An Illustrated Dictionary of Words used in Art and Archaeology / Explaining terms frequently used in works on architecture, arms, bronzes, Christian art, colour, costume, decoration, devices, emblems, heraldry, lace, personal ornaments, pottery, painting, sculpture, &c., with their derivations.

by John W. Mollett

P.

Packfong or Pakfong. A Chinese name for Argentine, or German silver.

Pæan (Gr. παιάν). A hymn to Apollo, of gratitude or propitiation. It was also used as a battle-song before and after an engagement.

Pænula, R. A thick cloak with a hole to put the head through; it was furnished with a hood, and was worn in travelling, or as a protection against cold and rain.

Pagai, Hind. A kind of short double oar, with broad ends resembling small scoops.

Paganalia, Paganales, R. A rustic festival which took place yearly towards the end of January or the beginning of February, seven days after the Sementivæ. It was the festival of villages (pagi) and of villagers (pagani), whence its name. Sacrifices were offered in honour of Proserpine, goddess of vegetation. As the old religion continued to prevail in the villages long after that of Christ was established in the towns, the words pagan and unbeliever gradually became synonymous.

Paganica (sc. pila), R. A ball covered with leather and stuffed with feathers or down; it took its name from the peasants or country people (pagani), who used it for playing a game the nature of which is not known.

Pagina, R. (lit. a thing fastened). This term, when synonymous with scheda, signifies a page of paper, the page of a volume; or else it serves to denote one of the columns of writing which cover a sheet of paper.

Pagoda, Hind. (1) A religious building of the Hindoos. The great ancient pagodas of India are monolithic temples hewn out of rocky mountains; but the term is also applied to temples built in the open air. (2) Gold coins formerly current in India were called pagodas.

Pagoda-stone. A limestone containing tapering fossil shells shaped like a Chinese pagoda at the top.

Pagodite. A stone much used by the Chinese for carving into pagodas and other ornaments.

Pagus, R. Any lofty site in the country capable of being easily turned into a fortified post by means of a few siege works. The name was extended to the country surrounding a fortified village; and each of the country tribes was divided by Numa into a certain number of pagi.

Paile. An old term used to denote a striped cloth of floss silk manufactured at Alexandria in Egypt, and thence a mantle, canopy, or pavilion.

Pala, It. An altar front. The Pala d’oro of St. Mark’s, Venice, is a celebrated specimen of Byzantine art. It is of silver-gilt ornamented with gems and enamels, with Greek and Latin inscriptions in niello, and representations from sacred and profane history. It was originally made at Constantinople in 976, but has been repaired in 1105, in 1209, and in 1345, by which it has lost much of its original character.

Pala, R. A spade, or scoop in the form of a spade, and thence the bezil of a ring.

Palæstra (παλαίστρα). A place for wrestling, formerly part of the gymnasium. (See Gymnasium.)

Palanga. (See Phalangæ.) Hence:—

Palanquin. A covered conveyance for one person, carried on the shoulders of men in India and China. They are often very splendidly carved, and decorated with tapestry, ornamental woods, and inlaid-work.

Palaria, R. An exercise practised by young Roman recruits, which consisted of hurling javelins (pila) against a stake (palus) fixed in the ground. (See Pel.)

Palè, Gr. (πάλη). A Greek term having the same meaning as Lucta, Luctamen, Luctamentum (q.v.).

Pale, Her. One of the ordinaries. Palewise or In Pale, arranged vertically one above the other, as the lions of England. (See Per.)

Paleste, Gr. (παλαιστὴ, i. e. palm of the hand). A lineal measure used by the Greeks equal to the quarter of a foot, or a little more than three inches. (See Palmus.)

Palette. “Setting the palette” is arranging the colours for use. This is always done in a certain order regulated by the key in which the picture is to be painted. The order generally recommended is to begin with white, and then proceed through the yellows, reds, and blues to black. The Egyptians used palettes of a long rectangular form; one side higher than the other, had two or three saucers sunk in it to hold cakes of colour or ink; the other side was notched to receive the calami or cut reeds used as writing-pens.

Palettes or Roundels, in Armour, are round plates or shields hung on the armour to defend the joints of the arm, necessarily left free for action.

Palilia, R. A festival in honour of Pales, the goddess of shepherds and flocks; it was held on the 21st of April.

Palimpsest (παλίμ-ψηστος, lit. scraped again). A parchment the writing on which had been erased, so that it might be used again. Monumental brasses are found to have been reversed and used a second time. In both cases the most ancient writing or inscription is generally the most valuable and interesting.

Palindrome (πάλιν, again, and δρόμος, a course). A sentence which reads the same when read backwards or forwards. Such is the Greek inscription on the ancient font in the chapel of Dulwich College: “νιψονανομημαμημονανοψιν.” “Purify the heart and not the countenance alone.”

Fig. 516. Palissy jug.

Palissy Ware. The pieces to which Palissy owes his reputation, in the first place, are the so called “rustic pottery” (rustiques figulines), “dishes or vases where upon a rough ground strewn with fossil shells, lizards and salamanders are running, frogs jumping, snakes crawling or sleeping, or more still, in a streamlet of water wriggling eels, pointed-nosed pikes, trout with spotted scales, and a thousand others of our fresh-water fishes are swimming.” When afterwards he worked in the capital, he did not give up his rustic compositions, but mixed them with the human figure. “There is an identity of style in all his figures and compositions; such as the Diana, Plenty, &c., framed round with delicate and ingenious ornaments drawn in the taste of the period.” (Jacquemart.)

Paliurus. A thorn-bush with long sharp spikes, common on the coasts of the Mediterranean, where it is called Christ’s thorn, because it is said to have furnished material of which the Crown of thorns was woven.

Palla, Gr. and R. A robe of state worn by patrician ladies, and frequently represented on statues of goddesses. Palla citharœdica was the name given to a long robe which musicians wore upon the stage; Apollo is often represented with this garment, especially when he is surnamed Citharœdus and Musagetes. Palla Gallica was a short garment like a Tabard, open in front and behind; it was worn by the Gauls and adopted by the Romans, who called it Caracalla (q.v.).

Palla Corporalis, Chr. The veil for the Pyx. (See Corporal.)

Palladium. (1) An image of Pallas Athenê, kept carefully hidden, and revered as the safeguard of the place where it lay. The most celebrated was the Palladium of Troy, said to have been thrown from Olympus by the hand of Zeus. It was about three cubits high, and represented the goddess sitting with a spear in her right hand, and in her left a distaff and spindle. (2) The term has been applied to a metal discovered by Dr. Wollaston in 1803, obtained from platinum, which it resembles in colour and lustre.

Pallium (Gr. ἱμάτιον). A large square woollen sheet or blanket worn by the Greeks over the shoulders, and fastened like the Abolla round the neck with a brooch (fibula); it formed the principal article of the amictus or Greek dress. (Hence the expression to palliate, or cloak over, an offence.) (2) Chr. A vestment bestowed by the Pope on all patriarchs and archbishops on their accession to office as the symbol of their ecclesiastical power. The material is obtained from the wool of two lambs slain on the Eve of St. Agnes. The modern pallium of the Church is a short white cloak ornamented with a red cross, which encircles the neck and shoulders, and falls down the back. The pall or pallium is a charge in the arms of the Sees of Canterbury, Armagh, and Dublin.

Pall-mall. The ancient form of the game of croquet, “wherein a round box bowle is with a mallet strucke through a high arch of yron standing at either end of an ally.” (Cotgrave.) “This game is used at the long alley near St. James’s, and vulgarly called Pell-Mell.” (Blount’s Glossary, 1681.)

Palm. The ancient classical emblem of victory and triumph was early assumed by the Christians as the universal symbol of martyrdom. In England we understand by palm, not the leaves of a palm-tree, but “the yelowe that groweth on wyllowes.”

Fig. 516 a. Palm-leaf Ornament.

Fig. 516 b. Architectural Palm-leaf Ornament.

Palm-leaf, Arch. An architectural ornament bearing more or less resemblance to a palm-leaf, employed for mouldings, and for the decoration of the corners of the ceilings in Doric cornices; and in antefixæ, as crownings for the pediment and as acroteria. Figs. 516a and 516b represent palm-leaves of terra-cotta.

Palmus, Gr. and R. A measure of length. Of the Greek palmus the greater (σπιθαμὴ) contained nine finger-breadths, and the less (παλαιστὴ) four. The greater Roman palmus contained twelve finger-breadths or about nine inches, and the less four finger-breadths. The greater palmus was taken from the length of the hand or span, the less from the breadth of it.

Palstave, Celt. A wedge-shaped axe used by the Celtic nations in war for battering the armour of the enemy. (See Fig. [255].)

Paltock (modern paletôt). “A short cloake with sleeves,” i. e. a great-coat.

Paludamentum, R. A military cloak worn over their armour by the generals and superior officers of the Roman army; an officer thus dressed was said to be paludatus. (See Fig. [44].)

Palus, R. (pango, to fix). A stake planted in the earth, against which recruits hurled their javelins (pila). The mediæval Pel (q.v.).

Pam, O. E. The knave of clubs. (Halliwell.)

Pammachium (παμμάχιον). A synonym for Pancratium (q.v.).

Fig. 517. Panache.

Panache, Her. A plume of feathers set upright and borne as a crest. Fig. [517] is from the seal of Edward Courtenay, A. D. 1400.

Panarium, R. (panis, bread). A bread-basket; a pantry in which bread was kept.

Panathenæa, Gr. (Παναθήναια). Festivals of Minerva Athenê among the Athenians, so called because they formed the festival of all the peoples placed under the protection of Minerva (πᾶν, all, and Ἀθήνη). There were the Greater and Lesser Panathenæa; the former being held every five years, the latter every three years. The procession at the Greater festival is the subject of the friezes from the Parthenon now in the British Museum. (See Elgin Marbles.) They represent the solemn transportation of the peplus of Athenê to her temple, in which nearly the whole of the population took part, on foot, on horseback, or in chariots. Old men carried olive-branches, young men attended in armour, and maidens carried baskets of flowers.

Panaulon. An enlarged German flute with sixteen finger-keys; invented recently by Trexler of Vienna. It is available as a bass to other flutes.

Pancratium, R. (from πάν every: and κράτος force). A wrestling and boxing match, in which the combatants employed every means to disable each other; and the contest was continued until one of the combatants owned himself disabled by holding up a finger, or was killed.

Paned, O. E. Striped.

Paned Hose. Breeches formed of stripes, with small panes or squares of silk or velvet. (Halliwell.)

Panegyris, Egyp. (πανήγυρις). A popular festival of Egypt, to which the whole country was summoned in order to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the reigning monarch.

Panels, Arch. The sunken compartments in wood and stone-work; very abundant in Gothic architecture as ornaments on walls, ceilings, &c. After the expiration of Gothic architecture, panelling in great measure ceased to be used in stone-work.

Panel Picture. A painting on a board or panel.

Panisci, R. (Πανίσκοι, dimin. from Πάν). Literally, small Pans, small rustic gods no bigger than pigmies.

Pannetier Green. A handsome and durable emerald green, prepared by a secret process by its inventor, M. Pannetier. It is sold at a high price.

Panoply (πανοπλία). A complete suit of armour. (See Armour.)

Pantables (for Pantofles). Slippers.

“Hee standeth upon his pantables, and regardeth greatly his reputacion.” (Saker’s Narbonus, 1580.)

Pantaloon. From the Italian, pianta leone (plant the lion); the Venetian standard-bearers (of the lion of St. Mark) being so called, who wore tight hose, the name came to be given to tight hose in general. In ancient pantomimes, Pantaloon was always a Venetian. (See Harlequin.)

Pantaloons, O. E. “Garments made for merry-andrews, that have the breeches and stockings of the same stuff, and joined together as one garment.” (Halliwell.)

Panthea, Gen. (πάν-θεια). Statues or figures which combine the symbols of several divinities.

Pantheon (πᾶν, every, and θεὸς, god). A temple dedicated to all the divinities collectively. That at Rome is now a Christian church. It is circular, 150 feet in height and in diameter, with a domed roof.

Pantherinæ, R. Panther-tables; of wood striped like the skin of a panther. (See Tigrinæ.)

Pantobles, Pantoffles, O. E. Slippers.

Pantofles, O. E. Slippers or wooden pattens.

Pantograph. An instrument for enlarging or reducing plans and designs, largely used in the arts, e. g. in machine embroidery.

Pantomine (παντὸς, of everything; μῖμος, mimic). Gesture and action applied, without speech, to represent emotion; hence applied to the form of theatrical performance which consists entirely or principally of gesture and action.

