J i EXPLANATORY CATALOGUE OF THE PROOF-IMPRESSIONS OF THE ANTIQUE GEMS POSSESSED BY THE LATE PRINCE PONIATOWSKI, AND NOW IN THE POSSESSION OF JOHN TYRRELL, ESQ. ACCOMPANIED WITH DESCRIPTIONS AND POETICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SUBJECTS, AND PRECEDED BY AN lEggag on &nct*itt <&tm$ antr <2Sem=engrabmg. By JAMES PRENDEVILLE, A. B. EDITOR OF " LIVY," " PARADISE LOST," Szc. LONDON: PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETOR BY HENRY GRAVES AND CO. PALL MALL. LONDON : PRINTED BY ROBSON, LEVEY, AND FRANKLYN, (ireatKcw Street, Fetter Lane. IHEGZTTY CENTER UBSAR/ TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT, K.G. Sitorfc IS, BY PERMISSION, DEDICATED, IN TESTIMONY OF THE HIGH RESPECT IN WHICH HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS'S PATRONAGE OF THE FINE ARTS IS HELD BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS'S MOST OBEDIENT AND MOST DEVOTED SERVANT, JOHN TYRRELL. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 http://archive.org/details/explanatorycatalOOtyrr J PREFACE. After the revival of civilisation and literature in Europe, there arose among men of learning and rank a rivalry for the preservation of the relics of ancient art. The enlightened family of the Medici acquired early eminence in this noble pursuit. Among the most valued treasures bequeathed from antiquity, Engraved Gems were prominently distinguished ; and justly, because the ancient pictures had all perished, except some frescoes, and few of the statues had escaped the wreck of time and barbarism. Engraved Gems, therefore, were held in the highest estimation, not merely for the purity, brilliancy, rarity, and costliness of the stones, but from their constituting the connecting link between the rival and sister arts of Painting and of Sculpture — preserving the excellencies of both. While they present to us the delicacy, the animation, and the various shadows of pictures — (for the artists often adapted, with great taste and judgment, the execution of their subjects to the various shades and colours of the stones) — they possess the bold- ness and the material palpability of statues ; and thus exhibit the most unerring criterion of the artistical talent, grace, and skill of the ancients. As this subject has been treated at some length in the Introductory Essay, it is unnecessary here to expatiate. Pliny thus bears testimony to their great value and perfection (lib. xxxvii. c. 1): Hie in unum coacta rerum naturce majestas ; vi PREFACE. " here we see nature, in all her majesty, developed within a narrow compass." Among the most ardent admirers and indefatigable collectors of rare Gems were the Kings of Poland. Their collection went on accumulating during successive reigns, until the fall of that dy- nasty. The Prince Poniatowski, to whom the cabinet descended by inheritance, was unceasing in his endeavours to augment the series. Endowed with a fine perception of the arts, and a correct critical judgment, he succeeded, at great expense, in adding many valuable specimens that had been dispersed through Europe ; and thus formed the most extensive and splendid collection known in modern times. The entire collection of Medallions in this cabi- net, amounting to upwards of twelve hundred, having, with very few exceptions, come into my possession, proof impressions, pre- serving, with the utmost fidelity, all the delineations and expression of the originals, and offering a variety of pleasing and instructive studies to the artist, have been carefully prepared from them under my own immediate inspection, and are now, for the first time, submitted to the public ; this being, according to the judgment of many eminent artists who have examined the gems, the only mode of giving a true and perfect fac-simile of their exquisite delineation. It is unnecessary here to enumerate the testimonies of men of the highest authority as to the consummate purity and splendour of the stones, or the surpassing execution of the sculpture. It may suffice to say, that among other eminent artists who borrowed designs from the Gems in this collection was the celebrated Canova, — his "Mars and Venus," from No. 112, Class I.; and his " Hercules hurling Lichas into the Sea," from No. 463, Class II., &c. PREFACE. vii Of the accompanying explanatory volumes to the Impressions and to the Gems, it is sufficient to say, that as the subjects embrace many of the most important and curious particulars of the Grecian and Roman mythology — the achievements and adventures of the celebrated personages recorded in fabulous and heroic history — in the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Mneid, — explanatory quotations, taken from the English translations of passages from the ancient authors that have treated of these subjects, have (when it was possible) been given, as an unerring, attractive, and instructive mode of elucidation. Thus the work becomes a compilation — of which there is no example in our language — of the most beautiful passages in the best of the ancient authors ; and a valuable acces- sion to our literature. Care has been taken to give appropriate quotations, and to avoid the introduction of irrelevant matter. As the proof impressions of the Gems have been divided into five classes — the first class consisting of subjects relating to the Higher Divinities,— the second to the Demigods — the third to Fabulous and Heroic History,— the fourth to the Trojan War — the fifth to the Odyssey and the ^Eneid, embracing as well some miscel- laneous subjects, — the work has been also divided into five corre- sponding parts or classes, taking for guide the " Catalogue des Pierres Gravees Antiques de S. A. le Prince Stanislas Ponia- towski." The passages of Homer have, for the most part, been taken from Pope's translation ; of Virgil and Ovid, from Dryden's ; of Statius, from Lewis's ; of Apollonius, from Preston's ; of Ly- cophron, from Lord Royston's ; of the Greek tragedians, from Potter's ; &c. It has been deemed expedient, whenever several Gems are referable to one subject, to give a full exposition of all, by uniting Vlll PREFACE. and harmonising the series of several passages under one general head. In some few instances, when an important subject has been differently treated by eminent authors, as in the case of Orestes and Hector, the quotations have been comparatively lengthy ; the great object being not merely to explain the original engravings, (for this could be done, for ordinary purposes, by a few lines in prose), but to give collectanea of the passages ap- propriate to the subjects, from the most approved of the ancient authors. In the Introductory Essay on Gems and Gem- engraving, the substance has been given of whatever the compiler conceived to be instructive and interesting in works of high repute, ancient and modern ; not stating facts, nor drawing inferences, without authority. To the earlier portion of the work, which was com- piled by a person whose connexion with it extended only to the commencement of the third class, Addenda et Corrigenda have been appended, correcting errors, and supplying omissions. JOHN TYRRELL. