Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte  

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Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte (The Antiquities discovered in Herculaneum) is an 8 volume book. Its publication was initiated by command of Charles III of Spain and printed in Naples from 1755 to 1792 under the direction of the Accademia Ercolanese (Herculaneum Academy).

These volumes were among the first descriptions of the excavations of the Herculaneum and were to have a decisive influence on incipient Neoclassicism, out of all proportion to its limited circulation; in the later 18th century, motifs from Herculaneum began to appear on stylish furnishings, from decorative wall-paintings and tripod tables to perfume burners and teacups.

However, the book was not always favourably received. In 1775 the London review The Monthly Review called it "obscene trash" that "would be better consigned to oblivion".

Full text of Monthly Review review

Delle Antichita di Ercolano, Tomo Sefto, o fia, Secondo de Bronzi.- The Antiquities of Herculaneum. Volume the Sixth †, being the Second of the Bronzes. Folio. Naples. HIS volume contains 101 folio plates, and 31 fmall ones , in which are repreſented 190 bronzes, three models in ay, and one view of an ancient building difcovered in the cavations now carrying on at Pompei. Many of theſe ſtatues . e nearly the fize of life ; nine are coloffal, and two equefian. They have not all of them the fame degree of merit, ut they are, with very little exception, all in a good ftyle ; nd many are wrought with fuch extreme delicacy, and exquite tafte, as to ftand in competition with the most excellent of hoſe ancient marble ftatues that continue to be the admiration nd delight of the curious : fo that the royal muſeum of Portici, n refpect of ancient bronzes, as well as paintings, may juftly e eſteemed, of all others exifting, the moft copious, and moft urious. Thus much is faid of the originals ; of the engravings we bſerve thoſe performed by Campana, Nolli, and Fiorillo, after ne drawings of Vanni, and Caſa nova, are the beft ; the other raftímen and engravers are in general below criticiſm. It muſt appear unaccountable to thofe who perufe this royal ublication, that in Italy, long the feat of the fine arts, and at reſent not deftitute of good artifts ( witness the Italian fchool f painting publifhed at Rome by Hamilton *) the protection and unificence of a fovereign, fhould not have produced a more xcellent work than this before us ; efpecially when they conder the materials from which it is compofed, fo highly inereſting for the beauty of workmanſhip, and the curiofity of the ubjects reprefented . The prints of this, as of the former volumes, are accompaied with defcriptions, and thoſe deſcriptions are illuftrated by otes ; the whole by a fociety of litterati inftituted for that purofe by the King of Naples, and called the Herculanean Academy, That the English Reader may form fome judgment of the maner in which theſe academicians acquit themſelves of their taſk, ve fhall give a tranflation of what they fay of the first plate, which it is evident, at the first and flighteft view, reprefents a Jupiter. For our account of the preceding volumes, fee Appendix to Re- view, vol. xlvi.

• See Rev. vol, Iv. p. 241 .

