The Intellectual observer. Volume 11, February - July 1867.
The Intellectual observer.
22501474678 w 5 ’ ' :-£; ■I* T ' jJ j?k . jin wMr?- ~ feVVv. 'fjjj, g^gT' '■■'SmBrjflb <t ki Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2020 with funding from Wellcome Library \ I m https://archive.org/details/s830id13692640 THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER REVIEW OF NATURAL HISTORY MICROSCOPIC RESEARCH AND RECREATIVE SCIENCE VOLUME XI. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES IN COLOURS AND TINTS, AND NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD LONDON GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLXVII. 'V I ®y KAHTtlMD, P^'WrfR, I.05C0S. s CONTENTS. Ancient Jewelry. By William Duthie,, With a Coloured Plate .. Trial of the Pyx .. On the Form, Growth, and Construction op Shells. By the late Dr. S. P. Woodward, F.G.S. With Illustrations . „. Mrs. Cameron’s Photographs . .. The Coal Mines op the United States op North America. By F. M. Lubbren. On Telegraphic Communication by Means op a Numerical Code. By Lieut, J. Herschel, R.E. Results op Meteorological Observations made at the Kew Obser¬ vatory. By G. M. Whipple . .. Light Spots in the Lunar Night. — The Crater Linne. — Occultations. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, A.M., F.R.A.S. The Fossil Forest op Atanakerdluk. The Mangrove and its Allies. By John R. Jackson. The Mammoth and its Epoch. On the “ Glass Rope” Hyalonema. By Professor Wyville Thomson. With Coloured Plate and tivo Illustrations. The Star Chamber: Its Practice and Procedure. By Francis W. Rowsell . . . .. Indian Insects, House Visitants. By the Rev. R. Hunter, M.A. The Climate of Great Britain. By Richard A. Proctor, B.A., F.R.A.S. The Vegetable Sheep op New Zealand. By John R. Jackson. Pleasant Ways in Science. No. V. — Radiant Forces. Sciiroter’s Meteors. — The Lunar Cassini. — Crimson Star. — Occulta¬ tions. By the Rev.  By Henry Wood¬ ward, F.G.S., F.Z.S. With Tinted Plate. Fatio on Feathers : their Decoloration. Silvered Mirror Telescopes, their Merits and Disadvantages. Chemical Aids to Art. By Professor A. H. Church, M.A., F.C.S. .. A Ramble in West Shropshire. By the Rev. J. D. La Touche. Rumination in Fish, the Scarus of the Ancients. By the Rev. W. Houghton, M.A., F.L.S. Lunar Delineation. — The Lunar Aristillus and Autolycus. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, M.A., F.R.A.S. . .. On a Fresh Water Valved Vaginicola. By Henry J. Slack, F.G.S., Hon. Sec. R.M.S . - . .. Biela’s Comet. By W. T. Lynn, B.A., F.R.A.S. With Tinted Plate .. page 1 10 18 30 34 40 44 51 61 65 70 81 95 110 113 128 136 144 152 161 172 176 180 185 190 195 205 208 IV Contents , PAGE Fresh Notes on the Chater Linne, and supposed Eruption . 215 The New Oak-Feeding Silkworm of China. By John R. Jackson .. 241 An Eight Days’ Ramble in Cape Colony. By George E. Bulger.... 246 Ancient Supply of Water to Towns. By the Rev. W. Houghton, F.L.S. 257 On the Botanical Origin of Wheat. By John R. Jackson . 262 Lunar Perspective. By W. R. Birt, F.R.A.S . 267 Red Star. — Double Stars. — Nebulas.— Linne and Aristoteles. — Occult- ations. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, M.A., F.R.A.S . 273 Graptolites: their Structure and Systematic Position. By William Carruthers, F.L.S . 283 A White Cloud Illumination for Low Powers. By Henry J. Slack, F.S.A., Hon. Sec. R.M.S . 292 Results of Meteorological Observations made at Kew Observatory. By G. M. Whipple . . . 294 Biography of Swedenborg . 300 British Woodpeckers. By G. Edward Massie. With a Coloured Plate 321 On the Applicability of the Electric Light to Lighthouses. By Professor M’Gauley . . 325 The Low Barometer of the Antarctic Temperate Zone. By Richard A. Proctor, B.A., F.R.A.S. Illustrated . 334 A Ramble in West Shropshire. By Rev. J. D. La Touche  Part II. — By William Carruthers, F.L.S. With a Plate . 365 Flying Machines . . 374 The Lunar Appenines. — Clusters and Nebulae. — Occultation. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, A.M., F.R.A.S . 379 Moon Colours . 388 Probable Connection of Comets with Shooting Stars. By W. T. Lynn, B.A., F.R.A.S . 390 Cameo of the Emperor Augustus in the Blacas Collection. By Thomas Wright, M.A., F.S.A. With a Coloured Plate . 401 Chemical Aids to Art. No. II. — By Professor Church . 409 The Philosophy of Birds’ Nests By A. R. Wallace, F.Z.S., Etc . 413 On the various modes of Propelling Vessels. By Professor McGauley. 421 Sun Viewing and Drawing. By the Rev. F, Howlett, M.A., F.R.S. 429 Vegetable Monstrosities and Races. By Ch. Naudin . . 446 Ancient Men of Wirtemberg . 450 Mr. Graham’s Recent Discoveries — The Absorption and Dialytic Separation of Gases by Colloid Septa— The Occlusion of Gases. 452 Clusters and Nebulae. — Southern Objects. — Double Stars. — Occulta- tions. By Rev. T. W. Webb, A.M., F.R.A.S . . . 459 On the Eggs of Corixa Mercenaria. By Dr. T. L. Phipson, F.C.S . 467 Arch^ologia . 74, 152, 223, 307, 393, 470 Progress of Invention . . . . 