Glory, Nimbus or Aureole, the Christian attribute of sanctity, is of pagan origin, common to images of the gods, and Roman, even Christian, emperors. Satan in miniatures of the 9th to 13th century wears a glory. The earliest known Christian example is a gem of St. Martin of the early part of the 6th century. The glory round the head is properly the nimbus or aureole. The oblong glory surrounding the whole person, called in Latin “vesica piscis” (Fig. [361]), and in Italian the “mandorla” (almond) from its form, is confined to figures of Christ and the Virgin, or saints who are in the act of ascending into heaven. When used to distinguish one of the three divine Persons of the Trinity, the glory is often cruciform or triangular: the square nimbus designates a person living at the time the work was executed. In other instances it is circular. Coloured glories are variously symbolical. (Mrs. Jameson, “The Poetry of Sacred and Legendary Art.”)
Gloves. In the 14th century already gloves were worn, jewelled on the back, as a badge of rank. “They were worn in the hat,” says Steevens, “as the favour of a mistress, or the memorial of a friend, and as a mark to be challenged by an enemy.” A glove of the 17th century is described “of a light buff leather, beautifully ornamented with spangles and needlework in gold and silver threads, with a gold lace border, and silk opening at the wrist.” Gloves were called “cheirothecæ,” hand-coverers, by the Greeks and Romans; they were made without separate fingers, the thumb only being free. A legend current at Grenoble affirms that St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, was a knitter of gloves.
Gluten. In wax painting, the compound with which the pigments are mixed.
Glyphs, Arch. The flutings of an ornament or grooving forming the segment of a circle. (See Diglyph, Triglyph.)
Glyptics. The art of engraving on precious stones.
Glyptotheca, Gr. and R. (1) A gallery for sculpture. (2) A collection of engraved stones.
Gnomon, Gr. and R. The iron pin or index, which, by the projection of its shadow, marks the hour upon a sun-dial.
Goal. (See Meta.)
Goat. The emblem of lasciviousness.
Gobelins. Celebrated Royal French manufactory of tapestry, named from the successors of Jean Gobelin, who brought the art to Paris in the 15th century from Rheims. [See Burty, Chefs-d’œuvre of Industrial Art.]