SCULPTURE. 



the Ptolemies, fucceffor* of Alexander the Great, were 

 kings of Egypt, their fculpture was enlivened by Grecian 

 animation, and refined by the ftandard of Grecian beauty. 

 In proportions, attitude, charatler, and drefs, Ofins, Ifis, 

 and Orus, their three great divinities, put on the Mace- 

 donian coftume ; and new divinities appeared among them, 

 in Grecian forms, whofe charaderiftics were compounded 

 from materials af Egyptian, Eallern, and Grecian theology 

 and philofophy. 



In the reign of the Roman emperor Adrian, a number 

 of ftatues, in imitation of the ancient Egyptian, were made 

 to decorate the Canopus in his magnificent villa of Tivoli ; 

 feveral of which have been dug up, and placed in the Capi- 

 toline Mufeiim. But Winckelman has remarked of thefe, 

 that they may be known from tlie ancient Egyptian fculp. 

 ture, having no hieroglyphics on them. But, befides this 

 diftinftion, they are entirely unhke the genuine Egyptian ; 

 as the drawing and charafter are Roman, in Egyptian atti- 

 tudes and drefles. 



The ancient authors, who give the mod fatisfaftory ac- 

 count of Egyptian antiquities, are Herodotus, Diodorus 

 Siculus, Jofephus, Strabo, Clemens of Alexandria, Jam- 

 blichus, and Orus Apollo. 



The beft modern books on this fubjeft are Pococke's 

 Voyages, Savary's Travels in Egypt, Norden's Egypt, 

 Denon's Egypt ; to which may be added, the mod magni- 

 ficent work of Ancient and Modern Egypt, now publifhing 

 in Paris, which will occupy twelve folio volumei, contain- 

 ing 840 plates, from the obfervations, refearches, accounts, 

 and drawings, of the learned men and artifts of the French 

 nation, who formed the French Inltitute. 



Of Grecian Sculpture. — After Egyptian fculpture, the 

 courfe of our fubjedl naturally leads us to confider the fame 

 art in Greece, which is thought by fome to have received 

 its firrt principle from Egypt, and certainly preferved the 

 charafter of Egyptian fculpture in many of its works, 

 dawn to a late date ; as Pliny obferves upon the works of 

 Egina. 



In early times, the greater divinities were worfhipped 

 under the form of rude ftones ; and afterwards the lifelefs 

 reprefentation of the human figure was attempted, with the 

 eyes a little opened, the arms clofe to the fides, and the legs 

 united in one common pillar for the fupport of the mafs. 



But about 1300 years before tlie Chrillian era, a fculptor 

 appeared, whofe works exafted the praife of poets, the 

 fpeculations of philofophers, the record of hiftorians, and 

 continued to be preferved with zeal, and fpoken of with 

 refpeift, centuries after fculpture had rifen to its zenith. 

 This was Dardalus, the countryman and contemporary of 

 Thefeus, not inferior perhaps in fame and variety of adven- 

 tures to that hero. Born of a royal race, the occafional 

 friend and adverfary of kings, admired for his works when 

 living, and honoured with a chapel by the Egyptians after 

 death ! to him are attributed various mechanical inventions, 

 fabulous and real ; a fine portico to the temple of Vulcan 

 at Memphis ; the Cretan labyrinth, which was the copy of 

 a hundredth part of the Egyptian labyrinth. Diodorus 

 Siculus fpeaks of his works in Sicily. Paufanias mentions 

 thofe remaining in Greece in his time, nine in number, of 

 which three may be particularly noticed : one a naked Her- 

 cules of wood. The works of Daedalus are indeed rude, 

 fays Paufanias, and uncomely in afped ; but yet they have 

 fomething as of divinity in their appearance. 



