Here, then, is a relic which carries us back to a time between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries before the Christian era, and yet evinces an art already brought to perfection ! Masks of mummies formed of thin leaves of gold, plaques incrusted in serpentine, pectorals of enamelled gold, all afford evidences of the advanced state of a civilisation perfected by the intercourse of many different nations; since, under the eighteenth dynasty, Egypt had already carried everywhere, even into the heart of the remotest East, her victorious arms.

We shall, then, feel a pleasure in compiling a list of the names, so far as they have been preserved, of those artists of antiquity who have wrought in the precious metals.

Acragas Bacchantes and Centaurs.

Agothopus, M. Julius Agatopus, goldsmith.

Alexander, son of Perseus, King of Macedon.

Amandus (L. Cornelius), worker in gold.

Amiantus, silversmith, of the household of Germanicus.

Antigone, do. do. do.

Antiochus (Jun.).

Aphrodisius.

Aphrodisius (Claud.), silver vases.

Apolaustus (L. Jun.), do.

Apollonius (T. Claud).

Ariston of Mitylene.

Aristotle of Clitoris, large vase in the temple of Minerva.

Calamis.

Calliades.

Callicrates, of Lacedaemon, microscopical works.

Capiton of Pannonia.

Cephalio (L. Sempr.).

Chaereas, surnamed Chrysotechton.

Crescens (P. Junius), silversmith.

Critonius Hilus (P.), worker in gold.

Deliades.

Demetrius of Ephesus.

Democritus, Rhodian vases.

Diodorus.

Dionysiodorus, or Dionysodorus, pupil of Critias.

Eros (L. Gavidius).

Esoterichus (L.).

Eunichus of Mitylene.

Eutychus(C. Refidius C. L.).

Gourgos of Athens.

Hecateus.

Hedys, Greek goldsmith, belonging to the household of the early emperors.

Helias.

Hermeros (Curtilius).

Jucundus (Caedicius).

Lcecanus (C).

Laerces, mentioned by Homer.

Leostratides.

Malchio Phileros (Cn. Septimius).

Mascianus or Maccianus (M.), silver goblet.

Menandros (M. Livius).

Myrmecides of Miletum or Athens, worked with Callicrates.

Mys.

Nymphius (L. Vectius or Vettius).

Olympus (Ti. Claudius L.).

Parthenius or Parthenis (C. Octavius).

Philarguros (Cn. Sempronius).

Phileros (Cn. Sempronius).

Philodamus Bassus.

Poculenius (L. Julius).

Priamus(Licinius L. L.).

Protogenes, freedman of the household of Augustus.

Pytheas, carrying away of the Palladium.

Romulus (Potitius) of Lyons.

Rupilius (C).

Salvius (Junius).

Saturninus (P. Lucret.).

Secundus (M. Julius).

Seleucus Lysinianus (Jul. Aug.).

Severianus (Verus).

Sosiphus of Miletum.

Stephaims, goldsmith to Tiberius.

Stratonicus.

Symphorus (M. L'lpius).

Teucer, crustarius.

Tiinolaus (Jun.).

Travius, (T.), argentillus.

Travius Acutus, freedman to the above.

Tryphon (Jan.).

Zeuxis freedman to Livia.

Zopyrus.

Zoziinus (M. Canuleius).

In the goldsmith's art, as in others, the ancients were pre-eminent, and it was held in such esteem, that, in many instances, encomiums passed on its masterpieces have survived the works themselves. In the olden time, as was the case in later days in the Italy of the Renaissance, the goldsmith's trade was a school which produced masters. Lysippus had hammered the metal before he became sculptor; Alexander, third son of Perseus, king of Macedon, did not think it derogatory to make chasings in gold and silver. The large votive vase in the temple of Minerva has immortalised the name of Aristotle of Cliton. Calamis, sculptor as he was, used to embellish with bas-reliefs those silver vases, which, in the days of Nero, were, at Rome and among the Gauls, an article of luxury for the rich, and a subject of emulation for artists. And that nothing might be wanting, Callicrates of Lacedaemon and Myrmecides of Miletus produced minute microscopical works of a perfection hitherto unprecedented, - chariots with horses caparisoned and harnessed, so small as to be hidden beneath the wing of a fly. Nor did these Lilliputian masterpieces prevent them from modelling most exquisite vases. Where, today, are all these marvellous works? The very richest collections may possibly possess some few specimens, such as the silver crater of M. Mascianus. However, magnificent works, crowns, vases and jewellery, do honour to our museums, and suffice to prove that the Songs of Homer and the descriptions of Pliny were not exaggerated.

