THE 
 
 PALA D'ORO 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BASILICA OF S. MARK, VENICE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 GIOVANNI VELUDO 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 WILLIAM SCOTT 
 
 VENICE 
 
 FERDINAND ONGANIA 
 1887 
 
* 
 
I 
 
 From the Work : IL TESORO DI SAN MARCO IN VENEZIA 
 By A. Pasini, Canon of the Marciana. 
 
 Venice. — Tipografia Emiliana. 
 
THE 
 
 PAL A D'O RO 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BASILICA OF S. MARK, VENICE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 GIOVANNI VELUDO 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 WILLIAM SCOTT 
 
 VENICE 
 
 FERDINAND ONGANIA 
 1887 
 
THE PALA D'ORO. 
 
 OMINANT AMONG SO 
 many treasures of art , a 
 wonderful monument of 
 sacred figure- subjects in 
 Byzantine enamels inlaid 
 in plates of gold, and some 
 also in silver-gilt, is pos- 
 sessed by the Basilica of 
 S. Mark in the so-called 
 Pala (T oro {aiirea tabula). 
 It is the best example in 
 Europe for the richness 
 and fineness of this sort of work; which during the East- 
 ern Empire left the goldsmiths' shops of Constantinople 
 to decorate not only temples and monasteries, but also 
 the chambers of the mighty, and to spread over the 
 greater part of the West. The magnificence and splen- 
 dour of the Pala are increased by the tiny columns and 
 pilasters which enclose the figures : all adorned with 
 pearls and precious stones; and the tympani of the arch- 
 es which surmount the enamelled plates of gold, and 
 the intermediate spaces, greater or lesser, which the or- 
 namental chiselled work allows to be revealed to the 
 eye of the spectator, are strewn with an extraordinary 
 quantity of gems, and of other small enamels of great 
 
6 
 
 value. It is altogether a work which dazzles and over- 
 powers, almost impossible to be surpassed by any other 
 monument of goldsmiths' work of the Middle Ages. 
 
 Cicognara has treated of this rare treasure in his 
 Fabbriche di Veneiia^ he being the first to point out 
 its style, character, and worth ; then came Francesco 
 Zanotto in his work Venecia e le sue lagune ^ 1847; 
 and in the same year, more fully and with greater 
 care, the Canon Professor Gio. Bellomo {Pala d'pro 
 della Patriarcale Basilica di San Marco, Venecia ^ 
 1847); addition, has added to his work an 
 
 engraving taken from the very imperfect one of Cico- 
 gnara. But superior to these writers and those who had 
 preceded them, were the celebrated archeologists La- 
 barte and Durand : the one offering to us an extremely 
 detailed description of the Pala, enriched with valuable 
 observations on art and history ( Tresor de I ^Eglise de 
 Saint'Marc^ Paris ^ Didron^ 1862); the other, Labarte, 
 putting forward, six years earlier, through the publisher 
 Didron, a very clear and scientific idea of it, as far as 
 was possible in the very limited space allowed to him 
 in his classical work Recherches sur le peinture en email 
 dans Vantiquite et au moyen dge^ page 17. The authority 
 of such writers, and the vivid and expressive represen- 
 tation of the original, dispense us from entering into fur- 
 ther artistic judgments which, after what has already 
 been said upon the subject would certainly be neither 
 useful nor excuseable; or from extending, more than 
 what is necessary, into a minute description, such as 
 might be deserved by the magnificence and importance 
 of the monument. We should be very fortunate if, ad- 
 ding to the history of the Pala some evidence not before 
 
7 
 
 known or published, we were able to correct some 
 prevailing opinions with regard to the date and the ori- 
 gin of any parts of it, and to remove conjectures which, 
 although ingenious, are not suited to form a [basis for 
 new and less uncertain judgments. 
 
 But before all it would seem our duty to touch upon 
 the derivation of the word Pala, or, more correctly, 
 Palla (lat. pallium and palla\ and thus we shall write 
 the word) in common use among Italians (the millers of 
 Tuscany do not recognize it), and destined, among the 
 many meanings indicated in the Glossarium of Du Cange, 
 to denote that silken cloth, sometimes embroidered 
 with sacred figures in gold and silver, which, as a cur- 
 tain (naTaneTaOfJia)^ was used in the very early ages of 
 the church to hang round the Ciborium of the Altar, 
 and to cover the Altar itself at the most sacred moment 
 of the divine Sacrifice: Qi/(3f/z/or P^z/to quotes Du Cange, 
 in the year I236, Ecclesiae oblatas ad pendendum. In 
 process of time the precious cloth was placed behind the 
 Altar, no longer more than a simple decoration, for no 
 other ornament or furniture was it customary to place 
 upon the sacred table, than what was strictly necessary 
 to the celebration of the divine mystery. And the cus- 
 tom lasted, if not in the cities, at least in the monaste- 
 ries until after the twelfth century, giving place to the 
 introduction, which became almost universal in the 
 West during the Middle Ages, of ecclesiastical fittings 
 which, from being folded and closed in two, three or 
 more parts, are called dyptichs, tryptichs, or polyptichs; 
 and they were used, until the time of the Iconoclasts, 
 by the faithful of the ancient Church; being also car- 
 ried from place to place for purposes of devotion. They 
 
8 
 
 were of various sizes; elaborately worked in wood, 
 ivory, gold and silver, or other metals, with figures o^ 
 the Saviour, of the Virgin, and of other Saints in relief, 
 or painted in colours (Du Cange, Glossar. — Martigny, 
 Diction. EccL). And from covering the front portion o" 
 the Altar this sacred ornament took the name of tabuh 
 or antipendium ^ or frontal, called also Palla (Ant. Pa- 
 sini can.° Studi sul Frontale dell' Altar maggiore i i 
 San Marco di Vene^ia^ 1881, pages 46, 47). In a like 
 manner it seems that the denomination Palla^ in Vene- 
 tian (tabula), was afterwards given, I do not exactly 
 know when, to those pictures representing one or more 
 sacred figures in colours ; which today we see every- 
 where over the altars. 
 
 That which among the Latins was called dittico^ 
 christian in its figures, christian in its uses both public 
 and private, corresponded to the minor ecxovooTccoiov 
 of the Greeks, who were accustomed to use it, for acts 
 of devotion, in the oratory of the Imperial palace, as we 
 read in Codinus {De offic, Aul. Constantinop.^ cap. vi.) 
 and in the private houses ; but more especially the 
 dyptichs {dlnTvxa) were only used to register in them, 
 as was done in the West up to the ninth century, the 
 names of the living and the dead, bishops, confessors, 
 princes, benefactors, and others of the faithful. Differ- 
 ent also from the minor, was the greater eixovoordoiov; 
 which the Greeks call Te/anlov {templum)^ what the By- 
 zantines, with a more suitable name, called also cancelli 
 (in old Greek xiyxUdeg)^ to indicate that sort of a screen 
 which divides the Sancta Sanctorum from the rest of 
 the temple. And the Templon was, from the upper part 
 downwards, as then, so now also in the Greek Church, 
 
a composition of several rows of sacred figures, more 
 or less rich, that is of Jesus Christ, of the Virgin, and of 
 other Saints of the Old and of the New Testament ; 
 and besides had representations of the twelve Despotic 
 feasts, or solemnities of Our Lord and of the Virgin; 
 these are: — the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Bap- 
 tism, the Ipapante (Candlemas), the Raising of Laza- 
 rus, Palm Sunday, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, 
 the Ascension, Whitsunday, the Transfiguration, the 
 Assumption. {Histor. Patriarch, in Crusii Turcograec. 
 pag. i8i, 184. — DuCange, Glossar. inv.'EoQTi]). Lastly, 
 the ritual figures of the Templon are noted by the Em- 
 press Irene, wife of Alessius Comnenus, in the Typicon, 
 or Rules which she wrote for her Convent, dedicated 
 to Maria piejia di gratia, and which are to be read in 
 Cotelerius {Monumenta Eccl. Gr., book iii); in which 
 Rules she also prescribes (cap. 59, 60) the number of 
 the candles which were to be lighted before the Tem- 
 plon of that Convent. 
 
