22 ACCOUNTS, ESTIMATES, &C. OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



II. — Acquisitions. 



The following antiquities have been purchased from Signer Castellani : — 



(1.) A terracotta group representing two female figures playing at the game of 

 astragali, or knuckle bones. This group is of exquisite beauty; it was found in 

 Signor Castellani's excavations at Cumcs. 



(2.) Bronze mask in relief, representing the head of the sea monster, Scylla. This 

 is probably the finest extant example of the type of Scylla, and is in excellent condition. 



(3.) Bronze relief, eight inches long, representing the Emperor Commodus on 

 horseback ; a spirited composition. 



(4.) A Roman soldier, 4g inches high ; interesting on account of the details of 

 the armour. This and the bronze previously described were found together at 

 Rome, and have been applied as ornaments. 



(5.) Bronze mirror case, on which is embossed a group of a female figure, probably 

 Aphrodite, on whose knees Eros is climbing, and a male figure, perhaps Adonis. 



Bronze relief, representing the bust of a marine deity, probably Nereus, on whose breast 

 are two sea monsters, their mouths interlaced. On these sea monsters are seated three 

 female figures, one on one side and two on the other. In the group on the left a naked 

 female figure is seated in the lap of a draped female figure. A similar composition is 

 represented in Carrey's drawing of the western pediment of the Parthenon. This group 

 is probably Aphrodite seated in the lap of Thalassa. The relief is embossed iii very thin 

 metal, and is said to have been found in Macedonia. 



Bronze female head in relief, looking to the left ; on the diadem is the wave pattern; 

 from Greece. 



Bronze Etruscan mirror, on which are engraved four female figures, each with her 

 name inscribed in Etruscan characters. This subject is supposed by Grerhard, Denkmaler, 

 Forschungen, &c., 1864, p. 301,* to represent the return of Persephone from Hades. 



A female head in Pentelic marble, found on the Acropolis at Athens in 1841. This 

 head is exceedingly beautiful, and appears to be of the period of Phidias. It is not 

 improbable that it has been broken off from a metope of the Parthenon. 



Twenty-two terracottas found in Greece, of which the following are the most 

 remarkable : — 



(1.) A female figure seated in a chair, on which is a votive inscription; from Tegea, 

 in Arcadia. 



(2.) Two figures, each representing Ganymede with a cock under his arm ; from 

 Thespice in Bmotia. 



(3.) A number of curious Hieratic representations of female divinities, chiefly 

 from Tegea. 



A small but choice collection of fictile vases, terracottas, and other antiquities dis- 

 covered by Messrs. Salzmann and Biliotti at Camirus, and other places in Rhodes, among 

 which the following may be especially noticed : — 



(1.) A terracotta mask, remarkable for its size and condition, measuring 15 inches 

 in heio-ht. 



(2.) A lekythos, with black and crimson figures on a white ground, representing 

 two youthful horsemen, probably the Dioscuri; below them is a couch. It is 

 believed that this singular subject Is unique. 



(3.) Fragment of an inscription on marble, containing part of an honorary decree 

 by the people of Camirus ; found at Salakko, in Rhodes. 



(4.) Fragment of an inscription containing the name of Zeus Atabyrios ; from Si. 

 Stephen's Hill, near the town of Rhodes. 



A small bronze figure of Icarus ; from Crete. 



A small collection of stone statuettes of the Grseco-Phoenician period, discovered at 

 Dali {Idalium) in Cyprus. 



A gold plate, with a Gnostic inscription in ten lines ; from Amphipolis, in Macedonia. 



A collection of Greek fictile vases, terracotta figures, and glass, acquired by Mr. Consul 

 Dennis, by excavations or purchase, at Benghazi and Teucheira in the Cyrenaica, of 

 which the most remarkable is a Panathenaic Amphora, inscribed with the name of the 

 Athenian Archon, Euthykritos, and consequently of the date 328 B. c. Among the terra- 

 cottas are several draped female iSgures of great beauty. 



In the course of the past year Mr. Wood has continued the excavations at Ephesus, on 

 account of the Trustees, on the sites of the Odeum and of the Great Theatre, and along 

 the ancient way leading out of the city. 



The following sculptures, inscriptions, and miscellaneous antiquities have been received 

 from Ephesus during the past year : — 



Sculptures. 



