Mr. Watts’ proposition for the severance of the Museum Collections, 1837.
Seventy years afterGrosleywrote, ThomasWattsrevived the proposition of dividing the contents of the British Museum, but he revived it in a new form. His idea was to remove the Antiquities and to retain at Montagu House both the Libraries and the Natural History Collections. ‘The pictures have been removed,’ wrote Mr.Wattsin 1837, ‘why should not the statues follow? The collections at the Museum would then remain of an entirely homogeneous character. It would be exclusively devoted to conveying literary information; while the collection at the National Gallery would have for its object to refine and cultivate the taste.’
It was not by any oversight that Mr.Wattsspoke of the ‘homogeneity’ of Manuscripts, Printed Books, and Natural-History Collections. He (at the time) meant what he said.|Watts, inMechanics’ Magazine, vol. xxvi, pp. 295, seqq.|But I doubt if the naturalists would feel flattered by the reason which he gives in illustration of his opinion. ‘The various curiosities accumulated at the Museum might be considered,’ he continues, ‘as a vastassemblage ofbook-plates, serving to illustrate and elucidate the literature of the Library.’
Be that as it may, the idea of removing either the Antiquities or the Printed Books has long ceased to be mooted. All who now advocate severance advise, I think, that the Natural History Collections should be removed, and none other than those. But hitherto the idea of severance, in any shape, has been uniformly repudiated both by Royal Commissions of Inquiry, and by Parliamentary Committees. The question, however, is sure to be revived, and that speedily. Ere long it must needs receive a final parliamentary solution—aye or no.
In this chapter I shall endeavour to state,—and as I hope with impartiality,—the main reasons which have been severally adduced, both by those who advocate a severance, and by those who recommend the continuance of the existing union of all the varied and vast Collections now at Bloomsbury. There can be no better introduction of the subject than that which will be afforded by putting before the reader, on the one hand, a detailed and well-considered plan which contemplated the maintenance of the Museum as it is; and, on the other, the elaborate report in favour of transferring the scientific collections to a new site,—in order to gain ample space at Bloomsbury for a great Museum of Literature and Archæology, such as should be in every point of view worthy of the British Empire,—which was approved of by a Treasury Minute more than eight years ago.
Of the several schemes and projects of extension which rest on the twofold basis of (1) the retention at Bloomsbury of nearly all the existing collections, with ample space for their prospective increase, and (2) such an effective internalre-arrangement of the collections themselves as would greatly increase the public facilities of access and study, none better deserves the attention of the reader than that which was submitted in the first instance to the Trustees of the British Museum, and subsequently to Parliament (in 1860) by Mr. EdmundOldfield, then a Senior Assistant in the Department of Antiquities, entrusted (in succession to Mr. C. T.Newton, on his proceeding to Greece) with the charge of the Greek and Roman Galleries. By this plan it is proposed to erect on the west side of the Museum a new range of Galleries for Greek and Roman Antiquities. The façade in Charlotte Street—prolonged to the house No. 4 in Bedford Square—would extend to about 440 feet in length, with an usual depth of 140, increased at the southern extremity to 190 feet. This new range would provide for the whole of the present Greek, Roman, Phœnician, and Etruscan Antiquities, and for considerable augmentations. To Assyrian Antiquities would be assigned the present Elgin Gallery, the ‘Mausoleum Room,’ and the ‘Hellenic Room,’ together with two other rooms—gained in part by new adaptations of space comprised within the existing buildings.|Mr. Oldfield’s Project of Reconstruction of the Galleries of Antiquities (1858–1860).|The rooms now devoted to the Antiquities of Kouyunjik and Nimroud would then be applied to the reception of Egyptian Antiquities, together with a room to be constructed on the site of the present principal staircase. The Lycian Gallery would retain its site, with an enlargement westward. I quote Mr.Oldfield’sown descriptive account of his project, in full, from the Appendix to theMinutes of Evidenceof 1860.
Entrance Hall.
