CORNELL
UNIVERSITY

 

 

COLLEGE OF
ARCHITECTURE
LIBRARY

 

 

 

Die Sh eee

 

 
History of design in mural painting fro
WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

Facsimiles of Royal MSS. 2 B VII. with Translations,
The Litany, and the Old Testament History, scarce.

The Publishers would be glad to hear of any copies of
either of these works for sale.

Sketches at the Mechlin Exhibition, 5s.
“Via Crucis,” large size plates, 31s. 6d., small size, 2s. 6d.
The True Portraiture of S. Francis, 2s. 6d.
A History of design in Painted Glass, 4 vols., 45 Ios.

Vol. 1 is out of print, but there are a few sets remaining,
complete.
HISTORY OF DESIGN
IN MURAL PAINTING

FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES
TO THE TWELFTH CENTURY

With an Introduction on the Art of the
Pre-Christian Pertod

By N. H. J. WESTLAKE, F\S.A.

Author of “ The History of Design in Painted Glass,” etc., etc.

Four Hundred and Forty-three Illustrations

VOLUME ONE

FROM THE EGYPTIAN PERIOD (SETI I.) UNTIL THE
TIME OF CONSTANTINE

JAMES PARKER AND CO.

SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND, LONDON; AND AT OXFORD

SPITHOVER, PIAZZA DI SPAGNA, ROME, 85, E. P. DUTTON AND CO,, NEW YORK
MCM1I.

ef
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED TO

JOHN
FOURTH MARQUIS OF BUTE
CONTENTS OF PART I.

INTRODUCTION: ART BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.

PREFACE @ :

CHAPTER I.

A SKETCH OF THE Procress oF DEsIGN UNTIL THE Decay or HELLENIC CULTURE fs

CHAPTER II.

Erruscan Art, Veu, Grotra Campana; Cre (CERVETRI), GROTTA DELLE LastTRE DIPINTE;
Tarquinil (CorNETO); GROTTA DELLE INScRIzIONI; GROTTA DEL TRICLINIO; GROTTA DEI
vast Dipintr; Curust (CLustum) GRoTTA DELLA Scimia, TOMBA DEL COLLE CASUCCINI;
Vuuci, THe Francois Tomp; CornetTo, GROTTA ‘‘DETTA DI FRANCESCO,” GROTTA DEL
Orca; Orvieto, Tompa GOoLiIni; SARCOPHAGUS FROM PERUGIA

CHAPTER III.

Tue GENESIS OF THE PrincipAL Historic ORNAMENTAL Detaits: THE SuN, THE Orb, THE Rays;
Tue Hawk AND ITS FeaTHers; Tue Rosette; THe PALMeTTE; Sun AnD Moon Rays; THE
“Tree”; Tue Douste Patmette; THe Lotus; THE Papyrus; THE POMEGRANATE ; VARIOUS
TREES AND PLiants; THE Octopus, CUTTLE-FISH AND NavuTILus; SoMeE EXAMPLES OF CapPI-
TALS; THE PALMETTES AS BorDERS; THE SPIRAL, WHORL AND VOLUTE; THE ‘“‘ GUILLOCHE” ;
Tue MEANDER FRET, AND SUNDRY ORNAMENTS; THE SPHINX

PAGE

24

42
 
CONTENTS OF PART II.

CHAPTER IV.

PAGE

ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY: Pa&stum; Capua; ALBANELLA ; SPINAZZO 71
CHAPTER V.
THe Repustic AND Roman Empire: PAINTING FROM THE ESQUILINE CEMETERIES; Bosco
ReaLteE; THe Opyssey Picrures From THE EsquitinE; THe Pyramip oF Carus CEstius;:
Tue ALDOBRANDINI MarriacGeE; Tuscutum; Tue House or Livia; PartntTINGS FROM
THE Watts oF A HovusEe FOUND IN THE Farnesina; THE Vatican LiBRaRY AND THE
Louvre; Stapirai, HEeERCULANEUM AND Pompemnt; Tue Batus or Titus 80
CHAPTER VI.
Some EXAMPLES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMAN ORNAMENT 105
CHAPTER VII.
Roman SEPULCHRES OF THE Nasoni, THE Ca:~iAn HILL, AND ON THE ViA CorsINI 11IO
CHAPTER VIII.
Tue Art or tHE Earty CuristTians. THe Roman CaTAcoMBS UNTIL ABOUT THE TIME OF
- I14

CONSTANTINE :
ERRATA, CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA, VOL. I.

Page 23, for Canova read Canossa. For Rhypavagraphos, &c., read Rhyparographos—painter of low subjects.
», 26, for Dionysius Siculus read Dionysius of Halicaynassus.
» 47, for Champillon read Champollion.
», 61, for from the Chovagic monument Lysicrates read Corinthian capital, from the Chovagic monument of Lysicrates.
» 67, footnote, ‘‘ yet he says the read yet he says ‘‘ the.
» 73, Lom read Tomb.
», 81, for the History of Painting, &c., read the history of Roman Painting until the time of the Republic.

» 86, line 27, column 2, after ‘‘ Tiberius,” read ‘It is now named ‘The House of Germanicus,’ and the evidence which
identifies it as the residence in which he was murdered seems conclusive. It was subsequently kept in
repair by various persons, probably in his memory, amongst others by Julia, daughter of Titus. Some of
the leaden pipes conducting the water are marked with her name, JuLi# Ava.”

», 117, line 7, omit ‘all Art.”
», 130, for Bosco Avinghi read Bosio, Avinght.

In the description of Plate CLII. insert comma after Augusticlavi.
PLaTE I.

 

5
a
ws

SINEDRES'S:
Fit

co [std

Setr I. INVESTING PauR OR PaseR—HiGH Priest, GOVERNOR, AND
MAGISTER—WITH INSIGNIA OF OFFICE.
SETI SITS ENTHRONED, BEHIND HIM THE Gopess MA or TRUTH—PASER

STANDS BETWEEN TWO INVESTING PRIESTS.

THE IJIEROGLYPHS

REPRESENT PASER’S SPEECH TO THE KING.

PRE FAC &

H ISTORIES of Painting have generally been

either histories of pictures, or have been
principally devoted to the subject only, not giving
sufficient attention to the accessories which support
the subject and assist it gracefully to fit its posi-
tion, or the complete ornamental area of which it is
_a portion. In mural painting especially, a know-
ledge of the historical methods of consistently
covering a given area with its subject portions
properly supported by ornament is most useful,
even most necessary. Indeed, the painting on a
wall, roof, or any other portion of a_ building
cannot be called Art unless the whole work,
ornament, subject, &c, are made to be, in a sense,
one picture. During a long practice in mural
work the author has continually felt the necessity
of a handy work of reference; such a book would
have saved days upon days of research.
the sketches here published are the results of years
of such research, and the necessity of some work
of the kind has induced him to put them in order

and offer them for ‘public service.”

Many of

I

 

His first intention was to have confined the
publication to the Art of the Christian Era, but an
essay on early ‘‘Christian Art” involved an essay on
the Art of the first centuries of our era, and thus,
by force of circumstances and the overwhelming
interest of the subject, the Introduction has vrown
to very much greater bulk than he intended or
contemplated. This Introduction has involved a
slight history of ornamental detail, for the compo-
sitions of antiquity and their enrichments are in-
separable from the Art of all subsequent periods.

Artists are indebted to the ancient worlds for
forms and ideas, as much as literature is for words,
for sentences, for subjects, even for its whole exist-
ence. It will be observed that, in the chapter on
Ornament, the development of some of the funda-
mental forms of designs, especially concerning the
palmette, a theory different to that hitherto held is
involved and evolved, which somewhat upsets re-
When, however,
an analyst of forms sets to work, feeling the ne-
cessity of finding their foundation, he is obliged

ceived ideas and terminology.
S PREFACE.

 

either to accept

some previous
theory or establish
his own. The latter
has forced _ itself
upon me, and, like
other theories, it
must stand or fall
by the criticism of
the learned expert.

These

on Ornament. will
be repeated at in-

 

 

 

es

chapters [is

tervals to show how details were varied by suc-
ceeding artists, and even other forms developed from
them. I think they will be found useful not only
to the artist but to the traveller and antiquary, as
an abbreviated and portable compendium. The
subjects may be also useful to those in search for
costume.

It appears now an opportune time for this publi-
cation. The number of young people involved in
artistic pursuits is greater than ever, and the
demand for what we, by habit, call “ pictures”
has not kept pace with this growth. A revival of
wall-painting, such as was common in nearly all the
best periods, is now perhaps possible.

Nothing would aid the arts of this country more
than the substitution of painted for papered walls.
This painting of walls need not be so expensive and
luxurious that only the wealthy could indulge in it.
There are always men in want of practice who
would have thus an opportunity of work, and only
continual experiment can develop talent. Amongst
those thus employed the best would emerge, and
a school of men fit for great monumental works and
the painting of our public edifices would perhaps
arise. We have not yet commenced to found such
a school in any practical way, although experiments
have been tried by certain institutions without
marked enthusiastic indi-
viduals have set examples never followed. A
well-known antiquary, in his history of Greek
sculpture, has given us his opinion on this subject,

and without doubt his conclusions are founded on

success, and certain

his great study of history: ‘It is certain, how-

Pate II.

  

BOATS WITH SAILS EMBROIDERED IN COLOURS FROM THE TOMB OF RaAmgsés III., aT
THEBES, ABOUT 1200 B.C.

 

 

ever, that before a
nation reaches the
stage of what is
called High Art, it
must pass through
several long series
of efforts in which
the one object is to
decorate a given

 

‘ all com surface.” *
- SELES The practice of
design founded
upon the know-

ledge, and not so much upon the mere imitation,
of nature is also well expressed in another passage :
‘In the progress of Art there must be developed
a mental power of controlling the impulse for imi-
tation, and it would be an instructive pursuit if its
course could be followed.”

Another historiant of experience tells us, concern-
ing mural paintings, that, “among Pictures, pro-
perly so called, which have come down to us from
antiquity, mural paintings hold beyond comparison
the most important place.”

History tells us that there is ever recurring a
tendency on the part of art patrons to place ‘the
permanent” in the forefront. This preference of a
permanent second or third-class art, or even of an
ugliness, over that of a beautiful thing which may
or may not be evanescent, marks more the economic
community as opposed to the “taste,” and love of
the beautiful, of the cultivated peoples.

Let me, however, observe that, as far as painting
is concerned, as a primary art—with the touch of
the artist's own hand with all its subtleties—it must
ever be pre-eminent over the secondary arts, which
are but copies of his work. Moreover, the question
of permanency has always been argued in a rather
one-sided way as far as wall-painting is concerned.
Given a dry and good wall in a building kept pro-
perly ventilated, so that damp neither adheres to

 

*Dr. Murray's Introduction to the Study of Greek Sculptures,
p. 7. I do not, however, quite follow the author’s theoribs
in every respect concerning what Art should be.

+ Woltmann and Woermann, History of Painting, vol. i
p. 103. Translated by Sidney Colvin, London, 1880.

”
PREFACE, 2

 

the back nor face, and Prate Il. and practically — con-

fresco, encaustic, and F sidered together. No
. . . ly \ .

paintings in other me- L J thin layers of decayed

dia are as_ indestruc- ao i lime were used, but a
. a f HOG q @ @) A MA @ i .

tible as mosaic, and veo : v8 GI fd good thickness of lime

  

are more easily kept
clean or cleaned,* espe-
cially as they have no
rough facets to hold ac-
cumulated dirt. On the
other hand, on a damp,

Hf hy P\
oC

   

 

bad wall no work of art
is durable. The oldest

 

sufficiently caustic to

dissolve the silica of the

 
  
 

 

sand or marble, and
also, by its solid thick-
ness, keep moist the

surface of the wall long
enough for a fair amount
of work to be done ere

eS
ie

 

\" , \Yy nt 2 R
Ge QE YS

 

paintings in the world,
painted more than 3000
years ago, are
“tempera.”

mere

up tessaree in S. Mark’s,

Venice, which have fallen from the roof, and if the
vaunted permanence of mosaic may still remain
unquestioned, why are some heads of so recent a
date as the fourteenth century at South Kensing-
ton? On the other side, let the reader examine
the painted roofs of S. Michael’s, Hildesheim,
of the twelfth century, and even that at Peter-
borough, both of which are good and_ intact.
Again, pure fresco has a surface unsurpassed for
its beauty, and there are numerous other vehicles
for painting as durable, on a sound wall, and far
more beautiful than tiles or slabs of ceramic and
opaque vitreous ware. The decay of the frescoes
done in England some years since was foreseen by
many who had experience in plaster-work.

The tenacity of the lime was practically destroyed
before it was used, in order that its causticity should
not hurt. certain delicate colours—certain delicate
colours which have no right within the province
of true fresco. The ancient frescoes in Pompeii,
according to Otto Donner, were not done according
to the methods described by Vitruvius, nor of those
in the hooks by Cennini, Merrifield, and other
authors, but the wall and the painting were well

 

* J read in Sir W. Gell’s Pompeiana that some of the frescoes
were continually wetted to brighten the colours for the inspec-
tion of tourists, and yet remain.

ENCLOSED EGYPTIAN PLEASURE GARDEN, SURROUNDED BY TREES, HAVING IN
THE CENTRE A LARGE PLEASURE GROUND, WITH A LAKE, IN WHICH

. THE Lotus IS CULTIVATED, AND ON WHICH THE OWNER IS BEING
I have myself picked baie ann eecactoe “nia by all the

 

it dried.

These arguments are
used to encourage the
Patron and the student
reasons

that suggest themselves
to me to try and revive the general practice of
mural painting. I have written “patron,” for no
Art worth having can rise or exist without a cul-
tivated patron, the man who has taken some pains
to acquire some historical knowledge of Art, and
who, like the student of literature, obtains a know-
ledge of the excellence of composition and style,
not from the platitudes of platform speakers, nor
the opinions of cliques, but from sound study and
investigation The country has possessed and still
possesses many such men—would there were more.
The life of the literature and Art of the nation is
vested in them, and there are battles to be fought
on their plains of knowledge and meditation as
valuable as those on the field of war.

One paragraph on the method of illustration
adopted in this work. I have not attempted colour;
the colour of a fine work is difficult to render ;
that of the finest works cannot be copied. Com-
mon and monotonous colour is no embellishment,
although it may attract a certain public. Many of
the illustrative sketches are slight, but I think they
are sufficient, as notes of reference, for the purpose
of defining the nature of the object intended. It
is not always possible to get details of paintings
to link together the chain of an argument; but in

cases where the designs in various arts are used in
PREPAGL.

 

Prats IV.

 

 

PAINTINGS OF HARP-PLAYERS (NOW DESTROYED) FROM THE TomB oF Rameses III., ABOUT 1200 B.C.
(Plates I., IL., III., IV., are from Sir Gardiner Wilkinson’s Ancrent Eeyptians).

common, | have felt myself at liberty to use other
than painting to illustrate my subject.

To the many friends who have given, and to
those who have promised me assistance, it will be
my great pleasure to give my thanks at the end of
this volume. I must, however, at once acknow-

ledge the great and valuable assistance accorded
me by M. le directeur du Louvre, and by the
officers of the Antique department of the British
Museum.
11, Hamitton Terrace, N.W.,
January, 190l.
INTRODUCTION: ART BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.
CHAPTER I.

“4 SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF DESIGN UNTIL THE DECAY OF
HELLENIC CULTORE.

LY is impossible reasonably to

speak of the origin of the
Art of the Christian Era with-
out giving some slight account
of the arts of the pre-Christian
periods. The first Christian
painters, men of all nations,
brought with them their own
national traditions of composi-
tion, drawing and ornamentation.
Their art, sometimes termed
Roman, was in itself developed
from adopted details borrowed
from many centres where the
arts flourished before Rome was
founded.

We shall, therefore, by force
of circumstances be obliged to
study and give attention to
these many sources of design.

There is a limit beyond which
we cannot trace them, but we
shall find ideas and even details
belonging to trees of historic
planting. Egypt, Babylonia, As-
syria, Phcoenicia,. Persia, Euro-
pean and Asiatic Greece, South-
ern Italy, Etruria and Rome, are
so tied together by one con-
tinual development of artistic
design that their Art histories
will all have to be consulted.

In this short essay the reader will not expect
the skill and learning of the Egyptologist, nor of
the mature Greek or Roman antiquary,* nor a

 

* MM. Perrot and Chipiez, competent judges on such a
point, tell us that the material is now so abundant that any
complete work on Greek Art alone is impossible, even to the
most learned antiquary (Primitive Greece, vol. ii., p. 17).

PLATE V.

 

EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURAL LABOURER.
(From a Painting in the British Museum.)

complete history of the Roman-
esque, Byzantine or Medizval
periods, but a consequential essay
on the elementary developments

=

of mural painting, the first to
the last, from a painter’s point
of sight.

Our earliest examples are from
Egypt, where we now know that
Art progressed gradually and

 

slowly, but it progressed. An
account of this progression is
not altogether
neither have we in this work in

possible here,

any detailed way to do with the
development of the religions or
politics, nor of the architectural
constructions, of the peoples
mentioned.

Independently, neither Egyp-
tian, Assyrian, nor Phoenician
art ever proceed beyond a cer-
They all exhibit a
fairly perfect art of a kind which
must be only compared with
itself.

Of Assyrian and Pheenician

tain state.

painting we know but little; the
Phcenicians were pupils first, but,
subsequently advancing beyond
the Egyptian artists, they were
afterwards in turn pupils and
teachers of every nation with whom they came
into contact, and in their extraordinarily exten-
sive commerce they influenced and were influenced
by all. If they were very instrumental in
founding the Etruscan and European Greek
schools, they thus, with the Asiatic Greeks
(whose Art they influenced), founded the
 

PEATE Ws Art of cultivated Europe.*
Notwithstanding the  fas-
cination which surrounds

 

* Concerning the Phcenicians,
it will interest the reader to know
something of these people, and of

their influence on the arts; I
have, therefore, inserted the
following quotation :—

“The Phoenicians form, in

some respects, the most impor-
tant fraction of the whole group
of antique nations, notwithstand-
ing that they sprang from the
most obscure and insignificant
families. This fraction, when
settled, was constantly exposed
to inroad by new tribes, was
utterly conquered and subjected
by utter strangers when it had
aie Bae Ob EG Tak taken a great place among the
(In the British Museum.) nations, and yet by industry, by
perseverance, by acuteness of intellect, by unscrupulousness
and want of faith, by adaptability and pliability when neces-
sary, and dogged defiance at other times, by total disregard
of the rights of the weaker, they obtained the foremost place
in the history of their times and the highest reputation, not
only for the things that they did, but for many that they did
not. They were the first systematic traders, the first miners
and metallurgists, the greatest inventors (if we apply such
a term to those who kept an ever-watchful look-out for the
inventions of others, and immediately applied them to them-
selves with some grand improvements on the original idea) ;
they were the boldest mariners, the greatest colonisers,
who at one time held not only the gorgeous East, but the
whole of the then half-civilised West in
fee—who could boast of a form of govern-
ment approaching to constitutionalism,
who of all nations of the time stood
highest in practical arts and sciences, and
into whose laps there flowed an un-
ceasing stream of the world’s entire
riches, until the day came when they
began to care for nothing else, and the
enjoyment of material comforts and
luxuries took the place of the thirst for
and search after knowledge. Their
piratical prowess and daring was under-
mined; their colonies, grown old enough
to stand alone, fell away from them,
some after a hard fight, others in mutual
agreement or silently ; and the nations in
whose estimation and fear they had held
the first place, and who had _ been
tributary to them, disdained them, ignored
them, and finally struck them utterly out
of the list of nations, till they dwindled
away miserably, a warning to all who
should come after them.’ — Deutsch,
Literary Remains, pp. 162-3.

 

 

 

WOMAN WITH CISTUS, FROM

 

A SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF DESIGN

 

PLATE VIII.

An EcypriAN LAby at A BANQUET,

SMELLING A FLOWER.
British Museum.)

 

the histories of preceding
peoples, I have concluded,
deliberation,

after much

 

Another quotation, which is
here given, enters into more in-
teresting details concerning their
character and history :—

«“ Audacity in enterprise can
certainly not be denied to the
adventurous race which, from the
islands and coasts of the Eastern
Mediterranean, launched forth
upon the unknown sea in fragile
ships, affronted the perils of waves
and storms, and still more dreaded
“monsters of the deep ’ (Herodotus
vi. 44), explored the recesses of
the stormy Adriatic and inhos-
pitable Pontus, steered their peril-
ous course amid all the islets
and rocks of the Aegean, along.” patinus, (Ga the Batish
the iron-bound shores of Thrace, Museum.) (About B.C. 1200.)
Eubcea, and Laconia, first into the Western Mediterranean
basin, and then through the straits of Gibraltar into
the wild and boundless Atlantic, with its mighty tides,
its huge rollers, its blinding rains, and its frequent fogs.
Without a chart, without a compass, guided only in
their daring voyages by their knowledge of the stars,
these bold mariners penetrated to the shores of Scythia in
one direction, to Britain, if not even to the Baltic, in another ;
in a third to the Fortunate Islands; while in a fourth they
traversed the entire length of the Red Sea, and entering upon
the Southern Ocean, succeeded in doubling the Cape of Storms
two thousand years before Vasco di Gama, and in effecting
the circumnavigation of Africa (Herodotus iv. 42). And, wild
as the seas were with which they had
to deal, they had to deal with yet wilder
men. Except in Egypt, Asia Minor,
Greece, and perhaps Italy, they came in
contact everywhere with savage races;
they had to enter into close relations
with men, treacherous, bloodthirsty,
covetous men, who were almost always
thieves, who were frequently cannibals,
sometimes wreckers — who regarded
foreigners as a cheap and very delicious
kind of food. The pioneers of civili-

 

WoMAN WITH CISTUS, FROM

  

sation, always and everywhere, incur
dangers from which ordinary mortals
should shrink with dismay; but the

earliest pioneers, the first introducers of
the elements of culture among barbarians
who had never heard of it, must have
encountered far greater peril than others
from their ignorance of the ways of
savage men, and a want of those tremen-
dous weapons of attack and defence with
which modern explorers take care to
provide themselves.

‘Until the invention of gunpowder,

(From the
UNTIL THE DECAY OF HELLANIC CULTURE.

NI

 

the arms of civilised men
—swords, and spears, and
javelins, and the like—
were rarely a match for
the cunningly devised
weapons, boomerangs and
blow-pipes, and poisoned
arrows, and lassoes (Hevo-
dotus vii. 85), of the
savage.

“The adaptability and
pliability of the Phe-
nicians were especially
shown in their power of
obtaining the favourable
regard of almost all the
peoples and nations with

   

 
    
   

  
       

PLATE IX.

   

yal
finn “4

learning of the Persians
(Herodotus i. 1), the sci-
ence of the Babylonians
(Herodotus ii. 109), and
the combined learning
and science of the Egyp-
tians (Herodotus ii. 4, 99,
142), limits his commen-
dation of the Phcenicians
to their skill in naviga-
tion, in mechanics, and

in the works of art
(Herodotus i. 1; iv. 42;
Vi. 47; vii. 23, 44, 96).

Had they made advances
in the abstract, or even
in the mixed sciences, in

     
   

 

   

    

; : or, A
which they came into a te 7.2 Nag He hs. i de are mathematics, or  astro-
contact, whether civilised We ae ste ie cee Poking a! aime. f nomy, or geometry, in
fate ess % LIE YS wn i My Dalai” Sy) chy, NS e
or uncivilised. It is most AAA Ah ACTON 2 UL OO vita a logics or metaphysics,
SN ne Wa eR TY ee 2
remarkable that Egyp- either their writings
. . oe ry » . r~ a ~
tians, intolerant as they ASHUR-BANI-PAL Lion HUNTING. ASSYRIAN RELIEF FROM NINEVEH. would have been pre-
Il f (British Museum.) (Circa, B.c. 668-626.)
usually were of strangers, served, or at least the

should have allowed the

Pheenicians to settle in their southern capital, Memphis
(Herodotus ii. 112), and to build a temple and inhabit a
quarter there. It is also curious and interesting that the
Pheenicians should have been able to ingratiate themselves
with another most exclusive and self-sufficing people, viz.,
the Jews. Hiram’s friendly dealings with David and
Solomon are well known; but the continued alliance
between the Phcenicians and the Israelites has attracted
less attention. Solomon took wives from Pheenicia
(a Kings xi. 1), Ahab married the daughter of Itho-
balus, King of Sidon (1 Kings xvi. 31); Phcenicia fur-
nished timber for the second Temple (Ezra iii. 7); Isaiah
wound up his prophecy against Tyre with a consolation
(Isaiah xxiil. 15-18). Our Lord found faith in the Syro-
Phoenician woman (St. Mark vii. 26-30). In the days of
Herod Agrippa, Tyre and Sidon still desired peace with
Judzea, ‘‘ because their country was nourished by the King’s
country” (Acts xii. 20). And similarly Tyre had friendly
relations with Syria and Greece, with Mesopotamia and
Assyria, with Babylonia and Chaldwa. At the same time
she could bend herself to meet the wants and gain the con-
fidence of all the varieties of barbarians, the rude Armenians,
the wild Arabs, the barbarous tribes of Northern and Western
Africa, the rough Iberi, the passionate Gauls, the painted
Britons, the savage races of the Caucasus. Tribes so timid
and distrustful as those of tropical Africa were lured into
peaceful and friendly relations by the artifice of a ‘dumb
commerce’ (Herodotus iv. 196), and on every side untamed
man was softened and drawn towards civilisation by a
spirit of accommodation, conciliation, and concession to
prejudices.

“Tf the Phoenicians are to be credited with acuteness of
intellect, it must be limited to the field of practical enquiry
and discovery. Whatever may be said with regard to the
extent and variety of their literature—a subject which will
be treated in another chapter—it cannot be pretended that
humanity owes to them any important conquests of a scien-
tific or philosophic character. Herodotus, who admires the

 

Greeks would have made
acknowledgments of being indebted to them. But it is only
in the field of practical matters that any such acknowledg-
ments are made.

“The Greeks allow themselves to have been indebted to the
Pheenicians for alphabetic writing, for advances in metallurgy,
for improvements in ship-building and navigation, for much
geographic knowledge, for exquisite dyes, and for the manu-
facture of glass. There can be no doubt that the Phcenicians
were a people of great practical ability, with an intellect
quick to devise means to ends, to scheme, contrive and
execute, and with a happy knack of perceiving what was
practically valuable in the inventions of other nations, and of
appropriating them to their own use, often with improve-
ments upon the original idea. But they were not possessed
of any great genius or originality. They were, on the whole,
adapters rather than inventors. They owed their idea of
alphabetic writing to the Accadians [Deutsch is probably
in error here], (Deutsch, p. 163), their weights and
measures to Babylon (tbid.), their ship-building probably to
Egypt (compare the Egyptian ships in Dinnichen’s Voyage
Mune Reine Egyptienne, about B.c. 1400, with the Phenician
Trivemes, Layard’s second series, plate 71), their early archi-
tecture to the same country (Renan, Phenicie, pp. 100-101),
their mimetic art to Assyria, to Egypt, and to Greece. They
were not poets, or painters, or sculptors, or great architects,
much less philosophers, or scientists, but in the practical
arts, and even in the practical sciences, they held a high
place in almost all of them, equalling, and in some excelling,
all their neighbours.

“We should be inclined also to assign to the Phcenicians,
as a special characteristic, a peculiar capacity for business.
This may be said, indeed, to be nothing more than acuteness
of intellect in a particular way. To ourselves, however, it
appears to be in some sort a special gift. As beyond all
question there are many persons of extremely acute intellect
who have not the slightest turn for business, or ability for
dealing with it, so we think there are nations to whom no
one would deny high intellectual power, without the
8 A SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF DESIGN

 

PLATE X.

ASSURBANIPAL IN HIS CHARIOT, SMELLING A FLOWER.
Bas relief from Konyundjik (Nineveh).

 

capacity in question. In its most per-
fect form it has belonged but to a
small number of nations—to the Phe-
nicians, the Venetians, the Genoese,
the English and the Dutch. It im-
plies, not so much high intellectual
power as a combination of valuable,
yet not very admirable qualities of
a lower order (Rawlinson’s Phentcta,
Pp. 53-61).

‘‘The trade of the Phoenicians with
the West Coast of Africa had for its
principal objects the procuring of
ivory, of elephant, lion, leopard and
deer-skins, and probably of gold.
Scylax relates that there was an es-
tablished trade in his day (about B.c.
350) between Phcenicia and an island
which he calls Cerne, probably Argiun,
off the West African Coast. The
merchants, he says, who are Pheeni-
cians, when they have arrived at Cerne,
anchor their vessels there, and after
having pitched their tents upon the
shore, proceed to unload their cargo,
and to convey it in smaller boats to the
mainland. The dealers with whom
they trade are Ethiopians, and these
dealers sell to the Phoenicians skins
of deer, lions, panthers and domestic

PLATE XI.

 

STELE OF SHALMANESER II. 820-812 B.C.
(In the British Museum.)

animals — elephants’ skins also, and their teeth. The
Ethiopians wear embroidered garments, and use ivory
cups as drinking vessels; their women adorn themselves
with ivory bracelets, and their horses also are adorned with
ivory. The Phcenicians convey to them ointments, elaborate
vessels from Egypt, castrated swine (?) and Attic pottery and
cups. These last they commonly purchase (in Athens) at the
Feast of Cups. These Ethiopians are eaters of flesh and
drinkers of milk; they make also much wine from the vine;
and the Pheenicians, too, supply some wine to them. They
have a considerable city to which the Phoenicians sail up.”
The river on which the city stood was probably the Sene-
gal. (Scylax Peviplus, and quoted in Rawlinson’s Phenicia,
Pp. 302-3).

Concerning their Temple architecture, the following is
from the work of Messrs. Perrot and C. Chipiez (Phenicia,
vol. i., p. 329), the English translation.

‘In spite of its simplicity the Semitic type of religious
building had a grandeur and nobility of its own; it was the
first type to meet the pioneers of Greek civilisation, the
Eolians and Ionians found it in Cilicia, in Syria, in Cyprus,
and in the other islands in which they came into contact
with the Phoenicians. They began by borrowing from it,
and even when, by their own genius, they had created an
entirely new system of religious architecture, their buildings
still preserved some traces of these early lessons. We may
thus explain a peculiarity of classic architecture which had
hardly received all the attention it deserves; the zepsBor1
is much more important in the Greek temples of Asia than in
those of Europe. It is only in Asiatic temples like those of
Magnesia and Ephesus, of Miletus and Samos, that we meet
with these vast and richly decorated quadrangles. There

 

was nothing of the kind at the Parthenon, at /®gina
or at Phigalea. Whether the Ionians were directly inspired
by the oriental type, or whether they took possession of
temples built by their predecessors on the coast, as they are
supposed to have done at Ephesus, is of slight importance ;!
the great thing to remember is that in certain temples
belonging to this country, signs of Semitic influence are to
be traced even at the height of the classic period. And the
likeness was not only in the arrangement of the building.
The Ephesian Artemis was the sister of the Phoenician
Astarte, she was in fact the same nature goddess under
another name.” The two conceptions being almost identical,
is it surprising that the rites had much in common, and that
a similar community may be traced in the buildings in which
those rites were performed ?

From the artistic point of view, the temples of Phcenicia
seem far inferior to those of Egypt or Greece, but if we
remember how a practical and industrial people like the
Pheenicians, a people, too, who were fond of all that wealth
would give, must have crowded their shrines with all that
was rich and splendid, we shall understand what an impres-
sion such temples as those of Idalion and Golgos, of Amathus,
of Paphos and Cythera, must have made on the still half-
barbarous ancestors of the Greeks. The western visitors

 

‘On this question see the learned and ingenious paper, by E. Curtius,
entitled “ Beitriige zur Geschichte und Topographie Kleinasiens” (Ephesos,
Pergamon, Smyrna, Sardes). In Verbindung mit den Herrn Major Regely,
Baurath Adler, Dr. [irschfeld und Dr. Gelzer. 4to, 7 plates; Duminler
(extracted from the Proceedings of the Berlin Academy.

"Sec Ernest Curtius, Dée Grieschiche Gotterlehre von Geschichtlichen
Standpunkt, 8vo, 1875 (reprinted from vol. xxxvi. of the Preussiche
Fahrbucher).
UNTIL THE DECAF OF HALLANIC CULTUORE,

PLATE NII.

 

FRAGMENT OF ASSYRIAN WALL PAINTING, ABOUT THE NINTH CEN-
(The man has apparently dark hair and blue eyes.)

TURY B.C.

that if I commence with some account
of Art in European Greece and in
Etruria, with a short history of orna-
ment, enough of the earlier Arts will
be forced into this essay for the practi-
cal purpose that is before me and the
limited space at my disposal.
Singularly enough, both these peo-
ples probably learnt the art of writing
through the Pheenicians* or other Semi-
tic peoples ; originally perhaps for the
facilities of commerce, but afterwards
it became the medium of and _ the
foundation of the
world. As in

literature of the

literature so in Art,

 

were transported by what they saw, and cen-
turies afterwards the poetry of Greece showed
by the epithets it lavished on the fair Aphrodite
how prolonged had been the impression made
by her gorgeous sanctuaries in the East.

In his work devoted to Cyprus, Engel has
made use of this rare knowledge of ancient
literature to collect every passage in a classic
author in which there is any allusion to the
Cyprian form of worship; Movers has done the
same for Pheenicia. Collate these texts with
the figured monuments which have travelled
from Syria and Cyprus into our western mu-
seums, and you will have a bright vision of a
whole vanished world, of Byblos and Paphos
with their temples and sacred groves.”

* The theory now held by many is that, al-
though the Corinthians and European Greeks
were indebted to the Phoenicians, the Ionian
Greeks obtained their alphabet from the early

2

the Pheenicians appear to
have been one of the
agents in transmitting its
elements to the Greeks,
who perfected the work.

The early history of
mural painting in Europe
is sharply divided into
two parts. The first part
consists of elaborate his-
torical accounts of most
of the great artists and

 

PLaTE XIIIc.

PLATE XIIIa.

 

PLATE

~

IIIs.

 

PHenIciIan Ivory CARVING,
FOUND AT NIMRUD, ABOUT
THE EIGHTH CENTURY B.C.

 

of their works,
but of these
works I thinkit
is quite within
bounds to say that not one authentic
I allude to the
Greek

PHOENICIAN Ivory CARVING. (In
the British Museum.) EIGHTH
CENTURY B.C.

fragment remains.
great artists of the various
schools.

The second part consists of a con-
siderable number of pictures, principally
in Etruscan sepulchres, of which we
do not know even the artists’ names,
and the dates of the execution of
the paintings is entirely conjectural.
Amongst these latter there is no work
of the highest character; concerning
the former nothing but the records of
genius and a few fragments of moder-
ate archaic work, mostly ornamental.
It will, nevertheless, I think, be
clearly that these records of
Greek work and of Etruscan _pic-
illustrate

seen

tures, in a certain sense,
each other.

Recent discoveries have tended to
place Greek art, in the opinions of
some antiquaries, at a very much
earlier date than is generally accepted ;

but a people who were probably

 

Aramean, like the Phoenician itself, an adap-
tation of the first Egyptian hieratic. Recent
discoveries of early scripts have, however, re-
opened the whole question.
10 A SKETCH OF THE

PROGRESS OF DESIGN

 

 

PLATE NIV.

“land-tillers” in Epirus,
1500 B.C.,
from whence they cov-

as late as

ered all Greece, cannot
have had a very early
art.*

The authority of
Maspero is quoted for
the presence in Egypt
of Greeks in the eighth
century B.c., but such
Greeks could hardly
have had more to do
with art than has
Tommy Atkins — in
China or India.

painting was very fre-

 

 

From THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM,
ATHENS, EARLY PORTION OF THE
SIxTH CENTURY.

Early Greek mural
quently allied to relief such as is shown in the

archaic Egyptian work. Colour is often found on

the archaic Greek
tures. *
The necessity of satisfying

the sense of roundness to

sculp-

in other
words, of in some way sug-

the figures, or,

gesting the obviously reced-
ing lines, demanded such
relief when art was ignorant
of the means of showing
these appearances on flat

 

surfaces.

It is obviously more easy
to render roundness in mo-
delling than it is in paint-
ing. The whole process of a
sculpture modelling is sim- — S:—sssdesdhih
FIGURE DEDICATED TO HERA

BY CHERAMYES, FROM NEAR

SAMOS, EARLY SIXTH CEN-
TurY. (In the Louvre.)

 

pler and more direct. Paint-
ing in an artistic sense was

 

* The Greeks are recognised as coming from Epirus in the
fifteenth century B.c., and were settled in parts of Cyprus
not later than tooo B.c. Going still farther back, they had
previously settled on the shores of the Peloponnesus. Their
earliest home, the neighbourhood of Dodona, cannot be placed
later than 2000 B.c. The Epiroto-Macedonian settlements
are as old as the Indo-Germanic speech. Up to this period
they were still a nomadic people, but had acquired the rudi-

ments of agricultural Ilfe.
PLATE XVI. To hazard a_ further
speculation, founded on
the place-names of the
Epirus and their settle-
ments near to Dodona
(the cult of which re-
sembled that of Delphi),
they had already dwelt
much more than a hun-
dred years previously on
the Epirus.

Their speech at the
time of their wandering
into the Epirus and Ma-
cedonia —at the end of
the third thousand years
B.C. (4.e., about 2100 B.c.
probably) would be some-
what similar to that of
their _ Indo-Germanic
neighbours, and Mace-
donia and Epirus would
(dialectically) be part of
the home of the Indo-
Germanic people. It
must be remembered that

 

RELIEF FIGURE FROM THE TREA-
SURY OF CNIDUS, DELPHI.

 

the distance from Epirus to the Steppes of Southern Russia
(from whence probably they came) would be too great
for the nomads to preserve an unchanged unity of Indo-
Germanic dialect over the whole area traversed. Before
3,000 B.c. the Indo-Germanic tribes were as yet all
nomadic, hence it is to be presumed that the Greeks first
became land-tillers after they had left the Steppes of
Russia.

The historic remi-
niscences of the Epos
makes them still appear
as shepherds. They
must therefore have
become land-tillers after
their arrival in the
Epirus. See Bremer, Eth-
nogvaphte dev Germanen;
Grundviss der Germanischen
Philologie (Strasburg,
September 15, 1899), and
the various references
there given.

MM. Rayet and Collig-
non suppose that they
built towns and settled
down in them about the
tenth century (Les Cera-
migues en Groce, p. 39).

PLATE XVII.

* The Zanthus sculp-

 

i
tures were undoubtedly / i (I \
loured, and th | Mt Hi
coloured, and there are Sy ii M7
remains of colour in parts i Bi se
ELIEF FIGURE FROM THE “ Dis-
of the Parthenon sculp- PUTE OF THE TRIDENT.” (From

tures. the Treasury of Cnidus, Delphi.)
UNTIL THE DECAY OF

HELLENIC CULTURE. II

 

one of the last arts developed. The sculptures
in marble of Greek workmanship, even before
Phidias, show the surface textures of flesh and
drapery and a refinement of execution of which
we have no correlative examples in painting earlier
than the Italian schools of the fifteenth century.
It is, of course, impossible to tell the condition
of painting under the great Greek masters, but
inferences drawn from later work would not
encourage us to think that all the laudations
of the historians should be believed in our days.

The condition of the arts illustrated by the
Egyptian wall paintings on the flat, by the early
Greek vases, and by the early Etruscan paintings,
give evidence of an inability of even suggesting
roundness, or of the power of dealing with any
attitude, unless in profile.

The necessity for the following short literary
history of Greek painting is obvious. It is the
only means by which to account for the developed
condition in which we find the art of mural
painting in the later work in Etruria, in Hercula-
neum, Pompeii, Rome, and indeed, as described
by Vitruvius. This history will be as much abbre-
“viated as possible, only such quotations being
given as are necessary to deal with this develop-
ment. The ample accounts given by the nu-
merous authors upon these subjects are easily
obtained by those wishing to make any detail an
especial study, but it must be remembered that
the classical historians whose works form the
basis of these descriptions are not always to
be relied upon in their accounts of the earliest
Art”

It is difficult to fancy that the Greeks had an
invention of painting as distinct from that pre-
viously existing in Egypt, Assyria, or Phcenicia,
with which nations they had continual intercom-
munication; their art was probably a development
of the elements received from these people ; but,
even if legends of a separate invention have any
value, they relate only to an artistic progress such

 

* The principal ancient record is the 35th chapter of
Pliny’s Natural History. This has been translated and pub-
lished by Mrs. Strong. The best modern one is Brunn’s
Geschichte dev Griechischen Kunstler, v. 2.

 

as shown in even the early Egyptian work, in that
it was, if coloured, flat relief.

One of the stories so often related of the Greek
invention of drawing is as follows*: The daughter
of Dibutabes, a potter of Sicyon, living at Corinth,
observing the shadow of her lover cast by a
lampt upon the wall, traced its outline with such
accuracy that her father, admiring it, cut away
the plaster around the interior of the outline,
and baked this piece of pottery, which was said
to be in existence at the time of Mummius.

If this legend has any value, it is evidence that,
at the time it was written, even plastic form was
still without relief in Greek art, and the power
of suggesting ‘the round” was not as yet de-
veloped. Concerning painting the tale is valueless.
According to competent authorities, neither relief,
nor modelling in tone, nor perspective, nor any
sense of natural colouring, nor even composition,
otherwise than of flat masses, existed until long
after the time of the celebrated Polygnotus.

Before commencing an account of the painters, I
may premise that the absence of good examples of
mural painting? of an early date in Greece neces-

 

* Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxxv. 12, Sec. 43. The improbabilities
of this legend are manifold. Two may be given: (1) It is
one of many similar tales; (2) It is highly improbable that
a girl totally unskilled in drawing could trace the outline of
a figure well enough.

+ Xapmds a torch. ‘ Of lamps no vestige was discovered ;
in fact, I have never found a lamp even in the latest prehistoric
settlement at Hissarlik, nor in the Lydian settlement, nor at
Mycene, nor at Orchomenus; and it may be taken as certain
that, in all antiquity previous to the fifth century B.c., people
used torches, &c.’’ (Schlieman’s Tvoya, 1884, p. 145.)

+The fragments of figures from Tiryns and Mycene,
although of historical value, are of little use to the art
student. Some of the fragments of figure paintings found
at Crete appear to be like certain Mycenwan fragments,
and give an idea of a similar tradition. The design of, a
Cup-bearer from Crete, given on page 125, No. 6, of the
Monthly Review, illustrating the article by Mr. A. Evans, to
whom we are indebted for so much information concerning
Crete, has no particular quality except a certain monu-
mental air, giving the idea that it is of a superior tradi-
tion to the work itself. The drawing of the hands and
arms, and of the figure generally, are not only totally different
in character from, but are also inferior to, Egyptian work.
My own opinion is that as “ fine art” the work is of no im-
portance, but as Archzological art it is of the greatest value.
As to any question of the ascribed date (circa 1200 B.c.) or
any farther comments on the work itself, it will be well to
12 A SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF DESIGN

 

sitates on the part of the

PLATE XVIII.

people, but it never tho-

 

artist who would — study
Greek work, not only the
study of their composition in
sculpture, or bronze, but also
of the subjects and orna-
ments on the “vases.” As
far as ornamental design is
concerned, all the arts then
used the same forms, mostly
founded on some religious
signification.

Of these objects for study
there are numerous exam-

 

ples in -nearly every large museum,* and some
illustrations in nearly every work on art.

Taking it, therefore, as evident that in the reliefs
and ceramic work we get the ground-work of their
development of design and composition, some ex-
amples of the best designs are given. As these
illustrations are not from wall paintings nor con-
nected with the wall painters whose names are
given, they are described separately at the foot of
the illustrations.

It has been pointed outt that to paint and colour
are distinct expressions in ancient literature, reliefs
and statuary were often coloured, and painting was
often executed in monochrome. What we call
“design” is the foundation of both, and both illus-
trate its development.

We have already seen that drawing in outline is
of very much greater antiquity than even the Greek

 

await until the excitement of discovery has cooled down, and
further information is obtainable concerning the connections
of these early (Greek ?) schools.

* The British Museum has a splendid collection, moreover
the study of this collection in a fairly sufficient way is made
easier by the excellent guides to the departments of Egyptian
and Assyrian art, by Dr. Budge, and of the Greek and
Roman Antiquities which has been prepared under the
direction of Dr. Murray by Mr. A. H. Smith, of this depart-
ment. The study of Greek vases is made the more interesting
in that the names of the artists are often given as con-
nected with their works. Forty-two makers’ and painters’
names are thus identified. There are also more complete
catalogues by Mr. Cecil Smith, which can be borrowed of
the attendants gratuitously.

+ Article *¢ Pictura,” Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Antiquities.

 

Tue BIRTH OF ATHENE FROM THE BRAIN OF ZEUS. From a

Vase of the Sixth Century B c.

 

roughly deserved the term
drawing until they devel-
oped it. No example in
any previous ancient art ever
approached the Aphrodite
(Plate XXII.) in the Attic
style, although from Camei-
ros in Rhodes; it is ex-
quisite in its feeling for
linear beauty. Here we
have no formal line of
equal thickness such as

some schools now rigidly

 

(In the British Museum).

teach, but a certain tenderness of difference, show-
ing that the feeling guiding the hand was too
strong for mechanical mannerism.

Drawing in outline is said to have been in-
vented by Philocles or Cleanthes and developed
by Ardices of Corinth and Telephones of Sicyon.
With the knowledge that we now have of the
antiquity of both these proficiencies it is more
probable that they introduced the drawing of the
figure into their own country or improved it. Up
to a certain period only flat coloured figures with
outline and without foreshortening were painted.
The next step we read of was the modelling in
monochrome or ‘‘cameo,” as we call it, and the in-
troduction of coloured backgrounds. The favourite
colour was red. This method of decoration was not
abandoned with the advance of art, but was practised
up to the latest era. Some examples of late date
were found at Herculaneum—one had the artist’s
name signed, Alexander of Athens.—These are now
in the Museo Borbonico at Naples. The question
arises if in early monochrome art there was really
any modelling, or whether it was a light colour out-
lined on a darker one, such as in some of the
Egyptian paintings, specimens of which are in the
British Museum? Some writers suppose that the
Greek painters of the time of Cimon of Cleonz,
or even of Eumarus, modelled in tone; I think
they did not. There is a total absence of such
modelling, in the paintings in Etruria at least a
hundred years after the time of Cimon, which show
Greek influences. Evidences of any such advance
UNTIL

THE DECAY OF HELLENTC COLTURE. 13

 

are considerably later. In
the course of the chapter
it will be related how
painters progressed from
modelling in monochrome
to modelling in colour,
shadowing, perspective,
landscape, background
and perhaps chiaroscuro.

With these preliminary
remarks I will proceed to
give a slight historical ac-
count of the progress of
painting, such as is neces-
sary to my subject. With
examples of Egyptian
wall painting most artists

SIXTH CENTURY B,C.

are acquainted, and examples of a few have already
That the Assyrians had important
mural paintings is evident from the passage in
Ezekiel (c. xxiii., v. 14, 15) ; and from existing frag-
That the Phcenicians had mural paintings,
and understood the art, may be, I think, taken for
granted. Homer does not mention paintings, but
he does embroidered pictures, and it may be a
fair inference that some rude drawings for the

been given.

ments.

embroiderer or tapestry workers to work from, had
been painted.

We may suppose the Mycenzanf wall-painting to
have been executed about the ninth century B.c.
or even earlier. It has, in some details, Egyptian
characteristics. According to Pliny,t a picture was
painted in Lydia, about s.c. 717, by one Bularchus
and bought by Candaules for its weight in gold.
It represented the battle of Magnetes; this evi-

1

* «<< Lycia in the earliest ages was probably one of the most
important points from which Eastern Art was transmitted
into Greece. Lycian architects were summoned by Argive
Kings to construct the citadels of Mycenz, Argos, and
Tirynthus. The ancient worship of Apollo was carried from
Lycia to Delos, and through the Phcenicians the Lycians were
in connection with the land of the Euphrates.” (Lubke’s
History of Sculpture, p. 93, vol. i.)

