United States or Martinique ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !


Over this are traces of a medallion, probably of porphyry, now removed. The seventeenth has the heads of animals: lion, bear, wolf, and so forth, including the griffin each with its prey. The eighteenth has eight stone-carving saints, some with a piece of coloured marble, all named, and all at work: S. Simplicius, S. Symphorian, who sculps a figure, S. Claudius, and others.

I saw strange figures of men and women, one on a kneeling camel, one on a crawling crocodile, and others differently mounted; with various besides of Nature's bizarre productions creeping and flying in stone-carving over the huge fire-place, in which, in place of a fire, stood several new and therefore brilliantly red cart-wheels.

Ethelbert: on the tombs of Bishops Cantilupe and Mayo, Dean Frowcester, Archdeacon Rudhale, Præcentor Porter; in colour on the walls of the chapter-house and the tomb of Joanna de Kilpec; in ancient glass, recently restored, in a window in the south aisle of the choir; and in a stone-carving over the door of the Bishop’s Cloister, and the effigy formerly on the west front.

Sclater's request they had come down, and looking at the outside of the house, had espied a half-obliterated stone-carving of the Galbraith arms "Gien I was you, Sir Gilbert, I wad gar Maister Scletter keep a sherp luik oot for the first chance o' buyin' back this hoose. It wad be a great peety it sud gang to waur afore ye get it. Eh! sic tales as this hoose cud tell!"

This marvellous work is placed against a pillar beside the high altar, and is intended as a receptacle for the consecrated bread and wine in its service; a small gallery runs round the lower portion, in which thehostis kept; over this the sculpture ascends upwards in a series of tapering columns and foliage of the most light and fanciful description, until it reaches the spring of the arched roof, where the crowning pinnaclebows its beautiful head like the snowdrop on its stem,” in the curve of the arch, gracefully completing a work which, for originality, delicacy, and the most extraordinary elaboration of design, is a perfect marvel of stone-carving.

In the northern peninsula they visited a burying-place, the pavement of which was extremely neat; upon it was raised a pyramid five feet high, covered with the fruit of two plants peculiar to the country. Near the pyramid, under a shed, was a small image of stone, of very rude workmanship the first specimen of stone-carving which had been seen among the people.

They have long green or grey eyes of crystal quartz or some other diaphanous substance; and they create a strong impression as mythological conceptions. But throughout the interior, fox-images are much less artistically fashioned. In Izumo, particularly, such stone-carving has a decidedly primitive appearance.

The centre aisle is indeed bridged over by a piece of stone-carving, so exquisite in design, so graceful in detail, so airy and fanciful in conception, that we are with difficulty brought to realize its size and solidity.