YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 05366 8688

bL_5£^

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of the
SCHOOL of FINE ARTS
YALE UNIVERSITY

A GUIDE

TO THE

DEPAETMENT

OP

6BEEK- AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES

IN THE

BEITISH MUSEUM.

FIFTH. EDITION.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS^ MAPS AND PLANS.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES,
1920.
Price' Two Shillings and Sixpence.

A GUIDE

DEPAETMENT

GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES

BEITISH MUSEUM.

FIFTH EDITION.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY ORDER OP THE TRUSTEES,
1!)20.

LONDON :
PRINTED ET WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,'
DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E. 1, AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET, W. 1.

J

5"

c

PBEFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION.

In this Guide I have attempted to give in a brief form a description
of the Greek and Roman Antiquities in the British Museum. Such
facts are stated as are necessary in order that the historical positions
and interest of the different groups of objects may be understood,
and points of special interest in the separate objects are also
indicated. In the accounts of the several Rooms references are
given to the larger Catalogues, which should be consulted by those
who wish to study the collections in greater detail.
Parts of the Guide have been rewritten in the present edition,
and improved blocks have been inserted. In order to prevent a
prohibitive rise in the cost of production, certain matter and illus
trations of secondary interest which appeared in the previous
editions have been omitted.
On account of structural works now in hand, it is probable that
parts of the First-floor Galleries of the Department will be more or
less disarranged for some time to come. The objects are described
in the Guide, as if in their normal situations. AivrHUJi H. Smith.
British Museum.
October 2, 1920.

CONTENTS

_ , PAGE
Introduction . . . 1
GROUND FLOOR.
Room of Archaic Greek Sculpture. Fragments from Mycenae-
Sculptures from Branchidae — Friezes from Xanthos — Harpy
Tomb — Strangford Apollo — Casts from Selinus and Aegina 2
Elgin Room. Introduction — Sculptures and architectural marbles
from the Parthenon at Athens — Casts from the Temple of
Theseus and the Monument of Lysicrates — Caryatid and
other remains from the Erechtheion . . 13
Phigaleian Room. Frieze from the Temple of Apollo at Phigaleia —
Frieze from the Temple of Wingless Victory at Athens — Sepul
chral reliefs — Votive reliefs . . ... 48
Nereid Room. Sculptures of the Nereid Monument at Xanthos . 55
Mausoleum Room. Large Lycian Tombs — Sculptures of the tomb
of Mausolus at Halicarnassos — Sculptures from Priene —
Colossal Lion from Cnidos — Dionysos of Thrasyllos . . 58
North-West Staircase. Mosaics from Halicarnassos and
Carthage .......... 67
Ephesus Room. Temples of Artemis or Diana at Ephesus — The
Archaic Temple — The later Temple — Other sculptures from
Ephesus — Greek portraits — Sculptural types of the fourth and
third centuries B.C. . ..... 68
Ante-room. Statue of the Demeter of Cnidos ... 74
Third Graeco-Roman Room. Graeco-Roman sculptures, in
cluding Apotheosis of Homer, ' Clytie,' Farnese Mercury, etc. 74
Graeco-Roman Basement-Room with Annex. Figures and
reliefs of Graeco-Roman or Roman period — Tessellated pave
ments and mosaics from Carthage and Halicarnassos —
Etruscan tombs and sarcophagi — Roman water-wheel . . 78
Gallery of Casts. Collection of casts of antique sculptures,
arranged in historical order . .... 80
Second Graeco-Roman Room. Types of the fifth century B.C.—
Discobolos — Diadumenos ...... 85

vi Contents. PAGlS
First Graeco-Roman Room. Statues, heads, and busts of deities
and heroes, of the Graeco-Roman period . . 87
Roman Gallery. Busts and statues of Roman Emperors and of
Roman personages — Roman reliefs ... .88
Hall of Greek and Latin Inscriptions. Selected inscriptions —
Miscellaneous Graeco-Roman sculptures .... 91
UPPER FLOOR.
Room of Terracottas. Archaic Greek statuettes and reliefs — Tan-
agra statuettes — Architectural terracottas — Large sarcophagi
— Graeco-Roman terracottas . . ... 95
Room of Greek and Roman Life (South Wing). Graeco-
Roman terracottas — Ivories, etc. . . . 100
Room of Gold Ornaments and Gems (with Corridor). Sculp
tures from Cyprus. — Graeco-Roman frescoes — The Portland
Vase — Gold ornaments, ;Mycenaean, Phoenician, Etruscan,
Greek, Roman — Finger-rings — Greek and, Roman silver
smith's work — Engraved Gems (Early and Island gems
— Scarabs — Scarabaeoids — Intaglios — Cameos — Pastes) . 102
Room of Greek and Roman Life. Political Inscriptions — Money
— The Drama — Shipping — Religion and superstition — Games
— Armour — Furniture — The Kitchen — The Baths — Water
supply — Dress and Toilet — Domestic Arts — Trade — Weights
and Measures — Building — Horses — Agriculture — Industrial
Arts — Medicine and Surgery — Measures — Infancy — Toys —
Education with writing and painting — Games — Marriage —
Music — Domestic Animals — Burials . ... 110
Italic Room. Early Italian Bronzes — Etruscan Art — Polledrara
Tomb — Imitations of Greek vases — Etruscan Bronze work . 131
Bronze Room. Introduction — Greek and Roman bronzes  -
Select statuettes and reliefs — Bronzes of Siris, etc. — Larger
bronzes — Etruscan engraved mirrors — Head of Poet — Aphro
dite — Head of African — Marsyas — Apollo — Hypnos  Augus
tus — Statuettes in historical order — Paramythia bronzes-
Decorative bronzes — Towneley Hercules — Statuettes of
deities . . .... 136
Introduction to the Vase Room. Shapes of Vases . . 143
First Vase Room. Primitive and Cycladic vases — Cretan antiqui
ties — Mycenaean wares from Cyprus and Rhodes — Dipylon
ware — Phaleron ware — Cypriote ware — Terracotta sarcophagi
— Oriental porcelain, etc. _ j^y
Second Vase Room. Vases from Corinth, Rhodes, Daphnae. Nau-
cratis, etc. — Introduction to] the Black figure vases  List of
signatures — Athenian black-figure vases . . jgp,
Third Vase Room. Introduction to the Red-figure Vases — List of
signatures — Athenian red-figure vases — White sepulchral
lekythi, etc. . . . . , , . . .174

Contents.

Fourth Vase Room. Introduction — Later Panathenaic vases — Late
South Italian styles — Campanian ware — Black glazed ware —
Lucanian and Apulian vases — Miscellaneous late fabrics
Appendix. Table of the Greek and Roman collections historically
arranged.

LIST OF PLATES.
Plate - I. Columns from the facade of the Treasury of Atreus at
Mycenae (p. 3).
„ II. Copy of the Athene Parthenos (p. 18).
III. The ' Theseus ' of the Parthenon (p. 22).
IV. The Three Fates (p. 23).
V. 1. Metope of Parthenon, No. 310 (p. 29).
2. Metope of the Parthenon, No. 317 (p. 30).
VI. Cavalry from the North Frieze of the Parthenon (p. 40).
,, VII. Figure of Mourning Woman (p. 54).
,. VIII. Votive Relief of Artemis Bendis (p. 54).
IX. The Restored Order of the Mausoleum (p. 62).
,. X. The Chariot Group of the Mausoleum (p. 62).
XI. The Demeter of Cnidos (p. 74).
XII. 1. Bust of ' Clytie'' (p. 75).
2. Head of Julius Caesar (p. 88).
,. XIII. Greek Terracottas (p. 97).
„ XIV. The Portland Vase (p. 102).
XV. 1. Head of Aphrodite ? (p. 140).
2. Hypnos or Sleep (p. 141).
,. XVI. Map of Italy.
., XVII. Map of Greece and Western Asia Minor.

GRENVILLE

department of greek and roman antiquities, bmtisti museum,
Plan op Giiounp Floor,

A GUIDE

TO THE

DEPAETMENT

OF

GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES.

Scope of the Guide. The present guide may roughly be
described as dealing with such material remains of the civilisations
of ancient Greece and Rome as are in the possession of the Trustees
of the British Museum.
To define its scope more precisely several exceptions must be mentioned.
Thus, Roman objects found in Britain are kept apart, because their primary
interest is as illustrations of an early stage of national history. The coins of
all places and periods are most conveniently kept together in the Department
of Coins and Medals. The Greek papyri, including works of Hyperides,
Aristotle, Herodas, Bacchylides, and others, are grouped with other manu
scripts of a later period. Where the streams of later Egyptian and Greek
histories mingle, it is impossible to make a complete separation of the two.
The glass of all periods is for the most part collected in the Glass and Ceramic
Room, and some of the finest pieces of Roman silver plate have been placed
in the Early Christian Room. Some fine Greek bronzes are shown in the
Waddesdon Bequest.
Method of the Guide. The method followed, so far as the
arrangement of the collections permits, is that of tracing the
historical progress of each class of objects. (A table is annexed to
show the mutual relations of the various classes in respect of date.)
For convenience in using the Guide, the objects in one room are
generally described together, and as far as possible the rooms are
described in sequence. Sometimes, however, the visitor is taken
through rooms, on his path, to which he is brought back later, to
study their contents. Thus, from the Entrance Hall, we pasa
through the Roman Gallery (p. 88) and Graeco-Roman Rooms
(p. 74), and begin with the sculptures in the Archaic Room.

The Archaic Room.

THE ARCHAIC ROOM.*
In this room, the progress of the art of sculpture on Greek soil
is shown from its early beginnings to the time soon after^ the
Persian Wars (early fifth century B.C.), which marks the division
between archaicf and mature sculpture. Most of the objects
in the room belong to the sixth century B.C., while a few belong to
the close of the seventh century, and one group, the sculptures from
Mycenae (below, nos. 1-6), are of considerably older date.
The sculptures are grouped according to their places of origin.
They will be found to illustrate the various characteristics of an
early stage of art, which may be briefly summed up as follows :
Among the oldest works are purely decorative patterns (such as
zigzags, spirals, concentric circles and the like) worked with the
precision that comes of long tradition and the frequent repetition of
a single form. The next step was towards the rendering of figure
subjects ; and here the artist is seen struggling with imperfect
knowledge and incomplete mastery of the mechanical difficulties.
Nature is copied in a naive and direct but somewhat gross manner.
(See the sculptures of Branchidae and Selinus.) It is a frequently
observed characteristic of early art that more rapid progress is
made with the forms of animals than with those of human beings.
The primitive sculptor seems a better observer when he is dealing
with animals, and better able to render forms and expression.
(See the friezes from Xanthos.) We see also that in his first attempts
to avoid grossness the artist is apt to be too minute, and somewhat
affected in the rendering of the mouth, the hair, and the finer
drapery. So, too, when he aims at truth in his study of the figure,
the first result of close and accurate observation is that he makes
his work too pronouncedly anatomical. (See the pediments of
Aegina.) 1-6, etc. Sculptures from Mycenae. — The earliest period
of civilisation of which we have any sculptural remains in Greece
proper is that which has been known, since the. excavations of Dr.
Schliemann at Mycenae, as the ' Mycenaean Period.' It was the
time of a well-marked culture which is now known to have been
widely spread through Greece and the islands adjacent. The
origins of this culture have lately been traced back, in Crete, to a
very remote date, say 3500 B.C. Its later developments were
interrupted by the political changes at the beginning of the
historical period of Greece. A special interest attaches to its
remains if they are regarded as the authentic memorials of a period
of which the Homeric poems only preserve a faint tradition.
Casts of some of the early Cretan sculptures are shown in the
Cast Gallery, and in the First Vase Room (Case A).
* For a full description, see the Catalogue of Sculpture, Vol. I. Part I
t Greek, &pxaXic6s, primitive, from apxy, beginning.

Sculptures from Mycenae. 3
Of Mycenae the most important monuments are the well-known
' Gate of Lions,' still in its original position (see the cast in the
Cast Gallery) and the Doorway of the 'Treasury of Atreus '
(otherwise known as ' the Tomb of Agamemnon '). The latter is a
vaulted tomb formed in a hill-side, approached by a long horizontal
passage. Its doorway was sumptuously decorated with engaged
half-columns and entablature worked in red marble and greenish
limestone, with geometrical patterns in low relief. This is now
broken and dispersed. (See the drawings exhibited, figs. 1, 2, and
pi. I.) The fragments in this Museum have been collected from
several sources. Two pieces of the lintel (nos. 1, 2) were a part of
the collection of Lord Elgin. Two small fragments (nos. 3, 4),
which are now incorporated in the right hand column, were presented
by the Institute of British Architects in 1843. The fragment
no. 2725 (fig. 1) was discovered by Mr. W. R. Lethaby in the porch
of a London house (where it had stood for many years) in 1900,
and was presented by Mr. G. Durlacher. The three important
pieces of the shafts (Plate I.) were obtained at Mycenae by the

^l^^^r^gm-Q^ESgv

Fig. 1.— Fragment attributed to the doorway of the ¦ Treasury of Atreus.'

second Marquis of Sligo in 1812, and were by him transported to
Westport in Ireland, where their origin was forgotten, and they
passed out of sight. They were again identified by the Earl of
Altamont in 1904, and presented by the fifth Marquis to the
British Museum. The tinted portion of the upper part of the right
hand column is a cast from the original now at Athens. The
capitals are also restored from the two original capitals at Athens,
with the insertion of casts of fragments at Carlsruhe and Munich.
The breccia pedestals are copies of the originals, still in position at
Mycenae. Other remains of Mycenaean sculpture are two fragments of
reliefs representing bulls (nos. 5, 6).

7-18, etc. Sculptures from Branchidae. — The massive
seated figures, and the recumbent Lions (17 and 18), once stood at
intervals along the Sacred Way of Branchidae as dedicatory offerings
to Apollo. The Branchidae were a priestly clnn, who held from
time immemorial the temple and oracle of Apollo at Didyma, near

4

The Archaic Boom.

Miletus, in Asia Minor. Their name came to be used for that
of^the place. The temple was destroyed by the Persians, probably
by Darius, on the suppression of the Ionian revolt, in 496 B.C., and
it was not rebuilt before the time of Alexander the Great. It is
therefore certain that the sculptures of Branchidae are not
later than 496 B.C., and probably they fall between 580 and
520 B.C.
In these statues the human forms are heavy and conventional,

Fig. 2 shows theleulrance of the ' Treasury of Atreus ' in its present condition
except that the two columns are replaced in their original positions. '
and such details as the folds and lower edges of the drapery are
treated in a traditional way. Progress, however, towards refinement
can be traced. In no. 9 only the outlines of the draperies are
indicated, and their surfaces are without detail. In nos. 7 10 14
the folds are indicated in a conventional way, but there is' no
rendering of textures. In the remaining figures (8, 11, 12, 13 15)
there is some indication of the heavy and light textures 'and
finally, in no. 16, there is a marked advance towards freedom and
truth.

Sculptures from Branchidae.
No. 10 is inscribed :

o(A^roTf^

E[y]8r]ix6^ p.e e?roie(i)v.
' Eudemos (?) made me.'
The cushion has a pattern of stars and maeanders to represent
embroidery. No. 14 is inscribed :
\°X3 AiHiAx I J J] oj )P ) Oi am ^ H R/Kx
Xdpr;s dpi 6 KXe(t)o-tos T6ixio(i))cr(o-)»7S dpyos. ayaX/xa to(B)
AttoXXuivos.
c I am Chares, son of Kleisis, ruler of Teichioussa. The statue is
the property of Apollo.'
No. 17, Lion, is studied from nature in its pose, but the mane
is strictly conventional. The inscription, now hardly legible,
runs : — •
TArVrAt^MAT^TAA£A^fc©$CAA/OlQP
l^AA® O 1 6 X^AYT^aiA rj}OV\O.J
kA\PA[^/'B* KA 13 ra[f\N£\> O^AISY
AIOT^BT, |3Mo31i£Av\AlA*3oi8
Ttx ayaXpaTa TaSe avedeaav oi Qp-
tujvos 7rat§« to(v) ap)(r)yo(y), ®aXfjs
/cat Ilao-t/cXijs /cat 'H-yrJcrai'Spos /cat Eu
bios /cat 'Ava£t'Xea)s, S^/coTJttji' ™ A-
7roX(X)a>vt.
' The sons of Orion, the governor, Thales, Pasicles, Hegesander,
Eubios and Anaxileos dedicated these statues as a tithe to
Apollo.'

6 The Archaic Boom.
The base of another archaic dedication in inscribed on both sides
with the name of an early sculptor, Terpsicles, as well as with the
names of the dedicators.

OlAA/AIlMA A/ZiD OPAI£>££ TO/v\AA/APOAAA
Oi AvafijudVSpou waiSts too MavSpoyaa^[oi) avQOecrav. iwoCrjae 8e
Tepi/ftKAr/s
' The sons of Anaximander, son of Mandromachos, dedicated (this).
Terpsicles made it.'
These inscriptions are written boustrophcdon, that is, alternately
from left to right, and from right to left, like the path of ploughing
oxen. In these inscriptions the older form of the Greek Eta, B, is
used in nos. 10 and 17, and the later form, H. in no. 14. This change
is believed to have already taken place by the time of Croesus
(about 561-546 B.C. : see below, p. 69). The older group must
therefore be anterior to the middle of the sixth century B.C. The
later group probably belongs to the latter half of the. century, though
we cannot fix the superior limit of time with precision.
80-97. Sculptures from Xanthos. — The following sculp
tures are the archaic portion of the collection of sculptures from
Xanthos, a town some ten miles from the sea, in the south-west of
Lycia. They were discovered in the successive journeys of Sir
Charles Fello'ws, who visited Lycia in 1838, 1840, and 1842.
The people of Lycia were a non-Hellenic race, and in 545 B.C.
they were conquered by Persia. The sculptures, however, of
Xanthos are distinctly archaic Greek works, though not without
traces of Oriental influence (cf. no. 87).
The greater number of this important group of archaic sculp
tures may be assigned to the period shortly preceding the Persian
conquest. 80. Sepulchral chest, adorned with reliefs on the four sides.
This tomb was made of a single block of hard, coarse limestone.
It was found by Fellows in its original position, on a shaft, which
appears to have been about 9 feet high. On the top of the chest
there is a rebate to receive the lid, which was formed of a separate
block and has not been found. On the sides are subjects in low
relief, namely, a warrior and horseman with attendant ; a man
contending with a lion, and a seated figure. At the ends are animal
groups in high relief. At one end is a lion. Between the paws of

Sculptures from Xanthos. 7
the lion is seen the head of a bull, which has been overthrown, and
is seized by the throat. At the other end is a lioness playing with
cubs. 81. Frieze of Satyrs and animals, found built into the
walls of the Acropolis at Xanthos. The Satyrs are forced into
strange crouching positions, since the inexperienced artist has not
understood the necessary relations of the height of the figures and
the height of the frieze.
82. Frieze of cocks and hens. Eight cocks and five hens
represented as standing, walking, picking up food, or fighting. The.
work, which originally contained more birds, is carefully studied
from nature. The cock had been brought to the West from Persia
no long time before the date of this relief (about 550 B.C.).
87. A frieze representing a procession moving from left to
right. The company consists of persons in chariots, on horseback,
and on foot. The principal figure appears to be the venerable old
man, who is seated in the second chariot, and holds a flower and,
perhaps, also a cup. In various details, such as the treatment of
the crests and tails of the horses, and the use of whisks by the
standing figures, we are reminded of the East, and are led to infer
that the relief is later than the Persian conquest. On the left
is a slab (no. 87), perhaps from another tomb, on which, between
two standing figures, we see the foot of a corpse, laid out on a
couch. 89, 90, 91, 92. Gable ends of a tomb. On each side of the
doorways is a seated Sphinx. Above the lintel are two lions at
one end. Like many of the Lycian sculptures, these reliefs were
brilliantly coloured when they were discovered, with red, blue,
yellow, etc., but only faint traces can now be detected.
93. Gable end of a tomb. In the centre of the relief is a low
column, with an Ionic capital, of peculiar form. A Siren stands
to the front, on the column, and on each side are seated figures of
old men.
94. The Harpy Tomb. — The monument known as the Harpy
Tomb is one of the most important and elaborate works of archaic
art that have survived.
The four reliefs, as may be seen in the illustration (fig. 3), formed
the sides of a sepulchral chamber, placed on a high shaft, and
surmounted by a massive coping-stone. The internal walls of the
chamber were painted with Christian frescoes, indicating that at
one time it had been occupied by some Stylites, or hermit living on
a column. 1. West Side. — This relief is divided into two unequal parts by a
small doorway which formed the entrance to the tomb. The door
way must have been filled up with a slab of stone. Above, the
space is filled by a relief of a cow giving suck to a calf. Two stately
female forms, who ought perhaps to be regarded as seated side by
side, are enthroned. To one of these, three women come as if
bringing offerings.

8 The Archaic Boom.
2. North Side. — An old man, seated on a chair, receives a crested
helmet which is offered to him by a young warrior. Beneath the
chair is a small bear.
At each side of this group, but disconnected from it, are figures
formerly known as Harpies, from which the monument derived its

Fig. 8.— View of the Harpy Tomb from the north-east. No. 94
(After a drawing by George Scharf.)
name. Their type is rather that of a Siren, while their character is
that of>IGenius of death. In their arms and talons each o-enfciv
carries a diminutive figure, probably a deceased person who maVP\
a gesture, as of affection.
At the right corner of Jhe relief a draped figure crouches on

The Harpy Tomb. 9
the ground in an attitude of deep grief, and looks up to the flying
figure above.
3. East Side. — A venerable bearded man is seated on a throne.
A boy offers a cock and a fruit, and three other persons stand in
attendance. 4. South Side. — Another enthroned figure is attended by a
person holding a dove, and with the right hand raised in a gesture
of adoration. On each side of the main group, but disconnected
from it, are the winged figures with their burdens, as already
described. Interpretations. — On the first discovery of these sculptures they
were supposed to represent a definite myth, the rape of the daughters
of Pandareos, king of Lycia, by the Harpies, but for many reasons
this view is untenable. It is obvious from the ' Harpies,' from
the figures that they carry, and the crouching mourner, that the
subjects are connected with death and the tomb. The enthroned
personages have often been interpreted as deities connected with the
lower world, such as Demeter and Persephone on the west side.
It seems more probable, however, that they are figures of the
heroified dead, receiving offerings from the living. If that is the
intention of the reliefs, it is analogous to that of many other grave
monuments. Style and Period. — In the Harpy Tomb we have a fine example
of the work of the Ionian School, which may be placed soon after
the middle of the sixth century. The sculptor, while wanting ease
of execution, has given great care to the decorative accessories.
Note on the west side the Sphinx, ram's head, and swan's head of
the thrones, and on the east side the recumbent Triton.
Miscellaneous Archaic Sculpture. — Single figures of
nude men and heavily draped women are common subjects in
archaic Greek sculpture. The best of the female figures are those
found in excavations on the Acropolis of Athens (see casts in the
Cast Gallery). There has been some controversy with respect to
the male figures, whether they represent Apollo or athletes, or
simply figures for a tomb. But no doubt the type was used for any
of the three purposes. In more fully developed sculpture the artist
learnt to distinguish the types. The forms of his gods became
softer, and those of his athletes more muscular.
130. Fragment from Delos. — Fragment of a foot of a
colossal statue of Apollo, together with a part of the plinth in the
same block. This fact is recorded on one of the still extant in
scriptions on the base at Delos, ' I am of the same stone, both statue
and base.'
128. Torso of a female figure holding a bowl, and a fold of
drapery in her left hand. This figure, brought from Athens, is of
the type of the early votive figures found in excavations on the
Athenian Acropolis (see casts in the Cast Gallery), but there is some
uncertainty as to whether it is of the early period (about 500 B.C.) to
which those examples belong.

10 The Archaic Boom.
205. Male figure, probably Apollo, standing. From Boeotia.
206. Male figure, probably Apollo, standing. From Lemnos (?).
From the collection of Lord Strangford. An excellent example
of sculpture at the stage immediately before maturity and freedom.
207. Male figure, probably Apollo, standing. From Cyprus.
208. Head of Apollo. The sharply cut outlines of the
features, and the wiry character of the hair, suggest that this head
is the copy of an archaic work in bronze.
209. Statue of Apollo, formerly in the collection of Choiseul-
Gouffier, for many years French Ambassador at the Porte. The
missing left hand held some attribute, perhaps a branch, for which
there is a mark of attachment by the left knee. The right hand,
which rested on the stump beside the right leg, seems to have held
a strap. Apart from its somewhat formal beauty, this statue is
interesting, because it is one of several replicas of a lost original of
the period of transition from archaic to fully developed art, and is
presumed to be the work of some famous sculptor — perhaps Calamis.
Two replicas of the head, the existence of which proves the popularity
of the original work, are also exhibited beside it (nos. 210, 211).
2728. A female (?) head, a remarkable specimen of archaic
Greek sculpture. It is probably the work of an Attic sculptor of
the end of the sixth century B.C. It is of uncertain origin, but was
probably brought from Greece by the traveller Philip Barker Webb
early in the 19th century. Presented by R. W. Webb, Esq.
A series of early limestone chests (or cistae) from Etruria stands
with the Lycian sculptures. They show scenes of banquets, hunting,
and the like, in low relief.
460. Fragment of a colossal head, with indications of a wreath.
Probably a fragment of the famous statue of Nemesis, made at
Rhamnus in Attica, by Agoracritos of Paros, who is said to have
been a favourite pupil of Pheidias. According to tradition, the
statue was carved out of a block of Parian marble, which was
brought by the Persians, before the battle of Marathon, to be erected
in commemoration of the capture of Athens.
Casts of Archaic Sculpture. — The Archaic Room contains a
small series of casts of archaic sculpture, to supplement the originals.
Further examples will be found in the Gallery of Casts (p. 80).
135-137. Casts from Selinus.— Selinus, a colony of Meo-ara,
in the west of Sicily, was founded about 628 b.c. The temple (com
monly known as C) from which the sculptures, nos. 135-137, were
obtained, is the oldest temple on the acropolis of that town 'and it
is therefore probable that its construction was begun not lone after
the foundation of the city. The early sculptures are therefore
assigned to the end of the seventh century b.c. They represent a
chariot group ; Heracles carrying off the robber dwarfs, the
Kerkopes, tied to his bow ; Perseus cutting off the head o'f the
Gorgon Medusa.
138-139. Casts of two metopes, from a somewhat later temple
at Selinus, with subjects taken from the war of the gods and oiants

D E F G H I K
Fig. i.— The West Pediment of the Temple at Aegina.
(After Furtwaengler's Restoration.)

M

D E F G H
Fig. 5.— The East Pediment of the Temple at Aegina,,
(After Furtwaengler's Restoration.)

"3>

12 The Archaic Boom.
160-183. Casts of Sculptures from Aegina.— The large
groups on the walls of the room are casts from the figures that once
filled the pediments (or gables) of the temple at Aegina.
They were excavated in 1811 by a party of English and German explorers,
and the sculptures discovered were purchased in 1812 by the Crown Prince of
Bavaria. The principal figures were restored at Borne by Thorwaldsen and
J. M. Wagner. In 1828 the collection was placed in the Glyptothek at
Munich. The site of the temple was again excavated in 1901 by the late
Prof. Furtwaengler on behalf of the Prince Begent of Bavaria.
The temple from which they were obtained was long supposed to
have been dedicated to Athene, but an inscription discovered in the
excavations of 1901 makes it probable that the deity of the temple
was a local goddess, Aphaia, having affinities with Artemis.
The Aeginetan sculptures belong to the latest stage of archaic
Greek art, and are the most important extant works of that period.
They are assigned to about 480 b.c. A minute analysis of the
sculptures shows that the east pediment is distinctly more advanced
than the west. The inequalities of style are, however, probably due
to different sculptors being employed, rather than to a lapse of time.
In each pediment the subject is a contest between Greeks and
Trojans, In the east pediment, Heracles is fighting with the
Greeks, and the scene is therefore thought to be a battle in the war
which Heracles, aided by Telamon of Aegina, waged against
Laomedon, king of Troy. In the west pediment the kneeling archer
on the right was long known as Paris, but he may be a typiical
archer. In each case Athene was standing in the middle, as if
presiding over the combat. It may be noted that there is an
archaic formality of pose and composition in the Athene of the west
pediment, which shows that the artist has adopted a traditional type
of temple-image. After a minute study of the newly-found fragments, and of the
fragments not utilised by Thorwaldsen, Prof. Furtwaengler proposed
a profoundly different disposition of the sculptures. The general
features of the new arrangement are shown in the accompanying
illustrations. In the blocks an attempt has been made to
distinguish the original portions from the conjectural restorations
by strong and dotted lines respectively. The distinguishino- letters
used by Furtwaengler are placed beneath.
A more recent writer (Mackenzie, Brit. School at Athens Annual
XV.) has proposed to modify the Eastern group in a way that brino-s
it into closer parallelism with the Western group.
Near the south-west corner of the room is a bronze chariot
from the neighbourhood of Orvieto. The ancient metal plating has
been replaced on a modern wooden core, so as to reproduce its
original form. Probably of the sixth century b.c.
[Between the Room of Archaic Sculpture and the Ephesus Room
is a small Ante-Room leading into the Ephesus Room, and thence
into the Elgin Room. We pass to the Elgin Room.]

The Parthenon. 13

THE ELGIN ROOM.*
The Elgin Room is thus named in honour of Thomas Bruce,
seventh Earl of Elgin (1766-1841), whose collection forms a
large part of its contents. Lord Elgin was appointed British
Ambassador to the Porte in 1799. On his appointment he resolved
to make his time of office of service to the cause of art, and accord
ingly engaged a body of two architects, a draughtsman, and two
formatori, under Lusieri, a Neapolitan landscape painter, to make
casts, plans and drawings from the remains in Greece, and more
particularly at Athens. While this work was in progress, Lord
Elgin became aware of the rapid destruction that was taking place
in the sculptures of Athens, and at the same time the success of
the British arms in Egypt had made the disposition of the Porte
favourable to the British Ambassador. Hence, although it had not
been a part of Lord Elgin's original design to collect marbles, a
second firman was obtained in 1801 which sanctioned the removal
of the sculptures.
The whole collection formed by Lord Elgin's agents was, after long
negotiations and an enquiry by a Select Committee of the House of Commons,
purchased of Lord Elgin for £35,000 in 1816. It consists of sculptures and
architectural fragments from the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and other
Athenian buildings ; casts, which have now become of great value, from the
Parthenon, the Theseion, and the Monument of Lysicrates : a considerable
number of Greek reliefs and inscriptions, principally from Athens ; fragments
from Mycenae and elsewhere ; drawings and plans. It will be seen that the
' Elgin collection ' and ' Elgin marbles ' are by no means co-extensive with
the sculptures of the Parthenon, to which the terms are sometimes incorrectly
restricted. If it is necessary to justify the conduct of Lord Elgin, in respect of actions
which have from time to time been severely censured, it must be pointed out
that the Parthenon marbles were suffering daily injury, and that there was no
prospect of better care being taken of them. In the fifty years immediately
before Lord Elgin four figures had entirely disappeared from the west pedi
ment, and others had been much injured. The frieze was suffering in the
same manner. Occasional travellers, and competing but less influential
collectors were gradually dispersing the portable fragments of the sculpture.
A further justification of his action is supplied by the additional deteriora
tion which the sculptures that were left in position have suffered since Lord
Elgin's time. If the visitor will examine the two series of casts of the west
frieze of the Parthenon (exhibited behind the east pediment) he will have
conclusive evidence on this point. The upper series of casts were taken from
the frieze in 1872, and the lower series were taken by Lord Elgin. The later
series are the better casts, but the earlier series contain so much that has
since perished that they are now of great value. (Por further details see p. 41).
For a full account of Lord Elgin's operations, see Journal of Hellenic Studies,
XXXVI. (1916), pp. 163-372. (A. H. Smith.)
* For a full description of this room see the Guide to the Sculptures of the
PartJiencm (out of print, Oct. 1920), and Catalogue of Sculpture, Vol. I.,
Part III. (sold separately at Is.). See also The Sculptures of the Parthenon,
with folio text and plates, by A. H. Smith, 1910. Price £5 15s. (Published
by the Trustees of the British Museum.)

14 The Elgin Boom.
During the War the Pedimental sculptures were protected with sandbags
in the vaults, and the marble slabs of the Frieze were placed for security in
the Post Office Tube, deep below New Oxford Street.
THE PARTHENON.
The sculptures of the Parthenon arc believed to illustrate the
style of Pheidias, the greatest of Greek sculptors.
Pheidias, son of Charmides, the Athenian, was born soon after
500 b.c. His youth was passed during the period of the Persian
wars, and his maturity was principally devoted to the adornment of
Athens during the administration of Pericles.
After the glorious repulse of the Persian invasions at Marathon
(490 B.C.), Salamis (480 b.c), and Plataea (479 B.C.), a great part
of the Greek world was for a while united in the confederacy of
Delos, under the leadership of Athens. From the first some of the
confederate states had preferred to contribute money rather than
ships or men, for the common defence. The tribute was in the first
instance lodged at Delos, but in 454 B.C. the custody of the joint
funds was transferred from Delos to Athens. The ground alleged
by Pericles for this step was the necessity of placing the treasure in
a fortified place of deposit, but, in fact, the change indicated that
Athens had now assumed a nearly complete responsibility for naval
defence.- The Athenian claim naturally followed that, provided
the fleet was adequately maintained, the State could not be called
to account for its management of the funds, and might spend the
tribute on the decoration of the capital city.
Among the chief of the works undertaken under these conditions
was the Parthenon, or temple of the goddess Athene, called Parthenos
or Virgin. The architect was Ictinos, but the, sculptural decorations
and probably the design of the temple were planned and executed
under the superintendence of Pheidias, who is said to have had a
general supervision of the works built under the administration
of Pericles. The building, which stood on the Acropolis of Athens,
is shown by inscriptions to'have been begun about B.C. 447. It is
believed to have been sufficiently advanced to receive the statue
of the Parthenos in B.C. 438, and was probably completed about
five years later. We learn from an inscription that payments
were being made in B.C. 436-5 to ' sculptors of the pediment
groups ' (Brit. School Ann. XVI., p. 196). The Parthenon was of
the Doric order of architecture, and was of the form termed peripteral
octastyle ; that is to say, it was surrounded by a colonnade which
had eight columns at each end. The architectural arrangements
can be best learnt from the model which is exhibited in this room
A view is given in fig. 6. _ See also the plan (fig. 7) and the sectionai
elevation (fig. 8). The principal chamber (cello) within the colonnade
contained the colossal statue of Athene Parthenos, now onlv
preserved to us in copies of insignificant size (see below, nos. 300-302)
The place occupied by the statue is marked ' Athene Parthenos '
in the plan.

The Parthenon.

15

The sculptural decorations of the outside of the building were :
(1) The East and West Pediment Groups, which filled the pedi
ments or gables at the ends of the building. (2) The Metopes or

square panels, adorned with groups in very high relief ; these served
to fill up the spaces above the architrave between the triglyphs,
or sets of vertical bands, which are supposed to represent what in

16 The Elgin Boom.
wood-construction would be ends of beams. (3) The Frieze, a
continuous band of low relief which ran along the side walls of the
cella and above the two rows of six columns immediately attached
to it. (See figs. 7, 8.) The whole was executed in marble obtained
from the quarries of the Attic hill, Pentelicus. These several groups
of sculpture are described below.
Later History of the Parthenon.
The statue of the Parthenos is known to have been in existence
about 430 a.d., but not long after this date the figure was removed,
and the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church. Athens
was taken by the Turks in 1458, and soon after the Parthenon was
converted into a Turkish Mosque, like the Church of St. Sophia at
Constantinople and the Gothic Cathedrals of Cyprus.
From this date it probably suffered little until 1687, when Athens
was taken by the Venetian General, Morosini. In the course of a
bombardment of the Acropolis, the besiegers succeeded in throwing
a shell into a powder magazine in the Parthenon, and caused an
explosion that destroyed the roof and much of the long sides of
the building, together with a loss of more than 300 lives. Further
injury was done by Morosini, who made an attempt with insufficient
appliances to take down the central group of the west pediment,
which was still nearly complete. The workmen had hardly begun
to remove the cornices above the figures when the whole of the
central group fell to the ground.
Fortunately, many of the sculptures had been drawn by a
skilful artist before the explosion. In 1674 a painter in the suite
of the Marquis de Nointel, French Ambassador at the Porte,
commonly supposed to have been Jacques Carrey, made sketches
of large portions of the frieze and metopes and of the then extant
portions of the pedimental compositions. These drawings are
preserved in the French Bibliotheque Nationale, and are constantly
referred to in discussions of the Parthenon sculptures
In 1688 Athens was restored to the Turks, and for more than
a century the sculptures of the Parthenon were exposed to constant
injury. Some of them were made into lime or built into walls by
the Turkish garrison ; others were mutilated by the Turks or by
travellers who from time to time obtained admission to the Acropolis,
and broke off portable fragments of the sculptures.
In 1749, when the west pediment was drawn by R. Dalton
(fig. 12), many figures still remained in position. Not long after,
one fell, and others, for fear of accident, were broken up. Several
portions also of the frieze, which were seen by Stuart (1752) had
disappeared at the beginning of the nineteenth century On the
other hand, the east pediment, being inaccessible, suffered no
important change between 1674 and 1800. An account has already
been given above of the proceedings of Lord Elgin's agents.
ii Several portions of the sculptures of the Parthenon have been

The Parthenon.

3N3H1V 30 Hiyia lN3WIQ3d

PEDIMENT CONTEST OFATHENE AND POSEIDON ?
- »«"">is»B M .- o 10 20 30 40 50 FEET

Fig. 7. — Plan ot the Parthenon. (After Doerpfcld.)

18 The Elgin Boom.
discovered since the time of Lord Elgin on the Acropolis and its
slopes, or in various parts of Europe, to which they had been taken
by travellers. These are represented as far as possible in the British
Museum by plaster casts.
The following aids to the study of the Parthenon will be found
in the Elgin Room :
Model of the Athenian Acropolis, showing the results of the
last excavations.
Model of the Parthenon. The model was made by R. C. Lucas,
on a scale of a foot to 20 feet, and represents the state of the temple
in 1687, after the explosion, but before Morosini had attacked the
west pediment.
Carrey's drawings of the pediments. Photographic reproduction
of the originals are exhibited. (See also figs. 9, 11.)
A drawing by Pars of the East end of the Parthenon, in 1765.
A restored view of the Athenian Acropolis. By Richard Bohn.
View of the Parthenon in 1802. By Sir R. Smirke.
A portrait of the seventh Earl of Elgin. From the picture in
the possession of the Earl of Elgin.
A painting by Archer, showing the temporary Elgin Room in
1819.

STATUE OF ATHENE PARTHENOS.
The colossal statue of Athene Parthenos by Pheidias was placed
within the central chamber of the Parthenon. The figure was made
of gold and ivory, and was, with its base, about 40 feet high.
Athene stood, draped in chiton and aegis. With her left hand she
supported her spear and the edge of her shield. Between her and
her shield was the serpent Erichthonios. On her outstretched right
hand was a winged Victory, six feet high, holding a wreath. The
helmet of the goddess was adorned with a Sphinx and Gryphons,
two figures of Pegasus, and a row of small horses. All available
spaces were covered with reliefs. In particular there was a battle
between Greeks and Amazons (see below, no. 302) on the outside of
the shield.
300. (Plate II.) Cast of a statuette, copied from the Athene
Parthenos. This figure, which was found at Athens in 1880 (and
from the place of its discovery is usually known as ' the Varvakion
Athene ') gives a fair idea of the general form of the colossal statue.
301. Another cast of a statuette copied from the Athene
Parthenos. This figure, which was found at Athens in 1859 (and
is usually known as the Lenormant ropy), is unfinished, but o-ives
rough indications of the reliefs, namely, the battle of Greeks°and
Amazons on the shield, and the birth of Pandora on the plinth.
300A. A third cast is taken from a torso of the figure discovered
inl896atPatras. 302. Fragment of shield supposed to be a rough copy from

Statue of Athene Parthenos.

19

the shield of the statue of Athene Parthenos. A comparison with
the last number and with other copies makes the origin of this
relief (called after its previous owner, Viscount Strangford, 'the
Strangford shield ') fairly certain. It is even possible to identify
two of the figures — a bald-headed figure with a battle-axe, and a

Fig. 8. — SecMonal view of the East End 'of the Parthenon. (After G. Niemann.)

helmeted Greek with face half hidden by his raised right arm — as
those which a later Greek legend, preserved for us by Plutarch, called
Pheidias and Pericles, and connected with a charge said to have
been made against Pheidias of impiety in placing the portraits in so
sacred a place. c 2

20 The Elgin Room.
THE SCULPTURES OF THE PARTHENON.
The marbles of the Parthenon are accounted, by the consent of
artists and critics, to be the finest series of sculptures in the world.
In the art of Pheidias complete technical mastery has been acquired,
and sculpture is freed from the limitations which some forty years
before had hampered the sculptors of the Aeginetan pediments
(p. 12). All parts of the skin surface can now be given their own
characteristic qualities ; the figures are united in complex systems
of grouping ; the draperies show a rich variety of crease and fold
and texture. At the same time, however, the art of sculpture is
still prevaded by a certain grave dignity and simplicity which is
wanting in the more sensuous, more florid, or more conventional
works of a later time.
EASTERN PEDIMENT OF THE PARTHENON.
303. We know from Pausanias (i., 24, 5) that the subject of
the composition in the Eastern Pediment had relation to the birth
of Athene, who, according to the legend, sprang forth, fully armed,
from the brain of Zeus. As all the central part of this composition
was already destroyed when Carrey made his drawing of the
pediment, we have no means of ascertaining how the subject was
treated, though a certain amount of evidence as to the grouping of
the figures can be obtained from marks on the floor of the pediment.
It can hardly be doubted, however, that figures of Zeus and
Athene occupied the middle of the pediment, and from analogy
with other representations of the incident it is likelv that Zeus was
enthroned, and Athene standing erect, in full armour, while Hephae-
stos (see below, H) was starting back, after cleaving the skull of
Zeus. One representation of the subject, as drawn by a vase-
painter of the fifth century B.C., will be found below (fio-. 96), but
it is impossible to suppose that the Athene of the East^Pediment
was of such insignificant proportions. It is more probable that
some idea of the treatment of the central group may be obtained
from a relief surrounding a puteal or well-head now at Madrid (fio- 10)
in which Zeus, Athene, Victory and Hephaestos are the principal
figures. Though the central group is missing, a general view of the
pedimental figures shows the skill with which the groups ate com
posed to harmonise with the raking lines of the upper cornice of the
pediment. It must be observed that there is a subtle oradation
in the emotion, and interest shown by the figures taken' in order
from the middle outwards. In this way, although vigorous action
was represented in the middle of the pediments, the artist has be
able, by introducing figures in deep repose, to prevent an effect of
undue restlessness, and to make the whole monumental
If we confine our attention to the extant figures we find -'rl
difference of opinion as to their interpretation. The fiourcs irTth6

Eastern Pediment of Parthenon.

21

22 The Elgin Boom.
extreme angles are the only ones as to which there can be no doubt.
On the left the sun-god, Helios, rises from the ocean, driving his
car, and on the right the moon-goddess Selene sets beneath the
horizon. These two figures may be interpreted as marking the boundaries
either of Olympos or of the universe, and as fixing the time of the
event, for Helios issuing from the sea, must denote the sunrise.
As to the remaining figures, numerous interpretations have been
suggested, but none is certain. They may be divided into two
classes, according as they regard the figures as definite mythological
persons, such as Theseus, or personifications of parts of the natural
world, such as Mount Olympos.
Taking the figures of the East Pediment in order, we have : —
303 A, B, C. Helios, the sun-god, rising with his horses
from the waves, which are shown rippling about the group. Bronze
rivet-holes show the original positions of the metal reins and horse
trappings. Helios must be regarded as standing in a four-horsed
chariot, with arms outstretched to hold the reins. Two of the
horses' heads are still in place in the pediment.
303 D. (Plate III.) This figure is commonly known as
Theseus, though there is in truth very little probability that the
name is correct. It dates from a time at which the subjects of the
two pediments were confused, and when Theseus was given a place
as a witness of the contest for Attica, now known to be the subject
of the west pediment group. It has also been called Heracles,
Cephalos, or Dionysos, or (as a personification of nature) Mount
Olympos. The figure reclines in easy position on a rock, covered
first with a skin, perhaps of a lion, but probably of a panther, and
secondly with a mantle. In the hands, now lost, he may have held
a long staff (in the left) and a cup (in the right). He shows no
consciousness of the events passing in the centre of the pediment.
303 E, F. Two female figures seated on square chests. They
are grouped in a way that suggests affectionate intimacy. The figure
on the right seems to be iearning the news of the birth of the o-oddess
with emotion and surprise. The names commonly given to this
pair are Demeter and Persephone (Ceres and Proserpine), F
being the mother and E the daughter.
303 G. This figure is traditionally known as Iris the mes
senger of Zeus. The attribution, however, cannot be sustained.
Iris, the messenger, should have wings and a short skirt barelv
reaching to the knee. Moreover, the pose is that of one starting
aside from the central action rather than of one who is carrvino
tidings to a distance.
Compared with the other statues of the pediment, the forms of
this figure are slight and immature, as of a girl who has hardlv
reached her full development. Various alternative names have
been proposed, such as Eileithyia, the goddess who attends on birth
or Hebe, or simply an alarmed maiden.

Eastern Pediment of Parthenon. 23
303 H. Cast of a torso of Hephaestos or Prometheus.
We have now reached the central group, as to which all is un
certain. This powerful torso (exhibited under the frieze) was found
on the east side of the Parthenon. The action of the shoulders, and
of the muscles of the ribs and back, shows that the arms were raised.
Perhaps both arms held an axe above the head, and we may suppose
that the personage would not have been omitted through whose
act of cleaving the head of Zeus with an axe the birth of Athene was
accomplished. In the most generally diffused version of the myth
this was done by Hephaestos, but Attic tradition preferred to
attribute the deed to Prometheus.
[303 J. ' Victory.' The female torso which long stood in
this place was removed in 1910 to the West pediment (see below,
p 26, No. 304 N)].
303 K, L, M (Plate IV.). Group of three female figures (or
perhaps a group of two, with a third figure less closely associated,
the figure K being made of a different block from L and M). In
this beautiful group, commonly known as ' The Fates,' we have
the same subtle gradation of interest in the central event that has
been already observed in the figures D, E, F. The figure K half
turned her head towards the centre (see Carrey's drawing), L
appears about to spring up, and the motive forms a contrast to
that of the reclining figure (M), whose right arm rests in her com
panion's lap, and whose tranquil attitude and outward gaze, shown
by Carrey's drawing to have been directed towards the angle of the
pediment, seem to indicate that the news of the birth has not yet
reached her.
In the absence of any distinctive attributes it is impossible to
name the figures with certainty. The chief reason for calling them
the Fates is that the Fates occur on the representation of the myth
at Madrid (fig. 10). Some interpreters have taken them for personi
fications of the dew or of the clouds.
The three figures have in eminent degree the sculptural qualities
of breadth, dignity, and repose. The draperies are carved with a
rich multiplicity of fold upon fold, giving brilliant contrasts of light
and shade ; but through the confusion the essential qualities of each
texture are carefully observed. The Ionian tunic of fine fabric is in
multitudinous creases and folds ; the heavy mantles assume rich
folds, but are free from the finer creases. Finally, the blankets
spread upon the rocks are broad and flat.
303 N, O. Selene (cast) and one of her horses. The moon-
goddess, driving her team (two heads still remain on the pediment),
sets below the horizon, while the sun rises from the sea. An alter
native name suggested for this figure is Nyx (the Night), on the
ground that Selene is usually a rider, in art of the fine period. Nyx,
however, should be a winged figure.
The horse's head presents, as might have been expected, a marked
contrast in motive to the pair in the opposite angle. The heads of
the horses of Helios are thrown up with fiery impatience as they

BCDEF0H L M NOPQRST
Fig. 11.— Caney's Drawing of the West Pediment of the Parthenon.

Fig. 12.— Tlie West Pediment in 1749, from Dalton's drawing.

