Fig. 364. Gorgoneia.
Fig. 364. Gorgoneia.
Fig. 364. Gorgoneia.
Gorgoneia.Masks of the Gorgon’s head, which were fixed as bosses upon walls or shields.
Gossamer, O. E. (properlyGod’s summer). The name is attributed to an old legend that the fine filaments so called are the fragments of the winding-sheet of the Virgin Mary, which fell away from her as she was taken up to heaven.
Gothamites, O. E. The inhabitants of the village of Gotham in Northumberland, renowned for their stupidity. A reprint of the tale called “The Wise Men of Gotham” appeared in 1840.
Gouache, Fr. This term is applied to the use in water-colour painting of opaque colours more or less mixed and modified with white. The process is extremely ancient, known to the Chinese and Indians of the earliest times, and to the Greeks and Romans. It was the method used by mediæval illuminators. Its result is a velvety reflection of the light.
Fig. 365. Gourd-shaped bottle. Anatolian.
Fig. 365. Gourd-shaped bottle. Anatolian.
Fig. 365. Gourd-shaped bottle. Anatolian.
Gourd of Noah.A piece of ancient blue faience from Asia Minor. According to the tradition current in the country, these vessels, which are in great veneration, would go back to such remote antiquity that it was by one of them that Noah was betrayed into the first act of inebriety recorded in history. (Jacquemart.)
Gouttée,Guttée, Her. Sprinkled over with drops of gold, silver, blue (tears), red (blood), or black (poix).
Gown(Britishgwn, Normangunna). The men wore gowns in the Middle Ages, the women at all times.
Grabatus, R. (κράβατος). A sort of low framework, consisting of a network of cords, used to support a mattress; it was the least comfortable kind of bed; whence the French wordgrabatto denote a sorry kind of bed.
Gradient, Her. Walking.
Gradus, R. A flight of steps leading to a temple; the tiers of seats in a theatre or amphitheatre, &c.
Græcostasis.A part of the Roman forum, where the Greek ambassadors stood to hear the debates.
Graffiti, It. Lines drawn with a graver upon clay or plaster. (SeeSgraffiti.)
Grafted, Her. Inserted and fixed.
Grand-garde, Plate armour to cover the breast and left shoulder, worn outside the usual armour in jousting at tournaments.
Grand Quarters, Her. The four primary divisions of a shield when it is divided per cross or quarterly.
Graphite.Plumbago.
Graphometer.A mathematical instrument, called also a semicircle.
Graphotype.A method of producing book illustrations for printing along with type, without the art of an engraver.
Grass-green.(SeeChrysocolla.)
GraverorBurin. An engraving-tool. (SeeChalcography.)
Grazioso, It. In Music, an intimation to perform the music smoothly and gracefully.
Greaves.Plate armour for the legs.
Grece, O. E. A step, or flight of stairs. (SeeGryse.)
Greeces, Her. Steps.
Greek Lace.A kind of cutwork, described underLace(q.v.).
Green, in Christian art, or the emerald, is the colour of spring; emblem of hope, particularly hope in immortality; and of victory, as the colour of the palm and the laurel.
Green.(SeeCarbonates of Copper,Oxides of Copper,Scheele’s Green,Sap Green,Chrome Green, &c.)
Green Bice.Green cinnabar. (SeeChrome Green.)
Green Earth(burnt terra verde) is a brown pigment, very useful for landscape painting in oil colours; it is not affected by exposure to strong light or impure air.
Green Lakes.(SeePurple Lakes.)
Green Verditer.(SeeVerditer.)
Gregorian Calendar.The calendar as reformed by Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582.
Gregorian Music.A collection of chants, originally compiled by Gregory I. (the Great),A. D.600. “It was observed by St. Gregory, a great musician of his time, that theAmbrosian Chants, handed down traditionally to a great extent, had become corrupted; he therefore subjected them to revision, and added other modes and scales to those four which Ambrose had retained. This was done by taking away the upper tetrachord from the Ambrosian scales, and placing it below the lower tetrachord.” (SeeMusic, by the Rev. J. R. Lunn, B.D., inDictionary of Christian Antiquities.)
Grey, in Christian art, the colour of ashes, signified mourning, humility, and innocence accused.
Greybeards, O. E. Stone-ware drinking-jugs, with a bearded face on the spout.
Gridiron(It.la graticola). The attribute of St. Lawrence.
Griffin.(SeeGryphus.)
