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

S.

S, as a numeral, was used to represent 7; as an abbreviation it generally means socius or Fellow (of a society); S. P. Q. R., on Roman monuments, stands for senatus, populusque Romanus.

Sabanum, R. (σάβανον). A kind of cloth, towel, or napkin.

Sabaoth, Heb. Armies; hosts of angels. It is also written Zabaoth.

Sabatines, O. E. (1) Steel armour for the feet; 16th century. (2) Slippers, or clogs.

Sabianism. The worship of the heavenly bodies.

Sable. (1) The best and most costly brushes for painting are made from this fur. (2) In Heraldry, the colour black, represented in engraving by crossed lines. (See Fig. [375].)

Sabre, Fr. A curved sword with a broad and heavy blade.

Sabretasche, Fr. A pocket worn, suspended, from the sword-belt, by a cavalry officer.

Sac-friars. (See Saccus.)

Sacciperium, R. A large sackcloth bag. A pocket.

Saccus, R. (σάκκος). A large sack of coarse cloth for wheat, flour, &c. (2) A beggar’s wallet. (3) Chr. (Angl. sack). A coarse upper garment of sack or hair-cloth, worn by monks; hence called Sac-friars. (Cf. Sacque.)

Sacellum, R. (dimin. of sacrum). A small precinct enclosing an altar, and consecrated to a divinity. In Christian architecture, small monumental chapels within churches.

Sachem. The chief of a tribe of North American Indians.

Sackbut, O. E. (9th century). A wind instrument resembling the trombone.

Fig. 598. Sacque of the time of Louis XIV.

Sacque. Part of a lady’s dress in the reign of Louis XIV. It was a silk cloak, and hung from the shoulders, spreading over the dress to the ground. In England it was worn in part of the reign of George III. (Fig. [598].)

Sacrarium (sacrum, holy). A place in which sacred things are kept; the sacristy in a temple. In a private house a place used as a chapel or oratory.

Sacring Bell, Chr. A hand-bell rung at the elevation of the Host.

“Her eye was as bright as the merry sunlight,

When it shines on the dewy grass;

And her voice was as clear as a sacring bell,

That is rung at the holy mass.”

(See also Sanctus Bell.)

Sacristy, of a church, the apartment where the vestments and vessels are kept.

Sacro Catino, It. An extraordinary hexagonal glass dish preserved in the cathedral at Genoa, which was for a long time supposed to have been formed of a single emerald; and to have been either, “a gift from the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, or the dish which held the Paschal Lamb at the Last Supper,” &c. It was obtained in the Crusades in 1101, and was for many generations an object of superstitious reverence. Its principal interest now is in the evidence it bears to the early perfection of the art of making and colouring glass.

Sadda, Pers. (lit. a hundred gates). An abridgment of the Zend-Avesta or sacred books of the ancient Persians.

Saddle-bars. Said of small iron bars, in glazing casements, to which the lead panels are fastened.

Saddle-roof, Arch. A roof of two gables. (French, en batière.)

Safety-arch, Arch. An arch in a wall over a door or window, to keep the weight of the wall above off the lintel.

Safflower. A delicate red colour obtained from the flower of that name.

Saffron (It. zafferano). Produced from the flowers of the crocus; a yellow pigment principally used as a glazing.

Saga, R. A woman skilled in religious mysteries; and thence a witch or sorceress.

Sagaris, Orient. (σάγαρις). A two-edged axe, also called bipennis; it was used by the Amazons, Massagetæ, and Persians. (See Bipennis.)

Sagena, Gr. and R. (σαγήνη). A large fishing-net; modern seine. It was fitted with leaden weights at the bottom and corks at the top.

Sagitta, R. (1) An arrow; primitively with heads of flint, afterwards of bronze and iron. The heads of the arrows of the Greeks and Romans were oval; among other nations they were triangular and barbed, like those carried by the Sagittarius in Fig. [599]. This kind of arrow was called sagitta hasta or adunca. (2) A lancet for bleeding animals.

Fig. 599. Sagittarius.

Sagittarius, R. An archer; a sign of the zodiac, represented as a centaur. (Fig. [599].) In Christian art, a symbol of Divine vengeance.

Sagma, R. (σάγμα). A wooden pack-saddle.

Sagmarius, R. A beast of burden carrying the sagma.

Sagochlamys, R. A military cloak which combined the Roman sagus and the Greek chlamys.

Sagus or Sagum, Celt. A woollen cloak with a long nap, worn folded and fastened round the neck by a clasp, especially by soldiers on a campaign (Fig. [44]); hence saga is a sign of war, as toga is of peace. At a later period the same name was given to a kind of blouse, striped or checked in staring colours, and adorned with flowers and other ornaments, and bordered with bands of purple and gold and silver embroidery, worn by the Gauls in Artois and Flanders.

Saic, Turk. A sailing vessel common in the Levant.

Saie, O. E. A delicate serge or woollen cloth.

Saints-bell, O. E. for Sacring bell.

Salade, Sallet. A light helmet resembling the Kettle-hat (Fig. [407]), introduced from Germany in the 15th century.

Salam-stone. A name given to the blue or oriental sapphire from Ceylon.

Fig. 600. Salamander. Device of Francis I., the “Father of Letters.”

Salamander, Chr. In Christian art, a symbol of fire, and supposed to live in fire; or, according to Pliny, “to quench it as if ice were put into it.” In Heraldry it is either represented as a lizard, or as a kind of dog breathing flames. Fig. [600] is the device of Francis I. of France, with a motto implying that a good prince nourishes that which is good, and expels the bad. At the meeting of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, the king’s guard at the tournament was clothed in blue and yellow, with the salamander embroidered thereon.

Salamander’s Hair. The variety of asbestos called amianthus.

Salet, O. E. A light helmet. (See Salade.)

Salic Dances. (See Salii.)

Salient, Her. In the act of leaping or bounding, the hind-paws on the ground, both the fore-paws elevated.

Salinum, R. (sal, salt). A salt-cellar.

Saltatio, R. (salto, to dance). Dancing; applied to religious dances, gymnastic or war dances, Corybantic, Salic, Mimetic or theatrical dances, &c.

Fig. 601. Argent a saltire gules.

Saltire or Saltier, Her. An ordinary in the form of St. Andrew’s Cross. The illustration (Fig. [601]) is “argent a SALTIRE gules.”

Salutatorium. (See Receptorium.)

Salute at Sea. The English claim the right, formerly claimed by the Venetians, of being saluted first in all places, as sovereigns of the seas. The naval salute to the British flag began in the reign of King Alfred.

Sambuca, R. (σαμβύκη). (1) A stringed musical instrument, which varied in form, but resembled a harp. (2) Military. A scaling-ladder.

Sam-cloth, O. E. (needlework). A sampler. “A sam-cloth, vulgarly a sampler.”

Samit, for Exsamit (ἑξ, six; μίτοι, threads). A splendid tissue, having six threads of silk in the warp, and the weft of flat gold shreds.

Sammaron-cloth, O. E. A woven mixture of linen and hemp.

Samnites. Gladiators armed like the Samnite soldiers, with a close helmet, shield, and greaves.

Sampan. A Chinese canoe or small boat.

Sampler (Lat. exemplar). A piece of ornamental needlework, done for a sample or specimen.

Sanctus Bell, Chr. (1) A fixed bell rung at the elevation of the Host, at the words “sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Deus Sabaoth.” It was fixed outside the church, generally on the eastern gable of the nave. (See Sacring Bell.) (2) In the absence of a fixed bell, small bells carried by acolytes, often the subject of rich ornamentation, sometimes consisting of a carillon of three small bells hidden within one large one, thus blending their sounds.

Sandal. (See Cendal.)

Sandal-wood. Ornamental wood highly valued for cabinet-work; when old it becomes yellow and highly odoriferous.

Sandalium, Gr. and R. (σανδάλιον). A richly ornamented sandal worn exclusively by women.

Sandapila, R. A rough kind of bier for the poor. (See Lectica.)

Sandarac. A resin used for spirit varnishes.

Sandyx, Gr. (σάνδυξ). A Lydian tunic, of a fine and transparent texture, dyed with the juice of the sandyx, which gave it a flesh-coloured tint.

Sang-réal (Saint Graal). The Holy Grail said to have been brought to England by Joseph of Arimathea. The legend is that it is an emerald cup, or the cup used at the Last Supper, containing the real (or it may mean “royal”) Blood (sang-réel or réal).

“The cup, the cup itself, from which our Lord

Drank at the last sad supper with his own.”

(Tennyson.)

Sanglier, Her. A wild boar.

Sanguine. A deep blood colour, prepared from oxide of iron.

Sanguinolentæ (sc. ampullæ). Glass vessels found in the catacombs at Rome, containing a red sediment, ascertained by analysis to be blood; and canonically pronounced by the Roman Church to be that of the early Christian martyrs in whose tombs it has been found. (The subject is discussed at length by V. Schultze: die Katakomben, Leipzig, 1882.)

Sanhedrim, Heb. The supreme council of the Jews, which sat at Jerusalem in a circular hall, one half of which was within the temple, and the other outside. (Bosc.)

Sap-green. The only green vegetable pigment; used in water-colour painting. Obtained by evaporating the juice of the berries of the buckthorn, mixed with lime.

Sap-wood. The soft white wood immediately under the bark of a tree.

Sapphire (Syriac saphilah). The oriental sapphire from Arabia, which has been known from the earliest antiquity, was one of the stones on the breastplate of Aaron, and was dedicated to Apollo by the Greeks, by whom it was regarded as the gem of gems—the sacred stone par excellence. The sapphires from Brazil are also called oriental sapphires. The sapphires of Puy, found in a mountain in Central France, vary from the deepest to the palest blue, passing sometimes to a reddish blue or even to a yellowish green. The sapphire, although extremely hard, has been engraved by the ancients. There is a beautiful sapphire among the crown jewels of Russia, representing a draped female figure: the stone is of two tints, and the artist has skilfully used the dark tint for the woman and the light for the drapery. (L. Dieulafait.)

Sapphire, in Christian art. (See Blue.)

Saraballa, Sarabara, Gr. and R. (σαράβαλλα). Loose trousers, which reached from the waist to the instep, worn by the Parthians, Medes, and Persians.

