Meta, R. (metior, to measure). Any object with a circular base and of conical shape; in a circus the term meta, or rather metæ (for there were two sets of goals), was applied to a set of three cones placed together upon a pedestal, as shown in Fig. 456, to mark the turning-points of the race-course. In a mill for grinding corn the name of meta was applied to the lower part of the mill, which was hewn into the form of a cone. (See Circus, Ovum, Spina, &c.)

Metal, Tech. (1) A mass of glass in the state of paste, adherent to the pipe and already blown; it may be regarded as the first stage in the production of a piece. (2) Broken glass. (3) Broken stones for repairing roads.

Metal, Her. The tinctures or and argent.

Metallic Canvas. A combination of metal and canvas; waterproof for various uses.

Metallic Lava. A composition of gravel, pounded chalk, tar, and wax, forming an artificial stone to be cast into ornamental shapes in moulds. The vestibule of the Euston Station is paved with this preparation. (Builder, vi. 502.)

Metallurgy. It was at a comparatively late period of human civilization that the art of working in iron was brought to perfection. The ancient Egyptians, probably aware of its resources, had a superstitious objection to its use; but they hardened bronze to a degree unknown to later ages, and their bronze statuary of the most ancient period is worthy of any age. The bronze-work of Britain and Ireland is as ancient as any; and, in beauty of form and perfection of casting, rivals the best modern work. Of the work in Greece we are told that Athens alone contained 3000 bronze statues in the year 130 B.C., and vast treasures of metallurgy have been discovered in Herculaneum and Pompeii. In mediæval times Ireland was famous for metallurgy, and of its admirable copper-works of the 11th century many splendid relics remain, especially the so called Bell of St. Patrick. Oriental bronzes, of characteristic design, are plentiful from all ages; especially beautiful and perfect in execution are those of China and Japan. The best period of workmanship in Iron is the Middle Ages; gates and hinges, keys, and especially weapons and defensive armour being the chief objects produced. (Consult Pugin, Digby Wyatt.) (See also Bronze, Copper, Damascening, Gold, &c.)

Metope, Arch. (μετ-όπη, i. e. the space between the ὀπαί). A kind of panel between the triglyphs in the Doric frieze (Fig. 458); in some Greek examples quite plain, in others ornamented with sculpture. The metopes of the Parthenon in the British Museum are carved with representations of the war of the Centaurs and Lapithæ. (Fig. 457.) (See Elgin Marbles.) In Roman buildings the metopes are usually carved, and are exact squares; but in the Greek Doric this was not necessary.

Metreta, Gr. (μετρητὴς, i. e. measurer). The unit in the Greek measures of capacity; it held two cotylæ, or about eight gallons.

Meurtrière, O. E. “A black knot, that unties and ties the curles of the hair.” (Ladies’ Dict., 1694.)

Mews, O. E. Originally a courtyard for “mewing” (i. e. moulting) hawks.

Mexican Architecture. The principal monuments of the valley of Mexico are situated in a small tract in the centre of the table-land of Anahuac. These consist of pyramidal temples (teocallis) formed in terraces, with flat tops, and always surmounted by a chamber or cell, which is the temple itself. In Yucatan there are more architectural remains than anywhere in the world, with palaces of all dates, generally pyramidal, and often rich with elaborate carvings. (See Stephens’s Incidents of Travel in Yucatan.) (Fig. 458 a.)

Mezza-majolica was the coarser majolica ware formed of potter’s earth, covered with a white “slip,” upon which the subject was painted, then glazed with the common lead glaze, over which the lustre pigments were applied; the majolica, on the other hand, being the tin-enamelled ware similarly lustred. (See Majolica.)

Mezzanine, Entresole, Half-story, Arch. A small story intermediate between two others of larger size. A mezzanine or Flemish window was a window either square or broader than it was long, made in an attic, or in a lower story lying between two higher stories.

Mezzo-relievo, It. Sculpture in relief, in which one half of the figure projects; sometimes called Demi-relievo.

Mias, Hind. A commemorative monument.

Mica, Micatio, R. (mico, to move quickly). A game called by the Italians of the present day mora; two players simultaneously stretching out one or more fingers, and each guessing the number held up by his adversary.

Middle Ages. The mediæval period—of transition between ancient and modern times—between the 10th and the 15th centuries is one of the grandest periods in art. It begins with the decay of Rome, and merges into the Renaissance.

