collection of Prince Avella to that of 
 Baron Schillersheim. It is not, however, now with the 
 Schillersheim gems, either in the collection of the late 
 Duke de Blacas, or in the collections of the Barons Roger. 
 Baspe mentions a copy, but describes it as smaller in size, 
 less deep in its relief, and inferior in point of merit. 
 
 The Marlborough gem was in 1701 described by Natter 
 (Cat. No. 13) among the gems of the Earl of Bessborough. 
 Natter, in remarking on its identity in all respects with the 
 gem described by Stosch, says he knows of no other original, 
 but suspends his judgment as to whether this was that 
 identical gem. This language may suggest a suspicion that 
 Natter may have had some reasons for affirming a doubt on 
 the point. 
 
 Mr. King, in his notice of the gem in 1861, accepted Dr. 
 Brunu's statement, and doubted the antiquity of the lettering 
 of the signature. But he has changed this view, and believes 
 now that this gem is the original. The size exactly accords 
 with that of the gem in Stosch, as do the details in the 
 minutest particular. Certainly, until the supposed Avella 
 gem shall be proved to exist, and to have a better claim, this 
 noble intaglio must be held to be the original of one of the 
 most interesting of antique signed gems, and to bear the 
 autograph of a son of perhaps the great Dioscorides. The 
 engraving, though not of high finish, is of the boldest character. 
 It is figured in the "Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 12. 
 
 82- — Bust of Pallas to the right in intaglio on j-ellowish chalcedonj-. 
 Pair work of the Itoman period. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Th. E, 8). 
 
 83. — Pallas, a bust in intaglio, to the right, on a fine sard agate. 
 Fair work of the late renaissance. The stone is a beautiful 
 one of the oriental kind. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. V, No. 17). 
 
THE GODS — PALLAS ATHENE. 15 
 
 84. — A cameo bust of Pallas to the left, on a three-layered onyx. The 
 face is cut in a white layer, an upper horn-like stratum forming 
 the helmet ; with a base layer of the same kind. It appears 
 to be good antique work. 
 
 A Medina gem (Bessborough Catalogue, No. 13 m). 
 
 85. — Minerva bust to the right, a cameo. Her hair is in a yellowish 
 brown, her face in a white layer on a dull-coloured base. The 
 helmet is otherwise only represented by the plume. Good 
 Roman work. 
 
 An Arundel gem, termed, in the Catalogue of Lady E. Germain, 
 " Caput Zenobiaj " (Cat. Theca, B, 1 1 ). 
 
 86. — A poor modern cameo on a sardonyx, representing a bust of 
 Pallas, to the left. The helmet, shoulder, and hair in a red 
 layer, the face in white on a red base. 
 
 87. — A bust of Pallas to the right, a beautiful cameo cut upon a 
 stone as beautiful, a sardonyx, presenting a rich brown layer 
 on a white ground ; engraved probably towards the end of the 
 cinque-cento period. The helmet is covered with a fantastic 
 leaf ornament, carrying a mask on the visor. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, G). 
 
 88. — A cameo bust of Tallas to the left, of the renaissance period, 
 and somewhat elaborate in its workmanship. It is undercut 
 to give effect to the profile, which is worked in a thick white 
 layer. 
 
 One of the gems bought by Lord Bessborough of Medina (Cat. '.'><'> M). 
 
 89. — Cameo bust of Minerva to the left, on a sardonyx. The hair is 
 rendered in a yellow layer, the face and neck in a stratum 
 of white upon a base layer of dull orange ; the cheek is just 
 tinted with a film of the surface layer. The work is pretty 
 good and probably of the period of Hadrian. 
 
 90. — Athene " Promachos." A late Roman intaglio cut in the 
 upper layer of a minute nicolo. A crescent in the field is 
 probably an astrological emblem. 
 
 91. — A cameo with Pichler's signature, on a fine little three-layered 
 sardonyx, representing Athene "Promachos." Her shield car- 
 rying an owl is left in a yellow layer ; the base layer is of dark 
 gray. 
 
1G THE GODS— PALLAS ATHEXE. 
 
 92. — Minerva in a car drawn by two owls, on a yellow cornelian ; a 
 pretty little Roman intaglio. 
 
 93. — An intaglio on a nicolo. A sacrifice to Minerva by a Roman 
 warrior, perhaps Domitian. She holds out an owl towards 
 him, the serpent being in the field as one of her attributes. 
 Her shield is propped upon the ground. 
 
 94. — An onyx cameo. A helmcted bust of Pallas to the right, cut 
 out of an ivory-white layer, on a bluish-gray ground. Pro- 
 bably renaissance work, or at best, an antique gem re-worked 
 by a later hand. The stone is fissured. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. 27. 
 
 95. — A small head of Pallas to the left, helmeted, with a mask on the 
 helmet ; in an ivory-white layer on a bluish-gray ground : 
 the work is poor, and probably of the 16th century. The 
 features have not the antique character, and are not those 
 characteristic of Minerva. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 112). 
 
 Associations, Attributes, and Symbols of Pallas.* 
 
 96. — The head of Medusa (or of Perseus 1) in front face : a small 
 and deep intaglio on a bright golden sard. It is beautiful, 
 perhaps Greek work. A caducous in the field. 
 
 Figured by Worlidge (No. 27) as a Mercury. It was a Bessborough 
 gem (No. IS C in Natter's Catalogue). 
 
 97. — A fragment of an exquisite cameo, representing the tranquil 
 Medusa, more probably Perseus, to the right : a gem that must 
 once have been TJ inch in length, by 1^ inch in diameter. In 
 somewhat flat though not shallow relief, the hair and the wing 
 are rendered in a rich brown layer ; a fine ivory-white layer 
 of the sardonyx furnishing the material for a countenance of 
 severe beauty. The gem is however much mutilated. The 
 style is that of a fine Greek period. 
 
 * The myth of the Gorgon Medusa being represented in connection with the 
 conquest of the mortal Gorgon by Perseus, and the assumption of her head by 
 Athene as the ornament and terror of her shield, subjects representing Medusa, 
 Perseus, &c., are not placed in a separate division, but are included with those 
 which represent the attributes and associations of Athene. 
 
THE GODS— PALLAS ATHENE. 17 
 
 98. — An intaglio on sapphire. Medusa's head in full front face ; 
 extremely fine work, and exhibiting a wonderful finish con- 
 sidering the hard material in which it is worked. The wings in 
 the hair and the serpent's crest between the wings and round 
 the chin indicate a comparatively late period for its execution. 
 The sapphire is of a pale colour, and is mounted in an ena- 
 melled ring of the cinque-cento period, with arabesques and 
 black vines covering the gold of the mounting. The engraving 
 is probably a work of a good Roman time. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 1). 
 
 99. — Cameo head of the tranquil Medusa, to the left. It is cut in 
 the white porcelain-like upper layer of an onyx, with a bluish- 
 gray background. The relief is not so flat as in No. 97, and 
 the presence of the serpent in the hair, together with the 
 wing, betokens a comparatively late date for the gem. The 
 beautiful modelling of the features, and the fine work in 
 the hair, would preclude a date much later than that of 
 Hadrian. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 10. 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 100. — A cameo, of proportions almost sufficient to raise it into a 
 work of sculpture. It is a Medusa's head, in enormous relief, 
 cut from a large homogeneous boss of translucent chalcedony. 
 The face is turned slightly to the right, and the expression in 
 the eyes, brows, mouth, indeed on every feature, conveys all 
 that art conld embody of the " dreadful Gorgon." Every part 
 of the face is as delicately modelled as if the material had been 
 as soft as marble ; and Mr. King has called this gem " the 
 noblest work in relief that graces the collection." Six holes, 
 drilled in somewhat divergent directions from behind, some of 
 which penetrate in a concealed manner even into the recesses 
 of the hair on the upper surface of the gem, held the fasten- 
 ings that affixed this finest known phalera to a perhaps 
 imperial corslet. A seventh hole is sunk into the back of the 
 stone for some depth below the nose and upper lip, evidently 
 to give a greater transparency and life to those features. This 
 great work belongs probably to the age of Trajan or of Hadrian, 
 if indeed it may not be assigned to the Macedonian period of 
 Greek art. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection. Natter (in his Catalogue, 
 No. 1) remarks that the right side is cut en biais (with an inclina- 
 tion towards the other side) in order to give force to the left side. 
 
 101. — Medusa to the right, a cameo of beautiful but quite modern 
 work, on a fine cornelian. 
 
18 THE GODS— PALLAS ATHENE. 
 
 102. — V profile cameo of Medusa, to the right. The hair, in which 
 the serpents and the wing are combined, is given in a black 
 surface layer ; the face in one of an ivory white, backed by a 
 dark gray ground. It is fine work, of Hadrian's time. 
 
 103. — An onyx cameo, chiefly remarkable for its elaborate setting. 
 It is a fall-faced head of Medusa with wings. The date of 
 this gem is very uncertain, but the form of the mouth and 
 the work upon the hair have not the character of the antique, 
 and probably it may be safely assigned to the last century. 
 
 104. — A front-faced Medusa slightly turned ; a cameo, probably 
 modern, and somewhat deeply cut in the ivory-white upper 
 layer of an onyx with a dark base. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 5). 
 
 105. — An onyx cameo of the Medusa's head, much like the last, and 
 like it probably of modern work. It is cut in a porcelain-like 
 upper layer with a gray background. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. 33 m), from the Medina Collection. 
 
 106. — -A Gorgon's head full-face cameo, in flat relief, in an ivory- 
 white surface layer with a yellowish brown base ; the hair is 
 rendered in this latter transparent under layer. The lustre 
 on the hair, the expression of the mouth, the full unbroken 
 roundness of the eye, do not bespeak the hand of an early 
 artist, while the ma lipulation is superior to that of the latest 
 period of Roman work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 103), called caput Solis. 
 
 107. — Perseus with the Gorgon's head, viewing its image in his 
 shield, while he leans against a column. A work of the re- 
 naissance period in shallow cameo on a fine sardonyx. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, 19). 
 
 108. — An intaglio on a pale sard, signed XPflNIOY. Perseus, an 
 inverted sword in his right hand, head of Medusa in his left. 
 A work of the last century. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 99). 
 
THE GODS— ARES; APHRODITE. V.) 
 
 Ares Mars. 
 
 109. — An intaglio bust, to the left, of Ares helmeted. A large 
 intaglio, simple in its style and finely executed ; its value is 
 enhanced by its being still mounted in an antique setting 
 consisting of a milled edge formed by the twisting together of 
 two gold wires, which gives to the impression an appearance 
 of an Etruscan border. It is engraved on a cornelian of large 
 size, 1| inch in height, and it is probably work of Greco- 
 Roman period. 
 
 From Lord Arundel's Collection (Cat. Thee. E, 2G). 
 
 110. — A beautiful little gem, representing Ares reposing ; an intaglio 
 on a yellow sard, either the work of a Greek hand, or a fine 
 modern copy from an antique. A gem almost identical witli 
 it exists at Berlin, Class IH. No. 380, of Tolken's Catalogue, 
 probably a copy made in the atelier of Stosch. Another 
 modern copy on garnet is in the Blacas Collection. 
 
 Described as Un Soldat by Natter (Cat. No. 44 c) among the Bess- 
 borough gems. Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 3*. 
 
 111. — " Mars Ultor," an intaglio on a fine sard, of very excellent 
 Roman work. In the field is the inscription mars ultor. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 4G). It is figured in the 
 " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 37. 
 
 112. — Mara resting on a shield ; intaglio, on a sard, of fair Roman work. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 8G). 
 
 113. — Mars, Venus approaching him, Hercules and Minerva on either 
 side. An extremely rude late Roman intaglio, on a beautiful 
 yellow sard. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 33). 
 
 Aphrodite Venus. 
 
 114. — Head of Aphrodite to the left. Intaglio on a sard. A slightly 
 worked but beautiful little gem of Greek workmanship. 
 
 115. — Intaglio bust of Aphrodite to the left, a large gem cut in a 
 hyacinthine garnet. The hair has been carefully worked with 
 the " diamond point," but the execution is not very fine and 
 may be by a Roman hand of the early Imperial time, though 
 the hem of the dress has a somewhat modern appearance. 
 
20 THE GODS — APHRODITE. 
 
 116. — An intaglio bust as Aphrodite to the left, on a bright red 
 sard, highly foiled. It is perhaps a portrait, the hair in 
 particular is well worked, and it may be a gem of the early 
 Imperial age. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 7). 
 
 117. — Venus, something in design like the " Medici," on a very fine 
 blood-red sard, unfinished. Probably a modern work. 
 
 118. — Intaglio head of Venus on a sard. A work of very dubious 
 antiquity. 
 
 119. — A head of Venus in profile, to the left. A large cameo on a 
 splendid sardonyx. The hair is partly rendered in a brown 
 surface layer, the features in one of opaque white on a dark 
 sard ground. The work is of the highest character and finish, 
 and though somewhat undercut, may be of the age of Hadrian, 
 or even of the early empire. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (No. 2'J m) of the Bessborough Catalogue. 
 
 120. — A pretty little cameo. A bust of Venus to the right. Carved 
 in the white layer of an onyx, with a gray background : a 
 finely finished and beautifully genuine Pioman work. 
 
 121. — A head of Venus to the right. A cameo of dubious age ; in 
 very high relief with a wreath, probably of myrtle, in her hair, 
 which is dressed in long ringlets and expressed in a surface 
 layer of a rich brown colour ; the features are rendered in a 
 stratum like ivory ; the base pearly white. 
 
 Probably an Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. II, No. 30), called a 
 Semiramis. 
 
 122. — Venus Victrix to the right : or it may be, as suggested by 
 Mr. Newton, Artemis ; with an erect javelin in front of her. 
 A three-quarter length figure, cut in shallow intaglio on a 
 splendid sard agate. The dimensions of this magnificent gem 
 are nearly the same as those of two others to which in work- 
 manship it bears much resemblance : both are profiles and 
 both on similar stones to this. One of them is the fragment, 
 the youthful Augustus in the character of Mercury, No. 387 
 in this collection. The other gem is a Pallas, a three-quarter 
 length figure at Florence of a similarly amazonian type with 
 this gem. The robe, as in this gem, is of a gauzy texture. 
 Both this and the Florentine gem are probably portraits in 
 
THE GODS — APHRODITE. 21 
 
 the characters of the deities they represent ; the attributes of 
 these goddesses being just sufficiently expressed, in the one 
 case by the plume of the helm and by a ribbon-like adjunct 
 of serpents to the slight drapery, while here the character of 
 the Venus Victrix, or Artemis, is just indicated by the spear 
 erect in the field before the figure. The features not a little 
 resemble those of Marcia, but the work seems too good for 
 the age of Commodus. The size of the gem, 2j in. x If in-, 
 and the thinness of the stone on which it is engraved, would 
 militate against the antiquity Mr. King assigns to it, namely, 
 that of the age of Hadrian, "the grand epoch of Roman art." 
 On the other hand it exhibits a lustre due to a severe re- 
 polishing, which so far helps to confirm its early date, if indeed 
 this be not itself a part of a deception practised by a modern 
 hand. It was, moreover, an Arundel gem (Thee. E, No. 4), a 
 fact which removes it to an age behind that of the forgeries of 
 the antique in the last century. 
 
 It is figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. fi, where it is 
 called a Phryne. It was an Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 4). 
 
 123. — Venus seated, holding out a wreath ; on a fine Siriam garnet. 
 A Roman intaglio of late Imperial time. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 46). 
 
 124. — A late Roman intaglio on a pale plasma, representing " Venus 
 Victrix," a subject of frequent occurrence on this stone. A 
 vase with three ears of wheat stands in the field ; while on her 
 shield rests what may be her spear or a long flambeau sur- 
 mounted by her pigeon ; the drawing is of the rude style of 
 a late Roman period. 
 
 From the Chesterfield part of the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 
 No. 35 C). 
 
 125. — " Aphrodite Anadyomene," intaglio, cut in the red convex 
 layer of an onyx with a white base. 
 
 126. — A sardonyx cameo of the Venus " accroupie," cut in an ivory- 
 white layer on a yellowish sard base. It is a good work of the 
 renaissance period. 
 
 127. — A much worn but once good Roman cameo, representing a 
 Venus seated and robing herself. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 141). 
 
22 THE GODS— APHRODITE. 
 
 128. — A sardonyx cameo, Venus washing her foot in a bath. It is 
 cut in a white layer, with a reserved rim of the same material, 
 with a yellowish brown base. It is a clever work of the 
 seventeenth century, done to imitate the antique. 
 
 129. — Venus, or, perhaps, Hermaphroditus, copied from a statue in 
 the Villa Borghese. A modern gem of poor work on a 
 sardonyx, in which the mattress is represented in a yellowish 
 brown stratum lying between a white ground layer and a 
 surface layer, also of white, in which the figure is expressed. 
 
 130. — A cameo figure of Venus, of the renaissance period, in a con- 
 temporary setting. The design is of a voluptuous character. 
 It is cut in a clear white layer of an onyx, to the transparent 
 ground of which an emerald green hue is imparted by a 
 highly tinted foil. 
 
 One of the Medina gems in the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 
 No. 34 M). 
 
 131. — Venus at her toilet, with two Cupids in attendance ; an intaglio 
 of late Roman work, probably of the third century, and of no 
 great merit. It is engraved in a black and white banded 
 ag.ite, which has lost its colour by fire, and is much fissured. 
 
 132. — From the back of No. 591. Venus and Cupid, a bow and 
 quiver, and a branch in the field. Venus holding a flambeau ; 
 intaglio on a two-layered cornelian. It is highly polished, and 
 doubtless of the same date as the cameo Diana of Poitiers on 
 the obverse. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 22). 
 
 133. — A lovely little cinque-cento intaglio, on a garnet, of Venus 
 drawn by a pair of doves ; Cupid extending his torch over her 
 from behind. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 59). 
 
 Associations, Attributes, &c, of Aphrodite. 
 
 134. — A remarkable gem, engraved in intaglio on quartz, backed 
 with gold. A winged hermaphroditic figure, with an andro- 
 gynous figure not winged, and Vulcan hammering on an anvil 
 in the field. It is deeply cut, of a rude Asiatic style of art, 
 and is supposed by Mr. King to represent the male form of 
 Aphrodite, represented at Amathus as Aphroditus. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. C, No. 23). 
 
THE GODS — EROTIC CYCLE. 23 
 
 135. — An androgynous Venus, or a Hermaphroditus, erect and un- 
 veiling himself; an intaglio on a beautiful little nicolo, of 
 good and minute Roman work of about the date of Hadrian. 
 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 136. — A cameo on a two-layered sardonyx. Hermaphroditus seated 
 unveiling himself, cut in a white layer on a yellow sard base. 
 It is probably antique; the accessories being correctly rendered. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 133). 
 
 137. — A reclining Hermaphroditus. A Cupid in the field. A cameo 
 of the cinque-cento time, cut out of a porcelain white layer 
 resting on a black base. 
 
 [Eros, and the Erotic Cycle.] 
 
 138. — An intaglio on an oval convex quartz. Cupid propping up, with 
 some effort, a huge cornucopia : an inscribed gem, with the 
 name AYAOY engraved in delicate letters on one side of it. 
 The name appears to balance the design, and has all the air of 
 antiquity. The design itself is spirited, though the workman- 
 ship is somewhat feeble ; and the treatment of the hair of the 
 Cupid is in favour of its genuineness. The gem and its signa- 
 ture might belong to the period of the Middle Roman 
 Empire ; the name indicating, it may be, that the work was 
 after some masterpiece of an " Aulus." Against this opinion, 
 however, stands the important judgment of Dr. Brunn, who 
 condemns as modern both the engraving and the signature. 
 
 139. — Cupid ; an intaglio engraved on an amethyst, very much in 
 the style of Anton Pichler. The drawing and the execution 
 are admirable, but show nothing of the antique manner. 
 This Cupid presents in fact the features of the "Amour" of 
 the age of Louis XIV. 
 
 140. — An intaglio, on a fine sard. Cupid running under the burden 
 of a huge mask. An excellent work, of the best Roman 
 period. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 53). 
 
 141. — A small intaglio, representing Cupid asleep on rocks, a 
 butterfly in the field under his hand ; perhaps typifying Death. 
 It is apparently a good Roman work, on a pale sapphirine 
 chalcedony. 
 
24 THE GODS— EROTIC CYCLE. 
 
 142. — Cupid singeing a butterfly's wings. A small late Roman 
 intaglio, on a hyacinthine garnet. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems in the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 
 No. 73). 
 
 143. — A cameo, in the boldest relief, cut in a pebble of bluish-gray 
 translucent chalcedony. It is a head of Cupid ; the hair cha- 
 racteristically plaited up the centre. The work is good, and 
 probably represents the portrait of an infant in the character of 
 Cupid during the time of the early Empire. It is an inch ami 
 a quarter in length. 
 
 One of the Medina portion of the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 
 No. 31 M). 
 
 144. — A modern cameo, on an almandine garnet. A head of Cupid. 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 86). 
 
 145. — Head of Cupid, in extraordinarily high relief, probably by the 
 hand of some cinque-cento artist. It is good work, on a 
 variety of chalcedony, of a pale bluish white, endowed with a 
 slight chatoyance, something like that of moonstone. The 
 mounting is very pretty, consisting of " a pair of folded wings 
 in enamelled gold, and an elegant open-work border," with a 
 pearl under the chin, whereby the head of Cupid becomes 
 improved into that of a cherub. 
 
 146. — An intaglio on a dull sard, of inferior Roman work ; Cupid 
 riding on a hippocampus. 
 
 A Medina gem, No. 20 M of Natter's Bessborough Catalogue. 
 
 147. — Cupid driving a pair of horses in a biga, running on a palm 
 branch. Very poor late Roman work, cut in the trausj>arent 
 yellowish layer of an onyx, with a white under layer. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 74), described by Natter, possibly 
 correctly, as a Victory. 
 
 148. — Two Cupids in a ship ; a small modern intaglio, on a lovely 
 amethyst. 
 
 From the Nuncio Molinari's Collection. 
 
 149.— A rude renaissance intaglio on cornelian. Two Cupids riding 
 a bear, one rides and whips, while another teases the animal : 
 a common subject with the cinque-cento and modern en- 
 gravers. 
 
 From the Nuncio Molinari's Collection. 
 
THE GODS— EROTIC CYCLE. 2 5 
 
 150. — An extraordinarily beautiful little cameo, on a five-layered 
 sardonyx. Cupid on a marine pard. The little deity is cut 
 in a layer of yellowish flesh colour ; the monster shows a 
 brownish yellow tail and whitish body, relieved by a flesh- 
 white ground. This exquisite little gem is undoubtedly 
 antique, and probably belongs to the age of Hadrian, in which 
 the polychrome qualities of these many-layered onyxes were 
 much called into play. 
 
 151. — A cameo, representing Cupid in a boat drawn by dolphins. 
 The treatment of the water is antique in its character, and the 
 gem is probably by a Roman hand. It is cut on an onyx. 
 
 152. — A fragment of an ancient cameo, too fragmentary for the entire 
 subject to be explained. A Cupid flying in the air, carries 
 on a stick an object in the form of a parasol. A second 
 Cupid, seated on the ground, apparently plays a lyre, and 
 a third holds in his hand a (rhipis) fan in the form of an ivy- 
 leaf. It is possible that it may have formed part of a design 
 representing Hercules crowned by Cupids, or, as suggested by 
 Natter, an androgynous Venus attended by Cupids : it is pro- 
 bably a work of the second century. The figures are cut in a 
 white surface layer, on a base of transparent chalcedony. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 50). 
 
 153. — A pretty little shallow sardonyx cameo. Cupid rendered in a 
 white surface layer, with a swan in a brown layer, set off by 
 a white stratum as background. The relief is extremely low, 
 and probably belongs to the time of the Middle Empire. 
 
 154. — Cupid with his foot in a trap. A small, rude, and unfinished 
 cameo of late Roman work, on an onyx. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 71). 
 
 155. — A sardonyx cameo. Cupid sitting on the ground and playing 
 the lyre. An admirable design, in a yellowish-white surface 
 layer on a black ground. The drawing aud the work, which is 
 in rather low relief, are in the style of the second century. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 138). 
 
 156. — A curious little Roman cameo ; whereon four Cupids, rendered 
 in a white upper layer, are ranged on a grey translucent under 
 layer of a convex onyx. One plays the Pan pipes, one a flute, 
 a third the lyre, and the fourth, a merry little figure, claps his 
 hands and sways his foot to the movement of the music. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 139). 
 
■26 THE GODS — EROTIC CYCLE. 
 
 157. — A cameo, with two Cupids erecting a trophy ; of admirable 
 design, and probably of early Roman date. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 137). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. 41. 
 
 158. — Two Cupids struggling for a palm branch. A vigorous little 
 cameo, which is antique, but has had its surface re-worked. 
 
 159. — Three Cupids disporting themselves with two dolphins in the 
 water : an exquisite cameo, cut in the white layer of an onyx. 
 The figures, which are admirably finished, are in a white 
 layer on a black base. The mounting is a broad border of 
 enamelled gold. Microscopic figures of a Triton, a Nereid and 
 Cupids, with Hippocamps exquisitely carved and enamelled, 
 are in complete relief, while four table rubies divide the 
 quadrants of this most beautiful jewel ; a work no doubt of a 
 great Italian master in the cinque-cento time. 
 
 This gem was an acquisition of the third Dake's ; see Introduction, 
 p. xvii. 
 
 160. — The renowned cameo representing the hymeneal procession 
 of Eros and Psyche. The two child-like little divinities 
 walk, side by side, veiled, even their faces being covered by the 
 veil ; while the boy-bridegroom presses a dove to his bosom. 
 A winged Hymen conducts them by a knotted cord (intended 
 for the Cingulum, or for the Nodus Herculis ?) ; another 
 winged Erotic figure prepares the nuptial couch, while over 
 their heads the mystic basket is borne by Anteros, conspicuous 
 with crisply curled wings. Dr. Brunn has shewn the incon- 
 gruities in the design as estimated by the standard of antique 
 custom. Such are the introduction of the dove, the veiling 
 of the bridegroom, the covering of the bride's face, the treat- 
 ment of the vannus, the use of the cord to unite and lead the 
 pair, and finally the general distribution of the parts of the 
 design, which is as it were confined between two parallel hori- 
 zontal lines, instead of filling the area of the stone in the 
 ancient manner. These criticisms must be recognised as fatal 
 to the supposition that this exquisite work is antique. The 
 lettering of the signature 
 
 TPY<t>I2N 
 EflOIEI 
 
 is no less condemnatory as judged by palrcographic criteria. 
 
