Jan., 191 2. Antiquities from Boscoreale. 183 



The plain flat three-arm brace rests upon short stubs which project 

 from the legs at about two-thirds the height of the table. 



Similar tables with, or more often without, the brace, sometimes 

 with claw-feet, sometimes with hoofs, as well as a more conventionalized 

 type, in which only the feet preserve the original animal form, are rep- 

 resented on a number of Roman monuments. To the Romans of the 

 Empire, however, they must have seemed of antique or old-fashioned 

 style. We find substantially the same forms on Hellenistic grave- 

 reliefs from the Greek Orient, and, occasionally, in place of the 

 ordinary rectangular table, on Attic grave-stelae of the fourth century. 

 The elements seem to derive ultimately from Babylonia (tripod) and 

 Egypt (legs of animals) through the medium of Ionia. 1 



Height (average), m. 0.538 ( = 1 ft. 9.18 in.). Diameter, m. 0.649 ( = 2 It; - J-55 

 in.). Height of edge, m. 0.0339 ( = 1.33 in.). Thickness of metal, about m. 0.003 

 (=0.118 in.), sometimes less, often more. 



One leg cracked just below knee, nearly through from front to back. One claw, 

 on same leg, freshly broken off. Feet of both other legs cracked. Brace and top 

 seem to have been resoldered to legs after excavation. 



BRONZE LANTERN. 24404. [Plates CXXXII, CXXXIII.] 



Among the finds in the room of the olive-press 2 (Y) of Villa I 

 were two lanterns differing in size but not in form, one of which came 

 to Field Museum. 



It is in fairly good condition except that the cover is indented and 

 cracked and the lamp loose. It is thickly covered with a green oxida- 

 tion. No trace of the transparent cylinder remains. 



The lantern, as preserved, consists of the frame which contains the 

 lamp, the cover and the handle with the chains for suspension. These 

 parts may be seen clearly in the view given on Plate cxxxii, which 

 shows the lantern distended. 



The frame, which rests on three short round legs, consists of a bottom 

 and a top, connected by upright side-pieces. The flat bottom has a 

 rectangular hole in the center for the attachment of the dowel or rivet 

 which held the lamp. About the outer edge there is an upright rim 

 which includes the bottom and is soldered to it. A lower secondary 

 rim is soldered to the bottom just inside the other, the space between 

 them serving to hold the transparent cylinder. To the inside of the 

 uprights thin strips are attached by means of rivets, a small space to 

 receive the vertical edges of the cylinder being left between the two 



1 Cf. Phineus vase and Furtwaengler and Reichhold, Griech. Vasenmalerei, I, p. 211. 



J Pasqui, op. cit. col. 499, "si rinvennero entro la buca dell' arbor, come se al momento della 

 catastrofe si fossero trovate appese all' arbor medesimo, e in seguito col consumarsi di questo fossero 

 cadute nella buca." 



