portions, separately forging the dagger, chasing the bracelet, and engraving the finger-ring, thus building the whole up according to his approved original idea. The result of this is a work of art which will stand every test, and is perfectly satisfying in all respects. The figure itself, regarded as a portrait, is broadly treated, and seems to reproduce the general character of the sitter, while the features appear to have been studied from life, but conventionalized in order to be in conformity with the entire scheme.
Apart from these public statues which adorn the streets and squares of the cities, the courtyards of the temples often contain portrait figures in metal, of people of lesser degree, works of considerable artistic merit and no little interest. They represent founders or benefactors of the sacred edifice, and vary in size according to the practical interest these bygone individuals have shown in its foundation. In front of the principal entrance to the shrine may generally be seen a large group, often protected by a substantial cage of forged iron, so closely constructed as to
