which the lower part is in the form of a square term, has been called Midas, who, according to Pliny, was inventor of the pipe with a side mouthpiece. As, however, the invention of the instrument is also assigned to Pan, the attribution is doubtful. 1599. Hermes (or Mercury), from the Farnese collection. Several replicas of this type exist, which must be derived from some well-known original, nearly akin to the Hermes of Praxiteles. In one instance (the 'Hermes of Andros') the type seems to have been employed to represent a dead person in heroified form. On the right of the staircase is :— 774. Apollo receiving a libation from Victory. Numerous examples are known. It seems probable that they are votive, and that in selecting as their subject the victory of Apollo in a musical contest, the dedicators indirectly commemorated their own triumph in similar exercises of skill. It is to be observed that a considerable proportion of the sculptures grouped at this end of the room are in the archaistic style that is to say, they are works of a comparatively late age (third to first century B.C.), deliberately reproducing the characteristics of an archaic period (the sixth and early fifth centuries B.C.). In As a rule they copy and exaggerate the obvious features, such as the conventional treatment of the hair and folds of drapery, but fail to catch the archaic treatment of the eyes, nose, and mouth. some cases, however, a question can fairly be raised whether a work ought to be assigned to the archaistic or the genuinely archaic group. [The circular staircase, in the apse at the end of this gallery, descends to the Graeco-Roman Basement and Annex.]. THE GRAECO-ROMAN BASEMENT SUBJECT: GRAECO-ROMAN AND ETRUSCAN These rooms contain a number of Graeco-Roman sculptures, for the most part of subordinate interest, and examples of Etruscan art. Visitors who wish to obtain a nearer view of the objects in the Annex should apply to the Keeper of the Department. GRAECO-ROMAN SCULPTURES. In the Basement, beginning on the left of the staircase, are :— Fig. 44.-Hermes. 2205. Relief in black granite from Canopus in Egypt (fig. 44). Hermes with lyre and herald's staff (caduceus). An early example of archaistic work. 2517. A chair for use in the hot bath, shaped externally like a chariot. 1765, 1766. Two realistic statues of fishermen, with fish baskets. Such representations of rustic life are believed to have been developed in the school of Alexandria. 1768. Ethiopian tumbler, balanced on a small crocodile, with his legs in air. 1557. Marsyas, tied to a pine-tree, awaiting his punishment at the instance of Apollo. Above is (49*) a mosaic, with a basket of fruit, and an overturned basket of fish, eels, etc. 3rd bay. Architectural fragments. 4th bay. 790. This relief represents the nymph Cyrenè in the act of strangling a lion, while, to commemorate this triumph, a crown is held over her head by Libya. The elegiac quatrain beneath records the dedication of the relief by one Carpos. According to the legend told by Pindar (Pyth. ix., 26), Cyrenè was a Thessalian maiden. Apollo saw her slaying a lion in the valleys of Pelion, while guarding her father's flocks. He became enamoured of her and carried her off to the part of Libya which afterwards bore her name. According, however, to another form of the legend, she had from the ravages of a lion, and it is probably later legend that Libya is introduced crowning Compare the statue, no. 1384. 2215. The small relief in this bay, with two dogs attacking a boar, is one of the very few sculptures which belonged to Sir Hans Sloane, and thus formed the nucleus of the Sculpture collections of the Museum. 2608. Console or keystone of an arch, with a figure of Victory. 52*. Mosaic, with eight Mediterranean fish. 53*. At the end of the room is a portion of a large mosaic pavement (fig. 45), found in 1856 in the Roman villa at Halicar Fig. 46.