Artifact

“ We say advisedly “ornamental device in books,” for infinite almost are the applications of Symbol and Emblem to Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting, as is testified by the Remains of Antiquity in all parts of the world, by the Pagan tombs and Christian catacombs of ancient Rome, by nearly every temple and church and stately building in the empires of the earth, and especially in those wonderful creations of human skill in which form and colour bring forth to sight nearly every thought and fancy of our souls. ”

“ The contents of each mound and grave are arranged by themselves, so that as one passes from case to case a picture of the human life of the past is presented as nearly perfect as can be constructed out of that part of the handiwork of the people which has escaped decay. Here can be seen and studied the many singular results of the potter's art, simple and complex in form and varied in style of ornament; carvings in stone, shell, and bone; implements and ornaments of stone, shell, bone, mica, clay, copper, and other substances ”

“ Modern researches have, in fact, yielded to us a rich harvest of knowledge in the shape of exquisite remains of former phases of civilisation, some of the specimens of the ancient art of the jeweller being as perfect as the day on which they were wrought in those antique workshops which, with the artificers who once made them resound with the busy clink of the hammer and of other tools, whose forms and uses have been so long forgotten. ”

“ For all we mould in clay or cast in bronze or carve in stone or tint with encaustic pigments or colour with paint, in a word, every attempt at artistic representation by the hand of man after a brief lapse of time loses its truth and becomes motionless and impassive like the face of a corpse. So far superior to all pictorial art in respect of truthful representation is the craftsmanship of the smooth mirror and the splendour of its art. ”

“ The builder’s stones are graven—the footway is of pictured pebbles, miniatures, amulets, and seals, reflecting lineaments and traces of the history of entombed generations. Their inscriptions reveal to us the impress of ancient, mediæval, and modern art. ”

“ The glass beads, the amulets, and breastplates of gold—the spear-heads of bronze and flint, the rude necklaces of shells, and the pins and ornaments which we have discovered, throw no light upon the name, rank, or history of the dead. ”

“ In this region of inquiry the very stones have a language, and the inscriptions are yet legible which, before the creation of man, were engraved by organic life, in wondrous forms on eternal tablets. Exalted ideas of the monuments of primæval antiquity are here excited, and the forms of the antemundane ways and creations of nature are conjured up from the inmost bosom of the earth, in order to throw their bright beaming light upon the surface of the present. ”

“ But we must not rest contented even in this general study of the moderns; we must trace back the art to its fountain-head; to that source from whence they drew their principal excellencies, the monuments of pure antiquity. All the inventions and thoughts of the ancients, whether conveyed to us in statues, bas-reliefs, intaglios, cameos, or coins, are to be sought after and carefully studied; the genius that hovers over these venerable relics may be called the father of modern art. ”

“ If the antiquary digs from among the ruins of Herculaneum a piece of ancient money, a vase, or a statue, we rejoice with him, in finding the mode of life, the manners and arts of an ancient people, placed before our eyes: If he finds an old record, illustrative of the history of his country, however limited in extent that country may be, we are grateful to him for the particle of knowledge he has added to our store ”

“ We have been accustomed to preserve in our libraries, in gold, silver, or bronze, the personages whose immortal spirits speak to us from distances of leagues and centuries. We create statues of those who are no longer living. ”

“ Choice of method should naturally be based on the desire to represent things in the most direct way and by the simplest means that are suitable to the purpose in hand, using exactly the right amount of elaboration, from the perfect simplicity demanded by a figure in perforated iron, through the varying detail of different forms of applied art, stained glass, enamel, modelling, carving, painting and engraving. ”

“ Those material relics of the past which were created more than sixty years ago, though some of them are of infinite value as mementos, examples, and heirlooms, are, for the most part, certainly not of a kind which we need wrangle over or fight about. ”

“ We may take another view of the subject solely with the artistic eye, and find much for enjoyment and contemplation. In the art of ancient times the precious stones played an important part, and by means of the engraved gems we are enabled to form an idea of the wonderful skill of the artists of those periods. ”

“ The form of a letter, the shape of a piece of armour, even the character of an ornament, whether occurring in a manuscript or on a fragment of sculpture, may, as they frequently have done, determine questions which but for such evidence might never be satisfactorily disposed of In such matters, among numerous other particulars which might easily be adduced, the intelligent antiquary is not only the careful preserver of curious objects and facts, but he may also be exercising a calling of honourable usefulness. ”

“ "These relics have a history then?"
"So much so that they are history." ”

“ In that age some men had such an enthusiastic predilection to antiquity that they were animated by an ardent zeal for collecting ancient manuscripts, medals, inscriptions, statues, monumental fragments, and other ancient and classical remains. ”

“ A work on Art, I think, bears less of ornament than any other kind of book (non bis in idem is a good motto) ; again, a book that must have illustrations, more or less utilitarian, should, I think, have no actual ornament at all, because the ornament and the illustration must almost certainly fight.” He designed all his ornaments with his own hand, from the minute leaves and flowers which took the place of periods on his page, to the full-page borders, titles, and elaborate initials. ”

“ Figures of the noblest sculpture; busts of historical interest; alto and basso relievos of antique elegance; marbles, alabasters, spars, and lavers of all colours, and in all forms; pictures glowing into life, and statues appearing to command their beholders;—all that, at another period, would have made her forget every thing but themselves, now vainly solicited a moment of her attention. ”

