very quaint urn for ashes, in the form of a male figure with a movable head. Cases 63-54.-In the remaining cases devoted to Etruscan antiquities are a number of sepulchral chests, some of terracotta, others of limestone. The important sarcophagus of Seianti Thanunia we have already described. The smaller terra-cotta chests are cast from moulds, and roughly coloured, the names of the deceased being occasionally added. In the archaic Etruscan style, sixth century B.C., is one showing two sea-horses confronted (Case 61): this is brightly coloured in red and blue. On the later chests favourite subjects are repeated. One of these is Echetlus fighting with his plough at Marathon (in Case 63 and elsewhere). The story of this phantom warrior, who was seen assisting the Athenians, is told by Pausanias (i. 32. 4) :— -j "Now it befell, they say, that in the battle there was present a man of rustic aspect and dress, who slaughtered many of the barbarians with a plough, and vanished after the fight. When the Athenians inquired of the god, the only answer he vouchsafed was to bid them honour the hero Echetlus." Another favourite subject is the story of Eteocles and Polynices the two sons of Edipus, who both fell in a war of single combat between them. The furies, carrying their torches, stand on the bas-relief, as spectators and abettors of the combat. This was one of the subjects, as Pausanias describes, on the chest of Cypselus. Another familiar story, represented on one of these Etruscan urns, is that of Laocoon, whose sons are shown in the coils of a two-headed serpent (Case 54). "The sepulchral chests of limestone are adorned with reliefs in an archaic style of sculpture, which refer for the most part to the funeral of the deceased, or to scenes in his life. They include scenes of combat, scenes of the chase, banquets, and the laying out of the corpse" (Guide to the Department, p. 128). In Cases 53-38 are various busts, vases, and drinking horns. Notice in Cases 42 and 41 two oil-flasks in the form of Ethiopian slaves. In Cases 37-26 are architectural terra-cottas (sixth century B.C.) from the excavations conducted by Lord Savile at Civita Lavinia, the ancient Lanuvium, 1890-93. In Cases 31 and 30, a cornice has been reconstructed from the remains of an Etruscan temple. Below are two limestone urns, in the shape of temples, with similar roofs. In that of one, from Chiusi, a winged figure sits as guardian. The groups in terra-cotta relief masked the ends of circular tiles. Of these groups the most interesting is a brightly coloured one (in Case 28), showing a Bacchic group of a satyr and a mænad, looking eagerly for the advent of Dionysus. The attitude of the satyr in holding up his left hand to shade his eyes is new (see A. J. Murray in J.H.S. xiii. 315). In the west central bay of the Etruscan Saloon are four standard- It CHAPTER XXIII THE COINS OF THE ANCIENTS Tout passe-L'art robuste Le buste Survit à la cité. Et la médaille austère, Que trouve un laboureur Révèle un empereur. TH. GAUTIER. "In the finest gems, as in the finest coins, we see how the Greek artist contrived to obtain breadth and grandeur of effect, even when his design was on the most limited scale; we can form some idea of the amazing fertility of invention which enabled him to repeat the same figure or group on a number of separate works, each time with some happy variation; we can appreciate the general refinement of taste which made such objects the cheap luxury of daily life, and circulated them from hand to hand” (C. T. NEWTON). THE enduring nature of coins and their copiousness give them a special value among monuments of antiquity. The earliest known coins were issued in the seventh century before the Christian era; their use spread through the civilised world, and has never been interrupted. Coins were hoarded and deposited in safe places. Hundreds of thousands of them have been found under conditions which can leave no doubt of their genuineness. They are made of materials selected for their durability. Hence we have in the coins of the ancients a series of works, often in perfect condition and of unexampled completeness. The collection in the British Museum is one of the most complete in the world. The inspection of the coins themselves is confined to students who have obtained special permission. For the study of the coins in detail a large library of catalogues has been issued.1 For the general visitor who may desire to obtain a bird's-eye view, as it were, of the subject, a selection of the principal coins of the ancients has been arranged, in electrotype, in eight cases which stand outside the Coin