ls (now in the Antiquarium of the Royal Museum, Berlin)
amounts to 107,144 lbs., some over 53 tons, of silver. The style and
technical finish of the vases prove them to have been manufactured in
Rome; the form of the letters of the inscriptions found on
twenty-four vessels indicates the first half of the first century
after Christ. The surfaces of many of them are covered with
alto-relievos of beaten silver--a circumstance which traces back their
origin to imperial times, distinguishing them, at the same time, from
the bas-relief ornamentations of the acme of Greek art. The gilding of
the draperies and weapons, and the silver color of the naked parts, in
imitation, as it were, of the gold-and-ivory statues of Greek art,
also indicate Roman workmanship. The annexed cuts show some of the
finest pieces of this treasure. The composition of the figures on the
surface of the vase in cut on page 340 shows true artistic genius;
naked children are balancing themselves on water-plants growing in
winding curves from a pair of griffins; some of the children attack
crabs and eels with harpoons, while others drag the killed animals
from the water. The graceful groups on the drinking-vessels in the
above cuts are mostly taken from the Bacchic cycle of myths.

[Illustration: FOUND AT HILDESHEIM. (_Of the first century_)]

[Illustration: VASE OF THE FIRST CENTURY.]

[Illustration: VASE OF THE FIRST CENTURY.]

Besides vessels of precious metals and stones, those of glass were in
favorite use among the Romans. The manufactory of glass, originating
in Sidon, had reached its climax of perfection, both with regard to
color and form, in Alexandria about the time of the Ptolemies. Many
of these Alexandrine glasses have been preserved to us, and their
beauty fully explains their superiority in the opinion of the ancients
to those manufactured in Italy. Here also, after the discovery of
excellent sand at Cumae and Linternum, glass works had been
established. Most of our museums possess some specimens of antique
glass manufacture, in the shape of balsam or medicine bottles of white
or colored glass. We also possess goblets and drinking-bottles of
various shapes and sizes, made of white or common green glass; they
generally taper toward the bottom, and frequently show grooves or
raised points on their outer surfaces, so as to prevent the glass from
slipping from the hand; urns, oinochoai, and dishes of various sizes
made of glass,