I.Entrance Hall.—On the north side is a staircase, such as suggested by Mr.Panizzi, forming the access to the galleries of Natural History.
Private Room for Sculptures.
II. Room for the first reception, unpacking, and examination of sculptures, the consideration of such as are offered for purchase, the cleaningand repairing of marbles and mosaics, and storing of pedestals, mason’s apparatus, and machinery, &c.
First Egyptian Room.
III.First Egyptian Room.—The present two staircases, and the wall at the east end of the Assyrian Transept being removed, a handsome entrance would be obtained to the galleries of Antiquities. The room would be about seventy-six feet by thirty-five, and though not very well lighted, might suffice for the monuments of the first twelve dynasties of Egypt, at present in the northern vestibule and lobby, which have no very artistic character.
Second Egyptian Room.
IV.Second Egyptian Room.—The monuments of the Eighteenth Dynasty would here commence. Terminating the vista from the north would be the head of Thothmes III, more advantageously seen than in its present position, where it stands in front of a doorway, and exposed to a cross light.
Third Egyptian Room.
V.Third Egyptian Room.—For smaller remains of the same period. The alcoves should be removed, and a door opened on the north side.
Fourth Egyptian Room.
VI.Fourth Egyptian Room.—To remedy the darkness of this room, an opening should be made in the ceiling, inclosed by a balustrade in the room above (v.Plan of Upper Floor), and covered with glass; whilst the roof of this upper room should be lightened, at least in the central compartment, by substituting glass for its present heavy ceiling. The small space thus sacrificed in the floor of the upper room would be a less serious loss than the virtual uselessness of so large an apartment below. With the proposed improvement in the lighting, the Fourth Egyptian Room would be well adapted for the colossal monuments of Amenophis III; without it, the room could hardly serve for any purpose but a passage.
Fifth Egyptian Room.
VII.Fifth Egyptian Room.—In the middle would be arranged, in two rows, the remaining sculptures of the Eighteenth and part of those of the Nineteenth Dynasty. In the recesses between the pilasters might be fixed wall-cases, which would rather improve than impair the architectural effect of the room, and for which the light is well adapted, the rays from the opposite windows striking sufficiently low to obviate the shadow occasioned by shelves in rooms lighted from above. Such cases would contain small objects from the Egyptian collection now on the Upper Floor.
Sixth Egyptian Room.
VIII.Sixth Egyptian Room.—This room, originally ill lighted, has been further darkened by the new Reading-Room, erected within a few yards of its windows. If, however, an opening were made in the ceiling (as proposed for Room VI), and if the roof of the room above were somewhat modified, light might be thrown both on the magnificent bust of Rameses II and on the east wall of the room. The middle window in that wall, which furnishes no available light, might then be blocked up; and before it might stand the cast from the head of thecolossus at Abousimbul, now placed over a door in the northern vestibule, but which ought, in any re-arrangement, to be united with the other monuments of Rameses II, and which would finely terminate the vista, looking from the west.
Seventh Egyptian Room.
IX.Seventh Egyptian Room.—Here would be the sculptures, both of the native dynasties posterior to the Nineteenth, and of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, which at present occupy the southern Egyptian Gallery. In the recesses between the pilasters might be wall-cases.
Eighth Egyptian Room.
X.Eighth Egyptian Room.—This, and the two succeeding rooms, would be appropriated to smaller Egyptian remains. The light on the western side of these rooms falls so nearly vertically, from the overshadowing mass of building adjoining, that wall-cases would have their contents completely thrown into shade by the shelves, or by the tops of the cases. Objects in the middle of the room, on the other hand, would be in uninterrupted light. It is, therefore, proposed to place against the walls inscribed tablets, which are best seen under an acutely striking light; painted plaster friezes, which, from their strong colours and coarse execution, do not require much light; and framed papyri, which are liable to injury from exposure to powerful light. Along the centre of the room would be arranged mummies, and mummy cases, in glass frames, with table-cases for scarabæi, and other small objects, which are most conveniently exhibited on flat or sloping surfaces.
