By Mr. Magniac.—A beautiful casket of the choicest enamelled work of Limoges, of the sixteenth century. The cover is ridged, like the roof of a house; dimensions, 634 inches by 412 inches; height about 5 inches. The paintings are in grisaille, with slight flesh tints, green and blue tints are partially employed. The subjects are chiefly from Old Testament History, representing the death of Abel, Lot leaving Sodom, Moses and the Golden Calf, the Israelites gathering Manna, David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lions' den, Daniel destroying the dragon Bel, the Burning of the Magical Books, and the preservation of the Scriptures concealed in a receptacle like a tomb or vault;—"SEP. LARCHO: DV. VIES. TESTEMAN."
By Mr. Webb.—An enamelled reliquary of the work of Limoges, in the twelfth or thirteenth century. Its dimensions are 6 inches by 214 inche ; height, 734 inches, including a pierced crest. The form is that of the high-ridged shrine. It exhibits, at the ends, two figures of saints, with red nimbs, apparently a male and a female figure; at the sides are demi-figures, bearing books; it is enriched with imitative gems, uncut, and has tranverse bands of exquisite turquoise-coloured enamel.
February 1, 1850.
Octavius Morgan, Esq., M.P., in the Chair.
Mr. W. Wynne Ffoulkes communicated notices of his investigations, during the past summer, of certain ancient remains in the interesting district of the Clwydian Hills, Denbighshire, and he laid before the meeting various fragments of fictile vessels there discovered, interesting as evidence of the age and people to whom these vestiges are to be assigned. The excavations were made in an encampment crowning the summit of Moel Feulli, a conical hill south of Moel Famma, about three miles west of Ruthin. Portions of ancient ware, of various kinds, were brought to light, not many inches below the original surface of the ground, and underneath the rampart on the north-east of the camp, the side of which it was necessary to scarp away for about six inches, in order to reach these remains: there were ashes mixed in the adjacent soil. The specimens appear to be all of Anglo-Roman fabrication, and of the coarser kinds of ware; one is incrusted with small particles of hard stone, as found on the inner surface of some "Samian" vessels and mortaria. Mr. Ffoulkes stated, that there is an urn preserved in the Caernarvon Museum which is incrusted in like manner. Another specimen was decorated with scroll patterns, laid on superficially in thick slips of a lighter colour than the vase itself. Some researches were also made at Moel Gaer, part of Moel Famma, and at Moel Arthur, to the northward of it. In these two encampments fragments of Roman pottery were found, of a red colour, and other ordinary wares of the coarser description, but sufficing amply to show that these singular hill-fortresses, on the confines of Denbighshire and Flintshire, had been occupied by the Roman invaders, although, probably, coustructcd as places of security in much earlier times. Mr. Neville, on examining the portions of various ware exhibited, expressed his persuasion that they were all of Anglo-Roman fabrication, and similar in character to those which had become so familiar to him in the course of his frequent excavations at Chesterford. Mr. Ffoulkes intimated his intention of prosecuting his investigation at some future occasion.
