| and excellence as this lamented man. 
[ 65] 
MONTHLY RETROSPECT or ruv FINE ARTS. 
The Use of all 
New Prints, Communications of Articles of Intelligence, &c. are 
requested under COVER to the Care of the Publisher. 
4 Description of the Collection of Ancient 
Terra Cottas in the British Museum 3 
with Engravings.- London, printed by 
W. Bulmer and Co. Clevelund-Row. 
Published, June 1810, by the Trustees of 
the British Museum. 
HE present publication may justly 
be considered as one of peculiar, 
consequence, inasmuch as itisa kind of 
earnest of something which the govern- 
ment intends to do, towards advancing 
the important study of the fine arts, and 
classical archaiology. To the vast -col- 
lection of subjects on natural history, 
mineralogy, and curiosities of nature and 
art, which were inthe British Museum, 
the nation has added a department of 
antiquities, selected from the collections 
of Sir William Hamilton and Ckarles 
Towneley, Esq.; some presents from his 
Majesty; and a few from some noblemen 
and gentlemen. 
The volume row under consideration 
isa graphic and literary illustration, de- 
scription, or catalogue of the first room 
of the department of antiquities, which 
is entirely devoted to the terra cottas, 
and is to be considered as_authority, in 
coming from, and being published. by, 
the trustees of the Museum. The gentle- 
men selected for this’ purpose by the 
trustees, are Taylor Coombe, Fsq. edi- 
ter, William Alexander, Esq. draughts- 
man, and various engravers. 
The first two plates give elevations of 
the north and south sides of the first 
room, and shew the exact situation of 
each subject, similar to the well-known 
beautifal work on the Dusseldorff gallery 
of paintings; and the succeeding ones, 
_the separate subjects: on a larger scale. 
The whole of these subjects are drawn 
by Mr, Alexander, in'astyle of fidelity 
and taste that will reflect additional ho- 
hour to his already acquired fame as an 
artist. This isno vague praise, but is the 
Tesult of along and accurate comparison 
and acquaintance with the originals. The 
engravings have various degrees of merit: 
One particularly (No. 21, pl. 13) by L. 
Schiavonetti, is in a superior style of ex- 
cellence both of drawing and execution, 
Few engravers drew with such precision 
In 
his earliest studies hé arrived at such per- 
fection in drawing, as to obtain thé sil- 
ver medal, for distinguished merf, in 
drawing after the antique, from the 
Royal Academy. There are two or three 
other prints from his graver, which con- 
Monvuty Mac. No. 209. 
tribute to enhance the value of the book, 
as they are among his latest and best 
works, 
Of a different class are 26, 27, 28, and 
29, by Skelton, particularly the first two; 
they are hard, coarse, ani unmeeningly 
black. The Victoty sacrificing a Bull 
(No. 26) need only be compared with 
one from the same subject (No. 24) by 
Anker Smith, to prove the fact. The co- 
lour and style of the two drawings were 
doubtlessly alike. Some of the statues 
by Skelton deserve praise: the enlarged 
subject appear to suit the vigorous coarse- 
ness of his stroke, better than the smaller 
ones. The rest of the engravers are C. 
Heath, Fittler, Bromley, G. Cooke, Car- 
don, and Worthington, and display much 
care and ability. [ 
In a national work of this kind, the 
Editor ought to have gone deeper, and 
more fully, into Archaiology than he has 
in this, although what he has done, is 
welldone. it is not sufficient that the 
rich man has bis Monfaucgon and Caylus, 
his D’Harcanville and Gemme. Antiche, 
to refer to, to assist this catalogue; they 
should have been quoted here. A few 
sheets more would not have added much 
to the expence; and had he been less 
sparing in his quotations, the yolume 
would haye been more valuable, and 
have saved the reader (even if be had 
them) the trouble of perpetual recurrence 
to Winckellman, D’Harcanyille, Musée 
Napoleon, Monfaucgon, Caylus, and other 
expensive and voluminous works, This 
would have made it not only a good de- 
striptive eatalogue, but a compendium of 
archaiology at once authoritative and 
useful. 
A writer in this Magazine, under the 
title of the Dilletanti Tourist, which has 
been lately discontinued, has givena de- 
scription of these terra cottas, and many 
of the statues, that will probably be the 
subject of future volumes like the present. 
He has given very satisfactory, though 
short remarks, on basso rilievos and 
terra cottas. 
Mr. Combe uses the words bas relief, 
although he is. classical enough to spell 
Aeschylus without the dipthong. If we 
have no word in the English language 
sufficiently expressive or naturalized, for 
low or flat relief, why not borrow the 
. “ge alll 
primitive Words asso rilieyo from the 
[talian: which is not only more eupho- 
nous but more honest, than to beg it 
through the medium of the French Lan- 
i 
guage; 