Ninth Egyptian Room.
XI.Ninth Egyptian Room.—The thoroughfare is here too great for objects to be conveniently arranged in the centre; but the walls might be occupied as in the preceding room.
Tenth Egyptian Room.
XII.Tenth Egyptian Room.—To be arranged similarly to the Eighth.
Summary of accommodation for Egyptian Antiquities.
Summaryof the Accommodation provided in the plan forEgyptian Antiquities:—
1. The large sculptures would gain Rooms III, IV, and VI, in lieu of the northern vestibule.
2. The inscribed tablets, which at present occupy the recesses of Rooms VII, VIII, IX, containing four hundred and twenty-two linear feet of wall-space, and the walls of the northern vestibule, containing about eighty feet, or altogether about five hundred and two feet, would share with the framed papyri and painted plaster friezes the walls of Rooms III, IV, V, VI, VIII, X, XI, XII, containing altogether about nine hundred and sixty feet.
3. The mummies, overcrowded in a room containing two thousand and fourteen square feet of available open space, and the coffins in the present ‘Egyptian Ante-room,’ would be arranged, with several table cases, in Rooms X and XII, containing altogether about four thousand and eighty square feet.
4. The small objects, now in wall-cases extending to two hundred andthirty-seven feet of linear measurement, and in three table-cases, would be arranged in wall-cases, extending to three hundred and eighty-three feet, and in several table-cases, of which the exact extent cannot be fixed.
The additional space here provided for large Egyptian sculptures is not so much needed for the present as is the case in some other series; but the greater comparative difficulty of moving objects so bulky makes it advisable to secure, as far as possible, the permanence of any re-arrangement, by leaving room for the probable incorporations of future years. The accommodation provided for smaller objects is little more than they already require for advantageous display.
First Assyrian Room.
XIII.First Assyrian or Nimroud Room.—This room, on the site of the basement room, would be formed by demolishing the small room, with the adjoining students’ room and staircase; by extending over their site the glass roof of room; by throwing a floor, on a continuous level with those of the adjoining galleries, and supported upon iron pillars, over so much of room as is coloured brown in the plan; and by carrying up thin partitions from this floor to the glass roof, so as to inclose a new apartment. This apartment would, at the south end, extend across the whole breadth of room, but elsewhere it would be limited to a central space, nineteen feet wide, corresponding to the present central compartment of room, so as to leave open an area of ten feet wide on each side. The open areas would serve to light both the whole room below, of which the central portion would be partially obscured by the new structure, and also the rooms in the adjoining basements, which, though no longer used for exhibition, might be serviceable for other subordinate purposes. In one of the open areas might be a private staircase to the basement. Room XIII would be considerably loftier than the present ‘Nimroud Side Gallery,’ and it would contain two thousand nine hundred and seventy superficial feet, and three hundred and fourteen linear feet of wall-space, instead of two thousand one hundred and seventy-six superficial feet, and two hundred and seventy-eight feet of wall-space. In this new room would be placed the earliest of the Assyrian monuments, those of Sardanapalus I; at the south end those found in the two small temples at Nimroud, including the colossal lion, the arched monolith and altar, and the mythological figures from a doorway; in the northern portion, the sculptures from the North-west Palace at Nimroud, including the small winged lion and bull, now in room.
Second Assyrian Room.
XIV.Second Assyrian Room.—This would contain a continuation of the series from Nimroud. On the west side the colossal winged lions now in the western compartment of the Assyrian Transept, which would complete the monuments of Sardanapalus I; in other parts of the room, the few but important sculptures of Divanubara, Shammaz-Phal,and Pul, now somewhat scattered for want of the requisite accommodation in room, but for which there would here be ample space, and an advantageous light.
Third Assyrian Room.
