groups of antiquities discovered together in Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. On the lower shelf of these and the following Cases are antiquities discovered by Dr. Bähr in Livonia and Courland, of about the same age as the Saxon antiquities, and placed here for comparison.

Cases 81-86. Various Saxon weapons, such as swords, spear-heads, and bosses of shields. A bucket of wood with bronze mountings. A bronze bucket, which was discovered at Hexham full of coins of the kings of Northumbria.

In Table Case G are placed personal ornaments of various kinds, and a series of swords and spears discovered in the Thames. Among them a sword with a Runic alphabet. There is also a remarkable casket of whale's bone, with various subjects and Runic inscriptions, probably made in Northumbria in the 9th century.

EARLY CHRISTIAN COLLECTION.

This is a small Collection occupying one end of Table Case G, and Case 87. Among the specimens are numerous lamps with the XP, crosses, and subjects from the Old and New Testaments. The most remarkable part of it, a number of pieces of glass vases with ornaments in gold leaf, discovered in the Catacombs of Rome, has been removed to the Glass Collection in the Second Egyptian Room.

In an upright Case P, in the centre of the room, are arranged caskets and ornaments of varicus kinds, found at Rome in 1793, and obtained with the Blacas Collection. The large casket has on it a Christian inscription.

MEDIEVAL COLLECTION.

This Collection is arranged with reference partly to the material of which the objects are formed, partly to the use for which they were intended.

Cases 88-97. SCULPTURE AND CARVING, in various materials, but chiefly in ivory, the specimens of which are arranged, as far as practicable, in chronological order. The earlier examples are generally writing tablets or portions of the bindings of books. Those of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries are principally tablets for devotional purposes. The later carvings are of a miscellaneous character.

PAINTINGS. Portions of the frescoes in St. Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, executed in the latter half of the 14th century.

In Table Case H are placed other specimens of Sculpture: on one side are early writing tablets or diptychs, mirror-cases, combs, and

medallion portraits; on the other are vases of rock crystal and jasper, engraved gems and cameos, counters, and a few historical relics, viz. a shrine, probably given by Margaret, wife of Edward I., to her step-daughter, Isabella; casket made out of Shakespeare's Mulberry Tree, presented to David Garrick, in 1769; and the Punchbowl of Robert Burns. Two State swords of the Earldom of Chester, one with the name of Hugh Lupus, the other of Edward V. when Prince of Wales.

Cases 98-107. Various miscellaneous objects, chiefly relating to Britain, including an Irish crozier and several bells of Irish saints; a block of Herne's Oak formerly in Windsor Park.

Cases 108-115. METAL WORK of various kinds; ecclesiastical relics; vases and dishes; arms and armour.

In Upright Case J are specimens of oriental metalwork, chiefly made in Mesopotamia and Syria, during the 13th and 14th centuries. Several of them are from the Blacas Collection.

Table Cases K and L. Matrices of SEALS, both English and foreign. In Upright Case M is a curious piece of clockwork in the form of a ship, presented by Octavius Morgan, Esq., M.P., and a collection of horodeictical instruments, such as astrolabes, quadrants, and dials of various kinds.

Cases 116-121. ENGLISH POTTERY. - On the upper shelves are placed green and brown glazed vessels of coarse manufacture, and of various dates, from the 13th to the 16th century. Middle shelf. Ornamental earthenware and porcelain, including a bowl made and painted at Bow, in 1760, by Thomas Craft, being one of the few specimens which can with certainty be referred to that manufactory; a copy of the Portland vase, made by Wedgwood; several Wedgwood medallions, and specimens of English delft. A bust of Prince Rupert, made by John Dwight, at Fulham. On the lower shelf, a series of ornamental paving and wall tiles, varying in date from the 13th to the 16th century.

Cases 122-125. POTTERY.-A number of fragments of medieval pottery of various kinds, found on the site of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus.