-No. 2454. Ventilator panel. nassos. Aphroditè is rising from the sea, seated in a large shell, supported by two Tritons. She holds a mirror in one hand, and wrings a tress of hair with the other. Along the window-side of the room are miscellaneous GraecoRoman sculptures and mosaics. Among the latter is (54*) a mosaic, from the corridor of the Roman villa at Halicarnassos, with a bay wreath, containing words of good omen—" - Health! Long life! Joy! Peace! Cheerfulness! Hope!' In the middle of the room are various altars, fountains, vases, etc. See also four disks, with Bacchic subjects in low relief. These disks were mounted on central pivots, and served as revolving shutters for ventilators (fig. 46). ETRUSCAN SCULPTURES, ETC. 1st bay. A reconstruction of the tomb known as the 'Grotta Dipinta,' at Bomarzo, with facsimiles of the wall paintings, which consist of figures of Hippocamps, etc., and a highly conventionalized frieze of waves and dolphins. The sarcophagus (55*) is that which was found in the tomb. The cover is in the form of a roof, at each end of which sits a Sphinx; on the ridge tile is a serpent coiled in a knot. The pediments and the ends of the joint tiles on the roof are ornamented with masks of Medusa. On the front and back of the sarcophagus are reliefs representing Etruscan deities. At one end of the sarcophagus are a Gryphon and lion devouring a stag, and below this two lions devouring a bull. 2nd bay. The four large sarcophagi were found together in a tomb at Toscanella. 56*. Sarcophagus. On the lid a recumbent male figure holding a bowl; on the front, two marine monsters in relief. 57*. Sarcophagus. On the cover is a male figure reclining. On the front is a relief representing a winged male figure leading a chariot, attended by three lictors with fasces (the executioner's axe and rods) and a trumpeter; above this is an Etruscan inscription. 58*. Sarcophagus. On the cover a recumbent figure with a two-handled cup; on the front is a relief representing Scylla overpowering two male figures. 59*. Cover of a sarcophagus. Draped female figure reclining. Underneath are reliefs representing a bearded head with Phrygian cap, and on each side a boy riding on a sea monster. Above, on each side of the bay, is a small series of Etruscan sepulchral chests. 3rd bay. 60*. Sepulchral urn, in the form of a seated male figure, divided into two parts at the waist. 61. Sarcophagus from the Tomb of the Chariots, Corneto (Tarquinii). On the front and back are scenes in relief from the Taking of Troy (Iliupersis). At one end is a scene which appears to represent the quarrel of Achilles and Agamemnon; above this is an Etruscan inscription, much injured. At the other end the relief seems to represent Neoptolemos slaying Polyxena. 62*. Placed upon this sarcophagus, but independent of it, is a cover of a sarcophagus, from the Grotta del Triclinio at Corneto. Female figure holding a Bacchic staff and a two-handled cup; at her side a deer. 63*. Sarcophagus with the death of Eteocles and Polyneikes before Thebes. A thunderbolt sent by Zeus marks the end of the combat. 4th bay. Sepulchral urns, including two (64*, 65*) with the subject of the death of Hippolytos; his horses are terrified by the bull sent by Poseidon. 66*. On the front Achilles slaying Troïlos. 67*. On the front Orestes and Pylades slaying Clytemnestra and Aegisthos, her paramour. This bay also contains (68*) a wheel for raising water. It was found in the Roman workings of the Rio Tinto copper mine, and is an exceptional piece of ancient carpenter's work. 5th bay. Copy of a painted tomb, with a central sculptured column, found at Vulci. The two crouching lions, now placed inside the entrance, originally flanked the tomb on the outside. [A doorway on the south side of the room leads to the Gallery of Casts.] THE GALLERY OF CASTS. SUBJECT:--SELECT CASTS OF ANTIQUE SCULPTURE. The casts from sculpture here shown are designed to serve as a supplement to the series of original sculptures in the principal galleries. They consist of reproductions of typical works preserved elsewhere, and important as illustrating the general history of classical sculpture. The collection is, in the main, that which was formed by the late Walter Copland Perry at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1884, and which was transferred to the British Museum, by the Board of Education, in 1907. Other casts have been added, which were previously in the British Museum, or have been subsequently acquired. On the other hand, casts in the Perry collection from originals in the British Museum were not included in the transfer, and casts from the sculptures of the Parthenon, and of the temple at Aegina, are shown in the Elgin Room and Archaic Room. The series begins with the earliest works in the corner to the right of the entrance. The visitor then passes round the room with the left hand to the wall. The reliefs on the screens are, broadly speaking, a parallel series to the sculptures of the north side of the Н |