Tabard, O. E. (Lat. colobium). A tunic with sleeves, worn over the armour by knights of the Tudor period, and blazoned on the sleeves, front, and back; it is the official costume of a herald; Chaucer’s ploughman wears a tabard, like the modern smock-frock. (See Coat armour.) Fig. 642.

Tabaret. A stout, satin-striped silk.

Tabbinet, O. E. Another name for Poplin.

Tabby, O. E. A silk watered or figured.

Tabella, Gen. (dimin. of tabula). A small board, or tablet, of any kind, esp. (1) a wax-tablet; (2) a voting-tablet (tessera); (3) a letter sent by a messenger (tabellarius); (4) tabella absolutoria, a receipt for a debt; (5) tabella damnatoria, a judicial record of a verdict and sentence; (6) tabella liminis, the leaf of a door, &c.

Taberna, R. (1) A retail shop; Fig. 643 shows a shop at Pompeii, restored. (2) Taberna deversoria, taberna meritoria, or simply taberna, a wine-shop or tavern. (Fig. 643.)

Tabernacle Work, Arch. The ornamented open work over the stalls (of a cathedral church, &c.), and, in general, any minute ornamental open work is called tabernacle work.

Tabernaculum, Tabernacle, R. and Chr. (Lit. a tent). (1) A booth of planks, or a wooden hut covered with hides. (2) In Christian archæology, the tabernacle is a small shrine placed on the altar for the consecrated wafer. It succeeded the pyx, which was anciently deposited in one of two chambers arranged on each side of the altar. Originally of goldsmith’s work, in the 15th and 16th centuries they became stone shrines decorated with sculpture, approached by steps, rising into lanterns and pinnacles to the roof of the church. A cast of a beautiful tabernacle of late 15th century, marble with a gilt metal door, is in the South Kensington Museum. Tabernacles of ivory were common in the 16th century. (3) Ornamental niches in a hall. (4) Accurately applied the term signifies a canopy, (of stone, wood, or other material) such as was placed over a Niche, a stall, &c.

Tabernula. Dimin. of Taberna (q.v.).

Tabinet. (See Tabbinet.)

Tabl shamee, Egyp. The Syrian drum, used by the modern Egyptians; a kind of kettle-drum of tinned copper, with a parchment face.

Tablature, Fr. One part of a painted wall or ceiling, forming a single piece or design.

Table, O. E. The ancient meaning of this word was “any level expanded surface,” such as a flat piece of board. A picture was called a table (Latin tabula) as late as the 17th century. (See Tabula.)

Table-base, Arch. A Base moulding, near the ground, immediately over the plinth.

Table Diamond. A gem cut with a flat surface.

Tablementum, Arch. Synonym of Tabula.

Tables, O. E. (1) Backgammon. (2) Ivory writing-tablets, so called, were used in the middle ages in England by people of all ranks:—

Tablet. (Fr. tablette.) Any flat surface for inscriptions; leaves for memoranda.

Tablets. In architecture a general term for small projecting mouldings or strings, mostly horizontal. The tablet at the top, under the battlement, is called a cornice, and that at the bottom a basement, under which is generally a thicker wall. The tablet running round doors and windows is called a dripstone, and if ornamented a canopy. (Rickman, p. 42.)

Tabletterie, Fr. Turned work in ivory or shells, &c.

Tablinum, R. One of the apartments in a Roman house; it was a recess in the Atrium, and contained the wax or ivory portraits and statues in bronze and marble of ancestors, and carved representations of their honourable achievements in the state, and the family archives. (See Domus.)

Tabor, Tabour, O. E. A very loud drum “which is bad for people’s heads, for, if stretched tight and struck hard, it may be heard at half a league’s distance.”

Tabouret. An embroidery frame.

Tabret, Heb. A small tabor.

Tabula, R. and Chr. (1) Literally, a plank, and thence used to denote a variety of objects made of wood or planks, as for instance a bench; a dice-table; a waxed writing-tablet (tabula cerata); a panel-painting; a votive-tablet; a voting-ticket. (2) Arch. Properly any solid construction adapted for superficial decoration, as the frontal of an altar. “The most remarkable example of the tabula destined for the front of the Altar, is preserved in Westminster Abbey; it is formed of wood, elaborately carved, painted and enriched with a kind of mosaic work of coloured glass, superficially inlaid, a species of decoration of Italian origin.” (Consult Parker’s Glossary s.v.) (3) In Christian archæology, tabulæ nuptiales or dotales was the name given to the parchment scrolls in the hands of persons who figure in the marriage scenes represented on tombs.

