Earthen Vases hnown by the name of' Etruscan, 361 
The famous Wedgwood-ware owes its celebrity as much to the 
successful imitation of the forms of those vases as to the excel- 
lence of its material. In like manner, the beautiful ornaments 
observed upon these vases, have, in our times, been transferred 
to the subjects of many other arts and have been employed for 
the decoration of buildings, rooms, furniture, articles of dress, 
and other works of luxury ; insomuch, that antique forms have 
become so common in modern art, that their origin has been 
nearly forgotten. Although ancient art has, in this manner, 
made its way into the shops of potters and other artificers, and 
even into our drawing-rooms, yet the scientific study of techno- 
logy, and the history of the mechanical and chemical arts, have 
hitherto been little advanced by the investigation of those an- 
cient vases. In the writings of the ancients we scarcely find 
any passages in which positive ^mention is made of them ; and 
none, in so far as I know, where their composition is spoken of. 
This point, therefore, can only be ascertained by an accurate 
examination of the vases themselves. During a journey which 
I made last year through Italy, I had opportunities of exa- 
mining the splendid collections of those vases which adorn the 
museums of Florence, Rome, and Naples. The pleasure de- 
rived from this investigation was much augmented by some 
observations which it suggested to me regarding their com- 
position. The little that I have learned with regard to this 
' subject, either during my journey or from subsequent observa- 
tions and experiments, I shall endeavour to expose in the fol- 
lowing essay. 
Sect. I. Of the Vases ^ commonly called Etruscan, in general, 
— We shall confine ourselves to the vases commonly called 
Etrusean, although the greater part of them are not of Etrus-^ 
can but of Grecian origin. The celebrated Winhelmann was 
the first who refuted the opinion chiefly supported by Gorius 
and Buonarotti, that these painted vases of pottery-ware had 
been manufactured in ancient Etruria But ailthough it can- 
not be denied that the greatest quantity of vases has been dug 
up in those parts of Italy and Sicily which were formerly inha- 
Geschichte der Kunst, p. 193. et seq. 
