daggers and spears which date from about the fifteenth to the tenth
century B.C. Italian daggers are remarkable for the use of engraved
geometrical decoration on the blades. The first class resembles the
Mycenaean weapons in the form of the hilt with edges raised for inlay
and crescent-shaped pommel, and the round base of the blade is also
similar to an early Mycenaean type. The haft of one dagger is wound
with bronze wire, another has an ivory handle bound with gold (No.
=253=; fig. 99_a_), and a third has the pommel filled with ivory (No.
254). Some of the blades were made separately, and riveted to the hilt
after the primitive fashion (No. =255=; fig. 99_b_). In that case
the hilt was split to receive the tang, and overlapped the base (No.
=256=). Some of these daggers diverge still further from the Mycenaean
in having the blade with recurving edges which is characteristic of
a cutting sword (No. =257=; fig. 99_c_). The sheaths are of peculiar
shape, being made of a thin plate of bronze with an ornament at the
end in the form of a large round knob or several discs on a peg (No.
=258=; fig. 99 _e_, _f_). They are decorated with the same linear
designs as the blades. A later variety of Italian sword, known from
the horned extremities of the pommel as the _Antennae_ type, is
represented by two specimens (No. =259=; fig. 99_d_). In the first,
the horns are simply curved projections, in the other they are
developed into large rings or spiral coils. The type is of frequent
occurrence throughout Europe, even in the north.
[Illustration: FIG. 99.--EARLY ITALIAN BRONZE SWORDS AND SHEATHS (NOS.
253, 255, 257-9). 1:6.]
[Illustration: FIG. 100.--ITALIAN BRONZE SPEARHEADS (NO. 260).]
Italian spearheads do not suggest so much connection with
Mycenaean types. Some of them are narrow, but most have broad and
strongly-curving blades which spring sharply from the sockets (No.
=260=; fig. 100). A spearhead from Sicily is remarkable for its great
size (No. =261=): it is thirty-five inches long.
The rest of the arms belong to the historical period. The usual
weapons of the Greeks were the spear and sword. The bow was a special
arm, which did not form part of the equipment of the ordinary soldier,
and its use, like that of the sling, was practised by men of certain
districts, who served as mercenaries to other states. The axe was
a barbarous weapon, and is generally represented in the hands of
Amazons, who brought their mode of warfare from the wilds of Scythia
(see fig. 109).
=Greek swords.=--The earliest Greek swords in this collection date
from the tenth century B.C., when iron was fast taking the place of
bronze; but forms common in the Bronze Age were still reproduced in
iron, just as those peculiar to stone implements were for some time
preserved in bronze. This conservative tendency is noticeable in three
iron swords, of which two are from Cyprus (Nos. =262=, =263=; fig.
101_b_). They reproduce the general form of the bronze sword from
Enkomi in the same island (No. =250=; fig. 96). A short iron dagger is
similar to the common Mycenaean type (No. =264=; fig. 101_a_).
[Illustration: FIG. 101.--IRON SWORDS, SHOWING THE SURVIVAL OF
MYCENAEAN TYPES (NOS. 263-4). 1:4.]
The ordinary Greek sword of the fifth century B.C. is represented by
three examples. The type appears frequently in works of art. On a vase
in the Third Vase Room (E 468; Pedestal 6) there is a drawing of the
combat of Achilles and Memnon, in which Memnon is armed with this
sword. In the sheath by his side is another, so that it is possible
to see both hilt and blade at once (fig. 102). The shape is entirely
different from that of prehistoric times. The hilt is round and the
pommel a small knob, while the guard is a plain crosspiece. The blade,
which, being made of iron, is long and thin, swells from the hilt
towards the point in the manner characteristic of the cutting sword.
All these features are visible in the examples (No. =265=; fig.
104_a_, _b_). The swelling blade is best seen in the largest specimen,
while the iron-handled fragment, which was excavated from a tomb near
the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos, shows the original form of the hilt.
