~ Retrospect of Domestic Literature—Archaology. — 649 
work of singular curiosity, and almost 
anrivalled elegance. 
“T have often wished,” says Mr. Hope, 
“that some person who had made anti- 
quarian investigation his hobby ; who had 
visited the chief countries in which are 
found collections of antiquities, in sculp- 
ture, painting, fictile vases, coins, and 
gems; who had compared the original 
monuments of different Musea, with each 
other, and with the representations ex- 
isting of them in print; and finally, who 
had preserved memoranda and drawings, 
of whatever interesting remains, in dif- 
ferent places, had never yet been pub- 
lished; might be tempted to produce 
some compendium which, weeded, on the 
one hand of the representations of all 
such monuments as are either con- 
fessedly spurious, or doubtful, or insig- 
nificant; and enriched, on the other, 
with transcripts of all such specimens, 
as, though genuine and interesting, have 
not yet found their way into other dé- 
Scriptions; should offer, as it were, the 
purest spirit of many ‘different larger 
works, coudensed in one single restricted 
volume; nay, often the most interesting’ 
details of many different antique originals 
concentrated in one single small figure, 
in such a way, as to become capable of 
being again most easily and readily trans- 
fused in, and applied to the most ex- 
tended and diversified modern compo- 
sitions; and by so doing, should form, to 
the large and expensive works above de- 
scribed, not only an_ useful substitute 
with those individuals who cannot com- 
mand them, but even an interesting sup- 
plement with those who can, and do 
possess them. 
“ This task never having been under- 
taken by those more able to accomplish 
it, I have at last, inadequate as were my 
abilities, attempted, in some measure, to 
perform myself. 
“© As IT conceived the object of an 
epitome, like the oneI intended, was not 
to present the whole mass of information 
which the savant might possess on an. 
cient costume, but only such details as 
the painter might oftenest want to in- 
troduce; not to afford topics for discus- 
sion to the antiquarian, but only models 
for imitation to the artist; not to advance 
erudition, but only to promote taste; the 
representauon of mauy remains more 
curious than picturesque, more rare, even. 
im ancient composition theinselves, than 
applicable to modern works of art, has 
been enurely omitted: and as I more- 
ever apprehended the limits of such 2 
publication, required its restricted de 
signs to be accompanied by still more 
concise elucidations, a succinct account 
of the varieties of costume, most inter= 
esting to the artist, offered in the shape 
ofa general introduction to these designs, 
has been preterred to a detailed illus- 
tration of each of the plates in parti- 
cular; which must have occasioned many. 
repetitions, and have swelled the voluine 
beyond a portable size. Where this 
method might have left indeterminate, or 
doubtful, the application of these general 
data to the different individual plates, 
the uncertainty. has been, as far as pose 
sible, removed, or the deficiency sup- 
plied, by the short explanations intro- 
duced at the bottom of the plates them= 
selves. Al] account of the authorities, 
on which each of the designs individually 
rests, has been studiously omitted ; where, 
from a great diversity of models haying 
supplied each ina very small proportion: 
the different component parts of a single 
representation, this account: must have 
become a long and circumstantial trea. 
tise ; and some. indication of the sources, | 
from which the delineations are bor- 
rowed, has only been admitted; where, 
from a single original having furnished in 
the lump almost the whole of the design 
offered, this account might be-compre- 
hended in a single line.” 
Having described Mr. Hope’s. work 
so amply from his own preface, it may be 
. necessary, perhaps, to add little more,’ 
than that the general preliminary remarks 
are divided under three heads: * The 
Costume of the Asiatics; Grecian Cos- 
tume ; and the Costume of the Romans.” 
The engravings, in outline, two hun- 
dred in number, have been principally — 
executed by Mr. Moses, from drawings. 
by Mr. Hove himself. Among the most. 
exquisite in point of style, we notice: 
1, Phrygian Lady. 28, Grecian Ladies 
in dresses of the oldstyle. 32, Grecian 
Female, from a statue in Mr, Hope’s pos- 
session. 35, Grecian Lady. $7, 38, 40, 
74, 76, Greek Warriors, from  fictile 
vases. 54, Greek Warrior, from a 
bronze in the Florentine Gallery. 58, 
Female Flute-player. 62, 65, Bace 
chantes, 88, 89, 94, 104, 122, 144, 
Grecian Females. 135, Tripod, Can- 
delgbrum, Chair, &c. 136, 151, Vases, 
Pateras, Lamp, &c. 157, Greek Vases, 
474, Roman Study. 177, Victorious 
Auriga, or Driver in the Gans of the- 
Circus, from a statue in the Vat ran, 
184, Roman General. 189, 190, "191,. 
Roman Soldiers. 198, 199, Roman Co- 
lumbaria, 