Saraband, Sp. A slow dance derived from the Saracens; the music for sarabands, by Corelli and other old masters, is interesting. (See Chappell’s History of Music, &c.)

Saracenic Architecture. (See Alhambraic, Moorish, Moresco-Spanish.)

Sarapis, Pers. (σάραπις). The tunic of the kings of Persia; it was made of a fine purple-coloured cloth, with a white band in front embroidered with gold.

Sarcenet. A fine thin woven silk. An improved cendal, introduced in the 15th century by the Saracens of the south of Spain; hence its name. (See Cendal.)

Sarcilis, Chr. A woollen garment—not described.

Sarcoline (Gr. σὰρξ, flesh). Flesh-coloured.

Sarcolite. A stone of a rose-flesh colour.

Sarcophagus, Gen. (σαρκοφάγος; σὰρξ, flesh, and φαγεῖν, to eat). A coffin of a limestone called Lapis Assius, in which the corpse was rapidly consumed. The great sarcophagus called “of Alexander the Great,” in the British Museum, is a celebrated specimen. (See Bisomus, Quadrisomus, and Trisomus.)

Sard or Carnelian. A brownish-red variety of chalcedony.

Sard-achates. A name given by the ancients to varieties of agate, which contained layers of Sard or carnelian.

Sardonic Laughter. A distortion of the features of the dying, the closing symptom of several fatal diseases; named from the poisonous herb Sardonia.

Sard-onyx. A precious stone composed of alternate layers of carnelian and chalcedony; extensively used for gem-engraving.

Sardel, Sardine, Sardius. A precious stone mentioned in Scripture in the description of Aaron’s breastplate.

Sarissa, Gr. (σάρισσα). The longest and heaviest spear of the Greeks peculiar to the Macedonian phalanx.

Sarrazinois Carpets. Embroidered stuffs resembling tapestry, made in the 10th and 11th centuries, doubtless imitated from work by the Saracens.

Sarsen-stones. Boulders of sandstone found on the Chalk downs in Wiltshire.

Sarsnet. (See Sarcenet.)

Sartago, R. A frying-pan; in the patois of Languedoc, sartan.

Satin. This fine silk, originally imported from China, was first known in England in the 14th century. It is thicker than ordinary silk, and remarkable for its smooth glossy surface, not exhibiting the marks of the reticulations of the threads.

Satin-spar. An ornamental stone, having a soft satiny surface when polished.

Satin-wood. An ornamental yellow wood much used in cabinet-making.

Satinet. A thin kind of satin.

Saturn, Her. The black colour in the arms of sovereign princes.

Saturnalia, R. Festivals of Saturn, held on the seventh of the calends of January (14th of December), instituted by Numa. During the four or five days that this festival lasted, both public and private business was interrupted; and banquets and festivities were held, in which masters and slaves met on a temporary footing of equality. In the feasts at rustic places, the hollow statue of Saturn was filled with oil; he held a pruning knife in his hand, and his feet were surrounded with a band of wool.

Satyrs. Greek deities of the wooded plains, as the Roman fauns were of the fields. They are usually represented as the attendants of Bacchus, or the lovers of the Nymphs, with goat’s legs and horns, and human bodies covered with short hair; often with Lacinia on the neck.

Saunders’ Blue (Green) (from the French cendres’ bleu). The blue ashes of calcined lapis lazuli. (See Carbonates of Copper.)

Saurians. Animals of the lizard tribe, crocodiles, &c., antediluvian and other.

Fig. 602. Device of Charles d’Amboise, Sieur de Chaumont.

Savage-man or Wood-man, Her. A wild man, naked, or clothed in skins or leaves, and carrying a club. The illustration is the device of De Chaumont, Marshal of France (+ 1510), with the motto, “Mitem animum agresti sub tegmine scabro,” which he bore embroidered on the pennon of his company.

Savonnerie. (See Turkey-stitch.)

Saxon Blue. Sulphate of indigo used as a dye-stuff.

Saxon Gold-work of elegant design and skilful workmanship, may be attributed to the 5th and 6th centuries. The art was doubtless imported by Roman colonists. Specimens may be studied in the South Kensington Museum. (See Metallurgy.)

Scabellum, R. (dimin. from Scamnum, q.v.) (1) A stool or step to get into bed with. (2) A shoe with a castanet in the sole, with which the wearer beat time, as an accompaniment to music.

Scagliola (It. scaglia, a chip of marble). Artificial marble made of gypsum, glue, &c., of variegated colours, in imitation of marble, applied in ornamental work like stucco, but admitting a fine polish.

Scalæ, R. (scando, to climb). A ladder or staircase.

Scald, Scand. A poet or bard.

Scaldino, It. A copper.

Scale, in Music (It. scala, a ladder). (See Tones.)

Scalmus, R. (σκαλμός). The thole, or strong peg with a thong, with which an oar was attached to the side of a ship.

Scalper, Scalprum, R. (scalpo, to cut). A general term for all kinds of cutting tools, such as chisels, knives, &c.

Scalptura. Engraving in precious stones. (See Intaglio, Cameo.)

Scamnum, R. (scando, to climb). A stool for a bed or arm-chair, or a stone bench with a step.

Scandula, R. A wooden shingle used for tiles (tegulæ).

Scansoria Machina or Scansorium, R. (scando, to mount). A scaffolding, such as a tower, which enables work to be carried on at various heights from the ground.

Scantling. In Masonry, the size of a stone, in length, breadth, and thickness. In Carpentry, the dimensions of a timber in breadth and thickness only. Any piece of timber less than five inches square is called scantling.

Scapha, R. (σκάφη, i. e. dug out). A long-boat or cutter attached to a larger vessel; obviously, from the etymology, a sort of canoe in its origin; our “skiff.”

Scaphium, R. (σκάφιον). A vessel of Greek origin and of small size, and in the form of a boat (scapha), which, though used as a drinking-cup, is especially to be classed among sacrificial utensils.

Scapple. In Masonry, to reduce a stone to a straight surface, without making it smooth.

Scapulary, Chr. A part of the monastic dress, worn by both sexes over the shoulders (scapula). It is generally a narrow strip of cloth contrasting with the colour of the dress, reaching almost to the feet.

Scapus, Gr. and R. (σκᾶπος). A shaft or stem. This term is applied to several distinct things, which all, however, imply an idea of use in support of some other thing; as, for instance, the shaft of a column, which supports a capital, and occasionally an entablature; the central shaft or newel which supports the staircase of a column; the stem of a candelabrum or lamp-rest, and so on.

Fig. 603. Scarabæus, sacred.

Scarabæus (Egyp.), or sacred ateuchus, is an attribute of Phtha, and the symbol of creation. Under the name of Kheper (creator), the scarabæus was given to the soldiers in exchange for their oath of fidelity, and worn by them as a finger-ring. With wings extended (as in Fig. [603]) it is a funereal ornament.

Scarlet. (See Iodine Scarlet.)

Scarlet Ochre. (See Venetian Red.)

Scarpe, Escarpe, Her. A diminutive of a bend sinister.

Scauper. A tool used by engravers; a kind of gouge. (Angl. scooper.)

Scena, Gr. and R. (σκηνή). (1) The stage of a theatre, including not only the part so called at the present day, but the wall at the back, which was provided with three doors, one in the centre (valvæ regiæ), and two lateral ones (valvæ hospitales). (2) A double-edged axe, used in the sacrifices; one of the iron sides of this axe had the broad blade of the securis, and the other that of the dolabra. In the sense of “an axe,” scena is the contracted form of an old Latin word sacena.

Scene-painting was invented by Inigo Jones, about 1610.

Scenographia, R. (σκηνο-γραφία). The drawing of a building in perspective. A geometrical plan is called orthographia.

Sceptre, Gr. and R. (σκῆπτρον). Originally, in early antiquity, a long staff similar to the shaft of a spear, which was carried by great persons to lean on when walking. Afterwards it became the truncheon, and a weapon of offence and defence. Later on, an ornament was added to the upper end of this staff, and it became the insignia of power and authority. The ivory sceptre of the kings and consuls of Rome was surmounted by an eagle. The sceptre was an attribute of Jupiter and Juno, as sovereigns of the gods.

Schafte, O. E. (See Shaft.)

Scheele’s Green. A green pigment; an arsenite of copper; arsenite of potash mixed with sulphate of copper; used in oil and water-colours.

Scherzo, It. (playful). A lively style in music; faster than the minuet (such as in Beethoven’s Second Symphony, op. 36, in D major).

Fig. 604. Schleswig Lace.

Schleswig Lace. North Schleswig (or South Jutland) is the only province of Denmark in which there was a regular manufacture of lace. The art itself is supposed to have been introduced, in 1515, by Queen Elizabeth (sister of the Emperor Charles V., and wife of Christian II. of Denmark). About 1712 lace-making was much improved by Brabant women. The earlier specimens are all of Flemish character, made on the pillow in the same way, occasionally imitating the Mechlin ground with the pattern apparently run in with the needle. All Schleswig laces are remarkable for their fine quality and excellent workmanship. The engraving shows part of a shirt-collar of Christian IV., of a Brabant pattern to be seen in his portrait in Hampton Court Palace.

Schmeltz, Germ. Glass ornament; produced by fusing lumps of coloured glass together to imitate marble, cornelian, and other stones. (See Glass.)

Schweinfurth’s Green. A brilliant sea-green pigment.

Scimitar. (See Scymetar.)

Scimpodium, Gr. and R. (σκιμπόδιον, lit. footprop). A couch or long chair for an invalid.

Scintillant, Her. Emitting sparks. (See Fig. [342].)

Sciolist (from σκιὸς, a shadow). A man of superficial acquirements, who sees only the shadows of things.

Scioptics (σκιὰ, a shadow). The branch of the science of optics applied in the construction of the camera obscura.

Sciothericon (σκιοθηρικόν). A sun-dial.

Scipio. An official staff. (See Sceptre.)

Scirophoria. Athenian festivals held in the month Scirophorion or June.

Scirpea, R. A waggon formed of basket-work of plaited rushes (scirpus), and used principally for agricultural operations.

Scobina, R. (scabo, to scrape). A rasp for wood; distinct from lima, a file for metals.

Scobs. Shreds of ivory, metals, &c., turned off the lathe or rasp, &c.