The small dagger with a bone hilt and the bone end of the scabbard
forms part of a group of weapons which were found on the battlefield
of Marathon (No. =266=; fig. 103). The others are iron spearheads,
arrowheads both of bronze and iron, and leaden slingshot, two of which
are marked with a thunderbolt and the Greek name _Zoilos_.
[Illustration: FIG. 102.--VASE-PAINTING OF THE COMBAT BETWEEN ACHILLES
AND MEMNON, SHOWING THE CLASSICAL GREEK WEAPONS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 103.--WEAPONS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD OF MARATHON
(NO. 266). Ca. 1:3.]
Another common type of Greek sword is the heavy knife-like sabre with
a hilt in the shape of a bird's head (No. =267=; fig. 104_c_). Its
original appearance may be seen on the Athenian bowl already mentioned
on page 80 (fig. 105). The classical name was _machaira_. Xenophon
recommends it as a cavalry weapon, because of its heavy down-stroke.
This example comes from Spain, where many similar swords have been
found, but the origin of the type is Greek or even Oriental. The
dagger with a cylindrical bronze hilt of which the pommel is a
lynx-head, appears from the style of the decoration to be Graeco-Roman
(No. =268=). Some models in terracotta from Naukratis give the types
of the Hellenistic period (No. =269=).
[Illustration: FIG. 104.--GREEK IRON SWORDS (NOS. 265, 267). 1:5.]
[Illustration: FIG. 105.--THE _Machaira_, WITH HILT IN THE SHAPE OF A
BIRD.]
[Illustration: FIG. 106.--GREEK SPEARHEADS (NOS. 272-3, 275). About
1:4.]
=Greek and Roman spears.=--Classical spears are represented by a
variety of heads both in bronze and iron. The earliest Greek type is
an iron head found with pottery of the tenth or ninth century B.C. in
a grave at Assarlik in Asia Minor (No. =271=). Those with three and
four blades are a small class, examples of which came to light at
Olympia, and suggest as a date the end of the sixth century B.C. (No.
=272=; fig. 106_a_). To the same date may belong the decoratively
modelled bronze spear from Kameiros, and another of plainer design
from the same place (No. =273=; fig. 106_b_, _c_), with two from
Olympia, and a large iron one (No. =274=) found with the fine Attic
helmet (p. 78) in Macedonia. A curious spearhead, or perhaps a butt,
from Olympia is shown among the Greek Inscriptions (p. 9, No. =14=,
fig. 8). Spearbutts are not uncommon. Some are plain tapered ferrules
(No. =279=; fig. 107), others end in two-pronged forks (Nos. =280=,
=281=; fig. 107). The bronze forks are from Egypt, the iron one
(fig. 107, bottom centre) was found on the bank of the Tiber with the
spearheads mentioned below. The unusually long iron head, which was
found in Spain with the iron _machaira_, is probably a later Greek
form (No. =275=; fig. 106_d_). This example exhibits in a high degree
the superiority of iron to bronze. Other iron spearheads are from
Italy; some are from the Tiber (No. =276=). Three specimens, one with
remains of the wooden shaft and the lashing of wire, were found near
the village of Talamone on the west coast of Italy (No. =277=; fig.
108), where in 225 B.C. the Romans won a decisive victory over the
Gauls, who had marched successfully to within a few days of Rome, and
were returning home with their plunder. Like the helmets from Kyme and
Cannae, and the arms from Marathon, these spears are relics of one
of the famous battles of antiquity. The Roman soldiers of later times
carried spears of a different kind. They had no thrusting lance, but
an extremely heavy weapon, the _pilum_, which they threw with great
effect at close quarters. The small iron heads from Licenza (No.
=278=) have much the same shape as the head of the _pilum_. They
probably belonged to light throwing-spears. The purpose of the long
head was to bend and encumber the enemy after piercing his shield or
armour.
=Roman swords.=--The collection of swords ends in those which belong
to the Roman period. A fragment of a sword with a heavy iron blade
seems too big for the natives of Italy, and may have been used by a
Gaulish invader (No. =282=). The large sword with a flat guard and
an ivory and bronze handle (No. =283=) is perhaps a Roman _gladius_,
which was afterwards superseded in the army by a sword of Spanish
pattern.
