INGENUITY AND LUXURY 



covering of roofs received great attention from beauty- 

 loving antiquity. Semicircular tiles overlapping each 

 other, so as to produce pleasing effects of light and 

 shade, were in great favor. The architect of the 

 Middle Ages carved his ridge and gable. 



We do not know how the ceilings of the ancient 

 dwellings were ornamented, but we read of the magic 

 panels in the ceiling of Nero's Golden House, which 

 revolved, dropping flowers and perfumes. It is prob- 

 able that ceilings were usually divided into compart- 

 ments and painted, each compartment having its own 

 design. Whitewash and plaster were commonly used 

 as a foundation for decorative work. Ceilings, walls, 

 and floors grew very ornate in European architecture 

 after the thirteenth century, when Moslem influence 

 was first felt. Arabesques in stucco, mosaics, paint- 

 ings, variegated stones, and gildings suggested the 

 splendors of antiquity. The walls of the Golden Sa- 

 loon of the Alhambra are made of pebbles and red 

 clay wonderfully combined. The arched ceiling of 

 this hall is sixty feet and four inches high, and is com- 

 posed of pieces of strong wood, keyed and attached 

 so that the whole structure shakes from the slightest 

 pressure at the summit. 



The floors of ancient Egypt were built of stone, or 

 of lime concrete. The rafters were of date trees, with 

 transverse layers of palm branches. The floors built 

 in England by the Romans were of colored earthen- 

 ware tiles, and of glazed mosaics, but the Anglo-Saxon 

 used flagstone or blue slate, and on this he drew 

 patterns in chalk which disappeared at each cleaning, 



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