At the North-west angle of this Gallery is a door leading into the

ASSYRIAN SIDE-ROOM.

In this room, and in the basement room with which it is connected by a staircase, are placed some of the sculptures and other objects procured by Mr. Rassam and Mr. Loftus, after the collection obtained by Mr. Layard had been already arranged. In addition to these are some objects from Babylonia. The wall cases contain miscellaneous objects of different periods discovered in Assyria and Babylonia.

The principal objects in this room are—

A four-sided and arch-headed stele, of limestone, having in front a bas-relief of the king Samsi-Rimmon, son of Shalmaneser. It was found by Mr. Rassam in the South-east edifice of Nimroud.

Two stones, with reliefs and inscriptions, of the reign of Merodachnadin-akhi, a king of Babylon who reigned about 1100 B.C., and another of Merodach-bal-adan I., B.C. 1325.

The Wall Cases at the sides of the room contain miscellaneous objects, the most remarkable of which are as follows: Cases Nos. 1-4. Assyrian bronze helmets.

Cases 5 & 6. Glass vases, and several Babylonian inscriptions on stone; one of the reign of Esar-haddon.

Cases Nos. 7-12. Various vases of alabaster and terracotta, one of alabaster holding sweetmeats, and a remarkable glass vase, impressed with the name of Sargina, or Sargon, B.c. 721; several prisms and cylinders of terracotta: one with the history of the first eight expeditions of Sennacherib, including an account of the invasion of Judæa. A series of bricks with royal names.

Cases Nos. 13-15. Objects in bronze and terracotta, amongst which are a shield, cauldron, and enamelled bricks.

Cases Nos. 16-19. Three earthenware coffins, covered with a blue vitreous glaze, and having small figures in low relief. They were found by Mr. Loftus at Warka, in a mound, formed almost entirely of similar remains, but are not, perhaps, older than the time of the Parthian Empire. Various glazed vessels and part of a bronze throne. The staircase leads to the

ASSYRIAN BASEMENT ROOM.

The sculptures arranged in this room, with one exception, belong to the time of Assur-bani-abla, the grandson of Sennacherib, having been discovered in the ruins of two palaces

at Kouyunjik, excavated, one by Mr. H. Rassam, the other by Mr. Loftus. Dating from the latest period of Assyrian art, they exhibit greater freedom of design, particularly in the animal forms, and greater delicacy of execution, than the basreliefs from Nimroud, or even the earlier monuments from Kouyunjik. Among the most remarkable are

Nos. 1-8. Various operations of the camp, the bringing in of the heads of slain enemies, and registration of spoil and trophies.

Nos. 9-14. Soldiers and musicians, some of whom are captives. Nos. 17, 18. Assyrian deities.

Nos. 19, 20. Part of the Assyrian army and prisoners of war. Nos. 21-32. The assault and capture of the city of Lachish by Sennacherib; his fortified camp and reception of prisoners.

Nos. 33-53. A lion-hunt by Assur-bani-abla, or Sardanapalus. A large area formed by spearmen prevents the escape of the animals. The lions are let loose from cages (No. 52), and are killed by the monarch with arrows, while horsemen attend and gallop round in different directions. One or two lions are seen in different groups attacking the king. The fury of the wounded and agony of the dying lions, as also the impatience of four dogs restrained by their keepers, are admirably delineated.

Nos. 54-62. The capture of a city in Susiana and reception of prisoners by the same monarch.

Nos. 63-74. The return from the chase in a series of slabs of the same size and style as Nos. 33-53. The hunters bear birds and dead lions, and lead the hunting dogs, and sumpter mules laden with nets.

Nos. 75-78. Scenes apparently of a paradeisos or park; a musician and lion; and a lion and lioness amidst trees and flowers; keepers and hunting dogs.

Nos. 79-82. Assyrian deities..

Nos. 83-90. Wars of Assur-bani-abla; the attack of an Arab race, who, mounted on one-humped camels, take to flight, while their tents are surprised and burnt; the siege of two cities and capture of one with its Ethiopian garrison of negroes, placed there by some Egyptian monarch.

Nos. 91-94. A hostile army flying past an Assyrian city or fortress, with an inner building with columns resting on the backs of lions and winged bulls, and a temple with columns and pilasters resembling those of the Ionic order; in front is a tablet with figure of the king and altar like that in the Assyrian transept, and a bridge or viaduct with openings like Gothic arches.

No. 95. Execution of the king of Susiana.

No. 96. Royal attendants bringing offerings.

Nos. 97-102a. Pavement slabs with representations of carpets. Nos. 104-119. A series of slabs divided horizontally into two or three tiers of small figures, remarkable for the delicacy of their execution. They represent hunting scenes, the pursuit of deer, goats, wild

asses, and the different modes of killing the lion described in the accompanying inscriptions.

No. 120. Capture and burning of a city; guarding of captives, who are at meals.

No. 121. Fine slab representing Assur-bani-abla and his queen banqueting under a bower of vines. The king reposes on a couch, at the foot of which the queen is seated on a chair. A musician and attendants with viands and fans wait on the royal pair. Birds and grasshoppers are singing in the adjacent trees, to one of which is suspended the head of Te-umman, king of Elam.

Nos. 122-124. Lion-hunting and other scenes.

In the centre of the room are three Table Cases containing several miscellaneous small articles of bronze, iron, and terracotta.

Returning up the staircase, and passing again through the Nimroud Gallery, the visitor reaches the

ASSYRIAN TRANSEPT.