[Illustration: FIG. 107.--BRONZE AND IRON SPEAR-BUTTS (NOS. 279-81).
Ca. 1:5.]
[Illustration: FIG. 108.--IRON SPEARHEADS FROM TALAMONE (NO. 277).
About 1:4.]
[Illustration: FIG. 109.--ROMAN LEGIONARY SWORD AND SCABBARD FOUND AT
MAINZ (NO. 284). 1:4. Reliefs, 2:3.]
[Illustration: FIG. 110.--GREEK AND CYPRIOTE BRONZE ARROWHEADS (NOS.
290, 288). 2:3.]
The later Roman sword is excellently represented by the so-called
"Sword of Tiberius," which was found in a field at Mainz on the Rhine
(No. =284=; fig. 109). The short iron blade is of the usual type,
measuring twenty-one inches in length and two and a half in width at
the base, from whence it tapers gently to a sharp point. The scabbard
was made of wood covered with a plate of silver-gilt which is
decorated with reliefs in gilt bronze. The plates of the bands which
were hooked to the sword-belt are ornamented with wreaths of oak. At
the hilt is a group which represents the Emperor Tiberius receiving
his nephew Germanicus on the latter's return, in the year 17 A.D.,
from his victorious campaigns against the Germans, in the course of
which he had recovered one of the legionary eagles which Varus had
lost. The emperor, robed as a deity, is seated on a throne, resting
his left arm on a shield which is inscribed +FELICITAS · TIBERI+--"The
Good Fortune of Tiberius"--and holding in his right hand a small
figure of Victory with wreath and palm, which he has just taken
from his returning general. Germanicus stands before him in military
attire, with his right hand stretched out. In the background is an
armed figure, and behind the emperor a winged Victory brings a shield
upon which is the legend +VIC · AVG+--"The Victory of Augustus."
The middle of the scabbard is occupied by a medallion charged with
a portrait of Tiberius, and at the point is a larger plate which is
divided into two fields. The uppermost has a representation of a Roman
eagle in a temple, and in the other is an Amazon armed with battle-axe
and lance. It might not be wrong to connect the eagle with that of
Varus; and the figure of the Amazon calls to mind the ode of Horace
(_Carm._ iv. 4) celebrating the success of Drusus, the father of
this Germanicus, against the Germans of the Danube, in which the poet
expresses surprise that those barbarians should be armed with the
Amazonian axe. Perhaps the next generation attributed this legendary
weapon also to the Germans of the Rhine, and the Amazon is an allusion
to the campaigns which the sword commemorates. From the contrast of
the elaboration of the design with the cheapness of the execution, it
would seem that the weapon is one of many copies which were turned
out for some official purpose, probably a sword of honour presented to
officers who had served with Germanicus.
Other remains of Roman swords are less complete. There are several
fragments of scabbards, a bronze guard, two ivory pieces which may
have been pommels of the hilt or caps of the sheath, and a good
specimen of an entire hilt in bone (No. =285=). This is very similar
to the classical Greek pattern.
[Illustration: FIG. 111.--ROMAN ARROWHEADS (NO. 293). 2:3.]
=Sling-shot and arrowheads.=--Weapons which show little difference
of form in Greek or Roman times are the sling-shot (No. =286=) and
arrowheads. Sling-shot are mostly cast in lead, but some are of bronze
and stone. The inscribed sling-bolts from Marathon have already been
mentioned, and others similarly bear inscriptions in raised letters: a
personal name, of the maker or the general or the slinger; or the name
of the state from whose army it was shot--"From the Corinthians"; or a
message to the bullet or to the enemy--"Strike hard," and "Take this."
A large bronze arrowhead from Olynthus (No. =291=) bears the name of
Philip, probably the father of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian
king against whom Demosthenes wrote his Olynthiac and Philippic
orations.
Some of the arrowheads have already been described, the Mycenaean from
Rhodes (No. =252=; fig. 98), and those from Marathon (No. =266=; fig.