Paper. (See Charta.)

Papier-maché, Fr. Paper-pulp; made by compressing the pulp, or by pasting together different thicknesses of paper, to the hardness and consistency of wood. It is an invention of the 18th century, and originated in snuff-boxes called after their manufacturer “Martins.” The process has since been developed to great perfection by the invention of new varnishes and methods of ornament, the principal of which are gilding and bronzing, pearl and gem inlaying, &c. (See a paper by R. Hunt in the Art Journal, 1851.)

Papilio, R. (lit. a butterfly). A military tent, so called because the curtains opened and shut like the wings of a butterfly.

Papyrus. The paper made of the papyrus plant, used by the Egyptians and other nations of antiquity. The Papyrus rolls on which important relics of Egyptian literature and art have come down to us, were formed of a sheet of papyrus rolled on a slender wooden cylinder. They have mostly been discovered in mummy cases, and contain illustrations of funeral ceremonies and religious emblems relating to the future of the soul. Others are historical or literary, and some have been discovered containing caricatures and comic illustrations. (Cf. Liber.)

Parada, Celt. A tent or awning stretched over the deck of a vessel, and thence a cabin hung with tapestry.

Paradise or Parvise, Chr. (1) A vestibule or courtyard in front of a church. The term must thus, at a certain period, have been synonymous with narthex or porch. At the present day the term is applied to the open space to be found in front of cathedrals or public buildings. (2) The word is sometimes applied to the room that is often found above church porches. (See Cloister Garth.)

Paradisus (παράδεισος). A Persian park or pleasure-garden, enclosed within a wall, elaborately planted and irrigated, and stocked with animals for the chase. Hence the Garden of Eden was so called.

Paragauda, Paragaudis, R. An embroidered band of silk or gold thread sewn on to a tunic.

Paraison, Fr. A term in glass, equivalent to the English Metal (q.v.).

Paralus (πάραλος). The name of an Athenian state vessel, kept, like that of the Doge of Venice in modern times, for state and religious ceremonies. A sister vessel was named the Salaminia; they were both fast-sailing triremes.

Paramese, Gr. (next to middle), or Trite (third). The third treble note, immediately above the mese, of the seven-stringed lyre. (See Mese.)

Paranete, Gr. (beside the shortest). The second treble note of the seven-stringed lyre. (See Mese.)

Parapet, It. (parare petto, to defend the breast). A wall breast-high on a fortification, roof, or other gallery. (See Crenels.)

Paraphernalia (from the Greek παράφερνα). That which a wife brings besides her dower; i. e. her personal attire and ornament.

Parasang. A Persian measure of distance, about 30 Greek stadia or 3¾ English miles.

Paratorium. (See Oblationarium.)

Parazonium, R. (παραζώνιον). A short sword or kind of dagger worn by the tribunes and superior officers of the Roman army attached to their belt on the right side. This sword was shorter than the gladius worn by the common soldier on the right side.

Parchment. The finer kind of parchment known as vellum is from the skins of calves, kids, and dead-born lambs. The stout parchment of drum-heads is from the skin of the wolf, although that of the ass or calf is sometimes used. The parchment of battledores is from the skin of the ass, and that used for sieves from the skin of the he-goat. The green parchment used in bookbinding is coloured by means of Verdigris. (See Liber.) The name comes from the Latin Pergamentum. Eumenes, King of Pergamus, has the honour of the invention.

Parentales, Parentalia, R. Festivals, also called Februales, which were held by the Romans in honour of deceased ancestors.

Pargetting, Parge-work, O. E. In Architecture, an old term for the ornamental plasterwork common on the outside walls of timber-built houses of Queen Elizabeth’s and earlier periods.

Parhypate, Gr. (beside the longest). The second bass note of the seven-stringed lyre (See Mese.)

Parian Chronicle. A slab of Parian marble, among the so called Arundel Marbles in the University of Oxford, containing a chronological record of Greek history from B.C. 1582 to B.C. 264.

Parian Marble from the island of Paros was of extremely fine grain, easy to work, and of a creamy white. The marble now called Parian has a coarse sparkling grain, which, however, takes a high finish. (Redford, Ancient Sculpture.)

Paries, R. The wall of a house or any building, in contradistinction to murus, muri, which denoted the walls of a city.

Paris Black. A name for Ivory Black (q.v.).

Paris Blue. A very handsome dark violet-blue pigment. “Its great qualities of body and intensity of coloration will always ensure it a large sale; moreover, its mixture with chrome yellow produces a fine green cinnabar or leaf-green.” (Habich.)

Paris Lake. (See Carminated Lakes.)

Parlour (Lat. parlatorium). (1) The old “speke-house” in a convent for inmates to speak with their friends. (2) Any private room.

Parma, R. (πάρμη). A shield, usually of circular form, carried in the Roman army by the light-armed troops or light infantry (velites) and the cavalry (equites). The parma thracidica used by the class of gladiators called Thraces was not round, but in the form of a small Scutum (q.v.).

Parquet. French flooring of inlaid wood-work.

Parsley, Arch. In every period, but especially in Romano-Byzantine and Gothic art, parsley-leaves have been abundantly made use of in architectural decoration.

Parthenon. The famous temple of Minerva in the Acropolis at Athens. The finest example of the Grecian Doric style of architecture; built by Pheidias, 454–438 B.C. Fergusson says, “For beauty of detail, and for the exquisite perception of the highest and most recondite principles of art ever applied to architecture, it stands utterly and entirely alone and unrivalled—the glory of Greece.” (Hist. of Architecture.) The celebrated frieze, 525 feet in length, ran all round the outer wall of the cella close up to the ceiling. The best work on the Parthenon sculptures is by Michaelis (Der Parthenon, Leipzig, 1871). (See Elgin Marbles.)

Partisan, O. E. A kind of short pike, introduced temp. Edward III.

Partlet, O. E. A ruff. “A maydens neckerchefe or lynnen partlette.”

Party, Parted, Her. Divided. (See Per.)

Parvise. (See Paradise.)

Paschal Taper, Chr. A large wax candle which was consecrated during the service on Easter Eve, and lighted on Sundays from Easter to Whitsuntide, with five grains of incense attached to it to indicate the five movable feasts of the year.

Pasquinade, It. A lampoon; so called from Pasquino, an Italian barber at Rome, whose door was opposite to the statue of a gladiator on which such satirical writings were posted.

Passamen, O. E. A kind of lace. (Hall.)

Fig. 518. Passant.

Fig. 519. Passant guardant.

Passant, Her. Walking and looking forward. Passant guardant, walking and looking out from the shield; passant reguardant, walking and looking back; passant repassant, walking in opposite directions. (Fig. [518], 519.)

Passe-partout, Fr. A light picture-frame of cardboard, having the inner edges generally gilt.

Passementerie, Fr. Trimming, lace, or tape of gold, silver, lace, or thread.

Passion, Instruments of the—a frequent subject in ecclesiastical decoration of the Middle Ages—are, the Pitcher from which Jesus poured water; the Towel—represented as hanging on a ring—wherewith He wiped the Apostles’ feet; the Two Swords which they showed Him, when He said, “It is enough;” the Ear of Malchus; St. Peter’s Sword, represented as a small falchion; the Post to which the Saviour was bound; the Scourge; the Crown of Thorns; the Reed wherewith He was smitten on the head; the Cross; the Ladder; the Nails; the Spear of Longinus, crossed by the Reed with the Sponge; the Fire at which St. Peter warmed himself; the Cock; the Pincers, and a Heart pierced with five wounds.

Passus, R. A pace, from the point where the heel leaves the ground, to where the same heel is set down; five Roman feet. Mille passuum, or a thousand such paces, formed the Roman mile.

Pasta Verde, It. Sap-green; a vegetable green pigment prepared from the berries of the buckthorn.

Pastel. The French name for coloured crayons. Pastel-painting was much used for portraits in the beginning of the 19th century.

Pasticcio, It. An imitation of the style of another painter in an independent design.

Pastophori, Gr. and Egyp. (παστο-φόροι). Priests who, at certain ceremonies, carried small shrines (ναὸς) containing the image of a deity, which were hidden from the eyes of the crowd by a veil of different colours called παστὸς, whence παστὸν φέρειν (to carry the pastos), the term applied to the priests who performed this duty. The keepers of the temple were also so called.

Pastophoria, Chr. Small apses flanking the principal apse in a basilica, in which the consecrated bread was kept.

Fig. 520. Bishop’s Pastoral Staff.

Pastoral Staff, Chr. The pedum of antiquity and emblem of a bishop’s pastoral responsibility is distinct from the Crozier (q.v.) of an archbishop, and has a crook head.

Pastouraux, Cubical stones, usually of two colours, applied in the ornamentation of Romano-Byzantine architecture.

Patagium, R. A band of purple, or with gold ornaments or embroidery, which was placed round the neck and down the front of a woman’s tunic (tunica muliebris).

Patee or Pattee, Her. A small cross with the arms widening towards the ends.

Patella. Diminutive of Patera (q.v.).

Patena, R. and Chr. A manger of wood, stone, or marble for holding food for horses; when it was divided into several compartments, these were called loculi. (See Loculus.) In Christian archæology, patena was the term applied to a small plate of gold or silver, used in the celebration of mass to cover over the chalice, and to hold the pieces of the host after it has been broken by the priest.

Patent Yellow. (See Turner’s Yellow.)

Fig. 521. Patera.

Patera, dimin. Patella (φιάλη). Flat plates or dishes for holding fluids for domestic use, and wine for libations in the sacrifices. The common kinds were of red earthenware, ornamented with designs in black. Others were of bronze or silver, often richly decorated with chasing, &c. (Compare Patina.) In Architecture, a great variety of flat ornaments used in all styles of architecture are improperly called pateræ, the word applying properly to circular ornaments resembling the classical dish often found on friezes of classical architecture. (Fig. [521], 522.)

Fig. 522. Side view, showing the depth of the patera.

Fig. 523. Paternosters.

Paternosters or Bead-ornament. (1) A rosary. (2) Architectural ornaments in the form of berries or beads (Fig. [523]), which decorate bands or other mouldings, and which often occur above ovolos.

Patibulum, R. An instrument of punishment in the form of a fork (furca), between the prongs of which the criminal’s neck was placed. His hands were fastened to the prongs of the fork, and in this condition (patibulatus) he was flogged through the city. The name of patibulum, or crux patibularia, was also given to a cross to which criminals were nailed.

Patina. The rust of antiquity found on bronzes and coins; it cannot be removed by rubbing or wetting it. It varies with the nature of the soil, and in some cases the surface acquires the smoothness and colour of malachite.

Patina, R. An earthenware vessel, used generally for cookery. It was deeper than the patera, but less deep than the olla.

Patonce, Her. A variety of the heraldic cross.

Patriarchal, Her. A variety of the heraldic cross, with a short cross-bar on the upper limb.

Fig. 524. Badge of St. Patrick.

Patrick, Order of St., indicated by the letters K.P., was instituted by George III. in 1783. The badge or jewel is of gold enamelled and oval in form, and is worn suspended from a collar formed of alternate roses and harps, or from a broad sky-blue ribbon.

Patten, Fr. (1) A woman’s clog. (2) The base of a column.

Patulous. Spreading.

Paul Veronese Green. An arsenite or arseniate of copper. A fine and durable colour, used either for oil or water-colour painting. (See Emerald Green.)

Pavilion, Arch. A projecting apartment, usually with a dome or turret.

Fig. 525. Pavimentum (sectile).

Pavimentum, R. A pavement formed by means of pieces of tile, crushed stones, flints, and other materials set in a bed of ashes or cement, and consolidated by beating down with the rammer (pavicula), whence its name of pavimentum. There were various kinds of pavimenta: the sectile (Figs. 525, 526), the tessellatum or tesseris structum, the vermiculatum, the sculpturatum, and the testaceum, &c.

Fig. 526. Pavimentum (sectile).

Pavo. (See Peacock.)

Pavonaceum (sc. opus), R. An arrangement of materials placed so as to overlap one another, and bearing more or less resemblance to the feathers in a peacock’s tail.

Pavonine. Coloured like a peacock’s tail.

Pax, Paxboard, Chr. A representation of the Crucifixion upon a piece of wood or metal, with a handle at the back. It was kissed by the priest in the mass at the words “Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum,” and afterwards passed round to be kissed by the congregation. It was also spelt Paxbrede. Also called Osculatorium.

Peach-stone Black, prepared from calcined stones of fruits, is a handsome colour, but has a reddish tinge. Ground with oil and white lead, the colour called old gray is obtained.

