78 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



Facsimiles of the ancient Mexican MSS., entitled Codex 

 Cospianus and Codex Telleriano _^Remensis ; given by the 

 Due de Loubat. 



Three pottery bowls and a human figure from Palenque ;. 

 given by A. Maudslay, Esq. 



III. — The Rothschild Bequest. 



Baron Ferdinand Rothschild was elected a Trustee of the 

 Museum in 1896, and was well known as an ardent collector 

 of works of art. He died in December 1898, and by his will 

 bequ.eathed to the British Museum the contents of a particular 

 room in his house, on condition that the collection should be 

 exhibited in a room apart, to be called the " Waddesdon 

 Bequest Room." The importance of the bequest was con- 

 sidered sufficient to justify this exceptional treatment, and it 

 was resolved by the Trustees to adapt the Anglo-Roman 

 Room for the reception of Baron Ferdinand's collection. As 

 the Roman antiquities of Britain had to be entirely removed 

 and temporarily re-arranged, partly in a room in the base- 

 ment, partly in an adjacent gallery already crowded enough 

 with collections of very difi"erent periods, a great deal of 

 Avork was imposed on the stafli*, with the incidental result 

 that many of the series of earlier remains from Britain have 

 been much confused, owing to want of adequate space. 

 Until more room is provided, this undesirable condition of 

 things cannot be eff'ectually remedied. 



A small handbook, giving a detailed list of all the objects 

 comprised in the bequest, with fifteen plates of some of the 

 specimens, has been printed and is ready for issue. 



The collection, with the exception of four objects, consists 

 of works of art of mediaeval and later times, while a number 

 of illuminated manuscripts were also bequeathed to the 

 Museum, but without conditions. These last are therefore 

 preserved in the Manuscript Department. 



The four objects above referred to are bronze medallions 

 with heads in high relief, which have formed the handles of 

 a funeral litter. Two have beautifully modelled heads of a 

 Bacchante, the others Isis and Serapis. These interesting 

 specimens were found in a tomb near Amisos, the modern 

 Samsun, in the province of Trebizond ; they are of Greek 

 work, probably dating from the 3rd century B.C. 



The only other bronzes are two fine door-knockers of the 

 Italian Renaissance, one with a figure of Neptune, the other 

 with a well-modelled head of Medusa. 



Among the arms are several pieces of the highest quality. 

 The most important is the fine shield of iron damascened in 

 a style of extraordinary minuteness by Giorgio Ghisi of 

 Mantua, whose signature, with the date 1554, appears upon 



