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Sketches of spherical orb and spherical 'head'; inscription: the evolution of idol worship: 832/13.f.81

Object information

Awaiting location update

Titles

Sketches of spherical orb and spherical 'head'; inscription: the evolution of idol worship
A slight sketch; inscription: the evolution of idol worship

Maker(s)

Draughtsman: Flaxman, John

Entities

Categories

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1916-12) by Murray, Charles Fairfax

School or Style

British

Materials used in production

Brown ink
Graphite

Components of the work

Support composed of laid paper
Leaf Height 323 mm Width 203 mm

Techniques used in production

Drawing (image-making) : Pen and brown ink with some graphite on laid paper
Handwriting

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: Fig. 1 Fig. 2
  • Location: Recto, below sketches
  • Method of creation: Brown ink

Inscription present: the following in brown ink: [i] preceding word crossed through; [ii] two preceding words crossed through

  • Text: Hamilton says upon the Testimony of Sanchionaton / who wrote from the Books of Toth[?] that the first / Man (which I understand to be the Descendants / of Mizraim & Phut) [deletion] / worshipped a Round stone &c Fig.1 they afterwards / represented an uncouth Head, & Perhaps that / of the Circular form at Rome call'd the Mouth of / Truth may be nothing more than the [?]-Baal / Rotundus Dominus) Figs 2 - It will be needless / to Remark one of the simplest Problems of Geometry / (a Circle) is the Principles[i] figure on which this Face / is Engraved we shall find throughout the works / of the Antients[sic] a great[ii] all their best statues / were form'd on geometrical Principles. / It is said by Diodorus Siculus that Daedalus was / the first who opened the Eyes & Freed the arms / from the Bodies of his statues: so that we find / sculpture cou'd not be arrived at any Great Degree / in Egypt at that Time, & Much Less when the / Israelites left that country & worshipped the Golden / Calf (or O[?]rus)
  • Location: Recto, below the above
  • Method of creation: Brown ink
  • Text: First Principles, or Radicals / Monr Rollin upon the Authority of - / mentions / a Figure of Jupiter Ammon (which the / Learned Bryant Proves to be the same with / Ham the son of Noah) made with clay, before / the Art of cutting stone was known among Men / but Race of Canaan inhabiting Egypt &c / Currupted the Worship of the True God, with one / of the Beings of his Creation, the Sun (see Bryant / Thence Arose the Adoration of a Round stone / as a Resemblance of the Sun's Disk fig. 2 - / see Hamilton's Essay on sculpture. also the / worshiped logs & cylindrical & square / stones under the Names of Jupiter
  • Location: Verso
  • Method of creation: Brown ink

Identification numbers

Accession number: 832/13.f.81
Primary reference Number: 40453
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 20 May 2021 Last processed: Tuesday 13 June 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Sketches of spherical orb and spherical 'head'; inscription: the evolution of idol worship" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/40453 Accessed: 2024-11-22 03:01:01

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/40453 |title=Sketches of spherical orb and spherical 'head'; inscription: the evolution of idol worship |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 03:01:01|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-40453

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