Peacock, R. and Chr. In antiquity the peacock was sacred to Juno, and is called Junonia avis. It is represented on Roman imperial coins bearing the empresses up to heaven, as the eagle does the emperors; and hence in Christian archæology is the symbol of the resurrection. (Her., see Fig. [398], In Pride.)

Pea-green. (See Chrysocolla.)

Pean, Her. One of the furs; represented in gold spots on a black ground.

Pean or Pæan. A song or shout of triumph.

Pearl. A secretion of the mollusc; in its normal development a thickening of the shell, which supplies mother-of-pearl; abnormally, forming globules for the purpose of encysting foreign substances intruded within the shell, which are the precious pearls used in jewellery.

Pearl, in Chinese the emblem of talent, is put by the Chinese on porcelains destined for rewards of poets and other laureati in China.

Pebble. A name given by lapidaries to many different stones.

Pechblende or Pech-urane, Germ. An ore of uranium and iron, used in porcelain painting and glass, producing a handsome greenish-yellow pigment.

Pecten, Egyp. and R. (pecto, to comb). (1) A comb for the hair; among the Egyptians and Romans they were made of box-wood or ivory. (See Comb.) (2) A weaver’s comb for pressing the threads of the web firmly together. (3) A comb for carding flax or wool. (4) A reaper’s “comb,” used in several countries, especially Gaul, instead of a sickle, for plucking the ears of wheat from the stalk. (5) A haymaker’s rake, &c.

Pectinated. Having teeth like a comb.

Pectoral, Gen. (pectus, the breast). A plate forming the front of a cuirass, and thus covering the chest.

Peculium, R. Property or earnings which a slave or a filius familias was permitted to acquire and consider as his own, although in strict law it belonged to the master or father. The slave was sometimes allowed by agreement to use this peculium for the purpose of purchasing his liberty.

Pecunia, R. Money; so called from pecus, a herd of cattle, Man’s primitive medium of exchange.

Pedal. In Music, a passage where the harmony moves upon a sustained sound, which is either the dominant or the tonic of the key.

Pede-cloth, Chr. A carpet laid on the space between the altar and the rails.

Fig. 527. Pedestal of Trajan’s Column.

Fig. 528. Pedestal of Column of Antoninus Pius.

Fig. 529. Pedestal of the Androsium at Athens.

Pedestal, Gen. The base of a structure; the base supporting a statue, group, or monumental column. A pedestal has three parts: the base or foot next the ground, the dado or die forming the centre, and the cornice or surbase mouldings at the top. Fig. [527] represents a half-section of the base of Trajan’s column at Rome; Fig. [528] a half-section of the base of the column dedicated to Antoninus Pius, and preserved in the Pio Clementino Museum at Rome; lastly, Fig. [529] gives a part of the pedestal or base of the Pandrosium at Athens; when, however, pedestals support caryatides or columns, they are more commonly called Stylobates (q.v.).

Pedica, R. (1) A snare by which an animal is caught by the foot (pes). (2) Fetters or irons worn on the feet by slaves.

Pediculated, Arch. Sustained or supported by a Pedicule (q.v.).

Pedicule, Arch. A small pillar which serves as a support to anything; whence the expressions monopediculated (with a single pedicule) (Fig. [387]), and polypediculated (with several pedicules).

Pediluvium. (See Ablutions.)

Pediment, Arch. The triangular crowning of a portico, usually supported by a row of columns. (Fig. [26].) The temples of antiquity generally had two pediments, one on each face. The inner part of the pediment is called the Tympanum (q.v.).

Pedum, Gen. (pes, a foot). A shepherd’s crook, or curved stick for catching goats or sheep by the leg. Fauns and satyrs are often represented carrying the pastoral crook, and it is the attribute of Thalia, as the muse of pastoral poetry. (See under Peplum.) In Egyptian archæology it is a symbol of authority, and is frequently to be seen in the hands of Osiris and the Pharaohs; the Egyptian term for it is hyq. (Cf. Hycsos.) In early Christian art it is an attribute of Our Lord as the Good Shepherd. Representations of the pedum are of frequent occurrence in the catacomb paintings. (See Pastoral Staff.)

Fig. 530. Pegasus. Device of Cardinal Bembo.

Pegasus. A horse with wings; emblem of fame, eloquence, poetic study, and contemplation. A bronze medal of Cardinal Bembo, the great Italian author of the 16th century, in the Museum at South Kensington, shows his device given above. (Fig. [530].)

Pegma, R. (πῆγμα, i. e. a thing fastened). (1) This term denotes generally anything made of a number of boards joined together. (2) In a more restricted sense it means a theatrical machine of several stages (tabulata), one above the other, which could be raised or lowered by balance weights. On such stages gladiators called pegmares fought in the amphitheatres, and battles and other scenes were represented. When they were used in sacrifices, the victim was slaughtered in an upper stage and the priest stood in one under the ground, and was afterwards brought up to be shown to the people with the blood of the victim upon him. In theatres similar pegmata were employed for the purpose of changing the scenery. (3) Lastly the term was used to denote any kind of wooden furniture or joinery in a house, such as shelves, side-boards, bookcases, &c.

Pegola, It. Greek pitch; boiled resin for varnishes.

Pel, O. E. (Lat. palus). A post, six feet in height, set firmly in the ground, to be hewn at with sword or mace for exercise. The weapons were double the ordinary weight, and the swordsman had to cover himself from imaginary blows in return with a shield, called a fan, also of double weight. (See Quintain.) (Consult Meyrick, vol. i. 145.) The pel was in the same way set up as a mark to throw spears at, and for archery practice.

Pelecinon, Gr. A sun-dial so called because it ended in a “dove-tail” (πελεκῖνος).

Fig. 531. A Pelican in its piety.

Pelican tearing open her breast to feed her young with her own blood was an early symbol of the Redemption and of the virtue of Charity. As a device it was borne by William of Orange, with the appropriate motto “Pro lege, grege et rege” (for the law, the people, and the king); a slight modification of that of Alphonso the Wise. (Fig. [531].) It is described in Heraldry as “a pelican in its piety.”

Pelisse (from pellis, a skin). A robe made of fur.

Pellet, Her. A black ROUNDLE.

Pellicatus, R. (pellis, a skin). Literally, covered with skin. The term was specially applied to earthenware vessels which were covered over with skin in order to keep the provisions they held fresh.

Pellitus, R. (pellis, skin). Clothed by means of skins; dressed in furs.

Pelluvia, Pelluvium, R. (pes, a foot, and luo, to wash). A basin in which the feet were washed, in contradistinction to the vessel called malluvium.

Pelta, Gr. (πέλτη). A small shield made of some light material, such as wood or wicker-work, and covered with leather. In shape it was sometimes elliptical, but more often cut away at the top, so that at that part it resembled a crescent. (Compare Clipeus.)

Pelvis, R. A general term used in ancient times to denote any kind of circular-shaped vessel. The term corresponded to the Greek πελίκα.

Penates (penus, food). Household gods who were believed by the ancients to be the bestowers of all the worldly blessings enjoyed by a family.

Pencil. A collection of rays of light converging to a point is so called.

Pendant. In Heraldry, drooping.

Pendant Key-stone. A synonym of Pendentive. (See this word and Furca.)

Pendants, Arch. Ornaments hanging down from the ceilings and roofs of Gothic architecture. Generally, a pair of pictures or statues appropriate to each other are called pendant each of the other.

Pendentives, Arch. In a spherical roof intersected with groined compartments, the term pendentives was applied to the surfaces included between such compartments. The same term is applied to the surfaces included in the angles formed by a groined vaulting at its spring.

Penetrale, R. An inner apartment. (Cf. Adytum.)

Penicillum, Penicillus, R. (penis, a tail). (Gr. ὑπογραφίς.) A painter’s pencil or brush. The brushes of the ancients were made either with hair or a kind of sea-weed or sponge.

Peniculus. Synonym of Penicillum.

Penna, R. A quill, a large and strong feather, in contradistinction to pluma, which denotes the small feathers spread over a bird’s body; and thence a writing-pen, which was used instead of the arundo or calamus.

Penna, Med. During the Middle Ages this term was used to denote the battlements of a castle wall, and thence the castle itself.

Fig. 532. Pennon.

Pennon, Her. An armorial lance-flag, pointed or swallow-tailed at the fly, borne by knights.

Pentachord. Any musical instrument having five strings; a system of five sounds.

Pentacle (It. pentacolo). A talisman; a figure formed of two triangles, intersecting so as to form a six-pointed star. A frequent object in early ornamental art.

Pentagon. A figure of five sides and five angles.

Pentagraph. A mechanism contrived to facilitate the copying of drawings on a different scale, invented by Christopher Scheiner, a Suabian Jesuit, in the 16th century.

Pentahedron. A solid figure having five equal sides.

Pentalpha. The pentacle was so called.

“A star of five points, composed of five A’s interlaced, was formerly made by physicians the symbol of health, under the name of Pentalpha.” (Menestrier.)

Pentaptych. An altar painting of five or more leaves. (See Diptych.)

Pentaspastos, Gr. (παντά-σπαστος). A kind of pulley, the block of which contains a system of five pulleys (orbiculi). This engine was employed to lift great weights.

Pentastyle, Arch. A portico of five columns.

Pentathlon, Gr. Greek games similar to the Quinquertium (q.v.) of the Romans, frequently represented on ancient vases.

Pentelic Marble from a mountain of that name near Athens, of which the Parthenon and other temples are built, has a beautiful warm yellowish tone, comparable to ivory. All the Athenian statues are of this marble.

Penteloris. (See Paragauda.)

Pent-roof, Arch. A roof sloping only from one side; hence a pent-house for a house or shed covered by such a roof.

Penula. (See Pænula.)

Penumbra (Lat. pene, almost, and umbra, shade). The part of a picture where the light and shade blend together.

Peperino, It. (pepe, pepper). A pepper-coloured building stone much used in the construction of ancient Rome, formerly called Lapis Albanus.

Fig. 533. Thalia, the Muse of Comedy. Wearing the chiton and peplos.

Peplum and Peplus, Gr. (πέπλον and πέπλος). The robe peculiarly proper to Minerva. (See Panathenæa.) A large full robe or shawl worn by women, corresponding to the himation or pallium of the men. On occasions of funerals or weddings this shawl was thrown over the head as a veil. The choicest productions of the loom in antiquity were pepli; and the most splendid dyes, and curious workmanship, and skilful designs were lavished upon their manufacture. They were a common form of offering to the treasures of the temples. A fine statue in the British Museum represents the Muse Thalia wearing the peplos and chiton, and holding the pastoral pedum in her hand. (Fig. [533].)

Per, Her. In blazoning the divisions of a shield the term “per,” signifying “by” or “by means of,” is employed sometimes alone, and sometimes (having the same signification) with the word “party” or “parted.” The following are the primary divisions of a shield:—Fig. a, Per Pale, or Parted per Pale, or Party per Pale; Fig. b, Per Fesse or Parted per Fesse; Fig. c, Per Cross or Quarterly (Per Pale and Per Fesse together); Fig. d, Per Bend; Fig. e, Per Bend Sinister; Fig. f, Per Saltire (Per Bend and Per Bend Sinister); Fig. g, Per Chevron; Fig. h, Per Tierce or Tiercée (divided into three equal divisions by two vertical lines). (Boutell.)

Fig. 534. Divisions of the heraldic shield.

Pera, R. (πήρα). A wallet or haversack of leather or hide, which was carried, slung over the shoulder, by travellers, peasants, and beggars. The Cynic philosophers, anticipating the fraternity of the Gueux, adopted the wallet as a distinctive part of their costume.

Pergula, R. (pergere, to continue on). Generally, any construction added to another beyond the original plan, generally in the way of a lean-to; e. g. a balcony built over the colonnades of a forum, or a gallery placed on a house-top; a room in which paintings were exhibited; a lecture-room, &c.

Periactos, R. (περί-ακτος, i. e. that turns round). A theatrical machine used by the ancients; it was of very simple construction, being formed of three frames arranged so as to form a triangular prism, on each face of which a different scene was painted. At each side of the stage there was a periactos which turned on pivots as required, so as to admit of a rapid change of scene.

Periapts, O. E. Charms worn about the neck. (Shakspeare.)

Peribolê, Gr. and R. (περιβολὴ, an enclosing). The sacred enclosure of a temple, which was in some instances of sufficient size to contain not only altars and statues of the god, but shrines and a sacred wood. In Christian architecture the word was used for the wall of enclosure of the choir, &c.

Peridot, Fr. A yellow gem supposed to be the topaz of the ancients.

Peridromê, Gr. and R. (περι-δρομὴ, a running round). A gallery or covered promenade which ran round a temple or other building.

