File:Monuments of the early church (1901) (14597009377).jpg

Identifier: monumentsofearly00lowr (find matches)
Title: Monuments of the early church
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Lowrie, Walter, 1868-1959
Subjects: Christian antiquities Christian art and symbolism Church architecture Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600
Publisher: New York, The Macmillan Company London, MacMillan & Co.
Contributing Library: New York Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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e dome, weresuperbly adorned withprecious marbles. Figure126 shows a drawing ofpart of the mosaic of thedome, which must havebeen one of the mostgraceful compositions ofwhich we have any rec-ord. The river whichwas continued aroundthe base of the de-sign was enlivenedby all sorts ofaquatic birds, andby cupids sailingabout on rafts andboats, a theme whichwas very commonin pagan villas andbaths, and whichwas continued in Christian mosaics down to the Renascence.The lower zone of the mosaic was divided into twelve com-partments by as many caryatids, which, by a graceful transi-tion, terminated in a cluster of acanthus stems, supporting inturn smaller caryatids, which framed more compartments, andfinally interlaced at the center of the dome. The subjectswhich were depicted in these compartments were partly oblit-erated even in Ugonios time, but he has described nine of thelarger ones, of which the first four are included in our draw-ing. They were: Tobias and his fish, the elders accusing
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 125. — Mosaic decoration of two sections of the Iing-; MOSAICS— ConstanUnian Period 299 which was more distinctive of the age of Constautine Susanna, the judgment of Daniel, the sacrifice of Cain andAbel, )\Ioses striking the rock, Elijah and the priests of Baal,and the sacrifice of Abraham. So far, all of this decoration might equally well have ap-peared in the earlier art of the catacombs. But it seems thatin the fifteen niches by which the wall was broken, and in asmall spherical vault which interrupted the ring-vault just op-posite the entrance, there was employed a type of decoration The decoration of thirteen of . ——«««««..,———— /• the niches seems to have ;^V\K\~\S^^gv,NSy,N:KKX^XgvX^ been very simple, to judge by the traceswhich are found in onef them of stars upon ahite ground surround-ing the Constantinianmonogram. But thetwo large lateralniches still possessmosaics which pre-sent some of theprincipal featuresof the apsidaldecoration of thebasilic

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