, 1873-06-08
ANCIENT: ART.

ANtlENt AK.
Collcction-4an Efrurinn Prince ii
Rts Coffin.
/ From. the Heo FORK Evening Post
After long discussion the British a1uaeur
has at laat become proprietor Of the famou
Castellani collection, which antiQuarians ran
as one Of the most valuable made in moden
times. The, gold aud silver ornaments e1hume
. ~ tho Italian goldsmith form unique serie
Illustrative of the best ancient jewelry, particu
larry Of Etru1lan aud Southern Italian
Il England did well in old times to buy th
1bula in grained gold from Tuscanella, whicl
is exquisite and the sceptre found in toml
at Tarentum, which shows delicate network
Of gold throad, ifhas done equally well in nc
ceptlng the offer OF Siguor Castel1aui and trans
fefring his collection to national ownership.
The collection consists mostly Of bronzea
marble, patern, Etrurian vases. and many othc1
objects in metal, ivory, aud amber. There is
for example, an Umbrian drinking cup, ot
sphinx fashion, With human face, crowned
with cap Of scarlet and gold. The cup pre-
sents dark ground, withered figure and ara
besques lnterposod between the white wings OF
the sphinx, which forms the ground Of the de-
sign. Another marvel Of beauty is q bronze
strigil, the handle OF which, for s1t,
is scarcely to be equa1ed in
any existing collection. 4 marble
head Of Caesar ie full Of singular akin and deli
/ cate perception OF the artistic. OF Etruscan
vases there are number Of examples OF such
novelty OF design, with curious fancios in high
relief, as to acQuaint critics with new school OF
| Oscan ceramic handiwork. The famous ivory
carving Of tigers fighting, which set all the con-
| RAnIa4 VII
ed has in this collection become the property Of
! the British Museum; and there is bear in
bronze, no bigger than q fancy box for bon~bons,
which is so vivid and spirited in its modelling as
| to stand unsurpassed.
As catalogue raisonnea is not within the
scope Of newspaper discussion, it is proposed
hero to describe the two pieces de resistance OF
the collection-the one q bronze head, possibly
Of Aphrodite, found in Thessaly; the other q
rare ter1a-cotta of native Etruscan work e1-
humed at Ceryetri, the ancient C@re which ia
one OF the most elaborate sarcophagi ever dis
covered, and bears an inscription recording
apparently the names Of the person buried il
the cist and Of the artist who modeledit.
The former is fragment weighing rather
head Is gone, and the mutilation OF the throat
tinental critics hare lavished kind OF pas
sionate praise on this relic OF ancient art,
which costs tne British Museum, it is whispered,
$40 o00-an extremely moderate price. None OF
these italian rhapsodies have been misplaced:
An English expert pronounces it to be "beyond
doubt tho finest and lovcIost piece OF human
creative labor which the world Possesses"
There are, perhaps, one or two bronzes at
Naples which compare favorably with this
lately-resuscitated goddess. Three others in the
mer, the famous portrait head from Cyrene, and
tie wonderful ideal figure OF Hypnos-are no
doubt OF as high type The 1ast-the a1umber-
god Of the ancients-viIl be remembered
. rfnra 1f In Rr1% oh
wrought with exceeding wealth OF poetic !
suggestion, having soft and slumberous owls |
wings commingled dreamiy with silken flow Of |
hair. An expression Of tender dreaminess rests !
bic beauty, like that which Homer indicates in |
his of-repeatcd epithet Of nedumos-haH deep,
half pleasing.
This head is not Of the carly Greek art, and
has not it's majestic severity. Equally alien is
it's spirituality to the merely human loveness
affected by Scopas and praxiteles. It ia not Of
the frat ages or the ideal in Greece, nor is it OF
the degenerate age OF insipid realism that came
later, but rather seems to belong to the most
interesting period of Athenian sculpture, when,
to pervcrt Dryden, art no longer sought to raise
a mortal to the skies, and had turned sweetly !
content with drawing an angel down.
It is not likely that this head ia IN Aph1odite,
as generally believed Indeed, it's presence in
Thessaly suggests that it may have belonged to
8 statue of Themis, the queen OF Thesaalian di-
whites. The hair is wrought with such wonder
full grace as to make the gazer fairly forget the
h;o1, ~ q4sa III oatA
sresses, "mcn else "oulo iau apouG the lace.
lhe best OF view Is that OF the hree-qunrter |
face, from the right side, which best brings out |
The ripulinp curves OF tha outline and the anft |
and elastic masses Of hair.
Tho Dn;J,t Ne,os notea q ronnara+iva1v naev |
oo;nt n it, doscr;o+;o,, ~ +hn Geatei1an ha.I
& r. ia most notabia y sara tbs 1r;,ar nthat
mere Is no exact symmetry Ii the lace. The
light brow is tr1tle lower than the left; the
light nostru little more elevated than the
,thor." Whether this is to be- attributed to
,iohar art;atic ;nta11ioapca and tnoviadro ~ |
49,, =. ~ ~, tha earaaa+;o, ~ a.;ai;a. ~
,nhuo" " u tue pelesp..Gn u oaansn t N !ne
human lace, winch rescues beauty from lnclpldl-
J by slight difference OF outline between the
,des. ia point that will probably never be de-
er1niued. Unless some patient German evolves !
froun his inner consciousness: but # ia mons
- 1osa -, ;,-S,-t 49, te+e -; a,t;s.; a.oa,,;a1
10 lsss az ~ ~ a.. - "i istotto
n9 11se see1Ie 1ee " t me osau!nut. !.:u -. A..
Lie Tunes has critical account OF the Etrua-
an coffin, which is worth quoting: +;
The foor is followed out, OF rather marked, bya
aired border which takes the general form OF a |
unu1n ngure Il rests upon four claw feet project