THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM LIBRARY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/mrscameronsphotoOOunse ANCIENT JEWELRY. Drawn from the originals by W. Duthie. THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER REVIEW OF NATURAL HISTORY MICROSCOPIC RESEARCH AND RECREATIVE SCIENCE VOLUME XI. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES IN COLOURS AND TINTS, AND NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD LONDON GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCIiXVir. n \ ay* kfrL- r GETTY CENTER LIBRARY CONTENTS. PAGE Ancient Jewelry. By William Duthie ; With a Coloured Plate 1 Trial of the Pyx 10 On the Form, Growth, and Construction of Shells. By the late Dr. S'. P. Woodward, F.G.S. With Illustrations 18 Mrs. Cameron’s Photographs 30 The Coal Mines of the United States of North America. By F. M. Lubbren 34 On Telegraphic Communication by Means of a Numerical Code. By Lieut. J. Herschel, B.E .... 40 Results of Meteorological Observations made at the Kew Obser- vatory. By G. M. Whipple 44 Light Spots in the Lunar Night.- — The Crater Linne. — Occultations. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, A.M., F.R.A.S 51 The Fossil Forest of Atanakerdluk 61 The Mangrove and its Allies. By J ohn R. J ackson 65 The Mammoth and Its Epoch 70 On the 11 Glass Rope” Hyalonema. By Professor Wyville Thomson. With Coloured Plate and two Illustrations 81 The Star Chamber: Its Practice and Procedure. By Francis W. Rowsell 95 Indian Insects, House Visitants. By the Rev. R. Hunter, M.A 110 The Climate of Great Britain. By Richard A. Proctor, B.A., F.R.A.S. 113 The Vegetable Sheep of New Zealand. By John R. Jackson 128 Pleasant Ways in Science. No. V. — Radiant Forces 136 Schroter’s Meteors. — The Lunar Cassini. — Crimson Star. — Occulta- tions. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, A.M., F.R.A.S 144 Schmidt on Linne 152 Economic Uses of Shells and their Inhabitants. By ‘H enry Wood- ward, F.G.S. , F.Z.S. With Tinted Plate 161 Fatio on Feathers : their Decoloration 172 Silvered Mirror Telescopes, their Merits and Disadvantages 176 Chemical Aids to Art. By Professor A. H. Church, M.A., F.C.S. . . 180 A Ramble in West Shropshire. By the Rev. J. D. La Touche 185 Rumination in Fish, the Scarus of the Ancients. By the Rev. W. Houghton, M.A., F.L.S 190 Lunar Delineation. — The Lunar Aristillus and Autolycus. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, M.A., F.R.A.S 195 On a Fresh Water Valved Vaginicola. By Henry J. Slack, F.G.S., Hon. Sec. R.M.S 205 Biela’s Comet. By W. T. Lynn, B.A., F.R.A.S. With Tinted Plate . . 208 IV Contents. PAGB Fresh Notes on the Crater Linne, and supposed Eruption 215 The New Oak-Feeding Silkworm op China. By John R. Jackson . . 241 An Eight Days’ Ramble in Cape Colony. By George E. Bulger 246 Ancient Supply op Water to Towns. By the Rev. W. Houghton, F.L.S. 257 On the Botanical Origin of Wheat. By John R. Jackson 262 Lunar Perspective. ByW. R. Birt, F.R.A.S 267 Red Star. — Double Stars. — Nebulje. — Linne and Aristoteles. — Occult- ations. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, M.A., F.R.A.S 273 Graptolites: their Structure and Systematic Position. By William Carruthers, F.L.S 283 A White Cloud Illumination for Low Powers. By Henry J. Slack, F.S.A., Hon. Sec. R.M.S 292 Results of Meteorological Observations made at Hew Observatory. By G. M. Whipple 294 Biography of Swedenborg 300 British Woodpeckers. By G. Edward Massie. With a Coloured Plate 321 On the Applicability of the Electric Light to Lighthouses. By Professor M’Gauley 325 The Low Barometer of the Antarctic Temperate Zone. By Richard A. Proctor, B.A., F.R.A.S. Illustrated 334 A Ramble in West Shropshire. By Rev. J. D. La Touche 348 Picture Notes — The Royal Academy 357 Graptolites : their Structure and Systematic Position. Part II. — By William Carruthers, F.L.S. With a Plate 365 Flying Machines 374 The Lunar Appenines. — Clusters and Nebulae — Occultation. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, A.M., F.R.A.S 379 Moon Colours 3SS Probable Connection of Comets with Shooting Stars. By W. T. Lynn, B.A., F.R.A.S 390 Cameo of the Emperor Augustus in the Blacas Collection. By Thomas Wright, M.A., F.S.A. With a Coloured Plate 401 Chemical Aids to Art. No. II. — By Professor Church 409 The Philosophy of Birds’ Nests By A. R. Wallace, F.Z.S., Etc 413 On the various modes of Propelling Vessels. By Professor McGauley. 