63, 156, 226, 310, 396, 473 Proceedings of Learned Societies . 159, 238, 316, 397, 476 Notes and Memoranda . . . 79, 159, 239, 319, 399, 479 4 7 ANCIENT JEWELRY. Drawn from the originals by W. Duthie THE INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER. FEBRUARY, 1867. ANCIENT JEWELRY. BY WILLIAM DUTHIE. 1 A ( With a Coloured Plate.) Antiquarians, acute, learned, and indefatigable, have taken suck pains to describe, among other ancient remains, the specimens of Egyptian jewelry which have been discovered in recent times, that it might appear unnecessary to treat of them further. After the elaborate explanations of Prisse d^Avennes, Daly, Sir Gardiner Wilkinson, Dr. Birch, and others, of Egyptian ornaments, and the voluminous account given by Mr. Layard of Assyrian antiquities, there might appear to be a certain presumption in any attempt to enlarge upon a subject which had been already so amply and so ably treated. But, however carefully these ancient and interesting relics may have been described in an archeological point of view, they have never yet been dealt with in a practical way as pieces of workmanship ; and it is in this light it is purposed to consider them here. It is evident that, so considered, they offer a very interesting field, not merely for speculation, but for the accumulation of proofs directly tending to show the progress made in the finer mechanical processes of art-work¬ manship in those early ages. To a workman, testing them by his own special knowledge, they may give evidence of a character different from, and not less interesting than, that offered to the antiquarian and the philosopher. Acting upon this idea, the pieces of jewelry in the Coloured Plate have been selected as much for the purpose of illustrating certain points of workmanship, as for their marked character and beauty ; to show, in fact, what advance the Egyptians and Assyrians had made in the arts of casting, chasing, soldering, stone-cutting, and other more technical processes in the manufacture of personal ornaments. It is believed that the objects chosen have not hitherto been engraved, and these VOL. xi. — NO. 1. B 2 Ancient Jewelry. are represented in some cases in the state in which they were worm, instead of in their present dilapidated condition. With the exception of No. 1, an earring reduced from many examples of the same ornament on the colossal figures of the Assyrian bas-reliefs, the specimens shown are to be found in the cases of the British Museum. The very curious and beautiful collection of relics discovered at Thebes, and exhibited by the Pasha of Egypt at the English International Exhibition of 1862, would not have served the writer's pur¬ pose equally well, the majority of them not coming within the category of jewelry, being testimonial pieces, or symbols of office. These relics have been fully explained by Dr. Birch, and carefully copied and illuminated by Mr. Kiddle, of the War Office.* They are, it is believed, the most ancient specimens of art- workmanship in the precious metals in existence, dating from about b.c. 1800, or 3600 years ago. They will be again referred to. It is surprising how far into the inner life of a people an examination of the works under review may lead ; for the existence of one fact, proved to demonstration by the work itself, helps to establish other facts not so patent, and to suggest consequences of great interest, and of the utmost import¬ ance in determining the condition of art-manufacture at the period referred to. When, in opening some ancient British tumulus, the antiquarian unearths a rude ornament of gold, probably the breast or neck decoration of a chief, and finds it to consist of a simple thin plate, beaten into something like shape to serve its important purpose ; having no mark of chasing-tool or graver, and, above all, no union by solder of two parts together, he must inevitably come to the conclusion that the goldsmith's art, at the time the ornament was made, must have been in the most primitive condition. It must be at once evident that here is simply a piece of hammer-work, in the making of which little taste and less skill have been exerted. On the other hand, every little addition to the naked piece of metal is not only a proof of a higher state of art in itself, but is evidence of progress in other directions of a kindred nature. Even so small a thing as a piece of wire is a sign of a decided advance in art upon the original crude plate ; and, moreover, it shows progress in mechanical appliances ; for the production of a piece of wire implies the possession of tools of an exact and complex character. Examined in this way, the process of manufacture of a simple piece of jewelry will serve to show the existence of other arts than that of the goldsmith. * Fac-similes of the Egyptian Relics Discovered at Thehes, 4to, London, 1863. Ancient Jewelry. 