Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/45

MURAL DECORATION 35 to mind a similar peculiarity in the work of the Florentine Donatello. The palace at Mashita on the hajj road in Moab, built by the Sasanian Chosroes II. (614-627 A.D.), is ornamented on the exterior with very beautiful surface sculpture in .stone. The designs of this are of peculiar interest as forming an evident link between Assyrian and Byzantine art, and they are not remotely connected with the decora tion on Moslem buildings of comparatively modern date. 1 Especially in Italy during the Middle Ages a similar treatment of marble in low relief was frequently used for wall-decoration. The most notable example is the beauti ful series of reliefs on the west front of Orvieto cathedral, the work of Giovanni Pis.ano and his pupils in the early part of the 14th century. These are small reliefs, illustra tive of the Old and New Testaments, of most graceful design and skilful execution. A growth of branching foliage serves to unite and frame the tiers of subjects. Of a widely different class, but of considerable import ance in the history of mural decoration, are the very beautiful reliefs, sculptured in stone and marble, with which Moslem buildings in many parts of the world are ornamented. These are mostly geometrical patterns of great intricacy and beauty, which cover large surfaces, fre quently broken up into panels by bands of more flowing ornament or Arabic inscriptions. The mosques of Cairo, India, and Persia, and the domestic Moslem buildings of Spain are extremely rich in this magnificent method of decoration. In western Europe, especially during the 15th century, stone panelled -work with rich tracery formed a large part of the scheme of decoration in all the more splendid buildings. Akin to this, though without actual relief, is the very sumptuous stone tracery, inlaid flush into rough flint walls, which was a mode of ornament largely used for enriching the exteriors of churches in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. It is almost peculiar to that district, and is an admirable example of the skill and taste with which the mediaeval builders adapted their method of ornamentation to the materials which came naturally to hand. 2 2. Marble Veneer. Another widely -used method of mural decoration has been the application of thin marble linings to wall- surf aces, the decorative effect being pro duced by the natural beauty of the marble itself and not by sculptured reliefs. One of the oldest buildings in the world, the so-called " Temple of the Sphinx " among the Gizeh pyramids, is built of great blocks of granite, the inside of the rooms being lined with slabs of beautiful semi-transparent African alabaster about 3 inches thick. In the 1st century very thin veneers of richly-coloured marbles were largely used by the Romans to decorate brick and stone walls. Pliny (//. N., xxxvi. 6) speaks of this practice as being a new and degenerate invention in his time. Many examples exist at Pompeii and in other Roman buildings. Numerous Byzantine churches, such as St Saviour s at Constantinople, and St George s, Thes- salonica, have the lower part of the internal Avails richly 1 Among the Masliita carvings occurs that oldest and most widely spread of all forms of Aryan ornament the sacred tree between two animals. The sculptured slab over the "lion-gate" at Mycenrc has the other common variety of this motive the fire-altar between the beasts. These designs, occasionally varied by figures of human wor shippers instead of the beasts, survived in a most extraordinary way long after their meaning had been forgotten ; even down to the present day in some form or other they frequently appear on carpets and other textiles of Oriental manufacture. 2 Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. (1847) ; Descr. de Vtigypte (Paris, 1809, et sq.) ; Layard, Monuments of Nineveh (1849-53) ; Botta, Man. de Ninive (1847-50) ; Texier, L Armenie, la Perse, &c. (1840-52) ; Gruner, Die Bas-reliefs . . . zu Orvieto (1858) ; Champollion, Mon. rfe VEgypte (1835-45) ; Mariette, Descr. de Denderah (1873-75) ; Ros- sellino, Monumenti d Egitto, 1826. ornamented in this way. It was commonly used to form a dado, the upper part of the building being covered with mosaic. The cathedral of Monreale and other Siculo- Norman buildings owe a great deal of their splendour to these linings of richly-variegated marbles. In most cases the main surface is of light-coloured marble or alabaster, inlaid bands of darker tint or coloured mosaic being used to divide the surface into panels. The peculiar Italian- Gothic of northern and central Italy during the 14th and 1 5th centuries, and at Venice some centuries earlier, relied greatly for its effects on this treatment of marble. St Mark s at Venice and the cathedral of Florence are mag nificent examples of this work used externally. It is in every case a mere skin, and is in no way connected with the stability of the structure. Both inside and out most of the richest examples of Moslem architecture owe much to this method of decoration ; the mosques and palaces of India and Persia are in many cases completely lined with the most lustrous and brilliant sorts of marble, of con trasting tints arranged and fitted together with consummate skill and knowledge of harmony. 3. Wall-Linings of Glazed Bricks or Tiles. This is a very important class of decoration, and from its almost imperishable nature, its richness of colour, and its brilliance of surface is capable of producing a splendour of effect that can only be rivalled by glass mosaics. In the less important form that of bricks modelled or stamped in relief with figures and inscriptions, and then coated with a brilliant colour in siliceous enamel it was largely used by the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians as well as by the later Sasanians of Persia. In the llth and 12th centuries the Moslems of Persia brought this art to great perfection, and used it on a large scale, chiefly, though not invariably, for internal walls. The main surfaces were covered by thick earthenware tiles, overlaid with a white enamel. These were not rectangular, but of various shapes, mostly some form of a star, arranged so as to fit closely together. Very delicate and minute patterns were then painted on the tiles, after the first firing, in a copper-like colour with strong metallic lustre, produced by the deoxidization of a metallic salt in the process of the second firing. Bands and friezes with Arabic inscriptions, modelled boldly in high relief, were used to break up the monotony of the surface. In these, as a rule, the projecting letters were painted blue, and the flat ground enriched with very minute patterns in the lustre-colour. This combination of bold relief and delicate painting produces great vigour and richness of effect, equally telling whether viewed in the mass or closely examined tile by tile. In the 15th century lustre-colours, though still largely employed f</r plates, vases, and other vessels, especially in Spain, were but little used for tiles ; and another class of ware, rich in the variety and brilliance of its colours, was extensively used by Moslem builders all over the Mohammedan world. The most sumptuous sorts of tiles used for wall coverings are those of the so-called " Rhodian " and Damascus wares, the work of Persian potters at many places. Those made at Rhodes are coarsely executed in comparison with the produce of the older potteries at Ispahan and Damascus (see POTTERY). These are rectangular tiles of earthenware, covered with a white " slip " and painted in the most brilliant colours with slightly conventionalized representa tions of various flowers, especially the rose, the hyacinth, and the carnation. The red used is a very rich harmonious colour, applied in considerable body, so as to stand out in slight relief. Another class of design is more geometrical, forming regular repeats ; but the most beautiful composi tions are those in which the natural growth of trees and flowers is imitated, the branches and blossoms spreading freely over a large surface covered by hundreds of tiles