421 Sun Viewing and Drawing. By the Rev. F. Howlett, M.A., F.R.S. 429 Vegetable Monstrosities and Races. By Ch. Naudin. 446 Ancient Men of Wirtemberg 450 Mr. Graham’s Recent Discoveries — Tiie Absorption and Dialytic Separation of Gases by Colloid Septa — The Occlusion of Gases. 452 Clusters and Nebulae. — Southern Objects. — Double Stars. — Occulta- tions. By Rev. T. W. Webb, A.M., F.R.A.S 459 On the Eggs of Corixa Mercenaria. By Dr. T. L. Phipson, F.C.S 467 Archh2ologia 74, 152, 223, 307, 393, 470 Progress of Invention 63, 156, 226, 310, 396, 473 Proceedings of Learned Societies 159, 238, 316, 397, 476 Notes and Memoranda 79, 159, 239, 319, 399, 479 THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER. FEBRUARY, 186 7. ANCIENT JEWELRY. BY WILLIAM DUTHIE. (With a Coloured Plate.) Antiquarians, acute, learned, and indefatigable, have taken sucb pains to describe, among other ancient remains, the specimens of Egyptian jewelry which have been discovered in recent times, that it might appear unnecessary to treat of them further. After the elaborate explanations of Prisse dWvennes, Daly, Sir Cardiner Wilkinson, Dr. Birch, and others, of Egyptian ornaments, and the voluminous account given by Mr. Layard of Assyrian antiquities, there might appear to be a certain presumption in any attempt to enlarge upon a subject which had been already so amply and so ably treated. But, however carefully these ancient and interesting relics may have been described in an archaeological point of view, they have never yet been dealt with in a practical way as pieces of workmanship ; and it is in this light it is purposed to consider them here. It is evident that, so considered, they offer a very interesting field, not merely for speculation, but for the accumulation of proofs directly tending to show the progress made in the finer mechanical processes of art-work- manship in those early ages. To a workman, testing them by his own special knowledge, they may give evidence of a character different from, and not less interesting than, that offered to the antiquarian and the philosopher. Acting upon this idea, the pieces of jewelry in the Coloured Plate have been selected as much for the purpose of illustrating certain points of workmanship, as for their marked character and beauty ; to show, in fact, what advance the Egyptians and Assyrians had made in the arts of casting, chasing, soldering, stone-cutting, and other more technical processes in the manufacture of personal ornaments. It is believed that the objects chosen have not hitherto been engraved, and these VOL. XI.— NO. I- b 2 Ancient Jewelry. are represented in some cases in the state in which they were worn, instead of in their present dilapidated condition. With the exception of No. 1, an earring reduced from many examples of the same ornament on the colossal figures of the Assyrian bas-reliefs, the specimens shown are to be found in the cases of the British Museum. The very curious and beautiful collection of relics discovered at Thebes, and exhibited by the Pasha of Egypt at the English International Exhibition of 1862, would not have served the writer's pur- pose equally well, the majority of them not coming* within the category of jewelry, being testimonial pieces, or symbols of office. These relics have been fully explained by Dr. Birch, and carefully copied and illuminated by Mr. Kiddle, of the War Office.* They are, it is believed, the most ancient specimens of art-workmanship in the precious metals in existence, dating from about b.c. 1800, or 8600 years ago. They will be again referred to. It is surprising how far into the inner life of a people an examination of the works under review may lead ; for the existence of one fact, proved to demonstration by the work itself, helps to establish other facts not so patent, and to suggest consequences of great interest, and of the utmost import- ance in determining the condition of art-manufacture at the period referred to. When, in opening some ancient British tumulus, the antiquarian unearths a rude ornament of gold, probably the breast or neck decoration of a chief, and finds it to consist of a simple thin plate, beaten into something like shape to serve its important purpose ; having no mark of chasing-tool or graver, and, above all, no union by solder of two parts together, he must inevitably come to the conclusion that the goldsmith's art, at the time the ornament was made, must have been in the most primitive condition. It must be at once evident that here is simply