+ It is impossible at present to fix the date ; some details of
the style are given in Plates LXIII., LXXVc., XC.

{ Hist. Nat., xxxv., 343 Vil., 19.

PLATE XIX.

 

BAS RELIEF FROM THE Harpy ToMB FROM XANTHUS, IN Lycia.*

(In the British Museum).

dently was a_ portable
picture, not a wall paint-
ing, and probably in the
Egyptian manner. Even
as late as about 525 B.c.,*
Cambyses took from
Thebes to Persia a num-
ber of Egyptian artists.
Considering that the Io-
nian Greeks were also
his subjects, this is in-
dicative.

In European Greece,
mural painting as a fine
art independent of relief
is supposed to have taken
some position about the
sixth century s.c. The Corinthians, Sicyonians,
Chalcidians, and some others, had by this date
achieved considerable success in some kinds of
painting, such as that of vases and furniture. |
have said mural painting as a fine art, because a
sort of decorative painting generally of an orna-
mental kind, with fragments of figures more or
less artistic, has been found in Greece at much
earlier dates, such as are in evidence in the frag-
ments found in Mycenez, Tiryns, Crete, &c.

There was also probably an Ionian school of
painting before the fall of Ionia late in the sixth
century. These paintings were either on the wall
or on heavy pieces of stone for fitting in the
wall, for when Harpagus besieged Phocea the in-
habitants removed all portable valuables to Chios,
but the paintings and cumbersome works in metal

and stene were left. One would, however, infer

 

 

* This is a sort of evidence that the Greeks in Egypt had
not yet a reputation as artists, although settled there from the
time of Psammetichus I., about 660. He became King of
Egypt, with the assistance of some Ionians and Carians who, on
a piratical expedition, were forced by stress of weather to land
and stay in Egypt. They had certain lands given to them and
were also entrusted with the care of some Egyptian children to
be taught Greek: These children grew up as interpreters.
They were afterwards settled in Memphis, but kept up com-
munication with Greece. Apries, grandson of Psammetichus,
had 30,000 Greeks in his service. When Amasis defeated
Apries at Momemphis, they were still encouraged by the victor,
and he allowed them to be established at Naucratis. The wife
of Amasis, Ladice, was a Cyrenian Greek. (See footnote, p. 18.)
14 A SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF DESIGN

 

from the circum-
stance which
I have related,
of Cambyses
choosing Egyp-
tians, that their
art was notably
the better. Sa-
mos was, a little
later on, cele-
brated for its
paintings; the
Temple of Juno
there was called,

and in a certain FROM A PART OF A KYLIX SIGNED “ PAMPHAIOS,” THE EARLY PART OF THE FIFTH CENTURY, B.C. Eumarus

sense became, a

picture gallery, on ac-
count of the quantities
of votive pictures it con-
tained. Amongst these
pictures was one of his-
toric celebrity. Man-
drocles had built a
bridge of boats for
Darius Hystaspes over
the Bosphorus, so that
the army could pass
over to attack the Scy-
thians; a picture of this
scene was dedicated in
the Hereum in B.c. 508.

At this period we
get historic names and
authentic accounts of
painting. I have al-
ready mentioned the
names and inventions
ascribed to  Philocles
of Egypt, Cleanthes
and Ardices of Cor-
inth, and Telephones
of Sicyon.

Other names are men-
tioned at an early date,
but the mere recapitu-
lation of names is un-

PLATE XX.

 

(In the British Museum.)

PLATE XXI.

 

FRAGMENT OF POTTERY PAINTED BY SOSIUS.

(The Museum, Berlin.)

PuaTeE NXNIa,

 

DANCE OF BACCHANTES, PAINTED BY THE CERAMIC PAINTER, HIERON.

(British Museum.)

 

necessary. The
infancy in the
art of painting
in Greece, and,
if the statement
is to be cred-
ited, the igno-
rance of foreign
art on the part
of the _histo-
rians, is shown
when it is
stated that
about this time
first

distinguished
the sexes in drawing.
What this distinction
could mean it is diff-
cult to understand. In
colour, in costume, and
in every way, they were
already distinguished in
Egyptian and Assyrian
art.

After Eumarus, Ci-
mon of Cleonz is the
first Greek artist of
celebrity, of whose
work we have historical
detail; there is a dif-
ference of opinion as to
the time in which he
came to Athens, but
about B.C. 550 seems
a probable period. By
some authorities the
picture of the passage
of the Bosphorus al-
ready alluded to was
by him ; he was_ pro-
bably, like Cleanthes
and Telephones, a
painter in monochrome.
Cimon is regarded as
the author of foreshort-
UNTIL THE DECAY OF HELLENIC CULTURE. 15

 

which is
incredible,
or, at least, of at-
tempting to render
his figures from a
front view, and he
gave natural de-
tails to flesh and
drapery which had
hitherto been most
conventional ;_ in-
deed, his efforts ap-
pear to have been
much the same
with regard to the

ening,
rather

infusion of life into
conventional art as
are those related
of Giotto in its
revival at a later
period. It is even supposed that the sculptors ad-
vanced by the study of his works. His fame is,
however, completely eclipsed by another early
painter, for when Polygnotus came from Thasos
to Athens and established himself at the latter
place, such was his influence that it became the
centre of the art in Greece until after the Pelopon-
nesian war. Cimon, the predecessor and sometime
antagonist of Pericles, brought him to Athens, it is

 

APHRODITE, FROM A PAINTING ON A CUP FROM CAMEIROS, RHODES. MIDDLE OF
THE FIFTH CENTURY B.C.* The whole figure is given in ‘* White Athenian
Vases” by Dr. Murray and Mr. A. H. Smith, M.A.

 

The architectural
details in Athenian
work often appear
more directly re-
sembling Assyrian
art than that of
the Peloponnesus,

es which, like the
a Etruscan, has what
one would call
Phoenician tenden-

PLATE XXII.

o

cies. This course
. of art would also
be perfectly pos-
sible, as Athens
had a corn trade
and commerce on
that route; but this
point is better il-
lustrated later on.
(See Appendix, and Plates LXV., LXXXVII., and
others.) The reader will, possibly, have seen the
fine archaic sculpture from Thasos in the Louvre.
Polygnotus has the reputation of having in Greece
placed painting in an independent position; no
longer a mere adjunct of sculpture or furniture, he
brought it to that perfection which made it the ad-
miration of his country.* He is spoken of as a
painter whose works were of high character full of ex-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 of Apollo, founded by the

supposed, after his conquest of Thasos. A current pression, as idealising his subject, and as a colourist.t
of Athenian art would Pausanias{ described
appear to have come ae his paintings in the
from Asiatic sources, SMe) eo LL LL Lesche, but it is evi-
northward, along the —>p dent that the complete
coast of the Euxine ; (a | composition of a sub-
both Cimon and Polyg- o a : ject as we now under-
notus came southward ( AL \ stand it did not then
to Attica. Polygnotus “Sh | — pee \ exist in painting,§ and
eres ide we ge i : < ee. \\ * Aristotle, Avs Poetica, c.
ae an artist Of | Ais i “ 1g 2 and oo
: Ail: RN 206 + Lucian, Imag., 7.
E eS £x., 25-31. The Lesche
* Messrs. Rayet & Col- | pr “ iad, A was a Hall of the Temple

lignon (p. 221) think the
work belongs to the cycle

J
D

 

 

 

Cnidians at Delphos.

 

of the ceramic painter, Eu-
phronios.

FUNERAL SCENE FROM A LEKYTHOS, FIFTH CENTURY B.C.

§ See Etruscan Paintings,
Plates XL. to NLVI.
16, A SKETCH OF THE

PROGRESS OF DESIGN

 

the historical accounts would perhaps mislead the
modern mind.

The figures, even of the one subject, were in
isolated groups of not more than three, and were
often named them, but the
groups were harmoniously balanced and composed
rhythmetically. An idea of such a method of
composition may be got from the Greek vase-
painting ; indeed, the artists in the vases never
seem to have got beyond it nor cared to go from
this, the proper province of Ceramic work, until
modern days.

in writing over

If there-was much colour it was flat and sym-
bolical, there was probably neither modelling nor
light and shadow. Moreover, events were more
suggested than represented. A man _ throwing
down stones from a wall was to represent the
destruction of a city.

Polygnotus conducted the paintings of all the
public buildings of Athens, and he is said, at ‘times,
to have been assisted by Micon and Paneenus.
He also painted a portrait of Elpinice, sister to
Cimon, in the subject of the Rape of Cassandra,
in the Peecile.

Of Aristophon, another painter mentioned at
this period and a brother of Polygnotus, we know
A. probable
contemporary of Polygnotus in his later years

little, except that he was a painter.

was Dionysius of Colophon,* who, according to
Aristotle, painted men “as they were” without
idealising them. Plutarch says his work was over-
wrought. He painted the same kind of subjects
as Polygnotus on a smaller scale; he also painted
portraits.

Micon also painted some subjects independently
in the Peecile.
but some of his details were criticised.
if we may judge by the
sculpture, animals received more skilful treatment,

His horses were very celebrated,
In archaic art,

and were better modelled, than the human figure.
Panzenus, at this time, was an artist of some
repute; he was a nephew of Phidias, who also
was a painter as well as a sculptor, although we
know him only by his sculpture. Panzenus painted

 

* Some have supposed Dionysius to have been earlier.

 

the accompanying work to his uncle’s Olympian
Jupiter, on the throne and the walls around
the throne.* The subjects were from the life of
Hercules, &c. Pleistzenetus, a brother of Phidias,
painted battle scenes.

Another contemporary painter, Timagoras, came
from Chalcis; he is celebrated in that he once
defeated Panzenus for a prize.

Agatharcus of Samos also came about this time
to Athens; he was the first artist to paint back-
grounds to his figures ; he was originally a scene
painter, and the introduction of scene painting ne-
cessitated some study of landscape, for which: he
appears to have had talent, but the landscape even
of much later classic days does not accord with our
idea ofthe term. These scenic backgrounds enabled
painters to combine their figures in a composition,
and not merely to place them in isolation on the
walls.

Alcibiades gave Agatharcus a commission to
paint his house ; he at first refused, pleading over-
work, but Alcibiades locked him up until he con-
sented to do it.

Agatharcus, with another artist, Democrites,
also at this time studied and used perspective.
The development in composition and in the
delineation of ethical beauty as achieved by Polyg-
notus, the technique of Micon and the additions
of backgrounds and perspective to pictures by
Agatharcus, so far had marked the progress of
art, when Apollodorus,} the Athenian, came upon
the scene; he allied all these practices in his
work with the addition of modelling in tone and
of using light and shade.

According to Pliny, who represents probably the
opinion of his day, Apollodorus was the first real
artist, and threw open the gates of painting. Some
of his works appear to have been devotional and
some of an historic character ; amongst the former

was a priest praying; amongst the latter, Ajax at

* Strabo, vili, p. 354; Pliny, cap. xxxv., &c.

+ It was principally on the works of this painter as to
whether they were painted on the wall or on panels that
MM. Letronne and Raoul Rochette disputed. See Lettres
dun Antiquaive, Gc., Paris, 1836, &c. Peintres antique, 1836.
UNTIL THE DECAY OF HELLENIC CULTURE. 17

 

sea when his ship was struck by lightning—the
effect of this lightning is said to have been well
rendered ; but let me repeat, we must not confuse

these conventional landscape effects, perhaps only

in monochrome,
with the natural-
istic backgrounds
of our own period.

All the preced-
ing painters lived
before the Pelo-
ponnesian war had
broken out, and are
classed amongst
what may be called
the first Attic
school. As a cen-
tre of art, Athens
began about this

PLATE XNIV.

Zeuxis was born in Heraclea about 450 B.c.,
which Heraclea is disputed; some consider it to
be the town in Macedonia, others that in Lucania
—this could hardly be possible if, as historians
say, that it was
not founded until

 

 

BG 238, Pe -ap-
pears at first to
have been an itin-
erant artist until
he reached Athens
and studied under
Apollodorus.
After leaving
Athens, he is said
to have lived at
Pella and at Cro-
ton, but eventually
he established him-

 

 

time to lose its su-
premacy; the long
siege of Athens
and the death of such a
patron of Art as Pericles
must have lessened its
position considerably.
Ultimately, and as artists
migrated and gathered else-
where, there developed or
revived other centres of
wall painting* such as the
Attic of Thebes, the Io-
nian, the Sicyonian or
Dorian, and others.

Before, however,
centres were developed we
find records of certain cele-
brated painters, probably
partly founders of these
schools, practising with a
developed individuality,
for example, in Ionia, in
a limited sense,
and Parrhasius, in Sicyon

these

Zeuxis

FROM THE SCULPTURE BY PHIDIAS, FORMING PART OF THE FRIEZE OF THE

PARTHENON. 448—440 B.C.

PLATE XXV.

 

Eupompus, and Timanthes in Cynthos, all nearly

contemporary with Apollodorus.

 

i Pliny, Hist, Nat., xxxv., 36.

G2

fae se Z
From THE SCULPTURE BY PHIDIAS, FORMING PART OF THE FRIEZE
IN THE BririsH MusEuM.

self at Ephesus,
(Now in the British Museum.) and wey Pale:

nised considerably
by Archelaus. He acquired
so much wealth that he re-
fused to sell his pictures,
and sometimes as a favour
presented them to friends.
From ancient writers one
would infer that his work
was more remarkable for
grace and finish than for
the high ethical character
of the art of Polygnotus.
Quintillian speaks of his
beautiful women of fine
form, so does Cicero. Lu-
cian has given a descrip-
tion of his group of “A
Centaur with Young Ones,”
from which one gathers
- that there was not only a

“er great mastery over form
ci ee and a knowledge of nature,
but also a certain sensu-
ousness of idea. In later art one finds this subject
of the Centaur family repeated, and possibly to a
certain extent these pictures may have been tradi-
tional copies of his work.
A SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF DESIGN

 

18
The inclination of a
people at a certain period 9 =SRREEEEEEEE EES
to admire, and of thir ——_—=__
ea nee

great representative artist
to depict and dwell on the
development of a subject
of so fanciful a nature is
indicative of the condition
of the period. It fore-
the attraction
which monstrosities had

shadows

for some artists, and the
popular appreciation of

    
 

PLaTe XXVI.

Helen of Croton, said to
have been studied from
the five handsomest vir-

Hep CSE ee SEEs

gins of that town, in,a
public exhibition, charg-
ing an entrance fee; this
action, in those days, was

   

considered an improper

course, and the picture
was nicknamed ‘“ The
Harlot.”

We read that the great
opponent of Zeuxis was

Parrhasius, and the legend

 

some of the pictures which
we find
times at Pompeii, and the

in much later
other cities. We may
therefore assume a lower taste was at this time
insinuating itself.

Zeuxis added dramatic effect and had a know-
ledge of all-the most advanced practices in painting.
It is, however, a continually recurring circumstance
in the history of Art that the progress of perfection
in naturalism and in details has drawn away the
artist's attention and mind from more elevated
motives, and although technical excellence is of
very great value, it is greater when it enshrines
noble ideas. The tendency is, however, with the
ordinary patron of painting to prefer technical or
mechanical skill, and to look over the excellence
of the composition and treatment of the subject
involved, or to prefer something easily understood,
pretty, or even, in the decadence of taste, de-
graded. It must be always remembered that the
artist represents his patron to a great extent.

It appears that Zeuxis not only acquired great
wealth, but that he was vain and extravagant, and

not too particular; for example, he showed his

 

*In the Appendix, p. 53, and plates LXIV.-V., it will be
observed that I have defined the palmette, with the other
features on the stele, as indicative of the rising sun, in
Egyptian Horus, in Chaldean Nebo, in Assyrian Bel. Accord-
ing to Brugsch, Horus is equivalent to Mercury. The figure
standing with uplifted hand is undoubtedly Mercury; this is a
curious coincidence. Whether the palmette on the stele
indicated the immortality of the soul is a question unsolved.
—N.H. J. W.

 

Hypnos AND THANATOS PLACING A PERSON IN THE TOMB.”

(Museum of the Archzeological Society, Athens. )

.it is recorded, often painted in monochrome.

of their competition in the
pictures of the Grapes
and of the Curtain has
been often repeated ; whatever may have been the
technical excellence of these works, it illustrates the
fact that at this time naturalism in Art was asserting
itself.

Parrhasius is said, by some authors, to have
excelled Zeuxis* in one respect, in that he added
to his power of painting the invention and dignity
of Polygnotus ; but this becomes questionable when
it is recorded that he painted obscene pictures, two
of which, it is said, were afterwards placed in the
bedchamber of Tiberias. Extremely vain, he
placed a portrait of himself as Mercury in a temple
to be adored, and loses much reputation, histori-
cally, in that he was reputed insolent and arrogant,
calling himself the Prince of Painters and a descen-
dant of Apollo. Asan artist his drawing of contour
was considered excellent, but the modelling inferior.
The charge against both Zeuxis and Parrhasius of
vanity and extravagance is curious, but they seem

to have been vices of the period, with the ordinarily
successful men.

 

* It is disputed how far Zeuxis, Parrhasius and Timanthes
developed the Art, whether they imitated the subtleties. of
tone and value in their landscape backgrounds and figures,
or whether the work was generally in monochrome. Zeuxis,
As we have no
examples to guide us and it is a question of literary value, I
must leave the reader to form his own opinion from the
various ancient accounts. The legend of the painting of the
Grapes and Curtain, if it be of any value, points to the use of
colour and all the modifications of tone. ,
UNTIL LHe DECAY OF FELLENIC CULTURE. 19

 

Parrhasius was defeated in a competition by
Timanthes of Cynthus, at Samos, the subject being
the contest of Ulysses and Ajax. Timanthes also
defeated Kolotes of Teos, in a picture representing
the “ Sacrifice of Iphigenia ;” and his resort in this
picture to the device of making Agamemnon cover
his face with his mantle is the subject of severe
criticism by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in his eighth
Academy Lecture. Some of the later paintings at
Pompeii have this sub-
ject, and are possibly
traditional copies. Flax-
man has also used this
device. Apelles and
Parrhasius were the
founders of that Ionian
school which flourished
at and after this period.
The Sicyonian or Do-
rian school was founded
principally by artists
resident at Sicyon. The
first of these was Eu-
pompus. The distin-
guishing characteristic
of this master was that
he tried to direct each
student to work from
Nature according to his
own idiosyncrasy. He
is said to have advised
Lysippas the sculptor
to study Nature rather
than tradition. This in-
fusion of more natural-
ism, therefore, marked
the rise of the school of which he was one of the
founders. The practices of this school influenced the
arts considerably, but not in all senses for the best.

We now come to the artists who flourished under
Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great.

Pamphilus of Amphipolis developed the principles
of Eupompus and established the school of Sicyon ;
he was the master of Apelles and also of Melan-
thus and Pausius. Pliny says he used his influence
so that the art of drawing was made of primary

 

PLare XXVILI.

 

 

From a CRATER. ABOUT B.C. 350. British Museum.

 

 

In the
education of his pupils who were to follow his own

importance in the education of youth.

profession he demanded ten years’ fees and ten
years’ study.

The course comprehended drawing (outline),
painting in fresco, encaustic, &c., anatomy, arith-
metic, geometry.
in sticks with wax.

He used encaustic colour made

Few of his paintings are re-
corded, but he wrote, and commenced to form the
literature of his art. At
the invitation of Philip
of Macedon, who gath-
ered a circle of culti-
vated men around him,
he went to Pella; after-
wards he was attached
to the court of Alex-

ander and went to Ma-
cedon. He next went

to visit Ptolemy. After
this he went to Rhodes
and Athens, and is said
to have died at Kos.
Many of his works have
been so well described
by Lucian that some
modern painters have
tried to recreate them
from the descriptions !
Melanthus was also
noted, like Pamphilus,
for his composition and
scientific art knowledge.
Pausius, of Sicyon,
painted effectually with
lights and shadows ; he
used encaustic principally after the manner of the
Sicyon school, and this enabled him to get stronger
effects than were to be obtained in fresco or tem-
pera. It must be remembered that in encaustic
one loses the especial beauty of fresco, to which
there is no surface equal; it is more like velvet—
encaustic more resembling satin; whereas mosaic
has a barbaric glitter suitable to large, coarse
work, wherein the more subtle parts of draw-
ing and expression are lost. It is due to the
20

 

 

 

 

 

CoMBAT OF GODS AND GIANTS, FROM A RED FIGURE VASE IN THE Louvre. Founp at MeLos, FourTH CENTURY.
(From Raygr ET COLLIGNON.)

substitution of fresco for mosaic that the great
Italian schools of the fourteenth and _ fifteenth
centuries developed.

The capacity of Pausiusis evident from the fact
that he was elected to restore some of the work of
Polygnotus, and the edile, Saurus, took some of his
pictures to Rome; he was also celebrated for his
flower painting. The Sicyon school maintained its
greatness until after the time of Aratus, when all
the others had become degenerate.

We now come to a distinct series of painters
practising in the Theban Attic school which origi-
nated in Thebes. There is related a curious regu-
lation concerning painters in Thebes. They had to
do their own portraits for the approval of a tribunal,
and if these works were considered inferior they
were heavily fined.

Nicomachus, and his younger brother Aristides,
of Thebes, were pupils of their father, Aristarcos.

Nicomachus had a reputation for facility and
He does not appear to have had great
success. On the contrary, his brother Aristides
became one of the most celebrated and wealthy
painters of his time. Mlirason of Elatea is said
to have paid him the value of about £4,000 of our
money for a Persian battle-piece. As some of his
great works found their way to Rome, it is probable

rapidity.*

 

* Plutarch, *‘ Timoloen,” 36.

 

that they had an influence in the foundation of the
Roman art. One of these exported pictures of
celebrity was eventually destroyed by a picture
restorer in Rome. This is now so common an
event over all Europe that the old warning seems
to have had no effect.

Nicias* of Athens, like many other painters of
the Sicyon school, painted in encaustic, and like
them was noted for his effects in light and shadow.

In his younger days he tinted (czvcumlitio) the
statues of Praxiteles, and when the latter was
asked which of his works he preferred, he answered
those marked by Nicias. In his mature years he
painted his “ Region of the Shades” from Homer's
Odyssey, for which Ptolemy offered him sixty
talents, but he preferred to give it to the city of
Athens. He was also celebrated for animals, but
appears to have cared, like many others in the
decadence, more how he painted than what he
painted. He was very studious and absent-
minded, and sometimes he forgot his meals. He
survived Alexander, and had a certain share ‘in

the formation of the late Hellenic school.

 

* Some, amongst them Pliny, have supposed there were
two artists named Nicias, as the events related are so
different in date and character. Only one Nicias is known
to history, but he seems to have been industrious, to have
lived to a good age and become wealthy.
ONTIL THE DECAY OF HELLENIC CULTURE. 21

 

Athenion of Maronea
died young, but Pliny

PLATE XXIX,.

probably for insertion in a
wall; it was painted for

 

 

 

 

 

 

remarks that had he lived

— =| ;-—]

Cos, and was placed in the

 

he would have been one

 

 

Saal

Temple of Aésculapius.

 

of the greatest artists.
He attempted the revival

It was afterwards remov-
ed by Augustus and car-

 

of the severe style of
the early Athenian school
with modifications.

Apelles of Cos, or of
Colophon, who studied in
the school of Epporus of
Ephesus, and afterwards
under Pamphilus, was the
artist who by his great |
talent marked the supre-
macy of this school.*

It would be absurd

—7— 99

ried to Rome, but was
so injured on the voyage
and was in such a bad
state in the time of Nero
that he had a_ copy
by a later lady painter,
‘* Dorothea,”
place it. Campaspe, the
model for this Venus, was
a beautiful slave presented
to Apelles by Alexander.

Apelles was also great

made to re-

 

 

here to attempt to give

in portraiture, and Pliny

 

anything like a complete

‘« Antigonus

 

praises his

 

 

 

 

 

account of this artist and
his works, but there is

 

on Horseback”; he also

painted portraits of Alex-

 

ample literature on the
subject; indeed,
case as in others of the
Greek artists,

in his

no single example of his work
there is therefore little artistically to de-
scribe, but as he had a great influence on the

exists ;

progress of art, it will be necessary to give a few
of the leading events of his life.

Pliny considers him to have been ¢he great
painter, but Apelles allowed that Protogenes was
his equal, excepting that he overdid his work.
Apelles also admitted that the Proportions of
Asclepiodorus were finer than his own. His
strength appears to have been in the feeling he
had for grace and refinement of execution, but he
also combined many artistic qualities with the
knowledge of how far to carry them; indeed, he
had an .union of qualities which gave him great
power, but we do not hear of any special greatness
in either quality, except his sense of grace and
beauty. His celebrated picture of ‘‘ Venus Anadyo-

mene” seems to have been painted on a panel,

 

* Libke, in his History of Avt, is of opinion that Apelles
united the Ionic and Sicyonic styles.

SouTH ITALIAN PoTTERY PAINTED UNDER GREEK INFLUENCE.
CIRCA 300 B.C.

 

ander, for one of which,
placed in the temple
of Diana at Ephesus,
he received the enormous sum of twenty talents
in gold. Apelles, strictly speaking, was not a
mural painter, nor were many of his works in-
tended for walls. A quantity are enumerated by*
various historians and poets who describe these
paintings and whose works are easily accessible
to those who wish to study the subject more.

His contest with Protogenes, of whom also I
shall have to write, as related by Pliny, is very
curious, and if of any authority shows what value
in those days was placed on drawing lines.

These competitive lines on a painted panel, or
that reputed to be the panel, existed until the
time of Augustus, but it was destroyed before
Pliny was born; he therefore only relates a tradi-
tion. That Apelles was noble in character is very
evident from his kindness and assistance to his
rival, Protogenes ; More-
over, he wrote on the Arts and added to their
literature.

he was also industrious.

 

* Plutarch, Pliny, Ovid, &c.
A SKETCH OF THE

PROGRESS OF DESIGN

 

Protogenes of Caunus, who practised at Rhodes,
and drew the lines in competition with Apelles,
appears to have been most noted for animals and
portraits; he painted, amongst others, the mother
of Aristotle, but I find no mention of his mural
work in temples and other buildings, so that,
although he was very celebrated, I need not com-
ment on his work.

Euphranor, an Isthmian, was both painter and
sculptor. He principally painted his mural* work
He painted the battle of Mantineat
(B.c. 302) for the Ceramicos at Athens.

Asclepiodorus, of Athens, is also ranked by
Plutarch amongst the best artists, as is Echion

in encaustic.

by Pliny and Cicero, and Theon of Samos by
Quintillian.
at one time worked at Alexandra, claimed also to

Antiphilus, an Egyptian Helléne, who

have been a rival of Apelles, whom he accused of
being concerned in the conspiracy of Theodotus.
Apelles was then residing at the court of Ptolemy
Philopater.
Ptolemy presented him with 100 talents, and made
Antiphilus his slave.
Ephesus and painted a portrait of Antiphilus as
Calumny in one of his pictures. The works of
Antiphilus in tempera and encaustic are spoken of,
but he seems to have been a mere painter of
effects, in which his successor Theon eclipsed him.
At this time we also hear of a female artist, Helen,
an Egyptian, daughter of Timon. She is said to
have painted a picture of the battle of Issus, the
subject, also, of the celebrated Pompeiian mosaic,
It is supposed by

Apelles having been proved innocent,

Apelles afterwards returned to

executed many years after.
Woerman} to have possibly been from the original.
At this period there appear to have been but few
eminent men engaged in historic Art outside the
school of Sicyon, which still maintained its tone
until about 220 B.c.

The names of Antiphilus and Helen, amongst

 

* JT distinguish his ‘‘ mural work’ as encaustic painting
proper cannot be applied to panels of wood—it would be
simply wax painting in such cases.

+ Pliny (cap. xxxv. 40,) tells us that he kept the bodies
light and the limbs full, characteristic of men in severe
training. These characteristics are also marked in many
Etruscan works. See plates XLIII. and on.

! Vol. i., p. 64.

 

other Egyptians, remind us that Greek Art was at
this time dominating all over the civilised world,
and that they were now reversing the ancient order
-—they were the teachers, no longer the disciples.

It is uncertain where this Egyptian centre of
Greek Art was first located, possibly at Thebes or
Naucratis, the ancient Greek colony.*

In the time of the Ptolomies Alexandria was
the great centre of Greek art. Its population was
mostly Greek.

The decline of Greek Art is considered by most
authorities to have commenced in the third cen-
tury B.C.

Happily there were exceptions to this rule of de-
cadence. Timomachus of Byzantium maintained
the ethical dignity of his art, according to some
authorities, in the time of Julius Cesar. Other
exceptions were Mydon of Soli, Nealces, Leontiscus,
and Timanthes of Sicyon, Arcesilaus, Erignonus,
and Pasias; also Heracleides, a Macedonian, who,
like Apelles, wrote on Art; principally as to
symmetry, proportion and colouring.

Landscape, as a separate art, seems to have now
developed, which is not surprising.

All the public buildings were: ordinarily painted,
but nearly all demands for the higher styles seem to
have waned.

It is not necessary to detail in any way the
decay of Art in Greece,—it will be evident on the
examination of the few illustrations given hereafter.
Caricatures—obscene pictures, genre—and still life
There are a multitude of
examples of such works at Pompeii, many probably
by Greek and Egypto-Greek artists.

were becoming common.

 

* «He (Amasis, 571 B.c.) gave great encouragement to
foreigners who were willing to trade with his subjects. Such
Greeks as wished to maintain a regular communication with
Egypt he permitted to have a settlement at Naucratis; and
to others who did not require a fixed residence, being only
engaged in occasional commerce, he assigned certain places for
the construction of Altars and the performance of religious
rites, and the Greeks, says Herodotus (ii. 178), still possess a
spacious and celebrated Temple in Egypt, called Hellenium.
It was built at the expense of the Ionians of Chios, Teos,
Phoczea and Clazomenz, of the Dorians of Rhodes, Cnidus,
Halicarnassus, and Phaselis; and the A€olians of Mitylene.
Naucratis soon became a flourishing town in consequence of
the exclusive privileges it enjoyed, being the sole emporium
of the Greeks in Egypt.” (Wilkinson, vol. i., p. 123.)
UNTIL THE DECAY OF HELLENIC CULTURE. 23

 

Pereaiicus achieved distinction in the better work
of the above class of art—called “‘ Rhyparagraphos ”
(toy picture painting).

Painting was now practised with facility and in
all discovered ways, there were plenty of painters,
but few great artists. Artists were now too plen-
tiful in Greece, and emigrated, seeking a means of
livelihood elsewhere. Greek works of art also be-
came the subjects of exportation and plunder for
nearly two hundred years.* Of the immense num-

*It was the fashion to speak of the inimitable works
of the great masters. Ptolemy Soter employed agents
to purchase celebrated Greek pictures, Aratus bought old
pictures, especially those of Apelles and Melanthus, and sent
them to Ptolemy. The exportation of Greek pictures and

 

ber known to have then existed, there is not an
authentic example of fine Greek painting remaining,
unless it be allied to pottery. It will now be ne-
cessary to return historically to archaic painting in
another part of Europe, in order to review the pro-
gress that has been made in Italy during the same
period that has been, in this chapter, reviewed
concerning Greece. The two chapters will then
form an introduction to the later works in Italy

and Rome.

 

statuary went on for 200 years, yet according to Nurcianus,
quoted by Pliny, Rhodes yet contained 3,000 statues, and
there were still as many at Athens, Olympia and at Delphi.
(Wornum’s History of Painting, page 61.)

PLATE XXX.

 

Tue PALAcE or HApgEs. (PLUTO AND PERSEPHONE ARE SEATED
IN THE CENTRE.) GREEK ART OF SOUTH ITALIAN PRODUCTION
FROM CANOVA. (In the Pinacothek, Munich.)
24

PLATE

THE FRANCOIS VASE.

 

XXXL.

(From RaveT ET COLLIGNON.)

Inscriptions record that it was made by ERGoTImus, and painted by Cirius..

CHAPTER II.
ETRUSCAN MURAL PAINTING.

Etruscan Patntinc. VE. GROTTA DELLE LASTRE DIPINTE, C&RE (CERVETRI). TarQuinit (CORNETO) ;

GROTTA DELLE INCRIZIONI; GROTTA DEL TRICLINIO; GROTTA DEI VASI DIPINTI.
GROTTA DELLA ScimiA, TOMBA DEL COLLE CASUCCINI.
TomMBA DETTA “DI FRANCESCO,” GROTTA DELL’ ORCA.

FROM PERUGIA.

HE unfortunate fact that the literary history of
painting in Greece remains unillustrated by
any of its greatest Art, is balanced in Etruria by the
equally unfortunate circumstance that we have paint-
ings, many of them of considerable size and im-
portance, without knowing their exact period, or the
names of the painters who did them. To the litera-
ture of Art, Etruscan wall painting is almost a new
thing ; some very important discoveries are com-
paratively recent. We knew of these people and
of their Art* work in some ways from the classic
authors, from other peoples and in other languages,
but from themselves we have no historic account.
Up to the day on which I am writing, the
Etruscan is almost an unknown tongue. A few

 

* Pliny cites Varro to the effect that under the Kings the
Etruscans decorated the Roman temple before Greeks were

employed there.

 

Curusr (CLustum) ;
Vuutcri, THe Francois Toms. Cornero,
Orvieto, Tompa GoLint. SARCOPHAGUS

years since its alphabet was deciphered and some-
thing is now known of its origin, but Etruscan
literature does not exist. In Etruria we have
mostly the language of Art; the whole of which
Art, not only in wall painting, but in bronzes,
mirrors and terra cotta, is remarkably interesting.
It is impossible here to give even an outline of it.
There is, however, in English, the valuable work of
Mr. Dennis,* who, although on many points out
of date, is a most painstaking writer on Etruria.
His book should be read by everyone interested in
the whole subject and its controversies. Some idea
of the importance of the people may be gathered
from the ancient geographical area of the country.
The extent of the Etruscan dominions, according to
some authorities, reached, at one time, from Lom-

 

* The Cities and Cemeteries of Etvuria. 2 vols. 1878. Murray,
London.
ETRUSCAN. 25

 

bardy to the Alps* on one hand, to Vesuvius and the
Gulf of Salerno on the other; and from the Tyrrhene
to the Adriatic Sea, with the large islands off her
Western shores, |

‘‘Such seems to have been the extent of Etruria
in the time of Tarquinius Priscus,{ when she gave a
Dynasty to Rome, probably as to a conquered city.”
At any rate, the right bank of the Tiber was
ceded to them, and Rome gave up her arms, so that
both banks of the Tiber were practically Etruscan.
Before this for many years there had been a Tuscan
quarter at the base of the Palatine. The time,
however, came when her Latin neighbours turned
the tables upon her.

Her first decisive naval reverse was in the battle
of Kymé (Cumz), wherein her maritime preponder-
ance was destroyed by Hiero in 474 B.c.

Camillus (B.c. 396) reduced Veii ; Fabius Maximus
utterly defeated them (B.c. 311); then came at-
tacks from the Gallic Celts. This, and the battles
of the Vadmonian Lake, crippled their land power.
At sea and on land, the Romans and Samnites
seized possessions, central and south.

So far were the Etrusci disorganised that in the
third century B.c. appeal was made to Rome to sup-
Their
luxury and debauchery about this time offended even
the Greeks, if that is any criterion of its extremity.

port the Government against the people.

The modern mind may not lay so much stress on

 

*In Tuscorum jure pene omnis Italia fuerat (Serv. ad Virg.,
“En. xi. 567). Usque ad Alpes tenuere (Liv. loc. cet.) Polybius,
ii. 17; Diodorus Siculus, xiv., p. 321, ed. Rhod. Scylax, Peri-
plus, cited by Miiller, Etrusk, einl., 3, 9; Justin xx., 5. Catullus
(xxxi., 13) cails the Benacus, now the Lago di Garda, Lydian,
therefore an Etruscan lake (Etruria, vol. i., p. 28).

+ We learn from a fragment of a speech by the Emperor
Claudius, on a bronze tablet found at Lyon, that Masterna
was the Etruscan name of Servius Tullius, who by Roman
annals was born of a slave Ocresia; and by the Etruscan
annals was the faithful companion of Coeles Viberma, and the
sharer of all his fortunes. When that Etruscan chief was
driven from his native land he brought the remains of his
army to Rome, where they occupied the mount which from
him was called the Coelian. Masterna accompanied him,
changed his name to Servius Tullius, and eventually obtained
the royal dignity as successor to Tarquinius Priscus. Claudius
wrote the history of Etruria in twenty books; they are now
lost (Etvuvia, vol. ii., p. 506).

4

 

 

this—when London abuses Paris or Vienna, and
when New York criticises London!
Sulla

gave their lands away to his soldiers, so did

The Etruscans were at last disinherited.

Julius Cesar and Augustus, and thus, the example
being followed, came the absorption of Etruria into
the Roman Empire. We must not forget that, as
our object in this work is to show the relationship
and parentage of the Etruscan to Greek, Roman,
and even Christian Art, some historical and other
details are necessary, but there is a vast volume of
controversy on the subjects of history, language,
religion,* &c., which cannot possibly be even sum-
marily dealt with here.

Concerning the people, the following account is
also from Mr. Dennis’ book: ‘ All history concurs
in representing the earliest occupants of the country
to have been ‘ Siculi,’ or ‘Umbri,’ two of the most
ancient races of Italy, little removed from barba-
rians though not nomads, but dwelling in towns.
Then a people of Greekt race from Thessaly,
the Pelasgi, entered Italy at the head of the
Adriatic, and crossing the Apennines, and allying
themselves with the aborigines or mountaineers,
took possession of Etruria, driving out the earlier
inhabitants, raising towns and fortifying them with
mighty walls; they long ruled supreme till they were
in turn conquered by a third race, called by the
Greeks Tyrrheni or Tyrseni, and by the Romans

Etrusci, Tusci, or Thusci, and by themselves

 

* « Not to mention minor analogies, there is one of so
striking a character as satisfactorily to prove, not a descent
from Abraham, but an intercourse more or less direct with the
Hebrews, and at least an oriental origin. It is in the cos-
mogony of the Etruscans, who are said, on the authority of
one of their own historians, to have believed that the Creator
spent 12,000 years in his operations, 6,000 of which were as-
signed to the work of creation, and as many to the duration of
the world. In the first thousand he made heaven and earth.
In the second, the apparent firmament, and called it Heaven.
In the third, the sea and all the waters which are in the earth.
In the fourth, the Great Lights—sun, moon, and stars. In
the fifth, every soul of birds, reptiles, and four-footed animals,
in the air, earth and waters. At the end of the sixth, man.
(Suidas, sub voce.) To say that we recognise here a blending of
Etruscan doctrines with the Mosaic account of the Creation,
as Miller (iii., 2, 7) observes, does not make the analogy less
remarkable.” (Etruria, footnote to p. 39, vol. i.)

| It is questioned if the Pelasgi were a Greek race.
26 ETRUSCAN.

 

Rasena, who are supposed to have established
their power in the land about 1044 B.c., or even
earlier.”*

Concerning the Etruscans proper, we are on
very controversial ground. I believe the ancient
writers with one exception, that of Dionysius of
Halicarnassus, call them Lydians. Modern authori-

ties generally take a different view. Mommsen

rejected the Lydian origin of the Etruscans and —

their identity with the “ Pelasgi,” or the Tyrrheni
pirates of the AEgean Seas, with whom they had
nothing in common. He maintained that there are
Aryan elements in the language, and that the
earliest inhabitants in the Rhoetian Alps spoke
Etruscan in historic times, adding that those who
follow Herodotus, both ancient and modern writers,
are mistaken in the account of their origin. The
ancient idea partly arose from the resemblance of
the Lydian ‘“Torrhebi” to Tursenni, Etruscans,
and called by the Greeks “ Tyrrheni, or Tyrseni” ;
in Umbrian, “ Tursci.” I have already said they
called themselves ‘‘ Rasenes,” and are considered
by Dionysius of Halicarnassus ‘“‘ autochthons”; at
least, they claimed relationship with no other
people. Niebuhr supposes them to have emigrated
from the Rhoetian Alps.
affinities in what little is known of the language.
Humboldt finds a Basque resemblance, whilst Lep-
sius has another theory. Mr. Dennis, who advo-
cates the Lydian theory, sums up the position by
saying :

‘It would take too long to record all the opinions
and shades of opinion held on this intricate subject.
Suffice it to say that the origin of the Etruscan has
been assigned to the Greeks, to the Egyptians, the
Pheenicians, the Canaanites, the Libyans, the Tar-
tars, the Armenians, the Cantabrians or the Basques,
the Goths, the Celts—an old theory revived in our
days by Sir William Bentham, who fraternises them

Miller suggests Lydian

with the Irish; and to the Hyksos, or Shepherd

Kings of Egypt.”

“1 know not if they have been taken for the lost
Ten Tribes of Israel, but certes a pretty theory might
be set up to that effect, and supported by arguments

 

* Etvuria, vol. i., p. 34.

 

which would appear all cogent to everyone who
swears by Coningsby.” *

Within the last year or two, I believe, foreign
philologists have settled that the language has
strong affinities to a dialect used in the Caucasus.
There seems to be absolute identity concerning the
numerals, but there is no resemblance to any other
European, Asiatic, or African family of languages.t
Concerning their combats with the Latins at a very
early date, two bands of Etruscans are said to have
seized on the Coelian Hills and settled there, and
there is a tradition that Mezentius of Ccere (Cer-
vetri) imposed a tax on the wine of Latium. At
its zenith the sea-power of Etruria was very great,
and at times, and from certain ports, piratical.

 

* Herodotus, Plutarch, Lycophron, Dionysius of Hali-
carnassus, Cicero, Pliny, Seneca, Valerius Maximus, Tacitus,
and numerous other ancient writers, discuss the question; all
say they were Lydians except Dionysius Siculus. Niebuhr,
Miller, Lepsius, Mommsen and Murray, &c., amongst the
moderns, differ considerably in opinion, but are generally
against the Lydian origin. Mr. Dennis, on the other hand,
is strongly in its favour. (See Etruria, vol. i., pp. 44, 45, &c.)

+ The most recent and best article on the language is by
Professor Vilhelm Thomsen in Oversigt over det Kongelige danske
Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger, 1899.

¢ Claudius Czesar was considerably interested in Etruria,
and wrote its history in twenty books, which are lost. One
of the most interesting clues to Etruscan philology is gathered
from a fragment of one of his speeches. (See also footnote,
p. 25, and Etruria, vol. ii., p. 506.) The records of Etruscan
literature, both religious, historical and dramatic, are
numerous in classic authors. Mr. Dennis quotes the
name of Vegoja, a fragment of whose history is extant
(Miler, iv., 3, 5, 7, 8), and of Volnius, a writer of trage-
dies. He also quotes Diodorus Siculus (pp. 295, 300, 316),
and Strabo (v., p. 222), as to their skill. They rivalled the
Pheenicians in enterprise, founding colonies in the islands of
the Tyrrhene Sea, and even on the coast of Spain, where
Tarrasco, now Tarragona (in whose name we recognise that
of Tarchon), appears to have been one of their settlements
(Auson, fist. xxiv., 88), a tradition confirmed by its ancient
fortifications (Miller, Etvusk., i., 4,6; and Abehen Mittelitalien,
p. 129). Nay, the Etruscans would fain have colonised the
“far island of the blest,” in the Atlantic Ocean, probably
Madeira or one of the Canaries, had not the Carthaginians
opposed them (Diodorus Siculus, v., p. 300). It was this
mutual spirit of maritime enterprise that led to a treaty
between Carthage and Etruria, which probably defined the
limits of each people’s commerce (Avistot. Polit., cxi., 9).
The naval greatness of Etruria is symbolised on her coins,
a common device on which is the prow of a ship, or forum,
copied on those of early Rome long before that city had a
fleet or had achieved a naval triumph. Ovid (Fast., i., 229)
assigns a very different origin to the prow on Roman coins,
but he relates the vulgar tradition.
THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN. oF

 

In the middle of the sixth century B.c., they had a
gold and silver coinage. Like the Phcenicians, and
even like ourselves, they had the advantage of
intercourse by sea everywhere ; for their celebrated
bronzes they got copper from Volateriz and Cam-
pania, silver for coins, &c., from Populoria, iron
from Elthalia, amber from the Baltic, precious
stones from the East.

In architecture they were the first who used the
round arch in Europe, and their success in tunnel-
ling enabled them to drain their malarious districts
in a way that stands as an example to modern
Italy.

We were some few years since in the habit of
speaking of the beautiful vases found in Etruria
generally as Etruscan. This is often a misnomer.
Many of the beautiful ceramics found in their

tombs (of which the British Museum has such

 

Of the relations of Etruria with Egypt in very early times
her sepulchres have yielded abundant proofs. But these
relations were not always commercial, or of a friendly cha-
racter. It is recorded in hieroglyphics on the great Temple
of Karnak that, as early as the fourteenth century B.c., the
Etruscans (Tourshas) invaded Egypt, occupied a portion of
it, and even threatened Memphis; but being defeated by
Meneptah I., of the nineteenth dynasty, 742 of them were
slain, and 890 hands were cut off by the Egyptians (De
Rougé, Revue Arch., 1867, pp. 35-45, 80-103). That Etruria
had common relations with the Far East, whether direct
or indirect we cannot say, is proved by the discovery in
a tomb at Vulci of a shell engraved with very archaic
winged figures, which shell has been pronounced by con-
chologists to be of a species found only in the remote India
seas, and chiefly in the waters of Japan (Bulletin Inst., 1848,
p- 59). It is evident that Etruria had also an extensive
commerce by land, for bronzes which are recognised as
Etruscan have been found in many countries north of the
Alps from Switzerland to Denmark, and from Ireland to Hun-
gary. All are, in the general learned opinion, Etruscan. (See
Dennis, footnote, pp. 1xi.-lxxviii., vol. i.)

Sir Gardiner Wilkinson (vol. i., pp. 187 and 245-6) gives a
picture of the allies of the Egyptians under Rameses II.
(Sesostris) ; there are Shairetana (Sardinians), Tursha (Etru-
rians), Washasha (Oscana), Taananna (Danai). There is also
a paragraph by Mr. Birch, quoting the authority of Chabas
(Etudes suv Vantigquité historique, pp. 295, et seq.) on this point.
He writes that Rameses II. had a contingent of Shairetana
(Sardinians). He thinks this means the people of what we
now call Italy generally—Etruscans, Oscans, &c., and one
of the Pelasgic races (Egyptians, vol.i., p. 189). The Etrus-
cans once held Corsica, and, according to Strabo, Sardinia.
In another picture in Sir G. Wilkinson’s book the Sardinians
are represented as enemies, and wear a horned helmet
(kataityx) of a very early form showing a custom after-
wards introduced by the Greeks.

 

splendid examples) were of Greek origin. These
are probably well known to the reader, and some of
the illustrations in the previous chapter were taken
from them. There is a profuse literature on the
subject.

Having so far given the dates of certain events
and the then conditions of the people, we will try
and illustrate the effect these conditions had on the
art of wall painting from the archaic period until
the art, like the people, was practically Roman.

Most of the paintings are in the Tombs, for all
other Etruscan mural painting is lost; they have
religious significance, and it may at first surprise the
uninformed reader to know that boxing, horse and
chariot racing, and other athletic sports, have a
claim to be “religious art.”* It does not appear
that the knowledge of their religiont is sufficiently
understood so that a clear and consequential ac-
count of it can be given; therefore, although this
religious question often concerns the representation
of subjects, I shall not, except in the slightest way,
discuss it.

Of course these tomb pictures can be no more
reckoned as the best Etruscan work than the
paintings at Pompeii can be considered the best
Greco-Roman work.

This prelude is already long enough, and it is
time to commence a description of the paintings,

_ which appear to pass through three influences,

first the Phcenician, second the Grecian, and
third, when it merges into that called Roman,
gradually developing from one into the other as

each influence predominated.

THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN.

The first illustration, that which is supposed to
be the earliest European wall-picture in existence in
Europe, was found in the Grotta Campana, Veii, the
city of the Veientes, who once were a terror even

The paintings were (Plate XXXII.)

to Rome.{

 

* See footnote, pp. 34-5.