XV. A proposed new room, to be entitled theThird Assyrian or Khorsabad Room, the Assistant-Keeper’s study being removed, and accommodation being provided for him elsewhere. The room might be forty-seven feet by forty, about the same height as XIV, and similarly lighted by a central skylight; beneath it would be a basement room for the uses of the establishment. Room XV would contain, first, the bas-reliefs of Tiglathpileser II from the South-west edifice of Nimroud; and secondly, the Khorsabad collection, or monuments of Sargina, which is next in chronological order to the Nimroud collection. The two colossal bulls of Sargina are marked in the plan as facing each other, an arrangement common at Khorsabad. Deducting space for the bulls, upwards of eighty linear feet of wall-surface would remain in the room, which is considerably more than the bas-reliefs of Tiglathpileser and Sargina require. The new building would necessarily obscure some of the windows of the adjoining basement, but this is of minor importance; and the evil might be diminished on the western and southern side, by leaving open spaces in the floor behind each of the colossal bulls. Between the bulls would be a passage to
Fourth Assyrian Room.
XVI.Fourth Assyrian or Sennacherib Room.—Here would be the first part of the collection discovered at Koyunjik, the monuments of Sennacherib, now inconveniently divided, and arranged partly in the ‘Koyunjik Gallery,’ and partly in the ‘Assyrian Basement Room.’ These monuments consist, almost entirely, of bas-reliefs, extending as at present arranged, to about three hundred and fifty-one feet (two hundred and eight on the ground floor, and one hundred and forty-three in the basement). In a lofty and wide room, however, such as XVI, an upper row of bas-reliefs might be introduced over many of the smaller slabs, now arranged in a single row only; by this means the sculptures of Sennacherib might all be included on the east, west, and north sides of the room, containing three hundred and seventeen linear feet of wall-space, leaving the south side, or twenty-seven feet, for sculptures of Sardanapalus III, the last monarch of the Assyrian series. In the centre of the room would be glass cases for the numerous tablets, cylinders, and other small objects of this collection, which it is most instructive to exhibit in connection with the sculptures. The only architectural alteration desirable in the room would be to open skylights in the lateral portion of the roof, and to close those in the central, in order to obtain a sharper light, upon the principle so successfully adopted in the present ‘Nimroud Side Gallery.’
Fifth Assyrian Room.
XVII.Fifth Assyrian Room.—Here would be the continuation of the monuments of Sardanapalus III, which conclude the Assyriandepartment; they are at present divided like those of Sennacherib, and part exhibited in the ‘Koyunjik Gallery,’ part in the basement room; altogether they now extend to three hundred and seventy-three feet; but as the greater part might, in Room XVII, be very well arranged in double rows, and some of those in single rows might, without injury, be less widely spread, two hundred and twenty-five feet would suffice for their exhibition; of this space twenty-seven feet would be supplied by Room XVI, and the remainder by XVII. The centre of the room should be appropriated as the preceding, and the lighting similarly modified.
Summary of accommodation for Assyrian Antiquities.
It thus appears that the wall-space provided in the plan, though one hundred and twenty-seven feet more than the wall-space in the existing rooms, falls short by one hundred and twenty-seven feet of the total linear extent of the bas-reliefs, as now arranged. In lieu, however, of placing slabs in the middle of a gallery, as is done in the basement room, and as it would likewise be possible to do in XVI or XVII, it is thought better, in these last rooms, to provide the additional space by simply carrying up the slabs to a greater height.
The space for central cases for small objects, which is at present four thousand and eighty square feet in rooms would be eight thousand one hundred and seventy square feet in Rooms XVI and XVII, an amount so abundant as to supersede the necessity for any wall-cases.
The accommodation here provided for Assyrian antiquities is little more in quantity, though much better in quality, than the present.But this is nearly the only branch of the archæological collections to which there seems little probability of future additions. If, contrary to expectation, any such should be made, a supplemental room might be built on the vacant space to the north of the Assyrian galleries.
Persian Room.
XVIII.Persian Room.—The sculptures to be here exhibited, which are all bas-reliefs, would probably not occupy more than half the wall-space, which is forty-seven linear feet. They belong chiefly to the sixth century,B.C., and properly therefore succeed the Assyrian, which range from the tenth to the seventh century,B.C.