Western Pediment of Parthenon. 25
spring from the waves ; the downward inclination of the head here
described indicates that the car of Selene is about to set. This
horse's head (0) is counted the finest rendering of the subject that
survives in ancient art.
WESTERN PEDIMENT OF THE PARTHENON.
304. The subject of the Western Pediment of the Parthenon,
according to Pausanias (i., 24, 5), was the strife of Poseidon with
Athene for the soil of Attica. This contest, according to tradition,
took place on the Acropolis itself. Poseidon, striking the ground
with his trident, produced a salt spring or, according to another
and later version, a horse. Athene showed her power by making
the soil produce the olive tree. The victory in the contest was
adjudged to Athene. The spot where this double miracle took place
was marked in subsequent times by the joint temple of Erechtheus
and Athene Polias, within the precincts of which were the sacred
olive tree produced by Athene and the salt spring of Poseidon.
In the time of Carrey the composition in this pediment was
nearly perfect, and to understand the torsos which remain reference
should be made to Carrey's drawing (fig. 11) or to the wax recon
struction of. the figures, after Carrey, on the large model of the
Parthenon. The adjoining fig. 12 from Richard Dalton's drawing (1749) shows
the progress of destruction.
The central figures are undoubtedly Athene and Poseidon, and
the figures in the angles are generally regarded as river-gods, but
all the rest are doubtful. It is commonly thought that the figures
to the left of Athene are Attic deities or heroes, who would sympa
thise actively with her in the contest which is the subject of the
pediment, while those to the right of Poseidon are the subordinate
marine deities who would naturally be present as the supporters
of the Ruler of the Sea.
It has been suggested that the supporters of Athene are Cecrops
and his family, while Erechtheus and his daughters are on the side
of Poseidon, and the two early Attic heroes are thus associated with
the two deities. The main objections are that only one figure (that
of Cecrops) can be identified with any degree of certainty, and the
Erechtheus, if he ever existed, was lost before the time of Carrey.
If, however, we examine the composition of the pediment as a
whole, it will be seen that it is necessary to distinguish between the
central group and the figures in the angles. The central group from
charioteer to charioteer are of a larger scale, are arranged with
strict responsion, and the personages are keenly interested in the
contest. On the other hand, the figures that occupy the extremities
of the pediment are on a smaller scale, and they are evidently
established in the field as spectators. They have not arrived in the
trains of the two deities, and there are no convincing grounds for
the assumption that their sympathies belong to the deity who

26 The Elgin Room.
stands nearest to them. Nor is there anything to suggest that they
are acting as judges, or that Cecrops has any pre-eminence as a
judge. They are rather personages representative of the general
body of mythic inhabitants, in whose presence takes place the
creation of the tokens on which the Olympian gods must give
judgment. 304 A. Ilissos or Cephissos.— This figure, reclining in the
angle of the pediment, is generally considered to be a river-god,
and is popularly known as the Ilissos, though it may equally well
represent the Cephissos.
304 B, C. Cecrops and Pandrosos (cast).— This group
still remains in the pediment at Athens, though much injured by
exposure to the weather. It consists of a male figure grouped with
a female figure, who has thrown herself in haste upon both knees,
with one arm round the neck of her companion. Her action
expresses surprise at the event occurring in the centre of the
pediment. On the ground between the pair are the coils of a large
serpent. The close association of the serpent with the male figure suggests
the earth-born Cecrops, who in literature, and often in art, is repre
sented as himself half serpent. According to the myth he acted
as judge or as witness in the contest between Athene and Poseidon.
If we adopt this attribution, then the female figure so intimately
associated with him would be one. of the daughters of Cecrops,
perhaps Pandrosos.
304 D-G. Of the following figures shown in Carrey's drawing
only slight fragments remain. [See The Sculptures of the Parthenon.]
304 H. Hermes (?). — In the background, between the figure
G and the horses, Carrey gives a male figure (H), who looks back
at the charioteer, while he moves forward in the same direction as
the horses. The figure drawn by Carrey has been generally recog
nised in the torso in the Museum.
304 L, M. Athene and Poseidon. — The Athene, of which
L is the remnant, is drawn by Carrey, moving rapidly to the left :
her right arm, broken off above, the elbow, is advanced horizontally
in the same direction Her helmeted head (identified in 1907) was
turned back towards Poseidon.
The torso of Poseidon now consists of three parts, of which the
upper part is the original fragment from the Elgin collection,while
the lower part is cast from two fragments at Athens. It appears
from Carrey's drawing that Poseidon was starting back in a direction
contrary to that of Athene, while he also was looking back towards
the middle of the pediment.
Probably the two gods have each produced their respective
tokens — an olive tree and a salt spring — and are drawino- slio-htly
apart, while their looks are directed inwards.
On the right of the central scene was, first, the figure N, placed
before 1910 in the east pediment. The figure may be supposed to
be Iris, communicating the will of Zeus to the disputants.

Western Pediment of Parthenon. 27
304 O. Torso of the charioteer of Poseidon, either Amphitrite,
his queen, or perhaps a Nereid.
304 P, Q. — Of the complicated group of figures that follow in
Carrey's drawing little now remains except the lower part of the
draped female figure (Q) with the boy (P) standing beside her. If
we assume that she is a marine, goddess, the name Leucothea
seems the best attribution, and the 3routh at her side would then
be Palaemon. 304 V, W. Like the figure on the left (A) these two are
usually taken for river-gods, such as Ilissos, or Cephissos, and
Callirrhoe, the celebrated Athenian fountain, but the arguments
in favour of the interpretation are weak. Both are casts, the
originals being at Athens.
304*-323.— METOPES OF THE PARTHENON.
The Metopes of the Parthenon are sculptured blocks which were
inserted in the spaces, metopae, left between the ends of the beams
of the roof. These ends were represented by slabs, called triglyphs,
from the three parallel vertical bands cut in them. Reference to
the model of the Parthenon will show the relative positions of the
metopes and triglyphs.
The Parthenon had originally ninety- two metopes, thirty-two of which
were on each of the long sides, and fourteen at each end. Many of these are
now only preserved in the drawings by Carrey, having been destroyed in the
great explosion. Unfortunately, however, Carrey was only able to sketch the
metopes of the south side. Forty-one metopes still remain on the temple, but
are for the most part so decayed through time and weather that there is great
Difficulty in making out their subjects. The British Museum possesses
fourteen original metopes brought from Athens by Lord Elgin, and one which
was sent away by Choiseul-Gouffier, the French Ambassador at the Porte, and
was captured by a British cruiser. Choiseul-Gouffier also obtained a metope
(no. 313), which is now in the Louvre. These sixteen metopes are all from
the south side of the Parthenon. The first metope on the south side,
reckoning from the south-west angle, is still in position on the temple and is
represented here by a cast (304*) ; the second on the temple is the first
(no. 305) of the series of original metopes in the Museum.
The subjects of the original metopes in the Museum are taken
from the contest between the Centaurs and Lapiths. The wild
half-human and half-brutal Centaurs were present, so ran the
legend, as guests at the wedding-feast of Peirithoos, the Lapith
king, and of Hippodameia. Frenzied with wine, one of the Centaurs
seized the bride. A general conflict followed, in which, ultimately,
the Lapiths were the victors. On the metopes of the Parthenon
the story is told by means of a series of single combats, or of struggles
between a Centaur and a Greek woman. None of the combatants
can be named, and the occasion of the strife is only indicated by the
occasional wine-jars.
The sculpture is in the highest relief attainable in marble, large
portions of some of the figures being carved in the round so as
to stand out quite free of the background. There is a remarkable

28

The Elgin Room.

inequality of style in the sculpture. Thus, for example, nos. 315,
319, 320 show traces of archaic feeling, with grotesque exaggeration
of the Centaurs' features. Nos. 310, 312 are more free in style, but
still exaggerate the grotesque. Nos. 305, 307, 308, 316, 317 are
free in action and developed in style, the grotesque element is

Fig. 13.— Metopes 30S, 303, from Carrey.

reduced, and pathos is expressed. A small group, 309, 313, 314
321 appear to be of the free period, but weak and conventional both
in composition and expression.
305. The La pith throttles the Centaur, while half kneeling on
his bodv.

Fig. 14.— Metopes 310, 311, from Carrey.
307. The heads of both the figures are cast from orioinals at
Copenhagen, whither they appear to have been sent by a°n officer
serving at the siege of the Acropolis in ] 687.
308,"?309. The action of these metopes is explained by a
reference to Carrey's drawing. In 308 the Centaur attempts to
grapple with the Lapith, who tries to keep him at arm's length and
to escape.

Metopes of Parthenon.

29

310. (Plate V. fig. 1.) This spirited metope, like no. 307,
illustrates the scattered condition of the Parthenon sculptures. The
original head of the Centaur is at Athens, and that of the Lapith is
in the Louvre.

Fig. 15.— Metopes 312, 313, from Carrey.
311. For the original composition of the group, which has been
much mutilated since the time of Carrey, see fig. 14.
312. The Centaur has the advantage. The Lapith is thrown
down over a large wine vessel ; the Centaur has grasped his left leg
with his left hand, rolling him back on the jar (compare fig. 15).

Fig. 16.— The eleventh metope, and no. 314, from Carrey.
313, 314. Casts. The originals are in the Louvre, and at Athens,
respectively. Compare figs. 15 and 16 for Carrey's drawings.
These two were separated by a metope with a Lapith stabbing
a Centaur iD the belly (fig. 16"), of which only fragments remain X ,
Between 314 and 315 were thirteen metopes, all drawn by
Carrey. The first nine related to an uncertain subject seemingly

30 The Elgin Boom.
quite distinct from the Centaur episodes, and perhaps to be explained
as relating to the myth of Erichthonios. The last four continue
the Centaur and Lapith series.
315. The Centaur's hands are raised to strike with some
weapon, perhaps the branch of a tree.
316. The metope is very skilfully composed, and the figure of
the Lapith is finely displayed against his mantle. The head was
identified and attached in 1907.
317. (Plate V., fig. 2.) Note the dramatic contrast between
the triumphant Centaur and the Lapith with his limbs relaxed by
death. 318. The Centaur carries off a Lapith woman. Carrey's
drawing shows that his right hand grasped her right arm at the
back of the head.
322. Cast from a metope of the north side, still in position at
the north-west angle of the temple. The subject is uncertain.
323. Cast from the first of the metopes of the west side. The
figure may be a mounted Amazon.

THE FRIEZE OF THE PARTHENON.
The Frieze of the Parthenon is a continuous band of sculpture
in low relief, which encircled and crowned the central chamber or
cella of the temple, together with the smaller porticos that imme
diately adjoined each end of it.
The frieze is nearly 3 ft. 4 in. high. The length of each end was 69 ft. 6 in. ;
the length of each long side was 192 ft. 6J in. The length of the entire frieze
was therefore 524 ft. 1 in.
The frieze, which was nearly complete in the time of Carrey, suffered
greatly in the explosion, particularly about the middle of the two long sides.
The drawings of Carrey are unfortunately only of partial assistance in the
reconstruction of the missing portions, since he only had time to draw a little
more than half of the entire frieze. A few additional figures are supplied by
the drawings of Stuart and Pars.
Of the entire frieze the British Museum possesses about 247 ft. 3 in (or
47 per cent.), in the originals, and 175 ft. 6 in. (or 33J per cent.) in casts •
56 ft. 6 in. (or 10J per cent.) is preserved in drawings only, and 44 ft. 10 in (or
9 per cent.) is entirely lost. The slabs are arranged as far as possible in their
original order, but it is necessary to bear in mind that, owing to the absence
of a considerable portion, several slabs, not formerly connected are here
brought into juxtaposition, and that the effect of the whole frieze is in one
sense reversed, by being made an internal, instead of an external, decoration
The relation of the various parts of the frieze to the plan of the building is
shown on the ground plan (fig. 7). °
The precise occasion and motive of the sculptured slabs of the
Parthenon frieze have been a matter of discussion. It is clear
however, that the main theme is a festal procession, in which the
Greeks, and more particularly the Athenians, took a passionate
delight. In the presence of a company of spectators, seated deities
and standing mortals, we see a long retinue of maidens cattle
musicians, elders, chariots and horsemen. Each part of the pro-

Frieze of Parthenon. 31
cession seems to move in the manner suited to its own character,
the maidens with graceful ease, the elders with slow dignity, and
the cavalry in a prancing tumult, while an unrivalled measure of
life and beauty pervades the whole.
The subject of the frieze of the Parthenon is generally considered
to be the Panathenaic Procession at Athens.
The Panathenaic festival, held in honour of Athene Polias, the
guardian deity of the Athenian Acropolis, had been celebrated from
remote antiquity. A solemn sacrifice, equestrian and gymnastic
contests, and the Pyrrhic dance, were all included in the ceremonial ;
but its principal feature was the offering of a new robe, peplos, to
the goddess on her birthday. The peplos of Athene was a woven
mantle renewed every four years. On the ground, which is des
cribed as dark violet and also as saffron-coloured, was interwoven
the battle of the gods^and the giants, in which Zeus and Athene
were represented. It was used to drape the rude wooden image of
Athene. The festival was originally an annual one, but after a time it
was celebrated once every four years 
with special splendour and solemnity.
On the appointed day the proces
sion which conveyed the peplos to
the temple of the goddess, assembled
in the outer Cerameicos, and passed
through the lower city round the
Acropolis, which it ascended through
the Propylaea. During its passage
through the city the peplos was, at
any rate, in later times, displayed on
the mast and yard of a ship which
was drawn on rollers. The only ' Fig. i7.-The Panathenaic ship.
known representation of the ship
occurs on an Athenian calendar relief (fig. 17). Unfortunately, the
subject is partly obliterated by the insertion of a Christian cross,
which has been left in relief by the removal of the adjoining
surfaces. Enough, however, remains to show the ship upon its
massive rollers. In this solemn ceremony the whole body of
Athenian citizens were represented. Among those who are
particularly mentioned as taking part in the procession were the
noble Athenian maidens, Canephori, who bore baskets (Icanea) with
implements and offerings for the sacrifice ; the Diphrophori, who
carried stools (diphroi) ; the Scaphephori, resident aliens, whose
function it was to carry certain trays (shaphae), containing cakes
and other offerings ; the aged Athenian citizens, who bore olive
branches and were hence called Thallophori. It has also been
ascertained that the selected maidens who prepared the peplos
took part in the Panathenaic procession
At the Greater Panathenaia each town in which land had
been assigned to Athenian settlers contributed animals to the

32 The Elgin Room.
sacrifice. Envoys also appear to have been sent who had charge
of the victims.
Chariots and horsemen took part in the procession, and an
escort of Athenian cavalry and heavy infantry completed the show.
The whole procession was marshalled and kept in order by special
officers and heralds.
When, with a knowledge of these facts, we examine the composi
tion of the frieze, we may recognise in its design the main features of
the actual procession. On the east side (see the plan, fig. 7) a solemn
act (commonly supposed to be the delivery of the peplos) is being
performed in the presence of an assembly of deities, separated into
two groups. These deities are supposed to be invisible, and doubt
less in a picture they would have been placed in the background,
seated in a semicircle and looking inwards. In the narrow space of
a frieze a combined arrangement was necessary, such as we see here.
Next we see the persons receiving the procession on right and left of
the middle ; at each angle of this end, and in companies occupying
corresponding positions on the two long sides (as if the procession
had reached the temple), and parted to right and left to come along
the sides of it), are Canephori, victims with their attendants, Scaphe-
phori, musicians, chariots, and cavalry.
On the west side the procession is still in a state of preparation,
but its general direction is northwards, and it must therefore be
regarded as associated with the north side.
All through the frieze are magistrates and heralds marshalling
the order of the procession. It may be objected that many
features which we know to have formed a part of the original
ceremony, as, for instance, the ship, are not found on the frieze ;
but Pheidias would only select for his composition such details from
the actual procession as he considered suitable for representation in
sculpture. Technically, a leading characteristic of the reliefs is that thev
are cut inwards from the front plane into the marble, instead of
being built up from a background plane like the metopes. Hence
the outermost surfaces are broad and flat, with a sudden recession
at their boundaries, which serves to define the subjects with admir
able clearness, when seen from a distance. That, however which
distinguishes the processional part of the frieze from all other reliefs
is the management of a succession of overlapping surfaces. Instead
of a comparatively lifeless succession of prominences, we have (in
such parts as the cavalcade) wave upon wave, giving the impression
of continuous recession, though the actual variation is only one of
an inch or two. East Frieze of the Parthenon
324. 1. A man standing on the return face of slab xliv. (South
Frieze), looks back and makes a signal to the procession approaching
along the south side, and thus makes a connexion between the south
and east sides of the frieze.

Frieze of Parthenon.

33

3-17. Maidens, walking in pairs, at the head of the procession,
with bowls, jugs, and sacrificial implements of uncertain use, perhaps
the stands in which turned the ends of the spits used in roasting the
sacrifice. This would explain the ring at the top. The full number
of the maidens was sixteen, but one is lost.
18-23. A marshal heads the procession, and approaches a group
of five men, who await it. With the corresponding group of four
men (nos. 43-46) they may represent the Athlothetae, who con
trolled all the arrangements, or perhaps they were merely typical
citizens. 24-30. First group of deities. The youthful elastic figure to
the left (24) must be Hermes, the swift messenger, of whom the
high boots and the broad-brimmed hat spread on his knees, are
specially characteristic. His right hand is pierced and has held
a metallic object, probably the herald's staff, caduceus.
25-26. For this pair of figures the names of Dionysos and
Demeter are perhaps to be preferred, since the torch is a definite

London. Carrey. Athens. London.
Fig. IS.— The East Frieze (Slabs I. -III.) restored.

attribute of Demeter, and Dionysos would be her natural com
panion. 27. This is probably Ares. The somewhat negligent attitude
is that of a person tired, of sitting on a seat without a back, and
clasping his knee with his hands to rest the spine. His left foot
rests on the shaft of his spear.
28-30. The bearded figure (no. 30) on the left of the central
group is distinguished from the rest by the form and ornaments
of his chair, which has a back and also a side rail supported by
a Sphinx, while all the other figures are seated on stools. It
has been generally agreed that this deity is Zeus. It is therefore
reasonable to suppose that the goddess seated next to him (no. 29)
is his consort Hera. The winged figure in attendance on the
pair has been generally called Iris, but the flowing drapery is more
appropriate to Nike or Victory.
31-35. Between the group of gods just described and the
corresponding group on the right side of the centre, we have a
group of five figures. D

34

The Elgin Boom.

We must suppose that these figures are in front of the two
groups of gods, who may be regarded as sitting in a continuous
semicircle. No. 31 is a maiden holding an uncertain object, perhaps a foot
stool, on her left arm, and supporting on her head a seat covered
with a cushion, not unlike the seats of the gods, but smaller. She
has a small pad on her head to make the weight easier to bear.
The cut (fig. 19) showing a slave carrying a stool with a cushion
is taken from a vase in the British Museum, no. E 169.
No. 32 is another maiden, advancing slowly to the right, carrying
a similar seat. She is confronted by a matronly woman, probably a
Priestess, who raises her right hand to take the chair.
The elderly bearded man (no. 34), who is probably a Priest, is
engaged with a boy. The two figures between them support a large
piece of cloth, supposed to be the peplos, folded once lengthwise, and
twice breadthwise. From the peculiar way
in which the boy grips an angle of the
folded cloth between his elbow and his
side, while his hands are otherwise occu
pied, the act of folding the cloth square
seems to be represented.
36. We now reach the second group
of deities, seated to the right of the cen
tral scene. The first figure is clearly that
of Athene. She sits in a position corre
sponding to that of Zeus, and the Goddess
of Athens is thus put in the same rank as
the Supreme God.
37. Next to Athene is an elderly
bearded figure heavily built, and leaning
on his staff, who is usually known as
Hephaestos. 38. This figure is probably Poseidon.
39. This figure has of late years been called Apollo or Dionysos,
while the figure no. 25 takes the alternative titles of Dionysos or
Apollo. The title of Apollo is to be preferred for no. 39. The
seated figure next to him (no. 40) is, in that case, Artemis, seated
with her twin brother.
41-42. The winged boy with a parasol is undoubtedly Eros
who must be the companion of his mother Aphrodite.
43-46. On the right of the gods is a group of four figures
corresponding to the five (nos. 19-23) on the left. They seem to be
engaged in conversation while .awaiting the arrival of the procession
47. The next figure (no. 47) is an officer, more immediately con
cerned with the procession. It is evident from the way in which
his head is thrown back and his arm raised, that he is not addressing
the group beside him, but he is making a signal to some person at a
considerable distance, while the next figure (no. 48), a similar officer
faces the advancing maidens.

Fig. 19. — Slave with seat.

Frieze of Parthenon.

35

49-61. The remainder of the east side is given to two officers
and the procession of maidens. No. 49 has a bowl, nos. 56-57 carry
between them an incense burner. Nos. 49-56 (slab vii.) are casts
from the original in the Louvre. After 61 were two maidens
(fig. 20) on the return side of the first slab of the North Frieze, now
lost.

North Frieze of the Parthenon.
325. At the head of the procession on the north side we
meet a troop of cows and sheep, led by an escort. Each cow is
led by cords held by two youths, one on each side ; each sheep is
led by one boy. There are some grounds for the conjecture that
the Athenian colonies contributed both cows and sheep to the
festival, while the Athenians are not known
to have sacrificed anything except cows.
It is therefore presumed that the victims
on this side of the frieze, on which alone
sheep are represented, are some of the
colonial offerings. In that case the men
by whom the victims are conducted would
be the delegates sent by the colonies.
3-11. Cattle with escort. The illustra
tions (fig. 21), in which the extant frag
ments are combined with drawings by
Carrey and Stuart, give an idea of the
complete composition, which is now in a
fragmentary state.
12. A marshal.
13-19. Youths carrying trays of offer
ings (only one of three is extant) and
pitchers of wine.
20-27. We see the arms of the first
musician, the remainder being lost (see
fig. 21). The band of musicians consisted,
when complete, of four pipe-players and four lyre-players, but is
now very imperfect (see fig. 22).
28-43*. The musicians were followed by a troop of sixteen elders,
conversing and moving slowly along. The last two look back to
the chariot procession. (An important addition was made in 1920
to the lower part of slab ix.)
44-68. The chariots (see figs. 22, 23, 24).- This part of the
frieze, which is in very fragmentary condition, consists of a series
of twelve four-horse chariots, each with a charioteer and a heavily-
armed soldier known as the apobates, who performed a variety of
exercises, such as mounting and dismounting from the chariot and
running beside it. There is also a marshal to each chariot group.
The larger part of slab xv. has been lately added, and this has
led to consequential changes, so that the arrangement now shown in

Fig. 20. — The last figures of
the east side, from Stuart.

36

The Elgin Room.

Frieze of Parthenon.

37

XIV. 51

52 53 XV.

to
00

London.

Carrey and Athens.

Carrey and Athens. Athens and conjectured. Athens and Carrey. ;j3
<«5

63 XIX

60 61 XVIII*

Athens and conjectured. Athens. London.
Fig. 23.— The North Frieze of the Parthenon (Slabs XIV. -XIX.) restored.

Conjectured.

XVIII**.

[51. XV.]
XVIII***. 54* 65* XXI

XXII. 65

67 68

Conjectured.

XXIV

Athens and conjectured. Athens. London. Athens London and Athens. Stuart. London. Athens, §"

72 73 74 XXV. 75 76

XXVI. 78 79

' XXVII.

85 XXVIII.

London and Athens. Stuart and London. London. Athens and conjectured.
Fig. 24— The North Frieze of the Parthenon (Slabs XX. -XXVIII.) restored.

40

The Elgin Ro

figs. 23-25 differs materially from
that in earlier editions. In parti
cular the fragments previously
numbered xxix* and xxx are
now combined in one slab. The
suggested arrangement also places
slab xix to the left of the slabs
XVII, XVIII.
72-133. From this point to
the north-west angle of the frieze
we have a continuous procession
of Athenian cavalry (Plate VI).
j. The horsemen advance in a loose
3 throng, in which no division into
\ ranks or troops, nor indeed any
3 settled order, can be made out.
» They ride with five, six or seven
i. nearly abreast. The general effect
| of a prancing troop of spirited
a horses, held well in check by
| riders with a sure hand and easy
, seat, is admirably rendered. The
| reins and bridles were in nearly
3 every instance of bronze, indi-
| cated by rivet holes behind the
° horse's ear, at his mouth, and in
% the rider's hands.
I A fine fragment, with the
h upper part of no. 110 was given
!• in 1919 by Mr. J. J. Dumville
; Botterell.
* 130-134. On the last slab of
the north side the procession is
still in a state of preparation, and
the transition to the west side is
thus assisted. At the right of the
slab is a rider (no. 133) standing
by his horse, and in the act of
drawing down his tunic under his
girdle in front, while a youthful
attendant (no. 134) assists him by
pulling it down behind, or perhaps
by tying the lower girdle over
which the folds were drawn. The
attendant carries on his shoulder
a folded cloak, probably that of his master.
It should be noted that in every case the figure at the end of a
side is stationary, and an effect of architectural stability is thereby
secured

Frieze of Parthenon. 41
West Frieze of the Parthenon,
326. The west side of the frieze contains a continuation of the
procession of the north side, but here the procession is mainly in
course of preparation, and the scene may be supposed to be laid in
the Cerameicos. Doubtless, on account of the character of the
subject, in this part of the frieze there is less continuity of composi
tion than elsewhere. The subjects are disconnected, and are usually
on single slabs, and seldom carried over a joint.
Slabs i., ii. are originals brought by Lord Elgin. The remainder
of this side (with the exception of no. 27) is cast from the original
slabs, which are still in position on the temple.
Two sets of casts of this frieze are exhibited in parallel lines.
The upper series is taken from moulds made from the original
marble in 1872, the lower series from moulds made at Athens, at
the time of Lord Elgin's mission. A comparison of these two sets of
casts shows how much the frieze suffered from exposure to weather
during some seventy years. No, 4, for example, has lost his arms ;
no. 5, his face and the horse's head ; no. 6, his hands ; no. 10, his
arm and face ; no. 15, his face ; and so on.
1. The single figure at the north-west angle is evidently a herald
or marshal directing the start of the cavalry. Next we have scenes
of preparation, such as bridling the horses. The mounted knight
(no. 11) is distinguished from all the figures in the frieze by his
richly decorated armour.

South Frieze of the Parthenon.
327. In following the frieze along the south side from west to
east, we pursue one branch of the procession which corresponds in
the main with that on the north side. The chief difference is that
on the south the victims consist of cows only, while on the north
there are sheep as well as cows. It may therefore be the case that
this side represents the victims offered by the Athenians them
selves. 1-12. The first four slabs are partly in marble and partly cast
from originals still on the Parthenon. They give the beginning of the
procession of horsemen up the south side.
13-56. The horsemen. For the most part this side of the
frieze is in poor condition compared with the northern half of the
procession. 59-77. The horsemen are immediately preceded in the pro
cession by the chariot groups.
In each the charioteer is accompanied by an armed warrior ;
but here the armed figure is not, like the apobates of the northern
frieze, in the act of stepping out of the chariot in motion, but stands
either in the chariot or (if it is not in motion) by its side. Each
chariot group when complete was accompanied by a marshal. ^

XIX.

XXII. 54

(Athens.) London and Carrey.

Athens and Carrey. London, Athens, and Conjectured.

Conjectured.

London and Carrey,

XXIII. 57 58

XXIV 69

(Athens.) Carrey.

London and Carrey. (Athens.) London and Carrey. Athens and Carrey.
Fig. 26.— The South Side of the Frieze (Slabs XIX. -XXVII.).

Carrey.

Athens.

London.

Conjectured.

London

London and Carrey.

Carrey (and Athens).

XXXIII SI 82

XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII*.
S4 85 S6 S7 88 S9 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 07 OS 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106

Carrey.

Carrey (and Athens). Athens and Carrey. Athens and;Carrey.
Fig. 27.— The South Side of the Frieze (Slabs XXIX.-XXXVII*.).

Conjectured (and Athens).

44

The Elgin Room.

..-"'4

Frieze of Parthenon. 45
Slab xxx. The horses' heads, which are treated with more freedom
on this slab than elsewhere on the frieze, are of extraordinary beauty.
John Ruskin (in Aratra Pentelici, §179) has commented on the treatment of
the relief as follows : — ' The projection of the heads of the four horses, one
behind the other, is certainly not more, altogether, than three-quarters of an
inch from the flat ground, and the one in front does not in reality project
more than the one behind it, yet, by mere drawing, you see the sculptor has
got them to appear to recede in due order, and by the soft rounding of the
flesh surfaces, and modulation of the veins, he has taken away all look of
flatness from the necks. He has drawn the eyes and nostrils with dark
incision, careful as the finest touches of a painter's pencil ; and then, at last,
when he comes to the manes, he has let fly hand and chisel with their full
force ; and where a base workman (above all, if he had modelled the thing in
clay first), would have lost himself in laborious imitation of hair, the Greek
has struck the tresses out with angular incisions, deep driven, every one in
appointed place and deliberate curve, yet flowing so free under his noble hand
that you cannot alter, without harm, the bending of any single ridge, nor
contract, nor extend, a part of them.'
88-103. These slabs give a part of the crowd of elders, who are re
presented by Carrey as advancing slowly, in a closely pressed throng.
The remainder of the south frieze is occupied with the procession
of victims for the sacrifice. Cows only are here represented, and,
as has been observed, this may indicate that we have here the native
Athenian part of the procession.
Each cow is escorted by two youths, one on each side, and a
third figure, perhaps a marshal, at the head. Those of the escort
who are on the side of the spectator are represented in vigorous
action, guiding and restraining the animals by ropes, which may
have been painted on the marble.
On the return face of slab xliv. is the marshal (fig. 18), who forms
the first figure of the east frieze, and makes a connexion between the
two sides, by beckoning, as if to the advancing procession.
FRAGMENTS FROM THE PARTHENON.
There are numerous small fragments known or conjectured to
have belonged to the Parthenon, which cannot be placed with the
principal sculptures. They are partly original fragments, mainly
from the Elgin collection, and partly plaster casts.
The most noteworthy is : —
339. 1. Colossal female head (cast), slightly turned to its
right. [Beside the door to the Nereid Room.] The hair was
confined in a plait round the head, and also by a wreath or band of
metal. The nose and mouth have been restored ; but the grand
style of the antique parts of the head agrees with that of the Par
thenon pediments. It is impossible, however, to determine to
which figure the head belongs.
This head (commonly known as the Laborde head) was found at
Venice in the house of the San Gallo family, one of whose members
was secretary of Morosini, and may well have brought the head from
Athens, in 1687.

46 The Elgin Room.
The architectural remains include : —
350. The capital and uppermost drum of one of the Doric
columns of the north side. [Between the two halves of the east
pediment.] 353. Cast of a lion's head from one of the angles of the pedi
ment. The subject is treated with the conventionalism that is most
suited to a purely decorative piece of sculpture.
In addition to the marbles of the Parthenon, the Elgin Room
contains several fragments and casts, taken by Lord Elgin's agents
from other Athenian buildings of the fifth century B.C.
CASTS FROM SCULPTURES AT ATHENS.
On the walls are casts from sculptures still decorating the so-
called temple of Theseus at Athens, a building thought to have been
erected about twenty )'ears earlier than the Parthenon (i.e. about
465 B.C.) to commemorate the removal by Kimon of the bones of
Theseus from the island of Scyros to Athens. The true name of the
temple has, however, been a subject of much controversy.
404. Casts from the East frieze of the Temple of Theseus.
The principal subject consists of a battle, fought in the presence
of six seated deities arranged in two groups. In one part of the
frieze the combatants are hurling great rocks. This is the special
characteristic of the giants in ancient art, and it is best to find an
interpretation of the scene which takes this fact into account. On
this ground the subject has been called the war of Theseus with the
sons of Pallas, a giant-like son of Pandion, king of Attica.
430. Near the floor, below the East Frieze of the Parthenon,
is a series of casts, taken by Lord Elgin's artists, from the ' Choragic
Monument of Lysicrates ' at Athens.
This is a small edifice, dated by its inscription immediately after
335 B.C. It was erected to support a bronze tripod dedicated to
Dionysos by one Lysicrates, who had provided a successful chorus
for a dramatic competition, and is one of the earliest examples of
the use of the Corinthian order in Greek architecture.
The subject of the frieze is the victory of Dionysos over the
Tyrrhenian pirates who had kidnapped him from Chios with the
intention of selling him as a slave. The god revenged himself by
transforming the pirates into dolphins.
MISCELLANEOUS SCULPTURES.
Among the busts exhibited in the Elgin Room, note : 
550. Head of Asclepios (?). Colossal ideal bearded head.
A heavy metal wreath was formerly attached by numerous rivets'
which still remain. The type of the head would serve for Zeus as
well as for Asclepios. It was, however, discovered in a shrine of
Asclepios, in the island of Melos, in 1828.

Fragments from Erechtheion. 47
407-420.
FRAGMENTS FROM THE ERECHTHEION.
The Erechtheion, or Temple of Erechtheus, is an Ionic
temple of a peculiar form, which stands near the north side of
the Acropolis of Athens. It embodies in a structure of the end of
the fifth century the shrines about which the Athenian religion
had centred from time immemorial, and to this fact the anomalous
character of the plan must be ascribed. Its form is oblong, with
a portico of six columns at the east end, and two unusual
additions at its north-west and south-west angles ; the one a
portico of six columns, the other a porch supported by six
figures of maidens known as Caryatids. The structure has been
imitated, with modifications and additions, in St. Pancras Church,
London. The building must have been finished about the close of
the fifth century B.C.
An inscription, exhibited with the architectural fragments,
contains the detailed report of a commission appointed to survey
the half-finished building, 409 B.C., when building operations were
in a state of suspense. The preamble, written across the breadth
of the stone, states that the three ' Commissioners of the temple
on the Acropolis, in which is the ancient statue,' together with their
architect Philocles, and their secretary Etearchos, in accordance
with the decree of the Assembly, which was passed in the Archon-
ship of Diocles [409 b.c] have drawn up an account of the condition
in which they found the works, either complete or half finished.
The detailed specification follows in the two narrow columns, which
are incomplete at the bottom.
Work must have been resumed forthwith after the presentation of
this report, since another inscription is extant, assigned to the
year 408, and giving the amounts paid to the sculptors of the frieze
and other craftsmen.
The principal fragments in the Museum are : —
407. So-called Caryatid, or Canephoros, one of the six female
figures which served as columns in the southern portico of the
Erechtheion. A large view of the Caryatid portico is exhibited.
In the survey of the building these figures are called Corae, 'maidens.
By architectural writers such figures are called Caryatids, on account of a
statement of Vitruvius (i., chap. 1) that women of Carya (more correctly
Caryae), a town of Arcadia, were represented as architectural supports — a
punishment which, so at least we are told, they incurred for betraying the
Greeks to the Persians.
This statue is admirably designed, both in composition and
drapery, to fulfil its office as a part of an architectural design. While
the massiveness of the draped figure suggests the idea that the
support for the superimposed architecture is not structurally
inadequate, the lightness and grace of the pose suggests that the.
maiden bears her burden with ease.

48 The Elgin Room.
408. Ionic column from the north end of the eastern portico
of the Erechtheion. This being a column from an angle of the
building, the volutes occur on two adjacent sides so as to present
themselves both to the east and north view.
409. Capital of one of the pilasters (antae) and part of necking
or wall-band from the east wall of the Erechtheion, with a palmette
pattern, in relief, of great delicacy and beauty.
413-415. Three pieces of architrave and corona of cornice of
the Erechtheion, here combined into one, as in the original order.
The space of two feet between the corona and the architrave was
occupied by the sculptured frieze. This consisted of marble figures
in relief attached by metal cramps on a ground of black Eleusinian
marble. A few fragments (here represented by casts) are extant
at Athens, and an inscription records the payments made to the
various sculptors.
[We leave the Elgin Room by the door at the North end, and
enter the Phigaleian Room.]

THE PHIGALEIAN ROOM.*
THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO AT PHIGALEIA.
The temple of Apollo Epicurios, at Bassae, near Phigaleia, in
Arcadia, stands in a slight depression on the side of Mount Cotylion,
above the valley of the River Neda. It was discovered towards the
end of the eighteenth century, but on account of its remote position
it was seldom visited before 1811. In that year the party of English
and Bavarian explorers, who had previously discovered the pedi-
mental sculptures of Aegina, began excavations which were com
pleted in the following year. The sculptures found were purchased
for the British Museum by the Government in 1814
The temple was visited by Pa.usanias, who specially commends
the beauty of its material, and its fine proportions. He adds that the
temple was dedicated to Apollo Epicurios (the Helper), because the
god had stayed a plague at Phigaleia in the time of the Pelopon-
nesian war. The architect was Ictinos, the builder of the Parthenon
(Paus. viii., 41, 5). The date of the temple is therefore about 430 B.C.
The building consisted of a central chamber (cella) surrounded
by a colonnade, having six Doric columns at the ends, and fifteen
along the sides. The outside appears to have been devoid of sculp
ture, having neither pediment groups nor metopes.
At each end of the cella were two Doric, columns, between piers
and these were surmounted by metopes. (See below.)
* For a full description of this room, see the Catalogue of Sculpture Vol I
Part III. (sold separately at Is.).

Temple of Apollo.

49

The cella contained ten Ionic columns and one Corinthian
column, now lost, which supported the frieze. (See below.)
The Phigaleian frieze was therefore originally intended for an
internal decoration, unlike the friezes of the Parthenon and other
temples, which are necessarily reversed when they are placed in a
gallery. The temple image stood in the cella, but appears to have
been placed in a peculiar manner, so as to have looked to the east,
towards a side door, the orientation of the temple being nearly north
and south. It has been suggested that this arrangement may show
that an ancient shrine was embodied in the later temple.
The Frieze.
The frieze, which is arranged on three sides of the Phigaleian
Room, is complete, and has been arranged in accordance with such
data as remain, and so as to make the four sides of their correct

Fig. 29. — Plan of the Temple of Apollo at Phigaleia.

length. To a considerable extent, however, the arrangement is
conjectural. The style of the relief is peculiar. Many of the types employed
occur in Attic work, but the style of the work, with its somewhat
florid high relief, is un-Attic, and perhaps shows the hands of local
sculptors. The reliefs of Phigaleia are interesting as the earliest
extant Greek sculptures in which there is a decided attempt to
express the pathos and emotion connected with scenes of combat.
The subjects represented are : —
(1) The battle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths.
(2) The battle of the Greeks and Amazons.
Each subject occupied two sides (nearly) of the frieze, but the latter
is the longer of the two, and must have had one slab running over
into the Lapith and Centaur sides.
520-528. West Side. Scenes of combat between Centaurs
and Lapiths. In 523, 524, Apollo and Artemis (who drives a

50 The Phigaleian Boom.
chariot drawn by stags) come to the rescue of two suppliant women
at a sanctuary. One of the two stretches out her arms with a
gesture of entreaty. The other embraces a statue of Artemis,
represented as a stiff, archaic, doll-like image.
529-531. North Side. Slabs 529, 530, have scenes of combat
between Centaurs and Lapiths, while 531 belongs to the Amazon
series. In 530 two Centaurs together lift a great stone to crush the
invulnerable Lapith, Caineus, a subject also represented on the
west frieze of the Theseion.
532-539. East Side. Combat of Greeks and Amazons.
540-542. South Side. In 541, the middle of the central slab
is occupied with a combat between Heracles (identified by his
club and his lion-skin) and an Amazon.
Immediately above the south side of the frieze are : —
The Metopes.
510-519. Fragments of the Phigaleian metopes. The com
bination of the fragments, as here arranged, is mainly conjectural,
and there is therefore no certainty as to the subjects represented.
In 510, a figure seems to be playing on a lyre. In 517, is a scene
of rape. Architectural Fragments.
505. Two fragments of a very graceful cornice, with a
palmette pattern, which surmounted the pediments. 506, 508, are
fragments of the Doric and Ionic capitals, of the exterior and interior
colonnades respectively.
Fragments of the Temple Statue of Apollo.
A few small fragments of a colossal male statue were discovered
during the excavations. Two of these, namely, (543) part of a foot
and (544) part of a right hand, are shown. From the way in which
these fragments were attached with joints and dowels, it may be
supposed that the statue was acrolithic, i.e., that the extremities
only were of marble, while the rest of the figure was made of wood
or other inferior material.
TEMPLE OF WINGLESS VICTORY.
Above the Phigaleian frieze, on the west side of the room, are
some slabs of the frieze of the temple of Nike Apteros (Victory
without wings), or more correctly Athene Nike. This buildino
was a diminutive Ionic temple, with four columns at each end"
which stood on a projecting terrace on the right hand as you ascend
the Propylaea to enter the Acropolis of Athens.
The date of the temple, and its relation to the adjoining wino- of
the Propylaea, has been the subject of much controversy. ^The only

Temple of Wingless Victory. 51
external evidence is contained in an inscription (found in 1897) of
about 450 B.C., which orders the erection of a temple to Athene
Nike, by Callicrates, an architect who is known to have been
employed in public works under Pericles (Ephemeris Archaioloqike
1897, pi. 11).
Four marble slabs of the frieze were in the collection of Lord
Elgin. These have been arranged in combination with five casts
from slabs now at Athens (the whole being placed as far as possible
in the order proposed by Prof. Kekule).
North Side (Cast). Slab with combat of Greeks against Greeks,
over the body of a fallen Persian : two riderless horses springing
away. West Side. 421, 422, and a short return slab (cast). Scenes of
combat between Greeks and Greeks. In 421 a trophy has been
erected, consisting of a helmet, shield and cuirass, attached to the
trunk of a tree.
South Side. 423-425 and another cast. Scenes of combat
between Greeks and Persians, who are both mounted and on foot.
East Side (Cast). Slab from a scene with the gods assembled in
council. It is thought that the whole frieze may represent in
idealized fashion the victory of the Greeks over the Persians and
their Greek allies, at the battle of Plataea.
2735. Ionic angle capital, from the temple of Wingless Victory.
From Lord Elgin's collection.
436. Capital of one of the pilasters of the temple.
GREEK RELIEFS, SEPULCHRAL AND VOTIVE.
The remaining objects exhibited in this room are principally
single reliefs, the intention of which was either sepulchral or votive.
SEPULCHRAL RELIEFS.
It will readily be seen from a study of the grave-reliefs collected
in the room that all degrees of merit are present, and that Greek
tombstones may be either elaborate and beautiful sculptures, or
slight and hasty sketches representing a well-worn theme.
When we see them together in great numbers, as in the Museum
at Athens, we feel that there is a want of variety, and that much
of the work is of inferior merit. At the same time, however, the
grave-reliefs, even when of minor interest, are nearly always per
vaded by a sentiment of dignified and reticent melancholy, which
appeals with force to the modern spectator. They show also the
instinctive grace and skill of subordinate Greek craftsmen, even in
hastily executed and unimportant works.
These monuments are of several fairly distinct types.
1. The tablet (stele) crowned with an ornament. The simplest
and earliest form of gravestone is a plain flat tablet for the names
e 2

52 The Phigaleian Boom.
of the deceased and of his father. Such a stone is naturally com
pleted with decoration at the top, which sometimes becomes
elaborate. See for example : —
599. Stone of Smikylion, son of Eualkides, with a palmette
springing from a base of acanthus leaves, and with two rosettes on
the shaft. (West side.)
2. Tablets, with scenes from the ordinary life of the deceased.

Fig. 30.— Stone of an unnamed lady.

These tablets are usually set in an architectural frame with side
pilasters, and a small pediment.
The finest and most pathetic of this class are those of women
See tor examples : —
2231 Stone of Glykylla The seated lady is putting on a
twisted bracelet, which she has taken from the box held bv her
maid. J
2232. Stone of a lady (her name is not inscribed) who appears
to have died leaving a young chfid to the care of a nurse. (North
side ; fig. 30.) v

Sepulchral Reliefs. 53
Among the subjects from the daily life of youths and men, see
for examples : —
626. Stone of Tryphon, son of Eutychos. He carries his
strigil, an instrument used for scraping off the oil and sweat of tho
gymnasium. (East side.)
627. Stone of a vouth, who carries a pet bird in his left hand.
(East side.)
628. Stone of Xanthippos. An elderly figure seated on a
chair holds a foot in his right hand. A diminutive woman and girl
raise their hands with gestures of surprise. Various attempts have
been made to explain this singular subject, and while some inter
preters explain the foot as a votive foot, commemorating some
remarkable cure experienced by Xanthippos, others take it to be
a shoemaker's last, and a symbol of the calling of the deceased.
(North side.)
629. Stone of Jason, a physician. He examines a patient, a
boy who is shown to be suffering by his swollen belly and wasted
legs. The domed object on the ground is a cupping-vessel. (North
side.) 3. Figures clasping hands In Attic reliefs, chieflv of the
fourth and subsequent centuries, the two principal persons are often
represented clasping right hands together, and such scenes are com
monly known as Scenes of Parting. It is, however, not clear that
the clasped hands refer to the long separation of death. The
gesture probably makes allusion to intimate friendship rather than
to separation. On the north side of the room is the large relief of Archagora.
A seated lady, so named in the inscription, clasps the hand of a
bearded man, standing before her, who is no doubt the husband.
Between the two, a second woman, perhaps a daughter, stands with
hand raised.
On the floor of the room is the relief of the family of Epichares.
The wife of Epichares (her name is lost) sits clasping the hand of
her daughter Aristeis, who stands before her. Between the two is
Epichares, turned to the front and looking towards his wife. The
execution is somewhat hasty in both of these sculptures, but they
show the tender and pathetic sentiment characteristic of the group
of reliefs. Both are from Attica.
4. Vases, in the round, or in relief. These are a common form
of monument at Athens. Their origin is probably derived from.
the vessels of pottery placed upon the tombs.
The vases often bear subjects in relief similar to those on
the sculptured slabs.
680. In the middle of the room is a figure of a bull, lying
down, executed in the round. It probably crowned an Athenian
monument.

54 The Phigaleian Room.
Near it is a figure of a mourning woman (Plate VII.), closely
draped in a large mantle and finely composed. In Roman times
the statue appears to have been set in its present plinth, and to
have been inscribed on the base with the name of Maximina,
(?) wife of Sextilius Clemens. The sculptural type, however, and,
according to some critics, the statue also are much older, and may
go back to the fourth century B.C. From the collection of the
Duke of Sutherland at Trentham Hall.
VOTIVE RELIEFS.
A votive offering is, in its essence, a present made to a god, or to
a superior being, in order to secure some favour in the future, or to
avert anger for a past offence, or to express gratitude for a favour
received. The last purpose includes offerings made in fulfilment of
a vow, the vow being a kind of contract between the individual and
the god. Votive reliefs are usually of the latter kind. Those
exhibited in this room are for the most part offerings made by
victors in athletic and other contests.
2155. Votive relief in honour of the Thracian goddess, Artemis
Bendis (Plate VIII.). The goddess receives the adoration of two
elderly men, one of whom carries a torch, and of a company of
youths. The former are probably persons who had charge of" the
festival, or who provided and trained the victorious company in the
torch race, now standing behind them. The relief is a well-preserved
example of a rare subject, and there is an admirable freshness and
variety in the poses of the youths. The date is the first half of
the fourth century B.C.
The festival of Artemis Bendis is described in the opening pages
of Plato's Republic. Socrates tells how he had gone down to the
Piraeus, to pray to the goddess, and to see the new-fashioned
processions in her honour. He was starting to return home when
he was pressed by friends to stay and sup with them. ' " What
don't you know," said Adeimantos, " that there will be a torch race
on horseback in the evening, in honour of the goddess * " " On
horseback ? That is a novelty. Do you mean that they will have
torches, and pass them one to another while racino- with their
horses ? " " Yes," said Polemarehos.' The competition was probably
one of squad against squad, and thus the whole band of youths
would have been victorious.
813. A fragment of another votive relief, shown by the
inscription to have been dedicated by a victor in a torch race In
this case a boy holds the burning torch over an altar.
[We return to the middle of the Elgin Room, and leave it by a
door m the middle of its east side, which leads to the Nereid Room.]

The Nereid Monument.

55

THE NEREID ROOM.*
The building known as the Nereid Monument was discovered
at Xanthos, in Lycia, by Sir Charles Fellows. Its remains were
excavated and brought to England by a naval expedition in 1842.

Fig. 31.— The Nereid Monument.

The monument stood on the edge of a low line of cliffs, immedi
ately above the main approach to the city. The whole of the
building, except a part of the solid substructure, had been shaken
down by an earthquake, and when discovered the remains were
scattered round the base and down the slopes of the hill.

* Fully described in the Catalogue of Sculpture, Vol. II. (3s.), Part IV.
(sold separately at Is.).