Middle Distance, in a landscape:—between the foreground and the background. Great skill is displayed in the expression of distance by the effects of intervening atmospheres, and by the design of intermediate plans carrying the eye onward and suggesting space.

Middle Ground in a landscape. (See Middle Distance.)

Middle Pointed Period of Architecture is a name given to that period of Gothic architecture in England, which is generally described as “the Decorated Period.”

Middle Post. The King-Post in the truss of a roof.

Milan Faience. Fig. 459 is an illustration of the Oriental imitations for which Milan was famous. “It is,” says M. Jacquemart, “of such beautiful enamel that it might be taken for porcelain. The upper and lower edges are decorated with shells, scrolls, and rocailles in relief, heightened with gold; the whole surface has a decoration of peonies and sprigs in blue, red, and gold, which rival in beauty the richest specimens of old Delft.”

Milan Lace. The engraving shows a specimen of Old Milan Point or Reticella from the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in that city. (See Reticella.) (Fig. 460.)

Miliarium, R. (1) A tall narrow copper vessel employed in baths for heating the water. (2) The column of an olive-press (trapetum), which rose from the centre of the mortar (mortarium).

Military Architecture. The science of building fortresses and fortifying town walls, &c. [See Viollet le Duc, “Essai sur l’Architecture militaire au Moyen Age.”]

Milled Money, with grooved edges, was first coined in this country in 1561.

Millefiori. Mosaic glass. (See Glass.)

Milliarium, R. (mille, a thousand, sc. paces). A column placed at intervals of a mile (1618 English yards) along a Roman road to indicate the distance. (Fig. 461.) It was also called lapis. Milliarium aureum was the name given to the golden mile-stone erected by Augustus in the Forum, where the principal roads of the Empire terminated. A stone, called the “London Stone,” in Cannon Street, E.C., is supposed to have marked the centre of the Roman roads in Britain.

Mill-rind, Fer-de-Moline, Her. The iron fixed to the centre of a millstone.

Millstone-grit. The name of a good building stone, plentiful in the north of England. It is supposed to be formed by a re-aggregation of the disintegrated materials of granite. (See the Builder, vol. ix. 639.)

Millus, R. (See Melium.)

Mimbar, Arabic. A pulpit in a mosque. A finely-carved mimbar is in the South Kensington Museum.

Minah, Minar, Hind. A tower or pillar. The Surkh Minar and Minar Chakri, among the topes at Cabul, are almost the only pillars existing in India. They are generally ascribed to Alexander the Great, but are probably Buddhist monuments of the 3rd or 4th century of our era.

Minaret (Arabic menarah, a lantern). A feature peculiar to Mohammedan architecture. A tall, slender shaft or turret, rising high above all surrounding buildings of the mosque to which it is attached; in several stories, with or without external galleries, but usually having three. From these galleries the muezzin summon the faithful to prayer. Blind men are generally selected for this duty, because the minaret commands a view of the house-tops used as sleeping-chambers in the East.

Mineral Black. A native oxide of carbon.

Mineral Blue. A native carbonate of copper which is liable to change its tint to green, if mixed with oil. (Fairholt.)

Mineral Brown. (See Cappagh.)

Mineral Green. Malachite (q.v.). (See Carbonates of Copper.)

Mineral Lake is a French pigment, a kind of orange chrome.

Mineral Yellow. A pigment of chloride of lead, which becomes paler by time. The name has also been applied to Yellow Ochre and Yellow Arsenic (q.v.).

Minerval, R. A present or fee which Roman scholars took to their masters every year, on the fourteenth of the calends of April (19th of March), that is, on occasion of the festivals of Minerva.

Minever, O. E. (1) Either the pure white fur with which the robes of peers and judges are trimmed—“minever pure;” or (2) the ermine with minute spots of black in it—minutus varius—in lieu of the complete tails; or (3) the fur of the ermine mixed with that of the small weasel. (Consult Planché’s Cyclopædia; see also Vair.)

Miniature. Literally, a painting executed in minium (vermilion). Now used for any small picture, and especially for a small portrait.

Ministerium, Chr. All the sacred ornaments and utensils of a church taken collectively.

Minium. A kind of red lead obtained by exposing lead or its protoxide to heat, till it is converted to a red oxide. It is a fine orange pigment, but fugitive and liable to decomposition when mixed with other pigments. The ancient minium was cinnabar, or vermilion. (See Illuminating.)