Cases 125-136. ITALIAN MAJOLICA.-This enamelled earthenware derives its name from the Island of Majorca, whence it is supposed to have been first imported into Italy, though it does not appear whether it was made in the island, or brought thither from Spain. The art was cultivated in some of the smaller states of Central Italy. Specimens are here exhibited, made at Faenza, Gubbio, Pesaro, Castel Durante, Urbino, Deruta, Caffagiolo, Rimini, Padua, Sienna, and Venice. The earlier, which date from A.D. 1480-1510, are large dishes enamelled on one side only, and painted either in strong bright colours, or in blue and yellow in the latter case the yellow has a metallic reflection, or iridescence. The next class, dating from about A.D. 1510-1525, is smaller in size, frequently ornamented with arabesque borders, and with metallic yellow and ruby. Some of the finest specimens were painted at Gubbio, by Giorgio Andreoli.

The third, A.D. 1530-1550, is painted with subjects occupying the whole of the plate, and generally taken from Roman mythology; the colours are bright, rarely iridescent, and with a great preponderance of yellow. In the next class, A.D. 1560-1580, the drawing deteriorates, the colouring becomes dull and brown, and the subjects are frequently enclosed in arabesque borders on a white ground. In the next century Majolica almost entirely disappears, having been probably driven out of esteem by Oriental porcelain.

In Central Case O are placed some of the choicer vases of Italian Majolica. They are chiefly made to contain drugs, &c., for the Spezierie attached to most convents and large private dwellings in the sixteenth century. In the same case are a pair of fine vases of Chelsea porcelain, made by M. Spremont, in 1762, and presented in 1763, probably by Dr. Garnier.

Cases 136-139. GERMAN STONEWARE.-This is a hard dense pottery, well suited to domestic purposes, and sometimes richly ornamented. It was made in the neighbourhood of the Lower Rhine. There are three principal varieties. The first, consisting usually of cylindrical jugs, narrowing at the top, is a yellowish white, with ornaments well executed; it was made at Siegburg, near Bonn. The second is brown, decorated with coats of arms or figures under arches, and was chiefly manufactured in the old Duchy of Limburg. The third is grey, with ornaments in relief, the ground being usually coloured blue or dark maroon. Vessels of the second class were extensively imported into England during the 16th century, and are frequently found in excavations under old buildings.

AUGUSTUS W. FRANKS.

Between the British and Medieval Room and the Ethnographical Room is a door leading to the

COLLECTION OF GOLD ORNAMENTS AND GEMS.

The gold ornaments are arranged in cases round the East and South sides of the room.

Case A contains specimens of Medieval and more recent jewellery. In Case B are Byzantine, and foreign Teutonic gold ornaments, as well as specimens of Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Roman jewellery. Cases C and D contain gold ornaments of the Celtic period, found in Great Britain and Ireland, and a few foreign examples of the same date.

Case E contains ornaments from Babylonia and Egypt.

In Cases F to Q is exhibited the series of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman ornaments, to which in recent years the most important additions have been the Blacas and Castellani Collections. In Cases F to I the ornaments, both Greek and Etruscan, are of an early

period. Case F contains ornaments in silver and amber from Palestrina (Præneste). Case G contains ornaments from Sardinia and Sicily. Case H contains ornaments from Kameiros and Ialysos, in Rhodes. The finest specimens of Greek work are in Cases L, M, N, O. The latest specimens of the goldsmiths' art among the Greeks and Romans are arranged in P, Q of this line of cases.

In the upper part of Cases O and P are arranged statuettes, vases, fibula, torcs, and other ornaments of silver. Among the statuettes may be noticed (1) a boy playing with a goose, found at Alexandria, with silver coins of the earlier Ptolemies; (2) a female figure, personifying a city, and having above her head a row of busts of deities representing the seven days of the week; below these are two busts of the Dioscuri; in her left hand is a cornucopia, from which issue the heads of a Roman Emperor and Empress. This figure was found near Macon, on the Saone, in 1761 (Gazette Arch. iii. p. 82). Payne Knight Coll. With it were found the following silver figures in the same case: Jupiter, Diana, a Genius, and four statuettes of Mercury.