56 The Nereid Boom.
The general appearance of the whole is shown in the model
exhibited, which was made under the direction of Sir C. Fellows,
although later investigation has modified some of the details. It
may be generally described as a small Ionic building, of the form of
a temple, standing on a lofty base, whose surfaces were relieved by
two bands of frieze. In the original structure they were separated
by a plain band about thrice the width of that which separates
the two bands as now exhibited, on the reproduction of one of the
ends of the building. The building had four columns at the ends,
and six at the sides (not five, as shown in Fellows's model ; see the
corrected sketch, fig. 31). The order of the architecture from the
stylobate to the cornice has been reconstructed in the S.E. corner of
the room.
The building was probably the tomb of some prince. The cycles
of subjects represented (battles, hunting-scenes, scenes of banquet)
occur on smaller tombs, such as those from Lycia in the Mausoleum
Room (see p. 58).
The date and occasion of the building have been much discussed,
but it is usually assigned to the end of the fifth century B.C., and to
sculptors greatly influenced by contemporary Athenian work.
The First Frieze. — On the First or Principal Frieze, which
surrounded the lower part of the base, as shown in the model, we
have scenes of combat between Greeks and barbarians aided by
Greeks. The Greeks are either in heavy armour, with cuirass,
without cuirass, or nude. The latter must be supposed to be
treated according to the conventional heroic type, since it is
unlikely that any combatants of historic times went nude into battle.
All have shield and helmet. The barbarians wear the Persian
bonnet, long close-fitting tunic, mantle and trousers.
850-854. Scenes of combat.
855. An archer, with a piece of cloth fastened to the lower
edge of his shield— an appendage often seen in works of art from
Asia Minor.
857. A wounded Greek, supported and defended bv a com
panion. This was a favourite theme with Creek sculptors. (Com
pare the friezes of Wingless Victory and of Phigaleia, nos. 421 and
540 in the Phigaleian Room.)
The Second Frieze.— The Second Frieze, which crowned the base
of the building, has more the character of an historical record than
the first. In each we have a representation of warfare, but the
one may be compared to the battles of the Homeric poems, while
the other is more like the warfare of Herodotus. In the'laro-er
frieze we have scattered combats and nude heroic figures. In the
smaller frieze we have the disciplined movements of well-drilled
bodies of troops. With one doubtful exception (874) there are no
nude figures. The narrative is more elaborate, and instead of a series
of combats, four distinct episodes of a campaign are clearly told the
meaning of the whole being made plain by detailed representations
of landscape and architecture

The Nereid Monument. 57
868-870. A sortie from a walled city. Behind the battle
ments are seen the heads and shields of some of the defenders. A
woman also throws up her arms in distress.
871 b, 872. These two slabs (which ought to be in one line)
show an assault on the city with scaling ladders. The storming
party have planted their ladders against one of the walls beside the
city gate.
876 b-878. Parley. "We have a view of the city walls and
buildings. In 877 is a high Lycian tomb, surmounted by a winged
Sphinx, flanked by two lions. The defenders seem to be holding a
discussion, and a messenger, who has come on a mule, addresses
them. 879-880. Surrender. Two elderly citizens try to make terms
with the victorious commander, who is enthroned and covered with
an umbrella, held by an attendant.
884 a. Four captives, unarmed, bareheaded, and with hands
bound, are led away by soldiers.
The Third Frieze.— 885-897. The Third Frieze stood imme
diately on the capitals of the columns, without the interposition of the
usual architrave. (See the cast inserted in this position in the re
stored order.) It contains scenes of battle, field sports and offerings
of gifts, subjects such as naturally occur on the tomb of a man of
rank, and suggest the leading occupations of his life.
The Fourth Frieze.— 898-908. The Fourth Frieze is believed
to have surmounted the upper walls of the central chamber exter
nally. It contains scenes of banqueting and of sacrifice. The
order of the slabs is uncertain, but two sides seem to have been given
to each subject.
The Nereids. — The monument derives its name from the graceful
figures, half running, half flying, which stood in the intervals
between the columns. They seem to be scudding along the sur
face of the waves. Below 909 is a sea-bird floating on the water ;
below 910 a large fish, and so with others. Hence, the name of
Nereids was given to the figures soon after their discovery, and,
though various other interpretations — such as sea-breezes, or
personifications of ships — have been suggested, it is still most
generally accepted .
The Pediments. — Parts are preserved of each pediment (or gable)
group. 924 (over the door of the Mausoleum Room) is incorporated
in its architectural setting. The ancient fragments on which the
restoration is based can readily be distinguished. In the relief,
worshippers do reverence to two stately, enthroned figures, one of
each sex. If the whole monument is a tomb, and therefore to be
interpreted by the analogy of other sepulchral reliefs, the two
enthroned figures are the heroified dead, who are approached by
worshippers. 925. Relief from the left half of the west pediment, with a
combat of foot soldiers against cavalry.

58 The Mausoleum Room.
926 (above the restored pediment) ; 927. Two groups, which
stood each on the apex of one of the pediments. In each case a
nude youth was carrying a female figure in his arms. The groups
are much mutilated and the subjects uncertain.
The Lions. — Parts were found of four lions, which were probably
symmetrically disposed with reference to the central chamber. Two
of these (929, 930) are fairly complete. They have manes of an
archaic and conventional form.
[We leave the Nereid Room by the North door, and descend
the staircase, to the Mausoleum Room.]

THE MAUSOLEUM ROOM.*
On each side of the staircase are two large Tombs from
Xanthos, which should be studied in connection with the Nereid
Monument. 950. From the inscriptions in the Lycian character, this
structure is known as the Tomb of Payava. The inscriptions also
mention a Persian Satrap, who authorised the tomb, and who
may perhaps be identified with a Satrap, called by the Greeks
Autophradates, who may have held power at Xanthos, between
about 375 and 362 B.C.
1-2. On each side of the roof is a relief, with an armed figure
and a charioteer drawn by four galloping horses. A curious feature
is the wing which is attached to each chariot, beside or upon the
wheels. The pairs of projecting lions' heads on each side are archi
tectural additions, and have no relation to the relief. On the
ridge are reliefs ; on one side, a combat of warriors mounted and on
foot ; on the other hunting scenes. In the western gable is a small
door for introducing the body of the person buried in the tomb.
On the principal frieze round the base of the tomb are the
following : —
5. Battle of cavalry and foot soldiers in a rocky place. Two
figures are partly seen among the rocks. The Lycian inscription
above is to the effect that Payava built the tomb.
6. The elderly figure seems to be placing a wreath on the head
of the youth.
7. A seated Persian Satrap seems to be receiving a deputation.
The Lycian inscription above contains the name of the Satrap,
probably Autophradates, and may record his grant of an authoriza
tion to build the tomb.
8. Two armed figures, and an inscription perhaps containing
Payava's directions as to the use of the tomb.

* Fully described in the Catalogue of Sculpture, Vol. II. (3s.). Parts IV V
(sold separately at Is. each).

The Mausoleum. 59
In general form this monument, like its companion, and like
many of the Lycian tombs, is remarkable for its frank, and probably
conscious, imitation of a wooden building, the frame of which is
morticed together, according to a simple system of carpentry. The
ends of the beams are left projecting, and the mortices are in some
cases made firm with wedges.
951. Tomb on the West side of the staircase known (from the
Lycian inscription) as the Tomb of Merehi or otherwise as the
Chimaera Tomb. On one of the sides of the ridge is a battle
scene between warriors on foot ; on the other a banquet, a figure
crowning an athlete, and a group of aged figures conversing. Below
these reliefs is, on each side of the roof, Bellerophon in a chariot,
accompanied by a charioteer. He attacks the Chimaera, a fabulous
monster of Lycia, part lion, part goat, and part serpent.
THE MAUSOLEUM.
The principal contents of this room are the remains of the tomb
of Mausolus, Prince of Caria, a work of such beauty and splen
dour that it was ranked by the ancients among the Seven Wonders
of the world. Its name, Mausoleum, came to be used in a general
sense, and in modern usage, by a process of degeneration, it denotes
any building of a somewhat elaborate character, designed to hold
the dead.
On the death of Mausolus, which is assigned to the year 353 B.C.,
his wife and sister, Artemisia, succeeded to his throne. She only
reigned for two years, and is said to have died of a wasting illness,
caused by sorrow for the death of her husband. During her short
reign she celebrated his memory by rhetorical and dramatic contests,
but chiefly by the construction of a splendid tomb, at his capital city
of Halicarnassos. It is recorded that there was not time to finish
it during the reign of Artemisia, and according to Pliny's account
it was completed by the artists as a labour of love.
The architects employed were Satyros and Pythios, who described
the building in a book which is now lost. The sculptors are said to
have been : on the east side, Scopas ; on the north, Bryaxis ; on the
south, Timotheos ; and on the west, Leochares. Vitruvius mentions
Praxiteles in place of Timotheos. Pythis, usually supposed to be
identical with the architect Pythios, made the chariot group on the
summit. For many centuries the building was intact, and then but
partially ruined. At length, however, in the year 1402, the Knights
of St. John took possession of Halicarnassos, and began to build the
castle of St. Peter, from which was derived the Turkish name of
Budrum. For their purpose they used the ruins of the Mausoleum
as a quarry for building materials. At a later date we have an
account, derived from a statement by one of the Knights, who took
part in the repair of the castle in 1522, of how they found a platform,
widening out like a pyramid, and containing in its midst two

60

The Mausoleum Room.

chambers, splendidly adorned, and a white marble sarcophagus.
The latter was broken and pillaged by unknown hands during the
absence of the Knights. The smaller fragments they burnt tor

Pullan (1862),

Petersen (1S67).

Fergusson (lS(i2)

Fig. 32.— Attempted Restorations of the Mausoleum.
lime, the larger stones were used for building. Parts of the frieze
and some of the lions were used to adorn the castle of St. Peter,
and were thus preserved.

The Mausoleum.

61

In 1846, Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, then British Ambassador
at the Porte, obtained a firman from the Sultan authorizing the
removal of the reliefs from the castle, where they had been seen
from time to time by travellers, and presented them to the British
Museum. Attention was thus drawn to the subject of the
Mausoleum, and in 1856 the late Sir C. Newton, who was then
acting as Vice-Consul at Mytilene, was empowered to search for the
site, and to carry on excavations on behalf of the Foreign Office.
Notwithstanding the success of Sir C. Newton's excavations,
materials are still wanting for a complete restoration of the
Mausoleum. Six of the numerous attempts that have been made
are illustrated in figs. 32, 33.
By a comparison of Pliny's description (N . H., xxxvi., 30) with

Oldfleld (1895).

Adler (1900).

Fig. 33. — Attempted Restorations of the Mausoleum.
the extant remains, it is ascertained that the Mausoleum consisted
of a lofty basement, on which stood an oblong edifice surrounded by
thirty-six Ionic columns and surmounted by a pyramid of twenty-
four steps. This was crowned by & four-horse chariot group in
white marble. The total height is given by Pliny as 140 feet,
according to the usually received text ; by Hyginus ( Fab. 223) as
80 feet. The edifice which supported the pyramid has by most
authorities been assumed to have been encircled by the frieze richly
sculptured in high relief, and representing a battle of Greeks and
Amazons. Cases occur, however, in the Ionic order of Asia Minor
in which the sculptured frieze is omitted, and possibly this was
the case with the Mausoleum. Remains have also been found of
three other friezes, but their places on the building have not
yet been ascertained. The monument was further adorned with

62 The Mausoleum Room.
statues and groups, and with a number of lions, which may have
stood round the edifice as guardians of the tomb. The material of
the sculptures is Parian marble, and the whole structure was richly
ornamented with colour.
At the end of the room the following attempted restorations are
exhibited : —
(1) Sir C. Wren's design based on Pliny. This drawing (by Goodchild)
is based on a, rough sketch by Wren, in the Library of the Royal
Society.
(2) A model by G. B. Cockerell, based on Pliny, and the dimensions of
the frieze, but made before the excavation.
(3) A drawing (by F. Cockerell) developing a sketch by C. B. Cockerell,
also made before the excavation.
(4) A restoration by Newton and PuDan, giving the results of the excava
tions, but taking an impossible dimension for the substructure
(cf. Fig. 32).
(5) A drawing, showing the restoration of the late J. J. Stevenson.
A view is also shown of the castle of St. Peter at Budrum.
Architectural Remains. — 980. The colonnade of the Mausoleum
is represented by an Ionic column (Plate IX.), which has been
erected on the West side of the room (but without its base),
surmounted by original pieces of the architrave, frieze (if this belongs
to the order) and cornice, and showing part of a coffered ceiling
stretching back to the wall of the room, the lacunaria or coffers (sunk
panels) being richly ornamented. On the opposite side of the room
are the base and lowermost drum of the column, which are necessarily
separated, for want of head room.
981-985. Various architectural fragments from the Mauso
leum, including (981) an Ionic capital from one of the angles of the
colonnade. 986. (Near North-East Corner.) A part of the cornice (com
pare 980) with the lions' heads and a frieze of palmettes and acanthus.
987. A group of the steps of the pyramid that crowned the
colonnade. The upper step belonged to the top of the pyramid.
The roughly worked depression on its upper surface was made for
the insertion of a part of the chariot group. A fragment with a
hoof of one of the horses has been inserted to show the arrangement.
The Chariot Group.— 1000-1004. In the middle of the room
the sculptures which are believed to be a part of the chariot group
on the top of the pyramid, have been arranged, as far as possible, in
the relative positions that they originally occupied (Plate X.).
1000. Mausolus, a majestic portrait statue. On his left side
projecting folds of the drapery have been chiselled away. This is
thought to have been done when the statue was being adjusted to
the side of the chariot.
1001. Colossal female figure, probably Artemisia. The figure
was at first described as a goddess, but the proportions compared
with those of Mausolus, and the portrait character of the pose are
better suited to Artemisia. The head-dress is also of a portrait
character.

The Mausoleum. 63
1002. Part of a colossal horse, with the original bronze bridle.
1003. Hinder half of a similar horse. 1004. One wheel of the
chariot, restored from several fragments.
Sculptures in Relief. — The works in relief found on the site of
the Mausoleum consist of portions of three distinct friezes, viz., the
supposed frieze of the Order, the Centaur frieze, and the Chariot
frieze, and of a series of reliefs in panels. Of these the most important
is the frieze of the Order, that is the frieze that surmounted the
exterior colonnade.
The Frieze of the Order.— 1006-1031. Of this frieze the
British Museum possesses seventeen slabs, twelve of which were
removed from the castle of St. Peter in 1846, and four more were
discovered in 1856-59 on the'site of the Mausoleum.
One other slab usually assigned to this frieze, no. 1022, was formerly in
the Villa di Negro at Genoa, to which place it was probably transported from
Budrum by one of the Knights of St. John, some time in the fifteenth or
early in the sixteenth century, and was purchased from the Marchese Serra
in 1865. The entire length of these slabs is 85 feet 9 inches. The slabs do
not follow in regular sequence, but are taken from various parts of the series ;
nor have we any evidence as to the sides of the building which they occupied
except in the case of those found in situ (1013-1016), which are probably from
the eastern side, that is from the side assigned by Pliny to the sculptor
Scopas. The following is a recent attempt to assign the slabs to the four
sculptors: Scopas, 1013-5, 1025; Timotheos, 1006-8, 1010-2, 1016-7;
Bryaxis, 1009, 1019 and 1022; Leochares, 1018, 1020-1. (Wolters &
Sieveking, Jahrb. d. Arch. Inst, xxiv., p. 171.)
The subject of this frieze is the war of the Greeks and
Amazons. The Amazons are represented some on foot, others on
horseback. Their weapons are the battle-axe and the sword. From
the action of several of those on horseback, it is evident that they
were represented using spears or bows : but as no trace of these
weapons appears at present on the marble, they may have been
painted on the ground of the relief ; or in some cases made of metal
and attached to the marble.
All the Greeks are on foot ; some of them are represented naked,
others wearing a tunic reaching to the knees, or a cloak twisted round
the arm. Their weapons are the sword and the javelin, together
with helmets and round bucklers.
In the composition, the groups and figures are disposed in more
open order than in the Parthenon and Phigaleian friezes, leaving
larger spaces of the background free. The relief is exceedingly
high, the limbs being constantly sculptured in the round ; bold
foreshortening is sometimes used. The outlines are marked with
extreme force, and in some of the slabs the figures are singularly
elongated in their proportions.
1008. One of the male figures on this slab wears a lion's skin
knotted in front, and though the face is nearly obliterated, the out
line of a beard may be traced ; it is therefore probable that this
figure represents Heracles. In 1015 is a mounted Amazon, whose
horse is galloping to the right. The rider has turned round so as to

64 The Mausoleum Room.
face the horse's tail, and is drawing her bow, after the Parthian
fashion, at an enemy behind her.
1016. The position of the horse and rider greatly resembles
that of the equestrian group in the round (no. 1045). 1022. This
slab was purchased from the Marchese Serra of Genoa (see above).
The upper moulding has been cut away, and other retouchings
have been made — doubtless by an Italian restorer.
Centaur Frieze.— 1032 -1035. Slabs and fragments of a frieze
with a battle of Greeks and Centaurs. The original position of this
frieze on the building is uncertain.
Chariot Frieze.— 1036. Nearly a hundred fragments were found
of this frieze, which evidently represented a chariot race. Out of
the fragments about eleven chariot groups have been partly made up.
1037. (On the West wall.) Charioteer from the chariot frieze
(where it is represented by a cast). Of the chariot a part of the
wheel and part of the rim of the rail only have been preserved ; in
the centre of the nave a hole is drilled for a metal ornament. The
charioteer's body is thrown forward, and his countenance and
attitude express the eagerness of the contest. The features, which
are beautifully sculptured, have an anxious look.
Groups in Panels. — 1038-1042. Fragments of groups in relief,
in panels. The destination of the panels is uncertain. In the
restored Order, no. 980, they have been taken to be the covering
slabs of the coffers of the ceiling of the colonnade. The subjects are
too fragmentary to be made out with certainty. In no. i041 the
subject may, perhaps, be Theseus overthrowing the robber Skiron.
Miscellaneous Sculptures from the Mausoleum.
Besides the chariot group and the sculptures in relief already
described, the site of the Mausoleum yielded numerous sculptures
that probably formed part of its decorations, though they cannot be
assigned to definite places. Among these note especially : —
1045. Torso of an equestrian figure, much mutilated. The
rider sits a bare-backed prancing horse ; he wears close-fitting
trousers, a dress characteristic of Asiatics generally in ancient art,
over which falls a tunic with sleeves. The left hand holds the reins
with a firm nervous grip, strongly though roughly rendered by the
sculptor. The upper part of the rider was a separate piece.
Notwithstanding the great mutilation which this torso has
received, it must be considered an admirable example of ancient
sculpture. The body of the horse is a masterpiece of modelling ;
the rearing movement affects the whole frame. Equal skill is shown
in the representation of the firm, but easy seat of the rider.
The Lions. — 1075, etc. A numerous series of lions was found,
partly in the castle of St. Peter, and partly in the excavations.
They are all posed in a similar and formal fashion, with their heads
turned either to right or left. They were evidently disposed, with
architectural symmetry, as emblematic guardians of the tomb, but
their position cannot be determined.

The Mausoleum. 65
Alabaster Vase.
1099. An alabaster vase, inscribed with the name of
Xerxes. This inscription is in four languages, namely, Persian,
Median, Assyrian and Egyptian, and each is translated ' Xerxes the
great King.' This vase is one of a group, of which several examples
are extant. It is conjectured that they were distributed as royal
presents by the Persian monarchs, and that the specimen found in
the Mausoleum may have been a valued heirloom in the family of
Mausolus. Votive Relief.
A small votive relief, acquired in 1914, shows a figure of Zeus
Stratios, the patron deity of Mausolus, and figures of Idrieus and Ada,
brother and sister of Mausolus and Artemisia. The latter pair
reigned jointly, from the death of Artemisia (351-344 B.C.), and
completed the Mausoleum. The relief was found at Tegea, and may,
it is surmised, have been dedicated by one of the craftsmen of the
Mausoleum, on his return to Greece.

LION FROM CNIDOS.
1350. In the middle of the room, behind the chariot group, is
a Colossal Lion, which was found lying overturned on a lofty
promontory, about three miles to the. east of Cnidos. On the
site where it was lying were the remains of a Greek tomb, which
consisted of a square basement surrounded by engaged columns of
the Doric order and surmounted by a pyramid. It was evident,
from the position in which the lion was found, that it had once
surmounted the pyramid, whence it had been thrown down, probably
by an earthquake.
SCULPTURES, ETC., FROM PRIENE.
[In the North- West corner of the room, and betweeu the Cnidos
lion and the chariot group.]
These sculptures were found in the course of excavations which
were carried on by the Society of Dilettanti, on the site of the
temple of Athene Polias at Priene in 1869-70.
The temple of Athene Polias is named and dated by an inscrip
tion on one of its piers (in the Hall of Inscriptions, see p, 92),
stating that King Alexander (that is Alexander the Great)
dedicated the temple to Athene Polias. The date of the inscription
is probably 334 b.c.
The temple was of the Ionic order, with eleven columns on the
flanks and six at the ends, making thirty in all, besides a pair of
columns fronting the piers at either end of the central cella. [For
a view and restoration see the screen behind the Cnidos lion.]

66 Tlie Mausoleum Room.
1125-1142. The architectural remains of the temple.
Sculptures from Priene. — 1150. Fragments of a colossal statue,
including parts of each foot, a left upper arm (which has been put
together from ninety-three fragments) and a left hand. These
may have belonged to the statue which stood within the temple, and
which is praised by the traveller Pausanias.
1165-1176. On the wall are fragments of a frieze, representing
a battle of gods and giants. Beneath the figures, a roughly-
dressed margin of stone of variable height indicates that the frieze
cannot have been a part of the order of the temple. It is more
likely that the lower margin was intended to be sunk in some
pavement — in which case the variable depth of the margin would
be unimportant — and the frieze would, in that case, serve as a
balustrade. No traces, however, of such a balustrade were found
on the floor of the temple, and the relief may, therefore, have
belonged to some adjoining building.
Among the subjects that can be recognised are, (1168) Helios,
the sun-god, in a car drawn by four horses ; (1169) a god, perhaps
Dionysos, accompanied by a lion, who seizes the giant ; (1170)
Cybele on a lion at full gallop ; (1173) a kneeling figure of a winged
giant, whose legs terminate in snakes.
MISCELLANEOUS SCULPTURES.
At the South-East corner of the room (behind the tomb of
Payava) is a collection of Greek and Roman architectural fragments.
At the South-West corner (behind the tomb of Merehi) is
1510. Sculptured capital from Salamis (in Cyprus), with the
foreparts of winged bulls. Between the bulls is a female figure,
which terminates below the waist in acanthus stems and leaves.
This use of the bull as an architectural member was derived by the
Greeks from the East, and particularly from Persia.
432. (Beside the door of the Annex.) A colossal draped statue
of Dionysos, seated, which formerly surmounted a small portico
dedicated by Thrasyllos to commemorate a victory in a dramatic
contest. Erected after 320 B.C. on the south slope, of the Athenian
Acropolis. In the raised gallery at the end of the room are some busts of
colossal size and late sarcophagi of Roman Imperial times, namely : 
1736. A colossal bust of Heracles, which was found under the
lava of Mount Vesuvius. Presented by Sir William Hamilton.
Front of a sarcophagus, of the type known as Lenos (wine-vat)
with two lions' heads proj ecting. Near it are two large lions' heads',
from a similar sarcophagus.
1771. Female head", of a barbarian type. Perhaps a personi
fication of Germania.
2303. Large sarcophagus, with reliefs on the front and sides
of a battle of Greeks and Amazons [The subject on the back

Miscellaneous Sculptures. 67
is a roughly sketched contest of Centaurs and a Lapith.] From
Sidon. 2300. Sarcophagus, found at Genzano, with reliefs representing
the Labours of Heracles.
1734. Bust of Heracles, probably an imitation of the archaic
style. On a bracket above is a bust of Sir C. T. Newton (1816-1894),
the excavator of the Mausoleum. It was presented by subscription.
[A door in the West wall of the Mausoleum Room leads to the
Room of Greek and Roman Monuments, or Mausoleum Annex, for
admission to which application should be made to the Commissionaire
on duty. This room contains sculptures in relief, generally of
a sepulchral character, but partly also votive. In both classes
the Greek reliefs must be regarded as supplementary to those
exhibited in the Phigaleian Room immediately above.]
[From the door at the east end of the gallery in the Mausoleum
Room a passage leads to the North- West Staircase, which may be
conveniently visited from this point.]

THE NORTH-WEST STAIRCASE.
On the wall of the lower part of this staircase is placed a series
of Mosaics obtained in 1856 from the rooms and passages of a
Roman villa at Halicarnassos From the rude character of the
drawing, execution, and material, together with the late forms of
the Greek letters employed in the inscriptions, it is believed that
these mosaics belong to the third century a.d.
The mosaics on the upper part of the staircase were mostly
obtained from excavations at Carthage and Utica in 1856-8. These
mosaics also belong to the Roman period.
On the wall of the third flight of stairs are parts of an important
mosaic from Carthage. The whole composition consisted of figures
of the Months, radiating from a common centre, and surrounded by
a square ribbon border. Medallion busts of the Seasons were in
the angles, and the remaining space was occupied by highly decora
tive floral scrolls (see the diagram from Archseologia, xxxviii. pi. 9,
exhibited on the wall). The extant portions of the composition
include figures personifying March, April, July, and probably
November, with busts personifying the seasons of Spring (associated
with April) and Summer (associated with July). Summer is repre
sented by a swarthy female head ; she wears a gold tore and ear
rings, and has her hair decked with ears of corn. f 2

68 The Ephesus Room.
Above the top flight is a series of hunting scenes, one of which
represents a mounted huntsman leaving his castle, and another a
mounted huntsman who has lassoed a stag.
[Adjoining the head of this staircase is the First Vase Room
(see p. 1 48), but for continuing the study of the sculptures we return
by way of the Egyptian Gallery, Nereid Room, and Elgin Room to
the Ephesus Room.]

THE EPHESUS ROOM.*
THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS.
The sculptures and architectural members in this room were for
the most part found by the late Mr. J. T Wood, in the course of
excavations on the site of the Temple of Artemis (Diana) at
Ephesus, during the years 1869-1874. A few additional fragments
of marble were found in the excavations carried out on behalf
of the British Museum by Mr. D. G. Hogarth in the vears 1904-6.
The great temple of the Ephesian Artemis, which, like the
Mausoleum, ranked among the Seven Wonders, was built to take
the place of an older structure which had been burnt. Considerable
portions of both temples are shown on the two sides of the room.
The remains, however, of the early temple which were found built
into the substructure of the latter temple are fragmentary, and have
necessarily been put together in a conjectural fashion. As regards
the history of this earlier temple, we know that it was begun early
in the sixth century B.C., by the architects Theodoros, Chersiphron
and Metagenes, and was in course of construction during the reign
of Croesus, king of Lydia, about 550 B.C. It is known, from a
statement of Herodotus [i. 92], confirmed bv the inscriptions (see
below), that Croesus gave most of the columns of the temple at
Ephesus. Remains of the Archaic Temple.
29. Base and lowest drum of sculptured column. The base
has necessarily been reconstructed from various fragments which
cannot be proved to have belonged originally to the same column
but the combined fragments serve to give a general idea of the
appearance of the base, and show that the older temple anticipates
the use of columns sculptured with high relief, which are such a
marked feature of the later temple.

* Tho Ephesian Sculptures are described in the Cnfalnm,„ nf q™; <
Vol. II. (3,.), Part VI (sold separately at 1..). For the remain of ttarfv
temple, see Excavations at Ephesus; The Archaic Artemisia hv n r
Hogarth, 1908 [British Museum Publication, £2 10s.]. ^™mma> W D- G-

The Temples of Artemi.

69

Below the sculptures came a moulding [shown separately]
which contains fragments of an inscription, restored as Ba[o-tX£us]

Fig. 34.— Attempted Restoration of the later Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
Kp[oio-os] av[i6riK\iv (' King Croesus dedicated (the column) '), a
confirmation of the statement of Herodotus quoted above

70 The Ephesus Room.
2726, 2727. Two Ionic capitals, restored from fragments
in the same manner.
46. The cornice of the archaic temple, which has been built
up from small fragments, like the base and capital, is unique in
form. In place of the small cornice with floral decorations, common
in later temples, the archaic temple of Artemis was surmounted by
a lofty cornice nearly three feet high. Lions' heads projected at
intervals, and drained off the rain water. The intervals between
the lions' heads were occupied by metope-like compositions, carved
in a delicate early style. The Later Temple.
The early temple, the fragmentary remains of which have just
been described, was destroyed by a fire. The fire was kindled by
Herostratos, an Ephesian citizen, in order to make his name
immortal ; and it is said that this happened on the night of the
birth of Alexander the Great, in the summer of 356 B.C.
The work of reconstruction was begun forthwith, and the temple
was probably finished towards the end of the fourth century B.C.,
and continued in use till the decline of paganism. The importance
to the town of the worship of Diana in the first century is vividly
shown by the account of St. Paul's stay at Ephesus and of the riot
raised by tradesmen interested in the maintenance of the credit
of the goddess (Acts xix.).
The extant remains of the temple are so fragmentary, and in
some respects so peculiar, that the restoration is largely conjectural.
Its most striking architectural feature is the use of sculptured
columns, an arrangement adopted from the archaic temple.
According to the present arrangement (fig. 34) the square
sculptured piers are surmounted by circular sculptured drums, being
the lowest drums of the columns.
This combination is suggested by the fact that the square bases have been
prepared on their upper surfaces to serve as the beds of circular drums, and
as the circumference of the prepared bed coincides with that of the best
preserved of the sculptured drums, it has been inferred that the two were
placed in contact. See the exhibited plans and restorations by Messrs.
A. S. Murray and J. C. Watt, according to which the piers stand on one of
the lower steps of the platform, so that their upper surface is level with that
of the stylobate. The sculptured drums by which they are surmounted are
thus exactly level with the corresponding drums which rest on the stylobate.
It is, however, a matter of conjecture that this arrangement was emploved,
and the recent excavations failed to confirm it.
Beginning at the left, or South end of the piers, we have : —
1200-1203. On the base Heracles and an Amazon in
combat (?) ; on the drum, parts of four figures in Persian costume.
1204-1206. On the base, a combat between two powerful
figures. No attributes are preserved, but the forms of the fio-ures
would be appropriate to a combat between Heracles and the giant
Kyknos

The Temples of Artemis. 71
On the drum, a scene commonly thought to represent an incident
in the story of Alcestis, wife of Admetos, who consented to die on
behalf of her husband, and was rescued from the clutch of Death
by Heracles.
1207-1211. On the base, Nereids riding on Hippocamps or
sea-horses. On the drum, a group of standing figures. There is no
clue to the subject represented.
1212-1213. On the base, Victories leading animals to
sacrifice, namely, on the front face a ram, and on the second face
a bull. On the drum a series of seated and standing figures, not
identified, but possibly a group of Muses.
The more strictly architectural remains of the temple include
the following : —
1220. Base, with stylobate and lowest drum of an unsculptured
column. These fragments were found in their original position by
Mr Wood, and have been re-erected as found. They came from
the column which was near the middle of the south (long) side of
the temple.
1223. Ionic capital, placed on the top of a shaft, partly restored
in plaster. The eye of the left-hand volute is left plain and un
finished, and shows the lines and compass points used in setting out
the volutes.
MISCELLANEOUS SCULPTURES.
This room also contains a certain number of sculptures, not
connected with the temple of Artemis, which were found at Ephesus
by Mr. Wood in the course of his search for the temple. They
include —
1248-1249. Parts of a frieze from the front of the stage of
the Great Theatre, with reclining Satyrs.
1253. Unfinished relief of a Triton, blowing a shell. The
subject is roughly blocked out, but is nowhere worked to its final
surface. 1288. A piece of unfinished palmette moulding, showing how
the pattern was marked out, and then worked in detail.
Greek Portraits.
At the North East corner is a group of Greek portrait types.
Occasional portraits (such as the Pericles) are extant, derived from
originals of the 5th century, but the art of strongly individualised
portraiture was not developed before the 4th century, and it was
still later that artistic types were devised for such subjects as
Homer. It is probable that few of the portraits placed here can
claim to be originals contemporary with the subjects, but they are
for the most part copies of types that became current in the later
Greek and Hellenistic periods. Next to the door is —
549. Bust of Perieles, the Athenian statesman, under whose

72

The Ephesus Room.

administration the Parthenon was erected and adorned by Pheidias
and Ictinos. The subject is identified by the inscription TLepiKXrjs,
and may be derived from a contemporary portrait by the sculptor
Cresilas (fig. 35). It is doubtful whether the original was a terminal
bust, as here, or a complete statue. The present example can
only be a copy, but the style of the inscription appears to be not
later than the second or possibly the third century B.C.
Plutarch explains the presence of the helmet by saying that it
was worn to conceal the ugly shape of the head of Pericles,
which, he tells us, was a subject of ridicule for the comic poets
of the day (Plutarch, Pericles, 3). It is, however, more probable
that the helmet merely denotes military rank.
Among the other portraits the
following are of special interest —
1841,1839. Busts of Demos
thenes and Aeschines, the two
antagonists in Athenian 4th cen
tury politics.
1857. A fine portrait-head of
Alexander the Great (fig. 36),
probably of contemporary Greek
work, found at Alexandria. This
head shows finely the points re
corded as characteristic of Alex
ander, namely, a lion-like mane of
hair rising up from the forehead, a
swimming eye, and a slight turn
of the head to the left shoulder,
in consequence of a wound. This
inclination of the neck is said to
have been imitated by the princes
who shared the empire of Alexander
(Plutarch, Pyrrhus viii.), and in
later times was copied by Caracalla
(see p. 90).
1859. An example of another
type of the portrait of Alexander the Great, commonly known
as the Azara type, from a bust thus named in the Louvre.
2001. This realistic portrait of an old woman has been
identified by some critics as that of the old priestess Lysimache,
by the sculptor Demetrius of Alopeke (early 4th century B.C.).
1852. Portrait head, probably of a poet, wearing an ivy
wreath. An interesting example of half idealised portraiture of
the Alexandrine period.
1825. Head of Homer. It need hardly be pointed out that
the bust is not an authentic portrait of the poet, if indeed he ever
existed but it is a comparatively late attempt, perhaps originated at
Alexandria, to express the supposed appearance of the blind old
man. Pliny, remarking on the habit of placing portraits of authors

Fig. 35.— Bust of Pericles. No. 540.

Greek Portraits.

73

in libraries, says that fictitious portraits are invented where real
ones do not exist, and our ' longing begets the faces that have not
been handed down, as happens in the case of Homer.'
1838. Antisthenes, founder of the Cynic school of philo
sophy. Socrates, with the well-known Silenus-like features.
Epicurus, founder of the Epicurean school of philo-

1837.1843.
sophy.

Types of later Greek Sculpture.

At the South East corner of the room are groups of sculpture
attributed to the schools of Praxiteles and Scopas (4th century B.C.)
and to the school of Pergamon
(2nd century B.C.).
1574. The Towneley
Aphrodite (or Venus), a
half -draped ideal figure, found
at Ostia. It is attributed to
the school of Praxiteles.
1575. A late copy of
the Aphrodite (or Venus) of
Cnidos, by Praxiteles.
Among the busts are —
1600. A fine head of
Hermes, or perhaps Hera
cles, from the Aberdeen col
lection. This head, which has
a striking resemblance to the
Hermes of Praxiteles, has
been claimed as another
original work by the hand of
that sculptor.
1731. Head of the young
Heracles wreathed with
poplar. Several replicas exist
of this attractive work, which
is thought to be copied from an original by Scopas. (For a com
plete statue of this type, cf. Rev. Arch., 5th Ser. vi., p. 460.)
1860. Heroic head, with the forcible rendering of the muscles,
and free undercutting of the hair, characteristic of the Pergamene
school of sculpture, as shown by the reliefs from the great altar,
now at Berlin (see p. 84).
Beside the door to the Ante-Room is —
1301. Statue of Nicocleia, from the temenos of Demeter at
Cnidos (see below). The inscription on the base records that the
statue was dedicated to Demeter, Persephone, and the ' gods beside
Demeter,' by Nicocleia, in pursuance of a vow.
Sir C. Newton suggested alternatively that this figure might be
a figure of Demeter sorrowing, and seeking for her daughter, or

Alexander.

74 The Third Graeco-Roman Room.
a priestess. The goddess searching for her daughter is described in
the Homeric Hymn to Demeter as like an old unmarried woman, a
nurse or housekeeper. The figure is certainly intended to be that
of a person in sorrow.
[We pass from the Ephesus Room to the small Ante-Room,
leading to the Archaic Room.]

ANTE-ROOM.
1300. On the east side of the Ante-Room is a seated statue
of Demeter (Ceres) (Plate XL), found by Sir C. T. Newton in
the sanctuary of Demeter at Cnidos. The artist appears to have
sought to represent the grief of the goddess for the loss of her daughter
Persephone (Proserpine). The statue, which is of singular dignity
and beauty, is usually assigned to the middle of the fourth
century B.C.
The sanctuary occupied a narrow platform or terrace, at the
foot of a cliff, on the south side of the acropolis of Cnidos. A large
number of votive objects were found in the sanctuary, including the
calves and pigs shown on each side of the Demeter, and in the
opposite case the fine votive figure of Persephone, no. 1302, and
also certain votive objects, and imprecatory inscriptions on rolls
of lead, shown in the room of Greek and Roman Life (p. 120).
On the opposite side are cases for the exhibition of statuettes and
other small objects of marble. In the case on the left are many
smaller statuettes from Naucratis (a Greek settlement in the
Egyptian Delta), and from Rhodes. These show clear indications
of the influence of Egyptian types and models.
[From the Ante-Room we pass through the Archaic Room (p. 2)
to the Third Graeco-Roman Room.]

THE THIRD GRAECO-ROMAN ROOM.*
The sculptures exhibited in this and the following rooms are of
the mixed class which is known as Graeco-Roman. For the most
part they have been found in Italy, and it is probable that the
majority were made during the first centuries of the empire for
Roman purchasers. In most cases they are not original works, but
copies of works by the great Greek masters, as is shown by the

* For a full description of the sculptures (other than Etruscan) in the
Graeco-Eoman Rooms, Basement, and Annex, see the Catalogue of Sculpture,
Vol. III. (7s. Gd. Also sold in two parts at is. and 3s.).

Graeco-Roman Sculptures. 75
numerous examples extant in different museums, of the favourite
types. Hence the Graeco-Roman sculptures are marked by facility
and technical excellence of work rather than by the originality of
an artist working at first hand.
The task of grouping the copies of each type, and of tracing and
naming the lost originals from which they are derived, has for a
long time exercised the ingenuity of archaeologists, but it is only in
a few instances that fairly certain results have yet been obtained.
Examples of attributions of sculptural types are now grouped
in the Ephesus Room (see above) and the Second Graeco-Roman
Room. In examining the Graeco-Eoman sculptures, the visitor must bear in mind
that they have been considerably restored, in accordance with the custom
formerly prevalent in Italy, and in particular that many of the hands, feet,
noses, and attributes are recent additions. Such additions, which can usually
be detected by differences in the colour and texture of the marble, must be
mentally subtracted before one statue is criticised or compared with another.
In many cases also the surface of the marble has been worked over to
obliterate any trace of corrosion. This latter practice was especially mis
chievous, since it increases the difficulty of distinguishing Graeco-Eoman
works from original sculptures transported by the Romans from Greece to
Italy, and obliterates the sculptor's finest touches.
We enter from the Archaic Room, and turning to the left,
note the following : —
1874. Bust known as ' Clytie,' the portrait of a woman of
great beauty, with a slightly aquiline nose (Plate XII., fig. 1). The
bust rises from the midst of the petals of a flower, and hence
Mr. Townley called it Clytie, the name of a deserted love of the sun-
god Helios, who was changed into a flower (Ovid, Metamorph. IV.,
255-270). The head, however, is evidently a portrait, and the
manner of dressing the hair shows that it belongs to the Augustan
age. It may perhaps be the head of Antonia, daughter of Mark
Antony, and mother of Germanicus. The combination of a bust
with leaves or petals is not uncommon in later art, and has no
particular significance.
Next to it is an archaistic relief of a warrior, from Rhodes.
It will be observed that the type recurs in the more complete relief
below (no. 750), with a heroified warrior, and a woman making
a libation. 2193. Relief in a panel, with part of a Bacchanalian rout,
including a Maenad in frenzy, and two young Satyrs.
2154. Dionysos receiving a libation from a Maenad, and two
Satyrs, appears to be an early example of decorative art, akin in its
intention to the archaistic school of sculpture (see below, p. 77).
1769. Asiatic head, perhaps a personification of Persia. A
similar headdress occurs on the Nereid Monument, the tomb of
Payava, etc.
2191. A tablet in relief representing' the Apotheosis of
Homer. In the upper part of the scene are Jupiter, Apollo,
and the nine Muses on a hill in which is a cave. Beside it is a

76 The Third Graeco-Roman Room.
statue of a poet probably of some victorious poet, who dedicated
the relief. In the lowest line of the relief, Homer is enthroned
between kneeling figures of Iliad and Odyssey ; behind him, with
a wreath, are Time and the World (sometimes taken to be portraits
of a prince and princess of the Ptolemaic period) ; before him are
personifications of History, Myth, Poetry, Tragedy and Comedy ;
Nature, Virtue, Memory, Faith, Wisdom, stand in a group on the
right. The relief is inscribed with the name of the sculptor, Archelaos,
son of Apollonios, of Priene (fig. 37). Probably a work of the
third century B.C.
2190. Relief representing the visit paid by Dionysos to the
house of a mortal, perhaps Icarios, an Athenian who received the
god with hospitality, and was taught by him the art of making wine.
Dionysos appears in his Indian form, bearded and corpulent, and
accompanied by his train. In the background a Satyr is decking
the house with festoons. This relief is interesting as one of the
very few authorities for the appearance of an Attic dwelling house,
with its courtyard and outbuildings. The sculpture is of the younger
Attic school.
2194. A delicately executed relief, probably part of a Baccha-

Wf AAO £ ATT O AAO.N10 Y Vf
Ap^c'Aaos ' AiroAA.un/iov iTroiino-f. Hpirjvevs.
Fig. 37.— Signature of Archelaos.
nalian frieze, with a figure of a frenzied Maenad with the hind
quarters of a slain kid.
1567. Endymion sleeping on Mount Latmus. Lucian
describes him as sleeping on a rock, with his cloak spread beneath
him, and his right arm bent upwards round his head.
2200. A circular disk with a relief representing Apollo and
Artemis destroying the children of Niobe, as a punishment for
the insolence of their mother. Many of the types occur elsewhere
and their persistent repetition proves that the figures must have been
copied from a lost original of high reputation. It was independent
of the famous group now at Florence, representing Niobe and her
children although m certain points it may have been influenced by it.
1677. Cupid sleepmg with the attributes of Heracles, his
club, bow, arrows and hon-skm. The ancients delighted in such
conceits as the present, to show tho power of love over force
1596. A female head, perhaps of Aphrodite (Venus), from
the Towneley collection This head was formerly called, for
fanciful reasons, Dione, the mother of Aphrodite
1568 Actaeon devoured by his hounds. He had discovered
Artemis bathing, and m punishment was to be torn to pieces by
his own hounds, who took him for a stag. The transformation is

Graeco-Boman Sculptures. 77
suggested by the stag's horns (which are, however, in this case, a
restoration). 1720. Mithras slaying a bull. Mithras was the Persian sun-
god, whose worship became popular at Rome at the close of the
Roman Republic. The bull which Mithras sacrifices in these
groups, and the other accessories, are symbolical of animal life and
reproductive power.
1710. Nymph of Diana, seated on the ground, as if playing
with knucklebones. This figure was found in circumstances which
seemed to show that it was part of the decoration of a fountain.
1755. A figure of a young boy drawing a thorn from his left
foot, over which he bends with an expression of pain and close
attention. The subject also occurs in a well-known bronze in the
Palace of the Conservatori at Rome. (See a cast in the Gallery of
Casts.) In the bronze it is executed in a more formal and less
realistic style.
1756. Figure from a group of two boys quarrelling over
knucklebones. The boy is biting savagely the arm of his adversary.
1583. Finely modelled torso of Aphrodite. The fractured
surfaces have been cut smooth, for a restoration, and the torso was
much injured in a fire at Richmond House.
1753. Figure of an athlete standing, preparing to throw the
disk. Several replicas of this figure are extant, which point to a
well-known original, but the sculptor has not been determined.
The torso of this figure is ancient, but most of the rest is restored.
1636. Dionysos embracing a personification of the vine — not,
however, the youth Ampelos (who was converted into a vine,
according to the legend), since the figure is female.
1560. Life-size statue of Artemis, with a deer in her left
hand, from Rome. When first discovered there were traces of blue
paint along the edges of the drapery, in imitation of the archaic
female statues (cf. p. 81), but these have now become invisible.
1745. A Satyric figure, playing on the flute. This figure, of
which the lower part is in the form of a square term, has been
called Midas, who, according to Pliny, was inventor of the pipe
with a side mouthpiece. As, however, the invention of the instru
ment is also assigned to Pan, the attribution is doubtful.
1599. Hermes (or Mercury), from the Farnese collection.
Several replicas of this type exist, which must be derived from
some well-known original, nearly akin to the Hermes of Praxiteles.
In one instance (the ' Hermes of 'Andros ') the type seems to have
been employed to represent a dead person in heroified form.
It is to be observed that a considerable proportion of the
sculptures grouped at this end of the room are in the archaistic
style — that is to say, they are works of a comparatively late
age (third to first century B.C.), deliberately reproducing the
characteristics of an archaic period (the sixth and early fifth
centuries B.C.).

78

The Graeco-Boman Basement.

As a rule they copy and exaggerate the obvious features, such as
the conventional treatment of the hair and folds of drapery, but fail
to catch the archaic treatment of the eyes, nose, and mouth. In
some cases, however, a question can fairly be raised whether a work
ought to be assigned to the archaistic or the genuinely archaic group.
[The circular staircase, in the apse at the end of this gallery,
descends to the Graeco-Roman Basement and Annex.]

THE GRAECO-ROMAN BASEMENT
AND ANNEX.

These rooms contain a number of Graeco-Roman sculptures, for
the most part of subordinate interest, and examples of Etruscan art.
Visitors who wish to obtain a nearer view of the objects in the
Annex should apply to the Keeper of the Department.
Graeco-Roman Sculptures.
In the Basement, beginning on
the left of the staircase, are : —
2205. Relief in black granite
from Canopus in Egypt (fig. 38).
Hermes with lyre and herald's staff
(caduceus). An early example of
archaistic work.
1765, 1766. Two realistic statues
of fishermen, with fish baskets.
Such representations of rustic life
are believed to have been developed
in the school of Alexandria.
1768. Ethiopian tumbler,
balanced on a small crocodile, with
his legs in air.
1557. Marsyas, tied to a pine-
tree, awaiting his punishment at the
instance of Apollo.
Above is (49*) a mosaic, with a basket of fruit, and an over
turned basket of fish, eels, etc.
2215. The small relief in the fourth bay, with two doo-s
attacking a boar, is one of the very few sculptures which belonged
to Sir Hans Sloane, and thus formed the nucleus of the Sculpture
collections of the Museum. .... y
if?8, a FT0lG f W0110 of an arch, with a figure of Victory.
53*. At the end of the room is a portion of a large mosaic
pavement, found in 1856 in the Roman villa at Halicarnassos.

Fig. 38.— Hermes.

Graeco-Boman Sculptures.

79

Aphrodite is rising from the sea, seated in a large shell, supported
by two Tritons. She holds a mirror in one hand, and wrings a tress
of hair with the other.
Along the window-side of the room are miscellaneous Graeco-
Roman sculptures and mosaics. Among the latter is (54*) a mosaic,
from the corridor of the Roman villa at Halicarnassos, with a bay
wreath, containing words of good omen — ' Health ! Long life ! Joy !
Peace ! Cheerfulness ! Hope ! '
In the middle of the room are various altars, fountains, vases,
etc. See also four disks, with Bacchic subjects in low relief. These
disks are mounted on central pivots, and served as revolving shutters
for ventilators (fig. 39).
The mosaic laid down on the floor was found in a Roman villa at
Vienne (Isere). Etruscan Sculptures, etc
1st bay. A reconstruction of the tomb known as the ' Grotta
Dipinta,' at Bomarzo, with facsimiles of the wall paintings, which

Fig. 39.— No. 2454. Ventilator panel.
consist of figures of Hippocamps, etc., and a highly conventionalised
frieze of waves and dolphins. The sarcophagus (55*) is that which
was found in the tomb.
2nd bay. The four large sarcophagi were found together in a
tomb at Toscanella.
56* Sarcophagus. On the lid a recumbent male figure holding
a bowl ; on the front, two marine monsters in relief.
57*. Sarcophagus. On the cover is a male figure reclining
On the front is a relief representing a winged male figure leading
a chariot, attended by three lictors with fasces (the executioner's
axe and rods) and a trumpeter ; above this is an Etruscan
inscription. 58*. Sarcophagus. On the cover a recumbent figure with a
two-handled cup ; on the front is a relief representing Scylla over
powering two male figures.
59* Cover of a sarcophagus. Draped female figure reclining
Underneath are reliefs representing a bearded head with Phrygian
cap, and on each side a boy riding on a sea monster.

80 The Graeco-Boman Basement.
3rd bay. 60*. Sepulchral urn, in the form of a seated male
figure, divided into two parts at the waist.
61*. Sarcophagus from the Tomb of the Chariots, Corneto
(Tarquinii). On the front and back are scenes in relief from the
Taking of Troy (Iliupersis). At one end is a scene which appears
to represent the quarrel of Achilles and Agamemnon ; above this
is an Etruscan inscription, much injured. At the other end the
relief seems to represent Neoptolemos slaying Polyxena.
62*. Placed upon this sarcophagus, but independent of it, is a
cover of a sarcophagus, from the Grotta del Triclinio at Corneto.
Female figure holding a Bacchic staff and a two-handled cup ; at
her side a deer.
On the wall, between the bays, are examples of Etruscan sepulchral
urns, with mythological reliefs.
The 4th bay contains (68*) a wheel for raising water. It was
found in the Roman workings of the Rio Tinto copper mine, and
is an exceptional piece of ancient carpenter's work.
5th bay. Copy of a painted tomb, with a central sculptured
column, found at Vulci. The two crouching lions, now placed
inside the entrance, originally flanked the tomb on the outside.
[A doorway on the south side of the room leads to the Gallery
of Casts.]