Minnim, Heb. Stringed musical instruments of the lute or guitar kind.

Minotaur, R. A monster, half man, half bull, confined in the labyrinth constructed by Dædalus in Crete. It was assumed as a device by Gonzalvo Perez, with the motto from Isaiah xxx. 15. (Fig. 462.)

Minster, Abbey-church, O. E. (Germ. Münster). A church to which a monastery was attached; a cathedral. The name survives in “West-minster.”

Minstrel Gallery, O. E. The LOFT in a church was so called.

Minuscule. (See Semi-uncials.)

Minute, It. A subdivision of the module in the measurement of architectural proportion. It is the twelfth, the eighteenth, or the thirtieth part of the Module.

Mirador, Sp. A belvedere, or overhanging bow-window.

Mirror. In the Middle Ages mirrors were often enclosed in cases of metal or carved ivory. The example (Fig. 463) gives a representation of the Siege of the Castle of Love from one of the romances of the period. (See Glass.)

Mirror, Arch. A small oval ornament cut into the deep mouldings, and separated by wreaths of flowers.

Miserere. A projecting bracket, on the sellette of a church stall, on which, when the seat was turned up, there was a leaning-space, available to the infirm during the parts of the service required to be performed standing. (See Sellette.)

Misericorde. The narrow-bladed dagger used to put the victory with sword or lance to the test, by obliging a fallen antagonist to cry for mercy, or by despatching him.

Mis’rha, Hind. Hindoo temples built with two kinds of materials; whence their name of mixed (mis’rha). (See Sud’ha, Vimana, and Sancira.)

Missilia, R. (i. e. things thrown). Presents of cheques or tickets thrown by the emperor and wealthy persons among the people. The cheques were payable to the bearer at the magazine of the donor. (See Congiarium.)

Mistarius, Mixtarius, R. Any vessel of large size used for mixing water with wine.

Mitella, Gr. (dimin. of mitra). (1) A head-band or coif of peaked form worn by Greek women. (2) A scarf used as a bandage or support for a broken arm.

Mithriatic (Festivals), Pers. and R. Festivals held in honour of Mithras, the Persian sun-god.

Mitis Green. (See Emerald Green.)

Mitra, Gr. and R. (μίτρα). (1) A mitre or head-dress of the Galli or priests of Cybelê; it was a Phrygian cap of felt, which was tied under the chin by lappets; it was also called a Phrygian tiara. (2) A cable fastened round the hull of a vessel to strengthen the timbers.

Mitre, Chr. Her. The ensign of archiepiscopal and episcopal rank, placed above the arms of prelates of the Church of England, sometimes borne as a charge, and adopted by the Berkeleys as their crest. The contour of the mitre has varied considerably at various times, growing continually higher and more pointed. It was first worn by bishops about the close of the 10th century. Bishops had three kinds of mitres: the simplex, of plain white linen; the aurifrigata, ornamented with gold orphreys; and the pretiosa, enriched with gold and jewels, for use at high festivals. (Fig. 464.) In Architecture, the corner line formed by the meeting of mouldings intercepting each other at an angle.

Mitten, Mitaine, Anglo-Norman. A glove; not restricted to gloves without fingers. “Gloves made of linnen or woollen, whether knit or stytched: sometimes also they call so gloves made of leather without fingers.” (Ray.) (See Muffetee.)

Moat, Mote. (1) Originally a heap or hillock; the dune on which a tower was built, forming the original castle. The Saxons assembled on such moats or mounds to make laws and administer justice; hence their word witten-mote for parliament. (2) Mod. Usually applied to the fosse of a rampart, the side next the fortress being the scarp, and the opposite the counterscarp.

Mobcap, O. E. A cap tying under a woman’ chin by an excessively broad band, generally made of the same material as the cap itself. (H.)

Moccinigo. A small Venetian coin, worth about 9d. (H.)

Mochado, Mokkado, O. E. (1) A silk stuff, commonly called “mock velvet,” much used in the 16th and 17th centuries. (Fairholt.) (2) A woollen stuff of the same kind. (Halliwell.) It was probably a mixture of silk and wool. (Planché.)

Modena Pottery. The antique pottery of Modena is referred to by Pliny and Livy, but there is no exact record or marked example of wares produced there during the Renaissance. The manufacture flourishes now at Sassuolo, a town ten miles south of Modena.

