rnamented
with a relieved cornice, more or less elaborate according to the general
finish of the stone. I have one in which this cornice of .073 inch in
width contains an upper and a lower bead and a U moulding of which the
parts are only one fourth the height of the cornice in breadth, and yet
are cut with mathematical regularity and completeness. The bead that
marks the junction of the wings and chest is divided into squares of
.0045 inch in dimension. If this care is given to the less important
part of the stone, what may we not expect from the intaglii which make
the more important objects of the lapidary's work! A stone, three
fourths of an inch in length, contains two full-length figures seated in
conversational attitudes, the extended hand of one of which, with the
thumb and four fingers perfectly defined, is only .063 inch in length.

The great inequality between the power of design and the executive skill
and taste in mere ornamentation in the characteristic Etruscan work is
comparable only to those Eastern products which I have before alluded
to,--the Persian fabrics. The animals are drawn without any regard to
anatomical or optical truth,--foreshortening taken by a royal road, and
grace thrown overboard. The hog is generally shown as flatted out, the
legs appearing two on each side of the body; and the members of all
animals are stowed away with more direct reference to composition of
masses than of animal organisms. I remember one of a horse, in which,
there not being room for the four legs in their natural places, one was
hung up at the side where a vacant space offered itself.

The earliest work seems to be done by a graving process, as if cutting
were by lines; the later is evidently done by the drilling operation now
in use, and the process is much more apparent, especially in the
drill-like terminations. This was probably owing to the use of the
diamond itself for the incision, instead of the steel point and diamond
dust, as in modern times, and to the great difficulty in getting a point
on the implement.

The purely ornamental manner of treating the Scarabaeus seems to indicate
that it had neither religious nor historical value. Had the contrary
been the case, we should inevitably have found some artistic quality
sacrificed to their meaning, which is not the case with the intaglio
more than with the insect representation. The subjects include all the
objects known to familiar life, with all the incid