ORNAMENT OF OCEANIA.Plate 1.Image unavailable: ORNAMENT OF OCEANIA. Plate 1.
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The ornamentation of the people of the Pacific Isles is full of interest and is remarkable for the evolution and perfecting of an ornamental style by a primitive people, with myths and traditions purely local and in no way influenced by other nations. It is a style of ornament full of meaning and symbolism, yet simple in detail and arrangement, not founded upon the beautiful vegetation and flora of their islands but upon abstract forms derived from the human figure, and arranged with a pleasing geometrical precision remarkable for a primitive people.
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The ornamental art of these people may be broadly divided into provinces, each with its distinct ornamental characteristics and traditions, New Zealand showing the highest development and Australia the lowest in the ornament of Polynesia and Melanesia.
Much of the ornament is purely linear, consisting of parallel and zig-zag lines; that of Australia consists almost entirely of these lines incised in the ground and occasionally filled in with colour. In New Guinea a higher development is reached, the ornament, of straight and curved lines, being carved in flat relief. In the province of Tonga-Samoa, the surface is divided into small fields, and the linear ornament runs in a different direction on each of the fields. The Hervey and Austral Islands are distinguished by their remarkable adaptations of the human female figure, the illustrations given here showing the original type and its ornamental development. These examples, together with the circular eye pattern form the elements of the Hervey province, of which the Heape collection contains many fine examples. In the Solomon Island the linear ornament is occasionally interspersed with an inlay of angular pieces of mother of pearl. The New Zealand province is distinguished by its skilful pierced carving, the beauty of its spiral forms adapted from the human figure, fig. 1. 12., and the constant use of the border here given.
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EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT.Plate 2.Image unavailable: EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT. Plate 2.
The history of Egypt, extending from 4400B.C.to 340B.C., during which 30 dynasties existed, is usually divided into three groups: (1) The Ancient Empire, I.-XI. dynasties, 4400-2466B.C.(2) The Middle Empire, XII.-XIX., 2466-1200; and (3) the New Empire, XX.-XXX. dynasties, 1200-340B.C.
The capitals of the Ancient Empire comprised Memphis and Abydos; of the Middle Empire, Thebes, Luxor and Tanis: and of the New Empire, Sais and Bubastes. The remarkable civilization of these early dynasties are attested by the many fine remains of architecture, sculpture and decorative arts that enrich our national museums. The Great Pyramids were built during the fourth dynasty, the largest by Kheops, 3733-3700B.C., is 756 ft. × 756 ft., and 480 ft. high; the second, by Kephren, 3666-3633B.C., is 707 ft. × 707 ft. and 454 ft. high: and the third, 333 ft. × 330 ft., and 218 ft. high, was erected by Mykerinos, 3633-3600B.C.
The Sphinx, half animal and half human, is the oldest sculpture known, and is probably of the 1st and 2nd dynasties, yet it is singular that all the earliest sculptures of the 3rd and 4th dynasties with which we are acquainted, were realistic portraiture, remarkable for its fidelity to nature. Kings, queens, and individuals of note, were finely sculptured, frequently of a colossal size. But the Deities, Amen Sckhet, Horus, Hathor, Iris, and Osiris, were represented in the later dynasties by small votive statuettes, noticeable for their number rather than for their artistic qualities, never reaching the excellence or vitality of the earlier period. Much of the architectural enrichment was in Cavo Relievo, a peculiarly Egyptian mode of ornamentation, the outline of the figures, birds, or flowers, being sunk into the surface of the granite or basalt, and then carved within this sunk outline, leaving the ground or bed raised, these reliefs being invariably painted red, blue, green, and yellow. The frieze, which, in the hands of the Greeks at a later period, became their principal ornamental field, was used by the Egyptians in superposed bands, showing, in cavo relievo, the industrial arts and pursuits, weaving, glass blowing, and the making of pottery; ploughing, sowing, and reaping, also hunting and fishing. The composition and sculpture of these incidents was simple, refined and purely decorative, with anaïvetéand unaffection so appropriate to the architectonic conditions. Mingled with these incidents were the beautiful hieroglyphs, or picture writing of the Egyptians. Figs. 7-13 are examples of painted decorations showing the spiral construction of lines, together with the symbolic treatment of the Lotus, the latter being regarded by the Egyptians as a symbol of fertility and of a new life, hence the profusion with which it was used in their decorative work. Great fertility of invention was displayed in enriching their architectural capitals with the Lotus, the Papyrus, and the Palm. A singular feature introduced during the 18th dynasty was the Hathor Capital surmounted by a small Naos. During the Ptolemaic period,B.C.300, the Hathor Capital was placed upon the vertical bell-shaped capital (fig. 3).
