derived from mythology or heroic myths. Landscapes and ornaments in borders, in frets, in compartments, intermingled with tritons, nereids, centaurs, are to be found on them. The principal subject is in the centre, the rest serves as a bordering or framework. In the Greek tessellated pavement found at Halicarnassus, the mosaic is of very fine workmanship, being composed of small cubes of white, black and red marble. MOSAIC PAVEMENT. Occasionally glass was used. The cubes are beautifully cut and set in a fine cement. The patterns are simple volutes, stripes, and borders. From Pergamus, Ephesus, Alexandria, as the chief towns of the Macedonian period, the art was afterwards transferred to Rome, where the numerous villas and palaces furnished it with abundant occupation. The Romans brought the art of mosaic to the highest perfection, not with regard to taste and composition, but by adding new materials to those which had been employed by the Greeks. They obtained their knowledge of this art by their conquests; and towards the end of the republic they transported to Rome the most beautiful pavements of this kind found in the Greek cities which they had conquered. The first mosaic of Roman origin was executed in the Temple of Fortune at Palestrina, which was restored by Sulla, where it was discovered in 1640. The subject of it has given rise to much controversy. The subject is now supposed to be Egyptian, and it is generally considered to represent a popular fête at the inundation of the Nile. Mosaics from this period came into general use, and some were made small enough to be carried about in the tents of generals in their campaigns. Cæsar carried one with him in his military expeditions. In the time of Augustus, coloured glass was generally employed, and under Claudius the artists succeeded in staining marble, and giving it different colours. The most interesting and valuable of all ancient mosaics is the one found at Pompeii, in the house of Pansa. It is supposed to represent the Battle of Issus.* It is remarkable for the beauty of its design and composition, and is composed entirely of very small cubes of coloured marble; no glass has been used. It has been calculated that the entire composition, when perfect, was composed of 1,384,000 cubes of marble, for 7,000 can be counted in each square palm. An example of the class of subjects introduced by Sosus has been lately discovered in the Aventine, and is now in the Lateran. It represents the remains of a feast, and bears the name of Heraclitus. In order to know the age of a mosaic, particular regard must be paid to the nature of the materials of which it is composed. Its antiquity will depend on whether it exhibits artificial compositions or not. * See plate. The stained marbles and artificial compositions will be proof of later date. The common Roman pavements are made of cubes of commor stones, and form borders more or less wide, of different colours and rather coarsely put together, examples of which may be seen in the baths of Caracalla at Rome. The number of Roman mosaics which have come down to us sometimes in an excellent state of preservation are considerable. Some excellent specimens have been found in the villa of Hadrian near Tivoli. They have also been found in the various Roman colonies. Some very valuable specimens have been lately discovered at Carthage; several have also been found in the Island of Sardinia, now in the Museum of Turin. Others have been discovered in the south of France. That of Vienne represents Achilles recognised by Ulysses among the daughters of Lycomedes. A very fine specimen is in the Museum of Lyons. It represents the Circensian games. The Romans carried their luxurious tastes as far as Britain, for several mosaics have been found in many parts of England. In the Lower Empire mosaics were made at Constantinople of pearls and precious stones. The richness of the material was substituted for the beauties of an art which had degenerated. PAINTED VASES. PAINTED VASES may be considered as the most curious, the most graceful, and the most instructive remains that have come down to us from ancient times. The beauty of the forms, the fineness of the material, the perfection of the varnish, the variety of the subjects, and their interest in an historical point of view, give painted vases a very important place among the productions of the arts of the ancients. Painted vases have been collected with great eagerness ever since they have been known, and the most remarkable have been engraved by celebrated artists, and explained by profound archæologists. Modern art and archæology have obtained from them beautiful models and important information. They were known for the first time in the seventeenth century; Lachausse published some of them in his 'Museum Romanum,' in 1690; Beger and Montfaucon imitated his example; Dempster subsequently wrote on them more fully; Gori, Buonarotti, and Caylus, added some general observations |