JoLY 1, 1896.J 



KNOWLEDGE. 



151 



result of actual observation. There are records of seeds 

 being conveyed very much longer distances by oceanic 

 currents and afterwards germinating ; but here we have 

 an instance of the complete renewal of a flora. In addition 

 to plants growing on the seashore, Dr. Treub collected 

 seeds or fruits of seven other species of flowering plants, 

 including those of a screw-pine and the coconut. 



The preponderance of ferns in remote volcanic islands 

 is characteristic. In Ascension, for example, there is a 

 dozen species of ferns and three of lycopods, against less 

 than half a dozen certainly indigenous species of flowering 

 plants ; and the latter are comparatively rare. It should 

 be remembered that in all these comparisons plants intro- 

 duced by human agency are left out of consideration. The 

 aboriginal flora of St. Helena comprised, so far as is known 

 (some being now extinct), thirty-eight species of flowering 

 plauts and twenty-seven species of ferns and lycopods. In 

 the Tristan d'Acunha group the numbers are twenty-nine 

 and twenty-six respectively. In the small flora of Juan 

 Fernandez there are forty-four species of ferns. The 

 relatively large Bourbon Island, near Mauritius, has two 

 hundred species of ferns, as against eight hundred species 

 of flowering plants. The large proportion of ferns is easily 

 accounted for by the fact that there is probably no limit to 

 the distance fern spores are carried by the wLud, and they 

 are produced in such prodii^'ious quantities that they are 

 likely to reach the smallest and most remote islets. 



I do not like to encumber an article of this description 

 with too many botanical names, but so many persons 

 know ferns that I feel justified in giving the names of 

 those which had established themselves in Krakatoa three 

 years after the great catastrophe. They are : — Gymno- 

 iiramme calomelanos, Acrostielium scandens, Blechnum orien- 

 talc, Acrnsticlnim aureum, Pteris lonr/i/oUd, P. aqiiilina, P. 

 marginata, Xe/ihrolepis exaltata, Nephrodium calcaratum, 

 N. jlaccidum, and Oni/cliiHiii awatum. These ferns are 

 nearly all of wide distribution, and nearly all in cultivation. 

 It will be seen, too, that the common bracken (Phris 

 (iqidlina), one of the most widely difi'ased ferns, is among 

 them. 



GREEK VASES.-III. 



B.— BLACK-FIGURED VASES. 



By H. B. W.\LTEKs, M.A., F.S.A. 



IN resuming the history of Greek vase painting, wo 

 have now to trace the course of development in a 

 town that always played an important part in the 

 history of the minor arts in Greece, and, consistently 

 with its position as second only to Athens in com- 

 mercial importance, may be regarded as second only to 

 that city in the reputation of its fictile products. We refer 

 to Corinth, which, from its geographical situation, was 

 well suited to be one of the prmcipal centres of Greek 

 trade, while yet another circumstance contributed to its 

 success in this particular branch. The soil of the sur- 

 rounding country is composed of a whitish clay of peculiar 

 excellence, which was employed not only for home products, 

 but also to a great extent for exportation. Even .\thens, 

 favoured as it was in the possession of excellent clay in its 

 immediate neighbourhood, sometimes made use of that of 

 Corinth. 



The first indication wc have in tlreek literature of a 

 school of art at Corinth is in the account of the chest of 

 Kypselos, which was set up bv the family of that tyrant 

 in the temple of Hera at Olympia about (iOO-oSi) b.o. 

 From the minute description of this wonderful work of art 



given by the traveller Pausanias, we may gather that the 

 carvings on the sides of this chest were very similar in 

 style and range of subject to those on many existing Corin- 

 thian vases. At the same time the chest of Kypselos, 

 regarded in the light of the evidence from vase paintings, 

 must belong to a very highly developed stage of Corinthian 

 art, and it will now be necessary to trace the preliminary 

 steps which led up to it. 



There is a small class of vases, mostly found at Corinth, 

 of which the British Museum possesses the most notable 

 example, all of diminutive size, but characterized by an 

 extraordinary delicacy of execution. These vases are 

 generally regarded as the earliest products of Corinthian 

 ceramic art, and are known as Proto-Corinthian. The 

 subjects which occur on them are of a comparatively simple 

 nature — battle scenes, hunting scenes, and figures of 

 animals, executed with marvellous minuteness. The 

 shapes and method of decoration of these vases point to 

 the influence of Oriental metal-work — an influence which 

 made itself most strongly felt in the art products of 

 Chalcis, in Eubrea ; it has therefore been supposed that 

 this group of vases belong rather to Chalcidian than 

 Corinthian art, as there was undoubtedly a close con- 

 nection between the two places. They appear to date 

 from the seventh century b.c. 



We must now, however, turn to the large number of 

 vases the Corinthian origin of which is free from all doubt. 

 It is true that examples are found in great quantities not 

 only at Corinth, but in Ba?otia, Rhodes, Italy, and other 

 points of Greek civilization ; but even if made on the spot 

 where they have been found, the connection with those 

 from Corinth is far too close to allow of any supposition 

 other than that they are the work of Corinthian artists 

 residing in that place. 



In the earlier Corinthian vases Orientalism reaches its 

 zenith. The surface is usually so crowded with rosettes 

 and similar ornaments that the ground-colour almost dis- 

 appears, and the general eft'ect to the eye, both in colour 

 and design, is that of rich Oriental embroidery. Fantastic 

 monsters seem to have been directly chosen for their 

 fitness to fill in spaces (as we see in some of the early 

 sculptures found on the Acropolis at Athens). The ground 

 is a clear yellow, varying in tone from cream to orange, on 

 which the figures are painted in black with a purple 

 pigment added for details; while a great fondness for incised 

 lines is also noticeable. It is necessary to call attention 

 to these two points, because they form a most salient 

 feature of the black-figured vases. 



In the repertoire of subjects we see a steady development, 

 from the simple vegetable ornament to the elaborated scene 

 from mythology. The steps are as follows : ( 1 ) vegetable 

 ornament ; (2) single animals ; (3) animals in friezes, 

 or heraldically grouped; (4) single human figures; (5) 

 friezes or groups of human figures ; (6) scenes of hunting 

 or battles ; (7 1 scenes from Greek mythology, or connected 

 with the worship of Dionysos. Among the animals the 

 lion is a principal favourite, and fantastic monsters are very 

 popular, especially the Sphinx, Siren, and winged fish- 

 tailed deities. We now first find names inscribed over 

 the figures, and this is a matter of special importance as 

 regards Corinthian vases, owing to the peculiarity of the 

 alphabet employed, and the fact that the use of certain 

 letters or forms of letters enables us to date many vases 

 with tolerable certainty. These inscriptions range from 

 about ()50 to 500 ii.c. 



Before the growing sense that human action is the most 



appropriate subject for the vase painter, Orientalism 



, begins to give way ; the animal shapes, it is true, still 



I encumber the field, but are for the most part restricted to 



