3S5 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'. JOURNAL. 



[Dec. 



ble that, after the treatj- of Dura, the Persians, seeing the importance of 

 Hatra or Al Halher, rebuilt and strongly fortified it. By an inscription 

 repealed more than once upon the walls of the palace, it appears that that 

 building was restored in the year of the Hejira580(A.i). liyOj. The period 

 of its final desertion is not known. The resemblance of these ruins to 

 those at C'tesiphon is striking. To this day, the mode of construction 

 adopted by the Sassauian Kings of Pcr-ia has been preserved in most parts 

 of that country : — the centre of the edifice being usually occupied by a hall 

 of large dimensions, which extends the whole depth of the building, and is 

 open only at one end. Jt is called the Aiwam ; and is flanked by a num- 

 ber of smaller rooms, generally forming two stories. The whole structure 

 usually stands in tfie niidst of a large court-yard, ornamented with gardens, 

 fountains, and reservoirs. The palace at A\ Hather has three aiwanis 

 (two of which are 'J8 fei t long l)y 48 feet w ide) ; but in other respects it 

 closely resembles, in arrangements of the apartments, the modern houses of 

 Shuster and Dizful, in M eslern Persia. The arches over the entrances 

 are richly adorned witli human busts; the head-dresses of which are ex- 

 tremely varied and peculiar, — but generally resemble those found in Persia 

 on monuments of the .Sassanian dynasty. Tiie stone of which the building 

 is composed is a very fosr^ilifeious limestone. The blocks are well cut, 

 neatly fitted, and firmly nuited by a fine and tenaceous cement. On each 

 of them is found a peculiar mark, to which some have ascribed a myste- 

 rious meaning; but Layavd apijears convinced of their having been used 

 solely in connexion with building purposes — as they occur also on those 

 stones which could not have been exposed when tlie building was perfect. 

 Mr. Mair then read a letter from Mr. Layard, respecting his discoveries at 

 Nimroud. The mode of construction is described as peculiar. .Slabs of 

 marble, highly sculptured, are placed against intervening walls of sun- 

 baked bricks. The roof was, probably, flat, and constructed entirely of 

 timber. Ornaments and rings of ivory, copper, and porcelain are found 

 among the ruins. The rooms are paved with either slabs of marble, layers 

 of bitumen, or bricks. In some parts of the building, glazed and joa(n(c<i 

 bricks occur ; — the ornaments of which are extremely elegant, and the 

 colours very brilliant. They are still in perfect preservation. Mr. Mair 

 exhibited to the meeting drawings of one of the ias-re/iV/'s representing 

 chariots and warriors, and of one of the winged bVinmu-ludJed lions, — 

 which excited considerable attention and curiosity. — It was stated that 

 Government had lent its aid in promoting these researches; and that eight 

 bas-reliefs and other sculptured fragments were on their way to this cuuu- 

 try. 



Nov. 16. — S. Angell, Esq. A'.P.,in the Chair. 



John Haviland, Esq., of Philadelphia, was elected as honorary and 

 corresponding member. 



The following paper was read: — " Remarks on the Art of the Marbles 

 from HalicartiusMS," by Charles Newton, Esq., M.A. (of the British 

 Museum) ; and Drawings of the Bas-Reliefs, by JosEPii Bonomi, Esq., 

 were exhibited to the Meeting. 



Mr. NiWTON proposed to consider whether these marbles really formed 

 part of the celebrated Mausoleum of .\rteraesia. He stated that the de- 

 scription of Halicarnassus left by Vitruvius is far more minute than that 

 of most cities of antiquity ; hut unfortunately the interpretation of some 

 expresions made use of by that author are so doubtful as to leave the 

 question of the site of the principal buildings mentioned by him still open 

 to much dilference of opinion. Mr. Nevfton then explained, by reference 

 to an enlarged copy of an Admiralty chart of that pari of the coast, his 

 arrangement of the various buildings surroundiug the port— which was 

 only a partial adoption of Vitruvius's description, and would make the 

 spot now occupied by the fortress the site of the pulace of Mausolus ; 

 while that of the mausoleum itself would appear to have been situ- 

 ated where the modern street of the town now exists. Still, there are no 

 remains which woulJ justify any positive conclusion on this point. Adopt- 

 ing, however, this arrangement, the niarbles in question must then either 

 have formed part of the palace, and have been used in the construrtion of 

 the fort as materials lying " in situ,"— or, if fragments of the mausoleum, 

 they must have been brought for that purpose from the higher ground. 



Mr. Newton then proceeded to consider whether the style of these sculp- 

 tured fragments is that of the period at which the celebrated mausoleum 

 was constructed (ii c. 350) ; and whether they are worthy of the great 

 reputation of the artists employed in the adornment of tliat monument. 

 Alith respect to the subject represented— a Combat between .Amazons and 

 Greek Warriors— Mr. Newton entered at some length into its connexion 

 with the mythical history of Caria, or of the house of iMausolus. These 

 figures appear on the coins of several cities of Caria, and other parts of 

 Asia Minor; and the myth was, without doubt, suHiciently national to 

 account for its being chosen as the subject for the decoration of so import- 

 ant a monument as the mausoleum. 