+ Dennis gives a long article on the religious question,
pp. 53-61, vol. i., Etruria. See also footnote, p. 25.

t Of all the cities of Etruria, none takes so prominent a
place in history as Veii. One of the earliest, nearest, and
unquestionably the most formidable of the foes of Rome—
 

28 THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN.

 

PLateE XXXII.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MuRAL PAINTING IN THE ‘*GROTTA CAMPANA,” VEII.
(The dotted portions, indicating the decayed portions, were sketched from Engravings.)

PLATE XXXIII.

 

 

THE GODS AT THE MARRIAGE OF PELEUS AND THETIS.
(From the Francois Vase.) See Plate XX XI.

PLate XXNIV.

 

 

  
 
 

 

 

 

 

NEES

“h
Sy}

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHIMERA, AND PROCESSION, FROM THE SHELL FOUND IN THE TompB av Vutcr. (British Museum.
?

See footnote, p. 31.
THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN.

29

 

discovered by the Mar-
quis Campana in 1842.
The reader is already
aware that the exact
period at which any of
the paintings illustrated
in this
done cannot be authen-

chapter were

ticated by documents,
but their
seems to be an evi-
dence of the truth of
the statements of cer-

discovery

tain ancient authors,
such as Pliny,* as to the antiquity
of Etruscan mural work. Their
date is entirely a question of ex-
pert opinion gathered from foreign
histories, the comparative appear-
ance of the works themselves, and
the character of their surroundings.
These illustrations from Veii are
from an inner entrance, two being
on either of a doorway.

What the scenes are

side
intended to
represent I have not ascertained,

 

for nearly four centuries her rival in mili-
tary power, her instructress in civilisation
and the arts, the southern bulwark of.
Etruria, the richest city of that land, the
Troy of Italy—Veii excites our interest as
much by the length of the struggle she
maintained, and by the romantic legends
attending her overthrow, as by the inti-
mate connection of her history with Rome’s
earliest and most spirit-stirring days.
Such was her greatness, such her magnificence,
that, even after her conquest, Veii disputed with
the city of Romulus for metropolitan honours ;
and, but for the eloquence of Camillus, would
have arisen, as Roma Nova, to be mistress of
the world.! Yet in the time of Augustus we
are told that the city was a desolation,’ and a
century later its very site is said to have been
forgotten.’ Though re-colonised under the Em-
pire, it soon again fell into utter decay, and for
ages Veii was blotted from the map of Italy.
(Dennis, vol. i., chap. i., p. I.)

 

* Pliny says painting was established ¢hrough-
out Italy in the time of Tarquinius Priscus. This
would argue its establishment at certain cen-
tres at a much earlier date. He mentions

' Liv., ve, 51, 55- ? Propert., iv., Eleg. x., 29.
3 Florus, i., 12.

PLATE XXXV.

even if anyone knows.
The first subject, on
the upper left-hand side

 

ATHENS.

(In the Louvre.)

PLATE XXXVII.

 

APOLLO AND ARTEMIS, FROM AN AMPHORA FOUND AT MELOS, NOW AT

 

PHNICIAN PALMETTE AND GRYPHON, FROM
AN ALABASTER SLAB FOUND AT ARVAD
(ARADUS).

 

GOLDSMITH’s WORK, FOUND AT

THARROS, SARDINIA.
the British Museum.)

(Now in

of the doorway, repre-
sents a boy on horse-
back; the
behind him is the usua.
Phcenician tree and pal-
mette. The second il-
lustration, on the upper
right-hand side, con-
tains a spotted horse

ornament

with a young rider and
a panther on its back,
led by a man, a sort of Etruscan
Char6én, with a hammer or hatchet.
The horses have that very leggy
to
Pheenician pottery, and appear to

characteristic common early

have been very overworked ; but

as the Etruscans were great *
horse-racers, they may be ‘‘over-
trained.” The third illustration

appears to be that of a lioness
with cubs. The fourth is equally
singular, and appears to be a

 

work at Ccere, and Lanuvium (see Plates
XXXIX. et seq., and the Appendix); also
in the Temple of Juno at Ardea. The
painter’s name is thought to be “‘Cleoetus.”
(Hist. Nat., xxxv., 6).

Strabo (xviii., p. 806), who was personally
acquainted with the antiquities of the re-
spective lands, remarks the resemblance
between the sculptured works of Egypt,
Etruria and early Greece (Etruria, xi., p. 6).
Some antiquaries observe that the rigid style in
all these is not so much the resort of Art as the
want of Art. I differ. Art progressing amongst
peoples would be somewhat like its growth in the
individual in commencing to learn: very loose at
first. Rigidity I take to be more the evidence
of a decline than of a rising in Art, and its being
the usual concomitant of archaism often arises
from the revived form of a decayed state. (1) Ex-
perimental art, loose; (2) a free practice arising
from experience; (3) the age of the professor—
rules, canons, and rigidity. Hence in the decline
of Art in a certain epoch, and its commencement
in another, where it has discontinued, the rigid.
For these reasons it has sometimes struck me
that the hieratic, measured work of Egypt was
an art declining from some previous greatness
and civilisation.

* See pp. 34-5, 0n Racehorse at Tarquinii, &c.
30 THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN.

subject wherein a leopard supports the tail of a
sphinx.

Mr. Dennis suggests that the whole has a
symbolic import regarding the passage from this
life; the little boy representing the soul carried
forth by the horse, guarded by the panther, a
figurative guardian of the dead in Etruscan art.
The same subject is treated in the same way on the
engraved shell from which Plate XXXIV. is drawn.
The idea of horses, and even
of chariots with horses, as
vehicles of the dead is not
uncommon in Phoenician or
other semitic Art.*

Dr. Helbig finds in these
works the influence of Greek
archaic art! Dr. Brunn does
not see this Greek archaism,
but he thinks them the oldest
discovered Etruscan work, and
Campana even goes so far as
to place it coeval with the foun-
dation of Rome, but of such bad
art as to deceive the antiquary.
It must be remembered that
these opinions were made years
ago, and’ were quoted by Mr.
Dennis long before the dis-
coveries of recent years had
thrown so much light on Phe-
nician and Greek Art and their
relative influence on Etruscan
work.

The illustrations} of the Veit
paintings in Mr. Dennis’ work
are most unsatisfactory and
misleading, some of the most
important indications of style being omitted or so
ill-rendered as to be valueless. These indications
assume importance when one considers that the

 

* Both the horse and the chariot were funereal emblems
with some nations. Even the Jewish Scriptures speak of “the
chariot of the Lord and the horsemen thereof.” (See Perrot
and Chipiez, vol. i., fig. 145; vol. ii., fig. 117, &c.)

{+ The same illustrations, with the same misleading charac-
teristics, are given in Mr. Birch’s pottery, and in Martha,
“Dart etrusque.”

 

PLatre XNXXVIII.

 

CERVETRI (C.FRE). it ; shells

 

ornament in the first subject is the well-known
Phoenician palmette* (see Plates XXXVI-VIL.),
and that the ornament surmounting the subjects
has that Egypto-Assyrian character which it is
highly probable that the Phoenicians introduced
both to the Etruscans and to the Greeks.

The lioness in the third picture, and the sphinx
in the fourth panel, appear to have every indication
These characteristics
are also identical with those
in the engraving on the shell
from Vulci (Plate XXXIV.).
The horse is exactly to the
same pattern in shape of head,
drawing of the mane, and his
tiny rider, as those on the
shells, Some of these cha-
racteristics are also in the
pottery from Melos, but the
palmette differs and has the
volute turned outwards (Plate
XXXV.). That from Veii fol-
lows the Pheenician in all
Now when we find
here all the principal charac-
teristics of the design common
in Pheenician art, surely it is
fair to say that the major in-
fluence is Phoenician. +

Some of the work found at
Vulci has Greek letters, but
there is no evidence that it is
the artist’s signature ; it is not
unlikely to be the name of a
person at one time possessing

of the same characteristics.

details.

and jewels, pot-

tery and bronze, may be im-
ported, but we have all the characteristics for
which they are remarkable in a painting which
must have been done on the spot. This would
argue in favour of the existence of a Phe-
nician establishment in the vicinity. Phoenician
artisans and designers would at this time be the

 

* For the palmette see Appendix, Plates LXIV.,, V., VI.
| See Appendix, p. 53.
THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN. 31

 

leading men, but it is most probable that Etrus-
cans, and possibly even some Greeks, worked
with them. Hence the foundation of an Etruscan
school, originally Asiatic, with Eastern, and later on
Etrusco-Hellenic* proclivities. There is nothing
_ remarkably inventive in the work, such as we
might expect from the Greek mind.t The general
inference is that the paintings may be as early
as 700 B.c.; they therefore precede any known de-
cent figure-painting on ceramic work. This work
precedes the advent of the Corinthian potters,
although some of the details, such as the curling
wing, are common in Corinthian Art, but they are
also common to Asiatic Art at an earlier date, so
that the Corintho-Phcenician details were here fore-
stalled. (Plates XCIV.-CV., and Appendix.) The
colours are of the simplest kind—black, yellow and
red; one may suppose the ordinary earth colours
commonly used for mural painting. The animals
and flowers are often parti-coloured of these, and
the spotty ornaments which will also be found in
subsequent pictures as a common detail of Etruscan
decoration.

The next illustrations (Plates XXXIX., XL.,
XLI.) are from large painted ceramic slabs once
in the Grotta delle Lastre dipinte at Cervetri
(Aquila or Cere). When Mr. Dennis saw these
slabs they were in the Palazzo Ruspoli at Cervetri,
and for sale; they are now amongst the treasures
of the British Museum, so that they are handy
for anyone near London to study.

They were arranged as I have placed them,
excepting that a sphinx (Plate XXXVIII.) was
placed at either end of the procession of figures.
What the subject represents is again matter of
doubt, but I cannot realise the speculations of
M. de Brizio that it in any way represents a love
scene, and his interpretation seems forced. Mr.

 

* See p. 38 and on. :

+ In the find at Vulci there were objects of foreign manu-
facture, some quasi-forgeries, a scarab of Psammetichos I.
The presence of foreign objects would only be evidence of
what is well known, the importation of Egyptian wares by
Pheenicians; this they had practised for centuries, and
the Greeks apparently imitated them. These wares would
probably be sold at a local emporium, with objects of local
manufacture, for sepulchral purposes.

 

Dennis, in his description, makes two or three
mistakes. For example, he speaks of the men
wearing buskins, whereas I do not think they are
men, but women, and a woman carries the wreath,
not a man.

barefooted,

It is singular that the men are
and both seem to be
religious persons of some kind; one, perhaps a
priest ‘of Apis, carries an emblem, a bull on a
rod. This emblem is perhaps the best-drawn detail
of the picture.
or reed ;* possibly these are, with the spear and
wreath, all emblematic of the deceased persons’

priests or

The other man carries a branch

 

* T have quoted from Lenormant a passage concerning the
characteristics of Silik-mulu-Khi, whose emblem is a reed. If
it be intended for that deity, it is possible that the reed on
the altar from Hagiar Kim, Malta,! has also some connection
with his cult; if so, we get a coincidence in Accadian, Phoeni-
cian and Etruscan religion. It must be considered also with
the bull, and the figures carrying pomegranate branches, both
common in the Assyrian sculptures.

“They imagined, therefore, a god specially charged with
the office of mediator between man and Hea, who does not
appear to correspond with any
phenomena of nature, and who
had no other office but that of
mediator. This was Silik-mulu-
Khi, whose name means ‘‘He
who distributes good amongst
men.’® He says, according to
one hymn :*

“T am he who walks before
Hea, I am the warrior, the eld-
est son of Hea, his messenger.”

“The insignia of his office was
a reed, which took the place both
of the royal sceptre and of the
magical wand, and which was
transmitted later to Marduk of
Babylon, as a consequence of
the assimilation by which he

‘ obtained the attributes of Silik-

AN ALTAR FROM HaciaR KimM, mulu-Khi. A magical formula’

MAETA: WEEE B, IREED: describes the divine sceptre it-
self, and assigns the following words to it” :—

‘Golden reed, great reed, tall reeds of the marshes, sacred

bed of the gods,

PLATE XXXIXa.

 

I am the messenger of Silik-mulu-Khi,
Who cause all to grow young again.”
This formula seems, however, to identify it with the reed
of the utensil resembling the avant, the reed which serves to
kindle the sacred fire, because, after the words supposed to

' See also Hagiar Kim, Plate LXXVF.
2 His name sometimes has variations, of which we cannot understand the
sense, such as Silik-mulu-Rhi. We may notice that of Silik Ruru, meaning

‘he who arranges the good omen.”
3W. A., iv., 30, 3- 1W.A., i, iv., 6 col. 5.
32 THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN,

 

PLATE XXXIX.

 

PLate XL.

PLATE XLI.

 

deeds or offices.
carrying the bull and wearing the petasus, if such it

It is very singular that the man

may be called, appears to be blessing in the Latin
manner. The shape of the petasus is also exactly
like that given in the thirteenth century to pro-
phets,* also he wears his pallium, or toga, in such
a way that it appears like a medieval chasuble.
There are other curious resemblances to medizval
art in two of the same figures; they are treated
like the Christian Byzantine or mediaeval myrrha-
phores, and are carrying vases for anointing. These
myrrhaphores are really unction bearers, apparently
with ‘‘alabastoi,” one white, the other dark. They
are veiled with the pallium or shawl over their
heads.
dence of the transition and survival of certain
features that I am constrained to notice them.
Before the women, arms akimbo, with large

So curious is this similarity and the evi-

 

be spoken by the divine attribute, the invocator says in his
own name :—
‘‘ May the god of the house be installed in the house!
May the favourable demon, the favourable god, enter the
house !
The wicked demon, the wicked (Alad), the wicked Gigim,
The wicked Telal (the wicked god), the wicked Naskim,
The phantom, the spectre, the vampire,
Spirit of the heavens, conjure them !
Spirit of the earth, conjure it!”
(Chaldean Magic and Sorcery, by Lenormant, p. 190.)
* Vide History of Design in Painted Glass, vol.i., pp. 56, 69.

 

 

bracelets apparently of bronze, or stone of a dark
green colour, advances a young and evidently, in
the intention of the painter, a handsome woman,
perhaps a dancer in some rite to be performed.
Behind these three there trots along a little maid
carrying another offering; her dress is short and
These all
Going left, towards the men
whom I have called priests, are three women; the

apparently intended to be transparent.
go towards the right.

first, dressed like the leader on the other side, carries
a spear and wreath; the next two* have short
dresses, and top boots of the regular archaic pat-
tern. They carry pomegranates,f drawn after the
Asiatic manner. All the hair is worn long, except
that of the men and the young maid, but it has a
wig-like resemblance. There is a characteristic
difference, rudely rendered, in all the figures. The
gay arms-akimbo lady, the stout and fussy matron
next her, and the third figure is evidently elderly
and a little over-kneed, whilst the young girl behind
goes strongly ; and with the physique of the pome-

granate-bearers no one can cavil. It has been

 

* M. de Brizio thinks these are young men.

+ The pomegranate is by some said to be the emblem of
fertility. Micali regards it as the emblem of Proserpine in
ancient art. I think it is used as an emblem of the earth and
its fertility.
THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN. 35

 

thought that the waving lines indicate folds of
drapery ; in reality, they indicate gauffering, after
the Egyptian and Assyrian manner.*

In later painting we see in some of the dancers at
Corneto transparent draperies, showing the figure as
in Egyptian work. It is probable that gauffering
was done both to opaque and transparent fabrics.

The colours are simple. I have indicated the
dark, laky-red, like ¢erra di pozzuolt, by vertical
stripes, the dark black-blues by cross hatching and
the blacks as nearly as possible black. The slabs
are about 36 ins. by 21 ins., and the red stripe
decorates a considerable depth of base about 15
ins. Many celebrated Etruscan scholars have pub-
lished opinions on this work, and Dr. Brunn thinks
all purely Etruscan.{ I have compared various de-
tails of the work with those from other monuments
and other countries, especially concerning the sphinx
and guilloche in another place.{ This triple guil-
loche is also found in the jked/ura pottery. The
work may be considered as coming under that mixed
_ influence which may be called Phcenico-Corin-
thian.§ Generally speaking, the painting is cha-

 

* There is a drawing of a gauffering machine in Sir
Gardiner Wilkinson’s Egyptians, vol.’i., p. 185.

+ Annali Instit., 1859, p. 334. There is also an article by
Dr. Murray in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. x., p. 243.

+ See Appendix, Plates XCII., 7, and CII., to end.

§ Un fait, sur lequel les historiens les plus graves de la
Grece et de Rome sont d’accord, s’explique par ces anciennes
relations et montre quelle en était l’intimité. Au milieu du
septiéme siécle, une révolution eut lieu 4 Corinthe. Cypsélos
souleva le bas peuple contre l’aristocratie des Bacchiades et
établit, sous son autorité absolue, un gouvernement égalitaire.
Le chef des Bacchiades, Démaratos, entrainant avec lui toute
la partie riche de la population corinthienne, s’embarque, fit
voile vers l’Italie, et aborda sur la céte tyrrhénienne, un peu
au nord du Tibre, au port de la ville de Tarquinies
(aujourd’hui Corneto). Les trésors qui lui et les siens appor-
taient avec eux, leur supériorité a tous égards sur les habitants
du pays leur valurent un tel ascendant que Démaratos devint
roi de Tarquinius. Le fils qu’il eut d’une femme indigéne,
Tarchnas, en latin Tarquinius, devint lui-méme un peu aprés
roi de Rome, et c’est avec son régne que commencérent dans
cette ville les premiers progrés de la civilisation.

Tout A cdté de la ville ot se fixérent les Corinthiens de
Démaratos, il s’en trouvait une autre, Agylla (maintenant
Cervetri), dont la fondation était attribuée au Pélasges, et qui,
de toute antiquité, avait entretenu avec la Gréce des relations
amicales. Les habitants d’Agylla étaient: si bien reconnus
comme des Grecs quils participaient au culte d’Apollon
Pythien et avaient obtenu l’autorisation de batir a Delphes un
trésor destiné 4 renfermer leurs offrandes. Les Agylléens

5

 

racteristic of the earlier years of the 6th century.*
There is another series from Cervetri of slabs now
in the Louvre; these were disinterred in 1856. Mr.
Dennis gives fairly good engravings of them. There
is alsoa larger and better reproduction of them in the
Monumenti inediti,t but I do not think they are by
the same hand or of the same period as those from
the Grotta delle lastre dipinte, but slightly later and
of inferior ceramic workmanship ; the drawing of the
eyes and features and the shaping of the limbs are
a little improved in the engraving. The ornament

 

avaient entre leurs mains le commerce de toute la céte
tyrrhénienne, et dans plusiers circonstances on les vit défendre
avec énergie, soit contre les pirates, soit contre des rivaux,
comme les Phocéens établis a Alalia dans l’ile de Corse, a la
fois la sécurité de la mer et leur propre prépondérance. II
n’est guére douteux qu’ Agylla n’ait eu de bonne heure des
rapports commerciaux avex Corinthe, et il n’est point invrai-
semblable qu’aprés l’arrivée en Italie de Démaratos et des
Bacchiades, elle ait regu dans ses murs un certain nombre de
ces immigrants, ou du moins qu'elle ait subi leur influence,
jusqu’au moment ot, a la fin du sixiéme siécle, elle fut prise
par les Etrusques et changea son nom en celui de Czré.

Malgré les témoignages formels et circonstances de Strabon,
de Denys d’Halicarnesse, de Polybe, de Tite-Live, de
Tacite, de Pline et d’autres encore, l’école critique qui,
au commencement de ce siécle a prétendu reédifier sur de
nouveaux plans la moitié de l’histoire romaine, a énergique-
ment contesté l’existence de cet ilot hellénique sur la céte
méridionale de l’Etrurie. Malheureusement pour Niebuhr
et ses disciples, 14 comme sur beaucoup d’autres points, les
découvertes archéoligiques de ces cinquante derniéres années
ont apporté aux traditions recueillies par les auteurs anciens
la confirmation la plus éclatante. Tacite dit que les
Etrusques recurent les lettres grecques des Corinthiens de
Démaratos. Or, c’est bien de l’alphabet de Corinthe que
dérive l’alphabet étrusque. Pline raconte que le chef des
Bacchiades avait amené avec lui des potiers de sa ville natale,
et il le “*bon modeleur” et le ‘‘ peintre habile,’’ ainsi que
Diopos, ‘‘ celui que perce le trouve d’évent,” dans les terres
cuites? Or, une grande partie des vases qui ont été trouvés
depuis 1828 dans les nécropoles de Czré et de Tarquinies
présentent la plus frappante resemblance avec les vases de
Corinthe et portent des inscriptions en alphabet corinthien.
Est-il possible d’imaginer une preuve plus irréfragable de la
véracité d’une tradition qui, n’en déplaise 4 Niebuhr, n’avait
par elle-méme rien d’invraisemblable, et qu’un scepticisme
sans raison lui faisait seul rejeter. (Le Cévamique en Gréce,
Les atelievs covinthiens en Italie, par O. Rayet et M. Collignon,
pp. 70 and 71.) .

Amongst the fellow refugees brought by Demaratus were
Eucheros and Eugrammos, and a painter named Cleophantes.
There is a kylix in the British Museum signed ETXEPO>

ETIOIESEN.
* See footnote, Pliny, p. 29 ante.

+ Vol. vi., plate XXX.
34 THE ARCHAIC ETRUSCAN.

 

on the top of these slabs is a moulded and coloured
cornice, like an Egyptian gorge. There is also an
odd slab of better character than the others. It is
represented in Mr. Dennis’s book,* and sketches of
the head and ornaments are shown in Plate XLII.
This head closely resem-
bles some Assyrians in
Champillon’s work. It is,
therefore, not Etruscan,
but a transmission from
Asiatic sources.

There was a third set

 

 

 

 

ET TTT TEE ee

 

(1) The Archaic. The Grotta delle Inscrizioni,
discovered 1827, and the Grotta del Morto,
1832; then the Grotta del Barone, the
Grotta del Vecchio, Grotta dei Vasi,
dipinti, 1827; and later the Grotta del |

Moribondo, 1864, and
Pate XLII. Grotta del  Pulcinella,
a= SEE 1871.

(2) The Greco-Etrus-
can, Grotta  Citaredo,
1872. Grotta del Tric-
linio, 1830 ; Grotta delle

of slabs offered for sale Bighe, 1827; Grotta

in Rome, but they are Querciola, 1831; Grotta

known to be forgeries. della Pulcella, Grotta
HEAD AND FRETWORK BORDER FROM CkRVETRI. (Now in the ]

There are some ques- Louvre.) Letto funebra, 1831;

tions naturally arising con- Grotta del Cacciotori,

cerning these ceramic pictures. Dr. Murray tells
me that he has seen photographs of similar slabs
from A®tolia.
cotta may have been common; they never appear
to have been glazed like the Assyrian ceramics.
They may have been importations,t or possibly

copied by an Etruscan ceramic painter, perhaps

In the paintings of these tombs terra

a painter of vases, from some artist’s drawings, or
even from foreign vases, and thus have obtained
some appearance of inferior art ?

Cervetri contains many other tombs besides those
already mentioned which it is impossible and un-
necessary here to describe.

Corneto, the ancient Tarquinii, once the seat and
home of the ancient Tarquins, is one of the most
celebrated of all the cities of Etruria, both for this
family reason and for its numerous and magnificent
painted tombs or grotte. These grotte vary in date,
Mr. Dennis t says:—‘To arrange these painted
tombs at Corneto in the order of their antiquity is
no easy task; still more difficult, if not impossible,
is it to assign each its precise date.” But I do not
know that I should quite agree in every detail with
him in the classification of these tombs, but his
knowledge of them and his great study of the
question makes one diffident in differing.

 

$Ibid., vol. vi., p 380.
(See Journal of Hellenic

* Etruria, vol. i., p. 260-263.
+ Mr. Cecil Smith thinks not.
Studies, vol. xiv., p. 218.)

 

1865-1873; Grotta Francesco, 1873, and
Grotta della Scrofa bera, 1833.

(3) Roman Etruscan. Grotta del’orco, 1868 ; Grotta
degli Scudi, 1870; Grotta Bruschi, Grotta
Cardinale, 1699; Grotta Trifone, 1832.

The dates indicate the period of their discovery.
There are other Grotte more recently opened, and
probably others unopened. The examples already
given are supposed to belong to the seventh and
sixth centuries, p.c. The next illustrations are
probably of the fifth.

‘After the Race,” Plate XLIII., is from a portion
of the paintings on one side wall of the GRoTTA DELLE
Inscrizioni1. The other portion of the same side-
wall has paintings of men boxing with the cestus;
wrestlers, musicians piping, apparently in honour
of the winner of the race.* The rider of the

 

* Racing, both with ridden horses and in chariots or bigz,
was of religious origin with the Etruscans, about 534 B.c.
The Caerites, or people of what is now known as Cervetri,
joined the Carthaginians against the Phoenicians, who had
seized Alalia, in Corsica. After defeating the Phoenicians,
the allies stoned all the prisoners to death, and it is said that
a pest followed, and every living thing passing the place where
the Phoenicians died became seized with some plague. The
Caerites consulted the oracle at Delphi, and were ordered to
perform expiatory rites, and to institute games of gymnastic
exercises and horse racing. This was continued in the time
of Herodotus (cap. i., 166-7). Livy (i., 35), also speaks of their
ability in horse-racing ; he also tells us Rome derived this,
amongst other sports, from Etruria, and that Tarquinius
Priscus, the first of the Etruscan dynasty of Rome, sent to
THE MIDDLE ETRUSCAN.

35

 

PuaTe XLII.

- Q

"CN

Sew

< ‘* AFTER THE RACE,” FROM THE GROTTA DELLE INSCRIZIONI.

winning horse appears to be about to take his
wreath, which hangs over his head. Altogether
there are four horses; I have only drawn three.
There are also four wreaths hanging, but the three
leading ones have flowers entwined with the green
leaves. The painting differs in some respects from

 

Etruria for race horses. Moreover, the word ‘ludio,” by
which these sports were named by the Romans, is of Etruscan
origin. It is also probable that the Romans introduced the
sport into England.

Concerning what I have written of the characteristic
drawing of these horses from the Grotta, Mr. Dennis (in
Etruria, p. 365, vol. i.) speaks of them as “red and black
and of singular uncouthness,” and compares them to the
horses at Veii (Plate XXXII.). My own impression is that
if there is anything marking the ad-
vance in drawing amongst these people,
not only in the delineation of the human
figure, with a peculiar character of ath-
leticism, it is in the character of these
horses and horsemen, who have just
finished a race. Observe how they are
tucked up after the exertion; look at
their lengthy muscular quarters, the
distance from stifle to hock, the placing
of the shoulders, the neatness and blood-
like character of the heads, and the cha-
racter and manner of carrying the tail—
it is all indicative of the race-horse; they
look quick and speedy. If they are deficient in the modern
requirements of bone, it is probable that in Etruria they
did not so much breed for the size of that as for quality and
texture in its substance. There is also another peculiarity.
It is the seat of the men nearly on the withers of the horses,
and compare their seat with that of the civilian horseman in
boots, in the centre of the paintings from the Grotta delle
Bighe, who sits back in the ordinary way, and you will see
that the artist is aman of keen observation, and that the men

U0

C\

PLATE XLIV.

 

FROM THE MACMILLAN VASE.

 

   

—

EARLY FIFTH CENTURY B.C.

CorNETO (TARQUINII).

the more archaic work, in that the flesh is not so
pink; there is a considerable advance on the
drawing of the nude, and in every respect a more
Hellenic air than in either of the preceding illus-
trations. In this I agree with Gerhard, but Brunn,
Helbig, and Dennis, see very little Greek art in

 

rode in what we erroneously call the American manner, right
on the shoulders of the horses. They look in the rude
drawing thorough horsemen. Neither is the red and black
of Mr. Dennis a sufficient description ; it is evidently intended
to represent black and dark chestnut, a colour very allied to
black. Again, compare these horses with those used in the
“‘ big” in the Grotta del Triclinio; the points are different.
And, in conclusion, place them by the side of the horse
carrying the man doing a species of circus performance,
seated on one side of his beast (Plate
XLIX.). There is no difficulty in see-
ing that this has had all the spirit, if it
ever had any, knocked out of it. It
is mean-quartered, ewe-necked, and a
bad sort of hack to look at. The horses
have some diversity of size, style and
character. The winner and second
looking smaller and quicker, probably
the races in the circumscribed amphi-
theatre favouring those so made. Judg-
ing by the standing man they seem
to average about fifteen hands. The
winner seems to have had no whip.
The small sketches of Assyrian and Greek horses (Plates IX.-
XXV.), show an entirely different stamp of animal. The As-
syrian horses are stout, short, and cobby—short from ear to
eye and long in the nose. Of course, the art is better and the
animal more perfectly portrayed ; but the Etruscan artist has
suggested a more nervous and blood-like head. The Greek
horse has also different proportions, quite fitted for other
uses. The Egyptian horse, differing again from both these,
is larger, and apparently higher on the leg. Returning

(British Museum.)
36 THE MIDDLE ETRUSCAN.

 

the work. The latter
thinks the drawing re-

PLATE XLV.

Plate XLV. repre-
sents one of the danc-

 

 

sembles that at Veii, in j ft By ea
what respects I cannot . (
see; it appears to me
utterly different. The
Grotta is so called be-
cause the names of the
figures are written in
Etruscan over _ their
heads ; it was discov-
ered in 1827,

Mr. Dennis, it will

 

 

LES SESE EE UES Oe Sere eee ee ee eer esses

  

ing figures from the
GROTTA DEI VASI DI-
pint. This portion of
the painting has an in-
terest beside the style
of its Art, as the artist
has represented certain
painted vases in the
scene, the forms and
details of which give

 

 

 

be observed, places the
Grotta delle Inscrizioni
amongst the archaic of the first order. I do
not know exactly at what date he would place
it, but it bears the impression of being very much
later than the Cervetri work, and very, very much
later than that late as
470 B.c. Full-sized copies are in the vase room
of the British Museum. These are now valu-
able, as the colours of the originals are much
decayed.

In the vase room of the British Museum there

at Veii, possibly as

PuLaTe XLVI.

 

FRoM A PAINTING IN THE GROTTA DEI VASI DIPINTI—CORNETO.

 

 

us a clue to the period
of the work. This may
be fairly called the
middle period of Etruscan painting. It is still
archaic, but the improved drawing and anatomy
show advancement in design even if they do
not betray considerable Greek influence. Among
other sepulchres at Cnrusi, one is called DELLA
Scimia, from the circumstance that in the picture
representing wrestling there is introduced in a
corner a monkey* (Plates XLVI.-VII.) chained
to a tree. The tomb contains many subjects,
races of bige, banquets, wrestling, boxing, &c.

PLATE XLVII,

 

FROM PAINTINGS IN THE GROTTA DELLA Scim1A—CorNETo.

are also full-size copies of paintings from the
Grotta del Morto and the Grotta delle Bighe, both
full of interest.

 

 

to the sketch (Plate LXIII.), we see not only the char-
acter of the horses, but of the men defined. The judge,
or person holding up his hand, possibly as a signal to the
winner to take his wreath, shows that muscular character
that one would expect in the well-trained athlete. The
projection of the rectus muscle of the thigh, and the lightly-
trained abdomen of the performer, evince the artist’s love of
character, and a quaintness of design.

These races were made, as we see above, part of religious
exercise in 534 B.c., and evidently after that they were

 

The last two are’ the subjects I have chosen to
represent. The men are represented boxing with
the cestus, or glove, and it is a curious study to
observe their notion of attack and defence. In
another part of the same scene a warrior clad in
yellow (golden) armour is dancing to a pair of

 

considerably cultivated, but it is Probable that they knew
the sport before this time, or they could not have so easily
carried out the command of the oracle.

* Monkeys are common in Egyptian and Assyrian Art.
(See Plate LXXVI1.)
THE MIDDLE ETRUSCAN. a7

 

double pipes.* I presume these double pipes are
like those used by the Egyptians, of which there
is an example in the British Museum. They
were not easy instruments to perform upon, as
each pipe had its separate “clef.”

Below the subject a band of fretwork is painted,
and above them the egg and tongue, as we now call
it, which I take to be ad ovigine, a leaf, or the lower
half a bead ornament, such as is sometimes held
by the Assyrian figures.t Dr. Helbig thinks
the work nearly as old as the most ancient at
Corneto, and devoid of Greek influence. Dr. Brunn
does not think them so ancient, but agrees in their
entire Etruscan character, more the result of the
natural taste of the artist
than of their antiquity. The
“Biga” (Plate XLVIII.)
forms portion of a chariot
racet in the Tompa DEL
COLLE Casuccini, CAzusz

 

*«« The double pipe was known
to the Egyptians, and was com-
mon to the Greeks and Romans.
The pipes were called the right
and left pipes. The latter had
few holes, and emitted a deep
sound, serving as a bass. The
right pipe had more holes, and
-was sharper in tone ; and for this

 

Piate XLVIII.

 

(Clusium). It affords another illustration of the
keen appreciation of character and action for which
Etruscan Art is remarkable. The chariot race is
on the wall to the right of the central door.
The pictures are about 22 inches high, and of the
usual simple colouring. The wall-paintings of
Chiusi* are, according to some authorities, less
subject to Hellenic influence than those of Corneto.

The sepulchre containing this painting is also
remarkable for its doors, which are composed of two
solid blocks of Travertine 4 feet 4 inches high, 18
inches wide, and 5 inches thick.

The tomb was discovered in 1833 by accident,
but it had previously been opened and explored.
Dr. Brunnt considers the
paintings as of the last
stage of Etrurian archaism.

Plate XLIX., from the
GROTTA DEL TRICLINIO,
Corneto, represents a danc-
ing scene, and an eques-
trian acrobat similar to that
in the Chiusi work. The
Art here is certainly more
Greek than in any of the
previous examples; it still
retains a distinct character,
but the Hellenic influence

 

purpose they preferred the upper
part of the reed (when made of
that material) for the right-hand
pipe and the lower part, near the root, for the left tube.”

The pipe, at first of reed, was afterwards of box, lotus thorn,
or horn, ivory, bone, iron or silver.

The Egyptian single pipe, called the ‘‘recorder,” in the
British Museum, is a treble of 104 inches. It is in the
pentaphonic, the same as the Scotch scale:

7 a» fe- 4e-
pte —-—E—

 

 

The tenor pipe in the British Museum is 83 inches in length,
and its present pitch :

 

 

SS
=o ee
(See Wilkinson, vol. i., pp. 436-440, and Chappell’s History of

Music.)
+ See Appendix, Plate LXVII.
{ The whole race is given in the Monumenti Inediti, vol. v.,

tav. 33-34.

Tue ‘‘Bica,” FROM A CHARIOT RACE, PAINTED IN THE TOMBA
DEL COLLE CASUCCINI, CHIUSI (CLUSIUM).

 

is indubitable. Its distinctly
Etruscan character may be
detected in its quaintness.
of Phoenician influence; one instance of this is
shown in the square ending and grouping of the
fingers, a feature originally Egyptian; and in certain
other details of the same origin.

The drawing and the features of the face have,
however, lost the archaic Etruscan type, and are in
most cases approaching the Greek.

Plate LI., from the tomb called the Francois
SEPULCHRE at Vulci, after Signor Alessandro Francois,
who discovered it in 1857. It represents the sacri-
fice of Trojan captives to the shade of Patroclus,
Achilles and Ajax being the executioners. M.

It still retains evidences

 

* Dennis, vol. ii., p. 321,
+ Annales Instit., 1866, p. 428.
38 | THE MIDDLE ETRUSCAN.

PuaTE XLIX.

 

 

DANCING AND EQUESTRIAN PERFORMANCE,

Noel des Vergers calls it an Etruscan translation of
the Homeric legend, possibly from a Dorian source.
In the centre there are certainly two additions of the
legend in a perfectly Etruscan character, the figures,
one with the hammer, and the other with wings.
Patroclus’ shade stands watching the slaughter.

The other panels of the tomb have also scenes from.

the same source, as well as subjects from Etruscan
history. One has Servius Tullius cutting the cords
that bound his friend Coeles Vibenna. The colour-
ing and execution are far more pretentious than those
in the earlier tombs, and show a more advanced
knowledge of the methods and pigments of wall-
painting. The shade of Patroclus, the figure to the
left, is dressed in a blue toga. He has a blue-and-
white band about his head, and a white band across
his chest. Behind him stands “ Aghmenrun,” king of
men, in a white toga, purple bordered. The figure
with wings is draped in white, bordered with purple.
On the right hand are the two brothers, Ajax
Telamonus and Ajax Oileus, each bringing a bound
victim. Achilles, in the centre, has a brass cuirass
and greaves, and fair hair. ‘Charon” has a red
jacket and blue kiton, his flesh is deathly grey. This
picture may be called Greeco-Italic, and its method
and style prepare us for the earlier Roman and
South Italian works, to the majority of which I

 

FROM THE GROTTA DEL TRICLINIO—CORNETO.

think it superior. These paintings have brought to
my mind the idea that some well-known master,
probably with assistants and pupils, had a reputation
for these sepulchral pictures. There is a great
diversity of merit both in the drawing and propor-
tion of the different figures, and some indifferently
proportioned figures, as the central captive, for
example, have parts, such as the extended foot,
so fairly well drawn as to suggest another hand.
Again, in the various hands of the figures. there is
a suggestion of different draughtsmen. The nude
figure of the bound captive in profile, I. should
suggest, was done by the master himself from a life
study. This figure might be a portrait both in face
and figure of an Italian model who was well known
in London studios; the resemblance is so striking
that I cannot refrain from this comment.

The work somewhat resembles that in the Tomsa
Gotin1 at Orvieto, which is possibly later work
done under the same direction, perhaps as late as
300 B.C.

Although the strength of Etruria was almost
gone, yet the people of Vulci and the Volsinien-
ses made a considerable stand against T. Corun-
cannis, the Roman consul (280 3.c.), when they
were defeated. The pictures were executed pro-

bably anterior to this defeat. They are now in the
THE MIDDLE ETRUSCAN. 39

 

Kircherian Museum of the Vatican, having been cut
from the walls, so as to be thus preserved.

Along the top of the subject runs a very good
fret border of a late type ;* it is relieved by shadow,
and is well drawn. The fret. in this late form is, I
think, the origin of the riband pattern found in early
Gothic work.

There is a very modernised drawing of this sub-
ject in the Monument: [nediti.t It is totally useless
for exact artistic archeology. Apparently the plate
in Woerman and Woltman is copied from it, and it
would certainly mislead anyone as to
the character of the work and its date.

At this period Italian art was in
an advanced state, with a character |
of its own; this is in evidence not
only in painting, but in every branch
of the arts. The sculpture, bronze,
mural and vase-painting were all
good. Illustrating the last, there is
a tazza§ in the British Museum with
strong Greek tendencies, but in Dr.
Murray’s opinion, borne out by the
proportions and characteristic draw-
ing of the figures, evidence of their
having been designed and painted near
to where the vase was found, Faderzz.

Plate LIII. represents ‘“ Aita,”
“ Phersipnel,” and “ Kelun,” or ‘“ Ke-
rim,” from the GRoTTa DELL’ Orca-
CorneETO, so called because some of
the subjects reveal to us the Etruscan
idea of purgatory, or ‘‘orcus.” Dr.
Wolfgang Helbig has written an
elaborate article on these scenes from Etruscan
mythology. He places the Etruscan ‘“ Aita” as the
equivalent of Pluto, and ‘“ Phersipnel” as Proserpine,
whilst the three-headed figure represents Geryon.
In his left hand ‘“‘ Aita” holds a serpent, at his feet
are rolling clouds, dark or grey. Phersipnel has a
white “toga,” with a species of “‘ palmette” border ;
behind Geryon there was a female demon, of which

 

* See Appendix, “‘ Fret,’ Pl. XCIII.
The plate in Martha has the

+ Vol. 5, tav xvi.

+ English edition, p. 108.
same defect.

§ Annales Inst. Rom., 1870.

 

PLATE L.

 

ETRUSCAN BRONZE WITH EYES OF
DIAMONDS, FOUND AT VERONA.

(Now in the British Museum.)

 

only the white arm remains. There is considerable
evidence of Hellenic influence both in the drawing,
the imaginative characteristics of the subjects and in
the details of ornament, as well as in the inscription,
e.g., the word “Aita” being Doric in form. ‘ Aita,”
or Hades, was the resting place of the dead, the
Attic Ionic being Hades. Neither the words nor
the ideas are strictly Etruscan, but probably an
Etruscan version of the Homeric legends through
some early Greek source.

It is evident that there was as yet no influence
that could be defined as Latin in
their poetry or Art, although this is
certainly a late phase of Greco-
Etruscan work, and hardly, as Den-
nis calls it, Roman Etruscan. The
introduction of clouding and _ back-
ground argues the influence of the
Greek Art after the time of Aga-
tharcos.

The fragments of the painting* of
Arnth Velkus and his wife are from
one of the most graceful examples
of Etruscan art. It is interesting for
the advanced drawing of the heads
(the ear is sadly misplaced) and for
the ornamentation in the upper part,
and the key form and chequers on
the throne. Like in the previous
example, clouds, trees, and quasi-back-
ground, are introduced. The various
paintings in this Grotta are in differ-
ent hands; it is calculated that they
are of about 300 B.C.
discovered by a French officer in 1868, who, in his
anxiety to secure examples for the Louvre, de-
stroyed and effaced many that he did not remove.

Plate LIV. from the Tompa GoLini OrVIETO re-
presents a person in a “biga” conveyed by an
attendant to Elysium.

The biga is driven by a young man, “‘fair-haired
and laurel-crowned; he wears a white toga bor-
dered with red.” The horses are guided by a
female spirit, or angel, who carries the record of the

They were

 

* See Monumenti Inediti, vol. ix. and tav. xiv.
40 THE LATE ETRUSCAN.

 

PuaTE LI.

 

 

(Another Etruscan treatment of the same Scene is given by Rayet and Collignon’s Ceramigue Grecque, p. 325.)

youth’s good deeds before him. The horses are
coloured, of a pale dull red, and the angel is deep
red.

As in the tombs at Corneto and elsewhere,
there are other pictures around this sepulchre; one
is of a banquet, and another, apparently, of Pluto
(Aita) and Proserpine. There is a difference of
style in the different paintings of this tomb, per-
haps the dif-
ference of a
master and
his pupils.

Count Co-
nestabile is
of opinion
that the
paintings
date from
about B.C.
400; but
they are
evidently
later. The
drawing is
very ad-
vanced, i
there is more variety and beauty in the heads,
one being three-quarter faced ; and the perspective
drawing of the extremities is well attempted.

 

PLaTE LII.

 

HALF A PAINTED PEDIMENT—FROM THE ‘*TomBA Detta pI FRANCESCO,” CoRNETO.

The last example of Etruscan work, later than
any of the paintings, is of developed Roman
Etruscan work. It is from a terra cotta ash-urn
now in the British Museum. The design of the
subject is very common in these terra-cotta urns.*

There is a certain resemblance, as the reader
will have perceived, between the Art careers of
the Phoenicians and of their pupils, the Etruscans.
Neither of
them added

much to its

* Many sim-
ilar varieties
occur in the
same case in
the British
Museum. An-
other also is
engraved in
Bartoli, but,
like all Italian
reproductions
of Etruscan
work of the
last century
and the early
years of this,
it is so doc-
tored and re-
stored as to lose much of its sketchy and artistic character.
These reproductions give everything a look of their own
period, and not the character of ancient work, no matter from
what they are engraved.
LHE LATE ETRUSCAN.

41

 

Pirate LILI.

 

 

 

 

 

a ee

ge

 

 

 

 

PLUTO, PROSERPINE, AND GERYON, IN HADES, GROTTA DELL’ ORCO,
CoRNETO.

progress, except as the pedagogues and commercial
disseminators of examples, although both were
great in bronze work.

To the Greek genius alone will remain the glory
of the wonderful advance and development in all
branches of design. In a brief period of a few
hundred years more was done than in all previous
thousands of years. One must not, however, over-
look the advantages bestowed even upon Greece
by the elements of design transmitted to her
through Phcenician and other Asiatic channels, nor
to Rome by those both Etruscan and Greek.

Mr. Dennis says that ‘“‘ Rome before her inter-
course with Greece was indebted to Etruria for
whatever tended to elevate and humanise her, for
her chief lessons in Art and Science, for many

of her political and most of her religious and social

    

lil

PLaTE LIV.

 

SceNnE FROM A PAINTING IN THE TOMBA GOLINI, ORVIETO.

institutions. Again he says:* “Now we know
nothing of Etruscan architecture from written
records, and therefore, when we find, in a position
which favours an Etruscan origin, architectural
decorations are analagous to those used by the
Romans, it were illogical to pronounce them neces-
sarily to be the work of the latter. On the con-
trary, it were quite as reasonable to regard them
as Etruscan, knowing that before the time of the
Empire at least the Romans were mere imitators
of the Etruscan Arts.”

This theme will, however, be more considered in
the ensuing chapters of this history. Before proceed-
ing with this, it is necessary to see the development
that has taken place in ornamental design, as at this
crucial period great changes are occurring.

 

 

PuaTE LV.

* Vol. i., p. 99.

    
    
  
 

 

      
 

ay

\NW

   
 

i

 

 

 

 

From AN ETRUSCAN TERRA-COTTA CISTUS. SECOND CENTURY B.C.
(Now in the British Museum.)
42

PiaTE LVI.

 

 

HEAD oF “ SEKHET.”

(From a figure now in the British Museum.)

CHAPTER

Ill.

THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS.

THE Sun, THE ORB, THE RAYS; THE Hawk AND ITS FEATHERS; THE ROSETTE; THE PALMETTE, OR SUN

AND MOON RAYS; THE ‘ TREE”;

POMEGRANATE ;

THE DouBLE PALMETTE ;

Various TREES AND PULANTs ;

THE Papyrus; THE LoTuUsS; THE

THE Octopus, CuTTLE FisH, AND NAavTILus;

SOME CAPITALS; THE PALMETTES AS BORDERS, &C.; THE WHORL AND VOLUTE; THE ‘ GUIL-

LOCHE” ;

i Race ornamental portions of mural painting are
of such importance that some history of their
origin and development is absolutely involved in
this work; but considering the necessary conden-
sation, this history must be comparatively slight.
There are, however, large works on the subject
which can be referred to, and to which the student
has access in most libraries, should he wish to pur-
sue the subject.
The history of design, in ornament, is only second
in interest to that of the human figure ; it is, more-
over, often of the greatest assistance in determining

the date or style of the figure itself. The more

THE MEANDER, FRET, AND VARIOUS ORNAMENTS ;

 

THE SPHINX.

simple and the more definite forms in ornament
are in themselves more easily followed in their
changes than the subtleties of the figure, and their
developments can be tabulated with greater facility
and distinctness.

The ornament was, perhaps, not always in
ancient art by the same hand as that of the figure
painter or carver; but wherever the artist had
control of the work in old examples it is gener-
ally of adequate quality in execution and design,
and would therefore be a good companion to the
subject, and of the same date and style. The
foundation of the most ancient ornament is the
GENESIS OF HISTORICAL ORNAMENTAL DETAILS

43

 

religious emblem, and the form of object chosen,
whether floral or otherwise, is secondary to its
emblematic resemblance. We have a good illus-
tration of my meaning in our own daisy, or
‘““dayseye” ;* at one time with our ancestors a
sun emblem. The flower apparently, like the sun,
radiates from a golden centre; even its pink ex-
tremities may typify the dawn or sunset, while the
little flower, under the control of that orb, opens as
it rises to meridian and closes as it sets.

This little example is given merely to show how
an emblem may have been chosen, and how the
flower may come by degrees to typify the sun, its
rays, and so on.
the course of history, mixed and confused, either
by ignorance, accident, or intention, as we shall
hereafter find.

In following the course of design in ornament
a line must be taken; the one I am taking, as
all others would be, is open to criticism, from the
circumstances that in an essay on prehistoric orna-

These emblematic forms were, in

ment much must be conjectural.

