nuing on to later periods, the decadence is
more marked under the successors of Alexander. In Rome, under the
emperors, we find gold used as a mere setting for precious stones, and
finally the collection terminates with examples of workmanship of the
time of Charlemagne, when the workmen had lost their cunning, and the
noble metal had been altogether debased to secondary uses.

The second instance where a lost art is exemplified in Signor
Castellani's collection is in the glazing of the Gubbio majolica. We
have not space here to review the magnificent series of ancient
specimens of pottery in detail; and thus it will suffice to say that,
beginning with some of the earliest pieces made by the Arabs when they
occupied Sicily, from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, the
collection presents examples of all the finest types of later mediaeval
art. Gubbio, where the peculiar kind of majolica above noted was made,
is a small town once in the territory of the dukes of Urbino; and in
the sixteenth century it became famous for its pottery. This was
attributable to the talent of one man, Giorgio Andreoli, who is
reputed to have invented the wonderful luster characteristic of the
Gubbio ware. The body of majolica is mere common clay; and after the
piece is finished on the wheel, it is dried and burnt in a furnace.
After the biscuit thus prepared has been dipped in the glaze, the
colors are applied on the soft surface of the latter, and the
vitrifying process fuses all into a glossy enamel of the color of the
pigment. This is still the common practice; and we mention it merely
to show that to his pigment and glaze Andreoli must have added some
third substance, which rendered the enamel capable of reflecting white
light as blue, red, green, or yellow light--in other words, of giving
the object a luster of a color wholly different from the tints of the
pigment. He evidently could produce any desired color at will, and the
effects gained are indescribably beautiful. The Castellani collection
contains 130 superb specimens, which glow like jewels. In one, the
scene of the nativity of Christ is provided with the figures in low
relief, and the exquisite cerulean lustre is imparted to give the
effect of moonlight. The rarest pieces are those of which the luster
is a delicate green. Some blaze with yellow, as if of gold; others
exhibit the brilliancy of the ruby; while others resemble the interior
of the pearl oyster shell. Whether this s