Tabularium, R. A place set apart in the temples at Rome where the public records were kept.

Tace, Chr. The cross or crutch of St. Anthony.

Taces. (See Tassets.) The skirts or coverings to the pockets. (Meyrick.)

Taces. Overlapping plates of armour to envelope the abdomen (see Taches), introduced in the 14th century, under Richard II.

Tack or Dag, O. E. A kind of pistol: something like a petronel.

Tæda or Teda, R. A resinous torch made with pieces and slips of the pine called teda.

Tænia, Gr. and R. (1) The ribbon with which a wreath or fillet round the head was attached. (2) In architecture, the band which separates the Doric frieze from the architrave; it is, in many cases, ornamented with painting similar to that shown in Fig. 644.

Taffeta (Pers. taftah, from taftan, to twist). A thin, glossy silken fabric, having a wavy lustre; a less costly silk than Cendal (q.v.), 16th century. Stow records that it was first made in England by John Tyce, of Shoreditch, London, 41 Elizabeth, 1598.

Taille de bois, Fr. Wood-engraving.

Taille douce, Fr. Copper-plate engraving.

Taille dure, Fr. Steel engraving.

Tail-piece. An ornamental design placed at the end of a page or chapter of a book. In French cul-de-lampe.

Takel, O. E. An arrow,—

Talaria, R. (talus, the ankle). Wings fixed to the ankles; the attribute of Mercury, Perseus, and sometimes Minerva. They are represented either attached to sandals, or growing from the limb.

Talbot, Her. A badge of the Earl of Shrewsbury of that name (the “Scourge of France”). A silver running hound or talbot.

Talbotype. The photographic process of multiplying impressions from a negative, invented by Mr. Fox Talbot. (See Calotype.)

Talc (from Germ. Talg, tallow). A translucent mineral, resembling mica but much softer, “being calcined and variously prepared, it maketh a curious whitewash, which some justify lawful, because clearing not changing the complexion.” (Fuller.) The Chinese make lanterns, shades, and ornaments of talc.

Talent, Gr. and R. (τάλαντον, lit. a balance). A weight of silver with the Greeks, and of copper with the Romans; applied as a unit of value. The Greek talent of silver is estimated at rather less than 250l. sterling—it contained 60 minæ, or 6000 drachmæ. The Attic talent was of much smaller value, of less than an ounce of gold, and is that generally intended by the word. The silver talent was called talentum magnum. The Jewish talent of silver = about 396l., and of gold = about 5475l. From its application as an expression of a man’s available wealth, metaphorically applied in Scripture to resources of any kind, as of intellect, position, &c., for the due unselfish administration of which he is responsible.

Talero, It. A Venetian silver coin = about five francs.

Talevas, Talvas. (See Tavolace.)

Tali, R. (Gr. ἀστράγαλος). Knuckle-bones of sheep or goats, used from the earliest times, exactly as they are by children now, to play with. When they were marked with black dots on each face they were used as dice. The numbers were 1, 3, 4 and 6; 1 being opposite to 6, and 3 opposite to 4; and each number, and each cast, had its appropriate name: 1 was called in Greek μονὰς, εἷς, κύων, Χῖος; Ionic οἴνη; Latin, unio, vulturius, canis; 3 was τριὰς, and ternio; 4, τετρὰς, and quaternio; 6, ἑξὰς, ἑξίτης, Κῷος, and senio. The best throw was that called Venus or jactus Venereus, in which the four tali showed different numbers. By this cast the player became king of the feast or symposium; in the canis (dog-throw), on the other hand, all four dice turned up the same number.

Talisman (Arab, tilsam, a magical image). A charm worn about the person as a protection from dangers, especially from the effects of magic and the “evil eye.” The bullæ worn by children, and the rings of the ladies among the Greeks and Romans frequently contained such charms. The practice has survived in all ages and nations, and is not at all unfrequent in the 19th century, and even among the educated classes.