Modesty Bit or Piece, O. E. “A narrow lace which runs along the upper part of the stays, before, being a part of the tucker, is called the modesty piece.” (Guardian.) “Modesty bits—out of fashion” is an announcement in the London Chronicle, vol. xi. 1762.

Modillions, Arch. Small brackets under the coronæ of cornices; when square they are called Mutules. In the Corinthian order they have carved leaves spread under them. Fig. 465 is taken from the temple of Mars the Avenger, at Rome.

Modius, R. (modus, a measure or standard). The largest Roman measure of capacity.

Module, Arch. A measure adopted by architects to determine by the column the proportions of the different parts of a work of architecture. It is usually the diameter or the semi-diameter of the shaft of the column.

Mœnia, R. A term synonymous with Murus (q.v.); but more comprehensive, in that it implies not merely the idea of walls, but also of the buildings attached to them.

Mogul Architecture is that of the buildings erected in the reigns of the Mogul emperors, kings of Delhi, from A. D. 1531 to the present century.

Moilon (Fr. moellon), Arch. Rubble-masonry.

Mokador, Mocket, O. E. A napkin, handkerchief, or bib.

Mola, R. (molo, to grind). A mill; mola manuaria, a hand-mill; mola buxea, a box-wood mill, or mill for grinding pepper; mola aquaria, a water-mill; mola asinaria, a mill worked by a beast of burden; mola versatilis, a grindstone (Fig. 466 represents Love sharpening his arrows, from an engraved gem); mola olearia, a mill for crushing olives.

Mold, O. E. (for mould). Earth; ground. The word is constantly applied to the ground in works of art. (See Degrevant, 1039; Halliwell.)

Moline, Her. A cross terminating like the Mill-rind. In modern cadency it is the difference of the eighth son.

Mollicina, Molochina (sc. vestis), R. (μολόχινα, i. e. mallow-coloured). A garment made from the fibres of a mallow (hibiscus).

Mona Marble. A beautiful marble of a greenish colour, obtained in the Isle of Anglesea.

Monastic Orders consisted of Benedictine or black monks, and Cistercian or white monks. There were the Regular Orders, the Military Orders, the Conventual Orders, Colleges, &c.

Monaulos, Gr. and R. (μόν-αυλος, single-flute). A Greek pipe made of a reed, of Egyptian origin, blown at the end without a reed mouthpiece, and remarkable for the sweetness of its tone.

Monelle, Monial, Moynel, Arch. (See Mullions.)

Moneris, Gr. (μον-ήρης, single). A galley or ship with a single bench of rowers.

Monile, Gr. and R. A necklace or collar. Fig. 468 represents a bronze necklace belonging to the Gaulish period, and Fig. 467 a part of the same necklace on a larger scale. By analogy the term was applied to the ornaments worn by horses about the neck. (See Necklaces.)

Monks, Chr. In the religious iconography of the Gothic period, especially the 14th and 15th centuries, there frequently occur grotesque representations of monks. (See Fig. 351.)

Monmouth Cap, O. E. A cap worn by soldiers and sailors.

Monochord. A one-stringed musical instrument, much used for measuring the proportions of length which yield the various sounds within an octave.

Monochrome Painting. (1) Painting in a single colour, as, for instance, red upon a black ground, or white upon a red ground. The most numerous class of specimens of this kind of painting are upon terra-cotta, as the Etruscan vases. (2) The term is applied to paintings in tints of one colour, in imitation of bas-reliefs.

Monogram. A combination of two or more letters into one design, illustrated especially in ecclesiastical decoration of the 14th and 15th centuries, &c. The abbreviation IHS is said to have been invented by St. Bernardino of Siena about 1437. For Artists’ monograms, see Stellway, Heller, Brulliot (Dictionaries of Monograms).

Monolith (μονό-λιθος). An object formed of a single block of stone.

Monolium, Monolinum, R. A necklace formed with a single string of pearls. (See Monile.)

Monoloris, R. (Gr. μόνος, one, and Lat. lorum, a thong. A hybrid word). Decorated with a single band of purple and gold, like the Paragauda (q.v.).

Monopodium (sc. mensa), R. (μονο-πόδιον). A table with a single foot.

Monopteral, Arch. (μονό-πτερος). With a single wing; a circular temple or shrine, consisting of a roof supported on columns, without any cella.

Monostyle, Arch. (1) Piers of a single shaft are sometimes distinguished by this name from compound piers, then called for distinction polystyle. (2) A building which is of one style of architecture throughout; or (3) surrounded by a single row of pillars.