 The history of the gem has been so far traced that a draw- 
 ing of the subject by the hand of Pirro Ligorio, early in the 
 16th century, was among the papers of Bagarris, as recorded 
 by Spon. The gem itself, which has all the characters of a 
 design drawn in an age of proof prints and luxurious margins, 
 
THE GODS— EROTIC CYCLE. 27 
 
 must, moreover, have been Lord Arundel's property early in 
 the 17th century. There can, in fact, be little doubt that 
 we see in this beautiful work a masterpiece of the time that 
 was familiar with the designs of Giulio Romano and of Marc 
 Antonio. In point of technique, it has never been surpassed 
 in any age. Indeed, alike for movement, for grace of form, 
 for tenderness of treatment and precision of modelling, as for 
 the delicate technical management of surface, this cameo may 
 challenge any work of ancient or modern times. Further- 
 more, the tints of the sardonyx on which it is cut serve to 
 typify the nocturnal purpose of the design : the figures being 
 rendered in a dusky layer of a pale coffee-brown hue, seem to 
 reflect the illuminating glare of the torch, while the ground is 
 of blackest sard, dark as the night through which the half-lit 
 figures seem moving. 
 
 Arundel Catalogue (Thee. D, No. 7). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," and by Tassie and by Stosch ; 
 and the design has been reproduced in all sorts and materials of art, 
 perhaps oftener than any other similar subject. 
 
 161. — Psj'che, a veiled figure, with a butterfly on her bosom ; her arm 
 and fingers are just sketched in slight drawing. An intaglio 
 on a yellowish cornelian, perhaps of the period of the Middle 
 Empire. But this is a gem of which several repetitions are 
 known. There is one at Berlin, another in the British Museum, 
 and a third at Florence : and this is in all probability a modern 
 work in imitation of the last. The head is to the right. 
 
 162. — Cupid and Psyche in procession. Intaglio on a sard ; very 
 pretty work, but without doubt modern. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems (Bessborough Catalogue, No. 41 c). 
 
 163. — The Graces; a group, with Cupid hovering in the air; an in- 
 taglio on a convex garnet, rather deeply cut and extremely good 
 work for the subject, which is generally rendered upon gems 
 with inferior execution. The character of the engraving in 
 this gem corresponds with that of the antique work usual on 
 the garnet, and it and the design point to a Roman artist as 
 its author. 
 
 A Chesterfield gem (Cat. No. 29 c). 
 
 164. — Adonis ; a modern intaglio of the last century on a beautiful 
 pale sard with a forged signature KOIMOY. Fair work, 
 perhaps by Natter, and clearly a copy of the much smaller gem 
 figured by Stosch. 
 
 From Lord Bessborough's Collection (Cat. No. 98). 
 
 e 2 
 
28 THE GODS— HERMES. 
 
 Hermes Mercury. 
 
 165. — A noble Greek intaglio on a sard that has been wofully re- 
 polished. Hermes walking plays the lyre. The figure, that 
 of anephebus clothed in the chlamys, the petasus hanging from 
 his shoulder, combines the simple grace, the serenity, and the 
 dignity of Greek design with the exquisite finish and model- 
 ling that characterise the Greek workmanship of the best 
 period of Helladic art. It is all that remains of one of the 
 finest intaglios in the world, and can hardly be of a later date 
 than the 3rd century B.C. 
 
 It is figured by Worlidge (No. C of his Etchings) as an Apollo ! But 
 see foot-note to p. xv of the Introduction. 
 
 166. — A copy of No. 165 upon an amethyst. An exquisite produc- 
 tion, in all probability one of two copies stated by Raspe to be 
 by the hand of Burch, sen. He terms the stone a ' bend,' 
 probably by a mistake that might naturally arise from his 
 description having been made from casts. The fidelity of the 
 copy to the original renders it a marvel of the engraver's art. 
 It requires much scrutiny to discriminate between the im- 
 pressions taken from the two gems. 
 
 167. — An intaglio on a yellow sard, representing Mercury in front- 
 faced figure. Clothed in chlamys and petasus, he holds in his 
 hand the caduceus. The gem is figured and described by 
 Stosch. It was once his property, but he sold it to Lord 
 Holderness the father-in-law of the duke of Leeds, who, as a 
 note in the MS. catalogue tells us, bequeathed it to the Duke 
 of Marlborough. Its history has been traced back as far as 
 1589, when it was described by Montjosieu, in his "Gallus 
 Romse Hospes," and belonged to Tigrini. Spon described it 
 as formerly in the hands of Fulvius Ursinus. 
 
 The figure is somewhat deeply cut, but like almost every 
 intaglio of equal importance in the collection, has been re- 
 polished nearly to its ruin. This gem is inscribed with the 
 name AIOCKOYPIAOY. The lettering is large yet rather 
 delicately cut. 
 
 168. — Intaglio on a pale yellow sard, Hermes Criophorus as god of 
 herds. This is probably a copy of a gem once Stosch's, and 
 now said to be in the Carlisle collection. It exhibits much exag- 
 geration in the drawing : the signature AIOCKOYPIAOY 
 as well as the work are doubtless modern. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 102). 
 
THE GODS — HERMES. 29 
 
 169. — Mercury conveying the infant Bacchus to the Nymphs of 
 Nysa. It is very beautiful work on a jasper belonging to the 
 Roman time. The figure is slight and graceful, and in a 
 running attitude. The intaglio is not very deeply engraved. 
 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 170. — Mercury, Criophorus, resting against a cippus ; a rather small 
 intaglio in a cornelian. Very good Roman work. 
 
 171. — A little figure of Mercury with his caduceus, cock and a tree 
 in the field ; it is at the back of another gem, No. 277, and 
 like it, is probably a work of the renaissance period. 
 
 172. — A Mercury ; a pretty little intaglio, on a rich hyacinthine 
 sard. The god leans on a column holding the caduceus, 
 and his emblematic purse. A cock on the ground by his side. 
 The astrological sign Scorpio is in the field. Probably an 
 astrological gem embodying a fortunate horoscope. Early 
 Roman work. 
 
 173. — Mercury standing, with similar attributes to the last, — the 
 crab on an altar representing Cancer, and like the last pro- 
 bably representing a favourable horoscope of " Mercury in 
 Cancer." A fine intaglio, well worked, on a blood-red sard ; 
 belonging to the Roman period, but repolished in recent 
 times. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 5] ), figured in the " Marlborough 
 Gems," i. 30, and by Worlidge in his Etchings (No. 28). 
 
 174. — A striking little gem, representing the image of Mercury at 
 the end of the perspective of a temple, which consequently 
 projects on the stone. It is cut on a sardonyx of 3 layei-s, 
 the image and inner end of the temple being rendered in a 
 surface layer of brown ; the five columns on either side of the 
 temple are wrought in a white layer upon a translucent base 
 of chalcedony, in which ai - e four steps leading up to the 
 temple. It may be questioned whether this gem be not a 
 work of the last century. On the other hand the idea is 
 antique, as is seen in the shrines of this sort that are found on 
 Imperial coins ; moreover the attitude of the little intaglio 
 statue of Mercury holding the caduceus, and the surface of 
 that part of the stone, do not look modern. Perhaps it may 
 have been cut in Asia Minor during the reign of an early 
 Roman emperor. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 59) : it is figured in the " Marlborough 
 Gems," Vol. ii. 38. 
 
30 THE GODS — OLYMPIAN ASSEMBLY. 
 
 175. — Intaglio heads of Mercury and Hercules confronted, on cor- 
 nelian. Probably an athlete's ring ; of late and very rude 
 work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 82). 
 
 176. — A beautiful early Roman intaglio on a very fine lapis-lazuli. 
 Mercury presenting a purse to Herse, or perhaps to Fortuna, 
 but the female figure is veiled, and without any of the attri- 
 butes to fix this appellation. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 52). 
 
 The Olympian Assembly. 
 
 177. — A cameo of slightly oval form, of rather fine and very elaborate 
 workmanship, on a singular sardonyx. The gods, as if in 
 council, on a hemisphere representing Olympus. Jove in the 
 centre, Neptune and Diana on one side, Venus with her Cupids 
 and Mars on the other, behind her Mercury, and in the centre 
 Apollo, who plays his lyre. The figures are in a white layer 
 with a chalcedony background, while the globe is represented bj r 
 a black portion of the stone. The antiquity of the work is 
 certainly very doubtful. Mr. King considers it antique, in 
 which case it would have to be assigned to the age of Hadrian 
 or the earlier Antonines. 
 
 2.— MINOR DIVINITIES. 
 
 Dionysos Bacchus. 
 
 178. — A good antique work in intaglio on a red sard. A Term of 
 the bearded Bacchus. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 54). 
 
 179.— An intaglio on cornelian ; a head of the bearded Bacchus to 
 the left. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 72) called a Plato. 
 
 180. — Bacchus in front face. An early Imperial intaglio, cut through 
 a white surface layer into a fine sard, which forms the mass 
 of the stone, which is a nicolo. 
 
 One of the gems from Lord Chesterfield's Collection (Cat. No. 43 If). 
 
THE GODS— DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 31 
 
 181. — Bacchus, a full-length figure of inferior and late Roman work 
 on a sard. 
 
 A Chesterfield gem (Cat. No. 37 c) termed by Natter " une 
 Bacchante." 
 
 182. — An intaglio on a burnt sard representing a Bacchus seated and 
 holding out a cantharus. The face of his Pard is seen at his 
 knee. A large and coarse guilloche border runs round the 
 gem. Mr. King holds it to be a work in the archaic style ; 
 and it has much the archaic manner, but the rudeness of the 
 border, and indeed of the gem itself, as well as its large size 
 and convex form, give a dubious character to its pretensions 
 to antiquity. If antique it is probably of Asiatic (Asia Minor) 
 workmanship. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 85). 
 
 183. — An exquisite little intaglio on a beryl ; a full-faced figure of 
 Bacchus standing leaning on the thyrsus, and holding out a 
 cantharus. It is in high relief, and beautiful as well in finish 
 as in drawing : the work of doubtless a Greek artist. It has 
 been womlly repolished, the right thigh and knee having 
 nearly disappeared in the process. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 4'.t) ; figured in the "Marlborough 
 Gems," Vol. i. No. 33. 
 
 184. — A singular gem, being a figure represented in relief in gold 
 applique on iron ; it would seem to be a Bacchus, carrying 
 a bunch of grapes on the shoulder. Metallic works of this 
 kind are mentioned by Mariette as having been fashioned by 
 an Italian about 1750, and palmed off as antique by him. 
 Possibly they were made by pressing the gold into an intaglio, 
 and then attaching it to the iron. 
 
 185. — A beautiful cameo on a sardonyx ; probably a portrait in the 
 character of Bacchus. It is a profile head to the left with 
 long hair, crowned with ivy leaves. The ornament of the hair 
 is reserved in a brown stratum, the features are in one of 
 bluish white, the background being formed of a layer of 
 sard. The interior of the stone has been perforated along its 
 length : it was once doubtless strung with a set of Indian 
 beads. The work is probably by an artist of the reign of 
 Hadrian. It is If in. high by 1^ in. in width. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, 3), named a Berenice. 
 
 186. — An onyx cameo : Bacchus riding a panther and carrying the 
 thyrsus ; the figures are represented in a white layer on a 
 violet-gray ground. The work, which is not very fine, is pro- 
 bably Roman of the 3rd century. 
 
32 THE GODS — DIOXYSIAC CYCLE. 
 
 Associations, &c, of Bacchus. 
 
 187. — Intaglio deeply engraved in a fine sard, representing the front- 
 faced figures of the youthful Bacchus with Ariadne, a Cupid's 
 head below, and the fragmentary face of a second, and the 
 head of a dolphin. All the figures are supported on the 
 waves. The signature YAADY is seen in an open part of the 
 gem that seems as though left for it. The gem is a large 
 fragment, but comprehends the greatest portion of the design. 
 Dr. Brunn contends that it is designedly a fragment, and 
 throws doubt upon the signature on the ground that the □ is 
 written in the square form. He calls it a Nereid and a Triton, 
 but the vine leaves, and the style of the hair of the male 
 figure, seem to designate it as Bacchanal. Mr. King, who lias 
 suggested Palamion and Ino as the subject, gives his verdict 
 in favour of the antiquity of the gem ; the signature at least 
 seems of the same date as the gem itself, but the letters are 
 shallow, and coarsely cut with a broad wheel, and scarcely 
 can be ancient. 
 
 The gem appears to have been one of those collected by the third 
 Duke, and is figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 40. 
 
 188. — A fine intaglio of a head to the left of Ariadne, ivy-crowned : 
 engraved on a sard. Beautiful Greek-like drawing, though 
 i-ather sketchy in its treatment. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 0). 
 
 189. — The same subject, the head to the left, also on a sard ; but the 
 design and treatment is rather that of a good Roman artist. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 81). 
 
 190. — A remarkable sardonyx with a modern intaglio work, a sacri- 
 fice to a Bearded Bacchus. The stone is oval in form, and 
 of the dimensions of 2f inches long by If inch broad. It 
 is drilled from end to end, in imitation of the oriental agates 
 and onyxes. The uppermost layer is of a rich brown red, the 
 next is bluish white, of the kind that forms the surface of the 
 nicolo, the lowest stratum is black. It is an interesting 
 specimen of an artificially coloured stone, probably German ; 
 and exceedingly beautiful, as well for its colours as for the 
 evenness of its strata. 
 
 From Lord Bessborough's Collection (Cat. No. 17). 
 
 191. — A very large intaglio on an agate of the renaissance period ; it 
 represents Ariadne deserted by Theseus, whose ships are pushing 
 off from the shore : Bacchus is approaching, drawn by Satyrs. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 18). 
 
THE GODS — DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 33 
 
 192. — A large and lovely intaglio on a sard, representing the bust to 
 the right of Ariadne, or of a Bacchante, crowned with ivy : 
 Greek or Greco-Roman work, but not of very refined finish. It 
 is set in a row of turquoises, and the back is ornamented with 
 enamel work of coloured flowers on a white ground, similar 
 to that which adorns so many of the gems of the Arundel 
 Collection. 
 
 193. — A cameo in antique paste of a Bacchus and Ariadne. 
 
 194. — A most beautiful cameo on a sardonyx, If inch X li inch; 
 Ariadne, or a Bacchante, with a wreath of ivy in her hair. This 
 and the hair are rendered in the rich chesnut-brown upper layer, 
 the face and neck in a porcelain-like white layer resting on a 
 bluish-gray ground. A delicately worked gem in rather high 
 relief, and of grand design, and with all the appearance of its 
 dating from the good Roman period. The head to the right. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 4), turned Dea Libera. 
 
 195. — A sardonyx cameo : Ariadne's or a Bacchante's head, to the 
 left, perhaps Faustina the younger in one of these Bacchanal 
 characters, with a spray of ivy in her hair. The ivy spray is 
 wrought in a brown layer. The shoulders are clothed with the 
 roe's skin, tied by the feet in front, and rendered in high 
 relief in a surface layer of an amber colour. The features 
 are given in a white stratum of this beautiful four-layered 
 sardonyx. The work has the appearance of being Roman, of 
 the earlier Antonine period. It is 1£ inch in length by Jths. 
 
 A Medina gem (Bessborough Cat. No. 30 M). 
 Figured in the "Marlborough. Gems," Vol. i. No. 31. 
 
 196. — A bust portrait, to the left, in the character of Ariadne. A 
 noble cameo in very flat relief, on a beautiful sardonyx. The 
 treatment of the eye and nostril is peculiar and rude. The 
 features are thoughtful and evidently characteristic, and the 
 hair is carefully but not very delicately wrought. These, with 
 the neck, are rendered in a white layer of the stone, relieved l>3 r 
 a brown sard background ; the ivy garland, with a corymbus, 
 forming its frontlet, and the robe with its clasp, are rendered 
 in a surface stratum of yellow. A reserved rim surrounds the 
 gem, which is bevelled off on the outer side so as to exhibit 
 the beauty and evenness of the strata. It seems to be a 
 Roman work dating perhaps from the 2nd century; it is 1^ by 
 T£ inch. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 1), Agrippina. 
 
 197. — A small cameo head to the right of Ariadne, or of a Bacchante, 
 on sardonyx, in high relief; the face in a white layer, the hair 
 in an upper layer of pale yellow, the base being also composed 
 of yellow sard. It is good work, and may belong to the early 
 Antonine period. 
 
34 THE GODS— DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 
 
 198. — A cameo on sardonyx, being a modern and well wrought bust 
 portrait to the left as Ariadne, with grapes and vine leaves 
 in her hair. The hair is partially, the vine garland and robe 
 entirely worked in a rich brown layer. The grapes on the 
 garland, and a button on the robe, are left in a white surface 
 stratum, while the features, hair, and neck, are also represented 
 in a lower white layer ; the ground work of the whole being 
 a stratum of rich brown hue. 
 
 199. — A head to the right in cameo of the same favourite subject, on 
 a fine sardonyx. The ivy wreath and hair are rendered in a 
 brown, the features and throat in an opaque white layer. The 
 ground is of a reddish brown. The design is somewhat under- 
 cut, and in very high relief. Either a work of the renaissance, 
 or of the early part of the last century. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 9). 
 
 200. — A little cameo representing a sacrifice to the Bearded Bacchus 
 by four Cupids. One of them holds a goat, one crowns a large 
 goblet on the ground, a third beats a tambourine, and the 
 fourth sings ; a statue of the Bearded Bacchus iu the centre. 
 A minute and carefully finished renaissance work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Thee. A, No. 145). 
 
 201. — A large shell cameo, representing a procession of Bacchus. It 
 is a curious work of the best period of the renaissance, i. e. 
 early in the sixteenth century. The design and grouping 
 of the multitudinous figures is as skilful as the execution of 
 them is minute, exact, and spirited. There are no less than 
 thirty-three figures, including two oxen that draw the car of 
 Bacchus, and a lion that marches at its wheel. Thirty 
 revellers arc thus depicted on a convex shell of 2 inches in 
 length and 1^ inch in height. 
 
 It was an Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. D, No. 12). 
 
 202. — Intaglio on a banded agate. A drunken Silenus, in an 
 Etruscan border. He holds a thyrsus. It is ancient and 
 perhaps Etruscan work. 
 
 203. — An intaglio of not very early Roman work, on a fine little 
 sard. A drunken Silenus carrying a cantharus in his hand, 
 and what may be a palm branch over his shoulder. 
 
 A Medina gem (No. 3 M, in the Bessborough Catalogue). 
 
THE GODS— DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 35 
 
 204. — A stooping Silenus looking down, while a young Satyr pours 
 a libation over his feet. Leaning on the I'ight hand of the 
 Silenus is a thyrsus, and the Satyr caiTies a cloth in his right 
 hand. The design is enclosed in an Etruscan border, and cut 
 with fine skill and finish on a black sard, deep red by trans- 
 mitted light. The surface of the field presents an artificial 
 roughness, but the work has the character of that by a good 
 Roman artist. 
 
 205. — A Silenus procession. An intaglio on a cornelian ; the details 
 are very incomplete, and the antiquity of the gem is more 
 than doubtful. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 24). 
 
 206. — -A fragment of an extraordinary cameo. A Silenus is pushed 
 along by a running Satyr. The design is cut out of the ivory- 
 white upper layer of a splendid onyx ; the under layer con- 
 sisting of black sard. A fine Roman work of the Imperial age. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 48). 
 
 207. — A small cinque-cento cameo, representing a full-faced mask of 
 Silenus, cut on a four-layered jasper-onyx, the curved layers of 
 which the engraving is made ingeniously to follow. It is cut 
 entirely in a surface layer of pink jasper ; strata of white, 
 bluish-gray, and again of white underlying the pink layer. 
 
 Possibly an Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 29). 
 
 208. — An onyx cameo, representing two Satyrs supporting a drunken 
 Silenus, whose head has unfortunately been broken off. It is 
 good Roman work, but much abraded. 
 
 209. — A cameo in low relief, cut in the white surface layer of an 
 onyx. A Satyr lifting along Silenus in a state of helplessness ; 
 a Bacchante strikes the cymbals. It is a beautiful fragment 
 of a larger Bacchic procession, and probably a Roman work of 
 the early Imperial time. 
 
 [Satyrs.] 
 
 210. — Intaglio on a red sard, representing a laughing Satyr in full- 
 faced bust, with a vine garland iu the hair. A fine Greek 
 gem, fraught with merriment. 
 
 From Lord Chesterfield's Collection (Bessborough Cat. No. 39 C). 
 
 f 2 
 
3G THE GODS— DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 
 
 211. — A rather shallow intaglio, on a fine plum-coloured amethyst. 
 A profile to the left of a Satyr, extraordinary for vigour and 
 character ; his brows encircled with a vine wreath. A work 
 perhaps of the early Roman empire ; but more probably a 
 copy from such a work by one of the great engravers of the 
 last century. 
 
 212. — An exquisite little intaglio, deeply cut in a minute sard. 
 Bust of a youthful Satyr in front face ; it might be Bacchus, 
 but that the ear seems intended to represent a pointed form. 
 The face is looking up with a somewhat rapt expression, the 
 head being crowned with a grape garland. It is wrought with 
 the delicate touch of the late Italo-Greek artists. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. 50). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. 13, and forming No. $ 
 of Worlidge's inimitable Etchings. 
 
 213. — Head of a young Satyr on red jasper ; a rude intaglio of a 
 late Roman period. 
 
 A Chesterfield gem (Bessborough Cat. No. 28 C). 
 
 214. — A spirited intaglio, on a circular black jasper of cabochon 
 form. It represents a Satyr, perhaps Comus or Marsyas, 
 seated in contemplation on the nebris, his chin resting on his 
 left hand, and his elbow supported on his knee ; his legs 
 are crossed, and between them rests his double flute. On the 
 margin of the gem is the inscription NICO/V\C. This 
 and a precisely similar but rather larger gem in the Blacas 
 Collection are probably modern works. This gem was an 
 acquisition of the third Duke's from the Chevalier Odam, to 
 whom it came from the Nuncio Molinari's cabinet. A gem 
 with tli is signature is recorded by Duval as having been fabri- 
 cated in the ateliers of Baron Stosch. The subject is not a 
 rare one on ancient pastes. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 34. 
 
 214 a and />, are copies of the above, in a deep smalt paste probably 
 by Tassie. 
 
 215. — This beautiful gem, almost ruined by the cruel polishing it 
 has undergone at some barbarous modern hand, represents a 
 Satyr garlanded with vine, raising himself on tiptoe, and 
 squeezing a bunch of grapes with his right hand raised above 
 his face. The j uice seems to stream down into his mouth ; he 
 carries another bunch in his left hand. The splendid stone, in 
 which this exquisite intaglio is cut in the delicate and shallow 
 manner of the antique Greek artist, is a cinnamon-stone 
 
THE GODS— DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 37 
 
 garnet, in the form usually given to this stone in antiquity, 
 viz. " en cabochon." There can be little doubt that this 
 glorious gem dates from the later period of Greek art. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 76). 
 
 Figured in the •' Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 45, and in the 
 ninth etching of Worlidge's volumes. 
 
 216. — A dancing Satyr, cut in rude intaglio on a brownish red 
 jasper. The work and the material belong to the art of the 
 late Eoman period, and for that time the execution of the gem 
 is good ; for though rude and sketchy, it is full of spirit. 
 
 217. — A similar subject to No. 216, and equally rude, but otherwise 
 much inferior to it in workmanship. A renaissance intaglio, 
 on a yellowish backed sard, which has been much re-polished. 
 
 218. — A dancing Satyr ; a modern iutaglio on a cornelian, not finished 
 or polished. It is, however, mounted in a ring with a beau- 
 tiful enamelled setting of thyrsi and ivy leaves. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 58). 
 
 219.— A Satyr reposing, leaning on a pillar, on which is a bust(?) and 
 the roe-skin ; in the field a Term supporting the Satyr's staff. 
 The engraving is in rather shallow relief, and the design and 
 workmanship are somewhat rude, but of the average quality 
 on this stone, which is a beautiful plasma. The nature of the 
 stone, and the style of the work, indicate a somewhat late 
 Roman date for the gem. 
 
 From the Chesterfield Collection (Cat. No. 30 C). 
 
 220. — An onyx cameo, representing a Satyr with his infant on his 
 knee. The figure rendered in a white layer on a black ground ; 
 it is undercut, and is certainly of the renaissance period. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 45). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 44. 
 
 221. — A late Roman intaglio, on a sard, representing a Satyr sitting 
 in repose, and contemplating a trophy of arms. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Bessborough Cat. No. 1 M). 
 
 222. — A Satyr pouring out a libation before a Priapic Term. An 
 intaglio deeply engraved in a long oval cornelian. The whole 
 design is well balanced, and the figure of the Satyr pouring 
 
38 THE GODS— DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 
 
 from his wine-skin into the (cantharus) vase at his right hand, 
 as he sits at ease on a pard's skin, is very gracefully modelled. 
 His pedum lies on the ground, and t lie thyrsus leans against 
 the Term ; a crater is in the field beyond. The setting is 
 one of the series of beautiful enamel work, tulips of exquisitely 
 delicate workmanship, painted in enamel on a white ground. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 10). 
 
 223. — An old Satyr, sitting on a pard's skin, apparently plays the 
 double flute ; an infant Satyr, holding a thyrsus, dances, while 
 a Nymph, sitting by, waves her hand as though to mark the 
 time. This pretty little family scene is engraved in rather 
 deep intaglio, somewhat rude in its finish, on an extra- 
 ordinary sard of fine red colour and transparency, and the 
 design is surrounded by a granulated border. It is doubtless 
 by the hand of a Greek artist, probably of Magna Grsecia. 
 