 It will seem that these details have unduly detain- 
 ed us from the principal argument. But we do not 
 believe that they are entirely beyond the question, or 
 inopportune ; endeavouring with them to prepare the 
 intelligent reader for what we shall narrate after hav- 
 ing described as briefly as possible the Palla d'oro. 
 
 Upon a solid and majestic support of fine marbles, 
 this most precious Palla, distant about a metre from 
 the High Altar of the Basilica, rises behind the same 
 about 40 centimetres above the surface of the sacred 
 Table. It presents the form of a rectangle, the width of 
 w^hich is 3 metres and 48 centimetres; the height, i 
 metre and 40 centimetres, It is composed in its entire 
 
lO 
 
 width of five parts divided one from another by bor- 
 ders elaborately w^orked in silvergilt. But the « order » 
 or rather the upper portion^ enclosed by its own border, 
 which in the past, in order to close the Palla horizon- 
 tally, was folded in two parts upon itself, is clearly 
 seen to be, — in spite of the fixing it has received, as 
 one entire piece, in the last restoration (1847), — almost 
 foreign to all the rest of the monument, dividing it into 
 two parts; and in the greater severity of the enamelled 
 figures in silvergilt, in the grace of the style, and the 
 fineness of the work, it presents a Byzantine character 
 more decided, more original, and in consequence more 
 ancient. And yet I would not say that the figures of 
 this part correspond indiscriminately with all the others 
 of the lojver portion of the Palla, carried out similarly 
 in enamel on plates of gold. Then, it is about cen- 
 timetres high; and displays in the centre an octagonal 
 medallion, of a Greek form, and six figured plates, of 
 the height of about 3o centimetres, three on the right 
 and three on the left, enclosed between colonettes, on 
 which rest the arches. 
 
 Before, however, commencing the description of 
 the entire Palla, we may note that it will be conve- 
 nient to keep before our eyes the accompanying key- 
 plate with the numbers referring to the figures, so that 
 the reader may easily be guided in looking for the se- 
 veral plates of the said Palla. 
 
 That medallion, meanwhile, contains the standing, 
 winged, figure of the Archangel Michael. It bears, like 
 the other six representations, above it the title in Greek. 
 
 N.°4. O AP MHA (0 "jQxccm'^^og Mixai^l), He is cloth- 
 ed in a long tunic of an azure colour with gold stars. 
 
1 1 
 
 and a large stole, part hanging downwards from the 
 breast, part turned back on the left arm. It is enriched 
 with precious stones: the head is decorated with pearls; 
 as is also the aureole which surrounds it. Before him 
 stands the divine Dove, and his neck is bound with a 
 necklace of jewels. In the right hand, in pure gold in 
 relief, he holds a very large pearl, added by the Vene- 
 tians; in the left hand a labarum or standard on which 
 are written, one under the other, the words of the angelic 
 hymn, ATI OC AT IOC API OC {Holy, Holy, Holy), some- 
 what hidden by the ornamentation. There are two Se- 
 raphim with six wings, one on each side. This mag- 
 nificent Archangel being placed not full-face, but with 
 the body slightly turned to the left, causes a supposition 
 that originally it was on the right of a figure of Jesus 
 Christ; for there is no reason why he should be found 
 with the honour of a pre-eminence among the other 
 figures. The which figures having for their subjects the 
 Despotic feasts, of which a little before mention has been 
 made: and not being twelve in number as they should 
 be, six alone being found : reasonably causes the sus- 
 picion that the other sister-ones are wanting. Pour ma 
 part, well observes Durand {op, cit., p. 8), je ne vols 
 dans ces tableaux que des fragments d'un monument que 
 je ne saurais designer. He believes that these enamelled 
 figures may in other times have adorned the church of 
 Santa Sofia, or some other one at Constantinople; and 
 may be a ^portion of the booty which fell to the Vene- 
 tians when the Latins occupied that capital in 1204. In 
 that case the earlier Palla had a precious addition un- 
 der the government of Pietro Ziani (i 205-1229). The 
 opinion of Durand is in some way supported by a Ve- 
 
12 • 
 
 netian tradition quoted by Sansovino {Vene{ia descritta^ 
 lib. I, cap. XXXVII. xxxviii.), and still better by Stringa 
 {Chiesa di San Marco in Venetia, 1680, p. 176); and 
 this is : « It is said that this part was that which was over 
 the altar of S. Sofia in Constantinople)). Leaving apart 
 the fact that the Eastern Church places upon the Altar 
 nothing except w^hat is necessarily required for the un-^ 
 bloody sacrifice ; let us also leave on one side for the 
 moment the question whether the upper portion of the 
 Palla which we are describing be or be not of that 
 Temple. But this said tradition has yet a shadow of 
 truth; and a testimony, not more than ninety three 
 years posterior to the XIV century will, we hope, give 
 us the proof of it. 
 
 The square space in the midst of which we find 
 the octagonal medallion, is entirely filled up with small 
 circular enamels, sixteen in number. The larger ones 
 are from seven to eight centimetres in diameter and are 
 placed almost at the corners of the central medallion ; 
 the two upper ones from left to right, show a bust of 
 Christ with the signs IC XC; then the whole figure seat- 
 ed on a throne, with the monograms IC XC, and the in- 
 scription : O ANTIOOONHTHC, that is, the Surety for 
 the human race; the two lower ones from right to left: 
 5. Gregory Taumaturgo. — S. Cyril. The other twelve, 
 like the other fOur, all have the titles in Greek, they 
 are: S. Peter. — 5. Paul. — S. John the Forerunner, 
 — S. Matthexv. — S. Philip. — S. Bartholomeiv . — 
 S. Andrew. — S. Theodore. — S. Trifon. — S. Pan- 
 taleone. — S. Basil. — S. John Chrysostom. 
 
 Of the other six panels, or representations in ena- 
 mel, those on the left are; 
 
i3 
 
 N.^ I. H Bk{0(i>OPOC.~ Bata is the name given 
 by the Greeks to the palm-branches which are carried 
 on Palm Sunday; in which Christ makes his trium- 
 phal entrance into Jerusalem. There is a Castle where 
 Jesus, followed by two Apostles, is seated upon an ass; 
 the pose of the right hand shews He is speaking to two 
 of the Chief priests; whilst one of the children who has 
 climbed to the top of an olive tree is cutting branches, 
 which are shown in the act of falling; another child 
 with a branch in his hand goes to meet Him; the third 
 stretches his garments in the way. 
 
