336 Report from the Select Committee on the Elgin Marbles. [May 1, : lation in which the Elgin marbles are left, and above all, the corrosion of much of the surface by weather reduce their value, it is difficult precisely to ascertain but it may unquestionably he affirmed, in the words of one of the sculptors examined (who rates these works in the highest class of art), that "the Townleyan marbles being entire, are, in a commercial point of view, the most valuable of the two: but that the Elgin marbles, as possessing that matter which artists most require, claim a higher consideration." The Egina marbles which are also referred to, and were well known to one of the members of your committee, who was in treaty to purchase them for the British Museum, sold for 6000l. to the Prince Royal of Bavaria, which was less than the British government had directed to be offered, after a prior negotiation for obtaining them had failed; their real value, however, was supposed not to exceed 4,000l. at which Lusieri estimated them. They are described as valuable in point of remote antiquity, and curious in that respect, but of no distinguished merit as specimens of sculpture, their style being what is usually called Etruscan, and older than the age of Phidias The marbles at Phigalia, in Arcadia, have lately been purchased for the Museum at the expense of 15,000l. increased by a very unfavourable exchange of 19,000l. a sum which your committee, after inspecting them, venture to consider as more than equal to their value. It is true that au English gentleman, concerned in discovering them, was ready to give the same sum; and therefore no sort of censure can attach on those who purchased them abroad, for our national gallery, without any possible opportunity of viewing and examining the sculpture, but knowing them only from the sketches which were sent over, and the place where they were dug up, to be undoubted and authentic remains of Greek artists of the best time. When the first offer was made by the Earl of Elgin to Mr. Perceval, of putting the public in possession of this collection, Mr. Long, a member of your committee, was authorised by Mr. Perce val to acquaint Lord Elgin, that he was willing to propose to Parliament to purchase it for 30,000l. provided ford Elgin should make out, to the satisfaction of a Committee of the House of Com mons, that he had expended so much in acquiring and transporting it. Lord Elgin declined this proposal, for the reasons stated by him in his evidence; and until the month of June, 1815, no further step was taken on either side; but at that time a petition was presented, on the part of Lord Elgin, to the House, which, owing to the late period of the session, was not proceeded upon. Eighty additional cases have been received since 1811, the contents of which, enumerated in Mr. Hamilton's evidence, now form a part of the collection. The medals also, of which the value is more easily defined, were not included in the proposal made to Mr. Perceval. Against these augmentations must be set the rise in the value of money, which is unquestionably not inconsiderable, between the present time and the year 1811; a cause or consequence of which is the depreciation of every commodity, either of necessity or fancy, which is brought to sale. Your committee, therefore, do not think that they should be justified, in behalf of the public, if they were to recommend to the House any extension of Mr. Perceval's offer to a greater amount than 50001.; and, under all the circumstances that they have endeavoured to bring under the view of the House, they judge 35,000l. to be a reasonable and sufficient price for this collection. Your committee observing, that by the Act 45 Geo. III: c. 127, for resting the Towleyan collection in the Trustees of the British Museum, sec. 4, the proprietor of that collection, Mr. Townley Standish, was added to the Trustees of the British Museum, consider the Earl of Elgin (and his heirs being Earls of Elgin) as equally entitled to the same distinction, and recommend that a clause should be inserted to that effect, if it should be necessary that an act should pass for transferring his collection to the public. It may not be deemed foreign to this subject, if your committee venture to extend their observations somewhat beyond the strict limit of their immediate inquiry, and lay before the House what occurs to them as not unimportant with regard to the age and authenticity of these sculptures. The great works with which Pericles adorned and strengthened Athens, were all carried on under the direction and superintendence of Phidias for this there is the authority of various ancient writers, and particularly of 1816.1 Report from the Select Committee on the Elgin Marbles, Plutarch; but he distinctly asserts, in the same passage, that Callicrates and Ictinus executed the work of the Parthenon; which is confirmed also by Pausanias, so far as relates to Ictinus, who likewise ornamented or constructed the temple of Apollo at Phigalia*; from whence, by a singular coincidence, the Sculptures in high relief lately purchased for the British Museum, and frequently referred to in the evidence, were transported. The style of this work, in the opinion of the artists, indicates that it belongs to the same period, though the execution is rated as inferior to that of the Elgin marbles. In the fabulous stories which are represented upon both, there is a very striking similarity; and it may be remarked in passing, that the subjects of the Metopes, aud of the smaller Frize, which is sculptured with the battle of the Amazons, correspond