FINE ARTS.
MODERN ANTIQUES: THE PONIATOWSRI GEMS.
A SET of casts from sculptured gems assuming to be antique, and being a portion of the collection, upwards of twelve hundred in number, formerly belonging to Prince STANISLAUS PONIATOWSKI, has been sub- mitted to our inspection by the proprietor, Mr. JOHN TYRRELL, who is about to publish the whole series. Accompanying the casts is an "Explanatory Catalogue," describing the design engraved on each gem, the nature of the stone, and the name of the alleged scollptor ; with quotations translated from the classics illustrative of the subjects : prefixed to this Catalogue is an introductory "Essay on Ancient Gems and Gem-Engraving," by Mr. JAMES PRENDEVILLE. The gems have been arranged in five classes : the first class, consisting of subjects relating to the higher divinities, to the number of two hundred and forty-three, are now before us ; the second relates to the demigods ; the third, to fabulous and heroic history ; the fourth, to the Trojan war; the fifth, to the Odyssey and the 2Eneid, including some miscellaneous subjects. With each of these portions an explanatory catalogue will be issued.
The very existence of a cabinet of twelve hundred antique gems, even though it had been formed by the Kings of Poland during successive reigns, as we are told this was, is a matter for wonderment; especially since they are for the most part medallions, too large to have been used as rings—not devices for signets, nor merely heads, but mostly groups of figures : still more extraordinary did it seem that such an inestimable collection should have fallen entire into the possession of a private indi- vidual. Onr inquiries of Mr. TYRRELL were answered by an appeal to the ugrivalled beauties of the gems ; and we were willing to accept this as a more satisfactory test of their originality than any statement. On opening the box, we were struck at the first glance by the sharp- ness and rotundity of relief in the cuts ; such uniformly clean, smooth, and seemingly finished execution in a collection of antique gems, was extraordinary : on looking closer, we were startled by some very nn- classic attitudes in the figures, which suggested doubts of the antiquity of many : a more attentive scrutiny with the naked eye increased the num- ber of exceptions, and converted doubt into disbelief; and a careful examination of the whole of the casts, seriatim, through a magnifying- lens confirmed our scepticism as to the antiquity of every one in this first division. 'We believe them to be, not copies of antiques, but inven- tions of modern Italian artists : for the following reasons.
The designs have not the spirit of beauty pervading the antique sculpture; the conceptions are generally trite and frigid ; the grouping is mostly infelicitous; and the figures are meagre, stiff, badly modelled, ill-proportioned, and often in extravagant attitudes ; while the execu- tion of all is of the same school—or rather workshop. The designs of the finest antique gems are characterized by well-massed composition, symmetry of proportions in the figures, fleshy softness of the forms, and graceful repose in attitude ; and even when, as is often the case, the execution is rough, the feeling and purpose of the sculptor are not less apparent : in short, expression of the beautiful, either in its lovely or severe aspect, is predominant. The characteristic of these gems is meretriciousness : the elongated limbs are tapered to unnatural weak- ness; the feet and ankles do not support the body ; the joints and muscles are rigid and inflexible; and the postures often constrained and ungraceful ; the action is frequently impossible ; and the elegance is con- ventional and factitious. These defects are apparent to the naked eye : on examination through a lens, the tricks of the craft and the badness of execution in the details are distinctly visible ; demonstrating them to be the product of a manufactory : the ankle-joints and the toes are re- presented by little round knobs, which also serve occasionally to repre- sent other small articulations ; the knob-system is also introduced into the faces to terminate noses and lips ; while a congeries of them serves to represent the fleece of a ram or the scales of a monster. Mmtox, APOLLONIDES, CHROMIOS, PYROOTELES, GNAIOS, and DIOSCORIDES, are all equally partial to the use of knobs ; and their unanimity in the treat- ment of limbs, hair, drapery, clouds, and rocks, as well as faces, is very remarkable : the rocks are doughy though the figures are petrific, and the clouds have a dumpling-like rotundity. Not one of the gems but has the name of some Greek sculptor inscribed on it, in a character common to all, though peculiar to them ; the points of the letters being terminated by knobs. These said knobs are the" points" which ought to have been softened down by finishing ; but they are also indications of the use of the wheel or lathe, employed to give impetus to the graving- tool : it is the universal practice among modern gem-engravers, but we very much question if it was adopted by the ancients. Mr. PRENDE. VII.LE quotes RASPE on this point; who, speaking of the advance of the Greek beyond the Egyptian engravers of gems, observes that "their improvements were not so much improvements in the mechanical parts of the art, i. e. the tools or method of engraving, as in a more exten- sive and varied use of the tool, and in a better choice and happier treat- ment of the subject, from their superior knowledge of anatomy and their imitation of nature." This quotation is, we think, conclusive.
Not wishing to rely solely on our own opinion, founded on a scrutiny of the casts, we applied to a connoisseur of high authority for informa- tion as to the history and reputation of the " Poniatowski Gems " ; and were informed that they had been principally collected by the Prince, after whose death they were sold at CuRISTIE'S about two years ago, the present possessor, Mr. TYRRELL, purchasing the whole. They had been offered to competition at an upset price of eight guineas each : so far as price is a criterion of value, this estimate was not very high, considering that hundreds of pounds have been given for a single cameo or intaglio : as precious stones they are not costly ; more than half of the first division are cornelians, and three-fourths of the remainder are sardcmyx and amethyst, with a few. of calcedony. It was the opinion of this gentleman that the gems in question were the work of Italian sculptors, who either practised on the credulity of the princely collector, and his indiscriminating admira- tion of any thing with a Greek name, or made them to his order : some few of them he thought might be earlier than the rest, but he was not disposed to assign to any of them so remote a date as the fifteenth century. That they are not antiques, as they pretend to be, we think must be manifest to all who are conversant with Greek art, and ac- quainted with antique gems. Mr. TAME'S collection of casts alone affords, by contrast, abundant evidence of the fact. Under these circum- stances, it is our duty to state openly an opinion founded on such strong evidence, when called upon to do so in a critical capacity : but in doing this, we impute no improper motives to Mr. TYRRELL, who may be as firmly convinced that these gems are antique as we are of the reverse.
Previous page