 224. — A little festival, wherein a seated Silenus plays the lyre, a 
 Satyr stands and blows the double pipe, a young Satyr 
 bestrides a pard, while from out of an overshadowing tree, which 
 with a vine on the other side forms a sort of border to the 
 design, a second little Satyr looks down on the scene. 
 Cut iu intaglio, on a fine yellowish sard of a peculiar quality, 
 transmitting a greenish tint. It appears to be a Roman gem 
 of early Imperial age. 
 
 From the Medina Collection (Cat. No. 4G M). 
 
 225. — Two Satyrs playing the tibia ; a Cupid running to one of 
 
 them. A rather large intaglio on a sard. One of the players 
 
 sits on what appears to be a ram's skin. A work apparently 
 of the renaissance period. 
 
 An Arundel gum (Cat. Thee. E, No. 21). 
 
 226. — A Bacchanal subject. A cameo, antique in character, wrought 
 in a beautiful porcelain white upper stratum of a sardonyx, 
 with a yellow base layer. The moulding of the limbs and 
 form of the Maenad in the foreground, is extraordinarily deli- 
 cate, and the attitudes of the remaining figures, viz. a Satyr 
 teasing a panther, and a second Maenad, who is at hand to 
 beat the tambourine, are artistically drawn. A reserved rim 
 surrounds the design, which is set in an enamelled border of 
 tulips and other flowers. The technique of this gem resembles 
 the cinque-cento works, but the details betray none of the 
 errors in archaeology so characteristic of an uncritical age ; and 
 the work is therefore probably by an ancient artist of a noble 
 school. 
 
THE GODS — DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 39 
 
 227- — A Bacchante on a fine red sard. A renaissance intaglio, a. 
 copy of the oft-repeated antique design attributed to Scopas. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 14). 
 
 228. — A very fine shallow intaglio, of exquisite workmanship, 
 especially in the flowing drapery ; cut on an oval somewhat 
 convex amethyst of a beautiful tint. It represents a Bacchante 
 in extasy ; and in the workmauship no less than in the 
 character of the surface it bespeaks an antique hand, probably 
 that of a Greek artist of the third or fourth century B.C. 
 
 229. — A shallow and delicate intaglio, on a small almandine, cut 
 "en cabochon." A Nymph (possibly, however, Diana), running, 
 blows the flute'; a hound runs by her feet. Undoubtedly a 
 Roman work. 
 
 230. — A beautifully wrought intaglio on a perfect little plasma of 
 the purest translucent green. A Bacchante in frenzy clashing 
 the cymbals, and abandoning herself to the dance they excite. 
 The gem, which has been repolished, must have beeu a work 
 of Roman art before its decline, and not only the drawing but 
 the execution is remarkably fine, considering the date when 
 the stone that embodies it came into fashion. 
 
 231. — A representation of Priapus worship. 
 
 232. — A Bacchante before a Priapic Term, a thyrsus in her hand. 
 A good Roman, rather shallow, intaglio, on a fine, clear, 
 yellowish sard. The work and the design are much above the 
 ordinary treatment of the subject. 
 
 233. — A rude renaissance intaglio, on a beautiful tricoloured agate. 
 It represents a Nymph sacrificing to Priapus, but is of very 
 inferior design and workmanship. 
 
 234. — A Bacchanal orgie, with the signature AAAI.QNOX, <i Satyr 
 and Nymph embracing, a Priapic Term in the field, and a Pan 
 playing the double flute. It is an intaglio on a large oblong 
 beryl, and is stated by Natter to have been the work of 
 Flavio Sirletti. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 22). 
 
40 THE GODS— DIONYSIAC CYCLE. 
 
 235. — An antique cameo. A Satyr and Nymph represented in 
 the white upper layer of a black and white jasper 
 onyx. 
 
 A Medina gem (Cat. No. 25 M). 
 
 236. — A small renaissance cameo on an onyx. A Nymph assailed 
 by a Satyr, but defended by a soldier with a drawn 
 sword. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection ; termed by Natter (Cat. No. 2S) 
 " L'enlevement de Cassandre par Ajax." 
 
 [Pan.] 
 
 237. — A head of Pan, crowned with the vine, in full face ; a very 
 fine intaglio for the material, which is a plasma. A work of 
 the early decline of Roman art. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 5). 
 
 238. — Intaglio on a sard. Pan returning from the chase ; in one 
 hand he holds a plate of fruit ; in the other, together with 
 his crook, he has the skin of a roe or a goat that he has killed. 
 It is a good Roman work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 54). 
 
 239. — A fine undoubtedly Greek intaglio on a brown sard. Pan 
 sitting, with a thyrsus leaning on his shoulder, contemplates a 
 comic mask, which he holds in his hand. The work is deeply 
 engraved. 
 
 240. — A spirited onyx cameo, representing Pan erect before a 
 reclining figure of an aged man, both in a gesticulating 
 attitude, as if in argument : intended probably to embody 
 the idea of an author of the Satyric Drama declaiming, 
 the Pan being introduced to express this. The figures 
 are rendered in a white layer over a yellow sard ground. 
 The gem is probably a work of the Augustan date. It is 
 mounted very beautifully in an exquisite ring with masks of 
 Satyrs on the shoulders, a work of some cinque-cento Italian 
 goldsmith. 
 
 A Bessborough gem ; called by Natter a river-god (Cat. No. 101). 
 
THE GODS — CHROXOS ; THE FATES. 41 
 
 3.— PRIMEVAL GODS. 
 
 Chronos Saturn. 
 
 241. — Saturn, his falx (?) in his left, his sceptre in his right hand. 
 Extremely shallow intaglio, on a singularly streaked and smoke- 
 tinted chalcedony. The work seems to be of the renaissance 
 period. 
 
 An Arundel gem, called a Jupiter (Ar. Cat. Thee. A, No. 50). 
 
 242. — A head of Cybele to the left in intaglio, on a fine sard, or 
 the subject may represent a city, perhaps the portrait of 
 Berenice in the character of one. It is a gem of good work- 
 manship ; early Imperial, or perhaps late Greek. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 69). 
 
 243. — A rude late Roman intaglio, engraved on a very fine nicolo, 
 with its colours beautifully contrasted. It represents Cybele 
 crowned with her towers, and drawn in her lion-chariot. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 73). 
 
 The Fates. 
 
 244. — Clotho with her distaff; a fine renaissance intaglio on a dark 
 sard. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 105). 
 
 Hades Pluto; Persephone Proser- 
 pine. 
 
 245. — A good intaglio in sard representing perhaps Proserpine, if the 
 ornament be wheat-ears over her brow, mounted in a heavy 
 cinque-cento ring of gold, enamelled in black with the initials 
 D . I pj S . B upon it. The head is to the left, and may 
 be a work of Hadrian's time. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. I, No. 8) ? 
 
42 THE GODS— TROSERPINE ; PERSEPHONE. 
 
 246. — A beautiful shallow intaglio, on a blue beryl, perhaps a fine 
 Sicilian Greek gem, but more probably a copy by an excellent 
 modern hand. Proserpine's head to the left is represented in 
 profile without the wheat-ears, but dressed in the mit.ra. The 
 artist's hand has worked in the shallow relief with much 
 delicacy of touch considering the hardness of the stone. A 
 gem identical in subject and similar in treatment existed in 
 the Praun (Mertens Schaffhausen) Collection (No. 1080), on 
 an antique black paste. 
 
 247. — A fine intaglio on a pale sard worthy of it. Hades, en- 
 throned, holds the sceptre in the right hand, a thunderbolt 
 in the left. Persephone veiled stands before him. The gem 
 is engraved with a bold and almost rough execution, but 
 with much refinement of drawing, a combination rare except 
 in Hellenic art. The drapery, done in shallow relief on the 
 figure of Persephone, and deeply sunk on the lower limbs of 
 the god, is very statuesque in its character. A certain con- 
 fusion in the treatment, however, raises the suspicion that it 
 may be a copy from an antique work. 
 
 248. — A small onyx cameo. A head to the left, perhaps a portrait, 
 of the class, from the head-dress, usually called Persephone. 
 A work of the last century ; or, if ancient, it must have 
 been reworked by a modern hand. 
 
 1.— DEITIES OF DESTINY; OF HEALTH; TUTELARY 
 
 DEITIES, &c. 
 
 249. — A representation in intaglio, on a calcined sard, of a winged 
 figure standing on the prostrate form of a man ; of the rudest 
 work. It is a figure of Nemesis ; round it is the inscription, 
 TO AWPON NYNCHN. 
 
 250. — Eortuna, holding a cornucopia in the left hand, wheat-ears and 
 the characteristic rudder in her right hand. An intaglio, cut 
 in a rude but effective style of art, in a rich brown surface- 
 layer on a splendid sardonyx, the sides of which, bevelled 
 away, exhibit the other strata of the stone, one being of a 
 dark greyish brown, and below it a white layer. It appears 
 to be a Roman work of rather late period. 
 
THE GODS — ASKLEPIOS. 43 
 
 Asklepios /Esculapius, &c. 
 
 251. — A head of zEsculapius to the left, an intaglio on a fine yel- 
 lowish red sard, with the characteristic Zeus-like cast of 
 feature. The serpent entwining a staff is in the field. It is 
 a noble gem, worthy of a Greek artist. 
 
 252. — Hygiea seated, feeds a serpent which entwines a cippus, on 
 which is a tripod carrying a globe. An intaglio on a cornelian. 
 Fine Roman work. 
 
 253. — ^Esculapius and Hygiea in intaglio on a sard, a very inferior 
 work of the renaissance period ; or, perhaps, of ancient work- 
 manship, but much repolished. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 55). 
 
 Cities personified, &c. 
 
 254. — -Intaglio on a striped agate ; a standing figure, with cornucopia 
 in the right, and a serpent (coiled round his arm) in the left 
 hand. It may represent the Geyiius of a city, the serpent 
 referring to the city (?) he represents. The object in the left 
 hand might be an Ibis, and the figure the Genius of an 
 Egyptian city. The work is bold but rude, and in character 
 like the late Roman gems of the second century. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 89). 
 
 255. — Head of Janus : a renaissance cameo on sardonyx, done in a 
 yellowish-brown surface layer on a white ground. It is in the 
 fiat style of the earlier renaissance artists. (On the back is a 
 medley of conjugated masks.) 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 3-t). 
 
 256. — A vast nicolo, If inch long and f in. high, carrying a very 
 rude intaglio. A central figure over which is a rude inscription, 
 engraved directly, OYPANIA HPA seems to represent the 
 Astarte of Libya or Carthage riding a lion, and with a sceptre in 
 her hand. The Dioscuri (?), each with a star over their heads, 
 stand, the one in advance and the other to the rear of the lion. 
 AMMI2NIOZ ANE0HKE En ArAGH is in the 
 exergue, — " Dedicated by Ammonios for a blessing." It is of 
 the rudest woi-k, and perhaps an African gem cut during the 
 3rd or 4th century a.d. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 4 M). Published by Venuti, and cited 
 in the Corpus Inscript., No. 7034. 
 
 G 2 
 
44 THE GODS — HEBE; NIKE. 
 
 Hebe Juventas. 
 
 257. — A shallow intaglio on a banded agate. A female, half-draped 
 figure, drinking out of a patera ; a type which, from its oc- 
 curring on coins, with the legend IUVENTA3, * s entitled a 
 Hebe. It is an antique gem carrying an Etruscan border, and 
 probably Greek work of an early date, perhaps 400 B.C. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. Gl). 
 
 258. — A small cameo on a sardonyx. In the upper bluish porcelain- 
 like layer is a figure representing the Roman personification of 
 youth, perhaps a Hebe. The design not unlike the preceding 
 being that so frequent as a half-draped figure in graceful 
 attitude, drinking from a patera. The base stratum of the 
 stone is of sard, and the work seems of Roman time. 
 
 In catalogues of the last century this figure is designated sometimes 
 as Semiramis, sometimes as Sophonisba, drinking the poison. 
 
 259. — A winged " Hebe " by Marchant, and signed by him. A 
 beautiful intaglio on a yellow sard, stated to have been copied 
 from an Etruscan bas-relief in the British Museum. The 
 figure is beautiful and highly finished, but in Marchant's long, 
 slender, and somewhat weak style of drawing. 
 
 260. — An intaglio representing, probably, a Hebe. A winged figure, 
 cut in a red sard, pours from an cenochoe into a patera ; 
 boldly handled by an artist of the later period of the Early 
 Empire. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 75). 
 
 Nike Victoria. 
 
 261. — A head of Victory, laurel-crowned, to the left. A very 
 fine Roman intaglio on a deep red (foiled) sard, but much 
 spoilt by re-polishing. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 80). 
 
 262. — A cameo on a beautiful little sardonyx. A wingless Victory 
 crowns a warrior in a biga ; another Victory, winged, acts as 
 charioteer to him. It was once the property of Cardinal Albani, 
 and is signed by the incised name AA4<HOC- The signature 
 occurs in the blank left under the ground on which the chariot 
 and horses stand, but its antiquity is doubtful and is justly 
 rejected by Dr. Brunn. The whole group, and in particular the 
 
THE GODS— THE SUN GOD. 45 
 
 horses, is admirably drawn and executed. The gem is cut in 
 a porcelain-white layer, which overlies the fine brown sard 
 that forms the foundation of the stone. The work has all the 
 character of a Roman gem of the time of the early " Caesars," 
 but the signature is probably a modern addition. 
 
 Figured in the "Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 47. 
 
 263. — Victory winged, or, perhaps, Helios emerging from the sea, 
 in a biga ; a spirited cameo : the figures in a blackish brown 
 layer in relief on a white ground. 
 
 It was a Medina gem (Bessborough Catalogue, No. 10 M). 
 
 264. — Victory in a biga. A cameo on a sardonyx. The near horse 
 and chariot-wheel are rendered in a black layer, the rest of the 
 figures in a bluish-white layer, the base being formed of 
 dark sard. The work is not very good, but the treatment of 
 the horses and of the dress belongs to a good Roman period. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. D. No. 14). 
 
 5.— DEITIES OF TIME; OF LIGHT, &c. 
 
 265. — A beautiful intaglio, representing a female figure moviug 
 forward in a dress fluttering behind her from her rapid move- 
 ment ; a tree and a Cupid in the field. Apparently it is not 
 the entire gem. It is engraved in a Roman style of a not 
 very late date, on a red sard, highly foiled. It represents the 
 Season of the Spring. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 58). 
 
 The Sun God. 
 
 266. — " Solis figura," Sol; an intaglio on a "Venus-hair stone," (the 
 Solis gemma of Pliny 1 ) ; quartz crystal with rutile fibres in 
 it. It is a full-length figure of the very rudest period of late 
 Roman art. It is set in a ring elegantly enamelled with 
 black, and with turquoise-blue beads. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 48). 
 
4<i THE GODS— THE SUN GOD. 
 
 267. — A similar subject, his whip in his hand, on a singular yellow 
 jasper, its back being of a mottled green, whereon is engraved 
 directly the word CEMECEIAAM. This title ("Eternal 
 sun") has generally another application in Gnostic amulets, 
 being usually associated with Cneph or the Abraxas deity. 
 The gem is of the rudest work and of late Roman time. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 47). 
 
 268. — An intaglio on a fine nicolo. Sol in a quadriga, a trident in 
 the field. Roman work of a late time and of the rudest 
 execution. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 41 ). 
 
 269. — Sol in a quadriga. Inferior Roman work, cut in intaglio on 
 
 a sard. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 88). 
 
 270. — The head of the dog Sirius, radiated and open-mouthed, in 
 front face. A very renowned intaglio, most profoundly cut, 
 and marvellously finished in a material worthy of it, the kind 
 of carbuncle known as the " Siriam" or "Syriam" garnet, as 
 being obtained of the finest quality from the neighbourhood 
 of the ancient capital of Pegu. 
 
 On the collar of the dog is the signature TAIOC El~10l€l. 
 Natter first described it in his "Traite de la Methode Antique 
 de Graver," &c, No. XVL, and also in the Bessborough Cata- 
 logue, No. 40 C, and he acknowledges to have copied it. His 
 copy, in topaz, is at St. Petersburg, and he has been suggested 
 as possibly the artist who engraved this gem. Other gems 
 with the subject, some of them certainly antique, but similarly 
 treated, exist in different collections ; one is in the Payne 
 Knight collection in the British Museum, and another in that 
 at Berlin. 
 
 The nature of the stone, one not as yet met with among the 
 gems of the fine periods of ancient art ; the execution and 
 finish of the work, too perfect for comparison with ancient 
 works on the almandine garnets of Greece and Rome ; the 
 presence of the collar carrying a signature which too little 
 inspires confidence in its antiquity — all have been urged as 
 marking this Bessborough star-dog with a modern stamp. It 
 has, however, the valuable opinion of Dr. Brunn in its favour, 
 notwithstanding Kbhler's criticisms, and under any circum- 
 stances it must for ever remain in that small class of magni- 
 ficent works of which the nuptials of Cupid and Psyche, in 
 this collection, is another example, that possess an intrinsic 
 value, to be measured rather by their extraordinary merit 
 than by the antiquarian interest involved in their date. The 
 
THE GODS — EOS. 47 
 
 observations upon No. 713 may tend to strengthen the belief 
 that Natter was the master who engraved it ; but his 
 language in his book is quite incompatible with such a belief. 
 It was, moreover, one of Lord Chesterfield's gems, and there 
 is no reason to suppose that Natter engraved any of the works 
 in that Collection. 
 
 Eos Aurora. 
 
 271. — Aurora in a biga, clad with the arching veil of the antique HQ2. 
 It is wrought on a sardonyx in extraordinary relief, and 
 with transcendent excellence. Though unhappily so much 
 injured as to be but a fragment, it represents a large portion 
 of perhaps the finest of the many cameos with its subject in 
 the world. The near horse must once have been carved nearly 
 "in the round," for it almost prances in the air. Unfortu- 
 nately the undercutting, essential to the bold relief of the head 
 and two of the legs of this delicately modelled horse, has ex- 
 posed them to the accident from which they and the spokes 
 of the chariot-wheel have suffered ; perhaps arising from some 
 unskilled hand having sought to take a cast of the figures 
 in an unfit material. The axle of the chariot carries a minute 
 silver stud. The material might have been chosen to represent 
 the subject, the figures being carved in a most beautiful ivory- 
 like layer, while the background, over which they ai - e moving, 
 is a yellow sard, that might express the amber light of the 
 opening morning. What is its date ? if it be not Siculo- 
 Greek, the alternative can only be the cinque-cento time. 
 The former is the more probable. 
 
 It was one of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. B, No. 41). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 39. 
 
 272. — In this fine cameo we have the same subject very similarly 
 treated, but the relief is flat in comparison with the last. In 
 each the figure and garb of Aurora are quite similar, and she 
 holds the reins in her two hands in the same way. Indeed 
 the two gems might both have been copies from the same 
 original. This beautiful gem is cut in a jasper onyx, hardly 
 less appropriate in the accordance of the colours of the stone 
 with the subject represented than the last; the figures, carved 
 in a wax-like layer, present a more dusky hue, and seem 
 emerging from the night ; the background of the gem being- 
 formed of a layer of blackest jasper. One can hardly assign 
 to this gem a later date than that of the Rome of Augustus. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 21). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 48. 
 
48 THE GODS — PAGAN SUBJECTS. 
 
 273. — Phaethon, his chariot and horses, represented in the white layer 
 of an onyx ; in slight relief, the transparent ground layer of the 
 stone being highly foiled, with a crimson back. It is a pretty 
 renaissance work. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Cat. No. 3!) M). 
 
 C— ASTROLOGICAL SUBJECTS OF PAG AX 
 CHARACTER. 
 
 274. — A triumphal car, surrounded by all the signs of the zodiac. 
 A Victory holding out a wreath, floats in the air over a quad- 
 riga. The gem is finished in minute detail, though in rather 
 rude work, and is contained in a minute sard of circular form 
 and of a somewhat obscure yellow-brown colour, the diameter 
 of which is but -fths of an inch. Baron Roger de Sivry pos- 
 sesses in his collection a gem in all respects similar to this. 
 
 Figured in Worlidge's Etchings, No. 39. 
 
 275. — A renaissance copy of a subject of which a representation 
 exists on a gem in the French imperial cabinet. Jove with 
 his eagle, and with Mercury on the one hand, and Mars on 
 the other, stands on a hemispherical frame, below which 
 Neptune with his trident raises half his form from out of the 
 ocean. Around the whole is a zodiac. The intaglio is cut in 
 a large cornelian of If inch in diameter, and no doubt represents 
 a horoscope. 
 
 The mounting is an elaborate production of an Italian 
 artist, the stone being set round with table diamonds and 
 spinel rubies, interspersed with enamelled roses, and other 
 flowers, and suspended by a chain. On the back is a repre- 
 sentation, in richly coloured enamel, of a stork-shaped ima- 
 ginary bird. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 11). 
 
 276. — An intaglio on an agate. A singular design to which it is 
 difficult to attach any meaning, as the Greek letters inscribed 
 over the figures convey no sense, and the figures themselves 
 represent no very assignable deities. A winged female goddess 
 and a Cupid are in the centre ; on one side a figure apparently 
 meant for Apollo, and another playing Pan's pipes ; two 
 unrecognisable personages are on the other side. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection. It is stated by Natter (Cat. 
 No. 28) to have been previously in the Collection of Mr. Stanhope. 
 
THE GODS— EGYPTIAN SUBJECTS. 49 
 
 277. — An astrological medley. Venus with Cupid ; in the field the 
 symbols of Libra, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury ('?). In her 
 hand Venus also holds a pair of scales. It is an intaglio of 
 renaissance work on a most curious sard, with a green hue by 
 reflected and a red by transmitted light, having a white vein 
 running athwart it. The Mercury (No. 171) is at the back 
 of it. 
 
 l.—MITHRAIG SUBJECTS. 
 
 278. — An intaglio on a haematite. An amulet, very curious on 
 account of the combination, probably not accidental, of the 
 Mithraic subject on the obverse with an Abraxas on the 
 reverse. The former is the usual representation of Mithras 
 slaughtering the bull ; the crab and a serpent below in the 
 field, besides an eagle, a jackal, two altars, and two heads. 
 The style is very rude, and though far superior to that of the 
 majority of these talismans, it is still too imperfect to allow of a 
 very accurate description ; it is no doubt a work of the second 
 century. For the intaglio on the reverse see No. 287. 
 
 279. — A renaissance rendering of the last design, but it is without 
 the proper attributes of the Mithraic subject of it, and 
 would be more correctly, perhaps, described as a wingless 
 Victory sacrificing a bull. It is an intaglio well cut on a 
 cornelian, and is set in a very pretty renaissance seal. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 10G). 
 
 280. — A Mithraic subject in intaglio, on bloodstone. Perhaps the 
 Soul and the two Principles, and is much like the gem in the 
 Praun Collection, figured in p. 359 of Mr. King's work on 
 antique gems. A work of perhaps the first century. . 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems in the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 
 No. 38 c). 
 
 8.— EGYPTIAN SUBJECTS* 
 
 281. — A Horus Harpocrates seated in the boat of the Sun on a 
 lotus flower, wearing the disc of the sun, raising his left hand 
 to his mouth, and holding in his right a whip ; adored by a 
 Cynocephalus, wearing on his head a disc (sacred to the moon). 
 At the prow and stern a hawk, the emblem of Horus, crowned 
 
 * For Isis, see under Demeter, Nos. 43 to 46 ; and for Serapis, see under 
 Zeus, Nos. 5 to 11. 
 
50 THE GODS— EGYPTIAN SUBJECTS. 
 
 with Pschent (the crown of the upper and lower world) ; in the 
 field the sun and moon. It is a well cut Romano-Egyptian 
 intaglio, on a curious jasper of a dull brownish red, with a 
 stain of green in it. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 99). 
 
 282. — Harpocrates. A full-length figure in intaglio, on a splendid 
 red sard. His finger on his lip (as a divinity of Silence), he 
 holds in his left hand a cornucopia, resting on a column. On 
 his head is the persea fruit. It is a fine work of Romano- 
 Egyptian art. 
 
 283. — A seated Harpocrates, his forefinger on his lip, his left hand 
 holding the cornucopia : the right foot is broken. A cameo in 
 the highest relief, cut in a fine porcelain white layer of a 
 fine sardonyx, the lower layer consisting of red brown sard. 
 The modelling of the figure is delicate, and the finish of the 
 work excellent. It is somewhat undercut, and otherwise of a 
 modern aspect, and must be considered a cinque-cento copy 
 from a Romano- Egyptian antique, or more probably as such an 
 antique gem re-worked in the sixteenth century. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 43). 
 
 284. — A very fine copy, probably by Natter, of the Sphinx of 
 Thamyras, in the Blacas Collection. It is an intaglio on a 
 most magnificent sard. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 92). 
 
 285. — A Canopic vase ; a head rising from it, covered with the 
 head-dress of Osiris. Probably, on this account, of Roman 
 time, as the Egyptian representation of this subject has the 
 heads of four divinities in place of the Osiris head. Such 
 vases appear to have been used to contain the intestines of the 
 deceased. The intaglio is cut in the brown upper layer of a 
 convex sardonyx, with an underlayer of white. An inscription, 
 <J>IAin nOY doubtless the owner's name, surrounds the 
 vase, on which arabesque-looking ornaments are seen. The 
 work is ancient, though the gem has been much re-polished. 
 It is probably a work of late Romano-Egyptian art. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 83). 
 
 286. — The same subject, finely engraved on a cinnamon stone of 
 great beauty. The vase has hieroglyphics on it. Its date is 
 probably coeval with the last. 
 
THE GODS— GNOSTIC SUBJECTS. .51 
 
 9. -GNOSTIC SUBJECTS. 
 