 N.« 2. H AN ACTACIC. — The Resurrection of Jesus 
 Christy shown according to the method of Byzantine art; 
 that is, Christ descended into hell to redeem the souls 
 of the just. He treads down with His foot its broken 
 gates ; holds in the left hand the victorious sign of our 
 redemption ; and with the right hand assists Eve to rise : 
 behind her, Adam is rising out of the depths. On the 
 opposite side stand, risen and royally clothed, Solomon 
 and David, and after them the Holy Forerunner with a 
 cross, in the act of pointing to the Powerful ; all three 
 figures have the nimbus. 
 
 N.'^ 3. H CTAYPOOCIC. — The Crucifixion. It has 
 been wTongly placed here instead of the preceding pa- 
 nel. The head of the Saviour being inclined would in- 
 dicate a painting of much later date than the tenth cen- 
 tury ; as noted by Durand (p. 8). 
 
 The representations on the right are : 
 
 N.° 5. H ANAAHyiC. — The Ascension. Jesus is 
 ascending from the mount of Olives, seated on the fir- 
 mament, to the Father in heaven. He is blessing with 
 the right hand, and in the left hand has the usual scroll 
 
M 
 
 (the divine law). Two angels are supporting Him. Be- 
 low are the Disciples of Christ, divided into two groups, 
 at the head of which are to be distinguished their chief 
 Leaders. The Virgin is in the midst with out-stretched 
 hands, between the two men (angels) mentioned by 
 S. Luke {Acts of Apostles^ Chap. i. 10-21). 
 
 N.° 6. H nENTIKOCTH. — The Pentecost. On the 
 upper floor of the house are seated the Apostles (foremost 
 among them Peter and Paul), and the greater part are 
 holding the Gospel. In the front two persons standing 
 vmder an arched doorway, (one of whom with an im- 
 perial vestment and a crown on his head, the other with 
 a pointed cap) signify the different nations which are 
 waiting to be illuminated by the preaching of the Apos- 
 tles ; while the Holy Spirit is descending radiant from 
 on high. Also, in place of those two persons, the Greeks 
 were accustomed to represent an old man with the name 
 Koofxoi;^ the personification of the worlds and some 
 times the Prophet Joel with the motto : Effundam de 
 Spiritii meo super omnem carnem ; at other times the 
 Holy Virgin among the Apostles ; while occasionally 
 she is omitted, as appears from a mosaic of the Basilica 
 of Saint Mark, where in one of the domes the ancient 
 mosaicist treating the same subject, has represented the 
 various peoples, astonished that the Apostles should 
 speak their languages. {Acts of Apost.^ Chap. 11.) 
 
 N.°7. H KOIMHCIC THC 0K«. — The Sleep of the 
 Mother of God^ or the feast of the Assumption. The B. 
 V. is stretched upon a decorated bier surrounded by the 
 Apostles ; women are weeping; near her stands Jesus who 
 holds her soul in his arms. Two Angels are soaring up- 
 wards. In this way the Greek artists treat this subject. 
 
i5 
 
 Not to mention the spaces left on the ground of the 
 upper part by the ornamentation of the panels hitherto 
 described, which abound in precious stones, we must 
 note another set of small medallions in enamel; eight 
 in the interstices of the arches (four of them oblong) ; 
 eight at the sides, and as many more in the base. They 
 represent, among others : — the Archangels — The 
 • Motherof God standing with the Child before her — 
 S. Anna — S. Eugenio — S. Ermolaus — S. Deme- 
 trius etc. Finally, the border of this upper portion of 
 the Palla, incised by the Venetians, encloses eighteen 
 other regularly arranged smaller circular enamels, with 
 little heads, like those of the other medallions. We shall 
 speak of them again afterwards. 
 
 As for the lower portion of the Palla it shows in the 
 centre a square panel bordered with incised work, and 
 two side parts, each with three rows or orders, having 
 six figures in each row, on the right as well as on the 
 left, standing' one above another. This square panel 
 breaks up unequally the borders of the three orders ; 
 but it is a defect which, while it proves the said Palla 
 not to have been the expression of one single conception, 
 but to have received additions and modifications in va- 
 rious restorations and enrichments at different times, 
 easily escapes the observation of any one who does not 
 consider it attentively, and is overcome by the splen- 
 dour of the gold and jewels. All the figures of the side 
 rows which it exhibits, worked in enamel on plates of 
 gold, are seen within niches of silvergilt, executed in 
 chiselled work, between tiny pilasters decorated with 
 precious gems. Those of the first and of the last order 
 have a height of about i5 centimetres, that is to say 
 
I6 
 
 about the half of those of the middle row ; and these 
 smaller niches are formed with an arch somewhat point- 
 ed ; w^hilst the larger niches in the second row indicate 
 •a date very much later, representing the pointed arch 
 of the XIV century, and more especially the renovation 
 of the entire Palla which took place under the rule of 
 the Doge Andrea Dandolo between 1842 and 1845. All 
 the spaces, then, of the ornamental portion, which re- 
 mained free, no less in the centre than in each angle 
 of the lateral portions, are filled with jewels arranged 
 in various designs of leaves and flowers. Meschinello 
 records {Chiesa Due. di S. Marco^ vol. n. — and In- 
 veittario della Pala d'oro\ Appendix i of the Tesoro 
 di San Marco., C 4) that before 1796 there were to be 
 counted i3oo pearls, 400 garnets, go amethysts, 3oo 
 sapphires, 3oo emeralds, i5 rubies, 75 balasci (a kind 
 of ruby), 4 topazes, 2 cameos. Such wealth is not to be 
 wondered at, for the Venetians possessed an extraordi- 
 nary quantity of such treasures which, without speaking 
 of other places, they had brought with them from the 
 East, particularly when, as one reads in Ramusius {De 
 bello Costantinop.)., the Latins had sacked the city of 
 Constantinople (1204); ^^^d, a year afterwards, Pietro 
 Ziani was Doge of Venice. And although in the last re- 
 storation, which was carried out in 1847, Palla 
 d'oro was found wanting in very many precious stones, 
 lost perhaps in cleaning it at certain times, or however 
 it may be, yet it is in comparison wonderfully rich 
 even today. There still lives after forty years, and will 
 yet live, the worthy memory of those devout and gene- 
 rous Venetians who, in place of the not few pearls and 
 ancient jewels then lost, offered others of their own. 
 
I? 
 
 Let us now pass on to speak of the enamelled fi- 
 gures of this lower portion of the Palla; and first of all, 
 of the central ones, following the order of the numbers 
 indicated in the key-drawing, (page lo). 
 
 N.° 53. There faces us the figure of Jesus Christ, 
 clothed, according to the ancient traditional custom, 
 with the azure tunic, and the grey cloak which, folded 
 back over the left shoulder, is wound round the body. 
 He is seated on a throne without a back; the form of 
 which, very far from being of pure Byzantine style, 
 shows, in my opinion, the character of the time of An- 
 drea Dandolo, precisely the time w^hen through an ex- 
 cessive zeal for enriching they even did not hesitate to 
 re-cover some parts of the original enamel ; such as this 
 very throne ; the nimbus of the Saviour ; the Gospel 
 which He is holding open on His left knee ; the right 
 hand, blessing in the Latin manner, there substituted 
 in relief in solid gold, and a portion of the left hand. Si- 
 milarly substituted, I should say, by the Venetians, for 
 the usual Greek signs IC XC (perhaps hidden by the orna- 
 ments in chiselled work) are those which are now to be 
 read, iTlS XPS. Then the corners of the square, contain- 
 ing the figure of Christ, are occupied by medallions re- 
 presenting the four evangelists, seated before a writing ta- 
 ble with a reading desk, in the act of dictating the Gospel ; 
 precisely as we see painted in Greek manuscript missals 
 of the period from the X to the XIII centuries. They are: 
 
 N.°49. SCS MARCyS — with the first words of his 
 Gospel : Iniciu eugi hu xpi filii di uiui. _ 
 
 N.'' 5o. SCS I CANNES — : In principio era per bum. 
 
