Lorica, Gr. and R. (lorum, a thong). A cuirass; it was made either for officers, of two γύαλα, the breast and back-pieces; or, for the soldiers, of a number of small metal scales or bands, fastened together with rivets or rings, and flexible. Among the Asiatics the cuirass was frequently made of cotton; and among the Sarmatians, and other nations, of horn.
Lorimers, O. E. Bit-makers.
Lorraine Cross. A cross with two projecting arms on each side.
Lorraine Glass for painted windows; obtained from the Vosges as early as the 13th century, and then called Burgundy glass. “When any one means to paint, let him choose the Lorraine glass, which inclines to the white yellow because that bears the fire best, and receives the colour better than any other.” (Félibien, 1619.)
Lota. A sacred utensil in India, used in ceremonial and other ablutions. It is a globular bowl with a low narrow neck, sometimes chased or engraved and incrusted.
Fig. 432. Lotus-flowers.
Lotus (λωτός). The lotus is a frequently recurring cyma in Hindoo architecture. In Egyptian archæology, the lotus, of which two partially opened buds may be seen in Fig. [432], was the symbol of the rising of the sun, of fertilization, life, and resurrection. The lotus appears in the ornamentation of the largest as well as of the smallest monuments of Egyptian art; and is the motive of many of the columns and capitals of the temples and palaces of a certain period, as well as of the decoration of vases and other small objects. Three lotus-stems issuing from a basin symbolized Upper Egypt.
Louis d’Or, Fr. A gold coin, value about 20s., first struck in 1640.
Louis Treize Style (Arch.), a French version of Italian art, prevailed from 1625 to 1650, and produced Jean le Pautre, the ornamentist, and the following styles:—