His papers were illustrated w/ paintings by Pietro Fabris, an English/Italian painter. Fabris went with Hamilton on his travels to volcanic sites at Etna, Vesuvius & Lipari. Engravings of the drawings were made by the Society’s engraver, James Basire & published in Archaeologia with Hamilton’s text

Over the course of three Society meetings from 26 January 1775, the diplomat, archaeologist, volcanologist and antiquarian Sir William Hamilton FSA communicated an account of the recent discoveries at Pompeii.

Please note: This display is available to be seen by Fellows and Affiliate Members during our regular Library opening hours (Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm) and by members of the public who are coming to the building as part of an event which they have booked for.

You can see this print in our display Inked in Memory, which examines how artists and Antiquaries created visual records of objects and places before the invention of photography.

Upon his return, Herbert published his account of the journey. While on the island of Mauritius, he observed a large bird that could not fly, which he named “dodo” for the first time. By the end of the century, the dodo became extinct.

Herbert was a historian & courtier for Charles I. In 1626 he participated in a diplomatic mission led by Sir Dodmore Cotton to Persia (now Iran). The mission failed after Cotton's death & Herbert, with others, travelled throughout Persia, the Middle East & Africa before returning to England in 1630.

Whilst the Society had wall space capacity to display paintings, larger items were often given away due to limited space at the Society. Smaller pieces remained & added to, leading to an ever eclectic variety of objects available for Fellows to view/study, with the Merton Head being a prime example.

The Society was one of the few national organisations interested in the study and collecting of British antiquities in the early nineteenth century, and thus came to be seen as the most suitable place for the safe deposit and display of new discoveries of portable antiquities.

The head would have originally been painted & the coronet or chaplet around the head, gilded, w/ traces of the latter still visible. It appears to be of the earlier part of the 15th century with the arrangement of the hair, cropped round over the ears, resembling the fashion of the reign of Henry V

To overcome this, a charter of incorporation was obtained. Incorporation created a sense of public responsibility amongst new Fellowship, and the Society was seen to be taking its national role more seriously, establishing its position to where it stands today.

The threat of disbandment was very real, until a bequest of drawings and engravings from Lord Coleraine in 1749 prompted an important change. As it was not incorporated, the Society could not legally hold property, deeming this and any future bequests invalid.

Membership was small and became more socially exclusive and whilst a few noblemen such as Lord Coleraine were active members, the Society lacked the kind of aristocratic or royal patronage to subsidise or fund any activities.

Please note: This display is available to be seen by Fellows and Affiliate Members during our regular Library opening hours (Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm) and by members of the public who are coming to the building as part of an event which they have booked for.

You can see this print in our display Inked in Memory, which examines how artists and Antiquaries created visual records of objects and places before the invention of photography.

The jewel itself was discovered in 1693 in a peat bog near North Petherton, Somerset, not far from Alfred's monastery at Athelney. The Alfred Jewel is currently part of the Ashmolean Museum’s collections in Oxford.

He looks like a Wrangler kind of guy to me.