FINE ARTS.
THE XANTHIAN MARBLES.
This British Museum now presents fresh attractions to the lovers of art : it has been recently enriched with a most valuable addition to its collection of antique sculpture, consisting of numerous fragments of friezes with bas-reliefs, several statues, and a curious sculptured tomb. The tomb, three or four of the least mutilated statues, and a few frag- ments of the friezes, are placed in the vestibule leading to the Elgin Gallery ; the rest will be brought up from the vaults below, cleaned, and put together, as quickly as may be. These interesting relics of ancient art were discovered by Mr. FELLOWES among the ruins of the city of Xanthus, the capital of ancient Lycia, in Asia Minor ; and it is to the perseverance of this gentleman that the Museum is indebted for the possession of these treasures, which have been acquired at little or no expense to the country. They are among the earliest works of Greek an, of prior date to those of the Phidian axra, and of various styles and degrees of excellence ; some few approximating to the Persepolitan character, while the major part are inferior only to the sculptures of the Parthenon. They supply the evidences that were wanting to show that the perfection of Greek sculpture, as manifested in the Elgin Marbles, was attained progressively, and had its origin in Asia Minor : in short, they may be said to constitute the link connecting Persian with Athenian art, and to furnish materials for a new and important chapter in the history of sculpture. From Mr. FELLOWES'S narrative of the circumstances attending his discovery of the Xanthian Marbles, their acquisition and transmission to England—which incidentally exposes the negligence, indifference, and perverseness of some of the Government officials, whose duty it was to lend him every assistance—we glean the following particulars. "The
object of the expedition was the bringing away the bas-relieft repre- senting the legend of the Daughters of King Pandarns, which were around a stele, or high square monument, which we called the Harpy Tomb' ; the beautiful Gothic-shaped tomb having chariots and horses sculptured upon its top, which we called the Horse Tomb '; and some three or four fragmentsof sculpture built into the walls. These were the specified visible objects we sought to remove ; but I expected to find much more, and I was not mistaken."
The blocks of marble of which the " Horse Tomb " was composed were so heavy that it was necessary to saw them previously to their removal ; but the stone-sawyers sent from Malta arrived so late in the warm season that malaria rendered it impossible for the sailors to re- main in the country, and this monument of " striking beauty " was left behind. The bas-reliefs of the " Harpy Tomb," being less ponderous, were brought away entire ; and they form the moat curious and ancient portion of the marbles. Mr. FELLOWES thus describes this extraordinary sarcophagus- " The Harpy Tomb consisted of a square shaft in one block, weighing about eighty tons; its height seventeen feet ; placed upon a base rising on one side six feet from the ground, on the other but little above the present level of the earth. Around the sides of the top of the shaft were ranged the bas-reliefii in white marble, about three feet three inches high : upon these rested a cap- stone, apparently a series of stones, one projecting over the other ; but these are cut in one block, probably fifteen to twenty tons in weight. Within the top of the shaft was hollowed out a chamber, which, with the bas-relief sides, was seven feet six inches high, and seven feet square. This singular chamber had been probably in the early ages of Christianity the cell of an anchoret, perhaps a disciple of Simeon Stylites, whose name he derived from his habita- tion, which I believe we have generally translated as meaning a column; but the form now in question is undoubtedly a stele, as a similar monument close by is so called in its inscription. The traces of the religious paintings and monograms of this holy man still remain upon the backs of the marble of the bas-reliefs." This marble chamber, ornamented on the outside with bas-reliefs, is a prominent object of attention in the Museum. It is completely covered with sculptures, excepting a square aperture, through which perhaps the bodies were introduced. At each corner is a harpy, bearing in her claws one of the four infant daughters of King Pandarus, who, accord- ing to the legend, were carried away, while a fifth is left behind. On one side is seated Venus, distinguished by the swan's head on her chair- back, smelling a lotus-flower, and holding a pomegrante in her hand; the three Graces stand before her, one of them holding a mantle ; on the other sides, Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, and other deities, may be recog- nized by their attributes. The character of the sculpture is what might be called Greco-Persian : the figures are in profile, but the eyes are full-front ; the feet are close together, and shod with Persikri slippers ; and Venus holds the flower in a similar manner to the ladies in the Egyptian paintings. The long crisped tresses, and the folds of the drapery are in the early Greek style ; and there are throughout indica- tions of that germ of elegance whickwas developed in such luxuriant grace and beauty in succeeding ages. The date assigned to this monu- ment is 740 B. C. There are also some fragments of an equally re- mote date, if not earlier : part of a frieze, in particular, representing figures clad in Asiatic costume, with loose trousers, Persian caps and beards; one of them having a pair of trousers and slippers, all of a piece over his arm. The sloping direction of these figures, and the style of art prove them to be of a primitive Asiatic character. A line of demarcation, as regards both style and locality, separates these specimens of Lycian art from those executed by the Greeks, after their conquest of Xanthus : Mr. FELLOWES thus discriminates between them.
