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* MTJONGS. 134 MXJRAL DECORATION. apparently not ileriviii I'luiii t liinese, even in the case of the tiihes of this group resident in China. Like some others of the primitive population of this part of the world, they impress one as being rather non-.Mongolian in" physical charac- ters. Consult: Colquhoun, .Icro.w "CArysc (Lon- don, 1883) ; Baber, Travels in Inland and Western China (ib., 1882-8(i) : Bourne, Journey in tfonlh- itestern China (ib., 1888); Henry, Ling-Xam (ib., 188G) ; Hosie. Three Years' in Mestern China (ib., 1800) : Garcin, I'n an chez lea Muonfis ail Tonkin (Paris, 1891). MUBA, nioo'ra. A populous but inferior trilic of Tupian stock (q.v. ), residing along the Amazon River, Brazil, from the confluence of the Madeira as far as the Purfis. They were formerly very formidable and hostile to the Portuguese, but were completely crushed by the JIundurucfi (q.v.) in 1788. Since that time'some of them have come into the Portuguese settle- ments for protection and have acquired a rudi- mentary civilization; but those of the interior and upon the Pun'is are still in their original savage condition. Their houses, grouped in small Ullages, are mere roofs supported upon p(des. without walls. They do not cultivate the ground, but live upon fish. game, and wild fruits, using bows si.x fi'Ct long, spears, and well-made canoes. They are much addicted to a sort of narcotic snuff prepared from the seeds of a spe- cies of mimosa. They were formerly naked, but those near the settlements now wear clothing. They carry on a trade with the Brazilians in sarsaparilla, turtle oil. and Brazil nuts, in ex- change for cotton cloth, knives, spear and arrow heads. They are described as lazy, drunken, dis- honest, and quarrelsome, and are "among the low- est of all the Amazonian tribes. MTJBAD, mnn'rad. The name of five Turkish sultans. See A.mirath. MTTRADABAD. mon'ru<l-A-bad'. or MORA- DABAD. ill,- . apital of a district of the United Provinces, liritish India, on an elevation on the right bank of the llaniganga. and on the Oudh- Rohilkand Kailway. oO miles northwest of Ba- reilly (Map: India, C 3). It has two mosques, dating res]iectively from 1(28 anuncil of twenty- three members, eighteen of whom are elected. Muradabad was foinded by Kustam Khan in lC2.i. The ruins of bis fort, wilh brick walls from four to six feet in fliickness. overlook the river. Population, in ISnl, 72.!<21 ; in 1001 7.">.I2S. MTJR.ffiNA, nin r.''na. . fish. See MoR.w. MURAL CIRCLE. An astronomical i;is(ni- nicnt formerly n~cd fur measuring the declina- tions of stars. The jjrinciple of its construction was somewhat similar to that now used for the meridian circle, by which it has been replaced. Sec Meridian ('iRri.E. MURAL CROWN. In heraldry, a crown in the form f>f the top of a circular tower, masoned and embattled. MURAL DECORATION (from Lai. muralis, relating to a wall, frcini niiinis, OLat. maius, wall). Art applied to the adornment of wall surfaces. Wall painting in fresco, in oils, in encaustic; figured sculpture in low relief, colored or |)lain, in stone, marble, terracotta, or stucco; mosaic compositions, marble incrustations, and sectile work, and wainscoting in carved and ])aneled woodwork, are the principal modes used for the purpose. The term is couunonly made to include also, by extension, the decorative treatment of vaults and ceilings, as well as walls. For details, consult the special articles, such as Fresco. Mosaic, Byzantine Art, and others of this kind. Kovi'T. In ancient EgT.pt flat undccorated walls were avoided; the internal surfaces of the temples and the external surfaces of pylons and walls were converted into large grouped |)ictures, deeply incised, and with Hat tints, graded ac- cording to the light, being delicate in the well- illuminated parts, heavier in the darker apart- ments. See Egyptian Art. Asia. Babylonia and Assyria had greater va- riety of method. The walls were often divided Iiorizontally into zones — a lower dado of sculp- ture, an upper one of painting. The sculpture was either of tine stone partly colored (not en- tirely, as in Eg^■pt). or of glazed tiles in relief, strongly colored. Though the tones were still Hat. more relief was given than in Egjpt by the accentuation of outlines and detiiils" by heavy dark lines. Cold and other metals and rich hang- ings increased the strength of the color scheme. The exterior walls were often faced with flat glazed tiles in massed colors, with the same re- sult. See Babylonian Art and Assyrian Art. (JREECE. The pre-flellenic Greeks seem to have used gj-psum and plaster reliefs and wall paint- ings in similar fashion to the Assyrians, and the Greeks of the historic period at first show si^-n* of Oriental influence in the violent colors applied to gable, frieze, and nu-tope sculptures, without the Oriental appreciation of color harmcmy. The polychromy of Greek architecture and sculpture gra<lually, however, gave way to the use of plain sculpture and to a reliance "on the play of light and shade by means of projecting moldings and members in place of pure surface decoration. Simplicity of method, reticence of style, plas- ticity of composition, and delicac.v of coloring were their characteristics. Color was subordinated to form, and the decorated surfaces were broken up usually into small units. The predomi- nance of external over internal elTccts heliied to niinimizx- the importance of Greek mural decora- tion. Rome. The Romans returned, with different methods and a different style, to the Oriental and Egyptian idea of colored instead of plastic mural adornment, which received great impor- tance from their development of vast interiors. They adopted three principal media, w ith increas- ing heaviness as the Empire advan 1 — wall painting in fresco, mosaic painting, and marble incrustations. The molding of decorations in low lelief in the stucco covering of walls and ceilings may be considered chiefly as an adjunct to the painted decoration. The most character- istic of these three treatments was the use of rich Oriental and .frican marbles. The interior walls of temples. Imperial therma' and palaces, bnsilica.s, and other buildings were covered to a