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Royal Library. THE HAGUE. 39. Route. 333
Grounp Froor. RoomI. Textiles, book-bindings, furniture, and wood-
carvings (46-18th cent.). — Room II. Plaster casts of early-Datch sculptures.
— Fine Staircase of forged iron (18th cent.); casts of French sculptures.
First Froor. RoomI. Gothic and Renaissance sculptures in wood. —
200m II. Pottery, glass, sculptures in wood and stone. — Small Room,
with a cabinet of the 417th cent. and Japanese ‘kakemonos’ (decorative
paintings). — Room III. Works in copper and brass from Dinaut (p. 226),
elaborate locks and s, furniture, wood-carvings. — Room IV. Smith’s
work, bronzes, pewter ware. — Room V. Objects in lacquer-work. —
Room YI. Furniture.
In the N. part of the Prinsesse-Gracht lies the Cannon Foundry
(Pl. 3; E, F, 4), founded in 1665. — No. 30 in the same street is
the Mussum MrsraaNNo-W8STRBENIANUM (Pl. F, 4), a somewhat
motley collection of MSS., specimens of early typography, ancient
V a few small ancient sculptures, Chinese and Japanese curios-
etc., bequeathed by Baron Westreenen (d. 1850). Admission,
see p. 348.
The most interesting M
are a fragment of an Old Testament of
the 5th cen a book of th spels of the 9th cent.; a Flemish Bible in
rhyme, of a French Bible with miniatures by Jan of Bruges, executed
in 1371 for Char V., the Wise, of France; the Ethics of Aristotle in
French, of 1376, with miniatures in grisaille; French translation by Raoul
de Presles of 4 ine’s ‘De Civitate Dei’, with numerous miniatures
(ca. 1500); others of the early Flemish and Dutch schools.
— Among the s of TrpoGRapHy are several block-boo such as
common the close of the middle ages, particularly in Holland;
1abula of Gutenberg and Cazton, etc.
On the N. the Korte Voorhout (p. 332) and Tournooiveld are
1djoined by the Lancs Vooruour (Pl. D, B, 4), a square planted
with trees, which, along with the Kneuterdyk, the Vyverberg, and
the Willems-Park, forms the finest quarter of the town. A sand-
stone monument, by Vogel and Koelman, was erected here in 1866
(Pl. E, 4) to Duke Charles Bernhard of Saxe- Weimar (d. 1862),
who distinguished himself in the Dutch service at Waterloo in
1815, in the battles against the Belgian insurgents in 1831, and in
the East Indian Wars of 1849.
On the E. side of the square rises the Palace of the Queen-Dow-
ager (Queen Emma; Pl, 14, 5, 4). On the N. side, Lange Voorhout
34, is the —
Royal Library (Pl. H, 4), occupying an edifice built in 1734-38.
The library, founded in 1798 (adm., see p. 317), contains about
500,000 volumes.
The most interesting contents are exhibited in a room on the upper
floor, to the left. The miniatures in the Prayer Book of Philippe le Bon of
Burgundy, painted in grisaille (1455-65), are of great artistic value, several
of them, such as the Annunciation and Coronation of the Virgin, in the
style of Memling. Other interesting objects are the illustrated Prayer Books
of Isabella of Castile (1450), Catharine of Aragon, and Catherine de Médicis;
a Gospel of the 10th cent. ; a Psalter of the 12th cent.; and a Bible with auto-
graph of Mary Stuart, presented to William III, and Mary on their coron-
ation (4689).
The valuable collection of Coins, Medals, and Gems on the same floor
(opposite the staircase; adm., see p. 817) contains upwards of 40,000 coins
and medals and over 300 cameos. The finest specimens are exhibited. The
Corns, including excellent specimens of the Greek coins of the Seleucide |