 N.° 5i. SCS MATT0VS (sic) — Liber generaiionis. 
 
 N."* 52. sTs LVCAS — : Fuit in diebus Herodi (s). 
 
i8 
 
 Lastly the entire figure of the Saviour is surround- 
 ed by an ornament in reUef, under which, in the last 
 restoration, there was discovered an ancient inscription 
 read then by Emmanuele Cicognara; afterwards of ne- 
 cessity re-covered. It is quoted by Bellomo {La Pala 
 d'oro^ page 5); but however, with some variation, which 
 we have found by means of a manuscript shewn to us 
 by the learned and courteous Monsignor Pasini. As fill- 
 ed up it reads thus • ^ 
 HEC (tua?) MAIESTAS HEC EST EA SVMMA POTESTAS 
 QVA DATVR OME BONVM PIETATIS (hunc?) PETE DONVM O- 
 
 The said ornament, which is circular, is pointed at the 
 lower and upper extremities; Over this last stands a 
 little panel, having: 
 
 N.° 46. The symbolical figure used ia past ages by 
 the Greeks, with the title 'H'Ezocibiaom {the Prepara- 
 tion)'^ perhaps in the Palla hidden by the decorative 
 ornamentation. By such a representation the Byzan- 
 tines at that time intended to indicate the Throne of the 
 Lord, prepared for the Last Judgment : a throne with 
 a round cushion, at the ends of which are two can- 
 dles ; above is a cover turned back, and a closed book, 
 according to which men are to be judged; in the centre 
 there is a Cross. But^ in my opinion, neither the circle 
 (symbol of eternity) represented on the Cross, nor the 
 doYe (that is, the Holy Spirit) which is over the book, is 
 of Byzantine character. The same subject, which is taken 
 from the verse of the Psalmist : Paravit (Dominus) in 
 judicio thronum suuni ; et ipse judicabit orbem terrae\ 
 
 (*) The Prefect of the Christian Museum in the Vatican, in a letter to 
 the author, dated i3 Sept. 1887, proposes to read: HEC MAIESTAS etc. ; 
 and then at the end : tu PETE DONVM. 
 
19 
 
 and from the other : Justitia et judicium praeparatio 
 sedis tuae (Psal. ix and lxxxvhi), is seen treated more 
 simply in Byzantine art. This is proved by several 
 Greek manuscripts, and especially the 'ETOL^aom on 
 the cover in chiselled work and enamels of the eleventh 
 century {Library of S. Mark, Clas. i, Cod. un.) On 
 the right and left of the Preparation appear a Seraphim 
 and an Angel (N.^ 44 to 48). But the Seraphim are 
 strangely represented, not as in the upper part of the 
 Palla, and, worse still, with their feet visible; the face 
 only should be visible in the Seraphim. I will dare to 
 confess in connection with this, that all the central panel 
 of the lower part displays in the figures the hand of an 
 artist not belonging to Constantinople, if for nothing 
 else, for the excess of bright and sparkling colours; a 
 fact which distinguishes it from the rest of the Palla. 
 
 Then at the sides of this central panel, where we have 
 noticed three orders, is a series of Archangels, six on the 
 left side (N.^^ 8 to i3) and six on the right (N.^^i i4to 19); 
 greater than the two whicH flank the 'ErotiiaoLa. They 
 are shewn in the act of doing reverence, some being 
 slightly stooping, and are looking down at the central fi- 
 gure of the Saviour, instead of looking at Him sideways ; 
 and this results from all the figures of the lateral compart- 
 ments being distributed on lines which are not continuous 
 as regards the central panel. All have the nimbus traced 
 on the gold ground ; those nearest to the prepared throne 
 are, two on the right: O APX (ol^Qxayytkoq) TABPIHA, 
 GaZ^ne/, N.° 14; — O APX ? K<X> kHK, Raphael, N.° i5; — 
 two on the left : O APX MIX {Mixarjk), Michael, N.M3; 
 
 OAPXHOYPIHA, Uriel, N.° 12; an uncommon name 
 
 recorded in Esdra (Book iv, c. 4), and by Pasini 
 
20 
 
 dii sul frontale in San Marco, p. 3i)\ the other eight 
 have only the title, O APX; the remaining portion may 
 perhaps be covered up as in other similar cases. All 
 these Archangels hold with one hand a sort of stan- 
 dard or banner gathered up; in the other hand a tri- 
 dent. And, on the one hand, considering them careful- 
 ly both with regard to the hardness of the drawing as 
 well as the forced bending of the body, we should be led 
 to consider them as purely a work of Constantinople ; 
 yet on the other hand, in the Templon of many Eastern 
 churches, and especially in those of that Capital, above 
 the screens, or columns, which divided the Sanctuary as 
 we explained at the beginning, there stretched the great 
 rood-beam (xoa^7^Vi^g, or emoTijLiov)^ upon which were 
 displayed the figures of the « Saviour with, at the sides, 
 )) the Virgin, the Forerunner, the Angels, the Apostles and 
 )) other Saints » (S. German. Patriarch. Dedivin. My stag. 
 — SymeonThessal. De Teniplo^ cap. ix. Gr.), might not 
 therefore these Archangels and other figured subjects of 
 our Palla recall some ancient Templon^ and be portions 
 detached from a complete whole? But let us continue. 
 
 Underneath the twelve Archangels there stand 
 upright and facing us the same number of Apostles^ 
 with their feet placed upon a carpet drawn in a rayed 
 pattern; six on the right (N.^^ 26 to 3i) and six on the 
 left (N.os 20 to 25). They all wear the usual tunic and 
 cloak ; except one , which is not an Apostle , but a 
 Hierarch, N."" 23; who is clothed with the sacred vest- 
 ments : the alb, stole, cope {(pekoiviov)^ and the omoforo 
 or band with crosses, which was crossed on the breast 
 with ends hanging down behind and before. The names 
 of these Apostles have already disappeared under the 
 
21 
 
 incised ornaments, nor can we deduce them. We only 
 recognize the figure of S. Peter, 25, of whose name, 
 in Latin, scarcely one half can be made out, engraved 
 vertically; the rest is covered. Labarte and Durand do 
 not agree in their judgment on the artistic merit of these 
 Apostles, so far as concerns correctness of design, dig- 
 nity, and breadth of drapery. Durand finds that the fi- 
 gure of S. Peter surpasses in elegance and proportion 
 those of the others ; nor can these compare with other 
 figures of the Palla; for instance those of the Prophets. 
 Perhaps on a close observation the six on the left might 
 seem to some to be in a more completely Byzantine 
 style, more artistically executed, and reflecting less 
 light ; perhaps even the last two on the right less Greek 
 than the first four. For the rest, of these Apostles eight 
 hold in their left hands the closed Gospel, and have the 
 right hands open; the Apostle, N.° 24, has^, beside the 
 gospel, a scroll in his right hand ; S. Peter has only the 
 scroll, and the right hand in the act of benediction- and 
 S. Paul, N.° 26, Gospel and scroll. For my own part, 
 I should not hesitate to declare them the work of one 
 and the same hand, and of the same style. Let me be 
 understood, the Palla is a regular mixture of enamels, 
 just what those Venetians happened to have who knew 
 how, with these and other pieces procured by them, 
 to put together a monument of such fame and splen- 
 dour; but it is not to be denied that the decorative or- 
 namentations in chiselled work cause them no little da- 
 mage, hiding entirely the feet of the Hierarch, N."" 23; 
 the which perhaps formed a part of other Saints and 
 Doctors of the Church ; and then has only been used 
 to complete the number of the eleven Apostles. 
 
