Grecian bronzes—Relics of Roman occupation—Interesting toilet requisites—Artificial lighting—Statues and monuments—Romano-British art—A well staged exhibit.

It is from the curios in metal and the antiquities in stone which have been discovered, chiefly in comparatively recent years, that we are able to read with understanding the allusions made by classic writers to domestic life as it was in ancient Greece and Rome. The records of the art of Greece become more real when we have gazed upon the beautiful and graceful statues and the furniture of the palace and domain for which the artists and metal-workers of those days were so justly celebrated.

Even the public school boy takes a greater interest in his studies when he recognizes in the furnishings of his home antiquities from Greece or those lands in which that once powerful nation founded colonies.

Grecian Bronzes.

In the modern replicas of antiques, and in the fashioning of the common household bronzes of the present day, the craftsman, perhaps unconsciously, gains inspiration from the older race of artists in metals. Indeed, the nearer the workman adheres to the form of the statues and domestic decorative metal-work of the ancients, the more likely he is to succeed in imparting refinement to the modern home. Ancient Greece was the nursery of art and the training ground of the athlete and of the model who served as the type of the goddesses whose perfect forms and attributes were regarded as worthy of the divinities her sons and daughters worshipped. Most of the metal objects coming to us from classic days are of bronze, toned and patinated. Images of the gods and goddesses worshipped by the ancient Greeks were to be found in every house. Wealthy patrons employed the artist in metal to produce idols and appointments for the numerous temples they built. It was the worship of many pagan deities that found work for many craftsmen. The very multiplicity of the gods served the purposes of trade, hence the supporters of pagan practices and worship found in the metal-workers and artists who wrought such things powerful allies. We read in Biblical accounts of that day that the introduction of Christianity caused no small stir amongst them, and incited Demetrius, the silversmith, and others to rise up against the "new religion," which gave no immediate promises of employment of metal-workers to compensate them for the loss of trade in idols. It was thus that so much that is beautiful when regarded as merely artistic bronze figures was made. Among the favourite deities whose emblematic bronzes have been preserved to us are Diana, Venus, Mercury, and Hercules. They rank with the gods of brass of the heathen, and according to their classic beauty are admired with the idols of metal from India and Africa (see Chapter XIV).

In all these treasures from the old world, little known or understood now, there is a blend of the decorative and artistic and the more utilitarian objects of the household. The slaves of the old families often lived luxurious lives, although the goodwill of their patrons and owners might be fickle. They had their duties, and the metal objects they handled and often skilfully manipulated are still preserved in our museums. These were often fashioned with the same grace as the statues which adorned porticoes and halls.

The ornamental objects of Greek workmanship include useful braziers or bronze tripods which gave heat and also served as purifiers; for into their round brass dishes were thrown perfumes to correct the smell of the coals and charcoal, which were then held to be injurious. Such braziers were also used by the Romans, and even in the Middle Ages were not uncommon, pepper and cloves being then burned for fragrance.

Relics of Roman Occupation.

Although many beautiful objects have been imported into this country by collectors and dealers bought in Rome itself, and in Italian and other continental cities where Roman remains have been found, it is the relics of the Roman occupation in Britain which take first place in our estimation among the valued curios of that great nation. These have been found in many places, often quite unexpectedly.

Modern London, like modern Rome, stands in part on ruins of an older city. Hence it is that when foundations are being dug and excavations to some 15 to 20 feet are made, relics of Roman London and of Saxon and early Norman buildings which were built in subsequent ages upon the older ruins come to light. It is amidst these ruins and the debris of old architecture that metal curiosities are often found. Copper and brass have not perished to the same extent as iron and more corrosive metals. In London, Bath, Chester, and cities which were famous many centuries ago, the earliest metal curiosities are unearthed. But many of the most valued have been found where least expected, for it must be remembered that even the sites of many old cities have been lost, and green fields now cover the old foundations.

It is a little disappointing at first, when a collection of Roman antiquities is under examination, to find that they bear a striking resemblance to modern appliances—especially is that so in the cooking utensils. Most of these early vessels are of bronze; some, however, are of pure copper, mostly covered over with green patina. The useful seems to have predominated over the ornamental; possibly it is that the more substantial cooking-pots and pans have remained, although lighter and more ornamental objects have perished.

