Itinerarium curiosum (centuria I) : $b or, an account of the antiquities, and remarkable curiosities in nature or art, observed in travels through Great BritainStukeley, William
History
Itinerarium curiosum (centuria I) : $b or, an account of the antiquities, and remarkable curiosities in nature or art, observed in travels through Great Britain
Stukeley, William
Great Britain -- Antiquities -- Early works to 1800; Great Britain -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
with pilasters, contrived on purpose to receive other pieces: in that
on the left hand, or north side, is the tomb of the famous Germanicus,
adorned with carving of bas-relief: upon it two admirable busts of
him and Agrippina his wife. Between these upon the tomb stands an
altar-like pedestal with a small and ancient statue of Jupiter sitting.
In the pediment over the arch is a curious piece of marble, whereon
is raised the upper part of a man with his arms and hands extended,
and the impression likewise of a foot: this I suppose the original
standard of the Greek measure. Upon the _apex_ of the pediment is a
fine statue of Apollo with the right arm naked, the other covered with
a mantle: below the hips it ends in a _terminus_; so that it is an
_Hermapollon_. In two niches here, are two large and curious trunks,
as fine as the loquacious Pasquin or Marforio at Rome. Upon the two
outermost pilasters are two other beautiful trunks. At the corner of
this terrace is an altar. At the other end of this cross walk, under
the stone-work is a marble chair with an inscription on the back of
it, denoting that it belonged to the high-priest of Isis, as said;
for it is obliterated: it is remarkably easy to sit on: the sides are
embossed with winged _sphynges_. On each side of it are two sitting
fragments. Upon the top of this stone-work is a very large and curious
Greek statue of Pallas, coloss proportion, naked arms, a plumed helmet
on her head, the Gorgonian _Ægis_ on her breast: the very marble is not
without its terror.
We shall now pass through the house. The hall is a fine lofty room: in
the niches are several statues; a Greek lady with her arms folded under
the drapery, which with that of the under garment are perfectly seen
through the robe; Caius Marius in a senatorial habit; Cupid asleep,
leaning on his torch: M. Antony, a naked figure; all these as big as
the life: over the chimney-piece, a little Hercules tearing the lion;
seven bustos, an excellent one of Pindar; one said to be of Olympias,
I fancied it Lucretia. By the great stairs, painted in _fresco_ by Sir
James Thornhill, two bustos, one of the Grecian Venus. In niches upon
the stairs, six statues as big as the life: Diana in a hunting-habit,
a tuck’d-up coat, buskins of skins; a lady in Greek drapery; the Venus
de Medicis; Paris with a mantle, the Phrygian bonnet, and odd stockings
of the Dacian mode; (this is a statue of great antiquity;) a nymph
with a long flowing garment tied under the breast, a fine turn of the
body; a man, the right shoulder naked. In the little dining-room, over
the chimney, an antique marble vase. In the green-house I saw these
following: a Flora, the upper part lost; most inimitable drapery to
show the naked, like the celebrated one at Rome: a coloss head of
Apollo, from the collar bone to the crown of the head three foot; the
body is said to lie among many more under Arundel house in London: the
trunk of Camilla, both arms: a young Bacchus.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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