22 
 
 We have now reached the third and last order of 
 the Palla; and which in a corresponding number of 
 niches or arches, equal in form and size to those of the 
 Archangels in the first order, presents to us twelve Pro- 
 phets, half on one side and half on the other. They are 
 small figures exceedingly gracefully drawn, and execu- 
 ted in enamel with great care. They remind us of the 
 twelfth century, in which this art flourished in the East, 
 still far from ceasing to be greedily sought for by the 
 whole of Europe. The integrity of the panels is here 
 respected by the ornaments, and the names of the Pro- 
 phets are easily to be read. Their heads are surround- 
 ed by the nimbus, very slightly incised and filled 
 with enamel ; the nimbus of Solomon is entirely filled 
 with green enamel. Except Solomon and David, clothed 
 in imperial costume, the others are covered with a long 
 vestment and cloak. Daniel alone is in common Asiatic 
 costume, and a cap, which might better be termed a 
 hood, surmounted by a little ball. Elias is wrapped in 
 his mantle. Except Isaiah, who joins the thumb with 
 the ring and little fingers, all the other Prophets, to in- 
 dicate that they are speaking, join the thumb to the ring 
 finger. Each one of them bears his own name; and they 
 hold in their left hands a scroll with a prophetic inscrip- 
 tion. Isaiah and Moses have their names in Greek, and 
 the monogram of the predicate 7tQ0(prjT')]g ; David and 
 Solomon, name and Greek inscription ; all the others 
 have the one and the other in Latin. 
 
 The Prophets are : , 
 
 N.° 32. O nPOOHTHC HCAIAC, the prophet Isaiah; 
 who is saying: — Virgo concipiet et pariet /(ilium). 
 N.''33.NAVIVI — : Sol ortus est et avolaverunt. 
 
. 23 
 
 N.'^34. HieRGMIAS. — : Ex Egypto vocavi film 
 me (um). 
 
 N.°35. DANIEL. — : Cum venerit sanctus sancto- 
 rum. — I do not seethe precise passage either in Daniel, 
 or in any other prophet. Perhaps to him who suggested 
 it there occurred the words: et impleatur visio et pro- 
 phetia, et ungatur sanctus sanctorum {D'c^md^ c. ix. 24). 
 
 N.°36. O nPO0HTHC lAOHZ\ {?,\q)., the prophet Mo- 
 ses — : Prophetam suscitabit vobis, 
 
 N."" 37. lezeCHIGL. — : Porta quamindesclausaerit. 
 
 N.° 38. O nPOOHTHC AAA (that is AATIA\ the prophet 
 David — : AKOVCON GHTATeP KGHAe KAI KA..NON + 
 — Correctly written: '!Ay.ovoov, d^vyazeQ, yial ide, xal xlt- 
 
 « Audi, filia, et vide et inclina » (Ps.44, 1 1 ). 
 
 N."" 39. HGLIAS. — : ViPit Dominus non erit pluvia 
 super terram. 
 
 N.° 40. ZAHAPIAS (sic), Zaccariah — : Ecce Domi- 
 nus veniet et omnes sancti ejus cum eo. 
 
 N.° 41. ABBACVH (sic). — : Si moram fecerit expecta 
 eum. 
 
 N.° 42. MALA CH IAS. — : Ecce dies veniunt dicit Do- 
 jninus. 
 
 N.°43. O nPOOHTHC COAOMON, the prophet So- 
 lomon. — : HCO0IATKOAOMHCIATTO . — Read and 
 supply : oocpm (oxodojuyjoev eavTij olxov. — ■ (( Sapien- 
 )) tia aedificavit sibi domum ». {Prop. ix. 7.) 
 
 In order to complete the description of this, ac- 
 cording to our arrangement, third and last order, we 
 should have to touch upon three small niches with 
 figures, which are to be seen between the Prophets, 
 and also upon two Latin inscriptions placed near 
 them, la all there are five compartments, which seem 
 
24 
 
 to serve as a base to the lower extremity of the medal- 
 lion, including in the central panel of the Palla the fi- 
 gure of the Saviour. But before this, it is necessary to 
 point out that the lower portion of this Palla, which 
 we are now describing, is entirely bordered round, or 
 to express it more correctly bounded by twenty seven 
 little panels in enamel, of the size of about 1 3 centime- 
 tres square; of which panels seventeen are arranged 
 along the upper edge; other five on the right side and 
 five on the left. Among those of the upper edge eleven 
 represent events in the life of Jesus Christ, taken from 
 the Gospel ; or if so preferred, the greater feasts of the 
 Church. Observing then that in the upper portion (or 
 first order) of the Palla we have a repetition of seve- 
 ral of these same events; and considering their grace 
 and delicacy as well as the composition, noteworthy for 
 such a small scale, but perhaps rather poor in the side 
 panels, we might easily believe them not only the 
 work of Byzantine artists, but also earlier than the ele- 
 venth century. A manifest indication of this is shown 
 in the Crucifixion of Our Lord, N."" 72. In this, Jesus 
 is shown with the body and head erect, as if nothing 
 of pain or death appeared ; but it may be as if in the 
 act of committing to the beloved Disciple the care of 
 the sorrowing Mother ; or to recall that He gives Him- 
 self as a sacrifice of his own will. {Isaiah^ liii, 7.). 
 In this way, observes Durand {Tresor de SJ Marc^ 
 p. 8), the Greeks represented the Crucifixion in the tenth 
 century ; of which treatment some other examples are 
 not wanting, partly in an ivory, published in Paris 
 {Annales Archeologiques^ t. xvin, page 109). Such an 
 observation would in the meantime lead us to conclude 
 
25 
 
 that the other panels also, of which we are speaking, 
 those, if no others, of the upper band, are among the 
 most ancient of the Palla d'oro, and the most certain 
 to make us recognize, amidst so many . innovations, 
 additions, and changes carried out in various centuries, 
 some trace of that which may be said to be a portion 
 of the sacred fuvnhmQ {tabula), ordered in Constantino- 
 ple by the holy doge Orseolo. We shall have occasion 
 further on to take up again this argument; and we now 
 proceed in the meantime to describe the panels, going 
 towards the left : 
 
 N.°64.SCS LAVRENTIVS.— N.°65.S. ELEVTHERIVS. 
 
 N.°66. SCS VINCENTIVS. These* are three Deacons 
 standing; clothed in the diaconal tunic and loose stole 
 (wQaQiov); in the act of having in one hand the thurible, 
 in the other the incense boat. 
 
 N."" 67. The Annunciation. 
 VIRGO FERENS PROLEM PARIAT QVEM MVNDVS ADORET. 
 The Archangel Gabriel, in the presence of the Virgin, 
 who has risen from her seat, announces to her the In- 
 carnation of the Word. 
 