a piece of hammer- work, in the making of which little taste and less skill have been exerted. On the other hand, every little addition to the naked piece of metal is not only a proof of a higher state of art in itself, but is evidence of progress in other directions of a kindred nature. Even so small a thing as a piece of wire is a sign of a decided advance in art upon the original crude plate; and, moreover, it shows progress in mechanical appliances ; for the production of a piece of wire implies the possession of tools of an exact and complex character. Examined in this way, the process of manufacture of a simple piece of jewelry will serve to show the existence of other arts than that of the goldsmith. * Facsimiles of the Egyptian Relics Discovered at Thebes, 4to, London, 1863. Ancient Jewelry. Tlie same antiquity cannot be claimed for tbe specimens chosen for illustration as for the relics of Queen Aah-hept ; but the most recent example is of about the year B.c. 300. The Assyrian earrings, Nos. 1 and 5, are from Kouyunjik (Nineveh), of about 700 years before Christ. The necklace. No. 2, and the earrings, Nos. 4 and 7, are from Babylon, of probably a somewhat later date. The ring, No. 3, representing the figures of Serapis, Isis, and Horns, is of the Ptolemaic period, about b.c. 300 years. The bracelet. No. 8, is inscribed with the name of Namrut (Nimrod), an Egyptian prince of the twenty- second dynasty, from Sais, and therefore dates from about 500 years before Christ. The numbering has be'en arranged on the principle of taking the most simple forms and workmanship first, having some regard also to age. The earring, No. 1, although not actually existing as a gold specimen, is found so repeatedly on the colossal bas-reliefs of the Nimrod collection, that it may be taken as a very common type of ornament, and although certainly elegant in form, is of very simple construction. It may have been cast solid, or struck with a punch in two pieces, and soldered together. It is scarcely probable that it was cast solid, as in that case its excessive weight would render it painful and even unsafe to wear. That the Assyrians certainly, and probably the Egyp- tians also, were in the habit of casting ornaments in metal, we have distinct evidence in the ring moulds discovered by Mr. Layard, and exhibited in the Nineveh collection. Not only have we there a mould for casting rings — not a mould of sand, as used in modern times, but of some chalky or clayey substance, in which the subject is cut in both halves of the mould, with a proper gate wherein to pour the melted metal, and radiating lines to admit of the escape of the air— but also small bells and weights, on which the distinct ridge left by the juncture of the mould is still visible. But even for so rude a piece of jewelry as a cast earring, some mechanical appliances are necessary beyond the mould and the metal. Some sort of furnace must have been erected, with probably wood for fuel, and an inflated pig-skin for a bellows. The workman must also have had crucibles, and some kind of iron pincers to lift his gold out of the fire. But it is more probable that the earring in question was hollow — struck by means of a punch in two halves, and soldered together. This is undoubtedly the method pursued in the manufacture of the chain, No. 2 j and adopting this con- clusion, we must pre-suppose the carving or moulding of iron or bronze punches, and the knowledge of the several delicate operations which go to complete a soldered juncture of metals. We have no difficulty in determining the fact of the use of 4 Ancient Jewelry. carved punches in the manufacture of jewelry, for there are abundant evidences of it in the necklaces and other ornaments which are exhibited in the British Museum. One necklace of shells and cornucopias, placed alternately, is especially remark- able. It is of silver, and each kind of ornament is so exactly similar, that they must necessarily have been struck off the same punch. A bead necklace offers the same evidence ; and it is not at all improbable that many of the aphes, cobras, scarabasi, and other symbolical ornaments which we find embedded in opaque glass, were struck from carved punches out of thin gold plate. The question then arises, how were these punches made? Were they also cast in moulds, say in bronze ? Or were they forged, and worked up by file and graver into the required form? We have no evidence of the existence of a file at this period ; and a