combs.

[Illustration: FIG. 71.--STATUE OF ST. PETER.]

The most important statue of this period is that of St. Peter, which is
held in great reverence by Roman Catholics, who kiss its toe as they
enter the church of St. Peter's at Rome, and press their foreheads
against the extended foot. The statue is of bronze, and some
antiquarians believe that it is the Jupiter of the Capitol changed so as
to answer for a statue of St. Peter; others say that it was cast from
the metal of the statue of Jupiter; and the usual belief is that it was
made by the order of Pope Leo I. about the middle of the fifth century
as a thank-offering for the deliverance of Rome from the barbarian
Attila by the miraculous protection of St. Peter and St. Paul. This
statue is too rude to belong to classic art, though it is of remarkable
excellence for a work of the fifth century (Fig. 71).

The principal use of sculpture by the early Christians was for the
decoration of the sarcophagi, or burial-cases. These were cut in
bas-reliefs after the manner of the ancients, the subjects being taken
from the life of Christ; the ornaments were the Christian emblems, such
as the lamb, cross, vine, palm, dove, and the monogram of Christ. As
time passed the designs were more and more elaborate; stories from the
Old Testament were frequently illustrated, and numerous figures were
crowded together, with many symbols ingeniously inserted to make the
meaning of the whole more clear.

The largest number and the best of these sarcophagi are now in the
museums of the Lateran and the Vatican. In the centre of one of the
finest of these is a shell, in which are the half figures of the two who
were buried in this sarcophagus. At the upper left hand is the Saviour
before the tomb of Lazarus; one of the sisters of the dead man kisses
the hand of Jesus; next to this is the Denial of Peter; nearest the
shell Moses reaches up to receive the Table of the Law. On the right of
the shell, in the upper row, is the Sacrifice of Isaac and the Washing
of Pilate's Hands. On the lower row, beginning at the left, is Moses
causing the Water to flow from the Rock; next is the Apprehension of
Peter, and next, Daniel in the Lions' Den. Besides these there are the
Healing of the Blind and the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. This will
show how elaborate the carving is on these burial-cases, and how the
subjects from the Old and New Testaments are mingled without order or
apparent reason. T