 N." 68. The Nativity of Jesus Christ. 
 VIRGO PARIT FETA VELVT INTVLIT ANTE PROPHETA. 
 In the Birth of Christ, amongst the Byzantines and the 
 peoples who have felt the mastery of their art, is re- 
 presented, as Durand observes, the ablution of the hea- 
 venly Babe by the hands of holy women; and this 
 learned archeologist is correct. Here we have the sign 
 of the Star, two Angels, a Shepherd and S. Joseph. 
 
 n. 69. The Presentation of Jesus (or the Meeting, 
 
 SOLVENS VINCLA REIS FERTVR SVB MVNERE LEGIS. 
 
26 
 
 A Temple with a dome, under which is an aUar (men- 
 sa) with a thurible on it. Before it Simon the Just, hold- 
 ing in his arms the divine babe; on the opposite side 
 the Virgin with her arms extended ; behmd her is Jo- 
 seph with two doves in his garment; near him Anna the 
 prophetess, who pointing to Christ says upon a scroll 
 TOTTO TO npe. , . More than this is not legible; but 
 it is the prophecy of the daughter of Fanuele: Tovto 
 TO (SQecpog ovgavov xal yi]v edi^fjuiQyi^oev : that is : This 
 child has created the heaven and the earth \ where the 
 artist by mistake has substituted the letter 77 for J5. 
 {Men. Grace. 2. Februar.) 
 
 N."" 70. The Baptism of Christ. 
 HIC SCELVS OMNE LAVAT REPROBVS QVO DECIDIT ADAM. 
 The limited character of the space has not permitted 
 of a rigorously faithful representation. Let me for the 
 sake of accuracy at least supply in words what is wan- 
 ting. Jesus is standing upright in the river Jordan, and 
 (which is new to me) covered with a long tunic. In the 
 water we see the trunk of a spiral column above a base 
 with three steps, on the top of it is a sort of capital on 
 which is a small cross. The Forerunner, near whom is 
 a tree, stands reverently with the right hand raised above 
 the head of Christ, whilst over this a ray descends from 
 a star, and in the ray is a Dove, the Holy Spirit. Two 
 Angels on the left of the Saviour are assisting: to dry 
 Him they are spreading out a part of their garments. 
 On the opposite side another Angel flying, holds a 
 scroll which says: + AOTCAieO; a word not correctly 
 written. It records, according to Durand, the Inoao^e 
 of Isaiah, where it says (1. 16): Wash you., purify 
 you., take away the sins from your souls. 
 
27 
 
 71- The Mystic Supper. 
 IN MENSA PASTOR PIVS ORDO STAT QVOQVE RAPTOR. 
 
 A semicircular table, at which Christ is seated 
 with the Apostles. In the centre of h is a wide-mouthed 
 vase on feet, with a fish in it. A knife and a fork with 
 two points. 
 
 N.° 72. The Crucifixion. 
 SIC MORIENS VIRVS DETERSI QVO TVLIT HYDRVS. 
 
 On the right of Jesus is His Mother who, with hands 
 raised, regards her innocent Son; on the left the Apostle 
 John reverently bowed down; two Angels above. And 
 Christ with the head upright; and the eyes which, by 
 means of a tiny point of gold in the enamel, may ea- 
 sily be said to be open ; and the feet, detached one from 
 the other, nailed on to a cross piece of wood ; these are 
 undoubted signs of the manner in which the Crucifixion 
 was, as we have just said, represented by the Byzan- 
 tines in the tenth century ; and are also features of great 
 importance in judging of the Palla d'oro. 
 
 N.° 73. The Descent into Hell (7^ eiq ads xad^o^og"), 
 or to Hades ^ according to the Western Church. 
 MORS PERIT IN MORTE RELEVANS LIGO NEXIBVS HOSTEM. 
 
 The same subject is treated on a larger scale in the 
 upper portion^ N."" 2, with the title: H ANACTACIC. — 
 A little panel with figures perfectly drawn ; full of ex- 
 pression and of grace. 
 
 N."" 74. The Resurrection announced to the Holy 
 Women. 
 
 VOBIS DICO CITE SVRREXIT CRISTVS ABITE. 
 
 (( On the Sabbath day very early in the morning on 
 )) the first day of the week came Mary Magdalene and 
 )) the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And there was 
 
28 
 
 )) a great earthquake ; and the Angel of the Lord ap- 
 )) proached and rolled away the stone ; and sat upon it. 
 » And his face was as the lightning and his vestment 
 » white as snow . . . And he said to the women : Fear 
 )) not : I know ye seek Jesus who was crucified. He is 
 (( not here; he is risen as He said. Come, see the place 
 )) where the Lord lay ». The passage of the Evangelist 
 is a most clear and faithful interpretation of the paint- 
 ing. {Matth. c. xxvni, 7-7). 
 
 N."" 75. The Touching by Thomas: 
 VERA CARO CHRISTVS CLAVSIS SE CONTVLIT INTVS. 
 Eight days after the Resurrection, Jesus enters the closed 
 doors among the assembled Disciples. Thomas touches 
 with his hand the wounds and believes, and confesses the 
 divine Master. The Greeks represent this event in their 
 iconography, and commemorate the octave of Pasqua. 
 
 N." 76. The Ascension of Jesus Christ. 
 PIGNORA NOSTRA FERENS REDIET DEVS OMNIA QVERENS. 
 It is more correct to write qucerens. Otherwise the 
 subject is the same as that in the upper part of the Palla, 
 N."" 5' There is only to be noted S. Peter on the right 
 of Christ, according to the use of the Eastern Church. 
 
 N.'' 77. Pentecost. 
 CVNCTORVM LINGVIS HOS CAELICVS INSTRVIT IGNIS. 
 With the exception of some slight differences, for in- 
 stance, rays descending from heaven with tongues, as 
 of fire, over the Apostles, the rest is almost a repeti- 
 tion of what is in the upper part N.° 6. 
 
 Here follow three other Deacons with censer and 
 incense-boat, as in N.^^ 64, 65, 66; and they are: • — 
 N.^ 78. SCS PETRVS ALEXANDRINVS. — N.° 79. SC~S 
 STEP HAN VS. — N.^ 80. S"CS FORTVNATVS. 
 
29 
 
 It is uncertain which this S. Peter really is, whether 
 the Alexandrian Bishop, or the Deacon of Antioch, 
 both of them martyrs ; in the one case wo, have the su- 
 premacy of the sacred order; in the other the conform- 
 ity of diaconal vestment, but diversity of place. How- 
 ever there is no doubt whatever about S. Fartunato, 
 who was a Deacon martyred in Rome together with 
 Ermagoras his Aquileian Bishop ; two Saints who fi- 
 gure among the mosaics of the Basilica of S. Mark, ve- 
 nerated also in Venice itself in the Church w^hich bears 
 their names. 
 
 Then as to the panels of the side bands, they pre- 
 sent the principal events of the life of S. Mark the 
 Evangelist. They are divided from each other verti- 
 cally by an ornament of three gems mixed with pearls, 
 and each bears its own inscription in Latin prose. 
 
 We w^ill give in the meantime those on the left. 
 
 N.° 63. HlC BAPTIZAT BEATVS MARCVS. 
 He is in the act of baptizing, I should think, more likely 
 than any other, S. Aniano converted to the faith after 
 the miracle, of which more afterw^ards ; especially seeing 
 that the two figures of S. Aniano resemble each other. 
 
 N.°62. DESTRVIT YDOLV BEATVS MARCVS. 
 He casts down the false god set upon the cokimn. 
 