Lastly, Mr. Newton referred to the structure of this monument itself, 



giving inleristiug extracts from Pliny, from the Comte de Caylus, and from 

 several ancient MSS. Few of the conjectural restorations of the monu- 

 ment eslirely agree: the data — particularly the dimensions on which they 

 have been made— being slender and equivocal ; the question of the relative 

 size and position of the substiuciure or basement, and the consequent ar- 

 rangement of the steps, being doubtful. The description given by Pliny 

 is too doubtful to enable us to adjust the measurement of the frieze to any 

 of his dimensions. In default, then, of more direct evidence of the site 

 which these marbles originally occupied, their dimensions considered ar- 

 chitecturally, or the character of their execution and subject, we must re- 



main contented with the positive declaration of Fontanus — that the fort- 

 ress of the Knights of lihodes was built out of the ruins of the sepulchre 

 of Mausolus ; and, on the faith of this declaration, consider that in these 

 marbles we possess fragments of one of the seven wonders of the world. 



Professor Donaldson offered some remarks on the Design of the Mau- 

 soleum erected at Halicarnassus by Arlemesia, and read some extracts 

 from his journal, in illustration of the description given by Vitruvius of 

 the site of the ancient city ; and in describing the existing antiquities 

 there, alluded to many fragments of the Ionic order, lying about the mo- 

 dern town, now called Boodroom. Mr. Donaldson exhibited his restora- 

 tion of the .Miiusoleum, and also drawings of the details of a Doric temple 

 and other antiquities, from measurements taken by himself on the spot. 



Proiassor Cockerell, U.A., stated his intention of devoting two Lec- 

 tures, in January next, at the Koyal Academy, to the subject of this and 

 other similar iMausolea, and invited the attendance of such Members as 

 felt interested in the subject. 



The following resolution of the Council respecting tlie HalicaroassiaD 

 marbles was announced : — 



"That the circumstance of the opening to public view, in the British 

 Museum, during the vacation of the Institute, the sculptured marbles re- 

 cently obtained from Boodroom (the ancient Halicarnassus), demands spe- 

 cial notice and record ; and the Council therefore avail themselves of the 

 opportunity afforded them by this, the first meeting of the session, to ex- 

 press the gratification they feel, that these important and interesting relics 

 of antiquity are now secured fur the general advantage of artists, and for 

 the promotion of art, in this kingdom. — The Council reflect with satisfac- 

 tion, that the acquisition of these valuable monuments of ancient art has 

 been efl'ecled through the suggestions offered to her Majesty's Government, 

 by the architects of this country, in the year 1841, and they desire to ex- 

 press the acknowledgments of the Members of the Institute for the cour- 

 teous attention given to the representations tlien made to her Majesty's 

 principal Secretary of State for Foreign Aflairs, the Viscount Palmerston, 

 through whose instrumentality so desirable an addition has been made to 

 the National Collection. 



The Chairman announced, that since the last meeting, an application 

 on the part of her Majesty's government had been made to the Council, for 

 their opinion relative to the position of the equestrian statue of the Duke 

 of Wellington, on the arch at the entrance to the Cireen Park ; in conse- 

 quence of which, a report had been prepared and forwarded to Lord Mor- 

 peth, and the Council had reason to believe that the recommendations 

 therein would be adopted by her Majesty's Government. The report was 

 read as follows : — 



"That the effect of the equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, on 

 the top of the arch at the entrance to the Green Park, is unsatisfactory, 

 and its position there most objectionable. 



" The Council in the first place deem it proper to observe, that the follow- 

 ing opinions are given as those of the Council only, there not being time 

 sufficient to submit the question to a general meeting of the Institute ; but 

 a well grounded impression prevails, that few, if any dissentient voices 

 would be found among the members to the judgment oi the Council in this 

 matter. 



" The Council next refer to the strong opinion expressed by the archi- 

 tect who designed the arch, and who has supported his objections with 

 much of sound and excellent reasoning ; and they consider it a recognized 

 principle amongst artists, that the architect who designs a successful work 

 is by far tiie most competent authority upon a question as to the propriety, 

 size, and character of any sculptural adjuncts or decorations proposed to 

 be applied to his own design. 



" Independently of the valuable opinion referred to, the Council feel, 

 that the statue is by far too large for the mass it was intended to decorate, 

 and discordant with that harmony of proportion which is indispensable 

 between the structure and its sculptural embellishments. The size of the 

 arch is apparently diminished by the colossal dimensions of the statue ; the 

 elegant screen of columns towards Hyde Park, and indeed all the contigu- 

 ous buildings are alike affected, and the grandeur and importance of the 

 principal approach to the metropolis is thus lessened by the false scale 

 produced by the colossal size of the statue. 



"The most celebrated statues of colossal or heroic size were all placed 

 on suitable plinths or pedestals on the ground, and not applied as crowning 

 oru.iments to buildings. The Jupiter at Elis, the iMinerva at .Athens, the 

 Marcus .AureliUb in the Uoman Capitol, and the Group on the Quirinal, 

 may be cited among many other ancient statues ; and of modern times, the 

 statues in the Square and Loggia at Florence, of San Carlo Borromeo at 

 Arona, Peter the Great at St. Petersburg, aud George the Third in the 

 Long Walk at W indsor, may be instanced. 



" In conclusion, the Council feel, that if the statue were removed to aa 

 approved site, and the arch enriched with appropriate sculptural decora- 

 tion, under the superintendence of its architect, such decorations being 

 accessorial aud subordinate, it would then no longer be suliject to the 

 severe criticism of artists, foreign visitors, aud persons of ackuowledged 

 taste." 