 287. — The figure of Abrasax (Abraxas) ; I AH on a shield on his 
 right, a scourge in his left hand. The figure, cut in haematite, 
 is evidently meant not for a seal but for a talisman, and it and 
 the letters are therefore not inverted in the intaglio. This is 
 the gem engraved at the back of the Mithraic Bull, No. 278. 
 
 288. — The figure of the same mystic form. The cock's head is 
 more plain than in the last, and like that it has the serpent 
 formed lower extremities. It is cut in shallow intaglio, on the 
 back of the fine nieolo, which has the head of Commodus on 
 its obverse, No. 480 ; and it was doubtless jjlaced there to con- 
 vert that great gem into an amulet. Around the figure are in 
 Greek letters the words written directly APAOY TENNAI 
 I2AEMENI BAZIAIXKI2E. The work is good for a 
 subject of this class. 
 
 289. — Intaglio on a mottled plasma ; a radiated lion-headed serpent 
 rising in the air from his coiled tail ; the figure representing 
 Cneph, — XNOY0IS. At the back is a symbol, the threey's, 
 or -^St, conferring the talismanic influences of an amulet on a 
 gem otherwise Egyptian. Around the figure of Cnoubis (the 
 Creator in the Egyptian system, and a Demiurgus in that 
 of the Gnostics) are the words in direct Greek characters, 
 XNOYMIC nrANTOnAHKTA BAPn<t>ITA, 
 "Cnoumis, the giant-defeater." The date of the gem is pro- 
 bably the third century. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 33). 
 
 290. — An amulet with three K's, with a Coptic inscription in direct 
 Greek characters, 0I2BAPPABAYAPYI2SZ. A Gnostic 
 work of the fourth century ; at the back of the Hercules 
 strangling a lion, No. 302, intaglio in red jasper. This amulet 
 is that prescribed by Alexander of Tralles, as a charm against 
 the colic. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A. No. 87). 
 
 h 2 
 
52 THE HEROES— HERACLEAN CYCLE. 
 
 Section II.— THE HEROES. 
 
 1.— HERACLEAN CYCLE. 
 
 291. — A fragment of a head of Hercules to the left, very skilfully 
 made up in gold. It is a very deep intaglio, of the " Glycon " 
 type, and perhaps of Greek work, in a most simple and grand 
 style, in a cornelian, and was once a gem of large size. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 29). 
 
 292. — A head of Hercules to the left, of very late Roman work, on 
 a burnt sard. 
 
 Figured No. 20 of Worlidge's Etchings. 
 
 293. — Intaglio on a good sard. The same subject to the left, 
 treated in a rude but more formal manner by apparently a 
 very late artist of the Empire : a wreath, probably meant for 
 poplar, on the head. It may be a portrait of a late emperor, 
 perhaps of Maximian, as Hercules. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 38). 
 
 294. — Head of the youthful Hercules, to the left ; an intaglio on a 
 fine sard. It has a very modern appearance, perhaps from 
 having been re-worked, but the face and the hair have an 
 antique character. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, Chesterfield portion (Cat. No. 13 c). 
 
 295. — Hercules mingens ; very inferior and late Roman work, in 
 intaglio, on a greyish coloured agate. 
 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 296. — The celebrated Hercules bibax, with the lettering AAMX2N 
 behind the figure, which is a full-length side figure to the left 
 carrying a vast club. The signature, which seems ancient, and 
 fills a place evidently left for it in the design, would be limited 
 by the form of the U) to the Roman Period. Indeed, the heavi- 
 ness of the figure belongs to a time much later than even 
 the original of the Faruese Hercules ; the early athletic type 
 of Hercules degenerating into more massive and clumsy exag- 
 gerations as we trace it down from the older Greek to the 
 later Roman artists. It may eveu be a work of Caracalla's time. 
 
THE HEROES— HERACLEAN CYCLE. 53 
 
 * 
 
 This fiue gem is cut in not very deep intaglio on a slightly 
 convex sard ; the lettering, besides being in the nominative, is 
 too large to be the signature of the artist, and no doubt, as 
 Dr. Brunn supposes, represents the name of the owner. A gem 
 with this design (figured by Stosch) belonged to the Collection 
 of Vitelleschi Verospi ; another figured by Worlidge (in 1768), 
 (No. 21) was this, of the Mai-lborough Collection. Bracci 
 and Visconti speak of such a gem as in the Nuncio Molinari's 
 Collection, a statement considered by Dr. Brunn to militate 
 against the Marlborough gem being that of the Verospi Cabinet. 
 Raspe, however, states that this gem came to the Duke of 
 Marlborough's Collection from that of Molinari, into which it 
 had passed, he says, from the Verospi Cabinet. 
 
 A careful comparison of this gem and that in the Blacas 
 Collection shows this to be the finer and more antique looking 
 work. The Blacas gem, however, is on a finer stone, by no 
 means always an evidence of antiquity ; and it accords better 
 with the drawing in Stosch. It is doubtful which is the 
 original, though if Raspe's statement may be relied on, it 
 must be the Marlborough gem. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 32. 
 
 297. — A full-length front figure of the youthful Hercules, with the 
 hide of the lion on one arm, the club in the hand of the other. 
 A most excellent intaglio, of the best period of Roman work, 
 on a superb red sard, perfect as well in its transparency as in 
 its colour. 
 
 298. — Hercules reposing ; the subject of the Colossus at Tarentum, 
 brought to Rome by Fabius, and originally executed by 
 Lysippus. Other copies exist with the motto nONOX 
 TOY KAAHZ HZYXAZEIN AITIOZ. One was in 
 the Orleans Collection. That this intaglio is not ancient may 
 be concluded from the curve of the bow, and the treatment of 
 the other accessories, no less than from the material, which 
 is bloodstone ; a mineral never employed by the Roman art of 
 that eai - ly time, to which alone this class of work, if ancient, 
 must have been referred. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, 13). 
 
 299. — The same subject, on what looks like an antique stone, a red 
 sard. The intaglio is an unfinished work, being unpolished, 
 but it is of good execution, and probably an old design taken 
 in hand and improved by a modern artist. 
 
 300. — A modern intaglio of the same subject, stated to have been 
 the work of Natter. Tt is, however, not very good work, on a 
 white cornelian. 
 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
54 THE HEROES— HERACLEAN CYCLE. 
 
 i 
 
 301. — A mediocre Roman intaglio, representing Hercules wrestling 
 with Antfeus, on a fine little lapis lazuli, somewhat convex, and 
 in good condition for that stone. It is mounted in a beautiful 
 ring, with a white enamelled fleur-dedis, and black arabesque 
 work of entwined vines. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 5G). 
 
 302. — Hercules strangling the lion, a rude intaglio on a brick-red 
 jasper ; on the back is an amulet, see No. 290. It is very 
 late Roman work, perhaps contemporary with the Gnostic 
 amulet on the reverse, and therefore possibly as late as the 
 fourth century. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 87). This gem was once in the 
 Collection of Gorheus (see No. 4tl Gorhei Dactylotheca), afterwards 
 purchased by King James I. for his son. 
 
 303. — Hercules supporting Autiope, the dying Queen of the Amazons. 
 A modern intaglio copy on sard of this frequent subject. 
 
 304. — Intaglio on a magnificent dark sard. Hercules having brought 
 back Alcestis from the shades, presents her to her astonished 
 husband. This is perhaps the chef d'eeuvre of Marchant, and 
 exhibits at once the excellencies and the imperfections of his 
 style. The graceful form of the wife stands in contrast with 
 the erect demi-god, who, raising the veil of Alcestis, gives her 
 back to Admetus. The figure of Admetus is more feeble in 
 design, and the proportion of the head is in each figure too 
 small. But though with little of the austere spirit of antique 
 art, the conception of the gem is good, recalling somewhat 
 the motive of the gem numbered 9211 in Tassie ; the heralds 
 leading off Briseis. Work so finished was impossible, except in 
 an age supplied with lenses of high power. This fine gem was 
 a present from the Elector Duke of Saxony, in return for a copy 
 of the "Marlborough Gems," presented to his Serene Highness 
 by the third Duke of Marlborough. On the back of the gem 
 an inscription, in beautifully cut letters, " Saxonise Princeps 
 doni memor," commemorates the occasion of so princely a gift. 
 
 305. — Head of Hercules in full face. A cameo in hyacinthine garnet, 
 with much the appearance of being a late Roman work, but it 
 is very difficult to judge of the date of such camei. 
 
 306. — A cameo cut in a white layer with a dark ground. Hercules 
 bibax, with Lilliputian Cupids (in imitation of the old subject 
 of Hercules and the Pygmies 1) ; of rude design, and cinque 
 cento workmanship. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. D, No. 1C). 
 
THE HEROES — HERACLEAN CYCLE. 55 
 
 307. — Hercules; a minute modern cameo, the letters HPAK in the 
 field : in a bluish-white layer on a black base. Stated by 
 the Duke, of Marlborough to have been the work of Burch (in 
 a note to the Blenheim Catalogue). 
 
 308. — Hercules strangling the lion ; a large cameo on an onyx, 
 very spirited antique work. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 44. 
 
 309. — A full-faced cameo, bust of Hercules. It has been woi'ked (in 
 the cinque-cento period) in order to take advantage of the fine 
 bluish film at the back of a very extraordinary double nicolo, 
 the front of which is adorned by the antique Omphale, 
 No. 316. The historical interest of the stone is commemorated 
 in the description of that gem. 
 
 A Medina gem (Cat. No. 28 M). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 18. 
 
 310. — A cameo of renaissance workmanship, the subject being similar 
 to that of No. 295. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 142). 
 
 311. — A head to the left of the youthful Hercules (not Alexander), 
 with the lion's skin head-dress. It is an intaglio of the most 
 beautiful workmanship, and of the purest design, engraved by 
 a Greek artist of the best period, on a fine golden sard. 
 
 Once Lord Chesterfield's (Bessborough Cat. No. Gc). 
 
 312.— A head of Omphale to the left (or Iole ?) ; in the garb of 
 Hercules, with the lion's skin head-dress. It is beautifully 
 finished, but the profile is not antique in character, nor is the 
 state of the surface such. It is probably a work of Natter's, a 
 conclusion by no means controverted by the signature it bears 
 of TN A!OZ. It is cut in a yellowish sard of the finest colour 
 and quality. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 43). 
 
 313. — The same subject in profile to the left, on a fine hyacinthine 
 sard. Probably a modern work by one of the master hands 
 of the last century. 
 
 Once Lord Chesterfield's. A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 14 c). 
 
56 THE HEROES— HERACLEAN CYCLE. 
 
 314. — A full-length intaglio of Omphale in the Herculean lion's skin 
 garb, semi-nude. A beautifully modelled and finished gem, of 
 good Greek work, on a somewhat convex pale amethyst. 
 
 One of the Medina gems in Lord Bessborough's Collection (Cat. 
 No. 7 m). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 4G, and among 
 "Worlidge's Etchings, No. 40. 
 
 315. — The same subject in intaglio on a golden sard, but less artist- 
 ically handled ; but by a Greek engraver. It is much worn. 
 
 316. — An antique cameo, representing a bust to the right of Omphale ; 
 in design similar to No. 313. Cut in a double nicolo, of 
 indubitable antiquity, having the original Indian perforation 
 traversing it. At the back is the renaissance cameo of 
 Hercules, No. 309. This gem possesses an historical interest, 
 from its having been presented by Charles V. to Pope 
 Clement VII., and by him subsequently to the Piccolomini of 
 Sienna. It is mounted in a broad gold setting, with eight 
 table diamonds and rubies, alternately, on either face ; and 
 between each pair of these stones is a delicate filigree orna- 
 ment of triplets of trefoil, tied into a sort of golden fleur-de-lis. 
 The edge is ornamented with a twist of vine branches and 
 leaves in black enamel. The setting is of the same period as 
 the gift. 
 
 A Medina gem (Bessb. Cat. No. 28 M). 
 
 Figured by Borioni in the Museum Piccolomini, Plate iii. (No. 45). 
 Also in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 18. 
 
 317. — Omphale, profile to the right, same subject as those pre- 
 viously described. It is a cameo in the style of the third 
 century ; the hair is worked in a yellowish surface layer, the 
 face in a stratum of opaque white on a ground of bluish black. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 20). 
 
 318. — The same subject to the left ; a poor work in cameo of the 
 renaissance period, on an onyx of a singular quality and colour. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 17). 
 
 319. — A remarkable cameo in lapis lazuli, representing profile busts 
 to the right of Hercules and Iole, or rather portraits so per- 
 sonified. The appearance of the gem is antique, aud especially 
 Graeco-Egyptian ; the eyes in particular, from their somewhat 
 staring expression, and the line round the iris, seem to 
 indicate this. The portraits may possibly be those of a 
 Ptolemy and his queen, or they may represent personages of 
 importance during the reign of a Ptolemy. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 9). 
 
THE HEROES— LEANDER; MELEAGER. 57 
 
 Leander. 
 
 320. — Intaglio head, to the left, of Leander, or the figure called 
 in catalogues Leucothoe (a moon behind the head). Cut in 
 a bold style of Roman workmanship, in a circular red sard, 
 foiled. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 42). 
 
 321. — Hero and Leander, intaglio. A work of the renaissance period, 
 on a very fine sard (a sardine), its age being sufficiently in- 
 dicated by the representation of the Winds. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 85). 
 
 322. — Leander. A bust to the left, as though swimming, cut in 
 intaglio on a sard ; perhaps of Roman work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 28), termed " Caput Athletae." 
 
 Meleager. 
 
 323. — A very fine sard, with a figure of a huntsman carrying a 
 spear, probably Meleager ; cut in intaglio, in a somewhat slight 
 manner : apparently an antique work, but the modelling is 
 inferior. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, termed Adonis (Cat. No. 32 c). 
 
 324. — A modern work in intaglio, on a sard, called by Natter, iu his 
 Catalogue of the Bessborough Gems, a " Meleager." 
 
 (Bessb. Cat. No. 97). 
 
 325. — A beautiful bit of minute Italian renaissance work, com- 
 prising 27 figures, and styled "The death of Meleager." It 
 is cut in shallow cameo on the top of a shell of Cypnea tigris. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 18). 
 
 Amazons. 
 
 326. — A cameo of rare beauty and in the finest antique work. An 
 Amazon, whose helmet is cut in a little boss of transparent red 
 sard, supports her dead comrade whose horse stands by looking 
 towards the distant conflict. The figures are cut out of an 
 ivory-white layer upon a fine brownish sard base. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 48. 
 
 i 
 
58 THE HEROES— BELLEROPHON ; THESEUS. 
 
 327. — A cameo, representing an Amazon unhorsed, and seized by a 
 warrior. (Theseus and Antiope.) The stone is a sardouyx, 
 so cut that the Amazon is represented in a surface layer of 
 opaque white, the horse and the warrior in a horn-like 
 stratum, on a base of chalcedony. The work belongs to the 
 best Roman period. 
 
 Bellerophon, and Pegasus. 
 
 328. — Bellerophon and Pegasus, a chimaera below ; a late Roman 
 intaglio engraved on a nicolo. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. G4). 
 
 329. — Bellerophon watering Pegasus at the Hippocrene. An intaglio 
 cut in a rich shaded sard. The figure of the Bellerophon 
 looks antique, but the horse and background, in which a name 
 is inscribed, hardly corroborate it. The name may be read as 
 OTI ATOY, OnATOY or OTIATOY. Without doubt 
 a copy from, if it be not the gem with the same subject 
 described by Raspe as lettered XI2TPATOY, which was, 
 according to Dr. Brunn, a modern copy from the bas relief 
 with this subject in the Palazzo Spada. A similar gem is in 
 the Berlin Collection, but without the name, and there are 
 other copies in existence. 
 
 [Pegasus.] 
 
 330. — The fore quarters and wing of Pegasus beautifully engraved 
 in intaglio in a hyacinth. The curl of the wing is in the 
 most authentically antique manner, like that ou coins of 
 Lampsacus or of Corinth. 
 
 Theseus. 
 
 331. — Theseus, having slain the Minotaur, rests on his club ; the 
 dead monster lies in a window of the Labyrinth : a very pretty 
 modern cameo cut in a porcelain-white layer in relief, on a 
 bluish-grey base ; perhaps by the hand of Natter, who figured 
 this subject in his work on gem engraving. The same subject 
 occurs on a gem at Vienna, confessedly modern, and signed 
 Philemon. 
 
THE HEROES— HEROES OF THE ILIAD CYCLE. 59 
 
 Heroes of the Trojan War. 
 
 332. — Priam at the feet of Achilles. A beautiful little Greek 
 intaglio ou a fine sard. Four figures are included in the 
 design, of which the finish is complete, even to the ornamen- 
 tation of the cuirass of Achilles. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Bessb. Cat. No. 44 m). 
 
 333. — A seated warrior, in intaglio (called in the Blenheim Catalogue 
 an Achilles), contemplates a helmet. The gem exhibits a 
 roughness of outline and imperfection in the drawing which 
 condemn it as a forgery of the last century. It is engraved on 
 a beautiful little sard. 
 
 334. — An intaglio ; a crouching warrior (the so-called wounded 
 Achilles— perhaps Tydeus) ; a round buckler covers his side 
 with a Gorgon head on it, and his sword is erect in his hand 
 before him. It is cut deeply into a good pale sard in an 
 antique style. 
 
 335. — A cameo, Roman in date, on sardonyx. Achilles or a hero 
 holding forth a sword. He is seated on a cuirass. It is cut in 
 a white laj'er, with a brown base layer. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 140). 
 
 336. — An intaglio ; Thetis borne on a Triton couveyiug the arms to 
 her son. Late Roman work ; deeply and rudely cut in a 
 red cornelian. 
 
 337. — Head of Diomed ; a cameo, with the character of a late 
 Roman work, cut in a sardonyx out of a white layer on a base 
 of sard. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Bessb. Cat. No. 40 m). 
 
 338. — Achilles and Chiron. The Centaur is giving the young Achilles 
 a lesson on the lyre ; a Cupid behind is listening. Perhaps a 
 work of the 2nd century : it is deeply cut in intaglio on a 
 fine sard, but the subject is so treated in a picture found 
 at Pompeii, possibly the original from which this gem may 
 have been copied by a modern hand. There are many modern 
 copies of the same design. 
 
 i 2 
 
GO THE HEROES— HEROES OF THE ILIAD CYCLE. 
 
 339. — An intaglio of Achilles and a Centaur ; rather late Roman 
 work, as seen by its rudeness and by the material in which it 
 is engraved, a red jasper. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems acquired by Lord Bessborough (Cat. 
 No. 31 C). 
 
 340. — Two figures engraved in intaglio on a very fine and large 
 yellow sard, representing, perhaps, Paris and (Euone. The 
 figures are nude, and are not therefore (as the Blenheim 
 Catalogue interprets them) Phaon and Sappho. The gem has 
 been very much rubbed down by modern polishing, but is fine 
 work, and likely to have been cut by an antique hand. 
 
 Mr. King considers the figures to represent a muse and 
 comic poet. 
 
 The gem was once Mariette's ; see Caylus, Rec. 1, p. 129. 
 
 340«- — An intaglio, that seems to be a modern copy on a reduced 
 scale of the Paris and OZnone, No. 340 ; stated by a note in 
 the Duke of Marlborough's handwriting to have been engraved 
 by Natter. It is cut on quartz. 
 
 341. — An intaglio on a deep-coloured sard (or sardine), of the large 
 dimensions of If inch by l T ' ff inch. It represents Diomed 
 and Ulysses seizing the Palladium. Diomed on one side is 
 seated on a cippus, in the attitude so often repeated upon 
 gems, holding the talismanic image in his left, and his sword 
 in his right hand (as viewed on an impression). On the 
 other, the left half of the stone (the right on an impression 
 from it), Ulysses, the herald's staff in his left hand and the 
 chlamys on his other arm, points to the body of the priestess at 
 his feet. A figure with a trident (of Poseidon 1) surmounts a 
 tall column that divides the gem and separates the two 
 heroes ; while the wall of the temple-precinct is seen over 
 Ulysses' head. 
 
 On the cippus is the signature 4>HAIZ €nOI€l, and in 
 the field over the head of Diomed, as if to balance in the design 
 the wall on the other side, are the words KAAIIOYPNIOY 
 CEOYHPOY, the name, perhaps, of the owner. This im- 
 portant and remarkable gem is one of the very few that the scep- 
 ticism of Stephani allowed as carrying a genuine signature. 
 Dr. Brunn, while admitting this verdict (in opposition to the 
 opinions of Bracci and of Kohler), has been, with Stephani, 
 misled as to the position of the inscriptions ; perhaps in con- 
 sequence of the engraving, No. XXXV. in Stosch's work, 
 having the whole of the inscriptions consecutively in the 
 exergue. Worlidge has made no such error. The Arundel 
 sardine — or dark sard (not a sardonyx, by the way, for which 
 
THE HEROES— HEROES OF THE ILIAD CYCLE. Gl 
 
 the sardoine has been mistaken,) — has had a suspicious look 
 imparted to it by a vigorous re-polishing (too usual in the 
 Arundel gems), and by probably a considerable thinning of the 
 stone, the back being worked down to show the quality of the 
 sardine. The position of this intaglio in this Collection as an 
 Arundelian gem secm-es it at least from the charge of being a 
 forgery of the last century. There are certainly points about 
 it calculated to awaken suspicion as to its antiquity ; such as 
 the form of the figure of Neptune on the column, and a certain 
 appearance as of a simulated early style in the treatment of 
 parts. Bat the form of the owner's name is hardly such as 
 would have been forged before the last century ; and there 
 seems no valid ground for withholding from this remarkable 
 intaglio the title Brunn has allowed to it of ancient workman- 
 ship. It was probably a work of the age of Hadrian. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. E, No. 2). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 30, and by 
 Worlidge in his Etchings, No. 52, where he has put the inscriptions in 
 their correct positions. 
 
 342. — Intaglio ; Diomed, master of the Palladium ; a renaissance 
 work of very inferior style, on an agate. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 9). 
 
 343. — A gem in intaglio with the singular lettering AIOTHNEZ. 
 The dress is that of Ulysses, — the pilos and chiton. The 
 work is apparently of a pretty good Roman period of art, 
 on a nicolo. But the name seems certainly to have been 
 engraved at a date subsequent to that of the intaglio. 
 Besides the inversion of the H and E, the dress would prove 
 the figure not to be the philosophic wearer of one single 
 rag, though the (pithos) earthen pot, on which the crouching 
 figure is seated, might represent his tub. 
 
 JEneas. 
 
 344. — An intaglio of Apollo helping ^Eneas (who is only represented 
 by his last retreating leg) to escape from Diomed through the 
 Scaean gate : Diomed is striking at a cloud unrepresented in 
 the gem. 
 
 It is a fine work, cut in a rich and uniform sard, square in 
 form with the angles rounded, and set in a light and beautiful 
 ring of 17 th century workmanship. Winckelmann described 
 a similar work on an "antique" paste. Natter gave his 
 opinion in favour of the antiquity of this gem, but declared 
 
62 THE HEROES — HEROES OF THE ILIAD CYCLE. 
 
 the paste alluded to to have been a modern one made from it. 
 The surface of the work on the wall, however, makes the 
 antiquity of the gem itself rather doubtful. 
 
 It was from the Medina Collection (Bessb. Cat. No. 21 m). It seems 
 to have belonged to Caylus in 17<>2. See his Thee. d'Antiquitcs, V., 
 PI. liii. 3. 
 
 Figured by Worlidge, No. 17, and in the " Marlborough Gems," 
 Vol. i. No. 40. 
 
 344 his. Diomed and ^Eneas at the Scfean gate : the same subject 
 as the last, but cut in cameo on a good sardonyx. It is 
 inscribed YAPOY, Natter's punning pseudonym, (natter 
 being in German a water-snake). 
 
 Natter figured and described the last gem, No. 344, in his Treatise. 
 No doubt he copied all the gems he has there described. 
 
 345. — .-Eneas carrying Anchises, and conducting Ascanius. An in- 
 taglio worked during the good Roman period, on a fine pale 
 sard. 
 
 346. — Two warriors conversing, Pylades and Orestes ? An intaglio 
 on a foiled sard, and probably a renaissance work. Mr. King- 
 terms them Achilles and Antilochus, and considers the work 
 as late Greek. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. G2). 
 
 347. — An intaglio ; Tydeus with the head of Melanippus. An 
 Etruscan or early Greek work on a sard. On the reverse is a 
 Victory. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 52). 
 
 348. — Iphigenia or Polyxcna, offered in sacrifice ; a rude Roman 
 intaglio on a sard. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 7H). 
 
 349. — A full-faced head of Laocoon, cut on a rich amethyst in cameo 
 in the last century. It was, in fact, engraved by Sirletti, 
 according to Marietta 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 21). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 25. 
 
 350. — A very fine shell cameo of Laocoon. The drawing and design 
 are admirable, and the work probably of the 17th century, 
 perhaps even by the hand of Fiamingo. 
 
II. -ICONOGRAPHY. 
 
 1.— GREEK AND PRE-AUOUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 351. — An intaglio head of Homer to the right. A beautiful and 
 delicate Greek work, on a fine yellow sard, representing the 
 conventional features of the poet. 
 
 352. — A very small cameo ; a head to the right representing Sappho ; 
 very like in profile and head-dress to the Sappho heads on 
 the small electrum coins of Lesbos. It is cut in a white layer 
 on a reddish base, and is probably Greek work. 
 
 One of the Medina gems in the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 
 No. 10 m). 
 
 353. — Intaglio on a plasma. A female head to the left tied with 
 ribbons in a style usually attributed to Sappho. 
 
 One of the gems originally Lord Chesterfield's (Bessb. Cat. No. 24 C). 
 
 354. — An intaglio head, to the right, of Socrates, on dark jasper. 
 Fine work, probably of the early Imperial time. 
 
 355. — A poor Roman intaglio on a cornelian ; a head to the right 
 that seems meant for Socrates. 
 
