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11. The Portland Vase
The Portland Vase
Description
Amphora in translucent dark cobalt blue and opaque white cameo glass. The cylindrical neck widens out to a sloping shoulder and ovoid body, whose squatness is emphasized by the lack of a foot. Everted mouth with rounded rim which is cut very unevenly on the upper side so that it is not horizontal; below this the neck curves out smoothly to the carination of the shoulder. Handles from the centre of the neck to the shoulder. The disc base (1945.9-27.2) is discussed separately. A separate Registration Number (1948.10-18.1) was assigned to approximately forty small fragments, most of which were incorporated during the most recent restoration. Broken and mended; the bottom is missing, and the underside of the vessel has been roughly trimmed and the edge left grozed, perhaps in antiquity. Slight iridescence in patches all over the inside of the vessel, slight pitting on exterior and red streaks and bubbles in the blue glass. Grinding all over the inside of the vessel, probably achieved by a filling of grit. The white design may have been reworked after its rediscovery in the sixteenth century. The inside of the rim is decorated with asymmetrical grooves either side of a ridge. The handles are vertically ridged on the outside and cut in v-shaped wedge sections. Figured design carved in the white glass, divided into two portions by a bearded and perhaps horned head below the lower attachment of each handle. One group of four persons shows a young man emerging from a rustic shrine behind which grows a shrub. His right arm held behind him clasps his cloak that is draped around the pillar of the shrine; his left arm stretched before him clasps the right arm of a half-draped lady seated on the ground turning back towards him and caressing a serpent-like creature that rises up towards her face. Eros flies to the right, above the lady, holding a bow in the left hand, a torch in his right. To the right stands a bearded man resting his chin on his right arm that itself rests on his right bent knee, the foot supported by a ledge below a tree that spreads out its branches; behind him is another tree. On the other side, at the extreme left, is a rectangular column beside which is a young man seated to the left on a rock shown in a series of steps with his head turned back towards a half-draped girl reclining to the right on the same rock with her right arm raised up to her head that is turned back to look towards the floor behind her; from her left hand hangs a burning torch. To her right, seated to the right on another rock and looking back towards the scene, sits another half-draped girl holding a sceptre in her left hand. The scene is closed by the shrub that grows from the back of the rustic shrine described above. --The British Museum, Tatton-Brown, Veronica A; Gudenrath, W; Roberts, Paul C; Whitehouse, D, Roman Cameo Glass, Vol. II, London, BMP, 2007; Walters, H B, Catalogue of Engraved Gems & Cameos, Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the British Museum, London, BMP, 1926; Jenkins, Ian; Sloan, Kim, Vases and Volcanoes - Sir William Hamilton and his collection, London, BMP, 1996; Tait, Hugh (editor), Five Thousand Years of Glass, London, BMP, 1991
12. Achilles drags Hektor
Achilles drags Hektor
Description
Pierced handle from a mould-made pottery lamp with a triangular ornament depicting Achilles dragging the body of Hector behind his chariot; Hecuba and Priam watch from the walls of Troy. Drab buff, micacaeous, covered with patchy red-brown slip. Plaster mould. --The British Museum, Bailey, Donald Michael, Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1975; Walters, H B, Catalogue of Greek and Roman Lamps in the British Museum, London, BMP, 1914; Brommer, Frank, Denkmälerlisten zur griechischėn Heldensage, II, Marsburg, Elwert, 1974
13. Mithras
Mithras
Description
Marble statue of Mithras slaying the bull. Mithras is shown in eastern costume, including trousers and a Phrygian cap. A dog and snake are shown trying to lick the blood and a scorpion is attacking the bull's genitals. --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892
14. Latrine from Baths of Caracalla
Latrine from Baths of Caracalla
Description
Pavonazetto marble latrine in the form of a chariot. --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892
15. Dragging Priam
Dragging Priam
Description
Pierced handle from a mould-made pottery lamp with a triangular ornament depicting Achilles dragging the body of Hector behind his chariot; Hecuba and Priam watch from the walls of Troy. Drab buff, micacaeous, covered with patchy red-brown slip. Plaster mould. --The British Museum, Bailey, Donald Michael, Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1975; Walters, H B, Catalogue of Greek and Roman Lamps in the British Museum, London, BMP, 1914; Brommer, Frank, Denkmälerlisten zur griechischėn Heldensage, II, Marsburg, Elwert, 1974
16. Portland Vase
Portland Vase
Description
A disc in translucent blue and opaque white cameo glass. The disc has been cut down from a larger composition. The decoration, in white, shows the upper part of a young man in profile, gazing to the right; the forefinger of his right hand is raised towards the chin expressing doubt or consternation. --The British Museum, Tatton-Brown, Veronica A; Gudenrath, W; Roberts, Paul C; Whitehouse, D, Roman Cameo Glass, Vol. II, London, BMP, 2007; Tait, Hugh (editor), Five Thousand Years of Glass, London, BMP, 1991
17. Decorative relief on bronze cup
Decorative relief on bronze cup
Description
Bronze patera: relief decoration in the centre of the dish showing the sea-demon Scylla attacking the companions of Ulysses. Scylla towers above the ship and seizes one crewman, while the dogs that form her lower body savage several others. The eyes of the men and dogs are inlaid with silver. The handle is ancient, but not made for this dish. --The British Museum, Walters, H B, Catalogue of the Bronzes in the British Museum. Greek, Roman & Etruscan., I-II, London, BMP, 1899
18. Taking away Briseis
Taking away Briseis
Description
Fragment of a bronze scabbard: Achilles and Briseis. The lower of the two scenes on the fragment shows Briseis led away between two heralds. The subject of the upper scene is uncertain, but it may represent Patroklos asking Achilles to lend him his armour. --The British Museum, Walters, H B, Catalogue of the Bronzes in the British Museum. Greek, Roman & Etruscan., I-II, London, BMP, 1899
19. Pugilist
Pugilist
Description
Originally dated as 100-200 CE, the sculpture is now considered to be a modern forgery by the J. Paul Getty Museum. Broken off from a full-scale statue, the remaining upper portion of this figure represents a bearded man in a lunging active pose. The figure's thickened ears, heavy brow, and developed musculature suggest that he is probably a pugilist or boxer. The facial features and beard of the figure resemble those frequently used for depictions of Herakles, perhaps indicating that this was a statue of that hero in action. With his now-broken arm reaching out into space, the figure's pose and his bulked-up musculature are reminiscent of sculpture of the Late Hellenistic period. The sculpture is not Hellenistic, however. And although the incised pupils of the statue clearly identify it as Roman, recent studies by conservators indicate that it is, in fact, a modern object. --The J. Paul Getty Museum
20. Artemis and Apollo Slaying Niobids, copy of Artemis work of 440-430 BCE
Artemis and Apollo Slaying Niobids, copy of Artemis work of 440-430 BCE
Description
Circular marble relief: Apollo and Artemis slaying Niobids. --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892
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