103). The large iron heads with knife-like blade and long tang are
Oriental (No. =287=); those from Marathon were no doubt used by
Persian bowmen. A similar group from Cyprus, but of bronze, shows long
square heads (No. =288=; fig. 110, top, right). A bundle of six bronze
arrowheads of broad leaf shape, found in a grave at Enkomi in Cyprus,
has rusted together as the arrows lay in the quiver, remains of which
and of the wooden shafts can still be seen (No. =289=). Greek examples
belong to two classes; they are all made of bronze. The commoner class
has sockets and blades like miniature spearheads; (No. =290=; fig.
110). Many of these have three blades; the large inscribed head from
Olynthus (No. =291=) is of this shape, but barbed. Another variety,
which always has barbs, is triangular with a central hole for the
shaft. The second class consists of heavy heads with long barbs and
tangs (No. =292=). These appear to be related to a Mycenaean form (see
fig. 98), and as they are often represented on coins of Crete, they
may perhaps be identified as the arrows of the Cretan bow. The Roman
period is represented by six iron arrowheads from Xanten (_Castra
Vetera_) on the Rhine. They show the spearhead and triangular shapes,
and are all barbed (No. =293=; fig. 111).
[Illustration: FIG. 112.--BONE CALTHROP FROM THE CRIMEA (NO. 296).
2:3.]
Such is the regular series of classical weapons. Exceptional pieces
are the bronze double-axe (No. =294=), if this can be called a weapon,
the ridged mace-head from Rome (No. =295=), and the calthrop (No.
=296=; fig. 112), a contrivance for disabling cavalry. This singular
object, which was found at Kertch in the Crimea, is cut from a human
radius bone.
The bronze weapons are more fully described in the _Catalogue
of Bronzes_ under the numbers painted on the objects.
(269) _Cat. of Terracottas_, C 629 ff.; (271) _Journal of
Hellenic Studies_, VIII., p. 64; (284) _Proc. Soc. Ant.
Lond._, N.S. III., p. 358; _Cat. of Bronzes_, 867; (289)
_Excavations in Cyprus_, p. 17, fig. 28; (296) McPherson,
_Antiq. Kertch_, p. 101.
[Footnote 40: [Greek:
Targeioi anethen tôi Diwi tôn Korinthothen.]
X.--HOUSE AND FURNITURE.
(Wall-Cases 25-40.)
Cases 25-40 contain furniture, lamps and lamp-stands, cooking
utensils, objects used in connection with the bath, and objects
illustrating the methods of heating buildings and supplying them with
water. With the house itself, its plan and its appearance we are
not concerned in this work. It is enough to say that the fundamental
distinction between the ancient and modern house is that the one
looked inwards, the other looks outwards. The ancient house received
its light and air either from the open courtyard, round which it was
built, or else from a large aperture in the roof. The former was the
prevailing arrangement in Greece, the latter (in the earlier period)
that adopted in Italy. The outside of the average Greek house was
probably very destitute of architectural ornament, presenting a wide
space of blank wall broken but by few windows.
The Roman house in its final development assumed a form closely
resembling that of the Greek house just described. At an early period
it was based on the early Italian house. This consisted merely of an
oblong chamber, with a small opening in the roof for the admission
of light and emission of smoke. This chamber was called an _atrium_,
perhaps because walls and roof were black (_ater_) with soot from the
smoke of the fire. Gradually the opening in the roof became larger.
Rain fell in the centre into a basin called the _impluvium_. The
_atrium_ lost its character as a living room, and further courts and
rooms in the Greek manner were added to it.
We may now deal with the internal arrangements and the furniture. The
objects may be described as they concern (1) the general furniture
of the house; (2) the lighting; (3) the kitchen; (4) the bath; (5)
water supply; (6) the warming. (7) Annexed is a small type-series of
vases.
=The Furniture of the house.=--In the nature of things, wooden
furniture rarely occurs outside Egypt, except in South Russia. Thus we
have a wooden table leg: a dog springs upward, from an acanthus leaf,
surmounting an animal's leg (No. =300=). This comes from Kertch in the
Crimea. In general, the remains of furniture shown in this section
are the metal accessories and fittings. These are for the most part of
Roman date, but Roman furniture was so largely derived from the Greek,
that they may be regarded as illustrating Greek furniture as well.