Tt3 There 630 The Antiquities of Herculaneum . There will be, for the reafons explained , a propriety in beginning our collection of bronzes with this little Our collectios elfewhere explained idol of Jupitert, for fo the majestic afpect alone of our figure would authorize us to name it. He is alfo refpectable † for his abundant treffes, and his thick bushy beard §, but the thunderbolt, of which a fragment remains in his right- hand || , the ids, option n den. God, the mark, fign, or token ; also the be ginning; fays Hefychius. In effect he himfelf remarks the custom of the ancients, that in the beginning of whatfoever action , they repeated Os, sós , God, God ; as Euftathius alfo obferves, II. £. v. 481. p . 258. and perhaps that part of the bowels of the victim which they called Deus, and when found entire accounted a good omen, ( Statius Th. v. 176, where the ſcholiaft ) had that name, becaufe it was the beginning of the inteftines ( as Kufterus explains onpitor apn of Helychius) and was the first to be infpected . Now as among other ftatues thofe ofthe gods deferved the first place, ſo among thefe, the principal is certainly that of Jupiter, who perhaps was the one only god with the wife men among the Heathens, who expreffed their notions of the true Deity in fuch manner as was permitted them, living as they did in darkneſs, to conceive it. £ (Minut. Felix 18, and his commentators. ) See alfo note 2 , plate I. ofour 4th volume of the paintings. Բ It was found in the excavations at Portici, when they were firft undertaken." " • Homer defigning to make Agamemnon appear the moft refpectable of all the Greek captains who went to the fiege of Troy, defcribes him thus, II . B. v. 477. μετὰ δὲà κρείων Αγαμέμνων Όμματα, καὶ κεφαλὴν ἔκελος Διί τερπικεραύνω *Αρει δὲ ζώνην, σέρνον δὲ Ποσειδάωνι . Mongft theje food Agamemnon, like be ftood, His eyes and bead, to Jove the thunderer, His arms to Mars, to Neptune his high cheft. On which Euftathius remarks, p . 258 , τρία ἂν ὁ ποιητής φαίνεται το βασιλεί προσμαρτυρεῖν , τὸ ἀξιωματικον, τὸ πολεμικὸν, καὶ τὸ γεραρὶν, δ καὶ αυτὸ πρέπον ἐσι μάλισα βασιλεῖ. Three things therefore it hould Jeem the poet attributes to a King, authoritative, warlike, and majestic, even this beinggreatly advantageous to a King 2811826- blot sif . Phornutus de N. D. 9, thus defcribes Jupiter, wasayer d αὐτὸν τιλείς ἀνδρὸς ἡλικίαν ἔχονία ἐπεὶ ετε τὸ παρηκμακός, ὅτε τὸ ἔλλιπὲς ἐμφαίνει . They represent him in the figure of a man ofperfect age, fince he does not appear to be either old or young ; for the reft, fee the notes ( 2 and 3 ) of the 2d plate of the first volume of bronzes. Jupiter is most frequently reprefented with the thunderbolt in his right hand. See Staverer to Albricus, D. Im. 2. Homer's Hiad X. V. 184 , defcribes him with the thunderbolt in both hands, ix σεροπὴν μετὰ χερσίν ufual The Antiquities of Herculaneum. 631 ufual diftinction appropriated to this divinity, leaves us no room for doubt ¶. Worthy of attention is the chlamys fufpended on his left 6 It must be mentioned, that all the naked of the left arm is new, and the fceptre likewife is new, though it is probable that originally he did hold the fceptre in his left hand, Albricus faying, 1. c. Sceptrum regium in manu tenens, fcilicet finiftra : ex altera vero fcilicet dextra, fulmina ad inferos mittens ; and thus we frequently fee it, especially in the medals of the Brutii. The artist who adjuſted the bronzes of our Muſeum, was perhaps induced to make this fceptre fhort like a truncheon, by having feen it in the fame form in certain antique ftatues (Montfaucon Ant. Expl. Tab. ix. and xi. and Bonanni Muf. Kirch . Cl. i . Tab. x. n. 3 ) in theſe it is true, we remain uncertain whether it be entire or broken, that is, whether it" were thus made by the ancient artift, or if partly confumed by time : it is certain that in all other ancient monuments we conſtantly fee Jupiter with the hafta pura ( that is tó fay with a long ſtaff) or with a fceptre, which is likewife long, although fomewhat fhorter than the hafta ( as in the marble of the Apotheofis of Homer, and in another of the Adm. Rom. Ant. in Montfaucon, Tom. i . Tab. xv. and on a Patera, and on an Etrufcan vafe in Dempster, Tab. i . and Tab. xxx. and in our paintings, Tom. iv. Tab. i. ) and fometimes with a little globe at the top ( as in the medals of the Brutii) or with fome other ornament (as in our paintings, Tom, i . Tab. xxiv. and xxix. ) if really it was at all different from the hafta, it was of a fufficient length to be mistaken for it. That it was long is evident, becauſe they leaned upon it, whence it had its name according to the etymologift, σκήπτρον , παρὰ τὸ σκήπτω, τὸ ἐπακεμβίζω, ἀπὸ τὸ σκήπο Trobar xai úngsideobal dure. In effect, Ovid talking of Júpiter, Celfior ipfe loco, Sceptroque innixus eburno Higher in place on ivory fceptre leans. And Met. vii. 506. Eacus in capulo fceptri nitenti finiftra ; And more preciſely Homer, 11. B. v. 109 and the following, fays that Agamemnon rifing on his feet, addreffed himself to fpeak, leaning on his fceptre ; and it is obfervable that Homer himſelf ſays of this fceptre, it was made by Vulcan, and given to Jupiter, from whom it paffed to Mercury, and from him to Pelops, from Pelops to Atreus, from Atreus to Agamemnon. Now this identical fceptre, we are told by Paufanias ix . 40. was preferved by the Cheronefians, and he adds, τότο ἂν τὸ σκῆπτρον σέβασι , δόρυ ονομάζοντες : they honour this fceptre with a particular veneration, andcall it haſta. Indeed the hafta was the fceptre of the primitive kings. Juftin. xliii. 3. 