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64 is every reason to believe that mille-fiore was derived from a study of the Roman ware. Specimens of botli Roman and Venetian mille-fiore are to be seen in South Kensington Museum.

'itro-di-trina was produced about the beginning of the sixteenth century, and, like the preceding process, has a Roman origin. Vessels of this method are laced with lines of white or coloured glass, dexter and sinister-wise, and between the intersections of these lines a tiny bell of air is confined. The ware is fashioned after this manner : first is formed a cup of glass, on the surface of which are raised lines or threads of glass running slanting from right to left. Another cup is fashioned in the same manner, but it is turned inside out, and then placed over the first cup. The raised lines running in opposite directions prevent the two surfaces of glass coming together closely, the air also becomes heated and expands between the intersections, and the ware has the appearance of being studded all over with drops of dew. Latticinio, or filligrane, is but a simpler form of vitro-di-trina. Tliis ware has white or coloured

lines, spiral, plaited, etc., winding through the body of it ; dexterity and skill never overpower the character of 'fineness' expressed in the purity and delicacy of the glass. Crackle ware has the appearance of being ' frosted.' The mass ere it is fashioned is dipped suddenly into cold water, the hot glass is instantly cooled and becomes cracked throughout its mass. It is then carefully reheated and becomes again homogeneous, the surface alone being crackled. Sanded-gold ware has the surface powdered, as it were, with gold. The glass, ere it is fasliioned, has a leaf of gold applied to the surfsice, and the whole is suddenly distended; the gold being drawn asunder expands with the glass, and the space between each molecule is increased, giving the vessel its poudree appearance. Avanturine glass has a sparkling iridescent lustre, obtained by the reduction of the copper and iron oxides added, though in the earliest specimens metallic copper alone appears to have caused this colouring. Schmelze is an opaque coloured glass, and is often a mixture of various colours. The intention in Schmelze was originally to imitate chalcedony and other hard crystals, but the term is now applied to any opaque coloured glass. The foregoing are the most common of the early processes, but the mille-fiore, vitro-di-trina, and latticinio are the methods on which all the marvels of dexterity are based. The beauty of sixteenth century glass is due to a great extent to the con- sonance of form with the character of the material. The glass is light, thin, ductile, and pliable, and all these qualities are expressed in the form of the ware. The lines are delicate, winding, and sinuous, and the whole form is generally expressive of lightness and ease. In the seventeenth century, however, the true feeling of the art was lost, and artists devoted their attention to displaying skill and dexterity alone, putting these in the place of beauty of character. The simplicity, lightness, and delicacy of the early ware were abandoned, and in the eighteenth century England, France, and Bohemia drove the glass of Venice from its own market.

To Dr. Salviati belongs the honour of instituting the revival of glass-working in Venice. The modern art is based entirely on a study of the best examples of early glass, and in many cases surpasses its model. Dr. Salviati recognised the fact that the form of the glass was its principal beauty, as by its means colour and thinness were alone displayed; so collecting specimens of the best early glass he endeavoured to accustom the eye of the workman to the best types of beauty, and with no mean measure of success. Oscar Patekson.