ones do not exist, and our 'longing begets the faces that have not been handed down, as happens in the case of Homer.' High up on this wall are three reliefs from Sarcophagi, of the second and third centuries A.D., viz. : 2305. A long slab with figures of the nine Muses. 2301. Five of the Labours of Heracles in an architectural setting. The Labours represented are: the Cretan Bull, the Horses of Diomede, the Amazon Andromachè, the cattle of Geryon, and Cerberus. 2306. Slab with Apollo, Minerva, and the Muses, the latter wearing each a feather plucked from the Sirens, when the Muses had overcome them in a contest of music. 500. Statue of an athlete binding a diadem round his head and believed to be a copy of the Diadumenos, by Polycleitos, of Argos. Polycleitos was probably a younger contemporary of Pheidias, and was famous as the author of a methodical system of human proportion. This figure was found in 1862 at Vaison, in Southern France. 1747. Heroic figure from the Farnese collection. 1648. Young Satyr. He probably held up a jug in his right hand to pour into a drinking horn, or perhaps a bowl held in the left. The original of the type is commonly assigned to Praxiteles. 1545. Statue of Demeter (?) with the attributes of Isis. [We leave this room by the East door and enter the Gallery of Roman Busts.] GALLERY OF ROMAN BUSTS.* SUBJECT:-ROMAN IMPERIAL PORTRAITS. The portrait sculptures are arranged along the North side of the gallery, from west to east in chronological order. Upon the pedestal of each statue or bust are inscribed, when known, the name of the person represented, the dates of such person's birth, death, and (if an emperor) of his reign, and the site where the sculpture was discovered. The long series of imperial portraits from the fall of the Roman Republic to the middle of the third century makes a vivid commentary on the histories of the time. For the most part the identification of the busts is based on the evidence of the coins, either directly, or by comparison with other busts thus identified, and in the case *The busts are fully described in the Catalogue of Sculpture, Vol. III. (7s. 6d.), Part VII. (sold separately at 4s.). of the more distinctive portraits no uncertainty need arise. There is more difficulty with the portraits of infrequent occurrence, and with the subordinate members of the imperial families. In their case the difficulty is increased by the tendency of the artists to make all members of a family approach to the family type. The successors and kinsmen of Augustus are assimilated to the Augustan type, in the same way that the successors of Alexander are given Alexandrine features and hair. On the wall above the busts are reliefs from Sarcophagi, etc., of the Roman period, approximately corresponding in their dates with the busts below. The series begins on the left of the door. The following are specially noteworthy : 1870. Caius Julius Cæsar, the consummate soldier, statesman, and man of letters. Assassinated, 44 B.C. A striking bust of 'Cæsar with the falcon eyes' (Dante). (Plate XVII., fig. 1.) The scanty hair is brought to the front. It is mentioned by Suetonius that when his baldness increased, and became the object of the wit of his opponents, he combed the hair from the top of his head in order to conceal it. The surface of the bust appears to have suffered from a drastic cleaning with chemicals, but several details in the treatment confirm the authenticity of the work. 1876, 1877, 1879. Three heads of Augustus, the founder of the Empire, the gracious patron of Virgil, and the ruling Emperor at the time of the birth of Christ. He was born 63 B.C., became emperor 29 B.C., and died 14 A.D. In no. 1876 he appears as a youth. (Plate XVII., fig. 2.) In the others he is in his prime. No. 1877 is a powerful portrait, and was once the property of Edmund Burke. 1881. Tiberius, the ruling emperor at the time of the Crucifixion. The veil indicates that the emperor is represented either as Pontifex Maximus or as an augur. He was an able administrator, but morose and cruel. Born 42 B.C., emperor 14 A.D. Died 37 A.D. The head was found in the island of Capri, where Tiberius spent his later years in scandalous retirement. 1155. Claudius. He was specially noted for the uncouthness of his deportment and gestures, but we are told that when quiescent he was not wanting in authority and dignity. He was a diligent student, and also a noted glutton. Great engineering works were established during his reign. Born 10 B.C., emperor 41 A.D. Died (it was supposed by poison) 54 a.d. This head was found in the temple of Athenè at Prienè (see p. 68), and shows marks of the fire by which that temple was destroyed. 2275 (on the wall above). A fine and characteristic pair of Roman medallion portraits of a man and woman, named in the inscription as Lucius Antistius Sarculo, master of the Alban College of the Salian priesthood, and Antistia Plutia. The tablet was dedicated by two of their freedmen, Rufus and Anthus. 1988: (Against the pilaster.) A female portrait statue, finely draped and composed, sometimes taken for the empress Livia, but perhaps representing a priestess. 1887. Nero, the typical example of cruelty and infamy in combination with artistic vanity. He was born 37 A.D., emperor 54 A.D. He was compelled to fly, and committed suicide, 68 A.D. A characteristic bust, brought from Athens. 1890. Vespasian, a soldier, raised to the throne by his troops. A man of rough and shrewd character, a good commander and administrator. Born 9 A.D., emperor 69-79 A.D. Next is Titus, a good bust from Utica in North Africa. Titus, born 41 A.D., emperor 79-81 A.D., was a beloved prince, but is most familiarly known as the stern captor of Jerusalem. On the wall above, 2299. A graceful frieze of recumbent Amazons, from the cover of a sarcophagus. 