KEI'OHT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 101 



ill thiu wire, niuuinj;' over the surface, a peculiar method that seems to have been 

 emphiyedonly bj^ the Moors, aud about this period. At the Cathedral of Saragossa 

 this is used to contain a cylindrical pyx, which is also exhibited. The pyx is 

 quite plain, of silver gilt, and upon the Hat cover is engraved and enameletl a coat 

 of arms surrounded by an inscription. 



"A painted ivory casket, of the style usually called in England Sicilian, is shown 

 by the Royal Academy of History. This bears upon it, many times repeated, the 

 arms of Aragou-Sicily, and is said to have belonged to the King Don Martin, of Ara- 

 gon, who died A. I). 1410. The ornamental scrolls between the shields are of unusual 

 beauty and freedom, and a band of carved Cutic letters of an ornate character gives 

 it an oriental aspect, which is but faiutly seen in the other designs. Though the 

 painting is uot in the best state of preservation, this box is a charming specimen of 

 the Moorish art of Sicily. 



"The mudejar style, that is. the combination of Moorish or Saracenic aud Chris- 

 tian art, is perhaps even better shown in a i>air of wooden doors with gilt bronze 

 fittings from the Cathedral of Seville. The paneling of these might be from a 

 Cairene mosque, so purely Saracenic are their design, while their borders are com- 

 posed of Biblical texts in well-carved black letter, aud the bronze fittings are in 

 accord with the ornament. The purity of the two stoles is the lemarkable feature 

 of these doors, each keeping unmixed its own ])eculiai- characteristics, and yet 

 remaining in perfect harmony. 



''The \ery early aud interesting 'Arquilla de los Reyes.' the reli<[uary of King 

 Alfonso III (cl Alagno) . aud his Queen, Ximeua,* should ])roperly have been mentioned 

 earlier, but that its style aud work are quite foreign to the Moorish taste. Alfonso 

 the Great reigned as King of the Asturias and Leon from 866 to 910 A. D., aud the 

 shrine is therefore interesting as an authentic monument of a period of which few 

 remains exist, though it can scarcely be said to have high claims as a work of art. 

 It is of the usual oblong form with pyramidal lid and nearly covered with silver 

 plates embossed aud otherwise ornamented. Upon the lid is the inscription -Jhle- 

 fotisvs Bex Scemena Ilegina,' with a figure of the Agnus Dei between the two names. 

 Upon the sloping sides are embossed the symbols of the Evangelists, Lucas and lohaun 

 being upon the front slope (the eagle very like a dove), and the angel of St. Matthew 

 on the left, with the word Angelvs in place oftheuame of the Evangelist. Ou thesloj)e 

 at the back is a cartouche or frame of the last century, with the names of the Saints 

 Diodorus and Deodatus, whose relics were doubtless contained in the shrine. The 

 front is in two stages, each consisting of six round-headed arches formed of cloisons, 

 some of which still contain the triangular or pear-shaped slabs of glass and stone, 

 with which originally all were embellished. Within the arches are, upon the upper 

 ranges, embossed trees or plants more or less symmetrical, and in the lower, figures 

 of angels facing the middle, three in direction. The execution is throughout of the 

 rudest character, the figures of the angels being reduced to the most elemental rep- 

 resentations of the human figure and their wings more like leaves than any feathered 

 limb. Tlie presence of the cloisonne work, as a survival of Visigothic methods, 

 gives the object a peculiar interest, though it shoukl at the same time l>e pointed 

 out that it is not cloisonne enamel. There can be no doubt that the stones or glass 

 were cut and placed in ])ositi<iii \\ ithout the ap])lic;itiou of heat, and do not there- 

 fore constitute enamel." 



The description of other interesting altar ornaments is found in Mr. Read's paper: 



•"The Cathedral of Astorga sends a very beautiful globular vessel of rock crystal, 



engraved in the Bast with elegant scrolls in relief. This is attributed, and probably 



with justice, to the eleventh century; its beauty is, however, much lessened by a 



seventeenth century gilt mount, which has transformed it into a tall I'-handied 



* This would serve equally well for Alfouzo IV, wliose Queen also bore the name 

 of Ximena. This King abdicated in 927, and his Queen died in the i)ievious year. 