Monota, Gr. A vase with one ear (or handle).

Monotriglyph, Arch. The intercolumniation in the Doric order, which embraces one triglyph and two metopes in the entablature. (Parker’s Glossary of Architecture.)

Monoxylos, Monoxylus, Gr. and R. (μονόξυλος). Literally, hewn or made out of a single piece of wood.

Monsters, in Architecture. (See Centaur, Griffin, Grotesques, Sphinx, &c.)

Monstrance, Expositorium, Chr. (monstrare, to show). An ornamental vessel of gold, silver, silver-gilt, or gilded or silvered copper, representing usually a sun with rays, in the centre of which is a lunule or glass box in which the consecrated wafer is carried and exposed on the altars of churches. The earliest monstrances, which are now called expositories, do not date beyond the 12th century. Very ancient specimens exist at Rheims, Namur, &c.

Montem. An annual custom at Eton; a procession of boats ad montem. (See Brand, i. 237.)

Montero. “A close hood wherewith travellers preserve their faces and heads from frostbiting and weather-beating in winter.” (Cotgrave.)

Monteth, O. E. A vessel used for cooling wine-glasses in. (Halliwell.)

Mont-la-haut. “A certain wier (wire) that raises the head-dress by degrees or stories.” (Ladies’ Dict., 1694.)

Montmorency Escutcheon. (See the illustration to Hunting flask.)

Monumentum, R. (moneo, to remind). In general, any token, statue, or monument intended to perpetuate the memory of anything. Monumentum sepulchri is the name given to a tomb. The Monument of the Great Fire of London, erected by Sir Christopher Wren, is of the Italo-Vitruvian-Doric order, of Portland stone, and consists of a pedestal about 21 feet square, with a plinth 27 feet, and a fluted shaft 15 feet at the base; on the abacus is a balcony encompassing a moulded cylinder, which supports a flaming vase of gilt bronze, indicative of its commemoration of the Great Fire. Defoe describes it as “built in the form of a candle with a handsome gilt frame.” Its entire height is 202 feet, and it is the loftiest isolated column in the world. Its interior contains a spiral staircase of 345 black marble steps. (See Cochlis.)

Monyal, O. E. for Mullion (q.v.).

Moorish Architecture, or Arabian or Mohammedan architecture, arose at the beginning of the 7th century in the East, and in Spain, Sicily, and Byzantium in Europe. The style originated in a free adaptation of different features of Christian architecture, and their earliest mosques were built by Christian architects. The horse-shoe arch is a very early characteristic of their style, and the pointed arch appears at Cairo and elsewhere three centuries earlier than in Europe. The most perfect specimen of the luxury of decoration of which this style is capable is found in the Alhambra. (See Alhambraic Architecture; consult the Essai sur l’Architecture des Arabes et des Mores, by Girault de Prangy, 1841.)

Moor-stone. A very coarse granite found in Cornwall and some other parts of England, and of great value for the coarser parts of building; it is also found in immense strata in Ireland. Its colours are chiefly black and white.

Moot-hall, O. E. A public assembly-house; a town hall, &c. (See Moat.)

Mora, R. (mora, an obstacle). A projection or cross-bar on a spear to prevent its penetrating too far.

Mordaunt, Fr. The catch for the tongue of the buckle of a belt.

Moresco-Spanish, or Saracenic Textiles wrought in Spain, are remarkable for an ingenious imitation of gold, produced by shreds of gilded parchment cut up into narrow flat strips and woven with the silk.

Moresque or Moresco-Spanish Architecture is the work of Moorish workmen, executed for their Christian masters in Spain. The most remarkable examples are in the city of Toledo (described by Street, Gothic Architecture in Spain).

Morion. A head-piece of the 16th century, introduced by the Spaniards, who had copied it from the Moors, to the rest of Europe about 1550. It was worn as late as the reign of Charles I. There were peaked morions, coming to a point at the top; and high combed morions, surmounted by a kind of crest or ridge.

Moriones, R. (1) Idiots, dwarfs, or deformed persons, used as slaves, to afford amusement in the houses of the great. (2) A dark-brown gem; perhaps the smoky topaz.

Morisco, O. E. (See Morris Dance.)

Moristan, Arab. A hospital.

Morne, Mornette. The head of a blunted tilting-lance, the point being turned back.

Morning Star, O. E. A club called also a Holy Water Sprinkler (q.v.).

