TERRA-COTTA ROOFING-TILES. 69 



The treatment of the roof covered with this tile in the 

 Orient and in the Occident differs widely. In China, 

 Korea, Japan, and countries to the south of China the 

 ridges are usually conspicuous for their elaborate structure. 

 The tiles are aligned with great care, the eaves tiles have 

 turned margins of graceful outline with ornamental designs 

 upon them in relief. The roofs of the more important 

 buildings have their ridges, hips and eaves in strongly 

 curved lines and with this treatment the curved tegula is 

 in harmony. In the Occident, one sees but little attempt 

 at architectural effect in the treatment of the tile. The 

 ridge is rarely more than a single course of semi-cylindrical 

 tiles, though in certain Swiss and English glazed ridge 

 tiles of a few centuries ago finials were moulded upon 

 them. The eaves tiles differ in no respect from those of 

 the roof and the only attempt at decoration was by the in- 

 troduction of stucco or white plaster between the courses, 

 as occasionally seen in modern Grecian houses and mediae- 

 val Spanish ones. In ancient Greece the ridge and eaves 

 tiles, the huge discs terminating the ridges, the antifixse, 

 etc., decorated in polychrome, added greatly to the beauty 

 of the roofs. 



The discovery by Graeber, on the site of the earliest ex- 

 ample of Greek architecture, of a fully developed normal 

 tile with curved tegula, and disc-closed imbrex, identical 

 with that of eastern Asia, compels one to believe that from 

 the far East came the roofing-tile. The curved tegula 

 would naturally harmonize with the curved lines of the 

 Eastern roof, while a straight-edged tile would be more in 

 accordance with the straight lines of the Greek roof, and 

 as a matter-of-fact, we find the curved tegula soon yield- 

 ing to the broad flat tegula, which ever after became the 

 dominant form for the monumental buildings of ancient 

 (jreece, Italy, Sicily and Etruria. 