3 Tlie same antiquity cannot be claimed for the specimens chosen for illustration as for the relics of Queen Aah-hept ; but the most recent example is of about the year b.c. 300. The Assyrian earrings, Nos. 1 and 5, are from Kouyunjik (Nineveh), of about 700 years before Christ. The necklace. No. 2, and the earrings, Nos. 4 and 7, are from Babylon, of probably a somewhat later date. The ring, No. 3, representing the figures of Serapis, Isis, and Horus, is of the Ptolemaic period, about b.c. 300 years. The bracelet. No. 8, is inscribed with the name of Namrut (Nimrod), an Egyptian prince of the twenty- second dynasty, from Sais, and therefore dates from about 500 years before Christ. The numbering has been arranged on the principle of taking the most simple forms and workmanship first, having some regard also to age. The earring. No. 1, although not actually existing as a gold specimen, is found so repeatedly on the colossal bas-reliefs of the Nimrod collection, that it may be taken as a very common type of ornament, and although certainly elegant in form, is of very simple construction. It may have been cast solid, or struck with a punch in two pieces, and soldered together. It is scarcely probable that it was cast solid, as in that case its excessive weight would render it painful and even unsafe to wear. That the Assyrians certainly, and probably the Egyp¬ tians also, were in the habit of casting ornaments in metal, we have distinct evidence in the ring moulds discovered by Mr. Layard, and exhibited in the Nineveh collection. Not only have we there a mould for casting rings — not a mould of sand, as used in modern times, but of some chalky or clayey substance, in which the subject is cut in both halves of the mould, with a proper gate wherein to pour the melted metal, and radiating lines to admit of the escape of the air — but also small bells and weights, on which the distinct ridge left by the juncture of the mould is still visible. But even for so rude a piece of jewelry as a cast earring, some mechanical appliances are necessary beyond the mould and the metal. Some sort of furnace must have been erected, with probably wood for fuel, and an inflated pig-skin for a bellows. The workman must also have had crucibles, and some kind of iron pincers to lift his gold out of the fire. But it is more probable that the earring in question was hollow — struck by means of a punch in two halves, and soldered together. This is undoubtedly the method pursued in the manufacture of the chain, No. 2 ; and adopting this con¬ clusion, we must pre-suppose the carving or moulding of iron or bronze punches, and the knowledge of the several delicate operations which go to complete a soldered juncture of metals. We have no difficulty in determining the fact of the use of 4 Ancient Jewelry. carved punches in the manufacture of jewelry, for there are abundant evidences of it in the necklaces and other ornaments which are exhibited in the British Museum. One necklace of shells and cornucopia^ placed alternately, is especially remark¬ able. It is of silver, and each kind of oruament is so exactly similar, that they must necessarily have been struck off the same punch. A bead necklace offers the same evidence ; and it is not at all improbable that many of the aphes, cobras, scarabsei, and other symbolical ornaments which we find embedded in opaque glass, were struck from carved punches out of thin gold plate. The question then arises, how were these punches made? Were they also cast in moulds, say in bronze ? Or were they forged, and worked up by file and graver into the required form? We have no evidence of the existence of a file at this period ; and a file, besides that it must be of steel to be of any service, even upon bronze, is a really artistic pro¬ duction. There is no proof that steel was known at so remote a date, and the probabilities are against such a supposition. Cast iron is a modern invention ; and regarding the matter from all sides, one is almost forced to the conclusion that these punches were cast in bronze, and finished for use by such cutting gravers or other tools as sharpened iron would furnish. The suggestion that these exactly similar ornaments might have been struck in dies offers many difficulties, for a die is an implement of manufacture much more difficult of production than a hand-punch. Then arises the question of soldering. These duplicate pieces, struck with a punch, and made of an equal height by being snipped round their edges with shears, and rubbed down on a stone, must now be united by solder — not mere tin or pewter, tut what is technically known as hard solder, i.e ., a metal only so far inferior by the addition of alloy to the metal it is to unite, that it is fusible at a somewhat lower degree of heat. But to solder in this way requires tools and appliances of a more delicate nature than we have as yet had to deal with. The preparation of solder itself, writh its careful and minute proportioning of alloy, and its no less careful fusion — its thin¬ ning into plate, and its reduction by some means, by shears or by file, into small particles for use — requires considerable skill and indispensable tools. Then it is impossible to solder without some species of flux, to prevent the oxidation of the two surfaces to be united, during the process. What flux had the Egyptians or the Assyrians ? It is a fact that in many parts of the East Indies to this day the native jewelry, although admirable in many points of execution, is not soldered together, but dovetailed, in a manner of speaking, by a series of minute “ spitzens.” The fineness of the gold employed admits of Ancient Jewelry. 