THE GALLERY OF CASTS.*
The casts from sculpture here shown are designed to serve as a
supplement to the series of original sculptures in the principal
galleries., They consist of reproductions of typical works preserved
elsewhere, and important as illustrating the general history of
classical sculpture. The collection is, in the main, that which was
formed by the late Walter Copland Perry at the Victoria and Albert
Museum in 1884, and which was transferred to the British Museum,
by the Board of Education, in 1907.
The series begins with the earliest works in the corner to the
right of the entrance. The visitor then passes round the room with
the left hand to the wall. The reliefs on the screens are, broadly
speaking, a parallel series to the sculptures of the north side of the
room, and the figures along the central gangway are a parallel series
to those on the south or far side of the room.
The following are some of the principal objects in the gallery:—
Screen A 1. (1-5). Casts of sculptures excavated by Sir Arthur
Evans in the Palace of Cnossos, in Crete, assigned to the fifteenth
century B.C. (see p. 150).

* Described in the Guide to the Collection of Casts in the Dept. of Greek
and Roman Antiquities (1913). Price Gd.

Casts of Ancient Sculptures. 81
North-west corner. (6) Bas-relief from the ' Gate of Lions ' at
Mycenae (see p. 3). The lions stand, heraldioally disposed on each
side of a column, closely akin to some discovered in Crete. They
were seen and mentioned by the ancient traveller Pausanias.
' Parts of the circuit walls are still left, including the gate, which
is surmounted by lions. These also are said to be the work of the
Cyclopes.' Next in order are typical examples of archaic Greek sculpture.
Between the first two windows are : (22) an early Athene, from
the Acropolis ; (10) a colossal statue, probably one of the brothers
Cleobis and Biton, from Delphi ; (9) the Artemis of Nikandra,
found at Delos in 1878. A metrical inscription down the side
records that the figure was dedicated to Artemis by Nikandra,
daughter of Deinodikes.
Screen A 2. Examples of early Greek reliefs. In the centre is
(36) a bronze tripod panel, from Olympia. It is interesting to
compare the firm and unhesitating drawing of the established
decorative forms with the weak and tentative outlines of the subject-
group (Heracles and the Centaur).
At one end of the screen (24, 25) two of the votive figures of
women (perhaps priestesses), which were found in the excavations
of the Acropolis at Athens. One is coloured in imitation of the
original. Screen B 1. Three early grave-reliefs with standing male figures.
Next the gangway is a coloured facsimile of part of one of the figures
from the Acropolis. Behind it is (31) a singular head of Iberian (?)
style, found at Elche in Spain, and now in the Louvre.
On the upper part of the opposite wall are : — (12) Archaic reliefs
from the temple at Assos in Asia Minor ; (19) Reliefs from one of the
so-called Treasuries (or buildings appropriated to the purposes of
the different states) at Delphi. The reliefs here shown have been
attributed to the Treasury of the Siphnians, or alternatively of the
Cnidians. The former attribution is probably preferable. The
subjects are the rape of the daughters of Leukippos by the Dioscuri,
Castor and Pollux ; and the war of the Gods and Giants.
Screen C 1 has also two Delphic sculptures, namely, (42) the
Dioscuri and the hero Idas driving cattle, being one of the metopes
of the Treasury of Sicyon ; and (52) Theseus in converse with
Athene, a metope of the Treasury of the Athenians.
Below, Attic reliefs of the 5th-4th centuries B.C.
Screen C 2. Two fine Attic reliefs, viz., (186) Relief of Hegeso,
who is seen taking a necklace from a box which is held by a servant
standing before her ; (185) Relief of Ameinokleia, who is engaged
with a girl adjusting her left sandal.
On the opposite side of the gangway are (91, 92) the Athenian
Tyrannicides, Harmodios and Aristogeiton, from Naples.
On the opposite side of the window are (98) the Discobolos of
Myron (Vatican) and (97) a reduced copy of the Discobolos in the
Lancelotti Palace at Rome, which should be compared with the

82 The Gallery of Casts.
marble in the Second Graeco-Roman Room. It is to be noted that
the Lancelotti replica gives the correct pose of the heads (cf. fig. 40).
Beside the Discobolos are figures representative of Myron's group
of Athene, throwing away the flutes, and the Satyr Marsyas about
to pick them up. Athene is represented by a statue at Frankfort ;
Marsyas by a figure (99) in the Lateran Museum and by a bronze in
the British Museum (cf. p. 140).
94. Charioteer (the original is in bronze) from Delphi,
commonly supposed to have been dedicated by Polyzalos of Syracuse
about 478 B.C.
Screen D 1. 187. Relief of Dexileos, a knight who fell in an
action on Corinthian territory in 394 B.C.
At the ends of screens E and F are replicas (120, 121) of the
statue attributed to Polycleitos, known as the Diadumenos, a young
athlete tying a fillet about his head (cf. p. 87). The one copy was
excavated at Delos, and the other is at Madrid.
At the end of Screen G is also (118) the Naples copy of the
companion work of Polycleitos known as the Doryphoros, a young
spear-bearer. Along the upper part of the wall is (111) the West frieze of the
Theseion at Athens, representing the battle of the Lapiths and
Centaurs. Next on the right are (133-136) reliefs from the balustrade
which surrounded the platform on which stood the Temple of Wing
less Victory at Athens. Victories are represented as leading a bull
to sacrifice, decking a trophy, loosening a sandal, etc.
(96) ' Apollo on the omphalos,' a figure akin to the Choiseul-
Gouffier Apollo in the Archaic Room (p. 10). The figure is so
named because it has sometimes been placed on a sculptured
' omphalos ' (or copy of the sacred stone of Delphi) found at the
same time, but whether this arrangement is correct is a matter of
dispute. On the end wall, facing the gangway, are models and casts
illustrating the sculptures of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (about
460 B.C.).
The metopes show : (103) Heracles subduing the Cretan bull ;
(104) Heracles supporting heaven on his shoulders in relief of Atlas,
who brings the apples of the Hesperides ; (105) Athene seated, from
a metope showing the slaying of the Stymphalian birds.
(100) The East pediment (see the reduced model) showed the
preparations for the chariot race between Pelops and Oenomaos for
the hand of Hippodameia, daughter of Oenomaos. The sculptures
are assigned by Pausanias to Paionios, author of the Victory (see
below, no. 130).
(101) The West pediment (see the reduced model) shows the
battle of Centaurs and Lapiths in the presence of Apollo. This
group is assigned by Pausanias to Alcamenes.
Screen G 1. (233) The so-called Ludovisi Medusa, which
is in fact the head of a dying woman, of the Pergamene school

Casts of Ancient Sculptures. 83
of sculpture ; (127) the Rondanini Medusa, in which the Medusa's
mask is represented as of formal beauty, in place of the older and
cruder form with protruding tongue.
Below are (93) the so-called ' Ludovisi Throne,' now in the Museo
delle Terme at Rome, and a corresponding composition now in the
Museum of Fine Arts at Boston, U.S.A. It is suggested by Prof.
Studniczka, who has published an elaborate discussion of the
whole (Jahrb. d. Arch. Inst., xxvi.), that the two objects are the
halves of a sculptured altar ; and that the principal reliefs deal
with aspects of the myth of Aphrodite and Adonis.
Screen G 2. Reliefs in the archaistic (or affected archaic) style.
(Compare p. 77.)
Proceeding round the room, we pass :—
(141) Eirene and Ploutos (i.e. Peace, and Wealth, her child) by
Cephisodotos, father of Praxiteles.
(130) Cast of a statue of Victory, by Paionios of Mende. Victory
s supposed to be moving forward through mid-air. One foot rests
lightly on the back of an eagle, beneath which is a rock. On the
pedestal was an inscription (see cast) recording that the Victory was
offered as a tithe of spoil to Olympian Zeus by the Messenians and
Naupactians, and that the sculptor was Paionios of Mende.
(145) Hermes and the babe Dionysos. The marble original
was found in the Temple of Hera, at Olympia, in 1877. The statue
is assigned to Praxiteles, on the authority of Pausanias (V. 17. 3).
The child on the left arm of Hermes is stretching out his hand to
some object, probably a bunch of grapes, held out in the missing
right hand of the god.
(146) Aphrodite of Cnidos. From the Vatican replica of the
statue of Aphrodite entering the bath, by Praxiteles. The statue,
which was given by Praxiteles to the city of Cnidos, is identified from
coins. Another replica of the subject (147), from Munich, is in the
middle gangway.
The sculptures in the corner of the room are connected with the
group of Niobe and her children, which once stood in the Temple of
Apollo at Rome. Whether the group was the work of Praxiteles or
Scopas was a matter of controversy in the days of Pliny. The best
known examples of the types of the group are now in the Uffizi
Museum at Florence. The casts here shown are : (153) Niobe and
her youngest daughter, from the Uffizi ; (154) a replica of the head
of Niobe, in the collection of the Earl of Yarborough at Brocklesby
Park ; (155) a torso of one of the daughters of Niobe, in the Chiara-
monti Museum of the Vatican.
The reliefs in this corner of the room are from the tomb of Gjol-
Baschi, in Lycia. The wall of the enclosure (or temenos) of the tomb
was covered with reliefs of a pictorial character. The scenes repre
sented on the slabs here shown are (1) an attack on a city —
presumably Troy ; (2) the slaying of the suitors of Penelope, by
Odysseus and Telemachus. The reliefs are probably of the middle
of the 5th cent. B.C. G 2

84 The Gallery of Casts.
Proceeding along the south gangway we pass (156) the Aphrodite
of Capua ; (157) the Aphrodite of Aries and (221) the Aphrodite
of Melos, otherwise known as the Venus of Milo. The statue was
found in the island of Melos (French Milo) in 1820, and is now in
the Louvre.
The Belvedere Apollo was found (perhaps near Antium) before
1500 a.d. It stands in the cortile of the Belvedere at the Vatican.
Correctly restored, it is probable that the god held a bow in the
stretched-out left hand and a branch of laurel in the right.
(269) The triangular tripod base, commonly known as the
Altar of the Twelve Gods (in the Louvre), gives figures (considerably
restored) of the twelve gods, grouped in pairs, viz., Zeus and Hera,
Poseidon and Demeter, Apollo and Artemis, Hephaestos and Athene,
Ares and Aphrodite, Hermes and Hestia.
The following casts are from some of the best known works
of ancient art. (162) The ' Ludovisi Ares ' is seated in an easy pose,
with a figure of Eros on the ground between his legs — perhaps
after a work of Scopas. (235) The ' Borghese Gladiator ' (Louvre)
is a figure of an armed heroic warrior, probably in combat with a
horseman. Signed with the name of Agasias of Ephesus (2nd cent.
B.C.). (234) The group of Laocoon and his sons was found on the
Esquiline Hill at Rome in 1506, and is now in the Vatican. A work
of the Rhodian School, about 100 B.C.
(275) On the wall is a long frieze of the marriage procession of
Poseidon (Neptune) and Amphitrite (at Munich). It has been lately
identified as forming, with other reliefs in the Louvre, the sculptured
decoration of an altar which stood before a temple of Neptune
erected at Rome by Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus in commemoration of
a naval victory gained at Brindisi in 42 B.c.
(232) The colossal relief on the wall is a scene from the frieze
of the great altar of Zeus at Pergamon, erected by Eumenes II.
about 180-170 B.C. The subjects are taken from the war of the
Gods and Giants. In this group Athene, crowned by Victory, slays
a young Giant, for whom intercession is made by his mother Earth,
half issuing from the ground.
The figures in front of the relief,namely, (227, 228) two Persians,
(229) a dead Amazon, and (230) an old Gaul, are also from works
of the Pergamene school. They are reproductions of figures in a
series of votive groups dedicated by Attalus I. of Pergamon on the
Athenian Acropolis (about 200 b.c.) in commemoration of a victory
over the Galatians, or Gauls. (276) The dying Gaul (or so-called
Dying Gladiator) on the opposite side is a work of the same
school. We return to the east end of the central gangway, and observe-—
(148) The Satyr (or ' Faun '), in the Museum of the Capitol'
(150) The Apollo Sauroctonos of the Vatican represents Apollo
as a youth idly trying to pierce a lizard with an arrow held in his
hand. This was a work of Praxiteles, preserved to us in many
copies.

Casts of Ancient Sculptures. 85
(264) The bronze praying youth from Virunum (now at Vienna)
was dedicated by two freedmen, whose names are engraved on his
thigh. It is probably a Graeco-Roman copy, of the beginning of
our era, from a Greek statue of a young athletic victor.
(152) The running figure of Hypnos (Sleep) from Madrid is of
the same type as the bronze head in the Bronze Room (cf. p. 141),
and has been employed there to give the correct pose of that work.
(107) The boy drawing a thorn from his foot is reproduced
from a famous statue (in bronze) in the Museum of the Conservatori
at Rome. A more realistic rendering of the same subject in marble
may be seen in the Third Graeco-Roman Room.
(165) The Venus dei Medici, in the Uffizi at Florence, is a statue
which enjoyed extraordinary celebrity, on account of its supposed
merit, from the seventeenth century to the middle of the nineteenth
century. It is one of a large number of replicas of an unidentified
original. Near the end of the central gangway are several typical archaistic
figures, in which the peculiarities of archaic work are reproduced
and accentuated by accomplished artists of much later date.
At the west end of the gallery are examples of sculpture of the
Roman Empire.
(276) Augustus, in armour. A fine statue from Prima Porta,
Rome. (283) The large sarcophagus was formerly known as that of
Alexander Severus. On the front is the scene of the discovery of
Achilles among the daughters of Lycomedes, and on the other three
sides are reliefs relating to the story of Achilles. On the lid are
two recumbent figures of the third century. The sarcophagus was
found in the sixteenth century in the Monte del Grano, near Rome,
and was long reported by unverified tradition to have contained
the Portland Vase.
(274-282) On the walls at the corner of the room are examples
of Roman Imperial sculpture from the Arch of Trajan at Beneventum
(erected 114 a.d.).
[We return, through the Graeco-Roman Basement, by the stair
case to the Third Graeco-Roman Room, and pass through it to the
Second Graeco-Roman Room.]

SECOND GRAECO-ROMAN ROOM.
This small room contains Graeco-Roman or late works, which
are believed to reproduce sculptural types of the fifth century B.C.,
including : —
1609. A square terminal figure of a bearded Dionysos,
in the early manner.

86

The Second Gracco-Boman Boom.

250. Copy of the bronze Discobolos of Myron, an Athenian
artist of the first half of the fifth century b.c. A young athlete
is represented in the act of hurling the disk. He has swung it
back, and is about to throw it to the furthest possible distance
before him. We have an interesting opinion upon this statue by
the ancient critic, Quintilian. He remarks that the laboured
complexity of the statue is extreme, but anyone who should blame
it on this ground would do so under a misapprehension of its
purpose, inasmuch as the merit of the work lies in its novelty and
difficulty. The position of the head as restored is not correct. It
ought to be as in fig. 40, representing a combination of the torso of

Fig. 40.-The Discobolos of Myron, with the head correctly restored (after Michaelis).

the present figure with the head of the copy in the Lancelotti Palace
at Rome. (Compare the reduced copy in the Gallery of Casts )
1754. Statue of a youth, from the Westmacott collection. It
is a graceful and pleasing figure, but weak in the anatomy and
execution. It has been suggested that the figure ought to be
restored with the right hand raised and placing a wreath upon
the head, and that it may be a copy of the statue of Kyniskos (a
youthful pugihst at Olympia by Polycleitos. Beside the figure is a
fine replica of the head from Apollonia.
501. Statue of an athlete binding a fillet (see below), a
slighter and more youthful rendering of the subject than the
Diadumenos of Vaison. From the Farnese collection.

Fifth Century Types. 87
500. Statue of an athlete binding a diadem round his head
and believed to be a copy of the Diadumenos, by Polycleitos,
of Argos. Polycleitos was probably a younger contemporary of
Pheidias, and was famous as the author of a methodical system of
human proportion. This figure was found in 1862 at Vaison, in
Southern France.
1603. A head of Hermes (?), a youthful ideal male head,
somewhat severely treated. From the Chinnery collection.
[We pass by the opposite door to the First Graeco-Roman
Room.]

FIRST GRAECO-ROMAN ROOM.
Beside the door is (1569) a colossal bust of Minerva, helmeted.
On the left are an altar dedicated to Hercules by the keeper of the
Imperial Marbles ; and (1746) a Canephora,* or basket-bearer.
This figure was intended to serve an architectural function, and
is a Graeco-Roman imitation of the Caryatids of the Erechtheion.
One of the latter is exhibited in the Elgin Room (p. 47), and a com
parison of the two figures gives a clear idea of the difference between
Greek and Graeco-Roman art. The graceful spontaneity of the
Greek maiden is in striking contrast with the formal convention
of her Graeco-Roman counterpart.
To the right of the room are the following in order : —
1656. A young Satyr playing with the boy Dionysos.
1655. A dancing Satyr with cymbals, from the Rondanini
collection. The extremities of the figure are all restored, but the
torso is noted for its anatomical skill.
[1899. Antinous of Bithynia, favourite slave of Hadrian,
drowned in the Nile about 130 a.d. during his master's journey in
Egypt. According to some authorities his death was an act of self-
sacrificing devotion. He was subsequently represented in many
forms of deification — here as Bacchus. The face has always a beauty
of its own, but with a sullen and sensual expression.]!
1578. Venus preparing to enter the bath. Presented by King
William IV.
1751. Bust of Athene, with bronze helmet and drapery.
The bronze additions are modern.
1380. Apollo, the lyre-player (Citharoedos), standing in an
attitude of repose, as if resting from his music. The figure, which
was probably the temple statue, was found in the temple of Apollo
at Cyrene in North Africa. It has been put together from 123
fragments, but is not otherwise restored.
[The door adjoining leads to the Director's Office.]
* Greek VLavr\<p6pos. Lat., Canephora.
t Now in Third Graeco-Roman Room.

88 The First Graeco-Roman Room.
High up on this wall are three reliefs from Sarcophagi, of the
second and third centuries a.d., viz. : —
2305. A long slab with figures of the nine Muses.
2301. Five of the Labours of Heracles in an architectural
setting. The Labours represented are : the Cretan Bull, the Horses
of Diomede, the Amazon Andromache, the cattle of Geryon, and
Cerberus. 2306. Slab with Apollo, Minerva, and the Muses, the latter
wearing each a feather plucked from the Sirens, when the Muses
had overcome them in a contest of music.
1606. Statue of Dionysos draped and bearded, much as he
appears on the relief 2190 in the Third Graeco-Roman Room.
1747. Heroic figure from the Farnese collection.
1545. Statue of Demeter-Isis, representing both goddesses.
[We leave this room by the East door and enter the Gallery of
Roman Busts.]

GALLERY OF ROMAN BUSTS.*
The portrait sculptures are arranged along the North side of the
gallery, from west to east in chronological order.
The long series of imperial portraits from the fall of the Roman
Republic to the middle of the third century makes a vivid commen
tary on the histories of the time. For the most part the identifica
tion of the busts is based on the evidence of the coins, either directly,
or by comparison with other busts thus identified, and in the case
of the more distinctive portraits no uncertainty need arise. There
is more difficulty with the portraits of infrequent occurrence, and
with the subordinate members of the imperial families. In their
case the difficulty is increased by the tendency of the artists to
make all members of a family approach to the family type. The
successors and kinsmen of Augustus are assimilated to the Augustan
type, in the same way that the successors of Alexander are given
Alexandrine features and hair. On the wall above the busts are
reliefs from Sarcophagi, etc., of the Roman period, approximately
corresponding in their dates with the busts below.
The series begins on the right of the door. The following are
specially noteworthy : — ¦
1870. Caius Julius Caesar, the consummate soldier, states
man, and man of letters. Assassinated, 44 b.c. A striking bust of
' Caesar with the falcon eyes ' (Dante). (Plate XII., fio-. 2.)
The surface of the bust appears to have suffered from a drastic
cleaning with chemicals, but several details in the treatment con-
« *r 1^^ vtw ^J descfh,ed jl *j*Crtahgue of Sculpture, Vol. IIL
(7s. 6d.), Part VII. (sold separately at 4s.).

Roman Imperial Portraits. 89
firm the authenticity of the work, which has been questioned by
recent critics.
1876, 1877, 1879. Three heads of Augustus, the founder
of the Empire, the gracious patron of Virgil, and the ruling Emperor
at the time of the birth of Christ.
He was born 63 B.C., became emperor 29 B.C., and died 14 a.d.
He assumed the title of Augustus, on the petition of the Senate in
January, 27 b.c. An inscribed pedestal shows his name as Caesar,
in the previous year 28 B.C., which was the 6th consulship of Augustus
and the 2nd consulship of Agrippa. In no. 1876 he appears as a youth.
In the others he is in his prime. No. 1877 is a powerful portrait,
and was once the property of Edmund Burke.
1155. Claudius. He was specially noted for the uncouth-
ness of his deportment and gestures, but we are told that when
quiescent he was not wanting in authority and dignity. Born
10 B.C., emperor 41 a.d. Died (it was supposed by poison) 54 a.d.
2275 (on the wall above). A fine and characteristic pair of
Roman medallion portraits of a man and woman, named in the
inscription as Lucius Antistius Sarculo, master of the Alban
College of the Salian priesthood, and Antistia Plutia. The
tablet was dedicated by two of their freedmen, Rufus and Anthus.
1988. (Against the pilaster.) A female portrait statue, finely
draped and composed, sometimes taken for the empress Livia,
but perhaps representing a priestess.
1887. Nero, the typical example of cruelty and infamy in
combination with artistic vanity. He was born 37 a.d., emperor
54 a.d. He was dethroned, and committed suicide, 68 a.d.
1890. Vespasian, a soldier, raised to the throne by his
troops. A man of rough and shrewd character, a good commander
and administrator. Born 9 a.d., emperor 69-79 a.d.
Next is Titus, a good bust from Utica in North Africa. Titus,
born 41 A.D., emperor 79-81 a.d., was a beloved prince, but is most
familiarly known as the stern captor of Jerusalem.
On the wall above, a recently acquired relief shows the family of
Lucius Ampudius Philomusus, a corn-merchant, and the freed-
man of Lucius Ampudius jointly with his wife. From the Porta
Capena at Rome.
1893. Trajan, soldier, statesman, and administrator. Born
53 A.D., emperor 98 a.d. He died in Cilicia, 117 a.d.
1896, 1897, two ;busts, and 1381, a statue, are portraits
of Hadrian, the skilled administrator, indefatigable traveller and
scholarly patron of the arts. Born 76 a.d. Emperor 117-138 a.d.
In this statue Hadrian is dressed in civil costume. Another statue
by the door of the Reading Room shows him in armour. It will
be observed that Hadrian is the first bearded figure. His bio
grapher, Spartian, suggests that he allowed his beard to grow to
conceal certain natural blemishes, but the explanation seems
unnecessary, as the change of fashion became general about this
time (120 a.d.).

90 Gallery of Roman Busts.
1901, 1463. Antoninus, surnamed Pius on account of his
devotion to the memory of Hadrian. Born 86 a.d. Emperor
138-161 a.d. ' The consent of antiquity plainly declares that Anto
ninus was the first and, saving his colleague and successor Aurelius,
the only Roman emperor who devoted himself to the task of govern
ment with a single view to the happiness of his people ' (Merivale).
Above, 2317. Relief from the sarcophagus of Sallustius
Iasius, with figures of winged Cupids playing with armour.
1907, 1464. Two heads of Marcus Aurelius, emperor
and stoic philosopher, author of the ' Meditations.' Born 121 A.D.
Emperor 161-180 a.d. In one of the two heads (1907) he wears
a wreath of corn and a veil, as a member of the sacred college of the
Arval Brothers.
1925. Bust of a lady named Olympias (not otherwise known),
dedicated, as shown by the inscription on the base, by her freedman
Epithymetus. It is of the period of Trajan.
Above, 2593, 2594, are two of the Corinthian pilaster capitals
which formerly belonged to the upper internal order of the Pantheon
at Rome. Between them is 2299, a graceful frieze of recumbent Amazons,
from the front edge of the cover of a sarcophagus.
1913. Bust of the infamous tyrant Commodus, son of Marcus
Aurelius. Born 161 a.d. Colleague with his father, 176 a.d. Sole
emperor 180 A.D. Murdered by members of his household, 192 A.D.
1916. Septimius Severus, who died at York, a.d. 211.
1415. (Against the pilaster.) A finely draped female portrait
statue, probably of the time of Hadrian.
1917. Head of Car ac alia. Born 188 a.d He was a colleague
in the empire with his father Septimius Severus and his brother
Geta. On the death of his father he murdered his brother with his
own hand (211 a.d.) and so became sole emperor (cf. p. 118). The
neck is slightly inclined to the shoulders. We are told by the
emperor's biographer, Aurelius Victor, that he had been induced by
flatterers to believe that when he frowned and turned his head he
made himself resemble Alexander the Great.
[The Roman mosaics on the upper part of the wall of this
gallery, and the various Roman and other remains which stand
opposite to the busts, have been found in this country, and are
therefore included in the collections of the British and Mediaeval
Department.] [On leaving the Roman Gallery by the East door, we turn to
the Hall of Inscriptions, on each side of the entrance to the Readme
Room.] 5

Select Inscriptions. 91
HALL OF GREEK AND LATIN
INSCRIPTIONS.*
In this Hall are selected Greek and Latin Inscriptions, remarkable
either for their scripts, or for the historical interest of their subject
matter. Full information and extracted sentences will be found on
the labels
In the East or right half of the Hall, Greek inscriptions are
arranged, in approximate order of date, between the windows and
the door of the Reading Room The following are of special interest :
886. A decree passed in the names of the convention of the
Halicarnassians and Salmakitians, and Lygdamis the tyrant, about
455 B.C.,. for the purpose of regularising and confirming the possession
of real property at Halicarnassos.
37. Epitaph in elegiac verse, on Athenians who fell in battle
before Potidaea. Potidaea was a town in the Thracian peninsula,
and tributary to Athens. With the help of Corinth it revolted in
the summer of 432 B.C. The Athenians sent an expedition to
Potidaea, which gained a victory ; but only with the loss of the
commander Callias and 150 men, who are here commemorated
[Thucyd. i. 63 ; Grote, vol. iv. chap. 47].
38. Roll of names of Athenians who had fallen in battle,
grouped by tribes.
On the floor are a group of important documents relating to
Athenian finance ; copies of two letters (487, 489) addressed by
the Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius to the city of Ephesus.
On the South side of the East half of the Hall : —
811, 812. Two tablets with obj ects of the toilet, dedicated by
Anthusa and Claudia Ageta. For a further account, see p. 119.
171. A Greek inscription from Thessalonica, containing the
names of certain civic magistrates, styled ' Politarchs,' an uncommon
local title, accurately quoted by St. Luke (Acts xvii. 6, 8). The
inscription opens floAuTapxovvTuyv %u>o-tird.Tpov k.t.X. It gives the
names of six Politarchs, together with a steward and gymnasiarch.
A cast of an inscription forbidding Gentiles to approach within
the railing of the inner enclosure of the temple at Jerusalem, on
pain of death (Acts xxi. 28, 29 ; Josephus, de Bello Jud. v. 5, 2).
In the west (or left) half of the Hall, Greek inscriptions are con
tinued. 1002. A tall marble slab from Sigeum, in the Troad, inscribed
with the record of a dedication by Phanodicos of Proconnesos, and
giving the name of an artist, Aisopos. The inscription is written
boustrophedon ; that is, alternately from left and right (see p. 6).
* The labels are reprinted, with additional matter, in the Guide to the
Select Greek and Latin Inscriptions, 1917, price Gd. The Greek Inscriptions
have been published in the Ancient Greek Inscriptions in the British Museum,
Parts I.-IV. (1879-1916), £5 10s. The greater part of the collection is only
accessible to persons desiring to make special studies.

92 The Hall of Inscriptions.
399-402. — Pier (parastas or anta) of the temple at Priene, in
Asia Minor, with inscriptions relating to Alexander the Great, and
his successor Lysimachos. The large inscription at the top is the
dedication of the temple to Athene Polias by Alexander (circa
334 B.C.) mentioned above, p. 65.

r

B AtlAE T £ AAE2 ANAPO£
ANEOHkETONNAON AOHNAIHIPOAIAA1

j

BaaiAtus 'AA.e'£avSpos aveOrjKe rov vabv AOrjvair] IToAiaSi

This pier is crowned with a cast of the capital. The original
capital is in the Mausoleum Room.
On the West wall, and on the right return face of the pier, is an
elaborate series of documents relating to boundary disputes between
Priene and Samos, inscribed for permanent record by the Prienians
on the walls of the temple of Athene Polias.
343. The square shaft on the floor contains a copy of a decree
concerning a national subscription in aid of the Rhodian navy, at a
time of grave emergency — perhaps about 200 B.C. The decree
occupies half a column, and is followed by the names of the sub
scribers with their respective contributions on the remaining three
and a half columns. Presented by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, 1873.
On the North wall, the large upper inscription (No. 481), which
formed the sloping wall flanking the south entrance in the Great
Theatre at Ephesus, contains documents relating to gifts and
bequests by one Caius Vibius Salutaris (a.d. 104) to the city of
Ephesus. The gifts consist partly of gold and silver images of
Artemis and other subjects, and partly of a capital sum of money
to provide annual doles on the birthday of the goddess. Curious
conditions are laid down as to the carrying of the images in procession
from the temple to the theatre to attend assemblies or games.
The images are to be taken by way of the Magnesian gate to the
theatre and thence to the Coressian gate. From the topographical
information thus given, Mr. Wood obtained the clue by which he
found the temple site.
LATIN INSCRIPTIONS.
113*. On the floor is a cast of an inscription in very early
Latin. The original was excavated in May, 1899, in the Roman
Forum. It was found, with other early remains, beneath a piece

Select Inscriptions. 93
of black pavement, which some have identified with the niger lapis,
supposed in antiquity to mark the position of the grave of Romulus.
Presented by H.M. Queen Victoria.
On the East wall are selected Latin Inscriptions.
SCULPTURES.
This room also contains sculptures, mainly of a decorative
character and subordinate interest.
Beginning on the left of the entrance are : —
1638. Statue of Ariadne, the spouse of Bacchus, with Bacchic
emblems. 1906. Statue of Marcus Aurelius, in civil costume. A
feeble work, obtained by the British at the capitulation of Alex
andria (1801).
On the left of the door of the Reading Room is : —
1895. Hadrian in armour. His cuirass is richly decorated
with rebefs.
In the middle of this half of the room is : —
2502. A large marble vase with reliefs representing Satyrs
making wine. Found in the Villa of Hadrian at Tivoli.
In the right or East half of the room are : —
1943, 1404. Two Roman portrait statues, unknown.
A series of Roman sepulchral cippi, square urns with the
sepulchral inscription surrounded by decorative sculpture, often of
rich design. See, for example, the cippus (No. 2350) erected to
Agria Agathe by her heirs.
See also (1944) a poor statue of Septimius Severus (?) from
Alexandria ; and (1685) a figure of Thalia, the Muse of Comedy.
In the middle of this half of the room are : —
1886. An equestrian statue, restored as the Emperor Caligula
(a.d. 37-41), but probably a work of a later period ; (1719), a
seated Sphinx ; (2131), a group of two dogs and other decorative
subjects. 1721. A group of Mithras slaying the bull (compare p. 77),
dedicated by one Alcimus, the slave bailiff of Livianus, who has
been identified as an officer of Trajan, in fulfilment of a vow. A
work of the second century a.d.
[In order to visit the collections of smaller antiquities on the
upper floor, the visitor must ascend the principal staircase, and
turn to the right at the head of the stairs to enter the Room of
Terracottas. In the Room beyond that at the head of the staircase are the
collections of the remains of Roman civilisation, found in this
country, and therefore forming a section of the Department of
British and Mediaeval Antiquities.]

94

Upper Floor.

Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum,
Plan cf Upper Floor,

Terracotta Statuettes. 95
UPPER FLOOR
On account of structural works in progress, the arrangement of the
Rooms on the Upper Floor is in many instances provisional, and
subject to alteration. The Guide describes the objects as if in their
normal situations.
ROOM OF TERRACOTTAS.*
The specimens in this room illustrate the art of working in
terracotta (that is, ' baked clay ') as practised by the Greeks and
Romans from the beginning of Greek art onwards to the time of
the Roman Empire.
As might be expected from the nature of the material and the
small scale of most of the works with which we are concerned, the
terracottas show a slighter and often a more playful manner when
compared with the formal and deliberate work of the sculptor in
marble. It is to this fact that a collection of terracottas owes its
special charm. The works individually are for the most part un
important, and made half mechanically in great numbers, but it is
seldom difficult to understand the intention of the artists or to
sympathise with the grace and humour of their productions.
The smaller terracottas are, for the most part, derived from the
tombs or from the shrines of certain divinities. In the tombs the
original intention was probably to bury the terracottas as substitutes
for more valuable offerings for the benefit of the dead, or as votive
offerings to the gods of the lower world. But it is hard to see
how this applies to the statuettes of a later time, such as those of
Tanagra and Eretria, where the original intention must have been
almost forgotten, and where the terracottas were buried, like the
vases and ornaments, as part of the furniture of the tomb, but
without any special significance. In some cases the objects buried
must have been merely children's toys.
In the shrines of divinities the usual objects are of a votive
character, consisting of figures of the divinity, or by the process of
substitution already mentioned, representations in clay of acceptable
offerings. The principal methods employed are the following : —
(1) Figures of men, horses, etc., are rudely modelled in soft
clay rolled in the hands, as children work with dough, and roughly
pinched to the desired shapes.
(2) Figures are built up with clay and carefully worked like a
sculptor's model. Figures thus made are comparatively rare, and
are usually works of the larger and more individual kind.
* The Terracottas are described in the Catalogue of the Terracottas, by
H. B. Walters (1903), (35s.). A copy can be borrowed from the Commissionaire
in charge.

96

The Room of Terracottas.

(3) Figures and reliefs are made from moulds. Most of the
smaller objects in terracotta are made in this way. The original
model was first prepared in wax or clay. From this a mould was
taken by squeezing clay on the model. This mould was baked and
copies could then be readily taken from it. As may.be seen on the

Fig. 41.— Mould and Cast.
many moulds exhibited (cf. fig. 41), in most cases the front of the
figure is alone moulded. The irregular edges of the mould show that
it was seldom prepared to fit to an opposite piece, as is necessary for
casting a figure in the round. The simpler plan was usually adopted
of pressing the clay into the mould and roughly finishing the back
by hand. After the cast was removed from the mould finer details,
such as the eyes, hair, etc., were often touched with
a tool to give increased precision. In the reliefs
the same method may be followed of using a mould,
or occasionally the slab of clay may be cut out and
worked by hand.
The arrangement on both left and right
proceeds in historical order, beginning with the
Eastern door by which we enter.
On the left side of the room, in Cases 1-24,
are displayed terracottas found in Cyprus, Greece,
and in ancient Greek colonies. On "the right side
of the room, in Cases 25-48, are terracottas
which have been found in Italy and Sardinia,
but chiefly on sites where Greek influence had
prevailed. Wallcases 1-9 contain terracottas of the
archaic and early periods, namely :—
1. Terracottas of the Mycenaean or Aegean period,
from Enkonu in Cyprus (cf. p. 103) and elsewhere. These are rude
and highly conventional renderings of the nude human form
(fig. 42).

Terracotta Statuettes. 97
Cases 2-5. Terracottas from Cyprus. Some of these are in
the Cypriote style, which is partly Phoenician and partly local, but
the later specimens are purely Greek. Among the Cypriote examples
are fragments of drapery from a large figure, painted with figures and
patterns imitating embroidery, also small figures wearing elaborate
imitations of jewellery. The examples in which the Greek influence
is dominant are in Case 5.
Cases 6, 7. Figures derived from the early cemeteries of
Cameiros in Rhodes. Many specimens are votive figures of
deities. With these are a few grotesque subjects and others taken
from life.
Case 8. A series of archaic reliefs from Melos includes : —
B 362. Eos or Aurora carrying Cephalos in her arms.
B 363. Thetis, the sea-goddess, seized by Peleus. The lion
represents one of the transformations by which the goddess sought
to evade her suitor. By a convention accepted in archaic art,
moments properly consecutive are shown as if simultaneous.
B 364. Bellerophon on Pegasus (?) attacking the Lycian
Chimaera. The horse of Bellerophon must be Pegasus, although
no attempt is made to express the wings, partly because of the
difficulty of adjusting them to the composition, and partly because
of the close parallelism between this group and the following.
B 365. Perseus riding away on horseback with the head of
the Gorgon Medusa, freshly decapitated. From the neck issues
Chrysaor, a monster who sprang simultaneously with Pegasus from
the body of Medusa. Pegasus is not shown.
B 374. Scylla, with the dogs' heads springing from her
waist. B 367. A man grasping a lyre, on which a woman is playing ;
perhaps the poets Alcaeus and Sappho.
Case 9. Archaic figures, mainly of deities from Greece and
Asia Minor.
The remainder of the central division (Cases 10-16) contains
Greek terracottas of the fine period, especially from Tanagra, a
small town of Boeotia, and from Eretria, in the island of Euboea.
(Plate XIII.) The objects in this block may be assigned generally
to the fourth century.
It would be an error to seek for any deep religious or symbolic
meaning in this group of dainty and attractive figures. With the
exception of Eros, Seilenos, and the like, definite mythical or
legendary persons are seldom represented. We have rather the
characters of daily life. Sometimes they are generalised and
idealised, as with the graceful and charming but (in respect of
their intention) slightly monotonous figures of standing maidens.
Sometimes, on the other hand, we have representations of daily
life, in which the peculiarities of the subject are enforced with
spirited humour. Compare the old nurse and child (0 279), and
the recently-acquired companion figure of a nurse standing with
an infant.

98 The Room of Terracottas.
The third division (Cases 17-24) on the left side of the room
contains later Greek statuettes from various Greek sites, especially
in Asia Minor. Among them may be noted : —
Case 17. C 529. A pleasing group of two women, seated
together on a couch conversing.
Case 18. C 406. Satyr playing with young Dionysos, and
holding up a bunch of grapes, perhaps intended as a caricature of
the Hermes of Praxiteles.
In this division are also : —
Case 20. A series of heads, of fourth century and third century
types, from Asia Minor.
Case 21. Terracottas of a late period from Naucratis and the
Nile delta, mainly votive or grotesque. A young Satyr, holding
out a bunch of grapes to the boy Dionysos, may be compared with the
example of the same subject mentioned above.

Fig. 43.— Terracotta anteflxal ornament from Cervetri.
Cases 22-24. Statuettes of the period of decline, from Thapsus,
Cyrene, and Teucheira in North Africa. The graceful draperies and
playful motives of the terracottas of an earlier period still survive,
but the work is rougher, the colouring is more careless, and some
times the heads and bodies (which were separately moulded and
stuck together) are ludicrously disproportioned.
On the opposite (or North) side of the room the arrangement is
in like manner chronological, beginning near the East door with
Case 48.
The first division (Cases 48-41) contains terracottas of an
architectural character, mainly from Italian sites. It includes •—
Architectural fragments from Cervetri and Civita Lavinia (fig 43)
A series of large terracottas, with Gorgons' heads and other
subjects, which served as antefixes ; that is, to mask the ends of tile
ridges on a roof. They were found at Capua and Tarentum

Terracotta Worlc. 99
In the middle of the room, turned towards the division of the
archaic terracottas, is (B 630) a large terracotta sarcophagus*
found at Cervetri, of the archaic period. A grotesque pair, a man
and woman, recline on the cover. The woman is draped and wears
thin embroidered stockings beneath her sandals. The four sides
of the chest are decorated with subjects in low relief. Front side :
A battle. Rear side : A man and woman recline at a banquet, as
on the lid above, attended by two cupbearers and two musicians.
At each end is the furniture of the banquet, consisting of vases,
wreaths, mirrors, and keys. At one end is a scene of leave-taking
by warriors, and at the other are two pairs of mourning women.
The Etruscan inscription has not been interpreted, and some
critics have questioned the authenticity both of the inscription and
of the sarcophagus, since it is clear that the two cannot be separated.
For these doubts, however, there are no valid grounds.
Iu the next standard case is an attempted reconstruction of a
wooden building at Civita Lavinia (Lanuvium) faced with painted
terracotta. Parts of one side and of a gable-end are shown.
Water-colour sketches show the supposed treatment of the angle and
the general form of the building. Fragments of other architectural
terracottas are also in this case.
The table case contains in its upper part fragments of terracotta
reliefs from Locri (South Italy), in delicate archaic style. The
subjects appear to be connected with the rape of Persephone and
the making of offerings to the infernal deities. At one end is a group
of statuettes, signed with the names of the makers, in the clay,
while still wet; — Meno(philos), Patrophilos and Leonteus.
A series of ancient moulds for terracotta figures, from Tarentum.
Plaster casts, taken from each mould, are exhibited beside the
originals. The series can hardly be older than the fourth century.
Cases 40-33. The central division contains terracottas from
Tarentum, Capua, and other Italian sites, from the archaic to the
Graeco-Roman period.
Cases 32-25. The last division on the right contains terra
cottas of the later Greek and Graeco-Roman periods, often noticeable
for their bright colours and extravagant decoration.
Case 31. Five figures may be noticed in pink drapery, all of
which have been produced from the same mould ; but the heads
have been posed, and the arms attached, in different attitudes.
In the middle of the room, facing towards the third division, is
(D 786) the sarcophagus of a lady, named in the inscription ' Seianti
Hanunia, wife of Tlesna.' She reclines on the cover gazing into a
mirror which lies within its open case. Her earrings are painted to
imitate amber set in gold, and some of the six rings on her left hand
appear as if set with sards. Suspended from the walls of her tomb
were vases and other objects of silver and silver gilt, including a
* See Terracotta Sarcophagi, Greek and Etruscan, in the British Museum,
by A. S. Murray, folio, 1898 (28s.).
H 2

100 The Boom of Terracottas.
mirror and strigil, which, however, were only of the nature of sepul
chral furniture. The date is fixed, by coins discovered in a companion
sarcojjhagus now at Florence, about the first half of the second
century B.C. From Chiusi.
Two upright cases, also in the middle of the room, contain some
large terracotta statues. These are part of a series which were
found together in a dry well near the Porta Latina at Rome, about
1765, and were mended and restored by the sculptor Nollekens.
For other examples see Cases 89, 90 in the South Wing of the Room
of Greek and Roman Life. At the ends of one case are large
vases, floridly decorated with accessory figures of terracotta.

THE ROOM OF GREEK AND ROMAN
LIFE (SOUTH WING).
The South Wing of the Room of Greek and Roman Life must
be regarded as a continuation of the Room of Terracottas, its wall-
cases being mainly devoted to decorative terracotta reliefs. The
table-cases contain miscellaneous antiquities.
Cases 69-88. A series of terracotta slabs, with moulded
reliefs, used for the decoration of walls of houses. In most of the
panels are holes made in the soft clay for the nails with which the
reliefs were fixed. The methods of production were substantially
those already described in the introduction to the Terracotta Room.
The date assigned is the close of the Roman Republic, and beginning
of the empire, as may be inferred from the fact that some of these
panels were found at Pompeii. In several cases also they have the
names of Roman artists, e.g., in Case 70 of Marcus Antonius
Epaphras (D 626).
The subjects are in part purely conventional and decorative ; in
part mythological ; in part derived from life. The following are
worthy of note : —
Case 69. View of a colonnade, with a Bacchic term (such as
that in the second Graeco-Roman Room), a prize vase, and a statue
of a boxer, withthe palm branch of victory. (D 632.)
Cases 73-74. Frieze with the four Seasons. Summer with
corn ; Autumn with kid and fruits ; Winter with a wild boar and
game ; Spring with flowers. (D 583-5.)
It is interesting to note, as an example of the adoption of designs
for different purposes, that these figures occur on a vase of red
Arretine ware in the Fourth Vase Room.
Case 74. The infant Zeus (his name is inscribed), and the
Cretan Curetes, who clang their armour to prevent his cries being
heard by his father, Cronos. (D 501.)

Terracotta Beliefs. 101
Case 75. Theseus (his name is inscribed) raising the rock,
beneath which the arms of his father, Aegeus, were concealed.
(D 594.) Case 77. Athene directing the construction of the ship
Argo for the voyage of the Argonauts in quest of the Golden Fleece.
(D 603.)
Case 78. Dionysos visiting Icarios. (D 531.) This is
interesting as an abridged rendering in terracotta of the marble
relief (No. 2190) in the Third Graeco-Roman Room (see above, p. 76).
Case 83. A Roman burlesque imitation of a hieroglyphic
inscription. (D 639.)
Cases 83-86. A series of panels with figures of Victories
sacrificing bulls.
Case 86. A comic scene on the Nile with Pygmies and Nile
animals. (D 633.)
Cases 89-90. Large terracottas from the Porta Latina. (Cf.
p. 100.) Also a series of Etruscan terracotta portrait busts.
MISCELLANEOUS ANTIQUITIES.
Cases 65-68 are used for the temporary exhibition of small
objects recently acquired by the Department of Greek and Roman
Antiquities. Table-case M in this wing of the room contains a temporary
exhibition of objects found by the Salonika Expeditionary Force.
Case L contains objects carved in bone, ivory, and amber.
The ivories are of all periods. Among the earliest are some
important carved mirror handles of the Mycenaean period, from
Enkomi in Cyprus.
An ivory mirror handle is carved with a lion attacking a bull.
In the shade above is a similar mirror handle in a better state of
preservation. On one side an armed warrior, whom later Greek
legend more definitely specified as an Arimasp, is engaged in combat
with a Gryphon, who has large wings, an eagle's head, and a lion's
body and legs. On the reverse a lion is attacking a bull, nearly as
in the mirror handle already mentioned.
In a glass shade above the case are ivory busts and statuettes.
At the end of Case L and in three shades above it is an
interesting collection of carved ambers of Etruscan origin.
[A door in the South side of the Room leads, by a Corridor, to
the Room of Gold Ornaments and Gems. Inmediately adjoining
are the Study of the Keeper of the Department, and the Depart
mental Library and Students' Room.]

102 Corridor.

CORRIDOR.
On the wall-cases at the far end of the corridor is a temporary
exhibition of sculptures from Cyprus. On the right-hand side they
are of Oriental and early Cypriote character. On the left-hand side
they are of the later Cypriote and quasi-Hellenic styles.
A temporary wall-case contains a selection of electrotypes of
inlaid daggers and other metal work of the Mycenaean period. The
originals were discovered by Schliemann, in the graves of Mycenae
and are now in the Museum at Athens. With these are electrotypes
of two noted gold cups from Vaphio (near Sparta) with scenes of
wild and domesticated cattle.
On the walls are six mural paintings, which formed a part of
the decoration of the ceiling of the tomb of the Nasonii, discovered
in 1674, on the Flaminian Way, near Rome. The principal subject
is a scene of the rape of Proserpine by Pluto, who carries her off in
his chariot.

ROOM OF GOLD ORNAMENTS
AND GEMS.
THE PORTLAND VASE.
To the right end of the room, above Table-case T, is placed the
celebrated glass vase, deposited by its owner, the Duke of Portland,
in the British Museum, and popularly known as the Portland
Vase (Plate XIV.). It was found, according to a tradition of
doubtful value, in a marble sarcophagus in the Monte del Grano,
near Rome, and was formerly in the Barberini Palace. The
sarcophagus (of which a cast is shown in the Gallery of Casts) is
a work of the third century of our era, but the vase must be
assigned to the beginning of the Roman Empire. The ground of
the vase is of blue glass ; the design is cut out in a layer of opaque
white glass, after the manner of a cameo. The whole of the white
layer, and parts also of the blue underneath, were cut away in the
spaces between the figures. On account of the difficulty of carvinc
in glass, and the brittle nature of the material, which might at any
moment break in the hands of the artist, works of this kind are of
great rarity.
The interpretation of the subjects is doubtful. That on the
obverse, with a woman seated, approached by a lover led on by
Cupid, is supposed to represent Thetis consenting to be the bride
of Peleus in the presence of Poseidon. That on the reverse, with a
sleeping figure, and two others, is supposed to be Peleus watching
his bride Thetis asleep, while Aphrodite presides over the scene.

