3 2 perhaps as a result of recent discoveries in the catacombs, Kunkel endeavoured to reproduce the gilded glasses. Attempts made in the following century appear to have met with greater success, but the discoverer died without publishing the secret. There are in various museums certain medallions purporting to come from the catacombs which have usually been considered spurious, and these may date from this period. They have smooth edges and have never formed parts of drinking-vessels, while their subjects are principally portraits. One example now in the British Museum and formerly, it would appear, in the collection of Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill, was figured, though not very accurately, in the Archæological Journal forty years ago. Two others which seem to belong to the same class may be seen at South Kensington. Dr. Vopel is inclined, however, to rehabilitate some of the specimens condemned by Garrucci, on the ground that they bear a close resemblance to a medallion, now in the Vatican, found by Professor Armellini in 1878 in the catacomb of Callixtus under circumstances which would make deception difficult.* It is perhaps in favour of this view that among the specimens of doubtful appearance said to have been found in Sicily, and figured by D'Orville," there is one small medallion, representing Our Lord with the rod of power, which has all the appearance of being genuine. Medallions of this kind cannot therefore be condemned indiscriminately, but it can hardly be doubted that some are the work of modern times. There seem to have been no further attempts at reproduction until the present generation. In 1858 Cardinal Wiseman," who took a lively interest in Garrucci's publication, delivered a lecture on the catacomb glasses at Dublin. In the course of his remarks he stated that efforts had recently been made in England to manufacture cubes of gilded glass mosaic like those used in Italy, but without success, the gold leaf curling up and turning black when the protecting layer was applied. Not very long ago, however, Salviati of Venice succeeded in producing medallions and bowls with enclosed designs after the real fashion of the fondi d'oro.' Successful experiments have also been made in the present year by N. H. J. Westlake, Esq., F.S.A., who applies the gold foil by means of a mordant such as sugar and water, covers the design with a flux, lays on this a second sheet of glass, and then subjects the whole to a heat sufficient to melt the flux and cause the two layers to unite. As an example of the use of gold leaf between two protecting glasses, very much in the mode of the antique bowls from Canosa, we may note the tumblers made in Bohemia in the eighteenth century, which are made double, one part fitting closely into the other. will be seen from the above rapid summary that this style of glass decoration has had a long and varied history, lasting, though not without intermission, from the times of the Roman Empire to our own. both natural and fitting, the largest and most important collections of the gilded glasses are to be found at Rome, where, in the Library of the Vatican, the Kircherian Museum, the Roman College, and the Museum of the Propaganda, the majority of existing specimens are to be found. Among the collections outside Rome, that in the British Museum holds a foremost place. 1 See Bonner Jahrbücher, 1879, 119; Vopel, 5. It As is LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS WHICH TREAT OF THE GILDED GLASSES. Buonarruoti, F. Osservazioni sopra Alcuni Frammenti di Vasi Antichi di Vetro Ornati di Figure Trovati nei Cimiteri di Roma, 1716. (This book has for all general purposes been superseded by Garrucci's works, but both text and illustrations are still of value to the student.) Boldetti. Osservazioni sopra i Cimiteri dei Santi Martiri ed Antichi Cristiani di Roma, 1720 (pp. 14, 60, 191, 192, 194, 197, 200-202, 205, 208, 212, 216, 334, 514). (Superseded by Garrucci's volumes; need not be consulted by the general reader. The book is not of equal value with Buonarruoti's work.) Garrucci, R. (1) Vetri Ornati di Figure in Oro, 2nd ed., 1864 (42 Plates). (2) Storia dell' Arte Cristiana, Vol. III, 1876. (These two works are the classics on the subject and should be consulted in the first instance. The illustrations are drawn in outline.) Perret, L. Les Catacombes de Rome, Vol. IV, Plates 21-33, Paris, 1851. (A costly édition de luxe only accessible in large libraries. The illustrations, though not always quite accurate, give a better idea of the actual appearance of the glasses than those of Garrucci, as the gilded parts are reproduced in gold.) Bonner Jahrbücher = Jahrbücher des Vereins von Altertumsfreunden im Rheinlande, Heft 36, pp. 119 ff. (1864); 42, pp. 168 ff. (1867); 63, pp. 99-114 (1878); 71 pp. 119 ff. (1881); 81, pp. 49-77 (1886). Articles by E. Aus'm Weerth, H. Düntzer, and C. Bone, on the gilded glasses discovered in Cologne and neighbourhood.) De Rossi, J. B. Bulletino di Archeologia Cristiana (Rome), years 1864, pp. 81 ff., 89 ff.; 1868, pp. 1 ff.; 1874, pp. 126 ff.; 1882, pp. 131 ff., 137 ff., 158. (Articles on individual discoveries.) De Rossi, J. B. Roma Sotterranea Cristiana, Vol. III, p. 602 (Rome, 1877). (Very short statement, but preceded (pp. 580 ff.) by an account of the various other objects fixed like the glasses in the mortar of the loculi.) Kraus, F. X. Die Christliche Kunst in ihren frühesten Anfängen, Leipzig, 1873, pp. 135-144. Roma Sotterranea, 2nd ed., 1879, pp. 328 ff. (Based upon De Rossi's work of the same name.) Realencyklopädie der Christlichen Altertümer, Vol. I, 1880, pp. 609 ff. (art. "Glasgefässe," by Heuser-a good summary). Geschichte der Christlichen Kunst, Vol. I, 1896, pp. 479 ff. (A short statement.) Smith and Cheetham. Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, Vol. I, 1875, pp. 730 ff. (Short account.) Martigny. Dictionnaire des Antiquités Chrétiennes, ed. 1877, pp. 327 ff., 349 ff. Schultze, V. Archäologische Studien über altchristliche Monumente, 1880, pp. 203-211. Die Katakomben, 1882, pp. 187--198. Archäologie der altchristlichen Kunst, 1895, pp. 306 fr. (Summaries with valuable remarks bearing on the question of date.) Roller, Th. Les Catacombes de Rome, Vol. II, 1881, pp. 222 ff. (Two plates; remarks confined to the glasses with portraits of St. Peter and St. Paul.) Northcote and Brownlow. Roma Sotterranea; or, An Account of the Roman Catacombs, etc., compiled from De Rossi, new edition 1879, Pt. II, Bk. V. (Based on De Rossi's book, Roma Sotterranea. It is provided with useful coloured plates, which, next to those of Perret, give the best idea of the general appearance of the glasses.) Kisa, A. Die Antiken Gläser der Frau Maria vom Rath zu Köln, Bonn, 1899, 92-100. (Summary, with especial reference to the historical development of the art of ornamenting glass with protected designs in gold leaf.) ROMAN ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH GERMANY. By PROFESSOR BUNNELL LEWIS, F.S.A. I do not propose, as may perhaps have been expected, to take a comprehensive view of Roman remains in South Germany; this would be a task beyond the limits of a memoir, and too extensive for my faculties, either of mind or body. I shall limit my remarks to objects of art and antiquity personally observed, or suggested as deserving notice by the local savants whose acquaintance I had the pleasure to make. On former but not very recent occasions I had the honour to read at meetings of the Institute descriptions of mosaics at Palermo and Avenches. I now invite your attention to a similar work of art at Rottweil, in the kingdom of Wurtemburg. This flourishing town is pleasantly situated in a beautiful country on the line of railway from Stuttgart to Schaffhausen, and therefore easily accessible.' In the year 1784 remains of walls, a tessellated pavement, and Roman coins were found on a hill south of Altstadt-Rottweil, which led to the conjecture that the Romans had a settlement here. In 1817 further excavations were undertaken, and brought to light more antiquities. In 1832 an archæological society was formed which vigorously pursued explorations. Two years later they succeeded in uncovering a locality containing a mosaic of about 24 square feet, divided into compartments, with the figure of Orpheus in the centre. This floor rested on stone slabs, supported by stone pillars (pilae). As the soil was only ankle-deep above the mosaic, the cultivation of the land caused much 1 Rottweil is not far from the source of the Neckar, and commands fine distant views-"mit schöner Fernsicht (Baedeker, Süd-Deutschland, ed. 1876, 93). It lies south-west of Tübingen, which in situation surpasses other universities in Germany, as Stuttgart does the capital cities. Its shady walks and general aspect please the educated Englishman, often reminding him of his own Alma Mater. injury to it. On this account in 1865 it was removed to the Lorenzkapelle in Rottweil, and still remains there.' Experience proves that mosaics, if left in situ without protection, inevitably suffer deterioration; they must be preserved either by building a house over them, as at Nennig, or by removal to a church or museum where they will be under inspection and safe.2 Orpheus occupies the post of honour in a square, enclosed by two borders, one very narrow, the other broader and divided into eight compartments. They were adorned with some groups of which only fragments now exist; and for want of space these have not been replaced according to the order in which they were discovered. The Thracian bard, seated, wears a Phrygian cap, and from under it locks of hair show themselves. He has a youthful appearance, and is looking sideways and upwards. His right hand holds the plectrum close 1 I have derived my information concerning the history of these discoveries from a small pamphlet published in 1881, whose title does not indicate the existence of any Roman remainsVerzeichniss der altdeutschen Schnitzwerke und Malereien in der St. Lorenzkapelle zu Rottweil. But it contains an appendix-Die römischen Alterthümer dieser Kapelle." 2 Any person who has studied classical mosaics will be fully alive to the necessity of removing them or of erecting buildings over them, as he can recall instances where they would otherwise have perished, e.g., those found at Lillebonne (Juliobona, Guides-Joanne, Normandie, ed. 1882, p. 306), Promenades de Reims, Vienne in the Département Isère, Nennig between Trèves and Thionville. Professor J. H. Middleton wrote an interesting article on mosaics of various periods, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., XVI, 849-855, with illustrations, Figs. 1-5; but he has not mentioned even by name any of those to be seen in France, which of all in continental Europe are the most accessible to us. He dwells on the mosaics of North Africa, and very naturally, as some of them are deposited in the British Museum. This essay, bearing date 1878, could of course contain no account of a tessellated pavement discovered in 1896, which is interesting from an artistic point of view, but surpasses the rest by its historic value "Les Mosaïques Virgiliennes de Sousse," Planche XX, fully described by P. Gauckler in one of the publications of the Fondation Eugène Piot. I abridge his account of this precious monument :— "The poet clothed in an ample white toga, with narrow blue border, faces the spectator, is seated on a chair with a back to it, and rests bis feet on a step in front. A roll on which are inscribed the following words lies open on his knees: 666 Musa mihi causas memora quo "With head erect, right hand on the breast, and forefinger raised, he listens to Clio and Melpomene; standing behind him they dictate his poems. The Muse of History holds with both hands a manuscript, the Muse of Tragedy a mask; the latter wears a rich costume of a red colour and embroidered with gold lace; she listens attentively while Clio reads." 3 We may not unreasonably suppose that Orpheus is looking up to the Muse for inspiration, as according to the mythographers he was the son Οι Calliope; and such an interpretation would agree with the designs of Monnus at Trèves, which Dr. Hettner has described, with an illustration, in Separatabzug aus der Westdeutschen Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kunst, Jahrgang X, S. 209 fg. |