5 this process, and the work does not depend for its strength upon its connected parts. The setting of their gems is invariably effected in this way, and with a little force may be lifted off bodily. Borax is the immemorial flux of the jeweler all over the world, and it is not at all improbable that the Egyptians possessed this valuable medium ; especially as, although now an artificial compound of its element, boracic acid and soda, manufactured to meet the demands of commerce, it is found, and was to be found doubtless in that remote time, as a natural production. But given the borax, the solder, the shears, or the file, we still require the charcoal, or some equivalent for it ; and what is more, we still require the blow-pipe. His inflated pig-skin would not serve the Assyrian here ; something more manageable was necessary — something which possessed both force and precision. It is held by scholars that Pliny (the younger) speaks of borax under the title of chrysocolla, and it is not at all unreasonable to suppose that borax, under this or some other name, was known at a much earlier date than his time. If the Egyptians had not discovered charcoal — and it is very possible they had, considering their necessarily constant use of wood — it would not be difficult to find some light porous stone to answer its purpose ;* and the origin of the blow-pipe is so involved in obscurity, that there is scarcely any date too early to fix for its discovery. Moreover, although the blow-pipe of the modern chemist is a very scientific implement, it must be remembered that the jeweler's blow-pipe to this day is simply a piece of bent tubing, smaller at one end than the other. It is at least certain, then, that to solder, the ancients must have possessed some knowledge of alloy, and had for tools the blow-pipe, shears, or files, charcoal, or some analogous non-conductive substance, and must have known the valuable uses of borax as a flux. This question of alloys is of more consequence than may at first sight appear; for, as a rule, the gold used in these ancient ornaments was in nearly a pure state ; and it is not unreason¬ able to suppose that a knowledge of the ready fusion of certain other metals therewith might have tempted the workmen of antiquity to deteriorate the precious metal, as is systematically done in modern times. The universal use of fine gold suggests also one other solution of the solder difficulty : it is that fine gold, and fine gold alone, may, by the help of a flux, be sweated," or brazed together instead of soldered ; but it is a careful process, and can only be done with heavy pieces of work. It is true there are some examples of framework for * Lava is an excellent substitute, but not likely to be found among the sands of Egypt. 6 Ancient Jeivelry. inlaying in the cases of the British Masenm which have a suspicious aspect, scarcely compatible with purity of material, but they are the exception to the rule ; and, on the other hand, it is certain that many legitimate uses, of a less pure but harder gold, were altogether unknown. Thus, there are no joints to earrings, or spring fastenings to any of the ancient ornaments. The earloops are simply the attenuated ends of fine gold wires, which, once passed through the ear, were bent round till they held in their places, to be again straightened, should the earring require to be removed — a thing, it may be presumed, not often done. The bracelets, again, are permanent ornaments, and could scarcely have been removed without the aid of the jeweler. No. 3 is a copy of a ring of the Ptolemaic period, and is made of woven wire, from which spring three cast and chased figures of Serapis, Isis, and Horus. Although generally effective, the workmanship of this ring is ex¬ ceedingly coarse. It may be here remarked that nothing is so general as the introduction of chasing in all Egyptian jewelry, and indeed in all their metal work. There are even frequent examples of attempts at embossing, or rejpousse work. This chasing, as a rule, is very rude, and consists of little more than outlines, but there are cases in which it is much more finished, and indeed very effective. The claw of a hawk in one of the upper cases of the Mummy Hoorn of the British Museum is an example in point. The earring, No. 4, a relic of Babylon, is one specimen of modelling, casting, and chasing, although