The Portland Vase. 103
On the bottom of the vase, which is detached, is a bust, probably
of Paris, wearing a Phrygian cap.
The Portland Vase was wantonly broken to atoms by a visitor
in February, 1845. A water-colour drawing is exhibited showing
the fragments to which it was reduced. The vase was made
familiar by copies issued by Josiah Wedgwood, the potter. The
vases first issued were finished by handwork, and specimens are of
great scarcity [see a specimen in the Ceramic Collection], but the
subsequent copies, cast from moulds, are of no particular value.
GOLD ORNAMENTS, ETC.
Greek, Phoenician, Etruscan, and Roman*
Of the period antecedent to the historical age of Greece, and
now commonly known as the 'Mycenaean' period (see pp. 2
and 150), several groups of gold ornaments are exhibited : (1) from
Enkomi and other early sites in Cyprus ;
(2) from one of the Greek Islands, perhaps
Aegina ; (3) from Crete and Ialysos in
Rhodes. (1) Enkomi. Compartments 6*, 7 and
the greater part of the table-cases before the
three windows contain a remarkable series of
objects of the late Mycenaean class, obtained
principally from the excavations carried on at
Enkomi, near Salamis (in Cyprus), with funds
bequeathed by Miss E. T. Turner.f These ex
cavations were made during the spring and
summer of the year 1896 on a site that had Fis' u- EntomT' fr°m
not previously been touched in modern times.
Comparisons between objects found at Enkomi and corresponding
Egyptian finds seem to show that the general date of the site was
between 1300 and 1100 B.C., with a few later elements. Among
the finds are numerous gold diadems, plain or stamped with
patterns, gold mouth-pieces, earrings, rings, beads and other orna
ments, engraved stones and cylinders, carved ivories, etc.
Compartments 6*, 7. Engraved cylinders, scarabs, etc., from
Enkomi, together with a few from other Mycenaean sites in Cyprus ;
also stamped gold diadems, and (821) a silver cup of typical My
cenaean form. Note also a pendant in pomegranate form, covered
with minute globules of gold (fig. 44) and a singular double ring
with four animals carved in intaglio.
* For the finger-rings and jewellery, see the Catalogue of the Finger-
rings, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, by F. H. Marshall, 1907 (23s.), and the
Catalogue of the Jewellery, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, by the same,
1911 (35s.). Copies can be borrowed from the commissionaire. The numbers
of objects in the Jewellery Catalogue are painted on maroon labels.
t For the excavations at Enkomi, see Excavations in Cyprus, by A. S.
Murray, A. H. Smith, and H. B. Walters (30s.).

104

The Boom of Gold Ornaments.

A series of pins of a singular form, with an eye in the middle of
the shaft, were probably used like brooches, for fastening drapery.
In Compartment 7 a series of earring pendants approximating
to the bull's head shape shows in an interesting way the process
of transition from a representation to a conventional decoration
(fig. 45).
The shade above compartments 10, 11, contains an ivory
Draught-Box, with reliefs. On the top is the board, divided into
squares ; the central row has twelve squares, and on each side are
two rows of only four squares each, grouped at one end. (Draught
boards similarly divided may be seen in the Egyptian Rooms.)
On one side a man in a chariot drawn by galloping horses pursues
a herd of deer and ibex. On the opposite side are more varied scenes

Fig. !45. —Diagram showing the development of bull's head earrings.
of hunting. At the closed- end of the box are two bulls reclining,
and at the other end is a smaller relief of a pair of ibex standing
on each side of a sacred tree. (For other ivories from Enkomi'
cf.p. 101.)
Further objects from Enkomi are shown in the windows. In
the first window on the right are stamped gold diadems, ear- and
finger-rings, pins, beads and scarabs.
In the middle window are a large pectoral ornament, in the
Egyptian style, with rows of pendant ornaments, and two pendant
lotus flowers divided into compartments filled with blue, pink and
white paste, in the manner of Egyptian inlaid work.
(2) Aegina (?). In Table-case T, compartments 1, 2, and in
the corresponding divisions, nos. 37, 38, on the reverse slope of
the case, is a series of objects which were found together in a tomb

Gold Ornaments. 105
in one of the Greek islands, perhaps Aegina. None is of actual
Egyptian manufacture, but in several cases they reflect the influence
of Egyptian art, as, for example, in the pendant in which a figure
in Egyptian costume and attitude holds a swan by the neck in each
hand, and in the inlaid finger-rings. On the other hand, they repeat
themes already familiar in objects from Mycenae, such as the
elaborate spiral ornaments on the gold cup. In some respects, such
as the maeander pattern in one of the rings, there are resemblances
with the early products of the subsequent periods. Hence it would
seem that the treasure belongs to the close of the Mycenaean period
or to the time of transition to post-Mycenaean times, say 1200-1000
B.C. (3) Crete and Ialysos. Compartments 34, 35, 36 contain
further specimens of the gold work of the Mycenaean period,
principally from Crete and from the cemetery of Ialysos in Rhodes.
The beginnings of jewellery of the Greek period proper are
represented by groups of objects from (4) Ephesus and
(5) Cameiros.
(4) Ephesus. Compartment 6 of Case T contains a small
selection of gold ornaments from the treasure found by Mr. D. G.
Hogarth (in 1904-5), beneath the foundations of the Temple of
Artemis at Ephesus (cf. p. 68). The greater part of the treasure
is in the Museum of the Porte, only a few duplicates having been
ceded to the British Museum. The series includes stamped disks,
pins, brooches and pendants. Its date appears to be of the end
of the eighth or beginning of the seventh century B.C., occupying
a position intermediate between the. late Mycenaean groups and
the group from Cameiros, immediately following.
(5) Cameiros. Compartments 4, 5 of Case T contain gold
ornaments of the period immediately subsequent to those above
described. They are for the most part derived from seventh century
cemeteries of Cameiros, in Rhodes. The principal objects are. a
series of plaques, with repousse-work designs. The types include
(1108) a Sphinx ; (1115) an archaic Centaur (with human forelegs,
according to the archaic type) holding up a kid ; (1118) a winged
figure terminating in a bee-like body ; (1126) a winged goddess
holding lions by the tails ; (1128) a winged goddess between two
rampant lions, and other subjects. In some cases these figures are
richly ornamented with minute globules of gold, which have been
made separately and soldered on. This process is seldom found
in Greece, but is frequent in the early goldsmith's art of Etruria
(Case B), and also occurs on the globular pendant from Enkomi.
A porcelain scarab found with the plaques, and exhibited in
compartment 4, contains the name of the Egyptian king Psam-
metichos I. (b.c. 666-612), and supplies a date to tho find, perhaps
as early as the middle of the seventh century (about 650 B.C.).
Compartment 5 also contains a silver pin from Argolis, which
was dedicated to the goddess Hera, with the archaic inscription :
TSs Brjpas ("Hpas), ' I am Hera's.'

106 The Boom of Gold Ornaments.
The collection of jewellery is continued in the Wall-cases A-H,
which follow as nearly as possible a chronological order, beginning
with Case A. This contains objects of Phoenician character (i.e.
free imitations of Egyptian work), found chiefly in Cyprus and at
the Phoenician settlement of Tharros in Sardinia (compare p. 112).
Observe a silver bowl from Cameiros, on which are Phoenician
imitations of Egyptian cartouches.
Case B. Archaic and early Etruscan ornaments, in which
the process of employing minute globules of gold to form patterns or
otherwise to enrich the design is carried out to a very great extent.
The date is seventh to sixth century B.C.
Note (1463) a chain with a pendant in the form of a Satyr's
head covered with the granulated work ; (1390) a brooch (fibula)
with a figure of the Chimaera and a horse : (1473) a pendant orna
ment (bulla) with a figure of the winged Medusa decapitated, and
two Pegasi springing from her neck.
Case C. Fine gold wreaths. Early Greek jewellery from
Tharros and Cyprus. Also part of a silver girdle from Cyprus, with
plaques in relief, similar to those described above from Cameiros.
Case D, E. Greek gold ornaments of the finest period, about
420-280 b.c. The figures have in some cases been made by pressing
thin gold plates into stone moulds (cf. p. 127). Instead of the
Etruscan globules, fine threads of gold (filigree) are here employed
with an extremely delicate effect.
At this point in the series, the select gold ornaments in Case W,
nos. 19, 20, should be compared. These include the finest examples
of Greek jewellery, with filigree, and enamel. The process of enamel
ling frequently occurs, but the enamel is always in very small
quantities, as may be seen in the beautiful necklace (1947) from
Melos. In the centre of the case is (1999) a fine pin found in the
Temple of Aphrodite at Paphos in Cyprus. The head of the pin,
which is surrounded by a large pearl, is in the form of a capital
of a column with projecting heads of bulls and circular vases towards
which doves are looking. On the stem is engraved a dedication
to the Paphian Aphrodite by Euboula and Tamisa.

a',a;t:a/v'UC'\ ' ' '•
'A<£ooSi[t]t/i ±Ta<£<,'a(i) EvBovXa e{<x[ijv]
?? yvvrj rj 'A parou tov cruyye(v)oi}s
Kai Tapioa.
For examples of filigree see the fine series of earrings, pendants,
and necklaces from Kyme in ^Eolis.
Cases F, G. Later Etruscan ornaments, in which the taste
of the time takes the form of largeness and display, as in huge
necklaces with pendant bullae, or in earrings of unusual size.

Later Greek and Etruscan Jewellery. 107
Case H. Gold ornaments of the later Greek
period (third to second centuries b.c), together
with a few objects of a later period. In the
centre is a highly ornate gold crown in filigree and
enamel, from South Italy. Among the "earrings
Cupids occur playing on pipes, making libations
(fig. 46), or offering wreaths.
2104-6. A group of stamped gold ornaments
is probably derived from Greek tombs in the
neighbourhood of Kertch. The types are repeti
tions of those which occur in the treasure of the
Hermitage. This case also contains a gold tablet in which v^.^t^n,^
Ptolemy Euergetes I. and Berenice (b.c. 242-222) as pendant.
dedicate the sacred enclosure of a temple to Osiris.
This tablet had formed part of a foundation deposit for a temple
at Canopus in Egypt.

A..p cf m oy „ ac— r-r A..A P>4 <^>< i,'AUiy>..c,y,i cCA,

Bao-tA.£iis ilToAeyitaios, llToA.e/xaiou kgu
'Apcrivoijs ©€ajy uScA.cpaJv, Kai ^3ao"(X(.o"0"a
HepeviKr], rj aSeX<f>r] kol yvvr) abrov,
TO T€yU.€VOS 'OffljOfl.
On the right of Case H is a portion of a treasure found in
Calabria (South Italy), with a diadem, earrings, etc. A bronze coin
(exhibited), which is said to have been found with the treasure, was
issued by Hiketas of Syracuse (b.c. 287-278).
Cases J, K. Ornaments of the later Greek and Roman
periods. The work is less minute, the designs become more common
place. It now becomes the fashion to make considerable use of
precious stones and pearls.
Late imperial coins, as of Philip and Gallienus, are inserted as
ornaments in some of the most recent pieces of Roman jewellery.
Among the inscribed plates of gold leaf, note (3155) a small tablet
on which are directions (in Greek) for finding the way in the lower
world, addressed to the soul of one of the initiated : ' And thou
wilt find to the left of the house of Hades a well [Lethe] and beside
it a pale cypress. Approach not even near this well. And thou
wilt find another, cold water flowing forth from the lake of Memory.

108 The Boom of Gold Ornaments.
Before it are warders. Say to them, " I am child of earth and
heaven, but my race is of heaven. ... I am parched with thirst,
I perish. Give me quickly cold water, flowing from the lake of
Memory." And they will give you drink,' etc. This tablet had
been rolled up and placed in the cylinder exhibited above it, to be
worn as a charm. From Petilia, in South Italy.
Observe also three complete gold bars, and a fragment of a
fourth. One bar and the fragment were found in a hoard of sixteen
such bars at Kronstadt in Transylvania. On the upper surface are

stamps impressed on the metal : (1) |

r?lTTmillJIIOIIIMI,l|prp'7

Lucianus

obr(>/zam) I sigfnavit), i.e. Lucianus stamped the fine gold. The
I (primus) perhaps means in the first officina or workshop. It
is also taken to mean that Lucianus enjoyed some form of priority.
The inscription is followed by the Christian monogram XP.

Fl(avius) Flavianus ]>ro(curator) sig(navit)

ad digma, i.e. Flavius Flavianus, procurator of the mint (or else
pro(bator), the assayer), stamped the metal, according to sample.
From data furnished by other bars the hoard must be placed
between 367 and 395 a.d. The two other bars which are exhibited
are probably of somewhat earlier date. They were found in a hoard
at Aboukir. They bear the names of . . . antius and Benignus,
Above Compartment 33 is a gold vase of the Roman period,
dredged up off the coast of Asia Minor. It has an inscription on
the foot, stating the weight as two pounds and a half, half an ounce
and one scruple. The vase is perfectly plain, but of graceful shape.
Case W, 19, 20. See above, p. 106.
COLLECTION OF FINGER-RINGS.
Wall Cases M-P contain the collection of finger -rings of the
classical periods. This series has recently (1919) been re-arranged,
and greatly expanded by the incorporation with the older Museum
series, of the valuable collection of rings bequeathed by the late
Sir A. W. Franks.
The rings are grouped in classes, according to material, and
subdivided according to period. The general classification is as
follows : —
Cases M 2, N 1, rows a-c. Rings having incised designs on
plain gold bezels. Those in M, rows c, d, r, should specially be
noticed, as they include some of the most admirable examples of
this work that the Greeks have left us.
Case N 1, row d. Rings with relief designs in gold. Among
them is a group of Roman rings, with imperial coins'in the bezels.

Collection of Finger-Rings.

109

Cases N 2, OI. Rings set with engraved stones.
Case 0 2. Rings with inscriptions and mottoes. Rowc Rings
set with plain stones.
Case P 1. Rings set with plain stones continued, and (row e)
plain gold rings.
Case P 2. Plain gold rings ; silver rings, etc.

Fig. 47.— Types of antique Rings : a, b, Mycenaean ; c, Early Greek ; d, 4th century Greek ;
e, Hellenistic ; /, g, Etruscan ; h, Imperial Roman.

SILVER PLATE AND ORNAMENTS.
The objects in silver are for the most part grouped in Case L,
in and over Cases 15 and 18, and in Cases Q, R, S between the
windows. Case L. Horse- trappings, phalerae, and fibulae of silver. See
the trappings of a cuirass, from Xanten, on the Rhine, inscribed
with the name of Pliny (Plinio praefecto), probably Pliny the Elder.
Case 18. A bucket-shaped vessel (situla) from Vienne (Isere,
France), with a fine, frieze of the Seasons in relief.
Case 15. Miscellaneous silver objects, including : (1) A small
find from a tomb at Brusa, with mirror, spoon, ladle, box, and plate.
(2) Vases found at Chatuzange, near Romans (Drome), one of
them having a handle very beautifully chased with floral patterns.
In the middle of the principal bowl is a medallion group of the
three Graces.

110 The Room of Gold Ornaments.
In the shade, above Case 15, is a group of silver statuettes,
being a treasure found near Macon in 1764. The principal figure
wears a mural crown, which marks her as the personification of a
city, while the wings suggest Victory, and the cornucopia Fortune.
Above her head is a row of deities representing the seven days of
the week, beginning with Saturn (Saturday) on the left. The figure
is making a libation over an altar. Immediately above her head
are busts of the two Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux ; from the cornu
copia in her left hand issue busts of Apollo and Diana. Seven
figures (four of Mercury, together with those of Jupiter, Diana, and
a genius) were part of the same find. An eighth, of Jupiter
enthroned, which probably belongs to the series, was added in
1919. Case Q. Part of a service found at Caubiac, near Toulouse,
in 1785 Case R. Silver objects. A diminutive silver-gilt lion, from
Argos, is worked with great spirit on a minute scale. Here also are
a small amphora of very graceful shape, surrounded by wreaths
of vines and ivy ; two phialae, or libation dishes, with reliefs
representing Heracles being driven in a chariot to Olympos. One
of these is broken at the edge, but is much finer in style than the
other. A terracotta phiale in the Fourth Vase Room has the same
decorations, and shows how the types were disseminated, and used
for various kinds of products with slight variations.
Case S. A silver service found in 1883 at Chaourse, neai
Montcornet (Aisne), in France. It consists of thirty-six vases ol
various shapes. With them were found brass coins of Domitian,
Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and Postumus, from which it is
inferred that the date of the deposit is the latter part of the third
century. The service includes a bucket-shaped vessel (situla).
with a rich floral frieze in silver-gilt ; three bowls with richly
adorned rims ; a handsome ewer. Observe also a wine-strainer,
pierced with holes in geometrical patterns, and a pepper-caster
in the form of a negro slave, asleep, seated on his burden.
ENGRAVED GEMS.
The gems exhibited in this room represent most of the known
stages of the glyptic art (or art of engraving gems) as practised bv
the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans, from the beginning of civilisa
tion in Greece, in the Mycenaean period, down to about the third
century A.D., or even later.
The principal classes of engraved gems are Intaglios, Cameos
and Scarabs. Intaglios (Italian, intagliare, to cut in) have the
design sunk below the surface, and are primarily intended to be
used as seals. Cameos (derivation unknown) have the desio-n
carved in relief, and are used as independent ornaments. Scarabs
(scarabaei, beetles) combine the characteristics of both the cameo
and intaglio. The back is carved in relief, in imitation of a beetle

Engraved Gems. Ill
(see below, fig. 48), while the base bears a design sunk into it in
intaglio. Scarabaeoids are of the general form of the scarab,
but no attempt is made to indicate the beetle (fig. 48). Cylinders
play a great part in the gem-engraving of Babylonia, Assyria and
the East. Except at an early period in Cyprus, they appear little
in the gem engraving of Greek lands. A plaster impression is
placed beside each intaglio, showing the design as it appears in relief.
The intaglios having been intended for use as seals, this was the.
way in which the engraver intended his work to be seen, as is
shown by the inscriptions, and by the fact that in intaglios the
figures are usually right-handed in the impression.
With the. exception of the early gems in steatite — a very soft
material — the engraved stones are harder than a metal tool, and
the different kinds of gem engraving depend on the various methods
adopted for applying minute fragments of a very hard material, in
order to produce the desired effect on the gem to be engraved.
This might be done either by setting splinters of diamond in a
metal pencil, or by rubbing in minute dust of diamonds, or of emery
mixed with oil, by means of a hand-worked tool, or a revolving drill

Fig 48.— Shapes of Gems.
1. Lenticular Gem. 2. Glandular Gem. 3. Scarab. 4. Searabaeoid.
or wheel. In the earliest and the latest gems the marks of the tool
are conspicuous. In the early gems much of the work is done with
a tubular drill, which leaves a circular ring-like depression. In the
late Roman work the rough cuts of the engraver's tool are uncon
cealed. Table-case U 8. Earliest examples of gem engraving in intaglio.
The gems shown in this case belong to the earlier stages of the
' Minoan ' or ' Mycenaean ' period in Greece. They are for the most
part in two forms, either Lenticular, i.e. of the shape of a broad
bean, or Glandular, i.e. shaped like a sling bolt. The materials
used are comparatively hard stones, such as sard, amethyst, crystal
and the like. The subjects include decorative designs, animals,
human figures, and monstrous combinations. The four upper rows
principally contain examples of early gems from Crete. Included
in the series are specimens of the Cretan hieroglyphic symbols,
recently discovered. The lower rows contain examples from
Mycenaean sites, such as Mycenae and Ialysos in Rhodes.
Case U 9. Examples of gem engraving in soft materials
(usually steatite) from Melos, and other Greek islands.

112 The Room of Gold Ornaments.
These, gems have the same ' glandular ' and ' lenticular ' forms
which mark the gems of the Mycenaean period. They are engraved
however in soft substances, and have been found in company with
early Greek inscriptions, vases, and terracottas of the historical
period, say between the seventh and fifth centuries B.C. The range
of subjects is also different. Instead of the monstrous combinations
peculiar to the earlier Mycenaean art, we have the forms adopted
by Greek mythology, such as Pegasus, the Chimaera, the Gryphon,
and the Centaur.
The class of Melian gems is of importance, since it preserves a
continuity of form with the stones of the Mycenaean period, and
thus supplies an undoubted link between the arts of the Mycenaean
period and those of historical Greece.
Case U 10-13. The next oldest stage of gem engraving is to be
seen in the Scarabs or stones which have one side carved in the
form of a beetle, and the Scarabaeoids, which are approximately
of beetle form. The origin of the use of the scarab must be sought
in Egyptian theology, in which the Egyptian beetle rolling a ball
of mud containing its eggs was emblematic of Kheper, the principle
of creative power, and so the scarab became a sacred emblem and
amulet. As a rule, the base of the Egyptian scarab had some
simple hieroglyphic or other design, and hence it was adopted as a
convenient form for an engraved stone by nations to whom the
beetle had no religious significance. The Phoenicians employed
both the scarab and its simplified form the scarabaeoid. The
Etruscans used the scarab constantly, but not the scarabaeoid.
The Greeks, on the other hand, made no great use of the scarab,
while they favoured the scarabaeoid at the finest period.
Among the scarabs and scarabaeoids two classes are to be
distinguished. The one bears designs in which the Egyptian and
the Assyrian elements prevail over the Greek (Compartments
10, 11 a-c). These have been found for the most part in Phoenician
colonies, and in regions where Phoenician commerce extended.
The other (Compartments 1M-13) has designs obtained from Greek
art. The scarabs of this class are mostly found in Etruria, and in
many cases have Etruscan inscriptions. They are therefore pre
sumed to have been made by Etruscan artists. The scarabaeoids
are found in Greek sites, and in some instances signed by Greek
artists. Case U 10, 11. A large series of scarabs, from Tharros, in
Sardinia, mostly engraved in green jasper. Tharros was a Phoeni
cian colony, and its gems have the characteristic marks of the
Phoenician style. Egyptian and Assyrian motives are freely
borrowed and used for decorative purposes, with no reference to
their original significance. Pure Greek motives also occur, however,
such as Heracles, which make it probable that the gems of Tharros
are comparatively late.
Case U 11-13. Etruscan scarabs. Here the Egyptian
and Assyrian subjects no longer occur. Deities also are" com-

Engraved Gems. 113
paratively rare. The most frequent subjects are figures or groups
derived from the heroic legends of Greece, while animal and athlete
subjects are also common. An ornamental border, called a cable-
border, usually surrounds the subject, but this was adopted by the
Etruscans with the scarab form, since it also occurs on porcelain
scarabs from Naucratis and Cameiros, and on the stones from
Tharros. A second border, on the lower edge of the beetle, was
added by the Etruscans. The materials used are generally sard,
banded agate, or rock crystal. The best examples appear to date
from the beginning of the fifth century B.C., and are characterised
by great refinement in the execution, with a flat rendering of the
figure which corresponds with the treatment of Greek bas-relief in
marble of this period.
Case U 12. Etruscan scarabs (continued). Among the later
scarabs there is a marked tendency towards greater roundness of
the figures, and in the rougher specimens the figures are composed
of little more than hemispherical, cup-like depressions hastily drilled
out. Case U 13. This case contains examples of ' cut-scarabs ' — ¦
that is, thin slices of stone with a cable border and intaglio design,
such as might be found on the base of a scarab. In some cases the
scarabs may have been cut down to accommodate them to a later
system of mounting in rings, while other designs may have been
engraved originally on a thin stone in imitation of the base of a
scarab. Case U 14, 16. A selection of Graeco-Roman Intaglios,
grouped according to their subjects. The series begins with Zeus
(Jupiter) and myths connected with him, and continues with
Poseidon (Neptune), Athene, Hermes, Apollo and Muses, Artemis,
Ares, Aphrodite, Eros (Cupid), Dionysos and Bacchanalian
subjects, etc.
Case U 17, 28-33. Graeco-Roman intaglios (continued).
Case X, in the centre of the room, contains the finest specimens
of Greek and Roman gem-engraving. On the side nearest the door
are the intaglios, which range from the sixth century B.C. down to
the Roman Empire, classed in compartments : —
Case X 39-40. Intaglios of the best Greek workmanship.
Many of the gems in these two compartments are in the form of the
scarabaeoid ; the scarab, which, as was pointed out above, is a form
that found little favour with the Greeks, occurs but seldom. In
some stones, however, variety is given to the plain surface at the
back of the scarabaeoid by some device in relief, such as the Satyric
mask which occurs on the scarabaeoid (479) in Compartment 39.
On the face is engraved a lyre-player, and an inscription with the
name of the artist who engraved the gem, probably to be read
as Syries. Case X 39 contains other examples of the finest Greek gems.
It is to be noted that in works of the fine Greek style the work
is not conspicuously minute in detail. It is indeed less so than in
i

114 The Room of Gold Ornaments.
some of the earlier gems. The treatment is broad and free, and
calculated for the general effect of the work seen as a whole.
Case X 40. Greek gems (continued), including a series of
large scarabaeoids, with figures of animals broadly and naturally
worked. Case X 41-43. Selected Graeco-Roman gems, produced by
Greek engravers working in Rome towards the end of the Republic
and in the first centuries of the Empire. The subjects are mainly
mythological. The favourite material is the sard, in tints varying
from pale yellow to orange red. Other stones used less frequently
are the banded onyx, nicolo, amethyst, etc.
Case X 44-45. Here are many gems which are signed, or
purport to be signed, by ancient engravers.
The gems which profess to be thus signed are very numerous, and in some
cases (e.g., the scarabaeoid of Syries already mentioned) the authenticity of
the signature is absolutely beyond dispute. In most signed gems, however,
there is doubt and controversy with respect to the signatures, since the
lamentable habit of adding the names of ancient artists to gems, in order to
invest them with a fictitious value, is known to have prevailed from the
Renaissance onwards, but especially during the eighteenth and early nine
teenth centuries. For the convenience of students most of the signed gems in
the collection have been brought together in these two compartments. In
some examples, however, the signature must be regarded as a recent addition
to an ancient engraving, while in others the whole work is equally suspect.
Compare, for instance (Compartment 44, row e), the fine blue beryl head of
young Heracles with the name of Gnaios. A crystal counterfeit in the collec
tion accurately imitates the fracture of the original.

X 46, 47. Portraits in intaglio. Among them are
several noteworthy for their vivid and characteristic portraiture.
Case X 48-56. In the opposite side of the case are the
Cameos or gems in relief, belonging almost exclusively to the
Roman period, and engraved on precious stones, consisting of layers
of different colours, which the engravers have utilised to obtain
rich and varied effects. As already mentioned, the Cameo is com
plete in itself, while the Intaglio is primarily intended to serve as
a seal. Hence the Cameos are of a larger size and more brilliant
effect. It also follows that the figures are right-handed and the
inscriptions are not reversed.
Case X 48. The subjects are mainly Bacchanalian, with figures
of Satyrs, Maenads, Silenus, etc.
Case X 49. Bacchanalian subjects, figures of animals, etc. At
the bottom is a roughly executed bust of Heracles, wearing the
lion's mask, from the Punjab, in India.
Case X 50. Heads of Medusa, Minerva, etc. The amethyst
head of Medusa in the centre, winged and intertwined with serpents,
is of exceptional size and brilliancy for this material.
Case X 51. Portraits, chariot groups, etc. In the middle is a
large sardonyx portrait of Julia, daughter of Augustus, partially
idealised as Diana. [The pale sard background is modern.]
Case X 52. Roman portraits, etc.
1581. Fragment in sard of an emperor (possibly Tiberius),

Engraved Gems. 115
wearing an oak wreath. A small fragment of what must once have
been an important work.
Row d. Fragment from a vessel of rock crystal, with a part of
the figure of a dancing Maenad. A piece of the rim of the vase is
preserved above the Maenad's head.
Busts of Julia, the daughter of Augustus, partly idealised, and
wearing the helmet and aegis of Minerva, and of Livia, the step
mother of Julia, side by side. [The ground is modern.]
Below is a late Roman cameo (1687), with a figure of Victory
carrying the bust of an empress (?).
Case X 53. Roman portraits, etc.
Row 6. A small fragment of a fine cameo contains a figure of
Livia as Ceres, enthroned, seated on a cornucopia held up by the
hand of a figure now lost, probably Tiberius.
In the centre is (1560) the splendid bust of Augustus wearing
the aegis, formerly in the Strozzi and Blacas collections. It should
be observed that the gold diadem is probably mediaeval, and that
the stones set in it are of trifling merit. Originally the hair was
bound with the plain fillet, of which the ends are seen behind the
head. Row e. Two cameos, one (1561) the head of Augustus, the
other of a boy, in fine sixteenth century settings of gold and enamel.
Case X 54. In the centre, a fine head of Claudius, laureate, in
plasma, acquired in 1912.
Case X 55. Four fine cameos, acquired in 1899 at the sale of
the Marlborough collection, including : —
Sardonyx cameo. Two busts, confronted, of Jupiter Ammon
and Isis. The Ammon wears the aegis, and an oak wreath, and
has the ram's horn on his temple. The Isis has a wreath of corn
and poppies, and her mantle has the special Isiac fringe and knot.
It is probable that the heads are those of a Roman emperor and
empress, but there is no authority for the names of Didius Julianus
(who only reigned sixty-four days) and Manlia Scantilla, formerly
assigned to the portraits. This cameo ranks fourth amongst those
now extant in respect of size. ¦ The extreme flatness of the treat
ment is due to the artist's desire to make use of the coloured layer
of the material. '
Chalcedony cameo, worked in the round. Apotheosis of
Marciana, the sister of Trajan. Her half-length figure is borne up
on the back of a peacock.
At the ends of the central case are objects of the Roman period,
in hard materials and gems, such as agate, chalcedony, onyx,
crystal, etc.
PASTES.
The frames which are placed in the windows contain a series of
glass pastes, ancient and modern. The pastes (Italian pasta, a piece
of dough) are casts in glass from gems or from clay moulds made
for the purpose. i 2

116 The Room of Greek and. Roman Life.
The middle and right-hand windows contain ancient pastes.
The left-hand window has a selection of modern pastes made in
the eighteenth century by James Tassie, the publisher of a very
extensive series of pastes taken from gems in public and private
collections.
FRESCOES, ETC.
Cases A-O 1 (upper part). A series of fresco paintings from
Pompeii, Herculaneum, and elsewhere, of the period of the early
Roman Empire.
O 2, P (upper part). Three grave stones (stelae) with painted
subjects — (1) a girl standing, (2) a woman seated with a girl at her
side, (3) a youth standing with a pet bird on his left hand. From
excavations at Amathus (Cyprus).
[On leaving the Gold Ornament Room we return to the Room of
Greek and Roman Life. The Roman terracottas and miscellaneous
antiquities in the South Wing have already been described above,
p. 100.]

THE ROOM OF GREEK AND ROMAN
LIFE.*
The Central part of the room is devoted to a collection of
objects grouped in such a way as to illustrate the different aspects
of the public and private life of the Greeks and Romans. In the
following brief description we follow the order of the Guide (2nd
edition). Table-case K contains Political and Social Antiquities ; objects
connected with Money ; illustrations of the ancient Drama.
POLITICAL ANTIQUITIES.
1. Tablet inscribed with the earliest extant Greek treaty of
alliance (sixth century B.C.), made between the Eleans and Heraeans.
3. A treaty as to maritime reprisals, between the cities of
Oeantheia and Chaleion.
4. An important law as to the status of certain colonists going
to Naupactos. 5, 6. Two grants of Proxenia, by the city of Corcyra. The
Greek Proxenoi nearly corresponded to modern consuls, being
charged with the duty of assisting such citizens of the state they
represented as needed their help.
7-10. Tickets of Athenian jurymen (dicasts). Each ticket is
inscribed with the name and deme (or parish) of the owner, together
* Wore fully described in the Guide to the Exhibition of Greek and Roman
Life (2nd edition), 1920 (with 265 illustrations), 2s. Gd.

Inscriptions; Coins; Drama. 117
with a letter indicating his section, and with one or more stamped
devices, including the owl of Athens.
11. A coloured illustration of potsherds (ostraka) used for the
ostracism or banishment of too prominent citizens.
Among dedications for victory note : —
12. Etruscan helmet dedicated at Olympia by Hieron of
Syracuse, after the naval victory by which he broke the sea-power
of the Etruscans at Kyme, 474 b.c.
filA^O /VO^fel/VOA\jfc^£0^
KA I TO | £v£/\ |C0^| o |
TO! A| Tvk A/VAP0f<VA\A£
'Iapw 6 Aetvo/u.6Vfos Kal rol 2vpaKoo-ioi tw At Tvp(p)av airo Kii/xas.
Among Roman Inscriptions are : —
18. A military diploma of the Emperor Philip (246 a.d.) grant
ing the right of valid marriage (with citizenship for the children)
to certain veterans.
20. Ration ticket, for a distribution of public corn.
A small group of objects relates to Slavery. Among them is :
21. A slave's badge, giving the name and address of the owner,
Viventius — Tene me nefugia(m) et revoca me ad dom(i)nu(m) meu(m)
Yiventium in ar(e)a Callisti. ' Hold me, lest I escape, and take
me back to my master Viventius in the area of Callistus.'
Near the ticket are a scourge, with bronze beads on the lashes ;
a scourge handle, and a pair of fetters. See also curious statuettes
of dwarf slaves, suffering the punishment of the cangue.
The case also contains examples (in electrotype) of the chief
Greek and Roman Currencies, to show the usual denominations.
Among other objects relating to money are : —
43. A part of a hoard of Athenian silver coins (fifth-fourth
centuries b.c), from Naucratis in Egypt ; (44) a hoard of bronze
coins (fourth and early fifth centuries a.d.), found in an earthenware
pot in the Fayum (Egypt) ; (45) remains of a wooden box with
imperial bronze coins from Pompeii (79 a.d.) ; also (49) a collection
of terracotta moulds for casting counterfeit coins. One piece shows
the method of filling the moulds in series.
At one end of Case K and in the shade above are illustrations
of Greek and Roman Drama. The vases exhibited contain repre
sentations of Greek dramas. Two reliefs (Nos. 54, 55) give scenes
from the Roman stage. The statuettes in terracotta and bronze
are figures of actors of various types, for the most part comic.
Numerous representations of masks in terracotta and marble are
also shown.
We turn to Wall-cases 94-97 for illustrations of Ancient
Shipping.

118

The Boom of Greek and Roman Life.

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PROSALVTFEERHilrVDOM1N0RVMN8 SIVERIPll-IT
jLNKMNIPIIAVCSSB

70. A vase (6th century B.C.) shows the contrasted builds of the
war galley and the merchantman.
72. Among the examples of shipping is a series of terracotta
boats from Amathus which recall the legend that Kinyras, the king
of Amathus in the time of the Trojan War, sent to Troy terracotta
models of ships as the fleet which he had promised to Agamemnon.
The largest of the fleet shows a considerable amount of detail, such
as the socket for the mast and the arrangement of the thwarts ; it
also has the remains of an iron steering paddle.
74. A cast from a relief at Athens shows the rowers of a trireme
seated in their places.
No. 77 is the metal casing of the prow of a galley from the
site of the battle of Actium (31 B.C.) given by H.M. Queen Victoria.
Wall-cases 98-106 contain implements of worship, votive
offerings, and illustrations of superstition and magic.
Implements of Worship. 84. An
\ ' / altar dedicated to the Imperial Fortune
for the health and safe return of
Septimius Severus, his wife and his two
sons Caracalla and Geta, and of Cara-
calla's wife Plautilla. This recalls a
historical tragedy of the Roman Empire.
After the murder of Geta by Caracalla
(cf. p. 90), the name of Geta was
struck out, as in this instance, from all
inscriptions throughout the Empire.
(Fig. 49 ; O. I. L. vi. 180 b.) The name
of Plautilla was also erased after her
murder by the order of Caracalla.
Wall-cases 98-99 contain sacrificial
implements, Etruscan pronged forks for
drawing sacrificial meat from the cal
dron, and the like. Here also are
various objects illustrative of ancient religion, such as models of
altars, temple lavers, etc.
No. 98 is a drawing from a vase, from Cameiros in Rhodes,
showing the twin brethren, Castor and Pollux, descending from
heaven to take part in the Theoxenia, a feast in honour of the two
gods, symbolised by the vacant couch on which they are invited to
rechne. With this should be compared (99) the cast of a votive relief
from Larissa in the Louvre. The Dioscuri are galloping in the air,
and Victory holds out a wreath. Below are a couch, a table with
food, an altar, and two worshippers.
These cases also contain a series of small votive shrines with
figures of deities, in cheap materials such as lead or terracotta.
No. 107, from Amathus in Cyprus, shows a conical sacred stone,'
decorated with sashes and standing in a shrine.
Bronze tablet (110), inscribed on both sides with an Oscan
inscription. The iron chain and staple by which the tablet was

I

ETIVUAEAVCMATR1S
AHT0NIVS-LIB- PROtiMVSALIBHUS VoTO'SVSCfPTO; <J> D 0 D <$

Fig. 49.

Votive Offerings.

119

suspended are preserved. The tablet was found in 1848 at Agnone,
and is an important monument of the Oscan language. It contains
an enumeration of the statues and altars dedicated to various deities
in a certain garden.
Wall-cases 100-101. Casts of two curious votive tablets
(116, 117) with representations of objects of the toilet. The
original tablets, which are exhibited in the Hall of Inscriptions,
were found at Slavochori, a place which is believed to be the site
of the ancient Amyclae near Sparta.
Pausanias (ii., 20, 4) mentions a town near Amyclae called
Bryseae, where was a temple of Dionysos which none but women
were permitted to enter, and where women only performed the
sacrifices. It is 'not improbable that these votive tablets were
originally dedicated in this temple, and thence brought to Slavo
chori. It was a common custom among the Greeks to dedicate
articles of female attire and toilet in the temple of the goddesses.

Fig. 50.— Votive Hare.

Cases 103-106 are mainly filled with votive dedications
Among them are : 118. A set of marble reliefs dedicated by women,
Eutychis, Olympias and others, to Zeus the Highest (Hypsistos) at
the Pnyx of Athens. They are representations of parts of the
human body, and were no doubt dedicated as thankofferings for
cures effected in the respective organs. Other votive reliefs with
parts of the human body are shown in marble, bronze, and terra
cotta. Among them is (122) a curious representation of the internal
organs. (123). An offering made by two brothers, Philombrotos and
Aphthonetos, o"f plaited locks of hair, dedicated in sculptured marble
to Poseidon. The dedication probably took place on reaching the
age of puberty.
Among the votive objects in bronze are :
124. Votive figure of a hare, represented as struck while running,
with an inscription in which one Hephaestion dedicates it to Apollo
of Priene. (Fig. 50.)

120 The Room of Greek and Roman Life.
127. A highly ornate axe-head, with an inscription in archaic
Achaian letters, to the effect that it is the sacred property of ' Hera
in the plain,' and that it was dedicated as a tithe by one Kyniskos,
' the cook.'
130. Votive wheel, said to have been found near Argos. It
probably commemorates a victory in a chariot race in the Nemean
games. 132. A bell dedicated by Pyr(r)ias to the deities Cabeiros and
the ' Child.' (Fig. 51.)
133-135. Three silver-gilt votive tablets, addressed to Jupiter
of Doliche (in Commagene ' ubi ferrum nascitur ' ; compare one
of the tablets). Two of the tablets have small shrines, within
which is a figure of Jupiter Dolichenus. In one he resembles the
Roman Jupiter, with eagle and thunderbolt ; in the other he is
of a special type — a barbarous figure with axe and thunderbolts,
standing on the back of a bull. He is crowned by Victory, and a
female figure makes a libation at an altar. These votive tablets
belong to a group found at Heddernheim, near Frankfort.
136. A similar series, with figures of Mithras,
found at Bala Hissar in Galatia.
Case 105 contains objects more especially con
nected with Superstition and Magic.
Among the implements of superstition are :
145. A series of incantations and imprecatory
tablets. To write such formulae on leaden tablets
was a well-known practice of ancient superstition.
It is, for instance, recorded that at the time of the
illness of Germanicus, ' songs and incantations
against him, and his name inscribed on leaden
tablets,' were found with other apparatus of
witchcraft in the floor and walls of the house.
Some of these tablets were found in the sanctuary of Demeter and
Persephone at Cnidos. In one, for example, Artemeis solemnly
devotes to the deities ' the person, whoever he was, who borrowed
and did not return the garments I had left behind, the cloaks, and
tunic and short smock.' In one example the nail with which the
folded imprecation was nailed up in a grave is shown. Several
bronze nails are also exhibited, inscribed with magical formulae,
and it may be noted that nails from a wreck were part of the
equipment of an ancient witch.
148. Symbolic hands, covered over with the attributes of
numerous deities and other objects in relief, intended to serve as a
protection against the evil eye. (Fig. 52.)
Case 106 contains several examples of the sistrum, a sort of
metallic rattle. It was shaken so that the curved ends of the metal
rods were brought into noisy contact with the metal frame. It was
derived from Egypt, and was specially connected with the worship
of Isis. Wall-cases 107-110. Athletic and gladiatorial games.

Athletes and Gladiators.

121

Cases 107, 108. The objects connected with the Greek games
include : —
154. A pair of lead jumping weights (halteres) used by athletes to
give an additional impetus to their spring, and (155), a very cumbrous
example in stone.
The bronze disks were used for throwing, as in quoits, except
that the object was to throw the disk to the greatest possible
distance. For the method of throwing, see the statuette in bronze
in this Case ; and the Discobolos (p. 86) in the Second Graeco-
Roman Room.
One of the disks (No. 158) is inscribed with two hexameter verses,*

Jig. 52.— Magic Hand in Bronze.

Fig. 53. — Disk of Exoidas.

written in archaic letters, supposed to be in the character of
Kephallenia. One Exoidas (?) dedicates to Castor and Pollux the
disk with which he claims to have defeated ' the lofty-souled
Kephallenians ' (a Homeric epithet).
163. A prize vase of bronze, from Kyme, has an archaic Greek
inscription naming certain games of Onomastos at which it was
offered. Cases 107, 108 (below), and Cases 109, 110, are devoted to
gladiators and the circus. The series includes statuettes of gladiators,
and parts of their armour, and reliefs with combats of gladiators,
of women gladiators, and of men with beasts.
* 'Zx<roiSa(s) fi accflij/ce AtFhs Qo(ii)/>oii> p.eyt5.Aoio
X&AKeov, if v'tKaat Ke<paA(A)avas iteya0ipo(v)s.

122

The Boom of Greek and Roman Life.

176. The relief shows the successive combats of a bestiarius,
fighting with beasts at Ephesus.
Case 110. Illustrations of chariot racing and the Roman circus.
Wall-case 111 contains Roman military antiquities. No. 219 is
a bronze statuette of a Roman legionary soldier.
Wall-cases 112-119 contain Defensive Armour, such as
helmets, greaves, breastplates and the like. The development of the
Greek Corinthian helmet is shown in Cases 112-115. It is at first
roughly shaped to protect the face. It then has a finely modelled
vizor which could be used either up or down, and finally it is of a
degenerate form, in which the vizor is not capable of being lowered
over the face. The Italian helmets are in Cases 116-119. Three
Greek helmets have inscriptions. No. 188 was Corinthian spoil,

Fig. 54.— Attic Helmet.
dedicated to Zeus by the Argives, probably in the middle of the fifth
century B.C.
The Attic helmet is a lighter form than the Corinthian, and
resembles rather a cap with appendages to protect the neck, cheeks,
and nose. No. 195 (fig. 54) is the finest example, recently con
tributed by the British Salonica Force.
Nos. 208, 209 are Parade Helmet masks, of a pattern that was
in fashion in the Roman Empire in the second century a.d. (For
a complete example see the helmet from Ribchester in the Room
of Roman Britain.) No. 209 was obtained by Major Woolley at
Aintab in Syria, during the British occupation.
Among the greaves, the pair, No. 223, is noteworthy, with figures
of running Gorgons, incised and in relief.
Weapons. — Table-case E contains weapons of offence, of all
periods from the Early Greek Bronze Age to the Roman Empire.

Furniture of the House. 123
The exhibition includes spearheads, swords, daggers, arrowheads
and slingshots.
284. An iron sword, with a silver sheath, covered with reliefs in
beaten bronze. The Emperor Tiberius enthroned, and attended by
Victory, receives Germanicus. On the shield of the Emperor is the
motto Felicitas Tiberi, and on the shield of Victory is Victoria),
Aug(usti). This sword, sometimes known as the ' Sword of Tiberius,'
was found at Mainz, on the Rhine.
[Wall-cases 1-24. See below, p. 131.] We pass to the opposite
side of the room.
Wall-cases 25-29. Remains of ancient furniture. In par
ticular, a fine set of mules' heads from the arms of couches.
The principal object is a richly inlaid bronze and silver seat
(301) presented by Sir William Hamilton in 1784. The woodwork
seat has been put together incorrectly. The seat ought to be a
couch, and the carved pieces, terminating in mules' heads, ought to
be fixed above, to support the cushions.
Other fine examples of such mule's head supports are shown in
the case. See also couch-arms with relief designs in bronze and
ivory. Wall-case 30. Candelabra, large and small, and various
types of Lamps. The Candelabra, which are in many cases of tall
and graceful shape, are mainly derived from Herculaneum and
Pompeii. Wall-caSes 31, 32. Methods of lighting. The collection
consists chiefly of lamps of various forms and materials, principally
in bronze. Case 32 also contains two bronze lanterns in good preservation,
and the tops of two others. These are illustrated by a caricature of
a quail-catcher going out with his lantern. Here, also, are hooks
for hanging lamps, a lamp-feeder, and stands for lamps. Two
lamps are mounted in such a way that the support can hang, or be
fixed horizontally, or be stuck in the ground.
Wall-cases 33-36. These cases contain objects connected with
the preparation and consumption of food.
Cooking implements of various forms, such as saucepans and
frying-pans ; ladles (including one folding ladle from Amathus) ;
moulds shaped as shells ; graters, strainers, a filter ; a wooden egg-
whisk ; stamps for cakes ; spoons of various forms ; also remains of
actual foods — corn, fruits and bread — from Pompeii. Here also are
statuettes of figures kneading dough, and a terracotta model of an
oven. Below are pestles and mortars, the former usually in the
form of a bent thumb.
Wall-case 37. Objects connected with the Bath, such as the
srigils, or scrapers, used for scraping off oil and sweat, and oil-
flasks. Wall-cases 38, 39 and 40 (below). Objects connected with
water-supply and fountains.
These include parts (338, 339) of two double-cylindered force-

124

The Room of Greek and Roman Life.

pumps. They differ slightly between themselves, but both are based
on the system invented by Ctesibius of Alexandria. The two plungers
(C C) in the cylinders (A A in fig. 55) were worked with a reciprocat
ing motion by means of a rocking beam now lost. They alternately
draw in water through valves at the bottom of the cylinders (B B),
and force it into the vertical pipe in the middle, from which a
continuous delivery is obtained. Found among the remains of a
foundry at Bolsena.
Here, also, are pieces of leaden pipes, bronze taps of excellent
construction fitted in leaden pipes, and bronze fountain jets.
Below are examples of bricks used for supporting the hollow
pavement of the Roman hot air chambers in the baths ; flues for
conveying hot air, and specimens of drain-pijaes. Here, also, are a

Fig. 55.— Section of Pump.
bronze grating for catching rain-water, from the Mausoleum, and a
terracotta gargoyle, probably from Pompeii.
Wall-case 40. Typical vase-shapes. See p. 143 for an account.
of vase-forms. Table-case F. Objects connected with the Toilet and
Personal use.
344-355. Boots and shoes. Actual specimens are shown of
a leather shoe from the City of London (further examples are in
the Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities) ; of a pair
of cork soles, gilded, from Egypt ; and of a pair of bronze soles.
Vases and other objects illustrate various fashions of footgear.
See also a bronze statuette of a negro slave cleaning a boot
356-374. Brooches (Fibulae)^ The principal tvpes are shown,
arranged m historical order from the late Mycenaean to the late
Roman period. They illustrate the antiquity of the principle of the
safety-pin and the numerous modifications of its details. '

Personal Ornaments.

125

375-396. Personal Ornaments. A few typical examples
of such objects as pins, bracelets, rings, hooks, etc. The finer
examples in precious metals will be found in the Gold Ornament
Room. 397-402. Combs. Examples are shown from the Mycenaean
to the late Roman periods. The combination of thick and thin
teeth on the same comb was well known to the ancients. See also
a brush, with dried grass bristles, from Egypt.
403-426. Mirrors, etc. At the end of the case are toilet
boxes; mirrors; tweezers; razors, and similar objects of the toilet.
Table-case G contains objects connected with the arts of
Domestic Life.
Spinning is represented by spindles and vases showing a
woman at work ; weaving by a collection of
loom weights, intended for suspension at the end
of the vertical threads of the warp. A few speci
mens of cloth are shown. One is from the mummy
of Diogenes, who was by trade a ' patcher.'
Pins are arranged so as to show their supposed
progress from a natural thorn or piece of bone to the
pin as we know it.
Needles are arranged on a similar principle,
showing the change of form from the natural thorn
with a groove round the end or with one, two, or
three eyes.
Next to the needles are (438) a needle-case
(fig. 56), and some pairs of scissors, together with
knitting needles, a small shuttle, and objects of the
form of crochet needles.
A collection of padlocks, parts of locks, and
keys, is followed by a group showing methods of
sealing with clay or lead.
A collection of knives shows early forms of
the clasp knife, as well as of the fixed knife. See the
relief (Case 41) showing the stock in a cutler's shop.
Wall-cases 41-53. Trade and Industry. On the left of
Case 41 is a cast of a relief with a scene in a cutler's shop, from the
sepulchral altar of Cornelius Atimetus and Cornelius Epaphras, in
the Galleria Lapidaria of the Vatican. Beside it is a cast of a relief
of a pork butcher's shop, in the Dresden Museum. The butcher
cuts up a joint, while his wife writes accounts in a set of tablets.
Wall-cases .41-44. Weights, scales, and steelyards.
The weights are of several series. The most important are (1)
early haematite weights from Enkomi (eleventh cent. B.C. ?) ; (2)
the Attic Mina (mean weight 6,737 grains = 15 ¦ 4 oz. avoirdupois),
and its parts ; (3) the Roman Libra or pound (mean weight 5,050
grains = 11-^- oz. avoirdupois), with its parts and multiples. See
also a singular type of weights (mainly from Cnidos) in the form of
a pair of breasts.

Fig. 56.— Needle-
case No. 438.