Perigee. Near the earth; figuratively “at its lowest.”

Perihelion. Near the sun; figuratively “at its highest.”

Perimeter. The outline of a rectilinear figure.

Peripatetics. Disciples of Aristotle, who walked about during his lectures in the Lyceum at Athens.

Peripetasma (περι-πέτασμα). A general term including anything that is flat and hung up or spread out, such as a covering, tapestry, hangings, curtains, &c.

Periphery, Gr. and R. (περι-φέρεια). (1) The circumference of a curvilinear figure. (2) Ornaments in relief executed on the sides of vases, running round them. (See Crustæ.)

Fig. 535. Ground-plan of a pseudo-peripteral temple.

Periptery, Arch, (περί-πτερος, lit. with wings around). A building surrounded by columns at equal distances one from the other; the distance between the wall of enclosure and the colonnade being equal to that between the columns. Peripteral temples are distinguished as monopteral, or those with a single row of columns; dipteral, those with two rows; pseudo-dipteral, or buildings with one row of columns standing apart and one embedded; lastly, pseudo-peripteral (Fig. [535]), or buildings whose columns are embedded in the wall.

Periscelis, Gr. (περι-σκελίς). (1) An anklet worn by Oriental and Greek women, and less frequently by Roman ladies also. (2) The word is sometimes used for feminalia (q.v.).

Peristerium, Chr. A kind of canopy surrounding the sacred vessels containing the host. The eucharistic doves are called peristera.

Peristroma, R. (περί-στρωμα). In general, anything used as a covering, in especial that which is spread over a bed, and thence curtains, carpets, or hangings.

Peristyle, Arch. (περί-στυλον). A building the interior of which is surrounded with columns, the opposite of Peripteros; a building may, however, be peripteral and yet possess a peristyle. The term is also a Greek name for the Atrium.

Perivalium, Med. A Latin word used in the Middle Ages to denote the choir of a church, or the stalls of the choir.

Permanent White. (See Constant White.)

Pero, R. A tall boot reaching to the calf, made of untanned leather with the fur on, worn by shepherds and agricultural labourers, and still common in Italian villages.

Perogue. (See Pirogue.)

Perpend-stone, Arch. A large stone reaching through the wall, visible on both sides.

Perpendicular Style of Architecture. The third and last of the pointed or Gothic styles of architecture used in England. It was developed from the Decorated during the latter part of the 14th century, and continued in use till the middle of the 16th, when it gave way to the style called Elizabethan. It is peculiar to England. Its chief characteristics are a general prevalence of perpendicular lines, panelling of flat surfaces, and the multiplicity of small shafts with which the piers, &c., are overlaid.

Perron, Arch. A staircase, or flight of steps, outside a building.

Perse, Fr. Chintz.

Persian. A thin inferior silk used for lining garments.

Persian Blinds (Fr. Persiennes). Venetian blinds.

Fig. 536. Persian Bowl.

Fig. 537. Flask. Persian.

Persian Pottery. The illustrations (from Jacquemart’s History of the Ceramic Art) are (Fig. [536]) a bowl of soft porcelain, blue externally and decorated with abundant vegetation and fantastic birds with peacocks’ tails; (Fig. [537]) a flask, also of soft porcelain, characterized by a blackish-blue scroll encircling the principal subject; and (Fig. [538]) a faience tile which M. Jacquemart considers pure Mohammedan art, is very interesting for the subject that it represents—the caaba or sacred mosque of Mecca, the object of the Mohammedan pilgrimage. (Consult Souvenir d’un voyage en Perse, Comte de Rochchouart.)

Fig. 538. Persian Plaque, with polychrome decoration.

Persian Red. (See Indian Red.)

Persiana, It. (1) A silk with a pattern of large flowers. (2) Venetian blinds; Persiennes.

Persians, Gr. and R. (περσικά). Columns the shafts of which consist of figures of Persian slaves; they are also known as Persian columns.

Fig. 539. Persona comica.

Persona, Gr. and R. A mask worn by actors upon the stage; there were personæ tragicæ, comicæ (Fig. [539]), mutæ, &c., that is, masks for tragic, comic, or mute persons, &c. The custom is attributed to that of smearing the face with certain juices and colours, and appearing in disguise at the festivals of Dionysus; and is probably as old as the drama itself.

Perspective. The art of representing on a flat surface the appearance of objects from one given point of view. Linear perspective is the science by which the principles of geometry are applied in this art. (See Aerial and Isometrical Perspective.)

Pertica, R. A rod, pole, or stick; a foot, or measure of length divided into twelve inches (unciæ) and sixteen fingers (digiti).

Perticæ, Chr. In mediæval architecture, beams behind the altar in a church, from which relics were suspended on days of festival.

Peruque. (See Wigs.)

Peruvian Architecture. The Peruvian temples and palaces were generally low and spacious, constructed of great blocks of stone often 38 feet by 18 and 6 feet in thickness. The interiors were richly ornamented, the sides of the apartments being thickly studded with gold and silver. Niches in the walls were filled with images of plants and animals, also of the precious metals. The Western wall of the temple was placed to receive the first rays of the rising sun upon a statue of the god engraved on a plate of gold and thickly studded with emeralds and precious stones.

Pes, R. A foot; the standard measure of length, composed of 12 unciæ or inches, or 16 digiti, finger-breadths. It equalled 11·6496 inches English.

Pesante, It. A weight = half a drachm.

Fig. 540. Vase of Pesaro Ware.

Pesaro Ware. The particular characteristic of the mother-of-pearl majolica of Pesaro is a pale, limpid yellow, associated with a pure blue; under the effect of luminous rays these colours become animated and shoot out in pencils of red, golden yellow, green, and blue of remarkable intensity. (Jacquemart.) (Fig. [540].)

Peseta, Sp. A silver coin, about the fourth of a Mexican dollar; about 10½d.

Pesillo, It. Small scales used for weighing gold and silver, and gems.

Pessi (Gr. πεσσοί). Draughts. (See Latrunculi.)

Pessulus, R. A bolt for a door.

Petasus, Gr. and R. (πέτασος, i. e. that which spreads out). (1) A soft felt hat with broad brim. (2) The winged cap of Mercury. Most of the horsemen in the Panathenaic procession (see Elgin Marbles) wear the petasus. In Greek art it is a conventional sign of a traveller. (Compare Pileus.)

Petaurum, R. (πέταυρον, lit. a perch for fowls). A machine employed in the Roman games; probably a fixed “see-saw.”

Peter-boat, O. E. A river fisherman’s wherry.

Petit Canon, Fr. A kind of printing-type; two-line in English.

Petit Gris, Fr. Minever fur. (See Vair.)

Petit Texte, Fr. A kind of printing-type; brevier.

Petoritum, R. An open four-wheeled carriage, a kind of cart used for conveying slaves. Its Gallic origin is indicated by the etymology of the word, viz. petoer, four, and rit, a wheel.

Petronel (Fr. poictrinal). A piece of artillery or fire-arm, used in the 16th century, which was afterwards converted into a clumsy gun called a blunderbuss. It was the medium between the arquebus and the pistol.

Petunse, Chinese. A fine clay used for porcelain; a kind of kaolin.

Peulvan, Celt. (See Menhir.)

Pewter. An alloy of 100 parts of tin to 17 of antimony; or 89 tin, 7 antimony, and 2 copper. Tin and zinc, and lead and tin, are sometimes used to make pewter. The ancient guild of the Pewterers’ Company have their hall in Lime Street.

Phæcasia, Gr. and R. (φαικάσιον). White shoes worn by different classes among the Greeks and Romans, but more especially by the priests and gymnasiarchs.

Phalæ or Falæ, R. Wooden towers which were erected temporarily in a circus for the display of sham fights and captures of cities. (Compare Pegma.)

Phalangæ, Palangæ, R. (φάλαγξ). A pole employed for carrying purposes. Two men took the ends of this pole upon the shoulders, the burden being suspended from it in the middle. The same term was also applied to the rollers placed beneath objects whose weight rendered them difficult to move. The persons who made use of phalangæ for carrying anything were called phalangarii.

Phalanx, Gr. A close compact mass of infantry soldiers drawn up in files, usually eight deep. The Theban phalanx was twenty-five in depth.

Phalarica. (See Falarica.)

Fig. 541. Gallic Phalera.

Phaleræ, R. (φάλαρα). Medals of gold, silver, or bronze (Fig. [541]), worn upon the breast as a military decoration, and frequently displayed on the harness of the horses.

Phannel, O. E. (See Fanon.)

Phantasmagoria. Literally, a procession of images. A name applied especially to dissolving views shown by the alternate use of each of two magic lanterns.

Pharetra, Gr. and R. (φαρέτρα). A quiver. This was made of hide or leather, often richly ornamented with gold, painting, or braiding. It had a lid, and hung, from a belt over the right shoulder, on the left hip. (See Corytus, Quivers.)

Pharos, Pharus, Gr. and R. (φάρος). A lighthouse; the name was derived from that which Ptolemy Philadelphus erected in the island of Pharos, at the entrance to the harbour of Alexandria, in Egypt.

Phaselus, Egyp. (φάσηλος). A light Egyptian boat, long and narrow in shape, and made of very slight materials, such as osier, papyrus, and terra-cotta; it derived its name from the resemblance it bore to the pod of a bean (φάσηλος).

Fig. 542. Phaskon.

Phaskon, Gr. A vessel of a flattened ovoid form, with a long spout, and a handle at the top, like the askos.

Phenakistoscope (φενακιστικὸς, deceptive, and σκοπέω, to view), or Spectroscope. A toy for illustrating the duration of impressions on the retina of the eye. (See Spectra.)

Phenicine. An indigo purple pigment.

Fig. 543. Pheon.

Pheon, Her. A pointed spear-head borne with the point in base. (Boutell.) “The peon, or pheon, was a barbed javelin; the heads of these are still heraldic bearings, and from their figure, we find the barbs escalloped, or invecked as the heralds term it, aside.” (Meyrick.)

Pheretrum. (See Feretrum.)

Phiala, Phialê, Gr. (φιάλη). The Greek term synonymous with the Latin Patera. But Jacquemart says, “Quant à la phiale, sorte de petite bouteille qui nous a donné le mot fiole; elle figure assez souvent dans les mains des divinités.”

Fig. 544. Part of the Frieze of the temple of Apollo Epicurius near Phigalia.

Phigalian Marbles. Friezes in the Hellenic room of the British Museum, from a temple to Apollo Epicurius, near the ancient Phigalia in Arcadia. There are twenty-three slabs in high relief, eleven representing the battle between the Centaurs and the Lapithæ, and the rest the contest of the Greeks and Amazons. They are attributed to the same period as the Parthenon, but are considered inferior in style and workmanship. (Fig. [544].)

Philactery. (See Phylactery.)

Philomel. Poetical for the nightingale.

Philyra and Philura, Gr. (φιλύρα). Strips of papyrus used for making a sheet of writing-paper; ten or twelve strips of papyrus were first glued together lengthwise, and at the back of these a sufficient number of strips were fastened crosswise to double the thickness of the surface so obtained.

Phimus, Gr. (φιμός). A Greek term synonymous with Fritillus (q.v.).

Phiolæ Rubricatæ. (See Sanguinolenta.)

Fig. 545. Phœnix. Device of Cardinal Trent.

Phœnix, Chr. In Christian archæology the phœnix, which is consumed by concentrating the sun’s rays in its body, and immediately rises again from its ashes, represents the mystery of the resurrection after death. In this sense it was adopted frequently as a device by ecclesiastics. (See Bennou.) In blazon it is always represented as issuant from flames. (Fig. [545].)

Phorminx, Gr. (φόρμιγξ). Homer’s epithet for the ancient lyre. It was a large lyre, and resembled the cithara of later times, or the modern guitar. It was used at an early period singly, or for accompanying recitations.

Photogalvanography. An art invented by Mr. Paul Pretsch, of Vienna, for printing from photographs by the medium of gutta percha. For a description of the process, see the Manual of Photography, 5th edition, pp. 269, 270.

Photoglyphic Engraving. An invention of Mr. Fox Talbot (1858) for engraving on metal plates by the action of light. (See Photographic Journal, vol. v. p. 58.)

Photography. A great many processes of producing pictures by the action of the sun’s rays upon a sensitive surface are included under this general term, such as the Daguerreotype, the Talbotype, &c. [Consult in the first instance R. Hunt’s Manual of Photography, from which reference can be taken to other authorities.]

Photolithography. The art of preparing lithographic stones for printing from, by the medium of photography.

