It has sacrificed itself upon his path, as the sun does, and has offered itself beneath his feet like a white fleece.
This is not a carpet, it is a white rose; it is a fabric which resembles the eyes of the very Houris....[[22]] And so on.
[22]. An Italian translation of these verses is given in the Rassegna d’Arte (Anno iv., No. 10), and appears in the official catalogue of the Museum.
Another beautiful piece of work (155) is the middle portion of a vestment of the later fifteenth century, embroidered with the Coronation of the Virgin and two devotees kneeling at the sides.
The case in the middle of the room contains a collection of beautiful objects of the goldsmiths’ and kindred arts, chiefly of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries—tabernacles, paxes, reliquaries of precious materials chiselled and adorned with enamel; cups and vases and basins of crystal and agate; exquisitely worked spoons and forks, etc., etc. One very lovely pax (unnumbered) of silver, decorated with enamel, has a Resurrection on the front—the figures in grisaille upon a blue background—and heads of saints in medallions, and on the back the Pietà figured in mother-of-pearl. Another pax (161 bis), of characteristic Lombard workmanship, is in the form of a little tabernacle, and has sacred subjects and figures of saints exquisitely worked in enamel. A fourteenth century crystal cup (163) is of most graceful form and beautiful workmanship; upon the foot episodes from the story of Tristan and Isolda are figured in enamel. It is suggested that this may have been a tourney prize. A cup with a cover of agate (169) and decorated with silver gilt, chiselled and enamelled and with precious stones, is specially noticeable for beauty of material and shape. The enamel (180) with a representation of the Resurrection, is a very precious fifteenth century work, probably Milanese. A tiny diptych (214) of gilded bronze is particularly interesting for the two little figures in niello on the outside, representing Lodovico il Moro and Beatrice d’Este. Within there are subjects depicted in enamel—St. George and the Dragon, and the Deposition—in the style of the painter Foppa.
In the large case nearer the window there is a wonderful display of jewellery, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. No. 286 is a miniature of the Duke of Monmouth. In the other large case, near the fireplace, there are numerous treasures of Roman, Etruscan, and Greek art. A smaller case holds gold ornaments, chiefly of the Roman epoch. There are also in this room suits of armour, some fine pieces of seventeenth century furniture, tapestries, bronzes, etc.
Gabinetto del Salone Dorato.—Here are pictures of the late Flemish and Italian schools, and an Annunciation (436) of Tuscan style, attributed to Pesellino.
Sala Nera.—Among the pictures in this room are St. Mary Magdalen (473), attributed to Luca Signorelli, but with doubtful justice, and a very charming little triptych (477) by Mariotto Albertinelli, Madonna and Child, with SS. Catherine and Barbara, which shows how good his work can be on a small scale, like that of his fellow-worker Fra Bartolommeo, whose style he much resembles. Here are also some fine pieces of furniture, notably a cabinet (481) of sixteenth century Italian workmanship, and another (482) of Florentine production in the seventeenth century.
Sala dei Vetri Antichi.—The chief interest of this room is the splendid collection of antique Muranese glass. Many of the pieces are of very beautiful form, some decorated with patterns in colour and gold, and some with handles and bases of bronze or silver.
Gabinetto Dante contains a numerous collection of small artistic objects.