1893. Trajan, soldier, statesman, and administrator. Born 53 A.D., emperor 98 A.D. He died in Cilicia, 117 A.D. 'The most interesting characteristic of the figure I have so vividly before me is the look of painful thought, which seems to indicate a constant sense of overwhelming responsibilities, honourably felt and bravely borne, yet . . . ever irritating the nerves and weighing upon the conscience' (Merivale). Against the pilaster are a second head of Titus and two portraits. No. 1961 has been identified as Mark Antony. 1896, 1897, two busts, and 1381, a statue, are portraits of Hadrian, the skilled administrator, indefatigable traveller and scholarly patron of the arts. Born 76 A.D. Emperor 117–138 a.d. In this statue Hadrian is dressed in civil costume. Another statue by the door of the Reading Room shows him in armour. It will be observed that Hadrian is the first bearded figure. His biographer, Spartian, suggests that he allowed his beard to grow to conceal certain natural blemishes, but the explanation seems unnecessary, as the change of fashion became general about this time (120 a.d.). 1463. Antoninus, surnamed Pius on account of his devotion to the memory of Hadrian. Born 86 A.D. Emperor 138-161 a.d. 'The consent of antiquity plainly declares that Antoninus was the first and, saving his colleague and successor Aurelius, the only Roman emperor who devoted himself to the task of government with a single view to the happiness of his people' (Merivale). Above, 2317. Relief from the sarcophagus of Sallustius Iasius, with figures of winged Cupids playing with armour. The inscription is on the central circular shield, which in such monuments is often employed for a portrait of the deceased. On each side, 2581, 2582, are ornate Corinthian pilasters. 1907, 1464. Two heads of Marcus Aurelius, emperor and stoic philosopher, author of the Meditations.' Born 121 A.D. Emperor 161-180 a.d. In one of the two heads (1907) he wears a wreath of corn and a veil, as a member of the sacred college of the Arval Brothers. 1925. Bust of a lady named Olympias (not otherwise known), dedicated, as shown by the inscription on the base, by her freedman Epithymetus. It is of the period of Trajan. Sole 1913. Bust of the infamous tyrant Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius. Born 161 A.D. Colleague with his father, 176 A.D. emperor 180 A.D. Murdered by members of his household, 192 A.D. 1916. Septimius Severus, who died at York, A.D. 211. Above, 2593, 2594, are two of the Corinthian pilaster capitals which formerly belonged to the upper internal order of the Pantheon at Rome. Between them (2313) is part of the relief from the sarcophagus of M. Sempronius Nicocrates. He claims, in his metrical epitaph, that he was poet, musician and traveller, and a dealer in fair women. Now the Muses guard his body. 1415. (Against the pilaster.) A finely draped female portrait statue, probably of the time of Hadrian. Born 180 A.D. 1917. Head of Caracalla. He was a colleague in the empire with his father Septimius Severus and his brother Geta. On the death of his father he murdered his brother with his own hand (211 A.D.) and so became sole emperor (cf. p. 149). The neck is slightly inclined to the shoulders. We are told by the emperor's biographer, Aurelius Victor, that he had been induced by flatterers to believe that when he frowned and turned his head he made himself resemble Alexander the Great. (See p. 86.) Above are two sarcophagi with scenes in the circus. 2318 shows the actual circus; 2319 is a parody with Cupids driving teams of dogs. At the end of the room is a vigorous relief (2276) with portraits of two fellow freedwomen, Fonteia Eleusis and Fonteia Helena. [The Roman mosaics on the upper part of the wall of this gallery, and the various Roman and other remains which stand opposite to the busts, have been found in this country, and are therefore included in the collections of the British and Mediæval Department.] [On leaving the Roman Gallery by the East door, we turn to the Hall of Inscriptions, on each side of the entrance to the Reading Room.] HALL OF GREEK AND LATIN INSCRIPTIONS.* SUBJECT: -GREEK AND LATIN INSCRIPTIONS; MISCELLANEOUS GRAECO-ROMAN SCULPTURES. Among the selected inscriptions which are here exhibited, the most interesting are the following. In the west (or left) half of the room : 80*. A tall marble slab from Sigeum, in the Troad, inscribed with the record of a dedication by Phanodicos of Proconnesos, and giving the name of an artist, Aisopos. The inscription is written boustrophedon; that is, alternately from left and right (see p. 6). It is given twice, in the Ionic character above, and in the Attic character below. It probably dates from the beginning of the sixth century B.C. The stone served in modern times as the seat in the porch of the church at Sigeum, until it was removed by Lord Elgin. It was specially resorted to by the sick, for its supposed magic influence, and the inscription has thus been nearly obliterated. 399-402.-Pier (parastas or anta) of the temple at Prienè, in Asia Minor, with inscriptions relating to Alexander the Great, and his successor Lysimachos. The large inscription at the top is the dedication of the temple to Athenè Polias by Alexander (circa 334 B.C.) mentioned above, p. 76. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ ANEOHKETONNAON Βασιλεὺς ̓Αλέξανδρος ἀνέθηκε τὸν ναὸν ̓Αθηναίῃ Πολιάδι. This pier is crowned with a cast of the capital. The original is in the Mausoleum Room. 886. A decree passed in the names of the convention of the Halicarnassians and Salmakitians, and Lygdamis the tyrant, about 455 B.C., for the purpose of regularising and confirming the possession *Most of the Greek Inscriptions have been published in the Ancient Greek Inscriptions in the British Museum, Parts I.-IV. (£4). The greater part of the collection is only accessible to persons desiring to make special studies (p. 78). |