The pots and saucepans are indeed remarkably like those which are now used for similar purposes. This has been remarked by many who have had to do with the uncovering of long buried ruins. A writer describing a Roman kitchen attached to the villa of a patrician family of note in the Republican era before Augustus assumed the purple, which had been uncovered in Rome, said, "The culinary utensils found there are much like our own, made of brass, some of them dipped or plated over with silver." They consisted of kettles with feet, with a dome-shaped opening under them, a hollow cylinder which entered into the kettle base so that the fire could penetrate it.

Many of these utensils, whilst possessing great strength and lasting qualities, were not altogether plain, for they were covered with foliated ornament like the saucepan illustrated in Fig. 7. The saucepans without handles were something like a caldron on feet; many, however, were fitted with bail handles, by which they could be hung over the fire by the aid of a tripod. The metal of which these early vessels were made varied, for although some were of bronze, some were made of a yellowish brass, like one found in London near Ludgate. The Guildhall Museum is the best place to find a thoroughly representative collection of Roman metal-work. In the cases there are curious saucer-like bowls with and without handles, many spoons of bronze, and a variety of ladles, some of which have long and narrow bowls; and there are some culinary strainers, not unlike the modern colander.

There are many ewers and some bowls or basins of bronze. In Fig. 8 is shown a ewer of hammered copper, the handle having at the time it was made, or at some later period, been strengthened with brass wire, which is in part flattened and stamped with medallions giving the vessel an exceedingly ornamental appearance. This curious piece is to be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Among the more important kitchen accessories which have been discovered on the sites of Roman towns are bronze scales not unlike miniatures of the steelyards once common in England, and still used by butchers. Then there are brass gridirons, dripping-pans, and cups of bronze. There are also copper pails for cooling wine, and in a few instances bronze stands for the wine amphorÆ. It is almost impossible to point out the sites which are likely to yield the explorer the best results, neither is it possible to locate the town where metal-work has been found to the greatest extent, for all old camping-grounds and towns once occupied by Roman troops or residential cities during Roman occupation contain what has been thrown away as useless or has been buried accidentally.

The collector is delighted with the many little objects which can be bought, trifling matters when seen separately, but very interesting when collectively displayed.

Interesting Toilet Requisites.

During excavations on the site of the National Safe Deposit Company's premises in Walbrook quite a number of beautifully formed small objects were found. Indeed, such curios (by no means uncommonly met with on sale in curio shops) are very numerous, and include toilet implements, armlets of twisted copper wire, finger rings of bronze, dress fasteners, pins, fibulÆ, tweezers, key rings, bodkins, and needles.

The looking-glass is of course a modern invention, but Greek and Roman maidens learned the art of finishing their toilet in the reflective "glass" of the shining pool, and later by the aid of mirrors of highly polished metal made by the craftsmen of Rome; some of which have been preserved. The surface to which this reflective polish was given was of copper alloyed with antimony and lead. Such mirrors were sometimes hung to the girdle, a custom not unknown to Shakespeare, who frequently makes mention of it.

Artificial Lighting.

Artificial light has been a necessity to man ever since primeval days. The whole story of the discovery of fire-making and the light it gave is an enchanting romance. The contrivances for procuring and lighting a fire and for the betterment of artificial light have been many, and throughout the ages they have received perhaps greater attention by the inventor than any other requirement of the race. Of all the curios of the period under review none have been more prolific than those associated with artificial light. The lamps of ancient Rome, of beautiful bronze and brass, contrasted with the clay or terra-cotta lamps of cruder forms which have been found in such quantities. Their chased patterns were often modelled on the earlier Greek vases, so many of which are to be seen in the British Museum among the rarities of the metal collector. No collection of copper and brass would be complete without examples of the arts and crafts of Rome, so beautifully exemplified in the charming lamps to be carried in the hand, to stand on pedestals, and for suspension from the ceiling. There was something in their ornamentation which carried them beyond the works of the utilitarian maker. A celebrated historian, referring to the lights of ancient Rome, speaks of their matchless grace and simplicity, and says, "They afford traces of decoration showing an elevation in the ornamentation of common articles of every-day use." The Roman lamp of bronze was carried everywhere the conquering armies went, and in Roman settlements in France, Italy, and in Northern Africa, as well as in Britain, the native artificers in copper and bronze saw in them designs to be imitated; and after the Empire of Rome had fallen, the models which emanated from the Imperial city served as the designs for lamps in many countries centuries afterwards. The illustrations shown in Figs. 9 and 10 represent bronze lamps—the former, Fig. 9, is cast, and is an early example; Fig. 10, however, is of a later period, and it is made of brass inlaid with copper. The examples found in this and other countries may be divided into two groups, those distinctly Roman and of early date and those of the days when the Christian religion was recognized by the Emperors and the State. These latter are known by the decorations upon them.