126

The Room of Greek and Roman Life.

The steelyards are based on the principle of a weight sliding
along a long arm, suitably graduated, so as to make a counterpoise
to the object to be weighed, suspended from the short arm. In
most cases more than one hook can be employed as a fulcrum, and
there is a graduated scale corresponding to each, so that the limits
of the scale are greatly extended. Two steelyards in the lower part
of Cases 43-44 have their long arms steadied by bronze implements,
whose function was long a matter of doubt — they have been des
cribed as ' military standards ' and the like — but which seem most
appropriately used as here.
Wall-cases 45, 46. Tools and implements, such as axes,
chisels, saws, and a collection of nails.
Also masons' squares and plummets (fig. 57). The plummet
shown in the figure is punctured with the name of its owner,
Bassus. Wall-cases 46-48. Building materials and accessories.

Fig. 57.— Set-square and Plummet
The accessories include such objects as hinges, dowels, cramps, door-
pivots and sockets.
A select series of typical specimens of marbles and other
materials is a part of the collection formed by Mr. Henry Tolley,
and bequeathed by Mrs. Aldworth. The remainder is in drawers
under case H.
The examples of less costly materials include reliefs in stucco ;
stamped bricks of the empire ; specimens of fresco, mosaic, and
shell decoration. In one instance the fresco is an imitation of
mosaic ; in others it gives the effect of marble.
On the right of the case is a cast of a relief showing a cutler's
forge, also from the sepulchral altar mentioned above.
Wall-cases 49-51. Objects connected with horses. The
model horses in case 50 wear headstalls of primitive Italian work,
probably about the eighth century b.c
Wall-case 51. The actual remains of horse-muzzles, bits and
iron shoes (note especially a very complete bronze bit, No. 508, 'from

Tools and Materials. 127
Achaia) ; axle-boxes and other portions of a large bronze chariot,
inlaid with silver ; small figures of chariots, and a curious terracotta
of a four-wheeled two-horse car. An equestrian statuette and a
terracotta fragment from Cyprus give details of a horse's bridle, etc.
Wall-case 52. Agricultural life. The specimens include
actual examples of various Implements, such as bronze plough
shares of the Mycenaean age from Enkomi in Cyprus ; and iron
implements such as a sickle, a bill-hook, a mattock, a hoe, and a
shepherd's crook ; also a pair of millstones. The representations
include a terracotta model of a farmer's cart, and of a wine cart ;
black-figure vases and bronze statuettes with scenes of ploughing
and sowing, and of an olive harvest ; terracotta reliefs of a wine
press, and of treading the grapes.
Industrial Arts. These are shown at one end of Table-case H.
Metal working. 528. Stone moulds, of the Mycenaean period,
from Cyprus, were used for casting bronze implements ; smaller
moulds were used for the production of jewellery. A mould of the
Graeco-Roman period, for casting a weight, is inscribed KEPAOC,
that is ' gain.' A stone mould is also here, for casting lead counters
(tesserae). Two lead studs (of which part of one remains) served to
fix the two halves of the mould in correct position, and the metal
was poured through the funnel-like channel.
Pottery. 533. A statuette from Amathus appears to represent
a potter shaping a vase on a small wheel at his feet.
534. A circular object of terracotta, from Crete, may be a small
potter's wheel. Two specimens are shown of ' cockspurs,' used to
support vessels in the kiln.
535. A vase shows a Potter at work. Before him is his wheel,
a heavy stone rotated by the hand, and kept in motion by its
momentum. At present, however, the wheel serves as a table,
and the potter attaches a handle to a kylix. On a shelf above are
five finished vases.
539. Lead bands and rivets, large and small, show the methods
of mending or strengthening clay vessels.
540. An unfinished example of a red-figure drawing shows
the method adopted in this class of vase painting (see p. 174). A
broad line is drawn on the outside of the subject, so that the subject
is left in the ground colour of the vase. To complete the process
the external ground must be filled in with black.
Moulds are shown for vases with reliefs ; and for terracotta
lamps. Three stamps in relief are also shown, with roughly shaped
handles behind. These were employed for the preparation of the
terracotta moulds for vases with relief. Two batches of common
clay lamps have been spoilt in the kiln.
Gem Engraving, etc. Beads and engraved gems at various
stages of manufacture. Handles for the upper pivot of a revolving
drill ; moulds from Naucratis, for the manufacture of Graeco-
Egyptian porcelain scarabs.
"inlaying and enamelling. Examples of late enamelled

128 The Room of Greek and Roman Life.
ornaments ; of a marble plaque with a Gryphon, formerly filled in
with paste ; fragments of an elaborate acanthus pattern of ivory,
probably inlaid in wood. From Kertch.
Wood working. 554. Wooden box from Kertch, with dove
tailed joints, sliding lids, and inner partitions. The upper edges have
woods inlaid.
The Lathe. A group of objects, finished on the lathe, and
showing its employment for work in bronze, ivory, bone, wood,
marble and alabaster. See also a few specimens of fretwork.
The near end of Table-case H contains a collection of Surgical
Instruments, such as bistouries, tweezers, tenacula, spatulae and
the like. 563 is a surgical drill-bow. 567. A cast of a votive relief at
Athens, shows a hinged and fitted instrument-case lying open, with
a large cupping vessel on each side of it. A bronze cupping vessel
is also shown. 569. A series of inscribed stamps were used for
stamping cakes of eye salve and other medicinal pastes. 570. A sard
intaglio with Athene seated and the legend ' Herophili opobal-
samum ' was used for sealing packets of eye-salves.
Adjoining the instruments are compasses and measures.
Among them are two folding foot rules ; two pairs of proportional
compasses ; a small sundial.
575. A cup is inscribed ' Hemikotylion,' that is half a pint.
A series of Stamps for impressing on soft clay, or other like
material, have usually a Roman proper name, often within a frame
which may be shaped as a foot, a shoe, a galley and the like. One
example (584), of a very rare type, is cylindrical and pivoted, to
be impressed by rolling.
One half of Table-case J is devoted to Infancy, Toys, and
Education. At the end of the case are a few illustrations of
Infancy. In terracotta, Eros is asleep in a cradle, and so also are
two children. On one of the vases is a baby imprisoned in a turret-
shaped high chair, among his toys. On others, boys are playing
with a go-cart, etc. A collection of toys includes several terracottas
from tombs, among which it is by no means easy to decide which
must be regarded strictly as toys and which are offerings of a votive
character. In any case there can be no doubt as to the rag-doll and
wooden horse from Egypt. The toys proper include a rattle, whistles,
a wheel to drag along, and diminutive objects in lead or pottery,
such as are now used for dolls' houses.
The appliances for Games at the opposite side of the case include
counters in many forms, marbles, draughtsmen, and knucklebones
(astragali). The latter are either the natural bones, or copies in
bronze, lead, ivory, crystal, etc. Two of the knucklebones are
cleverly adapted to represent a Satyr and a squatting dwarf.
For use in games of chance, we have dice boxes, and dice, tee
totums, a 14-sided die and a 20-sided die. The dice are in many-
materials, from bone to crystal with gilded spots.
Education. Here we find terracotta groups showing reading
and writing; also (604) an alphabet, (605) a syllabary, (606) a

Education; Marriage. 129
schoolboy's tablet, (607) a reading board. Part of the tablet contains
a Multiplication Table from once one is one (d a a) to three
times ten (y i a', that is 3 x 10 = 30). On the right side of the
tablet is a column of words written to show the division between
the stems and terminations. The fellow tablet, which was tied to
this by strings so as to make a book with the waxed surfaces inside,
is exhibited in the Department of Manuscripts. It contains two
lines of verse first written by the master, and then twice copied by
the boy.
The instrument employed for writing is the style (or stilus),
which has a sharp point at one end for writing in the wax and a
broad surface at the other for erasing the writing. See a good
example in ivory (fig. 58).
608. A small fragment of an ( Iliac table ' contains the drag
ging of the body of Hector by Achilles, and Achilles conversing
with Athene. These tables were compilations of the Epic stories,
made by grammarians, probably for use in schools. Another
inscribed tablet, somewhat akin, can be dated at 15 a.d.
The objects connected with writing include : —
Inkstands and pens in bronze or bone or reed, together with
(610) a specimen of an ordinary letter written in ink on papyrus.

Fig. 55.— Ivory Stilus.

The writer sends an order for drugs which must not be rotten stuff.
Two leaves are also shown (612*) of a lawyer's note-book. Drafts
of cases, etc., are written with ink, on the whitened wooden
tablets. The last leaf has a place for the pen annexed to it.
The objects connected with painting include various materials
used by painters, specimens of colour, palettes, and an alabaster
stand for mixing the colours. There are also specimens of encaustic
painting on wooden panels (compare Wall-case No. 58). In one
case the panel is contained in a picture frame (619), singularly
modern in its details. It is of the kind known as an ' Oxford '
frame, with keyed double mortice joints, a groove for a pane of
glass, a half-mitred inner frame, and a rough cord for suspension.
We turn to Wall-case 53.
Marriage. 634. A diminutive vase with scenes of a marriage,
and of Eros visiting the lady, is a model of the loutrophoros, the
vase in which water was brought for the bridal bath. The fifth
century vase, No. 636, represents the mystical marriage ceremony
between the god Dionysos and the Basilinna, the wife of the Archon
Basileus, at Athens.
The »old ring (639) with clasped hands is a Roman betrothal
ring. The sarcophagus relief (641) represents the Roman nuptial
ceremony of joining hands. The gods that personify valour, success,
K

130 The Room of Greek and Roman Life.
and fortune are shown as in attendance. The same action is shown
below on the sepulchral chest of Vernasia Cyclas (640).
Wall-cases 54-56. Music. The instruments include (642) a
lyre of sycamore wood and tortoise-shell from Athens ; (645) a pair
of wooden reed-pipes also from Athens, a bronze reed-pipe from
Halicarnassos, and (646) a pair of bronze pipes from Italy. See also
cymbals, bells, and trumpets.
The vases 643, 644 have school scenes. In each case a music
lesson is in progress, and the pupil who is not engaged plays with
a dog behind the master's chair.
Wall-cases 57, 58. A collection of representations of domestic
and pet animals. The chief domesticated animals are shown, and
children are seen playing with dogs, goats, pigs, pet birds, and
poultry. The vase (662) shows a girl holding up to a spaniel a
tortoise tied by the leg.
The lamp 665 shows a travelling performer with trained animals
— a cat which climbs a ladder, and a monkey. The vase 664 gives
a boy seated with a pet bird, perhaps a quail, in its cage.
Wall-cases 58-64. A small series of objects illustrating the
burial customs of the ancients.
Wall-case 58. A Romano-Egyptian mummy of the 3rd or
4th century a.d. is placed here to illustrate the character of Roman
encaustic painting (Case J) as well as the survival of Egyptian
methods of dealing with the dead.
Mycenaean Period. Specimens of the gold mouthpieces and
diadems placed on the faces of the dead. [See more elaborate
examples, also from Enkomi, in the Gold Ornament Room.]
Greek Period. A plain stele, with an archaic metrical epitaph
of Idagygos of Halicarnassos ; a typical Athenian columnar stele of
Menestratos ; a large urn (671) from Athens which contained calcined
bones and fragments of cloth. The obol for the ferryman Charon,
which was put in the mouth of the corpse, may be seen adhering to
a piece of the jawbone. The sepulchral lekythi were intended to
hold offerings to be made at the grave, and often, as on two of the
vases here shown, have representations of a tomb with the vases
placed at its foot.
Early Italian Period. See two primitive hut urns (675, 676)
from Monte Albano ; (678) an urn for ashes, approximately of
human form, on a chair ; (681) an Etruscan urn, in the form of a
dead person, recumbent on a bed.
Roman Period. No. 687 is a Roman sepulchral relief of the
first century b.c.
Aurelius Hermia, a butcher of the Viminal Hill, and his wife,
Aurelia Philematium, stand with their right hands raised and
clasped. In the verses on the left of the stone, Aurelius, speaking in
the first_ person, describes the good qualities of his wife ; on the right
Aurelia is the speaker, and commends the kindness of her husband.
Wall-cases 63, 64. Roman sepulchral urns in marble and
alabaster

Roman Sepulchral Urns. 131
No. 2359, the sepulchral chest of a child called C. Sergius
Alcimus, gives curious details as to his rations of public corn. He
died at the age of 3J years, but it is stated that he drew his rations
on the tenth day of the month at the thirty-ninth distribution office
(there were forty-five in all).
689. A bequest by a testator whose name is lost (C.I.L. vi.,
10,248) provides an endowment (consisting of ,,7+- of the rental of a
block of dwellings) to his freedmen and freedwomen to observe
certain ceremonies at his grave. The tomb was to be decked on
the days of his birth and (probably) of his death ; also on the day
of rose scattering and on the day of violets. A burning lamp with
incense was to be put on the tomb on the Kalends, Nones, and Ides
of each month.
688. An epitaph (C.I.L. vi., 29,896) on a pet dog called Pearl
tells that she was a Gaulish coursing-dog, always the pet of her
master and mistress, with speaking ways, and that she met her
death giving birth to puppies.

THE ITALIC ROOM.*
The two bays on the right and left of the Bronze Room door are
devoted to Italic and early Etruscan antiquities.
The term ' Italic ' is applied to the products of primitive
Italian culture on both sides of the Apennines. This was a branch
of the European Bronze Age civilization, and in its earlier stages
the influence of Greece and the East is either non-existent or
feeble. The Etruscan antiquities here shown are those which have
a distinctive national character.
On the West or Italic side of the room : —
In Table-case A, Italian bronzes, for the most part of an early
period. Two curious groups (in the Table-case and in Wall-case 7)
with ploughing scenes are undoubtedly of an early date. The metal
baseboards, however, on which the groups are arranged are modern,
and the details of the arrangement are therefore conjectural.
A large bronze axe-head is an interesting development from the
type of bronze celt shown near it. An electrotype copy of a bucket
found at Kuffarn, in Lower Austria, shows a singular style of art,
developed from Greek models in the north-east of Italy, during
the 5th cent. b.c.
Wall-case 1. Archaic pottery from a tomb at Falerii. The
large caldron on the stand is decorated with four Gryphons' heads
as well as with white paint. The Gryphon type was adopted from
* For the pottery see the Catalogue of Vases, Vol. I., Part II. (1912), by
H. B. Walters (£1). For the bronzes see the Catalogue of Bronzes (1899), by
H B. Walters (30s.). Copies can be borrowed for use in the room. K 2

132 The Italic Room.
Assyria by European art long before it had acquired mythological
significance among the Greeks.
In the upper part of Cases 2-4 are groups of antiquities, such as
brooches, amber beads, and the like, from tombs in the valley of the
Ticino. Cases 2-6 (below). Primitive Italian pottery, from early sites,
such as Albano.
Cases 5-6. Early bronze work of the primitive period, including
a series of perforated and engraved disks, work in twisted bronze
wire, horse trappings, etc.
Case 7. Early bronze vessels. Among them, part of a very
early caldron with Gryphon-head handles. Model of ploughing
scenes (see above, Case A).
THE ART OF THE ETRUSCANS.
The people who were called by the Romans Etrusci, or Tusci, by
the Greeks Tyrseni or Tyrrheni, by themselves Rasena, and by
us Etruscans, principally occupied the region bounded by the
Apennines, the Tiber and the Gulf of Corsica. The affinities of
the Etruscans in respect of race and language are still uncertain.
As regards the latter, we have a large number of inscriptions,
written in an alphabet slightly different from the Greek, and but
little else. The inscriptions are mainly taken up with names of
persons and bilingual documents are scarce. For these reasons
the known vocabulary and facts of grammar are at present very
incomplete, and no connection with any known language has yet
been validly established.
Their territory lay close to that of Rome, and in Rome itself
they had considerable political power, though most of the popu
lation were of the Latin stock. With the fall of the monarchy
the power of the Etruscan element within the state was broken.
This is expressed in legend by the story of the unsuccessful march
of Lars Porsenna, of Clusium, to replace the banished Tarquin on
the throne. After the beginning of the fifth century the power of
the Etruscans in their own territory began to decline. Their sea
strength was broken by the battle of Kyme or Cumae (474 b.c. ;
cf. p. 117). The struggle on land ended in the conquest of Etruria,
the last great acts of which were the battles at the Vadimonian
Lake, b.c. 309 and 283. Although politically extinguished, the
Etruscans maintained a separate national character and art until
the beginning of the empire.
In religious belief and ritual the Etruscans exercised a deep
influence upon Rome ; but since their literature, such as it was, has
perished, they are chiefly of interest to us in connexion with the
remains of their art.
The basis of Etruscan art is the primitive form of culture
which was defined above, under the name of ' Italic ' (otherwise known
as ' Villanova ') culture, and which was one branch of the European
Bronze Age civilization. This culture, assuming that the Etruscans

Etruscan Art. 133
reached Italy by sea, they must be supposed to have found estab
lished. On it they must have superimposed their knowledge of
the Ionian art of Asia Minor. Egyptian influence made itself felt
by importations of smaller objects introduced by Phoenician or other
traders. During the period of archaic Etruscan art, represented by the
Polledrara Tomb (p. 134), Egyptian influence is strong and importa
tion is frequent. Greek influences are also felt, but faintly.
To this succeeds a period of active intercourse between Etruria
and Greece. The Etruscans import the wares of the Athenian
potters (p. 145), and a large proportion of the best Greek vases in
the Second and Third Vase Rooms was found in Etruscan tombs.
In pottery they never imitated the Greek wares with any success
(p. 134), but they adopted Greek motives and mythological types
with zeal, and used them on their engraved gems (p. 112), jewellery
(p. 106), and bronzes. In the latter branch they were particularly
skilled, and their bronzes appear to have been exported freely to
Greece. On the other hand, many bronzes, though found in Etruria,
are either of Greek origin, or are so profoundly influenced by Greek
art that they are hardly distinguishable from Greek products. The
bronzes of this class, which were formerly exhibited in the Etruscan
Room, have been transferred to the Bronze Room.
It was formerly supposed that the Etruscans alone practised the
characteristic engraved work on bronze, such as occurs on the
mirrors and cistae, and though several examples of Greek work
have now been found, they are still few in number compared with
those of the Etruscans.
The art of Etruria and Greece proceeded on parallel lines, until
Greek art reached its full ethical perfection in the fifth century b.c.
Etruscan art had no such culminating point, and in the subsequent
periods Etruscan art loses its interest, though it maintains an
independent existence to the beginning of the empire. In the
greater part of its products it adopts but vulgarises the character
of later Greek art. Its outlines become loose, its execution careless,
and its spirit gross. Some of the engraved work on metal can alone
be excepted from this condemnation.
Cases 8-12. Archaic paintings on panels of terracotta, which
appear to have lined a part of the walls of a tomb. The subjects
include two Sphinxes, which probably flanked the doorway, and a
procession of figures busied with funeral ceremonies. They carry a
standard, perhaps that of the deceased person, a wreath, and various
vases. The figure on the right seems to be unfastening a long metal
girdle. These panels were obtained from Cervetri (Caere), and are
probably to be dated about 600 b.c.
Below is a series of small Etruscan sarcophagi in limestone and
terracotta. For other examples of Etruscan work in relief, see the lime
stone cistae in the Archaic Room (p. 10) and the sarcophagi in the
Graeco-Roman Basement (p. 79).

134 The Italic Room.
Case B. The principal group of antiquities of the early Etruscan
period is that from the Polledrara Tomb (otherwise known as
the Grotta d'Iside or Grotto of Isis), which was excavated at a place
called La Polledrara, near Vulci, in 1840.
The date of this tomb can be determined as not earlier than the
reign of the Egyptian King Psammetichos I. (666-612 b.c), whose
cartouche appears on one of the porcelain scarabs that were found.
On the other hand, everything points to the high antiquity of the
tomb, which may therefore be placed about the end of the reign of
Psammetichos (612 B.C.). The contents of the tomb are partly
imported and partly of local manufacture. Among the former are
the carved ostrich eggs, the ivory spoon, the porcelain scarabs and
flasks with hieroglyphic inscriptions of new-year greeting.
The bronze work is probably of local manufacture. It is for the
most part made of thin beaten plates riveted together, and it is plain
that most of the utensils could never have been used except for
show at funeral ceremonies and as furniture for the dead, so thin
and slight is the bronze.
Among the bronze objects may be noticed a three-quarter length
female bust (434), in which the metal is beaten up in plates, which
are then riveted together in a manner characteristic of the oldest
bronze works. About the lower part are two tiers of friezes of
Oriental animals and chariots, perhaps in imitation of an embroidered
skirt. The exceedingly archaic female figure holding a bird is said to
be carved in the limestone of the Polledrara district, and is also,
therefore, a local work. Elaborate patterns are painted on the edges
of the garments.
The figures carved in alabaster, and the seated figures in terra
cotta, are consistent in style with the date assigned to the tomb.
Cases 13-24. Further examples of Etruscan art. The middle
and (in part) the lower shelves contain examples of Etruscan painted
vases, strictly so-called.
Cases 13, 14. Imitations of Greek black-figure vases (such as
are seen in the Second Vase Room). The figures are rough and
coarse, on a pale ground, and show no skill in the drawing or incised
lines. The effect is almost that of a caricature. "
Cases 15, 16. Imitations of the later class of Greek red-figure
vases, such as are shown in the Third and Fourth Vase Rooms.
On the crater F 480, with the subjects of Ajax falling on his sword
and Actacon attacked by his hounds, the names of the two heroes are
inscribed in Etruscan.
Cases 13-17 (below). Etruscan terracotta chests and sarco
phagi of about the second century B.C. The smaller terracotta
chests are cast from moulds and roughly coloured, -the names of the
deceased being occasionally added. Certain favourite subjects,
such as the combat of Eteocles and Polyneikes before Thebes, and
a group formerly interpreted as Echetlos fighting with his plough at
Marathon, are repeated with great frequency.

Etruscan AH. 135
Case 18. Etruscan sepulchral chair. A series of archaic bronze
plates, with incised designs of geometric patterns and animals, has
been reconstructed to form a chair for the support of a cinerary urn
of human form. There is conclusive evidence for this practice (cf .
the urn in the Room of Ancient Life, No. 678), but the urn now
placed in the chair for illustration has no connexion with it.'
Cases 13-17 (upper shelf) and Cases 18-23. Etruscan black
pottery, of the kind known to archaeologists as ' Bucchero nero '
(Italian, bucchero, a vessel of fine unglazed. clay). Where patterns
are present they are partly incised lines, partly moulded reliefs, and
partly reliefs impressed upon the soft clay by rolling along it an
engraved cylinder.
Case 24. A larger limestone sepulchral urn, in the form of a
draped human figure with a movable head.
The two circular Cases C, D contain a part of the Etruscan
bronzes, especially examples of the cistae, or caskets, with incised
designs. Case C. 640. Cista. On the body are ; (1) Bellerophon
leading Pegasus by a halter and conversing with Stheneboea (or,
according to Homer, Anteia), the wife of Bellerophon's host, Proetos.
The mission of Bellerophon to Lycia, and his quest of the Chimaera,
were the result of the guilty passion of Stheneboea ; (2) Paris (?)
and Victory about to make a libation ; (3) Menelaos and Helen (}.).
On the cover are Nereids riding on sea-monsters.
715. A cista, engraved with an obscure subject, of which no
convincing interpretation has yet been proposed. It has been
suggested that the scene is perhaps a travesty of the Judgment
of Paris. The subject is also explained as the race of Atalanta and
.Meilanion, in which Meilanion won by means of the stratagem of
throwing down the golden apple of Aphrodite.
In the lower part of the case is a brazier, with remains of charcoal,
firetongs and rakes, from Canino.
Case D. 638. Cista. Round the body is engraved a frieze,
representing the sacrifice of Trojan captives at the funeral pyre of
Patroclus. On the cover are engraved three Nereids, riding on
marine monsters, and carrying the armour of Achilles. The whole
is surmounted by a group in the round of a Satyr and a Maenad.
This cista is remarkable for the masterly drawing of the figures in
the frieze and the interest of the subject, the grim character of which
is well suited to Etruscan taste.
746. Cista engraved with designs : (1) Combat of Paris and
Menelaos, Aphrodite intervening between them. (2) Combat of
Greeks with Amazons, as allies of the Trojans. Achilles stands
over.the body of the Amazon Penthesilea, while Thersites advances
to insult the body, an outrage in return for which he was slain by
Achilles. The whole of the contents of the lower part of this case are said
to have been found together at Praeneste in 1786 in a' crypt near
the Temple of Fortune.

136 The Bronze Boom.

THE BRONZE ROOM.*
The bronzes exhibited in this room (and in the Italic Room and
Room of Greek and Roman Life) are in part derived from tombs,
in which, like the pottery and gold ornaments, they had been
buried as appurtenances of the dead. In part they are relics of .
the religious and ordinary life of the Greeks and Romans, found
wherever by chance it might happen that they had been hidden
and preserved. It is noticeable that the bronze of some of the vases
is so thin that they can do little more than stand and support their
own weight (cf. above, p. 134). They must have been produced
expressly for purposes connected with the tomb.
The Greek temples were rich museums of bronze work, whether
in the form of statues on a large scale or of small votive offerings
and inscribed tablets. Large deposits of the kind were found, for
example, at Olympia and on the Athenian Acropolis. For the
most part we only have the record of the bronze dedications in
the temples, since the metal was too valuable to be neglected, and
the temple treasures were only spared if they were buried. Three
votive helmets, however, originally dedicated in temples, are now
in the Museum collection (pp. 117, 122), and some of the inscribed
tablets were originally intended to form a part of a temple's archives.
A considerable part of the collection in this room consists of
small statuettes. Some of these are made to perform a decora
tive purpose, as the handles of mirrors and dishes, while others
stand as ornaments on candelabra. The free-standing statuettes,
performing no such office, are comparatively rare from Greece^
From Rome and the Roman Empire they abound, having been much
used in Roman houses to place in small domestic shrines (lararia)
The vases, lamps and other domestic objects, which are
numerously represented, are interesting as illustrations of the fine
sense of decoration and form which enabled the ancients to impress
on many objects (e.g. a vase handle) the shapes which they have
retained to the present day.
Work in bronze relief was actively practised in Greece, as also
in Etruria, before and during the fifth century B.C. The best
examples, however, of Greek reliefs (in which the Museum is par
ticularly rich) belong to the beginning of the fourth century B.C.,
and consist of mirror-cases and pieces of armour, portions of metal
vases, etc. These reliefs, which are sometimes cast from moulds,
but more often beaten up from the back (repousse), reach a high
degree of perfection (see below).
As we have seen, the Etruscans practised largely the use of an
incised line on bronze for their mirrors and caskets. Examples
* Described in the Catalogue of Bronzes (1899), by H. B. Walters (30s.).
A copy can be borrowed for use in the room.

Greek Bronzes. 137
of similar line engravings on Greek works of the fine period are
comparatively rare.
Circular Case 1. 558. Caldron, or lebes. On the cover is an
archaic female figure ; on the rim are four youths performing
exercises on horseback, alternating with figures of Sirens.
587.. A tripod support for a caldron^ richly decorated with
subjects in relief. From Vulci.
Pedestal 2. Select Greek statuettes, mostly of the archaic
period. They illustrate admirably the careful and refined precision
of artists working in the archaic manner.
The following are specially worthy of notice : —
188. A figure of Eileithyia (the goddess who helped women
in childbirth). An inscription incised on it tells that it was a
votive offering to Eleuthia (Eileithyia), made by a woman, one
Aristomache. 192. Female statuette, very daintily worked, inlaid with silver,
and with small diamonds in the pupils of the eyes.
In the lower row : —
232. A lioness, in fine archaic style, and other select archaic
statuettes. Table-case A. Above the case are a set of bronze cups, of
refined outline, from Galaxidi, the port of Delphi.
287*. A very admirable bronze relief, of Aphrodite and Anchises
on Mount Ida. From Paramythia (see p. 142). Purchased from the
Hawkins collection, with the aid of a contribution from the National
Art-Collections Fund.
At one end of the case, see some interesting reliefs in silver and
silver-gilt, which were part of the adornment of a chariot found at
Perugia in 1812. The remainder of the. extant reliefs is at Perugia
and Munich. One of the reliefs is of a decorative character, with a
seated Gryphon, and two lions attacking a boar. The other appears
to represent a racing scene, with two horsemen riding over a fallen
competitor. The remainder of the case contains select bronzes. Some are
cast solid, and finished with a tool on the surface, but the majority
are reliefs, produced by the process of repousse-vfoik. The thin
plate of bronze is bedded with its face on a yielding material, such
as pitch, and is then beaten out from the back with suitable
punches. The front of the plate is then cleared, while the back in
turn is supported, and the work is finished by punching, chiselling
or engraving the face.
285. The Bronzes of Siris are famous examples of the
process just described. They are two groups in high relief which
were originally attached to a cuirass, and served as enriched
shoulder-bands. In fig. 59 they are shown, for the sake of illustra
tion, in connexion with the back plate of a cuirass. The lions' heads
probably held rings, which would be tied to the plate below. Eaeh
group represents a Greek victorious over an Amazon, whom he
drags by the hair. The details are varied throughout, but the lines

138

The Bronze Boom.

of the groups are symmetrical in relation to the central line of the
cuirass. These bronzes are said to have been found near the River
Siris, in South Italy, whence their name.
286. Youthful heroic figure, seated. This relief, which is cast
nearly solid, was riveted to some surface. The figure is in
excellent preservation, and very finely treated. It has. been
assigned to the time of Lysippos, that is, the second half of the
fourth century B.C.
311. Relief, with Dionysos and Ariadne standing. They wear
thin transparent draperies, expressed with extraordinary skill, in
repousse-vtoxk. This relief, which was found in the island of
Chalke, near Rhodes, was originally affixed to the base of the handle
of a pitcher. Other portions of the same vase, and also complete
examples of the same kind, are shown in Case 8.

Fig. 59.— The Bronzes of Siris. (After Broendsteil.)

On the opposite side of the case are other examples of bronze
reliefs, etc.
310. Relief, derived, like No. 311, from a vase, with Boreas
carrying off the Athenian maiden, Oreithyia. Found in a tomb in
Calymnos. The large Case B contains select bronzes of a larger size, all
of which are deserving of study. They include : 
447. An archaic Etruscan female figure, perhaps Aphrodite,
made of bronze cast upon an iron core. The swelling of the iron has
split one side of tho bronze. The forearms were separately cast, and
are riveted on. Fine patterns are incised on the drapery.
265. Right leg of a colossal male figure wearing a greave. This
splendid fragment, which was found in that part of Southern Italy
called Magna Graecia, belongs to the middle of the fifth century

Greek and Etruscan Bronzes. 139
B.C. It appears to be a part of an armed figure, running on
tiptoe. A remarkable equestrian figure of an early date. From Gru-
mentum in Lucania. Previously in the Forman collection.
284. Silenus, carrying a basket. The whole forms a base for
a candelabrum, which sprang from the calyx of leaves above the
basket. From Aegion in Achaia.
826. Figure of a boy playing at the Italian game of Morra. In
this game the players simultaneously throw out their hands, with
some of the fingers extended, and guess the total number of fingers
exhibited by the two players together. From Foggia.
1327. Dionysos (Bacchus) as a young boy, ivy-wreathed.
From Pompeii. Bequeathed by Sir William Temple.
848. Seated philosopher, in an attitude of thoughtful repose.
Said to have been found in dredging the harbour at Brindisi.
A remarkable figure of a young woman, probably a priestess,
was bequeathed to the Museum by the late Viscount Astor, in 1919.
The figure, wThich has much charm, has been called by the name of
Drusilla, a favourite sister of the emperor Caligula. Confirmation is,
however, lacking for the portrait, and the date of the work is pro
bably too early.
2513. A fine lamp, with two nozzles, in the form of Satyric
heads and with two foreparts of springing lions. From the Roman
Baths of Paris.
Table case C. Etruscan mirrors. On one side the surface
of the metal was highly polished, but it is rare for the mirrors
to retain any reflecting power to-day. On the other side was
an incised design, in many instances representing subjects derived
from Greek art, mythology and legend, but usually accompanied
by Etruscan inscriptions, giving in Etruscan form the names of the
persons represented. The mirrors are sometimes circular disks,
enclosed in mirror-cases, of which there are several examples
(compare the figure of Seianti in the Terracotta Room), and some
times they have long handles. These may be either completely
finished in bronze, or may have been inserted in handles of wood or
bone, now for the most part lost.
Above this case are examples of mirror handles ; also select
vases, inlaid with silver, niello, etc.
Pedestal 3. Select bronzes. 666. A gracefully composed figure
of a woman seated in a chair, forming the base of a candelabrum.
From Chiusi, and once in the collection of Samuel Rogers.
665. A large and decorative strigil (scraper) from Praeneste.
The handle is in the form of a nude figure of Aphrodite, herself
using the strigil.
With these is a statuette of a young negro, presented by
the late W. C. Alexander, through the National Art-Collections Fund.
Found near Perugia.
Circular Case 4. 650. Bronze bucket (or situla), richly decorated
in relief. Beneath each handle is a Genius of Death (probably

140 The Bronze Boom.
analogous to the so-called ' Harpies ' of the Harpy Tomb) holding
up a nude youth with either hand. Above each foot is a relief of
Heracles wrestling with the Nemean lion.
639. Cista. On the cover are four Nereids riding on sea-
monsters, finely engraved. The handle is in the form of a group of
wrestlers. Circular Case 5. 557. A finely-designed two-handled vase
(amphora) from the Pourtales collection.
Pedestal 6. Select bronze mirrors and mirror-handles.
These examples are designed to stand on the toilet table, and the
reflecting surface of the mirror is supported by a statuette or group,
either in the round or in relief.
Table-case D. Examples of bronze decoration in relief.
A considerable series of bronze plates with impressed reliefs,
having archaic designs of chariots, lions, Sphinxes, Gryphons and
other fantastic animals has been tentatively restored as part of a
chest of wood, decorated with bands of bronze. From a tomb at
Eleutherae. Above, and in the case, are examples of the decorative
treatment of vase handles, and objects of the same class.
Pedestal 7. 847. Male portrait head, probably of a Greek
poet, but not certainly identified. The head was formerly called
Homer, but (since the eyes were inlaid) it has not the plain indica
tions of blindness which mark the heads of that poet (cf. p. 72).
This fine bronze was brought from Constantinople at the beginning
of the seventeenth century, and once formed a part of the collection
of the great Earl of Arundel.
Pedestal 8. 266. The head of a goddess, who has been identi
fied, but not with certainty, as Aphrodite. • (Plate XV., fig. 1.)
This fine example of a Greek bronze of the fourth century B.C.,
sculptured in a large commanding style, is said to have been found
at Satala, in Armenia Minor. The eyes had been inlaid with some
material imitating their natural colours, such as a vitreous paste,
ivory and ebony, or gems. The head has been violently broken off
from a colossal statue. A left hand holding a piece of drapery,
which was found at the same time, and which may well have
belonged to the statue, is also in the collection (Wall-case 14).
Pedestal 9. 268. Portrait head of an African. The racial
characteristics are vividly expressed. The eyes have been enamelled,
parts of the substance still remaining in the sockets. Found at
Cyrene, on the original floor of the Temple of Apollo, and buried
deep below a later mosaic pavement.
Pedestal 10. 269. Figure of Marsyas, drawing back in surprise.
The motive is probably connected with a group by the Attic
sculptor, Myron, of Athene rejecting the flutes (which disfigured
her face) in the presence of Marsyas. He picked them up, and
thus incurred the curse of the goddess (cf. p. 82). From Patras
1876. Pedestal 11. 828. Bronze statue of Apollo, with inlaid eyes.
From 'Zifteh, in the Egyptian Delta This figure is the only

Greek and Etruscan Bronzes. 141
example of a fairly complete bronze statue of this scale in the
Museum collection. The feet are restored.
Pedestal 12. 267. Winged head from a statue of Hypnos,
Sleep. (Plate XV., fig. 2). The remaining wing is said to be that
of a night-hawk. The type of the complete figure is that of a youth
half running and half hovering, with a poppy seed-vessel and a horn
in his hands. In order to show the bronze correctly posed, it has
been combined with a cast of a portion of the remainder of the
figure, taken from a replica of the statue at Madrid. A cast of the
complete Madrid figure is exhibited in the Gallery of Casts. The
present bronze has been associated with the art of Praxiteles. Found
near Perugia, but evidently a Greek and not an Etruscan work.
Table-case E. Mirror-cases, with designs in repousse relief
(cf. p. 137) on the outside of the lids. The flat inner surfaces in
some instances have incised designs.
292. Aphrodite and Eros in relief, from Crete Compare the
group on the Parthenon frieze (p. 34). The incised design shows
Eros with bucket and pitcher, hastening to draw water.
On the opposite side of the case : —
290. Mirror-case, with a delicately worked relief of Victory
sacrificing a bull. This was a favourite subject with the Greek
artists. Compare the terracotta panels mentioned above (p. 101).
Above the case, No. 542 is a remarkable specimen of archaic
Etruscan work in low relief. Heracles is carrying off a female
figure, whose name is inscribed as Mlacuch, which may represent
a Greek form Malache, but the subject is not otherwise known.
The type suggests the wrestling of Peleus and Thetis.
Circular Case 13. 560. Caldron. In the centre of the cover is
a group of a man and woman, perhaps Hades carrying off Perse
phone, a minutely elaborated piece of archaic work. Four mounted
Amazons drawing their bows surround the rim. Round the body
is an incised frieze, with Heracles driving away the cattle of Cacus,
various groups of animals, a chariot race, and wrestlers.
588. Tripod support for a caldron, decorated with subjects in
relief. The three reliefs appear to be connected with the legend of
the rescue of Alcestis by Heracles — (1) Hermes in running attitude ;
(2) Thanatos (Death) carrying away Alcestis ; (3) Heracles in
running attitude.
Pedestal 14. A remarkable bronze head of the Emperor
Augustus in early manhood. The bust is in admirable preservation,
the inlaid eyeballs being perfectly preserved. It was discovered
in December, 1910, by Prof. John Garstang, at Meroe (Kabushia),
in the Egyptian Sudan. The bronze was acquired by the
British Museum, through the liberality of the Sudan Excavation
Committee of the University of Liverpool, in consideration of a
sum of one thousand guineas contributed by the National Art-
Collections Fund to the further excavations of the Committee.
We turn to the wall-cases in order round the room.
Cases 31-32. Greek and Italian bronzes of primitive style

142 The Bronze Boom.
With these are a few in which Egyptian and Oriental influences can
be detected. Cases 33-35. Greek (and especially Ionian) bronzes of an
early period.
209. Figure of Apollo, with a fawn on his right hand, and
once, probably, holding a bow in the left. There is strong reason
for thinking that this statuette is a copy of the statue of Apollo
Philesios at Branchidae (cf. p. 3) by the early artist Canachos. It
closely resembles a type of figure on the late coins of Miletos,
believed to be copied from the same original.
Cases 36-37. Early Etruscan bronzes, with examples of the
application of sculptural designs to objects such as mirror-stands
and the like, sixth to fifth centuries B.C.
Cases 38-39. Etruscan statuettes of the period of transition
from the archaic to the fully-developed style. 5th-4th centuries B.C.
Cases 40, 41. Greek bronzes, from the fifth century onwards.
Cases 42-49. Bronzes of a larger size (of various periods).
Cases 42-45. Earlier works, for the most part of Etruscan
origin. Cases 46-47. Later works.
Cases 48-49. A collection of bronze statuettes forming a
part of finds made at Paramythia, in Epirus.
Paramythia is about 15 miles from ancient Dodona, and the same distance
from the coast opposite to Corfu. The bronzes were discovered in 1792 and
1796. The greater part were rescued from the hands of a coppersmith at
Jannina, who had bought them for old metal, and were taken to Bussia, where
some of them have remained. Most of those here exhibited were acquired by
Mr. B. Payne Knight. Two especially fine additions to the group have been
made at a recent date, derived from the collection of Mr. Hawkins. The relief
of Aphrodite and Anchises is described above, p. 137. The statuette of the
seated Hermes was a gift from Mrs. Hawkins.
The whole group is approximately of one and the same period,
such inequalities as appear being due to the different hands, and is
probably to be assigned to the close of the fourth century B.C.
Specially noteworthy are 274, Poseidon, and 275, Zeus ; also the
relief of Aphrodite and Anchises (?) in Table-case A and the seated
Hermes. The two latter pieces were restored by Flaxman.
Cases 50-51. Later Etruscan bronzes. Also two curious
examples of the primitive bronze statuettes of Sardinia.
Case 52. Roman subjects. Statuettes of Lares and the like.
Case 53. In part, Gallo-Roman bronzes, found in Gaul.
Cases 54-60, 1-9 are intended to illustrate the application of
Greek design, in the decoration of objects of daily life, such as
vases and other utensils.
Cases 54-60. Candelabra and lamps. Many of the candelabra
are surmounted by Etruscan statuettes of an early period and of
Considerable interest.
Case 56 (lower part). For the most part unclassed or semi-
barbarous works from outlying regions, such as Syria and Spain.
Cases 1-9. Decorated vases, vase-handles, etc., of all periods.

Greek and Etruscan Bronzes,

143

Figures of animals, dwarfs, actors, etc
contain bronzes of a considerable size.

Among

Cases 10-11.
Cases 12-19
them are : —
1328. A figure of Dionysos, youthful and somewhat effeminate.
The eyes have been inlaid with silver.' From Porto Trajano. (The
right leg and left foot are restored.)
987. Apollo. It has been conjectured that he is here repre
sented at the moment when he orders the flaying of Marsyas.
827. Hercules, standing beside the tree of the H.esperides, with
three of the golden apples in his hand. The slain serpent is twined
about the tree. Found at Byblus, in Syria, in 1775.
Cases 20-30 contain select statuettes illustrating the mytho
logical types of the chief ancient deities, and arranged in the
customary sequence.

INTRODUCTION TO THE VASE
ROOMS.
A collection of Greek vases calls for careful study, to be appre
ciated. In vases of the earlier periods the grotesque details and
methods are more readily perceived than the interest which attaches
to all primitive and archaic work in which the craftsman, by slow
degrees, becomes master of his art. The meaning of the subjects

Fi<*. 60.— Amphorae.

is often unfamiliar ; moreover, the language employed by the vase
painters is so terse, the economy of subordinate details, independent
of the figures, is so strict, that some acquaintance with vases is
necessary to enable us to accept the conventions employed — such
as a column for a building, a branch for an outdoor scene, a line of
dots for broken ground.

144

The Vase Booms.

The points of interest, however, in connexion with a collection
of vases are many. They show the progress of art at times and
places for which other records are scanty or non-existent. At the
best period they have an unequalled purity and simplicity of
drawing, combined with extraordinary grace of form. The
mythological scenes and the scenes from life are equally interesting,

Fig. 61. — Hydriae.

especially when studied in connexion with ancient literature.
Sometimes they serve to illustrate and supplement the written
story, while at other times they show curious discrepancies between
the literary and artistic traditions. Not infrequently the vases
give representations of myths which in literary form are only
preserved to us by the allusions of late writers.

a .Fig. 62.— Forms of Crater. b
The collection of ancient vases is derived from all parts of the
ancient Greek world, from Italy, and to a certain extent from more
outlying provinces of the Roman Empire. Thus, in the First Room,
we have groups of vases representing the early civilization of Crete,
and other branches of a primitive Mediterranean culture. Adjoining
these are examples of the fully developed Mycenaean pottery and of
the great group of geometric wares of Greece and Cyprus. . In the

Introduction.

145

Second and following Vase Rooms most of the vases exhibited have
been found either in the course of excavations in Athens and other
sites in Greece proper, or else in those islands and shores of the
Mediterranean which had been taken possession of by Greek colonists
in or before the sixth century B.C., and for several centuries formed
part of the Greek-speaking world. Thus we have groups of vases

Fig. 63.— Lebes on stand.

Fig. 64.— Lebes.

from Rhodes, Cyprus, Cyrene, and Naucratis. In addition, a very
large number of vases were imported from Greece by the Etruscans —
a people whose art was deeply influenced by that of Greece in the sixth
and fifth centuries B.C. From the circumstance that Etruria TOas
the first country in which vases of this kind were discovered in
striking abundance, the name Etruscan vases came to be wrongly
attached to the whole class. The true name for them is Greek

Fig. 65. — Stamnos.

Fig. 66.— Psycter.

vases. The few that can be called strictly Etruscan have been placed
together in the Italic Room (p. 134).
In later periods there was also an active manufacture of
painted and decorated vases in the Greek communities of
Southern Italy.
The shapes of the vases vary considerably in the different
periods of the art. (For a collection of vase shapes in the Room of
Ancient Life, cf. p. 124). Certain shapes that are familiar in the
L

146

The Vase Booms.

earliest stage disappear altogether and are superseded by others of a
more elegant form. On the whole, as the art progresses there is a
tendency towards vases of a larger size, and more fanciful handles.
The accompanying illustrations will serve to show the principal
types and their technical names. The use of the technical names

Fig. 67.— Oinochoe.

Fig. 68.— Oinochoe.

is convenient, since they give a more precise idea than the cor
responding English words. There is considerable doubt as to how
an ancient Greek would have used some of the more unusual
names, but a fair uniformity of practice has been established among
archaeologists.

Fig. 69.— Forms oi Lekytlios.
The Amphora* (fig. 60) is a two-handled vase for storing liquids.
(a) Earlier type, (b) Late Campanian Amphora.
* Amphora, &n<popeis = ap.<pi-,popevs k>tpo>), ' with two handles ' ; Hydria,
iopla, ' water-pot ' (iiSwp) ; Crater (upariip), ' mixing- vessel ' (Kepdvyvpl) ; Lebes,
AePys, caldron; Stamnos, orip-vos, a standing-vessel (root o-ra-) ; Psycter,
^vkt-Iip, cooling-vessel (i|rt5x<o) ; Oinochoe (olyoX6n), wine-pourer (ohos, yew)',
Phiale Mesomphalos, QuLAq p.c<r6ij.<paAos, a cup with central navel ueVos
ap.<j>aA6s) ; Lekythos, Aryballos, Alabastron, Cantharos, Kylix, Skyphos Cotvle
words of doubtful origin. ' J

Shapes of Vases.

147

The Hydria (fig. 61) is a pitcher for carrying water (cf. p. 172),
and has three handles, (a) Earlier form, (b) Later form.
The Crater (fig. 62) is a wide-mouthed vessel in which wine and
water were mixed for immediate use. (a) The Crater with medallion
handles (late Italian). (&) Bell-crater.
The Lebes (figs. 63, 64) is a bowl, often but not necessarily

Fig. 70.— Aryballos.

Fig. 71.— Alabastron.

Fig. 72.— Cantharos

supported by a stand. The Stamnos (fig. 65) is a rather squat
jar with two handles.
The Psycter or wine-cooler (fig. 66) is a peculiar and rather
rare form.
Among the smaller vessels the most frequent shapes are :
The Oinochoe (figs. 67, 68), a jug for pouring wine.
The Lekythos (fig. 69 a-c), a slimmer jug, with a narrow neck
for pouring oil slowly. The form c is intermediate between the
Lekythos and the Aryballos.

The Aryballos (fig. 70) is a small round-bellied bottle used for oil.
The Alabastron (fig. 71) is a long narrow bottle with small ears,
for holding ointment or perfume.
The Cantharos (fig. 72) is a drinking cup with a tall stem and
two high handles. The Kylix (fig. 73) is also a drinking "cup, but
wide and shallow. The Skyphos or Cotyle (fig. 74) is a deep
bowl for drinking. h 2

148 The First Vase Boom.
The Phiale Mesomphalos (fig. 75) is a shallow bowl with a
central boss, used for making libations. The central boss^ enables
the tips of the fingers to obtain a hold underneath the phiale.
The First Vase Room shows the beginnings of the potter's art
in Crete, Cyprus, and other seats of early culture. The distinctive
Hellenic myths and decorations are not yet developed. In the
Second Vase Room several localities are seen separately developing
styles of vase painting, Hellenic in character. Among them a single
style obtains predominance in the sixth century B.C. This is the

Fig. 74.— Skyphos. Fig. 75. — Phiale Mesomphalos.
style of black figures on a red ground, which was mainly practised
at Athens. About the end of the sixth century the black-figure
style was in turn superseded by red figures on a dark ground.
Vases in this style to the end of the fifth century, that is to say,
of the finest period of Greek art, occupy the Third Vase Room.
In the Fourth Vase Room we have the late and florid productions
of the Italian potters, who took up and practised the art when it
had almost ceased to be one of the industries of Athens. At the
end of the room a small space is devoted to the later Hellenistic
and Roman wares, which succeeded Greek vase painting proper.

THE FIRST VASE ROOM.
(See notice on p. 95.)
Most of the vases exhibited in this room belong to that early
period of Greece which is the field of archaeology rather than of
authentic written history. They must in fact themselves supply
the information by which their respective periods, and the relations
of the various groups, are determined. There are still many gaps
in the record, and many differences of opinion as to the interpretation
of the evidence. It would be outside the scope of this guide to dis
cuss the doubtful questions of chronology and succession of styles
which a complete study of the contents of the First Vase Room
would involve. It must suffice to point out the characteristic
features of the various groups which compose the collection.

Primitive Wares.