ASSYRIAN ORNAMENT.Plate 3.Image unavailable: ASSYRIAN ORNAMENT. Plate 3.
The early history of Babylonia and Assyria is one long series of wars and conquests. Originally one nation, they became divided, and the younger Assyria in the north became the most powerful empire of that period under Tiglath Pileser I.,B.C.1100, Ashur-nasir-pal,B.C.885-60, Shalmaneser II.,B.C.860-25, Tiglath-Pileser III.,B.C.745-27, the Great Sargon,B.C., 722-705, Sennacherib,B.C.705-681, Esarhaddon,B.C.681-668, and Ashur-ban-pal,B.C.668-626. InB.C.609 the capital, Nineveh, was destroyed by Cyaxares the Mede, and Babylon arose again to power under Nebuchadnezzar,B.C.604-562; this city was destroyed by Cyrus the Persian,B.C.539.
Assyrian art with its racial influences, religious beliefs and climatic conditions, differs in a remarkable degree from Egyptian art. Though stone is found in Assyria, the great cities were built of brick, no doubt owing to the fact of the arts and civilization coming from Chaldea, where stone was scarce and clay plentiful. Both at Babylon in Chaldea, and Nineveh in Assyria, the traditional type of building was rectangular, with arched openings and vaults, built of sun-dried bricks; the lower part of the wall was covered with large alabaster slabs, carved in low relief with scenes representing the King and his warriors engaged in hunting or fighting (fig. 1). The upper part of the wall was in enamelled brick or in coloured stucco, with details of the Lotus and Bud, together with the rosette, which was often carried round the archivolt. The representation of the industrial arts and the pursuits of agriculture, which is so admirably illustrated upon the Egyptian reliefs, is entirely absent in Assyria. The enamelled bricks of Chaldea, were modelled in low relief with enamels of turquoise blue, yellow, white and black, of fine quality and colour, one splendid example is the Frieze of Archers from the Palace of Susa. The enamelled bricks of Assyria were usually flat, or modelled but slightly, and the enamels were less pure. The external walls were similar to the internal ones, but with larger friezes and bolder reliefs, and usually with religious subjects (fig. 9). The portals of the doors were enriched with colossal winged and human headed bulls, of alabaster, finely carved in relief. Typical examples of Assyrian ornament are the Lotus and Bud (figs. 2 and 3), the Patera or Rosette (figs. 6 and 7), and the Horn or Tree of Life (fig 8). The Lotus enrichment shows Egyptian influence, and only came into use during the 7th centuryB.C., when intercourse between the two nations was established. It is differentiated from the Egyptian lotus by its vigorous growth and curved profile, and the geometrical form of the calyx of the flower and bud (fig. 2).
The Anthemion orHom, with its alternate bud and fir-cone, and with strong lateral markings is beautiful in line and proportion of mass (fig. 3). TheHomis frequently used as a flower on the sacred tree, a form of enrichment that influenced much of the later Persian and Sicilian textile fabrics.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE.Plate 4.Image unavailable: GREEK ARCHITECTURE. Plate 4.
Classic or columnar architecture is divided into the Greek and Roman styles, and each style comprises several orders of architecture; the Grecian orders are the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian, and many examples of each of these orders are still extant in Greece and her colonies:—Asia Minor, Southern Italy, and Sicily. From a comparison of these buildings certain constructive and decorative features are observed to be present, and thence they are considered as the characteristics of the style or order, which comprises the base, (except in the Grecian Doric, which has no base) column and capital, and the Entablature, which consists of the Architrave, Frieze, and Cornice. The proportions of these orders are generally determined by the lower diameter of the column which is divided into 2 modules or 60 parts; the height of the column always including the base and capital. The DORIC order was used for the early Greek temples fromB.C.600 and culminated in the ParthenonB.C.438. TheColumnsin this order are 4½ to 6 diameters in height with 20 shallow flutings with intermediate sharp arrises; theCapitalis half a diameter in height and is composed of an echinus or ovolo moulding with annulets or deep channellings below, and a large square abacus above. TheArchitraveis plain; theFriezeis enriched by rectangular blocks, with 3 vertical channellings in the face, termed triglyphs, alternately with square metopes which were frequently sculptured. TheCornice, composed of simple mouldings, and enriched with mutules over the centre of the triglyphs and metopes, projects considerably beyond the face of the frieze.