Lycian Gallery.
XIX.Lycian Gallery.—It is intended to reserve this room for the monuments peculiarly characteristic of Lycia, and to transfer to the Greek galleries those in which the Greek element is predominant; such as, particularly, the sculptures of the Ionic trophy monument orheroumfrom Xanthus, now scattered over the room, and, if necessary, the casts from the rock tomb at Myra. This would leave abundant space for the purely Lycian remains. The harpy tomb, of which the bas-reliefs furnish a very important illustration of archaic Greek art, might best be placed in an isolated position near the entrance to the Greek galleries, where it would be favourably lighted and conspicuously seen. Its present place might be filled by the rude sarcophagus with sculptures of lions. The lighting of the Lycian room, which is very defective, should be improved by an alteration in the roof; but it is thought better not to enter into the details of such alteration in the present paper.
First Greek Room.
XX.First Greek or Inscription Room.—The room beneath this being supposed to be withdrawn from exhibition, the staircase at the west end should be separated by a partition, and entered through a private door. All Greek inscriptions, except the sepulchral, and such as are engraved on architectural or sculptural monuments, would be here collected.
At this point the new buildings commence with—
Second Greek Room.
XXI.Second Greek or Branchidæ Room, thirty feet by twenty-four.—The height both of this and the four succeeding rooms should be about twenty feet. This would contain the earliest Greek sculptures, of which the principal are those procured by Mr.Newtonfrom Branchidæ. The ten seated statues would be arranged on each side, as in the ‘Sacred Way’ at that place, and the recumbent inscribed lion and the sphinx placed at the end of the room.
Third Greek Room.
XXII.Third Greek Room, twenty-four feet by seventeen.—This would contain other archaic works, including the casts from Selinus.
Fourth Greek Room.
XXIII.Fourth Greek or Æginetan Room, thirty-eight feet by twenty-four.—Here would be fixed, in two recesses, the restorations of the two pedimental groups from Ægina, which are exactly of the length of this room, and which might be placed at a more convenient level for examination than their present elevated position in room.
Fifth Greek Room.
XXIV.Fifth Greek Room, seventeen feet by twenty-four.—On a pedestal,facing the great Greek gallery, might stand the semi-archaic Apollo, from Byzantium.
Sixth Greek Room.
XXV.Sixth Greek or Phigaleian Room, thirty-eight feet by twenty-four.—Here would be the casts from the Temple of Theseus, and the sculptures and casts from the Temple of Wingless Victory, both of the middle of the fifth century,B.C.; also the Phigaleian collection, which is a somewhat later production of the same school. The friezes, arranged in two rows, would just fill the room.
Seventh Greek Room.
XXVI.Seventh Greek or Parthenon Room.—Here would commence the grand suite of galleries for large sculptures, of which the general breadth would be forty-two feet, and the height from thirty to thirty-five feet. By its side would run a secondary suite, twenty feet wide, and from fifteen to twenty feet high, for minor specimens, of which the interest generally is rather archæological than artistic. These latter objects are both more conveniently classified, and more favourably seen, in small rooms; if placed in large galleries, beside grand monumental works, they lose importance themselves, whilst they fritter away the effect of what is really more valuable. The Seventh Greek Room, which is two hundred and forty-one feet long, would contain only the remains of the Parthenon; which might be arranged as indicated in the Plan, so as at once to keep the pedimental groups and the frieze from interfering with each other, and to distinguish, more accurately than is now done, the original connection or disconnection of the several slabs of the frieze. As we possess the entire frieze from the east end of the temple, and casts of the entire frieze from the west, these two are here arranged opposite each other, towards the middle of the two side walls of the room. On either side are the slabs from the north and south flanks of the temple, which are mostly disconnected. In front of the casts from the west is a proposed full-sized model of part of the entablature, supported by one original and five restored capitals, with the upper parts of their shafts, and incorporating ten of the metopes, so as to explain their original combination with the architecture. The total height of this model might be about eighteen feet. The metopes not included in it should be attached to the wall opposite, over the frieze. The finest of the pedimental groups would face the grand entrance from the Lycian Gallery, through which the whole might be seen in one view, from any distance less than forty-eight feet. If it were desired to retain the two small models of the Parthenon in the room, they might stand near the south end.