with two out of the four subjects mentioned by Pliny, as adorning the shield and dress of the Minerva; so that there was a general uniformity of design in the stories which were selected for the internal and external decoration of the Parthenon. The taste of the same artist, Ictinus, probably led him to repeat the same ideas, which abound in graceful forms and variety of composition, when he was employed upon the temple of another divinity, at a distance from Athens. The statue of Minerva within the Temple, was the work of Phidias himself, and with the exception of Jupiter, which he made at Elis, the most celebrated of his productions. It was composed of ivory and gold; with regard to which, some very curious anecdotes relating to the political history of that time are to be found in the same writers: the earliest of which, from a passage in a cotemporary poet, Aristophanes, proves that the value of these materials involved both Pericles and the director of his works in great trouble and jeopardy; upon which account the latter is said to have withdrawn to Elis, and to have ended his days there, leaving it doubtful whether his death was natural, or in consequence of a judicial sentence: but Plutarch places his death at Athens, and in prison, either by disease, or by poison. It has been doubted whether Phidias The penultimate syllable should be pronounced long: Phigalia closes two hexameter verses, one of which is quoted by Pausanias, and the other by Stephanus By. zantinus, from Phianus, a poet of Crete. NEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 28. 337 himself ever wrought in marble; but although, when he did not use ivory, his chief material was unquestionably bronze; there are authorities sufficient to esta blish, beyond all controversy, that he sometimes applied his hand to marble. Pliny, for instance, asserts that he did so, and mentions a Venus ascribed to him, existing in his own time in the collection (or in the portico) of Octavia. Phidias is called by Aristotle a skilful worker in stone; and Pausanias enumerates a celestial Venus of Parian marble, undoubtedly of his hand; and the Rhamnusian Nemesis, also of the same material. Some of his statues in bronze were brought to Rome by Panus Æmilius, and by Catulus. His great reputation, however, was founded upon his representations of the Gods, in which he was supposed more excellent than in buman forms, and especially upon his works in ivory, in which he stood unrivalled*. Elidas the Argive is mentioned as the master of Phidias; which honour is also shared by Hippias. His two most celebrated scholars were Alcamenes, an Athenian of noble birth, and Agoracritus of Paros; the latter of whom was his favourite; and it was reported, that out of affection to him, Phidias put his scholar's name upon several of his own works: among which, the statue called Rhamnusian Nemesis is particularised by Pliny and Suidas. In another passage of Pliny, Alcamenes is classed with Critias, Nestocles, and Hegias, who are called the rivals of Phidias. The name of Colotes is preserved as another of his scholar. The other great sculptors, who were living at the same time with Phidias, and flourished very soon after him, were Agelades, Callon, Polycletus, Phragmon, Gorgias, Lacon, Myron, Pythagoras, Scopas, and Perelius. The passage in which Pausanias mentions the sculptures on the pediments is extremely short, and to this effect: "As you enter the temple, which they call Parthenon, all that is contained in what is termed the (eagles) pediments, relates in every particular to the birth of Minerva; but on the opposite or back front is the contest of Minerva and Neptune for the land; but the statue itself is formed of ivory and gold." The state of dilapidation into which this temple was fallen, when Stuart visited it in 1751, and made most correct drawings for his valuable work, left little oppor* Quintilian, c. 10. VOL. V. 2 X 338 Report from the Select Committee on the Elgin Mantles. [May 1, tunity of examining and comparing what remained upon that part of the temple with the passage referred to: but an account is preserved by travellers, who about eighty years earlier, either found one of these pediments in tolerable preservation, before the war between the Turks and Venetians, in 1687, had done so much damage to this admirable structure. The observations of one of these (Dr. Spon, a French physician) may be literally translated thus: "The highest part of the front, which the Greeks called the Eagle,' and our architects the Fronton,' is enriched with a group of beautiful figures in marble, which appear from below as large as life. They are of entire relief, and wonderfully well worked. Pausanias says nothing more, than that this sculpture related to the birth of Minerva. "The general design is this:-"Jupiter, who is under the highest angle of the pediment, (fronton) has the right arm broken, in which, probably, he held his thunderbolt; his legs are thrown wide from each other, without doubt to make room for his cagle. Al though these two characteristics are wanting, one cannot avoid recognising him by his beard, and by the majesty with which the sculptor has invested him. He is naked, as they usually represented him, and particularly the Greeks, who for the most part made their figures naked: on his right is a statue which has its head and arms mutilated, draped to about half the leg, which one may judge to be a Victory, which precedes the car of Minerva, whose horses she leads. They are the work of some hand as bold as it was delicate, which would not perhaps have yielded to