Photometallography. A process of etching on metal plates, by the action of light, invented by Mr. C. J. Burnett (1858). (See Photographic Journal, vol. v. p. 97.)

Photometer. An instrument for measuring the intensity of light.

Phototype. A plate, like an engraved plate, produced from a photograph, for printing from.

Photozincography. The art of preparing zinc plates for printing from, by the medium of photography.

Phrase. In Music, a passage of melody or harmony containing a musical idea, more or less complete in respect of cadence.

Phrygian. Applied to music of a lively kind. (Cf. Lydian.)

Phrygian Work, O. E. Embroidery. (See Orfrays.)

Phrygianum (opus). A name given to all fine embroidery by the Romans, at a period when the work of the Phrygian women was most perfect.

Phrygio, R. A Phrygian, or embroiderer, because the inhabitants of Phrygia had the reputation of being excellent embroiderers.

Phylactery, Gen. (φυλακτήριον, a preservative). (1) A general term which included any kind of amulet worn about the person as a protection against dangers of all kinds. (2) Strips of parchment or vellum, upon which the Jews transcribed passages from the sacred books, and which they either wore upon the arm or the forehead, in a small leather box. (3) In the Middle Ages the term was applied to the scrolls held in the hands of angels or other persons represented in painting or sculpture. These scrolls bore inscriptions. (See Labels.)

Phylaka, Gr. (φυλακή). A prison; a Greek term corresponding to the Latin words Carcer and Ergastulum (q.v.).

Phytography. A process of nature-printing from plants, by passing them between soft metal plates through a rolling press.

Piazza, It. A square or open place surrounded by buildings, generally supported by pillars, and forming a vaulted promenade; hence the term is sometimes applied to the archways of a colonnade.

Pibroch, Scotch. Bagpipe music.

Pica (pic). Printing-type of the size formerly used in printing the pic, or service-book.

Piccadilly, Old Fr. A high, broad, peaked collar or ruff, temp. James I. The tailor who made these ruffs is said to have built the street called by this name.

Piccagium, Med. Lat. (English use). Money paid in fairs for breaking ground.

Piccolo, It. A small flute. Small pianofortes are so called also.

Pictura, R. (pingo, to paint). The art of painting; pictura in tabula, a painting on wood; pictura in linteo or in sipario, a painting on canvas; pictura inusta, a painting in encaustic or wax; pictura udo tectorio, a fresco-painting. Embroidery was called pictura textilis.

Picturatus, R. Painted; tabella picturata, a painted panel; linteum picturatum, embroidered linen.

Pièce de Maitrise, Fr. A test-work produced by an apprentice to prove his competence to become a master of his art or craft.

Piedouche, Fr. A bracket-pedestal.

Pieds de Hérisson, Fr. Fabulous animals so called represented on Persian pottery, mentioned by Jacquemart (p. 152); having the legs of a stag, the tail of a tiger, and the head of a woman. The legend is that Mohamet and Ali will mount such beasts on the Day of Judgment.

Piers, in Architecture, are the perpendicular supports from which arches spring.

Pietà, It. A picture or statue of the Body of Christ, attended by the Virgin Mary, or by holy women and angels.

Pietra Dura. Mosaic panelling of hard pebbles of variegated colours, representing fruit, birds, &c. in relief, and used as a decoration for coffers and cabinets in the 15th century.

Pietré Commesse, It. Costly inlaid-work representing flowers, fruit, &c., in precious stones—such as agates, jaspers, lapis lazuli, &c.—introduced in Florence in the 17th century, and still maintained in the royal manufactory of that city. The finest examples are in the chapel of the Medici attached to the cathedral church of St. Lorenzo.

Pig. A black pig was represented at St. Anthony’s feet, representing his victory over sensuality and gluttony. The monks of the order of St. Anthony used to keep herds of consecrated pigs.

Pigments. The colours used in painting. A large number are described in their order. Standard works on ancient and modern pigments are Eastlake’s Materials for a History of Painting; Merrifield’s Ancient Art of Painting; Hundertpfund’s Art of Painting restored to its Simplest and Surest Principles. An exhaustive catalogue of other works on the subject has been issued by the Librarian of the South Kensington Museum.

Pike. A celebrated infantry weapon now replaced by the bayonet, consisting of a strong spear or lance with a spike at the butt for fixing in the ground. The shape of the head has varied at different periods.

Pila, R. This word has different meanings, according as the first syllable is long or short. In the first case it denotes (1) a mortar; (2) a pillar or conical pier for supporting the superstructure of a bridge; (3) a breakwater. When the first syllable is short, the word denotes (1) a playing-ball. The game of ball, from the earliest times to the fall of the Roman Empire, was one of the favourite exercises of the Greeks and Romans. In the baths and the gymnasiums a room (sphæristerium) was set apart for the purpose. Pila was a small ball; follis, a large one filled with air: other balls were the paganica and the harpastum. (2) Pila vitrea, a glass globe. (3) A dummy made to roughly imitate the human form.

Pilaster, It. A square pillar on a wall, partly embedded in it, one-fourth or one-fifth of its thickness projecting.

Pile. (1) Her. One of the ordinaries, in form like a wedge. (2) An arrow used in hunting, with a round knob below the head, to prevent it penetrating too far. (3) The nap or surface on velvet.

Pileatus, R. One who wears the pileus, or skull-cap of felt; it was specially worn by the seafaring classes, and also by the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux).

Pilentum, R. A state carriage in which the Roman ladies rode when attending any ceremony, whereas for purposes of recreation or for visiting they made use of the carpentum or the harmamaxa.

Pileolus, R. Diminutive of Pileus; it was a small felt skull-cap which hardly covered the top of the head.

Pileus, Pileum, R. (πῖλος, felt). A kind of close-fitting felt cap worn more particularly by the seafaring classes. The pileus varied in form amongst the different nations by whom it was adopted; it was worn exclusively by men. The most familiar form of the pileus, in art, is the Phrygian bonnet, or cap of liberty. (Cf. Petasus.)

Pillar Dollars are Spanish silver coins, stamped on the obverse with the royal arms of Spain supported by two columns.

Pillion, O. E. A soft pad-saddle with a footrest, for a woman or child to ride on behind a man.

Pillow or Head-stool, Egyp. A kind of rest for the head, made sometimes of stone (onyx, alabaster, or sandstone), but more generally of wood, and used by the Egyptians to support and raise the head during sleep. In form it was a half-cylinder, and the base was more or less raised above the ground. This kind of pillow is still in use at the present day among various peoples, particularly the Nubians, the Japanese, and the Ashantees of Western Africa.

Pillow-beres, O. E. Pillow-cases. They were at all times an object of rich ornamentation.

Pillow Lace. Lace worked by hand, by throwing bobbins upon a cushion or pillow. (See Lace.)

Pilum, R. A javelin; the missile weapon of the Roman infantry, but used likewise as a pike for charging the enemy. It was a thick strong weapon, 6 feet 3 inches in length, half of wood and half of iron, with a barbed head of 9 inches of solid iron. The term also denotes a heavy pestle for bruising things in a mortar.

Pilus, Med. Lat. (Fr. pieu). A pointed club or javelin.

Pina, Sp. An amalgam of silver.

Pinacotheca, Gr. and R. (πινακο-θήκη). A picture-gallery, one of the ordinary adjuncts to Greek or Roman houses of wealthy private persons.

Pinaculum, Gr. and R. (a ridge or crest). A roof terminating in a ridge, the ordinary covering for a temple, whereas private houses had a flat roof.

Pinchbeck. An alloy of 85 per cent. copper or brass, and 15 per cent. zinc; named after its inventor. It is sometimes called tomback.

Pindaric. Of verses, irregular in metre; like the verses of the lyric poet Pindar.

Pingle Pan, Scotch. A small tin ladle used for mixing children’s food.

Pink Madder. (See Madder.)

Pinking. Stamping out borders and edges upon textile fabrics with a cutting instrument.

Pinks (Fr. stil de grain). These are water-colour pigments of a yellow or greenish-yellow colour produced from the precipitation of vegetable juices, such as saffron, aloes, buckthorn-berries, broom-flowers, &c., upon chalk or whiting. They are Italian pink, sometimes called yellow lake; brown pink, rose pink, and Dutch pink.

Pinna, R. (lit. a wing). (1) The top of an embattled wall, the battlements. (2) The blade of a rudder.

Pinnacle, Arch. A small spire, generally with four sides and ornamented; it is usually placed on the tops of buttresses, both external and internal.

Pins. Metal pins were introduced into this country from France in 1543, previous to which ladies were accustomed to fasten their dresses with skewers of box-wood, ivory, or bone.

Pipe. A musical wind instrument, represented in the 14th century, in Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes, as used with the TABOR to accompany mountebanks, &c. (See also Aulos, Pito, &c.)

Pipe-clay. An oily clay found in large quantities in Devonshire; used for moulding earthenware, but chiefly for tobacco-pipes.

Piriform, Arch. Pear-shaped. The term is applied to roofs domed in the form of a pear; the Baptistery of Parma may be cited as an example.

Pirogue. An Indian canoe, hollowed out of a solid tree.

Piscina, R. (piscis, a fish). (1) A fishpond, an indispensable appendage to the villa of a wealthy Roman. (2) A large uncovered tank in the open air used as a swimming-bath, and distinct from the baptisterium, which was under cover. (3) Piscina limaria was the reservoir of an aqueduct. In mediæval archæology the name was given (1) to credence-tables; (2) to baptisteries. (See Baptisterium, Natatorium.)

Pisé-work. A method of constructing very durable walls of blocks of kneaded earth. It was probably suggested by the building processes of the ants, and Pliny calls such walls formaciæ.

Pistillum, Pistillus, R. A pestle for a mortar.

Pistol. Invented at Pistoia in Tuscany. (See Pallas Armata, Sir James Turner, 1670; Meyrick, iii. 76.)

Pistole. A Spanish gold coin, worth about 16s.; the fourth of a doubloon.

Pistolese, It. A long dagger or stabbing-knife of Pistoia.

Pistrina, Pistrinum, R. (pistor, a miller). Originally this term denoted a mill for grinding grain; later on it was used exclusively to denote a house of correction for slaves who had to turn the mill. The work was of a most laborious kind.

Pistris, Pistrix, R. (πίστρις). (1) A marine monster, representations of which are to be seen on the walls of several houses at Pompeii (in the legend of Theseus and Andromeda). It is always represented with the head of a dragon, and the fins and tail of a fish; and was adopted in early Christian art for the fish that swallowed Jonah. (2) A military engine.

Pitch-blende. An ore used in porcelain painting. It produces a fine orange colour; also a black.

Pitch-pipe. A sort of whistle for ascertaining the pitch of a musical instrument, or for setting the key-note.

Pithos, R. (πίθος). A large earthenware jar with a narrow neck, used in ancient and modern times for storing wine and oil. It appears upon a bas-relief in the Villa Albani as the tub of Diogenes.

Pito, Sp. A Mexican name for the pipe of the Aztecs, which resembled a flageolet. It was made of red clay, and had four finger-holes. The young man selected as a victim at the sacrifice to Tezcatlepoca was carefully instructed before his death in the art of playing this instrument, and as he ascended the temple or TEOCALLI to the sacrifice, he broke a flute upon each of the steps of the temple.

Piu, It. Rather; used in Music, as piu forté, rather loud.

Pix or Pyx, Chr. (πυξίς). (1) A box to keep the unconsecrated altar breads in. It was generally circular, with a pointed cover, and richly enamelled. (2) The vessel in which the holy eucharist was suspended over the altar. (3) The box kept at the British Mint to contain the coins selected to be tried in assay, to ascertain whether the coinage is of the standard purity. (See Ciborium [3], Monstrance, &c.)

Pizzicato (It.). An expression in music; playing on the violin like a harp.

Placage, Fr. Veneering or inlaying.

Plack, Scotch. A small copper coin formerly current in Scotland; equal to the third of an English penny.

Placket, O. E. A petticoat. (Shakspeare.)

Plafond, Plafonner, Fr. Arch. (plat-fond). The French term for a ceiling, often the subject of elaborate architectural, carved, or painted decoration. The peculiar foreshortened perspective characteristic of figure-pictures on a ceiling is hence described as “plafonné;” and it is generally said of a painter distinguished for bold foreshortenings, “Il excelle à plafonner.” Plafonds of different periods are found of wood, lath and plaster, or stone.

Plaga, R. A hunting-net, the diminutive of which is plagula (small net); the latter term also denotes the curtains hung round a couch or litter, a width of cloth, a strip of paper, &c.

Plagula. (See Plaga.)

Planchet. A name for the smooth coin prepared for stamping before it has passed under the die.