 356. — An intaglio ; Socrates and Plato, on a fine almandine garnet, 
 being a representation of the heads of the two philosophers, 
 confronting one another. A precise duplicate of this fine 
 gem on a poor cornelian is in the Bibliotheque Imperiale at 
 Paris. Both gems have all the appearance of being Greco- 
 Roman work, of the early Imperial age. This cabochon alman- 
 dine belonged to the Earl of Chesterfield before falling into 
 the Bessborough Collection. It can hardly have been a copy 
 from the gem at Paris. Both were probably ancient works 
 from a common original. 
 
 (Bessb. Cat. No. 7 C.) Figured by Worlidge, 33, and in " Marlbo- 
 rough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 3. 
 
G4 GREEK AND PRE-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 357. — An intaglio, head of Plato, on a fine brown sard, to the left; 
 fine Roman work. 
 
 358. — Cameo head of Alexander the Great, to the right. The 
 helmet is ornamented in very low relief by a combat between 
 one warrior and another in a chariot (?) drawn by gryphons. 
 The whole work is perhaps of the renaissance period, or the 
 ornaments on the helmet, as Mr. King suggests, may have 
 been superposed upon work which, if Roman, must have 
 belonged to the earlier Imperial times. If an ancient work, it 
 probably was wrought in its entirety in the time of Caracalla 
 or of Severus Alexander. The stone is a fine sardonyx, of 
 which a clear white layer forms the face, in relief upon a black 
 ground ; a surface layer of a red coral colour forming the 
 helmet. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. .">). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 4. 
 
 359. — A modern but beautiful little cameo, representing Alexander 
 the Great. The face, to the right, is in an opaque white 
 layer on a base of horny chalcedony. 
 
 360. — The same subject, to the right, with Pichler's signature, 
 IIIXAEP. This cameo is on a fine sardonyx ; the Ammon horn 
 standing out in a surface layer of a rich brown colour. 
 
 361. — A small cameo, carrying what is probably meant to be a 
 bust, to the right, of Alexander. The work is pretty good, 
 but not antique. 
 
 362. — A helmeted head of rather deep intaglio, three-quarter face, 
 of the type usually called " Hannibal." It might be rather 
 late Italo-Greek work. It is on a good sard, and is a beautiful 
 gem, but its date is uncertain, from the numerous repetitions 
 of the subject by excellent artists. 
 
 363. — Same subject cut in intaglio on a large agate, either a re- 
 naissance work, or of the last century. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 35). 
 
 Etched by Worlidge, No. 1G, and figured in the " Marlborough 
 Gems," Vol. ii. No. 20. 
 
 364. — An admirable portrait of Demetrius III., Philopator. It is 
 in the style of the contemporary Greek work, being cut in a 
 shallow manner on a sard ; the head to the right. 
 
 Figured by Worlidge, in his Etchings, as a Tiberius. 
 
ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 65 
 
 365. — A small cameo probably modern, apparently intended for the 
 last of the Ptolemies. The hair is in a yellow and dark brown 
 layer ; the face, which is to the right, is in white, on a greyish 
 translucent base. It is set in an open mounting of silver with 
 small diamonds. 
 
 366. — An Egyptian queen in the vulture head-dress, as a priestess 
 of Isis ; called a Cleopatra. The face and head, to the left, 
 are cut in a rich brown layer of sard on a white base. The 
 work is of a grand and bold order, but not highly finished, 
 though admirable in polish. This cameo is probably the 
 Ptolemaic-Greek original of many copies. 
 
 It was from the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 2), and called 
 an Isis. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 17. 
 
 367. — A modern cameo, probably by a French artist, representing 
 a bust of Cleopatra full-faced, and in the conventional modern 
 type ; on an onyx. 
 
 •2.— ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 368. — A modern intaglio on a sard, meant perhaps to represent 
 Lucius Junius Brutus ; a head to the left. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems (Cat. No. 21 c, " Metrodorus "). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 2, as Metrodorus, 
 and also by Worlidge, No. 34. 
 
 369. — The same subject, to the left, an intaglio, cut in a convex 
 sard. Work of the last century, or renaissance, roughened 
 to give it an ancient appearance. 
 
 Perhaps an Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. A, 11). 
 
 370. — An intaglio of renaissance work on a bright red sard. A 
 helmeted head in three-quarter face with the lettering 
 M. RE. ATI, and intended to represent Marcus Atilius 
 Regulus. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 12). 
 
 371. — An intaglio of the same age as the last, on a sard, lettered 
 COS VII, and meant for Caius Marius ; the head to the right . 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 10). 
 
66 ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 372. — A renaissance or moderir" intaglio on a fine little sapphire, 
 representing Cicero ; the head to the left. 
 
 From the Chesterfield Collection (Bessb. Cat. No. 1 1 c). 
 
 373. — An intaglio on red jasper of rather nice work, doubtless re- 
 presenting a portrait of Sextus Pompeius; the head to the left. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 53), termed Ptolemy the Great. 
 
 374. — An intaglio of good Roman work, meant probably for Sextus 
 Pompeius, though neither this nor the previous portrait are 
 much like that on his rare gold coin ; the head is to the left, 
 on a sard. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 13). 
 
 375. — A portrait in profile, to the left, of Marcus Junius Brutus. 
 It is a beautifully worked intaglio on a rich little sard. The 
 form of the head is somewhat different from that represented 
 on the coins, but it is without doubt intended for his portrait, 
 and it is certainly Roman work not later than the early 
 Imperial time. 
 
 From the Chesterfield Collection (Bessb. Cat. No. 3 c). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. i, and by Worlidge, 
 No. 10. 
 
 376. — The above copied on a beautiful sard in modern times ; 
 interesting from the contrast the work affords to its antique 
 prototype. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 55). 
 
 377. — An intaglio on a very fine nicolo, probably representing Lucius 
 Junius Brutus ; a head to the left, by a renaissance hand. 
 An Arundel gem (Thee. A, No. 14G). 
 
 378. — Mark Antony ; an intaglio on a fine golden sard. The face, 
 to the right, is somewhat less hard in feature than on coins, 
 and thus bears some resemblance to Vespasian. It seems a 
 contemporary work, and in the finest manner of the Gncco- 
 Roman period. 
 
 379. — An intaglio, probably of Lepidus, on a bright red sard ; good 
 work, probably of the early Imperial age; the head to the left. 
 
 380. — A head, to the left, of Julius Ctesar on a nicolo ; an intaglio 
 of little character, and probably modern. 
 
ROM AX AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 67 
 
 381. — An intaglio. The same subject with still less of the character 
 of Julius Caesar. A renaissance work, only remarkable for 
 the stone that it is upon — a sapphire ; the head is to the left. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 15). 
 
 382. — Intaglio. The same head, to the left, in very exaggerated 
 style, probably of the cinque-cento period, on a magnificent 
 nicolo. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 19). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 3. 
 
 383. — A portrait, probably meant for Julius Csesar, or it might 
 even be commemorative of William III. of England. A 
 rather nice modern intaglio, the head to the right, on a sap- 
 phire. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. 48). 
 
 384. — An intaglio head, probably meant for Julius Caesar, coarsely 
 engraved in a large but poor sard by some cinque-cento hand ; 
 the head to the left. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 12). 
 
 385. — A small statuette bust, cut out of a magnificent hyaciuthine 
 sard, as beautiful for colour as for transparency. It is called 
 Nerva, but is probably meant for Julius Csesar, and would 
 seem to be a work of the fine period of the cinque-cento. 
 
 It was an Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 1C>). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 17. 
 
 386. — Intaglio of Augustus very young ; a head to the left. Good 
 but not very fine Roman work, on a hyaciuthine sard. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 2 c). 
 
 Figured by Worlidge and in the "Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. 
 No. 6, and called there a Lepidus. 
 
 387. — A fragment, being part of a portrait of Augustus, to the 
 left, in the character of Hermes, a caduceus being in the field ; 
 in shallow intaglio. When complete it must have been some 
 3 inches high by nearly 2 inches broad. It is cut in a brown 
 sard, and delicately finished. It is difficult to assign a date to 
 this gem: but see No. 122, which is a gem very similar in 
 style. 
 
 This gem seems to have been one of those acquired by the third 
 Duke, and is figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. If!. 
 
 It is probably the fragment alluded to in a letter from Marchant 
 to his Grace, and for which 23 guineas was paid. See Introduction, 
 p. xvii. 
 
 K 2 
 
G8 ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 388. — A modem intaglio of considerable merit, on a sard, repre- 
 senting Augustus in apotheosis ; the head to the left, no 
 doubt studied from the large brass coins. 
 
 389. — A modern and fine cameo, in a splendid nicolo, of a head of 
 Augustus. A rim is reserved, formed in the upper bluish 
 layer of the stone. 
 
 390. — A cameo, nearly three inches in height. Head, looking to 
 the right, of the deified A ugustus (with the radiate crown) ; 
 extremely fine w r ork. The emperor's head is left in a 
 porcelain-white layer in relief, on a reddish brown sard under 
 layer ; altogether a noble gem of the period of the early 
 empire. The setting of this cameo is beautifully chiselled and 
 elaborately enamelled ; wrought probably in the cinque-cento 
 period. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 7. 
 
 391. — A cameo, representing probably Augustus deified. The head 
 is seen in front face, veiled, and in the highest relief. It is 
 cut in an opaque white porcelain-like layer, but the ground 
 has been fractured, cut off, and substituted by gold. It is 
 a noble Roman work, If inch high by 1 inch in width. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 3). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 8. 
 
 392. — A cameo, in very high relief, apparently repi*esenting Augustus 
 when young, crowned with a laurel wreath. It is very beau- 
 tiful work, but of comparatively modern, though uncertain, 
 date. The features are carved in a fine porcelain-white 
 stratum of an onyx, 1| inch high by 1 inch wide ; the base is 
 brown. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 4). 
 
 Figured in the "Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 12, as Germanicus. 
 
 393. — A small, quite modern cameo on sardonyx, repi'esenting the 
 head of young Augustus, looking to the left, in a white layer 
 on a brown ground. 
 
 394. — A much worn, and possibly antique cameo, representing the 
 same subject as the last, looking to the right ; cut in an opaque 
 yellow layer of an onyx with a bluish-gray base. 
 
 395. — A cameo of renaissance period, representing Augustus lau- 
 reated, in a clear amethystine chalcedony with an opaline foil, 
 and mounted in white enamel, adorned with flowei'sj a portrait 
 to the right. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 21). 
 
ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 69 
 
 396. — A fine modern cameo, probably representing the head of 
 Augustus to the left, in a pale coffee-tinted layer, on a dark 
 bluish-gray base. 
 
 396 a. — A very fine modern cameo, in high relief, nearly front-faced 
 bust, probably also of Augustus, in an opaque white layer, on 
 a pinkish-grey ground. 
 
 397. — A modern paste cameo, white on black ground, perhaps also 
 meant for Augustus ; the head to the left. 
 
 398. — A modern cameo of beautiful workmanship, representing a 
 profile head of Augustus to the left, cut on a whitish layer on 
 a bluish base. 
 
 399. — A profile and bust to the right, representing Livia. It is 
 small cameo, of Roman workmanship, on a sardonyx. 
 
 400. — A minute cameo ; a small female veiled head to the right, cut 
 on a sardonyx, the face in a white layer, the veil in a yellow 
 surface layer, on a base of jet black. It is good, probably 
 Roman work, and may represent Livia ; mounted in a 
 tasteful blue enamelled ring, adorned with stars. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 109). 
 
 401. — A bust of Livia veiled, and in front face, represented as Ceres. 
 A cameo on a sardonyx, in very high relief, carved in a porce- 
 lain-white layer, on a mottled sard base. The gem is 1 1 inch 
 in height. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 7). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. 24. 
 
 402. — A female head and part of bust to the left ; possibly Livia, in 
 the character of Ceres. A cameo, on a sardonyx, the hair and 
 veil in a jet-black layer ; the face in a white stratum, with 
 the base layer black. It may be a Ceres, however, of the age 
 of Severus ; the work being of the rude type then prevalent. 
 It is prettily set, like 446, in a gold wire looped border. 
 
 Perhaps the Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 1 24). 
 
70 ROMAN AND TOST-AUGUSTAN rOUTRAlTURE. 
 
 403. — A cameo of extraordinary beauty and interest ; Livia and the 
 young Tiberius, in green turquoise. The work as perfect as 
 the stone is remarkable. It is without doubt a gem of the 
 Augustan age, and may once have been a much larger com- 
 position, and constructed in pieces, of which this was one. It 
 is lj inch in height by 1^- inch in width. 
 
 It was in the Bessborough Collection (Cat. p. 27). 
 
 It is exquisitely figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 10. 
 
 404. — An intaglio head, to the left, on cornelian ; very good work, 
 probably meant for the young Tiberius. 
 
 405. — A cameo head, cut in a white layer on a yellow sard ground, 
 apparently meant for Tiberius. The portrait looks to the 
 left, and has the character of a modern work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 108), termed Drusus son of 
 Tiberius. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 25. 
 
 406. — A cameo, 1£ inch in height, by nearly 1 inch in width. A 
 bust of the young Tiberius to the left ; the face rendered in a 
 white layer, the wreath and shoulder in a yellow brown layer, 
 on a base of mottled yellow chalcedony. Fine Roman work ; 
 the likeness injured by an abrasion of the nose. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. G). 
 
 407. — A cameo, 3 inches in height by If in width, probably meant 
 to represent Tiberius, the portrait being much like his coins 
 struck iu Asia Minor. The work, however, is rude, and may 
 belong to a later period. The face, a portrait to the right, is 
 cut in a bluish-white layer, on a translucent base of yellowish 
 chalcedony. 
 
 408. — A minute cameo ; a head to the left, in a yellowish layer of 
 a sardonyx, with a grey base. It probably represents 
 Marcus Agrippa, aud would seem to be contemporary work. 
 
 409. — The same subject with the rostral crown, but perhaps modern ; 
 the portrait is to the left, in a white layer of an onyx on a 
 translucent base. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 23. 
 
 410. — A large bloodstone cameo, 3 inches high, by 2i in width. A 
 head to the left, intended for Agrippa. It is probably a 
 modern work. 
 
ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 71 
 
 411. — A " Marcellus," so called, copied by Marchant in intaglio, 
 on a wonderfully fine hyacinthine garnet, from the cameo 
 No. 412. The head is to the right. 
 
 412. — A cameo ; a head in a white layer, on a gray ground, looking 
 to the left ; perhaps meant for Marcellus, but doubtful both 
 in its age and subject. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. llfi). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough G-ems," Vol. i. No. 9, as Marcellus. 
 
 413. — A cameo portrait in shallow relief to the left, in a white layer 
 on a black base. A renaissance work, intended for Drusus. 
 
 Apparently the Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 120). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 11. 
 
 414. — A cameo on a sardonyx, If inch high, by 1J inch wide. 
 A fine laureated head to the right ; the laurel wreath and 
 robe in a rich yellow layer ; flesh in a pure white layer, on a 
 ground of yellowish brown. Possibly intended for Antonia, 
 but the likeness is not very strong. It is, however, good 
 Roman work of the Imperial age. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 2). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 27. 
 
 415. — Conjoined heads of Germanicus and Agrippiua to the left. 
 Poor cinque-cento work on an onyx, cut in a white layer on a 
 bluish-gray base. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 3). 
 
 416. — Cameo on a sardonyx, lj inch in height, by 1^ inch in 
 width. A head of Agrippina the elder to the right. The 
 richly worked hair and laurel wreath is cut in a fine brown 
 layer ; the face in a bluish- white stratum, on a dark base. 
 The work is very fine, and worthy of the magnificent stone on 
 which it is cut. It is a noble gem of the Augustan age. It is 
 mounted in an enamelled black aud gold setting;. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. D, No. 2). 
 
 417. — An intaglio portrait of Agrippina, the younger, to the left, 
 lightly veiled as Ceres, on a splendid red sard, an inch in 
 height. It is a modern gem, with the assumed signature 
 ACriAClOY, attributed by Bracci to Flavio Sirletti. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Bessb. Cat. No. 14 M). 
 
 Figured by Worlidge, and in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 1 4 . 
 
72 ROMAN AXD POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 418. — A copy, signed by Pichler, from the sitting statue of Agrippina 
 in the Villa Albani. A pretty cameo. 
 
 419. — Cameo, entirely in sard : a head of Caius Caesar. Excellent 
 and antique work, set in a brass ring. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 110). 
 
 420. — An intaglio portrait to the left, on a beryl or pale sapphire ; 
 probably meant for the young Caligula. It is set in a fine 
 massive mediaeval ring. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 17). 
 
 421. — A renaissance cameo, representing Caligula ; a head to the 
 left, in a black layer on a grayish-brown ground. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. B, No. 19). 
 
 422. — A cameo, representing Claudius Caesar to the left, with an 
 oaken crown and the paludamentum. It is cut on a sardonyx, 
 2£ inches high, by 2 inches wide, and set in a finely enamelled 
 mounting. The flesh is rendered in a porcelain-white layer, 
 the wreath and regis in a reserved stratum of fine yellow, while 
 the base is also composed of yellow sard. The work is rather 
 coarse, and probably contemporary. It is set in a rim of 
 enamelled gold. 
 
 An Arundel gem, termed Britannicus (Ar. Cat. Thee. D, No. It). 
 
 423. — A cameo bust of Claudius to the right, on a fine sardonyx, 
 2^ inches high, by If inch wide ; the face being cut in a 
 translucent bluish-white layer, the hair in a whiter stratum, 
 the civic oak wreath and the paludamentum in a rich brown 
 sard layer, and the base consisting of tortoise shell sard. The 
 work is much the same quality as that in No. 422, and seems 
 to be contemporary with the emperor. It is set in a rim of 
 plain gold. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 11). 
 
 424. — A small front-face portrait of Messalina in cameo, in high 
 relief, on a weathered lapis lazuli. The work is good, and 
 perhaps contemponuy. 
 
 425. — An intaglio portrait of Nero to the left, at about twenty-four 
 years of age, on a fragment of sard. The likeness is fairly 
 good, and the work contemporary ; at least that portion of 
 the gem which has not been added to complete the subject. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 18). 
 
ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 73 
 
 426. — A small cameo head of Nero to the left. Contemporary, and 
 not very good work. The head in a white layer on a grayish- 
 black ground. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 107). 
 
 427. — Cameo, If inch high by 1 inch wide, carrying a head of 
 Nero to the left ; cut in a wax-like pinkish layer in middle 
 relief, on a somewhat yellow opaque base. It is fine work, and 
 probably contemporary. 
 
 428. — A small renaissance cameo, representing a head of Nero to the 
 right ; in a white layer on a gray grouud. 
 
 429. — A small onyx cameo, head of Nero to the right. Of dubious 
 but probably cinque-cento date, in a white layer on a gray 
 ground. 
 
 430. — A small cameo on sardonyx, with the same subject to the 
 left ; in a yellow-brown layer on a white base. It seems a 
 renaissance work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 27). 
 
 431. — Small cameo, on a garnet foiled so as to have the appearance 
 of an amethyst ; perhaps Nero, but possibly Domitian, and 
 described as such in the Arundel Catalogue, on a garnet. It 
 seems a modern or renaissance work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 115) ? — described as on a garnet. 
 
 432. — Onyx ; small cameo, head of Nero to the left, in a white layer 
 on a gray ground : probably modern. 
 
 433. — Sardonyx ; a very fine cameo, representing the laureated 
 head of Galba to the left, being a fragment of a larger gem. 
 It is l-§- inch high by 1 inch wide, in a marble white layer, 
 on a black base. It seems ancient but reworked in later 
 times. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 123). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 1G. 
 
 434. — Onyx ; a small cameo head of Galba to the right. Probably 
 contemporary; in a white layer on a bluish-gray base. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 117). 
 
74 ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN TORTRAITURE. 
 
 435. — Onyx ; a small cameo, -fths of an inch high, representing, 
 perhaps, Galba, or it may be Vespasian, to the right. A finely 
 worked little gem : the face cut in a dead white layer on a 
 black base. 
 
 436. — An extraordinary sardonyx, 3^ inches high by 2f inches 
 wide, with a helmeted head and bust upon it, in rather low 
 relief. The base of the stone consists of deep red, almost 
 black sard ; the face and crest of the helmet and neck are 
 worked in a white layer, while the helmet and coat of mail are 
 reserved in an upper layer of deep brown hue. The subject, a 
 bust to the right, with a helmet and coat of what may be in- 
 tended as chain armour, has been described as Galba. Round 
 the head has been written in characters not engraved, but 
 stained into the stone, the words : ANDREAS CARRAIA 
 SANCTA COMES SO VER1NAL :—" Andre de St. Caree, 
 Count of Soverinal." This lettering can be seen by strong sun 
 light, or by breathing on the stone, and illustrates the singular 
 porosity that characterises chalcedony, even in the form of the 
 finest sard. It is perhaps the name of some owner of the gem ; 
 or it might even be the personage pourtrayed upon it. That 
 it is not a work of antique time may be assumed from the 
 nature of the stone, which is like those from the neighbour- 
 hood of Oberstein, and is artificially coloured ; jn'obably at 
 that place. The onyxes so stained in Germany are of a softer 
 and more porous kind than the sard varieties chiefly employed 
 by the ancients, which, when altered in colour, were generally 
 changed by the action of heat only. 
 
 This splendid sardonyx was in the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 
 No. 15). 
 
 437. — An onyx cameo representing Galba to the right ; a very nice 
 work of the cinque-cento period ; cut on a stone 1J inch in 
 height in a white stratum on a horn-like base. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 40). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 1G. 
 
 438. — Onyx cameo ; a small renaissance head, probably meant for 
 Galba to the left. 
 
 439. — Onyx cameo ; head of Otho, iu a white layer on a dark gray 
 ground, probably a renaissance gem. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 118). 
 
 440. — Yellowish chalcedony ; a small intaglio head of Vespasian to 
 the left, but not much like that emperor, and may, perhaps, 
 be intended for Galba. It is mounted in a very pretty ring. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 19). 
 
ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 75 
 
 441. — Red jasper ; head of Vespasian to the left. A somewhat 
 nattered portrait, apparently of his time. 
 
 442. — Small cameo on onyx ; a head of Vespasian to the right, in a 
 white layer on a dark base. Rude contemporary work. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 121). 
 
 443, — Sardonyx ; a small cinque-cento cameo, mounted in a very 
 pretty ring, representing Vespasian to the right, in a white 
 layer on a bluish-gray ground, with laurel wreath in a yellow- 
 layer, and a rim in the white layer. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 106). 
 
 444. — Onyx ; a stone If inch high by If inch wide. A three- 
 quarter face head of Vespasian ; against a flesh-coloured under 
 layer the face is seen in white with a slight tint of flesh 
 colour. The expression is slightly exaggerated, and the work, 
 which is very good, is probably modern ; as indeed is the 
 stone, a German onyx. 
 
 445. — An intaglio on a large plasma, If inch high by fths inch 
 wide. Head of Titus to the right. The expression is not 
 good, and the work is probably renaissance. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 20). 
 
 446. — Sardonyx ; a cameo representing probably the head of Titus 
 to the left, taken from his Alexandrian coins, in a bluish-white 
 translucent layer, and reserved rim on a yellowish-brown base. 
 The work seems to be of the renaissance, and is enclosed in a 
 beautiful gold wire setting, similar to that of No. 402, and in 
 style resembling those of No. 4.32 and 461. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 125), called Vespasian. 
 
 447. — An intaglio on a splendid hyacinthine sard. The renowned 
 bust of daughter of Titus by Nicander, whereof the upper part 
 of the head and the head-dress are restored in gold. Mr. King- 
 considers it to be a Berenice, but the comparison with coins 
 seems to justify the original attribution. The inscription 
 is beyond all suspicion genuine, and might be of Ptolemaic 
 date. It is retrograde. 
 
 NIKANAP.< 
 
 cn.n 
 
 The portrait is to the left, and the signature behind the 
 neck. The original height of the gem must have been If 
 inch, its width fths nearly. The work is bold, and doubtless 
 contemporary with the personage it represents. 
 
 It was formerly in the Deringh Collection. 
 
7G ROMAN AND POST- AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 448. — Intaglio on a sard. A head, to the left, of Domitian when 
 very young. Probably a contemporary work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 107). 
 
 449. — A cameo on an onyx, representing Domitian to the right. 
 Hard in design, but with the fine workmanship of the cinque- 
 cento period. The relief is cut in a white porcelain-like layer 
 on a pale base. 
 
 450. — A beautiful plasma. An intaglio to the left, of uncertain 
 but probably modern date, representing, it would seem, 
 Domitia Longina the wife of Domitian, although in some of 
 the features it more resembles Julia Titus' daughter. 
 
 Bought by the third Duke from the jeweller Lavocat for 57. 5s. 
 
 451. — Onyx ; a minute renaissance cameo, representing Domitian, to 
 the right ; in a white layer on a dark gray ground. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. B, No. 24). 
 
 452. — Sardonyx ; 1| inch high by If inch wide. A cameo bust to 
 the left, of probably Trajan senior ; dressed with the cuirass 
 carrying the Gorgoneion, perhaps in the garb of a general. 
 In rather flat relief, cut in a white layer over a light brown 
 stratum of the stone. It is set in a gold wire setting with a 
 row of garnets. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 21, as Sulla. 
 An Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. C, No. 13), termed Gordian, jun. 
 
 453. — A paste copy of No. 454. 
 
 454. — Intaglio head, to the left, of Sabina or possibly Marciana, on 
 a rich sard. A fine work, probably contemporary. 
 
 From the Chesterfield Collection (Bessb. Cat. No. 1 c), called by 
 Natter, Plotina or Marciana. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i, No. 10, as Marciana. 
 
 455. — On a fine red sard. An intaglio head of Sabina to the right. 
 Very fine contemporary work. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 20, and etched by 
 Worlidge. See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 456. — On a fine yellow sard. A head of Sabina in intaglio, by 
 Burch. 
 
ROMAN AND POST- AUGUST AN PORTRAITURE. 77 
 
 457. — On a mottled yellowish chalcedony. A full-faced representa- 
 tion, carved in the round, of Marciana. the sister of Trajan, in 
 apotheosis. This important gem, the dimensions of which are 3 
 inches in height and width, represents the empress in bust, as 
 if seated on the peacock, which, however, has been much muti- 
 lated. This gem, which must have been a work of Trajan's 
 age, was once in the collection of the dukes of Mantua. 
 