149

The general principle which has been followed in the arrange
ment of the room is that the East or left hand side of the room,
as you enter from the Egyptian galleries, contains the Prehistoric
wares from Crete and other Aegean islands, Greece, Asia Minor and
Cyprus. The West or right hand side of the room contains the
families of later Geometric pottery — and also the large sarcophagi
which are placed here on account of necessities of space.
Cases 1-4. Primitive wares.
In all the regions which were inhabited by Greeks in the historical
period — the Greek mainland, the islands of the Aegean Sea, the west
coast of Asia Minor and the island of Cyprus — antiquities have now
been found which belong to a remote age. The first important dis
coveries of this type of culture were made at Hissarlik, the site of
Troy, by Schliemann, in 1871, and the most recent excavations of

f4' m¥

Fig. 76.— Early C'ycladic and Cypriote Vases.
such early sites have been carried out in northern Greece by members
of the British School at Athens. The pottery has the general character
that marks all primitive wares, being made by hand in simple shapes,
and decorated with geometric patterns, incised or roughly painted
(fig. 76). There are local differences which have great archaeological
importance. Cases 1-2 contain primitive pottery of the Stone and Early
Bronze Ages from Asia Minor and the mainland of Greece.
Cases 3-4. Vases from the Cycladic islands (Melos, Paros and
others). The earlier fabrics are ornamented with incised herring
bone patterns ; the later have painted decoration.
Stone vases, axes, knife-blades and other objects found with
these primitive classes of pottery are shown in Table-case B.
Cases 5-7 contain early Cyprus Bronze Age wares, The vases
are hand-made, and decorated with rough incised patterns.

]50 The First Vase Boom.
Cases 8-9. Further local wares from Cyprus of the Bronze
Age. Many of the vases have raised bands attached for decoration.
Cases 10-11. Local wares from Cyprus, of the Bronze Age,
painted either with white on a dark ground, or with dark lines and
patterns on a white or cream-coloured ground.
Cases 12-13. Local wares from Cyprus of the Bronze Age, '
with peculiar forms, and an elementary system of geometric
decoration. The remainder of this side of the First Vase Room is devoted
to the Minoan and Mycenaean remains. It must be explained
that the term ' Minoan ' is applied to objects found in Crete, and
belonging to the prehistoric culture of that island. The term
' Mycenaean ' is applied to objects of a derivative and later culture
found in other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. The word
' Minoan ' is not intended to convey any implication as to the
historical reality of Minos, but is used as a convenient description
of a whole class of objects, first and most brilliantly revealed by
excavations at Cnossos, the supposed seat of that legendary king.
The other group mentioned above is termed ' Mycenaean ' because
in the same way Schliemann's excavations at Mycenae (1877) first
revealed and suggested a name for the whole system of culture.
For more than twenty years after Schliemann's discoveries
Mycenae was the most important known seat of this civilization.
In recent years, however, the centre of interest has been moved to
Crete, where the excavations of Sir Arthur Evans and others have
met with striking success.
The Cretan discoveries are represented in the British Museum
by (1) the casts in the Gallery of Casts (p. 80) ; (2) the objects
exhibited in standing Cases A, B, on Pedestals 1, 2, and above the
wall-cases on the East side of this room. The finest examples of
Cretan art have been retained in Crete, and can only be illustrated
by casts and reproductions.
Such original fragments of pottery, and other objects as are here
shown, are derived from excavations at Cnossos, Zakro, Palaikastro,
and other sites.
Cnossos, the reputed capital of Minos, is in the middle of the
north side of Crete. It was excavated by Sir Arthur Evans from
March 1900 onwards.
Zakro, a site on the east coast of Crete, was excavated by
Mr. D. G. Hogarth and the Cretan Exploration Fund in 1901.
Palaikastro, a site in the middle of the east side of Crete,
was excavated by Prof. R. C. Bosanquet and the British School at
Athens between April 1902 and June 1905.
The finds are classed, according to the scheme proposed by Sir
A. Evans, as of the ' Early Minoan,' ' Middle Minoan,' and ' Late
Minoan ' periods, each period being again subdivided into three
parts. Thus, for example, M(iddle) M(inoan) II. is employed to
denote the second division of the Middle-Minoan period. The
absolute chronology of the different stages can only be stated

Cretan Antiquities. 151
approximately. According to the revised scheme of Sir Arthur
Evans (in C. H. and H. Hawes, Crete, p. 18), ' Early Minoan '
precedes 2200 B.C., and the subsequent periods may be dated as
follows : —

Middle Minoan I. .
M. M. II.
M. M. III.
Late Minoan I.
L. M. II. .
L. M. III. .

2200-2000 B.C.
2000-1850 1850-16001600-1500
1500-1350about 1350

The Mycenaean style proper is regarded as beginning near the
close of the Middle Minoan age, and as running parallel with the
Late Minoan periods.
In the large Case A the Cretan collections are arranged in such
a way that the oldest groups are furthest removed from the gang
way. The first are examples of Early Minoan styles, consisting of
early forms of pottery with the beginning of painted decoration.
Next are wares of the style Middle Minoan I., in which polychrome
decoration is introduced, and II., where it is used with increasing
richness of decorative effect. In- Middle Minoan III. plant-forms
appear, and monochrome technique, mostly white paint on a black
ground, is usual. The Late Minoan styles are also monochrome,
but commonly in black or brown varnish on the light clay ground
In Late Minoan I. the decorative schemes are chiefly naturalistic, and
are adapted from plant and marine subjects with much skill and
feeling. Late Minoan II. has a more formal quality ; the ' Palace
Style ' belongs to this period. Late Minoan III. is still further
conventionalised, and, like the common Mycenaean fabrics, repeats
the original naturalistic motives in almost geometric form. Interest
ing examples of other Minoan objects are placed in the centre and at
the end next the gangway. These include : —
(<z) A cast of the ' Phaestos disk ' — a clay disk on which an
inscription has been impressed by separate stamps, in a hieroglyphic
script not otherwise known.
(6) A cast of a bronze figure of a mourning woman, found in the
Troad. (c) Two clay tablets, presented by Sir A. J. Evans, and another
fragment presented by Major Willett, with inscriptions in the
Cretan linear script. One of these appears to be an enumeration
of certain cereals. The other deals with a calculation based on the
century. — denotes 10 and denotes 1. On the tablet the
addition of  (20) to = = || (72) leaves a balance of || [j || || (8)
to complete the century.
(d-f) Casts of three vases of steatite, found by Italian excavators
at Hagia Triada.
(q) Cast of large steatite vase in the form of a bull's head, from
the ' Small Palace ' at Cnossos.
Pedestal 1. A large terracotta jar, from the Palace of Cnossos,

152

The First Vase Boom.

with a decoration of rope-like bands. This jar was found with
others on the site by Mr. Minos Calocherinos, and was presented by
him in 1884. Other large terracotta vessels, such as mortuary
chests, a bath, and large jars excavated at Palaikastro, may be seen
above the wall-cases.
Table-case B. (North side.) Stone implements, terracotta
loom-weights, and other objects from Greek, Cycladic and Cretan
sites, especially fragments of stucco, with Minoan fresco decoration
from Palaikastro, and a series of primitive votive terracottas from
the rock sanctuary of Petsofa.
At the further end of the case are small objects in terracotta,
stone, bone, and ivory, from Enkomi in Cyprus (see below, p. 153).
Among them are certain terracotta balls, with inscriptions impressed
on the clay when soft in an unknown writing, probably akin to that
of Crete. On the opposite side of the case are other small antiquities found

Fig. 77.— Mycenaean Ware.'

in tombs in Cyprus, and a collection of beads and blue glass jewellery
from the Mycenaean site of Ialysos in Rhodes.
Above Table-case B are :— Remarkable pieces of faience from
Enkomi (see below).
Pedestal 2. Coloured reproductions of Minoan statuettes and
other votive objects in glazed ware. The group consists of a snake
goddess and votaries, together with decorative objects such as flvino-
fishes, shells, and representations of rocks. See also two reliefs "of a
cow and goat respectively suckling their young, from Cnossos.
(See Annual of the British School at Athens, ix., p 38 )
The vases of the Mycenaean group are distinguished, both by
their peculiar shapes and by their systems of decoration, from
classical Greek pottery. They are made on the potter's wheel and
for the most part are decorated with a lustrous varnish of fine
quality. The decorations consist principally of groups of parallel
lines, lattice-work arrangements, and systems of Spirals and wave
patterns The natural objects represented are few in number, and
consist of marine and vegetable forms, such as the cuttle-fish

Mycenaean Vases from Cyprus. 153
a shell, probably the murex, and a few plant forms, all highly
conventionalised. The forms are also peculiar, including a vase with
a globular body, spout, and two handles, but with a closed neck (this
form is commonly called the ' false-amphora '), a kylix on a tall stem,
and other shapes which do not appear in the later pottery
The remains of this class of pottery are found through a con
siderable area, especially in the eastern parts of the mainland of
Greece, and in many of the southern islands, especially Cyprus and
Rhodes. Examples are found as far away as Egypt and Sicily.
The large Case C (as well as part of Case B, and of Wall-cases
14-21) contains objects of the Mycenaean class, derived from the
excavations at Enkomi, near the ancient Salamis, in Cyprus.* For

Fig. 78. — Pottery and Faience from Enkomi.
the more precious objects in gold, ivory and gems from this fruitful
site, see above (p. 103). The collections here shown include objects
in silver, bronze, iron, faience and glass, ivory, bone, pottery. The
pottery, which was found in great abundance at Enkomi, is distin
guished from that found at other Mycenaean sites by a greater
variety of subject in the more elaborate works, and we find repre
sentations of chariot groups, cattle, birds, etc., in a rough and
conventional style (Fig 78).
Wall-cases 14-21. Antiquities from excavations on various
Mycenaean sites in Cyprus, similar in their general character to
those already described.
* See Excavations in Cyprus, by A. S.Murray and others. Folio, 1900. (£2.)
Catalogue of Vases, Vol. I., Part II. (1912), by H. B. Walters. (£1.)

154

The First Vase Boom.

Cases 22-29 contain Mycenaean vases, excavated by Sir Alfred
Biliotti at Ialysos in Rhodes. The excavations were in part carried
on at tlie expense of Mr. John Ruskin, who presented the vases
and objects found with them to the Museum.
Cases 30-32 contain examples of Mycenaean pottery from
various Greek sites.

After surveying the collections of the Minoan and Mycenaean
periods, exhibited on the east side of the First Vase Room, we turn
to the west side of the room, and to the vases of the succeeding
period,

Fig. 79.— Dipylon War

Cases 33-36. Examples of pottery of the 'Dipylon' style
(fig. 79)._ This ware was posterior to the Mycenaean fabrics. It
derives its name from the fact that many examples of it have
been found near the Dipylon gate at Athens. The vases are stiff
and ungraceful in form. The decoration consists of geometric
arrangements of straight or curved lines, and especially of variations
of the maeander (or key pattern) and of the square or diamond
chequer. A few animal forms, such as those of birds, horses, and
at last of men, are gradually introduced in panels. Certain inscrip
tions which have been found on vases of this class cannot be older
than the seventh century b.c, and since in two cases they were
painted before the vase was fired, the Dipylon method of decoration
must have continued in use to that date. The later vases are

Dipylon and Phaleron Wares. 155
marked, on the whole, by smaller work and greater elaboration of
the pattern.
Cases 37-39. Pottery from Rhodes, slightly different in
texture from that of Athens, but presenting the same elements of
decoration. In Case 39 a fragment of a large vase introduces a
mythical subject, namely, a Centaur of the primitive form with
human forelegs.
A fine lebes from Thebes in the later Dipylon style is placed
in Case D. On one side is a large galley with two banks of 19 and
20 rowers. A man (drawn on a quite different scale) is stepping
on board at the stern to act as steersman. He either leads a
woman, or clasps her wrists on departure. On the other side is a
procession of two chariots and a horseman.
Cases 40-41. Miscellaneous pottery from various sites, showing
later developments in the Geometric style.
Case D. Up to this point the traces of Oriental influence have
been few and doubtful in the potter's work. The seventh century
brought with it a more intimate connexion with the East, as
Greek colonies established themselves on the coasts of Asia Minor,
and generally around the shores of the Mediterranean. The
importation of Oriental embroidery, stamped metal and engraved
cylinders had the effect of changing the form, the colouring, and
the character of the drawing ; the figures on the vases are no longer
restricted to square panels, but are arranged in continuous
friezes, the forms of the vases being shorter and rounder. New
decorative themes are introduced, such as the palmette, and the
whole system of ornament gains increased richness and variety.
But naturally this change had not everywhere an immediate effect ;
we see it earliest in islands like Rhodes and Cyprus, which were
nearest the East, and in towns like Corinth, whose colonising
activity was greatest : but at Athens, where a local pottery was
already famous, the change was more gradual, and probably was
brought about through the medium of Corinthian commerce at about
the middle of the seventh century B.C. This transition state at Athens
is represented in a class of vases called Phaleron ware, from having
been first found on the road to Phaleron.* In this group it is plain
that we have a development of the Dipylon style. The same geo
metrical motives are continued, but they are combined with figures
of animals, and smaller objects filling the empty spaces of the field,
as on the early wares of Corinth.
Table-case D contains Phaleron vases (fig. 80). A notable
specimen of Phaleron ware from Athens has a strongly Oriental design
of two lions confronted.
Cases 37, 38 and 42, 43 (lower part). Besides the painted
vases already described, this side of the room contains some examples
of vases with ornaments in relief. The vases thus adorned are
either of a black ware, varying to grey, which has been already

* The ancient Phaleron, pronounced by the modern Greeks Phaleron,

156

The First Vase Boom.

referred to above under the name of ' Bucchero nero ' (p. 135), or
of a coarse, reddish ware mainly found at Rhodes.
The patterns in relief are impressed by means of a stamp or by
the rolling of an engraved cylinder, like those of Assyria, which
leaves a raised impression of its design, repeated over and over, in
a band round the body of the vase. The examples here shown are
mostly from Cameiros in Rhodes.
Wall-cases 44-53 contain examples of the later fabrics of
Cyprus. Cases 44-45. Cypriote wares of the sub-Mycenaean and tran
sitional periods (10th-9th centuries B.C.), showing signs of transition
from the Mycenaean to the subsequent ' Graeco-Phoenician ' period.
Cases 46-47. Local Cypriote fabrics of the Graeco-Phoenician
period. The Cypriote fabrics show a marked preference for geometric
elements of decoration. As compared with Dipylon wares they
make more use of the spiral and concentric circles, and less use of
the maeander.

Fig. 80.— Phaleron Ware.
Cases 48, 49. Cypriote ware of the so-called ' ornate embroidery '
style,_ with the field fully occupied by rosettes and other patterns,
combined with figure-subjects and animals. 7th-6th centuries b c'
(Fig. 81).
Cases 50, 51. Cypriote red ware of the 6th-5th centuries b.c.
The decoration consists mainly of concentric circles, in black or
white, on the rich red ground.
Cases 52, 53. Later Cypriote fabrics. These include degraded
forms of geometric decoration, and a series of pitchers, which have
spouts in the shape of vases held by female figures, attached in high
relief. B
Cases 54-57. Later variations of the geometric style from the
western area. Examples from Sardinia and South of Italy.' 7th-6th
centuries B.C.
Cases 56-57 (lower part). A group of vases found together in
an early tomb at Corfu, identified by the inscription as the tomb of
one Menecrates, of Oeantheia.

Fabrics of Cyprus.

157

58. Degraded and late forms of geometric ornament from
South Italy, of the fifth century or later.
Cases 59, 60, 61 and the two large standing cases (see also above
48 and in Cases 62, 63) contain terracotta Sarcophagi of the
sixth century b.c, obtained for the most part from Clazomenae,
a town at the entrance of the Gulf of Smyrna.
Case 60. Small terracotta sarcophagus from Cameiros, painted
in the style of the Rhodian vases. The subjects consist of an ox
between two lions, two helmeted heads, cable borders and lions.
The two standing cases contain the cover and the body of a
large terracotta sarcophagus * from Clazomenae (fig. 82).
The sarcophagus is richly adorned, both within and without,
with geometric patterns and figure^subjects.
With its long, multitudinous friezes, this sarcophagus is a

Fig. 81 — Geometric style of Cyprus,

characteristic example of the early art of Ionian Asia Minor. Its
date is probably the middle of the sixth century B.C.
Cases 62-64. A collection of objects in glazed faience ware
(sometimes incorrectly called ' porcelain '), of Mycenaean and archaic
Greek date.
Table-case E contains smaller objects, of the period of strong
Oriental influence, that is, about the seventh century B.C. The
objects in question consist of vases of variegated glass and alabaster ;
objects in ivory and bone ; and especially of vases, statuettes,
scarabs, etc., in faience. The latter have a strongly-marked
Egyptian character. They reproduce Egyptian forms of decoration,
Egyptian types of deities, and Egyptian hieroglyphics. These
however, are usually more or less blundered and unintelligently
rendered, and the faience wares found in non-Egyptian sites are
therefore for the most past imitations and not genuine Egyptian
products.

* Illustrated and described by A. S. Murray, Terracotta Sarcophagi, Greek
and Etruscan, in the British Museum, 1898 (28s.).

158

The First Vase Boom.

Objects of the class here represented are usually found in
Mediterranean sites, to which the Phoenicians had ready access,
such as Rhodes and Cyprus, and also in Sardinia and Etruria.
They were also found, however, at Naucratis in Egypt, with moulds
for the manufacture of scarabs, and in part at least they may there

fore be attributed to thatjtown. The theory of a Greek source is
confirmed by the faience vase in form of a dolphin, which has the
name of Pythes inscribed in archaic Greek characters round the lip.
Above Table-case E are :
Two shades with select objects in glass and faience.

Black-Figure and Red-Figure Styles.

159

THE SECOND VASE ROOM.*
The majority of the vases in this room belong to the Black-
figure class, and the remainder are of an allied character. In
the two subsequent rooms the majority of the vases are Red-
figure. The meaning, of this fundamental distinction is illustrated
by the annexed cut (fig. 83) after a part of a vase (at Palermo) by
the painter Andokides, who has combined the two styles by caprice.
It is apparent that on the right side of the illustration the figure is
drawn in black on the coloured ground and relieved with lines
incised in the black. On the left hand the figure is left in the
ground colour of the vase, while the varnish covers the background.

Fig. 83.— The black-figure and red-figure styles. (From a vase by Andokides.)
The interior lines are drawn in the black. The two styles may be
compared to a negative and positive in photography.
In the Second Vase Room we see the art of vase-painting carried
on almost independently in various local potteries, all of which are
after a time overpowered by the growing skill and popularity of
the black-figure pottery of Athens, and only continue to exist for
strictly local purposes.
The non-Attic groups occupy the Wall-cases 1-17 and 52-64 at
the north end of the room (adjoining the First Vase Room), together
with Table-case L, while the remainder of the room is occupied by
the Attic group. We deal first with the non-Attic wares.
* Described in the Catalogue of Vases, Vol. I., Part I. (in preparation) and
Vol. II., by H. B. Walters, 1893 (24s.). A copy can be borrowed from the
Commissionaire.

160

The Second Vase Room.

Wall-cases 1-3. (Cf. also shade on Case L.) The so-called
Proto-Corinthian vases. This group is marked by a certain amount
of simple geometrical ornament, combined with bands of animals,
etc., and by a sparing use of the rosette and other ornaments, that
are so abundant on the Corinthian fabrics.
Cases 4-11. Vases of the Corinthian style, chiefly obtained
from Corinth and Rhodes (fig. 84). The Corinthian vases are marked
by profuse ornamentation, consisting of bands of real and fabulous
animals, such as lions, panthers, oxen, Sphinxes, Gryphons, etc.,
and having rosettes, flowers, etc., sown in extraordinary abundance
in every vacant space in the field. Fantastic combinations also
occur, such as winged and snake-legged monsters. Human figures
and mythological subjects are comparatively rare.
The subjects are usually painted in black and purple on a yellow
ground. It will be observed that the outlines and details are
emphasized or defined, with incised lines drawn in the coloured

Fig. S4. — Corinthian Vases.

varnish and the surface of the clay with a sharp point. This method
is fully developed in the Corinthian style. It afterwards became of
great importance throughout the period of the black-figure vases,
and did not cease to be used until after the introduction of the
red-figure style (Third Vase Room).
Cases 12-15. Transitional vases painted in the style called
Later Corinthian. We have seen that the Corinthian vases are
marked by a preference for animals, wild or fabulous, with flowers,
rosettes, etc., filling all vacant spaces. Here in the Later Corinthian
style, the rosettes and other accessories tend to disappear, and
figure-subjects are introduced.
Cases 16-17 contain Chalcidian and early Attic fabrics of a
similar style. The Chalcidian group, to which B 75, 76 belong, is
a small class, which is assigned to Chalcis (in Euboea), on account
of the forms of the letters used in the inscriptions, but has not
as yet been found on that site. It is also marked by the peculiar

Corinthian and Bhodian Vases.

161

borders of lotus buds and flowers, and by the forms of the handles,
neck, and foot, which are those of metal work, rather than of pottery.
[We cross to the opposite side of the room, and begin next the
door to the First Vase Room.]
Case L (shade). Smaller vases, imitating the forms of objects,
such as seated figures, heads, busts, birds, etc.
Four small lekythi at the end next to the gangway belong to the
class of ' Proto-Corinthian ' vases described above.
The finest of these is a lekythos of great delicacy and beauty,
presented by the late Malcolm Macmillan. The upper part of the
vase is in the form of a lion's head, with open mouth. At the
junction of the handle with the head is a minute Gorgon's mask.
Round the body of the vase are three friezes. This lekythos is
unrivalled for the extraordinary minuteness of its decoration.

GREEK POTTERY FROM ASIA MINOR.
The vases which are found on the sites of the seaport cities of
Asia Minor are all of the same class, but with certain differences of
style which are assigned to various localities. It cannot, however,

Fig. 85.— Vases from Cameiros (Rhodes).
be said that the names given to the fabrics which have been dis
tinguished— Rhodian, Milesian, Clazomenian, etc.— have yet found
general acceptance. The characteristic mark of these vases is the
use of a prepared ground for the painted decoration, ranging from
a thin wash to a thick white ' slip ' laid on the surface of the clay.
Case L and Wall-cases 62-64. Vases from Cameiros in
Rhodes (fig. 85). The decoration consists partly of bands of animals
and interspersed ornaments, such as those already described, and
partly of mythological subjects. Among the most'interesting are : —
(1.) Plate, with a Gorgon of Asiatic form. She has the pro-

162

The Second Vase Boom.

truding tusks and tongue of the Greek Gorgon, but holds a swan in
each hand, and these do not occur in the normal Greek type.
(2.) Combat of Hector and Menelaos over the body of the
fallen Euphorbos (fig. 86). The three figures are identified by
inscriptions, which are assigned to the beginning of the sixth century
b.c. As regards the subject, the scene on the vase only partially
corresponds with the Homeric account (II. xvii. 59, etc.), in which

.". * L^'S- 86— Combat ofgl-lector and Menelaos.
Menelaos strips Euphorbos of his armour and then ietreats on the
approach of Hector. Such variations as this show how little the
early artists were guided by the Homeric text in the form in which
we know it.
Cases 60-61. Vases of a style sometimes called 'Fikellura '
after the modern name of one of the cemetries of Cameiros in Rhodes
at which they have principally been found. '
The characteristic decoration consists of large figures of birds and

Early Fabrics. 163
animals, with smaller ornaments (such as rosettes, etc.) sown about
the field, and more particularly of large volutes under the handles,
find a peculiar system of bands of crescents, closely consecutive.
Cases 56-59 contain fragments of pottery, obtained by excava
tions at Naucratis, and belonging for the most part to the second
half of the sixth century b.c.
The pottery of Naucratis was found mostly in heaps of potsherds,
consisting of the fragments of vases dedicated in the temples, and
afterwards broken (to prevent desecration) and buried. Most of
the fragments have dedicatory inscriptions incised upon them, such
as 2coo-TpaTo's p.' aviOtjKev rrj '<£poSiVu (' Sostratos dedicated me to
Aphrodite ') on the large bowl in Case 58.
Cases 53 (above) and 54-55. Vases and fragments excavated
at Daphnae in Lower Egypt by Mr. Flinders Petrie. Daphnae
was a frontier station on the road to Egypt from Syria. Its
pottery indicates that it was occupied by a Greek population,
perhaps identical with certain mercenaries from Asia Minor, whom
we know to have occupied frontier camps in the beginning of the
sixth century b.c. (Herod, ii., 154).
These vases reflect their origin in their style. The tall narrow
form and parts of the decoration are Egyptian. On the other hand
we have fully developed mythological subjects, such as on B 105.
On the obverse, Bellerophon mounted on Pegasus ; on the reverse,
the Chimaera ; the painting is like that on the painted sarcophagi
from Asia Minor.
Cases 52-53. Vases with figures painted in black and purple,
on a cream-coloured ground or slip, in an archaic manner.
One group of these vases (in the second and third shelves) is
commonly known as ' Cyrenaic,' a name applied to it on account
of a vase in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, with a scene of
silphium- weighing, which is a subject connected with Cyrene.
The recent excavations, however, of the British School at Athens,
on the site of Sparta, have yielded complete series of this ware, so
that it may be of Spartan or Laeonian origin. This does not exclude
the possibility that it may have been developed afterwards at Cyrene.
In Case 52 the vase B 59, a so-called Caeretan hydria, is an
example of a class of vases found at Caere (Cervetri) in Etruria, but
of uncertain origin — probably from Asia Minor. It is marked by
the free use of red as a ground colour, and by the decoration.
Introduction to the Black-Figure Vases.
We turn to the principal contents of the Second Vase Room,
namely, the Attic black-figure wares.
The general character of the Attic black-figure vases may be
described as follows : Upon a fine smooth clay, which the Athenian
potters learned to make of a rich orange-red colour, the figures are
drawn, with a dense, lustrous varnish varying in colour from black to
olive-green where the firing has been insufficient, or to reddish brown
where the varnish has been too thin. The internal details of the

164 The Second Vase Boom.
figures are drawn through the varnish with a sharp point, often
handled with minute precision. In order to obtain relief from
the conventional treatment of all the subject in black, the visible
flesh of the female figures was afterwards painted in white (which
might again be incised) and fired at a lower heat. White was also
employed for grey hair, linen garments, white horses, pieces of bright
metal and other suitable accessories. Purple was used, like the
white, for accessories, but was employed in a conventional manner,
to distinguish one mass from another, without much reference to
the natural colour of the objects.
By such methods the artists of the black-figure pottery were able
to attain a considerable height of artistic achievement. They tell
their story with vivacity and directness, and with a remarkable
economy of all accessories subordinate to the principal action. On
the other hand, much of the drawing is strictly conventional, and the
whole system of figures in silhouette involves an element of grotesque-
ness which necessarily limits what the artists can accomplish.
The black-figure vases have in full measure the interest that
attaches to all the productions of a school of art still struggling to
reach maturity. On the whole, however, their interest lies more in
their historical position, and in the mythology and inscriptions, than
in the merit of the drawing ; but some pieces have a high decorative
value. Subjects. An examination of the vases contained in this room
will show that scenes taken from the epic cycles, and incidents in
the Heracles and Theseus legends, are the prevailing subjects. In
particular the exploits of Heracles are repeated again and again
with slight variations in detail, but with a great persistency of the
general type. On the other hand, scenes from daily life are com
paratively rare, and such as occur are almost confined to the life of
athletes, the banquet, or (for women) the drawing water at the fountain.
Artists' signatures. With the development of the black-
figure style the potters began to sign their names on their works.
The number of known vases thus signed in the black and red-figure
styles is very considerable (nearly 450), and in recent years the
study of the works of the several potters has been actively pursued.
The inscriptions* usually run that so-and-so tiroi-no-tv made the vase
* The following examples may serve as typical signatures: —
a. HlKOlotwEttf OIH t M
b roVVA/VOTC-S
€ A R A * 6 /tf

H I < + V V O S £ p o i e *,
(a) NiKooBevqs eVoi'ijirei/ (rarely eiroiei).
(b) TloAvyvGiros €ypa\pet/.
(c) 'EirtKTTjTos fypaffQev (sic), lo^xvAos ^rohjo-ev.

Signed Vases.

165

or ?ypai/rei> painted it. Sometimes two persons are named, of whom
one ' made ' and the other ' painted.' In the latter case the meaning
of the inscriptions is clear. Where only liroi-qo-iv is used it means
that the potter alone, or perhaps the master of the pottery, is
named. Occasionally, but only rarely, it is stated that the same
person both made and painted the vase. More rarely still, two
persons are named as makers. The principal signed vases in the
Museum are mentioned separately below.
Names with KaXo's. It will be observed that a large number
of vases are inscribed 6 7rais KaXos, ' the boy is beautiful ' (or KaXo's
alone), and less frequently in the feminine 57 irais KaXrj or KaX-rj.
In many cases a particular name is substituted for the general
formula, as Aeayoos KaXds and more than two hundred such names
are known. The intention of these inscriptions has been much
discussed, but primarily it is clear that they are expressions of
personal admiration. It does not, however, necessarily follow that
there was any near tie between the potter and the person whom
he admires. Chronology. The Athenian black-figure vases date from the
beginning of the sixth century onwards. The transition to the red-
figure style, at the close of that century, is discussed below (p. 174).
For the late survival of the method in the Panathenaic vases, see
p. 190. The following Table gives a list of the signed vases in the Second
Vase Room. In every case the word employed is that for the
potter,' iiroi-qcrev.

Aktist and
Vase.

Amasis B4Y1
[B 209 .
Abcheneides Akchicles B398 .
B418
Chabinos B 631
Chtias (?)
B 6014, 5 .
Erqotimos (?)
B 6014, 5 .

EUCHEIEOS B417

shape.

Olpe (jug.]
Amphora Kylix

Kylix .
Kylix .

Oinochoe

Fragments

Kylix

Second Vase
Room, Case.

48 .
49 .
OnC

49 .
48 .

OnC

Subjects, etc.

In drawer

In drawer

49

Perseus and Medusa.
The name is not an artist's signa
ture.]
Palmettes. Bt. 1919.

Palmettes. Signed 'Archekles.'
Horseman.

Vine-branches.

See Ergotimos.
Fragments of Ky likes (from Nau
cratis) which appear to have par ts
of the names of Ergotimos, and
perhaps of Glitias (p. 166).
Int. Chimaera. Signed ' Euoheiros,
the son of Ergotimos.'

166

The Second Vase Boom.

Artist and
Vase.

Shape.

Second Vase
Room, .Case.

Subjects, etc.

Exekias

¦

B210

Amphora .

48 . . .

(a) Achilles and Penthesilea : (b)
Dionysos and Oinopion.

Gamedes

Aryballos .

OnC

Incised patterns.

Glaukytes

B400
Kylix . .
48 . .
Friezes with combats.
Hermogenes
B412
Kylix . .
OnC . .
Palmettes by handles.
B413
Kylix
48 . .
Ext. Ivy wreath.
NlCOSTHENES
B 295
Amphora .
48 . .
Wrestlers and Boxers.
B 296
Amphora
48 .
(1) Cocks and Sirens ; (2) Satyrs and
Maenads.
A forged signature has been re
[B 297
Amphora .
49 . .
moved.]
B364
Crater
49 . .
(a) Gigantomachia ; (b) Battle-scene.
B 368
Bowl
OnC . .
Tongue-pattern.
B 60053 .
Kylix fragt.
In drawer
Foot of kylix from Naucratis.
[Bt. 1893]
Kyathos
49 .' .
Maenads and Satyrs.
IJ.H.S. XVIII., pi. 17.]
Pamphaios
B 300
Hydria .
48 . .
Dionysos, Satyrs, Maenads.
Pasiades
B668
Alabastron
OnC
Maenads and Crane.
Phbynos
B424
Kylix . .
F .
Int. Belief. Hermes and Dionysos
(late), (a) Birth of Athene; (6)
Apotheosis of Heracles.
Pbiapos (?)
B395
[Kylix]. .
C . . .
Signature of [P]riapos on a fragment
inserted.
SONDEOS
B 6018 .
Kylikes
In drawer
Fragments of four kylikes with parts
of name of Sondros.
Tleson
B410
Kylix
OnC . .
(a and 6) Satyrs.
B 411
Kylix . .
48 . . .
Palmettes by handles.
B 420
.Kylix . .
49 . . .
Int. Siren.
B421
Kylix .
49 . . .
Int. Hunter.
Xenocles
B425
Kylix
On C .
Int. Iris ; (a) Zeus, Poseidon, Pluto ;
(6) Persephone.
Chtias and Ergotimos, who are famous as the joint authors of
a vase in the Archaeological Museum at Florence, commonly known
as the Francois vase, are only conjectiirally read on potsherds from
JNaucratis. r
Amasis. This name occurs on the amphora B 209, but is
probably not a signature, being followed by unintelligible letters.
Signed Vases. 167
B 471, with the subject of Perseus and Medusa, illustrates the formal
and elaborate style of this artist.
Exekias is especially noted for the affected minuteness of his
incised lines, and for the exquisite quality of his varnish. He is
represented by the single vase B 210 (see p. 172). This vase also
bears the legend Onetorides kalos, which is frequent on the works of
this master.
The group of artists, Archicles, Hermogenes, Tleson,
Xenocles, are commonly known, from the minute style of their
drawings, by the German term Kleinmeister (Miniature Masters).
They are so called from the analogy between their minute drawings
and those of the German ' Little Masters ' who produced minute
copperplate engravings in the sixteenth century.
The important potters of the close of the period are Nicosthenes
and Pamphaios. Both must perhaps be regarded rather as the masters
of potteries than as artists. Nicosthenes is the maker who is most
amply represented by extant vases, both in general and in the
British Museum. Most of his productions are in black-figure style,
but vases exist with the two styles combined, or in red figure
only. The name of Pamphaios is of frequent occurrence, both in the
black-figure style and in the transitional and early red-figure vases.
The hydria B 300 is in the careful black-figure manner, with
elaborate incised fines. For the red-figure works with the signature
of this potter, see below, p. 176.
Gamedes, Charinos and Pasiades stand somewhat apart.
Gamedes was probably a Boeotian, since his two known works
have been found at Tanagra. In the aryballos on Case C the name
is incised round the body, so as to form a part of the decoration of
the vase. Charinos, apart from the oinochoe B 631, here shown, is
only known as the artist of vases moulded in the form of a female
head. Pasiades is best known for the alabastron B 668, with its
admirable study of bird life.

We begin our description with the wall-cases on the east side of
the room.
Cases 18-21. Athenian amphorae, with mythological subjects.
B 266 (Case 19), with the Satyr's mask left in the ground colour
of the vase, is in effect a step towards the red-figure style of the
subsequent period. Compare the Gorgon's head in the middle of
B 679 (on Case C).
Cases 22, 23. Vases with black figures on a white or cream-
coloured ground, but of a style more recent than those in Cases
52, 53, and belonging for the most part to the close of the black-
figure period. Among them is : —
B 620. Peleus confides his son, the young Achilles, to the
Centaur Cheiron, for nurture and training. Cheiron is of the

168

The Second Vase Boom.

archaic Centaur type, with a complete and draped human body.
From Vulci.
Cases 24, 25. The peculiar objects, B 597, 598, used to be
called antefixal roof-tiles, though the manner of their application
was by no means clear. It is now ascertained from a representation
on a recently found specimen (fig. 87) that they are implements
used by women spinning. They were placed on the knee, and the
wool was rubbed upon them before it was put upon the distaff.
These cases also contain a group of vases in which the painters
have sought to overcome the disadvantages of the black-figure
method by painting parts of the figures in opaque colours on a
black ground, other parts being expressed by incised lines.
Case 26. Vases (of a somewhat late style) mainly from Boeotia.
In the upper two shelves are some curious vases in a style of coarse
burlesque from the shrine of the Cabeiri (a group of daemons,
associated in this instance with Dionysos) near Thebes.

Fig. 87.— Woman preparing Wool.

2nd shelf. Burlesque scene of Circe and Odysseus. Circe offers
a cup of the magic drink, which Odysseus, however, can drink with
impunity. Near her loom is a man half changed to a pig.
Cases 27-32. Miscellaneous vases of Attic manufacture.
[Before crossing the room we turn to the Standard- and Table-
cases A-E.]
Standard-case A. Most of the vases in this case have for their
principal subject one of the Labours of Heracles. The strangling
of the Lion of Nemea is a specially favoured subject. Among the
other subjects represented is : B 154, the Blinding of Polyphemos
by Odysseus and two companions, who thrust the end of the pine-
pole into the eye of the Cyclops.
Standard-case B. Further Labours of Heracles and other
subjects connected with the heroes, e.g., the Combat of Theseus
and the Minotaur. B 240. The shade of Achilles (or of Patroclos)
passing over the Greek ships. B 215. Peleus wrestlino- with the

Black- Figure Vases.

169

sea-goddess Thetis, who afterwards became his bride and the mother
of Achilles. According to the legend, Thetis sought to avoid capture
by successive transformations. In the early vases these are simul
taneously represented as here.
Pedestal I. B 147. The Birth of Athene, from the brain
of Zeus m the presence of Hephaestos, Hera, Poseidon, Apollo,
Eileithyia. These deities all have their names inscribed. For a
further discussion of this subject, see below.
Table-case C. Drinking cups (kylikes). The subjects are for the
most part either very small in the middle of the rim or entirely
absent. Selected specimens of this group, all signed with the
name of the potter, are placed in the shade above. [Other
examples are at the back of Cases 48, 49.] These include
vases with the names of Archicles, Hermogenes, Xenocles,
Archeneides, and Tleson, the so-called ' Miniature Masters '
(see p. 167).
The remaining vases in this shade are also signed.
They include an early Boeotian aryballos, with
incised patterns and the name of Gamedes;
B 631, a jug, with black vine branches on a
cream ground, signed with the name of the potter,
Charinos, and also with an inscription of most
unusual length for a vase : Eevo8o'[K]r; [pot. SokcIi
•rats KaXrj. ('Xenodoke, methinks, is a fair maiden. )
(See p. 165.)
B 668. Small alabastron (fig. 88), very finely
painted, with two Maenads and a crane, the latter
drawn with a Japanese feeling for bird life. Signed
by Pasiades. Found at Marion in Cyprus.
Pedestal 2. A large crater (B 360), with a depar
ture of warriors on the front. On the reverse the
archaic subject, not much used in the black-figure
vases, of a bull attacked by two lions.
Standard-case D. Amphorae, with various myths relating to
deities. The subjects include : Hermes leading the three goddesses
(Hera, Aphrodite, and Athene) to be judged by Paris. Paris, when
shown, sometimes awaits the procession and sometimes flies in alarm.
The Birth of Athene from the brain of Zeus (B 218 ; B 244 ;
fig. 89 ; compare B 147 on Pedestal 1, and B 424 on Table-case F).
The traditional method in which the subject is represented is of
special interest, since some writers have thought that it may throw
light on the composition of the east pediment of the Parthenon
(p. 20). It can hardly be supposed, however, that in the front of
her own temple Athene would have been represented of diminutive
scale in comparison with Zeus, and it is more likely that she was
a standing figure of equal dignity with her father. The principal
figures beside Zeus and Athene are the Eileithyiae, who wave their
hands as if weaving spells, Hephaestos, who clave the skull of Zeus
with his double axe, and Hermes (cf. the red-figure vase, fig. 96).

Fig. 88.— Vaae by
Pasiades. B 668.

170

The Second Vase Boom.

Standard-case E. A group of vases in this case, B 148 to 153,
in a rather formal and affected style, with a uniform arrangement
of inverted lotus buds and other decorations, have been thought to
be Attic works produced under strong Ionic influence.

It will be observed that, with few exceptions, the amphorae and
hydriae are divided by the central gangway into two well-marked
classes : (1) In Cases 18-32 and A-E, already described, the body of
the vase is red all round, and the subjects are only bordered by the
palmettes and scrolls below the handles. (2) In Cases 33-64 and
F-K, on the opposite side of the room, the body of the vase is

Black-Figure Vases.

171

covered with black varnish, with the exception of a well-defined
panel, which contains the subject usually within a decorative
border. The two classes must have been in a great measure'con-
temporary, and both systems seem to be continued in the red-figure

style. It is, however, in the case of the panel subjects that the
direct transition from the one style to the other is most obvious.
It is therefore plain that the panel vases must have been continued
until the conclusion of the black-figure style, but the inferior limit
of the red-body vases is less clearly marked.
Cases 33-38. Miscellaneous black-figure vases.

172 The Second Vase Boom.
Cases 39-47 contain many Attic three-handled water pitchers
(hydriae). Several of the pitchers indicate clearly the purpose for
which they were intended by having scenes of maidens drawing
water at a fountain for their subject. Thus in B 331 (Case 47)
six maidens with their pitchers are come to the famous Athenian
fountain of Callirrhoe, which is identified by the inscription,
KaX(X)ip(pj)n Kprjvr), and which is represented as a well-house, with
a stream of water flowing from a lion's mask.
Cases 48, 49. Select vases, of which the majority are signed.
Among the contents of these cases are : —
Several kylikes of the miniature class referred to above.
These include cups with the names of Archicles, Tleson, and
Hermogenes ; also cups inscribed ' Hail and drink well ' (or
' drink me ') Xatpe nal n-Ui ev (or iriov ip.£ B 414) ; and similar cups
with meaningless imitation inscriptions.
B 300. Hydria with the name of Pamphaios (cf. p. 176). The
principal subject is Dionysos with a train of Satyrs and Maenads.
The incised lines are executed with extraordinary minuteness and
care. Two vases with the name of Amasis, namely, B 471, Perseus
slaying Medusa, signed in full, and B 209 : (a) Memnon, with
attendant Ethiopians, inscribed with the name Amasis (but cf. p.
166); (b) Achilles and Penthesilea.
Four vases of various forms, inscribed by Nicosthenes, a potter
of the transition period (cf. p. 167). Chief among the vases here is
B 364, a large crater, with two friezes of combats : (a) Heracles
and various deities in combat with the giants ; (b) a battle scene,
perhaps a continuation of that on the opposite side, although in
this case distinctive attributes are wanting.
B 210. Amphora signed by Exekias, a characteristic example
of his style (cf. p. 167) : (o) Achilles slaying the Amazon queen,
Penthesilea ; (b) Dionysos and Oenopion (' wine-drinker '), son of
Dionysos by Ariadne.
Cases 50-51. Athenian pitchers (hydriae) continued, and other
vases. On the pitchers are further scenes of water-drawing, similar
to those described above, and miscellaneous mythical subjects.
Noticeable among the latter is B 324 (fig. 90 ; Case 50), representing
Achilles waiting in ambush for Troi'los, who has come out from Troy
with Polyxena to draw water. The scattered inscriptions have no
meaning. [We turn to the Table- and Standard-cases in the same half
of the room.]
Table-case F contains a series of kylikes and plates (pinakes).
In the shades above there is a series of kylikes, including two fine
examples from Bhodes : the one (B 379) represents on the exterior
(a) Heracles escorted into the presence of Zeus and Hera by a pro
cession of deities ; (b) combat of warriors ; in the interior is a group
of Ajax seizing Cassandra at the statue of Athene. The other kylix

Black-Figure Vases.

173

(B 380) has on the exterior (a) Perseus, Hermes and Athene pursued
by Gorgons ; (b) a procession of warriors ; in the interior a warrior
charging. These two are a pair, and are in the Chalcidian style.
(see p. 160).
The kylix B 424 is signed by Phrynos. The subjects are the
Birth of Athene (see above) and the Apotheosis of Heracles. The
hero is introduced by Athene to the presence of Zeus.
Standard-case G. Large amphorae with miscellaneous subjects,
within panels. Among them, see B 182, athletes carrying boys on
their backs to whom a seated man is about to throw a ball.
Standard-case H. Large amphorae, as the last, principally with
Subjects relating to the Labours of Heracles.

Fig. 01.— The Burgon Panathenaic Vase. B 130.

Pedestal 3. An amphora in the style of Andokides (already
quoted on p. 159 as a transition artist). The front, with two heroes
playing draughts (by which means they passed the time at Aulis
while awaiting a favourable wind for Troy), is painted in black
figures on a red ground. The ba-ck, on the other hand, with Heracles
wrestling with the Nemean lion, is fully red-figured.
Pedestal 4, and Standard-case I. A series of prize vases, won
by the victors in the games at the Panathenaic Festival at
Athens (cf. p. 31). The type used varied little from the very early
specimen (fig. 91) on Pedestal 4 (known as the Burgon Vase, having
been found by Mr. T. Burgon at Athens in 1813) to the late examples
described below, in the Fourth Vase Room (p. 190). The Burgon

174 The Second Vase Boom.
vase dates from about 560 B.C., while the late examples come down
to the second half of the fourth century. On the obverse of most
examples is a figure of Athene, standing between two columns
usually surmounted by cocks or owls, and an inscription : 'lam one
of the prizes from Athens ' (tS>v 'A8r)vrj6w adXaov ipL The ep.1 is
usually omitted). The shield of Athene has a variety of devices
such as a snake, a Pegasos, a chariot or a chariot wheel. On the
reverse are subjects connected with the games. Seven of the
examples are the actual prizes. The remainder, of a smaller size,
and with the inscription omitted, must be supposed to be con
temporary imitations.
Standard-case K. Further examples of amphorae, with the'
Labours of Heracles and other subjects.
The piece of timber (Italian larch) above Cases 42, 43 is a portion
of the ancient ship which is submerged in the Lake of Nemi.

THE THIRD VASE ROOM.*
Introduction to" the Red-Figure Vases, etc.
The vases exhibited in this room belong to the red-figure
class, and therefore show the complete reversal of method already
explained above (p. 159). The change must probably be dated
towards the end of the sixth century B.C.
Until the recent excavations on the Athenian Acropolis the dates assigned
were a generation later. It is now, however, ascertained that the rubbish
strata formed after the Persian sack (480 B.C.) in connexion with the works
of reconstruction included numerous signed fragments by the greatest masters
of the red-figure style. It follows that some years, perhaps a generation, must
be allowed for the introduction and development of the style. On the other
hand, excavations made in the tumulus of Marathon (erected after 490 B.C.)
yielded many black-figure vases, and only one red-figure fragment, thus
showing that at that date the earlier style still prevailed — at any rate, for
funeral usages, which are always conservative of old custom.
The design is no longer composed of a series of black silhouettes
against a red or white ground, but the figures are left in the ground
colour of the vase, and are thrown up by the black varnish with
which all the space surrounding them is covered.
The methods followed by the painters of the red-figure vases can
readily be discerned by an attentive examination of the vases. A
sketch is first made with a blunt point applied to the surface of the
vase and lightly marking the clay. The artist thus blocks out his
figures, sometimes making repeated trials, and in the first instance
* The vases in this room are described in the Catalogue of Vases, Vol. III.,
by 0. H. Smith, 1896 (26s.). A copy can be borrowed from the Commis
sionaire. For the White Vases see also White Athenian Vases in the British
Museum, by A. S. Murray and A. H. Smith, 1896, folio (25s.).

Introduction.

175

drawing the draped figures as nude. A line of black varnish, about
an eighth of an inch wide, is next drawn round the outside of the
figures, so as to leave the figures vacant, and the interstices of the
background are then filled in. (See Table-case H in the Room of
Greek and Roman Life, above, p. 127.) The internal details are
then drawn in fine lines of the varnish, and freehand work takes
the place of the incised lines of the black-figure style. For special
parts, such as the profiles, a thin black line is also drawn along the
boundary of the subject in order to correct and refine the profile
left by the first broad border. Occasionally, some of the internal
details, such as the abdominal muscles, are drawn with the varnish
thinned out to a light brown, and only faintly visible. In rare
cases (e.g. E 12, in Table-case A, fig. 92) the thinned varnish is
also used as a local wash.
Among the mechanical aids used by the artist were a pair of
compasses, and flexible rulers for ruling lines on the curved surfaces.
Pursuing these methods, the vase painter was able to reach a higher
level of achievement than had been possible in the black-figure style.
The grotesque conventions of that method could now be abandoned,
the drawing become more free, and the conceptions broader and
more noble. It must be remembered that Greek art as a whole
reached its culminating point within a few years of the change of
style, and that the best red-figure vases reflect that severe and
restrained feeling for beauty and simplicity which marks the end of
the archaic period at Athens.
The following is a list of the signed vases in the Third Vase
Room. Those of special interest are distinguished by an asterisk (*).
In most instances the signature is that of the potter (iiroivo-ev, made).
Where the signature is that of a painter, (eypa\j/*v, painted) the
word ' painter ' follows his name in the list. Both words are used
in connection with Euphronios and Phintias.

Third

Artist and Vase.

Shape.

Vase Room,

Subjects, etc.


Case.
Bbtgos
E65 . .
"Kylix . .
J .
Int. Warrior and Woman ; (a) Sei-
leni and Iris; (6) Seileni and
Hera.
Chachrylion
E 40 . .
Kylix . .
B .
Int. Amazon ; (a) Dionysos, etc. ;
(6) Revel.
E 41 .
Kylix . .
J . .
Int. Theseus and Ariadne (?) ; (<x)
Thesus and Antiope ; (6) Con
versation.
[Bt. 1897]
Kylix .
11
Int. Archer ;i (a) sacrifice; (b) youths.
Fragments of signature extant ?
Dubis (painter)
E 39 . .
Kylix .
D . .
Int. Athlete ; (a and b) Boxers.
E48 . .
*Kylix
J
Labours of Theseus.
E49 . .
Kylix . .
D . .
Int. Man ; (a and b) Symposion.
E 768 . .
* Psycter
OnD .
Seileni.
176

The Third Vase Boom.

