a powerful king's nobles, and he to him gives broad land in recompense." Here also is the gold ring of Ethelwulf, King of Wessex (836-858) and father of Alfred the Great : "This precious relic of antiquity was discovered by a most fortunate accident during the summer of 1780, in the parish of Laverstock, Wilts, not far from Salisbury. It had been pressed out of a cart-rut in a field, and was picked up by a labourer who sold it to a silversmith in Salisbury for 34s., the value of the gold. The ring bears some resemblance to a bishop's mitre, and bears the legend Ethelvvlf R(ex)' which leaves no doubt as to the ownership. Above this is a device, filled in like the inscription, with niello, representing two peacocks pecking a tree; the work is somewhat rude, but is evidently an attempt to reproduce a piece of symbolism common on early Christian monuments" (Catalogue of the Alfred the Great Millenary Exhibition, 1901, p. 13). Another gold finger-ring consists of a plain hoop with pearled edges, bearing around it in gold letters on a nielloed ground an inscription recording the name of the owner Ethred, and the maker, Eanred. This ring was found in Lancashire. Another (found near Peterborough in the river Nene) is peculiar for having two facets (on one, interlaced triangles ; on the other, flowing curves). The ornaments are engraved and inlaid with niello (for a description of this process, see above, p. 606). Three rings-of gold, agate, and bronze respectively--are engraved with Runic letters. The inscriptions are supposed to be charms, and it has been suggested that the rings were used to hang from the handles of swords. The gold ring was found in 1817 at Kingmoor near Carlisle. Its inscription has been interpreted as "Whether in fever or leprosy let the patient be happy and confident in the hope of recovery" (see Archæologia, xxi. 25). Among other gold ornaments here are four pieces which show enamelled work, and more or less resemble the famous "Alfred Jewel" (in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford). One of our pieces is a gold medallion with a half-figure of Christ having a cruciform nimbus, and a book in the left hand, the right hand raised in the act of benediction. The figure is executed in cloisonné work (see, for this process, p. 748 n); filled with translucent enamels of various colours. A gold brooch, ornamented with filigree and set with pearls, has medallions of translucent enamel, divided by lines of gold. Another gold brooch (found in Southern Italy) is decorated with enamels and threaded pearls. In the centre is a medallion with a bust, in a very rude style. The fourth specimen is a brooch of gold filigree, set with four pearls, and having in the centre a medallion (found in Thames Street, London) : "The bust in this jewel has the almost grotesque air not uncommonly seen in enamels of this time and make. The head-dress is remarkable, and has been thought, with good reason, to be a crown, surmounted by three globes or pearls; from the crown, near the ears, proceed two simple scrolls, while the dress worn by the figure is classical in appearance, and seems to be fastened on the right shoulder. . There is as much difference artistically between the style of the Alfred jewel and any one of the three human figures now shown as there is among the latter themselves. These differences seem to accentuate the difficulty of tracing the origin of this enamelled work. It may well be that some of it was executed in this country by the craftsmen in the employ of King Alfred; but it may fairly be assumed that on the journeys to Rome and elsewhere, undertaken by Ethelwulf, Alfred, and Ethelswitha, they and their suites would acquire jewellery of this class, which must have been comparatively common in Rome, and in other important centres at that time" (Catalogue of the Alfred the Great Millenary Exhibition, 1901, Nos. 17-20). The Renaissance Gems bought from the Marlborough collection are in the next compartment (20). They are of great merit as gems, and are also remarkable for the beauty of the setting and for their historical interest. One is a double cameo, with a head of Hercules on one side and of Omphale on the other. Such combinations were often made when the thickness of the stone was sufficient. It used to be supposed that the head of Hercules was antique, the Omphale being added later. More probably, however, both cameos are of the Renaissance period, the heads being portraits of contemporary personages in those characters. The gem is mounted in a broad gold plaque edge, set with diamonds and rubies arranged alternately, and enriched on the edge with a twist of vine branches and leaves in black enamel on gold. It has the historical interest of having been a gift to the Pope Clement VII. from the Emperor Charles V., and is said to have been afterwards given by the Pope to the Piccolomini of Siena. was acquired by the Earl of Bessborough from the collection of Medina (a Jew of Leghorn), and from the Earl passed to the Duke of Marlborough (No. 309; £483). A cameo of Lucius It Verus is mounted in a very beautiful setting, and is further remarkable for its perfect preservation. "The mount is an ingenious collection of enamel and jewels, arranged in an openwork of an intricate design. The back is modelled in low relief and coated with