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The IONIC order has columns of from 9 to 9½ diameters in height, with 24 flutings divided by narrow fillets; thebaseis half a diameter in height and composed of a plinth, torus, fillet, cavetto, fillet, torus, and fillet. TheCapitalis 7/10 of a diameter high and consists of a pair of double scrolls or volutes, supported by an echinus moulding enriched with the egg and tongue, with an astragal below.
TheEntablatureis ¼ the height of the columns, theArchitraveof one or more fascias, theFriezecontinuous and frequently enriched with sculpture in low relief; theCornicehas simple and compound mouldings supported by a dentil band. Caryatides were occasionally introduced into this order; they were female figures clad in drapery having vertical folds which re-echoed the flutings of the Ionic column. These caryatides supported the entablature in place of the columns; a beautiful example of this feature is the south portico of the Erechtheum at Athens.
The CORINTHIAN order was not much used by the Greeks; the examples however show considerable refinement and delicacy of details. TheColumnsare 10 diameters in height with 24 flutings; theBaseis ½ diameter high; theCapitalis a little greater than a diameter in height and is enriched with acanthus foliations and spiral volutes. TheEntablatureis richer; and theCornicedeeper and more elaborate than those of the other orders.
A table is here given showing the relative height in parts (a part is 1/60 of the diameter) of the entablature in some typical Grecian examples.
The principal Doric buildings in Greece are:—The Temples at CorinthB.C.650, ÆginaB.C.550, the Parthenon and the TheseumB.C.438, the Temples of Jupiter at Olympia, Apollo Epicurius at BassæB.C.436, Minerva at Sunium, and the Propylæa at AthensB.C.431. The Parthenon is the only octastyle temple in Greece.
Ionic buildings in Greece are:—Temples at Ilyssus, Nike Apteros, and the Erectheum. In Asia Minor, the Temples at Samos, Priene, Teos, and of Diana at Ephesus, and of Apollo at Miletos.
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Corinthian buildings in Greece are:—Monument of Lysicrates, the Tower of Winds, and Jupiter Olympius, all in Athens.
During the 5th centuryB.C.the Doric order was extensively used in the Greek colonies of Sicily. At Acragas or Agrigentum the remains of 6 fine hexastyle and peripteral Doric Temples are found, of which the Temple of ZeusB.C.450 is the largest, being 354 by 173 feet. In this temple were found the Telemones or Atlantes, male figures 25 feet in height, with their arms raised, probably supporting the roof of the temple.
At Selinus there are six large Doric temples, five being hexastyle and peripteral, the other octastyle and pseudo-dipteral, 372 by 175 feet. This temple has columns 57 feet in height with an entablature of 19 feet. At Egesta, there is a hexastyle, peripteral, Dorictemple with the columns not fluted, and at Pæstum in Southern Italy there are two Doric temples, the temple of Neptune, and the temple of Vesta, of the usual hexastyle and peripteral form, but the Basilica is pseudo-dipteral and is remarkable for its two porticos of nine columns each. All these buildings in Sicily and Pæstum date betweenB.C.500 and 430.
Classification of Classic Temples:—
GREEK ORNAMENT.Plate 5.Image unavailable: GREEK ORNAMENT. Plate 5.