Paufanias, befides the high charafter given of this ftatue, 

 mentions it twice in his Grecian Tour ; from which we muft 

 undcrftand that it was held in confiderable efteem and vene- 

 ration. This would naturally lead U8 to hope we are not 



9 



without fome copy of it in gems, coins, or fmall bronzes, 

 by which all the moft famous works of antiquity were mul- 

 tiplied. In the Britifli Miifeuni, as well as in the other 

 coUeftions of Europe, are feveral fmall bronzes of a naised 

 Hercules advancing, whofe right arm, holding a club, is 

 raifed to ftrike ; whilll his left arm is extended bearing the 

 lion's fkin as a (hield. From the Ityle of extreme antiquity 

 which charafterizes thefe Itatues, the rude attempt at bold 

 aftion, the pecuharity of Daedalus, the geperal adoption of 

 this aftion in the early ages, the traits of favage nature in 

 the face and figure exprefled with little knowledge but 

 ftrong feeling, by the narrow loins, turgid mufcles of the 

 breall, thighs, and calves of the legs, we ihall find reafon 

 to believe they are copied from the above-mentioned llatue. 



The fame author fays, the Gnoffians had a chorus in 

 white Hone, made by Dxdalus for Ariadne, which is men- 

 tioned in the i8th book of the Ihad, as youths and damfels 

 dancing hand in hand. The moil early Greek baflb re- 

 lievos and paintings reprefent chorufes of the Graces and 

 Hours in this manner. 



Enda;us, the difciple of Dxdalus, made a ftatue of 

 Minerva, which Paufanias faw in the Acropolis of Athens. 

 The learned author of the Introduftion to the volume of 

 Sculpture, publifhed by the Dillettanti Society, fuppofes 

 the heads of Minerva, on the early coins of Athens, were 

 copied from this Itatue, which feems very reafunable, when 

 we compare the llyle and coftume with other works of the 

 higheft antiquity. And here we mull obferve, that in the 

 early times of which we are now fpeaking, the rude efforts 

 were intended to reprefent divinities and heroes only. 

 Jupiter, Neptune, and feveral heroic charafters, have the 

 felf-fame face, figure, and aftion, as the Hercules of Dz- 

 dalus defcribed above ; the fame narrow eyes, thin lips, 

 with the comers of the mouth turned npwards, and pointed 

 chin ; the fame narrow loins ; turgid mnfcular forms of 

 breaft, thighs, and legs ; the fame advancing pofition of 

 the lower hmbs ; the right hand raifed befide the head, and 

 the left hand extended : and their only diltinilions were, 

 that .lupiter held the thunderbolt, Neptune the tndent, 

 and Hercules his palm branch or bow ; as may be feen in 

 ancient fmall bronzes and coins of Athens and Paeftum, and 

 on the moll ancient painted vafes. The female divinities 

 were clothed in draperies, divided in few and perpendicular 

 folds ; their attitudes advancing like thofe of the male 

 figures. The hair of both male asd female ftatues or paint- 

 ings of this period is drefted with great pains, collefted in a 

 club behind, and fometimes entirely curled, in the fame 

 manner as praftifed by the native Americans, and the in- 

 habitants of the South fea iflauds. Dzdalus and Endxus 

 firll formed their ftatues of wood. Metal was alfo ufed for 

 various purpofes of fculpture in the moft ancient times, as 

 we learn from Homer, Hefiod, and Plutarch. 



Dipznus and Scyllis, the Cretans, were celebrated for 

 their ftatues in marble, about 776 years before Chrift ; ftill 

 retaining much of the ancient manner in the advancing pofi- 

 tion of the legs, the drawing of the figure, and the perpen- 

 dicular folds of drapery, diipofed in zigzag edges. Soon 

 after elaborate finifliing was carried to excefs, undulating 

 locks and fpiral knobs of hair, like cockle-ftiells, as well as 

 the drapery, were wrought with the mcft elaborate care and 

 rigid exaftnefs, whilft the tallelefs and barbarous charafter 

 of the face and limbs remained much the fame as in former 

 times. This paflion for high finiftiing in fculpture, will re- 

 concile to our reafon a paffage in Pliny ib. xxxv. c. 8. 1, which 

 has frequently been thought to diiagree with the general hif. 

 tory of ancient painting : he fays, " that the pifture of the 

 battle of Magnete, painted by Bularchus, was paid for, 



with 