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. SECTION I. Of all the remaining monuments of the ancient arts, which have been a Value and . . utility of an- source of universal and unmixed delight, admiration, and instruction to dent engraved , . . gems. succeeding ages, there are none so various in their objects — so pleasing in their contemplation — and so useful in their study, as the engraved gems and seal-rings of the ancients. They have preserved in palpable, durable, and almost living characters, the images and the attributes of the ancient mythology ; and the features, conditions, and adventures, of the most illustrious personages. They exhibit the most curious details of ancient customs and religious ceremonies; often ingenious and moral allegories, displaying a rich and chaste imagination ; while they are, at the same time, invaluable models and copies of the most beautiful pieces of ancient sculpture. Thus, according to the unanimous testimony of all writers, ancient as well as modern, on the subject, they preserve for the amateur the finest copies of statues and groups — for the antiquary, the manners and customs of the ancients — for the historian, remarkable events — for the painter, his finest studies — and for the poet, numerous and diversified images. As these gems were engraven on the most solid substances, and were in general carefully kept, they have not suffered, as statues and pictures have, alteration or injury by time ; and are the only specimens of an- cient ingenuity and skill that have been transmitted to us in their original freshness, beauty, and perfection. Uniting to the beauty and the value of their materials the merit of the most exquisite execution, they make us admire the wonderful perfection of an art that appears, by the b 11 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. delicacy and correctness of the workmanship, to rival the skill and in- dustry of Nature in the beautiful formation of the minutest animals — as the learned Hay ley thus well expresses this whole subject : " As Nature, joying in her boundless reign, Adorns the tiny links of beauty's less'ning chain ; Her rival — Art, whom emulation warms, Loves to astonish by diminished forms ; And the consummate characters to bring Within the compass of the costly ring — Delightful talent of the patient hand, Gaining o'er life such delicate command ! The heroes of old time were proud to wear The seal, engraven with ingenious care. To this fine branch of Art we owe Treasures that grandeur may be proud to shew — Features of men, who on fame's list enroll'd, Gave life and lustre to the world of old — Worthies, whose statues failed time's flood to stem, Yet live effulgent in the deathless Gem" Sculpture in its various departments (and gem-engraving was one of the most prized and important of these departments) had a powerful in- fluence over the tastes, habits, and emotions of the ancients — especially of the Greeks. While it was a record of the religion — the military glory of the people — and the celebrity of individuals, it generated and fostered a high tone of religious feeling — a martial spirit — and a rivalry for fame. Their divinities they saw portrayed with their most imposing attributes — their heroes in their most perilous enterprises — and their good men in their most trying sufferings. Having seen all this, they were occasionally warmed into a high sense of religious sensibility and of devotion — roused into warlike courage — or softened down into humanity and pity. Suetonius says that, when Julius Caesar saw in the temple of Hercules, at Cadiz, the statue of Alexander the Great, he wept at his own comparative inactivity and obscurity ; and prayed for an opportunity of winning such glory. But INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Ill statues were chiefly memorials for public exhibition in the great halls and the temples — seen but comparatively by a few ; whereas engraved gems, recording the scenes — the ceremonials — and the achievements portrayed by the statues, were in the possession of every family, and kept alive the emotions of religion, of patriotism, and valour. Cicero has observed that necessity may be considered as the primitive Rudiments of * ' _ the art known parent of all those arts which have instructed and charmed mankind ; for it tomanybar- , barous nations. produced those inventions that tend to our use, and minister to our wants ; and those, when cultivated with diligence and skill, progressively rise to improvement and refinement ; and thus are produced those inventions that tend to our edification, and minister to our intellectual luxury and plea- sure. " The origin," says Raspe, " of engraving cannot with exactness be traced to any definite period, or to any particular people ; for its first mechanical rudiments, — i. e. the art of grinding, polishing, and shaping hard stones, — was certainly taught by necessity to many tribes of savages who never had intercourse with each other. Military weapons, domestic and mechanical vessels and implements, of various forms and for various uses, made of flint, porphyry, jasper, and other hard stones, often curiously cut, polished, and perforated, have been found alike in the sepulchral monuments of the most ancient barbarians of Europe and Asia, and dug out of fields which were the scenes of battles in very remote and un- civilised ages. Hence it is considered right to say of them, what Tacitus {de Mor'ib. Germ. c. vi.) says of the ancient Germans — that they were unacquainted with the use of metals, which would have furnished them with better materials for tools and weapons. In several parts of the king- dom of ancient Mexico stone vessels and implements, worked with great care and elegance, have been also discovered. Weapons, utensils, and even ornaments of similar materials and workmanship, have been found among the South-Sea islanders ; the execution of some of which (con- tinues Raspe) is really astonishing. Such, in particular, is the excellence of an ornament in the possession of the widow of the late celebrated Captain Cook, who, in his second circumnavigation of the world, brought it from New Zealand, where the chiefs wear such ornaments with as high an air of pride and dignity as our great men wear their stars and ribands. iv INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. It is