Greece, or Hellas, consisted of a number of small states, speaking the same language, and worshipping the same gods. Almost the whole of the Ægean coast of Asia Minor was occupied in early times by Greek Colonies, which supplanted those of the Phœnicians of Tyre and Sidon. The southern portion of this seaboard was occupied by the Dorians, and the northern by Ionians. In the course of time other Greek settlements were made on the Black Sea and Mediterranean Coast of Asia Minor; as well as at Syracuse, Gela and Agrigentum, in Sicily, and in Etruria and Magna Grecia in Italy. These colonies appear to have reached a higher state of art at an early period than Greece itself. The ascendency in art in Greece was enjoyed by the Dorians circa, 800B.C.; after which Sparta took the lead, but was in turn excelled by the Ionians, when Athens became the focus of Greek art, and attained a degree of perfection in that respect that has remained unequalled to this day. Athens was destroyed by the Persians under Xerxes, 480B.C.; but under Pericles (470-29B.C.) Greek art reached its culmination.
The abundant, although fragmentary, remains of Grecian architecture, sculpture, and the industrial arts, show most vividly the artistic feeling and culture of the early Greeks, with their great personality and religious sentiment, in which the personal interest of the gods and goddesses was brought into relation with the life and customs of the people. Their myths and traditions, their worship of legendary heroes, the perfection of their physical nature, and their intense love of the beautiful, were characteristic of the Greek people, from the siege of Troy to their subjection by Rome,B.C.140. The almost inexhaustible store of Greek art, now gathered in the British Museum, and in other European museums, furnishes one of the most valuable illustrations of the many glorious traditions of the past. The vitality of conception, the dignity and noble grace of the gods, the consummate knowledge of the human figure, and the exquisite skill of craftsmanship, are here seen in the greatest diversity of treatment and incident.
The work of Phidias, the most renowned of Greek sculptors, is largely represented in the British Museum by noble examples, showing his great personality, wonderful power, and his remarkable influence, upon contemporary and later plastic art.
The Parthenon, or temple of the goddess Athene, which was built upon the Acropolis at Athens by Ictinus and Callicrates,B.C.454-438, was enriched with splendid works of sculpture by Phidias. Many of the originals are now in the British Museum, forming part of the Elgin Marbles, which were purchased from the Earl of Elgin, in 1815. The two pediments of the temple contained figure sculpture in the round, larger than life size. The Eastern group represents the birth of Athene, and the western group the contest of Athene and Poseidon for the soil of Attica.The fragments of these pedimental groups are now in the British Museum, and, though sadly mutilated, show the perfection of sculpture during the Phidian age.Image unavailable.An illustration of the “Fates” from the Western pediment is given here, showing a perfect mastery of the human figure, with rare selective power of composition. The appropriateness of line and mass for its position renders it singularly beautiful and architectonic in character. Of the 92 square metopes sculptured in high relief, that enriched the Doric frieze, 15 are included in the Elgin Marbles. The subject represented on these metopes was the battle between the Centaurs and Lapithæ, or Greeks, and are fine examples of composition of line and mass, and dramatic power of expression.
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The continuous frieze upon the upper part of the cella wall, under the colonnade or Peristyle, was 40 feet from the ground, 40 inches in height, and 523 feet in length. It was carved in low relief, the subject being the Panathenæic procession, the most sacred and splendid of the religious festivals of the Ancient Greeks. This frieze, with its rhythm of movement and unity of composition, its groups of beautiful youths and maidens, sons and daughters of noble citizens, its heroes and deities, heralds and magistrates; its sacrificial oxen, and its horses and riders are doubtless the most perfect production of the sculptor’s art. Each figure is full of life and motion, admirable in detail, having an individuality of action and expression, yet with a unity of composition, appropriate to its architectural purpose as a frieze or band.
The Parthenon, however, was but the shrine of the standing figure or statue of the goddess Athene, which was 37 feet high, and formed of plates of gold and ivory, termed Chryselephantine sculpture. Probably owing to the intrinsic value of the material, this work of Phidias disappeared at an early date.
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Among the examples of sculptured marbles in the British Museum is the beautiful frieze from the interior of the Temple of Apollo at Phigaleia, erected by Ictinus,B.C.450-430. This frieze, which shows an extraordinary vitality and movement, is 101 feet long, and consists of 23 slabs 25½ inches in width, the incidents depicted being the battle of the Greeks and the Amazons, and the contest between the Centaurs and the Lapithæ. The dignity and reserve of the Parthenon frieze is here replaced by activity and energy of line and an exuberance of modelling.
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Some of the marbles in the British Museum are from the Nereid Monument of Xanthos,B.C.372, so called because the female figures display moist clinging garments, and have fishes and seabirds between their feet. These sculptures show a high degree of perfection, and were probably the work of the Athenian sculptor, Bryaxis.
