A R C M I T 
fifths of the height of the entablature on which they are 
placed : nor fliould it ever be lefs than two-thirds thereof, 
without counting the zocholo, or plinth, the height of 
which mud be 1'uflicient to leave the whole balluftrade ex- 
pofed to view. 
The bed proportion for balludrades is to divide the 
whole given height into thirteen equal parts; eight of thefe 
for the height of the balludre, three for the bafe, and two 
for the cornice or rail; or into fourteen (if it be required 
to make the balluder lefs), giving eight parts to the bal- 
luder, four to the bafe, and two to the rail. One of thefe 
parts may be called a module ; and, being divided into nine 
minutes, may ferve to determine the dimenlions of the par¬ 
ticular members. 
In ballull rades, the didance between two balludres diould 
not exceed half the diameter of the balludre meafured in 
its thicked part, nor be lefs than one-third of it. 
The breadth of the pededals, when they are placed on 
columns or pilafters, is regulated by them ; the dye never 
being made broader than the top of the (haft, nor much 
narrower; and, when there are neither columns nor pilaf- 
ters on the front, the dye diould not be much lower than 
a fquare, and feldom higher. On dairs, or any other in¬ 
clined planes, the fame proportions are to be obferved as 
on horizontal ones. 
Of NICHES and STATUES. 
It has been the cudom of every age to enrich different 
parts of buildings with reprefentations of the human bo¬ 
dy. Thus the ancients adorned their temples, baths, thea¬ 
tres, &c. with datues of their deities, heroes, and legifla- 
tors. The moderns dill preferve the fame cudom, placing 
in their churches, palaces, &c. datues of illudrious perfons, 
and even groups compofed of various figures, reprefenting 
occurrences collected from hidory, tables, &c. Some¬ 
times thefe datues or groups are detached, railed on pedcf- 
tals, and placed contiguous to the w’alls of a building, or 
in the middle of a room, court, or public fquare. But 
they are mod frequently placed in cavities made in the 
walls, called niches. Of thefe there are two forts; the 
one formed like an arch in its elevation, and femicircular 
or femi-elliptical in its plan ; the other is a parallelogram 
both in its plan and elevation. The proportion of both 
thefe niches depends on the characters of the datues, or 
the general form of the groups placed in them. The low¬ 
ed are at lead a double fquare in height; and the highed 
never exceed two and a half of their breadth. 
With regard to the manner of decorating them, when 
they are alone in a compofition, they are generally inclofed 
in a pannel, formed and proportioned like the aperture of 
a window, and adorned in the fame manner. In this cafe 
the niche is carried quite down to the bottom ; but on the 
Tides and at the top, a ftnall fpace is left between the niche 
and the architrave of the pannel. And w hen niches are 
intermixed with windows, they may be adorned in the fame 
manner with the windows, provided the ornaments be of 
the fame figure and dimenfions withthofeof the windows. 
The fize of the ftatue depends on the dimenfions of the 
niches. They fliould neither be fo large as to have the 
appearance of being rammed into the niches, as in Santa 
Maria Majora at Rome ; nor fo narrow as to feem loft in 
them, as in the Pantheon. The diftance between the out¬ 
line of the ftatue and fide of the niche fhould never be lefs 
than one-third of a head, nor more than one-half, whe¬ 
ther the niche be fquare or arched ; and, w hen it is fquare, 
the diftance from the top of the head to the deling of the 
niche fliould not be greater than the diftance on the fides. 
Statues are generally raifed on a plinth, the height of wRich 
may be from one-third to one-half of a head; and fome- 
times, where the niches are large, the ftatues may be raifed 
on fmall pedeftals. The character of the ftatue fliould 
always correfpond with the character of the architecture 
with which it is furrounded. Thus, if the order be Do¬ 
ric, Hercules, Jupiter, Mars, yEfculapius, and all male 
ftatues, reprefenting beings of a robuft and grave nature, 
E C T U R E. f07 
may be introduced; if Ionic, then Apollo, Bacchus, &c. 
and, if Corinthian, Venus, Flora, and others of a delicate 
nature, fliould be employed. 
