Vienna Lake. (See Carminated Lakes.)
Vienna White. (See Carbonate of Lead.)
Vigessis, R. (See Vicessis.)
Vignette (Fr. a little vine). A small woodcut or illustration on a page. In Architecture, a running ornament of leaves and tendrils, common in the hollow mouldings of Gothic Architecture; especially in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles. (Parker.)
Vihuela. A musical instrument, represented in the celebrated Portico della Gloria of Santiago da Compostella, in Spain. It closely resembles the Rebec (q.v.).
Villa, R. A Roman farmstead or country house. It was divided into three distinct parts: the urbana, or house of the owner; the rustica, or farm building in which the slaves and animals lived; and the fructuaria or magazine for storing the produce.
Villicus, R. A gardener. (See Hortus.)
Vimana, Hind. A Hindoo temple consisting merely of a building in the form of a pyramid, allowing of several stories which recede one above the other. Vimanas are divided into five groups: the medium vimana, called santiaca; the victorious (pantica), the enormous (jayada), the admirable (atb’ huta), and the amiable (sarvacama).
Vina, Hind. A kind of Hindoo lyre furnished with a small number of strings.
Vinalia. Roman festivals of two kinds—urban and rustic. The former were kept on 23rd April, when the wine of the previous year was first broached; the rustic on 19th August, when the vintage opened by the priest solemnly plucking the first bunch of grapes, after a sacrifice of lambs to Jupiter.