Among other examples of the Greek treatment of the frieze, is that of the Erectheum,B.C.409, with its black Eleusinian stone background, and white marble reliefs. The Temple of Nike Apteros,of about the same date is noted for the beautiful reliefs from the balustrade which crowned the lofty bastion on which the temple stands.Image unavailable.An example of Nike or victory, adjusting her sandal is here given. These reliefs are remarkable for their delicacy and refinement of treatment, and the exquisite rendering of the draped female figure. Other friezes now in the British Museum are from the Mausoleum erected by Artemisia to her husband MausolusB.C.357-348. This tomb consisted of a solid basement of masonry, supporting a cella surrounded by a colonnade of 36 columns. The upper part of the basement was enriched with a frieze, illustrating the battle of the Centaurs and Lapithæ; the frieze of the cella was illustrated with funeral games in honour of Mausolus. Seventeen slabs of the frieze of the order from the colonnade are in the British Museum; they represent the battle of the Greeks and Amazons. In their composition these slabs show extraordinary energy of movement and richness of invention. This frieze differs absolutely from the Parthenon frieze in its fertility of incident and intensity of action. Bryaxis, the sculptor of the Nereid monument executed the north frieze, while the south was by Timotheus, the east by Scopas, and the west by Leochares.
Image unavailable.A remarkable building, where again the frieze was an important feature, was the great altar at Pergamos, erected by Eumenes II.,B.C.168. This had a basement of masonry 160 ft. by 160 ft., and 16 ft. high, enriched with a sculptured frieze 7½ ft. high. The subject is the Gigantomachia, or battle of the gods and giants; the treatment being characterised by passionate energy and expression, and daring skill in grouping and technique. Ninety-four of the original slabs of this frieze are now in the Berlin Museum.Image unavailable.
The frieze was an important decorative feature with the Assyrians and Greeks. The continuity of incident and rhythm of movement that was possible with the continuous frieze, together with its functional use of banding, no doubt tended to preserve its traditional form, hence we have many remains from antiquity of this beautiful decorative treatment. An early and fine example is the frieze of Archers from the palace of Darius at Persepolis,B.C.532, now in theLouvre. This frieze, of which an illustration is here given, was executed in glazed and enamelled bricks. A dignity of conception and unity of composition were here combined with skilful modelling of relief work, and fine colouring of blue, turquoise and yellow. This treatment of the frieze no doubt influenced the later work of the Greeks, who so nobly carried on this tradition of the frieze.
Greek ornament is distinguished by simplicity of line, refinement of detail, radiation of parts, unity of composition and perfect symmetry. The anthemion, which is the typical form, is derived from the traditional lotus and bud of Egypt, Assyria, and India. It differs however in its more abstract rendering and its absence of symbolism, having a charm of composition and a unity and balance of parts, yet lacking that interest and deeper significance associated with many periods of art.
Image unavailable.The anthemion was sculptured upon the top of the funeral stele, (figs. 1, 2, and 5,plate 4), upon the architrave of doorways (fig. 6), and above the necking of the Ionic columns (plate 6); or painted upon the panels of the deep coffered ceilings. It was also used in a thousand ways upon the many fine vases and other ceramic wares of that period. The simplicity and
GREEK ORNAMENT.Plate 6.Image unavailable: GREEK ORNAMENT. Plate 6.
beauty of the anthemion and its ready adaptability, has doubtless rendered it one of the best known types of ornament. Like the Egyptian and Assyrian prototype the Greek anthemion is usually arranged with alternate flower and bud, connected by a curved line or more frequently by a double spiral. Illustrations are given on the opposite plate of a few typical examples, where the rhythm and beauty of composition are indicative of the culture and perfection of Greek craftsmanship.
Another feature, which at a later period received considerable development, was the scroll given on the preceding page, which is a fine example from the roof of the monument to Lysicrates. The scroll cut with V shaped sections, springs from a nest of sharp acanthus foliage, the same features being observed in the nest of foliage which supports the tripod upon the apex of the roof (plate 6). This scroll is formed of a series of spirals springing from each other, the junction of the spiral being covered by a sheath or flower; the spiral itself being often broken by a similar sheath.