The first or Western Compartment, contains the remainder of the monuments of Assur-nazir-pal, or Assur-natsir-abla, of which the principal part has been described in the Nimroud Gallery.

In the middle is a high arched slab, having in front a bas-relief of the king, with various sacred symbols, and on the sides and back an invocation to the Assyrian gods, and a chronicle of the king's conquests. Before it stands an altar, which originally was so placed, at the entrance to the temple of the "God of War."

At the sides stand a pair of colossal human-headed lions, winged, and triple-horned, which originally flanked a doorway in the North-west edifice. With these terminates the series from Nimroud.

Behind these are two torsos with inscriptions, one of black stone, bearing the name of an ancient Chaldean king; the other of a goddess, found at Kouyunjik, with the name of Assur-bel-kala, an Assyrian monarch, who reigned about 1100 B.C.

On the West wall are casts and sculptures in relief and inscriptions from the palace of the Persian monarchs, about 500 в.c. at Persepolis; and on the South wall casts of Pehlevi inscriptions at Hadji Abad in its vicinity.

Near there are cases containing antiquities excavated at Dali or Idalium, in Cyprus, by Mr. R. H. Lang, in 1870, including terracotta toys, &c. Amongst them is an inscription in the Phoenician and Cyprian languages, dated in the reign of Melekiatun, about B.C. 370. Against the columns on the North side are the upper half of the statue of a deity or monarch, and another statue from the same place.

On the East side of this Transept, is the Khorsabad Compartment, containing monuments from the palace of Sargina, the founder of the later Assyrian dynasty, about B.C. 722.

Two colossal human-headed bulls, corresponding exactly in dimensions and style with the pair now in the Louvre at Paris, are placed as at the entrance of a chamber, and beside these, two colossal figures of mythological character. This entire group was obtained from Khorsabad by Sir H. C. Rawlinson, K.C.B., in 1849.

Within the recess thus formed are several bas-reliefs procured from the same place in 1847 by Mr. Hector, a merchant residing at Baghdad. They are chiefly fragmentary figures from a more extensive series, some on a large scale, and retaining remains of colour. The horses' heads, facing the window, are richly and carefully finished.

Below these is the only slab obtained by Mr. Layard from Khorsabad; it is in black marble.

At the other end are slabs with inscriptions from colossal bulls, recording the campaign of Sennacherib against Judæa. They come from Kouyunjik.

In the centre is placed a monument, not belonging to the Khorsabad series, a seated figure of Shalmaneser in black basalt, found by Mr. Layard about fifty miles below Nimroud on the Tigris, in the great mound of Kalah Shergat, which is supposed to be the site of Ashur, the primitive capital of Assyria..

In the centre is also a marble Phoenician sarcophagus from Sidon, and on the North side are some busts and statues from Dali or Idalium. The North side of the Assyrian Transept opens into the

EGYPTIAN GALLERIES.

The monuments in this collection constitute on the whole the most widely extended series in the range of Antiquity, ascending to at least 2000 years before the Christian æra, and closing with the Mohammadan invasion of Egypt, A.D. 640.

The larger sculptures are placed in two great Galleries with a connecting or Central Saloon, and in a Vestibule at the Northern extremity. They have been arranged, as far as possible, in chronological order, according to the succession of dynasties recorded in Manetho.

The smaller sculptures, consisting chiefly of sepulchral tablets, have been brought, as far as practicable, into the same order as the larger monuments. These tablets record the names and titles of the deceased, who are represented upon them performing acts of homage to their ancestors or various divinities. Though of great value to the student of the language and history of Egypt, they do not possess such interest as to detain the general visitor. Their probable age, and the names of the persons to whom they were erected, will be seen on their labels

The Egyptian collection has been formed partly from the donation, by King George III., of the antiquities obtained at the capitulation of Alexandria; and partly by acquisitions from the Earl of Belmore, Mr. Salt (including the discoveries of Belzoni), and M. Anastasi. It has been further enriched by presents from H.M. the Queen, H.R. H. the Prince of Wales, General Howard Vyse, the Duke of Northumberland, the Marquis of Northampton, and others.

The localities from which the sculptures have been principally derived are as follows:-The earlier sepulchral monuments are chiefly from Memphis, the capital of the most important of the more ancient dynasties, and the ruins of which are on the left bank of the Nile, opposite Cairo. Other early remains are derived from the great burial-place of Abydos. The main portion of the collection, including most of the monuments belonging to the kings of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties, was obtained from the ancient city of Thebes, which became the capital of Egypt under those monarchs. This city was built on both banks of the Nile, and included the four modern localities, Karnak and Luxor on the right bank, Gourneh and Medinet-Haboo on the left. The antiquities from Alexandria and Cairo are of more uncertain origin, as some of them had been only transferred to those cities in comparatively recent times.

Most of these monuments, of whatever period, are inscribed with hieroglyphics, a form of writing almost peculiar to the Egyptians. These characters are all representations of visible objects, and are generally executed with great care and finish. They are employed in various ways, sometimes symbolically, to indicate the object represented, or the quality for which an object is remarkable: at other times alphabetically, to express the sound of the initial letter of the Egyptian name.

SOUTHERN GALLERY.

The visitor on entering this Gallery approaches the most recent of the antiquities of Egypt, the first recess on each side being occupied by monuments of the Roman dominion in that country, a period which commenced with the capture of Alexandria by Augustus, B.c. 30, and extended to the Mohammadan invasion, A.D. 640.

In the second compartment are placed the remains of the Ptolemaic