Chats on Old Copper and Brass

by Fred. W. Burgess

CHAPTER IV
GREEK AND ROMAN CURIOS

Grecian bronzes—Relics of Roman occupation—Interesting toilet requisites—Artificial lighting—Statues and monuments—Romano-British art—A well staged exhibit.

It is from the curios in metal and the antiquities in stone which have been discovered, chiefly in comparatively recent years, that we are able to read with understanding the allusions made by classic writers to domestic life as it was in ancient Greece and Rome. The records of the art of Greece become more real when we have gazed upon the beautiful and graceful statues and the furniture of the palace and domain for which the artists and metal-workers of those days were so justly celebrated.

Even the public school boy takes a greater interest in his studies when he recognizes in the furnishings of his home antiquities from Greece or those lands in which that once powerful nation founded colonies.

Grecian Bronzes.

In the modern replicas of antiques, and in the fashioning of the common household bronzes of the present day, the craftsman, perhaps unconsciously, gains inspiration from the older race of artists in metals. Indeed, the nearer the workman adheres to the form of the statues and domestic decorative metal-work of the ancients, the more likely he is to succeed in imparting refinement to the modern home. Ancient Greece was the nursery of art and the training ground of the athlete and of the model who served as the type of the goddesses whose perfect forms and attributes were regarded as worthy of the divinities her sons and daughters worshipped. Most of the metal objects coming to us from classic days are of bronze, toned and patinated. Images of the gods and goddesses worshipped by the ancient Greeks were to be found in every house. Wealthy patrons employed the artist in metal to produce idols and appointments for the numerous temples they built. It was the worship of many pagan deities that found work for many craftsmen. The very multiplicity of the gods served the purposes of trade, hence the supporters of pagan practices and worship found in the metal-workers and artists who wrought such things powerful allies. We read in Biblical accounts of that day that the introduction of Christianity caused no small stir amongst them, and incited Demetrius, the silversmith, and others to rise up against the "new religion," which gave no immediate promises of employment of metal-workers to compensate them for the loss of trade in idols. It was thus that so much that is beautiful when regarded as merely artistic bronze figures was made. Among the favourite deities whose emblematic bronzes have been preserved to us are Diana, Venus, Mercury, and Hercules. They rank with the gods of brass of the heathen, and according to their classic beauty are admired with the idols of metal from India and Africa (see [Chapter XIV]).

In all these treasures from the old world, little known or understood now, there is a blend of the decorative and artistic and the more utilitarian objects of the household. The slaves of the old families often lived luxurious lives, although the goodwill of their patrons and owners might be fickle. They had their duties, and the metal objects they handled and often skilfully manipulated are still preserved in our museums. These were often fashioned with the same grace as the statues which adorned porticoes and halls.

The ornamental objects of Greek workmanship include useful braziers or bronze tripods which gave heat and also served as purifiers; for into their round brass dishes were thrown perfumes to correct the smell of the coals and charcoal, which were then held to be injurious. Such braziers were also used by the Romans, and even in the Middle Ages were not uncommon, pepper and cloves being then burned for fragrance.

Relics of Roman Occupation.

Although many beautiful objects have been imported into this country by collectors and dealers bought in Rome itself, and in Italian and other continental cities where Roman remains have been found, it is the relics of the Roman occupation in Britain which take first place in our estimation among the valued curios of that great nation. These have been found in many places, often quite unexpectedly.