This spiral form, with its sheathing, is the basis of the Roman and Italian Renascence styles, and sharply differentiates them from the Gothic ornament, in which the construction line is continuous and unbroken.
The rosette, a survival of the traditional Assyrian form was frequently used upon the architrave (fig. 6), and the funeral stele (fig. 5plate 5) where its circular and radiating form contrasts so beautifully with the functional straight lines of architectural design. The extraordinary vitality and versatility of the Greek craftsmen may be traced through a magnificent series of coins dating fromB.C.700 toB.C.280. The interest of subject, beauty of composition and largeness of style, combined with the utmost delicacy of technique, of these gold, silver and electrum coins are a reflex on the artistic feeling for beauty of the early Greeks.
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ROMAN ARCHITECTURE.Plate 7.Image unavailable: ROMAN ARCHITECTURE. Plate 7.
Roman Architecture is differentiated from that of Greece by the extensive use of the arch and of superposed orders. The many fine remains of Roman temples and public buildings show the extraordinary versatility and conception of the Roman architects, their constructive skill, and their remarkable power of assimilating the arts of other nations. The Roman temples were somewhat similar in plan to the Greek prototypes, but usually without the side colonnade, larger in scale, and with an ostentatious display of mouldings and ornament, less refined in contour and detail.
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A typical example is given here of a triumphal arch, namely, that of Septimus Severus,A.D.211. Other examples are the Arch of Titus,A.D.79, and the Arch of Constantine,A.D.326. Trajan’s Arch,A.D.114, was destroyed by Constantine, who used many of the reliefs for the building of his own arch.
The superposition of columns and arches is shown in the annexed illustration from the Theatre of Marcellus, where the lower order is of the Doric and the upper of the Ionic. The Colosseum has a third story, having the Corinthian order, and an attic story, with Corinthian pilasters; the whole reaching to a height of 156 feet.Image unavailable.
One of the best preserved buildings of the Roman period is the Pantheon, with its fine domed ceiling of coffered panels, enriched with bronze ornaments. The portico, octastyle and di-prostyle, is of the Corinthian order, beautifully proportioned and enriched. The finest example of the Corinthian order was used in the temple of Castor and Pollux, frequently called Jupiter Stator; some 50 examples of this Corinthian order date from the Roman period. TheTuscanandCompositeorders were added by the Romans to the Doric, Ionic and the Corinthian, forming the five orders of architecture.Image unavailable.
The following table gives the relative proportions of the typical Roman orders, the columns in modules, and the capital, entablature, &c., in parts:—
The Romans rarely used the peristyle temple, consequently the cella was of the same width as the portico. In the civic buildings and palaces the Romans show the greatest constructive skill and splendour of embellishment. The skilful planning and appropriateness of decorative treatment in their basilicas and amphitheatres are evidences of the practical nature of the Romans.
The Basilica or Hall of Justice was an important architectural feature, rectangular in plan, with a semi-circular apse at one end, where the Tribunal was placed; roofed with timber framing, or vaulted with concrete, and supported with rows of columns or biers. The remains of two typical Roman basilicas are still in existence: the Basilica of Trajan,A.D.114, rectangular, 180 × 160 feet, five aisles, the centre aisle with a semi-circular wooden roof, and enriched with bronze plates, is typical of one class; and the basilica of Maxentinus,A.D.310, with a width of 195 feet and a length of 260 feet, is typical of a vaulted Basilica, the two side aisles with an arched roof, and the centre aisle with an intersecting vaulted roof.
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These Roman basilicas were adopted by the early Christians to their service, and the basilica church was the typical form used up to the 12th century in the Romanesque provinces.
The Roman houses were of two types: theDomus, or houses clustered together, and theInsular, houses which were surrounded by streets. Most of the finest Pompeian houses were of theInsulartype.
The usual plan of a Roman house consisted of theOstiumor entrance, sometimes called theVestibule, which opened into theAtrium, which was a large room or court partly roofed over, with an opening in the centre called theConpluvium, under which was theImpluvium, or cistern of water, placed below the level of the ground. Small chambers surrounded theAtrium, and at the further end was theTablinumor private room, frequently leading to thePeristyliumor private part of the house, an open court, with a colonnade surrounding a marble fountain, with flowers, shrubs and trees, forming aViridarium. Surrounding thePeristyliumwere private rooms, one of which was theTricliniumor dining room. From thePeristylium,faucesor passages led to thePorticus, a colonnade which overlooked the garden.