Eighth Greek Room.
XXVII.Eighth Greek or Erechtheum Room, sixty-five feet by twenty-six, for monuments of the era between Phidias and Scopas, of which the principal are the remains of the Erechtheum.
Ninth Greek Room.
XXVIII.Ninth Greek, or Mausoleum Room, one hundred and twenty feet in length, forty-two in breadth, and eighty across the transept.—Herewould be, 1. The marbles procured by LordStratfordand Mr.Newton, from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus; in the west transept, the group from thequadriga, and in the southern part of the room the other important sculptural and architectural remains of the building, including the frieze. 2. In the east transept, the colossal lion from Cnidus, with a few other sculptures of the same school. 3. In the northern part of the room, the Xanthian Ionic monument, here placed for comparison with the remains of the Mausoleum. The whole upper portion of this monument, commencing with the higher of the two friezes which surrounded the original base, might be reconstructed, though not restored, and would form a striking termination to the vista through the galleries. The lower frieze might be arranged against the adjoining walls of the room.
Tenth Greek Room.
XXIX.Tenth Greek Room.—Having thus passed through the great monumental series of Greek sculptures in chronological order, the visitor would return south by the side rooms, containing minor remains of the same school. The Tenth Greek Room would be forty-two feet by twenty, and would contain the latest of the smaller sculptures.
Eleventh Greek Room.
XXX.Eleventh Greek Room, thirty-three feet by twenty.—This should be appropriated to the small fragments from the Mausoleum, which would thus be in immediate connection with its larger sculptures, without impairing their grandeur of effect.
Twelfth and Thirteenth Greek Rooms.
XXXI, XXXII.Twelfth and Thirteenth Greek Rooms, together one hundred and thirty-five feet in length and twenty in breadth.—The exact position of the wall separating these rooms might be reserved till the arrangement of their contents was settled. In one might be architectural fragments, from buildings not represented in the large galleries; in the other, small tablets, votive offerings, altars, and other minor sculptures.
Fourteenth Greek Room.
XXXIII.Fourteenth Greek or Sepulchral Room, ninety-three feet by eighteen.—Here would be all the Greek sepulchral monuments now in the basement. The casts from the sculptured tomb at Myra, of which the style is more Greek than Lycian, might also be here placed, as indicated in the plan, in case it should be thought desirable to remove them from the Lycian Room, though the expediency of this transfer may perhaps be doubted. Wherever placed, these casts ought to be so put together as to explain the true arrangement of the originals.
[Then follows a Summary of the Accommodation provided in the Plan for Greek Sculptures, amounting to a superficial area of twenty-seven thousand four hundred and ten square feet, and to two thousand one hundred and ninety-one lineal feet of wall-space.]
Etruscan Room.
XXXIV.Etruscan Room.—The next parallel on the ground floor would be devoted to the monuments of ancient Italy. The earliest are the Etruscan, which, being altogether taken from tombs, would properlybe placed adjacent, on the one side to the Greek, on the other to the Roman, sepulchral collections. The principal portion of the Etruscan Room would be fifty-five feet by forty, with additional recesses at the south end, the whole about twenty feet high. Two rows of pilasters would divide the room into three compartments, the central for the gangway, the other two to be fitted up as a series of tombs, of which the sides would be formed of the mural restorations, with fac-similes of paintings from Corneto and Vulci. Within these restored tombs would be such sarcophagi as we possess, found in the tombs themselves. The fac-similes of the painted roofs of two of the tombs might be fixed above them, at such a height as not to obstruct the light. In the central compartment, which contains six shallow recesses between the pilasters, might be monuments from various tombs other than those here restored.