 A Medina gem, called by Natter, in the Catalogue of the Bess- 
 borough gems (Cat. No. 37 M), Domitia. It is figured under this name, 
 too, in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 28. Domitia, however, 
 died after her husband, and in private life, and could hardly have 
 been thus canonized. Marciana, on the other hand, received the 
 honours of the apotheosis, as coins of the consecratio exist. 
 
 458. — Intaglio on a garnet. Head of Hadrian to the left. Ap- 
 parently a good contemporary work. 
 
 459. — On a sardonyx. A small bust, apparently of the young 
 Hadrian, to the left, with a coarse imitation of an Etruscan 
 border round it. The intaglio, which appears to be poor 
 Roman work, is cut in a brown layer, below which there is a 
 white layer resting on a black base, the stone being bevelled 
 down to exhibit the strata. 
 
 460. — On a sardonyx. A small modern bust of Hadrian, to the left. 
 Cameo. The topmost layer is of a fine coral red, to which 
 a white stratum succeeds with a gray base. 
 
 461. — A cameo in an onyx. A head of Hadrian to the right. A 
 very good modern work cut in a pinkish-white layer on a 
 mottled, reddish base. It is \\ inch high by If inch wide. 
 This gem, and No. 452, are in similar settings. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 29. 
 An Arundel gem, called a Balbinus in the Catalogue (Thee. C, 
 No. 14). 
 
 462. — Intaglio on a pale yellow sard. Very fine head of Antoninus 
 Pius to the left. This rare portrait is in the best Roman 
 work of his time. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems (Cat. No. 45 C). 
 
 463. — On a yellowish sard. Intaglio head, probably meant for 
 Antoninus Pius, to the left. Of late and poor Roman work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 20). 
 
78 ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 464. — Intaglio on a yellowish sard, cracked. A head to the left of 
 Faustina Mater, with her usual head-dress, the hair being 
 wreathed up with pearls. It is a portrait in fair Roman 
 workmanship. 
 
 465. — A sapphire ring engraved with the intaglio portrait of 
 
 Faustina the elder to the left. The work does not look 
 
 , antique, and the likeness is not particularly good. The ring 
 
 is evidently of oriental, probably Persian, workmanship, the 
 
 head of the empress having taken the place of an inscription. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 15). 
 
 466. — A cameo on an amethyst in extremely high relief, repre- 
 senting a full-faced bust of the empress Faustina the elder. 
 She is veiled, perhaps as Proserpine. The work is veiy fine, 
 and contemporary ; it has unfortunately been injured in the 
 nose and cheek. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 15). 
 
 467. — On a bluish translucent chalcedony. A front-faced cameo 
 bust, in nearly full relief, of Faustina the elder ; but in this, as 
 in the last gem, the hair is not dressed in the manner usual in 
 her portraits. She is represented as Juno, her diadem being 
 • adorned with real pearls. It is a work of great beauty, and, 
 possibly, antique. Nearly 1§ inch in height. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Thee. C, No. 17). 
 
 468. — On a singular sardonyx. A cameo portrait in low relief, 
 representing Faustina the elder, to the right. A gem of the 
 renaissance period. The upper layer is pink ; the flesh ren- 
 dered in a blush white, the base being translucent and pink. 
 
 From the Arundel Collection (Cat. Thee. B, No. 15). 
 
 469. — On a sardonyx. A cameo head of Faustina the elder, to the 
 left. Very beautiful modern work. A bequest to the Duke 
 of Marlborough from the Duchess of Bedford. 
 
 470. — On a nicolo. Portrait to the left of Marcus Aurelius. 
 modern intaglio. 
 
 471. — Onyx. Cameo, with conjoined busts of Marcus Aurelius and 
 Faustina. Cinque-cento work, in a white layer on a gray base. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 3). 
 
ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 79 
 
 472. — Intaglio on a sard. Portrait of Faustina the younger, to the 
 left. A very rude work of uncertain date. 
 
 From Lord Chesterfield's Collection (Bessb. Cat. No. 20 C). 
 Called by Natter Julia Pia Felix. 
 
 473. — A cameo on a sardonyx. A small head of Faustina the 
 younger, to the left. Apparently of Roman workmanship. 
 It is cut in a white layer on a dark sard ground. 
 
 474. — A sardonyx. A cameo portrait, apparently of Faustina the 
 younger, to the right ; ivy-crowned, in a Bacchanal character. 
 The ivy wreath and the rim are reserved in a hrown layer. 
 The work is good, and probably of the renaissance period. It 
 is If inch in height by 1 inch. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Tb.ec. B, No. 10). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 14, as Libera. 
 
 475. — On a sardonyx. A cameo bust attributed to Faustina the 
 younger, to the right. In low relief, exhibiting nevertheless 
 three distinct layers of the stone. Good work, perhaps a 
 portrait of some lady in the 2nd century. 
 
 A Bessborougb gem (Cat. No. 8). , 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 32, as Lucilla. 
 
 476. — On an onyx. A bust portrait of Faustina the younger, 
 to the right. A modern cameo. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 32, as Lucilla. 
 
 477. — Nicolo. A cameo portrait, in low relief, of Lucius Verus, to 
 the left. It is good contemporary work, cut in a bluish-white 
 layer on a black sard base. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 12), termed .ZElius Cassar. 
 
 478. — Onyx, opaque white on gray. Renaissance portrait to the 
 right, in cameo, meant probably for Lucius Verus. It is beau- 
 tifully mounted in a contemporary enamelled setting, with 
 small table diamonds inserted in it. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 7). 
 
 479. — Fine brown sard. A three-quarter bust intaglio, representing 
 Lucilla in the character of Diana. A remarkable gem of good 
 contemporary Roman workmanship. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. A, No. 90). 
 
80 ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 480. — A magnificent sardonyx 2\ inches high. It is a nicolo- 
 sardonyx; a summit layer of brown is left only on the cornice, 
 the hair and paludamentum; the work is in a bluish-white on a 
 black sard base ; the whole bevelled to show the strata. It 
 represents a fine head of Commodus to the right in a cameo. 
 On the reverse is a figure of the I AH Abraxas, rudely 
 worked in intaglio, with the inscription APAOY TENNAI 
 HAEMENI BACIAICKflC. 
 
 An Arundel gem, termed a Didius Julian (Cat. Thee. D, No. 11). 
 
 481. — Cameo on a sardonyx. A three-quarter figure of the young 
 Commodus, to the left. An early renaissance gem. It is 1^ 
 inch high by 1 j| inch wide, and is cut in a white layer on a dark 
 sard base. 
 
 From the Arundel Collection (Cat. Thee. C, No. 10). 
 
 482. — A cameo on a unique semi-oval sardonyx ; of the di- 
 mensions of 8| inches in width, by G inches in height, and 
 therefore ranking among the five most important for their 
 magnitude in existence. It is of all these the most remark- 
 able as a stone, if we consider the quality of its four bril- 
 liantly-hued layers, and the parallelism in which they lie super- 
 posed. The subject, a pair of imperial heads confronted, is 
 designated as Didius Julian and Manlia Scantilla ; these 
 names being engraved on escutcheons on the silver-gilt frame 
 which surrounds the stone, and gives it a rectangular form, 
 while also holding together the four fragments into which 
 this extraordinary sardonyx has at some time been broken. 
 This attribution, however, is very questionable. The diffi- 
 culty in determining it is increased by the treatment of the 
 subjects. A ram's horn adorns the brow of the emperor, 
 while an oaken (ilex) wreath with acorns surrounds the head. 
 The emblems borne by the empress are not less mixed, for 
 twined with an ilex wreath similar to that of the emperor, are 
 wheat-ears, pomegranates, and poppy heads. A slightly Isiac 
 character is imparted to the empress' attire by a large bow- 
 like knot that ties her fringed robe, similar to the knot 
 ornament (nodus Isiacus) of the priestesses of Isis. A small 
 sphendone-formed tiara furthermore surmounts her forehead. 
 Whether the empress thus personifies Juno or Ceres, or is 
 intended to represent the attributes of both ; and whether 
 the emperor unites with the character of the Dodoneau Zeus 
 that of Jupiter Ammon or of Bacchus, the style of the work, 
 no less than the character of the heads, would determine the 
 date of the gem to be certainly as late as the Antonine 
 period, when such a multiplicity of attributes was coming into 
 vogue. If the heads represent Didius Julian and his empress 
 — and a resemblance to them is to be recognised, though one 
 much flattered on the side of youthfulness — the cameo could 
 not have been the work of his very short and dearly bought 
 
ROMAN AND POST- AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 81 
 
 reign. It might, however, have been a work of Byzantine 
 age, wrought, possibly, in the reign of the second Julian, in 
 compliment to his namesake and predecessor ; a reign in which 
 the tendencies of the emperor might have tinged the work 
 with what Egyptian colouring its design exhibits. On the other 
 hand, the resemblance of the portraits to those of Marcus 
 Aurelius, or even of Antoninus Pius when young, and Faustina 
 the elder, is considerable ; and both in likeness and in the 
 treatment of the imperial paludamentum there is much that 
 recals a large intaglio at St. Petersburg, representing the 
 heads of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina confronted. Indeed, 
 this seems to be much the most probable attribution for these 
 two imperial heads. That they are not portraits of Commodus 
 and Crispina, as Mr. King has suggested, is certain from the 
 fact that Crispina had ceased to be the wife of Commodus 
 before he wore a beard. 
 
 The gem itself, as far as the technique is concerned, as well 
 from the poverty of the modelling, the absence of character in 
 the features, as from the elaborate treatment of the hair and 
 accessories, might well be a work of the Antonine age, in 
 which these polychrome gems had become the fashion ; and 
 we may fairly assume it to have been contemporary with the 
 sovereigns it represents. 
 
 On the setting at the back of the gem an inscription is seen 
 running as follows : " Ingens anaglyphicum opus olim Sau- 
 nesiorum ducum nunc vero pretio acquisitum in Fontesiano 
 cimelio asservatum." A Marquis de Fuentes was an ambas- 
 sador from Portugal in Rome in the earlier half of the last 
 century, and is mentioned by Raspe and by Mariette as a gem 
 collector. From his collection this great gem may have passed 
 to that of the Duke of Marlborough. But to determine to 
 what ducal family it had previously belonged is more difficult. 
 
 The work of the cameo is kept in very flat relief, and the 
 artist has otherwise most ingeniously handled his material, so 
 as to give the most contrasted effects to the various layers of 
 the stone. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems." 
 
 483. — Onyx. A cameo head of Pescennius Niger, to the left. 
 Modern work. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. 31) called Antoninus. 
 
 484. — On a beryl. An intaglio bust of Julia Domna, to the left, 
 in the stiff style of her coins. No doubt a work of the first 
 years of the 3rd century, much re-polished. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. 20). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 24, and also among 
 Worlidge's Etchings. 
 
 M 
 
82 ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 485. — On a remarkable sapphire, f inch high, \ inch wide. An in- 
 taglio portrait of Caracalla, to the left ; indubitably con- 
 temporary, and of good workmanship for his period. 
 
 A gem from the Chesterfield portion of the Bessborough Collection 
 (Cat. No. 8 C). Worlidge has given an etching of it. 
 
 486. — On a very fine sard. An intaglio portrait, to the right, 
 apparently of the young Caracalla. The form of the paluda- 
 mentum indicates it as a work of the late Antonine period, if, 
 indeed, it be not renaissance. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 37). 
 
 487. — On a sard. A portrait in intaglio of the young Caracalla, to 
 the left. A work of ordinary merit. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 29), called Elagabalus. 
 
 488. — On a sard, prettily set. An intaglio head, to the left, pro- 
 bably of the young Caracalla. 
 
 489. — On white Oriental alabaster. A three-quarter face bust, to 
 the right, in very high relief, of Caracalla. The head alone is 
 antique, and measures 1| inch in length : the bust and ground 
 having been added in modern times. It is a work of much 
 merit for his age. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 25). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 22. 
 
 490. — Onyx. A modern portrait in cameo of Caracalla. 
 
 491. — Fine "pale plasma ; intaglio, three-quarter face. A modern 
 work, possibly representing Geta when young, in the character 
 of Mercury. The caduceus is on his left shoulder. 
 
 492. — An onyx cameo portrait, cut in a white layer on a pink gray 
 ground, to the right, of probably Geta when young. The 
 work seems to be of his age. 
 
 493. — On a pale citrine, highly foiled. An intaglio profile, to the 
 right, of possibly Elagabalus. He wears a radiate crown and 
 the paludatnentum. The style is peculiar, and the gem maj r 
 
ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 83 
 
 perhaps be a late Roman work, of his time. On the back of 
 the gem a portrait head of a lady is enamelled, on a blue 
 enamel ground. 
 
 It was one of the Chesterfield gems (Cat. No. IS C), termed a Ptolemy. 
 Figured in the "Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 1, as Ptolemy 
 Auletes. Also among Worlidge's Etchings. 
 
 494. — On an onyx, in a whitish-blue layer on a dark bluish-gray 
 ground. A bust, in high relief, of Elagabalus. A rude work, 
 perhaps contemporary. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 20). 
 
 495. — A sardonyx, 3| inches high by 2\ inches wide. A fine cameo 
 portrait, to the right, of Julia Paula. This important gem 
 appears to be contemporary work of a very high class for the 
 age of Elagabalus. The face is worked in a white semi- 
 opaque portion of the upper layer, the rest in a transparent 
 layer, while the ground is a mottled sard. The outline seems 
 to have suffered somewhat in point of hai'dness by a re- 
 polishing of the ground. 
 
 An Arundel gem, designated as Julia Domna (Cat. Thee. D, No. 8). 
 
 496. — A. sardonyx of three layers, 2J inches high by \\ inch wide. 
 A cameo profile portrait, to the left, of probably Julia 
 Mammsea, aunt of Elagabalus. The hair and the dress are 
 carefully and strongly rendered in a massive dark brown 
 layer. The face, less carefully finished, is in a white layer, the 
 base layer of the stone being black. It has all the character 
 of a contemporary work. 
 
 Probably the Arundel gem designated Antonia (Cat. Thee. D, No. 3) ? 
 
 497. — A modern cameo portrait to the left. Probably meant for 
 Valerian. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 32) ? 
 
 498. — Forty portrait heads, representing the triumvirs and the 
 emperors down to Valerian. Natter was, without doubt, the 
 engraver, and he states in his Catalogue of the Bessborough 
 gems, that they were copied from coins or antique intaglios, 
 and were wrought on as varied a series of stones as 
 possible. 
 
 The order of the Imperial personages is indicated by small 
 
 M 2 
 
84 ROMAN AND POST-AUGUSTAN PORTRAITURE. 
 
 figures cut ou the mountings, corresponding to the following 
 attributions : 
 
 1. 
 
 Triumvirate. 
 
 21. 
 
 Lucius Verus. 
 
 2. 
 
 Julius Cassar. 
 
 22. 
 
 Commodus. 
 
 3. 
 
 Marcus Jun. Brutus. 
 
 23. 
 
 Pertinax. 
 
 4. 
 
 Augustus. 
 
 24. 
 
 Didius Julianus. 
 
 5. 
 
 Tiberius. 
 
 25. 
 
 Pescennius Niger. 
 
 <;. 
 
 Caligula. 
 
 26. 
 
 Clodius Albinus. 
 
 7. 
 
 Claudius. 
 
 27. 
 
 Septimius Severus. 
 
 8. 
 
 Nero. 
 
 28. 
 
 Caracalla. 
 
 9. 
 
 Galba. 
 
 2!). 
 
 Macrinus. 
 
 10. 
 
 Otho. 
 
 30. 
 
 Elagabalus. 
 
 11. 
 
 Vitellius. 
 
 31. 
 
 Alexander Severus. 
 
 12. 
 
 Vespasian. 
 
 32. 
 
 Maximinus. 
 
 13. 
 
 Titus. 
 
 33. 
 
 Gordian Africanus. 
 
 14. 
 
 Domitian. 
 
 34. 
 
 Balbinus and Pupienus, 
 
 15. 
 
 Nerva. 
 
 35. 
 
 Gordian Pius. 
 
 l(i. 
 
 Trajan. 
 
 30. 
 
 Philip. 
 
 17. 
 
 Hadrian. 
 
 37. 
 
 Trajan Decius. 
 
 18. 
 
 JElius. 
 
 38. 
 
 Hostilianus. 
 
 19. 
 
 Antoninus Pius. 
 
 39. 
 
 ^Emilianus. 
 
 20. 
 
 Marcus Aurelius. 
 
 40. 
 
 Valeriauus. 
 
 498a.— A gold stater of Philip II. 
 
 498b. — A gold stater of Alexander. 
 
 498c — An oval cameo in silver, representing busts of Augustus and 
 Livia ; on the reverse the same subject incased. It is a 
 casting of probably cinque-cento date, mounted in an iron 
 ring, with chased gold shoulders and bezel. This identical 
 ring was figured by Gronovius in Gorlaeus' " Dactylotheca " 
 in 1609, No. 183. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 102). 
 
 499. — Sardonyx, 1^ inch high by |ths wide. Fine profile portrait 
 to the left, much resembling that attributed to Maecenas. 
 The head is in an ivory-like upper layer on a yellowish base. 
 The work is very fine and may be of the Augustan age, and is 
 in considerable relief. It is mounted in a very handsome 
 renaissance setting with garnets. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 22. 
 
 500. — A large black sard, ]£ inch high by 14, inch wide. An in- 
 taglio, representing a head to the left and bust of Antinous, 
 with a spear on his left shoulder. The work is magnificent and 
 worthy of the age of Hadrian. The stone is much shattered, 
 
PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 85 
 
 but not to the destruction of the work. The letters ANT I 
 are all that remain of what was once a legend. 
 
 Figured in the "Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 21, and in 
 Worlidge's Etchings. 
 
 500«. — A facsimile of the last, by Burch. Cornelian. 
 
 501. — A splendid sard, with an intaglio head, to the left ; some- 
 what like Antinous, with his name so inscribed as to read 
 directly, and with the appearance of antiquity. On the back 
 of the gem are the letters LAI, possibly indicating its owner 
 at a period subsequent to the date of its production. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 30. 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 501«. — A cameo bust of Antinous to the right, probably of the 
 cinque-cento period. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 4). 
 
 502. — Chalcedony. A head of Antinous to the right. Fine work of 
 the last century. 
 
 503. — A fine yellow sard. Portrait, to the left, of the Antinous of 
 the bas-relief in the Villa Albani. It is very fine intaglio, 
 and carries the signature of Marcharit. 
 
 3.— PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN OR UNCERTAIN 
 ATTRIBUTION 
 
 504. — A cornelian : an intaglio. Head to the left, representing the 
 so-called Geuius of the Museum Clementinum. It is a deeply- 
 cut work by Marchant, but not signed by him. 
 
 Purchased for twelve guineas from Marchant. 
 
 505. — Intaglio to the right ; on a sardonyx. A male head of an 
 unknown personage, excellently finished in a Greek or Greco- 
 Roman style. Natter took it for a Brutus ; it has a slight 
 beard. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 46). 
 
86 PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 
 
 506. — Intaglio on a yellowish sard. Front face male beardless 
 portrait. A work probably contemporary with the person it 
 represents ; the treatment of the hair seems to belong to the 
 end of the first century. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 9. 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 7'J). 
 
 507. — Intaglio on a sard. Male head to the left. Portrait of an 
 unknown personage, apparently of the Augustan period. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, termed by Natter (Cat. No. 81) Cicero. 
 Figured under the same name in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. 
 No. 12, and also among Worlidge's Etchings. 
 
 508. — Tntaglio on a bluish chalcedony. Portrait to the right. Head 
 of an unknown personage, with the imperial fillet. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, described by Natter (Cat. No. 90) as a head of 
 " Olivier Cromwell, a Pantique." 
 
 509. — Intaglio on a pale plum-blue amethyst. A portrait, to the 
 right, of an unknown head ; mounted in a beautiful ena- 
 melled renaissance setting. The work seems of imperial 
 Roman time. 
 
 It is termed Nerva by Natter (Cat. No. 4 C) in his description of the 
 Bessborough Collection, into which it came from the cabinet of Lord 
 Chesterfield. , 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 18. 
 
 510. — Intaglio on a red jasper. A head, to the left, apparently 
 representing a Barbarian, slightly bearded. It seems to be 
 work of a good imperial age. 
 
 A Chesterfield gem (Cat. No. 12 C), termed by Natter a Tiberius. 
 
 511. — Intaglio on a sard ; a portrait looking to the left, of an 
 unknown bearded person. The work is vigorous, and probably 
 of the Imperial age. 
 
 A Chesterfield gem (Cat. No. 25 C). 
 
 512. — Intaglio on a red paste. A bust portrait to the left, pro- 
 bably made in the last century from an antique original. It 
 may, perhaps, be Geta Ctesar. 
 
PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 87 
 
 513. — Intaglio on a fine sard. A portrait head to the left, which 
 has been attributed to C. Antistius Restio. It has a signature, 
 CKYAAKO, but is a modern work, deeply and finely cut, 
 probably by an Italian hand during the last century. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. 8. 
 
 514. — Intaglio on chalcedony. A laureated head to the right, of 
 Roman workmanship. 
 
 An Arundel gem, perhaps rightly attributed to Geta in the Cata- 
 logue (Ar. Cat. Thee. A, No. 22). The work, however, seems too good 
 for Geta's time. 
 
 515. — Intaglio on cornelian. A bust of late Roman period to the 
 right. 
 
 516. — Intaglio on a golden sard, to the right. A portrait head, the 
 hair finely worked ; of probably early Imperial date. 
 
 Termed Marcus Agrippa in the Duke's Catalogue, but it is not like 
 the great Admiral. 
 
 517. — Intaglio on a fine sard, to the left. A head, possibly meant 
 for Maecenas. It is very bald, like the well-known portrait 
 signed " Solon." The stone is broken, and the work seems 
 antique. 
 
 An Arundel gem, termed in the Arundel Catalogue (Ar. Cat. 
 Thee. A, 3G), a head of Solon. 
 
 518. — Intaglio on a pale sard. Two conjugated imperial heads to 
 the left, intended for an emperor and empress. The work is 
 rude, and of the cinque-cento period, and over polished. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. A, No. 14) called in the Catalogue 
 Augustus and Livia. 
 
 519. — Intaglio on a nicolo, to the left. A bearded head with a 
 fillet, rude in workmanship. 
 
 520. — Intaglio on a fine yellow sard, to the right. Portrait of a 
 bearded personage, possibly of Clodius Albinus, worked in a 
 remarkable manner, the hair falling in circular wreaths (cala- 
 mus stratus 1 ). It is a Roman work. 
 
88 PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 
 
 521. — Intaglio on a nicolo, to the left. Portrait head, probably 
 representing some imperial prince in the character of Mercury ; 
 the caduceus behind his head, and a tortoise in the field. It 
 is of fair workmanship, but the style and the mode in which 
 the stone is treated give the gem the character of a modern 
 work. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 5, and there deno- 
 minated M. J. Brutus. It was purchased of a Mr. C. Morison for £60. 
 
 522. — Intaglio on a fine red sard, a beardless head, to the left ; 
 attributed to Sulla. Finely worked, probably of cinque-cento 
 age. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. A, No. 17). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 2. 
 
 523. — Intaglio on cornelian. Portrait bust, to the left, of a youthful 
 personage, probably a son or nephew of one of the early 
 Csesars, perhaps Germanicus ; but the workmanship is rude, 
 and the portrait unrecognisable. 
 
 524. — Intaglio on a splendid sard, three-quarter face to the right. 
 A cinque-cento bearded portrait. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 20). 
 
 525. — Intaglio in sard. A portrait to the right, with a fillet, of 
 cinque-cento date. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 70). 
 
 526. — Intaglio on a sard to the left. Helmeted bust, modern, or 
 renaissance, in date. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems (Cat. No. 17 C), and termed by Natter 
 Philip of Macedon. 
 
 Figured in Worlidge's Etchings. 
 
 527. — Intaglio on a sardonyx ; a three-quarter faced bust, perhaps 
 meant for Demosthenes. It is a modern work, cut in an 
 upper layer of yellow sard into a white layer, below which is 
 another stratum of yellow sard. 
 
 528. — Cameo on an onyx ; bust to the left. A minute modern 
 work, the head cut in considerable relief, in a white layer on a 
 bluish-gray ground. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 94). Natter calls it Democritus. 
 
PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 8!J 
 
 529. — Intaglio on a sard. To the left, a finely cut bust portrait, set 
 in a pretty ring. 
 
 It was a Medina gem (Bess. Cat. No. 5 M). 
 
 530. — Cameo on an onyx. A portrait head to the left, of small size 
 but fine workmanship, dubious as to age ; cut in a white layer 
 on a bluish-gray base. 
 
 531. — Cameo on a sardonyx. Bust portrait to the right, with a 
 radiate crown of three rays ; perhaps some oriental prince, 
 under the Empire, at a late period. The paludamentum and 
 crown are in a brown layer, the face, hair, and neck of a 
 pinkish white supported by a white base layer. He is 
 beardless, and wears an ear-ring. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 33). 
 
 532. — Cameo on pale blue turquoise, to the left. Portrait of an 
 unknown person, of fine workmanship, and apparently autique. 
 
 533. — Cameo, to the right. A bust of a bearded person, cut in a 
 translucent violet-tinted layer of an onyx, with a yellowish 
 base ; the hair and the drapery are left in a yellow upper 
 layer. 
 
 Attributed by Natter, in the Bessborough Catalogue (No. 33m), to 
 Marcus Aurelius. It was one of the Medina gems. 
 
 534. — A small cameo on an onyx ; bust portrait to the right, of 
 renaissance workmanship, representing a warrior in a singular 
 helmet ; the helmet and part of the armour left in a white 
 layer. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 129). 
 
 535. — Cameo, on sardonyx. A portrait of an ecclesiastic to the 
 right. It is a cinque-cento w r ork of a very high character, 
 in somewhat fiat relief in a porcelain-white layer on a 
 yellowish brown base. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 37). 
 
