Lives of the Founders of the British Museum, Part 2 of 2: With Notices of Its Chief Augmentors and Other Benefactors, 1570-1870.Edwards, Edward
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Lives of the Founders of the British Museum, Part 2 of 2: With Notices of Its Chief Augmentors and Other Benefactors, 1570-1870.
Edwards, Edward
Book collectors -- Great Britain; British Museum
‘Upon the Acropolis, and fallen into a bath, we found a pedestal having
sculptured upon the side a god and goddess within a temple, in excellent
preservation. On the opposite side of the pedestal is a very singular
subject, which, had not certain points both of execution, material, and
position occurred, I should have attributed to the Byzantine age.
Amongst many other animals, the object of chase to a hunter is seen much
mutilated: this may have been the representation of a novel idea of the
Chimæra: the hind quarters of a goat remain, with a snake for its tail.
It is greatly to be regretted that the other fragments could not be
found. On observing in the ground some very ancient forms of the Greek
letters, differing from all others found so commonly here, cut upon a
slab of marble, I had it taken up, and was delighted to find that it was
a pedestal, with a Lycian inscription upon the other side; this will be
valuable, as showing the form of the Greek characters in use at the age
of the language of Lycia. This same type is seen in all the bilingual
inscriptions, of which we have only casts.
‘Of another pedestal at Tlos I have taken casts, which will be valued
from the subjects of the bas-reliefs. The pedestal of one stone was
formed of two cubes, a small one upon a larger. The fourth side of the
upper one was not sculptured. One slab of the larger cube represents in
bas-relief a view of the Acropolis of Tlos, the Troas of these early
people: probably the hero whose deeds were by this monument
commemorated, and whose name occurs twice upon it, was engaged in the
defence or capture of the city. At Tlos I also found cut in the rock of
the Acropolis a tomb with an Ionic portico. [Sidenote: _Note._—The plans
referred to are appended to the first edition of Sir C. Fellows’ book.]
Within this are represented a panelled and ornamented door, and several
sculptured devices and animals, as shown in the drawings and plans. On
the side, and within the portico, is a very early bas-relief of
Bellerophon upon Pegasus, and probably a chimæra beneath the horse; but
this portion of the sculpture is unfinished, and the rock beneath is
left rough; the columns of the portico are only blocked out from the
rock. Of the bas-relief of Bellerophon I have casts, and the full detail
of the colouring which now remains upon the figures. This is probably
the earliest sculpture which we have obtained. From Cadyanda I have
casts of parts of a beautiful tomb, which is so much in ruins, and
shaken into fragments, that I could not even take casts of the whole of
the sculptures that remain. The roof or lid is wanting. The tomb now
consists of a chamber in imitation of a wooden structure, and in the
panels is sculpture; surmounting this is a smaller solid block, or
plinth, also sculptured, but the upper part is wanting. These
bas-reliefs, of which I show many drawings in my ‘Lycia,’ derive great
additional interest from several of the figures having near them names
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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