Искусства и ремесла Средневековья

84 Arts . and Crafts in the :М:iddle Ages

In the Treasury of St. :Мark's in Venice аге many valu­ aЫe examples of carved stones, made into cups, flagons, and the like. These were brought frош Constantinople in 1204, when the city was captured Ьу the Venetians. Coпstaнtinople was the only place where glyptics were understood and practised upon large hard stones iп the early Middle Ages. The Greek artists who took refug� i11 Italy at that time brought the art with tl1eш. There are thirty-two of these Byzantine chalices in St. Mark's. Usually the mountings are of gold, and precious stones. Тhеге are also t,vo beautiful cruets of agate, elaborately ornamented, but carved in curious curving forms requir­ ing skill of а superior oгder. Two other rock crystal cruets are superЬly carved, ргоЬаЫу Ьу Oriental work­ meв, however, as they are not Byzantine in their decora­ tions. One of them �·as originally а vase, анd, indeed, is still, for the loпg gold neck has no connection with the inside; the handle is also of gold, both these adjuncts seem to have been regarded as simply oгnament. The other cгuet is carved elaborately with leopards, the first and taller one showing шonsters and foliate forms. Around the neck of the lower of these rock crystal cruets is an inscription, praying for God's Ыessing on the "Imam Aziz Billah," who was reigning in Egypt in 980. This cruet has а gold stand. The handle is cle, т erly cut iн the same piece of crystal, but а band of gold is carried do"'n it to give it extra stгength. The formiпg of this h,1ndle in connection with the rest of the work is а veritaЫe tour de jorce, and we should have