a singularly beautiful and transparent green stone, of a flinty yet muriatic nature, exceedingly hard, in colour between the emerald and chrysolite ; and of a cylindrical form, about ten inches long and half an inch thick, gently bent towards the upper end, where it is perforated to admit the string which fastened it to the ear of the wearer. Its uncommon transparency and polish make it in its kind, and, in the opinion of intelli- gent naturalists, as inestimably precious as any large diamond can possibly be, though perhaps not so valuable as an article of merchandise in the estimation of the mercenary. So that, considering the great hardness, high polish, and elaboration of the stone, it must have been a work of immense labour ; and may, on that account, be looked upon as one of the greatest masterpieces of this first stage of the art of grinding, cutting, and engraving hard stones." Knowledge of^ The origin of engraving on precious stones cannot, I repeat, with any the jews. accuracy, be traced to any certain period of time ; nor can the invention of it be ascribed exclusively to any one nation. But that it is an art of very remote antiquity, we have the most unerring evidence ; for it is expressly mentioned in the oldest literary records in existence — the book of Job, and the Pentateuch, or the five books of Moses. There is a high degree of probability that, as Strut intimates, it was known before the deluge ; for we find in Genesis (chap, iv.), that Tubal-Cain, the son of Lamech, was " the instructor of every artificer in metals ;" and it is likely that, as his descendants multiplied, the art was carried to no mean order of excellence. Now the use and artificial application of metal tools was confessedly subsequent to the working of stones ; for though one hard stone may be polished, cut, and shaped for use or ornament by another, yet metal tools were necessary in general to give a perfect execution to the engraving. Be this, however, as it may, we find in Genesis, that Judah gave Tamar his signet, and his bracelets ; and that Pharaoh took off his signet-ring, and placed it on the finger of Joseph. And (Judges xviii.) in the house of Micah there was a molten image and a graven image ; and in Job we find this passage, " who shall cause my name to be hewn out with a graving-tool of iron in the rock for ever." Now all signet-rings were engraved, and had some device or inscription. But the INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. V most important and decisive passages in the Old Testament in proof of our position are those in Exodus, where Moses mentions engraved gems as constituting an essential and prominent part of the habiliments of the Jewish high-priest. The ephod and pectoral (or breastpiece) were principal parts of the garments of the Jewish high-priest, when officiating. The ephod was a sort of sash, passing over the neck and shoulders, and drawn backwards round the body, and then drawn to the front, acting as a girdle to the tunic. Exod. ch. xxviii. : " And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, of purple, of scarlet, and fine twisted linen, with curious work. .... And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: six of their names on the one stone, and six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel : thou shalt make them to be set in ouches (i. e. sockets) of gold. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod, for a memorial to the children of Israel." The pectoral, a piece of many-coloured fine-twisted linen, about ten inches square, was fastened to the ephod, where it crossed the breast. " And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with curious work ; after the work of the ephod shalt thou make it. . . . And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones : the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle : the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond : the third row an agate, a ligure, and an ame- thyst : and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper : and they shall be set in gold in their enclosings : and the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engrav- ings of a signet." Ch. xxxv. Bezaleel and Aholiab were the engravers : " And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri ; and hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship ; to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and vi INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in the carving of wood, to make any manner of curious work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, he and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work of the engraver, and of the cunning workman." Some short-sighted critics take the words, " The Lord filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and all manner of workmanship," and " Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work of the engraver," in their strict and literal sense, to mean that God inspired them with a species of knowledge they did not possess before ; and to imply that gem-engraving was before this time unknown to the Israelites ; and therefore that these passages can determine nothing in favour of the antiquity of the art. Now this interpretation is at variance with the whole scope of the phraseology of the Old Testament, and with the explanations of the best biblical commentators, who say, that, in the language of the Bible, superiority of knowledge in any art or science which was generally in use among the people, is said to be the gift of God ; and that the expressions here do not indicate the discovery of a new art, but are only a figurative mode, in the oriental style, of mentioning Bezaleel's and Aho- liab's surpassing accomplishment in a known art. Besides, I may add, that we find (as has been already stated) "engraving a name in stone with a graving-tool of iron" practised in the time of Job — a time long prior to this ; that Moses mentions the signet-ring of Judah, which was presented to Tamar ; and the signet-ring of Pharaoh, which was presented to Joseph, long before this time ; and that before this time, he mentions Aaron as fashioning with a graving-tool the golden calf for the Israelites (Exod. xxxii.). Now, if we suppose with those critics that God inspired (strictly speaking) Bezaleel, who was before ignorant of the art — an art not known to the Jews — to work the ornaments on the ephod and breastplate of the high-priest ; we must, by parity of reasoning, suppose that he also inspired the artist that engraved the signet of Judah, before the Israelites ever set foot in Egypt as a people ; and Aaron to work and engrave the image for the Israelites, and so encourage them to idolatry, contrary to his own express wish and injunction ! INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Vll The plain truth is, that Moses, — who, as being reared in the court of Pharaoh, and educated among the priests, the great depositories of the knowledge of the country, " was skilled in all the learning (or arts) of the Egyptians," — here mentions the use of a highly prized and elegant art (long before this practised in Egypt) for the decoration of the priest's vestments ; and that Bezaleel and Aholiab were called by God's will, as being superior artists (every excellency in knowledge being supposed to be the gift of God), to execute the work. It is not reasonable to sup- pose, that the Jews, who were so long conversant with the Egyptians, and were originally brought to Egypt under such favourable auspices, introduced there by Joseph, the favourite and chief minister of the king, and were subsequently employed as workmen, should be ignorant of their arts : at all events, Moses evidently was not ; nor did he fail to encourage among his people as much of the arts and institutions of Egypt as might be adapted to their peculiar condition, and subsidiary to their interest. In subsequent stages of the Jewish history, we find engraving practised, not so much for ornament and luxury, as for necessary use. No writing was considered authentic, unless accompanied with a seal. Thus, when Jezebel wrote a letter in the name of Ahab, she impressed it with the prince's seal, to ensure the prompt and certain execution of her orders. The same custom prevailed in Persia ; for we find Ahasuerus presenting his ring to Esther, as a pledge of his confidence. The Jews were great admirers and collectors of precious stones. It has been asserted, that they were acquainted with all the varieties of them known in the present day. St. John, who is full of the style and imagery of the ancient prophets, says, in the Apocalypse (ch. xxi.), that the foundation of the new or heavenly Jerusalem was decorated with precious stones : " and the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones : the first was jasper ; the second, sapphire ; the third, a chalcedony ; the fourth, an eme- rald ; the fifth, sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius ; the seventh, chrysolite ; the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, a topaz ; the tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth ; the twelfth, an amethyst : and the twelve gates were twelve pearls." Though the Bible mentions, in different places, the names of the Vlll INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Knowledge of the art among the ancient Hindoos. several precious stones known to us, yet antiquaries and commentators disagree as to the correctness of our translation of the original names ; for instance, the translators of our authorised version say, the first row of stones in the breastplate of the high-priest consisted of a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle ; while others say, they were a cornelian, a topaz, and an emerald. But it was not merely for ornament that the Jews used hard, engraved stones : we find that they used cut stones as implements of use. In Exod. iv. we find that they originally used stone knives for the operation of circumcision. In the use of such instruments they were neither original nor singular; for Herodotus (b. ii. c. 2) tells us, that the early Egyptians used such implements to open the bodies of the dead who were to be embalmed; and Pliny (b. xxxiv. c. 12) and Catullus (in his poem on Atys) shew that the priests of Cybele used them in order to emasculate themselves. The art was long practised by the Egyptians before it was generally known to the Jews ; and probably by the Indians before it was known to the Egyptians. The extensive trade and intercourse between Egypt and India, which was called by the old historians the land of gems and gold, tended immensely to circulate wealth and a knowledge of the arts (especially of engraving) in Egypt. That India yielded a vast source of riches, luxury, and scientific knowledge to the Egyptians, is a fact established by the concurrent testimony of the most trustworthy writers. " India, from the remotest ages, produced (says Raspe) the best specimens of hard and pre- cious stones which lapidaries and engravers work on, together with every substance and tool they use in their operation : the real diamond (which is at once both a material and an instrument), the ruby-sapphire, the emerald, topaz, chrysolite, sardonyx, calcedony, onyx, cornelian, jasper, — nay even, besides the real diamond, the stone called the diamond spar, which, when pulverised and applied to the engraver's or lapidary's tool, cuts the hardest gems nearly as well as the diamond powder, and much more effectively than the best emery." Raspe confidently asserts (and from the great re- search he appears to have bestowed on the subject, his opinion is entitled to great respect, if not implicit belief) that neither Egypt, nor any other country of the old world, except India, produced the real diamond, or the INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. ix diamond spar, without which the lapidary's art could not be brought to perfection ; and that from India this stone, and a knowledge of its pro- perties, so necessary for gem-engraving, spread to the western nations. Not only did the ancient Indians furnish other nations with precious stones, but they carried the art of engraving on them to a high order of ex- cellence, as many specimens of engraved gems now preserved amply testify. Without entering into details of the great traffic between India and Egypt in remote ages, and of the advantages accruing to the Egyptians from it, we may mention one surprising fact (as evidence of the wealth of India) which is recorded by the best authority — the Bible (Chron. viii. 18; 1 Kings ix. 26) — i. e, that Solomon brought, through the Red Sea, from Ophir (or India) in one voyage, no less than four hundred and fifty talents of gold, i. e. about 3,240,000/. sterling. Among the principal commodities introduced into Egypt from India, Egyptian era and other countries of the East, were precious stones. But the Egyptians were not exclusively dependent on foreigners for an imported supply of these articles. Their own mines furnished a vast abundance of emeralds ; and these mines were worked so early as the reign of Amunoph III., or 1425 years before Christ. Wilkinson says (vol. i.) : — " That the riches of the country were immense is proved, among other evidences, by the vast quantity of jewels, in gold, silver, precious stones, and other objects of luxury in use among them in the earliest times. Their treasures, and cultivation of the arts (especially the art of engraving and working costly