Planeta. A robe worn by priests, resembling the Dalmatic (see Fig. [236]) worn by deacons. (See Chasuble.)

Planetary Machine. (See Orrery.)

Planisphere. A projection of the sphere and its various circles on a plane surface.

Fig. 546. Planta Genista.

Planta Genista, Her. The broom-plant badge of the Plantagenets.

Plaque, Fr. A flat plate of metal or painted china. Limoges enamels of the 15th century are described as plaques.

Plasm. A mould or matrix.

Plasma. A green transparent chalcedony found in India and China.

Plaster of Paris. The cement or plaster obtained from gypsum, originally prepared near Paris. It is usually sold in the form of white powder, and is largely used in the arts. Verrocchio (1435–1488) is said to have been the first sculptor to cast moulds in plaster of Paris. (See Gypsum.)

Plastic Art. Sculpture; opposed to Graphic Art, or painting, &c.

Plastron, Fr. A fencing-pad to cover the body. Plastron-de-fer was an iron breastplate worn under the hauberk, especially when the latter was of ringed mail.

Plat-band. (See Tænia.)

Plata, Sp. Silver (hence our plate).

Plate, Her. A silver roundle.

Plate armour, consisting entirely of metal plates, became general during the 15th century.

Plate-glass. A superior kind of thick glass, used chiefly for mirrors and for large windows.

Plate-jack, O. E. Coat armour.

Plate-marks. (See Hall-marks.)

Plate-paper is a thick soft paper expressly prepared for printing engravings upon.

Platea, Gr. and R. (πλατεῖα, i. e. broad). A wide fine street in a city, in contradistinction to a small street called angiportus, which means literally a narrow street.

Platen. Of a printing-press, the flat part by which the impression is made.

Plateresca, Sp. A name given to goldsmiths’ work of the 14th and 15th centuries, which reflected the complicated and delicate forms of ornament applied in the pointed architecture of the period.

Plates are properly illustrations taken from copper or steel engravings; cuts are impressions from wood-blocks.

Platina. Twisted silver wire.

Platina Yellow. Two pigments, one of a pale yellow colour, the other resembling cadmium yellow, are sold under this name.

Plating is the art of covering metals with a thin surface of silver or gold for ornament.

Platinum (Sp. plata, silver). A white metal exceedingly ductile, malleable, and difficult of fusion. It is found in the Ural Mountains and in South America, and is much used in goldsmiths’ work in Russia.

Plaustrum, R. (plaudo, to rumble). A two-wheeled cart drawn by two oxen, and used for conveying agricultural produce; plaustrum majus was a much larger cart mounted on four wheels. It had a long pole projecting behind, on which blocks of stone or other cargo could be balanced on planks attached. The wheels (tympana) were of solid wood nearly a foot in thickness, and their creaking was heard to a great distance (hence the name).

Plectrum or Plektron, Gr. and R. (from πλήσσειν, to strike). A short stem of ivory or metal pointed at both ends, used to strike the chords of the lyre, the barbiton, the cithara, and some other stringed instruments.

Plemochoê, Gr. and R. (πλημο-χοὴ, i. e. that pours a flood). A vessel in the shape of a top; it resembled the cotylê.

Plenitude, Her. Said of the moon when in full.

Plenshing-nail. A large nail for fastening the planks of floors to the joists.

Plethron, Gr. The basis of land measurement, being 100 feet square, or 10,000 square feet. As a lineal measure, 100 feet, or about 101 of English measurement.

Plinth, Arch. (πλίνθος). Lit. a tile or brick, and thence the lower projecting base of a column, pedestal, or wall, which resembles a strong square tile placed beneath the last torus at the base of a column. (See Abacus.)

Plinthium, R. (πλινθίον). A sun-dial, so called because its divisions were marked on a flat surface (πλίνθος).

Plocage, Fr. Carding-wool.

Plombage. Lead work.

Plombagine. Plumbago.

Plostellum. Diminutive of Plaustrum.

Ploughs are mentioned in Deuteronomy (1451 B.C.), and represented on Egyptian sculptures of still earlier date. The Roman plough of the date of our era is described by Virgil.

Plough Monday was the name given by our ancestors to the first Monday after the Epiphany, the return to labour after the Christmas holiday.

Plumæ, R. (lit. feathers). The scales of armour, arranged to imitate feathers. (See Penna.)

Plumarium Opus. (See Opus P.)

Plumbago. A carburet of iron commonly known as black-lead, also called Graphite, used for making crucibles and black-lead pencils.

Plumbeous Wares. Lead-glazed, by the addition of an oxide of lead in the preparation of the glaze. (See Pottery.)

Plumbum, R. (lit. lead). A general term denoting anything that is made of lead, such as a lead pipe, a slinger’s bullet, &c.

Fig. 547. Pluteus.

Pluteus, R. A general term including anything made of boards adapted to afford a support, cover, passage, &c.; and thus sometimes used as a synonym for musculus or protective shed. Fig. [547], a pluteus upon three wheels, was used for protecting soldiers conducting an approach at the foot of a rampart. These plutei were covered with the skins of animals, which were wetted to protect the machines from fire; and helped to deaden the shock of missiles.

Plynteria, Gr. (πλυντήρια, washing). Festivals held at Athens in honour of Athena Aglauros, in which the statue of the goddess was stripped of its garments and ornaments and washed. It was carefully concealed in the mean time, and the city being thus in a manner deprived of its protecting divinity, the day was considered an ill-omened one.

Pnigeus, R. (πνιγεὺς, lit. a choker). A kind of funnel employed to stop or repress the air in a hydraulic organ.

Pnyx, Gr. The site in Athens where the Ecclesiæ were held. It was a semicircular rising ground, with an area of 12,000 square yards, levelled with a pavement of large stones, and surrounded by a wall, behind which was the Bema or platform from which speakers addressed the people.

Pocillum or Poculum, R. Any cup or glass for drinking, distinct from the Crater for mixing, and the Cyathus for ladling the wine. (Cf. Pokal.)

Poddisoy, Padusoy, O. E. (Fr. pou de soie). A rich plain silk.

Podera, Gr. (ποδήρης, i. e. reaching to the feet). A rich linen dress worn by Greek women, the edges of which were indented.

Fig. 548. Podium running round a sepulchral chamber.

Podium, Arch. (πόδιον, lit. a small foot). A low wall or basement, generally with a plinth and cornice, running round a room or in front of a building, forming a sort of shelf or seat. Fig. [548] shows the podium of a sepulchral chamber. In an amphitheatre, podium was the name for a raised basement which ran like a high enclosure round the whole circumference of the arena. Lastly, the term is sometimes used as a synonym for a socle, and a console or bracket.

Poële, Fr. (lit. a frying-pan). A square shield with a raised edge and a grating on it, which resembled the German baking-dish. In a tournament, the joust “à la poële” was the most dangerous of all, as the champions fought bare-headed and without armour. Their horses were blindfolded, and a coffin was brought into the course before the combat commenced. (Meyrick.)

Fig. 549. Point Lace à bride picotée.

Point Lace à bride picotée ground. This lace is made with the needle (see Needle Point), some parts of the pattern only slightly raised in relief being united by stitches called bride picotée. (Fig. [549].)

Point of Sight. The principal vanishing point, in perspective, to which the horizontal lines converge.

Pointed or Christian Architecture is generally called Gothic; and is a general term, descriptive of all the styles that have prevailed subsequent to the introduction of the pointed arch, commencing with the 11th century.

Pointel. The mediæval stylus or graphium (q.v.).

Points. In the 15th and 16th centuries, before the introduction of buttons, the different parts of dress were fastened with ribands, having ornamental points or metal tags at the end. (See Fig. [559].)

Poitrine, Fr. A breastplate for man or horse.

Fig. 550. Pokal, or German Tankard.

Pokal, Germ. (Lat. poculum). A drinking-cup. (Fig. [550].)

Poke, O. E. A bag; modern pocket.

Poker Pictures. Drawings burned upon wood with hot irons; much patronized in the 18th century.

Pol, Edepol, R. A familiar oath or adjuration especially employed by the Roman women; it was an abbreviation of By Pollux!

Polariscope. An instrument for exhibiting the polarization of light.

Pole-axe. A weapon of the 15th century, combining a hatchet, a pike, and a serrated hammer. Used principally by cavalry.

Poleyns, Fr. (See Genouillières.)

Pollubrum and Polubrum, R. An old term for which there was substituted later on malluvium, aquimanale, aquiminarium, trulleum; it was a kind of basin for washing the hands, the χέρνιψ, χερόνιπτρον of the Greeks.

Polos, Gr. A kind of sun-dial. (See Horologium.)

Polyandrion, Chr. (Gr. πολυ-άνδριον). A common sepulchre in which more than four bodies were buried. (See Loculus.)

Polychord. An instrument for application to the pianoforte for coupling together the strings of two octave notes.

Polychromy. Colouring statuary, bas-reliefs, and architecture; to be distinguished from forming them of variously-coloured materials. This was not done by painting with an opaque colour, but a sort of staining of the surface by thin, transparent colouring matter. M. de Quincy states that the fine preservation of the surface of some antique statues, such as the Apollo Belvedere, Hercules of Glycon, and Venus de Medici, is attributable to the use of wax colouring. Stones of various colours were used to represent different parts of the figure, and in busts of the Roman emperors the dress is frequently of coloured marble, while the flesh is of white. [Consult Redford’s Ancient Sculpture.]

Polyhedron. A solid with many faces or planes.

Polyptyca, Gr. (πολύ-πτυχα). (1) Tablets, a sufficient number of which are put together to form what we now call a note-book. (2) A polyptych; a picture with several compartments. (Cf. Diptych.)

Polystyle, Arch. Surrounded by several rows of columns, as in Moorish architecture. The porticoes of a Greek temple had never more than ten columns in front (decastyle).

Fig. 551. A Silver Engraved Pomander, or Scent-box, shown open and closed.

Pomander, O. E. (from pomme d’ambre, perfume apple). A scent-box worn at the end of the hanging girdles of the 16th century. (See Pouncet-box.) (Fig. [551].) Consult an interesting monograph by R. H. Soden Smith, “Notes on Pomanders.”

Pomme, Her. A green roundle.

Pomœrium, R. (post and mœrium (murus) behind the walls). A line enclosing a town, marked out at intervals by stone pillars. When the limits of the town were extended, the pomœrium could not be changed without augury by the jus pomœrii, and, in any case, only by a town whose inhabitants had contributed to the extension of the limits of the empire.

Pompa, R. and Gr. (πομπή). A solemn procession, especially that with which the games of the circus were preceded.

Pondus, Weight, R. (pendo, to suspend). An object used for weighing, either with the balance (libra), or the steelyard (statera). The same term was also applied to a weaver’s weights; these were of stone, terra-cotta, or lead.

Fig. 552. Pons.

Pons, R. (Gr. γέφυρα). (1) A bridge; the causeway (agger) which traversed the Roman bridge was paved with large polygonal stones; on either side of it was a pathway (crepido). Fig. [552] shows the Roman bridge at St. Chamas, at the ends of which were erected triumphal arches (fornices). (See Fornix.) Pons sublicius was a wooden bridge built upon piles; pons suffragiorum, the voting-bridge over which the electors passed as they came out of the septum to cast their vote (tabella) into the urn (cista). It is probable that the Greek bridges were of wood. (2) A wharf or landing-stage by the water-side.

Poongi, Hindoo. A curious musical instrument made of a gourd, or sort of cocoa-nut, into which two pipes are inserted. It is the instrument played by the Sampuris, or snake-charmers, to the performing cobras.

Fig. 553. Pope in full pontificals.

Pope. The illustration represents the Pope of Rome in full pontificals, viz. the tiara, consisting of three crowns of gold decorated with precious stones and surmounted by a cross, and over a rochet (surplice) of silk a mantle of gold-work plentifully ornamented with pearls. The under vestment, which is long, is of hyacinth colour. The slippers are of velvet with a cross of gold, which all who wish to speak to the Pope reverently kiss. Late mediæval artists attributed this costume to the First Person of the Trinity. It is given also to St. Clement, St. Cornelius, St. Fabian, St. Gregory, St. Peter, and St. Sylvanus.

Popina, R. A tavern or refreshment-place where food was sold, in contradistinction to caupona, which was a shop for selling wine.

Popinjay, O. E. A parrot.

Poplin. A textile of modern introduction, woven of threads of silk and worsted.

Poppy, Chr. This plant, the seed of which affords a soporific oil, symbolizes, in Christian iconography, death.

Poppy Oil. A bland drying oil, obtained from poppy-seed, and used in painting. (See Oils.)

