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Show 390 ' DISS.ERT. VI. ~ H'l S T 0 R Y 0 i ME X I C 0. Europeans who faw fuch kind of works were aftoniilied at the abilities of the American artifts. Their art in caftin~ metals was admired by the goldfmiths ofEurope, as many European writers, then living, have faid ; and amongft others the hiftorian Gomat·a, who had the works in his hands, and heard the opinion of the Sevillian gold-fmiths concerning them, who defpaired of ever being able to. imitate them. When {hall we find any one capable of making thofe wonderful works already mentioned by us, in Book viii. SeCt. 5 I. of this hiftory, and attefi:cd by many writers, namely that, for inftance, of cafting a fifh, which !hould have its fcales alternately, one of gold and the other of filver? Cortes fays, in his fecond lettru· to Charles V. that the images made of gold and feathers were fo well wrought by the Mexicans that no workman of Europe could make any better; that in refpect to jewels, he could not comprehend by what infi:ruments their works were made fo perfeCt; and their feather-works could not be imitated neither by wax nor filk. In his third letter, where he fpeaks of the plunder of Mexico, he fays, that among the fpoils of Mexico he found there certain wheels of gold, and feathers, and other labours of the fame matter, fo wonderfully executed, that being incapable to convey a juft idea of them in writing, he fent them to his majefi:y that he might be a1fured by his own fight of their excellence and perfeCl:ion. We are certain that Cortes would not have fpoke in that manner to his king of thofe works, which he fent him in order that he might view them, if they had not been fucl_1 as he reprelented. Bernal Diaz, the anonymous conqueror, Gomara, Hernandez, and Acofi:a, and all thofe authors who faw them, of them in the fame Manner. · Dr. Robertfon (l) acknowledges the teftimony of the ancient Spani!h hiftorians, and believes that they had no intention to deceive us; but he affirms that they were all induced to exaggerate from the illufion of their fenfes produced by the warmth of their imagination. S~1ch .a folution might be made ufe of to deny faith to all human hiftonans. All therefore mufi: have been deceived, without e~cepting even t?e cel~brated ~cofi:a, or the learned Hernandez, the gold-fmiths of Seville, kmg Phihp II. or Pope Sextus V. who were all admirers, (/) Hi.fiory of Amcl'icn, book vii, and H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0~ and praifed thofe Mexican labours (m) I their imaginations were all heated, even thofe who wrote fame years after the difcovery of Mexi .. co ! Robertfon the Scotfman, and de Paw the Pruffian, after two centmies and a half have alone that temperance of imagination which is required to form a jufl: idea of things, perhaps, becaufe the cold of their climes has checked the heat of their imaginations. " It is not from :: t~ofc defcrip~ions," adds ~obert~on, "but from confidcring fu ch fpe- Imens of th1s art as are fhll preicrved, that we mufl: decide concern" ing their degree of merit ... Many of their ornaments in gold and " fil ver, as well as various utenfils employed in common life, are de:: ~ofited in the magnificent cab.inet of natural an'd artificial produc-tiOns, lately opened, and I am Informed, by perfons on whofe judg" men t and tafte I can rei y, that thefe boafied eftorts of their art are " uncouth reprefentations of common objeCt , or very coarfe .images 1 ' of the human and fame other form s, deHitute of grace and pro" priety." And in a note he fays, " in the armory of the royal palace u of Madrid arc !hewn fuits of armour, which are called Montezu- ." ma's. They are compofed of thin Jackercd copper-plates. In " the opinion of very intelligent judges they arc evidently eafl:ern. " The forms of the filver ornaments upon them may be confidered a~ " a confirmation of this. They are infinitely fuperior in point of worl·"' manfhip to any effort of American art. The only unquefl:ionablc u fpecimen of Mexican art that I know of in Great Dritain, is a cup " of very fine gold, which is (aid to have belonged to Montezuma. " A man's head is reprefented on this cnp. On one fide the full face, " on another the profile, and on a third the back parts of the head. " The features are rude, but very tolerable, and ccrt:.1inly too rude " for SpaniG1 workmanfhip. T his cup was purchafcd by Edward " Earl of Oxford, while he lay in the harbour of Cadiz." Thus far Robertfon, to whom we anfwer, firfl:, That there is no re:1.fon to believe that thofc rude works arc really Mexican; fccondly, That neither do we know whether thofe pcrfons in who!i judgment he could confide, may be perfons fit to merit our faith: bccaule we have obfcrvcd that Robertfon trufi:s frequently to the tcilimony of Gages, orral, I bagncz~ , (m} Sec Ollr Seventh, book feet. 51~ 6 and 39I DISSERT. VI. .. , I • , |