STRUCTORS JECTORS. a hemispherical dome.-This room is, with slight variations, and on a BOOK III, Chap. VII. somewhat smaller scale, a copy of the Rotunda in the Museum of Berlin, RECONan 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. 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. MR. OLDFIELD'S RECON STRUCTION THIRD GRECO The amount of accommodation for Græco-Roman sculptures can- ROMAN not, from the form of the rooms, be stated with the same exactness ROOM. as that for the Greek. Exclusive of the alcoves, there would be in the SUMMARY OF ACCOMMODA- FUTURE EN- 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. As it increased, however, MEANS OF 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. The last suite of galleries on the ground floor would contain the WESTERN Roman and Phoenician remains. To avoid any obscuration from the GALLERIES, houses on the west side of Charlotte Street, the windows should be as high in the wall as possible, and as broad as architectural propriety BOOK III, Chap. VII. RECONSTRUCTORS AND PROJECTORS. MR. OLDFIELD'S PROJECT OF RECON- (1858-1860)- FIRST ROOM. HALL. SECOND ROMAN ROOM. THIRD FOURTH MEANS OF PHOENICIAN SUPPLE MENTAL would admit, whilst the rooms should be not less than twenty-five feet high. XXXIX. First Roman Room, one hundred and ten feet by twentyeight, 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. 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. XLI. Second Roman or Iconographical Room, fifty-four feet by twentyeight, 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. 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. XLIII. Fourth Roman or Sepulchral Room, eighty-two feet by twentysix, 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.] 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. XLIV. Phoenician Room, twenty-six feet square.-Here would be the stele and 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. XLV. A similar room to the preceding, which, in case of necessity, Book III. RECON STRUCTORS JECTORS. MR. OLDFIELD'S might serve for extending the Phoenician 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 AND PROthe 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 RECONwould provide for objects which it might be more costly or inconvenient STRUCTION to accommodate elsewhere. (1858-1860)But it involves necessarily two evils: continued. 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. FLOORS. That so lofty a building, by excluding all oblique rays from the east side ADVANTAGES of the Græco-Roman galleries, would make the light on the statues and AND EVILS busts there placed somewhat too vertical. PLAN OF OF A SECOND COLLEC TIONS RE TAINED 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. The apartments should all be about eighteen feet high, the windows of FIRST FLOOR 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 QUITIES; 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. OR NEW FOR ANTI ITS CON- GALLERY. 1. Vase Gallery.-Two hundred and twenty-two feet long, the southern VASE half twenty-six feet wide, and the northern twenty-eight feet. The wall-cases should be about eight feet high, like those in our First Vase Room; and the transverse projections, flanked by pilasters, would be only of the same height, so as not to shut out the view of the upper part of the gallery; having glass on each side, they would serve for vases with double paintings, such as we now exhibit only in dwarf central cases. The most important vases should stand isolated on tables, or pedestals, on each side the gangway; as in the present arrangement of the Temple Collection. Although the superficial area of this gallery (five thousand nine hundred and ninety-two feet) is little more than a third greater than that occupied by vases in the present buildings (four thousand three hundred and twenty-one feet), the amount of accommodation it would afford is nearly double. For the present wall ITS ACCOM MODATION. BOOK III, Chap. VII. RECON STRUCTORS AND PRO- MR. cases, eight feet high, extend to one hundred and forty-six feet of linear measurement; those ten feet high will, when the collection is fully arranged, extend to eighty-four feet; the whole therefore may be reckoned as equivalent to two hundred and fifty-one feet of cases, eight feet high. The total extent, however, of such wall-cases in the proposed gallery is four hundred and fifty-five feet. The projections also, with the tables and pedestals, may safely be estimated as providing twice the accommodation for vases painted on both sides which is now furnished by the dwarf central cases, besides exhibiting them much more conve(1858-1860) niently. It should be added that the vases would be better lighted than at present; whilst the length and comparative openness of the gallery would produce a more striking impression on the passing visitor. OLDFIELD'S PROJECT OF RECON STRUCTION continued. PROPOSED The accommodation here provided being so ample, it might be deAPARTMENT. sirable to appropriate one compartment of the gallery to an exclusively Etruscan Collection, comprising not merely the pottery of the Etruscans, properly so called, but that for which they were really more distinguished in ancient times, their bronze and other metal work. TERRACOTTA GALLERY OF ACCOMMO TERRA 2. Terracotta Room.