250 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[August, 



or concave parts of the capitals, &c.), and that this colour was of 

 various shades; the protuberant part of the work retains no colour. 

 The probability that blue, red, and yellow were used is very strong. 

 Some portions of paint might be chipped otf and subjected to analysis, 

 ■which would determine what there is, in truth, but little or no doubt of. 



"Mr. Bracebridge has not examined the capital in the temple of 

 Theseus, said to bear marks of paint, but he believes much the same 

 could be said of it as above of the Erectheum. 



" In the winter of 1S35-6, as Mr. B. has stated in his letter to Mr. 

 Wordsworth, printed at the end of ' Athens and Attica,' an excavation 

 was made to the depth of 25 feet at the south-east angle of the Par- 

 thenon; here remains were found of huge blocks of marble fresh from 

 the quarries, chippings, &c. ; and below these, fragments of vessels, 

 pottery, and burnt wood. No one who saw these could doubt that a 

 level was dug down to below that where the workmen of the Partlie- 

 non had thrown their refuse marble, in fact the level of the old Heca- 

 tompedon, of which possibly the burnt wood may have been the re- 

 mains. Hire were found many pieces of marbles, and among these 

 fragments parts of triglyphs, of fluted columns, and of statues, par- 

 ticularly a female head (the hair in nearly the costume of the present 

 dayj. These three last mentioned fragments were painted with the 

 brightest red, blue, and yellow, or rather Vermillion, ultramarine, and 

 straw colour, which last may have faded in the earth. 



"These curious specimens are carefully preserved in the Acropolis, 

 but much fear is entertained of their retaining the brightness of their 

 highly contrasted colours for any length of time. The colours are laid 

 on in thick coats. The female face had the eyes and eyebrows 

 painted. When we consider the brilliancy of Pentelic marble when 

 fresh worked, tliere appears a reason for using colours beyond that of 

 imitating the usages of Attica in more ancient temples, namely, that 

 the minutiae of the work in many parts would have been lost to the 

 eye amidst the general brilliancy." 



Mr. Donaldson informed the committee, that having in his posses- 

 sion various portions of coatings taken by him from several buildings 

 at Athens, he had forwarded them to Dr. Faraday, Hon. Member, with 

 the request that he would be pleased to furnish the committee with 

 his opinion upon the composition of such portions of coatings; to 

 which he had received the following reply. 



'^ Royal iMtitution, 21s/ April, 1837. 



"My DEAR Sir — I return you the box, with the remains of the 

 samples. 



"A. Portion of coating taken from the antae of the Propyleum. 

 The blue produced by carbonate of copper : wax being mingled with 

 colour. 



" B. Portion of coating taken from the soffits of the mututes of the 

 Theseus. The blue is a frit or vitreous substrance coloured by copper. 

 Wax is present here. 



" C. Portion of coating taken from the columns of the Theseum. 

 I am doubtful about this surface. I do not find wax or a mineral 

 colour, unless it be one due to a small portion of iron. A fragrant 

 gum appears to be present in some pieces, and a combustible sub- 

 stance in all. Perhaps some vegetable substance has been used. 



" D. Portions of coatings from the caissons or lacunaria of the 

 Theseum. The blue is a copper frit or glass, with wax. 



" E. Portions of coating from the northern wing of the propylea. 

 The colour, a carbonate of copper. Wax is present. 



" F. Ditto, ditto (north wing propyleaj, as E. 



"I also return you the drawing and the letter. 



" Ever truly yours, 

 " T. L. Donaldson, Esq. &c. (Signed) " M. Faraday." 



In order to ascertain whether a portion of the surface of the statues 

 of the Fates, which presented an ochrous tint and a more glossy sur- 

 face than the other parts, was due to some foreign matter artificially 

 applied to the surface, some parts were peeled otF easily from the 

 back of one of the figures on the application of a penknife. These 

 were also submitted to Dr. Faraday, who reported as follows. 