“ By the power of art, and length of time, our statuaries form a figure which externally resembles the object proposed; each point of this surface requires a thousand combinations. Their genius travels over as many lines as there are lineaments in the figure, and the least false step would deform it. ”

“ The engraving was becoming to me the shrine of God manifest in the flesh, and I understood the growth of idolatry. The visible symbol is at first a symbol and nothing more; it assists thought; it stirs passion. ”

“ Though but of minor importance in archaeology, yet the discussion of this subject has attracted much notice at times, and engaged a large share of attention on the part of men much celebrated as antiquarians and scholars. And the origin of the art, though of comparatively little moment in an utilitarian point of view, is nevertheless one of those interesting subjects which will always prove interesting to the anthropologist and archaeologist. ”

“ This inscription must be an ænigma, the hidden meaning of which I will endeavour to find; for a philosopher never would expect a stone to be turned to gold.” Accordingly he measured the length of the shadow, which the statue gave on the ground by the sun shining on it, and marked that particular part where the head fell; then getting a chopness, a thing like a spade, and digging, he discovered a copper chest, full of gold, 27 with this inscription engraved on the lid of it, “Thy wit, oh man! ”

“ We may here remark, since embossed ornaments and sculptured figures on any plain surface are essentially Emblems, the sculptor, the engraver, the statuary and the architect, indeed all workers in wood, metal, or stone, who embellish with device or symbol the simplicity of nature’s materials, are especially entitled to take rank in the fraternity of the Emblematists. ”

“ ENAMEL.
A very interesting field of enquiry presents itself to the student of mediæval antiquities, in the artistic processes, now obsolete or imperfectly practised, which formerly contributed to give to the decorations, utensils, and various objects of sacred or ordinary use, a character of originality and elegance, devoid of any high perfection in proportion or design, but sufficient to render the examples, which have been preserved to our days, in no slight degree attractive. ”

“ In the study of these relics we have the additional charm engendered by a contemplation of new forms of beauty, and we follow the stages of their evolution from the initial steps to the end with ever increasing zest. ”

“ The earthen jar sits upon her head with the grace of a golden coronet—every attitude is the pose of a statue, a study for a sculptor; and the coarse garment that drapes that form is in your eyes more becoming than a robe of richest velvet. ”

“ Archæology, or the science of antiquities, searches for all the vestiges of human action in the distant past; the remains of architectural structures, of public works, carvings, inscriptions, coins, medals, heraldic symbols, workmen's tools, articles of use and ornament, and whatever can serve to throw light upon the state of man and society when they were produced. It matters nothing how apparently trivial are the relics of by-gone ages ”

“ So completely have we acquired an acquaintance with the various characteristics of each nation’s handiwork in engraving gems, that we are enabled also to discern the epoch; not to a year, but within a century or even a decade. 15
In proportion to the rudeness of the incisions we recognize the barbaric condition of the people among whom they were incised; also in proportion to the fineness of the incision, beauty of conception, and execution of the design, do we estimate the civilization of the epoch and of the people. ”

“ They may be divided into simple ornamental motives, which may further suggest interesting resemblances; figurative engravings representing known and definite objects and forming commemorative pictures capable of affording important historical or legendary hints—the most ancient documents in our archives; and symbolical engravings of more difficult determination, and independent of any alphabet. ”

“ In an examination of Indian antiquarian articles, taken from the graves and mounds, there is some glimmering of the art of design. There is no other branch of art to which we can refer the numerous class of carved ornaments and amulets, or their skill in symbolical or representative drawing, evinced in their picture writing. ”

“ We must now leave our first group of objects—the axes, the knives, the arrow-tips, with fire-kindlers, pottery, querns, spindle-whorls, and all similar appliances, in order to give some attention to the next division of the relics. This class, it will be remembered, comprises amulets, talismans, and symbolical objects. Some difficulty arises when we try to separate these from the purely decorative articles, but there are certain relics whose purpose does not seem to admit of doubt. ”

“ It is necessary to look closely to distinguish on the smooth walls the hieroglyphic inscriptions, the rows of little figures, little owls, little jackals, that tell in a lost language the history of ancient peoples. ”

“ The advantages to be derived by students and craftsmen from such a study are manifold, for, by a careful study of these arts, we may see the capabilities and limitations of material, the appropriateness and application of ornament, the continuity of line and form—yet with a marked diversity of enrichment and treatment—the interest and significance of detail, and the customs, myths and traditions of the past with their continuity of thought and expression. ”

“ Our indefinite acceptance, by preponderance of three or four groups of museum-experts against one person, is that a stone bearing inscriptions unassimilable with any known language upon this earth, is said to have fallen from the sky. ”

“ It is a classified representation of the glyptic work of more than forty centuries, so carefully arranged that those who care to learn through the medium of those beautiful engraved stones, cylinders, seals, and 6 Gnostic tokens, may inform themselves intelligently on the science which these gems of all epochs so thoroughly exemplify.
Men in this Western World during the last three hundred years have been engrossed in the pursuit and acquisition of fortunes. ”

“ They affect to multiply their likenesses in statues of bronze or marble; nor are they satisfied unless these statues are covered with plates of gold. They boast of the rent-rolls of their estates; they measure their rank and consequence by the loftiness of their chariots and the weighty magnificence of their dress; their long robes of silk and purple float in the wind, and as they are agitated by art or accident they discover the under garments, the rich tunics embroidered with the figures of various animals. ”