by no means one of a high order ; and the Assyrian earring, No. 5, discovered by Mr. Layard at Kouyunjik (Nineveh), and which has a pearl at each end, is, no doubt, chased all round, and chased after the present method ; that is to say, by being first filled with bituminous matter, in order to offer a sufficient resistance, and no more, to the blow of the chasing tool and hammer. The bitumen, resin, Or gum with which the earring is now filled is probably an after arrange¬ ment, and in this respect it is similar to the loaded jewelry made even down to the present day in the East Indies. The earloop is conjectural, as the original one is lost. The cylinder seal-ring. No. 0, is an admirable example of a type common among the Egyptians, and shows well the very general use among them of thin wire-work. Wire was made to serve as ornaments on plain surfaces in very many cases, and in its then use may fairly be taken as the origin of filagree, to which, in some instances, it bears a resemblance. The great use of wire is a fact to be noted, for the manufacture of this gold thread is by no means a simple process. It could not have been produced by mere hand labour, and must have Ancient Jewelry. 7 been drawn then, as now, through a graduated series of holes, made in some much harder substance than itself. Indeed, it seems difficult to conceive of a wire draw-plate in any less durable and compact metal than steel. A mere rude hole in a piece of iron would not answer the purpose, as it would rip and break the metal — the more so with so soft a metal as fine gold — and at the best would only produce wire of its own shape. A wire draw-plate is a very exact piece of workman¬ ship, in which the holes are carefully graduated in size, so as not to produce too great a strain upon the metal at one time, and brightly polished so as to cause as little friction as possible, as well as to produce a wire of a perfectly round and smooth surface. Even when made of the finest steel, such plates wear rapidly, and the modern improvement is to substitute an eyelet of sapphire, or similar hard gem, in which the hole is made, instead of in the bare metal. Notwithstanding these diffi¬ culties, we must suppose that the Egyptians possessed some more or less perfect wire draw-plates, and, in addition, the vice and draw-ply ers, in some shape or other, without which the first would be useless. The consideration of the earring, No. 7, and the bracelet. No. 8, has been reserved to the last, because they present features of a character very different to the other examples. The earring, which is from Babylon, is, to judge from its elaborate character, the most recent production of any here shown. It is not without a certain beauty of form, and is peculiar in the number of pieces of which it is composed, and in the fact that it is a mounted” piece of work. Its com¬ ponent parts are neither cast nor struck with a punch, but made up in pieces from thin plate, soldered together, and filled with gum. It is made, in fact, in the same way as it would be made at the present day, with the exception of the gum ; and could only be executed by a skilful hand with the aid of small round and flat ply ers. Here, again, we are forced to the belief that such tools were known to the Babylonians at least, if not to the Egyptians. The lozenge-shaped stones are inlaid and flat, supported by the gum ; the others are cut cabochon. The bracelet, although apparently a complicated piece of workmanship, is in reality very simple; and this again is “ mounted” out of thin flat plate and chaneer, i. e., hollow wire. Its great peculiarity is that it is jointed. The skill required, and the tools necessary for the drawing of wire, has already been dwelt upon, but the difficulty of making hollow wire from flat plate is even greater. Yet this is no new feature in Egyptian jewelry, for among the relics of Queen Aah-hept, b.c. 1800, 8600 years ago, is a bracelet having a joint containing fifteen divisions, technically called “ knuckles 8 Ancient Jewelry. that is to say, seven divisions fitting into eight, like a well- made modern snuff-box. In both these bracelets there are two joints, and they are placed just so wide apart as to admit of the passage of the wrist, when the pin was again passed into the open joint, and the bracelet, or rather armlet, thus became per¬ manently fastened. There remain still two points to be considered ; the manu¬ facture of gold plate and the process of inlaying, of which latter art both the last described earring and the bracelet are good examples. It is difficult to understand how the gold plate, of which the Egyptians made so great a use, can have been produced, without the aid of some machinery of the nature of the flatting-mill of the present day. It is certainly possible to hammer fine gold into a thin sheet, but this can only be done by placing it between vellum, or some similar substance, and subjecting it to heavy blows by the hour. On the naked anvil it