At what time religion began to receive em-
blems one does not know, but as all objects are from
the same Maker’s hands, they somehow carry His
image and bear some of the beauty of the Infinite
and All-perfect Craftsman. The emblem was, there-
fore, no unreasonable invention on the part of the
Nations of Antiquity.

After the loss of the simple belief in God, such
as it was when man was “upright,’+ before his
mind had fallen to many “inventions” concerning
the nature and existence of the Almighty, it
appears, as far as one can gather from monumental
histories, that his attributes were separately wor-
shipped. Of created things various cults were

 

* Saxon daeges éage.

+ I have inserted these quotations from authors who look
upon the question from a purely historical view :—

I myself certainly held it (the belief in the existence of
fetichisms) for a long time and never doubted it, till I became
more and more startled by the fact that, while in the earliest
accessible documents of religious thought we look in vain for
any very clear traces of fetichism, they become more and
more frequent everywhere in the later stages of religious
development.” (Max Muller, Origin of Religion, p. 62.)

‘An idol was originally meant as an image only—a simili-
tude or symbol of something else.” (Ibid., p. 66.)

 

formed, and various attributes, divine or other-
wise, were attached to them.

How they were worshipped, in some senses,
seriously concerns the history of Art, that is, so far
as the iconography of these cults is concerned.
Psychologically it is not our province. We must,
however, remember, as I have already said, that
created things in a sense represent the creator ; and
that as such are, in their order, worthy of respect.
This respect has been called worship, on account of
the poverty of language. An excess of this proper
respect has been called superstition. To what
degree of such respect or worship the ancients paid
the object of their veneration is an open and most
difficult question.

By the wording of the Ten Commandments, it
may be inferred that the Hebrews were, from foreign
influence, in danger of giving the highest worship,
alone due to one Supreme God, to His creatures,
The
relative value of this respect, and the question
whether
a mere emblem, is not always involved in its

or to an object or image of some creature.

an object was considered sacred or
iconography. Passing to the immediate object of
our work, concerning the earliest writings and paint-
ings, it appears that the Egyptians gave to the
celestial bodies and elements, the sun, the air, the
earth, the water-—-under many names and forms
—their chief devotions.

At a certain period the dual idea concerning them
was also invented, and these elements were divided
into sexes.

Ra.
is Osiris, who of Isis begets Horus, the rising son

The sun, in his strength, was named
In the nether world, or below the horizon, he
or heir of Osiris. He is always masculine. Isis
is the feminine element; she eventually appears in
numerous cults under other names and forms.

At first the representation of each object was

 

‘¢ But there are sundry reasons for suspecting that existing
men of the lowest types, forming social groups of the simplest
kinds, do not exemplify men as they originally were.”
(Quoted from Herbert Spencer's Sociology, p. 106.)

‘In the latter days of the Egyptian religion the worship of
the people degenerated into a superstition of the grossest
kind.” (Dr. Budge’s Guide to the British Museum, p. 4.)

‘© The Osiride and Cosmic Gods rose in importance as time
went on, while the abstract gods continually sank.” (Dr.
Petrie, Religion of Ancient Egypt, p. 85.)
44 THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

Puiate LVII.

probably rude and
simple, but almost
as soon as we know
Art there are com-
plications and at-

tempts to make
the objects seemly.
These —complica-

tions and this seem-
liness become what
; we now call orna-
mental forms.
Thus it seems to
have been the ob-
ject of the artist,
perhaps working
under esoteric di-

 

rections, to weave
together the ob-
jects of cultus, to
which additions were continually made, until these
combinations arrive at those formations which are
the foundation of ancient design.

The religious object was, however, as we shall
see, gradually lost, and the combination of forms
was imitated and admired simply as an object of
an intellectual development of the beautiful. This
forms part of its history ; but whatever may become
of it, like all other enduring things, its foundation
was the religious sentiment acting upon the refined
intellect. Max Muller has said, from a_ historical
point of view, “that religion is as old as the world
that we know”; and he quotes Herder, who says,
‘‘Our earth owes the seeds of all higher culture to
religious tradition, whether literary or oral.” To
understand this ancient ornamental Art, we have
not to consider our own faith, but the beliefs of
the people whose work we are studying.

‘However far we go back in the documents
relating to the Egyptian religion, we find there as
a foundation the grand truth of a divine unity.” *

HEAD OF THE Cow oF HATHOR.
26TH DYNASTY.
From a cast in the British Museum.

 

* Herodotus (Euterpe, c. x., b. iv.) affirms that the Egyptians
of Thebes recognised a single God who had no beginning and
was to have no end of days, and this assertion of the Father
of History is confirmed by reading of the texts in hieroglyphic
characters, in which it is said of the God “ that He is the sole

 

: : : PLATE LVIII.
Little by little this

idea of unity seems
to have been ob-
scured by the wor-
ship of attributes as
separate deities,
having each an em-
blem or emblems,
all of which appear
to have had some
cultus.

 

A Lion’s HEAD FROM EyuK.

The most uni-
versal, and probably the most ancient, objects
of the various cults were the sun, the moon,

 

progenitor in heaven and earth, and that He himself is not

begotten that He is the sole God, existing in
truth begotten of Himself who exists from the
beginning who has made all things, and was not

Himself created.”” (Lenoymant’s Ancient History of the East, vol i.,
p. 318).

‘‘ The Egyptians are the first of mankind who have defended
the immortality of the soul.’

But this sublime notion, if it was retained in the esoteric
doctrine, soon became obscured and disfigured by the concep-
tions of their priests, by the ignorance of the people. The
idea of God became confounded with manifestations of His
power; His attributes and qualities were personified as a
crowd of secondary agents arranged in a hierarchical order,
co-operating in the general organisation of the world and the
preservation of created beings. In this way that polytheism
was formed which, in the truth and peculiarity of its symbols,
ended in embracing the whole of nature. The Egyptians
were interested, above all, in the fate which awaits man in
other life. They fancied they could see in many natural
phenomena, images and symbols, this future existence; but
it seemed to them more particularly announced by the daily
course of the sun. According to them, that planet reproduced
each day during its progress the transformations reserved for
the human soul. It was not a strange idea, however, on the
part of a people who had no knowledge of the true character
of the heavenly bodies. The sun, or Ra, as the Egyptians
called it, passed alternately from the region of darkness or
death into the region of light or life. Its beneficial fire gave
birth to and nourished existence. Each point in the course of
this luminous planet was regarded as corresponding to the
different stages of that existence. ?

Ra, the sun, was not, however, considered merely as the
celestial prototype of the man who is born, lives, and dies to

_ be born again. The Egyptians, like all other heathen people

of antiquity, regarded it as a divinity, as the supreme divinity,
because it was the most brilliant and the greatest of the
planets, and its beneficial influence modified the world. The
theological conception of the Egyptian did not stop there, for

' Herodotus’ Euterpe, cxxiii.
* See Ritual of the Dead, cap. cxxx. to cxl.
HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 45

PLATE LIX.

 

   

ALL PROBABLY SOLAR OR STELLAR EMBLEMS.

A, THE SuN IN HIS BoaT (from the British Museum). &. DITTO,
ON A SARCOPHAGUS FROM GIJEH, 27TH Dynasty (British Museum).
C, D. From Brugsch, Agypt under the Pharaohs. £.* THE
TEMPLE OF THE SUN, FROM SIPPAR (now in the British
Museum), 870 B.C. Ff, Sun and STAR (IsHTAR), from the
Caillou Michaux (Chaldean), in the Louvre. G. FROM THE
CONE OF MERODACH BALADIN, I150 B.C. Hf, From AssyRIAN
DECORATIVE WorRK ON PLASTER (the dotted parts are re-
storations), about 850 B.c. /, FROM AN ASSYRIAN BRONZE SHIELD
(British Museum). K, Z. ASSYRIAN SHIELDS FROM BOTTA (PLATE LITI.). M. Gotp KNor FROM MyYcen#&, SCHLIEMANN’S
TROYA, p. 107. The same device is shown on « Lydian Stele (see Perrot’s Lydia, Sc., p. 293), and is common on the Cameiros Pottery.
WN. From Locrr (TERRA-CotTA, British Museum). 0, P, Q, 2, U. FRoM Caria. 5S, Z.  ARcHaAIC ITALIAN Disks FROM CASTERTA
(British Museum). V. From CAMEIROS. W. From NaucraTis POTTERY, SEVENTH CENTURY (British Museum). X. FROM A
SYRIAN SARCOPHAGUS (now in the Louvre.) Y. FROM THE AMARAVATI Tore, INDIA.

 

Note to A, B, C, D. According to the Editor of Lenormant’s Magic (see footnote, p. 73, edition 1877)—‘‘ These boats had different names according to the
Deities which were in them. That of the Sun, Ra, wascalled Una; of the God Ptah, Mafekh; of Osiris, Baris (?); and of Khonsu, Se&hz.

* Dr. Budge has formed a theory that these two spiral rays indicate the ‘maat” or measure by which the day and night are ruled. This theory is borne
out by the diagram in Plate IX. of his edition of the Papyrus of Queen Netchemet, and by a passage in page 9 of his translation of the Book of the
Dead : vol. iii. ‘‘ Homage to thee, O Amen Ra, who dost rest upon Maat, and who passeth over the heaven ; every face seeth thee.”
46

THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

the stars, the earth, animals, trees, flowers and
created objects in various orders, according to the

systems of the different
peoples.

We will therefore, in the
first place, consider the
symbols of the sun ; these
are probably the most
widespread and ancient of
all so-called ornaments.

In literature, also, refer-
ences to the sun are of the

 

it sub-divided this one supreme
divinity, so to speak, into many
other divinities. Considered in
its different positions and its
diverse aspects, the sun be-
came, in each phase, a different
god, having its peculiar name,
attribute and worship. This
trait of Egyptian mythology is
common to all other mythology.
Thus, during its nocturnal ex-
istence, it was ‘*Tum.’’ When
it shone in the meridian it was
Ra; when it produced and nour-
ished life it was venerated as
Kheper. Those were the three
principal forms of the solar
Divinity ; but there were also
many others. Since, according
to the Egyptians, the night pre-
cedes the day, Tum was con-
sidered to have been born before
Ra and to have issued alone
from the abyss of chaos.! The-
ology re-united the three mani-
festations of the solar power in
a divine trinity,’ which became
the prototype of many other
trinities composed of divinities
personifying variations of the
sun with nature and various
influence upon the Cosmic
influence.®

To this description of M.
Lenormant, I must add a quo-
tation from the little Guide to
the Egyptian Department of the
British Museum* by Dr. Budge ;
but as this little work is within

everyone’s reach, I should advise every student to obtain

FEATHERS, AS Rays.—d.

glory and fruition, &c.

PLATE LX.

      
   

  
 
    
  
     

 

RI Ba LY}

B72 ae
p eX) are ey f)
ou i 7, Ls

 
 

RIT :
PEN Pe

  
 

 

    
 

   
 

   
 

ss

Teer cote Fe eek
LUMO IMSS

! g ast

 
        

          
   

 
 
  

  
   
 

 

 

 

 

 

From THE Toms oF Seri I, Arypos.
8. From THE TABLET Or AMENHOTEP, 18rH Dynasty (British

Museum). Cc. From A Mummy Case (British Museum, No. 6660),
B.C. 800. D, FROM AN EARLY JasPER CYLINDER (in the British
Museum). &. From tHe Brack ALABASTER OBELISK (British

Museum), 860-825 B.c.
FrRoM IsaiLi Kaia.

f. From Layarn’s Nineveh. G. HITTITE”

' Pierret, Dictionnaire d Archéologie Egyplienne.

? I think it a cardinal mistake to use a Christian phraseology involving
Christian ideas; it misleads some minds,

merely triads.—N.H.J.W.

3 Chaldzan Magic, by ¥. Lenormant, pp. 79-82 (London).
4 Published at the British Museum, price Is.

* Genesis xxxvii. g.

The Egyptian “ Trinities” were

1 History of the Anctent LEsgyptlains, 3 vols.
Pharaohs. Maspero, Egyptian Antiquities, by Amelia B. Edwards. Wie-
demann, Zeyftian Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul,

most ancient use as a symbol of light, strength,
The sacred as well as the

secular authors abound in
its imagery, the Jewish
Scriptures especially.
Joseph saw in his dream
the sun, moon and eleven
stars worshipping him.*
Joshuaf ‘“‘made the sun
stand still in the midst of
the heavens,” a miracle to
which theologians attach
an important symbolical
meaning.

 

it and read the whole intro-
duction.

‘« The goddesses Nut, Neith,
Isis, Nepthys, Hathor, Uatchit,
Nekhebit are names of the sky
specially at sunrise or sunset.
The sun has countless names,
Ptah, Tmu, Ra, Horus-Knemu,
Sebek, Amen, and some of
them, such as Osiris and Seker,
are the names of the sun after
setting, or, in mythological lan-
guage, has died and is buried.
Seker signifies ‘the coffined,”
and Amen ‘he who _hideth
himself,” just as Horus signi-
fies ‘“‘ the one above,” and Ptah
‘the opener,” and Tmu ‘the
closer. ro

‘Qsiris might be said to be
slain by his brother, Set, the
personification of night, who is
in turn overthrown by Horus,
therising sonand heir of Osiris.”’
Dr. Budge gives alternative
theories, and the names and
attributes of the most common
divinities.

These are dwelt upon at con-
siderable length by Sir Gardiner
Wilkinson and by numerous
other Egyptologists.! It is,
however, remarked that the ac-
counts of the Egyptian religion
given by the Greek and Roman

historians are most untrustworthy.

} Joshua x. 12, 13.

Brugsch, Egypt under the
HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 47

 

The holy psalmist, David, says, ‘‘ His tabernacle
he has set in the sun,” and ‘as a bridegroom com-
ing out of his chamber,” to give the greatest idea he
could conceive of His glory and of His beauty, and
‘“‘as a giant rejoicing in his course,” and, ‘“‘ The Lord
God is a sun and a shield,” and ‘“‘his throne shall
endure as the sun.”* The sun and moon are called
upon to praise Him. More need not be quoted; every
one conversant with the Hebrew Scriptures would
know many. St. Pault tells us there is ‘one glory
of the sun, another of the moon.”

In the Transfiguration, Our Lord’s face “shone
as the sun”; in the schema of ‘‘ The Old and New
Law,” illustrated in the chapel of King’s College,
Cambridge, the presentation of the Golden Tablet
in the Temple of the Sunt is used as a type of the
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin in the Temple.

I have commenced the representation of these
emblems by a collection of historical examples which
are tabulated at the bottom of each plate. To
facilitate the comprehension of the designs, some §
slight extracts are taken from the works of two
well-known Egyptologists and Assyriologists con-
cerning this cult of the sun ; the subject, however, is
a very extended one in modern literature, and can
be farther studied in some of the works mentioned
in the various footnotes.

In considering sun emblems, I have taken first
the Orb without, and the Orb with rays or ‘‘ wings,”
and the simplest representations of the former are
such as those in Plate LIX. a, 4, c, d, in which the sun
This method
of representation was prominent for thousands of
years; it is found even in the earliest monuments
and in paintings made as late as the Christian
era. This boat of the sun in some later art be-
comes transformed, and is scarcely to be dis-
tinguished as a boat; this is observable in the
Pheenician sun-rayed Palmettes (Plate LXVI.

is represented in his boat, or barque.

 

* Psalm xix. +1 Corinthians xv. 41.

{ “ The ordinary name of the sun, Shemesh, is supposed to
refer to the brilliance of its rays, producing stupor in the mind
of the beholder.
have reference to its heat, the beneficial effects of which are
duly commemorated.” (Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible:
Article, Sun.)

§ See footnote, pages 45, 46.

The poetical names, chaumale and cheves,°

 

CL&A.L.), and it is difficult to say in certain
instances whether it is intended for a boat,* the
horns of a bull (Plate LXVI.-LXVII. C.), ser-
pents,t or any other objects that may take a simple
curved form with curled ends, although, judging
from the Gem (Plate LXIV. 7), it is evident
that the Egyptian ship was the original object, for
in that we have both the ship and the monkey
attendants, so frequently found in Egypt.

We have in this Gem first, at the base, the cone
with volutes and floral extremities like those on the
capitals (Plate LXVI. C.D.£.), and the sarco-
phagus. Upon this is a boat and sun, and above this
another boat with sun and sun rays, the rising rays,
possibly the light preceding the appearance of the
orb, as indicating the young sun, like the Egyp-
tian Horus, or the Assyrian Bel? In the same
manner, when: the rays are downwards, as in Plate
LXIII. #, it may be intended as Osiris. There
is, however, frequently such a confusion in these
forms, and at times they are so conventionally
rendered, that either one’s ignorance of the niceties
of the cult or the artist’s playfulness of imagination
places us in a difficulty.

Next to the simple orb in his barque, we may
consider the rayed disks, many of which are shown
in Plate LIX. Even in the earliest designs that
have come down to us, there has already arisen a
confusion of forms. As an example, the rays of the

 

* «The appearance of Isis-Sorbis in a boat confirms the
statement of Plutarch, that the heavenly bodies were not
represented by the Egyptians drawn in chariots, but sailing
round the world in boats, intimating that to the principle of
moisture they owe not only their power of moving, but even
their nourishment and support.’

‘« Plutarch * considers Isis to be the earth, the feminine part
of nature, or that property which renders her a fit subject for
the production of all things.” (Wilkinson, vol. iii., p. 101.)

| The Uveus is not the cobra, but much like it. (Wilkin-
son, vol. i., p. 404.)

“Indeed, the connection between the goddess Ranno and
the Asp and royalty are very remarkable, and the name Ureus,
which was applied to the snake, has, with good reason, been
derived by the ingenious Champillon from “Ouro,” the
Coptic word signifying ‘‘king,” as its appellation of “ basi-
lisk” originated in the basilicus of the Greeks.”  (Ibid.,
vol. i., p. 404.)

De Isid., s. 34.
* Wilkinson, vol. iii., p. 107.
+ De Isid., s. 38.
48 THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

Piate LXI.

 

sun appear varied either as simple angular lines,
converging lobes, feathers, or as the petals of
an open flower, drawn as if laid flat, or placed
vertically ; as leaves, or as branches, indeed, as of
anything rayed or diverging from a centre, at
times so mixed as to be undistinguishable.

This will be amply illustrated as we proceed ;
but to give the reader an idea of my meaning, it
will be observed that the fringe of the mane
round the head of Sekhet (Plate LXI.) is drawn
much in the same way as the leaves of the calix
of the papyrus or the lotus, the pomegranate flower,
or indeed, as very many other flowers are conven-
tionally represented (see Plate LX XIII.)

Another form of lobe-like diverging ray may be
intended in the representation of the form on the
ears of the Sekhet, the Hathor, or of the Lion’s
Mouth (Plates LVII., LVIII.).

In the Winged Orbs represented in Plate LX.
this varied character of ray is again illustrated
in what, I hope, is a comprehensible form. I
suppose the design (Plate LX. C) is intended for
an emblem of Ra with hawk’s wings,* like the
noonday sun, hovering mid-heaven. Its wings have
chevron-like feathers in the centre, whilst the ex-
On either
side of the orb are the two Urea of the northern

tremities are rayed with green feathers.

* The eagle also (aldla) is stated, in Assyrian Art, to be
the emblem of the noontide sun. (Sayce’s Hibbert Lectures,
p- 248.) See also sketch from the Phcenician monument
(Plates ZE, F, LXIV.). Sometimes vulture’s wings are drawn.

 

 

- HEAD oF kent CROWNED WITH HAWK’s FEATHERS.
FLABELLUM OF HAWK’s FEATHERS.
D1aDEM OF FEATHERS, UREA, AND GLOBES.

From Owen Jones’
Grammar.

and southern sky. The more conventional rays (Plate
LX. A to G), originally derived from the feather,
are either pointed or round, sometimes having the
additional chevron-like form, as in the Rosette
(Plate LIX. A), and the Palmette (Plate LXV.
F).

It will be observed that the zig-zags or chevrons
do not in all cases mean rays, as the same form
is at times used to represent water, and I am in-
clined to the idea that in the discs (Plates LIX.
£, K, LXXIII. &, Z.) they are so used, for the
reason that in some of the earlier cylinders two
streams, probably the Nigris and Euphrates, are
seen proceeding from some deity, possibly Ea.*

On the Cone from which the sun, moon and star
in Plate LIX. G., are taken, I think the chevrons,
or zig-zags, encircling the Cone are intended for
these rivers. Thus, if you looked at the Cone
from the top, you would get the orbs in the centre,
and the rivers running round in two circles. Of
course, as the Assyrians were not capable of ren-
dering perspectives, we get these rendered on plan
in the circles.

There may thus have arisen in the more subtle
zcons a double intention even in these chevron-like
or zig-zag forms; and in considering design it will
be necessary to remember their dual object.

* This figure on the cylinder of Addas, about 2500 B.C., in
the British Museum, is illustrated in Dr, Budge’s Guide
(Plate XXIII), and on the Chaldzean cylinder, in the Louvre,
given in Perrot’s Assyria, vol. ii., p. 266.
HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 49

 

The next important sun emblem is the Hawk
and his wings. This bird is recognised as an
emblem of the sun by all authorities. It was
adopted originally, perhaps, from his characteristic
flight, balancing himself in the
sky before swooping; or per-
haps, as Mr. Birch thinks, from
his keen sight, or the brilliance

of his eyes.

    

The Hawk’s FraTHER is a
very important part of the
diadems of royalty and dig-
nities, and the sun Gods
are often hawk-headed. The
reader has only to look through
the plates of any illustrated
book on Egyptian mythology
to see the primary importance
of the diadem of feathers. It
is difficult sometimes to distin-
guish it from a group of palm
branches similar to those shown
in Egyptian capitals, and the
resemblance of the one to the
other—as both have their cult

ail

—would sometimes cause con- Wut

' ie Thay,
fusion. At any rate the hawk’s cS
feather is pre-eminent. @

Plate LXI. A represents a if
diadem of two hawk’s feathers !
on the head of Khem. Ba

flabellam of hawk’s feathers, -4 and C.
: (Borta). &B.
and C another diadem. In FROM THE CYLINDER OF
: ts Museum). Dz. FROM
Plate I. there is a representa Gaur

tion of the ceremony of invest-
ing a Priest with the feather. re eae

It will have been observed
from my previous remarks and
illustrations that the sun and
the hawk continually occur with the same kind of
wings or rays, for the sun may be said to be winged*

NAN’s MIssion).

in his flight in the air from horizon to horizon,
until he goes down into the sea in his boat. The
horizon sometimes is represented as a boat upright

 

* The Prophet Malachi so speaks of the Sun, iv. 2.
7

PLaTE LXII.—SUN RAYS.

A se
\

" mt |

Wa h

HoRNED HEAD-DRESSES, EARLY ASSYRIAN
RAYED AND HorNnep HEAD-DRESS,
ADDA, B.C.
THE FIGURE OF RIMMON
&. HELMET, WITH THE Rays or Horns
CLOSED AROUND IT, WITH A POMEGRANATE-CROWN TOP.
F. POMEGRANAYE ORNAMENT (PLATES XXVII. AND
G. RAyED HEAD FROM THE MACE-
DONIAN TEMPLE (SCHLIEMANN, Zyoya, p. 282). H. FROM
AN ETRUSCAN SARCOPHAGUS.

when the rays are upward, probably signifying
Horus (Plate LX. Z, /); it bears some resemblance
to an upturned boat when, as Osiris, it is below the
horizon and its rays are downward.

Cognate to the illustrations
in Plate LIX. come those of
the ‘“ Rosetrx,” as it is called,
perhaps not at all times appro-
priately, as many other flowers,
besides the rose, are used for
sun-flowers ; I do not mean the
ordinary English sunflower,
which is a comparatively recent
importation from America, but
flowers which, from their radial
shape, or perhaps from the time
of their opening and closing,
may be taken as sun represen-
Some appear to repre-
sent our ordinary daisy (Plate
LXIII.); that from Nimrud
(Plate LXIII. O) appears to
be a species of Marguerite,

tatives.

only that its long stalk is bare.
In the Sculpture * it reaches
li to a considerable height in
growth. This flower is shown
in detail (Plate LXIII. P).

Botanists tell us that the
changes which take place in
plants when cultivated under
various circumstances are so
2500 (British numerous that it is difficult to
recognise them as the same
in different times and in dif-
ferent countries, such may be
ea oe the case with this apparent
daisy.

The rose of the Pome-
GRANATET was, doubtless, also the basis of many

 

* No. 76, Assyrian Room of the British Museum.

+ “The pomegranate is called by Pliny Punicum malum or
Punica granatum, He calls the flower Balustium. It is the an-
cient vhodon, or rose, which was used for its dye, and gave its
name to the Island of Rhodes. Itis possibly on the reverse of
the coins of that island (in their archaic style), but not in those
of later time, when the true rose is always represented” (Sir
5° THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

PLaTE LNIII.

THE ROSETTE.

 

A, B, C. From Ecyrtian PAINTINGS, THEBES.

NINEVEH.

NICIAN Gass. ZL, M. ASSYRIAN, FROM Bas RELIEFS.

Naucratis. S. From PERSEPOLIS (British Museum).

ancient ‘“‘rosettes”; the pomegranate was used by
the Phcenicians in many ways, the flower for
dye, the fruit for food. From the illustration
which is given in Plate LXXI. of its flowers, it
is easy to imagine that the Naucratis pattern
(Plate LX XI. C, D), as well as others, are intended
for the “Rhodon” of antiquity. I cannot accept
Mr. Goodyear's idea* that the “rosette” was

always intended to represent the stigmatic disk -

or seed form of the lotus. That may occasionally
have been used, but with such a multitude of
beautiful flowers as the Egyptians cultivated, it is
difficult to suppose that they would have continual
recourse to the seed form as indicated in the sketch

from Mr. Goodyear’s Grammar (Plate LXIII. ).

 

G. Wilkinson, vol. ii., p. 407). The rose is mentioned in the
Bible, but, according to Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible
(article ‘‘Rose’’), the Hebrew word ‘ chabatstseleth”” may
mean a variety of flowers, or rather its exact meaning is
unknown. Some authorities think the rose itself is meant,
and, according to Hooker, there are many wild roses in
Syria. The “rose of Jericho,” anastatica hierochuntina, which
also grows in Egypt and Palestine, is not a rose at all. The
narcissus, crocus, lily, colchicum, asphodel, are supposed by
the various etymologists to be the plant meant.

* See Goodyear’s Grammar of the Lotus.

£Z. AN EGYPTIAN
HIS IDEA OF THE ORIGIN OF THE ROSETTE FROM THE STIGMA OF THE LOTUS.
7. From ByBLos, SHOWING BACK AND FRONT OF FLOWER.
4. From Locris.
TALL-STEMMED FLowERr, 7, AND THE LILY [PLATE LXXIII. C.] (British Museum).
T. PAINTED ORNAMENT FROM MYCENA&.
Go.LpsMirH’s: Work (in British Museum). Aa. From ENKoMI, SALAMIS.

 

Ivory HANDLE. &. From Mr. Goopvear’s Grammar, SHEWING
G. From AN EGYPTIAN GOLD BRACELET. Hf. From
X&. Rose OF POMEGRANATE, FROM NAUCRATIS. Ka. FRoM PHa-
O, ASSYRIAN Bas RELIEF; ABOVE THE LION ARE SHOWN THE
Q. From Layarpb’s Assyria. R. From Dr. PETRIE’S
UY to Z. FROM CAMEIROS, RHODES,
Bb, Cc, Dd. MycEN@®AN ORNAMENTS.

Nevertheless, the reader should carefully study Mr.
Goodyear’s book upon the question, for although
I think his lotus theory most unsound in many
cases, it is a valuable and useful contribution
As of the lotus, so could a
whole book of considerable size be written on
each of the details with which I am dealing, the
reader must therefore simply accept my notes
and illustrations as “first aid,’ and we are forced
hurriedly to the next and most vexed question,
“THE PALMETTE.”

to art literature.*

Here is involved the most
critical part of my argument, and I may have the
greatest difficulty to convince the reader of that
which I have convinced myself, especially as the
accepted nomenclature of historic Art is against
me.

As has been already remarked, I consider that
there are mainly two palmettes, one of the rays
of the sun turned upwards or downwards with a
central orb or part of an orb indicated, to represent

* A good article, with a summary of Mr. Goodyear’s views,
is given by Lady Huggins in the Journal of the British and
American Archaological Society, Rome, 1891-2. It is reprinted

in pamphlet form and published by Bertero, Via Umbria,
Rome.
HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL ‘DETAILS. 51

 

some sun Deity,
probably Horus ;*
the other with the
rays downward,
probably Osiris, be-
sides certain floral
sun emblems, per-
haps originally the
papyrus or the

 

lotus, but, as I have

 

observed previ-
ously, the Egyp-
tians rendered

 

many flowers in the
same conventional
way.

The illustrations
in evidence of my
palmette idea must
be somewhat nu-

merous, and _ the
argument a little
complicated.

FROM: LAYARD.
(PLaTE LXI.).

The best exam-
ple, perhaps, from
which to explain
this theory, and
which had __pro-
bably the greatest
historic
is the

FROM OWM-EL-AWAMID (TYRIAN).
ON A FORM SIMILAR TO THAT IN

influence,
Assyrian

* According to
Brugsch, the Egyp-
tian and Greek gods are rendered thus at Thebes :—

Amen Ra (King of the Gods)... Zeus.

Mentu ... sa (Son) ... Mars.

Shu... oe (Son) Agathodemus.

Seb... tee (Son of Shu) Saturn.

Osiris ... is (Son of Seb) Dionysos.

Horus ... (Son of Osiris) Hermes.

(at Memphis)

Ptah ... (Father of Gods, Great Architect) Hephestus.
(Jupiter)

Ra site is (Son, fire, present) ... Sol.

Shu... 2 (His son, the Air) Agathodemus.

Seb... neg (the Earth) Saturn.

Osiris... ans (Son, Water) Dionysos.

(The past completed existence)
Set Hi ...(Son of Seb, Annihilation)... Typhon.
Horus ? (the Future) .. Hermes.

' Dr. Flinders Petrie has tabulated the cults dominant at various periods.
From this tabulation it would appear that in the later periods the cult of Horzs
was very prominent. This may be some reason for its frequent occurrence in
the late sun palmette.

 

 

 

A. ASSYRIAN PALMETTES FROM Borra (PLATE CXIX.).
C. ASSYRIAN ‘*MoOON” PALMETTE ON A FIELMET, FROM BOTTA
D. QDitro, FRoM A HorRSE’s TRAPPINGS. £.
RAYED AND WINGED SUN WITH PALMETTE FEATHERED TAIL.
FROM AMUTH (PLATE IX.), RENAN’S MISSION.
#7. TRIPLE PALMETTE, THE LOWER ONE RESTING
PLATE CV., WITH POMEGRANATE ROSES AT
THE EXTREMITIES, AND A POMEGRANATE CROWN IN THE CENTRE.
BoaT ARE TWO MoNKEYs, (FROM THRASOS IN SARDINIA).
PALMETTE, FROM THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO, NAUCRATIS.
TEMPLE AT EPHESUS, SEE ALSO PLATE LXXVIII. (aBouT 350 B.c.). This fragment is
curious in that in the unfinished part (a, a, a) the sculptor has sketched in a form resembling
an Assyrian Palmette, but has carried it out to his own fancy on the other side.

 

sun Palmette,* as

Prats LXIV. PALMETTES. I shall call it.

Of this palmette
there are three or

Se

WALZ

ee
2 JIGS

four kinds. Some
have plain, diver-
gent, rounded rays
(Plate LXV. YP);
others have a chev-
ron-like ornament
on the rays (Plate
LXV. F); others,
such as that on the
central stem of the
Assyrian tree, are
double, rayed above
and below. Of these
last I shall write
hereafter. This pal-
mette, in my opin-
ion, was originally
an artificial sym-
bolical

tion,} perhaps in

construc-
B. Dirro, 1X Bronze, 2 He

PHENICIAN
F. EAGLE, DITTO,
G. PHGNICIAN RAYED SUNS,

gold and precious
stones, after the
form of a diadem,
such as is worn by
the deities and royal
personages from

ON THE UPPER
I, FRAGMENT OF A
kK. FROM THE LATER

the earliest mon-
archs down to those
of a late period.
The Sassanides wore upon their heads a diadem
of feathers not unlike that of our own days in
the crest of the Princes of Wales. Upon some of
the ancient Egyptian figures one is doubtful whether
it is intended to represent a group of feathers or
palm leaves; perhaps sometimes one, sometimes
the other. Diadems of artificial flowers and feathers
were very common.

If the reader compares the Assyrian sun palmette
with zigzag rays, or of chevrons (Plate LXV. -)

 

* I should suggest Sunray Palmette as its name in place of
Anthemion.

+ See Professor Sayce concerning the method of relief from
a structure of tree-like character.—Hibbert Lectures, pp. 230
et seq.

+ See Flandin & Coste, La Perse.
52 THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

Pirate LXV.—PALMETTES.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DES ENE

i aK |
OW ORD
YVWAS

: sn

 

 

 

A. EcGyprian ‘“‘PALMETTE,” FROM Te&L DEFENNEH (now in the British Museum). &. WAL PAINTING (PRISSE D’AVENNES).
C. (20TH DYNASTY) DITTO. D. FROM A STELE AT KOUYUNJIK. Z&. From Purycia. /. PAINTED ORNAMENT, CIRCA
880 B.c.. FROM NIMRUD. G. ETRUSCAN. f, Ditto. J, ARCHAIC GREEK. &,. From Cyprus. £. From Cyprus.
Mf. From ASGINA. WV. FRomM THE PARTHENON. O. From THe ERECHTHEUM. P. From THE CHoRAaGiIc MONUMENT
oF LYSICRATES. Q. A STELE (in the British Museum). R. A LATER STELE. S. GOLD ORNAMENTS FROM ENKOMI
(SALAMis), CYPRUS. It will be observed that the Sun centre is lost in Q and R#. Z. AT PERSEPOLIS, FROM FLANDIN. IN
FIGURE /, @ ARE THE FEATHERED Rays; 6, INNER Rays (SEE PLATE XIIIA., THIS IS MORE EASILY UNDERSTOOD IF THAT DRAWING
IS INVERTED) ; ¢, THE SUN; d@, HORNS OR SERPENTS > ¢, THE VOLUTES OF THE Horizon.

to the sun-rayed Egyptian flabellum, with the hawk,
an emblem of the sun, in the centre (Plate LXI. 4),
he will, I think, conclude that the chevron-like lines
in the Assyrian palmette resemble the bicoloration

as in their explanations the little central orb which
I suppose generally to indicate the sun, or other
planet as a minor deity, is not accounted for ; indeed,
that which has held good in the Rosette holds

of the hawk’s feather. I have already remarked good in the Palmette. Messrs. Perrot and Chipiez*

that this bicoloration itself forms a ee oe

ray in the sun’s wing. (See Plate
LX. C).

These palmettes with central disks
form the principal feature of the
Assyrian Tree (Plate LXVII.), and
are, to my thinking, the key of its

 

 

 

ASSYRIAN EMBROIDERIES: BULLS AND GOATS ADORING TIIE RISING SUN:

origin. The theories of Professor
Sayce, of Mr. Tylor, of Mr. Goodyear, and others, * give two plates from Layard (Plates LXVa.), in
all appear to me unsatisfactory upon this question, which goats and bulls are adoring the Padmette.
If we consider the principal object of these
palmettes as the central sun, the whole is explained.

 

Tylor’s article in the Proceedings of Biblical Avch@ology, vol. xii.,

* See Professor Sayce’s Hibbert Lectures, pp. 238-257. Mr. |
p. 383. Goodyear’s Grammar of the Lotus, ‘« Assyrian Palmette.”

 

* Assyria, vol i., pp. 308-9.
 

Pirate LXVI.

 

A. ON Porrery FROM SALAMIS, Cyprus (British Museum).
Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. vi., p. 36-
crown of rays.
G. FRroM A PHE@NICIAN BRONZE BOWL FROM NINEVEH.
BRONZE BowLs FROM CuRIUM.

Professor Sayce, in his view concerning the cedar-
tree, appears, however, on the same track. “It
was upon the heart and core of the cedar that
the name Ea, the god of wisdom, was inscribed.”

In the sun temple from Sippar (Plate LIX. £)
the little sun-god is supported by the cedar column ;
he is holding his palmette and, I imagine, sending
“spiral rays” upon the image of the sun. Some
authorities think he is supporting the sun with ropes.

This question of the Assyrian 77vee, as it is now
called, is of major importance as connected with this
question. I am not about to argue that this relief-
carved elevation should really be considered as “on
plan,” but all know that in archaic art the elevation
and plan are often mixed; for example, rivers are
sometimes drawn horizontally, and at other times
If rivers are so rendered, why not the
Indeed, on some of the cylinders, &c.,
Even modern astrono-

vertically.
heavens ?
they are thus delineated.
mical maps, hung upon the wall, give the same
vertical plan.

On referring to one form of the “diagram ” de-
lineated in Plate LXVII, it will be observed
that the central stem is, in common with all the
others, surmounted. by the large chevron-marked
palmette already described, reminding one of the
Egyptian palmette. The “fingers” of this pal-

HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS.

 

53

 

PALMETTES, PRINCIPALLY PHQENICIAN.

 

 

B. ON PHENICIAN POTTERY FROM CYPRUS,

C. GEM FROM SPANO, SARDINIA, on this the sacred eye has a
£. GOLDSMITH’s WORK FROM CuURIUM.

J’, FRoM A CyprRioTe SARCOPHAGUS.
H. DItt10, FROM PALI. 1, Kk, £. On

mette are centred in a disc; the whole is tied with
some bands. Under this band, again, occurs another
half-hidden disc ; the two half-hidden discs, upper
and lower, are repeated with the bands in the centre
of the stem, and a single disc again occurs at the
base. Surrounding the central stem, and joined to
it by ligaments, there are a series of smaller pal-
mettes with the same central disc. To my mind,
these little half-hidden discs are the object of the
whole structure, which, altogether, may be a de-
votional, an astronomical, or an astrological dia-
gram, or even a copy of a structural combination
of diadems erected in the temple, representing the
order and influence of certain Sun deities thus
united,

Again, if at this time there was a revival of
Accadian worship, combined with a practice of
using many Egyptian emblems, influenced to a
degree by previous Semitic notions, the solution
of religious emblematic structures of this time would
be complicated. It is, of course, as yet a mere
question of guessing; but two solutions suggest
themselves to me : (1) that the central stem may sug-
gest “ Ilu,” sprung from the abyss and the primordial
Ilu (God) had, according to some Assyrio-
logists, three esteria or visible water manifestations :
“Anu,” uncreated

S€a.

matter, the fundamental and
54 THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

unique principle of
all things; ‘“ Ea,”
the intelligence
which
matter, rendering
it fertile; and Bel,
the Ruler of the
whole Universe.
In Accadian, Anna,
Ea and Anu; in
the nature of Iu,
these three issue

from the
Bel

‘Ea; each seems
Anu

also to have had a
“reflection,” a sort

enlivened

other :

of female counter-
part :
Anu Bel Ea

Anatu Belit Davkina

 

 

 

 

Thus the under suns may mean the “reflections.”
Perhaps ‘“‘ Tammuz”* is represented by the top
palmette. There is, however, a diversity of opinion
even in the arrangement of these deities, and it
appears that their cultus differed in various times

and places. One difficulty, as far as this structure
(Plate LXVII.) goes, is that the reflection of the

 

* See Professor Sayce’s Hibbert Lectures. Taunna was the
son of Ea. The mother of Tammuz was Davina, wife of Ea
(pp. 236, 237).

“Tt will be remembered that the worship of Tammuz had
been transported from Eridu to the capital of Sargon at the
time when the culture of S. Babylonia made its way to the
north, and the empire of Sargon was fusing the civilisation
and religion of the country into a single whole,” &c., &c.

(1) In Eridu a stalk grew overshadowing ; in a holy place
did it become green.

(2) Its root was of white crystal which stretched towards
the deep.

(3) (before) Ea was its course in Eridu, teeming with
fertility,

(4) Its seat was the central place of the earth.

(5) Its foliage (?) was the couch of Zikum, the: primeval
mother.

(6) Into the heart of its holy house, which spread its shade
like a forest, hath woman entered.

(7) (There is the home) of the Mighty Mother who passes
across the sky.

(8) In the midst of it was Tammuz.

(9) (There is the shrine) (?) of the two (gods) (/bid., page 238).

Purate LXVII.

 

 

A “PALMETTE” STRUCTURE CALLED THE ‘* TREE,” FROM NIMRUD.

(Now in the British Museum. )

 

bottom palmette is
omitted ; yet there
arises a stream from
where she would be,
below the base.
The second solu-
tion that has sug-
gested itself to me
is that the struc-
ture may be more
Egyptianised, and
that the centre may
be some Assyrian
rendering of one of
the myths of Osiris
and may mean
Horus,* Tum or
Nindara, and that
the surrounding
suns with palmette

 

rays may mean the
course of the sun, each position of which course
was represented in Egyptian mythology by one of
a number:of minor deities.+

The reader will not expect from me an elaborate
explanation ; it is sufficient that he may consider my
proposition concerning the obscure origin of the sun
palmette and the structure as reasonable. A solution
of any value must come from, or be approved of,
by some of the learned Assyriologists, whose
discoveries form one of the great distinctions of
our age.

An explanation of my omission of any reference
to Dr. Tylor’s fertilisation theory is, I think,
demanded. Dr. Tylor has given four plates re-
presenting three phases of this ceremony. Taking
them in an inverted order, we have fig. 16 of Dr.
Tylor's article} from the enamelled brick repre-
sentation. In this the same deities who hold the

 

* In the list of correlative personages of deities, Egyptian
and Greek, given by Dr. Brugsch (see footnote, p. 51), Horus
is equivalent to Mercury. In the Greek stele (Plate XXVI.)

this palmette with the upward rays is associated with a figure
of Mercury.

+ See note to p. 46, from Dr. Budge’s Guide. ‘
t Proceedings of Biblical Archeology, vol. xii., Pp. 383, &c.
HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 55

 

Pirate LXVIII. THE DOUBLE PALMETTE.

 

{]
GB
ag
SA
Yr

A. From THE RUNG OF AN ASSYRIAN THRONE.

ZB. FRoM AN ASSYRIAN BRONZE.

 

C. ON AN ETRUSCAN SARCOPHAGUS IN THE BRITISH

Museum. D. From Mycen&. £. From Lanuvium (Terra Cotta in the British Museum). #. ON PoTTERy FRoM MEZLOs (this is placed horizontally
instead of vertically). G. FROM THE FRANCOIS VASE.

cones and water vessels in Plate LXVII. before the
“Tree” are performing the function of fertilising
a “rosette,” another emblem of the sun; in fig.
15, as fertilising another tree of a totally differ-
ent appearance. It will be observed that in this
structure the palmette covers but one sun, and there
is no female or reflector; hence it may represent
but one personage, probably a deity of fertility—
Belit, for example, ‘the sovereign goddess,” the
queen of fertility. To the figure 14 (Dr. Tylor’s
article) the same observation applies. The tree re-
presents a single deity, over whom the sun shines,
for some reason. To the same category of mysti-
cal fertilisation belong the other figures

I would speak of these representations as of a
“function” performed by priests, emblematic of the
idea of fertility, founded on some ordinary agricul-
tural proceeding such as Dr. Tylor describes in the
fertilisation of the palm. We see similar ‘‘functions”
in Egyptian art, when a Royal personage has
streams of the “Anch” poured over him by like
mythical personages, or, in modern times, in the
incensing of an altar, typifying the passage of
prayer rising upwards.

 

I now leave this “tree” to the reader’s devices,
to pass to the next detail, the double palmette,
In the double palmette the two halves are arrayed
vertically or horizontally, at the pleasure of the
I have already explained that I think the
There may

artist.
second sun may be a “reflection.”
have been also another object in its use when
drawn unattached to a tree; one palmette may
have represented Horus, the other Osiris, or Osiris
and Isis, or some Chaldean, Assyrian, Phoenician,
Etruscan, or Greek equivalent for the same. The
lower palmette may at times have represented the
sun as the fertilising power (Plate LXVIII. C). In
the multiform palmette of the Francois Vase (Plate
LXVIII. G) there appears again some combined
cultus, and the Assyrian waving lines are turned
into ribands tied in ornamental forms. The whole
seems obviously of Asiatic descent, perhaps As-
syrian, Phoenician, Corinthian, Etruscan. The
vase is signed with Greek names, but it is known
that certain Etruscan centres were, in the sixth
century, replenished from Corinth (see p. 33).
The genesis of the other double palmettes, like
many details of other plates, may be left to the
56 THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

speculation of
the reader, upon
whom it is not at
all times wise to
impose one’s
Own views.
Palmettes,
forming capitals,
cornices, and bor-
ders, would seem
to be the next
detail, but there ~
are at least two
other forms of
which
I have not de-

palmette

scribed involved
in ornament,
namely, the floral,

   
   
    

or anthemion, anc l +E ae . 2 ‘
re WS vm
vA Gi Elana

% :

that derived from
certain fish. In
the floral pal-
mette there are

4. Tue ‘‘NELuMBO” Lorus.
also some plants
involved — other
than those al-

ready described.

ABYDOS.

Two of these most frequently adapted to the radi-
ating form of ornament are THE Lotus and THE
Papyrus (Plates LXIX., LXX.). Inthe illustrations
sketches of parts of the natural plants are placed
beside ornaments probably derived from them.
Some are obviously so derived, but it is at times
difficult to recognise any fower from the old paint-

ings and reliefs. Indeed, after careful examination, |

think the Egyptians sometimes drew fancy flowers, |

compositions from various plants, even as_ they
made exquisite artificial flowers.*

* So fond were the Egyptians of trees and flowers, and of
growing their gardens with all the profusion and variety
which cultivation could obtain, that they even exacted a con-
tribution of rare productions from the nations which were
tributary to them, and foreigners from distant countries are
represented bringing plants among the presents to the Egyp-
tian king. [And such attention, says Athenzus, did they
give to their gardens, that through the care bestowed upon

PLare LXIX. LOTUS.

    
    

B. Ecyptian Lotus, CAPITAL AND ORNAMENT.
NyMPH@ CARULEA. D, E. From Nature, sy Mr. Goopyrar. (£ is sketched to show
Mr. Goodyear’s idea of the origin of the Volute, &c.)
G. FROM A PAINTED EGYPTIAN CAPITAL.

 

Concerning
the Lotus,* a
book of consid-
erable size has
been made of
this one detail,
it is full of in-
terest, but I have
before said many
of Mr. Good-
year’s theories ap-
pear forced, and
at times false.

the cultivation of
plants, and the be-
nign temperature of
their climate, flow-
ers which were only
sparingly produced
in other places (and
at stated periods of
the year), in Egypt
flowered in profu-
sion at all seasons,
so that neither
roses, nor violets,
were absent even in
the depth of winter.
—G. W.] They
carried this love of
theirs still farther,

‘ and not only painted
the lotus and other favourite flowers (see Plate CCLXXIV.)
among the fancy devices of their walls, on the furniture of
their houses, on their dresses, chairs, and boxes, on their
boats, and in short, whatever they wished to ornament, but
they appear from Pliny’ to have composed artificial flowers
which received the name ‘“ Agyptia,” if indeed we may
be allowed to consider these similar to the ‘“ Hyberne”
he afterwards describes. Wreaths and chaplets
were in common use; and though the lotus was principally
preferred, many other flowers and leaves were employed;
as the Chrysanthemum, Acinon, Acacia, Strychnus,
Persoluta, Anemone, Convolvulus, Olive, Myrtle, Amaricus,
Xeranthemum, Bay Tree, and others (Pliny, xxi. 25, XXVvii.,
xlil. 9, &c., &c., also Athen, xv. 6), and Plutarch tells us that
when Agesilaus visited Egypt, he was so delighted with
the chaplets of papyrus sent him by the king, that he took
some home when he returned to Sparta. (Sir G. Wilkinson,
vol. i., p. 403.)