 N.°6l. SANATVR ANIANVS BENEDICTIONE SCI MARCI. 
 Aniano a poor shoemaker of Alexandria, seated at his 
 bench, shows to the Evangelist his hand wounded by 
 one of his tools. The Saint cures him; believing, he 
 baptised him, and, having become his disciple, ordains 
 him Bishop and his successor {Bollandist.) 
 
 N.° 60. DEFERT BEATVS M ARCVS H E RM AH O R A A" P 
 {ad Petrum). 
 
3o 
 
 Ermagoras, a disciple of S. Mark, having gone with 
 him to Rome, was by him presented to the Apostle Pe- 
 ter, who is seated on a throne ; and thence having re- 
 turned into Aquileia was its first Bishop. 
 
 59. SCS PETRVS. S"CS MARCVS. 
 Peter confirms in the Gospel of Mark his own predica- 
 tion ; which his disciple had been begged by the Ro- 
 mans to leave in writing. (Euseb., Hist. Eccl.^ lib. 11, 
 c. [i5). Thus it seems to me that this panel must be 
 explained. 
 
 Then there come on the right : 
 
 N.° 81. IHS XPS PAX TIBI EVG MS MARCE. {Jesm 
 Christus. Pax tibi Epangelista mens Marce). 
 Jesus appears to S. Mark in prison and promises him 
 eternal glory. 
 
 N.°82. SVSPENDITVR BEATVS MARCVS. 
 Torn from the Altar, and bound with a rope round the 
 neck, and stoned. 
 
 N.^83.TOLLITVR BEATVS MARCVS DE ALEXANDRIA. 
 Two men (perhaps Buono Tribuno of Malamocco and 
 Rustico Torcellano), bending over an open tomb of' 
 fine marble, are in the act of taking away the body of 
 S. Mark in order to transfer it to Venice. 
 
 N.^ 84. HIC DEFERTVR CORPVS SCI MARCI. 
 There arrives with a fair wind a ship bearing to Ve- 
 nice the sacred Relics of S. Mark. It is guided by three 
 men, among whom are perhaps those who took it away 
 from Alexandria ; the third might be the priest Staura- 
 cius. 
 
 N.° 85. HIC SVSCIPITV ETIA BEATV MARCV. 
 
 The Coffin with the body of the Evangelist in it is 
 being borne in procession on the shoulders by two men, 
 
3i 
 
 whom I should consider to be those who had carried 
 it off. Underneath the Coffin there is to be seen a smart 
 and merry little boy. Warriors with flags and banners 
 form a cortege. The procession moves tow^ards the 
 Church, whence issues a Bishop w^ith, on his right 
 hand, a Deacon, clothed in a white tunic and diaconal 
 stole, and with a thurible in his hand. 
 
 These ten panels just described, must be classed, 
 according to our opinion, among the most beautiful and 
 most graceful enamel paintings of the Palla. The draw- 
 ing, the finish of the execution, and the suitable ar- 
 rangement of the groups, are valuable testimony that 
 they come from the same origin and are of the same 
 date. 
 
 Taking up again the question of the three minor 
 niches, or rather of the five divisions of which mention 
 has just been made, and which are seen in the centre 
 of the lo7ver part of the Palla, these niches have point- 
 ed arches ; four tiny jewelled pilasters divide them one 
 from another. The centre one shows a very fine and 
 beautiful enamel; the figure of the Mother of God, 
 with the usual monograms MP 0V, upright, in the act 
 of praying, and with the arms raised, N."" 56, as often 
 shown by the Byzantines and the mosaics of the Basi- 
 lica of S. Mark, a true model of simple and majestic 
 dignity. On her right, N.° 55, is a doge of Venice (Or- 
 delafo Faliero) with this title engraved on the panel in 
 characters of the fourteenth or fifteenth century : 
 
 OR. FALGTRVS Dl GRA VENECI6 DVX 
 
 On the left of the Virgin is the figure of Irene, 
 Empress of Constantinople, N.° 57, with this Greek 
 
32 
 
 inscription half on one side, and half on the other, 
 near to her head : 
 
 + eiPl CTATH 
 
 Niev AvroY 
 
 CEBe CTH 
 
 : An azzure nimbus surrounds the heads of these 
 two figures, both of them standing. Of the two, that of 
 Fahero is of a person holding a sceptre; he has a beard- 
 less face; the form is almost feminine; the head is sur- 
 mounted by- a crown, in which, really, there is nothing 
 in common with the custom of the old Venetian Do- 
 ges, nor of the chief dignitaries of the Byzantine Court. 
 The vestment is sufficiently rich, a long tunic with a 
 sort of mantle over it ; a collar with a pendant hang- 
 ing down on the breast. But the whole is of imperfect 
 execution; and the feet, standing on a carpet, give a 
 poor resemblance of nature. It is no stumbling-block 
 whatever to an archeologist to see a high dignitary of 
 Constantinople adorned with a nimbus, nor in the im- 
 perial costume of that city a Venetian Doge or other 
 sovereign of a different nation, for the Byzantine artists, 
 every time that they had to represent similar persona- 
 ges, clothed them according to the costume of their own 
 nation. Thus among the mosaics of S. Mark's, at the 
 great entrance to the Basilica, as well as in the interior, 
 there appears a Doge clothed like a Byzantine Empe- 
 ror, in the act of receiving the body of the Apostle and 
 Evangelist, brought from Alexandria. But the misfor- 
 tune is that Venetians of later times, perhaps desirous 
 of gratefully preserving a perpetual record of the new 
 aspect given to the ancient Tabula of Orseolo by the 
 Doge Ordelafo Faliero, who ruled from 1 102 to 1117, 
 
33 
 
 determined, for want of a better way, (nor do I know 
 how advisedly) to engrave the name of this doge on the 
 gold ground of the enamelled panel ; the figure in which, 
 if not changed in the" head and the costume might have 
 been taken for a Byzantine emperor with his Greek in- 
 scription, where now it would be said that the figure 
 of the so-called Faliero hardly seems to be even an 
 emperor's son; w^ho at that time was called by the spe- 
 cial word Despot (JeojioTtjgX corresponding to the mo- 
 dern title of Prince. 
 
 An evident proof of the changes made, without, 
 leaving us any certainty as to the motive, is, more than 
 anything else, the head. It is clear, from the indica- 
 tions which remain, that it has been changed, as also the 
 nimbus, and is on account of its disproportionateness 
 very ugly, seeing how small it is compared with the 
 size of the person represented. Perhaps it may have 
 been intedend to repair in this way some ancient in- 
 juries caused more by individuals than by time. Now 
 we ask: who then was the emperor, since an emperor 
 should reasonably be found accompanied by the em- 
 press ? I know that no one of all those who have pre- 
 ceded me in the present work has diligently studied 
 this question; from hence result so much uncertainty 
 and so differing and confused opinions. But some have 
 passed it by in silence ; some others have sought out, 
 turning their minds to Ordelafo Faliero, who it was 
 that was then emperor at Constantinople; and the figure 
 of the pretended Faliero of the Palla d' oro they soon 
 baptized as Alessio I. Comneno. And this they assert 
 with so much less difficulty because of the truth with 
 which it is asserted that he took as his second wife an 
 
1 
 
 t 
 
 Irene of the family Duca; highly lauded for rare qua- 
 lities by Anna Comnena (in the Alexiad.)\ afterwards 
 becoming a nun, under the name of Xena, inher convent 
 dedicated by her to Maria piena di gra{ia^ as was said 
 at the beginning of this work; and finally as a saint ve- 
 nerated by the Greeks {Menaea Graec. i3. mens. Aug.). 
 But we, led by the testimony which further on we 
 shall quote, must more justly recognize in those two 
 imperial personages the successor to Alessio, that is 
 Giovanni Comneno (A. D. 1118-1143) surnamed Ca- 
 lojanni (John the Good) on account of his gentle and 
 pious virtues ; and as the inscription says, the most 
 pious Augusta Rene his consort, daughter of La- 
 dislaus I., the saintly king of Hungary. Of whom, 
 much more than in Faliero, it is easy to recognize the 
 suitability of the costume, and of the three-pointed 
 crown as shown on the heads of Byzantine sovereigns 
 by coins anterior to the twelfth century; and final- 
 ly the execution of the work, which is much supe- 
 rior, as Durand observes, to that in the figure of the 
 Doge. 
 