Sconces. Brackets projecting from the wall, supporting candlesticks: originated in the 15th century, and from that date form an important branch of metallurgical art-work.

Scopæ, R. A broom made of small twigs of wood. This term survives in the Languedoc escoube.

Scopulæ, R. A little broom.

Scorpers. In wood-engraving, tools used for cutting away large spaces after outlining or engraving, so as to leave only the drawing in relief.

Scorpio, Gr. and R. (lit. a scorpion). (1) A kind of cross-bow. (2) A pyramid of stones raised for a landmark in country places.

Fig. 605. Scotia or Trochilus.

Scotia or Trochilus, Arch. (σκοτία, τροχίλος). A concave moulding employed especially in the decoration of the bases of columns or pilasters, between the fillets of the tori. In plain bases the scotiæ are smooth, and in decorated bases they are ornamented with sculptures, as shown in Fig. [605].

Scourge. (See Flagellum and Flagrum.)

Scraper. An engraver’s tool for removing Burrs (q.v.).

Screen, Chr. An open barrier of wood-work or stone enclosing the choir or chancel of a church, chapel, or tomb; generally highly enriched by carving and gilding, and the lower panels decorated with painting. (See Rood-loft.)

Scrinium, Scrinia, Chr. and R. (1) Chr. A chest which held chiefly liturgical writings; according to the writings they contained, these cases were variously distinguished as scrinia epistolarum, scrinia dispositionum, scrinia libellorum, scrinia memoriæ, scrinia sacra, &c. Scrinia were generally kept in the diaconicum or scevophylacium. (2) Cylindrical boxes or cases used for carrying volumes (i. e. rolls) and papers (cf. Hanaper). (3) Scrinia unguentaria were used to contain phials of oils and perfumes, &c., for the toilette.

Scriptorium, Chr. An apartment in large monasteries where manuscripts were transcribed.

Scripulum. (See Scrupulum.)

Scrupulum, R. (scrupus, lit. a small stone). A scruple, the smallest Roman gold coin; it weighed a third of the denarius aureus. (See Denarius.)

Scrutoire, Fr. An old way of spelling escritoire.

Scudo, It. A silver coin worth about 4s. In Rome the gold scudo is worth 65s.

Sculponeæ, R. A common kind of boot, with a wooden sole; it was worn by the familia rustica, or slaves who worked in the country.

Sculpture (from sculpo, to carve) includes all carved work, in wood, ivory, stone, marble, metal, or other material; and also those works formed in a softer material not requiring carving, such as wax or clay. It includes Statuary, carved ornament, and Glyptics or incised gems and cameos. From the practice of preparing the model in clay, sculpture is also called the plastic art. A most remarkable incident in the history of sculpture, is the fact that the most ancient specimens are carved of the hardest stones, such as basalt, granite, and porphyry; and that this work was done at a period antecedent to the introduction of steel tools. (Consult Redford’s Ancient Sculpture.)

Scumbling. The process of going over a painting with a nearly dry brush, to soften and blend the tints.

Scutage, O. E. (from scutum, a shield). A tax upon lands held by knight-service.

Scutale, R. (from scutum, i. e. shield-shaped). The hollow in the thongs of a sling in which the missile is laid.

Scutarius, Med. An esquire or shield-bearer.

Scutcheon, for Escutcheon (q.v.).

Scutella. Diminutive of Scutra (q.v.).

Scutica, Gr. and R. A whip made with a leather thong (σκυτικός).

Scutiform. Shaped like a shield.

Scutra, R. (from scutum, i. e. shield-shaped). Diminutive scutella. A square wooden tray for plates, dishes, and cups.

Scutum, R. and Egyp. The large oblong shield of the Roman infantry, in contradistinction to clipeus, a round shield. (See Shields.)

Scymetar. A sword of oriental origin, with a curved blade, very sharp.

Scyphus, Gr. and R. (σκύφος). A drinking-cup of wood or silver, of smaller capacity than the Bromias (q.v.). It was sacred to Hercules.

Seals. Ancient porcelain seals, to which the Chinese attribute an antiquity of from 1000 to 2000 years, are met with in collections; and precisely identical specimens have been found in the bogs of Ireland. They are of a peculiar white or cream-coloured porcelain, such as has not been made in China for several hundred years. It is believed that the Irish specimens must have lain buried there from a period anterior to history. (Fortune.) (See Sigillum, Rings.)

Seax. A Saxon sword.

Secco, It. Fresco-painting in secco is that kind which absorbs the colours into the plaster, and gives them a dry sunken appearance. (Fairholt.)

Second Distance. In a picture, the part of the middle distance next the foreground.

Secondary Colours. The three primary colours (containing nothing of any other colour)—blue, red, and yellow—when mixed in equal proportions produce three secondary colours:—blue and yellow produce green; blue and red, violet; and yellow and red, orange. Mixed in unequal proportions they produce what are called Tones (q.v.).

Secos, Egyp. (σηκός). The name for the Naos in an Egyptian temple.

Secretarium, Chr. (secretum, secret). A sacristy (not a tabernacle, as maintained by some authors) in the apse, at the side of the altar. In the ancient basilicas there were two such recesses, one on each side of the altar.

Sectilis. (See Pavimentum.)

Securicula (diminutive of securis). In Architecture, a dove-tail mortise.

Securis, R. (seco, to cut). An axe or hatchet of any kind; but esp. that borne by the lictors in the Fasces. (See Dolabra, Bipennis, Fascis, &c.)

Securis Dannica, Med. (See Bipennis.)

Secutores, R. Gladiators appointed to fight with the Retiarii (whom they were constantly pursuing round the circus); or those who replaced others killed were so called.

Sedes, Sedile (dimin. sedicula). Any kind of seat.

Sedilia. (1) R. The rows of seats in the amphitheatre. (2) Chr. In a Catholic church, the stone seats on the south side of the altar, for the use of the clergy in the intervals of the services.

Segestrium, R. (lit. of straw). A coarse wrapper made of skins or straw-matting.

Segmenta, R. (seco, to cut off). Strips of rich cloth or tissues of gold or silver worn as a border to the dresses of wealthy Roman ladies.

Segno. In Music, a direction to repeat:—al segno, as far as the sign; dal segno, from the sign.

Segreant, Her. A griffin or wyvern rampant. (See Fig. [369].)

Fig. 606. Sejant.

Sejant, Her. Sitting:—of a lion, at rest with his fore-legs stretched on the ground, but awake, and his head and tail elevated.

Fig. 607. Sejant Rampant.

Sejant Rampant. Seated like a cat, with his fore-legs erect.

Sejugis, R. (sex, six, and jungo, to join). A chariot drawn by six horses abreast.

Seliquastrum, Chr. A seat of highly archaic character met with on certain monuments of Christian art.

Sella, R. (sedeo, to sit). A low seat without back, a stool; sella curulis, a curule chair; its feet were of ivory, and took the form of an X, and it folded like a camp-stool; sella castrensis, a real camp-stool; sella balnearis, a bath-seat, we possess a specimen in ancient red marble of the greatest beauty, another name for it was sella pertusa; sella tonsoria, a barber’s chair. Again, the term sella was applied to a sedan-chair (sella portatoria, gestatoria, fertoria), and a pack-saddle for beasts of burden (sella bajulatoria), and to a riding-saddle (sella equestris).

Sellaria, R. A large reception-room, so called because it was furnished with a number of sellæ.

Sellaris (sc. equus), R. A saddle horse.

Sellula, R. (dimin. of Sella). A small sedan-chair.

Sembella, R. A nominal subdivision of the denarius, of which it was worth a twentieth part, or about fivepence.

Fig. 608. Fleur-de-lis (semée). Ancient France.

Semée or Aspersed, Her. Sown broadcast, or scattered, without any fixed number, over the field. (Fig. [608].)

Sementivæ, R. (sementis, a sowing). A festival which took place at seed-time in honour of Ceres and Tellus.

Semi- (ἡμι-), as an adjunct, is the Greek form of demi = half.

Semibreve. In Music, half a breve; the longest note in modern music, marked

.

Semicinctium, R. (semi, half, and cingo, to gird). A short kilt worn by men when going through violent exercises or severe bodily labour; it reached from the waist to the knees.

Semidiapason. In Music, an octave lessened by a semitone.

Semiquaver. A sixteenth of a semibreve—

.

Semis, Semissis. The half of an As, or six ounces; hence Semisses = six per cent. interest.

Semita, R. (se and meo, i. e. going aside). A pathway in a field; a narrow lane in a town.

Semitarge, Med. Fr. A scimitar. (See Targe.)

Semitone. In Music; the smallest interval in modern music; the ancients had quarter-tones (q.v.).

Semi-uncials. During the 6th and 7th centuries, a transition style of illuminating prevailed, the letters of which have been termed semi-uncials. This, in a further transition, became more like the old Roman cursive, which was called then minuscule; it began to prevail over uncials about the 8th century, and in the 10th its use was established. (See Uncial Letters.)

Semuncia. Half an ounce.

Senaculum, R. A place in which the senate used to meet. There were at Rome three senacula; one between the Capitol and the Forum, a second near the Porta Capena, and a third near the temple of Bellona.

Senio, R. The number six inscribed on the face of dice, and thence the throw when all the sixes turned up.

Sentina, R. The well or hold of a ship.

Sentinaculum, R. A ship’s pump.

Sepia. A warm, brown, water-colour pigment obtained from the ink-bag of the cuttlefish. (See Roman Sepia.)

Sept-foil, Chr. A figure of seven foils, typical of the seven sacraments of the Church, and other mysteries of religion linked to the number seven.

Septilateral. Having seven sides.

Septimontium, R. A festival of the seven hills, celebrated at Rome in December.

Septizonium, Septemzonium, R. A building of great magnificence, which had seven stories of columns one above the other; each set supported an entablature and cornice running right round the building (zona), whence the name Septizonium.

Septum, R. and Chr. (sepio, to fence in). In general, any enclosure shut in by walls, palisades, barriers, hedges, &c. In Christian archæology, septum was the name given to a barrier, which, in the ancient Roman basilicas, separated the nave from the absides.

Septunx, R. (septem and uncia). Seven-twelfths of any quantity, whatever its nature.