Tall-boys, O. E. High cups or glasses.

Tall-men, O. E. Loaded dice.

Tall-wood, O. E. “Pacte wodde to make byllettes of, taillee.” (Palsgrave.)

Talleh, Arab. Myrrh from Abyssinia.

Tallow-cut (Fr. en cabuchon). This is a term applied by lapidaries to precious stones not cut into regular facets, but ground down and polished.

Tally, O. E. (Fr. tailler, to cut.) An ancient method of keeping record of monies advanced to the Royal Exchequer. A tally was a piece of wood inscribed with a receipt, which was split by an officer, and one part delivered to the lender, and the other, called the Stock, preserved in the Tally-office in the Exchequer. Hence the name Stocks for the Government securities. After the disuse of the tallies in 1782 the old ones were used for firing in the Houses of Parliament, and caused their destruction in 1834.

Talmud (Chaldean, lit. instruction,) consists of two parts, the Mishna and Gemara; and contains the whole body of Hebrew law and traditions.

Talus. (1) R. The game of knuckle-bones. (See Astragalus.) (2) Arch. The sloping part of a work, a term in fortification.

Talvace, O. E. A shield or buckler, circular and projecting.

Talvas, O. E. An oblong wooden shield, 14th century.

Tambour, Fr. A small drum. Rich embroidery work done on a drum-shaped frame.

Tamboura. An ancient musical instrument of the lute or guitar kind. The Hindoos represent Ganesa, the god of wisdom, as a man with the head of an elephant, holding a tamboura in his hands.

Tambourine. A small drum with only one skin, played on by the hand.

Tamine, Taminy, Tammy (Fr. tamis, a sieve). A thin woollen textile, highly glazed.

Tampion. (See Tompion.)

Tang-fish. Seals are so called in the Shetlands.

Tankard. (Norman Fr. Tankar.) A drinking-jug with a cover. The name is said to be compounded of étain, tin, and quarte, a quart measure. The Flemish had tankards of wood, with pegs down the sides, to measure the quantity drunk. (See Figs. 615 and 645.) (See Pokal.)

Tapestry. The introduction of tapestry properly so called dates from the 12th century, when it began to rival the more ancient embroidered stuffs called Sarrazinois carpets. Tapestry is woven on looms, i. e. on a warp rolled round two cylinders, and stretched out between them either vertically or horizontally, for the insertion of the woof between and among the threads. When woven on a vertical warp, it is called high-warp (haute-lisse); when horizontal, low-warp (basse-lisse). The former produces, for many reasons, incomparably the finest work, and is the method adopted for the Gobelins and Savonnerie tapestries. The progress of the art has followed, especially in Flanders, that of painting, from which its models are derived. It has become less popular than it was during the present century, from the general disuse of hangings in the decoration of houses. Perhaps the best condensed account of this extensive subject is the work of M. Alfred de Champeaux, translated for the South Kensington Museum. (See Bayeux Tapestry.)

Tapul, O. E. The perpendicular ridge down the centre of a breastplate.

Tar-black. A kind of lamp-black prepared by the combustion of coal tar, or of the heavy oils of tar and schist.

Targe, Fr. Med. A dagger or small sword: “Les autres gens avoient targes et semitarges, qui sont espées de Turquie.” (See Semitarge.)

Targe or Target, O. E. A round shield.

Targe (or Pavoise) Futée, Fr. A shield composed of several pieces, which loosened on being struck, and fell asunder. The Swabian jousters at Maximilian’s triumph are described (Meyrick, vol. ii.) as bearing these shields.

Targe, Target. (Welsh targa, wicker-work.)

Targum, Chaldee (lit. interpretation). A paraphrase, or lesson from the Old Testament in the Chaldee language.

Tarn. A mountain lake.

Tarots. Emblematical cards still used in Switzerland and parts of Germany. “They are unknown, except as curiosities, to the Parisians and to ourselves; but they are, nevertheless, the sole representatives of the original cards which the Gipsies brought with them into Europe.” (Rev. E. S. Taylor.)

Tarpaulin. A tarred palling or covering.

Tars, Cloth of. A web of silk and the downy wool of goats of Tibet, the forerunner of cashmere.