-Fifty-six feet by seventeen. As no windows 3. Gallery of the Rotunda.- From one hundred and eighty to one hun- The entire space provided in these two rooms is much more than our DATION FOR terracottas can absolutely require; but this will facilitate an ornamental arrangement of the collection, appropriate to the character of the larger room. The small spaces between the Rotunda and the main building would serve for closets. COTTAS. GLASS ROOM. 4. Glass Room, twenty-eight feet by twenty-six.-The fittings proper for glass being different from those of terracottas, it is desirable to give *In the accompanying Plan (of the Parliamentary Report, 1860), pilasters of unnecessary size have been inadvertently introduced into this gallery, reducing both the extent of the wall-cases, and the breadth of the gangway, in a manner never intended. T Book III, Chap. VII. STRUCTORS AND PRO PROJECT OF continued. it a separate room. This should be similarly arranged to the Vase Gallery, with wall-cases eight feet high, and table-cases in the centre. 5. Bronze Gallery, three apartments united; together eighty-two feet by twenty-eight.-As the advantage of a skylight for the bronze sta tuettes is necessarily sacrificed by the adoption of an upper floor, it JECTORS. would be best to place them, as far as possible, against each side of the MR. transverse projections, separating those sides by internal partitions, and OLDFIELD'S employing some contrivance to protect the bronzes from the cross light of the further windows, an arrangement possible with small objects in glass cases, though not with large statuary. In the middle of the (1858-1860)— gallery might be table-cases, placed longitudinally, or important objects on pedestals. The increase of accommodation in the Bronze Gallery, BRONZE as in the Vase Gallery, is more than proportionate to the increase of space. Though the superficial area is only two thousand two hundred MODATION. and ninety-six feet, in lieu of our present quantity, two thousand and twenty-one, the extent of wall-cases, which now is only one hundred and thirty-eight feet, would, even allowing doorways of twelve feet wide between each of these compartments, be increased to two hundred and fifty feet, equivalent, after allowing for the difference in height of the cases, to two hundred feet. This, if the Etruscan bronzes were transferred as already suggested, would liberally provide for the Greek and Roman Collection. Each room should be fifteen to eighteen feet high; the windows exclusively on the east side, and extending from the ceiling to four or five feet from the floor. As the aspect is nearly N.E., the sun could not be injurious, and the glass of the windows, therefore, had better be unground. GALLERY. ITS ACCOM SECOND FLOOR OF NEW BUILD INGS FOR ANTIQUI TIES. BRITISH 1. British Rooms, each twenty-seven feet by twenty-six.-That which adjoins the staircase (and, if necessary, those on each side), should be Rooms. lighted from the roof, and have wall-cases all round, with a separate case in the centre. The other rooms should have wall-cases on the west side, and shallower cases against the transverse walls. Two long tablecases in each room might extend from the windows to a line with the doorway. SUMMARY OF DATION FOR BRITISH AND 2. Mediaval Rooms, each twenty-eight feet by twenty-seven, and simi- MEDIEVAL larly arranged to the British.-Though the entire superficial area in the Rooms. British and Medieval Rooms is only five thousand and seventy-two feet, in lieu of four thousand and forty-six, the amount in the present building, yet the wall-space is four hundred and sixty-six feet, instead of only two hundred and ninety-seven, and the cases, having no windows above, MEDIEVAL. might, if necessary, be made ten feet high, like the present. The gain in table-cases would be much greater. In lieu of six, there would be twelve, each sixteen or eighteen feet long, instead of ten; whilst the central case in the room adjoining the staircase might be at least as |