* The Lotus is not mentioned as a symbol of the land.
The oldest monuments speak of Egypt—as Tamani—
“The Country of the Inundations”; «The Land of the
Sycamores"; ‘* The Land of the Olive”’ ; “The Land of the

 

C. THE

fF. FLOWERS FROM RELIEF AT
Hl. FRoM EGYPTIAN PAINTING.

' xxi. 2.
There are many kinds
of lotus ; some were not
indigenous to Egypt,
but were cultivated
within their beautiful
gardens, notably the
Nelumba, or rose-lotus,
(Plate LXIX. 4), which
did not rest on the
waters as some other
species do, but grew
on a taller stem. The
bluish-white lotus ap-
pears to have been a
native of the country,
and to have been the
flower ordinarily used
in their ornament.*

 

Holy Eye”; ‘“‘ The Land of
the Sixth Day of the Moon.”
(Brugsch, p. 5.)

* « The resemblance, in-
deed, between Alu, or Pahru,
‘the day’ in Egyptian, and
Eos, the Greek Aurora, is suf-
ficiently striking : (Qy-) and Dead (in the British Museum).
if for the ‘sun’ rising every Lotus.
morning from a lotus-flower, WoopBINE.
we substitute the ‘ day,’ we
find the remark of Plutarch
justly applies to this deity:
and we may readily pardon
his error in making him Harpocrates, whom he so much
resembles. It may be, then, supposed that he represents the
‘day’; and he is with justice called the child of Athos, or
night, from which every new day was supposed to spring. I
must in conclusion make this remark on the Lorus Pant,
on which he is represented seated, that it is always the
Nymeu#a Lotus, and in no instance the NeLumso. And
though this last is mentioned by several ancient authors as
among the plants of Egypt, it is never intvoduced into the
sculpture as a sacred emblem, or indeed, as a production of the
country ; a fact which goes far to disprove one of the supposed
analogies of the Egyptian and Indian objects of veneration.
With regard to the Common Lotus so frequently represented
as a favourite flower in the hands of the Egyptians . . . .
there is no evidence of its having been sacred, much less an
object of worship, though it is an emblem of the god Nefer-
atmu.” (Wilkinson, vol. iii., pp. 132-3.) Mr, Goodyear
(p 18) quotes Mr. Studeant, who has made water lilies a
study, as an authority for the following peculiarities of
the flower. (1) ‘The Nelumbium speciosa, or rose lotus,
opens at dawn and closes after mid-day. (2) The Nymphaa
(white lily) opens after sunset, and is night blooming. (3) The
Cavulea opens soon after sunrise and closes a little after sunset.”

8

DRAWING 1N PERSPECTIVE?

PLATE LXX. PAPYRUS.

 

A. BuppING Papyrus FROM NATURE.
C. REPRESENTS THE Calyx, SIDE VIEW.
D. Is A FLOWER OF THE Picotee KIND.
a, 6, ARE PAPYRUS, ccc, ARE PROBABLY
G. A PAPYRUS STEM ENTWINED WITH A VINE BRANCH AND

H. A Papyrus Bup IN FLOWER.
K. Papyrus AND POMEGRANATE, FROM THE ALTAR, ANNEXED TO THE
Ficure oF Hari (in the British Museum). In 3, G, H and X, the grass-
like features of the Papyrus are well delineated.

 

FAISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 57

The Papyrus bud, in
the radiation of its calyx,
is drawn at times like
the lotus, and confused
with it ; my own impres-
sion is that it is more
frequently intended in
the designs than some
suppose. There occurs
in some authors a mis-
take ; they speak of the
grass springing from
the centre of the calyx
as a flower. The flower-
ing of the papyrus, like
that of other grasses, is
a very small flower on
the grass stalks spring-
ing from the centre, and
is indicated by little dots
in the Egyptian designs,
when it is intended to

B. PAPYRUS FROM AN EGYPTIAN

represent the plant in
flower. In good Egyp:
tian drawings by capa-
ble artists, such as those
in the Book of the Dead
in the British Museum,
there is no difficulty in
distinguishing the papyrus from the lotus (Plate
LXX. £). I think in the Turin “book” the artist
has confused the modern investigator by designing
bouquets of real and composite flowers.

Tue Lity is not uncommon, that which I have
sketched from the Assyrian relief in the British
Museum, and the Asiatic lily from nature above
it in Plate LX XIII., bear a close resemblance.

The fruit of the PomecranaTE, like its flower, is

E. From THE Book of the

I. Papyrus, CARVED.

commonly used in ancient ornament; indeed, with

 

I have no idea if the Egyptians ever correlated these varie-
ties with the deities they might represent, ¢.g., No. 2, the
Nympheza as Osiris. There is a good collection of the lotus at
the Botanical Gardens, Regent’s Park, which any student can
refer to.
58

THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

the lily,* the pome-
granate and the palm
are mentioned very fre-
quently and prominently
in the bronze that Hiram
did for Solomon’s tem-
ple; they were, as we
know, common orna-
ments about 1000 B.C.
There is no doubt but
that the Assyrian and
Pheenician borders
(Plates LXXXII. JD,

£), as well as quantities
of other ornamentation,

are pomegranate; the
argument that these
forms are lotus buds

cannot hold, when the
form of the pomegranate
as drawn in the tree

(Plate LX XII. Z) and in the bunches carried by
the men (Plate LXXII. C) are compared; there
can be but little doubt of its importance in symbol,

and in ornament.

Drawings of VARIOUS FLOWERS are grouped on

Plate LXXIV.,
but it is difficult
even for a bota-
nist to tell us
exactly what
each is inten-
ded for, but it
demonstrates
the circum-
stance that the
artistic flora, or
flowers, used
in Egyptian
design were
and

The

numerous
varied.

garlands are often represented as suspended on the |
walls of the room with the flowers downwards.

 

A. POMEGRANATE FRUIT AND FLower.
CoNE, FROM THE ALTAR OF Hapl, THE NILE GoD (British Museum).
CARRYING FLAILS OF POMEGRANATES AND Locusts, LaYARD’s Assyria.
GRANATE ORNAMENT FROM LAYARD’s Assyria.
CARTHAGE (PERROT AND CHIPIEZ, p. 64, vol. ii.).

POMEGRANATES.

PLatTeE LXXI.

 

A. THE POMEGRANATE IN FLOWER AND FRuIT. 8B. “RHODON,” oR
POMEGRANATE FLOWER ON THE SaRcopHaGus (PLATE CV.), FROM
KNEIFEDH. C,.D. From Naucratis. £.F. BRONzE, FROM OLYMPIA.
G. PUNIC STELE WITH POMEGRANATES, ABOUT 800 B.C., FROM TANIT,
PERROT AND CHIPIEZ, p. 253.

and other authors.

‘Professor
One is not, however, surprised
when it is known what an useful creature it is,
especially to the poor fishermen.

That little fish the
NauTILus,* oR ARGO-
is also the fre-
foundation of

NAUT,
quent
design at a certain pe-
riod, and apparently the
origin of some forms of
palmette and volute (see
Plate LXXV. C). Mr.
Goodyear has claimed
Plate LXXV ZZ, evi-
dently the lower tenta-
cles of an octopus, for
lotus leaves.

The reason of the
frequent appearance of
these crustacea in Phoe-
nician and early Greek
art is well explained by
Perrot and Chipiez,t
Rawlinson,

They still abound

on the coasts of Brittany, and when the brown

Plate LXXII. POMEGRANATES.

 

q
?
3
q
H

:
3

 

 

 

 

 

 

#. From Potrery, Naucratis.

the British Museum.

 

* 3 Kings, vii.-viii.

 

B. Papyrus, POMEGRANATE, AND SEED

liquid of the sack has been extracted for paint and

dye, and the
bone made use
of, the peas-
antry skin and
eat the flesh,
which is said
to have the
flavour of veal.

In future por-
this
work we. shall
have to refer to

tions of

 

C. MEN
D. Pomr-
£. POMEGRANATE ORNAMENT FROM

* In the Journal
of Hellenic Studies,
vol. xvii, p. 75,
there is an inter-

esting article on the Nautilus Pottery, by Mr. Walters, of

+ Grammar of the Lotus, Plate LXVI., No. 1.
t See Perrot and Chipiez, Primitive Greece, vol. ii., pp. 396-8.
 

PLATE LXXIII.

 

\ SS aks \
& ~ =

 

 

“4. AN AsraTIC LiLty, FROM NATURE. B. EGYpTiAN FLOWERS, OF
WHICH ONE SEEMS TO REPRESENT THE SAME SORT OF LILY, INVERTED.
C. From an AssvRIAN Bas RELIEF IN THE BritTIsH Museum. IN
THE ORIGINAL THE BODY OF A LION INTERRUPTS THE STEM.

HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 59

the development of painted architecture. Painted
architectural details, except in Egypt, of the early
periods are so scarce that it is impossible to illus-
trate the progress of design without having recourse
to carving.

The columns in the structural architecture
of Egypt seem often composed of imitations of
bundles of aquatic reeds (such as Plate LXXVI.
B, a the summits of some of which are like bul-
rushes; these have erroneously been called lotus
buds. In some instances (Plate LXXVII. A), there
is no difficulty in detecting the three-sided papyrus
stem. It is undoubtedly more reasonable to sup-
pose that in a supporting column they would
imitate a bunch of strong reeds in preference to
that of fragile lotus stems.

In Plate LX XVII. certain capitals and bases are
given; two are Egyptian, two Assyrian, one is
from Naucratis, in Egypt. The forms of the design
of the latter with the moulding which surmounts
it (LXXVIII. £) are evidently founded on the
Egyptian and Assyrian ornament (4, C, D
Plate LXXVII.). Indeed, it is difficult to find an
original archaic form which is not so related.

In LXXVIII. @ and 4, various details are given,
principally showing the development of Doric and
Ionic Architecture. It has been attempted as much
as possible to make the plates, with the letterpress
that accompanies them, illustrate the developments
of these styles in an elementary way. One cannot
do more without going into a long and elaborate
architectural essay, for which there is here neither
necessity nor space; such essays are already
abundant in other works.

Whilst writing on the capital I would call attention
to its peculiarities in some Cypriote examples, the
details of which resemble in some degree the late
Egyptian, Assyrian, and other Phcenician palmettes,
(Plate LXXX.). I allude to the pyramid, having

eg “PERV

MS

VBS

By
Esa

NOH
ae

 

A, B, C, D, H, O, P. FLOwErs FROM EGYPTIAN PAINTINGS. &, F, G. From PAINTING ON Mummy CasEs.
i H, I. PENDANT BIRDS AND FLOWERS HANGING FROM THE WALL IN AN EGYPTIAN PICTURE. K. A Tatu
AQUATIC PLANT, PROBABLY INTENDED FOR THE PAPYRUS, AS IT IS GROWING WILD IN A SCENE REPRESENTING

THE Hunt or THE Hippopotamus (Prisse d’ Avennes).
VOLVULI FROM SIR G. WILKINSON.

LZ. Lotus FLOWERS ON THE WATER. M, N. Con-
60

A. THE NAUTILUS, FROM THE KUMBET Tomes, Purycia.

 

THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

PLATE LXXV. THE NAUTILUS AND OCTOPUS.

B. From WALL PAINTING, MyCEN«z. C. ON POTTERY
FROM ErMEN, Ecypt (British Museum). f. From Mas-
CHINAKE (Rénan’s Phenicze, p. 38). &. From Sapa
(Rénan, p. 42), THE OCTOPUS AND CUTTLE Fisu, D. GoLp-
SMITH’s WoRK FROM Mycrena:, /, From Haciar Kin,
Matta. (Evidently the lower portion of the same design.
There is here an absolute identity of detail in Mycenzean and
Pheenician work. Mr. Goodyear calls it ‘‘lotus,”? Messrs.
Perrot and Chipiez ‘‘an egg between spirals” (Phendcia,
vol. ii., p. 414), Rénan ‘‘ thinks it is the lotus.” #. From
PITANE, A‘TOLIA. Gand H. From JAtysos, RHODEs.

 

PLatE LXXVI. EGYPTIAN ART.

np
|

  
    
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   
   

 

 

 

|

A. MONKEY IN A TREE (CHAMPILLON, p. 72), SEE ALSO THE TREES IN PLATE III.
AQUATIC PLANTS FROM RELIEFS (C. 125, British Museum), COMPARE WITH DETAILS
OF CAPITALS (PLATE LXXVII. 4 and EZ).

PLaTe LXXVII.

 

| ui |
CH Haas
Ti
Ui p
Eli
HI

BSS Er sean

   

ls
Tt
(ay
ro ee

M

          
  
   

  

 

KS
wh

Ae
SAT

  

  

peo
ff
if Uri

A, CAPITAL FROM THE TEMPLE OF THE Oasis, THEBES, THE ORNA-
MENT OF THIS IS SIMILAR TO THAT ON C (PLatE LXXVI. 2B. A
PALM-CAPITAL (now in the British Museum). C. AssyrtaN CAPITAL
AND BASE, FROM PALACE OF SENNACHERIB. It is reversed to show its
resemblance to the archaic ‘egg and tongue.” See Plate LXXVIIIJ. D.
From Kouvyunjyix. &. CAPITAL FROM Navcratis (British Museum),
THE UPPER PORTION OF THIS IS SHOWN IN PLATE LXXVIIId.—2&.
AiISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 61

 

 

PLaTE LXXVIIIa.

 

aaa a

Tiron

 

 

4. Doric CaPIraL FROM MELAPONTE. 2B. FROM PA&STUM. 82. FRoM SELINONTIS.

Cand #2. FROM THE PARTHENON. Ha. FROM
CorRINTH. fic. From Detos (for the question of the development of the Doric from the Egyptian at Beni Hassan, see
Perrot and Chipiez’ Zgyft, vol. i., p. 250). D. Ionic CapiraL FROM LeEszos. &. From NEANDRA. #. From DEtos.
G. DELPHI. #&. THE ERECHTHEUM, ATHENS. Z. From THE CHoRAGIC MONUMENT, LyYSICRATES. Mf. FRomM BRANCHIDA.

4. From THE Tower oF THE WINDS. O. FROM PRIENE (British Museum).

(For the supposed origin of the Ionic Capital,
see the Capitals, Plates LXIX. G, LIX. £.)

PLaTE LXXVIIIé. Plate LXXVIIId.—A, B, C. FROM THE ARCHAIC TEMPLE OF

EpHEsus. DD, FROM AN ARCHAIC FRAGMENT (British Museum).
Qe #. THE Upper PorTION oF A CaPITAL (LXXVII. £), FROM
C i , Navucratis. HA, /. FROM THE LATER TEMPLE OF EPHESUS,
\ iy FROM FRAGMENT (in the British Museum). G. FROM THE

\ 1

ERECHTHEUM, DITTO.

     
  
 

PLaTE LXXIX.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A. STELE WITH INVERTED PyRAMID (RENAN, PLATE 500).
B. Ditto (RENAN, p. 657). C, D, £. Cypriore CAPITALS.
—C From TRAPEZA, NEAR FAMAGOSTA (now in the Louvre),
D FROM ATHIENO, Z IN THE Louvers. F. FROM GOLDSMITH’S
WORK FOUND AT AiGINA (British Museum),
62 THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

an orb and rays on its summit, with the volute on
either side (Plate LXXIX. C). These features
recur frequently, and in various ways.

As the reader will have already gathered from
the illustrations, it may have developed in very
many different ways, but it is unreasonable to
imagine that the ancients first drew the forms and
They probably
chose forms which were figurative of the abstract

then attached meanings to them.

mental conception of some religious idea.

To return to the pyramid ; what does it signify,
and what do the volutes on either side mean? I
have been trying to satisfy myself with a reason-
able explanation.

It will be observed that, on the pyramid, there is
sometimes carved an inverted crescent and a star, as
though in the centre of the pyramid it was dark
night. In some early Pheenician examples at Helos
(Plate LX XIX. A, &), the pyramid is inverted ; on
one there is a globe or sun, over the other wreaths,
both are funereal. The ideas have occurred to me—
Are the symbols of Egyptian or of Accadian origin ?
Does the sun on the inverted pyramid represent
the under-world and the orb Osiris—or any similar
mystery? In the upright pyramid does that cres-
cent and star represent Ishtar seeking in the
under-world her spouse, or are they Isis and
the young Horus, symbolising the new life? If
so, the cones represent the upper and under
worlds. The upper point would be the moun-
tain of the Sun, with the sacred water wave from
which it rises represented by the volutes. On
the apex (4) of the pyramid, Plate LXXIX. D, Z,
there rests a curvilinear form—as of a sun-boat,
with a small central sun and rays, whilst two or three
other forms of a similar character accompany it.
The intention of these mythical curves, and what
they are intended to represent, is confusing ; whether
serpents or bulls, horns or boats, conventionalised
beyond recognition ?
used as the “ Mount of the Sunset,”* it accounts
for its occurrence with the bark and sun.

At any rate, if the cone is

I am

 

* Le Page Renouf thinks that, in Egyptian Art, two
lions back to back supporting the sun rising from the Solar
Mount meant ‘‘yesterday.’’ It has been observed that in

 

PLATE LXXXI.

PLATE LXXX.

 

 

PALMETTES FROM PHCENICIAN Ivory CARVINGS FOUND AT NIMRUD.
(Now in the British Museum.)

aware that some antiquaries give but one meaning
to all these conic forms, and that their conviction is
beyond argument as far as I can use it, but I only
partially agree with them. It has also occurred to
me that the pediment of the ancient temples may
be related to this pyramidical form, and that the
pyramid and obelisk were the most ancient of dials.

It is now convenient to enter on some short his-
torical account of the palmettes as borders and in
their general use, but I do not think a tedious letter-
press is necessary, as my attempt has been to make

 

Egyptian Art animals are usually so represented, whereas in
the Arts of other peoples they face each other.

Concerning the Accadians, the following quotation explains
their view :—

‘« The Mountain of the West, where the sun set, was a pre-
eminently funereal place; from whence arose the god Rul-ge.
One fragment of a hymn speaks of it in these terms :—

‘The great mountain of Rul-gelal, the glory of the moun-
tains, the crest of which reaches unto the heavens, the
sublime reservoir of water washes its base ; between the
mountains (it is) like a powerful buffalo in repose; its summit
shines like a ray of the sun, like the prophetic star of heaven
perfecting its glory.

‘The entrance to Hades was then near this mountain of the
west, or rather of the south-west, for, just as the mountain of
the east inclined towards the north in the direction of the

_blessed country which was occupied by the septentrion, so

that part which is directly opposite it must incline to the
south, which they imagined a region of death and desolation.
This was the result of the Accadian nomenclature for the four
cardinal points, which differed fundamentally from that adopted
by the Semitic nations.”’

‘The entrance to Hades was also situated beyond the waters

of the great reservoir of the ocean.” (Lenormant’s Chaldean
Magic and Sorcery, p. 169.)
HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 63

PLATE LXXXIII.
PLaTE LXXXII

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

FROM KOUYUNJIK AT THE LOUVRE.
PLATE LXXXIV.

aw

if

OGG) 2ianieasiaasas CLIT
, } z ae, = f= f= =
QO, HN TM

1) evanevale
co YAMA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ww SLU E : : =——- e
OOS Ses IES Oc

A, B. From EcypTian WALL PAINTING. C. From Nimrup (British Museum).
D. PAINTING FROM NIMRUD. EZ & F. From PHENICIAN IvoriEs (British Museum).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLATE LXXXV.

 

 

 

     
  
   
  

SC FRI SEK
{1

US

 

 

C ad
a. ORNAMENT FROM THE ‘‘ MACMILLAN” VASE (British Museum). A. ON POTTERY, FROM CAMEIROS. A.
6, c, a. ON BRONZE, FROM PRENESTE (PALESTRINA), SIXTH D, ON FIKKELURA WARE, FROM Cyprus.
CENTURY. C, From Naucratis. ALL OF ABOUT THE

 

SEVENTH CENTURY (British Museum).
64

THE GENESIS

OF

LHE PRINCIPAL

 

PLATE LXXXVI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. TERRA-COTTA, FROM CiviTA Lavinia (LANuviuM),
SIXTH CENTURY B.C. 8B. FROM THE TREASURY OF
Cnipus, DgLPHI, SIXTH CENTURY. C. FROM THE
PANEL OF THE AGAMEMNON (SAMOTHRACE) IN THE
Louvre. D. From Isai Kaia.

 

the illustrations more potent than words in des-
cribing their developments.

The reader will observe that, at times, the artist
is either ignorant or careless of the subject of his
design ; eventually it becomes the agent of all
sorts of combinations and inventions. The form of
the Nautilus is perched upona leaf (Plate LX XV. A)
and the sun-centre of the palmette is lost, the up-
right leaves of a palm-branch being used to indicate
the sun palmette (Plate LXV. Q, R). The palm
was always an important factor in ornament, so this
is not to be wondered at (Plate LXXXI.) In
certain times and places it was as much a religious
object as any other plant. Let me, however,
observe that, even when the central sun is omitted,
J think the upspringing ornament is intended to
indicate the same idea, whether the Egyptian
Horus, the Greek Mercury, or any other deity.

Concerning the evolution of the palmette, there
is one remark I should like to repeat: it is the evi-
dence of the widespread resemblance of this orna-
ment at a certain period. All over Italy and Greece
with its islands it seems alike to a marked extent.
It almost looks as though some master mind, some
great designer, had set a ‘fashionable pattern.”
The combination of forms closely resembling each
other are found in widely distant centres; for ex-

PLATE LXXXVII.

—————$—$

Lg

 

 

a. BORDER ON A VASE, FROM CAERE (CERVETRI)
SIXTH CENTURY B.c. (B 59, British Museum).
+. FRoM BRONZE FOUND AT PALESTRINA.

2
AISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 65

PLaTeE LXXXVIII. PAINTED ORNAMENT.

 

 

 

A. PAINTED PALMETTE FROM THE TEMPLE OF Tueseus, ATHENS.
B,D, £. FrRoM THE COFFERS OF THE CEILING OF THE PROPYLG@A.
C. From THE Cymatium, CORNICE OF THE PARTHENON.

F, G. From Hittorr’s Book.

PuateE LXXXIX.

 

Late PALMETTES, FROM POTTERY.

 

 

2

ample, the carving from Delphi (Plate LXX XVI. 8)
exactly follows the lines of the pottery design from
Etruria (Plate LXXXVII. A). There is a general
character and an air of likeness in so much of the
work that, considering how many chances there are
against any three features being combined in the
same way by different people, it almost points to its
origin by one man, and he apparently in a Phoenico-
Hellenic school, with its immediate imitation by
many.

Among the imitators are the peoples of many
places, so that it again is evidence of artists of
various countries working with each other, perhaps
on the same article; and their rapid emigration,
change of residence or depét. A close examina-
tion of the details will best enable the reader to
form his own conclusions on this point.

The next ornaments are distinctly conventional,
and one may make many guesses as to their
source in natural form. I allude to the SprraL
Wuort or Votute. They have also been traced to
the lotus, I think erroneously. The volute more re-
sembles some species of lily flower in its perfect
curl. Although in Egypt there are found wooden
and painted floral ornaments that may suggest
the volute, I do not think that as yet there is
any conclusive evidence of its origin, or of its
meaning. In Assyrian art these forms are sug-
gested by flowing water rolling in volute forms,
serpents, bulls’ horns, or other object twisted
in curves; a common ornament, also, in smith’s
work is an involved spiral, from the facility of so
treating metal. The simple horizontal line of volute,
as in Plates XC. Z, & F, is not, I think, found in
early Egyptian or Semitic art.* Its origin is traced
to an ornament on the scarab. In complicated
forms, especially those designed in diagonal lines so
frequently found in Egyptian art, it more nearly
approaches to that ornament which we call the
Guittocue, the name of a French designer
who used this term for the ornament. The
genesis of these ornaments and their origin is
a subject for more matter and study than can be

 

* Mr. Flinders Petrie has given an elaborate essay
on the originfof the Volute, and it does not appear to
have been floral (see Egyptian Decorative Art, p. 17).
66 THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL

 

PLATE XC.

mona , HB

2) = Ge) ee

SHORCE
C

B ae
J

a8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A, B, C. EGypTiAN VoLUTES, WHORLS, AND ROSETTES, FROM PAINTED DECORATIONS AT THERES.
FOLIAGE SUGGESTING THE MYKENEAN PAINTING AT G. EE.
4. FrRoM PAINTING AT TIRYNS.

OF MycENé.

 

D. EGYpTiaAN WHORLS INVOLVING
WHORL FROM ARCHAIC GREEK POTTERY. f, F. FROM THE TREASURY
Z. FRoM CarIAN POTTERY (see Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. viii., p. 79).

KX. POTTERY FROM ENKOoMI (SALAMIS.) (The Whorl is said to have become developed by the time of Usertesen.)

PLATE XCI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a ORNAMENT FROM POTTERY FRAGMENTS FOUND
AT CaMEIROsS (British Museum, A 583). 4. ORNA-
MENT ON A CYLINDER FROM AIDEN (LyD1IA).
c. FROM THE ‘‘AGAMEMNON” RELIEF, SAMO-
THRACE (in the Louvre).

accorded to them here, but enough examples are given to assist the
reader in a knowledge of their development.

The recurrence of the triple Gurttocue in the Cervetri plaques
(Plate XL.), and in the Fikkelura ware (Plate XCII. 7), shows
that in the latter part of the seventh and in the sixth century this
form of guast-Egyptian origin was commonly used.

Various Crucirorm and other kindred ornaments, probably
originally derived from some sun emblem, are also common in
Greek (?) pottery, about the seventh century (Plates XCIII. & G,
LXXXV. a).

The next detail which is found common in early Greek and
other Archaic art is the rreT or meander, and the ornaments
called the FULFoT or FOALFooT, and Swastica,* called afterwards
the Cross Cramponée and the Byzantine Gammadion (Plates XCIII.
&, and the lower part of Z). Their introduction is a subject in-
volving considerable speculation. They are found mixed up with
Egyptian and Assyrian features in the seventh century, in that
period to which Emmanuel Deutsch refers with such emphasis.+

* For Mr. Greg’s view, see article in the Archaologia, vol. xlviii., pp. 293-296,
and one by an anonymous writer in the Evening Standard, March 5, Igol.
N. Brit. Rev., vol. xlii; Lippincot’s Mag., vol. v., the fret is found in the fifth
dynasty.

+ Considering that most of the Hellenic ornaments, vases and gems, vessels and
garments, animals and vegetable substances, weights and measures, and even
musical instruments, mentioned in the oldest remnants of Greek literature and
the Homeric writings, were imported into Europe, together with their Semitic
names, by Semites, it must indeed be evident at once how large must be the share
of Semitism in the origin of modern civilisation. Semite arts and sciences, gods
HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS. 67

 

Some of the carved palmettes from
Lanuvium (PI. LXVIII.) are surmounted
by a painted fret and a moulded Egyptian
gorge, thus early had the mixture com-
menced. The development of the fret,
in an elementary way, is dealt with in
Plate XCIII., but it is an ornament that
will have to be frequently considered
hereafter.

Chimere, as every reader knows, abound
in ancient art. The most common of these
are the Sphinx, the Griphon, and winged
Lions and Bulls.

The Sphinx is chosen for illustration
as one of the most common types of
chimera. In ancient art it occupies a
prominent position, continually occurring
from the earliest period.

Originally wingless, as we know from
the celebrated Egyptian monument, it
became winged during the Semitic art
era. Sir Gardiner Wilkinson tells us it
is the type of the king, with its human
head and faculties, and its lion-like* bodily
strength. The Egyptian kings received
deified rank, and were so honoured, so
that the sphinx may also be considered as
a type of deity. The continual and pro-
minent representation of it in sepulchres
should lead us to infer that it was con-
sidered in some respects as a guardian of
the soul. The Egyptians believed in the
resurrection, both of a body, it is in-
ferred,t and the soul. Over the body of
the dead person in the papyrus of the
Book of the Dead, in the British Museum,
there hovers a winged spirit, either the
bah? (soul) or its guardian.

 

and inhabitants, were grafted upon Indo-Ger-
manic strata, and the peculiarly happy union of
the two principal elements of culture produced the
vast glory of the antique. ‘‘ Yet he says the Phee-
nicians (p. 159) were not Semitic. But more modern
opinion favours their Semitic origin.” (E. Deutsch,
inthe Atheneum, No. 2022, reprinted in his Remains,
p. 153).

* Vol. ii., Pp. 94-

+ Herodotus, Euterpe, chap. xxiii. Sir G, Wil-
kinson, vol. iii., p. 427. Dr. Budge’s Egyptian
Guide, British Museum, p. 9.

+ Dr. Flinders Petrie thinks the human head at
a certain later period replaced the hawk’s head of
the ordinary bah. (Dr. Petrie’s Religion and Con-
Science, P. 30.)

 

PLaTe XCII. THE “GUILLOCHE.”

 

 

1. Boat CARRYING MouRNERS IN AN EGYPTIAN FUNERAL, FROM A PAINTING.
2. From ASSYRIAN PAINTED TERRA-COTTA (British Museum), THE NAME OF
Nasir BANI PAL IS WRITTEN IN THE CENTRE. 3. FROM THE SAME SOURCE.
4. From Pua@nician Ivory (British Museum). 5, 6 and 7. ON FIKKELURA
POTTERY, FROM CAMEIROS IN RHODES, Seventh century B.C. In Egypt the earliest
Guilloche is in the eighteenth dynasty.

PuaTeE XCIII. THE ‘‘FRET,” &c.

bie oJ SSS ewes
ale / 35] K ———————————
mG olHes amar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ye
A to & ON FIKKELURA POTTERY, FROM CAMEIROS, Seventh century. JZ. ON
PorreRY OF THE ‘* LATER GEOMETRIC” STYLE, FROM ATHENS (B.M.), about

7oo B.C. M. ON A SARCOPHAGUS, FROM CLAZOMENA, Sixth century B.C.
4, O. LATE POTTERY DETAILS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
6S 1H8 GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL HISTORIC ORNAMENTAL DETAILS.

PLaTe XCIV.

ee)
Fecloral
From EcypTian GOLDSMITH’s WoRK, CIRCA 1200 B.C.

PLATE XCV.
oon Teme Menta, Zw OS :
case Be 2 2 NANG . =
Z Rw Rt
y i (®) ” MX “ff
brs

»

  
 
 
 

 

     

  
   

 

PHENICIAN Ivory CARVING, FROM NIMRUD, CIRCA
850-700 B.C. (now in the British Museum).

On the Lycian tomb in the British
Museum, from which the illustration
(Plate XIX.) is taken, winged figures
called ‘“‘harpies,” not dissimilar in
idea from the Bah in the Papyrus of

   

PrareE XCVI. p

He(nit

As
NSS Soars
RE

 

 

a Ls

   

MLM

From A PHG@NICIAN BRONZE Bowl, FRoMm NimRup (now in the British
Museum), ABOUT THE EIGHTIL CENTURY B.C.

PLATE XCVII.

 

PLATE XCVIII.

 

From ‘‘ CORINTHIAN”
POTTERY.

GOLDSMITH’s WoRK FOUND AT

CAMEIROS,

PLaTE XCIX.

CIRCA

 

the Book of the Dead, are carrying
souls, apparently, and suckling them.

In the opinion of some writers,
the Sphinx is the emblem of Horus
—the rising sun—or the New Life ;
at any rate, the wings are probably
indicative of its flight through an-
other state, guarding the soul of the
dead in its passage.

Of the same class of chimera are
the griffins, dragons, &c., such as
are shown in Plates XCIV., XCV.

My object in giving so many
examples of the Sphinx is to fix, if
possible, the period of the paintings

ULtt

XXXL)

i
ow

>

|

666 B.C.
(British Museum).

 

FRoM THE Francois Vase (SEE PLATE

 

in which it occurs from the shape
of its wings. It is represented in
both the earliest examples of Etrus-
can work (Plates XXXII. and
XXXVIITI.); in these not only is it
winged, but the wings are curled in
a characteristic and decided way.
This characteristic curling of the
wing appears to distinctly mark
an epoch. The early Egyptian
sphinx has no wings;* after
receiving wings, there is no curl
in them of any decided character
until about the eighth century.
None of the the
winged creatures in Assyria are so
treated, nor are they in Egyptian

wings of

 

“Save one Queen of the Eighteenth
Dynasty.
THE SPILINX, 69

 

PLATE CIII.

 
    
 

ny

oR SS
ASS
Zor J
3 £

SY

 

On POTTERY FROM NAUCRATIS
(British Museum).

From Cyprus (in the Louvre).

PLate CI.

—T,8erecr

  
   

Ge Been

On A SARCOPHAGUS, FROM
CLAZOMENE, SIXTH CEN-
TuRY (British Museum).

Ze PG.
A = CF - J
See ae fini
Sie |

Pate CIV.

 

Pirate CII.

 

aaa \ j

\ Ue,
Y., Eff

ae: /

 

FROM THE TREASURY OF CNIDUS
DELPHOS, SIXTH CENTURY (in the
Louvre).

From PERSEPOLIS (FLANDIN AND

Coste).

art, although in the

PLATE CV.

more pronounced in the

 

 

latter there is a distinct
disposition to bend the
feathers, but this is done
apparently to suit the
exigencies of space; as
in the designs for some
of the scarabs, and in the
wings of the eagle (Plate XCIV.).

On the little animals in ivory, called “Griphons ”
(Plate XCV.),—so beautifully carved that they
tell us how advanced some of the Pheenician
artists were, and what examples, probably in
sculpture and painting, all lost, of fine work
that the Greeks had for study and imitation—
there is a slight disposition to bend the wings,
which disposition is more distinctly marked
in the example from the Bronze Bowl in the
British Museum (Plate XCVI.). Perhaps this is

 

On A SARCOPHAGUS, FROM KNEIFEDH (in the Louvre).

 

little figure of beautiful
goldsmith’s work, with the
‘““Punica malum” pendants
of the seventh century
B.c. (Plate XCVII.) and
the wing is distinctly
curled in the Corinthian,
Etruscan, Naucratis and Clazomene pottery, and
ceramic work (Plates XCVIII. to CI.). The figure
from the Treasury of Cnidus at Delphi (Plate CII.),
that from Cyprus in the Louvre (Plate CIII.), and
that from Spata, now in the Museum at Athens, all
have curled wings, and closed eyes, and are of
the sixth century B.c. The closed eyes make them
a distinct type.
In Asiatic-Greek art, the wings are more often
straight, in work showing more Pheenician in-

fluence they are also at times straight, but in the
79 THE SPHINX.

 

latter the curl preponderates. The wing with a
distinct curl does not seem to have had a long
existence in sculpture, except in reliefs—and the
reason is obvious. The bent end was for purposes
of convenience made of a separate stone fixed on.
The Delphi example shows the junction : all the ends
of every existing example are now gone, and one
forms the notion that the sculptors ceased working
a type unfit for stone, probably originally adopted
from bronze. The other arts, following the fashion,
gradually ceased so designing the wing, and it be-
comes uncommon in Europe in the fourth century
B.c., but remains in what I consider the country of
its origin, Phoenicia, until the Roman period (see
Plate CIV.).

It occurs in Roman art again at a certain period ;
following bronze work, it may have been re-imported
from the East in the last century B.c., and is
common in sculpture at Pompeii, and Rome.

 

The evidence that it was Phcenician is that it is
common wherever they had influence. At Delphi,
in the Treasury of Cnidus we have not only the
circumstance that Cnidus was a Sidonian settlement,
but that the Phoenicians of Corinth and the Pelopo-
nessus influenced the arts of the surrounding neigh-
bourhood. Nearly all Corinthian chimerz are so
winged, and following their immigration to Etruria,
the same result occurs. This point has been dwelt
upon as of some historical importance: the reader
will be perhaps able to verify or disprove my
theory.

The concluding plate illustrates the influence of

‘the design we have been studying upon Indian work

of a certain period (Plate CVI).

There is, I think, sufficient matter in this chapter
to give some idea of the foundation of ornamental
design, but the subject will necessarily be continued
in later chapters.

PLATE CVI.

 

ORNAMENT FROM rHE AMARAVATI TopPr, SOUTHERN INDIA.

 
PuaTe CVII.

 

 

 

ee

 

 

THE RETURN OF THE WARRIORS. PAINTING FROM Pa&stuM. (Now in the M€useo Borbonico, Naples.)

CHAPTER IV.

ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY.

Pastum, Capua, ALBANELLA, SPINAZZO.

ie the conclusion of the chapter on Etruscan art

there is a quotation from which I extract this
sentence : ‘‘ Before the time of the Empire, at least,
the Romans were mere imitators of the Etruscan
arts.” This passage is true of many arts, espe-
cially bronze; it is only comparatively true of
painting, in the sense that the major influence
upon the Romans was, at a time, Etruscan.

There are, however, certain evidences of influ-
ences other than those directly Etruscan or Greek.*
Amongst these, not the least powerful, was the art
of Southern Italy—Sabellian, Oscan, Samnite, or
Lucanian, as these influences have been called.

 

* Per non parlare di altri scrittori, Varrone stesso sapeva
quella preponderanza degli Etruschi nel Lazio e con ragione
egli riconobbe un fatto importante per la storia dell’-arte
latina, vale a dire la prima notizia storica sopra l’entrata
dell’ arte Greca nel Lazio, nella missione, colla quale furono
incaricati Gargaso e Demofilo, di decorar cioé il Tempio
di Cerere: ‘‘ Ante hanc aedem Tuscanica omnia in aedibus
fuisse auctor est Varro,” Vavvone Presso, Plin., lib. xxxv., 45,
quoted by Dr. Helbig, Annali, vol. xxxvii., p. 264.

IO

 

The reader would be perfectly aware of the nu-
merous Greek settlements in Southern Italy or
‘“Magna Grecia,” and amongst these settlements
one of the most influential at a certain time was
Pestum,” still remarkable for its magnificent Doric
temple of Neptune, the Temple of Ceres, and the
so-called Basilica.

Surrounding Pzestum was the province of Posei-
The Temple of Neptune is still an emblem
to us of a Greek culture that at one time existed
in this region.

donia.

 

‘

* The extent of ancient Etruria, according to some his-
torians, has been referred to on page 25, and it is asserted on
reasonable grounds that the Etruscans founded Capua, the
metropolis of Etvuvia Campaniana, 800 B.c.; it was then called
Volturnum. Pestum also at one time appears to have been
in their possession, but this was at a later date. In the time
of Julius Casar, Capua was celebrated for its yield of painted
vases from the older tombs.

These vases, however, were all of a period antecedent to
the paintings we are now considering, which are of a time
when Etruscan influence, in the arts of this region, had been
wiped out.
72

ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY.

 

PLaTe CVIII.

 

4. HEAD FROM A SAMNITE SEPULCHRE.

Dr. Helbig, quoting also the opinion of Momm-
sen, thinks that the conquerors and subsequent
occupiers of the city of Pzstum, the Samnites
or Lucanians, became saturated with this Greek
feeling.

The Lucanians occupied Poseidonia towards the
end of the fourth century, B.c. In this occupation
they did not, as was only too usual a course then,
exterminate the inhabitants or treat them badly,
but mixed with them, imbibing still more of that
knowledge which, in many respects, raised them
above some of the other Italic peoples.*

Some of the influence alluded to is shown in the

 

* « L’Artista pestano ha penetrato nell’ ingegno dell’ arte
Greca; gli Etruschi se ne sono appropriati puttosto i contras-
segni esterni della forma. Nei dipinti pestani regna quella
moderazione e quella tranquilita, nella quale consiste prin-
cipalmente, |’elemento ideale dell’ ottimo periodo dell’ arte
Greca. Non’vi si trova niente di esagerato; l’artista conosce
molto bene la sua capacita e bada bene di non sorpassarne i
limiti. Non gli avviene di rappresentare una figura in una
mossa, ch’egli non era capace di esprimere, come tante volte
& accaduto agli artisti etruschi. Conscio dell’ ingegno artistico
Greco, egli si emancipo in gran parte dai dettagli della forma
e riusci ad uttilizzarlo in un sensonazionale. Cosi giudicando
da questi dipinti non possiamo fare di meno di consentire all’-
opinione del Mommsen, che cioé la razza osca si sia impa-
dronita pia profondamente dell’ arte Grecha che gli Etruschi,
fenomeno che peraltro si spiega facilmente dalla pil grande
diversita di razza esistente fra i Greci e gli Etruschi.”"—Dr.
Helbig in Annali, &c., vol. XXXVil., p. 283.

(Now in the Museum

at Capua.) B, C. Heaps oF WARRIORS FROM PASTUM.

paintings found in a sepulchre at Pastum. They
are now in the Museo Borbonico at Naples.* Plate
CVIIL., “The Return of Samnite Warriors,” is, |
think, the most interesting of them. Although not
painted in fresco, but in some other method not
known to those who have examined it, apparently
in a kind of encaustic, it bears the characteristics
of a fresco method. Parts have been painted
into other parts whilst the work was still wet.
An instance of this is shown in that the foot of
one of the warriors was painted across one of the
base lines whilst it was wet, and the colours are
thus mixed and blurred.

It appears to me that the method in which it is
painted deserves more investigation than it has
yet received. The freshness that the colour retains
is remarkable, especially in delicate parts, such as
the carnations of the arm of the female holding the
vase of drink to the warrior on the left. The work
is outlined with a dexterous and able hand, and is
full of expression.

Concerning its colour, all the armour is painted

 

* See the Monumenti Ineditt, vol. viii., tav. 21, for illustrations;
I think, however, that these are a little too polished for the
originals. Prof. Woermann thinks the painting illustrated
in Plate CVII. may possibly have been by Greeks in Luca-

nian employment; the general opinion is against this, from
internal evidences.
ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY. 72

 

with a bright yellow ochre and was evidently
bronze.* The tunic of the leading warrior is of a
dark laky brown, that of the centre figure dark

PLaTe CIX.

warm grey, and the horseman brown and _ blue.
The flesh of the men is red, that of the woman
fair, with some modelling. The background is a
warm white. The woman holding the bowl of
drink has a characteristic national dress, and
wears a grumella, or apron. The banner held
by the leading soldier has a green cross doubly
embattled, if one may use a heraldic term; the
ground white with red panels in the quarters. PORTION OF A PAINTING FROM A CAPUAN ToM
The motive of the banner reappears in the upper
border and suggests the possibility that it was
either a local badge or an indication of a di-
vision of the army. I think this is the earliest
known banner, which may be called heraldic. The
horseman also carries a pendant on the staff that
he holds, which is nearly obliterated.

The horse, evidently intended to be a dark

 

 

PLATE CX.

chestnut with white stockings, is exceedingly cha-
racteristic, and is an evidence of the local love of
naturalism of which we shall hereafter write. Its
action and the seat of the warrior betray a distinctly
Greek influence,f but the accidental details are
national. The artist has not idealised ; he depicts
a “varminty ” animal with showy action, possibly
given to kick by the appearance of its slightly
capped hocks, so that you do not envy the man
holding its tail. The tendons are “tied in” under
the knee near their insertion. The fetlocks appear
round and strained. I mention these horse details

 

* The armour in the painting is compared by Dr. Wolfgang
Helbig! with that described by Livy® as worn by the Sam-
nites, who were bigger than the Lucanians of the same Oscan
race. He remarks also on the love of bright-coloured vest-
ments by the Oscans as compared with the more sober taste
of the Latins. The additions to the armour and costume
not mentioned by Livy, such as the greaves, were probably
adopted by the Lucanians, who, although of Samnite origin,
adopted a style of armour suited to their more modern
requirements.

 

 

 

+ See Plate XXV. as an example.

 

 

 

1 Annali dell’ Instituto, &c., Roma, 1865, vol. xxxvii., pp. 285-6.

2 «Duo exercitus erant scuta alterius auro, alterius argento celaverunt FRAGMENT FROM A CAPUAN ToMB,
sees spongia pectori tegumentum, et sinistrum crus ocrea tectum. Gale
cristatze, que speciem magnitudini corporum adderent. Tunic auratis mili-
tibus versicolores argentatis linteae candidae.”—Livy ix., 40 and x., 38, 39.

 
74 ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY.

 

to show, as I have said, the delineation of charac-
teristic details by the national artist.

Here, then, is the first of a series of works of a
type quite different from those already described
and which may, for facility, be generally called
Samnite.

As to its period. I have already alluded to the
Greek bent of these people, and the painting before
us has this Greek feeling—but to a diminished
extent. There is that indication of national cha-
racteristics which would at once lead the critic to
place it some time after
the first Greek period
in Italy, but it still re-
tains certain archaisms,
such as the placing of
all the figures in profile,
and each figure is sepa-
rated from the other by
a considerable space,
combined with later fea-
tures, such as the slight
modelling and delicate
carnations in certain
parts of the flesh.

It will also be ob-
served that the head of
another Samnite war-
rior, which I have

_sketched in the Mu-
seum at Capua (Plate
CVIII. &), and which

 

PLATE CXI.

 

424 B.c. At this time they had probably very little
art. In 450 B.c. a forcible Greek influence had
penetrated the country, advancing to—and passing
Dr. Helbig also points to the
fact that the money of Capua coined before 338 B.c.,
bearing a head of Palladius and a bull with a human
head, is distinctly Greek in character,t whereas that
of a later date has national characteristics. The
bronze head of a horse in the Museo Borbonico

through— Latium. *

corresponds with the money of the Campagna
between 338 and 211 B.c., and belongs to the
same development—
that is, the dilution of

* “ Riguardando il lazio
osserviamo un’entrata dell’
influenza Greca gid nell’a
450 B.C.: i tipi delle monete
romane che cominciano a
coniarsi in quest’ anno sono
gia regolati tutti secondo
originali Greci. La statua
d’Ermodoro eretta__nello
stesso anno o l’anno dopo,
rafigurando un Greco, senza
dubbio era copiata secondo
un originale Greco.!| Proba-
bilmente verso lo stesso
tempo ebbe luogo l’impor-
tante fatto, gid menzionato
al di sopra, cioé che Demo-
filo e Gargaso, artisti Greci,
decorarono il Tempio di Ce-
rere.” (Annali, vol. xxxvii.,
p- 265.)

After speaking of Greek

 

 

 

_was found in a local
sepulchre, has the same
general
When we find the same style of Art extend-

character.

ing from Capua to Pestum, it would, to my
mind, argue that the people represented by that
art still had an unity and possessed power over
that region, and therefore it would be all of a
period before the conquest and the subjugation of
This also

would correspond with Dr. Helbig’s view which I

Capua by the Romans in 211 B.c.

have summarised.
The Samnites descended from their mountains,
covered the Campagna and seized Volturnum in

SAMNITE Warrior. (From a Tomb near Capua.)

 

influence he says (p. 266)
of Italian art: ‘* Nondimeno
si riconosce una certa in-
dependenza nazionale nelle
proporzioni dei corpi umani, i quali non fanno vedere le
grandi coscie e le estremita fine dello stile arcaico Greco ma
si avvicinano pia alla natura, nella maniera ineguale di empire
lo spazio, nella disposizione delle figure, la quale & priva della
severa simmetrica Greca.”

Continuing the subject, he also observes: ‘ Mentre cosi
dobbiamo rinunziare ad amallizare pid esattamente il pro-
cesso, col quale l’influenza Greca soppresse successivamente
Yelemento nazionale, resta certo il risultato cioێ che come
nell’ Etruria cosi pure nel lazio l’elemento nazionale venne
finalmente soppresso quasi interamente dell’ ellenismo.”’

+ This Bull with human head is also found in Etruria.

' Plin xxxiv., II, 21.
ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY.

75

 

Greek

and a certain

influence

growth of nation-
alism.

All these cir-
cumstances
would lead one to
placethe painting
after 338 and be-
fore 211 B.c., and
we may take the
period of about
330 B.C. as a pos-
sible date of its
execution.

The Samnites
and = Lucanians
were at war with

of

Epirus, who was

Alexander

PraTeE CXIL.

and interesting
as an example of
a fairly graceful
art of local work-
show-

ing the result of

manship,

a Greek culture,
with a national
costume and
style of work.
She has a yellow
costume with red
patterns and a
purple over-
dress.