Of CHIMNEYS and CHIMNEY-PIECES. 
Chimney-pieces are either made of ftone, of marble, or 
of a mixture of thefe ; alfo of wood, fcagliola, or-moulu, 
or fome other unfragile fubftances. Tliofe of marble are 
moft coftly, but they are alfo mod elegant, and the only 
ones nfed in highly-finiflied apartments; where they are - 
feen either of white or variegated marbles, fometimes in- 
Md and decorated with the materials juft mentioned. All 
their ornaments, figures, or profiles, are to be made of the 
pure white fort; but their friezes, tablets, pannels, fhafts 
of columns, and other plain parts, may be of party-co¬ 
loured marbles, fuch as the yellow of Sienna, the Broca- 
tello of Spain, the Diafpers of Sicily, and many other 
modern as well as antique marbles, almoft always to be 
had in London. Feftoons of flowers, trophies and foliages, 
frets, and other fuch decorations, cut in white ftatuary mar¬ 
ble, and fixed upon grounds of thefe, have certainly a very 
delicate effeCt. But there fliould never be above two, or 
at moft three, different forts of colours in the fame chim¬ 
ney-piece, all brilliant, and harmonizing with each other. 
Neither the Italians nor French have excelled in compofi— 
tions of this kind; but Britain, poffeffed of many able 
fculptors at different times, has occafionally furpafled all 
other nations, both in tafte of defign and workmanfhip. 
The fize of the chimney muff be regulated by the dimen¬ 
fions of the room where it is placed. In the fmalleft apart¬ 
ments, the breadth of the aperture fhould never be lefs 
than three feet, or three feet fix inches. In rooms from 
twenty to twenty-four feet fquare, or of equal fuperficial 
dimenlions, it may be from four to four and a half feet 
broad; in thole of twenty-four to twenty-feven, from four 
and a half to five; and, in fuch as exceed thefe dimen¬ 
fions, the aperture may even be extended to five and a half 
or fix feet. The chimney fliould always be fituated fo as 
to be immediately feen by thofe who enter the room. The 
middle of the partition-wall is the moft proper place in 
halls, faloons, and other rooms of paffage ; but in draw- 
ing-rooms; drefling-rooms, and the like, the middle of the 
back-wall is the beft fituation. In bed-rooms, the chim¬ 
ney is always in the middle of one of the partition-walls : 
and in clofets and other very fmall places, to fave room,, 
it is put in a corner. Wherever two chimneys are ufed in' 
the fame room, they fliould be placed either direffly facing 
each other, if in different walls, or at equal diftances from: 
the centre of the wall in which they both are. 
The proportion of the apertures of chimney-pieces of a 
moderate fize is generally a perfect fquare ; in fmall ones 
it is a trifle higher ; and, in large ones, a trifle lower. In 
defigning them, regard muft be had to the nature of the 
place where they are to be employed. Such as are intend¬ 
ed for halls, faloons, guard-rooms, galleries, and other 
large places, muft be compofed of large parts, few’ in num¬ 
ber, of diftindl and fimple forms, and having a bold relief';, 
but chimney-pieces for drawing-rooms, drefling-rooms,, 
&c. may be of a more delicate and complicated nature. 
Of DOORS and WINDOWS. 
The general proportion for the apertures of doors, whe¬ 
ther arched or quadrangular is, that the height be about 
double their breadth, ora trifle more. Neceflity probably 
gave birth to this proportion, which habit confirmed and 
rendered abfolute. In primitive huts, the entries were 
doubtlefs fmall; perhaps no larger than was fufficient for 
a man to creep through. For tliofe rude buildings being 
intended merely as retreats in the night, or in ftormy and 
tempeftuous weather, it is natural to fuppofe they made 
the entrance into them as fmall as poftible, to exclude the 
wind and rain. But when architeflure improved, and 
methods were difeovered of (hutting 'he door OGtafionally, 
they made it of fuch a fize as was necelfary forgiving ad¬ 
mittance to a tall bulky man, without Hooping or turning 
alidej 