In the upper part of Case Q is a collection of bronze vases found at Galaxidi, the site of Oiantheia, near Delphi.

The collection of finger rings of all ages is exhibited in Case U.

The collection of gems comprising examples of Etruscan, Greek, Roman, Medieval, and Modern Intaglios and Cameos, has been formed chiefly by the bequests of the Payne Knight and Cracherode collections, and by the purchase of the Townley, Hamilton, Blacas and Castellani collections. The gems in the form of scarabs, mostly from Etruria, are arranged in Case R. In this Case also are the Archaic gems, found chiefly in the Greek islands, and thought to represent a stage of gem engraving which preceded the development of purely Hellenic art. Gems of this class have been found at Mycenae. The series of Greek and Roman intaglios and cameos is exhibited in a large Case (S) in the centre of the room and in Case T. The arrangement is according to subject, and begins at the corner of Case S, nearest the entrance, with Jupiter and his cycle of mythic persons, after which come the other deities and heroes of mythology, followed by royal, imperial, and other portraits. In Case T are subjects relating to ordinary life, figures of animals, symbols, inscriptions, and miscellaneous subjects.

On Case R is placed the celebrated glass vase, deposited by its owner the Duke of Portland, in the British Museum, and thence popularly known as the Portland Vase. It was found in a marble sarcophagus in the Monte del Grano, near Rome, and was formerly in the Barberini palace. The ground of the vase is of blue glass; the design is cut in a layer of opaque white glass. The composition is supposed to represent, on the obverse, the meeting of Peleus and Thetis on Mount Pelion, and on the reverse, Thetis consenting to be the bride of Peleus, in the presence of Poseidon and Eros. the bottom of the vase, which is detached, is a bust of Atys.

On

On Case T is placed an alabaster jar, found on the site of the

Mausoleum, at Halicarnassus, near a great stone which probably closed the entrance to the sepulchral chamber. The jar is inscribed "Xerxes, the Great King," in the Persian, Median, Assyrian, and Egyptian languages.

In Case W is exhibited a series of trays from the general collection of coins, Greek, Roman, and English. This exhibition is periodically changed.

C. T. NEWTON.

ETHNOGRAPHICAL ROOM.

In this room are placed both the antiquities, and the objects in modern use, belonging to all nations not of European Any scientific arrangement has been rendered difficult. by want of space; but the objects have been, as far as practicable, arranged in geographical order.

race.

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In the centre of the room are placed the following objects : A Table Case containing antiquities found in excavations in India. Three large cases of dresses and implements in use among the Esquimaux tribes; as well as objects illustrative of the late Arctic expeditions, chiefly collected by Sir John Barrow, and presented by his son, Mr. John Barrow.

A Table Case containing Peruvian and Mexican antiquities.

Against the pilasters are placed the following objects: :An inlaid Indian cabinet.

An impression of the foot of Gaudma (Buddha).

A Chinese bronze bell.

A figure of Pattinee Dewa in bronze.

The contents of the side Cases are as follows:

Cases 1-7. AFRICA.-Cases 1-3. Upper Shelf, specimens of cotton fabrics, chiefly obtained during the Niger Expedition. Middle Shelf, shields from East Central Africa; weapons, and beads used in the African trade. Lower Shelf, arrows in leathern quivers made by the Mandingo tribes of West Africa; Tuarik camel saddle, wooden stool from Ashantee. Cases 4, 5. Upper Shelf, hats and boxes made of calabashes. Middle Shelf, gourds, spoons, leather pouches, etc. Lower Shelf, dresses, pipes, and ornaments of various kinds, chiefly worn or used by the natives of Kaffirland. Cases 6, 7. Upper Shelf, spears, bows, and specimens of pottery. Middle Shelf, spears, wooden fetishes, tobacco pipes, and ornaments. Lower Shelf, musical instruments.

Cases 8-13. CHINA, JAPAN, AND THE ASIATIC ISLANDS.-Cases 8, 9. Upper Shelf, Chinese hats, lantern, and figures. Middle Shelf, figures sculptured in various materials, or cast in bronze, from