Plate CXI., a
warrior on horse-
back, is still more
interesting, as he
carries the Sam-

 

slain in 332 B.C.
These

are

warriors
returning
from an appa-
rently successful
fight, and it may

 

nite shield and
wears a_ bronze
(yellow) horned
helmet having a
feather in the
middle, and, like

 

be some incident that in Plate

of this event. CVIII. A, it has

The Samnites wings on. the

were, however, : ‘A ate Shi side.* On _ the
‘ aage® ada (ty

. . op ges " ef ge eo

in a continual iM ema ‘tas oe horn on the

A Git apt iA hades : :

state of battle (i PE Ane kha right-hand _ side

from 343 B.C, there is a blue

and it may re- PORTRAIT, SUPPOSED TO BE THAT OF AN OscaN Prigst. (From a Tomb near Capua.) alee Signor

present any event
of a reasonable period prior to their ultimate
subjugation.

Plates CIX., CX., CXI. are from three sepulchres
near Capua; they all occupied the same position in
the different tombs, that is, on the end facing the
The first subject (Plate
CIX.) shows the head and arm of a youth carrying
It

has been conjectured that he was a vetzarzus, but

spectator as he enters.
a net, or some other kind of travelling valise.
this sort of gladiator was unknown in Capua.

Plate CX., of a lady using a mirror, is singular

°

 

Minervinit tells
us that this kind of helmet f was worn both by the
Greeks and Romans, and we see by this plate that
it was also used by the Samnites. I have already
referred to a helmet with horns as worn by one of
the Egyptian foreign legions§ many centuries pre-

viously.

 

* Livy (lib. x., cap. 40) does not speak of feathers, but of
crests; but it is evident that feathers were worn as crests.

+ Bulletino Napolitano, June, 1854.
+ There is a helmet exactly like this in the British Museum.
§ See footnote, p. 27.
76 ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY.

 

PuaTE CXIII.

 

 

PLATE CXIV.

 

Pat. Nap et
i

INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A LucANIAN WaRRIOR. (From a Tomb at Spinazzo.)

Plate CXII. represents the figure of a Samnite
priest, also from a Capuan tomb. It is painted on
two large slabs of tufa which formed the end of the
tomb ; the painting of the lower slab is considerably
decayed. The person represented has a grey beard
and wears a yellow ¢enza and a wreath; he holds a
staff in one hand, and on the other wears a ring,
which we are told was worn by only the Oscan
priesthood.
of the emblems of immortality) painted in red;
around his chest he wears a chain, having the

swastica or croce ansata in the centre.

Near his head hangs a wreath (one

The mean-
ing of this symbol has never been clearly ascer-

 

tained, and opinion is divided on both its origin
and meaning.*

This figure, although rude, is of a later art than
at first sight appears. The head is full-faced, and

 

* See Champollion, Suv la croix ansée, Paris, 1846. See also
footnote, p. 66 ante. I am not, however, prepared to agree
entirely with Champollion. As a speculation, I may advance
the theory that if an original ideogram for God were the rayed
wheel, with small orbs externally, combining the circle for
infinity and the rays for the sun—the great organ of mundane
life—and the stars and satellites as worshippers, we should
get an emblem of the Infinite Life-giver adored by all the
worlds, and a form from which all the ideograms of life could
be taken, and abbreviated.
ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY. ve

 

PLaTE CXV.

 

 

  

COT CRETE xR

  
 

CORE GRRE

I PUSAN Be RASS oe; RA PRPPIM

      
 

 

 

 

THE OBSEQUIES OF A FEMALE.

an attempt at perspective is shown. I do not think

it older than about 300 B.c.

The next illustrations, Plates CXIII. and CXIV.,
from a sepulchre at Spinazzo, about half a day's
journey from Old Pzstum, and near the new town,
show most happily a painting on almost identical
lines with Plates CVII. and CVIII., and probably
the next development, a development which must
have rapidly supervened.

Horsemen and horses are somewhat of the same
type, but are drawn with a certain sense of per-
spective—both as to the men and the horses. We
have three-quarter faces in both cases and a freer
handling. I am sorry to say that I have never
seen the paintings themselves, and cannot vouch
for the accuracy of the details.

The paintings are of such importance that they
demand attention, although the engravings may be
wrong in technical rendering. Their resemblance
to the paintings from Pastum has been noticed to
a certain extent, but there are other remarkable
coincidences.

The paintings represent the military career of
the warrior buried in this sepulchre, from its com-
mencement until his departure on the funeral horse
for the region of the Shades.

On the left-hand wall of the sepulchre he is repre-
sented as a beardless young man overcoming an
enemy, who is without armour, or the armour has

been removed. The armour of the Lucanian war-

 

(From a Painted Tomb near Albanella.)

rior is not, in this subject, ornamented. On the
right-hand wall his beard is growing, and his armour
has some slight ornament, showing a higher grade
in his military career ; he is overcoming a stronger
antagonist. In the centre he has a beard and
moustache and his armour has ornament; one
feature of this is a pattern running down the
short sleeve, as a sort of epaulette. He is
greeted on starting for his last journey by a
person bearded and vested much as the figure
in Plate CXII. His faithful horse, now taking
him to the nether world,* has also grown older,
and in each picture shows some signs of age;
in this last scene he is painted grey.

The subject on the tympanum, which has resem-
blances to Plate CVII.,
sent the advent of the Lucanian family, to which
the warrior belonged, into Poseidonia.

The developments in the eventful life of the
warrior are ably conceived and rendered, and the
additional rank as marked by the costume is inte-

is interpreted to repre-

resting. T

It is remarkable that the men, carrying their
pitec on their staves, have red hair.

Concerning the period of the execution of the
work—it is apparently later than Plate CVII., and

 

* See page 30 for similar ideas amongst other nations.

+ These are more clearly defined in the larger plates given
in the Budletino Napolitano, 1856.
78 ART

IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY.

 

would hardly represent
a successful warrior in
the

the opinion of Signor

same battle — in

Minervini, it represents
incidents in the wars
between the Lucanians
and Poseidonians, which
wars were almost con-

It
repre-

tinuous for a time.
may, therefore,
sent a person engaged
in any series of combats
up to the time of the
complete subjugation of
the Poseidonians in 321
B.c. The art does not
appear to me to be as
early as 321 B.C.;
therefore, it is impro-

bable that the

fallen man is a

and,

Poseidonian ;
neither does it
seem probable
that our warrior
was one of those

who defeated
the Romans
under Fabius,
cirea 315 BC.,
but he may
have been
amongst those
who defeated
the younger

Fabius in 292*
Bc. :
case the fallen
man would be

in either

Roman. There
is than
one difficulty in
determining the

more

event,as Roman
history is not to
be relied on con-

 

cerning Roman
defeats all
times, and there

 

at

are no orna-

* See p. 82.

PLATE CXVI.

BULLETT ARCH NAP AN.J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

—

| (ies eed a

Salat is oprelent
doy 67

 

 

 

 

 

PLANS, AND PAINTING ON THE END OF A TOMB FROM CAPUA.

PLaTEs CXVII. anp CXVIII.

 

accessories to
give us any clue. Tak-
ing all the character-

mental

istics of the work—the
perspective, the model-
ling, and the variety of
colours used—it would
perhaps be fair to place
it somewhere about 275
—300 B.C.

The next illustration
(Plate CXV.) is from
a tomb at ALBANELLA.
Possibly it is a little
earlier than the last il-
lustration, still it ex-
hibits figures of diffe-
rent sizes, as though in
perspective, and one of
The
national cos-
tume of the

these is facing us.

grumella has

been noticed in

 

"

int gi Yat ad vi iw

, iss lh i ae
“aie my Nee
clude me ih 2 va ath one ft ye

 

 

 

 

  

iM iy,

a i

 

iB. { Hi s i,

wl

e ily"

ait ry va
sy bp

PAINTINGS ON THE SIDES OF THE SAME TOMB.

   
   
 
     
   

     
  

  

As
i ha

‘| iN i ull

peel

17

   

 

Plate CVIL.,
and here we
have another
local character-
istic in the na-
head-
dress as worn
in the neigh-
bourhood to
this day. The
subject appears
to represent the
funeral obse-
quies of a fe-
male, and many
of the incidents
and accessories
will remind
L gat ‘ the reader of
ach ideas common
Mae also to Greek
and Etruscan

art.

Probably of
about the same
period are the
paintings repre-
sented in Plates

tional

 

      

 
ART IN THE CAMPAGNA AND SOUTHERN ITALY. 79

 

CXVI., CXVIL., CXVIIT., also from Capua. This
tomb, like the others in the same neighbourhood,*
is also constructed of slabs of tufa. Small diagrams
of its general appearance, plan and elevation are
given in Plate CXVI., in which plate there is also a
drawing of the painting on the end of the tomb,
facing the entrance. The design is curious.
Greek in feeling, it has been rendered national
and local by the Samnite artist. In the centre
there is painted an architectural structure; the
design in the middle of which, apparently only
an ornamental symbol, has been nearly obliterated ;
a female figure on one .of the sides carries a
wreath in one hand and an oinochoé in the other.t

On the top of the design there is an ‘egg and
tongue” moulding,t below this a foliated ‘‘ whorl”
or “‘scroll.”§ J think this is the earliest example
of exactly this kind of ornament, which after-
wards became so common, that | know.||

This cornice is supported by two quasi-Ionic
columns of curious design, each having an encircled
On either side of the
tomb there are two figures ; on the side represented
by Plate CXVII. there is a male figure at one end

and a female at the other.

cross in its ornamentation.

Both appear to wear
an outer garment of the same kind, very similar to
that which we afterwards find in Byzantine art, and
sometimes called the ‘‘ample chasuble.” 9

On the other side one figure plays the double
pipes whilst the other dances with a kind of cas-
tagnette in either hand (Plate CXVIII.). All the

costumes are singular and interesting, and are

 

* See plates CIX. to CXII.

+ Lo stesso mi sembra di riconoscere nelle pitture delle
tombe Capuane, le quale tengono di uno stile proprio, che
non puo riferirsi né all’arcaico Etrusco 0 Greco, né al Greco
pit elegante o di tempi posteriori. Non dird gid che non vi
scorga alcuna traccia di grecismo, specialmente per la parte
ornativa; ma cid non dee far maraviglia, trattandosi di un
paese, ove la comunanza de’ Grechi, e le reminiscenze delle
opere del Greco ingegno dovevano necessariamente esercitare
una non lieve influenza sui lavori degl’ indigeni artisti. (Sig.
Minervini in the Bulletino Napolitano, No. 49, p. 178. June,
1854+)

+See Plate LXXVIII. B.

§ See page 66, ante.

|| See Plates CLX., CLXI.

4] The description of this vestment by Apuleius is quoted
by Signor Minervini, in the Budletino Napolitano :—‘* Habebat
indutum ad corpus tunicam interulam tenuissimo textu .. .
habebat amictui pallium candidum, quod superne circum-
jecerat ” (Flovid 79).

II

 

evidently of the same type as those in Plate
CXIII. from Lucania.

I have been obliged to take the illustrations from
the Bulletino Napolitano, as 1 have not been able
to get photographs or make drawings from the
originals, but they have the appearance of honest
drawings, and are certainly most useful in tracing
the history of design.

In reviewing these ‘“ Samnite” and Lucanian
works—and, as far as I am aware, this is the
first essay on them in English—in the first place
as showing the results of a certain national culture,
and in the second as an influence on the art of
the Roman empire, I have a few observations to
On the first point I regret to be able to
give so few examples of such an important branch

make.

of art, but on none of these, nor on any other that
I have seen, does there appear to be any indi-
cation of that late Phoenician influence, I mean
an influence succeeding the later Assyrian periods
(see p. 28 ef seg.; 50, 53) which is so observable
in Etruscan art and in South Italian pottery. The
subjects represented are of a generally different
character, and I have found neither the same
grossness as one finds on the local pottery and in
the paintings and pottery found in some tombs in
Etruria, nor the same amusements depicted.

Had one a larger number of examples the ground
would be more certain ; as it is, one only suggestion
offers itself. Did the Samnite priesthood effectually
check in the South that Pheenician-Semitic influence
so prevalent in Etruria, or were the Samnites always
free from this influence ?

There is here neither the vestige of a palmette
nor of a rosette, whereas we get evidences of
earlier influence such as one sees in the Myce-
nzan work and in the Naucratis and Rhodes
pottery, in the shape of the crosses on the quasi-
Ionic capitals, Plates CXVII., CXVIII., and the
croce ansata of the Priest's dress, Plate CXII.

There is also, the floral scroll before mentioned
introduced in the late Capuan work, a form of
ornament of which I have found no exact ante-
cedent,* but which we shall find extremely common
hereafter in all so-called ‘Roman’ art. Moreover, the
paintings are interesting in the subject of costume.

 

* See chap. iii., p. 66, on “‘ Comparative Ornament.”
80

COAPIER,-%,

THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

PAINTING FROM THE EsQuiLINE CEMETERIES ;

Esquinine; Tue Pyramip or Carus

Bosco REALE ;

CESTIUS ;

Tue Opvssey PICTURES FROM THE

Tue ALDOBRANDINI MARRIAGE; TUSCULUM ;

Tue House or Livia; PatnTINGS FROM THE WALLS or A House FOUND IN THE FARNESINA ;

Tue Vatican Liprary anD THE Louvre; Stasi, HercuLtaneumM, AND Pompei; THE Batus

or Titus.

F°8 the opening of this chapter nothing could
be more to the point than the observations of
Mr. in his Handbook of Architec-

ture * -—

Fergusson,

‘“We have now only to contemplate the last act
of the great drama, the gorgeous but melancholy
catastrophe by which all these styles of archi-
tecture were collected in wild confusion in Rome,
and perished beneath the luxury and crimes of
that mighty people.

“View them as we will, the arts of Rome were
never an indigenous or natural production of the
soil or people, but an aggregation of foreign styles
in a state of transition from the old and time-
honoured forms of pagan antiquity to the new de-
velopment of the Christian arts. We cannot, of
course, suppose that the Romans foresaw the
result to which their amalgamation of previous
styles was tending ; still they advanced as steadily
towards that result as if a prophetic spirit had
guided them to a well-defined conception of what
was to be

‘“Such was the destiny of the world; and what
we have now to do is to examine the style of
it
familiarise ourselves with the forms it

transition as we find in ancient Rome, and
took during
the three centuries of its existence, without
this knowledge, all the arts of the Gothic era

would remain an inexplicable mystery.”’

as,

 

* Handbook of Architecture, second edition, p. 296.

 

There is perhaps one reason not generally
considered, why in her four centuries of power
the Empire equalled Greece,
nor approached it in the exalted nature of her
artistic productions during the same period. I[
allude to the note of despair and depression uttered

when Greek art was decaying and when Roman

Roman never

was, or should have been, rising. ‘It was cus-
tomary to speak of the zzzwztable works of the
Great Masters.”

I am continually reminded of this remark in my
A large

and influential class of critics have one recipe, one

own time by another of the same import.

criticism, as their note of admiration for monu-
mental art—whether it be architecture, sculpture,
mural painting or painted glass : ‘‘It is exactly like
old work.” Moreover, there is continually arising

a strong fashion to the exact imitation of the

peculiarities of old work, as dissociated from the

study of the particular merits certain examples
may have, involving a blind imitation, and _pre-
venting the development of an historical traditional
style.

We have seen in fifty years the Romanesque
revival and afterwards the early thirteenth-century
French revival. Then we had a “ decorated ” re-
vival; a ‘‘perpendicular” revival; a ‘ renaissance”
revival; a ‘‘Queen Anne” and “Adams” revival,
and heaven knows what the next will be.

All work should be learned and solid, but that
the criterion should be the mere imitation of the
Hi REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE. 31

 

eccentricities* of one period, levels all and hides
great talent and imbecility alike.

There is one other observation on the charac-
teristics of Roman art well described by Mr. Fer-
gusson in speaking of it on the eve of its decay—
as Christianity dawned: “In all cases they display
far more evidence of wealth and power than of
taste and refinement, and all exhibit traces of that
haste to enjoy which seems incompatible with the
correct elaboration of anything that is to be truly
great.”

On the character of Roman Art there are, of
course, many views. One of the latest writers,
Herr Franz Wickhoff,t considers Roman Art as an
ascending style. His theories are elaborately ex-
plained and his book very interesting. Some of
these theories, { with which I do not agree, are com-
mented upon hereafter; the argument of his book
is, however, so elaborated, that a proper criticism
would occupy as much bulk as the work itself. On
one point I may remark here. He speaks of the
East and West as divided, one by the love of ‘‘type,”
the other of “character.” JI think the exhibition of
“character” in Art marks a “phase,” rather than
any nationality.

The history of Painting until the time of the
Roman Republic at its best is but an apology for
I have not found in its whole course
a dozen Latin names of celebrity, and the most
celebrated of these are of moderate estimation. §

its condition.

 

* There is also a tendency in some modern Art literature
which, I think, willultimately have a bad influence. It systema-
tises and “‘ pigeon holes” design, laying down rules for com-
position. This “recipe” plan of designing may he more
scientific, but it is less artistic and is a hindrance to artistic
development, the result of experiment and experience.

+ Roman Art, by Herr F. Wickhoff, translated by Mrs. E.
Strong. (Heinemann.)

+ See p. Ior.

§ Speaking of the period of the Republic, Fergusson says :—
“‘ There is probably no instance in the history of the world of
a capital city existing so long, populous and peaceful at home,
prosperous and powerful abroad, which at the same time was so
utterly devoid of any monuments or any magnificence to dignify
her existence.” (Handbook of Avchitecture, second edition, p. 297.)
‘¢ When Carthage was conquered — which was in the July
preceding the fall of Corinth, 146 s.c.—she (Rome) thus
became the centre of all the arts, and all the sciences then
known; and, so far at least as quantity is concerned, she
amply redeemed her previous neglect. It seems an almost
indisputable fact that during the three centuries of the
Empire more and larger buildings were erected in Rome
and her dependent cities than ever were erected in a like
period in any part of the world.” (Jdid.)

 

How different to Greece! It is wonderful to
consider what Greek art was; it was  super-
eminent and superabundant in excellence in every
branch. What an immense number of works, ad-
mirable, or the work of genius, still exist! Lucius
Mummius and the other plunderers and destroyers
robbed Greece of thousands of important ‘works,
and yet we read that thousands still remained.*
In every museum of importance there are mul-
titudes.

Read the records of paintings and painters of
Greece and again consider what a lost world, as
it were, is recorded—a star of the first magnitude
fallen from the Art firmament.

The number of artists, and the competition, de-
manded the best of the capacity and intelligence
of the people, and the best training ; none but the
best lived in that race. It is little wonder that
Greeks were everywhere in demand, and it is
possible that the influx of Greek artist immigrants
into every cultivated centre did as much to stifle
as to stimulate the culture of local Art and
artists.

That Greek art already over-ran Egypt, Nau-
cratis, Thebes and Alexandria, all testify — the
latter was little else than Greek. Greeks sup-
planted the Phcenicians in their own arts and in
their own colonies—Carthage, Cyprus, Sardinia,
the Atgina—and the rest. Nearly all Asia and the
coast of the Mediterranean to Gaul and Spain—
even England possibly felt the effect, Yet to
each country and to each large centre they gave
a local tinge. They appreciated the tastes and
the necessities of the peoples, and with acuteness
and tact, so that they succeeded in giving to each
a new life.

*Tt is said that, after the plunder, 3,000 statues remained
in Rhodes alone—and more in Corinth, Athens and Delphi.
Marcellus (211 E.c.) was one of the first of those to remove
these treasures, but he was reasonable, and only took enough
to celebrate his triumphs. Plutarch says he was ridiculed for
introducing a taste for Art, and the uncultivated Romans found
fault with the new passion for conversations about Art and
artists. Notwithstanding this, a taste began to grow for these
Greek works.

Amongst the plunder that Mummius acquired, 146 B.c.,
was the “‘ Bacchus” of Aristides, for which Attalus offered six
hundred thousand sesterces, which was refused. This and
other pictures became, it is said, the models of Roman study.
The result of such study is not shown in existing painting,
which appears to be affected by later models.
82 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

Now, as soon as we know Latin or Roman Art,
it is apparently an eclectic style of Greek descents,
and perhaps its swecés d’estime was due to the fact that
its eclecticism was not so much that of diverse styles
as the result of the concentration in the Roman
empire of diverse variations, mostly of one origin.
It was an inbred eclecticism,

and in the language of here- Paces

dity, inbred and thorough-
bred are almost synonymous.

A fragment from one of
the earliest Roman pictures,
properly so-called (Plate
CIX.), is an _ interesting
painting on a slab of stone

from the tombs of the
“Trumpeters” in the old
Esquiline necropolis. — It

was disinterred in the exca-
vations of 1875. The method
of the composition is archaic
and very much in the man-
ner in which the composition
of Polygnotus is described ;
the subject being represented
in tiers or zones, one above
the other : the better style of
drawing, with foreshortened
feet, is in curious contrast to

CXIX.

  
    
  

The empire became the possessor of all the
ancient centres, and naturally brought all the men
from them that she wanted to Rome not only
depleting them but paralysing Roman energy for
the time, yet planting shoots which ultimately grew
into trees, cultivated exotics.

Let us, however, sum-
marise the history of paint-
ing in Rome, bare as it is.

At an early period we hear
of two Greeks, Gargasos and
Demophilus I., who are men-
tioned as having painted the
Temple of Ceres,* and one
might from some historical
el statements venture to assume
f that the principal painters in

i Rome were generally Greek.

i
afalio ,

\e
Wd) (
‘ds the year 305 B.c., one of

> the Gens Fabii, called
historically Fabius  Pictor,
made it his

Snobbery was not unknown
in Rome, for Pliny observes
— that no man of position t
m7 would make art his profes-

sion, and that when, about

  

calling, al-

 

* Supposed to be about 493 B.c.

 

the composition. The sub-
ject appears to relate to the
wars between the Samnites
and Romans, and the upper
and centre tiers represent the
meeting of Marcus Fannius
and Quintus Fabius. The

painting is therefore doubly (It will be observed that in the second zone the dative is used, indicat-
ing a succession of incidents.
appear only to wear one simple dress, neither wear sandals.)

interesting to painters as re-
presenting incidents in the
life of Quintus Fabius, an
ancestor of the painter, to whom reference will here-
after be made. The slab is now in the Capitoline
Museum, and would probably date about the begin-
ning of the third century, B.c.*

* An interesting essay on this picture by Signor Visconti
will be found in the Bulletino Communale: Roma, tom. xvii.,

PP. 340-350-

 

 

“THE MEETING OF Marcus FANNIUS AND Quintus Fasius.”

See also footnote to p. 74.

+ It will be observed that of the
names recorded in Roman histories
they had other claims than that of
artists. Perhaps this is the real
reason of their survival. History
tells us that the perpetual changes
produced a powerful body of xou-
veaux riches and men who made
wealth and small officialisms the
object of their life. To such men
Art and Literature, if seriously
entertained, would be too absorb-
ing and unfit for their capacities.
Fabius Pictor had alsomilitary and
social distinction in his family (see p. 78). The “ Pictor” was
applied afterwards as a cognomen to his branch of the Gens;
we read of a Quintus Fabius Pictor, 225 s.c., a Roman senator
who distinguished himself in the war against the Gauls, and
one of his successors, Numerius Fabius Pictor, wrote the
annals of his time, in Greek. Pacuvius was a poet; Quintus
Pedius, a relative of the Cesars; Turpilius, a left-handed
curiosity; and 42mulius, evidently a person of other considera-
tions.

In the costumes, the Romans
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE. 83

though successful, he
was shunned by his
family. He painted
certain pictures in
the Temple of Salus.
Pacuvius, the poet,
is also mentioned as
having succeeded as
a painter ; he painted
in the Temple of
Hercules. Quintus
Pedius was a nephew
of Q. Pedius and co-
heir of Julius Cesar ;
he died young. Ate-
rius Labeo, a Roman
nobleman and ama-
teur, received some
celebrity as a painter
of pictures or tabule.*
In the time of Ves-
pasian, Turpilius,
a Venetian, painted
some notable  pic-
tures at
We also read _ of
fEmulius, a grave
man, who reminds
one of Haydn, the
musician, in that he worked in full dress, pzmgedat
logatus.

Dr. Helbig considers that’there were, historically,
three conditions of Art in South Italy, and these
probably affected Rome; the first, that under
Archaic Greek influence ; the second, the national
and realistic school which supervened and modified
the classic tradition, and the third the incursion of
later artists from different schools of Greek origin and
the revival of the Greek influence. He illustrates
this by the coinage, but it is also corroborated by the
number of Greek and Alexandrian artists known to
have been working in Rome and Southern Italy
from the middle of the third century B.c.t We

Verona.

 

* See footnote, p. 87.
+ See Annali dell’ Instituto, vol. xxvii., pp. 265-273.

PLATE CXX.

 

WALL PAINTING FROM Bosco REALE, NEAR NAPLES.

 

might historically yet
add a fourth incursion
of Greek
from Byzantium in
Christian times.

In 168 z.c. Afmi-
lius Paulus sent to
Athens for their most
distinguished painter
to celebrate his
triumphs and __ their
most distinguished

influence

philosopher to in-
struct his sons. The
Athenians sent him
Metrodorus, the
painter, as the most
fit person to fulfil
both offices. This
same A¢milius, ac-
cording to Plutarch,
took from Athens
250 waggon loads of
works of Art, and
the procession in his
triumph lasted a
whole day.

Livy tells us also
that many Greek ar-
tists came to Rome about twenty years after and
were treated with great respect.

About 160 B.c. Demetrius, of Alexandria, and
Serapion are mentioned, but they were of no great
celebrity.

Pliny thinks the revival of Art is much indebted
to Valerius Maximus, who encouraged painting and
had a large picture made of his defeat of Hiero of
Syracuse and the Carthaginians. It was, however,
reserved for Julius Czsar and Augustus, as I have
before observed, to bring the art of painting in
Rome into that condition in which we find it in
the best work. Still, few great Roman painters
are named, and a great number painting in Italy
are known to have been Greeks. Dionysius, So-
polis and also a lady, ‘ Lala,” were celebrated for
portraits, and a landscape painter of mark is his-
84 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE

 

torically named Ludius,* perhaps a Roman, al-
though there is an uncertainty about his name.

It has been before noticed that Pliny, when
speaking of the greatness and antiquity of Etrus-
can painters, deplored the condition of Roman Art.
This is not surprising when at certain periods
Etruscan wealth and power overshadowed Latium.
More than half a century before this Vitruvius
made the same lament, and yet the best Roman
painting we have, is just before his time. I am
therefore inclined to think that his lament related
only to the architectonic details of the painting.

It is convenient at this point to arrest the narra-
tive and describe
some examples of

 

PLATE CXXI.

Naples, is a good example of the Art of the Re-
public. Although, perhaps, of later execution, it
may be considered to belong to an early school,
as it fulfils the conditions of painting which Vitru-
vius * in his time deplored as out of date.

It will be seen that in the Bosco Reale work the
decoration is architectural and solid, and that there
is no indication of the imitation of bronze work.
There is also the evidence of an earlier tradition, in
that, although the architectural features of the deco-
ration itself, such as the capitals of the columns,
show the Roman Corinthian with the volutes at the
angles, the capitals of the temple portrayed in the
picture are flat, like
the Greek Ionic.

 

painting itself.

The recently dis-
covered work at
Bosco Reale (Plate
CX Bet

* Various existing
landscapes have been

attributed to him, but
on little authority.

near

t Bosco Reale is
placed here instead of
with the other Cam-
panian cities, as I think
its style earlier.

‘‘In spite of the
slightly exaggerated
praise bestowed on the
frescoes discovered by
Signor de Prisco in
the Pompeiian villa at
Bosco Reale, there is
‘no doubt that the villa
itself ranked amongst
the richest and best
country seats of the Vesuvian district, and that all the details con-
cerning its origin, its history and its burial in the fateful erup-
tions of a.D. 79 are sought for and read with curiosity. Unfor-
tunately we only know the beginning and the end; that it
was built some years before the Christian era by a con-
tractor named Marion, and that at the time of the cata-
strophe it belonged to a Publius* Fannius Synhistor. In
clearing a recess on the left side of the vestibule a bronze
seal has been found lately which supplies us with the
name of the person who owned the property before Fan-
nius, having probably bought it in a.p. 12, when the villa
was put up to auction by the first builder. The seal con-
tains the letters L-HER-FLO, which have been inter-
preted L(ucii) Her(ii) Flo(ri).” (R. Lanciano—Atheneum,
July 27th, 1901.)

* An allusion to the Gezs Fannia is made in p. 82.

 

 

 

ONE OF THE LANDSCAPE ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE ODYSSEY FROM THE VATICAN
GALLERY. (The names of the figures are written over them in the original, but the
plate is too small to show them.)

 

IT have only
given one _ illus-
tration from this
house ; a sufficient

 

* Vitruvius  flour-
ished about 30 a.pD.,
and in his fifth chapter
he describes the ten-
dency of the Art of his
time and contrasts it
with the Art of the
past. This would im-
ply a preference for the
Art of the Republic
over that of the Em-
pire, for it is not to
Greek but to Roman
Art that he refers. He
dislikes the ornamen-
tation which is, per-
haps, too fanciful for
his architectonic mind,
and prefers such work
as has an_architec-
tural, natural and reasonable character. He speaks of the
solid architectural structure of the old decoration, the imita-
tions of marble, colonnades, woods and landscapes, as contra-
distinguished from the work of his time, in which, he says,
instead of columns, are placed reeds; arabesques are intro-
duced entwined with creepers ; little houses with figures
appear supported on candelabra; slender stems rising from
roots support sitting figures in an unreasonable way. Some
have flowers and busts in them; some have men, others
beasts. He says such designs really never did or could have
naturally existed, for how can a reed uphold a roof or a
candelabrum a little house? We have, therefore, his testi-
mony that the wall decoration with the bronze and candelabra
characteristics existed in his time. It would thus appear that
some of the characteristics of Mau’s fourth style were in com-
mon use even before he wrote.
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE 85

indication of the style
of the whole.
evidence for the opinion
that at this period scien-

It is an

tific perspective was un-
derstood.

To a little later pe-
riod, probably, belong
the eight pictures, or
rather the
half, from THe Opyssey
(from x. 80 to xi. 600),
subjects of which Vitru-

six-and-a-

PLATE CXNII.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

vius approves. They

 

of a totally  differ-
ent character, are also
attributed to him, the
attribution of either of
the paintings is very

questionable.

The tomb of the
pyramid of Caius Ces-
tius was built and
decorated about the
year 34 Bc, in the

time of the Emperor
Augustus. It
tainly prepares us for

cer-

 

were excavated in 1848-
50 from the Via Grazi-
osa, on the Esquiline
(Plate CXXI.), and are
now in the Vatican Library.
The painting is delicate and
transparent in colour, and they
are, without doubt, the finest
ancient existing.
The figures suggest that the
artist was well acquainted with
Greek work. It seems impos-
sible that the architectural de-
coration is by the same artist as
the landscapes. The delicacy
of the latter is injured by the
deep vermilion pilasters inter-
vening between each subject.
These pilasters have capitals
painted in imitation of gold;
the details of these are given in
Plate CLVIII. The paint-
ings would, by comparison, ap-
pear to be of the best class of
their period. These subjects
have been attributed to the
landscape _ painter called
“ Ludius.” As, however, the
garden-pictures in the house
of Livia, at Prima Porta,*

~ * Some illustrations of one of these
are given in the Antike Denkindler, and
in Mrs. Strong’s edition of Wickhoff,

p. 48.

landscapes

 

CHAMBER FROM THE Toms oF Caius CESTIUS.

PLATE CXXIIa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIGURE FROM THE CHAMBER OF THE TOMB OF
Caius CESTIUS.

what we afterwards
find, but in itself is
most simple. A small

diagram of the arrange-
ment of the painting is given
in Plate CXXII.; it shows a
series of panels divided by
which there

x

is a simple “candelabra” or-

a space upon

nament. In the centre of
each panel of colour there is a
graceful figure; one of these
is shown in Plate CXXIIa.
Unfortunately I cannot vouch
for the accuracy of this figure,
as for both of these plates I am
indebted to the work of Bar-
toli. It is, however, fortunate
that we have some drawings
of this style. Caius Cestius
filled the office of Epulo, Pre-
tor and Tribune of the people.
The chamber was discovered
in A.D. 1663, when the tomb was
undergoing repairs. It is near
the Porta Ostiensis, and is in
the form of a pyramid 125 ft.
high and too ft. across the
base. It is built of brick and
tufa faced with marble.
Perhaps to this period, or
even earlier, according to some
authors, belongs that celebrated
86 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

PLATE

CXXIII.

 

 

THE ALDOBRANDINI ‘‘ MARRIAGE,” FROM THE VATICAN LIBRARY.

“Marriage” (Plate CXXIII.), once the property of
Cardinal Aldobrandini and named after him. It is
now in the Aldobrandini Gallery of the Vatican
Library with the Odyssey subjects and other valu-
able old paintings.

Critic after critic* has written depreciating the
execution of the work, asserting that the composition
is so much superior to the painting and that it is
a copy. With this opinion I must distinctly join
issue. Judged as a mural painting and of its period,
the work seems to me of very high quality. At
a proper distance I know of no fresco encaustic or
tempera painting of antiquity that nearly approaches
it in drawing, in transparency and in effect of colour.
When closely inspected the last touches distinguish
themselves, but every fresco painter knows that this
method of stray touching is the only way of strength-
ening parts, as painting over shadows whilst they
are drying in the mortar renders them black and
opaque. The carnation of the flesh of the bride,
her drapery, a grey purple with pale yellow lights,
and a couch with its pale, low-toned green, are
delicately harmonious, and the whole work is lumi-
nous and transparent, whilst the quick facile touch
of a skilled fresco-painter are seen in the technique.
I fear the originator of the idea of its inferiority
calculated from the smoother schools of some modern
Art bred of oil or varnish painting. One of the

 

* One goes as far as to say that “in technical excellence
the work is insignificant.” (Wocymann & Woltmann, vol. i.,
p. 115, English edition.)

 

heads which I have sketched with the finishing
touches is given in Plate CXXIV. Of course
the plate must be viewed from a certain distance
to obtain the desired effect. It was discovered as
long ago as 1606 near the Arch of Gallienus.

Let any careful observer first view this picture
with its delicate colour at a fair distance in such a
position as a casual observer would see it on enter-
ing a chamber; it keeps its place on the wall,
neither advancing itself with crude colour nor be-
coming vapid with weakness. Then examine the
technique closely, and observe what skill is shown
in obtaining the desired effect by such means and in
such a vehicle, and let him form his own judgment
(Plate CXXV.). The sketch of a head from Tus-
culum is of beautiful execution, but considerably
damaged. It is now one of the treasures of the
Louvre, and, I think, the most beautiful example
of antique painting in that collection.

One of the most important series of mural
paintings existing was discovered in some cham-
bers in the Palatine excavations in 1870. They
are said to have been added to the house of
Hortensius for Augustus Cesar. It is known also
as the House of Livia, wife of Augustus and
mother of Tiberius. The leaden pipes for con-
ducting the water are marked with her name,
IVLIAE AVG. It has also been called the House
of Germanicus.

Exhibiting as they probably do the art of Im-
perial Rome in its zenith, and by its best masters,
LHE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

they have attracted conside-
Taking Dr.
Pompeiian  classifica-
and applying it
Roman _painting,* they are

rable attention.
Mau’s
tion to
late examples of the second
or Architectonic style. In
Pompeii itself, however, there
are none of such importance.

Before describing the tech-
nique of the painting it will
be well to define the charac-
teristics of the designs, and
their situations on the Pala-
tine. Descending the stairs
on the south side of the crys-
toporticus

Tibertanus, you

arrive at the atrium: here
you find the altars of the
Lares, still bearing traces of
the with
which painted.
Facing you are three open

 

colour (minium)

they were

chambers. In the centre js

the

reception room, one of the

tablinum, or principal

side walls of which is repre- i
Plate CXXVI.,
and a sketch of the central

sented on

subject, ‘‘ Mercury rescuing Juno,
Argos,” in Plate CXXVII., a not unusual subject
at this period.

guarded by

The room is of curious dimensions, as were
most of these chambers; it is only twelve feet
wide, about thirty feet long, and about fourteen
feet in height. The width, however, is consider-
ably increased in appearance by the perspective
in the method of design.

The wall of the centre compartment is divided
in painting by tall bronze-like columns resting on
a plinth and supporting cornices and other archi-
tectural features, those in the centre being the

These columns are white, with coloured

the

largest.

bases. The walls are coloured red above

 

* See p. 9g, and Aunalt, vol. lvi., p. 315.

 

PLArE CXXIV.

 

HEAD OF THE BRIDE FROM THE ‘‘ ALDOBRANDINI
MARRIAGE.”

87

plinth, which is yellow with

euse=y black panels, having a red
purple border ; the top of the
plinth is green, the frame-
work of the picture black.
Between the large columns
in the centre is the principal
(Plate CXXVIT.):

There are also two

picture
lateral
pictorial decorations between

The left-
hand picture, which still re-

the side columns.

mains on the wall, represents
this
skilfully designed so as to

an outdoor scene ; is
give the idea of being seen
through an open window.
On the upper part of the wall
there are on either side of the
centre, paintings to imitate
two panel pictures, frcture
im tabults, hanging on the
wall. These pictures have
shutters,* probably to keep

them from dust when the

chamber is cleaned, like a
modem “Triptych,” and
exactly like others repre-
sented in some Pompeiian

designs. The other sides of this chamber are

decorated much in the same manner, one wall

gives an idea of all.
The chamber on the right hand (Plate CX XX.)

is a little narrower. It is ornamented on the side

wall by two large painted columns with bases and

* « Non wha dubbio che i quadri onde vediamo ornate le
pareti antiche di Roma e delle citt& campane, imitano gene-
ralmente quadri a tavola.’— II proprietario dunque della casa
tiberina non contento di mostrar ornate le sue parete di quadri
a tavola esequite nella maniera dell’epoca sua, volle reprodurvi
anche cimelli antichi, quali si ammiravano nelle abitazioni di
ricchi amatori dell’ arte.’ (Annali, vol. lvi., p. 320; also Mau,
Gesch. d. decorat. Wandm. in Pompeji, p. 165 et seq.)

"<< Quadri a tavola,” that is ‘‘ Pictura in tabula,” a painting on panel—these
Pp. g P

were sometimes let into the wall, with marble or wooden frames, sometimes
hung on the wall, having shutters to close and keep them from dust.
to Quintilian, vi., 1, 323 Pliny, xxxv., Io.

Refer
88

THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

a plinth, all bronze-like in
character, to which are hung
massive festoons of fruit and
flowers of various colours, on
a soft golden yellow ground,
the dado or lower part being
On the
upper part of the chamber

of a darker yellow.

between the columns there is
a frieze of small figures and
above these scroll ornaments
carrying birds. It would en-
cumber these pages with mat-
ter which is not necessary, to
describe all the pictures, their
subjects and the details of
these chambers. It may,
that

the costume and general de-

however, be observed

HEAD OF “SPRING,” FROM TUSCULUM.
(Now in the Louvre.)

sign of the figures reminds
one continually of Greek models, even if the sub-
jects are not themselves by Greek artists.

The decoration of the room to the left is shown
in Plate CX XIX., and there is also an illustration of
the winged figures which | have sketched from the
upper part of this chamber in Plate CXXXI. In
this decoration the columns remind one of Bosco
Reale ; perhaps this was the first room painted or it
was painted by an older man; the evidence of its
period is, however, shown in the scrolls, with female
winged figures seated on them. The ornamentation
is sketched with a facile and solid zizpasto, full of
knowledge and dexterity, evidently painted and
designed by the same hand. My admiration was
especially attracted by a series of small swans in
The

colours generally, I am sorry to say, like other

the upper part of the left-hand chamber

parts of the decoration, have suffered severely from
exposure, and, I fear, no full-size successful copies
or studies of them exist, as the facilities for studying
in these excavations are not made very easy. A
prolonged description of these chambers is un-
necessary, as the illustrations speak for themselves.
The principal thing to observe is that some of the
columns and bases show that commencement of the
introduction of Greco-Egyptian ideas and _bronze-

PLATE CXXV.

 

 

|
|

like character attributed to
the school of Alexandria.
Plates CXXXI. and
CXXXII. show the style of
painting of some of the ceil-
ings in the Augustan era.
The painting is on a gold
ground, excepting one of
the borders, which has light
figures ona black ground.
Plate CX XXIV. is a sketch
from a picture in the Aldo-
brandini Gallery. It repre-
sents a child driving a biga
drawn by tigers, and is a
portion of a large picture
which, ] think, illustrates a
chariot of a_ kind.
The picture is remarkable for

contest

the life and vigour both of
the subject and in the method of execution. As
an example of a strong method of mural painting
it is a capital contrast to the Aldobrandini Mar-
riage, which is hung opposite to it.

The next illustrations are from paintings in a
in the Farnesina Gardens, dis-
covered as recently as 1879.
most complete and interesting series of ancient

house excavated
It contained a

mural paintings which are now safely deposited in
the Museo Nazionale Romano, part of the baths
of Diocletian, where they occupy the upper cham-
bers, Nos. 6, 7, 9, and rr.
rooms there are also wonderful stucco ornaments,

In some of the other

of the greatest beauty and delicacy of technique,
from the same house.

The illustration of one of the walls of an inner
chamber (Plate CXXXV.) gives us a treatment
not unlike that in Plate CXXVI., and one that
appears to have been common, as far as certain
features are concerned, in the Augustan era.

Neither the figures of the central subject, nor
those in isolation on this wall, are so well designed
as in the Palatine work, although, in some of the
other chambers, there are some exceptions, such
as Plate CXXXIX., perhaps the handiwork of

the designer of the whole. We have again, in
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE. 89

 

this scheme, imitations of framed panel pictures*
painted upon the wall. Two large ones appear
to be supported by painted chimera, winged and
having women’s bodies and heads, but having claws
for support. The imitations of pictures of single
figures on the upper part of the wall, have frames of
columns, pediments, and other features resembling a

porch. There are also painted imitation openings,

 

are very common at Pompeii. The wall is coloured
generally red above the plinth, the middle of which
is white, having a dark yellow centre surrounded
by a narrow whorl in red and white, outside of
which there is a broad blue border. The columns

are white. The space above the pediment is

black.

ground and the tones of it generally are delicate.

The centre picture has a blue-grey back-

PLATE CXXVI.

 

RIE

WIEST

ONE SIDE OF THE TABLINUM, FROM THE HOUSE IN THE PALATINE, ROME.

with outdoor scenes in perspective, somewhat
similar to those in the Palatine work and such as

 

*It appears, also, that the subjects on the vases were at
times from panel pictures.

“Ora mi par certo, che da quelli stessi quadri a tavola, che
servirono di modelli a que’ pittori di vasi, sono derivati anche
i quadri nostri.” (Annali, vol. lvi., p. 319; see also Bermdorf,
Griech und Sicil. Vasenb., tav. 14, 26, 27, 33, 34, &c.)

1
|
1

The pictures on either side have white grounds
and yellow frames.

In the sa¢a numbered six is a series of paintings
fine in taste and execution and of the most won-
derful variety of design.
in PlateCXXXVIJ. They occupied the sides of a
chamber which must have been open to the light,
as the groundwork is all black. This black ground

One of these is given
at the base forms
a plinth. It is cut
up into squares of
various dimensions,
divided by a red
line having a thin
white line on either
side ; above this
is a series of col-
oured ornamental
mouldings, sup-
porting delicate
columns which di-
vide the chamber
into a series of
black panels. The
black is modified
in the lower part
of the panel by
little subjects in
grey outline, al-
most Chinese in
character ; above
these, between
the columns, are
swung strings, or
garlands, of leaves
in white or pale
low-toned greens
and brown greens.
Above this, di-
vided by a painted moulding, is a frieze of small
figure-subjects illustrating criminal jurisdiction, and
above this, over another series of mouldings, an
ornamental panel of grey pattens also on black
grounds.

These oblong panels are divided by a series
of beautiful statuesque figures, supported by the
columns before mentioned.

Every figure and every detail is varied, and is
shadowed or modelled in pale low-toned colour.
A sketch of one of the capitals and part of the
frieze is given in Plate CXKXXVII. In the black
panel that I have sketched, the outline figures have
unfortunately decayed, but in the plate from other
compartments given in the Monumenti Lnediti*

 

* Volume xi.

90 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

PLaTE CXXVII.

 

MERCURY RESCUING JUNO, GUARDED BY ARGOS.

(The centre picture of Plate CXXVI.) the

 

they are fairly well
exhibited.

These paintings,
like those from the
Palatine, areclassed
by Professor Mau
inthe second style,*
a variation of that
which has been
called Alexandrine.

If I am correct
in my  apprecia-
tion of this term,
Egypto Hellenic
might be a more
appropriate name.
This Egyptian in-
fluence is marked
especially by the
ornament on the
base of the
columns (Plate
CXXXVIIL),
which shows fea-
tures evidently de-
rived from the
papyrus stemmed
ornamentation con-
tinually found on
columns of

Egyptian architec-
ture.t It has apparently passed through three
or more developments—from painted wood to
painted stonework, imitated and adapted to bronze
work, and re-imitated in painted ornament. These
quasi-Egyptian details increase, with the change of
style, rather than decrease.

Its introduction into Rome may have been
thus. The placing of military colonies all over
the country had destroyed the agricultural popu-
lation; and the wealth of the towns, especially
that of the capital, Rome, was so great that they
could afford to import their corn. One of the

* Geschichte dey decovativen Wandmalevei in Pompeji, p. 215 et seq.,
and Annalt dell’ Instituto di Roma, 1882, vol. liv., p. 301.

+ See the base of the column behind the seated figure,
Plate I.
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

gl

 

principal centres of export
to Rome was Alexandria.
The Egyptian corndealers
would thus have immense
in Rome. We
find Egyptian influence
not only in the establish-
ment of the Isidian wor-
~ship but also in the arts,
~which gradually became
nothing but the auxiliaries

influence

of a voluptuous life.

The neglect of agri-
culture was undoubtedly
the primary cause of the
downfall of Rome; it was
insidious and overlooked,
because the wealthy classes
could afford imported corn
and

imported luxuries,

whilst all real national in-
dustry was neglected. It
appears to be the in-
evitable cause of the
decay of all vast em-
pires that the centre
of be-
comes too wealthy to

government

demand a natural and
national life around
it.
becomes almost un-

To it economy

necessary.

There is one other
point upon which I
should like here to
make some observa-
tions. It has been
the custom of many
writers and many
speakers to associate

high cultivation with

the grossest vices.
The Romans, at a
certain period, ob-

jected to Greek in-

PLATE CAXIX.

 

Tue LEFT-HAND CHAMBER IN THE House oF LIVIA; PALACE
OF THE C/ESARS, ROME.

PLATE CXXX.

fluence because it involved
the one with the other.
making the following ob-

In

servations I am not as-
suming to be an authority
on such a point, but it is
one of considerable im-
portance in Art.

As far as I gather ideas
together, this very gross
corruption was not indi-
genous to Greece, and
had only an accidental

with Greek
The Greeks,

like the Etruscans, were

connection
culture.

associated in their arts
with the most licentious
of the Asiatic peoples, one
of whom—the Canaanite,
who were Phcenician—
was destined to destruc-
its

tion for gross

 

 

Tue PAINTING ON THE WALL IN THE RIGHT-HAND CHAMBER FROM THE

House or Livia; PALACE OF THE CASARS, ROME.

vices.

These Pheenicians,
it is historically cer-
had not the
capacity for mental

tain,

refinement and high

that the
exhibited ;
they were the seek-
ers of wealth
luxury *
and
people of philosophic
and poetical or high
artistic culture.

culture
Greeks

and
essentially,
in no sense a

Rome unfortu-
nately,
date,

at an early
shared this
moral degradation
with Art cul-
ture both from

an

* See pp. 6 and 7 ante.
92 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

Etruscan and Greek sources; Plate CXXXL In this renewal what
( an important part was

played by the ever-living
Greek culture will, I think,
be fairly outlined, as far as
Art is concerned, in the
succeeding volumes of this

so that when again, under
the Empire, Isidian ideas
and Asiatic vices were
revived, the balance was
overthrown, her moral doom
was sealed, and she would
have been wiped as cleanly book.
from the face of the earth

as Assyria and Pheenicia

Before, however, we can
arrive even at the com-
mencement of the Art of
this era, it is necessary to

were had it not been that
almost at the same time
there entered her gates an
influence of another kind,

make studies from a centre,
notorious for all the vices
which proclaimed the com-
ing dissolution of the Em-

 

also from Asia.