XXXV.Staircase Room, forty feet by thirty, and of the same height as the three united stories of the western galleries.—Four successive flights of steps would be required to reach each floor. The landings between the first and second, and between the third and fourth flights, might each be supported by Caryatid or Atlantic figures, which would give the whole composition an ornamental effect, as seen from the east side. Beneath one side of this staircase might be a private one leading to the western basement.
To the north is another private staircase, conducting to the basement under the Greek galleries. The adjoining passage leads to—
First Græco-Roman Room.
XXXVI.First Græco-Roman Room.—The Etruscan monuments are succeeded chronologically by the Græco-Roman, here placed so as to adjoin the galleries both of Greek and of Roman art. In accordance with the character of Græco-Roman sculpture, the apartments containing it should be somewhat ornamentally constructed and arranged, as in the great continental museums, where works of this class form the staple of the collections. The position of the principal objects in all this series of rooms is marked in the plan, without distinguishing them individually, as none are of such a character as to require any special architectural provision. The first room is one hundred and six feet by twenty-six, exclusive of the alcoves. Its height need not, for the display of statuary, exceed twenty feet; but if, for architectural effect, a vaulted ceiling is preferred, the height must be increased. In the Braccio Nuovo, in the Vatican Museum, which is probably the finest gallery of this kind in Europe, and has a cylindrical vault, with a central skylight, the proportion of height to breadth is about thirty-seven feet to twenty-seven; but in the darker climate of London the height should not, if possible, exceed the breadth.
Second Græco-Roman Room.
XXXVII.Second Græco-Roman Room, or Rotunda, sixty feet in diameter, and about sixty feet high in the centre, being surmounted bya hemispherical dome.—This room is, with slight variations, and on a somewhat smaller scale, a copy of the Rotunda in the Museum of Berlin, an apartment universally admired for its architectural beauty, and only defective as a hall for sculpture from the unnecessary smallness of the central skylight. The entablature over the columns would support a gallery, opening into the first floor of the western buildings.
Third Græco-Roman Room.
XXXVIII.Third Græco-Roman Room, similar to the first, but only one hundred and one feet long, exclusive of the northern alcove.
The spaces between the lateral alcoves on the east side of the First and Third Græco-Roman Rooms might either be covered with glass, or left open for ventilation, though the second arrangement would involve a provision for the drainage below.
Summary of accommodation for Græco-Roman Sculptures.
The amount of accommodation for Græco-Roman sculptures cannot, from the form of the rooms, be stated with the same exactness as that for the Greek. Exclusive of the alcoves, there would be in the—
The Rotunda would not have available space in proportion to its size. Twelve statues or busts between the columns, and perhaps a large sculpture in the centre, would be the natural complement of the room. The wall-space behind the columns would not be available for sculpture. The total accommodation in the three rooms would amply suffice for our present collection, even somewhat enlarged.|Means of future enlargement.|As it increased, however, further space might be obtained by erecting in the first and third rooms transverse walls, opposite the alcoves in the Roman galleries, thus subdividing the first room into three principal compartments, with a small lobby at each end, and the third into three compartments (of which the most northern would need some modification), with a lobby at the south end. The doorways through these walls might be twelve feet wide, so as to preserve the continuous appearance of the suite; and they would still leave one hundred and twelve feet of additional wall-space in the first room, and eighty-four in the third. The lighting would be somewhat improved by such an alteration.
Western Galleries.
The last suite of galleries on the ground floor would contain the Roman and Phœnician remains. To avoid any obscuration from the houses on the west side of Charlotte Street, the windows should be as high in the wall as possible, and as broad as architectural proprietywould admit, whilst the rooms should be not less than twenty-five feet high.
First Roman Room.
XXXIX.First Roman Room, one hundred and ten feet by twenty-eight, exclusive of the alcoves.—It would contain mosaics, including those from Carthage, and miscellaneous sculptures, altars, architectural fragments, &c.; the mosaics indifferently placed on all sides of the room, the sculptures on the east side and against the two end walls.