ROMAN ORNAMENT. Plate 8Image unavailable: ROMAN ORNAMENT. Plate 8
Rome, founded by Romulus,B.C.783, became by successive wars and conquests the mistress of the world, absorbing the arts and the architecture of the EtruscansB.C.567, the SamnitesB.C.340, and of Corinth and CarthageB.C.146. From these varied sources arose the style termed Roman, assimilating and adopting the column and the horizontal entablature of the Greeks; the arch, the vault, the mural paintings and the decorative use of bronze and the terra-cotta of the Etruscans, with the sculpture, ornament, mosaics and coinage of the Greeks and Carthaginians. These varied arts were assimilated and perfected by the Romans during the periodB.C.100 to 337A.D.
Roman ornament is the continuity of the Greek and Etruscan styles, consisting of the anthemion, the acanthus and the scroll; the Romans using these forms with greater exuberance and elaboration, together with bold and vigorous carving, yet lacking the simplicity, refinement and graceful contour of the Greek and Etruscan forms.
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Roman ornament consists largely of continuous spiral lines clothed with cups and sheaths of acanthus foliage, the various spirals terminating in a rosette. These main spirals are frequently interwoven with fine curved or spiral lines, clothed with acanthus or other foliation, such as the vine, olive and ivy. Birds and reptiles and cupids, and the chimera or griffin (fig. 1) are often interspersed with the ornament, thus giving that largeness of mass and contrast of form which is so characteristic of Roman art.
The Thermæ, or baths and public buildings, displayed fine decorative ceilings, having deep sunk panels called Lacunaria; or coffers, square, hexagonal or octagonal in form, with a centre rosette in high relief and the border mouldings of the coffers being enriched with the egg and dart or the water leaf. These exhibit an effective treatment of moulded surfaces. The ceilings of the tombs and palaces were in many cases ornamented
ROMAN ORNAMENT.Plate 9.Image unavailable: ROMAN ORNAMENT. Plate 9.
with circular and square panels, richly decorated with arabesques or mythical figures, and cupids in low relief of fine stucco; the mouldings or divisions in higher relief, and having the water leaf or the egg and dart enrichment (Plate 9.)
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The architectural frieze and the sepulchral urn and sarcophagi of this period were often decorated with festoons (figs. 4 and 5,plate 9), and were supported by cupids or by candelabra (plate 9), or by the skulls of oxen, as on the frieze from the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli, here given, which is no doubt a survival of the sacrificial custom of worship.
The architectural basilica and forum of Trajan, erectedA.D.114, by Apollodorus, a Greek of Damascus, was of the utmost magnificence, the remains attesting to the skill and artistic craftsmanship of the Romans. Apollodorus also erected the marble column of Trajan, having a rectangular pedestal 18 feet high, and richly sculptured with the dresses, armour and standards of the Roman army. This pedestal supports a column of the Tuscan order of architecture 97¼ feet high and 12 feet in diameter, enriched with a series of spiral bands, having bas-reliefs representing the successive events of the Dacian War by the Emperor Trajan.
This magnificent and well preserved relic of antiquity furnishes a complete epitome of the costumes and the arms and armour of that period. Another well-preserved column, similar to that of Trajan, was erected in Rome by Marcus AureliusA.D.174, the subjects of its reliefs being the war with the Marcomans. Large marble urns, or Tazzas, enriched with Bacchanalian figures, surrounded with foliage and birds and animals; magnificent tables, chairs, couches, and candelabra, of bronze, enriched with silver damascening, together with the choice remains of sculpture and mosaics, all indicate the luxuriousness and love of magnificence of the wealthy Roman citizens.
In Roman architectural ornament we see the most powerful modelling combined with the use of the continuous scroll growing from a nest of foliage, repeated in their painted decorations (see Pompeian). This elaboration of the typical Greek ornamentation and the rounded serrations of the Acanthus, forms the chief characteristic of Roman ornament, which is wonderfully bold, and vigorous in conception and execution, but deficient in the refinement and delicacy of Greek art.