Room. It is with these alone that we are concerned in this chapter. The science of numismatics to which, so far as Greek coins are concerned, this selection is intended to serve as an introduction, covers a wide field. It deals, for instance, with the metals employed; with the denomination and weight of coins, and their relations; with the laws by which their issue was regulated. These are branches of the subject which are of importance to students of ancient economics and history; but to the visitor who is not a specialist, the interest of a collection of coins is to be found rather in their artistic aspect and in such incidental reflections-literary, historical, mythologicalas the inscriptions and devices upon the coins may suggest. Regarded chronologically, a collection of ancient coins, by their juxtaposition, discloses the characteristics of the style of successive periods. Coins form indeed, as is remarked by Mr. Head, "the grammar of Greek art." Arranged geographically, they show the course of Hellenic civilisation and the characteristics of local styles. What are called the "types of coins-that is to say, the devices on the two sides-were, like the subjects of the sculptor and the vase-painter, mainly mythical. A collection of coins thus exhibits "the Hellenic Pantheon in miniature." But they are not only monuments of art and of mythology. They are also inscribed monuments, and as such form part of the evidence of general history. They are most useful in chronology and geography. But they sometimes fill up gaps in historical records; as in the case of the Bactrian coins, which have supplied the outlines of the 1 The acquisition of these catalogues would cost a small fortune. The Guide to the Principal Gold and Silver Coins of the Ancients, by Barclay V. Head, issued by the trustees, with 70 plates (reproductions in photogravure of the electrotypes in Cases I. to VII. here exhibited), is a most desirable possession, and, in view of the number and excellence of the illustrations, not expensive (255.). Another attractive volume is Professor Percy Gardner's Types of Greek Coins (Cambridge University Press). An introduction to the whole subject is Mr. G. F. Hill's Handbook to Greek and Roman Coins (Macmillan). history, otherwise almost unrecorded, of a Græco-Indian kingdom. Coins record, too, many alliances, confederacies, and passing events, sometimes revealing what is not otherwise known, but more often confirming and illustrating historical records. The number of specimens in the first seven cases is 800. They are all selected for special interest or significance of one kind or another. No complete commentary can be here attempted. The object of the following pages is rather, by taking up now one subject and now another, to suggest the wealth of interest accessible in the study of these monuments of antiquity, which, though small in scale, are large in incidental interest, and large also, in the finest specimens, in artistic style. Many of them are, indeed, "among the most exquisite productions of ancient art; they are finished," as Sir Charles Newton says, "with a delicacy happily described by Pliny as Argutiae operum in minimis quoque rebus custoditae". a delicacy of workmanship carefully maintained, even in things on the smallest scale. A few general explanations may be acceptable as a preliminary to a more detailed inspection. How were the coins of the ancients made? What were their weights and values? To what branch of art do they belong? What is the general nature of the devices upon them? The coins of the ancients were made of gold, silver, electrum, and copper. By "electrum was meant any alloy of gold and silver, containing more than 20 per cent of the latter. In books and catalogues gold is described by the abbreviation N; silver, by R; electrum, by EL. Gold was used in a very pure state. The Persian gold pieces contained, out of 1000 parts, only 30 of alloy; those of Philip and Alexander, only 3; the gold of the Roman Republic, none; the gold of Augustus, only 2. In the British sovereign, 84 parts out of 1000 are alloy. The silver pieces of Athens contain only 14 parts of alloy; our standard silver contains 75. Ancient coins were "struck". that is to say, a piece of metal of the proper weight was placed between two dies, and the upper die was then struck with a heavy hammer. Every recent visitor to Pompeii knows the charming wall-paintings of "Little Loves of the House of the Vettii," as they are called on the photographs and coloured prints. The Cupids are represented as engaged in the manifold work of everyday life and, among other things, in striking |