 536. — Cameo on an onyx. A renaissance, three-quarter length, 
 representation of a negro, the drapery being left in a white 
 layer, while the face and arm are represented in a stratum 
 of black. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 132). 
 
90 PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 
 
 537. — Cameo on a line sardonyx, 2f inches high, If inch wide. A 
 bust portrait to the left of a hehneted warrior, the a)gis and 
 helmet left in a yellowish-brown layer, face in a whitish layer 
 on a dark gray ground. It is a fine work of the cinque-cento 
 period. 
 
 538. — Cameo on an onyx, to the right. A very celebrated .head, 
 cut by Alessandro Cesari (II Greco). It is not bearded, yet 
 it has been called the portrait of Phocion ; probably from a 
 supposed similarity to the known gem with the inscription 
 <J>f2Klf2NOC. That gem was pronounced by Vasari, in his 
 life of A. Cesari, to be the ne plus ultra of the engraver's 
 art. This cameo is If inch high, by \\ inch wide, the face 
 being cut in an opaque white layer in rather shallow relief, 
 on a reddish-brown base. It is splendidly mounted in an 
 enamelled setting, forming a rich wreath of flowers, among 
 which a sunflower recurs conspicuously. It is evidently a 
 replica. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 28. 
 
 This gem, with the Horatius Codes, No. 696, the Antinous, No. 501 , 
 and Matidia, probably the Sabina, No. 455, was bought by the third 
 Duke for 00W. from Zanetti. See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 539. — Cameo on sardonyx. Small imperial bust to the right, in a 
 whitish-blue layer on a dark gray ground, the hair and a raised 
 border showing a layer of yellow. The work does not seem 
 ancient. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 113), called an Antinous. 
 
 540. — Cameo on onyx ; a negi'o's head, full face. Renaissance work, 
 in a dark upper layer on a white ground. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 120). 
 
 541. — Cameo on onyx ; a heroic head to the left. A very fine 
 modern work, cut out of a flesh-coloured layer with a black 
 base. 
 
 Figured as Caracalla in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 23. 
 
 542. — Cameo on onyx. Head, to the right, of an old man, wrinkled 
 and bald. It may be an ancient work, but it is of very 
 dubious age. It is in its favour that it was an Arundel gem 
 (Cat. Thee. B, No. 5), where it is attributed to Caius Antius 
 Restio, whose portrait occurs on consular coins when his son 
 was a moneyer. 
 
PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 91 
 
 543. — Cameo on a cat's eye. A head of an unknown person to the 
 left. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 91). 
 
 544. — Cameo on an onyx. A modern portrait, to the left, cut in a 
 white layer on a transparent ground. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 18). 
 
 Figured in the "Marlborough. Gems," Vol. i. No. 1, as Seipio 
 Africanus. 
 
 545. — Intaglio on a red jasper. Two heads, viz. those of a Roman 
 lady and her child, apparently of the Antonine period. 
 
 An Arundel gem, called in the Catalogue (Thee. A, No. 1C) Agrip- 
 pina and Drusus. 
 
 546. — Intaglio on brown sard. Two Roman (male and female) bust 
 portraits, confronted ; probably of private individuals of the 
 age of Caracalla, the head-dress of the lady resembling that of 
 Plautilla. 
 
 Probably an Arundel gem (in the Cat. Thee. A, No. 27). 
 
 547. — Intaglio on a sard. Bust portraits, male and female, in 
 rude workmanship of the late Middle Empire. They may be 
 intended to represent Carinus and Magnia Urbica. 
 
 An Arundel gem, called in the Catalogue (Thee. A, No. 21) portraits 
 of Antoninus Pius and Faustina. 
 
 548. — Intaglio on a burnt sard. Female head to the left ; the hair 
 in particular is burnt in. It seems to be Roman work. 
 
 An Arundel gem, termed Faustina (Cat. Thee. B, No. 28). 
 
 549. — Intaglio on amethyst ; portrait of a lady to the left. A 
 work probably of the second century. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 24), called Crispina. 
 
 550. — Intaglio head on a red jasper to the left, of a lady with 
 head-dress similar to one of those among the Cyrene marbles 
 at the British Museum. Probably of the Antonine period. 
 
92 PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 
 
 551. — Intaglio on a ruby sard. Portrait to the left, apparently of a 
 Roman lady, mounted in a ring of extraordinary beauty, full- 
 length figures forming either shank, while on the back of the 
 bezel there are little birds. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems in the Bessborough Collection (Cat. 
 No. 9 c), called Lucilla, and so figured in Worlidge's Etchings. Natter 
 terms the stone a " Berill rouge." 
 
 552. — Intaglio on a fine sard. Bust to the left, apparently of a 
 lady, but with a caduceus on the shoulder, whence it has 
 been supposed to represent an imperial youth, but the por- 
 trait is not that of any young Ca)sar. It seems to be Roman 
 work of about the Antonine period. 
 
 553. — Intaglio on a sard. A modern female head to the left. 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 20 c). 
 
 554. — Intaglio on a nicolo, with brown base-layer. Renaissance 
 female head to the left. 
 
 From the Arundel Collection (Cat. Thee. A, No. 77). 
 555. — Intaglio on a nicolo. Modern portrait to the left. 
 
 556. — A small modern cameo on an onyx, cut in a red layer on a 
 translucent white base, under which lies a blue stratum. It 
 represents a female head to the left. 
 
 557. — Cameo on a splendid sardonyx of 1| inch in length, by 
 11 inch in width. Portrait to the left, veiled, with a sceptre, 
 probably of an empress, but it is impossible to identify it. It 
 may represent Julia Massa, and certainly does not seem earlier 
 than the time of Elagabalus. The face and a reserved rim are 
 in white, the hair aud the veil are in a rich brown layer, the 
 robe in one of a paler hue of brown. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. D, No. 1), called Julia Maesa. 
 
 559. — Cameo on sardonyx. Female head to the right ; the face in a 
 white opaque layer. The abundant and boldly worked hair 
 left in a yellow tint, the base being black. It is a beautiful 
 but renaissance work, though worthy of the baud of a Greek 
 artist. 
 
PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 93 
 
 560. — Cameo on onyx. Small female head to the right ; cut in 
 a porcelain-white layer on a dark gray ground. It is antique 
 in character. 
 
 561. — Cameo on sardonyx. Portrait to the right ; bust of a lady in a 
 head-dress of the fashion of the time of Titus. The reserved 
 rim and head are cut in a brown layer on a white ground. It 
 is shallow work, well finished, and probably cinque-cento in 
 date. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 8). 
 
 562. — Cameo on a sard. Portrait of a lady to the right, in a 
 dress of the eai'ly sixteeuth century ; the face being apparently 
 artificially whitened, or possibly cut on a white mark in the 
 stone. It is a renaissance work in high relief. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 1G), called Sappho. 
 
 563. — Cameo on onyx. Bust portrait of a lady to the right. Re- 
 naissance work, cut in a white stratum on a gray base. 
 
 Perhaps an Arundel gem called a Livia (Cat. Thee. B, No. 14). 
 
 564. — Cameo on an onyx. Veiled bust portrait to the right of a 
 lady, cut in a white stratum on one of pinkish gray. A 
 renaissance work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. D, No. G). 
 
 565. — Cameo on a sardonyx. Portrait to the left of a lady, cut in a 
 white layer, with a base of dark sard. Perhaps contemporary, 
 in work as in subject, with the beautiful setting, which is 
 formed of a hollow wreath of flowers exquisitely enamelled in 
 colours, the back being adorned with deep blue enamel and 
 black arabesque work, which is much in the style of Laudin, 
 who worked about the middle of the seventeenth century. 
 
 566. — Cameo on a magnificent onyx, 3 inches by 1| inch. A 
 lady in a veil, represented by a bust portrait to the left ; the 
 design, in an oval form, being supported by an acanthus 
 flower. It is very beautiful work, the figure and a reserved 
 rim cut in flat relief out of a rich dark brown layer with a 
 base of white. It is by some admirable cinque-cento artist. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. D, No. 4). 
 
94 PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 
 
 567. — Cameo on a sardonyx ; bust to the right of a lady. A pretty 
 cinque-cento work, in a white upper layer of the stone, with a 
 transparent yellow base layer. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 130). 
 
 568. — Cameo on an onyx. A head to the right. Modern portrait of 
 a lady, but much mutilated. 
 
 569. — Cameo on an onyx. Portrait to the left, much undercut ; 
 it is a good work of the cinque-cento period. 
 
 570. — Cameo on onyx. Two conjugated and helmeted female 
 heads to the right ; perhaps representing deities. The helmets 
 of each are left in a pale red stratum, the faces and ground 
 being white. The gem has all the appearance of an antique. 
 
 571. — Cameo on jasper onyx. Three-quarter face and bust of a 
 negress ; an asp inflicting a wound on her bosom. It is a 
 renaissance work, cut in a layer of black jasper, on a sard base. 
 The stone is bevelled off all round, and is of the dimensions of 
 2\ inches in height, and If inch in width. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, termed Cleopatra, for whom, doubtless, the 
 renaissance artist intended the African features (Cat. No. 16). 
 
 572. — A cameo on an onyx ; being a head and bust to the left, in 
 a white layer on a base of an amethyst tint. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. B, No. 9), called a head of Berenice. 
 
 573. — Cameo on onyx. A modern female head to the right, cut in 
 a white layer on a black ground. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. 77). 
 
 574. — Cameo on chalcedony. A modern much undercut portrait of 
 a lady to the right. 
 
 575. — Cameo on an onyx. Head of a lady to the right in a white 
 layer, on bluish gray. Modern or renaissance work. On the 
 back is an intaglio : figures of a lady and a boy. 
 
 Probably an Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 13). 
 
PORTRAITURE OF UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTION. 95 
 
 576. — Cameo on a pretty sardonyx, with a female head to the left, 
 wearing a sort of mural crown. A bevelled rim left round 
 the head, exhibiting a yellow layer beside the brownish layer 
 in which the head is cut, in flat relief with a white ground : 
 either a modern or a renaissance gem. 
 
 Perhaps an Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 28). 
 
 577. — Cameo on onyx. A female head, of poor modern work- 
 manship. 
 
 578. — Cameo in very flat relief on a sardonyx of the finest quality ; 
 2-g- inches in length, by 1-f inch in width. It is a bust 
 portrait to the right, in a bluish layer on a black ground, 
 traces of a brown surface layer being left in the hair and robe. 
 It is probably renaissance work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. D, No. 10), termed Junia Claudia. 
 
 579. — Cameo on sardonyx, 2\ inches in length, by 1J inch in 
 breadth. A modern or perhaps a renaissance work. Portrait 
 of a lady, in one-third length figure, turning her back, face 
 looking to the right, in a white translucent layer on a dark 
 ground. It is mounted in a rococo setting of the time of 
 Louis XV. (?), carrying enamelled trophies, and ten small 
 sardonyxes and onyxes. 
 
 Possibly an Arundel gem, termed Cleopatra (Ar. Cat. Thee. D, 
 No. 5). 
 
 580. — A large cameo on an onyx, with two different layers of 
 pinkish white ; 2 inches by 1 inch in dimensions, repre- 
 senting a female head in the most florid style of the 
 renaissance. 
 
 Perhaps an Arundel gem, termed Octavia (Ar. Cat. Thee. B, No. 6). 
 
 581. — Cameo on onyx. A negress head in front face. A renais- 
 sance work, cut in a brown layer on a bluish-white 
 base. 
 
 582. — Intaglio on a chalcedony. Head to the right, by Marchant ; a 
 beautiful and elaborate work, recorded in the handwriting of 
 the third Duke of Marlborough as being a copy from a work 
 by Fiamingo; a head of Susannah. 
 
9G PORTRAITURE OF MODERN PERSONAGES. 
 
 4.— PORTRAITURE OF MODERN PERSONAGES. 
 
 583. — Intaglio on a spinel-ruby. A deeply cut minute head in front 
 face, wearing a coronet with fleurs-de-lis. It is set in a con- 
 temporary gold ring, with the words "Tel il nest" — "There 
 is none such as he," inscribed on the ring. 
 
 This most interesting and minute intaglio is in all pro- 
 bability the identical signet of Charles V. of France, described 
 in the inventory of his valuables, made in 137'J : " Le signet 
 du Roy qui est de la teste d'un roy sans barbe ; et est d'un 
 fin rubis d'Orient : c'est celui de quoi le roy scelle les lettres 
 qu'il escript de sa main." It accords exactly with the head 
 surmounting the royal figure on his coins ; and it is a most 
 interesting gem, as illustrating the skill of the gem engraver 
 at so early an age as the fourteenth century. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 27), termed in the Catalogue a 
 Lombard king. 
 
 584. — Cameo on a sardonyx. A minute portrait to the right, pro- 
 bably meant for Charles V., cut in a shallow manner in a 
 white layer on a dark gray ground, with traces of an upper 
 yellow layer on the hair and collar. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 128). 
 
 585. — Cameo on an onyx. Portrait to the left. The hair in a 
 yellowish layer, face in one of whitish blue, on ground of 
 bluish gray. It is early renaissance work, representing appa- 
 rently some personage of that period, perhaps Cosmo de 
 Medici ; called, however, in the Arundel Catalogue (Thee. A, 
 No. 104), Clodius Albinus. 
 
 586. — Cameo on a fine sardonyx. Portrait to the right of Philip II., 
 apparently by Jacopo da Trezzo. It is beautifully cut in a 
 clear white layer, with a base of sard ; at the back there is an 
 eagle standing on a serpent, a mountainous country behind, a 
 motto engraved round it, " Nihil est quod non tolleret qui 
 perfecte diligit." 
 
 A gem from the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 12). 
 
PORTRAITURE OF MODERN PERSONAGES. 97 
 
 587. — Cameo on crystal. Portrait of Philip II. to the left. It is 
 cut in rather low relief by an admirable hand ; it carries on 
 the collar - A - E-, perhaps the signature of the artist. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 35). 
 
 588. — A small cameo on a sapphire, representing Henri IV. of 
 Fiance ; without doubt a contemporary work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem, termed Gustavus Adolphus (Cat. No. 80). 
 
 589. — Cameo on onyx. A contemporary portrait to the left of Mary 
 Queen of Scots. It is in rather high relief, and is mounted in 
 the original blue enamel gold locket, with fleurs-de-lis : it is 
 cut in a white layer with a gray base. 
 
 590. — Cameo on sardonyx. Portrait, with bust, to the right, of Car- 
 dinal Mazarin ; boldly cut, though in low relief, in a yellow 
 layer on a light mottled ground. Contemporary work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 11). 
 
 591. — Cameo on a sard. A bust portrait, to the left, in very flat 
 relief, probably representing Diana of Poitiers, carrying a 
 quiver behind her. The reverse is a Venus and Cupid. See 
 No. 132. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 22). 
 
 592. — Cameo on a sardonyx. A portrait to the right, in rather high 
 relief and fine execution, of a lady, supposed by Mr. Way to 
 be Lady Alathea Talbot, wife of Lord Arundel. It is sur- 
 rounded by a setting of enamelled gold, with ten garnets 
 engraved with cfasped hands; having been probably a wedding 
 gift. The hair and the drapery are worked in two different 
 shades of red, the face in a white layer, while the ground is 
 black. A third red layer, elsewhere cut away, is employed for 
 the left shoulder. On the back is enamelled a gold tressure 
 on a blue ground. 
 
 It was an Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 8), and as the above 
 attribution is not assigned to it in the Catalogue, its correctness is 
 improbable. 
 
 593. — An intaglio on yellow quartz. Small contemporary portrait 
 to the right of James II. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 84). 
 
III. — SUBJECTS FROM HISTORY 
 AND DAILY LIFE, Etc. 
 
 1.— HISTORICAL SUBJECTS. 
 
 594. — Intaglio on a large striped agate. The allocution of Pes- 
 cennius Niger ; who is represented addressing the Syrian 
 Legions, and in the act of landing. It is a cinque-cento 
 work, set so as to be worn as a medallion ; an octahedron 
 of spinel adorns the ring for suspension. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. 19). 
 
 595. — Cameo on an onyx, representing Horatius Codes defending the 
 bridge. A marvel of cinque-cento work, on account of the 
 multitude of figures, and the minuteness with which they 
 are delineated. Mars is represented appearing in clouds, and 
 together with the bridge and exaggerated figures upon it, he 
 is rendered in a white layer, on a base of gray. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 42). 
 
 596. — Cameo on an onyx. Same subject as the last, but finished 
 still more minutely. The hero is represented on horseback, 
 and he and the other figures are not less heroic in proportions 
 than in No. 595. It is probably a work of the 17th century. 
 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 2.— DIVINATION, SACRIFICES, &c. 
 
 597. — Intaglio on a large sard, an inch in length. A full-length figure 
 seated, and holding downwards a twig or wand, perhaps an 
 augur taking the auspices. The anatomy is not good enough 
 for an antique artist. 
 
DIVINATION— SACRIFICES, <fcc. 99 
 
 598. — Intaglio 011 a pale garnet. A priestess going to a sacrifice 
 raising an incense vessel before her : a lighted torch in the 
 field perhaps indicates, as Mr. King has suggested, the noc- 
 turnal character of the Dionysian rites. Very fine Roman 
 work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 78). 
 
 599. — Cameo on lapis lazuli. Veiled female bust to the left, 
 somewhat like the Philistis on the coins of Syracuse, called bj r 
 Natter a Sibyl. Probably modern work. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 29). 
 
 600. — Intaglio on a pale plasma. A representation of a sacrifice ; a 
 man carrying the implements of sacrifice on his head, drags a 
 goat towards a little altar, on which a woman drops incense, 
 behind her a Satyr plays the double pipes. It exhibits the 
 elegant drawing but rude technique characteristic of the work 
 on this stone, which was so much in use after the middle of 
 the first century. 
 
 601. — Intaglio on a hyacinthine garnet. A simple female figure 
 carrying a plate of fruit in her left hand, aud a small can- 
 tharus in her right, proceeds to a sacrifice. An elegant 
 modern work, by one of the masters of the last century. 
 
 602. — A small cameo on sardonyx, representing a sacrifice to Jupiter, 
 offered apparently by a bearded Bacchus, and Pan, Apollo, and 
 two female personages. A well engraved and curious little 
 work of the cinque-cento time, in a white layer on a translu- 
 cent red base. 
 
 It was one of the Medina gems (Bess. Cat. No. 35 m). 
 
 603. — Cameo on sardonyx. A woman going to a nocturnal sacrifice ; 
 a little girl precedes her carrying a flambeau in one hand 
 and an cenochoe in the other. It is cut in a white ivory layer 
 on a base of brown. The woi'k, particularly the drapery, 
 is excellent, and belongs to an early period of Imperial 
 Rome. 
 
 An Arandel gem (Cat. Thee. B, No. 4G). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 43. 
 
100 WAR. 
 
 3.— WAR 
 
 604. — Intaglio on a cornelian. The arms of a warrior, including the 
 
 sword, greaves, and helmet hung on a date palm ; a ram, 
 representing perhaps Aries as a horoscope, is under the tree ; 
 over it the letters M^A/DER, Meander, or perhaps Menander, 
 in ligature ; doubtless the name of the owner. The drawing- 
 is rude, and yet the work is delicate, and probably of an early 
 Imperial date. Mr. King suggests that this gem may refer to 
 the . defeat by Lucullus of Menander, the general of Mithri- 
 dates. It would seem with more probability to represent the 
 dedication by a Gladiator of his arms and accoutrements after 
 an agonistic victory. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. OK). 
 
 605. — Intaglio on a nicolo. A combat between a warrior and an 
 amazon. Late Roman work. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems (Bessb. Cat. No. 33 C). 
 
 606. — Intaglio on a yellow sard. A Thessalian horseman, distin- 
 guished by his hat. The horse has the sash of victory (tenia) 
 depending from his head. The drawing is spirited, though 
 the work is rude ; it is probably by a late Greek artist. The 
 figure recals one on coins of Larissa and on those of Alexander 
 of PhereQ. 
 
 607. — Intaglio on a pale green plasma. A fallen archer is extracting 
 a spear from his side, while he holds in his right hand a bow. 
 Another warrior is defending him with spear and shield. The 
 work is in fine shallow engraving in the Greek style ; but the 
 form of the shield is Roman, and the work belongs, probably, 
 to the early Imperial times, when the plasma was beginning 
 to come into vogue. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 42. 
 
 608. — Intaglio on a sard, about 1& inch in height, by fths of an 
 inch in width. A warrior, nude, with his shield and armour 
 by his side, stands in front of a horse, whose bridle he holds, 
 but which is very rudely drawn. Probably Greek work of not 
 very early date. 
 
 It was in the Arundel Collection (Ar. Cat. Thee. E, No. 1G). 
 Figured as Alexander and Bucephalus in the " Marlborough Gems," 
 Vol. i. No. 45. 
 
WAR. 101 
 
 609. — Intaglio on a sard. Three warriors (the Horatii) in three- 
 quarter length busts, full-faced ; one of them carries a shield 
 with a gryphon killing a deer for a cognisance : the central 
 figure has upon his breast-plate a head, perhaps of Medusa. It 
 is good Roman work, deeply sunk, but of not very early Im- 
 perial date. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 41 . 
 Purchased by the third Duke for thirty guineas ; see Introduction, 
 p. xvii. 
 
 610. — Intaglio on a sard. A warrior on horseback, guided by Pallas. 
 A late Roman work of extreme rudeness. 
 
 611. — Intaglio on a nicolo. A galley very rudely cut. Both the 
 subject and the treatment are late Roman in character. 
 
 612. — Intaglio on a fine sardonyx, with a thick upper layer of sard, and 
 an under layer of transparent bluish chalcedony. It represents 
 a full-length nude figure, with the left arm extended, and the 
 right drawn back to the ear, as if in the act of pulling an 
 arrow, or perhaps a boxer about to deliver a blow : in the 
 latter case it may represent Pollux. The head is somewhat 
 after the type of Hercules. The gem has been entirely re- 
 polished, and is set in a beautiful enamelled mounting, with 
 a white ground and coloured flowers. The work is fine, but it 
 is difficult to assign a date to it, though the anatomy is hardly 
 good enough for an antique artist. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. E, No. G). 
 
 613. — Intaglio on a fine sardonyx, with a rich brown upper layer on 
 a white base, and a narrow intermediate yellowish layer. The 
 same singular subject as the last, but the workmanship is 
 inferior. 
 
 614. — Intaglio on a large convex sardonyx, with a deep brown upper 
 layer passing into a white under layer, representing a Greek 
 horseman, with lance and circular buckler, riding at full 
 speed. The work may be Greek, but the drawing is not of 
 much refinement ; or it may be a Roman gem of the Consular 
 period, when this form occurs on coins. 
 
 615. — A large cameo on onyx, cut in an opaque white layer, and 
 representing a warrior in bust to the left, with helmet and 
 armour most elaborately ornamented. It is undercut, and in 
 very higli relief, and a work of the renaissance. 
 
 This gem came into the Bessborough Cabinet from the Medina 
 Collection. It had before been in that of Lord Halifax. It passed for 
 King Pyrrhus (Bessb. Cat. No. 38 M). 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. ii. No. 7. 
 
102 WAR. 
 
 616. — Cameo on a small onyx, representing a cavalry combat ; one 
 standard having the letters SP-Q-R. An elaborate little 
 gem of the cinque-cento time. 
 
 617. — An intaglio on a large yellow paste. A Roman warrior riding 
 down a foe. It is a subject frequent as a reverse on Imperial 
 Roman coins, from Trajan to Probus, or even to Constantine. 
 This paste must have been taken from a noble gem. 
 
 From the Molinari Cabinet. 
 
 618. — Intaglio on a thin yellow sard, with a white rim reserved 
 round it, or afterwards cemented on. It is a little microscopic 
 subject of a warrior and a female shaking hands. It is 
 scratched in with the point, and carries the signature L. S. of 
 Louis Siries, a French engraver of the last century. 
 
 619. — Intaglio on a fine banded agate. Four figures ; a man who is 
 seated receives a person, behind whom stand two warriors. 
 Possibly a gem recorded by the Duke of Marlborough as " four 
 figures by Natter." The work is in every way worthy of his 
 master hand. 
 
 620. — Intaglio on a yellow paste. A triumphal procession. A 
 wretched modei'n work, with the pretentious inscription, 
 TPY<t>nN EHOIE. 
 
 620 a- — Cameo on onyx ; a minute gem, on which a bearded 
 warrior stands between two female personages. On one hand 
 is a tropliy, on the other a youth sacrifices at an altar. It is 
 probably a late Roman work, referring to a victory. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 134). 
 
 620 ''. — Fragment of a largo cameo on sardonyx. On the ground is 
 a prostrate barbarian female figure, in an attitude of grief; 
 another figure seems as though blowing a trumpet, while a 
 horse bears a large German shield. The work is extremely 
 fine, perhaps part of a subject representing the triumph of 
 Drusus. The mourning figure, the herald and the horse are 
 rendered in a fine white layer, the rest in a pale brownish sard 
 layer. 
 
 This was an Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. B, No. 47). 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 47. 
 
THE GAMES. THE THEATRE. 103 
 
 4.— THE GAMES. THE THEATRE. 
 
 621. — Intaglio on a fine hyacinthine paste. An athlete with the 
 lettering ;• '.'. .'. '. OY, which may be read either as 
 TNAIOY or THAIOY: hut the letters have been po- 
 lished away till only the points remain. In the field is a 
 tripod with a jar. It has been described as an athlete anointing 
 himself. It may, however, be a representation of the subject 
 of the Diadumenos of Polycletus, of which the statue in the 
 British Museum is supposed to be a copy, and which repre- 
 sents an athlete binding a diadem round his head. The 
 gem has been ruinously repolished to show the beauty of a 
 material always hitherto taken for a stone worthy of so fine a 
 work. It may have been wrought by an artist of the Graeco- 
 Roman school ; and it is deeply and delicately engraved on 
 the flat surface of the glass, which is worked by the tool 
 exactly as if it had been a veritable sard. Natter seems to 
 have taken this material, which he terms in his treatise a 
 " vermilion," for a variety of garnet, and justly considers the 
 flatness of its face exceptional. In his Catalogue, however, 
 he calls it "un Berill d'une beaute achevee" (see No. 43). 
 
