Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867 Part 43

ii. The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian; small, on bra.s.s.

iii. Four enamelled round tablets, bearing portraits of 'Le Conte de Flandres, le Conte de Champagne, le Conte de Tholoze, Duc de Normandie.'

iv. Two small enamelled representations of March and May.

v. Dolphin, with boy on his back (the Dauphin); motto, 'Qui pense ma ... vy advient.'

vi. Heads, enamelled, of the following Roman Emperors; Julius Caesar, Augustus, Claudius and Otho.

vii. English pocket-almanac, in bra.s.s, 1554-1579, with tidal tables for English ports, a compa.s.s, &c. On one side of its case is the following inscription:--

'Aske me not, for ye Gett me not.--'R. P.'

viii. A small copper figure of our Blessed Lord, crowned and robed, with eyes open, and arms extended.

The following account is given by Hearne in a volume of his MS.

collections[385]:--

'About five years since the workmen in digging the gardens that formerly belong'd to St. Frideswyd's, Oxford, found a crucifix; the figure in pontifical robes, enamelled and gilt, with stones in the arms and breast. It came afterwards into the hands of Mr.

Edw. Thwaites of Queen's College, who gave it to the Bodleian Library, where in the Physick schoole 'tis now reserved, and seems to be very ancient.'

A drawing of the figure made for Thwaites by J. T. [alman] lies beside it, which was given to the Library by the late Dr.

Wellesley. The figure resembles a crucifix found at Lucca, of the seventh century.

21. _Psalterium_; close of thirteenth century.

Bound in solid silver, on which are engraved the Annunciation and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, seen beneath a coloured transparency which gives an appearance of great richness to the otherwise uncoloured silver.

A beautifully decorated volume, given by Sir Rob. Cotton to William Butler, M.D. of Cambridge, in 1614; and to the Bodleian, July 15, 1648, by Dame Anne Sadler, wife of Ralph Sadler, of Stonden, Herts.

_The following objects of interest are dispersed in various parts of the Library:--_

AT THE EAST END.

1. A drawing by Holbein, framed and glazed, being a design for a cup.

On the back is the following note:--'This is an original drawing by Hans Holbein, was actually executed, and in the possession of Queen Anna Bulleyn, A.D. 1534. D. Logan.' It bears, however, the initials H. and J., and was therefore executed, not for Anne Boleyn, but Jane Seymour. 'The cup was carried into Spain by George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, when he accompanied Charles, Prince of Wales, on his romantic expedition to Madrid[386].'

2. The original drawing, as is supposed, by Raffaele, for his picture of Attila stopped on his approach to Rome by the apparition of SS. Peter and Paul. Framed and glazed.

This and the preceding form part of the Douce collection.

3. Bust of Sir T. Bodley. See p. 26.

4. Bust of Charles I. See p. 61.

5. Small marble bust of Napoleon.

Bequeathed by Capt. Montagu in 1863. See p. 299.

6. Engraved facsimile of the Rosetta Stone, published by the Antiquarian Society in 1803.

7. Egyptian scroll.

[Five other Egyptian fragments hang at the other end of the Library.]

8. Map of England and Scotland, on parchment. Written in the fourteenth century. See p. 212, _note_.

9. An armillary sphere, in bronze, supported by three lions.

Given by Capt. Josias Bodley. See p. 21.

10. Two small bronzes; one representing Narcissus contemplating his face in the stream; the other, Cupids disporting themselves on the backs of Tritons.

11. A plaster cast of young Baccha.n.a.ls leading the goat.

12. A wood carving, coa.r.s.ely executed, representing Hercules spinning, and exposed by Omphale to the ridicule of two female visitors.

13. Bronze, in fine alto-relievo, of Curtius leaping into the gulf in the Forum at Rome.

14. Carving, in soap-stone, of the Judgment of Solomon.

15. A geometrical, eleven-sided figure, inclosing an open and hollow iron ball with sixty sides, and surmounting a small pillar representing the five orders of architecture. Around the base of the column are eight other geometrical figures, with vacant s.p.a.ces for two which have been lost.

[Probably all the preceding articles, 10-15, came from Rawlinson.]

16. Model, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.

Bequeathed by Dr. Mason in 1841. See p. 265.

17. Four specimens of papyrus-rolls from Herculaneum, burnt to a crust.

Presented to the Library by George IV. See p. 216.

18. Piece of wood from the south side of the curious timber Church at Greensted in Ess.e.x, built A.D. 1013.

Presented by Mr. James Dix, of Bristol, Feb. 10, 1865.

19. Specimen of ornamental writing by Mr. Hormuzd Ra.s.sam, whose name is so well known in England, first, from his having accompanied Mr. Layard during his a.s.syrian researches, and next from his, now happily ended, captivity in Abyssinia; consisting of various chapters from the Old and New Testaments, in Chaldee, Arabic, and Turkish, beautifully written in the form of two angels supporting a cross, within a border.

Presented by Mr. Ra.s.sam on leaving Oxford in January, 1849, after a stay of some months, as a mark of thanks for the manner in which he had been received. It occupied only forty-eight hours in execution, as he himself told the present writer[387].

AT THE WEST END.

20. Sir Thomas Bodley's bell. See p. 33.