Tarsia or Intarsia. A kind of mosaic in woods; representing views of buildings and ornament of various kinds, by inlaying pieces of wood, of various colours and shades, into panels of walnut wood.

Tarsus. In Anatomy, the instep and socket of the ankle-bone.

Tartan, Fr. (not Gaelic). The Highland plaid, the dress of the Scottish Highlanders, said to be derived from the Celta; the Galli non braccati.

Tartarium. Cloth of Tars was a costly cloth of royal purple, probably a mixture of silk and goat’s hair from Thibet. It is mentioned by Chaucer:—

Tas or Tats, Egyp. Amulets of gilded sycamore wood, cornelian, jasper, glass, &c., found suspended from the necks of mummies.

Tassel-gentle, O. E. (for tercel-gentle). A species of hawk. (Shakspeare.)

Tasses. Flaps of armour attached to the bottom of the breastplate for the protection of the thighs.

Tat or Dad, Egyp. A sculptor’s stool; a religious emblem worn by gods and sacred animals round the neck. The term was also probably a name of Mendés.

Tau, Taucross. (1) Her. A cross formed like the letter T, so called in Greek. This charge is also called the Cross of St. Anthony. (2) Chr. As a motive for ornamental design the tau is the ancient form of the episcopal staff as represented in the catacombs. Originally curved like the pagan lituus, it became in the 8th century straight. The Taus were often hollowed to contain relics, &c. (Consult Ivories, by W. Maskell, pp. 84, 85.)

Tauntons. A kind of broad cloth made at Taunton in Somersetshire.

Tavolace or Talevas (It. tavolaccio). A large thick wooden shield; like a table (tavola) of wood (hence its name), 15th century.

Tawdry. Showy. The word is said to be derived from Ethelreda torquem, St. Ethelred’s necklace, which was composed of rows of twisted lace, an ornament much used by Anglo-Saxon ladies. (Stormont.)

Tawdry Lace. A kind of fine lace alluded to by Shakspeare, Spenser, &c. (Halliwell.)

Tawney, O. E. A deep orange colour, used in the Middle Ages as a livery colour.

Tawney Coat, O. E. The dress of summoner or apparitor. (Shakspeare.)

Taxidermy. The art of preserving the skins of animals.

Tazza, It. An ornamental cup or vase, with a flat shallow bowl, standing on a foot, and with handles.

Tchy, Chinese. Twelve recurrent periods of the cycle of sixty years, represented by animals assigned to the twelve months, i. e. the signs of the Chinese Zodiac. They are: November, the rat; December, the ox; January, the tiger; February, the rabbit; March, the dragon; April, the serpent; May, the horse; June, the hare; July, the ape; August, the hen; September, the dog; October, the boar. The above are accordingly frequent accessories of designs on porcelain.

Te Deum, Chr. The first words and title of a hymn composed by St. Augustin and St. Ambrose about 390.

Tegillum, E. (dimin. of tegulum, a roof). A short mantle with a hood, made of a coarse material; worn by country people and fishermen.

Tegula, R. (Gr. κέραμος; Lat. tego, to cover). A roofing tile; originally of baked clay or wooden shingles. At an early date (620 B.C.) tiles of marble were introduced, and were followed by tiles of gilded bronze; per tegulas exire means to go out by the opening in the roof of the atrium, the compluvium.

Teheran Ware. An inferior Persian majolica.

Tela, R. A loom, an essential adjunct to every large establishment in ancient Rome; tela jugalis was the simplest description of weaving-loom. The warp was called stamen from its upright position; the woof subtegmen or trama. In Greek στήμων and κρόκη.

Telamones, R. Figures of men, which were employed in lieu of columns to support an entablature. (See Atlantes.) (Fig. 646.)

Temo, R. The pole of a carriage, waggon, plough, &c.

Tempera Painting. Painting with pigments mixed with chalk or clay, and diluted with weak glue or size; chiefly used in scene-painting and decoration. (See Distemper.)

Templars. An order of knighthood introduced about A. D. 1118, and suppressed A. D. 1309. They wore a red Maltese cross on a white field, and bore a banner showing that cross on a white field; and a second banner of black and white called Beau Séant, this word Beau Séant being their battle-cry. Their badges were the Agnus Dei, or Lamb and Flag; and a device representing two knights on one horse, indicating the original poverty of the order. This is blazoned in modern times as a pegasus, the two knights being mistaken for wings on a flying horse.