" Ruyal Inslitulion, 8th Jane, 1S37. 

 " My dear Sir — The particles you sent me seem to have come from 

 a prepared surface. Being put into a dilute acid, a portion of ad- 

 hering matter is dissolved, and the principal portion is left in an un- 

 touched and cleaner state. Being then washed and dried, it is found 

 that this consists of carbonate of lime and a combustible substance 

 which protects the carbonate from the acid. This combustible sub- 

 stance when heated is destroyed, leaving charcoal, and then acid can 

 attack the calcareous matter. The combustible substance may per- 

 haps contain wax, but it does not present undeniable traces of that 

 body. It is in small quantity as compared with the wax present in 

 Mr. Donaldson's specimens. There is no mineral colour present in 

 the particles, except it may be a small portion of iron colour, and that 

 I rather judge to be accidental. Whether or no any animal or vege- 

 table colour had been used is more than I can say. 



" I am, dear Sir, 



"Very truly yours, 

 " W. R. Hamilton, Esq. &c. (Signed) M. Faraday." 



The secretary also submitted to the committee various portions of 

 glass eyes, which he had taken from the torus between the volutes of 

 the Ionic columns of the tetrastyle portico of the Triple Temple in 

 the Acropolis of Athens. They are of four various colours. 



On this occasion also M. HittorlT, having a series of drawings of his 

 restoration of the Temple of Empedocles at Selinus, restored by him 

 and coloured in its several parts according to his opinion of the poly- 

 chromatic system as applied to architecture, favoured the committee 

 with a full explanation of the grounds upon which he had applied 

 colour to the various parts of the edifice. 



The committee then proceeded to examine the several marbles 

 alluded to in the first report, and were satisfied with the accuracy of 

 the former observations of the committee. 



Upon a consideration of all the facts contained in the preceding 

 minutes, it appears to the committee, that there remain no indications 

 whatever of colour artificially applied upon the surface of the statues 

 and bas reliefs, that is, upon the historical sculpture. That, according 

 to Dr. Faraday's opinion, those portions of the marble which from the 

 tone and surface might be supposed to be the result of colour applied 

 thereon, are the original surface of the marble stained by the atmo- 

 sphere, the presence of iron in the marble, or by some such natural 

 cause. That some of the architectural fragments present indisputable 

 traces of tone indicative of regular architectural ornaments, and that 

 the outlines of such ornaments are distinctly traceable, being marked 

 with a sharp instrument upon the surface of the marble. The committee 

 cannot positively state, from the appearance of the marble, that such 

 tones have been produced by colour, as they think that none of 

 the colour itself remains, but that the indication of tone results from 

 mere variation of surface. Judging, however, from the information 

 contained in Mr. Bracebridge's communication, there appears no reason 

 to doubt that colour has been applied. This is confirmed by the por- 

 tions of coatings brought from Athens by Mr. Donaldson and analyzed 

 bv Dr. Faraday, who has detected frit or vitreous substance and 

 carbonate of copper mixed with wax and a fragrant gum. This analysis 

 proves that the surface of the marble of the shafts of the columns of 

 the Theseum, and other parts of the edifices from which these speci- 

 mens were taken, were covered with a coloured coating. The glass 

 eyes also of the Ionic capitals of the tetrastyle portico in the Acropolis 

 at Athens prove, that various materials were employed by the Athe- 

 nians in the decoration of the exterior of their marble buildings. 



But although the statues and bas reliefs of the Parthenon, at least 

 those portions of them preserved in the Elgin collection, do not alFord 

 any evidence of the use of colour, yet there is a constant repetition 

 of small circular holes in the horses' heads and manes, and in one 

 hand of each rider, showing that there had been originally bridles and 

 straps to the horses, either of metal, leather, or some other similar 

 substance. Similar holes are perceptible in the statue No. 94 (in red) 

 of Proserpine, one of the two female figures of the eastern tympanum 

 of the Parthenon, called also the Seasons or Hours ; they are in the 