Hall.
XL.Hall, fifty-six feet by seventeen.—Here might be an entrance from Charlotte Street, which on many occasions would furnish a convenient relief to the principal entrance to the Museum. It would open immediately into the Rotunda, and through the vista beyond would be seen, in the distance, the cast of the colossal head from Abousimbul. Within the two abutments of the Rotunda would be recesses for the attendants to sell catalogues, receive umbrellas, &c.
Second Roman Room.
XLI.Second Roman or Iconographical Room, fifty-four feet by twenty-eight, without the alcoves.—This would contain the series of portrait statues and busts, in chronological order. The west, or dark side of the room, could only be used for very inferior sculptures.
Third Roman Room.
XLII.Third (or Anglo-) Roman Room, the same size as the preceding, for Roman monuments found in this country. The rude character of many would admit of placing them on the west side.
Fourth Roman Room.
XLIII.Fourth Roman or Sepulchral Room, eighty-two feet by twenty-six, containing Roman sarcophagi for which the west side might be partially available, and sepulchral cippi, and inscriptions. At the north-east angle would be a Columbarium, twenty-three feet by fourteen, fitted up like that in the present Sepulchral Basement Room, but with the advantage of a skylight.
[Then follows a Summary of Accommodation provided in the plan for Roman Sculptures, amounting to a superficial area (without alcoves) of eight thousand five hundred and fifty-eight square feet, and seven hundred and seventeen linear feet of wall-space.]
Means of future enlargement.
The first three rooms, when their contents sufficiently increased, would admit of an easy alteration, which would not merely increase the wall-space, but much improve the lighting, by simply inserting transverse walls between each window. Against these walls the sculptures would have a true side light, whilst those against the east wall would be protected from double lights. It may even be doubted whether such an arrangement should not be adopted in the first instance, without waiting till the additional accommodation is actually required.
Phœnician Room.
XLIV.Phœnician Room, twenty-six feet square.—Here would be thestelæand bas-reliefs from Carthage and its vicinity, with the few Punic inscriptions which we possess. The room contains six hundred and seventy-six superficial feet, and eighty-eight of wall-space.
Supplemental Room.
XLV. A similar room to the preceding, which, in case of necessity,might serve for extending the Phœnician collection. In the mean time it might perhaps be used for exhibiting such miscellaneous inferior sculptures as could be advantageously weeded from the regular series, though circumstances might temporarily prevent their removal from the Museum. In such case it might be entitled ‘Supplemental Room.’
In accordance with a suggestion made in the Committee now sitting, the writer has added to the new buildings proposed in his plan another story, or second floor, over the first. The advantage of this is, that it would provide for objects which it might be more costly or inconvenient to accommodate elsewhere. But it involves necessarily two evils:|Plan of Upper Floors. Advantages and evils of a second story.|1. That the height of the second floor, involving an ascent of perhaps nearly one hundred steps (though this is not more than is common in continental museums), might excite complaint in English visitors. 2. That so lofty a building, by excluding all oblique rays from the east side of the Græco-Roman galleries, would make the light on the statues and busts there placed somewhat too vertical.
Collections retained or removed.
With regard to the collections to be provided for on the upper floors, it is here assumed, though of course without any express authority, that Ethnography and Oriental Antiquities would be removed from the Museum, and better accommodated elsewhere. The British and Mediæval Collections, however, are supposed to be retained; if they are removed, a modification of this plan must in consequence be made.
First Floor or New Buildings for Antiquities; its construction.
The apartments should all be about eighteen feet high, the windows of the same breadth as those below, but, except in the Terracotta Room, only about eight feet high, and as near the ceiling as possible. On the east side should be corresponding windows, so that each wall would be illuminated; for cross lights, though so injurious to sculptures, are generally desirable for galleries filled with wall-cases. All the windows should have ground glass, to prevent injury to the collections from the sun.