Artist and Vase,

Shape.

Epictetos (painter) I
E 3 . . |*Kylix

E 24
E 37
E 38

E 135
E 136
E 137
E 139

EUERGIDES [Bt. 1920.]

EuPHEONIOS (painter, potter)
E 44 . .

EUXITHEOS E 258 .
Heemaios E 34 .
[Bt. 1896]
HlEKON E61E 140
HlSCHYLOS E 3 .
E 6 .
Maurion E770 .
Meidias E 224 .

NlKIAS [Bt. 1898] .
Pamphaios E 11 .
E 12
E 437 . .

Kylix .
Kylix .
•Kylix .

PlatePlatePlate
Cup

Kylix

'Kylix

*Amphora

KylixKylix

Kylix
*Cup

Kylix
Kylix

Pyxis .
'Hydria
*Crater .
Kylix
Kylix
Stamnos

Third
Vase Koosi
Case.

. B
IB

On A

Subjects, etc

On E .

A . .
A

OnK

Ped. 4 .

36 . .

A . .

A . .

On A .

Int. Youth; (a and b) Seilenos
armed. ' Hisohylos made me.'
Int. Seilenos and wine-skin.
Int. Singer ; (a) Theseus and Mino
taur; (b) Bevel.
Int. Pipe-player and girl ; (a) Hera
cles and Busiris; (6) Symposion.
' Python made me.'
Archer running.
Warrior and horse.
Two revellers.
(a) Dionysos and Seilenos ; (6) Sei
lenos. ' Pistoxenos made me.'
Int. Maenad ; (a) youth with horses
(' Plexippos ') ; (6) youth with
javelin.

Int. Man and Hetaera ; (a) Heracles
and Eurystheus ; (6) Hermes and
chariot.
(a) Achilles ; (b) Briseis.

Int. Woman with footpan.
Int. Hermes with cup.
Int. Flute-player and girl; (a and
6) Hetacrae, etc.
Mission of Triptolemos.

See Epictetos.
See Pheidippos.

Arm and sheathed sword.

(1) Rape of Leukippidae; (2 a)
Heracles and Hesperides ; (2 6)
Athenian tribal heroes.
(a) Torch-race Victor; (6) Ephebi.
(See also p. 172.)
Int. Warrior; (a) Dionysos and
Seileni ; (6) Maenad and Seileni.
Int. Seilenos; (a) Winged figures
and corpse ; (6) Amazons.
(a) Heracles and Acheloos ; (6)
Satyr and Maenad.

Signed Vases.

177

Artist and Vase.

Shape.

Third
Vase Koom,
Cask.

Subjects, etc

Pamphaios (con^.)

E 457 . .

Foot of Vase

6 . .

Name of Pamphaios.

TE 815 . .

Kylix

Unexhibited.]
1907, 10-20, 1
Kylix . .
A .
Int. Armed youth running; (a, b)
Pheidippos
Five youths racing.
(painter)
E6 . . .
Kylix . .
A . .
Int. Persian archer; (a) Hoplite
running ; (b) Four athletes. ' His-
Phi(n)tias
ohylos made me.'
(painter, potter)
E 159 . .
*Hydria
3
(1) Youths drawing water: (2)
Symposion.
PlSTOXENOS
E 139 . .
Cup .
B . .
See Epictetos.
POLYQNOTOS
(painter)
E 284 . .
Amphora .
OnE .
(a) Dedication of Tripods ; (b) Con
versation.
[Bt. 1898] .
Stamnos .
OnE .
(a) Heracles and Centaur; (b)
Ephebi.
Python I.
E38 . .
Kylix . :
J
See Epictetos.
Smicbos (painter)
E 438 . .
Stamnos .
C
(a) Athene, Ajax and Hector; (t)
Combat.
SOTADES
D5 .
*Kylix . .
C . .
Glaucos and Polyeidos. [Sot]ades.
D6 .
*Kylix . .
C . .
Girl gathering apples. [Sot]ades.
D8 . . .
Phiale . .
C . .
Plain, with concentric flutings.
Thtpheithtdes
.
[E4 . . .
Kylix . .
A . .
The signed handles (now in Case 6)
do not belong to the vase.]
The red-figure vases in this room, which, speaking generally,
cover the fifth century B.C. and the last years of the sixth century,
may be divided into groups according to the painters : —
(1.) The earliest red-figure masters, commonly called, after one of
their number, the group of Epictetos. These painters developed
the new technique towards the close of the sixth century, but,
artistically, they retained a part of the stiff mannerisms of the
black-figure style. The group consists partly of masters known to
have worked in both styles, either in combination on the same
vase or separately, and partly of artists closely connected with the
foregoing, though not working in the two styles. Among the
known masters whose names are extant on vases in both styles *
* Namely, Andokides, Chelis, Epictetos, Epilykos, Hischylos, Nicosthenes,
Pamphaios. Thypheithides must be struck off the list, since the handles with
the name do not belong to the kylix E 4. X
178 The Third Vase Boom.
the Museum collection possesses examples by Epictetos with
Hisehylos, Nicosthenes and Pamphaios.
Epictetos is here represented by the kylix E 3, on which the
two styles are combined, and on which the names of Epictetos as
painter and Hisehylos as potter occur together. He is also reprer
sented by seven other vases. In the kylix E 38, with the story of
Heracles and Busiris, he is seen at his latest and best, as a master
trained in the archaic school, but also as influenced in the drawing
of such a figure as the recumbent and foreshortened banqueter by
the work of younger contemporaries, such as Duris.
The name of Nicosthenes (see above, p. 167), occurs on red-
figure vases, but no examples are in the Museum collections.
Of Pamphaios alone we have signatures on separate works in
the two styles, namely, the black-figure hydria described above
(p. 167), and six red-figure vases.
Chachrylion's name occurs on vases of the red-figure style
only. Euergides is represented by a single kylix, acquired in 1920, of
fine quality.
(2.) The great masters of the strong red-figure style, who have
been called the group of Euphronios. The work of these masters
is more free and unfettered than that of the last group, and includes
the best examples of fine and severe drawing. The artists or potters
whose works are represented in the Museum who may be grouped
with Euphronios are Duris, Hieron and Brygos. These were
probably in full activity at the time of the Persian wars.
Euphronios himself is placed between 500 and 450 b.c. His name
occurs on one vase at Munich with that of Chachrylion, and he is
thus associated with the older group. In such matters as the
treatment of the eye seen in profile his work is still archaic.
But within the limits of his art he is pre-eminent among the
early vase painters for the masterly precision and fineness of his
drawing. Duris (signature AOPIZ, i.e. AoCpis) is known to us by a con
siderable number of extant works. He is an artist of transition.
In part his designs follow established tradition, and in part he is an
innovator expressing new incidents and motives, observed from life,
and making new experiments in foreshortening, in front views of the
face, and in novel compositions.
Hieron. The name of Hieron only occurs with the formula
liroirjo-ev, ' made,' and he therefore cannot be classed as a painter.
Some writers have attributed all the vases with this signature to
Makron, whose name appears, as that of a painter, on one of them.
The vases that bear the name of Hieron are in many instances
painted with love scenes. In a few (such as E 140) mythological
subjects are worked out with poetic fancy, and infinite care in the
accessory details.
Brygos also signs with iwoirja-cv only. His vases are noted
for vivid dramatic narratives and bold action in their painting.

Signed Vases. 179
The fine kylix E 65, with Satyrs attacking Iris and Hera, appears
to be the latest and most advanced of his works.
(3.) The later Attic masters (best represented in the Museum
by the vase of Meidias, Pedestal 4) draw with yet greater freedom,
but thereby lose the severe restraint that marks the vases of
Euphronios and his fellows. In the vase of Meidias, the drawing
of the eye seen in profile, and of the three-quarter face, has been
fully mastered. The draperies are expressed by richly composed
lines, in contrast to the rather meagre conventions of older drapery.
There are also rich accessory ornaments on the draperies, and
incised lines in the field suggestive of landscape. But at the same
time there is a decline in the interest of the subject represented.
Mythological subjects are treated more loosely, with less regard for
the strict traditional types, vague personifications are introduced,
and scenes from daily life become more numerous.
White Athenian Vases. This room also contains the interest
ing and attractive series of Athenian vases painted in outline on
white ground (Table-case F, Standard-case C, Wall-cases 41, 42).
This method was practised at Athens by several masters of the fine
style (see the vases described below), but more especially in con
nexion with the White Athenian Lekythi (Table-case F.) These
are a group of vases made for the purpose of offerings at the tombs.
Aristophanes (Eccl. 996) speaks of the painter ' who paints the
lekythi with figures for the dead.' The subjects are usually con
nected with death and the tomb, and we often have a view of the
tomb, with the vases themselves grouped about it. The designs
are drawn in outline on the prepared white ground of the vase,
the draperies being occasionally filled in with red, brown, green,
or blue colour. The white vases are often very delicately drawn.
They are marked as a rule by the same sentiment of placid and
gentle melancholy which is characteristic of the Athenian sepulchral
reliefs, and, like the Greek reliefs, if examined in considerable
numbers, they show a lack of variety in subject and treatment.
The white sepulchral lekythi are contemporary with the Attic
red-figure vases, and may be assigned generally to the fifth
century B.C.
The best vases of the transition and early period are placed in the
table-cases, with which therefore we begin our detailed description.
Table-case A. Cups (kylikes) of the period of transition from
the black-figure style, partly signed by masters of the group of
Epictetos, and partly unsigned, but nearly akin. Among them
are : — •
E 12. Kylix, signed by Pamphaios (fig. 92). On the exterior
is a beautiful group (which some authorities have assigned to the
hand of Euphronios) of two winged figures, raising the body of a
dead warrior, under the guidance of Iris. The scene suggests the
Homeric incident, in which Sleep and Death carry Sarpedon to
Lycia for burial, but it ha3 also been interpreted as two wind-gods
3 N 2

180 The Third Vase Boom.
carrying Memnon, a story told only by a late poet, Quintus of
Smyrna Technically this, vase is interesting on account ot the

unusual method of thinning out the black glaze, to form a yellow
wash.

Bed-Figure Vases. 181
E 3. A transition kylix, signed by Epictetos and Hisehylos
The interior has a young Athenian in festal dress in black-figure
style, while the exterior is red-figured.
E 2, another transition kylix, has the two styles combined in its
interior. Above this case are : —
E 258. Small amphora, signed by Euxitheos, with Achilles
and Briseis on the two sides.
E 437. Jar of the kind called a stamnos, signed by Pamphaios.
Heracles is wrestling with the river-god Acheloos, and seeks to
break off the horn, which, according to some legends, was identical
with the horn of abundance, or comic copiae.
Pedestal 1. E 804. Vase in the form of a knucklebone,
with a graceful and playful scene of girls, who seem to hover in the
air. Probably the subject is merely a dance of girls, imitating the
flight of birds, under the instructions of an old dancing-master.
From Aegina.
Table-case B. Cups and plates, in the style of Epictetos.
Signed by Chachrylion. E 40. The position of Chachrylion
as one of the members of the earlier group is shown by the fact
that his vases still show the incised lines of the black-figure style.
(For another vase of Chachrylion, see Case J.)
Above the case are choice specimens of smaller red-figure
amphorae, etc.
Pedestal 2. E 788. A vase of the kind called a rhyton
(drinking horn), in the form of a seated Sphinx. This vase
combines in a remarkable way the red-figure decoration of the cup,
with the opaque white surface (partly gilded) of the Sphinx.
Standard-case C. The middle part of this case is mainly
occupied with choice vases, acquired in 1892 at the sale of the
Van Branteghem collection. These include : —
E 46. A kylix in the manner of Euphronios, and inscribed with
the Mas-name Leag[ro]s, which that artist is known to have
employed. Subject, youth and running hare.
E 34, and another kylix more lately acquired, are both signed
by Hermaios. D 5-10 are a remarkable group of white vases found together
in Athens. Three of them bear the signature of the potter Sotades.
The three kylikes are extremely fine and delicate in form, while
the designs drawn on them are of great beauty. The figure
subjects are : —
D 5. The rare myth of Glaucos and Polyeidos. Glaucos, son
of Minos of Crete, had died by falling into a jar of honey. The
seer, Polyeidos, was shut up by Minos in the boy's tomb, that he
might bring him back to life. While thus imprisoned he slew a
snake. A second snake appeared, bringing a herb with which it
revived its companion, and by the help of the same herb Polyeidos
restored the boy.
D 6. Girl standing on tiptoe to pluck an apple.

182 The Third Vase Boom.
D 7. Death of Archemoros. When the heroes on their march
against Thebes came to Nemea, there was drought. Hypsipyle, the
nurse of the king's son, led the heroes to a spring, and in her
absence the boy was killed by a serpent. He was buried by the
heroes, and the Nemean games were founded in his honour. On
the vase we have one of the heroes throwing a stone at a serpent
coiled in a reed-brake and vomiting out smoke, and also a part of
Hypsipyle. Pedestal 3. E 424. Athenian vase, of the latter part of the
fifth century, with the subject of Peleus and Thetis. Peleus seizes
Thetis, whom he has surprised bathing, and a sea-monster attacks
the leg of Peleus.
Table-case D. Cups (kylikes) by masters of the group of
Euphronios (see p. 178), in part signed, and in part attributed to
the group on grounds of style. (For the only work by Euphronios
himself, see Case J.)
Signed by Duris. The two kylikes in this case, E 39 (athletic
scenes), E 49 (banquet scenes), are signed by Duris. The kylix
E 50, though not signed, appears to be in the style of the same
painter. Above is a wine-cooler (psycter), E 768, with fantastic
revels of Seileni, also by Duris. (For another vase of Duris, see
Case J.)
The kylikes E 64, E 70 have scenes of feasting, and singular
bands with the boots and some of the vases of the banqueters.
Above this case are the psycter by Duris, E 768, already
mentioned, and another (E 767) of the same form, also with a scene
of revel. Pedestal 4. Hydria, signed by the later Athenian potter,
Meidias. Remarkable for fine preservation, elaborate drawing
and rich compositions. Subjects : (Above) Castor and Pollux,
carrying away their brides, the daughters of Leukippos. Pollux
(Polydeuk(t)es) has placed Helera (or Hilaeira) in his chariot, and
Castor is seizing Eriphyle, while Chrysippos holds his chariot. The
seated figures in the foreground are inscribed Zeus and Aphrodite, and
the figure on the right is called Peitho, that is, Amorous Persuasion.
The signature (MaStas iiroi-no-ev), which, like the other inscrip
tions, is only faintly visible, is immediately below the palmette
band round the neck.
The lower frieze falls into two main groups, the divisions being
under the side handles. 1. Heracles in the garden of the Hesperides.
2. Athenian tribal heroes and others.
Table-case E. Kylikes, for the most part unsigned, by the later
masters of the fine period of Attic painting.
Above is a fine bowl (cotyle), E 140, signed by Hieron (see
p. 178), representing the sending forth of Triptolemos with the
divine gift of wheat. Triptolemos is seated in his winged chariot
between Demeter and Persephone, and is about to receive wine
for a libation from the latter. Behind Persephone is the local
nymph Eleusis. In the severely restrained and somewhat

Bed-Figure Vases.

183

conventional drawing of this beautiful vase there is a distinct
return to the archaic manner. The elaborately decorated robe of
Demeter, with its bands of figures, birds and beasts, recalls the
Panathenaic peplos prepared by Athenian maidens for the image
of Athene (compare p. 31).
Above Case E are also two vases, E 284 (subject, preparations
for a sacrifice and dedication of tripods), and a jar (stamnos)
(subject, Heracles and a Centaur). Both are signed by an artist
Polygnotos, who must not, however, be confused with the great
painter. Table-case F. Athenian vases painted in outline on a white
ground (compare above, p. 179). In the table-case the vases are
all lekythi for use at the tombs. Among them
the following are especially noteworthy : —
D 62. The formal laying out of the body of
a dead youth. Three figures stand round making
gestures of grief.
D 57. A woman seated in a chair — very
finely drawn — and a companion with an ointment
bottle. From Eretria.
D 54 (fig. 93). Two youths standing at a
tomb. A little winged shade is seen flitting near
the tomb.
In the shades above are large lekythi and other
select specimens of white ware.
In the central shade : —
D 2. Cup, with Aphrodite riding on the flying
swan (or perhaps rather a goose), with a curling
tendril and flowers in her hand. The drawing is
executed with great refinement and precision.
Cup (D 4), with the same white decoration
as the foregoing, but of an earlier and more severe
style of drawing. Athene and Hephaestos are
decking out the newly-made Pandora (here called
in the inscription Anesidora).
In the further shade : —
D 70, D 71. Large lekythi, with mourners at a tomb. Remark
able for the rich polychrome effects in black, green, blue, red, and
yellow. .
D 58. A beautiful representation of a young warrior being laid
in the tomb by Death and Sleep (Thanatos and Hypnos).
Pedestal 5. A bowl (lebes) in fine condition, with scenes of
combat between Amazons and Attic heroes. This vase, which was
at one time in the collection of Samuel Rogers, was acquired at the
sale of the Forman collection in 1899.
Standard-case G. This case contains red-figure vases of the
early fine style. The subjects are mainly mythological. Among
them, E 440 has a curious representation of the Ship of Odysseus
passing the Sirens. Odysseus is bound to the mast and rowed past

Fig. 93.— White
Athenian lekythos.
D 64.

184

The Third Vase Boom.

the Sirens, two of whom are perched on rocks, while the third throws
herself down.
Pedestal 6, Standard-case H. Large amphorae, etc., in the
severe style, mainly with mythological subjects. See, for example,
the large amphora E 256 (fig. 94), with Apollo standing, playing the
lyre, between his mother, Leto, and his sister, Artemis.
In the upper part of Case H are several very choice vases of the
later Attic school, showing the elaborate drawing, rich ornamen
tation with gilding, etc., and fanciful compositions, which we have
already seen on the vase of Meidias (Pedestal 4).

Fig. 94. —Leto, Apollo, and Artemis. E 256.
See the fine drawing and decoration of E 695, a noted
aryballos with a Dionysiac (?) procession, in which the chief figure,
probably Dionysos, rides on a Bactrian camel ; and of E 698, with
Eudaimonia and other personifications, finely drawn in the style of
Meidias. J
Standard-case J. The upper shelf is occupied by select kylikes,
all of them choice and important examples. Beginning from the
gangway :—
The kylix E 38 is signed by Python, as potter, and Epictetos,
as artist. The principal scene shows Heracles slaying Busiris a
mythical king of Egypt who practised human sacrifice on strangers
who came to his shores.

Bed-Figure Vases.

185

E 41, signed by Chachrylion, shows Theseus meeting Ariadne,
and Theseus carrying off Antiope.
E 44 is a well-known work of Euphronios. In the interior a
man and hetaera converse. The most interesting of the external
scenes shows Heracles bringing the boar of Erymanthos to his task
master, Eurystheus. The latter takes refuge in a great earthenware
jar, half sunk in the ground, while Heracles is about to hurl the
body of the beast upon him.
E 48. One of the chief works of Duris (cf. p. 182). Interior :
Theseus killing the Minotaur. Exterior : Labours of Theseus.
E 65. Signed by Brygos. Interior : seated warrior and
woman. Exterior : drawings remarkable for vivacity and vigour,
and also for their finish, (a) Iris, the divine messenger, is seized
by Seileni of the following of Dionysos,
who stands watching. (6) Hera is
threatened by a mob of Seileni, and
protected by Hermes and Heracles.
The lower part of Case J contains a
series of select vases of fine style. See
especially E 466, Crater. Symbolical
representation of the successive events
of sunrise — namely, the moon setting
behind a hill ; Cephalos pursued by
Aurora the Dawn ; the stars plunging
out of sight ; the sun in his full glory.
Pedestal 8. E 469, Crater, in a
highly ornate style. The principal sub
ject is a Battle of Gods and Giants. On
the neck are, obv. : the mission of
Triptolemos ; rev. : a victorious lyre-player, in festal robe, standing
on the musicians' platform, and greeted by two Victories.
Table-case K. Red-figure lekythi, mainly from Sicily
Above this case in shades are : —
E 84. Kylix, with the series of the labours of Theseus. The
interior has a band round the central medallion, contrary to the
usual custom, and by a curious caprice the artist has placed the
same groups in a corresponding position on the outside of the vase.
Select drinking-cups and rhytons (drinking horns) modelled in
peculiar forms.
E 786 (fig. 95), Rhyton, modelled in the form of a Satyr's head
and a Maenad's, placed back to back.
A pair of lekythi shows, on the shoulder of one, Love flying with
a gift, and on the shoulder of the other the recipient examining
the gift.
[We turn to the wall-cases round the room.]
The vases in the wall-cases are arranged, generally speaking, so
that the older Attic red-figure vases occupy the Cases 1-10, nearest

Fig. 9o.—Rhijton. E 7

186 The Third Vase Boom.
to the Second Vase Room. The adjoining blocks, 11-16 and 55-60,
are of a more transitional class, at the close of the sixth and beginning
of the fifth centuries B.C. The two projecting central blocks, 17-24
and 47-54, contain Athenian vases of the fully developed style,
dating from the middle of the fifth century. The cases at the South
end of the room, Nos. 25-46, contain various groups of vases showing
later developments of the Attic style.
The wall-cases round the Third Vase Room contain a great number
of noteworthy vases, and it must suffice to call attention to a few
of the most interesting specimens.
Cases 1-5. Early examples of amphorae and hydriae, carrying
on the tradition of the panel decoration shown in the Second Vase
Room. Cases 6-10, vases for the most part of a smaller size, in
the early red-figure style.
Cases 11-16. In the upper shelves is a series of small kylikes,
of transitional period, and of the same general character as those in
the table-cases, etc., only not signed.
In the transitional vases the eyeball begins to be drawn in
profile ; the face is seldom shown otherwise than in full profile.
The treatment of the drapery becomes more varied, and there is a
greater play of fold.
Cases 17-24. Vases of the mature period, of the middle of the
fifth century.
Cases 25, 26. Vases of polychrome ware associated with the
Attic red-figure style of the latter part of the fifth century. There
is a free use of white, together with a more sparing use of blue, red
and green. Accessory ornaments are added in relief, with clay
made into a paste, and are usually gilded, though in many cases the
gilding is lost. The white forms a foundation for further line
drawing. In this group, with the increasing use of white, there
is a diminution in scale, and an increasing triviality in the themes
Young children, or Cupids at play, become a favourite subject.
Cases 27-30. Greek vases of various wares, for the most part
excavated in the Cyrenaica, especially at Teucheira (near Benghazi
in African Tripoli), by the late George Dennis.
Cases 31-35. Red-figure vases from the tombs of Cameiros in
Rhodes, which appear to be of Athenian fabric. Among the inter
esting subjects are : —
E 372 (Case 33). Athene finds the boy Erichthonios looking
out of his basket, which had been opened by the daughters of
Cecrops against her commands.
Case 36. A vase, acquired in 1898, from the Tyszkiewicz
collection. A winner in a torch race stands at an altar, where he
is crowned with a fillet by Victory. Two other torch-runners are
also seen. Signed round the foot in unusually bold fetters by Nikias
son of Hermocles of Anaphlystos.
Cases 37-40. Athenian vases of the end of the fourth century
b.c, m a free but careless style. There is a free use of whites, and
hasty drawing.

Bed-Figure Vases.

187

Cases 41, 42. White Athenian lekythi, and other vases.
(Compare the adjoining Table-case F.) The lekythos with an armed
warrior, in Case 41, is in effect a transition from the black-figure

style. The flesh is executed in black silhouette, as in black-figure
vases, while the drapery and armour are drawn in outline on the
light ground.

188 The Fourth Vase Boom. \
Cases 43, 44. Athenian vases, moulded in various shapes,
such as heads or busts, double heads, heads of birds and animals,
crabs' claws, and the like. The vases are moulded, and in part
brilliantly coloured with red and other colours, while parts are in
the normal red-figure style of decoration.
Cases 45, 46. Later vases of the free style, for the most part
of a small size, and with fine and pure drawing.
Cases 47-54. The projecting cases contain examples of the
finest style, of the middle of the fifth century b.c, corresponding to
those on the opposite side of the room. All the vases in these cases
deserve study. The following may be noted as specially interesting.
Case 47. E 460, Crater. A lyre-player, or perhaps a poet-
laureate, in the presence of Athene, a judge, and. two Victories.
This design has been made familiar as the basis of the ' Apotheosis
of Homer ' relief by Flaxman and Wedgwood.
Case 48. E 492, Crater. The subject is Hermes confiding the
infant god Dionysos to the care of the Nymphs of Nysa.
Case 49. E 182. The birth of Erichthonios. The earth-
goddess, Gaia, half-emerging from the ground, holds up the earth-
born child to Athene, who receives him into a mantle which she
stretches out with both hands
Case 50. E 271, Amphora. Mousaios between Terpsichore and
Melousa. Case 51. Stamnos from the Morrison collection. This vase,
remarkable on account of its admirable condition, has a scene of
combat between a horseman and a foot soldier, aided, by an unarmed
youth. Case 52. E 410, Pelike. Birth of Athene (Fig. 96, cf . pp. 20, 170.)
As in the black-figure vases, Athene is a doll-like figure springing
from the head of Zeus. The principal attendant figures are, on
each side, Hephaestos and Eileithyia, while beyond are Artemis,
Poseidon, Victory and others.
Cases 55-60. Transitional vases, between the early, severe
red-figure group and the vases of the mature style.

THE FOURTH VASE ROOM.*
Introduction to the Later Red-Figure Vases.
The vases exhibited in this room illustrate the later developments
of Greek vase painting in various directions. "A large part of the
room is taken up with the later red-figure vases, produced for the
nf IZ^vTiv i aoVnTi*01 mfSS I mdG) are described in the Catalogue
of Vases, Vol. IV 1896 (16». . Tho Roman provincial wares are described in
rl^ IQlf/,0^ r'JT^f^'^r (£2); and the lamPs in the Catalogue of
Lamps 1914 (18s. Gd.), all by H B. Walters. The Catalogues can be borrowed
from the Commissionaire m charge of the Room. (The vases in class B are
described in Vol. II. of the Catalogue of Vases )

Later Bed-Figure Vases.

189

most part in South Italy, but it also contains various independent
groups .
The survival of the black-figure style can still be traced in the
series of eleven Panathenaic amphorae, exhibited on cases and
pedestals in the Fourth Vase Room (see below).
Among the later red-figure vases, as illustrated in this room, it
will be observed that the use of white and purple once more comes
into favour. Its re-introduction was begun in the later Athenian
vases, and it is now more extensively used by Italian painters.
The drawing becomes weak and loose, but at the same time there is
a great facility in the rendering of all positions of the figure. As
regards the choice of subjects, myths of the gods and heroic legends
are no longer predominant. When they occur they often illustrate
some special literary version of the legend, and not the traditional
type current among the artists. In general, the subjects chosen
become more trivial. In particular, a woman at her toilet,
surrounded by effeminate Erotes, is repeated again and again.
Other scenes are connected with funeral rites, with the banquet,
and not infrequently with the comic stage. The red-figure vases in
this room belong to the fourth and early part of the third centuries
b.c. The practice of red-figure painting seems to have become
extinct about the middle of the third century B.C.
Artists' signatures are rare in the later periods, and the only
signed vases in the Fourth Vase Room are the following : —

Aktist and Vase.

Shape.

Fourth Vase
Room, Case.

Subjects, etc

Kittos B 604 . . .

Amphora .

D .

Panathenaic vase ; (a) Athene ;
figures of Triptolemos ; (b)

Python II.

Boxers.

(painter)

P 149
Crater
Ped. 1
(a) Alcmena; (6) Dionysiac
scene.
Statius (?)
F 594 . . .
Cantharos
32 . . .
Inscription doubtful.
The use of the kalos-nsane is entirely abandoned.
The principal groups of vases in this room have been classed as
follows, the classification being mainly based on districts in
which the different groups are most frequently discovered. From
the class-letter and number on a vase it may easily be ascertained to
which group it is assigned : —
B. Black-figure (Panathenaic) vases, further described
below. F. Later red-figure vases, subdivided as follows : —
(1) F 1-148. Vases of Attic style, produced either at Athens,
or in South Italy, in close adherence to Attic models.
(2) F 149-156. Vases in style of Assteas. See the vase of
Python (Pedestal 1, below).
190

The Fourth Vase Boom.

(3) F 157-187. Vases in Lucanian style. These are red-
figure vases, not far removed from the direct imitations of Athenian
ware, though partaking in some measure of the florid decoration of
the following classes, with white and yellow accessories, used rather
sparingly. The heads of the figures are often large, and the eyes
staring. (4) F 188-268. Vases in Campanian style. The colour of
the clay is markedly pale, and often approaches to drab. Red,
however, is freely used, sometimes with the intention of colouring
the ground to the normal tint, and sometimes as a local colour.
White is also used with great freedom. The execution is usually
rough and hasty, and the subjects are of little interest. (See below,
Cases 14-23.)
(5) F 269-477. Vases in the style of Apulia. To this class
belong most of the large and floridly decorated vases in this Room.
The decoration is usually very copious, and the whole of the field is
covered. Elaborate architectural structures, such as the central
tombs on the sepulchral vases, often occupy the middle of the
subject. There is a free use of white, and much drawing with
yellow washes upon the whites.
The remainder of the wares in this room, which are for the
most part black glazed vases variously decorated, and wares of the
Roman period, are described as they occur, below.

We turn first to the group of Panathenaic Vases, referred
to above, which are in Standard-cases B and D, and are the
following : —

Vase.

B 603 - . .
B604 .
B605 .
B606B 607 . .
B608 .
B609 . .
B 610 . .
B 611 . ,
B 612 . .
1903, 2-17, 1

Archon and Date.

Polyzelos, 367 b.c .
Undated .
Undated .
Undated ....
Pythodelos, 336 B.C.
Pythodelos, 336 B.C.
Nicocrates, 333 B.C. .
Niketes, 332 b.c.
Euthyoritos, 328 B.C.
Uninscribed .
Undated ....

Place.

Reverse.

Teucheira .

Wrestlers.

Teucheira .

Boxers.

Teucheira .

Athletes exercising.

Teucheira .

Four-horse chariot.

Cervetri

Boxers.

Cervetri

Armed Footrace.

Benghazi .

Runners.

Capua .

Boxers.

Teucheira .

Runners.

Teucheira .

Boxers.

Benghazi .

Javelin-throwing on

horseback.

These vases, which have already been referred to (p. 173) as
prizes won at the games in Athens, were taken by the winners to
their homes in Cyrenaica, Capua, or Cervetri, where they have been
found. On one side of the vase the design is always a figure of Athene
drawn in what is called an archaistic manner, imitative of true
archaic drawing ; but on the other side of the vase the artist was

Later Red-Figure Vases. 191
free to design in the manner natural to him and his day, except
only that he was required, by custom, to retain the black figures
on a red ground. These designs, being exactly dated, in some
instances, by the name of the Athenian archon, furnish a standard
by which the vase paintings of the fourth century may be judged.
While the vase in its general character adheres to the ancient
type, there is a marked change in the shape, which becomes tall
and slender. (Compare fig. 97, with fig. 92.)
In addition to the Panathenaic vases above described, the
following objects on table-cases and pedestals on the floor of the
room deserve mention : — ¦
Standard-case A. Vases from Southern Italy.
Pedestal 1. F 149, Crater, signed by the artist Python, who
is not otherwise known, but who appears to have been of the
school of Assteas, a well-known painter, perhaps of Paestum.
Alcmena, the mother of Heracles by Zeus, appeals to Zeus to
save her from the fire which is being kindled by 
her husband Amphitryon and his friend Antenor. X_Z/
Zeus has hurled two thunderbolts at the torches, Pi^N
while copious rain falls from a rainbow and from [/ \J
the pitchers of the Hyades (rain goddesses). / k
An adjoining vase (F 193 in Case 15) presents /"  \
the same subject in an abbreviated form. j; :
Pedestal 2. A fine crater with the scene of | j
Orestes at the Delphic shrine, protected from the \ jl
Furies by Apollo and Athene. From the Deepdene V ~y
collection. Purchased in 1917, with the aid of a \ /
¦contribution from the National Art- Collections \ (
Fund. CZD
Standard-case B. See above, the Panathenaic Fig. 97.
„„„„„ Panathenaic Vase
vases, (later shape).
Table-case C. Vases of a late period, with
subjects moulded in relief. A few are in the shapes of men
and animals.
Standard-case D. See above, the Panathenaic vases.
Standard-case E contains specimens of black ware (cf. below,
Wall-cases 24-29, 32-36). In the middle are two fine craters,
richly decorated with gilding as relief. One of them has an
imitation of gold necklaces, not unlike some of those in the Gold
Ornament Room, hung from handle to handle. Beneath each
handle is an imitation of a large gold earring.
Table-case F contains a selection of terracotta lamps of the
Roman period (see below).
In the shade above is a selection of objects in glazed-enamel amd
faience ware, mainly of the Roman period. A remarkable piece of
glazed ware shows Eros riding on a goose.
Pedestal 9. A vase with the subject of Polymestor, blinded,
and groping his way (Euripides, Hecuba, 1035, etc.).
Pedestal 10. F 279, Crater. The death of Hippolytos. The

192 The Fourth Vase Room.
bull, which was sent up from the sea by Poseidon to terrify the
horses, is seen half emerged in the front.
Pedestal 11. F 271, Crater. Lycurgos, king of the Edones, is
smitten with madness for rejecting the gifts of Dionysos, and slays
his family. He is here seen engaged in the slaughter, at the
prompting of Madness (Lyssa), who flies down towards him.
Table-case G. Vases in black (or sometimes red) ware, with
designs and ornaments moulded in relief. These may be regarded
as the immediate predecessors of the Arretine ware, in Cases 39, 40.
The hemispherical bowls with impressed reliefs are commonly
known as ' Megarian ' bowls. The name was suggested by the fact
that several examples were found at Megara. There is, however,
no reason to think that Megara, was the place of manufacture.
One group, which are sometimes called ' Homeric ' cups, since
the subjects of the reliefs are based on the epic cycles, is found
predominantly in Boeotia.
A bowl in this case, G 118 (compare the replica, G 119), with
a design of Heracles, and various deities driving chariots, has already
been referred to on p. 110. It was pointed out that the same
design is used for pottery and for a silver bowl. Another bowl,
lately given by Dr. F. Parkes- Weber, has four scenes in relief from
the story of Odysseus.
In the centre of the case is a selection of Greek lamps, showing
different types, from the sixth to the second centuries B.C.
Pedestal 12. F 278, Crater. Very large and with copious
florid decorations. The principal subjects are scenes connected with
the taking of Troy. Above, Ajax is seizing Cassandra at the foot
of the statue of Athene, and Menelaos is about to seize Helen at
the statue of Aphrodite. Below are Priam being slain by Neopto-
lemos, and Hecuba (?) attacked by a Greek warrior and defended by
an Amazon-like Trojan.
Pedestal 13. F 160, Crater, also representing the taking of
Troy. Ajax seizes Cassandra at the altar of Athene.
Standard-case H. Various vases, amongst them several of the
South Italian fabrics, produced in close imitation of the later
Athenian wares.
[We turn to the wall-cases round the room.]
Cases 1-13. Later Athenian vases, and South Italian
imitations of the later Athenian fabrics.
Cases 1-5. Selected vases in the form of statuettes, etc. Except
that, in part, these pieces are finished as vases and are in vase forms,
they might be classed as terracottas. The subjects are largely
children and animals. The children are either merely human, or
sometimes in the guise of Eros or the boy Dionysos. There are also
various vases in bust form. Among them : —
Case 2. G 1 (fig. 98). Vase in the form of a female head,
wearing elaborate pendant earrings, once gilded and other jewellery.

Later Red-Figure Vas

193

Cases 8-13 contain several Lucanian vases.
Cases 14-23. Vases in imitation of the later Attic fabrics,
produced mainly in the Greek cities of Campania (see above,
p. 190). In these later vases the subjects are apt to be uninteresting,
except as illustrations of ancient life, as, for instance, the girl
swinging on F 123, and the elaborate parasols on F 94, F 96
On F 93, with mourners at a tomb, the use of large painted vases
is shown. In Case 17 the vase F 157 showing Dolon attacked by Odysseus
and Diomede is in a spirit of strong and bold caricature, in
striking contrast with the rather weak
and conventionalized drawings of the
majority of the South Italian vases.
Cases 22, 23 contain a curious
group of nearly flat plates, probably
intended for fish, and painted with
characteristic fishes and other marine
creatures. Cases 24-29. Vases of fine black
ware from the cities of Campania.
The characteristics of the style are
plain black bodies, often fluted and
reeded. They are decorated with
gilding on low relief, with inset relief
in black, and with an occasional and
sparing use of white. In Case 28 the
buckets G 30, G 31 are unusually
direct imitations of bronze vessels
with movable bronze handles.
Cases 30, 31. Drinking horns (or
Rhytons) moulded in the forms of
animals' heads, and having the upper
parts painted in the red-figure style.
One example, F 431, is arranged, by
a caprice, to terminate in a head
which is half a boar and half a dog.
Cases 32-36. Black ware, in which the decoration is placed
by various methods upon the black. Thus the necessity is avoided
of leaving the ground colour vacant.
In Case 32 the old method of using the incised line is again
introduced, in combination with small patterns, painted or stamped
on the soft clay.
Cases 33, 34. Plain or fluted vases with white, red, or purple
patterns upon the black ground. The cup F 542, representing a
young huntsman, seated, with his head resting on his left hand
and a dog at his side, differs in execution from the rest in having
the shadows painted in by means of hatched lines. Its whole
appearance is suggestive of mural painting, such as we see it at
o

Fig. 98. — Vase in form of a female
head.

194 The Fourth Vase Room.
Pompeii. Early Latin inscriptions make their appearance on some
of these vases, pointing to the third or second centuries B.C. See
F 604, AECETIAJ POCOLOM, i.e. Aequitiae poculum, and the
fragmentary cup, VESTAI POCOLO, i.e. Vestae poculu(m).
Cases 37-41. Roman wares, more fully described below.
Cases 42, 43. Drinking-horns (or Rhytons) moulded in the
forms of animals' heads (cf. Cases 30, 31). In this group red-figure
painting is not employed.
Cases 44, 45. Examples of various late and local fabrics, for the
most part based upon Greek vase painting. Below, specimens of
Egyptian provincial wares of the Roman and later periods.
Cases 46, 47. Vases with figures painted in red body colour
upon the back ground. The effect of a red-figure vase is thus
attained by a simplified method. The incised line is used for the
internal lines of the red figures, and we thus have a reversion in
this respect to the methods of black-figure vase painting.
Above and below, eccentric imitations of Greek vases.

Fig. 99. — Shapes of Apulian Vases.

Cases 48-49. Vases of Lucanian and Apulian fabrics
(see above, p. 190), all, however, marked by a common system of
decoration, consisting of an ivy branch on 'the upper panel, and
offering little variety or interest in the choice of subjects.
Cases 50-59. Vases in the florid late Apulian style, marked
by the choice of trifling subjects, monotonously repeated, and by a
great variety of ornate shapes. Many new forms, of which a few
characteristic examples are given in the annexed diagram (fio- 99)
are developed and multiplied. b
Cases 60-65. The principal vases in these cases represent
offerings at tombs. Within a small architectural structure we have
a subject painted mainly in white, which no doubt represents the
actual tomb-rehef (compare in particular F 352, fig. 100, with many
of the Athenian reliefs), and round it conventionalized figures of
mourners and persons bringing offerings.
Cases 66-68. Selected South Italian vases with mytho
logical subjects. J
Cases 69-72 (middle shelf). Subjects connected with the later

Roman and Provincial Potter

'.'/•

195

Italian comic stage. The figures are grotesque. In some cases
(as F 189, and F124) the stage buildings and apparatus are roughly
indicated. Cases 71, 72 also contain five subjects connected with the game
of Cottabos.

ROMAN AND PROVINCIAL POTTERY AND LAMPS.
In the south-west corner of the Fourth Vase Room (Wall-cases
37^11, 44, 45 (below), and Table-case F) an exhibition has been

JlMMUaiMMlMM^iMMlMllM^lMM!^

Fig. 100.— Offerings at a Tomb. F 3:12.

arranged, so far as space permits, of the clay lamps, and of the
Roman and provincial potteries.
The Roman wares found in Britain are grouped with the other
Britanno-Roman objects in the Department of British and Mediaeval
Antiquities, but all will be found catalogued together in the
Catalogue of Roman Pottery.
Cases 39-40. A series of vases and fragments, in fine red clay
covered with a red glaze, usually known as Arretine ware. They
are derived from the famous potteries of Arretium (Arezzo), and
must be dated from the middle of the second century B.C. onwards
for a century and a half. A choice example is the fine vase L 54,

196 The Fourth Vase Boom.
with figures symbolical of the Seasons. It was found at Capua, and
bequeathed by Mr. Felix Slade.
The first step in the manufacture of these vases was to prepare
a stamp. See the stamp of a figure of Spring (L 91) worked in clay,
with a handle at the back. (For other stamps see p. 127.) The
stamps were next impressed on the inside of a mould, in such
combinations as seemed to make a satisfactory design. Thus in the
vase L 54, mentioned above, two of the Seasons, namely, Spring and
Summer, occur twice, since six repetitions of a figure were needed
to decorate the circuit of the vase. The column, with mask above
and basket at its foot, is repeated six times from a single stamp.
Cases 37-38. The later red wares, formerly known to
antiquaries as Samian ware, on account of an assumed connexion
with the once famous red pottery of Samos, have, in fact, nothing
to do with that island. For the most part they are derived from
Gaul, especially from the sites known as La Graufesenque and
Lezoux. Panels with figure - subjects,
animals and the like are repeated in
combination with rough decorative wreaths,
scrolls or panels.
A small group of vases in the lower
part of the ease comes from Roman
potteries of the second to third century a.d.
on the Rhine. Mottoes of a convivial
character are painted in opaque white on
a dull black ground. Thus M 142 has the
inscription Da Vinum (" Give me wine ').
Case 41 and the shade over Table-case
F contain specimens of glazed ware. pro-
Fig. 101. duced for the most part in Gaul between
Mould for a clay lamp. the first and third centuries a.d. The
prevailing colours are yellow, varying to
yellowish brown, and a rich green. In this ware we find a true
metallic glaze, probably a lead glaze, which must be distinguished
from the blue glaze on the faience ware and from the varnish of the
Greek potters. Under the thick coat of glaze the subjects lose their
definite outlines, and the general effect becomes one of colour rather
than of form.
Table-case F contains a series of Roman lamps. A set of Greek
lamp forms was mentioned above, in Case G (p. 192). Generally
speaking, the Greek clay lamps have a large central aperture. The
Roman lamps have a central medallion with a relief and a small
aperture at one side of it. They were prepared in great numbers
from moulds such as that shown in fig. 101 (exhibited in the Room
of Ancient Life), and are in some respects insignificant as works of
art. They are, however, rendered interesting by the great variety
of subjects represented in the medallion reliefs, such as subjects from
mythology, subjects from daily life, scenes from the circus and the
arena, with racing chariots or gladiatorial combats.

APPENDIX. — Table op thk (<khkk and Homan Colluctionh, historically arranged.

Bate.

Oukek ami human
lilSTMKV.

SOUI.lTUliK.

Before
•2200 B.C.

1600

EjivIj Miuoan period.
Mid-Minoan period.

Late Minoan
period.
Myeeuaeuu aue.

Sub-Mycenaean period.

Period of migrations
aud e 0114 nests.
A e h a e a 11 a 11 d
Dorian Invasions.

First Olympiad (770).

TKIiliAl'UTTAy,

Okms, Hold Orna-
MKN't'S, JCTU.

Columns from
Treasury *'' A turns

Knkoini tieasure.

J' r ea s u re f m 111
(¦frei'k Islands.

Italian ami
KTHDHt'AN AKT.

Solon (638-55S).

Eaily Metopes from
Selinus.

Branchidae figures.

Peisistratos | Archaic temple at
(died 527). 1 Ephesus.
i Xanthian sculpture*
: (Harpy Tomb,etc.)

Battle of Marathon
(490).
Battle of Salamis
(4S0).
Administration of
Pericles (461-429).

Delphi Charioteer
(cast).
Aegina Pediments
(casts).
Parthenon (447-431).
Temple of Phigaleia
(430).

Peloponnesian AVar Reliefs ot fine style.
(431-404). ¦ Erechtheion. Nereid monument.

Painted panels
(Cervetri).
Sarcophagi from
Clazomenae.

Small terracotta
reliefs.

Ephesus treasure.

Island gems.
Cameiros orna
ments.

Scarabs and .Scar
abaeoids.

Italian Bronze
^ (or Terramaie)
Apt-.

Villanova
\ ture.

Inscriptions.

Cretan vanys.

LilysuH ;,u(l km.
komi vases.

Date.

Before
2200 B.C.

Minoan aud My-
cenaean Bcripts.

1200

Polledrara Tomb.

Geometiic Dipy-
. Jon and Phale
ron wares.

Early Corinthi;

800

700

Early Etruscan
ornaments.
Painted panels
(Ceivetii).

Limestone urns.

Etruscan bronze
statuettes.

Euphorbos Vase.

1'daek-tigure vases.
(Se e o 11 d Vase
Koo m.)

Aristotle (384-322),
Alexander (356-323).

Mausoleum (350),
Demeter of Cnidos.
Great temple at
Ephesus.
Monument of Lysi
crates (335).
Temple at Priene
(334).

Hellenistic sculp
ture.

Tauagra figures.

100

200

Roman conquest of Apotheosis of
Greece (146). Homer.

Julius Caesar(100-44).
Augustus (63 B.C. to
14 A. ix).

Tiberius (42 B.C. to
37 A.D.).
Romans conquer
Britain (43-84).
Destruction of Pom
peii (79).

Hadrian (76-138).

Christianity recog
nised by Constan-
tine (312).

Graeco-Roman
, sculptures.
(Imperial portraits.

Statuettes from
Cyrene and
South Italy.

I Panels in
} relief.

Engraved gems of \
best period.

On Euphorbos vase.
On Branchidae
figures.
Sigeum inscription.
Treaty of Eleans and
Heraeans.
Croesus dedication
(550).

) Helmet of Hiero
(474).
Red -figure vases , Lypdamis inscrip-
of fine st\le. timi (460-454)
White Athenian Lnciian Law (befoie
\ va^es. 455).
(Third Vase j Potidaeau epitaph
Room) j (432).
Erechtheion Com
mission (4t9).

Etruscan mirrors.

Finest gold orna
ments.

Portraits in
cameo.

Portraits in cameo
and glass paste.

Cameo of Augus
tus.
Portland Vase.

Hadrian, Antinoiis.
Imperial portraits.

[For Roman Britain
see special collec
tion.]

Graeco-Roman gems.

Later Roman gems
and jewellery.

Chaourse silver
plate.

Stamped gold "bars
(370).

Sarcophagus of
Seianti.

Late bronze statu
ettes,

Later red-figure ;
vases.
(Fourth Vas e
1 Room.)
Late Pamithonaic
vases.

Close (|f vase
, paiuting.

Dedication of Priene
temple.

Dedication of temple
at Cauopus.

Arretine ware.

Roman provincial
wares.

Salutaris inscription,

200

300

400 A.D.

Plate I.

Pig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Columns from the Facade of the Treasury of Atreus
at Mycenae, (p. 3.)

Plate II

^jt^MBfJM
>*>—^«r
iTSW
Wm
. fUf It
^t^trm
!':'¦
11 ' JH L 1
H 1
- -~~*
^ ^
^Hl
¦ .__._¦
-— — .
j
Copy of the Statuk of Athenk Parthknos, (p. 18.)
Figure known as Theseus. East Pediment of the Parthenon, (p. 22.)

Group of the Pates. East Pediment of the Parthenon, (p. 23.)

H m
<

Pig. 1. Centaur and Lapith. Metope of the
Parthenon No. 310. (p. 29.)

Fig. 2. Centaur and Lapith. Metope op the
Parthenon No. 317. (p. 30.)

Procession of Cayalry. Noirnr Frieze of the Parthenon, (p. 40.)

Plate VII,

^Ji va

Statue of Mourning Woman, (p. 54.)

-I m<

Votive Relief of Artemis Bendis. (pi. 54.)

Plate IX.'

Restoration of the Order of the Mausoleum, (p. 02.)

Plate X

The Chariot Group of the Mausoleum, (p. 02.)

Plate XI,

The Ije.meter of Cnidos. {p. 74.)

Fig. 1. Bust op ' Clytie.' (p. 75.)

Fig. 2. Head op Julius Caesar, (p. 88.)

Plate XIII.

Greek Terracottas, (p. 97/

Fig. 1.

The Portland Vase.
(p. 102.)

Fig. 2.

Pig. 1. Head of Aphrodite, {p. 140.)

Pig. 2. Hypnos, or Sleep, (p. 141.)

Plate XVI.

Plate XVII.

G1EECE AN!
AS HA M1N01

zro-Pytna