SKETCHES OF FIGURES FROM PLATE CXXIX.

From that race who were

commanded to destroy the pire and showed its un-
Canaanites, and their hereditary vices, came those healthy state. I allude to Pompeii, Herculaneum,
early Christian missionaries who, entering Rome at and the other cities of the Campagna.

this crisis, proclaimed that faith and that morality Cognate in style to the Roman painting already

PLATE CXXXII.

    
    

YA

      

    

RR RN

rg
2 Sag ce oie ae,
PRR iS Shee
a Gn em) Seu Se
= nF p> C3. of SI COG
Janek x ge

 

Ss Sa ae
F
PAINTING ON A GOLD GROUND ON A CEILING OF THE TIME OF THE EMPEROR AUGUSTUS.
which from that hour to this have saved Rome ' illustrated is a considerable portion of the work
from obliteration, and made her the centre of the found in the cities of the Neapolitan campagna
moral and religious life which has renewed the Very little of the Southern work is equal to the

world. Roman as far as the ornamental portions are
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

PLATE CXXNIII.

DETAILS FROM THE GILDED CEILING, PLATE CXXXII.

concerned, nor are the subjects, as a rule, very

good in
are On the
latter point, it is the
opinion of those who

poor.

have given every at-
tention to the subject
that many are copies
of copies — traditional
reproductions of Greek
works of some cele-
brity ; the subjects are
frequently the
as those mentioned by
the historians, and the

same

reader who is ac-
quainted with what
copies usually are.
would know the result.

Although certain of

the pictures are grace-

ful and well composed, a number of them are
vulgar, many obscene, and obscene in no measured |

degree.

technique, and many of the designs

Stabiz,

PLATE CXXXIV.

     

=a
Gl

‘ i A
REE

Boy Drivinc A ‘“ BIGA” WITH TIGERS.

found there.

     

(From the Vatican Gallery.)

now Castellamare,

 

Herculaneum and

Pompeii, as everyone knows, were destroyed by

an eruption of Vesu-
vius in the year 79 a.b.
There is probably no
more graphic account
of any event than that
in which the younger
Pliny describes _ this
horrible and _ terrible
disaster* in which his
uncle, the elder Pliny,
perished. He perished
at Stapia, which was
then little else than
a convenient sea-port,
as the town had been
devastated by Sully in
the Social war.

Very few remains of
been

painting have

Those, however, that I have seen

 

* Lib. vi., epistola 16.
94

THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

 

lead me to consider that a great deal of the work
in Stabize was of higher class than that at Pompeii.
We have in the British Museum some figures
which are sketched in a very masterly manner.

average of such work.

| Stabiee at Naples, all of which are above the
HercutaneumM, which was destroyed by the

volcanic mud of the same eruption, has not, from

PLATE CXXXV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE OF THE PAINTED WALLS OF THE

Unfortunately they appear to have been varnished,
so that the fresco effect is lost. One of these is
shown in Plate CXL. Another figure, ‘* Spring,”
(Plate CXLI.) is one of the gems of the collection
in the Museo Borbonico ; it is not only beautiful in
design, but the original is an exquisitely delicate

piece of colour. There are also other figures from

 

HOUSE FROM THE ‘‘ FARNESINA ” RESTORED.

various circumstances, been so thoroughly exca-
vated as Pompeii. It contained, probably, the
better art, and certainly some literature, which
seems altogether absent in Pompeii.
Concerning its history, Livy states that the
Consul Camillus took it from the Samnites, B.c. 293.
In the Social War, B.c. 80, it was besieged and
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

PLATE CXXXVI.

 

PLATE CXXXVII.

wy sy

es

eh a
a

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mil

ff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DETAILS OF TIIK UPPER PART OF PLATE CXXXVI.

PLaTE CXXXVIII. (B.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mr i!
fot. WC fccee/, _ YN:
ae Pear yore, SAT
ONE OF THE COMPARTMENTS OF A PAINTED WALL FROM ‘THE SE /
House In THE FARNESINA. en Vp
Pirate CXXXVIII. (A4.) s ie
1 {
Hii ‘ zt
i red Ty 1 ie
; ECO :
‘ | { [ = t
7 ——————
Grek AEX ; HF {
re ALN |
y “7 é SH ALPS
ia a ey a Hy
i 7 |

 

 

 

 

 

DETAILS OF THE BASE AND CAPITAL FROM THE WALLS OF A ROOM IN THE HOUSE OF THE FARNESE GARDENS.
13
96

THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

taken by Didius; it could not have suffered very
severely by the siege, as it soon afterwards was a
celebrated Roman marine residence.
called Retina or Resina.

Its port was
The town was, however,

  

PLATE CXLII.

lost to history, although mentioned in some MSS.
of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, until 1709 A.D.,
when the Prince d’Elbeuf, wanting works of sta-
tuary to place in his house, heard of a person who,
in digging for a well near Resina, had discovered
some. D’Elbeuf excavated for five years and found
some fine works, but Count Dam, the Austrian
viceroy, claimed them for the state, and some were
sent to Vienna. After this, from certain circum-
stances, the excavations ceased, and the site was
forgotten till 1737, when some beautiful bronzes
and pictures were discovered, of which the exca-
vator did not know the value, and unfortunately
many were destroyed. After many vicissitudes,
the excavation was placed in the hands of the
Accademia Ercolanense, and the work Prttore adit
Ercolano, 9 vols., was produced. Except as in-
dicating the compositions, this work, like others

with drawings from old work of that period, is
useless.

The excavations are now closed up, but many of
That the
style in design of the painting was of the same kind
as that of the Farnese House and of Pompeii, is
evident from the example in Plate CXLVI.

the pictures are in the Museo Borbonico.

OMPEII, like Herculaneum, was lost to history until a.p.

1748, when a peasant, in sinking a well, discovered a
painted room, with statuary. Charles IIJI., hearing
of this and having the experience of the Herculaneum
excavations, ordered these to be _ proceeded with,
since which time they have never entirely ceased.
The accounts of these excavations—the works with
examples of the paintings, essays on the subjects,
the architecture, sculpture, bronzes, and every detail
connected with the recovered city—have a valuable

and prolific literature of their own. It is impossible

to consider it in any but the slightest way here; the
most that there is space or necessity for in this volume
is to give some few characteristic examples of design, so
as to continue the history from the Roman paintings.
have given the names of a few of the most prominent

I

authors of works in a footnote.

There is also an useful essay by Sir Humphrey Davy
on the character and nature of the colours, many of which
remain in their pots, as they were found ready for use,

There
are also other valuable essays by numerous authors

and are now in the Museum of Naples.

on the various details of the paintings. *

It is advisable here to consider some points
of Pompeiian history. It was, according to cer-
tain authors, originally an Oscan city, as ‘“‘ Pempe”
is Oscan for “five ;” but that can hardly lead to
“Pompeii.” It is supposed to have been the city
of the Gens Pompeii, as Tarquinii is that of the

Tarquins.+ The people were in their early days

 

“If the reader desires to make the subjects an especial
study, he cannot do better than consult the works of Pro-
fessor Brunn, Helbig, Mau, Zahn, Overbeck, Sir W. Gell,
Mr. Marriott, Herr Wickhoff, and indeed, as I have said,
there are valuable works on the subject, too numerous to
mention, to be found in most decent public libraries,

 

+ It is improbable that any clue has really been found to
the derivation of its name. See also Gell’s Pompetiana, p. 11.
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE. 97

 

PLATE CXXXIX.

 

FIGURE FROM THE CENTRE OF A PANEL ON THE
WALL OF A ROOM IN THE HOUSE FROM

THE FARNESINA.

much in contact with the Greeks, and undoubtedly
many also ‘were of Greek origin. It is even sug-
gested by some authors that they were the founders
of the City. The Doric Temple of the Forum
Triangulare * is of the sixth century B.c. At about

 

*] have extracted from the valuable work of Professor
Mau the periods of architecture with their characteristics :

“The first period of architecture in Pompeii is that to
which the Doric Temple and the city walls belong; they are
of about 550 B.c. The building materials were sarno lime-
stone and grey tufa, To the second period belong the lime-
stone atrium, with a street frontage of ashlar work in sarno,
&c., such as the house of the surgeon. There is little or no
ornamentation in either of these styles, nor any trace of wall-
painting. All these are anterior to 200 B.c. The third, or
Tufa period, shows the climax of Pompeian architecture prior
to the Roman period ; the material is grey tufa. Certain signs
and inscriptions upon the plaster of the Basilica have given
the idea that these buildings date from about 200 to go B.c.,
and are the last work before the Roman immigration, a time
of considerable building activity. Buildings, &c., were adorned
with Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian ornamentation. Colours
are used on the walls, and this is the first period of Pompeian
wall-decorations. The walls were covered with projecting

 

420 B.c. Pompeii was taken by the Samnites, so
that the art which is exemplified in the fourth
chapter may have also, at one time, influenced
Pompeii.

Between 343 and 290 B.c. the political influence
was principally Roman, but it was not subjugated by
them till the time of Sulla, about 90 B.c._ In 80 B.c.
it was completely Roman.

 

panels of stucco coloured like marble, and the picture was in
mosaic on the floor.

“From 80 B.c. till the Roman Republic there is consider-
able reticulated brickwork in the facings of this style. The
paintings are in the architectural style, continued until the
time of Augustus, when the ornate style came in and endured
until about 50 a.D., when it was superseded by the initvicate
style of painting, and the fifth style of architecture, in which
marble was used. From 50 a.p. until the earthquake, 63 a.p.,
forms the sixth period of architecture.”

PiaTE CXL.

      

—e
SESS Remegr

=

   

SS

   

STUDY OF A FIGURE FROM STABIA.

(Now in the British Museum.)
98 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

The method of painting seems to have been prin-
cipally fresco, finished upon a solid and fairly thick
coating of plaster, which dried more slowly than the
thin under-coats, giving the artists a longer time to
work and being more durable when painted.

Powdered brick was sometimes used in the mortar
instead of marble dust or
sand. Examinations have
shown how the wall was
painted with its pictures
and ornamental surround-
ings. The whole of the
ornament was painted in
fresco by one, or many
hands, at once, and a
piece of plaster the size
of the proposed central
picture was cut out, and
afterwards the space was
replastered for the picture
afterwards
the later work, the pic-
sometimes

painted. In

tures were
painted in tempera on
the dry work. In other
cases, wooden pictures
(picture in tabulis) were
hung or fitted into the
wall.

Concerning the ques-
tion of these pictures, an
elaborate article will be
found in the recent work
of Professor Mau.* He
says :—

“The hanging of pic-
tures upon the walls
seems not to have been
in vogue in Pompeii, and no traces of such have
been discovered.” Here I think there is a slight
error, aS one or two have been found ; the remains

 

* Geschichte dev decovativen Wandmaleret in Pompeji, and the
English translation, Pompeii, its Life and Avt, pp. 315-335.
(The Macmillan Co., 1899.) There is also an article on the
House of the Vettii by Talfourd Ely, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., in
the Avchgologia, vol. lv., pp. 301 et seq.

Puate CXLI.

 

‘© SPRING,” FROM STABIA.

(Now in the Afuseo Borbonico.)

of one being, I think, in the British Museum, and
there was a little painting of an artist at work
found at Pompeii, and in some of the designs
sketches of painted pictures hang on the wall.

The number of paintings at Pompeii was im-
mense; in the catalogue by Helbig (1868), there are
2,000 enumerated, and in
1879 there was a supple-
mental catalogue of 800;
there are now probably
3,500 known to have ex-
isted or to be in existence,
“Tn all this wealth of
examples, however, it is
impossible to find any
evidence of a progres-
sive development either
in composition * or tech-
nique.” “The period
from 80 B.C. to 79 A.D.
was as little creative in
the field of painting as
in that of
Yet the increase of sub-
jects and figures placed
in various positions on

sculpture.”

the wall increased until
the destruction of the
city.

The scheme of paint-
ing historically varies
from the solid architec-
tural designs, such as
were approved of by Vi-
truvius, to an_ intricacy
and fancifulness both of
colour and design even
beyond such as he con-
demns.t+ The succeeding styles of design in the
periods of wall-painting are as follows :—

The earliest decorations appear to date about 200

 

* Prof. Mau's Pompeii,, &c. This does not accord with
Herr Wickhoff’s view. See footnote p. 101.

| A list of the houses and buildings in the various styles is
given in Marriott’s Facts about Pompeii, pp. 38 et seg. London,
1895.
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE. 99

 

B.c., and the latest shortly before the destruction
of the city.
into four

They are, for convenience, divided
styles with On the
Those
in the Tufa period are plentiful, but only consist
of panels of coloured blocks of stucco,
with bevelled edges into which the
wall above the dado is symmetrically
divided. These blocks, some of
which are painted to imitate mar-
ble, evidently are the production of
men at one time used to marble
architecture. It is suggested that it
arose in Alexandria in the third cen-

sub-divisions.
limestone houses there are no decorations.

tury B.c., and represents the work of
the Hellenistic age.

The second, or Architectural style,
succeeded this, and remained in use
till the middle of the reign of Au-
gustus. Examples of this style have
already been given from the Roman
palaces and houses (see pp. 89, 91); in
Pompeii it is exemplified on the walls
of the small theatre built about 75 B.c.
The example given by Professor Mau
is from the peristyle of a house in the
‘fifth region” of his arrangements.
One of the characteristics of this
period is the painting of reasonable
constructional architectural details in
perspective. The principal use of
these was to elaborately frame the
central picture. The dado is often
painted as if projecting. There is
no longer any solid projection of the
panels, and they often are painted
with very florid designs, becoming
more and more elaborate as they
get later. Sometimes, even in this
style, the upper part of the wall is
painted as if it were open, and one could see the
sky ; this is shown in many examples.

The third, or Ornate, style, as Professor Mau
has called it, retained the division of the wall
into a centre, with a picture; and, two lateral
divisions. It exhibits, gradually, developments of all

custodian.

Pirate CXLIII.

 

MEDEA MEDITATING THE MURDER OF
HER CHILDREN.
(Now in the Museo Borbonico.) There
is also another picture in the same collec-
tion, including the children and their

those characteristics so much criticised by Vitruvius,
and developments of ideas that he had not contem-
plated. The later styles, developed up to about
50 A.D., were most fantastic, and the colour was as
eccentric as the design.

The introduction of Egyptian de-
tails, to which allusion has already
frequently been made, is supposed
to have risen from the relations with
Egypt arising from the battle of
Actium, but we know that the Alex-
andrian school of painting at this
time was in vogue, and this is suffi-

cient to account for it. There were
apparently, also, a large number of

Egyptian * and Greek artists resi-
dent, little else than mechanics.

The fourth, or
succeeds the Ornate.

Intricate style,
This style is
indeed intricate, and the variety of
designs in its ornamentation and
treatment of the wall space is almost
endless. This style lasted until the
time of the earthquake ; in its varia-
tions it may be called the last of
classical eccentric resources. — IIlus-
trations, Plates CXLVIII. to CL.,

from the House of the Vettii, are
amongst perhaps the best examples
of the fourth period extant.

As it is here impossible to give
any idea of the varieties of design
in Pompeian work, my brief notice
is limited to giving a few to assist
the reader to form an idea of the
progress of design in mural painting
in the first century, but I do not
see any new idea or any greater

From PompPEil.

perfection attained in traditional
forms during this period.

An illustration of two portraits in a good style is

also given (Plate CLII.). It rather disproves the

assertion of Pliny that men at this time thought

 

* Sir Wm. Gell, page 84, quotes the passage from Petronius :
« Pictura quoque nonalium exitum fecit, postquam Aigyptiorum
audacia tam magnz artis compendiariam invenit.”’
100 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

PLaTE CXLIV. PiarE CXLV.
PLATE.40.
= NUN a
Se a H
SS : A
ert Soe eS
|
ileal fo} s (o}
hy
M1
Ny
y
Ra
a
4
in
in
‘SiIpE oF A ROOM FROM THE House OF ACTON, POMPEII. PAINTED WALL, POMPEII.

Pirate CXLVI

 

 

SSIS SS STS AN —S (SS

 

 
 
       

 

 

 

 

 

rr

aT

 

i S SOUNMMAZ ELLE ere
' . ra . r

x
i
\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTING ON THE WALL OF A Houser, HERCULANEUM.
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE. IOI

 

more of the value of the metal of which they were
made than the resemblance or the art ;_ the portraits
to which he alludes being silver inlaid on bronze.

The subject of the ‘“ Punishment of Love” (Plate
CXLVII.) illustrates the best phase of Pompeian
subject-painting. It is graceful in design and very
harmonious and tender in colour. In the free
treatment of the de-

sign and the drawing

Pirate CXLVII.

Concerning the structure of the houses on
which the paintings still remain, it is curious that,
although the walls of the city are solid, the con-
struction of the houses is to a certain extent flimsy,
although sufficient in stability for the climate and
the customs of the inhabitants. The columns sup-
porting many portions of the buildings are of brick

—plastered and

painted. The plas-

 

of the draperies, this,
with many other Pom-
pelan paintings, is
a contrast with the
‘Medea meditating
the Destruction of
her Children” (Plate
CXLIII.), this Medea
bears out the asser-
tion that

these

many of

 

pictures are
traditional copies.
The design is so
dignified and so
much above the or-
dinary Pompeian
work, that it is pro-
bably a copy of the
subject by Timo-
machus of  Byzan-
tium, which was
purchased by Julius

Czesar.* In this in-

 

 

tering is, however, of
the most careful work-
manship for the re-
ception of the paint-

ing.
Referring to the

theories propounded
by Herr F.Wickhoff,*

* Concerning the de-
velopment of ‘Roman
Art,” I would advise the
reader carefully to study
the work of Herr Franz
Wickhoff already referred
to. Ionly know it through
Mrs. Strong’s translation,
but that can be taken as
quite reliable. In recom-
mending the study of this
work, it must not be
supposed that I agree
with all its arguments.
They are ingenious,
learned, and interesting,
but some appear bent to
prove certain theories.
One of these, the three

 

stance it may be a
direct ear its su- ‘© Love PUNISHED BY BEAUTY.”
periority of — style
would uphold such
an idea: it also exhibits that. severity of design
and archaic style of drapery which we associate
with later Byzantine work. It is also an evidence
of the antiquity of the Byzantine School, which
appears from its style to have originated in an
archaic period or style. Upon this point I shall

have more to say hereafter.

 

* See Pliny, Nat. Hist., xxxv.
+ See Aunali, vol. xxxviii., p. 83, article by Hugo Hinck.

From the Casa dell’amoret punto, Pompeii.
(Now in the Museo Borbonico.)

 

divisions, and the defini-
tions of the three methods
of composition, is dealt
with in a footnote to the
chapter on “ Christian Art” (p. 129).

Concerning the style translated ‘“Illusive ” (which appears
to involve the terms “suggestive” and “ realistic,” unless my
appreciation of the term miscarries), and the aids to the
developments of that style, by the use of the media of clay
modelling in sculpture and of fresco in painting, the position
is hardly tenable, for many reasons; one is, that the Greek
“terra cottas’’ show us sketching inclay; and that the Greeks
also painted in fresco is, I think, historically undeniable.

As to the character of the style, certain modern painters
during the last three centuries have composed and painted,
producing a certain result on the optical principle that, when
one is looking upon a scene, only that part of the scene upon
 

102 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

PLATE CXLVIII.

eae ee
El teieb

rears me ea Pa =

 

 

 

 

PLaTE CXLIX.

 

PLATE CXLIX.—DETAILs OF PART OF A PAINTED WALL, House OF THE VETTHI,

PoMPEII.

PLATE CXLVIII.—OrrHEus AND OTHER DETAILS FROM A WALL IN THE SAME Houss.

 

which the eye is focused is seen in detail, the rest is blurred.
That the Roman artists acted on this principle, as asserted
by Herr Wickhoff, when the details of their work is examined,
is at the least questionable. If from some incentive to haste
the artist finishes to a degree the central objects of his compo-
sition and scamps the rest, the result is often the same, the in-
tention utterly different. In my experience I have seen the same
results obtained, as far as an ordinary observer distinguishes,
both from the scientific, and the hasty operation.

In sculpture their love of shadow also may have led them to
the extreme alts velicvi of their panels, and the connection in the
same work with bassz velievt ; the result argues nothing excepta
lack of refinement in the perception of architectural values.
Such a combination demanded a coarser architecture in which
the symmetry of the interior of the building was not disturbed by

 

panels which, in appearance, made holes in the walls. Unlike
simple alti velievt or bassi velievi, they allowed no space of plain
surface behind the figures, which limited the depth in appear-
ance, but a quasi perspective. I must not be tempted to
increase this criticism here, for an answer in detail to Pro-
fessor Wickhoff’s hypotheses, founded on elaborate and far-
reaching arguments, would involve a volume. I must, how-
ever, repeat that there is so much worthy of remark in his
book, that the reader should study it.

That the Italian people were at all times “naturalistic,”
especially in their development of ornament, I readily admit, and
I have previously frequently noticed this love of character. The
beauty of their country and of its flowers encouraged this, and
the moribund condition of the ancient religious symbolical
ornament required some living idea to replace it in ornament.
THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

PLATE CL.

 

 

 

 

 

«

A PAINTED WALL FROM THE HOUSE OF THE VETTII.

P is
LATE CLI PLate CLII.

 

PLate CLI.—TuE SUBJECT FROM PLATE CL.—CUPID AND A FaUN
DANCING.

PLATE CLII.—PorTRAITS OF PAQUIUS PROCULUS IN TOGA WITH
ANGUSTICLAVI AND HIS WIFE, FROM POMPEII.

 
104 THE REPUBLIC AND ROMAN EMPIRE.

 

Piate CLIIL. befound innearly
sss all the larger col-

to whose work I
have previously ;
referred, as to lections at Rome
the advance in
the art of paint-

ing shown in

and elsewhere.
Those in the
Rospigliosi Pa-
lace, Rome; the
select specimens
in the British

some of the
Pompeiian art,
and which I can-

 

 

 

not see as he PoMPEIIAN LANDSCAPE IN THE TEMPLE OF BaAccHuS, POMPEII. Museum, com-
does. As I have prising paintings
noticed in the ELAne CDI from Bosco
footnote to Reale, Her-
page 1o1, I culaneum,
think the Pompeii,

work is
rather sham

Stabiz and
the Baths of

 

“ illusionist ” Titus, Rome,
if ‘* illusion- and the col-
ist” at all en eae mee | ED. lections in
arising from AP Sanam sbcsoeremriviaa igs the Louvre,
> oe Te as al pea,
the same ss are all worthy
haste to SCROLL ORNAMENT FROM THE TEMPLE OF Iss, PompErt. (Now in the Alwseo Borbonico. See also of study. The
“knock off” Plate CLX.) fragments

the work cheaply, as is
shown in the use of sten-
cilling. It is a point
upon which the reader
can form his own opinion,
and is in itself also a
most interesting question.
There are very many other
works of the Imperial
Roman period, which |]
have not space to notice,
but from the Baths
of Titus (Plate CLV.)
and Caracalla (Plates
CLXXXV.-VI.) certain
examples, selected from a
great number, are given.
Fragments of painting will

 

Plate CLV. from Pozzuoli}"at South

Kensington, which _ be-
long to the same class
of work, are useful for
technical study as they
do not appear to
have been “ restored.”
There is, however, a fig-
ure of fair merit with
a dark laky-red dress,
but if this red dress
has not been retouched,
I think the work can
hardly be fresco. If it
is, I am = surprised at
the strength and richness
of colour which was ob-
tained.

CEILING FROM THE SUBLERRANEAN PORTION OF THE BATHS OF
Tirus, Romer.
105

CHAPTER VI.

SOME EXAMPLES

1? the previous chapter on Ornament (Plate

LXXVIIIa), the development of various
early capitals was sketched. Amongst these was
one of the Ionic order (A) from the Erechtheum,
and one of the Corinthian order from the Cho-
ragic monument of Lysicrates (Z). Contrasting
with these Greek capitals, from which they are
derived, is the adaptation of the Ionic capital,
for the purpose of painting, by the Samnites,
shown in Plate CLVLI., also various Roman adap-
tations of the Corinthian, and capitals of a purely
Roman style called the “Composite,” used for the
purposes of sculpture, shown in Plate CLVII., and

for the purpose of painting in Plate CLVIII.
Little explanation is needed; the designs when

examined show perfectly the changes that had
taken place. If with these examples the reader
compares the capitals from Pompeii, he will see
other resemblances, in the orders there adopted ; for
example, Nos. 3 and 4 bear a resemblance to that
from Priene (Plate LXXVIIIa, OQ).

In no Roman wall painting that I recollect is
there any revival of the Phoenician Cypriote type
(Plate LXXIX.); we may therefore consider
Imperial Roman art ultimately as from the Hellenic
in its various phases. It might perhaps be rash
were I to remark that under the Empire, Italic
ideas gradually but very often gave way to those of
colonial Hellenic origin. But if Art is a criterion
of conditions it would appear to have been so.

 

OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMAN ORNAMENT.

The next feature that I shall comment upon is
the “whorl,” or ‘‘scroll,” which has now become
‘floriated ” (Plate CLX.), and although the
“whorl” of antiquity was undoubtedly founded
upon the idea of rolling water (Plates XLIX.,
XC. and CVII.), it lost its symbolical meaning,
and became ultimately a most common method of
design in foliation, capable of the most beautiful as
well as of the most ordinary use. This will easily
be seen by examining the examples given in Plates
CVIL, CAVI,. CAVIL, GAVIEL, CLX, and
CLXI. I think it may have been originally used
on the frieze of the Corinthian order, either painted
or in bronze. It eventually became commonplace
as an ornament in sculpture, painting and mosaic
borders; the most remarkable of the latter being
that in the Thermze of Caracalla.
duced into England during the Roman_ period.
This is shown in the examples from Mr. Fox's
article the <Archeologia, Plate
CLAL

The palmette, whose genesis has interested me
so much, is now in nearly every case drawn without
the segment of the disk of the sun, the origin of its
existence and symbolism, and which IJ have taken to
mean the immortality of the soul. There is also
a variation of the floral palmette often used in the
later stele. This I have supposed to mean the
resurrection of the body, as it springs from the earth
or water by the action of the sun.

It was intro-

in and in
DEVELOPMENT OF ROMAN ORNAMENT.

Pirate CLVII.

THLE

106
ROMAN ORNAMENT.

PLaTE CLVI.

         

HON reed

Tomple of Murs Victor Rome

  
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLATE CLVIII.

aA
Lee IF aN\\
ae
ied pe 2

        

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

¢
rh
t e |
: | = Ta Ee
Ht OVA
’ i r \ a \
ea || AN eB Ed
; BAR OFF ; PARR PRN a Yale co
ert PPR EB Tha a aa FAR APY
} : | | AWS ! Temple of Vosta, Tivoli. Arch of Titus, Rome. Arch of Septimius Severus, Romo.
i
Corinthian and Composite Capitals reduced from TayLon and Cresy's Rome.

 

 

PLaTE CLVI. 1s AN ENLARGED CAPITAL
FROM THE SAMNITE PAINTING, PLATE

CXVIII.

Piate CLVIIL. .a PatnreD CAPITAL FROM

THE Opysszy Pictures, Rome (PLATE

CXX.).

EXHIBITS VARIOUS ROMAN

PLaTE CLVILI.
SOME

CAPITALS ;
CAPITALS FROM Pomrett, FROM ScULP-

 

AND PiaTE CLIX.

TURE.

 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMAN ORNAMENT. 107

 

Plate CLX.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FLORIATED SCROLL ORNAMENT. A.

 

From a TompB NEAR Capua (PLATE CXVIIL).

 

B, C. From

SASSANIDAN ARCHITECTURE, PERSEPOLIS. D. FROM THE CEMETERY OF ST. PR&TExtus. Z. From

THE VILLA Menpici, Romer.

fF, From Pompteit.

G. FRoM THE CEMETERY OF S. DOMITILLA

(PLate CXCII.). A. From THE SUBTERRANEAN House or SS. JOHN AND PAUL ON THE C@LIAN ETILL.

At the base of Plate CLXIV., from Pompeii,
as an exception, it has still a vestige of the disk
which is lost in nearly all other Pompeiian
examples.

The rosette (Plate LXIII.) survives in Plate
CLXIII. A, but as in the case of the palmette as
an ornament only, without signification, excepting
on the s¢e/e; examples of it are so numerous that
the reader will have no difficulty in finding them.

The fret, one of the most useful and adaptable of
ornaments, becomes intricate in design, and in
later Roman work is sometimes formed of various
colours. and is drawn as though it were in per-
spective (Plate CLXIII. &). This form of fret is,
as I have before observed. I think, the founda-
tion of the Riband ornament, so frequently found
in much later Art. The ‘egg and tongue” has
followed the same course in its development as

 

is seen in Plate CLXIIIc. D, where it becomes the
painted ornament of an imitated Cyma.

The Chimeras (Plates CLXIV., CLXVI.) have
their wings more twisted and ornamented than ever.
This is almost the only vestige of Phcenician in-
The vine, which
has been uncommon in European art, becomes
It appears to have origi-
nated as a kind of ‘“ Pergola,” such as one sees in

fluence that is very prominent.
commonly introduced.

the Assyrian carvings,* and some few Apulian

vases.t It also occurs in the Roman terra cottas

of the Republic; then to have been adopted for

ceilings, and the arcosolia of tombs about

 

* See British Museum, Assyrian Saloon, No. 121, Layard’s
Nineveh. Perrott & Chipiez, English edition, p. 108.

+ See two Lebce in the British Museum, No. F 304'5, in
the Vase Room.
108 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMAN ORNAMENT.

PLaTE CLXIII.

CS
Fh c NA Ik Al

PLatE CLXI.

     
 

Be

    

   
      

 

 

 

in Z Ml

A

   

 

 

SILCHESTEL.

 

 

Bienor.

 

 

WooDcHESTER.

 

FOLIATED SCROLLS FROM ANTIQUE PAVEMENTS OF THE RKOMAN A. From Pasrom (sex Puate CVIL). B,C, D.
FROM THE LATE WORK AT LANUVIUM (CIVITA
Lavinia), ¢emp. ANTONINUS Pius. (Now in
PLATE XV.). the British Museum.) ;

PERIOD IN ENGLAND. FROM THE Archeologia (vol. lvi.,

Pirate CLXVI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLaTE CLXV. PLATE CLXII.
2 o o G t
3 ° TR . ~~ L co 0 8 © 0 © 6 0
(Nf ( WA) \

~\ CYCY
WNCUNNY GE f
I. IE Jie Il J oO ° ° © °o 6 oe

PALMETTE FROM PomMpPEII. SCROLL OR WHORL FROM PompaBil. CHIMERA WITH CURLED WINGS, FROM TUSCULUM.

(Now in the Louvre.)
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMAN ORNAMENT.

109

 

the time of
the Empire
(see Plates

CLAITLXs,
i be Bias
CLA Ly

and other
plates at the
end of this
volume.

The many
other forms
of ornament

 

Oe] ae i eT Ta

PLaTE CLXIV.

 

 

    
 
   

         

  
  
 

     

    
      

    
 

< S 8 q | E Bs
or | NEA ro SVeiptaisvotntalowrintnicowsipaieveininicvensthes =
AWRY REY I CICS SOY AY)

 

 

 

 

oe ee é 3 é 3 3 oe C'S);
fe ENGCNENEN ENN CN EN EN se)
ee eae = : es : a : == cues =

y i
¥ cys oe e e ret)
OO) ame

 

Pirate CLXVII.

A COLLECTION OF POMPEIIAN ORNAMENT FROM THE WALLS OF VARIOUS HOUSES.

(It will be observed that the Sphynx retains the curled wing, and the Palmette, in this case, the
central orb, probably from the Asiatic tendencies of Egypto-Hellenic Art.)

PLaTE CLXIX.

ORNAMENT IN YELLOW OUTLINE WITH CERAMIC
CENTRES, FROM AN ARCH IN THE PALATINE.

   

  

CEILING

S. CALLIXTUS.

CLXXV.)

PLaTE CLXVIII.

Fa

1n CuUBICULUM OF S. EUSEBIUS, CEMETERY OF
(From Drs. Northcote and Brownlow, Plate

PLATE CLXX.

which became
traditional and
varied in their
forms accord-
ing to the na-
ture of design
in succeeding
eras, will be
commented
upon as they
appear in the
plates.

 

THE BACK OF THE SAME ARCOSOLIUM AS PLATE CLXX.

 

 

 

CALLIXTUS.

PLATE CLXXI.

ORNAMENT OF AN ARCOSOLIUM IN AREA IX. FROM S.

 

i
‘a

 

 

 

ORNAMENT FROM ARCOSOLIUM, S. CALLIXTUS.
CHAPTER VII.

ROMAN SEPULCHRES OF THE NASONI, THE CG@LIAN AILL, AND ON
THE VIA CORSINI.

OF the mural painting in Roman palaces and
enable us to obtain a good knowledge of its styles in
certain periods, but of the work in the temples
nothing remains but the partial descriptions by the

houses we have enough examples existing to

historians. From these descriptions it may be
gathered that the pictures plundered from Greece
formed an important part of their decorations.
These were probably panel pictures such as we
have seen were affixed to the walls of Roman
houses,* as accessories or auxiliaries of the work
on the painted walls. It is therefore probable
that the temples also had other decoration than the
pictures, and it is also probable that this deco-
ration differed in some respects from that in the
houses and palaces, in the same way that the paint-
ings in the tombs also differ. It is not, therefore,
rash to say that, both being religious, the temple
paintings would be more like those in the sepulchres,
in general arrangement, than those in the palaces
and houses.

When recording examples of the earliest Chris-
tian work, those in the sepulchres or cemeteries
will provide the most important portions of that
record. Moreover, it is certain that in the general
character of their composition the mural paintings
of the Christian sepulchres follow the pagan pre-
cedents. Both were cemeteries, legally existing,
and some are coeval. There are certain details

common to both, but I do not think there are

* See ante, pp. 88 to 96.

 

any examples of sepulchre painting exhibiting the
leading features of the candelabra-bronze or Alex-
andrine styles, seen in the houses. It is probable
that the temple and the sepulchre had their own
religious traditions developed from a more purely
To enable the reader to form
some judgment on this question various details

antique source.
from some beautiful Roman tombs are given.
They are probably of a date late in the first
Unfortunately
many of the paintings in these tombs have decayed,

or early in the second century.

and the plates had to be copies of old engravings.
In the British Museum there are, however, preserved
some beautiful figures and details from the tombs of
the Nasoni; one of these is given from sketches
I have made (Plate CLXXIII.). They are, un-
fortunately restored, and as usual, varnished, so the
fresco effect is lost.

Plate CLXXIIL., a, 4, ¢, d, from the engravings
of Bartoli, from the tombs of the Nasoni on the
Via Fiaminia and a chamber under the Ccelian
Hill, are most useful reminiscences of the painted
work on their walls, and are sufficient to enable the
reader to compare the schemes of design with
those in the Christian sepulchres.

Plates CLXXIV. to CLXXVII. are from some
tombs in the Via Corsini, and combine the stucco
and painted work in the same tombs. The sepulchre
contains a sarcophagus, and also cinerary urns, with
the ashes of deceased members of the family. It
is therefore a tomb and a columbarium.

It will be observed that the details of one of the
SEPULCHRES OF THE NASONI,

Ad Gs

 

Plate CLXNII.

 

< a)

    

iA
Pi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    
 
 

    
   

 

GT ry

ee 2p ‘

Sey
Nh ears

fe RO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A. PAINTINGS OF THE WALL OPPOSITE THE ENTRANCE, FROM THE TOMB OF THE NASONI FAMILY, ON THE VIA FLAMINIA, Rome,

(The subject is supposed to be Ovid and his wife Perilla led by Mercury and Evato.)

B. THE CENTRE OF THE VAULTED

CEILING OF THE SAME TOMB, PAINTED WITH SUBJECTS REPRESENTING PEGASUS AND THE SEASONS, WITH THE CHASE,

&e.

ON THE CCELIAN HILL, NEAR THE CHURCH OF S. STEFANO ROTONDO.

archivolts is composed of the vine leaf, which we
find so common at this period ; the other has what
appears to be a water-reed ornament, between some
creeping plants, growing on a stem of a cruciform
star shape, with certain historical incidents and pagan
figures for the centre and base. In the columbaria
we have the peacocks so frequently found in

as)

|

(Plate CLXXIII. is an enlargement of the subject on the left side.) C. WAuLTED CEILING OF A SUBTERRANEAN CHAMBER

D, INTERIOR OF THE SAME TomMB

Christian art afterwards, and other symbols, figures,
and chimera, about which the plates speak for them-
selves, and to which I shall have occasion hereafter
to refer. In the vicinity of Rome and elsewhere
there are other pagan sepulchres, all worthy of the
student's attention, those in the Via Latina being
especially in a good state of preservation.
ROMAN SEPULCHRES OF THE NASONI.

 

PLaTE CLXXIII.

 

SUBJECT FROM THE CEILING OF THE SEPULCHRE OF THE NASONI
FAMILY (SEE PLATE CLXXII. &).

PLaTE CLXXIV. Pirate CLXXV.

 

 

TE Ln

Le

 

 

OT oR BPE
\ VV“ ‘ {

 

 

 

 

PE relluca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTED AND STUCCO WALLS FROM SEPULCHRES IN THE

FTE eg

 

 

Via CorsINI.

 

 

LA RO

 
THE C@LIAN HILL, AND ON THE VIA _ CORSINI.

113

 

PLaTeE CLXXVI.

 

 

 

 

 

ScROLL PATTERN OF VINE BRANCHES, FROM AN ARCOSOLIUM IN A SEPULCHRE IN THE VIA CoRSINI.

Pirate CLXXVII.

 
    

 

LES

 

PAINTINGS ON AN ARCOSOLIUM, FROM A SEPULCHRE IN THE VIA CORSINI.
I14

Pirate CLXXVIII

 

 

 

 

SSS

SSS
SSS

SS

SS
SSSSs

————

SSS

Our Lapy oF S. LUKE, AN ANCIENT PICTURE PRESERVED
IN THE CHURCH OF S. LUKE, BoLoGNna.*

CHAPTER VII,

THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

AN Introduction, longer than was at first in-

tended, has now prepared the reader to
appreciate the character of the wall painting of
the early Christians in a fairly sufficient way. It
has already been remarked that in a history of
this kind no complete account of each period can
possibly be contemplated. Enough will be given

* In placing this sketch of the Madonna at Bologna, attri-
buted to S. Luke, at the commencement of the chapter, I am
assuming that there were pictures by S. Luke. The tradi-
tions concerning some of these (for example—the S. Maria ad
nives in Santa Maria Maggiore, and this of Bologna)—are very
ancient. Supposing, therefore, the original of such as
these to have been by S. Luke, or even the pictures them-
selves, there is considerable probability that repaintings and
additions to cover decay or damage have often been added. It
seems to me preferable to treat all such tradition with some
consideration rather than to discard it as valueless.

 

for a general view of the subject. The matter
will also serve as an introduction to the subject,
and references are given to more complete works
for those who wish to continue the study of any
particular portion of the history.

As I have formed certain notions concerning the
Art of the Catacombs * and that of coeval and
succeeding periods, it will be convenient for my
argument if I divide the subject in a certain way,

 

* The proper term is ‘‘cemeteries.” They are commonly
called catacombs after that of St. Sebastian, which was
entitled the Cemeterium ad Catacumbas. For the origin of
these cemeteries and the laws relating to them the reader
can refer to Roma Sotteranea, by Dr. Northcote and Dr.
Brownlow, Bishop of Clifton, pp. 53 é¢ seg. 2 vols. (Longman
and Co.). This work will be frequently referred to as Roma
Soltt., English ed.
1H#E AKT OF THE BARLY CARISTIANS. 115

 

PLaTE CLXXIX.

 

 

 

FRoM THE ‘* TOMB OF

to avoid any confusion in my explanation of those
views. The divisions will be as follows :—

(1) Was there an early Christian Art independent
of that in the Christian Roman cemeteries?

(2) Where is the earliest Art in the Christian
cemeteries ?

(3) Symbolism and the commencement of Chris-
tian Iconography. Simple subjects of the
earliest paintings.

(4) The development of more complicated sub-
jects illustrating Christian teaching, or
Christian life.

Concerning the first question.

torically certain that any early Christians practised
Art, other than those who painted in the Roman
catacombs. At the same time, it is probable that
there were early Christian paintings executed in
Asia. This portion of the subject will, however, be
considered in the next volume.

Before St. Peter entered Rome,* for nine years

or so our Lord and his disciples had preached up
and down Judea and on its borders.+ Gentiles, as

It is not his-

 

* According to St. Jerome, in 42 A.D.

+ The Phcenician cities had not then been incorporated into
the Roman state. In 40 B.c. Sidon was the seat of a philoso-
phical school. Our Lord, in the second year of His ministry,
went into Galilee, to the borders of Tyre and Sidon (St. Mat-

 

 

THE JUDGES,” JERUSALEM.

well as Jews, had listened to him and were con-
verted to Christianity. These Gentiles had great
artistic traditions reaching back to the early days
of historic art which the Jews, at certain times,
had shared ;
some beautiful works for their every-day inspection
and imitation—Pheenician, Syrian and Greek, such

as ‘‘The Tombs of the Judges”* (Plate LXXIX.),

there remained around them still

 

thew xv. 21, and St. Mark vii. 24-30). The Gospel was
preached in Phoenicia, 41 a.pD. St. Paul landed at Tyre and
proceeding to Ptolemeus, found churches already established
(Acts xi. 19; xxi. 3-7). A Bishopric was founded at Tyre in
the second century. Bishop Cassius lived in 198 a.p.; Ma-
rinus, 253 4.D. See also footnote p. 7.

* I think the pediment dates from about 100 B.c, to 50 B.c.
Pierotti (Jerusalem Explored) does not think it is the ‘Tomb of
the Judges.” He says: ‘‘ It seems to me much more probable
that certain members of the Sanhedrim were buried here,
according to the traditional belief of the Jews now in Jeru-
salem, who visit this spot from no other motive than curiosity.
The exterior of the vestibule is decorated with a frontispiece
resembling that in the Tomb of Jehoshaphat, consisting of a
cornice and pediment, the tympanum of which is richly carved
with palm leaves! and foliage with three acropteria, perhaps
intended for funeral emblems (torches), one on the summit
(effaced), the other two at each end. . . . The tomb contains
sixty-three biers.”’

Pierotti supposes the acropteria to be funeral emblems and

ean a sae, translated by Bonney, description in vol. i., and Plate
116 THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

and amongst these works were probably paintings*
of which all traces are lost.

It is hazardous to say that any of the Asiatic
gentile converts were artists, but it is extremely
probable that some were, and that some Jewish
converts were amateurs, or even lived by Art, for
They had been

associated with the Phcenician workers in all the

the Jews were ever fond of it.

arts, and this association could hardly have been
The builders
temples, if not some of them Jews,t were of the

barren. and decorators of the
same race, and the association was at times inti-
mate, even too intimate and influential as far as
religion was concerned.

Indeed, as the architectural ornament and Art of
the ‘“ Byzantine” era owe so much to the Syriac
traditions of Art, there is no improbability in the
that attribute to St. Luke pictures of
Our Lord and Our Lady, and to the other apostles
and disciples, such as St. Peter and St. Nicholas,
works of art, as Christians.

d

“legends ’

From the preceding remarks it seems fair to
presume, then, that there was other early Christian
Art than that of the Roman catacombs. For the
purposes of a theory which I shall hereafter elabo-
rate, it will be considered that this other style was
the origin of that which we call ‘“ Byzantine,” and
which for my argument I shall style Syro-Hellenic.

 

queries “‘ torches.” Undoubtedly they are “ nautilus” pal-
mettes, such as have been found both at Mycenz and in
Pheenicia (see plate LXXVI.). It is probably like the Sun
palmette, a funeral emblem, and as the nautilus floats like
a boat on the water, it may mean the passage of the soul.
That also which he calls the Palm is an elaboration of the
palmette such as we see on the Greek stelg (Plate LXV.).

It is the opinion of some antiquaries that the Jewish style
of all periods subsequent to the building of the Temple was
chiefly influenced by the Phoenician. My own idea is that their
work was continually and successively influenced by the art
of the nations with whom they came into contact, especially
those in contact locally. There are many examples besides
that given. The Tomb of Absalom shows us an Egyptian
cavette over a Doric entablature and mixed Greek and
Phoenician features, supported by Ionic capitals and sur-
mounted by a dome of mixed character.

* Vestiges of fresco were found in the porch of one of these
tombs, but whether Pagan, Jewish or Christian, it is impossible
to say (see Pierotti, English edition, vol. i., p. 206).

+ Kings, chap. v.

 

The Roman painting of the Catacombs of the
first four centuries appears to follow in certain par-
ticulars that later Greek style which, it is presumed,
came through the Egypto-Hellenic colonies.* At
the same time Athenian sculptors and probably
artists from Athens were in Rome, and although
the Roman Palatial style of painting was principally
Alexandrine, the sepulchral Temple painting pro-
These
schools would probably have a freedom of drawing,

bably owed a great deal to other schools.

especially in the draperies such as we see in later
Greek art, and such as we associate in its origin
with Phidias and his successors.t The draperies
flow in graceful curves, in a softer manner, and,
in a general sense, are more natural than in Ar-
chaic Art. I should take the ‘“ Flora” from Stabiz
(Plate CXLI.), ‘The Punishment of Love,” from
Pompeii (Plate CLXVII.), and the designs from
the House of the Vettii (Plates CLXVIII.-CL.)
as illustrating the Roman development of this style,
the principal style from which the earliest Art of
the Catacombs sprung.

Now, if the Greek artists settled in Byzantium
practised the grand style such as is ascribed to
Timomachus and Aéteon even as late as the time
of Julius Cesar, and it is fair to assume that the
“Medea” (Plate CXLIII.) is a copy of the
work of Timomachus, done for and bought by
Julius Cesar, we have in this “Medea” a type
of work from a school which adhered to this
archaic and grand style, existing coevally with the
more florid schools, and there is no reason to
suppose that its course was interrupted. We can
thus theoretically account for the origin of the two
dominant Christian styles of the first ten centuries,
from the fact that they dominated at the time
of our Lord’s coming. Assuming my theory is
reasonable, it accounts for the early date given
to some Christian ‘‘ Byzantine” pictures.t Unfortu-

 

* See p. go. + See pp. 17-23.

{ It is to be regretted that there is a show of authority
made by some writers against the traditions of ancient pic-
tures. Wornum, in his Epochs of Painting, quotes the
Councils of Constantinople (754) and that of Frankfurt (794),
amongst its other acts, as condemning the portraits of our
Lord. The Council of Constantinople is dealt with below ;
as to the Frankfurt Synod held by Charlemagne, it was not a
THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS, 117

 

PLATE CLXXX.

 

PsYCHES GATHERING FLOWERS, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
ETERNAL SprING. From THE House oF THE VETTH,

PoMPEII. (First century, A.D.)

PLATE CLXXXI.

 

 

 

‘© SPRING.” FROM THE CEMETERY OF S. DOMITILLA.

PLaTE CLXXNII.

 

FROM THE VAULT OF A CuBICULUM IN S. CaALLIxTUS. (Circa 250 A.D.)

 

nately, the perfect catena of their history is
broken, and many links are missing.