" On the Acropolis, which must have formed the city of the earliest inhabi- tants, were found all the works of a peculiar Eastern character—the works of the Troes and of the Tramelze. The cemeteries of these peoples are marked as theirs, by their formation, by being generally cut in the rock, by their sculp- ture, and the characters of the inscriptions : these tombs are principally in the rocky cliffs to the south-east. The city, built in the manner of the Greeks, seems to have been added to that of the early people ; but its style of building does not appear to have extended over the old Acropolis. In this Greek-built district, the sculpture and inscriptions are Greek ; and, from the subjects of the bas-reliefs, the place must have contained buildings with friezes, representing the capture of the early city ; so accurately illustrating the description given in Herodotus, that I could almost fancy that the neighbouring historian had writ- ten his history from this frieze, commemorating an event which happened about a century before his tera. The cemeteries of this people are very exten- sive, spreading for two miles towards the south-east of the city, and also on the western side of the river. All these are sarcophagi, bearing Greek inscrip- tions. These cities, we read, were conquered by Brutus, and the description of the capture is fully borne out by the present position of the walls. The Roman conqueror appears to have destroyed most of the buildings of the city, which must have been crowded with temples and public edifices. The mate- rials of these, with reversed capitals, cornices, inscriptions, and even statues, now form walls of fortifications to all the surrounding heights, and mostly built with cement : these range over an extent of some miles in circuit. I have found no Roman tombs or inscriptions, nor have I seen any sculpture or art of that people, excepting the piling together of walls." The frieze here alluded to presents a lively and graphic picture of the taking of the city by the Greeks : the towers and other buildings are seen, in a kind of rude perspective, rising above the walls, which have semioval battlements at intervals ; and from the watch-towers are seen the heads of the sentinels : next are seen the besieged sallying oat, armed with shields and helmets, but with each a stone in his hand; while the women are shrieking and tearing their hair in the background: a third fragment represents the besiegers scaling the walls with ladders; two soldiers crouched down are holding a ladder which others climb. The action of all the figures is full of life and nature, and the execution is remarkable for finish and close attention to minutite : for instance, the details of the costumes and armour are represented with the utmost ex- actness, even to the strain on the leathern handles of the circular shields ; and the curtain-shield—the lower half having drapery at- tached to it—is frequently visible. One fragment representing monarch seated under a parasol in a commanding attitude, with one hand raised as if speaking vehemently, is conjectured to be the cow queror judging the prisoners—some of whom, their hands lin.und behind them, and tied together in a string, are led by a soldier: but the Asiatic character of his costume, and the parasol, proclaim him to be the native sovereign ; and the two bearded sages before him, clad in a sort of toga, are evidently not prisoners. Other bas-relief)
represent a procession of men bearing offerings to a temple ; a party of soldiers marching quickly—as the strides of their legs, and other ap- pearances of rapid movement, indicate.
These are all of comparatively small dimensions, about eighteen inches high ; but there are others with horses and chariots, nearly twice that height, almost as large as the Elgin frieze : the style of these more nearly resembles that of the sculptures of the Parthenon, and inmany instances excels some of them. The horses are more strictly natural, and more delicately finished ; they are also distinguished from the horses of the Parthenon frieze by the top-knot, the tails bound with riband, and the collar to which the traces of the chariot are at- tached. Another peculiarity of these bas-reliefs is, that the figures project diagonally from the background, which is hollowed slightly : stronger effects of light and shade are thus produced than those in the Elgin freize' where the surface of the relief is parallel to the ground. There is a a flatness of surface in the parts of these figures, that is a cha- racteristic of the Persepolitan sculptures ; to which, however, they have no other resemblance. Not only the action, but the expression of these groups of combatants is admirable : one figure of a man thrusting his sword into the body of a woman, who is writhing at his feet with agony and horror, has a frightful intensity of purpose. One or two fragments with fowls sculptured on them are remarkable for the truth to nature com- bined with massive simplicity and elegance: there is a cock with his hens, as gallant a chanticleer as ever crowed defiance from an English dung- hill, chiselled in a style that excites the admiration of sculptors. The statues are unfortunately headless, and otherwise mutilated; but sufficient remains of them to display the fine qualities, both of design and execution, that distinguish these as immediately antecedent to those of the Phidian sera. The three most striking are female figures some- what smaller than life, clothed in ample garments of thin texture, which are blown back, showing the lineaments of the form in front : the appearance of lightness and flattering motion in their drapery is repre- sented with surprising skill and boldness ; the deep hollows in the lesser folds, the bellying of the larger masses, and the rippling surface of the full transparent apparel, are imitated with a degree of refine- ment only inferior to that exhibited in the female figures on the pedi- ment of the Parthenon. Compared with them, the Greek sculptures of Xanthus are as a fresh and vigorous sketch to the finished picture : the limbs are round, fleshy, and delicately modelled ; and though the extre- mities are almost all broken off, the hand which is visible grasping the loose scarf that floats in the breeze, and partly hidden by its folds, shows tthe attention paid to minute points of nature. The action and costume of these figures are similar to that of the standing figure, called Victory, in the pediment of the Parthenon ; the fragment at her back being evidently apiece of flying drapery : like the Elgin Marbles, too, the Xanthian statues are remarkable for the finish bestowed on parts not visible ; the loose folds of the tunic overhanging the girdle at the back being " undercut " to an extent that is a wonderment to modern sculptors. There are drill- holes on the ankles and insteps, indicating that bronze sandals origi- nally adorned them. An oblong block of gray granite, carved with a lion's head at each end, the square between serving as a pedestal for a sphynx, is noticeable from the circumstance of a monument pre- cisely similar appearing above the walls in the bas-relief of the ancient city : the Persian lion, too, figures on more than one stone ; the conical cap is frequently intermixed with the Greek helmet; and in one in- stance the skull-cap is pointed, though surmounted with the semi- circular crest.