would be scarcely possible to produce an even surface, and then only by means of finely-polished steel ham¬ mers, which the ancients can scarcely have possessed. Yet it is easier to believe that they hammered their gold into plate on the anvil than that they possessed so complicated as machine as a rolling or flatting-mill. As to the inlaying, Dr. Birch tells us, speaking of the relics of Queen Aah-hept, that “ they are encrusted in a kind of cloisonne of opaque glass of blue and red colour, and are not enamelled. This latter class of work not being known prior to the Roman Empire.” Again : <e the principal substances used for this purpose by the Egyptians were lapis-lazuli, root of emerald, or green felspar, jasper, obsidian, and opaque glasses imitating them, and the delicate blue of the turquoise.” The bracelet before us appears to have been inlaid mainly with lapis-lazuli, alternating with thin plates of gold, also inlaid, and altogether representing that peculiar zigzagwhich was employed by the Egyptians to represent running water. The present drawing has been taken from the side, instead of the front, of the bracelet, in order to represent this more fully. The question now arises, by what means did the ancients cut their precious stones and coloured glasses into the required shapes ? We know they were expert engravers on stone, but it is hardly to be supposed that they had invented the lathe, and engraved their figures and inscription by means of the points and small disks of the modern seal- engraver. Yet something of this kind they must have done; for, assuming that their seal- devices and writings were cut by small chisels, or by friction with the points of harder stones, which is pos¬ sible, but extremely laborious, how could they have shaped their seal-stones for setting or for inscription without a lapi- Ancient Jeiuelry. 9 dary’s mill ? Even more necessary would such, an implement be for the purposes of inlaying; for granting that the Egyp¬ tian or Assyrian workmen were able, by some rude means, to fit their separate pieces of mosaic into the places prepared for them, how would they level the whole surface, as they have undoubtedly done, smoothing it and polishing it to a high degree, without the action of some machine, revolving with rapidity, which should make a clean sweep of it ? It is impossible to answer these questions. The utmost we can do is to make careful guesses from visible facts. It may be said that it was quite possible for the ancients to effect all they did in the manufacture of jewelry without any of the tools of the modern art workman, given the requisite time and patience. Doubtless, this is one solution of the difficulty ; for we know from later works, executed under difficult circum¬ stances by prisoners and others, that it is almost impossible to impose too hard a task on the ingenuity and perseverance of man. But then, in such cases, time and labour must count for next to nothing. Whatever the implements at his command, it is clearly evident that the Egyptian and the Assyrian workman could melt and alloy the precious metals ; could flatten them into thin plate, draw them into fine wire, prepare punches to strike them into ornamental shapes, and solder these shapes together. Further, that he could chase and engrave ; that he could “ mount^ the metal he had prepared into any form his taste might suggest, and could inlay his mounted work with coloured glasses and stones. Also, that he could make moulds, and cast solid ornaments, could gild metal, and weave wire- chains. Lastly, that he could cut, engrave, and polish the hardest stones ; could set them in rings and as amulets ; and that his taste had in it so much of vitality that it lives and inspires his successors even to this hour. In fact, we may deny this ancient craftsman the possession of many tools which appear to us indispensable at the present day, to effect the same object, but in doing so we only acknowledge, and must the more admire, his skill and his perseverance. 10 Trial of the Pyx. TRIAL OF THE PYX. In the days of our remote ancestry, when mints existed in different parts of Great Britain, and were superintended by various individuals known as monevers, it was no doubt necessary that frequent examinations of the various coins issued from those establishments should take place. Such examinations constituted valuable checks upon those who were engaged in the manufacture of the State monies, and were a guarantee to the public that those monies were of the legal standards of weight and of fineness. For many centuries, however, trials of the Pyx took place within the mints themselves, and were conducted by officials connected with the mints. They were made at stated intervals, usually once in every three months, and they came to be considered part and parcel of mint duties. It is not essential for our present purpose to inquire into the mode of operation pursued in those primitive daj^s of English minting, and, if it were