Morris Dance, O. E. (or Moorish). A very ancient dance, of masked and costumed performers, with bells, &c.

Morris Pike, O. E. (for Moorish). Long pikes copied from those of the Moors, the staves of which were covered with little nails.

Morse, Chr. (Fr. mordre, to bite). The clasp or brooch which fastened the cope on the breast. (See the illustration to Pope.)

Mort, O. E. (death). The notes blown on the horn at the death of a deer.

Mortuary Palls, in the Middle Ages, for the covering of the biers of dead people were richly decorated. One at Amiens is decorated, upon white stripes on a black ground, with skulls and bones and the words “memento mori” interspersed.

Mosaic, or more correctly Musaic Work. Opus Musivum, glass mosaic; Opus Tesselatum, clay mosaic; Opus Lithostrotum, stone mosaic.

Mosaic Glass, Millefiori. (See Glass.)

Mose. (1) Probably a dish (“Dyschmete” made of apples was called “Appulmoce”). (2) For Morse (q.v.).

Moton, O. E. A piece of armour intended to protect the right armpit, used in the reigns of Henry VI., Edward IV., and Richard III.

Mottoes, in Heraldry, are words, or very short sentences, sometimes placed above the crest, but generally below the shield. Mottoes are sometimes emblematical or allusive, and frequently punning, as the “Set on” of the Setons, the “Tight on” of the Tittons, and the “Est hic” of the Eastwicks. (See Labels [2].)

Mould. (See Mold.)

Mouldings. A general term for the varieties of outline given to subordinate parts of architecture, such as cornices, capitals, bases, &c. These (described in their places) are principally: the Fillet or List, the Astragal or Bead, the Cyma Reversa or Ogee, the Cyma Recta or Cyma, the Cavetto or hollow moulding, the Ovolo or quarter round, the Scotia or Trochilus. These are frequently enriched by foliage, egg and tongue and other ornaments, &c. (See the article in Parker’s Glossary of Architecture for a history of the diversities of the mouldings in the different styles.)

Moulinet. A machine for winding up a cross-bow.

Mound, Her. A globe encircled and arched over with rich bands, and surmounted by a cross-patée; an ensign of the royal estate. (See Crown, Orb, Regalia.)

Mountain or Mineral Blue (Green). (See Carbonates of Copper.)

Moustiers Faience. Moustiers in Provence is one of the most important of the French ceramic centres. The mug represented in Fig. 469 is coloured with varied enamels, and ornamented with medallion and wreaths.

Muckinder, Muckinger, O. E. A pocket-handkerchief (sc. dirty).

Mueta, Med. Lat. (Old Fr. muette). A watch-tower.

Muffler. A handkerchief covering the chin and throat, and sometimes used to cover the face (muffle or muzzle).

Muffs were introduced into England from France in the reign of Charles II. They were previously known in England, but were subsequently more common, and used by both sexes. Very little variation has occurred in their manufacture.

Muglias, Arab. A kind of pastilles; a substance employed in the Middle Ages for making odoriferous beads; they were burnt for fumigations.

Mulctra, Mulctrale, Mulctrum, R. and Chr. (mulgeo, to milk). A milk-pail for milking cows. In Christian archæology it is a pastoral vessel which is a eucharistic symbol.

Mullets, Her. Stars generally of five, but sometimes of six or more rays. Fig. 470 is of the date 1295, and Fig. 471 its development in 1431.

Mulleus, Mule, R. (mullus, a red mullet). A red half-boot, which only certain magistrates had the right of wearing, viz. the ancient dictators, consuls, prætors, censors, and ædiles.

Mullions or Munnions, Arch. The slender piers which separate a window into several compartments.

Multifoiled, Arch. Having many Foils (q.v.). This term is synonymous with POLYFOILED.

Mummy. This pigment should be made of the pure Egyptian asphaltum, ground up with drying oil or with amber varnish.

Mummy-cloths (Egyptian) were of fine unmixed flaxen linen, beautifully woven, of yarns of nearly 100 hanks in the pound, with 140 threads in an inch in the warp, and about 64 in the woof.

Muniment-rooms, to be strong and fire-proof, were erected over porches, gateways, &c. They contained charters, archives, &c. (See Charter-house.)

Munnions, Arch., for Mullions (q.v.).

Mural. Generally, on a wall; as—

Mural Arch. An arch against a wall, frequent in the aisles of mediæval buildings.