We are proud to be able to assign a large share to our national taste in our treasures, and to accord a high rank to examples for which we are indebted, if not to Gallic goldsmiths, most assuredly to Grecian artists who had come to Gaul to minister to the needs of her growing civilisation. The Bernay discovery mentions, among the donors to the temple of Mercury at Canetum, Camulognata, Doctrix, and Combaromarus. This treasure, found at Bernay, shows us, moreover, in what high estimation art was held in Gaul, as several of the vases composing it are absolutely unrivalled, even in the museum at Naples.

Regarded merely as examples of the working of metals, they possess paramount importance. It shows us, in fact, that the ancients assigned the very first place to the work of the hammer, and this explains the reason why the old nomenclatures qualify the greater number of artists with the title of Caelatores (chasers). Almost all the vases are composed of a thin layer of metal, repousse and chased, fitted internally with a thin, moveable, smooth vessel, intended to stand the wear and tear of service, and to protect the work of art from knocks and the effects of frequent use. As for the cups, their interior decorations consisted in emblema, that is to say, bas-reliefs in repousse work executed separately, and simply laid on to the metal. This is the reason why they are generally found detached from it when brought to light in the excavations. This was the case at Bernay, where the emblema had to be replaced in their proper position after the discovery of the treasures of the temple of Mercury Augustus of Canetum.

And such, in fact, was the purpose for which all this precious gold and silver ware was intended.

All the articles bear inscriptions dedicating them to the tutelary deity of the Gauls; and it was doubtless with the view of rescuing these sacred objects from the rapacity of the conqueror, during some one of the many invasions which laid waste the country, that they were confided to the shelter of the earth, which has preserved them some sixteen or seventeen hundred years.

The curious memoir of M. Chabouillet, keeper of the Cabinet of Medals, on this discovery, is well worth reading. The point to which we wish to give special prominence, and one most interesting to the student of history, is the fact that the annals of antiquity, while handing down to us the names of the illustrious artists, have also made mention of their principal works. Consequently, we are aware that Pythias had chased the theft of the Palladium, and that Acragas had represented the Bacchantes and Centaurs. We see these subjects on the Bernay vases: but does this mean that we are to ascribe them to the two artists just mentioned? Not at all; this merely shows in what respect the ancients held these masterpieces. They reproduced them as closely as possible, and it is owing to this practice, that we can form an opinion on the real merits of these celebrated works, from seeing copies of them made by artists, who, themselves, might have aspired to renown for their own intrinsic talent.

The Bernay discoveries are interesting on many grounds. They give us an insight into the goldsmith's mode of working, into the styles of the different epochs which are there represented, and also show us a peculiar feature on which M. Chabouillet has thrown some light. Then, as now, vases were made in pairs, and the necessity of matching the designs as well as the shape and size of the companion pieces, led to historic truth being sometimes sacrificed to the equilibrium of the composition. Thus, on two Iliac oenochoe, in the scene of the theft of the Palladium, figure Ulysses and Diomedes. On the companion vase, which portrays the episode of Dolon, he is alone along with Ulysses, and Diomedes, who should have been represented as killing the spy, does not appear in the group. The exquisite Iliac vases of this collection announce an epoch anterior to the Roman empire, the epoch of that remarkable skill in workmanship which was applied principally to workings in silver; that is to say, to the second century, B.C. To this date belongs the plateau, around the border of which figure animals in the Oriental style, as also the cast and chased disk found at Bernay. In the latter, the centre is occupied by a knight, who flies before a wild beast; in the former, the victorious hero overcomes the fierce boar which he has attacked. Here the stamped "emblema" may possibly have been added at some period subsequent to the making of the plateau; in the case of the disk, it must have been cast and chased in the mass. Later on, luxury caused a preference to be given to gold, and it is precisely in the third century, that is to say, at an epoch when art was already on the decline, that the precious patera of Rennes was made, of which the moveable emblema represents a challenge between Bacchus and Hercules, or, rather, the triumph of wine over strength. Round the edge are inserted sixteen golden medallions, representing emperors belonging to the family of the Antonines; and, as if to prove that our museums possess a complete series of historical types, we have again, in the collection of medals, the Gourdon treasure, which shows us examples of the art of the sixth century - the transition period between mediaeval and ancient Art. In the fourth century of the Christian era belongs the famous plateau in solid silver known for so long a period as Scipio's buckler, although it is not a buckler, and does not represent the continence of Scipio, but most evidently a subject from the Iliad, Briseis restored to Achilles - in other words, the reconciliation of the hero and Agamemnon. Discovered in the south of France, this art relic is one of the most remarkable which we possess.