[XXIII.] Enamelled Brass.
This is a leaf of one of the portable diptychs or triptychs which are much used in the Greek Church. In the upper part, which is of a pointed shape peculiar to the east, is represented the Assumption of the Virgin; the Virgin is seated in the centre surrounded by patriarchs, prophets, priests and Kings. Among the former Jacob may be distinguished by his ladder. All these figures have the nimbus, which is not confined to saints in the iconography of the Greek Church, but is also attributed to patriarchs and others. In each of the four lower compartments, the Virgin and child appear within a square frame receiving salutations of bishops, priests, hermits, and saints. In the fourth are the Virgin and child also, but represented under the form of the mystical conception. Various inscriptions of the names of the characters &c. appear on the borders, and on the labels in the hands of the figures. Above the head of the Virgin are the monograms M θού, IC XC, (Μητηρ Θεου, Ιηδους Χριδτος.) The strictness of the rules which were laid down in former times for the representation of sacred subjects in Greek art renders it difficult to assign any date to objects of this kind. Each artist has followed so closely the tradition of his predecessors that little variation is to be found in works of periods considerably distant. The relic in question may be either of the Greek or the Russo-Greek schools, and if of the latter it was probably made at Kiev in Russia where the manufactory of similar objects is still carried on.
[XXIV.] Flooring Tiles. Money Box. Scold’s Cap. Rasp. Key Plate.
1. Flooring Tiles from Fountains Abbey. These are given as showing the manner of tesselating by tiles of various colours and forms fitting together to produce figures.
2. Small Iron Money Box. This is made of beat iron: the original is about three times the size of the etching. It has a slit in the top, similar to the “penny pigs” formerly common among children.
3. The Branks or Scold’s Cap. This instrument of punishment for scolds has been in very general use. It was found by Pennant at Langholm in Scotland, is still to be found at Macclesfield, and is recorded to have been used at Lichfield, Stafford, and at Doddington, Lincolnshire. The one figured is still in the police court at Newcastle. The nose projected through the opening in the front belt, and the spike under the opening entered the mouth, in the vain endeavour to suppress the unruly member.
4. The Rasp. This instrument, the forerunner of the knocker, was formerly in general use in Edinburgh and elsewhere. The rings hanging upon the projecting limb were drawn rapidly up and down the surface of the iron, which in the present instance appears to have been furnished with teeth both on the projecting part and on that against the wood of the door.
5. Key Plate: is a very pretty Specimen of the 16th Century. Society of Arts. Edinburgh.