almost uninterrupted series from the time of the Greeks down to the present day. This is the more wonderful when we consider how very frailly good jewellery is made, and how very liable it is to destruction, both on account of its intrinsic value, and the recurring temptation to reset the precious stones with which it is so often ornamented.

No people have ever equalled the Greeks and Etruscans in the delicacy of their jewels of gold; and their skill is well shewn in the necklace, with the pendent lions' heads, and in the earring, lent by S. Addington, Esq., as well as in the still more elaborate necklace, found at Alexandria, now the property of Signor Castellani, to whom we owe so much for restoring the Etruscan jewellery in the present day, although, alas! we are still far from equalling the surpassing delicacy of the originals.

Another necklace belongs to the Rev. M. Taylor; and a small head (beaten up) of the Tauric Diana, discovered at Kertch, to Mrs. Crease. What little Roman work there is will be found among the rings, while the Anglo-Saxon art is well represented by a series of brooches, with enamels, filagree, garnets, and that peculiar work which consists of pieces of red glass separated from one another by thin gold wires, and which some antiquaries have mistaken for cloisonnè enamels.

A whole case is devoted to a most interesting collection of ancient Irish work. Here we have the shrine of St. Monaghan, of the beginning of the twelfth century (Bishop Kilduff); the celebrated Tara brooch, of the latter part of the eleventh century; a gold tiara for the head, in which some antiquaries have seen a gorget; the Macloud cup, rich in silver filagree; the reliquary in the form of a hand published in the last volume of Vetusta Monumenta; the Kilkenny brooch (Royal Irish Academy); and no less than three crosiers, exhibited by the Royal Irish Academy, Bishop Kilduff, and the Duke of Devonshire; that belonging to His Grace being particularly rich in niello, damascenery, and enamels,-if enamels they be, as there is some little doubt whether they are not pieces of glass, made irrespective of the object, and fluxed in afterwards.

Probably no case is more attractive than that containing the Dactyliotheca of Mr. Warterton: here we see rings of every possible date, shape, and manufacture. There are Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman rings-the latter including iron rings worn by slaves; military bronze rings, with numbers en

graved on them; silver rings; golden rings of the knights, and of those who had the jus annuli aurei; glass rings; key rings; early Christian, Gnostic, Byzantine, Merovingian, Anglo-Saxon rings; then follow the heraldic signet rings of the Middle Ages; and their contemporaries, the talismanic, posey, rebus, engaged, and gimmel rings ;-very curious are the Jewish wedding rings, with their filagree and enamelled letters;-then we have what are called the Italian Gardinetto rings, composed of flowers formed by precious stones; and our enumeration may be finished by the notice of the rings which formerly belonged to no less persons than Rienzi, Darnley, St. Carlo Borromeo, Charles I., and Frederick the Great.

Many of the rings in this collection are decorated with antique intaglios and cameos, the student of which will be still further gratified by the six trays containing a portion of the well-known collection of the Rev. Gregory Rhodes. So indestructible are these gems that very many are quite as perfect after the vicissitudes of eighteen centuries as on the day when they left the hands of the artist. Lady Fellows also exhibits some of these antique gems, while Mr. T. Hope has three vases set with them. Moreover, Her Majesty and the Duke of Devonshire have sent their unrivalled collections, so that this branch of the arts is exceedingly well represented. The large antique cameo, 7 inches by 54, belonging to Her Majesty, demands special attention: it represents Constantius II., and a detailed account of it, from the Rev. C. King, will be found in the current number of the Archæological Journal. The jewels properly speaking of the Middle Ages are exceedingly rare, not only in the present collection, but in almost every other one. A few will, however, be found scattered up and down in the various cases. It is rather difficult to account for this scarcity, but if we look at what few portraits have come down to us, and to the jewels occasionally represented in the borders of illuminated MSS., we shall see that ornaments were made almost entirely of precious stones, only sufficient gold bemg used to bind them together, and it may therefore be imagined that they were from their very nature especially liable to fall to pieces.

But if the jewels of the Middle Ages are rare, the same can hardly be said of those of the cinque cento period; for one whole case is exlabited by Her Majesty, in which is a wonderful

figurine of St. George and a mermaid made out of a baroque pearl.

There is another case, containing the celebrated Hope jewels, including the largest pearl known. Messrs. Brett and Fellows have cases containing jewellery of this period. Very remarkable is the rosary of agate beads, belonging to Colonel Cumming: each bead opens and contains two gold subjects from sacred history, the little figures being enamelled in relief. D. Majoribanks, Esq., is the possessor of a pelican jewel resplendent with diamants. But few equal the little Christ attached to the column of the Earl of Stamford, or still less the exquisite little reliquary which formerly belonged to Catharine of Braganza. Mr. Beresford Hope's vase must also be considered as a large jewel, inasmuch as it is a collection of gold, agate, precious stones, and enamels of all kinds. Indeed, this vase and the Greek jewellery may justly be considered as the best things in the collection. Many of the vessels in the case containing the works in rock crystal also have portions of most delicate enamelled jewellery similar to what we see in Mr. Hope's vase.