Statues and Monuments.

Reference has already been made to the beautiful statuettes of Greece. There are others, to many grand in their conceptions, the work of Roman modellers, many representing Apollo, Hercules, Mars, and Mercury having been found. In the British Museum there are some wonderfully striking heads of several of the Emperors, and other men whose portraits have been handed on to us in monuments of stone, and upon coins and medallions, the die-sinkers of which so faithfully portrayed the men they pictured. The names of many of the most famous artists are known, and collectors rejoice over fresh examples of their handiwork. It is, however, the general characteristics of the Roman worker in metal as a whole that connoisseurs recognize and appreciate, and the true connoisseur is always searching for some greater artist's work than he has hitherto been familiar with. He is on the look-out for the very best among art treasures.

An amusing story has been told of a modern manufacturer who was very fond of inserting in his advertisements paragraphs calling attention to his modern works of art, which he said were "acknowledged by connoisseurs to be the best." "Father," said his little boy one day, "what do you mean by a connoisseur?" "A connoisseur, my boy," answered the manufacturer of copper goods, "is an eminent authority—an authority, in short, who admits that our goods are the best."

We are apt to look upon the beautiful brass grilles and copper lock-plates of mediÆval days as the earliest examples of these metals in lock-making, the earliest locks found on old doors and muniment chests being chiefly of iron. But when we go back to still earlier times and examine the relics of Roman London, we find key-rings and keys of bronze, some very ornamental, too. One beautiful little key found near All Hallows Church has a bow terminating in a small spur. Another bronze key found near St. Swithin's, in Cannon Street, has a ridged annular bow, with a short square stem. Other keys are equally decorative; the locks, too, are in many instances ornamental, although in design and workmanship they fall short of the pinnacle of fame reached by the lockmakers in later Gothic times.

Romano-British Art.

Many readers in searching for curios of the Romano-British period in this country will recall the fact that the ancient Britons possessed bronze; and doubtless we should be doing an injustice to the more enlightened dwellers in Britain before Roman occupation, and contemporary with it, if we did not admit that possibly some of the relics of that period now dubbed Roman belonged to those more entitled to our regard, for Albion was their native land.

On the Thames Embankment, facing the Houses of Parliament, there is that famous bronze group perpetuating the memory of the British Queen Boadicea in her war chariot. The Romans made their famous paved roads as they pushed their outposts and line of camps farther north and west. The wheels of many British war chariots were made of, or hooped with, brass, and possibly the brass or bronze wheels, such as are represented in that group on the Embankment once covered by the flowing river, may have rattled over the roads made by the conquerors; such chariots, with their appointments of bronze and ornamental horse trappings, showed much skill in their fashioning. A poet gives voice to their use in the following lines:

A Well Staged Exhibit.

It is scarcely necessary to remind readers that there is a peculiar attraction in a well staged exhibit—public or private. A case of Roman and still earlier bronzes may be made attractive by an arrangement giving a gradation of subject and inclusive of the plainer types with the more delicately formed ornamental trinkets. A very fine example of how to arrange such a collection is seen in one of the rooms in Stafford House, the new home of the London Museum. The entire collection, representative of various periods of the Roman occupation of Britain, so carefully mounted, is worthy of close inspection. It includes many rare pieces, one being an early Roman lamp, which was found in Greenwich and is said to be unique among London curios. Indeed, it is probable that none so fine, nor of exactly the same design, has been found in England. This we are able to reproduce (see Fig. 50). The newly arranged London Museum is likely to be a rendezvous of Londoners and their friends from the country, for not only are there early antiquities in copper and brass, but many fascinating curios arranged in historical sequence, showing the development in metal-work as it was fashioned by London smiths and founders, and the progress made by other craftsmen as kings and queens came and went and the London as we know it to-day was being evolved.

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MEDIÆVAL
ANTIQUITIES