Sepulchre, Chr. The Holy Sepulchre is a favourite subject of architectural sculpture, in cathedrals and continental churches. It is generally found on the north side of the chancel near the altar.

Sepulcrum, R. (sepelio, to bury). A sepulchre, the general term for any kind of tomb in which the dead were buried, or in which their ashes were deposited in urns. Sepulcrum familiare, a sepulchre erected for a single person, or for the members of a family. The sepulcrum commune was a tomb held in common by a number of persons belonging either to a single family, or several families, or a group of individuals, such as that given in Fig. [182], which represents the tomb of the freedmen of Octavia.

Sequin (It. zecchino). A gold coin in Italy, worth about 9s. 6d.; and in Turkey worth about 3s. 6d.

Sera, R. (sero, to fasten). A padlock or movable lock to a door.

Serapeum, Egyp. (σαραπεῖον). A general term for sepulchral monuments in Egypt, but more especially that of Memphis. (Bosc.)

Seraph; pl. Seraphim, Heb. (See Angels, Cherubim.) “They are usually represented with wings and a flaming heart, to typify spiritual emotion and divine affection; or covered all over with eyes, to denote their knowledge of all human events as counsellors of the Most High. The Seraph’s head in Heraldry, is usually delineated with six wings, two above and two below, which cross each other, and one on each side of the head.” (Fairholt.)

Serges, Chr. Fr. The large wax candles used in churches. They are often covered with texts and devices.

Seria, R. An earthenware vessel used chiefly for holding wine and oil; it was larger than the amphora, and smaller than the dolium.

Serpent. A musical wind instrument, of a powerful bass; invented by a French priest at Auxerre in 1590.

Serpent. (1) In Christian archæology an emblem of the principle of evil; the Virgin Mary is frequently represented trampling on the head of the serpent. It is especially a symbol of cunning, lying, and envy. (2) Generally. The serpent with its tail in its mouth describes a circle which is the symbol of eternity. In Classic Art it is an attribute of Æsculapius, and of Apollo; and a symbol of the Genius Loci (esp. of temples, &c.).

Serpentine Verses begin and end with the same word:

“Ambo florentes ætatibus, Arcades ambo.”

Serrated. Having an edge like the teeth of a saw (serra).

Set-offs, Arch. The mouldings and slopes on buttresses, dividing them into stages.

Setting drawings in pencil or crayon is done by simply passing them through a dish of milk, or by washing the surface with a weak solution of isinglass.

Severey, Arch. A bay, or compartment in a vaulted ceiling.

Fig. 609. Sèvres Vase, with jewelled ornament.

Sèvres Porcelain. The celebrated manufactory at Sèvres was established in 1756. Soon afterwards it became the property of the king, Louis XV., and was much patronized both by him and Madame de Pompadour. Some of the first artists of France were employed to decorate the plaques and vases, and the productions of this factory are more highly prized than any others in the world. In 1870 three jardinières were sold by auction in London for over 10,000l. The finest colours of this porcelain were the bleu du roi and the rose de Pompadour.

Sewer. (See Cloaca.)

Sextans, R. (sextus, sixth). A copper coin worth the tenth of an as, in weight about two ounces (unciæ).

Sextant. The sixth part of a circle; an arc of 60 degrees.

Sextarius, R. (sextus). A measure of capacity used for liquids, grain, &c.; it held the tenth of a Congius (q.v.).

Sextertius, R. A coin originally of silver, and afterwards of fine copper (aurichalcum); it was worth two ases and a half.

Sextula, R. The sixth part of the ounce (uncia); the smallest denomination of Roman money.

Sforzato (It.). In Music; with force, louder than the rest.

Sfregazzi or Sfregature, It. By this term is meant a peculiar thin kind of glazing, which is executed by dipping the finger into the colour, and drawing it once lightly and evenly along the part of the picture on which it is to be applied—such as the shade on the cheek, the limbs, &c., or wherever it is wished to lay a soft thin shadow. (Consult Mrs. Merrifield, Ancient Practice of Painting, vol. ii. p. 879.)

Sgraffito, It. (lit. scratched). A method of painting on stucco, in which a ground of dark stucco is covered with a coat of white, and the design is formed by scraping this away for the shadows. (Consult an article by Mr. Alan Cole in the House Furnisher and Decorator, May 10, 1873.)

Fig. 610. Shackle.

Shackle and Padlock, Her. A badge of the Yorkist party during the wars of the Roses; called also a Fetter-lock.

Shades. (See Umbræ.)

Shaft, Arch. The part of the column comprised between the base and the capital.

Shaft, O. E. The May-pole. May-poles seem to have existed in most villages until the Civil War. They were abolished by an ordinance of the Long Parliament, April 6, 1644, as heathenish vanities “generally abused to superstition and wickednesse.”

Shaftman, O. E. A measure roughly six inches; “the measure of the fist with the thumb set up.” (Ray, 1674.)

Shagreen. A grained leather prepared from the skin of a species of shark, and stained green. A close imitation is made from horses’ or asses’ skins, in Russia, and dyed red, blue, or black.

Shalm or Shawm. A musical instrument, a pipe with a reed in the mouth-hole.

Shamrock, Her. A trefoil plant or leaf, the badge of Ireland.

Shard, O. E. A piece of broken pottery. (It has other meanings. Consult Halliwell.)

Shay-le, Chin. A relic of Buddha.

Fig. 611. Sheaf. Device of Alphonso d’Avalos.

Sheaf. (1) A bundle of ripe corn bound up in the field; the device assumed by Alfonso d’Avalos, when he was made captain-general of the army of Charles V., with the motto implying incessant devotion to his work,—that, as soon as one harvest is reaped, its successor must be sown. (2) A bunch of twenty-four arrows, enough to fill a quiver.

Sheep. In Christian art, the twelve apostles occur in early mosaics as twelve sheep, and our Lord in the midst as their Shepherd.

Shekel. A Jewish coin, value about 2s. 6d.

Shell, Chr. In Gallic as in Christian tombs shells are of frequent occurrence; there is no doubt that they symbolize the resurrection, the body of man being looked upon as a shell which he leaves behind him at death. Different kinds of shell are met with, but that of most frequent occurrence is the common snail-shell (helix pomatia). (See Escallop.)

Shell-cameos. Cameos carved on shells. These are certain conch shells or strombs, the substance of which consists of two distinct layers of different colours. The black conch offers the most decided contrast in the colours.

Shell-lac. Crude lac-resin melted into plates or shales. (See Lac.)

Shenti, Egyp. A short pair of drawers, fastened round the hips by a belt, worn by the ancient Egyptians.

Shepherd’s Crook. (See Pedum.)

Shepherds. (See Hycsos.)

Shingles. Wooden tiles; frequently used for church spires.

Ship. A symbol of the Church. (See Navette.)

Shoes. The shoes worn by the Greeks generally reached to the middle of the leg; the Romans had the calceus and the solea or sandal; the former was worn with the toga on ordinary occasions; the sandal on a journey or at a feast; but it was considered effeminate to appear in public with them. Black shoes were worn by the citizens of ordinary rank (see Atramentum, Chalcanthum), and white ones (sometimes red) by the women; on ceremonial occasions the magistrates wore red shoes. Patricians and their children wore a crescent shoe-buckle (see Luna). Slaves went barefooted. The Jews had shoes of leather, wood, &c., tied with thongs passed under the soles of the feet; to “untie the latchets” of a man’s shoes was a sign of deep subservience. In ancient as in modern times the Oriental peoples put off their shoes as we uncover the head. (Consult Herbert Spencer on Ceremonies.)

Shop. (See Taberna.)

Fig. 612. Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral. 13th century.

Shrine. A repository for relics; either fixed, as a tomb; or movable, as a feretory. (See Fig. [307].) The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral is one of the most celebrated and costly in the world. (Fig. [612].)

Sibina, Sibyna, Gr. and R. (σιβύνη). A kind of boar-spear employed in hunting.

Sibylline (Books), R. The Sibylline books were a series of oracles of the destiny of the Roman Empire; they were three in number, and were placed by Tarquin in a vault of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and were consulted in cases of difficulty by an order of the senate. They perished in 670 A.U.C., when the Capitol was burnt. A set of Sibylline oracles in existence, which predict very clearly the establishment of the Christian religion, have been ascertained to be a forgery of the 2nd century of the Christian era.

Sibyls, Gr. and R. (Σίβυλλα). Prophetesses of antiquity recognized by the ancient Christian Church, and a common object of symbolical ecclesiastical sculpture, with reference to their foreknowledge of the fulfilment of inspired prophecy; they are twelve in number, having each a proper emblem. (Cf. Smith and Cheetham.)

Sica, R. (dimin. sicilla). A curved dagger or scimitar; distinct from Pugio, a straight dagger. It was the weapon preferred by thieves and assassins on account of the convenience of its shape for concealment. (From this word our English sickle is derived.)

Siccative. A synonym for Drying (q.v.).

Sicilis, R. A sickle.

Sienite. A statuary marble from Syene (Assouan) on the Nile.

Sienna, Terra di Sienna. A brown pigment. (See Ochres.)

Sigilla, R. (dimin. of signum, an image), (1) A seal or signet. (2) Small sculptured or moulded bosses, used to decorate vases or architecture. (3) Small statuettes, called also Sigillaria.

Sigillaria, R. (1) The last days of the festival of the Saturnalia, when sigilla, or statuettes of gold and silver or terra-cotta, were offered to Saturn, and amongst the people, as presents to each other.

Sigillatus, R. Ornamented or decorated with sigilla. (See Sigillum.)

Sigla, It. (contraction of sigilla). A conventional sign used instead of a word or phrase; such as = for equal to, and + for plus; A.U.C. for ab urbe conditâ, &c.

Sigma, R. A semicircular couch, so called because it assumed the form of the Greek Σ, which was originally written like our C. Hence, the seat which ran round the walls of the Piscina in a bath. (See Stibadium.)

Signa Militaria. (See Ensigns.)

Signature, in printing, is a letter put at the bottom of the first page in every sheet, as a direction to the binder in collating them.

Signets. (See Rings.)

Signinum (opus), R. A kind of concrete for floorings, invented at Signia, and formed of broken tiles consolidated with mortar, and levelled with a pavior’s beetle.