Poppy-head. A term in decorative art for the carved ornaments with which the tops of the uprights of wood-work, such as the ends of benches, backs of chairs, bedposts, &c., were crowned.

Popularia, R. The second mænianum or tier of seats in an amphitheatre.

Porcelain (Ancient Chinese) (from the Portuguese porcellana, little pigs; a name given to cowrie-shells by the early traders, and applied to porcelain, which they thought was made of them, or because it resembled the interior of a shell). A fine species of transparent earthenware, the chief component part of which is silex. (Fairholt.) The most ancient examples of porcelain in China are circular dishes with upright sides, very thick, strong, and heavy, and which invariably have the marks of one, two, or three on the bottom thus: I. II. III. The colours of these rare specimens vary. The kinds most highly prized have a brownish-yellow ground, over which is thrown a light shot sky-blue, with here and there a dash of blood-red. The Chinese say there are but a few of these specimens in the country, and that they are more than a thousand years old. (Fortune.) The first imitations of Chinese porcelain in Europe date from the 16th century, under the Medici family, and include specimens supposed to have been designed by the immediate pupils of Raffaelle. (See Raffaelle-ware.) Among the next earliest produced is that of Fulham, by Dr. Dwight, in 1671, and of St. Cloud in France about 1695.

Fig. 554. Pent-house Porch.

Porch, Arch. A structure placed in front of the door of a church or other building, and very variable in form. In the ancient basilicas the vestibule is more commonly called Narthex (q.v.). Fig. [554] shows a wooden porch also called a pent-house porch, and Fig. [555] a plan of what is called a cupola porch, from the fact that, its ground being circular, it is surmounted by a dome.

Fig. 555. Ground-plan of a Cupola Porch.

Fig. 556. Porcupine. Device of Louis XII.

Porcupine (Fr. porc epic). Hereditary device of the Valois family. The “Order of the Porcupine” was instituted in 1397 by Louis, Duke of Orleans, and abolished by Louis XII., who retained the badge (Fig. [556]), and had his cannon marked with a porcupine. In numismatics his golden “écus au porc epic” are rare and highly valued.

Porcupine-wood. The ornamental wood of a palm, the markings of which in the horizontal section resemble porcupine quills.

Porphyry. A hard stone much used in Egyptian sculpture, and for sarcophagi. It was of a fine red colour, passing into purple and green, and susceptible of a fine polish. (See also Rosso Antico.)

Porporino, It. A yellow powder substituted for gold by mediæval artists. It was compounded of quicksilver, sulphur, and tin.

Fig. 557. Porta (Gate of Perusium).

Porta, R. This term denotes the gate of a city, a large gate in any enclosure, in contradistinction to Janua and Ostium (q.v.), which denote the doors of a building. Fig. [557] shows the ancient gate of Perugia.

Portcullis. A kind of iron grating, forming an outer door, which slided up and down perpendicularly in the grooves of a bay. It was suspended by a chain, which could instantly be lowered, as occasion required, in order to prevent ingress and cut off all communication. By the Greeks and Romans they were called portæ cataractæ, and in the Middle Ages they were known as Saracenic gates.

Fig. 558. Portcullis.

Portcullis, Her. A defence for a gateway, borne as a badge by the Houses of Beaufort and Tudor. Motto, “Altera securitas.” (Fig. [558].)

Porticus, Portico, R. (porta). A long colonnade serving as a covered promenade. In an amphitheatre, the covered gallery at the top which was appropriated to women or slaves. A wooden gallery covered over with a roof, but in some cases entirely open on the side of the country. (See Templum.)

Portisculus, R. A director’s staff wielded on board ship by the officer who gave the time to the rowers to make them row in unison.

Portrait Painting. The earliest portrait on record is that of Polygnotus, painted by himself, B.C. 400. Giotto is said to have been the earliest successful portrait painter of modern times. The different sizes of portraits are the following:—

	ft.	in.		ft.	in.
Bishop’s whole length	8	10	by	5	10.
Whole length	7	10	„	4	10.
Bishop’s half-length	4	8	„	3	8.
Half-length	4	2	„	3	4.
Small half-length	3	8	„	2	10.
Kit-cat	3	0	„	2	4.
Three-quarter size	2	6	„	2	1.
Head size	2	0	„	1	8.

Portula. A wicket made in a large gate in order to give admittance into a city without opening the porta or large gate.

Posnett, O. E. A little pot.

Postergale, Chr. A Dorsal (q.v.).

Postern (posterna, a back door). A private gate in a rampart, either upon the platform or at the angle of a curtain, and opening into the ditches, whence it was possible to pass by the pas-de-souris, without being seen by the besiegers, into the covered way and the glacis.

Posticum, R. (Gr. παραθύρα). (1) A back door to a Roman house. (2) In Architecture, the part of a building opposite to the façade; the posterior façade.

Postis, R. The jamb of a door, supporting the lintel or limen superius.

Postscenium, R. The part of a Roman theatre behind the stage, in which the actors dressed, and the appointments and machines were kept.

Potichomanie. A process of ornamenting glass with coloured designs on paper, in imitation of painted porcelain.

Potter’s Clay, found in Dorsetshire and Devonshire, is used for modelling and for pottery; mixed with linseed oil, it is used as a ground in painting.

Pottery (Fayence, Terraglia), as distinct from porcelain, is formed of potter’s clay mixed with marl of argillaceous and calcareous nature, and sand, variously proportioned, and may be classed under two divisions: Soft (Fayence à pâte tendre), and Hard (Fayence à pâte dure), according to the nature of the composition or the degree of heat under which it has been fired in the kiln. What is known generally in England as earthenware is soft, while stone-ware, Queen’s ware, &c., are hard. The characteristics of the soft wares are a paste or body which may be scratched with a knife or file, and fusibility generally at the heat of a porcelain furnace. These soft wares may be again divided into four subdivisions: unglazed, lustrous, glazed, or enamelled. Among the three first of these subdivisions may be arranged almost all the ancient pottery of Egypt, Greece, Etruria, and Rome; as also the larger portion of that in general use among all nations during mediæval and modern times. The glazed wares may be again divided into silicious or glass-glazed wares, and plumbeous or lead-glazed. In these subdivisions the foundation is in all cases the same. The mixed clay or “paste” or “body” is formed by the hand or on the wheel, or impressed into moulds; then slowly dried and baked in a furnace or stove, after which, on cooling, it is in a state to receive the glaze. This is prepared by fusing sand or other silicious material with potash or soda to form a translucent glass, the composition of the glaze upon vitreous or glass-glazed wares. The addition of oxide of lead constitutes the glaze of plumbeous wares; and the further addition of the oxide of tin produces an enamel of an opaque white of great purity, which is the characteristic glazing of stanniferous or tin-glazed wares. Most of the principal seats of the manufacture of pottery, and a description of the objects manufactured, and methods used in the manufacture, will be found mentioned under their respective headings.

Poulaines, Fr. Long-toed boots and shoes, introduced in 1384. (See Cracowes.)

Pounce-paper. A kind of transparent tracing-paper, free from grease, &c.; made in Carlsruhe.

Pounced. In Engraving, dotted all over.

Pouncet-box, O. E. A perfume box, carved with open work. (See Pomander.)

Pouranamas, Hind. Very ancient books of India, which give a part of Hindoo history from the beginning of the Hindoo monarchy, or the time of the king Ellou or Ella.

Fig. 559. Pourpoint. Worn by a Venetian youth of the 16th century.

Pourpoint, Fr. A quilted doublet, worn in the 14th and 15th centuries. The illustration represents a Venetian gallant of the 16th century. (See Gambeson.)

Powder-blue is pulverized pipe-clay, a good “pounce” for transferring designs upon linen for embroidery.

Powdered, Her. (See Sémé.)

Powers, Chr. Guardian angels, usually represented bearing a staff. (See Angels.)

Præcinctio, E. (præcingo, to gird). A lobby running quite round the circle formed by the caveæ in the interior of a theatre or amphitheatre; the same term is also used to denote the passages between the tiers of seats comprised within each mænianum. According to their importance, theatres and amphitheatres were divided into two, three, and sometimes four præcinctiones.

Præfericulum, R. A metal basin without handles, used for holding sacred utensils.

Præficæ, R. Women hired as mourners at the funerals of wealthy persons.

Fig. 560. Præfurnium hypocaust.

Præfurnium, R. The mouth of a furnace placed beneath a hypocausis or heating-stove in a set of baths. Fig. [560] shows the præfurnium of a hypocausis which was drawn upon the walls of a laconicum situated near the church of St. Cecilia at Rome. (See Hypocausis.)

Fig. 561. Roman maiden wearing the toga prætexta.

Prætexta, R. A Toga with a broad purple border. It was introduced by the Etruscans, and was the costume assigned to priests and magistrates, to boys before they came of age, and to women before their marriage. (See Toga.) (Fig. [561].)

Prætorium, R. The tent of the commander-in-chief of the army; it was so called because in the earliest times of Rome the consul who commanded the army bore the title of prætor. The residence of a governor of a province was also called prætorium, and finally the name was given to any large house or palace.

Prandium, R. (prandeo, to breakfast). The midday meal, which came between breakfast (jentaculum) and dinner (cœna).

Prastura. (See Upapitha.)

Préa-koul, Hind. An upright stone or sacred boundary among the Khmers.

Préasat, Hind. The tower of the Khmers; préasat-stupaï means little tower; préasat-phradamrey, the elephant tower of the king.

Precarium, Chr. A temporary benefice granted to a layman by the Church; the holder of the benefice was, however, bound to pay the Church certain dues.

Predella, It. A ledge behind the altar of a church on which the altar-piece was placed, containing small pictures, of similar subjects to the altar-piece.

Prefericulum, R. A shallow metal bowl used in sacrifices for carrying the sacred vessels. Its shape resembled the patera.

Premier Coup. (See Prima Painting.)

Pre-Raphaelites. A modern school of painters, who, throwing aside all conventional laws and traditions in art, direct their study to the forms and colours of Nature.

Presentoir, Fr. An épergne or table-stand for flowers; made very shallow, on a tall and richly-decorated stem. A favourite subject of the goldsmith’s art in the 16th century.

Pressed Glass. Glass pressed into a mould by a machine; differing from blown glass.

Presto, It. In Music, quickly.

Priapeia, R. (πριάπεια). Festivals in honour of Priapus; they were held chiefly at Lampsacus.

Pricket. A young stag of two years, when his horns begin to sprout.

Prie-Dieu. A kneeling-desk for prayers.

Prima Painting (in French, peinture au premier coup) is a modern style directed to the avoidance of extreme finish, described in a work by Hundertpfund, “The Art of Painting restored to its Simplest and Surest Principles.”

Primary Colours. Blue, yellow, and red, from which all colours are derived.

Primero, O. E. A game at cards mentioned by Shakspeare.

Primicerii, Chr. This term had several meanings, but it was usually employed to denote the first person inscribed on a list, because the tablet on which the names were written was covered with wax; whence primicerius (from cera, wax), the first upon the wax. In cathedral churches the primicerius presided over the choir, and regulated the order and method of the ceremonies.

Priming. (See Grounds.)

Prince’s Metal or Prince Rupert’s Metal. An alloy of 72 parts of copper and 28 parts of zinc, which has a resemblance to gold.

Princedoms or Principalities, Chr. An order of Thrones of angels; usually represented in complete armour, carrying pennons. (See Fig. [24].)

Principes, R. A body of heavy-armed foot-soldiers; thus named, because, in the order of battle, they were placed first.

Principia, R. (princeps, chief, foremost). The headquarters in a Roman camp, comprising not only the tents of the general and the superior officers, but also an open space in which justice was administered and sacrifices offered to the gods; it was in the same open space that all the standards of the legion were set up.

Priory, Chr. A monastery attached, as a rule, to an abbey; there were also, however, priories which formed the head of an order. In the order of Malta each tongue comprehended several great priories.

Fig. 562. Prismatic mouldings.

Prismatic (mouldings). A kind of moulding resembling the facets of a prism (Fig. [562]), which is sometimes met with in archivolts of the Romano-Byzantine period. The same term is likewise applied to mouldings characteristic of the flamboyant style, which assume, especially in their base, the form of prisms.

Proaron, Gr. and R. (πρόαρον; ἀρύω, to draw water). A vessel of a flattened spheroid form, with two handles.

Proaulium, R. (pro, in front of). The vestibule of any building.

Prochous, Gr. (πρόχοος, i. e. thing for pouring out). A small jug for pouring liquid into a cask; it had a narrow neck, a very large handle, and a pointed mouth.