Phidias, or Praxiteles, so renowned for (representing) horses. Minerva is sitting upon the car, rather in the habit of goddess of the sciences, than of war: for she is not dressed as a warrior, having neither helmet, nor shield, nor head of Medusa upon her breast: she has the air of youth, and her headdress is not different from that of Venus. Another female figure without a head is sitting behind her with a child, which she holds upon her knees, I cannot say who sbe is; but I had no trouble in making out or recognising the two next, which are the last on that side; it is the Emperor Hadrian sitting, and half naked, and next to him his wife Sabina, It seems that they are both looking on with pleasure at the triumph of the goddess. I do not believe that before me, any per son observed this particularity, which Wheler, who travelled with Spon, and published his work at London (four years later) in 1682, says, " But my companion made me observe the next two figures sitting in the corner to be of the Emperor Hadiian and his Empress Sabina, whom I easily knew to be so, by the many medals and statues I have seen of then." And again, “But the Emperor Hadrian most probably repaired it, and adorned it with those figures at each front. For the whiteness of the marble, and his own statue joined with them, apparently shew them to be of a later age than the first, and done by that Emperor's command. Within the portico on high, and on the outside of the cella of the temple itself, is another border of basso relievo round about it, or at least on the north and south sides, which, without doubt, is as ancient as the teinple, and of admirable work, but not so high a relievo as the other. Thereon are represented sacrifices, processions, and other ceremonies of the heathen worship; most of them were designed by M. de Nointel, who employed a painter to do it two months together, and showed them to us when we waited on him at Constantinople." Another French author, who published three years earlier than Spon, a work called " Athenes Ancienne et Nouvelle, par le Sr. de la Guilletiere a Paris,” 1816.] Report from the Select Committee on the Elgin Marbles. 2 1675-says, "Pericles employed upon the Parthenon the celebrated architects Callicrates and Ictinus. The last, who had more reputation than the former, wrote a description of it in a book, which he composed on purpose, and which has been lost; and we should probably not now have the opportunity of admiring the building itself, if the Emperor Hadrian had not preserved it to us, by the repairs which he caused to be done. It is to his care that we owe the few remains of antiquity which are still entire at Athens." In the Antiquities of Athens, by Stuart, vol. ii. p. 4, it is said, "Pausanias gives but a transient account of this temple, nor does he say whether Hadrian repaired it, though his statue, and that of his Empress Sabina in the western pediment, have occasioned a doubt whether the sculptures in both were not put up by him. Wheler and Spon were of this opinion, and say they were whiter than the rest of the building. The statue of Antinous, now remaining at Rome, may be thought a proof that there were artists in his time capable of executing them, but this whiteness is no proof that they were more modern than the temple, for they might have been made of a whiter marble and the beads of Hadrian and Sabina might be put on two of the ancient figures, which was no uncommon practice among the Romans; and if we may give credit to Plutarch, the buildings of Pericles were not in the least impaired by age in his time; therefore, this temple could not want any material repairs in the reign of Hadrian.” With regard to the works of Hadrian at Athens, Spartian says, "that be did much for the Athenians;" and a little after, on his second visit to Athens, "going to the East he made his journey through Athens, and dedicated the works which he had begun there; and particularly a temple to Olympian Jupiter, and án altar to himself." The account given by Dion Cassius is nearly to the same effect, adding, that he placed his own statue within the temple of Olympian Jupiter, which he erected. He called some other cities after his own name, and directed a part of Athens to be styled Hadrianopolis: but no mention is made by any ancient author, of his touching or repairing the Parthenon. Pausanias, who wrote in his reign, says, that "the temples which Hadrian either erected from the foundation, or adorned with dedicated gifts and deco rations, or whatever donations he made 339 to the cities of the Greeks, and of the Barbarians also, who made application to him, were all recorded at Athens in the temple common to all the gods." It is not unlikely, that a confused recollection of the statue which Hadrian actually placed at Athens, may have led one of the earliest travellers into a mistake, which has been repeated, and countenanced by subsequent writers: but Mr. Fauvel, who will be quoted presently, speaks as from his own examination and observation, when he mentions the two statues in question; which, it is to be observed, still remain (without their heads) upon the pediment of the entrance, and have not been removed by Lord Elgin. An exact copy of these drawings, by the Marquis de Nointel's painter, is given in Mr. Barry's works: which are rendered more valuable on account of the destruction of a considerable part of the temple in the Turkish war by the falling of a Venetian bomb, within a short time after the year in which they were made; which, however, must have been prior to the date of 1683, affixed to the plate in Barry's