Some remarkable examples of bolster-ends in bronze, bronze inlaid with
silver, and ivory, are shown in Cases 27, 28. They usually terminate
above in a head of a mule, or of a duck, and below in a medallion
bust.
[Illustration: FIG. 113.--BRONZE COUCH (RESTORED).]
The seat (No. =301=) is incorrectly put together. It is composed of
the parts of one or two couches which should be restored as in fig.
113.
Below is a small bronze stool (No. =302=), without arms or back, of
a type not uncommon at Pompeii. Two tripods with expanding legs are
placed in the bottom of Cases 27-28. One of these (No. =303=) has an
arrangement similar to that of the candelabrum No. =307=, whereby it
could be heightened at will. These tripods were used as small tables.
Of a much older period is the fragment (No. =304=) from the leg of a
large bronze tripod, from Palaekastro in Crete.
[Illustration: FIG. 114.--ARCHAIC LAMPSTAND AND LAMP IN TERRACOTTA
(NO. 305). Ca. 1:7.]
[Illustration: FIG. 115.--ROMAN BRONZE LAMPSTAND. (NO. 306*). 1:4.]
=Lighting.=--In Cases 25, and 28, 29 are placed several candelabra
used either for the support of wicks floating in an oil-bath or for
lamps, or torches. Those stands which have come down to us are chiefly
of bronze, but the cheaper ones in ancient times were made of
wood. Martial, in an epigram, warns the possessor of such a wooden
candelabrum to take care that the whole stand does not turn into one
blazing candle.[41] A primitive example of lamp and candelabrum shaft
combined is shown in No. =305=, (fig. 114), from Cameiros (about
seventh century B.C.). A female figure, of columnar form, supports
a lamp with three nozzles. The Etruscan candelabra and many of the
candelabra found at Herculaneum and Pompeii consist of a base in the
form of three legs or paws, very commonly those of lions, a tall stem,
and a circular support or spreading arms for the lamps at the top.
The stem may be fluted, or may be knotted like a stem of a plant, or
divided like a reed. In Roman times another variety is also common,
composed of a massive base with three or more spreading arms, from
which lamps were suspended. Such a stand (No. =306=) is seen on the
upper shelf of Cases 29-30. A point which may be specially noted
in regard to some of the bronze stands of the Roman period is the
decoration of the shaft, which often takes the form of a climbing
animal. That shown in fig. 115 (No. =306*=) has a panther, a cock, and
a bearded serpent on the shaft. An ingenious expanding Roman bronze
lampstand (No. =307=) from the Hamilton Collection should be noticed
in the lower part of Case 29. The central rod attached to the circular
lamp-support can be raised at will, and secured in place by means of
a bronze pin passed through one of the pairs of holes pierced in the
side rods.
The lamps themselves (in Cases 31 and 32) are of terracotta, bronze
and marble. The greater number are of the Roman period. One of the
earliest is a primitive lamp (No. =308=; fig. 116) of the prehistoric
period known as Mycenaean, and was found in the course of the Museum
excavations at Enkomi in Cyprus. It was thrust, by its spike, into the
masonry joints of a built tomb, and must have had a wick floating in
the oil, or supported at the spout. The essential parts of a lamp in
the developed form are (1) the well for the oil, formed by the body
of the lamp and fed from an opening above; in the bronze lamps this
opening is covered by means of a lid, sometimes hinged, sometimes
secured by a chain, as in No. =309=, fig. 117; (2) the nozzle for
the insertion of the wick. The nozzle generally takes the form of
a projecting spout, but the arrangement varies very considerably in
different lamps, and a single lamp is often furnished with several
nozzles. The lamps might either be simply placed on a candelabrum or
else suspended from it. Several of the bronze lamps have chains for
the latter purpose (No. =309=; fig. 117). A peculiar bronze hook, of
which there are several examples in these cases, was sometimes used in
the Roman period for hanging up the lamps; in the example illustrated
(No. =310=; fig. 118) it is seen hinged to the lamp in such a way that
the lamp could be suspended, supported from the ground, or carried in
any way desired.