Lady Fellows has sent a very curious collection of watches, of all possible shapes and sizes: some very small, while others, from their bulk and colour, have really a right to the appellation of turnips. Again, one is contained in a small silver skull, while another occupies the centre of a cross. When Mr. O. Morgan's well-known collection arrives, the series of watches will be very complete.

PLATE.

As might naturally have been expected, the mass of the plate at South Kensington is of a late date, say from the sixteenth century downwards. Case 1, however, which is devoted to mediæval plate, enamels, and ivories, presents us with many curious specimens of the silver-work of the Middle Ages. Thus there are several chalices, of all shapes and dates, most of them, however, enamelled. The display of objects devoted to ecclesiastical uses includes a triple plaque chrysmatory, (W. S. Sneyd); a shrine, (Magniac); a pair of small burettes, (Maskell); another of rock crystal, Dr. Rock's well-known thurible : while among domestic objects we find a spoon with a crystal handle, somewhat similar to one preserved in the Museum at

Rouen; a cup, probably German work, (Duke of Hamilton); a sort of short baton made of rock crystal, with jewelled ends in the form of castles; a golden seal, (Farrer); a double cup, i. e., where one forms the cover of the other, (Moreland); and a most elaborate bason and ewer covered with figures in high relief, (Marquis d'Azalio): the costume would indicate the latter half of the fifteenth century as the date of this very curious piece of plate, while the general heaviness of the outline would point to a German origin.

The colleges of Oxford have by no means been behindhand in their contributions, and one case contains the few ancient remains which have escaped the Great Rebellion. The most noticeable articles are William of Wykeham's crosier, that of Bishop Fox, and the Queen's College horn. St. Andrew's College, Scotland, exhibits a most curious mace, probably of the time of Edward IV.; the top is worked into a most elaborate castellated building, enriched with niches, pinnacles, figures, &c.

Nor have the London Companies been behindhand, although most of their plate is of post-Reformation date: however, here are the saltcellars of the Ironmongers' Company; the beautiful Mercers' cup; the Innholders' apostle spoons; and the garlands of the Barber-Surgeons, Leathersellers, and Carpenters.

Other cases contain the plate of the provincial corporations, conspicuous among them is the Bristol salver, which after having been cut into 167 pieces, has been soldered together; there are also sundry pieces of plate, made in the forms of cocks, owls, lions, fishes, &c., while the series is closed by a large case filled with most massive rococo silver plate, concerning which it may be sufficient to observe that the material is a great deal better than the art.

Of course, besides the above there are an almost innumerable quantity of pieces of plate scattered up and down the collection, but it may be sufficient simply to mention the beautiful crown and girdle of minute pierced chased work belonging to Mr. Morland, and Mr. Henderson's snuffers enamelled with the arms of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Bainbridge.

NIELLO AND ENAMELS.

Besides the various objects in which niello plays a secondary part, there is a most choice collection of some half-dozen pieces belonging to the Duke of Hamilton, and the well-known portable

altar of Dr. Rock. But it is in enamels that the Exhibition is particularly rich. First of all, among the cloisonne series, we find Mr. Beresford Hope's pectoral cross from the Debruge collection; then there are the circles which decorate the reliquary in the form of a foot which once belonged to the cathedral of Bâle; then there is an object, the use of which is rather difficult to guess, but which probably formed the cover of a nautilus cup; here we find cloisonnè enamels alternating with champlève ones, the date being the fourteenth century, a clear proof that no process was ever entirely disused. This curious specimen belongs to All Souls' College, Oxford. Not less remarkable is Mrs. Saul's cup, also probably of the fourteenth century: here the cloisonnè enamels are à jour and in the form of little traceried windows. The enamels of the second period,-commonly called the Champlève or early Limoge, although it is well known that there was certainly another manufactory on the Rhine, and probably in other places, are in such quantities that it would be almost useless to attempt an enumeration; suffice it to say that nearly every object of ecclesiastical use is here represented.

As to the latter Limoge enamels of the school of Leonard Limousin, there are positively two cases absolutely crammed with them. Almost every object for domestic use is here found, from saltcellars and candlesticks up to the magnificent series of portraits the property of Mr. H. Danby Seymour.

The series of translucid enamels may be divided into two series; viz., 1. where the process is only partially carried out, the ground appearing on the surface; and 2. where the ground is entirely covered with enamels. The Bruce horn and the Lynn cup are representatives of the former, while an Italian chalice belonging to Mr. Magniac, a ciborium (Hon. S. Curzon), and the crosier of William of Wykeham, are some of the specimens of the latter.

Again, in some objects there is only one thin coating of enamel, as in Bishop Foxe's crosier, the Italian girdle belonging to Mr. Octavius Morgan, and the horn of P. H. Howard, Esq., of Corbie. This practice of applying the enamel in only one coat is very prevalent in the East; and indeed the lastnamed article looks much more like Eastern than European workmanship.

Among the miniatures will be found some exquisite enamel GENT. MAG. VOL. CCXIII.

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