attempted, the task would prove to be one of extreme difficulty, from the fact that the sources of information are few and unsatisfactory. _ */ We may, therefore, more profitably consider the subject of the trial of the Pyx from the period when, according to the best historical data, it became a public ceremony, and when our monarchs not unfrequently took part in it. Ending, in his elaborate and erudite work known as the Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain and its Dependencies , fixes this time very precisely, for he states that the first public trial occurred on the 24th February, 1248, the 32nd year of Henry III., before the Barons of the Exchequer, the jury "being com¬ posed of twelve discreet and lawful citizens of London, with twelve skilful goldsmiths of the same place. The first known writ for such a trial is dated, nevertheless, at a later period, namely, 1281, and, in the reign of Edward I., and it is pretty clear that the trial of the Pyx,* or Mint-box, as now practised, and as against the Master of the Mint, was really instituted in the year last named. It was certainly not till 1279 that the royal mints were consolidated under one mint master, and that the latter became party to an agreement with the king (Edward I.) for the execution of the coinage of the realm, and thus made himself individually responsible for its genuineness. An ordinance was passed in the same year called Rotulus de Moneta, or the Roll of the Mint, and intended to regulate the proceedings there. A copy of this ordinance exists, and it ordains : 1. That a standard should be made and kept at the Exchequer, or where the king wished, and that the coin should L * Derived from the Greek a box. Jr Trial of the Pyx. 11 be made according to the standard of identical goodness. (Premeurement qe hom doit fere un estandart qe doit demorer al Eschekar, ou en quel lien qe nostre Seignor le Roy vodra. Et selone la forme del estandart serra fete la moneye,, et de tiel bonte come lestantar). In the sixth clause of the Ordi¬ nance reference is distinctly made to a Pyx-box, in which was to be deposited a sterling coin out of every ten pounds weight struck for the purpose of making the assay or trial. It also gives explicit instructions as to the custody of the keys of the box, of which there were to be two, one for the Master, and one for the Warden of the Mint. The system of holding trials of the Pyx, obtained with more or less regularity, once in three months, until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and Ending quotes the following from an account of such proceedings which took place in her reign — “ And uppon reasonable warning thereof given, it (the Pyx® box) shall be opened once in three monnethes before some of the Queen’s Counsell assigned, in the presence of the said Warden and Master; and ther shalbe maid assaies as well of the finness as of the waight of the said monies of gold and silver by enie meannes in the said box A Pending the troublous times of Charles I., trials of the Pyx were held at very irregular and uncertain periods, the probability being that they were deemed of much less conse¬ quence than the trials of strength continually waged between that unhappy sovereign and his parliamentary antagonists. During the Commonwealth it is believed that only one public examination of the coinage took place, and that a long time after Cromwell’s accession to supreme power, namely, in lb57. The warrant for this is still extant, and, since,, it is very brief, it may not be uninteresting to quote it entire. It runs as follows : — - “ Oliver P. Whereas, amongst other weighty affairs of the Common¬ wealth, the care of assaying and trying the monies thereof by the standard of England, according to the ancient custom of the realm, is not the least. We, judging it necessary that the trial and assay of the said money be forthwith made, do there¬ fore hereby signify such our will and pleasure to be, command¬ ing yon forthwith to cause a trial and assay to be made of the Pyx, now being in the Mint, within the Tower of London, by a Jury of Goldsmiths of our said City of London, of integrity and experience, to be empannelled on a day certain to be by you in that behalf appointed, in the place accustomed, within our Palace of Westminster, and that the Lords Commissioners of our Treasury, the Justices of the several Benches, and Barons of the Exchequer, or some of them, be then there present and 12 Trial of the Pyx. counselling and assisting you in the execution of our service.” “ Given at Whitehall, the 9th day of November, 1657. “ To our trusty and well-beloved Nath. Fiennes and John Lister, Lords Commissioners of our Great Seal of England.” From the period of the Restoration to the time of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, trials of the Pyx have occurred at very uncertain intervals, generally, however, on the appoint¬ ment of a new Master of the Mint* the ceremony is performed, it being held desirable