[Illustration: FIG. 116.--BRONZE LAMP FROM ENKOMI (NO. 308).]
[Illustration: FIG. 117--ROMAN BRONZE HANGING-LAMP (NO. 309). Ca.
1:4.]
[Illustration: FIG. 118.--ROMAN BRONZE LAMP WITH HOOK FOR SUSPENSION
(NO. 310). Ca. 1:3.]
The numerous Graeco-Roman bronze lamps in these cases show a great
variety of form. Heads of Seilenos, Pan, negroes, etc., appear side by
side with a fir-cone, a foot, a duck, a snail, or a wolf. The handles
often terminate in an animal's head, _e.g._, that of a horse, a dog, a
lion, or a swan (cf. fig. 117). A fine example, with a tragic mask on
the handle (No. =311=; fig. 119) was found at Rome in 1912. But the
choicest example of a bronze lamp will be found in the Bronze Room
(Case B). It is a double lamp for suspension, and was found in the
Roman Baths at Paris. A silver lamp with Heracles strangling the
serpents, on a boat-shaped cradle (No. =312=), is shown in Case 29.
The cheaper terracotta lamps are freely decorated with designs taken
from daily life or mythology. Numerous specimens of these lamps will
be seen in Table-Case B in the Fourth Vase Room. A very elaborate
example (No. =313=) in the form of a ship is seen here in the bottom
of Case 30. The twenty-three holes for wicks and filling should be
noted. The lamp fillers, as may be seen from the bronze specimen
exhibited, closely resembled the lamps themselves (No. =314=).
Candlesticks are rare. In the Etruscan candelabra (Nos. =315=, =316=;
Bronze Room Cases 57-60) projecting spikes seem to be intended for
piercing candles, as shown by a tomb painting at Orvieto (fig. 120;
see Bronze Room, Case 60). Two candlesticks of modern type (which
rarely occurs) are shown in Case 30 (No. =317=; fig. 121).
[Illustration: FIG. 119.--ROMAN BRONZE LAMP. TRAGIC MASK (NO. 311).]
Besides lamps and candles, lanterns were also largely in use,
especially for outdoor purposes. Such a portable Roman lantern (in
Case 32) is here illustrated (No. =318=; fig. 122). It is cylindrical
in shape and has a hemispherical cover, which could be raised from
the body of the lantern. The latter was enclosed with plates of some
transparent material such as horn, bladder, or linen. That talc was
also used is shown by the fact that several of the lanterns in the
Museum at Naples have their walls made of this material. Just below
the lantern is a small bronze statuette, which has formed the body of
a knife (No. =319=). A grotesque figure is walking with a lantern in
his right hand, and a basket slung over his shoulders. It was found at
Behnesa, in Egypt, and probably represents a bird-catcher returning in
the evening with his spoils. The lantern carried by him very closely
resembles the one described above.
Cheaper forms of perforated clay lanterns are also exhibited (No.
=320=; fig. 123).
[Illustration: FIG. 120.--ETRUSCAN CANDLE HOLDER, FROM A TOMB FRESCO.]
[Illustration: FIG. 121.--BRONZE CANDLESTICK FROM SYRIA (NO. 317).]
=The Kitchen.=--Cases 33-36 contain cooking implements and remains of
ancient fruit and grain. The vessels give a good idea of the furniture
of a Pompeian kitchen, although there is no example of the more
elaborate contrivances for preparing hot drinks and keeping food warm,
such as have been found at Pompeii, and may be seen in the Museum at
Naples.
The kitchen implements arranged in these cases do not differ
materially from those in modern use, except that they are made
of bronze, and frequently have some graceful and appropriate
ornamentation. One or two of the objects call for special remark. On
the second shelf from the bottom of Case 34 is an implement with
a long handle and a rectangular pan furnished with six circular
depressions (No. =321=). A circular pan with twenty-eight such
depressions was found at Pompeii, and is now at Naples. These pans
were probably used either for baking cakes or frying eggs.