3. Per ea adbuc tempora reges pro diademate haßas habebant, quas Græci onnπlpa dixere : nam & ab origine rerum pro Diis immortalibus haftas veteres coluere ; ob cujus religionis memoriam ad buc deorum fimulacris bafta adduntur. See likewife Feftus in the word bafta; and Stanley on Efchylus Sept. ad The. v. 535. For the reft fee the notes on the Tab. i. Tom. iv. Pitt. where it is fhewn, that the fceptre Jupiter, faid byOvid to be of ivory, and by Phidias, formed of T14 all J 632 The Antiquities of Herculaneum. left arm, and on the lower extremity of the part which hangs down we obferve a button †. + Ofthe bronzes reprefented in this volume, the first that occur are the gods of ancient Greece and Rome, which, for the greater part, are eafily known by their garb, and the infignia that accompany them. Thefe plates are in number 57. Among them à Venus, plate 14, and a Mercury, plates 29, 30, 31, 32, gave us the most pleasure. The dancing faun, plates 38, 39, has all the motion and fprightlinefs that the ancient fculptors have beftowed on theſe joyous retainers of Bacchus ; he is as light as air. The boxers, or wrestlers, plates 58 and 59, are finely imagined ; each watching an opportunity to feize his antagonift to advantage ; and, like the others we have here ſpecified, are fome of the beft engraved in the collection, though none of them do juftice to the originals. all metals ( nois Tołę nãow motioévor : Paufanias, v. ii .) was by the Pythagoreans believed to be of cyprefs : Diogenes Laertius, viii. 10 . and Menage on that paffage : and Jamblicus de Vita Pythag. cap. 28. See likewife Servius xii. Æn. 206, where he obferves that in treaties of peace they ufed the fceptre as a type of the flatue of Jupiter, whom they always reprefented with a fceptre in his hand, a token of his dominion. The fame Servius writes , En. xi. 238. Apudmajores omnes duces cumfceptris ingrediebantur curiam : pofteacoeperunt tantum ex confulibus fceptra geftare, & fignum erat eos confulares effe : and thefe confular fceptres had the eagle on their upper extremity, in the fame. manner as onthe fceptre of Jupiter, in imitation of which was formed the fceptre of the Tufcan kings, from whom the fashion paffed to the kings of Rome firft, and afterwards to the confuls : Buonarroti Med. p. 185. & Vetr. p. 252. & Ifidore xviii . 2. who remarks that the fceptre with the eagle was borne by thofe who triumphed." 6 Although we equally fee Jupiter reprefented fitting and ftanding, for we meet with him in both pofitions, as well as in act to hurl his thunder, ( fee Burman, de Jove Fulgur. cap. 14. and Beger Thefaur Palat. Sel. n. iv. ) and although we obferve him fometimes quite naked, fometimes partly clothed , and often covered from the waist downward, it is by no means common to find him, as we fee him here, with his drapery hanging only from one arm, it is likewife remarkable, but plainly to be diftinguished, that this drapery is a chlamys or a paludamentum ( which was almoſt the fame thing); fee Kippingius Antiq. Roman, iv. 5, Voffius Etym. in Paludamentum) both one and the other being faftened on the right shoulder with a button , as we ſee it in ancient monuments. ' Oh ! the profound erudition of the Herculanean Academicians ! — Perhaps an apology may be expected, by fome of our Readers, for the trial we have made of their patience by the notes which we have tranflated from this work. In excufe, we have only to urge, that we thought it might gratify the general curiosity of the public, to fee in what manner this royal production is executed, by the learned Antiquarians employed in it. 8 The The Antiquities of Herculaneum. 633 The equeftrian ftatue, plates 61 , 62, is fuppofed to reprefent Alexander the Great ; but if it refembles the print, it is certainly not the work of Lyfippus ; the other equeftrian ſtatue is an Amazon. Next follows a horfe without a rider, and then another horfe, the only one of four that were harneſſed to a triumphal chariot ; but his three companions, and the chariot itfelf, were found in fo fhattered a condition, as to be deemed incapable of repair, and have been deſtroyed. 7 Plate 77 is a coloffal ftatue of Auguftus in the character of Jupiter ; that is, he has the hafta pura, or fcepter, in his right hand, and a thunderbolt in his left, and has probably been placed in a temple, an object of divine worship : fo foon did abfolute power debafe the fpirit of the Romans, and from a generous free people, render them the bafeft of flatterers , and the most abject of flaves ! Plate 78, is the monſter Tiberius, another divinity of the fame fort and fize with the preceding. -Gods worthy of the degenerate Romans ! Plate 79, Claudius Drufus Germanicus, in a facerdotal habit : this likewife is coloffal, as are the fix following: The book concludes with ten plates that are abominably indecent ; the defcriptions, with the learned and copious notes which accompany and explain them, cannot but aftonifh a Reader unaccustomed to the ftudy of fuch antiquities. He may figure to himself a group of Herculanean Academicians compofed chiefly of priests and lawyers ; and, with an indignant fmile, fancy he fees thofe gentlemen, fo refpectable for their profound erudition ! laying their folemn heads together, poring over this obscene traſh, citing Greek and Latin without mercy, calling ancient philofophers, poets, and hiſtorians , and what is ftranger , faints and venerable fathers of the church, to their affiftance, and puzzling through many a page for an illuftration of what would be better configned to oblivion, or left to fuch dilettanti, virtuofi, ftudents, and profeffors, as purfue their ftudies in the purlieus of Covent Garden. 7 In the last note on the laft chapter, fome account is given of the Phallic hand, fuppofed by fome writers to be the Manus impudica. On this occafion a curious ſtory is related of the virgin St. Therefa ; who being, it fhould feem, haunted by the devil with certain impure phantoms, is ordered by her confeffor to make the Fico, or phallic hand, in Satan's face ; whence the writer, doubtless a profound cafuift, deduces, that there is nó great harm in making the aforefaid Fico.

• St. Jerome, St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. John Chryfoftome ;

Arnobius, Tertullian, and Clemens Alexandrinus.

See also

• Discovery of Pompeii
• Herculaneum
• Villa of the Papyri
• 1740s in archaeology
• Neoclassicism
• Pseudo-Seneca
• Karl Jakob Weber