stones), became proverbial through the neighbouring states ; and pomp and splendour continued to be their ruling passion till the close of their existence as an independent nation, as is fully demonstrated by the history of the celebrated Cleopatra." Hieroglyphics may be termed the originals of engraving. Warburton, who has treated the subject of hieroglyphics with his usual ingenuity, has classed them under three heads. He says, the first design was to make a part represent the whole : thus, two hands, one holding a bow, the other a shield, represented a battle, — a man casting arrows, a tumult or insurrection, — a scaling-ladder, a siege, &c. The second and more artificial method was, to put the instrument c X INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. of a thing, whether real or metaphorical, for the thing itself : thus, a pro- minent eye represented God's omniscience — an eye and sceptre, the duties and powers of a monarch — a ship and pilot, the Governor of the universe, &c. The third and still more artificial method was, to make one thing stand for another, where any resemblance or analogy could be collected from the form, nature, or qualities of beings and things, or from traditional superstitions : thus, a serpent in a circle represented the universe, its spots designating the stars — the eyes of a crocodile, sunrise, because the eyes appear to emerge from the animal's head — a black pigeon expressed a young widow, who would not take a second husband — a blind beetle, one dead from fever, or a sun-stroke — a sparrow and owl, a suppliant flying for protection, and not finding it — a vulture, an inexorable tyrant estranged from his people — a grasshopper (which they imagined had no mouth), one initiated into the mysteries. So, the sistrum, or rattle, which was often placed in the right hand of Isis, was rattled to announce the swelling of the Nile ; and the situla, or water-ewer, was the symbol of the retirement of the inundation. The persea, which was often an ornament to the head of the deities, expressed the blessings of husbandry ; because the tree, when growing (according to Galen) in its native country, Persia, produced a poisonous fruit; but when transplanted to Egypt, and there carefully cultivated, it yielded a pear-like fruit, which was good for eating. So, a peach-tree in luxuriant fruit was expressive of one who profited much by long travelling ; for the peach-tree was said to be more fruitful when transplanted, than in its native soil. So, a squatting hare indicated a melancholy man; for the hare is a timid and solitary animal. Among the hieroglyphic inscriptions on gems and in the temples, the eye was a frequent figure, sometimes without eyebrows, sometimes marked only by two eyelids, without a pupil appearing: sometimes it was adorned with wings, or other expressive attributes, which shews that the same symbol represented different ideas and modifications of meaning. It is the most simple image of vision, and consequently of wisdom and provi- dence ; and it is thus applicable to the sun, and to the Divinity. Diodorus and Plutarch expressly state, that it was particularly the symbol of Osiris. The sphinx was always an emblem of the Divine power, or kingly power INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XI as the earthly representative of the Divine, in different aspects of obser- vation. Though no object so often occurs among the hieroglyphics as the sphinx, yet no decisive or satisfactory explanation of it has been given in its various forms. In general, however, it may be said that, as the Egyptian sphinx presented the head of a lion and a man, it was typical of power and wisdom: the figure of the lion being indicative of power; and the figure of man indicative of intelligence. There were other com- binations of this animal among the Egyptians, such as the ram-headed sphinx, the hawk-headed sphinx, which were only modifications of the same meaning; — the hawk being the symbol of vigilance and swift exe- cution ; the ram the sign of power and prosperity : horns were invariably the types of power and strength, and the fleece of the sheep was synony- mous with wealth and comfort. The Grecian sphinx was a compound of a lion and a female ; and the Greeks most probably meant to shew by it power blended with elegance, grace, and the attraction of beauty. Hieroglyphics were not single and detached emblems only ; they often formed groups to convey some great moral lesson or religious tenet. Clemens of Alexandria mentions one engraven on one of the gates of the temple at Diospolis. " There appeared a child (the symbol of birth), and an old man (the symbol of death), a hawk (the accepted symbol of the Divinity), a fish (the symbol of hatred), and a frightful crocodile (the symbol of effrontery and insolence). All these united meant, ' O man, who art born, and who diest ; God hateth the shameless and the insolent.'" But the Egyptians were not the only people who used hieroglyphic symbols. Warburton shews that the Chinese, the Scythians, the Indians, and the Mexicans, used them. All readers of the invasions of America by the Spaniards must recollect how rapidly the intelligence of the first landing of the invaders in Mexico was transmitted to Montezeuma, the emperor, by means of symbols or picture-writing. The History and Antiquities of Mexico* will shew the perfection to which the Mexicans * The folio work in twelve volumes, compiled chiefly by the labour, and solely at the expense of the late Lord Kingsborough, eldest son of the Earl of Kingston of Michelstown Castle, in the county of Cork (the cost being 31,000/.). This noble contributor to the lite- Xll INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. brought this art ; and every classical scholar must recollect the symbolical representation (which is mentioned by Herodotus) sent by the Scythians to Darius, on his invasion of their country : it exhibited a bird, a mouse, and a frog, and five arrows ; thus intimating, that if he did not fly away as swiftly as a bird, or hide himself like a mouse or frog, he would perish by their arrows. The claim to superior antiquity and of prior civilisation set up by the Egyptians, and long acknowledged, has been much shaken by modern discoveries ; for the great similarity in customs, manners, and religion between them and the Hindoos and other Eastern nations, has been justly considered evidence of identity of origin. Now, the stream of population, and of civilisation too, has confessedly flowed from the East ; and, as many of the oldest religious rites and customs, and specimens of the arts, among the Egyptians, are now proved to have been identical with those ascertained to have existed in Hindostan (some precious stones, for