Fig. 234. Branch of Cypress and of Myrtle. Device of M. A. Colonna.
Cypress. In Persian art, this tree is the frequently-occurring emblem of the religion of Zoroaster, and of the soul aspiring to Heaven. In Christian and modern symbolism it is the emblem of mourning. The device of cypress and myrtle assumed by Marc Antonio Colonna on the occasion of the defence of Ravenna is emblematic of “death or victory.” The wood of the cypress-tree was much used for statuary by the ancients. Carved chests of cypress were especially used, in the Middle Ages, for keeping clothes and tapestry; its aromatic properties were considered a specific against moth. (Fig. [234].)
Cyprus. Thin stuff of which women’s veils were made.
Cyprus or Verona Green. A pigment mentioned by Pliny as Appian Green: it is prepared from green earths found at Cyprus or Verona, which are coloured by oxide of copper. (See Appianum.)
Cysts or Cists, Etrus. (κίστη, a chest). Offerings dedicated by women in the temple of Venus, of cylindrical caskets of enchased bronze. The handles of these caskets represent small figures, and the feet the claws of animals. Those which have been found in Etruscan tombs, chiefly at Præneste, are in many cases decorated with a graffito designs.
Cyzicenæ, Gr. (κυζικηναί). Large and richly-decorated apartments, built for the first time at Cyzicus, which had their principal fronts to the north, and were situated in a garden.
D.
Dabber. A tool used in etching to distribute the etching-ground over a plate of metal in the first process of engraving, and, in printing from copper-plate engraving and woodcuts, to spread the ink.
Dactyliography or Dactyliology, Gen. (δακτύλιος, a ring). The study of rings.
Dactyliotheca, Gr. (δακτυλιο-θήκη, a ringbox). (1) A glass case or casket containing rings. (2) A collection of rings, engraved stones, or precious stones. (See Glyptotheca.)