Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 1.djvu/558

Decoration. 53» branch itself are well rendered. Elsewhere, in these same paintings, by the side of lozenges which take us back to the glimmerings of hnear ornament, we come upon marine animals to which Mycenian art opened wide its gates, and placed them on clay and metal vases, on furniture, personal ornaments, and engraved stones. So, too, from Mycenae comes a mollusk of the cephalopodous genus, the lilliputian nautilus, which is found plentifully in the Mediterranean (Fig. 237), and which the artist has drawn black on grey and red grounds. Nor is this all we glean from the curious Mycenian finds ; a small fragment exhibits portions of armed men and horses coloured reddish-brown, which are strongly outlined against a greyish background (Fig. 238). We have also great winged figures that belong to the category of fictitious beings found in abundance both in Egypt and Assyria.' ' Hislnryof Art.