instance, have been discovered with Sanscrit inscriptions and devices coeval with, if not antecedent to, the earliest Egyptian relics), — an inference has been plausibly, if not justly, deduced, that the Egyptians borrowed, and perhaps improved the discovery of others. But, without entering into a discussion of the relative claims of these nations to the merit of originality, let us concede the merit to the Egyp- tians. The form of government among the Egyptians had much in- fluence on the cultivation of the fine arts in ancient Egypt. Although there has been much disputation about the most ancient form of settled government in that country, the balance of probabilities appears to in- cline to the theory, that it was, like that of the Jews, a hierarchy, or a priestly government. " From the circumstance," says Wilkinson, " of the earliest names enclosed in ovals (or egg-shaped engraved stones*) being preceded by the title of priest, instead of king, it is fair to infer that rature of the country, and the author of the most splendid book that ever issued from the press of any nation, died, some two or three years ago, in Dublin. * "Among the Egyptian gems," says Dagley, "of which there are more intaglios than cameos, the greater part have the form of the consecrated scarabezus, or beetle ; and the figures (or subject of the gem) are engraven on its surface. They afterwards ground, or cut INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Xlll the priestly form of government preceded that of the kingly ; and the account of Manetho and other writers, who mention the reign of the gods, would seem to sanction or even require such an inference." Yet we must not take this mention of the reign of the gods in its strict and literal acceptation, to imply that there was a time when the Egyptian divinities ruled on earth, any more than we can suppose that Saturn in reality descended from heaven, and governed Latium ; but only take it to mean figuratively that the ministers of the gods — the priests — had absolute sway in the land — that the time of their government was a golden age of happiness, piety, and virtue. To this, the character given by Cicero (de Republ. iii. 8) of the ancient Egyptians refers: "that nation uncorrupt (gens incorruptd) which contains literary memorials of countless ages and events." From Herodotus (lib. ii.), and from Plutarch (de Is.), we find that the priests and the inhabitants of the Thebaid did not believe that any Egyp- tian deity ever ruled on earth. The story, then, of Osiris's rule in this world was purely allegorical, and intimately connected with the most profound and curious mystery of their religion ; and so great was the reverence of the priests for the important secret, and for the name of Osiris, that Herodotus scrupled to mention him (the Jews felt a somewhat similar awe to pronounce the name of Jehovah) ; and Plutarch says, that the priests talked with great reserve even of his well-known character of ruler of the dead. The Egyptians ridiculed the Greeks for pretending to derive their origin from deities. They shewed Hecataeus and Herodotus a series of three hundred and forty-five high-priests, each of whom, they observed, was " a man, the son of man," but in no instance the descendant of a god. One great cause of the progress of the Egyptians in civilisation, power, and all their accompanying arts, was the division of the people into castes, or classes (as among the Hindoos) : such as the class of priests, who were away, the lower part of the scarabee stone, cut into an oval form, to be more eommodiously set into a ring or seal. Such was the origin of the oval engraved stones, which are still called Scarabees, although the figure of the insect no longer appears. The early Egyptians con- ceived the beetle to be the type of the sun, or the Divinity, the source of generation, because they thought the beetle had the power of self-production ; and of courage, because they thought all beetles were males." xiv INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. exclusively confined to the pursuit of the theories and the practice of the rites of religion, in its various departments ; the soldiers ; the artificers ; the husbandmen, &c. As each class was confined to one pursuit (for in- stance, among the artificers the particular trade or occupation of the father was followed by the children, down through successive generations), a growing fund of knowledge and improvement was created, that tended to promote abstract science, mechanical dexterity, national wealth, prosperity, and comfort. But however great may have been the success of the Egyptians in many other departments of science and mechanism, especially of architecture, it was, generally speaking, much restrained in engraving by the stern and fixed regulations of the priests. These regulations pre- scribed certain attitudes, a certain position of the limbs, and a certain cast of feature, in the portraiture of the divinities, which gave a character of hardness, stiffness, and immobility to their figures. The figures were mostly in profile ; the limbs and lineaments of the features angular, marked by straight lines. This style of engraving and of sculpture per- vaded all their copies of the human form. Yet this defect — this devia- tion from the laws of nature — was compensated for by the vastness of their designs, and their gigantic execution. They surrendered up grace and beauty for the awful and the colossal ; and in this department it must be admitted they have excelled. But wherever they were not fettered by the regulations of the priests, — for instance, when free to draw the figures of animals, such as the lion, sphinx, &c, — they exhibited much ingenuity, taste, and elegance. Engraved gems were not only prized among them for the value of the stone, and the labour and beauty of the engraving, but they were used for many purposes of real or imaginary good. They were worn as amulets, or charms against accident or evil — as medals, and marks of distinction for signal services in peace or war — as proofs of devotion and piety when they had on them the figures of their gods. The priests too wore them on their vestments. Among these gems were frequently the figures of Isis, Osiris, Orus, Anubis, &c. The Egyptian art of engraving must be divided into two stages : the first, the old and purely Egyptian style ; and the second, the Egyptio- Grecian, which took place when Egyptian gems were executed by Grecian INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XV artists, who, though engraving Egyptian subjects, and generally following the Egyptian rule, yet contrived to infuse into their works a character of motion, ease, and beauty. " It was not," says Wilkinson (vol. hi. c. 9 and 10), in