Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-30
GRo1POEE0RZRA1T-b 1N5OEhyDz4M6RAE

S2G, and is described as the bust Of !,
slave, whose head and face are entirely
shaved. Little is known of its history
save that it formed a part of the collec-
ton of Edmund Durand, which King
Charles X pu! chased for the Louvre In
1875. 1t is of bronze. and, the upper por
ton of the head opening by means of
handle. it forms what is known as
"situla,' utens'l used in manner SINH
lar to the modern bucket, jug or kettle
for carrying liquids.
During two visits which he paid to
Washington NJ. de Cueeneer became
much interested in the Catlin collection
A catalogue of the pictures was publ shed
by the Museum, filling the entire report
for the year 1850 and copy of this pub
lcation was secured by the French say
ant, who used it with good effect in his
, notice of the bronze situla in the Louvre
1t was his opinion. although this speei-
men of antique art was made in Italy
during the century preceding the Christian
era, that il represented or may have rep
resented red Indian from America. IL
support of this contention he presented
about a dozen figures of indian heads.
taken principally from the National Mu-
scum catalogue of the Catlin gallery, and
he called special attention to the similar
ity of the anatomical and somatolosic
characteristics and peculiarities repre-
scented in both. To quote his rather tech
meal language he says of the bronze
head that the skull is dolichocephalic. the
forehead is retreating, the ears are large
and low and the lobes adaerent, the eye
hroWs are strongly arched, the nose is
aouiline, the angles of the mouth are
turned up and the lips large. the under
jaw is rounded, and the occiput is pro
tuberant.
X
The discovery of this bronze for NJ. de
Cueleneer's hypothesis is generally ac-
copied by anthropologsts) has enabled
1oSr foin frap
ments of notes by Cornelius Nepos which
have always troubled and Disconnected
commentators These fragmentary notes
relate to an account of certain Indian
slaves as having been cast away by the
sea upon the coast of Germany. The de-
scription as given by Cornelius Nepos
has been preserved by Pomponius Mela
and by Pliny, the naturalist.
The reports OF these two writer's agree
in all essential parts, the story being
that a king (of the Botes or the Suevesb
made present to the Quintius Metelius
Celeri of an Indian or Indians. who, hav
ing been cast away at sea. were stranded
on the German coast NJ. de Cueleneer
in his paper, TYPE d'1ndian du Nouveau
Monde Represents sur un Bronze Antique
du Louvre" QS9O), goes profoundly into
this branch of the subject: shows who
MeteliuS was. where and at what epoch
he was in command, and how he might
have received from one Of the barbarian
kings or tribes q present OF slaves. Wnlcn
might have been Indian castaways from
the coast of North America. He then
recites the discovery of the bronze situla
in the Louvre, and by an examination of
it's workmanship and appearance con-
clldes it was made in Italy during the
first century B. c., and from it's great
resemblance to the features of the North
American Indian, as depicted in the Cat
lin portraits, he concludes the chances
are favorable for its having been sculp-
tural representation of member of this
race.
This remarkable portrait gallery has,
therefore. been productive of the very
interesting inference that the physical
characteristics Of the Indian have not
altered during the course of the past
twenty centuries.