 It was from the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 36), and was 
 formerly the property of Clement V., and afterwards successively in 
 the cabinets of the Apostolo Zeno and of Stosch. 
 
 Figured in the " Marlborough Gems," Vol. i. No. 3.">, where the stone 
 is described as a hyacinthine Sardine approaching the Hyacinth, called 
 by the Italians Giacinto Guarnacino. 
 
 621«- — Intaglio on a yellowish sard. A copy of the last, possibly 
 by Natter's inimitable hand, even the polished down cha- 
 racter of the surface and the lettering of the name being 
 precisely copied. This gem is an admirable illustration of the 
 way in which antique gems could be copied in the last century. 
 
 621A — A cameo by Marchaut, in white on black, on an onyx ; also 
 an admirable copy from the famous gem described in G21. 
 
 622. — Intaglio on a very fine ruby sard, nearly circular in form. A 
 Discobolus with all the appearance of being good Greek work. 
 The circular form of the gem may be itself in allusion to that 
 of the disc. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Bessb. Cat. No. 2 M). 
 Figured among Worlidge's Etchings. 
 
104 DOMESTIC AND PASTORAL OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 623. — Intaglio on an oblong sard, slightly convex. A Discobolus, 
 somewhat lengthy in the drawing ; a not very early Roman 
 work of Imperial time. Set in a finely enamelled seal, adorned 
 with fleurs-de-lis. 
 
 624. — Intaglio on a red sard with a " chevron "-formed streak across 
 it. A horse stands with a youth by him who reins him in. 
 It is enclosed in the "Etruscan " border, and is rendered in the 
 shallow manner and with the delicate technique of the early 
 Greek style, while also the rein of the horse carries the bosses 
 characteristic of the Creek bridle. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. A, No. G3). 
 Figured among the Etchings of Woiiidge. 
 
 625. — Intaglio on a cornelian. A small quadriga of Roman work- 
 manship. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 45). 
 
 626. — Intaglio on a banded agate. An actor in front of a mask on 
 a Term, studying his part. It is Greco-Roman work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 62). 
 
 627. — Intaglio on a very fine oblong convex sard. A figure, appa- 
 rently, of a comic actor carrying the hooked cane, his attribute. 
 It is spiritedly drawn, and rather deeply cut ; probably rather 
 late Greek work. A gem in the Payne Knight Collection, 
 British Museum, represents a similar subject. 
 
 From the Medina Collection (Bessb. Cat. No. 9 M). 
 
 5.— DOMESTIC AND PASTORAL OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 628. — A poor intaglio copy on cornelian of the famous signet of 
 Michael Angelo, by Gio. Maria da Pescia, in the Bibliotheque 
 Imperiale at Paris. 
 
 629. — Intaglio on a sard. A sculptor chiselling a bust : a star in 
 the field, and also a Term with a palm branch (of modern 
 introduction 1 to conceal part of the Term), a wreath, and a 
 vase. Perhaps a prize to a successful competitor. Greek or 
 
DOMESTIC AND PASTORAL OCCUPATIONS. 105 
 
 Greco-Roman work At the back is the symbolic word 
 IX0YC directly written. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 51). 
 
 630. — Intaglio on a little nicolo, representing two persons, perhaps 
 children, rolling two large discs along the ground like the 
 modern Italian nuzzuoli. It is good Roman work 
 
 631. — Intaglio on a fine nicolo. A poulterer carrying on a pole over 
 his shoulders a rabbit and a cock A nice Roman gem. 
 
 632. — Intaglio on a very fine nicolo. Huntsman accompanied by a 
 dog, carrying a rabbit on a pole. Very rude late Roman 
 work. 
 
 633. — Intaglio on a nicolo. Herdsman driving a cow. Roman 
 work. 
 
 One of the Medina gems, termed by Natter Argus watching Io 
 (Bessb. Cat. No. 8 m). 
 
 634. — Intaglio on a nicolo. A herdsman yoking a bull, having put 
 a ladder against the animal in order to raise the yoke. Rude 
 Roman work. 
 
 635. — Cameo, or intaglio rilevato ; a very large oval bloodstone, 
 on which a girl is represented in the manner of Egyptian 
 cameo or carvesque work, as though balancing the astragalus. 
 It seems a modern work, apparently copied from a bas-relief. 
 
 636. — Cameo on an onyx. A work of the late renaissance period, in 
 which a male and female figure are represented ; the former 
 seated, the latter apparently coming to him for protection. 
 The figures and reserved rim are worked in a brown layer. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 20). 
 
 637. — Intaglio on a sard. A Spinthriate subject. 
 One of the Medina gems (Cat. No. 11 M). 
 
106 URNS, SOUVENIRS, &c. 
 
 G.—UEXS, SOUVENIRS, dr. 
 
 638. — Intaglio on a sard. An urn with a basket-work pattern, and 
 two handles formed as of the head and neck of a bird. Roman 
 work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 72). 
 
 639. — Intaglio on a fine nicolo. A vase ; by Marchant. 
 
 640. — Intaglio on a sard. Female head to the left, in a head-dress 
 of the latter part of the second century; rudely worked, with 
 the direct inscription €YI"IOPI AIA nWTIA, "May you 
 ever prosper, Potia." The spelling, like the work, almost bar- 
 barous ; probably a portrait presented to the lady on some 
 auspicious occasion. 
 
 641. — Intaglio on a bloodstone. A hand holding out a dead mouse. 
 Fair work of the second century. 
 
 642. — Cameo on an onyx ; with the device of a hand pinching an 
 ear, and the direct circumscription MNHMONEYE. The 
 
 device is left in a white layer on a black ground. It is a late 
 Roman work. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Cat. No. 18 m). 
 
 643. — Cameo on an onyx. A hand twitching an ear, "aurem vellit," 
 with the direct superscription MNHMONEYE MOY THC 
 KAAHC +YXHC EYTYXI CtO<t>PONI. "Remember 
 me, your pretty love, good luck to you, Sophronios : " being a 
 souvenir from a lady. Between the device and the lettering 
 there runs a curious thong, as if articulated, with four knots ; 
 perhaps as Mr. King suggests, the " Heracleus nodus," symbol 
 of wedlock. The gem is cut in extremely flat relief and much 
 worn, but recals in its manner the early Byzantine work. 
 It is probably of the fourth century. The device is cut in a 
 thin greenish layer, supported by a horny understratum. 
 
 644. — Cameo with an inscription, cut directly in a thin white layer of 
 an onyx, with a black base. EYTYXI BEPONIKH. "May 
 you prosper, Berenice " (or Veronica). Late Roman work. 
 

 IV. — CHRISTIAN AND MEDIEVAL 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 645. — Intaglio on a fine Bohemian garnet cut en cabochon, repre- 
 senting St. Michael and Lucifer. It is a fine work of the 
 renaissance period. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. C, No. 23). 
 
 646. — Cameo on an onyx. The Madonna of the Assumption standing 
 on the head of a winged angel, four similar angels' heads 
 being arranged on each side of her ; the Madonna's hands 
 are clasped. Cut in a white layer in rather high relief on a 
 bluish base. It is a poor work of the renaissance, but mounted 
 in a rich gold setting of a vine stem carrying vine leaves. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. C, No. 24). 
 
 647. — A minute cameo. A head cut in a white layer on a red base. An 
 early renaissance work, described by Natter as John the Baptist. 
 
 From the Bessborough Collection (Cat. No. 88). 
 
 648. — Three figures of saints, worked on a sard, the forms being left 
 in the original colour of the stone, the rest being wrought in 
 white by the action of an alkali on the surface. The figures 
 have tints imparted to them by colours painted under the 
 translucent stone. It was a fanciful mode of working in the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 649. — A representation, by a similar treatment of the surface of a 
 red said, of the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. It is a good 
 composition with many figures. 
 
 650. — A shell cameo, slightly convex, representing the Three Kings 
 (of Cologne) ; cut in pink layers of a shell. It is fair w T ork 
 of cinque-cento time. One of the heads is represented in 
 darker layers than the rest, as representing Africa, and con- 
 trasted with the others representing Europe and Asia. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 79). 
 
V.— MASKS, CAPRICES, AND 
 ANIMAL FORMS. 
 
 I.— MASKS. 
 
 651. — Intaglio on a cornelian. Three-quarter face comic mask, with 
 the name KVINTIL. The name seems genuine, and probably 
 recalls the Roman owner of the gem. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 39). 
 
 652. — Intaglio on a bright red jasper. Tragic and comic masks 
 conjoined. A late but fine Roman work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 41). 
 
 653. — Intaglio on a most excellent nicolo. A comic bearded mask 
 of fine and rather early workmanship. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 63). 
 
 654. — Intaglio on a good nicolo. A Satyric mask with the lettering 
 AOYKTEI. The lettering is certainly genuine, but is 
 difficult of interpretation. It is a fine antique work, and was 
 formerly in the Collection of Gorlseus : vide Dactyl. No. 506. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. Go). 
 
 655. — Intaglio on a sard. A full-faced mask of a Davus or comic 
 slave (the Buffoon). An excellent early Imperial work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. G4). 
 
 656. — Intaglio on a sard. A Silenus mask in front face. Very fine 
 work of early Imperial days. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems, termed by Natter a bust of Plato 
 (Cat. No. 22 c). 
 
 
MASKS. 109 
 
 657. — Intaglio on a mottled chalcedony. Small comic mask, perhaps 
 representing the " old man " (the iratus Chremes, as Mr. King 
 suggests). Spirited early Roman work. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Cat. No. G M, termed a Nicolo). 
 
 658. — Intaglio on a nicolo. A small comic mask. Fair Roman 
 work. 
 
 A Medina gem (Cat. No. 26 M). 
 
 659. — Intaglio on a nicolo. A comic mask, of the time of the 
 third century. 
 
 660. — Intaglio on a sard. Two masks, representing Socrates and 
 Xantippe confronted. A very clever and minute work of the 
 best Roman period. 
 
 A Medina gem (Bess. Cat. No. 17 m). 
 
 661. — Intaglio on a sard. Two masks conjoined ; a late Roman 
 work. 
 
 A Medina gem (Cat. No. 15 m). 
 
 662. — Intaglio on a splendid blood sard. A beautiful caprice, re- 
 presenting a female head conjoined with two Silenus masks. 
 Extremely fine Roman work. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. A, No. 0). 
 
 663. — Intaglio on golden sard. A very beautiful mask of the Bearded 
 Bacchus. Fine and somewhat early Greek workmanship. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. Go). 
 
 664. — Intaglio on a fine sard. Three masks, resembling heads of 
 Hercules, Apollo, and Bacchus, with the pedum beneath them. 
 Fine early Roman work, set in a beautiful ring. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 4). 
 
 665. — Intaglio on a red sard. A deeply cut mask of a Cyclops, 
 highly vigorous in its expression. Probably Roman work of 
 the best Imperial time. 
 
 Figured among Worlidge's Etchings. 
 
110 MASKS. 
 
 666. — Intaglio on a poor jasper. A mask and a wild boar's head 
 conjugated opposite ways. Under them are written the letters 
 1 E , perhaps a play on a word of which the design forms 
 part. 
 
 667. — Intaglio on a minute cabochon garnet. An " aged " mask ; 
 good work for a stone which rarely has fine work upon it. 
 
 668. — Intaglio on a banded agate cut en cabochon. It is a tragic 
 mask of fine Roman workmanship. 
 
 669. — Intaglio on a yellow sard. A mask like a clown's head, with 
 the mouth formed of a scallop shell : probably representing 
 a fountain. 
 
 670. — Cameo on a splendid blood-red sard. A fine mask, nearly 
 full-face ; probably antique. 
 
 671. — Intaglio on a banded agate, with a group of four masks and 
 the name HELENA across the gem. It is probably a modern 
 work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 3 c). 
 
 672. — Intaglio on a mottled green and yellow jasper. Three con- 
 joined masks : a modern work. 
 
 One of the Chesterfield gems (Cat. No. 44 c). 
 
 673. — Cameo on a sard. A Satyric mask in high relief, probably of 
 modern or fifteenth century workmanship. 
 
 A Bessborough gem. Natter (Cat. No. 38) suggests that the eyes 
 were once represented in metal ; or, more probably, they contained 
 precious stones that have been removed. 
 
 674. — Cameo on yellow sard. A comic mask of second century 
 workmanship. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 40). 
 
 675. — Cameo on a white onyx. A small comic mask, probably of 
 Roman workmanship. 
 
GRYLLI, CAPRICES, ETC. Ill 
 
 676. — A minute cameo on onyx ; representing a spirited little mask 
 rendered in a red stratum ; the beard being done in a white 
 layer on a dark ground. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Cat. No. 2-i M). 
 
 677. — Cameo on sardonyx. A mask, cut on a red stratum, the 
 beard being rendered in a white layer on a dark ground, into 
 which the eyes and mouth are cut down. A clever Roman 
 work. 
 
 A Medina gem (Cat. No. 2G m). 
 
 678. — Cameo on an onyx. A Bacchic mask in which the crown of 
 the head is fractured. An antique work in a white layer, 
 on a yellowish base. 
 
 679. — Cameo on a chert-like jasper, 1 inch by |ths ; a stone that 
 occasionally occurs with fine antique work. A front-faced 
 Bacchic mask, in rather low relief. It is a spirited and un- 
 doubtedly antique w T ork. 
 
 680. — Cameo on an onyx. A mask as of a youthful Bacchus ; over 
 each brow a little spot of red cornelian represents the corymbi. 
 It is a Roman work, cut in a white layer on a red cornelian 
 base. 
 
 681. — Cameo on an onyx. Silenus mask, in front-face : a head bound 
 with a fillet with two corymbi. It is an excellent Roman 
 work in flat relief, cut in a white layer on a dark gray base. 
 
 682. — Cameo on an onyx. A quite modern mask in very high 
 relief. 
 
 683. — Cameo; a front-face mask. Modern work. 
 
 •2.— GRYLLI, CAPRICES, &c. 
 
 684. — Intaglio on a nicolo. A gryllus, representing a bald Silenus 
 head united at the back with a goat's head. A good Roman 
 work. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. 67). 
 
112 GRILLI, CAPRICES, <fcc. 
 
 685. — Intaglio on jasper, beautifully set. A caprice, in which a Cupid 
 rides a horse, of which only the head and neck are equine, 
 the body being formed of a ram's head eating an ear of corn ; 
 the chest is formed by a mask with a projection from the chin, 
 which supports a goat that is disputing with the horse for a 
 wisp of hay ; below it is a serpent. The lower part of the 
 design is formed of an eagle tearing a hare, as on the coins of 
 Agrigentuin. The work is late and extremely rude. 
 
 This elaborate caprice was one of the Chesterfield gems (Cat. 
 No. 36 c). 
 
 686. — Intaglio on a splendid blood sard. A gryllus, in which a 
 peacock and a ram's head are combined with an elephant's 
 head, a serpent, and a Silenus mask. Round it are the letters, 
 AN ICE. T. P. S. Fair work of late Roman time. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Cat. No. 12 m). It was published by 
 Borioni at Rome. 
 
 687. — Intaglio on a jasper, carrying a gryllus representing a horse's 
 head and neck, a mask, &c, on cocks' legs. Rude late Roman 
 work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 34). 
 
 688. — Intaglio on a fine nicolo. A gryllus representing an elephant's 
 head ingeniously combined with two masks. A pretty caprice 
 of very nice Roman work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. GO). 
 
 689. — Intaglio on a cornelian. A goat, a horse, and a boar united 
 to form a gryllus. A good example of Roman work. 
 
 690. — Intaglio on a beryl. A head of Jupiter, perhaps of Jupiter 
 Ammon, united to a ram's head, and with a curved neck over 
 it somewhat like the Egyptian Vulture head-dress ; in the 
 beak of the bird's head is a small branch, perhaps of olive. 
 The whole caprice is borne upon a pair of cocks' legs. A work 
 of a good period. 
 
 691. — Intaglio on a poor sard. A Siren : a beautifully cut gem of 
 the last century, worthy of Natter. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. 108). 
 
ANIMAL FORMS. 113 
 
 3.— ANIMAL FORMS. 
 
 692. — Intaglio on a sard. A ram, or Aries as an astronomical 
 symbol, the fleece being burnt white by an artificial process. 
 It is fair Roman work. 
 
 693. — Intaglio on an onyx, cut en cabochon. A goat browsing on 
 a large ear of corn is engraved in the top layer, of a coral-red 
 colour. The work is of the ordinary Roman type. 
 
 694. — Cameo on a very small onyx of two goats, cut in an upper 
 white layer. 
 
 One of the Bessborough gems (Cat. No. 49). 
 
 695. — Intaglio on a yellowish sard. A sow : very good work by 
 Marchant. 
 
 696. — Intaglio on a banded sard. A bull ; a crescent in the field. 
 A nicely executed Roman gem, set in a most handsome ring of 
 the last century, ornamented with twisted vines. It has been 
 wofully re-polished. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 84). 
 
 697. — Intaglio on a good sard. A bull, represented, by a Roman 
 artist, in the position of the bull on the coins of Thurium. 
 
 698. — Intaglio on a fine golden sard. Four cows ; three are standing 
 and one lying down. The surface of the stone has been re- 
 polished, and the gem has the appearance of a work by a 
 good Roman artist. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 70). 
 
 699. — Intaglio on a transparent chalcedony. A cow, in very rude and 
 late Roman work. 
 
 Perhaps the Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, 69). 
 
114 ANIMAL FORMS. 
 
 700. — Intaglio on a poor sard. A cow and calf, of good antique 
 workmanship. 
 
 701. — Intaglio on a cornelian. Ahorse or ass; extremely late and 
 rude Roman work. 
 
 Possibly the Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 98). 
 
 702. — Cameo on an onyx, slightly convex. Two horses ; one drinks 
 and the other stands by him. The forms are drawn in beau- 
 tiful proportion, and it is a work probably by a Greek hand 
 and of high merit. 
 
 One of the Arundel gems (Cat. Thee. A, No. 135). 
 703. — A glasB paste copy of the above. 
 
 704. — Cameo in an onyx. A chestnut horse, represented in his 
 natural colour in an upper layer of the stone, on a dark base 
 layer. The horse is biting at a fetter. A work, from the 
 treatment of its anatomical detail, attributable to the second 
 century. 
 
 705. — Cameo on an onyx. An elephant trampling on a long and 
 large fish which he is goring with his tusks. It is a work 
 remarkable for its spirited character and correct design. Mr. 
 King has ingeniously suggested that it alludes to the fabled 
 combats between elephants and monstrous eels in Indian 
 rivers, recorded by Ctesias. It seems certainly an ancient 
 work. 
 
 706. — Cameo on sardonyx. An animal, perhaps a lynx. Cut in a 
 white layer on a brownish red base. Very nice early antique 
 work. 
 
 Arundel gem (Ar. Cat. Thee. A, 143). 
 707. — Cameo, of a poodle or lap-dog. Perhaps Roman. 
 
 708. — A cameo, apparently representing two dogs wearing comic 
 masks, and probably a Roman work. 
 
ANIMAL FORMS. 115 
 
 709. — Intaglio on a nicolo, representing a fox, in rude Roman 
 work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. G8). 
 
 710. — Cameo on a paste in imitation of an onyx. A dog, or perhaps 
 a wolf, lying down, seen from above. Cut in a white layer, 
 by perhaps a Roman hand. 
 
 711. — Cameo on an onyx. An animal like a panther ; cut in a tawny 
 upper layer, with a mottled black jasper base ; the animal is 
 also mottled with spots. The antiquity of the work is 
 extremely doubtful. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. C, No. 22), formerly united to the gem 
 No. 718. 
 
 712. — Cameo on mottled jasper. A panther couchant, seen from 
 above ; cut in a brown upper layer mottled with spots, the 
 base being a jasper, reddish and gray. It is a modem work, 
 and is set in a ring with brilliants. 
 
 Purchased for twenty guineas by the third Duke. 
 
 713.— Intaglio on a fine almandine garnet. A lion seen in front- 
 face and somewhat foreshortened ; his paw on the head of a 
 stag. A dog behind the lion is skulking off, baying. The 
 work is remarkably bold. 
 
 This garnet, No. 57 in Natter's Catalogue, was one of the 
 Bessborough gems. In his Traite, Natter describes and 
 figures (No. xvii.) a similar but less complex gem — a fragment 
 on amethyst — in Lord Carlisle's Collection. Considering the 
 complexity of the subject of this gem, it seems eminently pro- 
 bable that Natter's master hand engraved it as a reproduction, 
 with improvements, of the Carlisle amethyst. The treatment 
 of the head is much like that on the far-famed star-dog Sirius, 
 No. 270 in this Collection, with the technique of which Natter 
 says he had acquired familiarity. 
 
 714. — Intaglio on a fine plasma. A lion passant, with his foot on a 
 bull's head. A late and rather poor Roman work, symbolical 
 probably of the sun. 
 
 715. — Intaglio on a nicolo. A sleeping lion ; a well-modelled Roman 
 work. 
 
 Q 2 
 
J 16 ANIMAL FORMS. 
 
 716. — Cameo on a sardonyx. A very fine cameo of a lion preying 
 on a bull. The lion is in a rich brown upper layer in rather 
 high relief. The bull is rendered in a flat manner in order to 
 take advantage of a thin white layer ; the base is dark. The 
 stone has been pierced lengthways by a hole, and another goes 
 through the face of the gem, where a third has also been 
 begun. The work has all the character of genuine antiquity. 
 
 Purchased for 50?. by the third Duke. See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 717. — A cameo in bold relief, in cat's eye, representing a lion's head ; 
 the chatoyance of the material giving a remarkable life to a 
 work which is otherwise tame. It is by a cinque-cento hand, 
 and is set in a pretty frame formed of golden loops. 
 See Introduction, p. xvii. 
 
 718. — Cameo on sardonyx. A lion passant, his tail curled under the 
 hind leg. This spirited work is cut in a rich brown sard upper 
 layer, with an under layer of white. It is set in a heavy gold 
 mounting, carefully chiselled on the back in the seventeenth 
 century, and similar to that of No. 711. The work is 
 undercut, and like the panther, No. 711, formerly attached to 
 it, it is probably of sixteenth century workmanship. 
 
 It was in the Arundel Collection (Cat. Thee. C, No. 22). 
 
 719. — Cameo on a jasper-onyx. A lion passant, cut in a tawny 
 brown upper layer supported by a black base. A delicately 
 finished work of the last century. 
 
 720. — Intaglio on a sard. Three eagles standing upon three altars : 
 in the very rudest work of the late Roman time. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 97). 
 
 721. — Intaglio on an onyx. An eagle standing on an altar. Rude 
 work of the second century : cut in a white layer with a 
 black base, and set as a seal with enamelled flowers. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 71). 
 
 722. — Cameo on an onyx. An eagle and a serpent, on the reverse of 
 No. 586, with the motto "Nihil est quod non tolleret qui 
 perfecte diligit." Beautiful cinque-cento work. 
 
 (Bessb. Cat. No. 12). 
 
ANIMAL FORMS. 117 
 
 723. — Intaglio on a chalcedony. A peacock standing on a basket, a 
 raven standing on a cornucopiae, and a cock between them. A 
 late and rude Roman work. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 94). 
 
 724. — Intaglio on a nicolo. Representation in late Roman work of 
 a peacock and a cornucopiae. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 96). 
 
 725. — Intaglio on a nicolo. A cock with a wreath in his bill. 
 Very rude work, with the word VIGIL written forwards 
 in the exergue. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 93). 
 
 726. — Intaglio on a sard. An owl standing on a branch. A fine 
 modern work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 93). 
 
 727. — Cameo on an onyx. A quail, as if fighting, in a red layer on 
 a white ground. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 83). 
 
 728. — Intaglio on a Siriam garnet. A frog. Fine Roman work. 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 87). 
 
 729. — Intaglio on a sard. A cicada perched on a caduceus. A deli- 
 cately worked Roman gem. 
 
 730. — Intaglio on a green jasper, with red bands. A scorpion. 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, G7). 
 
 731. — Intaglio on a fine almandine garnet, cut en cabochon. A very 
 fine Roman gem, representing a spider in its web. 
 
 One of the Medina gems (Cat. No. 48 M). 
 
118 ANIMAL FORMS. 
 
 732. — Cameo on sardonyx. The (Estrus, or horse-fly, most perfectly 
 represented, of the natural size and colour, in a translucent 
 brown layer, supported by a reddish under layer. It is mag- 
 nificent work of the finest Roman period. One of the wings 
 is slightly broken. 
 
 A Medina gem (Cat. No. 27 m). 
 
 733. — Cameo on an onyx. A four-winged scarab of Romano-Egyp- 
 tian work. Cut in a pale brownish layer on a white base. 
 
 734. — Intaglio on a fine blue convex aquamarine. A Hippocampus. 
 Beautiful antique work, possibly cut by a Greek hand. 
 
 735. — Cameo on an onyx. A Hippocampus cut in a whitish layer 
 with a black base, rather stiffly drawn ; in its original gold 
 setting. The work is certainly antique. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 30). 
 
 736. — Cameo on an onyx. A Gryphon in a white layer with a 
 brownish base. It is rather nice Roman work. 
 
 A Bessborough gem (Cat. No. 82). 
 
 737. — Cameo on an onyx. A nondescript animal, the face and 
 different parts being rendered in differently coloured layers 
 of the stone. It is a conceit of the early renaissance period. 
 
 738. — Intaglio on an onyx. Capricorn and rudder (?) A very rude 
 Roman work ; the signet probably of a sailor. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 100). 
 
 739. — Intaglio on a banded agate. A dolphin and rudder, of very 
 rude workmanship. 
 
 An Arundel gem (Cat. Thee. A, No. 101). 
 
 BRADBURY, BVAMS, AND CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. 
 

 
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