Therefore, although there is an important
tradition, we have no exact authentication
of any early Asiatic painting by Christians ;
and all such Christian art, excepting the few
pictures ascribed by tradition to St. Luke, all
Art is gone—gone with old Jerusalem; gone
like Tyre and Sidon ; no vestige remaining,
We must therefore turn to the cemeteries
of Rome, to the children of SS. Peter and
Paul, to the aliens and gentiles converted
by the Apostles, and their successors, for an
authentic commencement of our history ; and
our second question, ‘‘ Where is the earliest
Art in the Christian cemeteries?” must in-
augurate the history.

The latest discoveries and arguments
point to those of St. Priscilla,* ‘the

 

Council in its full sense. But when Wornum! speaks of
the Christendom of this period as ‘‘ as palpably idola-
trous as ever the Pagans were,” the bias of his mind
is too evident to be trusted in Christian archeology.

Lady Eastlake, in her edition of Mr. Jameson’s
Life of Our Lord, falls into the same device when
she says (vol. i., p. 36): “‘ Thus it need only be
observed that at the seventh General Council held at
Constantinople in 754, all the pictures purporting to
have descended direct from Christ or His Apostles
were condemned.”

Perhaps neither of these authors (Mr. \Vornum or
Lady Eastlake) were sufficiently informed on the
character of General Councils, or knew that this
Council holds no position whatever, and is not recog-
nised by either the Latin or Greek Churches. It is
called the Council of the Iconoclasts. Even Finlay?
condemns it as illegal. The seventh General Council
properly so-called was held at Nice in 787 a.p., and
the acts of the so-called Council of Constantinople
were condemned, The circumstances surrounding
the acts of the Iconoclasts, and the treatment of the
Librarians who opposed them, are in themselves evi-
dences of the traditional value set upon these pictures.

* There is an interesting communication concern-
ing this cemetery by Signor R. Lanciani in the Athe-
neum of July 27, 1901, p. 132, giving important evi-
dence of the Apostolic antiquity of certain portions.
He writes: ‘Those of St. Priscilla contain, at all
events, the oldest known monuments of underground
Christian Rome, paintings as well as inscriptions,
among which the name of Peter is mentioned more than
once. They contain also the crypt of Manius Acilius
Glatrio, a victim of the persecution of Domitian.”

' Epochs, p. 81.
2 Flistory of the Byzantine Empire, edition 1856, p. 68.
118

THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

Ostrianum,” * St. Do-
mitilla, SS. Nereus and
Achilles, and after these
SS. Hermes, Maximus,
the Jordani and Pre-
textus as the earliest.
Then the
on the Appian Way ;

catacombs

and, the small basilicas
built in the cemeteries
by Pope Fabian (240-
257 A.D.) bring us to
the edict against the
use of the catacombs
and__ the
changes in their cha-

consequent

racter.

PLarE CLXXNXIIL.

 

‘* AUTUMN,” BoyS GATHERING OLIVES, FROM THE CEMETERY
OF PRATEXTUS.*

(This same motive is also found in the house of the Vettii at Pompeii,
treated in a similar way. The vine-scrolls and birds are in the style
of those found in the second and early part of the third century a.p.

these catacombs as the
earliest may be thus
divided : the traditions ;
the character and style
of the work itself; the
identification of the
persons buried in these
catacombs and_ the
period in which they
lived; the character of
the structure; the epi-
graphy and written his-
torical evidence. The -
latter is voluminous,
and the reader must
refer to the works of
Bosio, Aringhi, Bot-

The reasons for con-
sidering the work in

The painting is very much decayed).

* See Roma Sott., vo. i, p. 132.

tari, De Rossi, Padre
Garucci, Drs. North-

 

* The cemetery of St. Domitilla, or of her chamberlains,
SS. Nereus and Achilles, on the Via Ardeatina, is the last
which we mentioned as claiming to be of the same age, and
its claim deserves a more detailed examination, because it is
connected with what has been already mentioned as one of
the most remarkable facts in the annals of the early Church—
the profession of the Christian faith by some of the Imperial
family, this Domitilla being no other than the niece of
Vespasian, who was banished! to the island of Ponza. St.
Jerome ® tells us that, in his days, this island was frequented
by pious Christian pilgrims “‘ who delighted to visit with de-
votion the cell in which Flavia Domitilla had suffered a life-
long martyrdom.’’ Whether she really shed her blood at the
last for the faith is uncertain, the Acts of St. Nereus and
Achilleus being of undoubted authenticity. They state, how-
ever, that she and one of her female companions were buried
in a sarcophagus at Terracina, but that her chamberlains (who
are said to have been baptized by St. Peter) suffered death by
the sword, and were buried in a cemetery about a mile and a
half out of Rome, on the Via Ardeatina, in a farm belonging
to their mistress. The farm, now known by the name of Tor
Marancia, is situated just at this distance from Rome, and on
the road named; and an inscription which has been found
there shows clearly that it once belonged to this very person,
Flavia Domitilla. It gives the measurements of a sepulchral
area of 35 feet in front and 4o into the field, whether for a
Pagan or a Christian monument we cannot say ; but, at all
events, the ground had been granted to one Sergius Cornelius
Julianus, ex indulgentia Flavie Dowmitille, neptis Vespasiani ;
another, probably belonging to the same place, records a
similar grant ex beneficio of the same lady. Moreover, it is a
curious circumstance well worth mentioning that, within the
cemetery which underlies this farm, or at least in its imme-
diate neighbourhood, two or three other inscriptions have been
found of a Bruttia Crispina and others of the Gens Bruttia.

' Ada SS. Nerii, iii., p. 11, No. 18.
2 Annal, ad. an., 69, No. 32.

 

From which we are tempted to conjecture that there may
have been some sort of connection between the two families,
and that this perhaps was the reason which induced Bruttius,
the historian, to make special mention of the exile of Domi-
tilla in his narrative of the public events of his day.

Anyhow, it is certain that Domitilla had property in this
place; and though Bosio imagined this cemetery to be that of
St. Callixtus, nobody now doubts that it is really that which
in olden times was known as Cameterium Domnutille, Nevet et
Achillet, ad St. Petronillam, vid Ardeatind.

Before-we descend into it, it will be well to say a few words
about this new name which thus enters into the title. St.
Petronilla is described in the Martyrologies' as having been
“the daughter of St. Peter,’ and some critics have imagined
that this word denoted a real natural relationship, and not
merely a spiritual one, as in the analagous case of St. Mark,
whom St. Peter himself calls his “‘son.”® They have even
argued that the very name indicated a blood relationship with
the Prince of the Apostles. But this is a mistake. Baronius *
long since pointed out that Petronilla could not, according to
Roman usage, be derived from Petrus, but rather from Petro-
nius, as Priscilla from Priscus, Drusilla from Drusus, &c.
Moreover, we now know that she bore another name, which
connects her with a noble Roman family, not with the poor
Jewish fisherman ; for on the sarcophagus on which she was
buried were inscribed the two names Amelle Petronille.. Now
the name of Petro was no stranger to the family of Domitilla ;
for Titus Flavius Petro was the father of the first T. Flavius
Sabinus,* and if Petronilla was descended from this Petro, as
she may have been on her mother’s side, it is at once accounted
for how she found her place of burial on the property of her
relative Domitilla. (Roma Sotteranea, English edition, by
Dr. Northcote and Dr. Brownlow (Bishop of Clifton), Pt. i.,
Pp. 120-122).

' Acta SS. Nerii, iii., p. 11, No. 18.
* Annal, ad. an., 69, No. 32.

“1 Peter v. 13.
‘ Suetonius in Vespas, ¥.
 

tHE ART OF THE BARELY CHRISTIANS. 11g

 

Pirate CLXXXIV.

 

 

WALL PAINTING OF THE FourTH CENTURY(?) FRoM THE House on THE C@LIAN HILL, UNDER THE
CuuRcH OF SS. JOHN AND PauL.

(Supposed to be the work of pagan artists. The Vine-scroll springs from a gzvasz-acanthus form, in the same way as
the Scroll ornament does in the fragment from the Villa Medici—Plate CLX. #. This and the succeeding two
Plates are given to illustrate the Vine. The figures are miserably drawn.)

cote and Brownlow, Signor Marucchi, M. Roller,*
M. Perret,t and to the works referred to by them,
if he wishes thoroughly to enter into that part of
the question farther than the few quotations I have
space to insert concerning these peculiarities.t

The character of the work in the earliest ceme-
teries we have called ‘‘ Roman,” and, as may be
expected, it has many resemblances to work already

illustrated in the previous chapters. These and

other resemblances which give us some clue to the
periods of the painting will be dwelt upon as we
proceed in describing the Art worth consideration.
Meanwhile, let us consider the third question :
What was the commencement of Christian Icono-
graphic Art? The reader who was versed in the
history of Art would not expect to find elaborated
compositions of subjects from Christian history,
or doctrine, for a few centuries after the rise

 

 

 

* This is the most complete and useful work on the
arrangement of subjects and Iconography.

+ The plates in Perret, although on a large scale and done,

under very eminent direction, at the expense of the Govern-
ment, are very much ‘‘ made up” and unreliable.

+ The following quotations from the work of Doctors North-
cote and Brownlow are also interesting, on the peculiarities of
the earliest work :—

«¢ When these peculiarities are brought together they are’

found to be in perfect harmony, not only with one another
but also with what we should have been led to expect from a
careful consideration of the period to which they are supposed
to belong. The peculiarities are such as these: paintings in
the most classical style, and scarcely, if at all, inferior in
execution to the best specimens of contemporary pagan art ;
a system of ornamentation in fine stucco such as has not yet
been found in any other Christian subterranean work ; crypts
of peculiar shape and considerable dimensions, not hewn out
of the bare rock, but carefully, and even elegantly, built with
pilasters and cornices of bricks or terra-cotta; no narrow
galleries with shelf-like graves thickly pierced in their walls,
but spacious ambulacra, with painted walls and large recesses
provided only for the reception of sarcophagi ; whole families
of inscriptions, with classical names, and very few distinctly
Christian forms of speech; and lastly, actual dates of the

16

 

first or second century. It is impossible that such a mar-
vellous uniformity of phenomena, collected with most patient
accuracy from different and distant cemeteries on all sides of
the city, and from authors writing at so many different periods,
should be the result of accident or of preconceived opinion.
In fact, it cannot be said that there was any preconceived
opinion about it at all; or, if there was, certainly the opinion
that was in vogue up to the middle of this century was dia-
metrically opposed to that which has now been enunciated by
De Rossi, and is gaining universal acceptance among those
who have an opportunity of examining the monuments for
themselves. His opinion has been the result of careful obser-
vation ; it is the fruit of the phenomena, not their cause.

Whereas, then, former writers have: always taken it for
granted that the first beginnings of Roma Sotteranea must
have been poor and mean and insignificant, and that any
appearance of subterranean works on a large scale, or richly
decorated, must necessarily belong to a later or more peaceful
age, it is now certain that this statement cannot be reconciled
with the monuments and facts that modern discovery has
brought to light. Nor can any thoughtful and impartial judge
refuse to acknowledge, in the social and political condition of
the first Roman Christians, and in the laws and usages of
Roman burial, an adequate explanation of all that is thus
thrown back on the first and second centuries.” (Roma Sot-
tevanea, pp. 127-128.)
120 THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

Rear CUS of religion. Compositions grow little by little, by

% the action of mind upon mind, and no matter how

am

ee

     
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

new or original a complicated composition may
appear, it will be found, on dissection, to be built
up of cumulative ideas. This accumulation of idea
is the work of years and of the consecutive studies
of artists. The magnificent capacity for pictorial
illustration in the Holy Scriptures and the history
of the Church was not appreciated for many
centuries.

Neither would one expect, at first, to find evena
figure or an emblem of an entirely new conception.
It is the same with a spoken language: the old
words of paganism were used in dogmatic teaching,
and the amplified or altered meaning was explained
to the neophyte; a new word would be useless
and incomprehensible until the varied meanings it
could imply had been established or explained, a
matter of considerable time. We should, therefore,
expect that which we have, such known figures
and symbols as are capable of carrying the religious
ideas acceptable to Christianity: the ‘‘ Shepherd ;”
the “Orante” or power of prayer and intercession ;
Daniel with the Lions, Jonah, Orpheus, and so
on. Nothing is easier

 

to understand in Art
growth than the use of
these subjects.

Let us imagine our-
selves in some part
of the old cemeteries,
where a little circle of
disciples and converts,
once of many nations
and various religions,
are assembled, perhaps
at the burial of some
dear companion, and
the conversation is upon
death and the after-
life, the resurrection of
Man, the dignity of
man over the animal,
and the questions that

ORNAMENT OF FLowkrs, FRUIT AND BIRDS, SPRINGING FROM A SpHyYNx.

‘(From the Baths of Caracalla, Rome. Possibly symbolical of ‘ Spring,” the Sphynx being a funereal emblem surround the subject

The painter is of the

from‘which, as signifying death, the new living and fresh branches arise. )
THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. 121

 

group, perhaps, and not
improbably he was once a
pagan Greek. He hears
a priest, once perhaps a
Jew, speak of the power
given by God to Sam-
son and to David, by
which they overcame
lions; of the salvation of
Daniel from destruction
in the den of lions, or of
Jonah from the Levia-
than; and the obvious
emblematic character of
the latter to the resur-
rection from the dead,
and of the former to the
dominion over animals
possessed by Adam be-
fore the Fall, and _ its
exercise by many saintly
persons afterwards.
This power of man over
animals and his super-
eminence to them, in
Adam, as in the legend
of Orpheus, would mark
him as the possessor of
a nature above theirs, a
being with a soul, made
for an eternal life, and
show that his death was but a passing to eternity.
In such an incidental way may such simple subjects
have been chosen by a people whose only hope
of joy was in the resurrection—that resurrection
promised by the Church,* the good shepherd of
their souls, and inherited for them by the second
Adam, whom they sometimes apparently typified
by the pagan Orpheus,t much in the same way as
the Jews once adopted the Sunj as a type.

 

* This question is comprehensively treated in Roma Sotte-
vanea, English edition, vol. ii., pp. 21 to 32.

+ One evidence of the Christian use of the figure is that in
the cemeteries he is always clothed; the Orpheus at Pompeii
is perfectly nude. As an example, see Plate CXLVIII.

t See p. 47.

PLaTE CLXXXVI.

 

VINE ORNAMENT, WITH AMORINI.

(From the Baths of Caracalla, Rome. Now in the Louvre.)

 

There ts another
reason why complicated
Christian subjects do not
appear in the earlier

That is, that
at this time creative art

cemeteries.

was dead, there were no
great composers.
at its best period, capable
critics tell us that Roman
art lived on the old
Greek compositions tra-
In all

the excavations no new

Even

ditionally copied.

pictorial idea of impor-
tance has been unearthed.
How, then, could the
early Christians have ob-
tained artists capable of
composing new and com-
plicated subjects? They
had such art as they could
in their condition obtain,
and it is evident that
many of the Christians

ANY

ee

ae

of the earliest periods
were as fond of Art and
its cheering influence as
we should expect them
to be from their education
and habits.

It has been asserted that the Early Church dis-
couraged Art. Nothing can be more easily disproved.
There may have been times when local councils have
forbidden paintings and images in their churches,
but it would be under special circumstances. Even
individuals might choose whether they think it is pru-
dent at certain times to use them, but the Christian
Church has, however, never discountenanced their
use ; on the contrary, there is every evidence that
it has encouraged Art as it has encouraged litera-
ture, as a cultivating and civilising influence.

As an example of the assertions to which [|
refer, a modern writer* has stated that amongst

 

* The History of Our Lord, by Lady Eastlake, vol.i., p. 11.
LHe ART OF JHE

BARLEY CHRISTIANS.

 

PLATE CLXXXVII.

 

it

eS i

 

 

 

PAINTINGS FROM A SEPULCHRE IN THE CEMETERY OF S. PRISCILLA.
ABOUT THE FIRST HALF OF THE SECOND CENTURY. (See Roma
Sott., English edition, pp. 139 and 226.)

PLATE CLXXXVIII.

 

   

Py

Ss
ty, Te ee aes |

ENLARGED PORTION OF THE ABOVE PAINTING AT (a)
FROM THE CEMETERY OF S. PRISCILLA.

 

 

PLATE CLXXXIN.

 

DANIEL IN THE Lions’ DEN.
FRoM THE CEMETERY OF ST.

DoMITILLA.
SECOND CENTURY.
Sott., English edition, vol. ii., p. 126.)

THE EARLIEST EXAMPLE OF THIS SUBJECT.
SUPPOSED TO BE OF THE
(See Bulletino di Archeologia Christiana, 1865, and Roma

the early Christians it was a law that ‘should
any converted pagan artist practise his art, he
should be considered an apostate.”

The whole history of the Christian cemeteries
is a protest against such a statement. The love
of Art as an alleviation to the dulness of their
life and their abode is exhibited everywhere.
They did not separate the oneness of the Eternal
Truth and the Eternal Beauty.

Before any theological subject springing from a
Christian source was painted, they appear to have
enlivened their walls much in the same way that
they had done as pagans, only choosing such sub-
jects as were not repugnant to Christianity.

There is a series of subjects borrowed from a
pagan source continually reproduced in the earlier
catacombs. I allude to the Seasons. A contempla-
tive people would appreciate the reflections caused
by these representations, and the types would be as
suitable to the Christian idea as to the pagan. It
is an eternal type—the birth, the growth, the floria-
tion, the decay, and, the returning spring, involving
the thought of that birth into the new life where
there is no decay, where the soul plucks the eternal
flowers of spring.* I have placed two illustrations
side by side—one of “Spring” from the House
of the Vettii at Pompeii (Plate CLXXX.), of the
first century; the other from the cemetery of
Domitilla (Plate CLXXXI.), probably early in the
second century. The resemblance is striking, as
the little Psyche holding the basket of flowers in
one picture has only to be reversed to be almost
a reproduction of the other. This resemblance is
of considerable archeological value as helping to
establish the early date ascribed to this cemetery.

Another example, “Autumn” (Plate CLXXXIII.),
wherein the children are gathering in the olives,
forming one of a series of four in the cemetery of
St. Pretextus of the second century, is again almost
a reproduction of the same theme found in the
Casa Vetti, only that in the latter the figures are
An example of a different type of the third

 

nude.
century is found in one side of a ceiling in St.
Callixtus. Like all the decorations in the ceme-
teries, the effect of these subjects, as placed in
their ornamentation, and the designs of the

 

* See also Plates CXXV., CXLI.
THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. 123

 

ornamentation in the Arcosolia, betoken  tra-

ditions of the highest culture, a tradition older
than the Roman empire; the arrangement of line
and colour is always perfect, no matter how poor
the art of the subjects.

To return to the question concerning early
Christian subjects. The person most capable of
answering, Commendatore de Rossi, says: ‘“ Pre-
cisely in those cemeteries to which history or tra-
dition assigns apostolic origin, I see, in the light
of the most searching archeological criticism, the
cradle both of Christian subterranean sepulchres
of Christian art and of Christian inscriptions ; there
I find memorials of persons who appear to belong
to the times of the Flavii and of Trajan; and
finally, I discover precise dates of these times.” *

To this I may add another important quota-
tion to the same point. Let me, however,
preface the quotation by saying that, in some
passages, it seems to contradict my hypothesis
as to the character of Roman art. It is, how-
ever, only apparent. De Rossi by “a flourishing
condition” evidently means a plentiful supply, not
of inventive genius in composition, but of the
workmen of a certain genre.

‘It may be asked,’ De Rossi says, ‘ whether
it is credible that the faithful, in the age of the
Apostles or of their disciples, when the Church,
fresh from the bosom of the image-hating Syna-
gogue, was in deadly conflict with idolatry, should
have so promptly and so generally adopted, and
(so to speak) baptised the fine arts?” And he
answers, that so great a question deserves to be
discussed in a special treatise; but that, for the
present, he ‘will only say that the universality of
the pictures in the subterranean cemeteries, and the
richness, the variety, the freedom of the more
ancient types, when contrasted with the cycle of
pictures which I clearly see becoming more re-
stricted and impoverished towards the end of the
third century—these things prove the impossi-
bility of accepting the hypothesis of those who
affirm the use of pictures to have been introduced,

 

* Quoted by Drs. Northcote and Brownlow, Roma Sotte-
vanea, vol. 1., p. 112.

 

PLATE CXC.

 

 

 

THE EARLIEST PAINTING OF THE ‘‘ BAPTISM.”* SECOND
Century. IN THE Crypt or S. Lucina, CEMETERY
or S. CaLiixtus. (See Roma Sott., English edition,
vol. ii., p. 132; see also Plate CCIV.)

PLATE CXCI.

FROCOPINPACE = GLi0pcRA LNEACE:

ey INPACE

 

 

 

“PARADISE.” A PICTURE CONTAINING FIVE SAINTS, NAMED. FRoM A
PAINTING IN A CHAMBER OF S. CaALLIXTUS. (See Roma Sott., English
edition, p. 159, vol. ii.)

 

’

* An explanation of “ Baptism’ subjects is given in Early
Christian Symbolism (p. 31), by W. Palmer, M.A., edited by
W.R. Brownlow, D.D., Bishop of Clifton, and Dr. North-
cote. This work in future will be referred to as “ Early
Christian Symbolism.”
124

LHE ART

OF THE

 

little by little, on the sly,
as it were, and in oppo-
sition to the practice of
the primitive Church.”
And again: ‘The flour-
ishing condition of the
fine arts in the days of
the Flavii, of Trajan, of
Hadrian, and of the An-
tonines, and the great,
number of their profes-
the

of the empire, the con-

sors in metropolis
version to Christianity of
powerful personages, and
even of ‘members of im-
perial families, such as
Domitilla
Clemens, certainly very

and Flavius

much favoured the intro-
duction and development
of Christian pictorial art.
And, on the contrary, the
decline of those
the third
fourth centuries; the in-
cost of the

same

arts in and

creasing

CXCII.

PLATE

 

 

THE ADORATION OF THE WISE MEN (FOUR) FROM THE CEME-
TERY OF S. DOMITILLA, ABOUT 250 A.D.
English edition, vol. ii., p. 170.
decayed.)

Pirate CXCIIT.

 

 

(See Roma Solt.,
The original is very much

EARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

tinually found in the Chris-
tian catacombs, seems ad-
visable, as it is but reason-
able to suppose that all
these preceded any com-
plicated composition. The
other ornamental details,
not being obviously sym-
bols or emblems, will be
taken as they occur in the
Emblems,
adaptations

composition.
often
pagan

from
which

served to convey a de-

sources,

votional idea, or to rouse
an enthusiasm common to
all peoples, were often used
by the early Christians ;
such Dove *
with its olive branch, an
emblem of rest and peace ;
the Anchor, an emblem
of the harbour, or haven,
which the mariner hopes
to reach. It is now
simply, as all know, an

emblem of hope. Then

were the

 

handiwork of the painter
and the sculptor, as their
numbers diminished every
day; the gradual but continuous
impoverishment of public and _pri-
vate fortunes, which induced even
the Senate and the Emperors to
make their own monuments at the
expense of others more ancient ;
all this could not much facilitate
the multiplication of new works of
Christian art during that period ;
so that, even if the faithful gained
in proselytes, in power, and in
liberty, they lost quite as much, tf
I may say so, in the conditions
required for the
Christian art.”*

Before proceeding to the fourth

flourishing of

question, some further considera-
tion of some few of the symbols,
emblems, and single figures, con-

 

* De Rossi, Roma Sotteranea, vol. ii., p. 9.
Quoted by the Rev. J. Spencer North-
cote, D.D., and the Rev. W.R. Brownlow,
M.A. London, 1879.

ADORATION OF THE WISE MEN (TWO), FROM THE CEME-
TERY OF SS. MARCELLINUS AND PETER.
also very much decayed.
the third century. )’

PLATE CXCIV.

 

PAINTING OF A Fossor, FROM THE CATa-

COMB oF S, CALLIXTUS.

(This picture is
It is supposed to be at the end of

there is the Fish, with its
many significations.+ The
lamb and sheep are used
as emblems of Christian people and
Christian clergy. But the Lamb
as emblem of our Lord in the
‘Aonus Dei,” or as the Paschal
Lamb, does not appear in very
early art.

The Deer is used as an
blem of innocence and gentleness.

em-

The Peacock is an emblem of doubt-
ful meaning—I am under the im-
pression that it indicates worldly
dignity. Some authorities place it
for the Phoenix as an emblem of
The Vine, which
is also of doubtful
sense in the earliest art, was pro-

bably

the resurrection.
emblematic

used for its ornamental

 

* This frequently occurs in pagan art.
There are three examples in the tomb at
Capua (Plate CXVI.), probably adopted
from a Semitic origin.

+ See Drs. Northcote and Brownlow’s
Roma Sotteranez 183

 
Hlustrations of emblems are
so common that it

character. *
is not worth while
giving a series of special examples, except-
ing in the case of the Vine, by which |]
have illustrated some growth and general
decay of design.

I may now proceed to describe the ear-
lest hgures singly, or placed with others,
as very simple compositions. It is only
natural that as intelligible compositions of
figures developed,+ symbolism and em-
blems ultimately lost much of their use.

Every reader is aware of the promi-
nence of the Shepherd, the * Good Shep-
herd” as He is called in so many of the
What could this little flock, de-

serted and hated by the world, look on

cubicula.

with more affection than One who said that
He was the Good Shepherd, who careth for
His flock, and not the hireliny who fleeth?
The idea of the shepherd was always con-
genial to the Jews, and must have been
so to the peasant of the Campagna. The
Old Testament is full of the incidents of
shepherd life; moreover it was a hated
type by those who once held them in
bondage and ill-treated them.{ It was
the emblem of a pastoral race and of a
pastoral care. That in the Catacombs it
had nothing to do with the cultus of the
Hermes-Kriophoros § has been demon-
strated elsewhere. Many examples of the
Good Shepherd are given, and it occurs
in numerous forms of desivn (Plates
CLASS VIL, CCL. Cevey ad Covi,
to GON Tet

Concerning our Lord,
Good Shepherd,” * The Raising of Laza-
the

after ‘' The

rus” most frequent as a
simple subject. Then the
(Plate CAC), “Te
“The Woman of Samaria at the Well
“The Adoration of the Magi” || (Plates
CXCIT, and CNCIII.), * The Gurnge of
the Paralytic” and * The Hemorrhoid,”
“Giving Sight to the Blind,” * The Mful-

appears
“ Baptism ”
and Buffeting,”’

”
,

See pp. 118 to 121.

+ Symbolism seems to have rapidly lost its pro-
minence after about 300 A.D.

= See Genesis xxxiv. 46.

< See Northcote, &c., vol. 1., pp. 27, 2°.

| Although the traditional number known, even
at that time, was three, the artist has drawn either
one on either side, or two, so as to balance the
composition.

    

 
 
 
 

 

NS
RN \
SN
S
N
Vin \
N ie

  
  
  

 

 

IANVARI
RE
FECIT

 

ULL LL
Yy D
“a.

Yig
WA:

PAINTING AND INSCRIPTION TO THE WIFE OF JANUARIUS, IN THE CEMETERY
OF SS. NEREUS AND ACHILLES. SUPPOSED TO BE OF THE THIRD CENTURY.

CNCV Ts

—

PLATE

 

  
 
 

 

 

DETAILS FROM PLATE CXNCV., “SS. NEREUS AND ACHILLES.”

PLATE CACVIL

 

 

 

 

PASTORAL SCENE, FROM THE SAME CuRICULUM AS PLATE CXCV.

 
126 Ifff ART OF THE

BARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

PLaTE CXCVIII.

 

 

 

i

ie ae

fy

S. PETRONILLA AND VENERANDA, FROM THE CEMETERY OF
SS. NEREUS AND ACHILLES, OF ABOUT 350 4.D. (See

fom. Sott., English edition, vol. i., p. 183; vol. ii., p. 195.)

PLATE CXCIX.

 

 

 

 

24

tiplication of the Loaves and Fishes” ; and as time
went on, the representation of some departed and
venerated Christians, such as those shown in Plate
CXCI., and “The Petronilla” (Plate CXCVIII.),
or some workman of holy life such as ‘“ The
Fossor” (Plate CXCIV.). Of the Old Testament
subjects as types we have “ Moses striking the
Rock” and “ Noah in his Ark” (Plate CXCIX.).

On the introduction of the figure of Orpheus
and Daniel in the Lions’ Den, perhaps one of
the earliest subjects represented, I have already
commented. Illustrations of these are shown in
Plates CLXXXIX., CCX. and CCXII., the
prophecy of Isaiah concerning our Lord (Plates
CLAXXVIT and CLAXXVITI.).

The prophet Jonah,* too, is in subjects of fre-
quent occurrence, Moses striking the Rock or with
the baskets of Manna, Noah in his Ark, the three
Children in the Furnace, Abraham and Isaac. All
these are used typically, and as this work proceeds
there will be occasion to enter into this question
of types more fully.

My fourth question, as to the period when more
complicated subjects representative of Christian
doctrine or history commenced to be used, is more
difficult to answer.
in the first place, the modern mind is used to sub-
jects of extreme complicity, and does not at once

Difficult to answer, because,

grasp the fact that this elaboration is the effect of
centuries of concentrated thought.
In no part of the Catacombs will
anything approaching this compli-
cation be found. That which ap-
pears to me to be the earliest with
anything approaching a concerted
action on the part of a number of
figures is the subject over a cubi-

 

\ p * The method of representing this sub-
ject has been one of the most cogent argu-
ments for considering the painting in the

 

 

 

 

 

catacombs containing it to be before the

 

PAINTING FROM THE CEMETERY OF SS. MARCELLINUS AND PETER.
ORANTE BETWEEN THE APOSTLES SS. PeTER AND PAUL.

CUBICULUM WITH AN
THE ARCOSOLIUM HAS
PAINTINGS OF MOSES STRIKING THE Rock, Noau IN THE ARK, AND ADAM AND Eve—Tue
FALL. SUPPOSED TO BE OF THE FIRST PART OF THE FourtH CENTURY.
(These paintings in the arcosolium are supposed to relate to the Fall, Redemption and Salvation.)

time of St. Jerome, who translates the
passage as ‘Under the Vine,” whereas
Jonah is here always in the cemeteries
represented under a “gourd” plant. See
Roma Sotteranea, by Northcote and Brown-
low, vol. ii., p. r1z.
 

culum in the ceme-
tery of SS. Nereus

PLATE CC,

THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. 127

 

oldest copies, there

 

is a scroll, whilst the

 

 

 

and Achilles, perhaps
as late as the early
years of the fourth
century.

The first _ plate,
which gives a repre-
sentation of the de-
coration of this cubi-

 

culum, by no means

others lay their hands
on their hearts, or
their emotions are
expressed in other
ways.

What is this scene ?
I think that it is the
scene of our Lord's

apparition, ‘‘ Peace be

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

archeologically accu-

 

These

 

rate, is from the Roma
Sotteranea of Aringhi
(Plate CCII.). In the
second _ illustration
(Plate CCIII.) I have sketched a more accu-
rate rendering of the picture as it now  re-
mains, to me wonderfully beautiful in its sug-
gestiveness, notwithstanding the moderate art—a

PAINTINGS FROM THE SIDES OF A CUBICULUM IN S. CALLIXTUS, 1LLUS-
TRATING TWO SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF MOSES IN ONE PICTURE.
(For the explanation of this Plate see Palmer’s Christian Symbolism, p. 3, and
Roma Sott., English edition, vol. ii., pp. 178-182.)

with you.” *
words even may have
been written in Greek
on the scroll which
is in our Lord’s left
hand. Aringhi suggests that it is “Our Lord
amongst the Doctors.” Others, that it is an
‘ Agape,” or even the celebration of the Holy
Eucharist. To my proposition it may be objected:

 

PAINTING FROM THE SAME CUBICULUM AS PLATE CC. IN S. CALLIXTUS, SHOWING THE GOOD

SHEPHERD SENDING THE APOSTLES SS. PETER AND PAUL.
(For references see Roma Sott., English edition,

EARLY YEARS OF THE FourTH CENTURY.
pp. 178-182, and Palmer’s Symbolism, p. 1.)

group of men, wan, emaciated and sunken-eyed,
such doubtless as the artist himself associated with,
in the Catacombs, are grouped in a lunette. The
centre figure, which I take to be our Lord, ex-
tends his hands, in one of which, according to the

17

SUPPOSED TO BE OF THE

Why are the boys gathering grapes, in the sur-
rounding ornaments, if it is not symbolical of the

* Garucci objects that the group is not composed either
of ‘ Doctors” of the old Law or of Apostles. olley does not
agree with Garucct (see Roller’s Catacombs, vol. ii., p. 199).
128 THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

subject—an Agape,

PLaTeE CCII.

columbarium of the

 

or the Heoly
Eucharist? 1
can only say that
representations of
the gathering of
grapes and flowers
are so usual in all
Art of this and of
later periods that
one might find
them anywhere—
if, as I take it, ¢hzs

Via Corsini (Plate
CLXXVI1.), in the
decorations of the
house on the Cce-
lian Hill, under the
church of SS. Gio-
vanni e Paulo, but
this is apparently
of much later date,
and it shows a
weakness of design
and execution con-

 

 

 

 

period is of the

 

 

sistent with the

 

end of the third
or the earlier part
of the fourth cen-
tury. I have already placed before the reader cer-
tain sketches* which I have made of similar details,
originally in the Baths of Caracalla, but now in the
Louvre. The same idea is of frequent repetition.
One finds the Vine used as an ornament on a

vitreous vase from Pompeii.+ It occurs in the

 

' Plates CLXXXV.-VI.
+ See Monumenti Inediti, vol. iii., Plate V.

SEPULCHRE WITH DECORATION OF ITS ARCOSOLIUM AND OTHER SURROUNDINGS.
CEMETERY OF SS. NEREUS AND ACHILLES.

 

complete deca-
dence of Art. The
same style of de-
sign is found, but in mosaic, in the Church of
S. Constanza.

Other complicated compositions of an_ early
period are to be found in the subjects (Plate
CCI.) of the Good Shepherd* giving the Apostles
SS. Peter and Paul charge of the two flocks of the

 

* For an explanation of this subject, see An Introduction to
Christian Symbolism, by William Palmer, M.A., edited, with
Notes, by Dr. Brownlow (Bishop of Clifton) and Dr. J.
Spencer Northcote, p. 1. London and Leamington.

Pirate CCIII.

 

** PEACE BE WITI You.”

PAINTING OF A TOMB, WITH ITS ARCOSOLIUM IN PERSPECTIVE (wirH AmorRINI, BrrDS
AND VINE FOLIAGE), FROM THE CEMETERY oF SS. NeREUS AND ACHILLES (DomITILLa).
of Plate CCII.)

(This forms portions
THE ART GF THE

Jews and of the Gentiles; and of the two scenes
from the life of Moses,* in one picture, from the
Cemetery of S. Callixtus, and the Orante between
the Apostles (Plate CXCIX.) as representing the
Church : strictly speaking, however, there is, as
before observed, no really complicated historical
composition in the Christian Cemeteries.

EARLY CHRISTIANS.

129

LHE CEILINGS OF CUSICULA.,

If, however, we do not find complicated historical
subjects, we find a certain complication in the com-
position of ornamental designs containing symbolical
compositions beautifully arranged in the different cu-

bicula. These arrangements retain the aggregated

Prare CCIV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A. SKETCH OF A CUBICULUM IN THE CRYPT OF S. LUCINA IN THE CEMETERY OF S. CALLIXTUS, SHOWING THE WALL AND CEILING

PAINTING OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN SEPULCHRES.
THE ‘* BAPTISM” OVER THE DOOR IS SHOWN IN PLATE CXC.

 

* This method of composition, that is, placing two incidents
in one picture, reminds me that, although some remarks upon
Herr Wickhoff’s theories concerning Roman art have been
already made (see page Ior), it is opportune here to sup-
plement these by some others on his theory concerning com-
position. He arbitrarily divides compositions into three styles,
the “isolating,” the ‘‘ complementary,” and the ‘‘ continuous.”
Without criticising the question of thus classifying methods of
design more in a scientific than in an artistic manner, it is
necessary to deal with that which he claims as a Roman in-
vention, the ‘‘continuous.” He says (p. 12, Mrs. Strong’s trans-
lation) : “‘ We observe, then, for the first time upon Roman
sculpture of the first century a method of pictorial narrative
which has now grown strange to us. Thence it passed to
Christian art, where it lasts up to the sixth century. It
finds later on in Michael Angelo an inspired adept, is em-
ployed by Raphael in the “ Release of St. Peter,” and is then
lost shortly afterwards to reappear only at intervals during the
last three centuries.

«One might imagine that this method had been purposely

B,C, D, &. ENLARGED DETAILS OF THE WALL DECORATION.

 

invented for the illustration of manuscripts
is older than any Codex.”

This method, he considers, is particularly illustrated in the
Vienna MS. composition, concerning which he continues
(p. 7): “ The oldest extant connected illustrations to the title,
probably (?) as old as the fifth century (the italics are mine),
are afforded by the Book of Genesis in the Royal Library of
Vienna.”

Now this ‘continuous’’ method resolves itself into the
circumstance that two, three, or four consecutive scenes are
placed in one picture; in some places they are really separate
pictures undivided by a frame.

Is there any distinction in this method from that found
in almost the earliest known Art, such as that in the Egyptian
Book of the Dead (already quoted on p. 6 of this volume), of
about 1200 B.c., in which Ani and his wife are first repre-
sented as entering the abode of the dead, whilst in the next
scene, in the same picture, their hearts are being weighed.
In the third scene Ani is introduced by Horus to Osiris;
and in the last, still in the same picture, he is making

but it
130 THE ART OF THE

EARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

 

traditional beauties of centuries of taste and experi-
ence. As compositions these ceilings do not essen-
tially differ from -those found in such buildings as
the Baths of Titus (Plate CLV.) or the various pagan
Roman cemeteries (Plates CLXXII., CLXXVI-
VIL).

I have before said that the time has not yet
come for us to consider the symbolical meaning
of these pictures, and we are now considering this
Art simply from the point of view of design. Their
value from the religious view has been most ably
dealt with by the many writers to whom reference
has already been made.

If we take this sepulchral chamber painting
on the side walls from the period of the tomb of
Caius Cestius (Plate CXXII.) up to the ceme-
teries of the time of Constantine (Plates CCXI.-
CCXXVI.), we find it consistently different in
character of work from either the Etruscan, Sam-
nite or early Republican design; nor is it like
that done under the Alexandrine influence in the
rooms of the Palatine or from the Farnese Gar-
dens. It is, therefore, as I have before observed,
not unreasonable to say that we get an_ historical
glimpse of Roman religious art, such as possibly,
on a larger scale, was adopted in the Temples.

I have given a fairly consecutive series of ex-
amples both of walls and ceilings, very interesting
in differentiation of the designs, which speak for
themselves. Unfortunately, the details of the
drawing cannot always be criticised, as those taken
from Bosco Aringhi or Bottari, my only resource in
many cases, were done at a period when the value
of accuracy was not recognised. In the works of De
Rossi and Perrot coloured illustrations are given ;
those in the former are the most to be relied upon.

 

offerings to Osiris; he has here become worn and grey-
headed in his passage? I may remark parenthetically that
I know nothing more touching or. artistic in the whole arena
of Art than the figures of Ani and his wife as they enter
the nether-world in this scene. We have the same “con-
tinuous” treatment in the Phcenician bowls. As an example,
take that from Preneste, given by Perrot and Chipiez,!
with its description by M. Clement Ganneau,? and the
succeeding Phoenician bowls in the same volume; or, some
of the storiated Assyrian sculptures in the British Museum.
Finally, is not the storiation on Chinese crockery often of the

English edition, p. 342. * Vol. li., pp. 344 ef seg.

 

There appears considerable difference in the
quality of the painting of the subjects of appa-
rently the same period. Some are the merest
sketches, such as the “fosser” in Plate CXCIV.,
which is both loose and rigid at the same time—a
sign, as I take it, of utter decay, both in style of
design and execution. The linear construction of
the ornamental design, whether of a free or of a
geometrical character, is always excellent as far as
it is intended to go.

As to the quality and character of the technique,
in all cases a student of painting must study a
painting zz sz¢u. Plates, no matter how beautifully
correct, are of no value as exhibiting the execu-
tion of the work. When he has examined their
technique for some time carefully, from such exam-
ples as the Aldobrandini Marriage until the period
of those of the cemeteries of the fifth century, he
will learn a lesson in painting not otherwise to be
conveyed. He will learn the secret of that facility
which arises from careful and prolonged study, and
also I fear of that vicious pernicious facility which has
been learned like a handwriting, and is the outcome
of all art vices. Better technically one work with
the tedious detail and hard lines of the earnest
beginner trying honestly to realise his subject, than
the whole arcana of such facile stuff as heralded
the fall of Roman art.

I think that I have now sketched the history
of this Art up to the time when, as yet in Rome,
it was uninfluenced seriously by the advent of the
artists of the Syro-Hellenic school, who seem to
have commenced their inundation soon after the
centre of empire was removed to Constantinople.
The account of the Art affected by this influence

will be continued in the next volume. I cannot

 

same kind? If these are not continuous in the sense meant
by Herr Wickhoff, I think he will yet have to define his
meaning more explicitly.

There is one other point, upon which he claims originality
for Roman architecture, the placing of the dome, &c. Into
this question, as it does not directly concern painting, I shall
not enter, but how far the Roman and Byzantine method
was original can only be obtained from the study of the various
writers upon Assyrian and Persian architecture.

It will be observed, therefore, that I cannot agree either
with Herr Wickhoff or Adolph Riegl as to the ascending
character of Roman art.
LHL ART OF THE BARLY CHRISTIANS. 131

 

PLATE CCV. PLateE CCVI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTED CEILING FROM THE CRYPT oF Sr. LUCINA, IN THE CEME- THE Goop SHEPHERD. FRoM A CEILING IN THE CEMETERY OF
TERY OF Pope CORNELIUS, PROBABLY OF THE END OF THE First
S. CALLIXTUS.

CENTURY.

PiatTe CCVII. PLaTE CCVIII.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTED CEILING, WITH THE GOOD SHEPHERD IN From tue CEMETERY IN THE ViA LaTINA. THE
SuBJECTS ARE ‘* THE GOOD SHEPHERD,” ‘ a
THE CENTRE, FROM THE CEMETERY OF S. PRIS- J 9 Jos,

‘© ABRAHAM AND Isaac,” ‘* Moses STRIKING THE

CILLA. (See Aringhi, vol. ii., p. 290.) Rock,” AND ‘* THE RaIsING oF Lazarus.”
 

32 1h ART OF THE BARELY CARISTIANS,

 

PLATE CCIX.

 

 

 

oS SS

Bas

 

PAINTED CEILING WITH ‘‘THE Goon SHEPHERD,” DovES WITH OLIVE
BRANCHES, PEACOCKS, ETC., FROM THE CEMETERY OF S. PRISCILLA,

ViA SALARIA. ABOUT THE END OF THE SECOND CENTURY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gis siciot

 

0 © food]

 

 

 

4-]B

 

 

PAINTED CEILING WITH ‘“ORPHEUS,” ‘* Moses STRIKING
THE Rock,” “DANIEL IN THE LIONS’ Den,” “ Davip
WITH THE SLING,” ‘THE RAISING OF LAZARUS,” AND
SOME PASTORAL SUBJECTS. FROM THE CEMETERY OF
S. DomITILLA. SECOND or THIRD CENTURY.
THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

PLATE CCXI.

EN

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2
hy
2 2

 

 

“THE Goop SHEPHERD,” JONAU Cast Our OF THE SHIP, Jonaw THROWN UP By
THE WHALE, AND JONAH UNDER THE GourRD.* From: THE CEMETERY OF

S. PRISCILLA, VIA SALARIA.
Pratt CCXII.

* Concerning the representations of Jonah under the Gourd
the following remarks have value as to their date :—

‘“Mr. Parker has said that ‘the history of Jonah was a
fashion chiefly of the fifth century.’ Yet we have a Roman
writer of the earlier half of that century appealing to the
representations of the history of Jonah which already existed
in the burying places of the ancients (i veterwm sepulchris), and
these cannot have been the work of yesterday when they were
thus appealed to. It is Rufinus who upbraids St. Jerome
for the novelty he has introduced into his translation of the
Prophet, calling the plant which had grown up in the night
for his protection, ‘ivy,’ or some other plant, instead of the |
Gourd, as it had been rendered in more ancient translations ;
and he satirically remarks that ‘Now that the world is
growing old and everything is hastening onwards to the
end,’ this notable discovery ought to be published even in

 

the old cemeteries, m order that the dead, too, might be dis- Supjecrs or ‘‘THE Good SHEPHERD,” Moses STRIKING
s ra er which thev h THE ROCK, JONAH CasT INTO THE SEA, JoNAH THROWN

abused of mie Fe Bp ionand . Eee, been Up BY THE WHALE, DANIEL IN THE Lions’ Den, Noau
allowed to live and die, that the Prophet had been sheltered IN THE ARK, SAMSON AND THE GaTus OF Gaza, THE
by a Gourd.” (Roma Sott., English edition, vol. ii., p. 110.) VURNING OF WATER INTO WINE, AND THE RAISING OF
Lazarus. FRoM THE CEMETERY OF S. CALLIXTUS. SuP-

 

 

POSED TO BE OF THE EARLY YEARS OF THE FOURTH
CENTURY.

Ga
ve
134 THE ART OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

 

PLATE CCXIII.

PLATE CCXIV.

 

 

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PAINTED WALL AND ARCOSOLIUM, FROM THE CEMETERY oF SS. MARCELLINUS

AND PETER.

PORTION OF A PAINTED CEILING IN THE CEMETERY OF See Avzighi, Plate 49, vol. ii. There is an inscription over the figures of the central subject,*
S. PRISCILLA, DISCOVERED IN 1772, A.D., AND SUPPOSED IRENELA AGAPE CALLA MISCEMI, which the plate is too small to render. The

TO BE OF THE FouRTH CENTURY.

subjects in the Arch are “Jonah Cast Up by the Whale,”’ ‘‘ The Good Shepherd,” and

«Jonah under the Gourd.” Fourth century.

PLATE CCXV.

 

PLATE CCXVI,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTINGS FROM A CUBICULUM IN THE CEMETERY OF S. PRISCILLA, ONCE THOUGHT
TO BE OF CHRISTIAN ORIGIN. (It is, however, fully illustrated in the large edition of
Palmer’s Christian Symbolism, and the opinion of De Rossi therein quoted—pp. 35-36—
is that the chamber in which it was found was part of a Mithraic cemetery.)

 

    
  

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PAINTINGS OF ‘‘OuR LORD BETWEEN Two SaliNnTS,” ‘* JONAS

AND Mosgs,” ‘‘ THE GooD SHEPHERD,” AND SCENES
SUPPOSED TO BE FROM THE JUDGMENT OF THE SouL.
There is an inscription over the reclining figure at the top,
ZOSIMIANE IN DEO VIVAS. From THE CEMETERY
oF S. LorENzo. SUPPOSED TO BE EITHER OF THE
END OF THE FOURTH CENTURY OR THE COMMENCEMENT
OF THE Firru.t

conclude this chapter without thanking the Right that the recent discoveries (of which we have not
Rev. Dr. Brownlow, Bishop of Clifton, for con- as yet absolute certazuty that they were the work
siderable assistance and for the opportunity given of Greeks {), are, as far as the history of painting
me of taking some illustrations from the works is concerned, of sufficient importance to demand
by himself and the Very Rev. Dr. Northcote. To lengthened consideration as having influenced it in
these works I have often referred. any serious way. Time will show.

In some of the few exceedingly kind criticisms

 

that my work has been subject to, exception has
been taken to the inadequate portion on the earliest
Greek Art. I may be allowed to say in reply that
my object, stated from the beginning, in writing the
introduction, was but to make ‘“‘a sketch” to lead up
to Christian Art, and to show the elements from

 

* See Mavrucchi, vol. ii., p. 220, and Roma Sott., English
edition, p. 130.

+ There is a plate of this, showing its surroundings, in Ma-
rucchi’s Archeologie Chyrétienne, vol. ii., p. 230.

+ By Greeks I mean Aryans. I understand pre-Aryan in-
habitants of the territory, but not the “pve-Aryan Greeks” of

which it was evolved. Moreover, I do not know certain authors.
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