The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-02-06
NUMBER 81.
Important and Interesting Discovery
of Art Treasures.
Rome Letter to the London Time

VI AN AACdsutCbs
Rome Letter to the London Times.
There appears to be no limit to tn
wealth of art buried beneath the ruin
of the ancient city. Ga Tuesday las
some of the wolkmen employed in clear
ing away a quantity of fallen walls ant
debris for the purpose of levelipg tn,
newly marked out streets upon the Els
outline, split off a mass of earth will
their wedges. and. as it fell, out rolled
a female head of great beauty. Tn,
cleanness of the fracture across tn,
neck, and the indications that the plac,
had never been disturbed since ruiz
covered it, at once aroused expectation
of finding the remainder of the statu,
or bust, whichever it might be. The
theological commission Immediately
set its men to work, ami within o shor
time second head-the portrait of ,
man-was found, then the beautiful
nude body of the first, and directly af
terward its legs and plinth. A new
Venus of the purest Parian marble had
been discovered. By this time it was
dusk, but the men had become too ex.
cited to think of leaving of. OF thai
own accord they got torches, and con.
tinuing their work on into the night,
found bust of Commodus, altogethe,
unique in art.
On the following morning a draped
female statue, broken across a little
above the knees, but without the head
and neck, which had been sculp.
tured separately to fit into the
drapery, was first discovered, and then
two statues of Tritons, as far as the hui
man portions of the monsters were con-
cerned, that is, down to the hips. They
had not been broken off at that point,
but were terminated in such a manner
as would lead to the inference that the
tails were originally of bronze. Next,
the head of another Venus was found.
and Immediately considerable portion
of semi colossal statue of Bacchus,
which would also seem to have been
formed of different materials. The
portion discovered consists of the head,
the right arm, and the whole of the
front of the body down to the hips.
The back was evidently cut away at the
time when the work was sculptured, in
order to fit it into the drapcry, which
was probably of bronze. The left arm,
broken eff at the shoulder, has not yet
been found. On Thursday morning q
second draped female statue was discov-
cred, of which, like the first, the head
and neck were sculptured separately,
to fit into the drapery; then two male
legs, which, from the similarity of the
marble to that of the head found on
the first day, probably formed parts of
the same statue and, lastly, SO far as
the excavation has been carried, the
heads of two female statues-in all, six
statues, a bust of Commodus. a head
of Venus, and male portrait head,
and two legs, apparently portions of
the same statue.
The gem of these pieces of sculpture,
all found together within the space of a
few square yards, is the Venus, as it is
called. Its only claim, however, to be
are presentation of the Paph-
ian divinity consists, like that of the
Capitoline Venus, in being perfectly
nude but instead of being statue of
4 fully developed woman, it is that of a
lovely girl of seventeen. To use the
words applied by Winkelmann to the
Venus de Medici, It is like a lovely
rosebud bursting into bloom" and
might not appropriately be called a
Psyche, did not the style of art suggest
IN earlier period than the date of the
able. She stands with both feet upon
he ground and close together, the left
! couple of inches further back, with
he heel very slightly raised. A moment
before she was erect, but she has
lropped into an easier position, with
he left knee bent forward and inwards
lgainst the right. Her left hand is
esting on the knot of hair at the back
If her head, while her right holds the
illet she has already passed several
ines round it. In doing this she has
waved little over and down to the |
light, bringing the left side forward.
The shoulders are we'll set back, and the |
ace is turned to the right and q little |
lownwards, showing from the front not |
Iuite quarter view. The result |
f this action is the most beautiful flow
# line from every point of view.
The modelling is perfect, the contours |
ave that delicious softness given to the
radually increasing fullness of ap-
reaching development, together with
II the beauty, charm and sweetness of
outh, virginity and innocence. Alto
ether it is the most perfect representa-
ion of pure, unconscious girlhood I
yer beheld. On the ground at her
light is what appears to be a perfume
OK, ornamented with flowers like
aisies, and upon a slender kind of bal
ster, upon which her drapery has been
brown. This, of course, serves as the
Import to the statue, but does not
1trude as closely upon the leg as the
ase and drapery which support the
'apitoline Venus. l may be somewhat
nduly impressed by the first sight of
mis- "thing of beauty" but 1 am
iclined to think that it will take rank
bove the Medicean Venus. Judging
.om the execution, which is slightly
and which, though good, is
lferior to the beauty OF the conception
nd modelling, here can be little doubt
lat the statue is copy, b t from
Masterpiece. The marble, as I have
Md. is Parian of the rarest quality.
he statue is broken across the neck,
Glow the left and above the right knee,
nd above the left ankle. The nose is
lightly broken at the tip, and the
ght arm has not yet been found.
The queen of highlands daughters
re examples to the rest of the fashion
III n u,orId ~, ipdusfrv ou1 focta A.