Procœton, Gr. and R. (προ-κοιτών). An antechamber or room preceding other rooms or chambers.

Prodd, O. E. A light cross-bow, used by ladies, temp. Elizabeth.

Prodomos, Arch. (πρό-δομος). The façade of a temple or building, and sometimes the porch of a church.

Profile. The side view of the human face. It is observed by Fairholt that “a face which, seen directly in front, is attractive by its rounded outline, blooming colour, and lovely smile, is often divested of its charms when seen in profile, and strikes only as far as it has an intellectual expression. Only where great symmetry exists, connected with a preponderance of the intellectual over the sensual, will a profile appear finer than the front face.”

Projectura, R. The beaver of a helmet.

Proletarii, R. The proletariate, or Roman citizens of the lowest class of the people, so called because they contributed nothing to the resources of the republic except by their offspring (proles); being, as they were, too poor to pay taxes.

Prom, Hind. An ornamented carpet in Khmer art.

Prometheia. An Athenian festival in honour of Prometheus, with a torch-race (lampadephoria).

Promulsis. The first course at a Roman dinner, arranged to stimulate the appetite; eggs were a principal ingredient, whence the proverb ab ovo usque ad mala (from first to last).

Pronaos, R. (πρό-ναος). A portico situated in front of a temple; it was open on all sides, and surrounded only by columns, which, in front, supported not only the entablature, but the pediment (fastigium).

Proper, Her. Said of a thing exhibited in its natural, or proper, colour.

Proplasma, Gr. and R. (πρό-πλασμα). A rough model or embodiment of the sculptor’s first idea, executed by him in clay.

Propnigeum, Gr. and R. The mouth of the furnace of the Hypocausis (q.v.).

Propylæa, Gr. The open court at the entrance to a sacred enclosure; e. g. an Egyptian temple, or especially the Acropolis at Athens.

Prora, R. (πρῷρα). The prow or fore-part of a ship, whence proreta, a man who stood at the ship’s head; proreus was a term also used. (See Acrostolium.)

Proscenium, R. (προ-σκήνιον). The stage in a Greek or Roman theatre; it included the whole platform comprised between the orchestra and the wall of the stage; the term was also used sometimes to denote the wall of the stage itself.

Proscenium, Mod. The ornamental frame on which the curtain hangs.

Prostylos, Gr. (πρό-στυλος). A building or temple which has a porch supported by a row of columns.

Proteleia, Gr. (προ-τέλεια). Sacrifices which were offered to Diana, Juno, the Graces, and Venus prior to the celebration of a marriage.

Fig. 563. Entrance (Prothyrum) of a Roman house.

Prothyrum, Gr. (πρό-θυρον). With the Greeks, the vestibule in front of the door of a house, where there was generally an altar of Apollo, or a statue or laurel-tree; with the Romans, the prothyrum was the corridor or passage leading from the street to the atrium (Fig. [563]).

Prototype (πρῶτον, first; τύπον, mould). The model of a plastic design; hence figuratively, a type or forerunner.

Protractor. An instrument for laying down and measuring angles upon paper.

Protypum, Gr. and R. (πρό-τυπον). A model, first model or mould for making any object in clay, such as antefixæ.

Prussian Blue. A valuable pigment of a greenish-blue colour, of great body, transparency, and permanency; a mixture of prussiate of potash and rust, or oxide of iron. (See Cyanogen.)

Prussian Brown. A deep-brown pigment, more permanent than madder.

Psaltery. A stringed instrument or kind of lyre of an oblong square shape, played with a rather large plectrum.

Pschent, Egyp. The head-dress of the ancient kings of Egypt, which should properly be called skhent, since the p only represents the article the. This head-dress is the emblem of supreme power, the symbol of dominion over the south and north. It is a diadem composed of the united crowns of the Upper and Lower Egypts.

Psephus, Gr. (ψῆφος). A round stone used by the Athenian voters to record their votes.

Pseud-iso-domum (opus). (See Opus Pseud-iso-domum.)

Fig. 564. Ground-plan of a Pseudodipteral Temple.

Pseudodipteros, Gr. and R. (ψευδο-δίπτερος). A building or temple which presents the appearance of being surrounded by a double colonnade, though it possesses only a single one, which is separated from the walls of the cella, as in the dipteral arrangement. (Fig. [564].)

Pseudoperipteros, Gr. and R. (ψευδο-περίπτερος). A building or temple which presents the appearance of being surrounded by a colonnade, although in reality it does not possess one, the columns being embedded in the walls of the cella. (See Peripteros, under which an example of this kind of temple is given.)

Pseudothyrum, Gr. and R. (ψευδό-θυρον). Literally, a false door, and thence a secret door, or door hidden by some means or other.

Pseudourbana (sc. ædificia), R. The dwelling-house of the owner of a farm, which was distinct from the buildings set apart for the farm people and the slaves, the familia rustica.

Psili, Gr. (ψιλοί). Light-armed troops, who wore skins or leather instead of metal armour, and fought generally with bows and arrows or slings.

Psychè, Fr. A cheval-glass or mirror.

Psycter, Gr. (ψυκτήρ). A metal wine-cooler, often of silver, consisting of an outer vessel to contain ice, and an inner vessel for the wine.

Pterotus, R. (πτερωτός). That which has wings or ears; an epithet applied to the drinking-cup called calix.

Puggaree, Hind. A piece of muslin worn as a turban.

Pugillares, R. Writing-tablets small enough to be held in the hand (pugillus), whence their name.

Pugio, R. (Gr. μάχαιρα). A short dagger, without a sheath, worn by officers of high rank.

Pulpitum, R. The tribune of an orator, or the chair of a professor. In a theatre the term was used to denote the part of the stage next to the orchestra. (See Proscenium.)

Pulvinar, R. (pulvinus, a cushion). A cushion or bolster, and thence a state couch or a marriage-bed.

Pulvinarium, R. (1) A room in a temple, in which was set out the pulvinar or couch for the gods at the feast of the Lectisternium. (2) See Opus Pulvinarium.

Fig. 565. Pulvinatus.

Pulvinatus, R. Having a contour similar to that of a cushion or bolster, and thence the cylinder formed by the swelling of the volute at the side of the Ionic capital. (Fig. [565].)

Pumice-stone. A kind of lava of less specific gravity than water. The dome of the mosque of St. Sophia at Constantinople is built of pumice-stone.

Punchau. (See Inti.)

Punctum, R. A vote or suffrage, because in early times each citizen, instead of laying down a tessera or tablet with his vote, passed in front of the rogator, or voting officer who had the list of candidates before him, and pricked a hole (punctum) in the tablet against the name of the candidate for whom the vote was given.

Punkahs. Swinging fans suspended from the ceilings of houses in India, often richly embroidered and decorated with feathers, brilliant insects, gold and silver, &c.

Puntilla, Sp. A narrow point-lace edging.

Pupa, R. A doll; a child’s plaything. Dolls of terra-cotta have been found in various countries. In Egypt dolls have been found, made out of wood, painted, and in perfect proportion, with glass beads on the head in imitation of hair. As a rule, the ancient dolls are made with movable joints.

Puppis, R. The poop or after-part of a vessel as opposed to the prora or prow. (See Prora.)

Purbeck-stone. A rough grey sandstone from Dorsetshire, largely used for building purposes in London.

Purim (Festivals of), Heb. Jewish festivals called Festivals of the Lots, instituted in memory of Esther, who had averted the peril with which Haman threatened the Jews; they were so called because the favourite of Ahasuerus was to have decimated the Jews by casting lots to see who should be put to death.

Purple, Gen. An insignia of authority pertaining to certain magistrates who wore purple robes or bands of purple on their attire. There were two kinds of purple, the amethyst and the Tyrian; the former was a deep violet, and obtained from a shell-fish (murex trunculus); the Tyrian was more brilliant and had a redder tinge; it was obtained from the murex brandaris.

Purple is red graduated with blue, the red predominating; red with black makes purple-black. Purple pigments are madder purple, violet mars, burnt carmine (for water-colours).

Purple Lakes and Green Lakes are made by mixing yellow lakes with blue pigments. (See Yellow Lake.)

Purple Madder. (See Madder.)

Purple-wood. A beautiful deep-coloured Brazilian wood, used for marquetry and inlaid-work, but principally for the ramrods of guns.

Purpure, Her. Purple.

Purree, Hind. A bright golden yellow pigment prepared from camel’s dung. (See Indian Yellow.)

Pursuivants. The lowest order of officers in Herald’s College; of whom there are four, called respectively Rouge Croix, Rouge Dragon, Blue Mantle, and Portcullis. In the Middle Ages these officers were attached to the households of the nobility, and bore titles generally taken from the armorial insignia of their lords.

Puteal, R. A place struck by lightning, and thus rendered sacred; in order to keep it from the tread of profane feet, it was surrounded by a low wall similar to that which protected a well (puteus); whence the name of puteal.

Fig. 566. Puteus. Manhole of an Aqueduct.

Puteus, R. (1) A well fed by a spring or an underground stream of water; (2) an opening or manhole of an aqueduct (Fig. [566]); (3) a pit for preserving grain.

Puticuli, Puticulæ, R. Common pits in which the bodies of those slaves and paupers were buried, who had not the means to pay for a funeral pyre or a private tomb.

Puttock, O. E. A base kind of hawk. (Shakspeare.)

Pyanepsia, Gr. (πυανέψια). Ancient “Beanfeasts.” Athenian festivals in honour of Apollo, instituted by Theseus after his victory over the Minotaur; they were so called because beans were cooked for the banquet in honour of the god (πύανος, a bean, and ἕψειν, to cook).

Pyat, O. E. A magpie.

Pykers, O. E. A kind of fishing-boats.

Pylon, Egyp. (πυλών). A monumental gate composed of two lofty and massive pyramidal towers, forming the entrance to the enclosure of the great Egyptian temples. The interior of a pylon contained staircases and chambers. A splendid example in full preservation is that of the temple at Esneh on the Nile.

Pyra, Gr. and R. (πυρὰ, lit. the burning-place). A funeral pile before it was set on fire, in contradistinction to rogus, a funeral pile which has been lighted. It was built in the form of an altar with four equal sides, which were frequently covered with foliage of dark leaves; and cypress-trees were placed in front of the pile. The corpse was placed on the top, in the bier (lectica) on which it had been borne to the place. (See Funeral Ceremonies.)

Pyræum, Pers. (πυρεῖον). A place in which the Persians kept the sacred fire (puros, fire). At Bactria there were seven pyræa, in honour of the seven planets.

Pyramid (Egyptian, Pi-rama, a mountain). In the hieroglyphics called Abumer, “a great tomb,” which it essentially is, or rather a great cairn over the cave tomb excavated in the live rock immediately under its apex. This sepulchral chamber having been connected with the upper world by a passage sloping downwards from the north, the graduated structure was regularly built over it, the proportions of the base to the sides being constantly preserved, and the whole forming always a perfect pyramid; so that the building could be continued during the whole lifetime of its destined tenant, and covered and closed in immediately upon his death. It is on record that from Seneferoo, the first king whose name has been found upon monuments, to the last of the Sixth Dynasty, i. e. during the whole period of the Ancient Empire, every king of Egypt built a pyramid. (Consult Vyse, Pyramids of Gezeh.)

Pyrotechny (πῦρ, fire, and τέχνη, art). The art of making fireworks. The Chinese had great skill in this art long before its introduction into Europe, and are at this day unrivalled in it. The best English work on the subject is perhaps that by G. W. Mortimer (London, 1853).

Pyrrhica, Gr. (πυρρίχη). A war-dance in great favour with the early Greeks, and frequently represented in sculptures, in which warriors brandished their weapons and went through a mock combat.

Pythia, Gr. (πύθια). (1) A priestess of Apollo at Delphi, represented seated on the sacred tripod. (See Cortina.) (2) Games instituted at Delphi in honour of Apollo, and of his killing the Pytho, the monstrous serpent born from the waters in Deucalion’s flood.

Pythoness. Synonym of Pythia (q.v.). The term was also used to denote certain sorceresses, such as the pythoness of Endor.

Pyx, or Pix Cloths. (See Corporals.)

Fig. 567. Small Ivory Pyx. Ninth Century (?).

Pyx. The word in its earliest meaning included any small box or case, and often in the Middle Ages it contained relics. Thus in the Durham treasury there was “a tooth of St. Gengulphus, good for the falling sickness, in a small ivory pyx.” The pyx used for the sacrament was usually ornamented with religious subjects, other than the incidents of the lives of saints. (Fig. [567].)

Pyxis, Gr. and R. (πυξὶς, lit. a box-wood box). A casket, trinket-box, or jewel-case.