file, besides that it must be of steel to be of any service, even upon bronze, is a really artistic pro- duction. There is no proof that steel was known at so remote a date, and the probabilities are against such a supposition. Cast iron is a modern invention ; and regarding the matter from all sides, one is almost forced to the conclusion that these punches were cast in bronze, and finished for use by such cutting gravers or other tools as sharpened iron would furnish. The suggestion that these exactly similar ornaments might have been struck in dies offers many difficulties, for a die is an implement of manufacture much more difficult of production than a hand-punch. Then arises the question of soldering. These duplicate pieces, struck with a punch, and made of an equal height by being snipped round their edges with shears, and rubbed down on a stone, must now be united by solder — not mere tin or pewter, tut what is technically known as hard solder, i.e., a metal only so far inferior by the addition of alloy to the metal it is to unite, that it is fusible at a somewhat lower degree of heat. But to solder in this way requires tools and appliances of a more delicate nature than we have as yet had to deal with. The preparation of solder itself, with its careful and minute proportioning of alloy, and its no less careful fusion — its thin- ning into plate, and its reduction by some means, by shears or by hie, into small particles for use — requires considerable skill and indispensable tools. Then it is impossible to solder without some species of flux, to prevent the oxidation of the two surfaces to be united, during the process. What flux had the Egyptians or the Assyrians ? It is a fact that in many parts of the East Indies to this day the native jewelry, although admirable in many points of execution, is not soldered together, but dovetailed, in a manner of speaking, by a series of minute (( spitzens.'” The fineness of the gold employed admits of Ancient Jewelry. 5 this process, and the work does not depend for its strength upon its connected parts. The setting of their gems is invariably effected in this way, and with a little force may be lifted off bodily. Borax is the immemorial flux of the jeweler all over the world, and it is not at all improbable that the Egyptians possessed this valuable medium ; especially as, although now an artificial compound of its element, boracic acid and soda, manufactured to meet the demands of commerce, it is found, and was to be found doubtless in that remote time, as a natural production. But given the borax, the solder, the shears, or the file, we still require the charcoal, or some equivalent for it ; and what is more, we still require the blow-pipe. His inflated pig-skin would not serve the Assyrian here ; something more manageable was necessary — something which possessed both force and precision. It is held by scholars that Pliny (the younger) speaks of borax under the title of clirysocolla } and it is not at all unreasonable to suppose that borax, under this or some other name, was known at a much earlier date than his time. If the Egyptians had not discovered charcoal — and it is very possible they had, considering their necessarily constant use of wood — it would not be difficult to find some light porous stone to answer its purpose ;* and the origin of the blow-pipe is so involved in obscurity, that there is scarcely any date too early to fix for its discovery. Moreover, although the blow-pipe of the modern chemist is a very scientific implement, it must be remembered that the jeweler's blow-pipe to this day is simply a piece of bent tubing, smaller at one end than the other. It is at least certain, then, that to solder, the ancients must have possessed some knowledge of alloy, and had for tools the blow-pipe, shears, or files, charcoal, or some analogous non- conductive substance, and must have known the valuable uses of borax as a flux. This question of alloys is of more consequence than may at first sight appear ; for, as a rule, the gold used in these ancient ornaments was in nearly a pure state ; and it is not unreason- able to suppose that a knowledge of the ready fusion of certain other metals therewith might have tempted the workmen of antiquity to deteriorate the precious metal, as is systematically done in modern times. The universal use of fine gold suggests also one other solution of the solder difficulty : it is that fine gold, and fine gold alone, may, by the help of a flux, be