102 
DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITIES, 
[upper 
are generally of plain white or coloured glass, with borders, coats of 
arms, or figures, painted in enamel, and enriched with gold. Some are 
frosted all over; others (vasi aritorti dilatticinio) ornamented with lace- 
work formed by threads of opaque white glass placed spirally, and 
occasionally enriched by intervening bands of coloured glass. Another 
variety {yasi a reticelle), is ornamented with a net-work formed by 
diagonal white threads enclosing a bubble at their intersections 
The German glass is heavier than the Venetian in substance, and 
more clumsy in form. It was made during the 16^h and 17th cen- 
turies, and is generally enamelled with figures or coats of arms, A 
very usual design is the Imperial eagle, bearing on its wings the arms of 
the states and cities which formed the Holy Roman Empire. 
Cases 125-136. Italian Majolica,— This enamelled earthenware 
derives its name from the Island of Majorca, whence it is supposed 
to have been first imported into Italy, though it does not appear whe- 
ther it was made in the island, or brought thither from Spain. The 
art was cultivated in some of the smaller states of Central Italy. 
Specimens are here exhibited, made at Faenza, Gubbio, Pesaro, Castel 
Durante, Urbino, Deruta, Caffagiulo, Rimini, Padua, Sienna, and 
Venice. The earlier, which date from a.d. 1480 — 1510, are large 
dishes enamelled on one side only, and painted either in strong 
bright colours, or in blue and yellow ; in the latter case the yellow has 
a metallic reflection, or iridescence. The next class, dating from 
about A.D. 1510 — 1525, is smaller in size, frequently ornamented with 
arabesque borders, and with metallic yellow and ruby. The third, a.d. 
1530 — 1550, is painted with subjects occupying the whole of the plate, 
and generally taken from Roman mythology ; the colours are bright, 
rarely iridescent, and with a great preponderance of yellow. In the 
next class, a.d. 1560 — 1580, the drawing deteriorates, the colouring 
becomes dull and brown, and the subjects are frequently enclosed in 
arabesque borders on a white ground. In the next century Majolica 
almost entirely disappears, having been probably driven out of esteem 
by Oriental porcelain. 
Cases 136-139. Flemish Stoneware. — This is a hard dense pot- 
tery, well suited to domestic purposes, and sometimes richly ornamented. 
It was made in the neighbourhood of the Lower Rhine. There are 
three principal varieties. The first, consisting usually of cylindrical jugs, 
narrowing at the top, is a yellowish white, with ornaments well executed. 
The second is brown, decorated with coats of arms or figures under 
arches. The third is grey, with ornaments in relief, the ground 
being usually coloured blue, or dark maroon. Vessels of the second 
class were extensively imported into England during the 16th century, 
and are frequently found in excavations under old buildings, 
ETHNOGRAPHICAL ROOM. 
In this room are placed both the antiquities, and the objects 
in modern use, belonging to all nations not of European 
race. They are arranged in a geographical cycle which pro^ 