to relieve the retiring officer of all responsibility, and to transfer it to his successor. No other specific rule exists either on the authority of a Royal Warrant or an Act of Parliament for regulating the time when such trials shall take place. The practice, however, of late years has been to determine this point by the contents of the Pyx- boxes themselves. When those receptacles become filled with coin, it is physically essential that they should be emptied, and, in order to accomplish this feat, the cumbrous machinery of the State has to be put in motion. There are two Pyx-boxes deposited in a strong room at the Mint, and the rapidity, or otherwise, with which they are charged, depends on the activity of the stamping presses of the establishment. One of the boxes is for the receipt of gold and the other of silver coin. Each of the boxes is furnished with three distinct locks, and the keys of which are retained respectively by the Master, the Deputy Master and Comptroller, and the Queen’s Assay Master. In the boxes a single coin from every journey weightf of gold or silver money transferred to the Mint office from the coining department is deposited. At the close of each day’s weighing of coins at the central office of receipt and delivery, the Pyx coins, corresponding in number with that of the journeys passed through the scales, are put up in a paper parcel, and sealed by at least two of the officers just mentioned. They are then placed in their sacred prisons, and securely locked up until the day of trial. It may be stated, in passing, that other pieces are retained day by day from the current work, and tested both as to wmight and fine¬ ness by the Deputy Master and the Assayer. These operations are known as the Mint Pyx Assay, and they are always completed before the bulk of coin to which the trial pieces pertain are forwarded to the Bank of England. * The office is now held as a life appointment, and has been so held since 1851. Formerly it was a ministerial post. f A “journey” of gold consists of 180 ounces, or '701 pieces (sovs.), and a journey ot silver of 720 ounces, the number of pieces being dependant on the denomination of coin. The word journey is believed to be a corruption of the French word journes. Trial of the Pyx. 13 Whilst treating of this part of our subject, it will not be out of place to mention that each pound troy of gold is coined into 46f-§- sovereigns, and that the standard degree of fineness of tha coin is twenty-two carat, that is, twenty-two parts fine gold and two parts of alloy, in accordance with the Act 56 Geo. 3, c. 68, s. 11. The pound weight of silver is coined into 66 shillings, the same rate being observed with all other denominations of silver money, its standard degree of fineness being eleven ounces two pennyweights of fine silver, and eigh¬ teen pennyweights of alloy, in pursuance of section 4 of the same Act of Parliament. Having thus explained, with, it is hoped, as much distinct¬ ness as will make the arrangements intelligible, the mode of charging the Mint Pyx-boxes, let us proceed to detail the ceremonial processes intermittently practised for the discharge of their precious contents. The repletion of the boxes being officially made known by memorial to the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer moves Her Majesty in Council, and an Order in Council, appointing an early day for the trial of the Pyx, is the result of this action. The Chancellor of the Exchequer also issues his warrant to the Comptroller General of the Exchequer, directing that officer to produce, at the specified date, the standard trial plates^ and standard weights in the custody of the Exchequer office. Immediately before the trial the Pyx chamber is formally opened by officers of the Treasury and Exchequer, and the plates, removed from their sealed deposi¬ tories, are forthwith curtailed to a slight extent of their fair proportions, the cuttings being reserved for assay in the manner presently to be mentioned. Simultaneously with these proceedings, notice is given by the Treasury to the Lord Chancellor and to the Queen's Remem¬ brancer of the day of trial. I 'he great law officer next issues a precept to his loving friends the Wardens of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, and requiring them to nominate a jury of sufficient and able freemen of the com¬ pany, te skilful to judge of and present the faults of the coins, if any be found," and to be present at the day and hour appointed for their trial. When the fell moment has arrived, the various persons whose duty it is to sit in judgment upon the imprisoned coins assemble at the office of the Comptroller General of the Exchequer, in a room appointed for that purpose ; those per¬ sons, according to a recently published official paper, to which further reference will have to be made presently, comprise * For full description of standard plates, vide Intellkctual Observes, yoI. vi., page 82. 14 Trial of the Pyx. 