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276 NATURAL HISTORY OF GEMS.
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originally accompanied a statuette in gold of the Athenian goddess, which graced some imperial lararium, perhaps
Domitian's own. On the reverse of his fine gold medallion (Paris) his
patron goddess appears with just such an owl as this at her feet. This
unique piece of sculpture afterwards passed into the Cabinet of L.
Fould. The Marlborough Cabinet possesses a few; more remarkable,
however, for the extraordinary beauty and depth of colour of the
material, than for the engravings (later Roman) upon them. As for camei
of imperial date the finest known to me are a Messalina in front face
(Marlborough), a Faustina in extremely high relief, and a Crispina in
profile (both Praun). The Byzantines used it largely for the same
purpose : a magnificent example in the Trésor de S. Denys, the donation
as it would seem of the Emperor Heraclius, bore on one side the bust of
the Madonna, on the other, of the Saviour. The Persians under the
Sas-sanian dynasty often employed it for bearing regal portraits,
witness the grand Varahran in the British Museum.
With
the Italians of the Cinque-cento it was an especial favourite,
particularly for vases (of which the Louvre Museum displays a matchless
example,* the nacelle (boat) of extraordinary magnitude, valued in the inventory at 200,000 francs), and for miniature busts and small relievi.
A
serious defect of this substance is that by exposure to heat and
moisture it loses its beautiful azure, and assumes sometimes a black,
sometimes a chalky appearance, yet the best quality used by the Romans
has often retained both colour and polish unimpaired in wonderful
perfection.
The Egyptians covered much of their small works in terra-cotta, idols, symbolical figures, rings, &c, with a
*
This elegant appropriation of tho stone to the purposes of art has
lately been revived by the Parisian lapidaries with great success. The vases of M. Eudolphi vie in novelty and grace of form with those of the Renaissance.
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