Grinding.Pigments are generally ground in poppy or nut oil, which dry best and do not deaden the colours. It is essential that these oils be in the purest state, bright and clear. A good oil ought to be so dry in five or six days that the picture can be repainted.
Griphus, Gr. and R. (γρῖφος). Literally, a fishing-net, and thence a riddle propounded by guests at a banquet.
Grisaille, Fr. A style of paintingin grey, by which solid bodies are represented as if in relief; adapted for architectural subjects.
Fig. 366. Groat of Edward III.
Fig. 366. Groat of Edward III.
Fig. 366. Groat of Edward III.
Groat.An old English silver coin, equal to 4d.In England, in the Saxon times, no silver coin larger in value than a penny was struck, nor after the Conquest till the reign of Edward III., who about 1351 coinedgrossesor great pieces, which went for 4d.each; and so the matter stood till the reign of Henry VII., who in 1504 first coined shillings.
Grogram(Fr.gros-grains). A coarse woollen cloth with large woof and a rough pile. Grogram gowns were worn by countrywomen, 15th to 17th centuries.Fairholtsays that the mixed liquor calledgrogobtained its name from the admiral who ordered it to be given to the sailors; who from wearing a grogram coat was called “Old Grog.”
Groin, Arch. The angular curve formed at the intersection of a vaulted roof; the line made by the intersection of arched vaults crossing each other at any angle. (See Fig.173.)
Grolier Scroll.A beautiful and elaborate style of decoration for bookbinding, introduced byGrolier, a celebrated patron of bookbinding, in the 15th century.
GromaandGruma, R. A quadrant; an instrument used by land-surveyors. In the plural,grumædenotes the intersection of two roads cutting each other at right angles.
Fig. 367. Grotesque from a stall in Rouen Cathedral.
Fig. 367. Grotesque from a stall in Rouen Cathedral.
Fig. 367. Grotesque from a stall in Rouen Cathedral.
Grotesques, Arch. (It.grottesco, the style in which grottoes were ornamented). Figures of a monstrous, comic, or obscene character, which were spread in profusion over the façades of churches by mediæval artists (ymaigiers); in stone and in wood; on choir-stalls and the wood-work and wainscoting of interiors. Figs. 367, 368 represent figures upon the stalls and columns in Rouen Cathedral.
Fig. 368. Grotesque decoration from the Cathedral at Rouen.
Fig. 368. Grotesque decoration from the Cathedral at Rouen.
Fig. 368. Grotesque decoration from the Cathedral at Rouen.
GroundsorPriming. In painting, the first coat of colour laid all over the canvas, upon which the picture is to be painted.
Grus, Lat. (a crane). A constellation of the southern hemisphere.
Gry.A measure containing ⅒ of aline. Alineis ⅒ of adigit, adigitis ⅒ of a foot, and a (philosophical) foot is ⅓ of a pendulum whose vibrations, in the latitude of 45°, are each equal to one second of time, or ¹⁄₆₀ of a minute.
Fig. 369. Heraldic Griffin.
Fig. 369. Heraldic Griffin.
Fig. 369. Heraldic Griffin.
Gryphus,Griffin, Gen. (γρύψ). A fabulous animal, represented with the body of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle. In ancient art it was applied in the decoration of friezes, one of the finest specimens being that at the temple of Antoninus and Faustina at Rome. It was a heraldic symbol among the Scythians, and is the ancient crest of the city of London. As an emblem this monster symbolizes the destroying power of the gods.
Gryse,Grece,Tredyl, orSteyre, O. E. A step, a flight of stairs.
GuacosorHuacos, Peruv. The consecrated burial-places of the ancient Peruvians.
Fig. 370. Passant guardant.
Fig. 370. Passant guardant.
Fig. 370. Passant guardant.
Guardant, Her. Looking out from the field, as the lions in Fig.370.
Guazzo, It. A hard and durable kind of distemper painting, used by the ancients, calculated to resist damp and to preserve the colours.
Fig. 371. Gubbio Cup, 1519. Louvre Museum.
Fig. 371. Gubbio Cup, 1519. Louvre Museum.
Fig. 371. Gubbio Cup, 1519. Louvre Museum.
Gubbio. A celebrated Italian botega of ceramic art, founded in 1498 by Giorgio Andreoli, the reputed inventor of the secret of metallic lustres. Fig.371is a cup bearing upon a fillet the inscription “Ex o Giorg.,” “of the fabric of Giorgio.”