Signum, R. A general term for any kind of sign or mark by which anything can be recognized; such as an image or figure, the intaglio on a ring, the sign of a shop, or a military standard or ensign (signa militaria), as represented in Fig. [665].

Fig. 613. Wall of Silex.

Silex, R. In general a flint or flint-stone, and thence, by extension, any kind of hard stone hewn into polygonal blocks, as shown in Fig. [613].

Silhouette, Fr. A profile portrait, or representation of the shape contained in the outline of an object, with no attempt to fill in the parts.

Silicernium, Gr. and R. A funeral feast in honour of the dead.

Silicious Wares. (See Pottery.)

Sill or Cill of a window or door. The Limen Inferius (q.v.).

Fig. 614. Silver-gilt dish and ewer; the property of St. John’s College, Cambridge. (Work of the late 17th century.)

Silver. The history of working in silver is identical with that of Goldsmiths’ work in general. (See Gold.) Pollen remarks that though Phidias and his contemporaries made great statues of gold, many artists who devoted themselves mainly and altogether to working in the precious metals executed their best work in silver. Silver was also largely used for the surfaces of mirrors, which were hung on the walls of temples. The best collection of antique silver plate was found at Hildesheim, in Germany, in 1869, and is now in the Berlin Museum. The silver stoup (Fig. [615]) belonging to the Corporation of Norwich, is of the time of Elizabeth. The illustration (Fig. [614]) of the silver dish and ewer at St. John’s College (1670), is representative of the change that the goldsmiths’ style underwent about the middle of the 17th century, after which time the light and graceful leaf work gave way to heavier designs. (Consult Pollen, Gold and Silversmiths’ Work.)

Fig. 615. Silver tankard of the 16th century. (Belonging to the Norwich Corporation.)

Silver. In Christian art, an emblem of purity. (See White.) As one of the two metals among the tinctures of Heraldry, represented by a white space. (See Argent.)

Silver, Cloth of. Josephus tells us that the royal robe of Herod Agrippa was a tunic made of silver. In the Middle Ages it was woven, like gold, in long narrow shreds unmixed with anything else, into a web for garments.

Sima, Arch. (See Cyma.)

Simikion, Gr. (σιμίκιον). A musical instrument of the Greeks; it had thirty-five strings.

Simpulum or Simpuvium, R. A small cup used for libations. It was in the form of a ladle with a long handle.

Sinciput. The front part of the head. The back part is the occiput.

Sindon (σινδών). (See Corporal.)

Singing-bread, Chr. The larger altar breads used in the mass were called singing-bread; the smaller ones consecrated for the people were known as houseling bread. (See also Holy Bread.)

Sinister, Her. The left side of a shield (considered from the back, or wearer’s point of view). The bendlet or baton sinister is generally (not rigorously) regarded in modern Heraldry as the most appropriate difference of illegitimacy. (Consult Boutell’s English Heraldry, p. 194.)

Sinopia. A fine red pigment found upon ancient mural paintings.

Sinum or Sinus, R. A vessel of small dimensions, but tolerably wide and deep, which was used for holding wine or milk.

Siparium, R. The curtain of a theatre. It was divided in the middle and withdrawn to the sides to disclose the stage.

Sipho, Gr. (σίφων, a hollow body). A siphon for exhausting liquids from a vessel by the pressure of the atmosphere. A painting at Thebes shows that the principle of the siphon was known to the Egyptians as early as the eighteenth dynasty. The same name was applied to a suction and forcing pump, which was generally employed as a fire-engine.

Sirens (Gr. Σειρῆνες [probably from σειρὰ, a chain, to signify their attractive power]). These mythical representatives of the evil side of the seductive power of music, are represented in art as lovely women to the waist, and fishes or birds below. Sometimes they have wings, which the Muses are said to have plucked (see Muses) of their feathers; as Orpheus, by opening their minds to the unattainable higher music, drove them to suicide in the end. In Christian symbolism the sirens typify the three carnal lusts. (See Fig. [455].)

Sirpea. (See Scirpea.)

Sispa-sastra, Hind. A Hindoo work, the title of which means literally the science of manual art. It was a kind of encyclopædia, and comprised about thirty treatises on the manual arts, and included a treatise on architecture written by a Hindoo whose name has not come down to us; but a sage or mage called Dupayana compiled, abridged, and edited, about 1500 B.C., the lost treatise of the Hindoo architect. (Bosc.)

Sistrum, Egyp. (σεῖστρον; σείω, to shake). A kind of rattle formed by a certain number of metallic rods which passed through a framework also of metal; this was attached to a short handle ending in a head of Athor. By shaking the instrument by the handle the metallic rods and the movable rings suspended from them were made to give out a sharp rattling sound. The Egyptians made use of the sistrum in the ceremonial worship of Isis and at funerals. Roman coins of Hadrian present a personification of Egypt as a female figure seated with the sacred ibis at her feet, and a sistrum in her hand. The instrument is still in use on the Nile.

Sitella. Diminutive of Situla (q.v.).

Situla, R. A bucket for drawing water from a well.

Situlus. Synonym of Situla (q.v.).

Fig. 616. Sixfoil.

Sixfoil, Her. A flower of six leaves.

Size is used to prepare paper for printing upon, and as a vehicle in oil painting. (See Distemper.)

Skeens, Celtic. Long sharp knives; “sheen dubh,” black knife, the Highlander’s dernier ressort.

Skinning, in Masonry. (See Regrating.)

Skirophorion. (See Scirophorium.)

Sling. (See Balea, Funda.)

Slipped, Her. Pulled or torn off.

Smalt. A vitreous substance coloured by cobalt, used for painting on china, not being affected by fire. It makes also a bad pigment in water-colour painting, and is largely used for giving a blue tinge to writing-paper, linen, &c. (See Cobalt.)

Smalti, It. Cubes of coloured glass applied in the modern Mosaics.

Snail, Chr. In Christian iconography the snail is an emblem of sloth and of the resurrection.

Snood (A.S. snôd). A head-band for ladies, of the Anglo-Saxon period, similar to that now used by young unmarried women in Scotland.

Soapstone. (See Steatite.)

Socculus. Diminutive of soccus.

Soccus, Gr. and R. A slipper worn in Greece both by men and women, but at Rome by women only. It was worn by actors upon the stage.

Socle, Arch. A plain block or plinth forming a low pedestal to a column; or a plinth round the bottom of a wall.

Soffit, Arch. The flat surface on the lower side of an arch or cornice.

Solarium, R. (sol, the sun). (1) A sun-dial; (2) a water-clock or clepsydra (solarium ex aquâ); (3) a terrace constructed on the top of a house or portico.

Soldurii, Gaul. A body of Gallic warriors forming a Clan under one chief.

Solea, R. and Chr. (solum, sole of the foot). A sandal of the simplest kind, consisting of a sole fastened on with straps over the instep. Solea ferrea, a horse-shoe, or soccus of iron; solea sparta, a sock of Spanish broom for the feet of beasts of burden or of cattle; solea lignea, wooden clogs fastened to the feet of criminals. Lastly the term denoted a machine for crushing olives, the nature and shape of which are entirely unknown. In Christian archæology, the term solea was used to denote, in the early basilicas, a space in front of the choir.

Soler (Lat. solarium; A.S. up-flor). The upper floor of a house, approached by a staeger (Ang. stair) outside.

Soles of the Feet, Egyp. and Chr. On a great number of Christian tombs there occur representations of the soles of the feet. This symbol has been variously explained. In our opinion, one which has never been broached before, it denoted that the dead were in the power of God; for among the Egyptians, whenever a god or powerful king was spoken of, it was said of him that he put his enemies under the sole of his foot. Ezekiel uses the same terms in speaking of Jehovah. Whenever an Egyptian went on a pilgrimage to a distant place, he never left the country without engraving on some stone the impression of his feet, to which he added his name and titles. (Bosc.)

Soliferreum or Solliferreum, R. A javelin made entirely of massive iron.

Solium, R. This term denotes (1) a chair or arm-chair with a high back; (2) a bier of wood or terra-cotta for a dead body; (3) the granite or marble seat in an ancient bath.

Solstice. The time when the sun appears to stand still, at one of the solstitial points, i. e. at his greatest distance from the equator; the summer solstice is the longest day, June 22nd; the winter solstice December 22nd, in the North Hemisphere; reversed in the South.

Sonata, Ital. A piece of music with various movements, composed for a single instrument with or without accompaniment. Sonate di camera, sonatas adapted for chamber music; sonate de chiesa, for churches.

Sonnachiosi of Bologna. One of the Italian Academies, having for their device a bear, which sleeps through the winter; and the motto spero avanzar con la vigilia il sonno. (I hope by vigils to make up for sleep.)

Sorrows of the Virgin. (See Joys of the Virgin.)

Sortes, R. Lots; small tablets or counters thrown into a Sitella or urn full of water, and withdrawn for soothsaying.

Soteria, Gr. and R. (σωτήρια, i. e. of saving). Sacrifices in honour of the gods offered by way of thanksgiving for escape from any danger.

Sounding-board, Chr. A sort of dome or canopy, placed above pulpits to convey the voice of the preacher to his auditory. In the centre of the lower part of the canopy there is often a carved dove, symbolizing the Holy Ghost. Sounding-boards must be placed five feet above the speaker’s head, and their diameter should exceed that of the pulpit by six to eight inches on either side.

Soutane, Fr. A white woollen cassock, worn by priests under the rochet.

Sow, Chr. In Christian iconography, the sow is a symbol of evil, impurity, gluttony, and fecundity. It is borne in the crest of Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, with the motto, “Through.”

Span. Of an arch, the breadth between the imposts.

Spandril, Arch. The triangular space between the upper arch of a door and the square mouldings which form a frame to it.

Spangles, of gold and silver, were, in the Middle Ages, artistically shaped concave, and sewed on like tiles, one overlapping the other, producing a rich and pleasing effect. Our present flat spangles are quite modern.

Spanish Black. A pigment of burnt cork.

Spanish Brown. (See Ochre.)

Spanish Ferreto. A rich reddish-brown pigment.

Spanish Red. An ochreous red pigment, yellower than the Venetian red.

Spanish Stitch. A kind of embroidery introduced into England by Katharine of Aragon in 1501.

Span-roof, Arch. Having two inclined sides; not a pent-roof.