Template. (1) A model in thin board of an ornament to be produced in sculpture. (2) A short timber under a girder.

Temple. (See Templum.)

Temple Church, London—a round church—is a representative specimen of the transition period of architecture in England from the Norman to the Early English. “The Eastern part is a most excellent specimen of plain light Early English, and its growing and slender piers are perhaps unequalled.” (Rickman, Architecture in England, &c.)

Templet. (See Template.)

Templum, Temple, R. (τέμνω, to cut off). A Greek temple was not originally intended for worshippers, but as a shrine for the gods. In the earliest times the Greek temples were made of wood, and the primitive origin of them was probably a hollow tree in which the image was placed as in a niche. The early Greek temples were dark and gloomy, having no windows, but lighted through the door, or by lamps. At a very early stage in history, temples of great grandeur and beauty are mentioned. All temples were built in an oblong or round form, and were mostly adorned with columns; they were classified accordingly as astyle, without any columns; in antis, with two columns in front, between the antæ; prostyle, with four columns in front; or amphiprostyle, with four columns at each end; peripteral, with columns at each end and along the sides; or dipteral, with two ranges of columns all round, one within the other, &c. They were also described according to the number of columns in the porticoes, as tetrastyle, hexastyle, decastyle, &c.,—this number was never uneven; or according to the intercolumniation, as pycnostyle, systyle, eustyle, diastyle, or aræostyle. Many of the great temples consisted of three parts: the pronaos or vestibule; the cella, properly the naos; and the opisthodomos.

Tendrils of a vine or other creeping plant, with which it clasps the objects that support it, furnish abundant suggestions for ornamental designs in scroll-work.

Tenebrosi. A school of Italian artists who devoted their attention to striking Rembrandt effects of light and shade; represented by Caravaggio.

Tenent, Tenant. A term in French heraldry applied to human figures as Supporters.

Tennée or Tawney, Her. A deep orange colour, indicated by vertical lines crossing Purpure.

Tenon. The end of a piece of wood, shaped to fit into another piece.

Tenor. In Music, a high male voice.

Tensa or Thensa, R. A triumphal car, probably in the form of a platform on wheels, and richly decorated, upon which the images of certain gods were paraded during the Circensian games. The ceremony was regarded as one of the highest solemnity, and the car was escorted by the senators in robes of state, who helped to drag the carriage or to lead the horses, with thongs attached for the purpose.

Tenture, Fr. Paper or tapestry hangings.

Tepidarium, R. (tepidus, lukewarm). (1) A warm room in a bath; used as a preparation for the Sudatorium. (2) The vessel in which the water was heated.

Tercel, O. E. The male hawk. (Shakspeare.)

Terce major. A sequence of three best cards.

Terebenthina. Turpentine.

Terebra, R. (tero, to rub or wear away). (1) Any tool used for boring, such as a drill, a gimlet, an auger, &c. (2) A mechanical ram contrived to pierce the walls of a fortification.

Terginum, R. (tergum, the back). A leathern lash used for flogging slaves.

Terminal Figures. Statues of the god Terminus. (See Termini, Hermæ.)

Terminalia, R. Festivals in honour of Terminus the god of boundaries; they took place yearly on the eighth day of the calends of March (23rd of February), which was the last day of the old Roman year.

Termini, Terms, R. The statues of the god Terminus, which consisted merely of posts or pillars for landmarks, were crowned with garlands by the proprietors of co-terminous lands.

“When Tarquin the Proud desired to build a temple to Jupiter upon the Tarpeian rock, he begged all the inferior divinities to give up the altars they had upon the rock in favour of the master of them all. All the gods cheerfully consented except Terminus. This Terminus, therefore, who refused to yield to Jupiter, was chosen by Erasmus for his haughty device, with the motto Cedo nulli.” (Mr. Palliser, Historic Devices, &c.) (See Fig. 648.)

Terra-cotta, It. Baked clay; largely used in architectural ornament.

Terra da Boccali, It. (See Terra di Lava.)