Gubernaculum, R. (guberno, to direct). A rudder; originally an oar with a broad blade, which was fixed, not at the extremity, but at each side of the stern. A ship had commonly two rudders joined together by a pole.
GuelfsorGuelphs. (SeeGhibellines.)
Fig. 372. Badge of the Gueux.
Fig. 372. Badge of the Gueux.
Fig. 372. Badge of the Gueux.
Gueux, Badge of the.The celebrated Netherlandish confraternity of the Gueux (or Beggars), which had its origin in a jest spoken at a banquet, assumed not only the dress, but the staff, wooden bowl, and wallet of the professional beggar, and even went so far as to clothe their retainers and servants in mendicant garb. The badge represents two hands clasped across and through a double wallet.
Guidon, Fr. (1) The silk standard of a regiment; (2) its bearer.
Guige, Her. A shield-belt worn over the right shoulder.
Guild, O. E. (Saxonguildan, to pay). A fraternity or company, every member of which wasgildare, i. e. had to pay something towards the charges. Merchant guilds first became general in Europe in the 11th century. (SeeAnderson’s History of Commerce, vol. i. p. 70.)
Fig. 373. Base ornamented with guilloche.
Fig. 373. Base ornamented with guilloche.
Fig. 373. Base ornamented with guilloche.
Guilloche.A series of interlaced ornaments on stone, resembling network.
Fig. 374. Band with the guilloche ornament.
Fig. 374. Band with the guilloche ornament.
Fig. 374. Band with the guilloche ornament.
Guilloched.Waved or engine-turned.
Guimet’s Ultramarine.A valuable substitute for the more costly preparation. It is transparent and durable.
Guimet’s Yellowis the deutoxide of lead and antimony, useful in enamel or porcelain painting.
Guinea.An English coin first strucktemp.Car. II., and so called because the gold was brought from the coast ofGuinea(the PortugueseGenahoa). It originally bore the impress of an elephant. The sovereign superseded it in 1817.
Guisarme.An ancient weapon of the nature of a pike or bill. (SeeMeyrick.)
Guitar(Spanishguitarra). A stringed musical instrument, played as a harp with the fingers.
Gules, Her. (Fr.gueules). Red, represented in engraving by perpendicular lines.
Gum-arabicdissolved in water constitutes the well-known vehicle for water-colour painting—gum-water.
Gunter’s Line.A line of logarithms graduated on a ruler, for practical use in the application of logarithms to the ordinary calculations of an architect, builder, &c. Other similar instruments invented by the great mathematician (+ 1626) areGunter’s QuadrantandGunter’s Scale, used by seamen and for astronomical calculations.
Gurgustium, R. A cave, hovel, or any dark and wretched abode.
Gussetswere small pieces of chain mail at the openings of the joints beneath the arms.
Guttæ, Arch. (drops). Small conical-shaped ornaments, used in the Doric entablature immediately under the mutule beneath the triglyph. (See Fig.265.)
Guttée, Her. (SeeGouttée.) Sprinkled over.
Gutturnium, R. (guttur, the throat). A water-jug or ewer; it was a vessel of very elegant form, and was used chiefly by slaves for pouring water over the hands of the guests before and after a meal. (SeeAblutions.)
Guttus, R. (gutta, a drop). A vessel with a very narrow neck and mouth, by means of which liquids could be poured out drop by drop; whence its name. It was especially used in sacrifices, and is a common object upon coins of a religious character.
Gutty, Her. Charged or sprinkled withdrops.
Gwerre, O. E. The choir of a church.
Gymmers, O. E. Hinges. (The word is still used.)
Gymnasium, Gr. (γυμνάσιον;γυμνὸς, stripped). A large building used by the Greeks, answering to the Romanpalæstra, in which gymnastics were taught and practised. There were also attached to it assembly rooms for rhetoricians and philosophers.
Gynæceum, Gr. (fromγυνὴ, a woman). That part of the Greek house which was set apart for the women. (SeeDomus.)
Gypsum(Gr.γύψος). The property of rapid consolidation renders gypsum very available for taking casts of works of art, &c. It is much employed in architectural ornaments. The gypsum of Paris is calledMontmartrite, and forms the bestPlaster of Paris, as it resists the weather better than purer sorts. It contains 17 per cent. of carbonate of lime. (See alsoAlabaster.)
Gyron, Her. A triangular figure, one of the subordinaries.
Fig. 375. Gyronny.
Fig. 375. Gyronny.
Fig. 375. Gyronny.
Gyronny, Her. A field divided into gyrons.