MURAD V 



Murad V (isio Mini). Sultan 

 of Tuikey. liorn Sept. -Jl. Isio, 

 tin- eldest son of Abdul Mrjid, Im 

 wliiili- life, with the exeeption of a 

 1>M. t interval, waa spent aa a 

 pii-.tier, first of his uncle the 

 usurper, Aluliil A/.i/.. and then of 

 hi* In-other, Abdul Humid II. lit 

 was proclaimed sultan on 

 the (.ill of Abdul Aziz, but after 

 thn-i- months he was himself de- 

 posed in favour of his brother, 

 whose prisoner he remained until 

 Im .I.Mth. Aug. 29, 1904. 



Muraena. Genus of large fish, 

 resembling the eel. It occurs 

 m.unly in the tropic seas, though 

 M. hi'lena, one of the 80 odd 

 species, is found in the Mediter- 

 ranean. Some of the species are 

 10 ft. long, and their strong and 

 sharp teeth make them dangerous 

 to fishermen. Most of them are 

 handsomely coloured and marked, 

 and they have been esteemed aa 

 table fish since classic times. 



Moral Circle. In astronomy, 

 name given to an instrument 

 formerly used for measuring the 

 declinations of stars. It consisted 

 of a graduated circle on firm 

 foundations, and carrying a tele- 

 scope which revolved in the meri- 

 dian plane. It was superseded by 

 the transit circle (q.v.). 



Mural Decoration. Artistic 

 adornment of wall surfaces with 

 conventional or pictorial designs, 

 either flat or in relief, or with 

 materials decorative in themselves. 

 While mural decoration is subsi- 

 diary to architecture, and takes 

 different forms appropriate to the 

 different styles of building, it con- 

 sists in the application of many 

 other arts, especially painting, 

 .seulpture, ceramic, and textile art. 

 Painting on a flat plaster sur- 

 face is the most widely diffused 

 method, and is applied, where the 

 climate permits, to exterior as well 

 as interior decoration. Tempera 

 and fresco were generally used 

 by the ancients. The Egyptians 

 employed brilliant and somewhat 

 crude colours. The Cretans 

 decorated their palaces with deli- 

 cate naturalistic frescoes from 

 2000-1400 B.O. In the classical 

 age of Greece, colour was freely 

 applied to walls, but our know- 

 ledge of ancient mural painting is 

 mainly derived from derivative or 

 late styles, Etruscan and Roman, 

 especially the art of Pompeii. 

 Gothic architecture, though pro- 

 viding relatively little flat wall 

 surface, was accompanied by a 

 revival of wall-painting, greatly 

 developed at the Renaissance. 

 Modern attempts at the revival of 

 fresco painting have been sporadic, 

 and not very fortunate. 



The use of sculpture for mural 



5591 



decoration dates from remote 

 antiquity. The Egyptians covered 

 their walla with painted baa- 

 rcliefs, often countersunk. The 

 alabaster carvings in very low 

 relief in Assyrian palaces are mar- 

 vela of technique. In Greece reliefs 

 were sparingly used, chiefly in 

 friezes. Late Gothic employs 

 diaper patterns, and the walls of 

 Moslem buildings are often adorned 

 with sculptured arabesques. 



A frequent method in all ages 

 from the Aegean civilization of 

 Crete, through the classical, 

 Mahomedan, and Renaissance 

 styles, has been the application of 

 stucco, gesso, or other kinds of 

 plaster, to form designs in relief 

 on a flat surface. It is often com- 

 bined with painting and gilding. 

 The Alhambra and other Moorish 

 buildings owe much of their beauty 

 to coloured stucco. 



From the glazed brick of ancient 

 Persia was ultimately derived the 

 magnificent Oriental art of cover- 

 ing walls with moulded and 

 enamelled tiles, in which geometri- 

 cal designs, flower patterns, and 

 Arabic texts are employed. In the 

 Renaissance age, Italian faience 

 and terra cotta were extensively 

 used in mural decoration. 



Woven hangings were used from 

 early times, but tapestry is a 

 characteristic art of the Renais- 

 sance. Rich effects were produced 

 in the 16th and 17th centuries by 

 stamped leather, silvered and 

 covered with yellow varnish. 

 Painted and printed cloth were 

 cheap substitutes for tapestry. 

 Oak panelling, often richly carved 

 with foliage and fruit, was frequent 

 in Tudor and Stuart England. Wall- 

 paper gradually came into use in 

 the 18th century, and was raised 

 to a fine art by William Morris and 

 others a century later. See En- 

 caustic ; Faience ; Fresco ; Gesso ; 

 Glaze ; Mosaic ; Painting ; Panel- 

 ling; Plaster; Rococo; Sculpture; 



Sgraffito ; Stucco ; Tapestry ; Tem- 

 pera ; Terra Cotta ; 



Tiles; Wallpaper; 



Wood-carving. 

 Mar ano. Island 



and town in the 



Venetian lagoon, 



Italy. It is li m. 



N.E. of Venice, 



forming a suburb 



of that city. The 



island, 5 m. in cir- 

 cuit, once thickly 



populatedand pos- 

 sessing its own 



mint, is now 



largely occupied by 



vineyards. It has 



a cathedral dating 



from about 970 Muran0t Itely 



since rebuilt and 



MURAT 



restored, and other churches with 

 valuable pictures. The museum is 

 rich in examples of glass-work, for 

 which Murano has been celebrated 

 from the 13th century. Introduced 

 by Byzantine glass-workers during 

 the Crusades, the industry de- 

 clined during the 18th century, but 

 waa revived in the 19th. Pop. 5,800. 

 Murat, JOACHIM, KINO OF 

 NAPLES (1767-1815). Fn , 1, 

 soldier. Born March 25, 1767. at 



After atrard 



La Bastide, S. France, the son of 

 an innkeeper, in 1787 he enlisted in 

 a cavalry regiment, and obtained 

 a commission in 1792. Three years 

 later he attracted the attention of 

 Napoleon, and accompanied him to 

 Italy, where in recognition of his 

 services he was made general. Ac- 

 companying Napoleon to Egypt, he 

 distinguished himself at the battle 

 of the Pyramids, 1798, and was 

 given command of the cavalry in 

 the Syrian campaign, being largely 

 responsible for the victory of 



Rio dei Vetrai, the principal canal of 

 the Venetian island 