Spartea. (See Solea.)

Sparum, R. A weapon specially employed by the agricultural population, whence its name of sparum agreste, telum rusticum. It was a kind of halberd. A form sparus was also in use.

Spatha, Gr. and R. (σπάθη). (1) A batten or wooden blade used by weavers for beating the threads of the woof. (2) The spatula of a druggist or chemist. (3) A long, broad, two-edged sword, with a sharp point.

Spathalium, Gr. and R. (σπαθάλιον:). A kind of bracelet with bells attached, so that it bore some resemblance to the flower-sheath of the palm-tree (spatha), whence its name.

Speak-house, O. E. A parlour.

Spean, Hind. A monumental bridge, of no great height, among the Khmers or ancient inhabitants of Cambodgia. The balustrade of this bridge was formed by means of Nagagas (q.v.).

Spear, Her., is seldom seen in blazon, though it appears as a “punning device” in the arms granted to Shakspeare’s father. (See Lance, Cuspis, &c.)

Specillum, R. A surgeon’s probe, of iron, bronze, or silver.

Spectra. Impressions which remain for a time on the retina of the eye, after looking at certain bright and coloured objects. They are either similar in colour and form to the objects which excited them, or vary according to the laws of the spectrum; e.g. if the eye is fixed on a red wafer, lying on a sheet of white paper, it will appear fringed with a faint green; then if, after a time, the eye is turned to another part of the paper, where there is no wafer, a green wafer will appear.

Spectrum. The series of colours that a beam of white light slips into under refraction:—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

Specula, R. A watch-tower.

Specularia, Gr. and R. Window-panes made with a kind of transparent stone (lapis specularis).

Speculum, R. (specio, to behold). A mirror; they were made in ancient times of a white composition of copper and tin, and afterwards of silver. The back of the mirror was decorated with beautiful engraved or enchased designs. There were also glass mirrors backed with a thin leaf of metal. Mirrors were not contrived to be hung against a wall, or to stand on a table, but were generally held by female slaves in front of their mistresses. (See Mirrors.)

Specus, R. Originally a dark grotto or cave; later the covered canal of an aqueduct.

Spence, O. E. The buttery attached to the hall; 13th, 14th century.

Speos, Egyp. (σπέος). Hypogea or subterranean Egyptian temples. Hemispeos was the name given to temples built partly above and partly under the ground.

Sperlings, O. E. Sprats.

Sperthe, O. E. A battle-axe.

Spetum, Med. A kind of Partisan, but narrower and lighter.

Sphæristerium, Gr. and R. (σφαιριστήριον, lit. place for ball). An apartment attached to a gymnasium or set of baths for playing with balls.

Sphæromachia, Gr. and R. (σφαιρο-μαχία). A game of ball.

Sphendone, Gr. A band or fillet with which Greek ladies confined their hair. (See Diadema, Hair, &c.)

Fig. 617. Andro-Sphinx.

Fig. 618. Crio-Sphinx.

Sphinx, Egyp. (Σφίγξ). An emblem peculiarly Egyptian, signifying the religious mystery; in this sense it was adopted by the Romans and placed in the pronaos of their temples. The Andro-Sphinx (Fig. [617]), a human head upon a lion’s body, typified generally the union of intellectual and physical power; the Crio-Sphinx (Fig. [618]) had the head of a ram; and the Hieraco-Sphinx (Fig. [619]) that of a hawk. The two latter are complex emblems; the hawk being the sun-god’s and the king’s special figure, and the ram that of the god Neph. The symbolical importance of these figures was completely disregarded in the course of their application to the purposes of Greek art.

Fig. 619. Hieraco-Sphinx.

Sphyrelata, Gr. Hammered metal-work; the earliest form of art manufacture in metal. Archaic statues, antecedent to the invention of the art of casting, were formed of hammered plates fastened together with rivets. (See Metallurgy.)

Spicæ Testaceæ, R. (spica, ear of corn). Oblong bricks for pavements; applied in the Spicatum Opus.

Fig. 620. Spicatum Opus.

Spicatum (opus), R. A term answering to our HERRING-BONE. work; it was a kind of construction in which the stones were arranged so as to resemble the setting of the grains in an ear of corn. (Fig. [620].)

Fig. 621. Spiculum.

Spiculum, R. (dimin. of spicum, a point). The barbed iron head of an arrow or lance. The custom of barbing weapons dates from a very early period, since it is met with in prehistoric times. Fig. [621] shows a barbed bone arrow.

Spider-work (opus araneum). A kind of embroidery; specimens of the 13th and 14th centuries are in South Kensington Museum.

Spike. Oil of spike used in wax painting is prepared from the wild lavender.

Spina, R. (lit. a spine). A long, low wall along the middle of a circus, marking off the course in a race. At each end were the goals, (metæ). (See Circus, Meta.)

Fig. 622. Spinet. 18th century.

Spinet (Ital. spinetta). An old-fashioned musical instrument on the principle of the harpsichord and pianoforte. Brass and steel wires were struck by quills fixed to the tongues of jacks which were moved by the keys of a finger-board. (Fig. [622].)

Spinther, R. (σφιγκτήρ). A bracelet; it was worn upon the left arm, and retained in its place merely by the elasticity of the material. The term is really a corruption of sphincter, the muscle which remains naturally contracted. (See Armilla.)

Spira, R. (σπεῖρα). Anything spiral or coiled; such as (1) a coil of rope; (2) an ornament worn by women on the head; (3) the string by which the cap of the Salian priests was fastened under the chin; (4) the base of a column.

Spire, Arch. An acutely-pointed termination crowning a steeple. (See Chamfer.)

Spirit Fresco. A new method of painting in fresco, introduced by Mr. Gambier Parry, 1880.

Spirits of Wine are used to dissolve resins in the preparation of varnishes.

Spirula. Diminutive of spira.

Spittle or Spittlehouse, O. E. A hospital.

Spolarium, R. (spolio, to strip off). A cloakroom in the baths, where the bathers left their clothes; in an amphitheatre or circus the term was applied to a cella in which gladiators who had been killed in the arena were stripped of their clothes and weapons.

Spolia, R. Booty taken in war. Præda means plunder generally; Manubium, the share of the commander or the state; Exuviæ, the personal spoils of an enemy; and Spolia, properly speaking, arms or implements of war. (See Opima Spolia.)

Fig. 623. Carved ivory Spoon with figure of “January.”

Fig. 624. Folding Spoon of carved box-wood.

Spoon, Chr. In early times, especially among the Greeks, Syrians, and Copts, the sacrament in one kind only was administered with a small gold or silver spoon, into which a few drops of the consecrated wine were poured. In the Middle Ages spoons were frequently ornamented with figures, some carved in ivory or wood, and others of metal. Apostle Spoons had figures of the Apostles on the handles. (See Labis and Cochlear.)

Sporta, R. A broad plaited basket made of wood and usually furnished with two handles. Diminutives of this term are sportella and sportula.

Springers, Arch. The lowest stones of an arch resting on a column, pilaster, or cluster of small columns.

Spurs with rowels appear first in the 13th century; in early times and in antiquity they were merely sharp goads fixed to the heel. In the middle of the 15th century spurs were of extravagant length. In Heraldry, the knightly spur had a single point, up to about 1320, and was known as the “pryck-spur;” the later form is called the “rouelle-spur.”

Spurn, O. E. A piece of stone or wood protecting a corner house or gate-post from wheels. One end is fixed in the ground, and the other attached at an angle to the post or wall.

Squinch, Arch. Small arches built across angles of towers to support projecting masonry above.

Stadium, Gr. (στάδιον). The course for the foot-race at Olympia, which measured exactly one stadium (606¾ feet). The stadium was the principal Greek measure for distance, and equalled the eighth of a Roman mile.

Stag (cervus). Representations of the stag occur in many Christian bas-reliefs and paintings. It is the emblem of many dissimilar moral ideas, but more especially of a longing desire for baptism, from an application of the text in the 42nd Psalm, “Like as the hart,” &c. (See Hart.)

Stalactite (Gr. στάλαγμα, an icicle). Spar, in the form of icicles hanging from the roof of a cavern. Stalagmites are heaped up from their droppings on the floor, forming when they unite with the Stalactites the so called Organ pipes.

Stalagmium, Gr. and R. (σταλάγμιον). An ear-ring decorated with pearls, or small gold or silver drops, which bore more or less resemblance to the shape of a drop of water (στάλαγμα), whence its name.

Stall-plate, Her. The plate bearing the arms of a knight, and placed in his stall in the chapel of his order.

Stalls, Chr. Seats in a chapel; made to be used in two ways: either with the flap of the seat let down called “sellette,” which formed the regular seat, or with the flap raised, affording only a small resting-place called miserere. The elbows are often called “museaux” from their being in many cases ornamented with the head of some animal. (See Miserere.)

Stamen, R. The spun thread as it comes off the spindle.

Stamnos, Gr. and R. A vessel in the shape of a Panathenæan water-jar or amphora, but with a wider neck, and with two ears and no handle.

Stanchion, Arch. The upright iron bar between the mullions of a window.

Standard or Banner, Chr. The symbol of victory over sin, death, and idolatry. (See Ensigns, Labarum, Signa, &c.) In heraldry, a long narrow flag introduced in the 14th century. The Royal Standard bears the blazonry of the Queen’s arms. The Union Jack was produced in the reign of James I., in 1606, as the national flag of united England and Scotland, combining the banners of St. George and St. Andrew. The latest Union Jack shows, over the saltire of St. Andrew, the gules of St. Patrick, and was introduced upon the occasion of the union with Ireland. The word “Jack” is a corruption of the French “Jacques,” for James.

Standing Stones. Celtic monuments, also called megalithic, consisting of a row of stones standing in a line. (See Dolmen, Menhir, Megalithic, &c.)

Standish, O. E. A case for pens and ink; an inkstand.

Stanniferous Wares. (See Pottery.)

Stapes, Stapia, Med. Lat. A stirrup.

Fig. 625. Badge of the Star of India.

Star of India. An order of knighthood instituted by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Insignia are the Badge (Fig. [171]); collar of heraldic roses and lotus-flowers alternating with palm-branches, a crown being in the centre; ribbon of pale blue with white borders, crossing the left shoulder; and star of diamonds, having a mullet upon an irradiated field in its centre, with the motto “Heaven’s Light our Guide.”

