DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1041#0149
igo History of the Society of Dilettanti
In spite of the above minutes and of Hamilton's
own anxiety about these papers, which he described
in a letter to the President, dated March 2y, 1803, as
4 a favourite child of mine,' the records of the
Society contain no further mention of the subject.
It cannot but be regretted that the Dilettanti did
not take advantage of this opportunity of identify-
ing themselves with the introduction to the world of
the long-buried treasures of Herculaneum, treasures
which, though for the most part of the late Roman
date, possess both from the artistic and the anti-
quarian points of view so profound and many-sided
an interest. Hamilton himself had been too ill
to attend the meeting where his offer was made,
and died within a month afterwards.
Letter from Another and far more regrettable mistake was
Lord Elgin. made about the same time by the Society under
the guidance of Payne Knight. The minutes for
1803 contain the following entry:—
'1803, Feb. 13. Read a Letter from Ld. Elgin to Th08.
Harrison, architect & from him to Mr. Townley on the subject
of his collection from Athens & other parts of Greece.
'Ordered that the said Letters be referred to the Comm68
of Publication for them to report their opinion on the said papers.'
Before narrating the sequel it is necessary to
revert for a moment to the history of the sculptured
decorations of the Parthenon at Athens from the
point where we left it in Chapter IV. Allusion
was there made to the drawings from those
sculptures executed in 1674 for the Marquis
de Nointel by Jacques Carrey. While Carrey
was engaged on these drawings, Spon and Wheler
made their expedition to Greece and the Levant,
during which Spon made hasty notes of the
sculptures of the Parthenon and other buildings of
The Par-
thenon
Marbles
since Carrey,
In spite of the above minutes and of Hamilton's
own anxiety about these papers, which he described
in a letter to the President, dated March 2y, 1803, as
4 a favourite child of mine,' the records of the
Society contain no further mention of the subject.
It cannot but be regretted that the Dilettanti did
not take advantage of this opportunity of identify-
ing themselves with the introduction to the world of
the long-buried treasures of Herculaneum, treasures
which, though for the most part of the late Roman
date, possess both from the artistic and the anti-
quarian points of view so profound and many-sided
an interest. Hamilton himself had been too ill
to attend the meeting where his offer was made,
and died within a month afterwards.
Letter from Another and far more regrettable mistake was
Lord Elgin. made about the same time by the Society under
the guidance of Payne Knight. The minutes for
1803 contain the following entry:—
'1803, Feb. 13. Read a Letter from Ld. Elgin to Th08.
Harrison, architect & from him to Mr. Townley on the subject
of his collection from Athens & other parts of Greece.
'Ordered that the said Letters be referred to the Comm68
of Publication for them to report their opinion on the said papers.'
Before narrating the sequel it is necessary to
revert for a moment to the history of the sculptured
decorations of the Parthenon at Athens from the
point where we left it in Chapter IV. Allusion
was there made to the drawings from those
sculptures executed in 1674 for the Marquis
de Nointel by Jacques Carrey. While Carrey
was engaged on these drawings, Spon and Wheler
made their expedition to Greece and the Levant,
during which Spon made hasty notes of the
sculptures of the Parthenon and other buildings of
The Par-
thenon
Marbles
since Carrey,