works (2 vol. p. 163. London, 1809). Some notes of Mr. Fauvel, a painter and antiquarian, who moulded and took casts from the greatest part of the sculptures, and remained fifteen years at Athens, are given with the tracings of these drawings; in which it is said, with regard to these pediments, "These figures were adorned with bronze, at least if we may judge by the head of Sabina, which is one of the two that remain; and which, having fallen, and being much mutilated, was brought to Mr. Fauvel. The traces are visible of the little cramps which probably fixed the crown to the head. The head of the Emperor Hadrian still exists. Probably this group has been inserted to do honour to that Emperor, for it is of a workmanship different from the rest of this sculpture." Your Committee cannot dismiss this interesting subject, without submitting to the attentive reflection of the House, how highly the cultivation of the fine arts has contributed to the reputation, character and dignity of every Government by which they have been encouraged, and how intimately they are connected with the advancement of every thing va luable in science, literature, and philo sophy. In contemplating the importance and splendour to which so small a republic as Athens rose, by the genius and energy of her citizens, exerted in 340 New Publications, with Critical Remarks. the path of such studies, it is impossible to overlook how transient the memory and fame of extended empires, and of mighty conquerors, are, in comparison of those who have rendered inconsiderable states eminent, and immortalized their own names by these pursuits. But if it be true, as we learn from history and experience, that free governments afford a soil most suitable to the production of native talent, to the maturing of the powers of the human mind, and to the growth of every species of excellence, by opening to merit the prospect of reward and [May I distinction, no country can be better adapted than our own to afford an benorable aslyum to these monuments of the school of Phidias, and of the administration of Pericles; where, secure from further injury and degradation, they may receive that admiration and homage to which they are entitled, and serve in return as models and examples to those who, by knowing how to revere and appreciate them, may learn first to imitate and ultimately to rival them. March 25, 1816. NEW PUBLICATIONS IN MARCH AND APRIL, WITH CRITICAL REMARKS. ARTS, FINE. The Judgment of Connoisseurs upon Works of Art, compared with that of Professional Men, in reference more particularly to the Elgin Marbles. By B. R. Haydon. 15. Specimens of Gothic Architecture, consisting of Doors, Windows, Buttresses, Pinnacles, &c. selected from ancient buildings at Oxford, drawn and etched on 91 plates. By F. Mackenzie and A. Pugin 4to. 21. 2s. large paper, 31. 3s. Picturesque Delineations of the Southern Coast of England. By W. B. and G. Cooke, Part VI. roy. 8vo. 12s. 6d. large paper 18s. gospel, they at the same time elucidate and '*xplain in a clear manner the doctrines which alone can render those duties acceptable in the sight of heaven, and truly beneficial to man. We could resting and edifying passages from the volume, with great pleasure and profit extract some inte but while we earnestly recommend the serious perusal of the whole to every one who has a sin cere regard for rational religion, we shall content ourselves with copying a note in which the author draws a very animated and affectionate character of his excellent associate. It is in an allusion to one of the published discourses of Mr. Alison, upon citing which, occasion is taken to say as fol. lows: "The discourse alluded to in this passage, and others by the same distinguished preacher, have since been given to the public, and its voice has now fully confirmed what I had presumed to say of his great endowments. That voice too, has been conveyed in a form which must of all others be the most gratifying to his feelings, not, indeed, in the vulgar shape of honour and preferments, but in that marked and increasing expression of universal gratitude and admiration, which detinctly places his name at the head of all the preachers of the age. Indeed there are qualities in his preaching to which it would be difficult, I believe, to find a parallel, either in our own, or in any former time. That tone of dove-like gentleness, that pure and unclouded wisdom, far more than the graces of his language, and the glow of his imagery, are excellencies which seem to me unexampled in the history of pulpit eloquence; and in his sermons, on public occasions, his unde viating trust in the moral government of the world, and the calm steadiness of his hopes, even in the worst of times, have thrown around him, almost, the mantle of prophecy. Admirable, however, as his discourses must ever be esteemed, there is still something wanting to their effect as they ap pear in a publication; for there never was a preacher to whom are more strictly applicable the words which were originally spoken of the greatest orator of antiquity, when, to those who testified the most lively applause on hearing one of his orations read, it was so finely observed, "What, then, would you have said, if you had heard him. self?" If this eulogium is highly coloured, it does at least great honour to the author of it, and we can venture with strict justice to say, that though the sermons of Mr. Morehead may not be equally vivid and pathetic with those of his friend, they do not fall below them in the true hortatory qua. Iities of sound instruction, and elevated devotion, |