his learned work on Ancient Egypt, " in architecture alone the Egyptians excelled. The wonderful skill they evinced in sculpturing or engraving hard stones is still more surprising ; and we wonder at the means they employed for cutting hieroglyphics on stones of the hardest quality. Nor were they deficient in taste — a taste, too, not acquired by imitating approved models, but claiming for itself the praise of originality, and universally allowed to have been the parent of much that was afterwards perfected with such amazing success by the most highly-gifted of nations — the Greeks : and no one can look on the elegant forms of many of the Egyptian vases, and the ornamental designs of their sculptured stones, without conceding to them due praise on this point, and admitting that, however whimsical some of the figures may be in sacred subjects, they often shewed consi- derable taste where the regulations of the priesthood and religious scruples ceased to interfere. In their temples they were obliged to conform to rules established in the infancy of the art, which custom and prejudice rendered sacred. Plato and Synesius both mention the stern regulations which forbade their artists to introduce innovations in religious subjects ; and the more effectually to prevent this, the profession of artist or engraver was not allowed to be exercised by common or illiterate persons, lest they should attempt any thing contrary to the laws established regard- ing the figures of the deities The same veneration for ancient usage, and the stern regulations of the priesthood, which forbade any innovation in the form of the human figure, fettered the genius of the Egyptian artist. The same formal outline — the same stiff attitude of the body — the same conventional modes of representing the different parts, were adhered to. No improvement resulting from observation in drawing the figure — no attempt to copy nature, and give expression to the features or proper action to the limbs, was resorted to. "■ Egyptian bas-relief (in engraving as well as statuary) appears to xvi INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. have been, in its origin, a mere copy of painting — its predecessor. The first attempts to represent the figures of the gods, sacred emblems, and other subjects connected with the divine and human form, consisted in painting simple outlines of them on a flat surface, the details being afterwards put in with colour. But, in process of time, these forms were traced on stone with a tool, and the intermediate space between the various figures being afterwards cut away, the once level surface assumed the appearance of a bas-relief. It was, in fact, a pictorial re- presentation on stone ; which readily accounts for the imperfect arrange- ment of their figures. Deficient in conception, and, above all, in a know- ledge of grouping, they were unable to form those combinations which give true expression. Every figure was made up of isolated parts, put together according to some general notions, but without harmony, or preconceived effect. The expression of feeling and passion was entirely wanting ; and the countenance of the king, whether charging an enemy's phalanx in the heat of battle, or peaceably offering incense in a sombre temple, presented the same outline and the same inanimate look. Nor do they appear to have had any clear conception of the effect required to dis- tinguish the warrior from the priest, beyond the impressions received from characteristic costume, or from the subject of which the figures formed a part Thus, then (as Diodorus, i. 98, observes of Egyptian statues), various portions of the same figure look as if they might be made by several artists in different places, the style and attitude having been pre- viously agreed on, which, when brought together, would form a complete whole." Yet this appears never to have been done by the Egyptians, for all their figures on stone were of one piece ; though he mentions a Greek statue of Apollo of Samos made in two pieces, by Telecles and Theodorus, at Ephesus and Samos. " In the reign of the second Rameses, some slight improvement was made in varying the proportions ; but still the general form and character of the figures continued the same, which gave rise to the remark of Plato (book ii. of Laws), ' that the pictures and statues made by the Egyptians ten thousand years ago are no better or worse than what they now INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XVII make.'* .... It must, however, be allowed that, in general, the character and form of animals (in portraying which they were not restricted to the same rigid style prescribed by the priests) were executed with great anima- tion, and an observance of nature The mode of representing men and animals in profile, as was generally the case in Egyptian sculpture, is cha- racteristic of a primitive stage of the art, and holds its ground until genius bursts through the trammels of usage. From its simplicity it is easily understood : the most inexperienced perceive the object to be repre- sented ; and no effort is required to comprehend it. Hence it is that few combinations can be made under such restrictions; but those few are perfectly intelligible, the eye being aware of the perfect resemblance to the simple exterior : and the modern uninstructed peasant of Egypt, who is immediately struck with and understands the drawings on the Theban tombs, is seldom able, if shewn an European drawing, to distinguish men from animals ; and no argument will induce him to tolerate foreshortening, the omission of those parts of the body concealed from his view by the perspective of the picture, or the introduction of shadows, particularly on the human flesh." Bas-relief may be considered the earliest style of sculpture. It ori- ginated in those pictorial representations, which were the primeval records of a people anxious to commemorate their victories, the qualities of a king, and other events connected with their history. As their skill increased, the more allegorical representation was extended to that of a descriptive kind, and some resemblance of the person was attempted ; and what was at first scarcely more than a symbol assumed the more exalted form and character of a picture. Of a similar nature were all their historical records; and these pictorial illustrations were a substitute for written documents. Sculpture, indeed, long preceded letters ; and we find that even in Greece, to describe, draw, engrave, and write, were expressed by the same word, ygaQsiv. * However, this remark of Plato must be taken, with considerable qualification, to mean that no nearer approach to the Grecian excellence — to the beau ideal of perfection — was made then, than before. d