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216 CESNOLA some unexplained reason the attention of the trustees of the museum was not called to it, and when Cesnola came to London he found that the knowledge of the existence of his col- lection was confined to a few persons connect- ed with the museum, and no one in Europe seemed inclined to purchase. At this juncture an American gentleman made a liberal offer for it, which was at once accepted, and Ces- nola's cherished desire that his collection should go to his adopted country was realized. When this became known in England, great indignation was expressed that the British museum should have lost the chance of becom- ing the possessor of this unique collection. Cy- prus being situated midway between Phoenicia and Greece, and having been long under Egyp- tian domination, its art bore the characteris- tics of all these countries. Perhaps the most notable single object is the colossal statue found at Golgos, 10 miles from Larnaka, in the The Colossus of Golgos. buried ruins of whose temple were discovered the mutilated remains of more than 1,000 statues. The colossus is 28 ft. in height. Upon the head is the helmet-shaped Assyrian cap ; the long beard is in four curled plaits. It is supposed to represent a high priest, and to date from the 18th century B. 0. No European museum possesses so old a statue. The oldest heretofore known were some Assyrian and Egyptian statues dating between the 8th and 14th centuries B. C. In the Cesnola collection are several other statues probably nearly as old as this colossus. The Egyptian type is well repre- sented, one of the best preserved statues being that of a female figure holding the lotus. Among the works of the Greek type are sepul- chral bass reliefs, with inscriptions; Venus with her attendants; Urania; a life-size draped statue of a priest of Venus of the Macedonian period, the head wreathed with laurel, an olive branch in the right hand, and a symbol in the left; colossal heads with the shelly hair of early Greek art ; fine statues of children and youths ; and antique heads of the noblest Hellenic type. Among the marble and ala- baster statuettes are Venus holding a dove, Pan playing the pipes, and women performing on the tambourine and harp. There are heads without number, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian, heads of animals, and implements of all kinds. The objects in terra cotta are numerous, some plain, others colored red or black. Venus with her attendants is a favorite subject. There are chariots and horsemen, dancing girls, gro- tesque masked figures, a donkey, a lioness with whelps, bulls, goats, and birds. There is a toy horse on four wheels, with a hole, doubt- less for a string. This was taken from the tomb of a child, whose plaything it was per- haps long before the first Olympiad. In bronze there are statuettes of Osiris, Minerva, and Pomona ; bracelets, anklets, rings, and amu- lets ; brooches, buckles, tweezers, and mirror cases; battle axes, javelins, and arrow heads. Vases of every material, size, and shape are numerous ; there are more than 1,000 different designs. Some of them are 3 ft. high and 4J in diameter, and, though probably 3,000 years old, are as fresh as when they came from the maker's hand. In the collection of jewelry are rings of various sorts, some with precious stones, as sapphires, carbuncles, and carnelians ; clasps, beads, and spoons ; mortuary plates of pure gold, which were tied upon the forehead of the dead, bearing designs in low relief of acanthus leaves, lines, scrolls, and sometimes female figures. There are gems and stones engraved with mythological and other designs, Minerva in carnelian, Mercury in jasper, Mars in garnet ; heads in onyx and agate ; and some fine paste cameos. The collection is specially rich in glass ware, of every shape, form, and purpose ; cups ribbed and iridized, blue and ribbed, white opaque ; a bowl of dark blue with iridized tints of green and purple ; bottles with raised spiral lines in blue and amber, or with serpents in relief trailing over the surface. One wine cup, with a yellow ground, has feather ornaments in blue and yellow, with serpentine handles of opaque glass. The col- lection of coins was of great value and interest, but it was lost by the shipwreck of the vessel in which it was sent from Beyrout to England. In it were coins belonging to the best Greek period, the age of Phidias. There were coins of the Greek imperial class, among which were those of Alexander, the Seleucid, and a series of those of the kings of Cyprus. There was one beautiful gold coin, weighing 22 dollars, struck by Ptolemy Philadelphia. There were also Indian, Greek, Ptolemaic, Cypriote, Roman, Byzantine, Lusignanian, and Venetian coins, in gold, silver, and bronze. The inscriptions promise to be of great historical value. So re- cently as 1863, the duke de Luynes stated that there were only three known inscriptions in the Cypriote language, and these had not been