Terra di Lava, It. A clay which was anciently used in combination with charcoal to form a white ground for the reception of oil colours.

Terra di Siena. An ochreous earth producing a yellow and a deep orange pigment; useful for oil and water-colour painting. (See Siena.)

Terra Nera. Black earth; an ancient pigment.

Terra Verde. (See Green Earth.)

Terraglia. (See Pottery.)

Terretta, It. (See Terra di Lava.)

Terry Velvet. A kind of silk plush or ribbed velvet.

Tertiary Colours, produced by the mixture of two secondary colours, are greys, inclining to the primary or secondary colour which is in excess in their composition. (Consult Chevreuil on Colours.)

Teruncius, R. A silver coin equal in value to one-fourth of an as.

Tessela, R. (diminutive of tessera). A small cube of stone or marble used for making mosaic pavements (tesselatum opus or tesselata structura).

Tesselated pavement. Inlaid or mosaic work composed of tesselæ. Tesselatum flagrum. (See Flagrum.) Cf. Musivum Opus. (Consult Buckman and Newmarch, Remains of Roman Art in Cirencester.)

Tessera, R. (Gr. κύβος). A cube, a die; tesseræ, tesseræ lusoriæ, dice of ivory, bone, or wood; the dice-box is fritillus. (Compare Talus.) Tessera hospitalis was an oblong token of wood or earthenware, exchanged among families agreed to mutual hospitality. Many of these tokens have the bust of Jupiter Hospitalis impressed; tessera theatralis, a pass to the theatre; tessera militaris (Gr. σύνθημα), a tablet on which the watch-word or war-cry of the day was written; it was passed about the ranks before joining battle. Tesseræ frumentariæ or nummariæ, vouchers for bread or money distributed by the magistrates among the poor. (Cf. Tessela, Talus, Tabulæ.)

Testa, R. A sherd of tiles or pottery, and thence an earthenware vase.

Testaceum, R. (testa). Made of tiles; the term was used to denote a roofing or pavement made with the fragments of broken tiles.

Tester. (1) Any flat canopy. The framework over a four-post bedstead. (2) A silver coin so called from the head (teste) of the king upon it. In the reign of Henry VIII. it was worth 12d. and afterwards 6d. French testers were struck by Louis XII. in 1513, and Scotch under Queen Mary in 1559.

Testière, Med. Fr. Originally, mailed armour for a horse’s head, subsequently a plate between the ears on which a crest was fixed. (See Chanfron.)

Testif, Fr. Camel’s hair.

Testudinatus, R. Made in the form of a Testudo (q.v.); the term was applied either to a roof or a ceiling.

Testudineus, R. Made with tortoise-shells.

Testudo, R. (testa, a shell). (1) A tortoise, and thence a lyre of which the sounding bottom was made out of a tortoise-shell. (2) In Architecture, an arched ceiling, the four sides of which converge to a centre. (3) Testudo arietaria was a movable wooden shed covered with skins and containing a battering-ram (Fig. 574). (4) Lastly the term denoted a kind of defensive roof formed by the shields of soldiers when advancing to the foot of a rampart (Fig. 649).

Tetra-chordon, Gr. and R. (τετρά-χορδον). Literally, having four strings; hydraulos tetrachordon was a hydraulic organ with four pipes.

Tetra-comus, Gr. A banqueting-song sung at the festival of Bacchus during the fourth course (κῶμος).

Tetra-doros (sc. later), Gr. A peculiar kind of brick described by Vitruvius; it was called from its measuring four hand-breadths.

Tetra-drachmum, Gr. (τετρά-δραχμον). An Attic silver coin of the value of four drachmæ, or about 3s. 3d.

Tetra-foliated, Arch. Said of any architectural decoration showing four foils.

Tetragon. A plane figure having four angles; a four-sided figure.

Tetra-morph, Chr. (Gr. τέσσαρα, four; μορφὴ, shape). The union of the four attributes of the Evangelists (the angel, eagle, lion, and ox), in one figure, e. g. as a woman crowned and seated on an animal which, with the body of a horse, has the four heads of the mystic creatures; and of the four feet one is human, one hoofed for the ox, one clawed like an eagle’s, and one like a lion’s; underneath is inscribed Animal Ecclesiæ.