The sculptures are mostly of Parian marble, and the greater portion are as fresh as when they first came from the chisel ; even the statues, mutilated as they are, yet preserve the finish:of their surfaces, which is not the case with those of the Parthenon. Some have suffered from exposure to the weather ; but those which were built up in the walls by the Romans, or had been protected by the superincumbent masses of ruins, are in a very perfect state. Several fine fragments were found in two dry cisterns at each angle of the Temple, and others were em- bedded in the soil.
We have been content to point out the most obvious characteristics of the Xanthian Marbles, as they struck us from the hasty glance we Were enabled to take of them in the dimly-lighted vaults, where many of them yet remain : when they shall have been cleaned, arranged, and placed in a good light, they will afford interesting data for the archseo- logist and valuable studies for the artist. Then will be apparent how much is wanting to complete the series of the four or five different friezes, and the groups on the pediments ; and then also will regret at the comparative fewness of the fragments, and their mutilated condition, give rise to feelings of indignation at the apathy of the authorities, who have been content to scratch the surface of the mine of treasure discovered by Mr. FELLOWES, and bring away a handful of its precious contents, leaving it to other countries to excavate its riches. Some idea of the extent of these hitherto hidden stores of antique sculpture may be formed from the fact, that the fragments brought away were found in one spot, about a quarter of a mile in extent : this was so far from being exhausted, that Mr. FELLOWES only devoted a few days to the work of exploration ; for, says he, "it was tantalizing to seek about for objects which we should not be able to dig out or remove." The ruins of Xanthus alone would stock a museum ; and Mr. FELLOWES discovered "thirteen other cities, each containing works of ancient art" The sculptures in them may be had for the asking ; yet nothing is done. The very fragments now in the Museum might have still remained buried, bad not Mr. FELLOWES gone to Constantinople him- self, obtained the firman, and provided funds to defray the expenses of removing them. So long back as the spring of 1839 had Lord PAL- Marmon been applied to by the Trustees of the British Museum, at Mr. PELLowns's urgent request, to procure the Sultan's permission for the removal of the marbles : anticipating this, Mr. FELLOWES visited Lycia again in the autumn of that year, and wrote to Lord PON• sowav from Smyrna, urging the importance of obtaining the firman ; Lord PONSONBY only then applied for it, but in vain. It was not till October 1841 that the Trustees of the Museum received infor- atien that the firman was obtained, and in the hands of the ritish Consul at Smyrna : Mr. FELLOWES started, at thirty-six hours' trice, to superintend the operations ; when, on his arrival at Smyrna, e document, styled by Lord Potisozinx " the necessary Erman, " ed out to be two letters six months old, of not the slightest er authority. Nor did the hindrances stop here : for want of proper boats, tackle, and assistance, and that prompt and cordial cooperation which might have been expected from Captain GRAVES—who com- manded the Beacon, the vessel ordered to bring away the marbles—only eighty tons weight were removed, when eight hund:cd might as well have been secured ; and one of the rarest monuments was left behind. Nor was this all : the soulptures, which had been carefully packed in cases, were opened at Malta, and pitched down into the hold of the vessel that brought them to England, like so much ballast : the marks of abrasion and stains of dirt are yet visible on many ; and in one in- stance a Grecian hero bears on his shield the initials of some British sailor scratched deeply with a knife. All things considered, however, it is matter for congratulation that they reached England with so little damage—or even got here at all.
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