and it became the throne
of the See. It was kept in the old Basilica of St. Peter's." Since then it
has been transferred from place to place, until now it remains in the
present Church of St. Peter's, but is completely hidden from view by the
seat or covering made in 1667, by Bernini, out of bronze taken from the
Pantheon.

Much has been written about this famous chair. Cardinal Wiseman and the
Cavaliere de Rossi have defended its reputation and its history, and Mr.
Nesbitt, some years ago, read a paper on the subject before the Society of
Antiquaries.

[Illustration: Chair of St. Peter, Rome.]

Formerly there was in Venice another chair of St. Peter, of which there is
a sketch from a photograph in Mrs. Oliphant's "Makers of Venice." It is
said to have been a present from the Emperor Michel, son of Theophilus
(824-864), to the Venetian Republic in recognition of services rendered,
by either the Doge Gradonico, who died in 1864, or his predecessor,
against the Mahommedan incursions. Fragments only now remain, and these
are preserved in the Church of St. Pietro, at Castello.

There is also a chair of historic fame preserved in Venice, and now kept
in the treasury of St. Mark's. Originally in Alexandria, it was sent to
Constantinople and formed part of the spoils taken by the Venetians in
1204. Like both the other chairs, this was also ornamented with ivory
plaques, but these have been replaced by ornamental marble.

The earliest of the before-mentioned chairs, namely, the one at Ravenna,
was made for the Archbishop about 546 to 556, and is thus described in Mr.
Maskell's "Handbook on Ivories," in the Science and Art series:--"The
chair has a high back, round in shape, and is entirely covered with
plaques of ivory arranged in panels carved in high relief with scenes from
the Gospels and with figures of saints. The plaques have borders with
foliated ornaments, birds and animals; flowers and fruits filling the
intermediate spaces. Du Sommerard names amongst the most remarkable
subjects, the Annunciation, the Adoration of the Wise Men, the Flight into
Egypt, and the Baptism of Our Lord." The chair has also been described by
Passeri, the famous Italian antiquary, and a paper was read upon it, by
Sir Digby Wyatt, before the Arundel Society, in which he remarked that as
it had been fortunately preserved as a holy relic, it wore almost the same
appearance as when used by the prelate for whom it was made, save for the
beautif