Fig. 626. Heraldic Stars.

Stars, Her. (See Estoile, Mullet.)

Stars, Chr. Emblematic of the canopy of Heaven, are generally represented on the domed ceilings of churches. These were usually forged in metal and fixed on to an azure ground. They are attributes of the Virgin Mary as queen of heaven, and of St. Dominic and other saints.

Fig. 627. Star-moulding.

Stars, Star-moulding, Arch. An ornament of the Romano-Byzantine period, in the shape of a star with four rays only. (Fig. [627].) It is met with as a decoration in various mouldings.

Fig. 628. Statera.

Statera, R. A steelyard or Roman balance, of much later invention than the scales called libra. It consisted (Fig. [628]) of a rod or yard (scapa), divided by equidistant points (puncta), and was suspended by means of a handle (ansa) consisting of a hook or chain. The weight (æquipondium) forms a counterpoise to any object suspended from one of the hooks or the scale (lancula). (Fig. [418].) The term is sometimes looked upon as a synonym of Libra (q.v.). It denotes besides (1) a wooden bar or yoke placed across the withers of a pair of horses harnessed to a Bijugus (q.v.); (2) a plate or dish, probably of circular form.

Statuettes. Small statues in bronze or porcelain for the decoration of rooms. For Porcelain Statuary, consult Jacquemart’s History of the Ceramic Art.

Stauracin (Gr. σταυρὸς, a cross) was a silken stuff figured with small plain crosses; hence polystauron, having many crosses.

Steatite or Soapstone. A soft, unctuous, magnesian mineral, used by the Chinese for statuary and decorative purposes.

Steel, Engraving in, was invented during the present century. The process is nearly the same as engraving in copper. (See Chalcography.)

Stega, Gr. and R. (στέγη, i. e. a covering). The deck of a ship; a synonym for Constratum (q.v.).

Steganography, Gr. (στεγανὸς, secret). Cypher, or secret writing, by substitution of signs for letters.

Fig. 629. Steinkerque.

Steinkerque was a twisted necktie, and owed its origin to the battle of that name fought in 1692 by Marshal Luxembourg against William of Orange. When the French princes were suddenly ordered into action, hastily tying their cravats—in peaceful times an elaborate proceeding—they rushed to the charge and gained the day. In honour of this event ladies also wore their lace neckerchiefs twisted in this careless fashion. Steinkerques became the rage, and were worn in England and France by men and women for many years afterwards. The engraving represents the Grand Dauphin of France wearing a Steinkerque.

Fig. 630. Greek Stelè.

Fig. 631. Roman Stela.

Stela, Stelè, Gr. A pillar, or stone of a cylindrical or quadrangular shape, often surmounted by an ornament in the form of a palm. These stelæ served to mark out burial-places. Fig. [631] represents a Roman, and Fig. [630] a Greek stelê.

Stemma, Gr. and R. (στέμμα, i. e. that which crowns). Among the Greeks this term served to denote a wreath bound round with woollen fillets; among the Romans the same term denoted a long roll of parchment ornamented with garlands. This roll contained the genealogy of the family. Stemmata were hung upon the busts of ancestors, and in front of the imagines majorum.

Stencil. A plate of any material in which patterns have been cut out. The use of stencil plates is of great antiquity. They were used in the schools of ancient Rome to teach writing, and by the emperors for affixing their sign manual to documents.

Stereobate. The base of a plain wall. (See Stylobates.)

Stereochromy. A new method of wall painting, with water-colours sprinkled over with fluoric acid, adapted permanently to resist all the influences of climate.

Stereo-graphy (στερεὸς, solid). Geometrical drawing of solids on a plane surface.

Stereoscope. A binocular glass, arranged in conformity with the natural convergence of the sight of each eye to a focal centre. An object is photographed twice, as it would appear to each eye if the other were closed; and when the two pictures are looked at together in the stereoscope, an effect of rounded solidity (stereon) is produced. The effect is particularly beautiful in photographs of statues.

Stereotype. Solid type, obtained from a cast of the forme of movable type, for permanent use in printing works of which many editions are required.

Steyre, O. E. A stair.

Stiacciato, Ital. Sculpture in very low relief, less than basso-relievo.

Stibadium, Gr. and R. (στιβάδιον). A circular dining-couch generally made of wicker-work. Another name for it was Sigma.

Sticharium, Chr. (στιχάριον). A white tunic worn by the Greek bishops and deacons in certain ceremonies.

Stigma, R. (στίγμα, lit. a mark by pricking). A mark, impression, or brand. Thieves were branded with the letter F, which stood for fur, thief. A stigma tattooed on the arm was the mark by which conscripts were declared capable of military service, &c., hence

Stigmata, Chr. The marks of the five sacred wounds on the hands, feet, and side of Our Lord; said to have been miraculously printed on the persons of saints.

Stil de grain. (See Pinks.)

Still Life. Inanimate objects.

Stilted Arch. One having the capital or impost mouldings of the jambs below the level of the springing of the curve, the moulding of the arch being continued vertically down to the impost mouldings.

Stilus, Stylus, R. A style, or instrument of bone, ivory, iron, bronze, or silver, about five inches long, having one end pointed, and the other flattened like a spatula; the latter served either to spread the wax on the writing-tablet, or to erase by smoothing down what had been written upon it; the other and pointed end served for writing upon the wax-covered tablet. The term also denoted (1) the needle or index of a sun-dial; (2) a bronze needle; (3) a probe employed for garden purposes. (4) A sharp stake in a pitfall. It was also called graphium.

Stimulus, R. (στίζω, to prick). A goad for driving cattle.

Stipple. Etched imitations of chalk drawings of the human figure, called engravings in stipple, have a very soft effect, but are inferior to engraving. In this variety the whole subject is executed in dots without strokes on the etching-ground, and these dots are bitten in with aquafortis. The dots may be harmonized with a little hammer, in which case the work is called opus mallei. In the method known as mezzo-tinto, a dark barb or ground is raised uniformly by means of a toothed tool; and the design being traced, the light parts are scraped off from the plate by fitting instruments, according to the effect required. (See Engraving.)

Stips, R. A small bronze coin, equal to the twelfth part of an as, or about a quarter of a farthing; it bore on the reverse the prow of a vessel.

Stocheion, Gr. A form of sun-dial. (See Horologium.)

Stockings were introduced into England with knitting in 1501, when Queen Elizabeth was presented with a pair of black knit silk stockings by her tirewoman, and immediately discontinued the cloth hose she had previously worn. The Scotch claim the invention of knitting, and a French company of stocking-knitters established at Paris in 1527 took for their patron St. Fiacre, who is said to have been the son of a King of Scotland. (See Netherstocks.)

Fig. 632. Stola. Costume of a Roman Matron.

Stola, R. (στολὴ, lit. an equipment). The robe worn by Roman matrons; it consisted of a wide tunic with long sleeves. It came down to the ankles or feet, and was confined at the waist by a girdle, leaving broad loose folds over the breast. The pallium was worn over the stola. It was the distinguishing dress of the Roman matron, and the meretrices or divorced women were forbidden to wear it. The stola was also worn by a certain class of priests. (See Pallium, Toga.) (See Fig. [632].)

Fig. 633. Stole.

Stole, Chr. This term, a synonym of orarium, denoted, with the early Christians, according to Fleury, a piece of fine linen which was worn round the neck. It was used as a kind of pocket-handkerchief, long before the introduction of Christianity, by the Romans, who named it indifferently linteolum, strophium, and sudarium. In the Christian Church it is represented by a narrow band of embroidered stuff, and worn over the left shoulder by deacons; and across both shoulders by bishops and priests. It is sacred to the memory of the cloth with which the Saviour is alleged to have wiped away the sweat from His face as He passed to the Crucifixion. (See Sudarium, Orarium.)

Stone Ochre. A pigment. An earthy oxide of iron. (See Ochres.)

Stone-ware. (See Pottery.)

Stopping-out. In etching, arresting the action of the acid on the fainter lines of a plate, by covering them over with a preparation called stopping-ground, while the deeper and broader parts corrode. (See Etching.)

Stoup, Chr. A small niche with a basin, at the entrance of a church, placed there for the holy water. O. E. A kind of tankard. (See Fig. [615].)

Stragulatæ. Striped or barred silks; 13th century.

Stragulum, R. (sterno, to throw over). A general term to denote any kind of covering used for bed-clothing, or a covering for men, horses, or beasts of burden, and thence a caparison.

Strap-work, Arch. A form of architectural ornament, by the tracery of a narrow band or fillet in convolutions similar to those that a leather strap thrown down at hazard would form. It is characteristic of the Renaissance period.

Fig. 634. Strasburg Porcelain. Open-work Basket.

Strasburg Porcelain. The manufacture of this ware, which was begun by Charles Hannong about 1721, became very celebrated for about sixty years. (Consult Jacquemart’s History of the Ceramic Art.) (Fig. [634].)

Strasburg Turpentine. A varnish made of the resin from the silver fir (pinus picea), diluted with naphtha, drying linseed, or nut oil.

Strena, R. A new year’s gift or present made on the calends of January.

Stria, R. The fluting of a column.

Striated. Fluted like a column.

Strigilis, R. (stringo, to scrape). A bronze scraper for the skin, curved and hollowed like a spoon, used in the bath. The same term is used in architecture for a fluting which resembles the bath-strigil in form.

String-course, Arch. A narrow moulding projecting from the wall of a building in a horizontal line.

Stroma, Gr. (στρῶμα). A Greek term synonymous with the Latin Stragulum.

Strontian Yellow. A pale canary-coloured pigment.

Strophe (στρέφω, to turn). In Greek poetry, the first division of a choral ode, of which the other parts were the antistrophe and the epode.

Strophium, R. (στρόφιον, lit. a thing twisted). (1) A long scarf which the Roman women rolled into a band, and fastened round the body and breast. (2) A girdle for the same purpose, generally of leather. (3) The term likewise denoted the cable of an anchor. (See Orarium.)

Structura, R. (struo, to build up). A general term for any kind of masonry. (See Opus.)

Struppus or Strupus, R. A rope or other fastening by which the oar is attached to the thole (scalmus).

