It is presumed that this article, from its peculiar curiosity, will be
welcomed by every lover and preserver of antiquities.
_To the Editor._
Sir,--The remarkable vessel from which this drawing is taken, was
discovered a few days since, by a labourer employed in sinking one of
the coffer-dams for the new London bridge, embedded in clay, at a depth
of about thirty feet from the bed of the river. It is of bronze, not
cast, but sculptured, and is in so perfect a state, that the edges of
the different parts are as sharp as if the chisel had done its office
but yesterday. The only portion which has suffered decay is the pin that
attached the lid to the other part, which crumbled away as soon as
exposed to the air.
At first, it was conjectured that this vessel was used for a lamp; but
the idea was soon abandoned, as there was no part calculated to receive
the wick; and the space to contain the oil was so small that it would
not have admitted of more oil than was sufficient for one hour’s
consumption, or two, at farthest.
One of the members of the Antiquarian Society has given it as his
opinion, that it was used for sacrificial purposes, and intended to
receive wine, which, after being put in, was to be poured out through
the mouth, the under jaw being evidently protruded to an unnatural
distance on this account.
The upper part of the head forms the lid, which the horns serve as a
handle to raise; the bottom of the neck is flat, so that it may stand
securely.
That it represents a head of Bacchus will be evident, at first glance,
as it is encircled with a torse of ivy; but the features being those of
a Nubian, or Carthaginian, prove that it must have an older date than
that of the Romans, who borrowed their first ideas of Bacchic worship
from the Egyptians. Perhaps it might have been part of their spoils from
Carthage itself, and have been highly valued on that account. Certain
however it is, that this curiosity (destined for the British Museum)
must have laid below the bosom of father Thames for many centuries; but
how it came there, and at such a depth in the clay, we can only guess
at; and till Jonathan Oldbuck, alias Monkbarns, rise from the dead to
set us right, it is to be feared that there will be left nothing but
conjecture respecting it.
[Illustration: ~Another View of the same ancient Bronze~,