XV111 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. The want of letters, and the inability to describe an individual, his occupations, or his achievements, led them, in early ages, to bury with the body some object which might indicate the character and condition of the deceased. Thus warriors were interred with their arms, artisans with the implements they used, and priests with some utensil of their sacred office. In those times we find no inscription mentioned. A simple mound was raised over a chief; sometimes with a arvXog, or rude stone pillar, placed upon it, but no writing : and when, at a later period, any allusion to the occupation of the deceased was attempted, a rude allegorical emblem, of the same nature as the early historical records before alluded to, was engraved on the levelled surface of the stone. Sculpture dates long before architecture, considered as an art. Archi- tecture is a creation of the mind, having no model in nature ; and it requires great imaginative powers to conceive its ideal beauties, and to give a proper combination of parts and a harmony of forms. But the desire in man to imitate and to record what has passed before him, — in fine, to transfer the impression from his own mind to that of another, — is natural in every stage of society. As the wish to record events gave the first, religion gave the second, impulse to sculpture. The simple pillar of wood or stone, which was originally chosen to represent the Deity, afterwards assumed the human form, the noblest image of the Power that created it ; and the memorial for the primitive substitute for a statue is curiously preserved in the Greek name xim, implying a column and an idol. Pausanias (b. ii. c. 19) says, that " all statues were in ancient times made of wood, particularly those made in Egypt ;" but this must have been at a period so remote as to be far beyond the known history of that country ; though it is probable that when the arts were in their infancy the Egyptians were confined to statues of that kind. Though the general character of sculpture continued the same, and a certain conventional mode of representing the human figure was uni- versally adopted throughout the country, which was followed by every artist from the earliest era until the religion of the country and hiero- glyphic symbols were abolished by the introduction of Christianity, — yet INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. xix several styles were introduced, and the genius of the arts varied consider- ably during that lengthened period. This was especially so when Greek artists began to engrave Egyptian subjects. All the best ancient authors bear united testimony to the fact, that Knowledge the ancient Phoenicians made great progress in all the arts ot civilisation the ancient and of peace. Not only was their commerce and their social intercourse extensive and varied with the neighbouring nations, — reciprocally com- municating and receiving wealth, knowledge, and improvement, — but they carried their discoveries, their trade, and their arts, to the remotest shores of the then known world. Their invasion of Ireland, and their esta- blishment there of a colony, introducing and fixing in that country their institutions religious and civil, — a colony that spread over the country, disseminating and settling the Asiatic notions, and customs, and arts, — is a fact that, independently of the old Irish records, is proved by the researches of the most dispassionate historians and antiquaries. Strabo, Diodorus, Pliny, and other writers, mention certain islands discovered by the Phoeni- cians, which, from the quantity of tin, or a metal bearing many of its properties, obtained the name of Cassiterides. This metal was mixed with other metals, particularly copper, and was employed, according to Homer {Iliad, xviii. 565, 574, 612, 474), for the relief-engraving on the exterior of shields, as in that of Achilles ; for making greaves ; binding various parts of defensive armour ; and for household and ornamental purposes. These islands included Britain, at least the southern and western coasts of it. Strabo says (b. iii. ad Jinem), " The secret of the discovery was carefully concealed from all other persons ; and the Phoenician vessels continued to sail from Gades (Cadiz) in quest of this commodity, without its being known whence they obtained it ; though many endeavours were made by the Romans, at a subsequent period, to ascertain the secret, and share the benefits of this discovery. So anxious were the Phoenicians to retain their monopoly, that on one occasion, when a Roman vessel pursued a Phoeni- cian trader bound to the spot, the latter purposely steered his vessel on a shoal, preferring to suffer shipwreck (provided he involved his pursuers in the same fate) to the disclosure of his country's secret. His artifice and fidelity succeeded. The Roman crew and vessel perished ; and the Phce- XX INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. nician, who escaped, was rewarded, on his return home, from the public treasury, for his devotion and his sacrifice." Two remarkable evidences of the high degree of excellence to which the Phoenicians carried the fine arts (and among them the art of engraving), it will be sufficient to adduce here — these evidences being taken from the most unquestionable and ancient records we possess ; the Old Testament and Homer. When Solomon was about to build the temple, one of the noblest monuments ever erected, he obtained his chief artist from Huram, king of Tyre, a Phoenician city (2 Chron. ii. 14). Huram, in his letter complying with the request of Solomon, says, " And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, skilful to work in gold, in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber ; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father." The prize that Achilles gave to the best runner at the funeral games of Patroclus was a silver cup curiously wrought by the skilful artists of Sidon. {Iliad, xxiii. 740 of the original.) " And now succeed the gifts, ordained to grace The youths contending in the rapid race. A silver urn that full six measures held, By none in weight or workmanship excell'd : Sidonian artists taught the frame to shine, Elaborate with artifice divine : Whence Tyrian sailors did the prize transport, And gave to Thoas at the Lemnian port : From him descended good Eunaeus heir'd The glorious gift ; and, for Lycaon spar'd, To brave Patroclus gave the rich reward. Now, the same hero's fun'ral rites to grace, It stands the prize of swiftness in the race." Indeed Homer's words are far more expressive than Pope's translation ; for he says, avrap koXXei eviKa itaaav ett' aiav 7toX\ov, £7T£i 2icWee TroXvdaihaXoi ev r)rTKr}