DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15094#0040
PLATE X.
A domestic fountain, which has probably been used for sacred pur-
poses. It consists of an upright, cylindrical piece of marble,
enriched with different sorts of foliage. It is divided into three parts,
each part emanating' from a number of broad leaves, (1) which form
a kind of calyx. The first or lower division is ornamented with
branches of the olive tree, the second with branches of ivy, and
the third or upper division with the leaves and flowers of some
unknown plant. In addition to the other ornaments, the middle
division has a serpent twined round it. The water appears to
have been conveyed through a perforation on the back part of
the column, and to have issued from the mouth of the serpent, in
which a leaden pipe was introduced, part of which still remains.
This fountain, in its original state, probably stood in the centre of
a small basin or reservoir for water, of which kind two are pre-
served in this collection. The pedestal in which it is at present
inserted is modern, as is likewise a small portion, about three inches
and a half, at the top.
This curious and very elegant monument was found by Nicolo la
Picola, in the year 1776, near the road, between Tivoli and Prseneste.
It measures in height, including the pedestal, 5 feet lOf inches.
The diameter, in the thickest part, is 6± inches.
* These leaves mark the commencement of a new nature. When different plants
appear growing from the same stem, in specimens of ancient sculpture, it may be observed
that care has been taken that each plant shall issue from a separate germ, to indicate the
termination of one genus, and the beginning of another. These leaves, however, have
no connection with the plant which rises out of them, but their form is entirely regulated
by the taste and fancy of the artist. In like manner, when any two things, not naturally
connected, are placed together, the incongruity arising from thence is in some measure
obviated by the intervention of foliage, an instance of which we have just seen in the leg
of a tripod table, formed of the head and leg of a lion,
A domestic fountain, which has probably been used for sacred pur-
poses. It consists of an upright, cylindrical piece of marble,
enriched with different sorts of foliage. It is divided into three parts,
each part emanating' from a number of broad leaves, (1) which form
a kind of calyx. The first or lower division is ornamented with
branches of the olive tree, the second with branches of ivy, and
the third or upper division with the leaves and flowers of some
unknown plant. In addition to the other ornaments, the middle
division has a serpent twined round it. The water appears to
have been conveyed through a perforation on the back part of
the column, and to have issued from the mouth of the serpent, in
which a leaden pipe was introduced, part of which still remains.
This fountain, in its original state, probably stood in the centre of
a small basin or reservoir for water, of which kind two are pre-
served in this collection. The pedestal in which it is at present
inserted is modern, as is likewise a small portion, about three inches
and a half, at the top.
This curious and very elegant monument was found by Nicolo la
Picola, in the year 1776, near the road, between Tivoli and Prseneste.
It measures in height, including the pedestal, 5 feet lOf inches.
The diameter, in the thickest part, is 6± inches.
* These leaves mark the commencement of a new nature. When different plants
appear growing from the same stem, in specimens of ancient sculpture, it may be observed
that care has been taken that each plant shall issue from a separate germ, to indicate the
termination of one genus, and the beginning of another. These leaves, however, have
no connection with the plant which rises out of them, but their form is entirely regulated
by the taste and fancy of the artist. In like manner, when any two things, not naturally
connected, are placed together, the incongruity arising from thence is in some measure
obviated by the intervention of foliage, an instance of which we have just seen in the leg
of a tripod table, formed of the head and leg of a lion,