430 DESCRIPTION OP THE TAIL-PIECES.
P.
66.—Bacchus advancing and proffering his gifts to mortals, grapes and
the goblet ; the blazing flambeau alludes to the nocturnal celebration
of his rites. The profile much resembles Nero's : and we learn from
Statins (Lucani Geneth. 125) that it was the established mode to deify
beloved friends under the form of this god. Roman. Striped Agate.
P.
77.—Dolphin and Trident : a type seen upon the coinage of several
maritime cities. The initials in the field may indicate that the
dolphin is sacred to Poseidon (Neptune). Greek work. Dark Sard.
P. 90.—Artist modelling a bust in wax. It rests upon a turho, or
wooden column, which can be turned by the foot to bring each part of
the work at pleasure under the hand of the modeller. Roman.
Reddish-brown Sard.
P. 124.—Two Cupids supporting a clepsydra :
a contrivance for measuring time by the escape of water through a small
orifice. From the sun and the horse engraved upon the vase, there is
good reason for supposing it a representation of the actual
time-keeper used in the Circus Maximus. Roman. Striped Agate.
P. 129.—The child Opheltes destroyed by the serpent, as Statius describes his death—
" PrEccisum squamis avidus bibit anguis Opkcltem."
The
Isthmian Games were instituted in his honour. This type therefore may
mark the signet of some victor at those games. Roman. Red Jasper.
P.
135.—The " Fortuna Fortis" or " Equestris " of Antium. She and her
twin-sister the " Fortuna Felix " (her head diademed) are represented,
side by side, upon a denarius of the family Rustia. On the coin she
holds in her hand the same little disk that here on the gem appears in
the bill of the bird : perhaps intended for one of the celebrated lots
consulted in her temple. The ant, attribute of Ceres (as being the
first builder of granaries), introduced in the field, expresses
Fortune's despotic sway over the produce of the earth, or " rus,"
indicating by a rebus the owner's name. Horace addresses this very
goddess with—
" To pauper ambit sollicita piTcp Huris colonus "......
Early Roman. Plasma.
P.
143.—Jason consulting the Pythian Oracle as to the success of his
expedition. The serpent, Python, twined round the column, and the
raven, Apollo's bird, upon its summit, exactly define the meaning of
the group. The ram below represents the customary sacrifice. This seems
to me a better founded explanation of this design (a favourite one with
the Greeks) than Tolken's, who sees in it a warrior consulting the
Latian Oracle of Picus. Greco-Italian. Tricoloured Agate.
P. 152.—Syren playing the lyre. The sun, the palm-branch, and the letters ΚΑΠ, in the field, warrant a conjecture that the gem wras the signet of some one (perhaps Statius himself) who had obtained the prize for poetry instituted by Domitian at the Capitoline Games. Roman. Dark Sard.