brilliant enamels, producing a rich and harmonious effect" (No. 478; £700). The third of the cinque-cento gems is a fine portrait cameo of a male head, said to be from the hand of Alessandro Cesati (Il Greco). The work is of unusual force and vigour. The delicate pierced mounting, daintily enamelled with flowers, is in striking contrast to the severe lines of the portrait, and was probably added in the seventeenth century (No. 538; £300). The works of Il Greco, says Vasari (iii. 480), excelled all others. Michelangelo himself, looking at them one day, while Giorgio Vasari was present, remarked that the hour for the death of art had arrived, since it was not possible that a better work could be seen." The other Marlborough gem is an intaglio in nicolo, representing the Dioscuri (No. 256). Towards the purchase of these gems Mr. Charles Butler contributed £1000. 66 Among other objects in this compartment (20) is a pomander case (found in the Thames) of sixteenth-century workmanship. Perfume balls, carried in cases, were worn as amulets. "I have sold all my trumpery," says Autolycus in The Winter's Tale (Act iv. Sc. 4), "not a counterfeit stone, not a ribbon, glass, pomander, brooch, table-book, ballad, knife, tape, glove, shoe-tie, bracelet, horn-ring, to keep my pack from fasting." There is also here a collection of Anglo-Roman Gold Ornaments. On a gold plaque found at Colchester is a portrait of the Empress Faustina the elder. Of late Roman, or of Celto-Roman work, is a heavy gold brooch, found in a garden at Odiham (Hants). Several ornaments here exhibited were found inside an elegant silver vessel, resembling a saucepan, on the handle of which is an inscription recording its dedication to the Deae Matres, divinities worshipped by our ancestors in those days, and supplicated for fruitfulness in the The wheel, so often introduced, may have been symbolic of the rise and fall of prosperity, or the revolution of the seasons (see E. Hawkins in Arch. J. viii. 35). The gold neck-chain with wheel was found at the beginning of the nineteenth century in the neighbourhood of Backworth (Northum seasons. berland). Another similar ornament was turned up by the plough at Llandovery. Among the Irish ornaments are a chain and two bracelets found in 1842 by a labouring man within a few yards of the entrance to the caves at New Grange, Co. Meath (Archæologia, xxx. p. xii.). A gold-wire bracelet was dug up at Virginia, Co. Cavan, in 1833 (Arch. J. v. 154). We may also notice an important acquisition from Wales, viz. "a broad gold bracelet, ornamented with applied wires, with enamelled clasps, displaying Celtic scroll-work; an incomplete pair of gold bracelets in quadrangular panels, set with garnets and sapphire pastes, and a heavy gold ring set with an onyx intaglio of an ant-all found together at Rhayader, Radnorshire" (Brit. Mus. Return, 1900, p. 73). Passing to the other side of the Table-case, we find in the first compartment (21) a collection of Renaissance Cameo Portraits (many of them from the Carlisle collection). One of the most interesting is a contemporary portrait of Réné, Duke of Anjou and titular King of Sicily (1409-80). The execution is very fine. King Réné was a great patron of art of all kinds, and is said himself to have engraved gems. There are also portraits of Francis I. of France (1494-1547); Alessandro de' Medici, first Duke of Florence (1510-1537); and Philip II. of Spain (1527-1598). The collection of Renaissance and modern gems is continued in Compartments 22, 24, and 25. (In 23 are the antique Marlborough gems already described.) In Table-case U 26 and 27 are modern intaglios. Several of the later are signed by well-known engravers of the eighteenth century. We now leave the Room of Gold Ornaments, and, passing out of the Etruscan Saloon, enter the Room of Terra-cottas. CHAPTER XXVII THE ROOM OF TERRA-COTTAS Despise me, Mercury, because I'm only clay— I glory in my humble birth, and say "I only saw the humble giver's grateful heart." (From the Greek Anthology, translated by Miss HUTTON.) "The statuettes of terra-cotta from Tanagra constitute a little world by themselves of infinite variety. They reveal an art which is quite new to us, with whose methods we were scarcely acquainted, and whose perfection we did not suspect. They introduce us to the everyday life of ancient Greece, and they are charming in themselves" (DIEHL'S Excursions in Greece). THE room of terra-cottas is often treated by visitors as a passage only. This is a pity, for it contains some of the prettiest and most interesting objects in the Museum. They are, however, small in scale; they do not readily catch the eye; they are, from the artistic point of view, very unequal in merit; and the light, it may be added, is often very bad. We propose, therefore, to look first at some of the prettiest objects here exhibited, with a view to obtaining an attractive hold of our subject at the outset.1 TANAGRA FIGURINES The most famous and characteristic of the ancient terracottas are the Tanagra figurines-the little figures, that is, 1 A charming companion to the study of the terra-cotta room is Greek Terra-cotta Statuettes, by Miss C. A. Hutton ("Portfolio Monograph" series), 5s. It contains numerous illustrations from specimens in the Museum. Greek Terra-cotta Statuettes, by Marcus B. Huish (John |