Stucco, It. A fine plaster, for covering walls, prepared by various methods, as a mixture of gypsum and glue; or white marble, pulverized with plaster of lime and mixed with water; the opus albarium of the ancients.

Stump, for drawing in pencil or crayon. It is a thick roll of strong paper made into a kind of pencil, and used for rubbing over lines to soften them down for ground tints, gradation of shading, &c.

Stylites, Chr. (στυλίτης). “Pillar saints.” Anchorites of the early Church who passed their lives on the top of a column, in order to give themselves up to meditation. There were some of them in Syria down to the 12th century. They derived their name from στῦλος, a column.

Fig. 635. Stylobates.

Fig. 636. Stylobates.

Fig. 637. Stylobates.

Stylobate, Arch. A pedestal supporting a row of columns; Figs. 635 to 637 represent three richly-decorated stylobates found in the baths and other Roman ruins at Nismes. (See Pedestal, Stereobate.)

Stylus, R. (Gr. στῦλος). A pointed instrument with which the Romans wrote on their waxed tablets. (See Stilus.)

Subarmale, Subermale, R. A garment worn by soldiers underneath their armour; it formed the tunic of the legionaries, and representations of it are very frequently met with on the bas-reliefs of monumental columns and triumphal arches.

Subjugium, R. Curved pieces of wood placed at each end of a yoke, underneath it; whence their name.

Sublicius, R. (sublica, a pile). Any wooden structure supported on piles. (See Pons.)

Subligaculum, Subligar, R. (subligo, to tie below). A cloth worn by acrobats, drawn between the legs and made fast to the girdle.

Subsecus, R. A tenon, in carpentry; that is, the tongue or wedge which fits into a mortise.

Subsellium, R. (i. e. lower than a sella). A movable bench without a back, which was used in large assemblies. In a theatre or circus the same term was applied to the circular rows of seats in the cavea.

Subsericum. Partly, not all, silk; opposed to holosericum.

Substructio, R. (substruo, to build underneath). Any work of solid masonry, such as a foundation wall, abutment walls, &c. (See Suspensura.)

Subtrefoiled, Arch. Decorated with foils placed underneath; a term applied to what are called trefoil-headed arches.

Subucula, R. (sub, and duo, to put on). Under-garments of wool which the Romans wore next the skin, underneath the tunic.

Suburbanum, R. A villa in the suburbs of Rome.

Succinctus, R. (succingo, to gird beneath). Wearing a girdle round the waist above the tunic; applied to a person prepared for active exertion.

Sucula, R. A capstan.

Sudarium, Chr. A name of the miraculous portrait of our Lord, impressed on the cloth presented to Him by St. Veronica on the way to the Crucifixion. (See Stole, Vera Icon.) A representation of this legendary portrait is given in Albert Dürer’s “Little Passion.”

Sudatorium, R. (sudor, sweat). The hot room in a Roman bath. (See Caldarium.)

Sud’ha, Hind. A temple of the Khmers or ancient inhabitants of Cambodgia, built of one unmixed material, and thence called pure (sud’ha).

Suffibulum, R. A large square piece of white cloth worn by vestals and priests during the discharge of their functions.

Fig. 638. Suggestus.

Suggestus, R. (sub and gero, to heap up). (1) A stage or platform from which an orator addressed a crowd. The Rostra at Rome was a celebrated suggestus. (2) In a camp the suggestus was formed of stones and clods of turf, or constructed of wood-work, from which the general harangued the troops. (3) The raised seat from which the Emperor saw the games.

Suile, R. A stable for pigs; among the Romans a building of considerable size, containing a number of separate sties (haræ).

Sulphate of Barytes. (See Barytes.)

Sulphate of Zinc, or white vitriol, is used as a dryer.

Sulphurs. Impressions taken by the goldsmiths of the 16th century from the engravings executed on plates, paxes, &c.; and which they obtained by spreading a layer of melted sulphur on the face of the plate, producing a cast in relief of the lines engraved. Some few of these proofs exist in the British and continental museums, and are known as “sulphurs.” They are amongst the rarest specimens connected with the art of engraving. (Fairholt.)

Fig. 639. Device of Louis XIV.

Sun, Her. When represented shining and surrounded by rays, he has a representation of a human face on his disc, and is blazoned “In splendour,” or “In glory;” when “eclipsed” the representation is the same, but tinctured sable.

Sundials. The sun-dial of Ahaz is mentioned by Isaiah, 713 B.C. Sundials with appropriate mottoes have been at all times fashionable. Mrs. Palliser gives a long selection of such mottoes: e.g.:—

Nulla hora sine linea, “No hour without a line.” (Nec momentum sine linea, was Cardinal Richelieu’s motto.) Pereunt et imputantur—“They pass and are imputed”—(Martial). Of the passing hour, Dubia omnibus, ultima multis—(“Uncertain to all, the last to many”); or, suprema hæc multis forsitan tibi—(“The last to many, perhaps to thee”). The old sun-dial at the Palais de Justice in Paris is inscribed, in letters of gold, Sacra Themis mores, ut pendula dirigit horas—(“Holy Justice guides manners, as this dial does the hours”). The largest number are allusions to Death, as:

Io vado e vengo ogni giorno. Ma tu andrai senza ritorno—(“I go and come daily, but thou shalt go and never return.”) And on a sun-dial at Bourges is the following:

“La vie est comme l’hombre,

Insensible en son cours.

On la croit immobile:

Elle s’avance toujours.”

More cheerful mottoes are found from Horace, as: Carpe diem. Horas non numero nisi serenas (at Venice), &c.

(Consult Mrs. Alfred Gatty, “Book of Sundials.”)

Super-altar, Chr. A small portable altar.

Superaria. (See Ependytes.)

Supercilium, R. (lit. eye-brow). (See Limen Superius.)

Superindum. (See Ependytes.)

Superpellicum, Chr. A surplice.

Suppedaneum. A synonym for Scabellum and Scamnum (q.v.).

Supplicatio, R. (supplico, to kneel down). The act of praying when kneeling; opposed to precatio, a prayer uttered standing. Solemn thanksgivings offered to the gods in their temples.

Supporter, Her. A figure that stands by a shield of arms, as if supporting or guarding it. Supporters came into use during the 14th century. (See Fig. [24].)

Fig. 640. Surahé or Wine bottle. Persian Porcelain.

Surahé, Pers. A Persian wine bottle. The illustration represents a beautiful specimen of hard porcelain decorated in patterns, of Chinese character, executed under the glaze with cobalt. A legend on the medallions contains the words Deh surahé, “Give me the bottle.” (Fig. [640].)

Surbase, Arch. The shaft of a Pedestal.

Surcoat. Any garment worn over armour; more especially the long flowing garment worn by knights until 1325. (See Fig. [463].)

Surface-rib, Arch. The rib of a groined vaulting.

Surinda, Hind. A stringed instrument played with a bow.

Surod, Hind. A kind of guitar, sounded with a plectrum.

Surplice, Chr. The Protestant alb. See Stevens, in a note to All’s Well that Ends Well, Act i., scene 3, for notices of the Puritan aversion to this article of clerical costume.

Fig. 641. Suspensura, showing the pillars supporting the floor of a bath-room.

Suspensura, R. In a general sense this term denotes anything that is supported, suspended above arcades, columns, or pillars, and more especially the flooring of a bath-room, when it is supported by small low pillars. Fig. [391] shows the flooring of a bath-room, and Fig. [641] the pillars supporting the suspensura. (See Hypocaust.)

Svastika, Hind. A kind of Greek cross, each branch of which ends in a hook. This cross has a sacred character, and is met with on a great variety of objects. Its origin dates back to the bronze age, and it is represented on the weapons of that period. (See Fylfot.)

Swallow. In Christian symbolism, the emblem of pride and of conversion.

Swallow-tail. (See Dove-tail.)

Swan, Her. When blazoned “proper”—white with red beak and legs—it is the badge of the Bohuns, Staffords, and some other families.

Swathbondes, O. E. Swaddling clothes (mentioned by Shakspeare).

Swine’s Feather, O. E. A kind of bayonet about six inches long, affixed to a musket-rest and projected by the action of a spring; 17th century.

Sword. (See Gladius.)

Sword, in Christian art, is a symbol of martyrdom; it is also the attribute of martyrs who were soldiers. In Heraldry, when borne as a charge, it is straight in the blade, pointed, and with a cross-guard. The custom of swearing on the sword, the hilt of which took the shape of a cross, or had crosses engraved on it, is mentioned in very ancient history. (Cf. Hamlet.)

Sympathetic Inks. Inks of which the marks are invisible until the moisture is absorbed by the application of heat. (See Cobalt.)

Symposium, Gr. A drinking party, distinguished from deipnon, a feast. A very common subject of representations on ancient vases.

Syndon or Sindon. A better kind of cendal (q.v.)

Synoikia, Gr. (1) Athenian festivals held in honour of Athena in the month Hecatombeion (July-August). Their object was to commemorate the union of the government of all the towns of Attica in Athens. (2) A lodging-house adapted to hold several families (Latin, insula), for the convenience of foreigners and others who by Athenian law were prohibited from acquiring house property of their own.

Synthesis or Synthesina, Gr. and R. (σύν-θεσις). One of the vestes cœnatoriæ which the master of the house, the Amphitryon, provided for his guests. The parable of the “Wedding Garment” has reference to this practice. It was a kind of tunic worn over the other garments, and during the Saturnalia by all classes alike. It was usually dyed some colour, and was not white like the toga.

Sypirs, O. E. Cloth of Cyprus.

Syrinx (O. E. 9th and 10th cent.). An instrument resembling Pandean pipes.

Syrinx, Gr. and R. (σῦριγξ). The pastoral pipe invented by Pan; it was called by the poets arundo and fistula. It was formed of seven hollow reeds of regulated lengths adjusted to form an octave.

Syrma, Gr. (σύρω, to sweep). A robe with a train worn on the stage by those actors who had to represent the parts of gods or heroes. Hence the word is poetically used for tragedy.

Systyle, Gr. and R. (σύστυλος). An arrangement in architecture, the intercolumniation of which is of the width of two diameters of the shaft, measured at its lower part, just above the apophyge; the distance between the plinths being exactly equal to the diameter of the plinths, as in the Parthenon at Athens.