Tetra-style, Gr. and R. (τετράστυλος). Having four columns. (See Templum.)

Tetra-vela, Lat. “The veils or curtains placed between the pillars which supported the canopy of the altar, at the sides and in front, and which were drawn round it when the priest was not officiating.” (Fairholt.)

Teutonic Order. A military order of knights, established in the Holy Land about 1191. They first subdued and Christianized Prussia.

Tewel, Arch. (From the French tuyau.) A pipe or flue to convey smoke; it is mentioned by Chaucer:

Textile, R. (texo, to weave). Woven. Anything capable of being woven.

Texture. In Art, the surface appearance of a representation not of textiles only, but of the other parts of a picture—wood, marble, skin, hair, &c. Gerard Dow excels in texture.

Thalamifera, Gr. A term applied, in describing ancient sculpture, to kneeling figures supporting tablets, on which figures of the gods or inscriptions are carved.

Thalamus, Gr. and R. (θάλαμος). The nuptial chamber in a Roman house; the others were called Dormitoria.

Thalysia, Gr. (θαλύ-σια). Greek festivals of the harvest and vintage.

Thargelia, Gr. (θαργήλια). Very ancient festivals held at Athens on the occasion of a plague or other public disaster in honour of Apollo and Artemis; in which two persons, generally criminals, were put to death for the purification of the city.

Thaumaturgi, Chr. (θαυματο-εργός). Workers of miracles.

Theatrum, Theatre, Gr. and R. (θέατρον, lit. a place for seeing). The construction of the ancient Greek theatre was similar to that of modern theatres. The seats rose one behind and above the other in concentric half-circles, and the whole space enclosed was called cavea, the pit, being in most cases a real excavation from the rock. The central level space within and below the circles for spectators was covered with boards, upon which the chorus danced and performed their part. This was the Orchestra, the central point of which and of the plan of the whole building was the Thymele, or altar of Dionysus. This altar became a property of the piece, doing duty as a funeral monument, an altar, or a pulpit for the leader of the chorus or flute-player, according to the nature of the performance going on, in which it must be remembered that the part assigned to the chorus in the orchestra below was quite as important as any other, and in its original intention was in fact the centre of interest, to which the performance on the stage was accessory. The whole theatre and orchestra were open to the sky. The cavea of the former accommodated about 50,000 spectators. The arrangements of the stage were elaborate and ingenious, and the art of scene-painting developed at a very early period. The Roman theatre differed from the Greek principally in the absence of an orchestra, that space (the modern pit) being used for the seats of senators, foreign ambassadors, &c. Remains of ancient theatres still exist in Greece, Italy, and France. The most perfect of these are the Colosseum at Rome, and the amphitheatre at Nismes.

Theca Calamaria, Gr. and R. (θήκη; τίθημι, to put into). A portable inkstand.

Thenard’s Blue. (See Cobalt.)

Thensa. (See Tensa.)

Theo-gamia, Gr. (θεο-γάμια). Greek festivals held in honour of Proserpine and commemorating her marriage with Pluto.

Theorbo. A stringed musical instrument; a kind of lute, having supplementary strings by the side of the finger-board.

Thermæ, Gr. and R. (θέρμαι, lit. hot-springs). Distinguished from balneæ. The luxurious establishments for bathing, gymnastics, and conversation which grew up under the Roman Empire, on which all the resources of architecture and decorative art were lavished. The ruins of the thermæ of Titus, Caracalla, and Diocletian are still visible. They contained, besides the baths properly so called, “exedræ for philosophers and rhetoricians to lecture in, porticoes for the idle, and libraries for the learned, and were adorned with marbles and fountains, and shaded with walks and plantations.”

Thermography. A chemical process for copying prints and drawings upon paper or metal by the agency of heat without light.

Thermopolium, R. (θερμο-πώλιον). A refreshment-room, in which warm drinks were sold, such as mulled wine, mead, &c.

Thermulæ (dimin. of thermæ). Baths on a small scale.

Thesaurus, Gr. A treasure-house. In the monuments of the heroic period many subterranean buildings of great extent and peculiar construction have been attributed to this purpose; but they may more probably have been sepulchral. In historical times the public treasures were in the agoræ or the temples. (See Ærarium.)