 Nothing else now remains to be described by us 
 except the two panels, N.°^ 54 and 58, the one on the 
 right of the said Doge, the other on the left of the Em- 
 press ; and which present two Latin inscriptions, cut 
 in fine Gothic characters, used in the fourteenth and fif- 
 teenth centuries. They note briefly with dates the inno- 
 vations made in the Palla ; and are the only historical 
 document which speaks of it more in detail than those 
 of preceding ages ; and the only one quoted by the 
 Venetian writers, and by Du Cange in his Glossar. M. 
 et I. Latin, (at the word Pala). And the inscriptions 
 
35 
 
 are the following w^hich we quote without abbrevia- 
 tion : 
 
 N.°54. ANNO MILLENO CENTENO JVNGITO QVINTO 
 
 TVNC ORDELAPHVS FALEDRVS IN VRBE DVCABAT 
 HAEC NOVA FACTA FUIT GEMIS DITISSIMA PALA 
 QVAE RENOVATA FVIT TE PETRE DVCANTE ZIANI 
 ET PROCVRABAT TVNC ANGELVS ACTA FALEDRVS 
 ANNO MILLENO BIS CENTENOQVE NOVENO. 
 
 N.° 58. POST QVADRAGENO QVINTO POST MILLE TRECENTOS 
 DANDVLVS ANDREAS PRAECLARVS HONORE DVCABAT 
 NOBILIBVSQVE VIRIS TVNC PROCVRANTIBVS ALMAM 
 ECCLESIAM MARCI VENERANDAM JVRE BEATI 
 DE LAVREDANIS MARCO FRESCOQVE QVIRINO 
 TVNC VETVS HAEC PALA GEMIS PRECIOSA NOVATVR. 
 
 The varying meaning given to the third line of the first 
 inscription; the word nova (new) by some explained as 
 being a mistake for nove (newly); the too vague words 
 renovata and novatur\ have given rise to many contradic- 
 tory interpretations, not rarely repugnant to good sense. 
 Two things seem to me evident in these inscriptions ; 
 one, that the Palla d'oro (or whatever at first this piece 
 of ecclesiastical furniture may have been called) was 
 already in existence in the twelfth century; and then 
 had (Faliero being Doge) a new appearance: Haec 
 Pala, ditissima gemmis, facta fuit nova ; (constructed, 
 I should consider the less ambiguous, and more corre- 
 sponding with history): then in the thirteenth (under 
 Ziani) it was, either for repairs or for additions, re- 
 newed; and in the fourteenth (Prince A. Dandolo) by 
 other innovations and embellishments, remodernized ; 
 as if it said : ad novam formam redacta. The other fact. 
 
36 
 
 of which there can be no doubt, is that the Palla, of 
 which we have several times, on credible authority, no- 
 ted that it is divided into two portions, although these 
 are bound aud connected together, that is upper and 
 lower portions, was, within the space of four centuries, 
 displaced, remodelled, increased, rearranged. The early 
 traces of its size and grandeur are lost ; nor would the 
 science of art, which analyses styles and from them de- 
 duces dates and authors, know how, without the help 
 of history, to reason about it with certainty; still less 
 would it know how, whatever ope may say, to join to- 
 gether again and reconstruct that which had been chan- 
 ged, especially there where it is a question of paintings 
 executed by Byzantine artists, prior to the fourteenth 
 century, a period no longer successful in that kind of 
 goldsmith's work. The defects of an art already fallen, 
 or decaying, have even themselves, like immortal beau- 
 ty, a perpetual existence, not really desirable, inasmuch 
 as it is only destined to point out in a still undegene- 
 rate posterity its own condemnation. 
 
 The upper and lower parts of the Palla d'oro are each 
 of them surrounded by a border or frame. This frame, 
 N."" 86, is of silver gilt, in chiselled work, extremely ele- 
 gant, with work in flowers, leaves, arabesques, etc., 
 and belongs to the fourteenth century, and just to that 
 period in which, from the Venetians under Andrea Dan- 
 dolo, the enamelled panels received the addition of va- 
 ried ornament in chiselled work, in the year This 
 frame is sprinkled with small circular medallions, ar- 
 ranged round it on all sides, with tiny and very beautiful 
 sacred figures in enamel not executed for that position, 
 but v<^hich must have been then preserved as precious 
 
37 
 
 objects (says Durand) resulting from some known con- 
 quest, and used to increase the richness and worth of 
 this splendid monument. There are eighteen of these 
 medallions in the upper part; twenty in the lower; and 
 all of them are alternated with as many other similar 
 ones carried out in chiselled work. Of this last it is not 
 requisite to speak. But of the former ones, as we have 
 already noted, almost all present small busts of various 
 saints, and for which we may consult the above-quoted 
 Durand, we will notice the symbolical figure in one me- 
 dallion, (the third of the twenty in the lower extremity 
 of the Palla on the left), composed of a globe of an 
 azure colour in the form of a heart (I should call it the 
 world) between two peacocks (vanity); and a serpent 
 (the devil) which, winding round the tree, follows the 
 circular form of the medallion, and with the mouth 
 wide open, the threatening head darts against a Cross 
 which rises above the globe (the victorious sign of the 
 redemption of the human race from the slavery of the 
 enemy to eternal life). The finish and elegance of this, 
 and of the medallions which are in the same row, ren- 
 der them especially worthy of observation. And so 
 much as regards the Palla itself. 
 
 In order to preserve it from possible injuries or 
 dangers there was provided, very wisely and thought- 
 fully, under the rule of Andrea Dandolo, a covering of 
 painted wood, which enclosing it entirely should serve 
 on ferial days almost as a second Palla; and on this ac- 
 count was called Pala feriale {see the dramng opposite). 
 This, was divided horizontally into two sections, each 
 in seven compartments ; of w^hich the upper one corre- 
 sponding to the half of the Palla d'oro, and which fold- 
 
38 
 
 ed in two parts toward the front to cover it, (as we said 
 at the commencement) shows us, painted in the Greek 
 manner, or rather in the Byzantine, Jesus as the Ecce 
 homo, upon the Cross, between the B. V., Saint Mark, 
 Saint George, on the left of the spectator; and Saint John 
 the Evangelist, Saint Peter, Saint Nicholas^ on the right. 
 And in the lower portion are figured besides the events 
 and miracles, already noted, of the Evangelist, the mi- 
 racle of his apparition ( 1094) from the opened pier, to 
 doge Vitale Falier kneeling, and the coffin enclosing the 
 venerated relics of the Saint, as they stood in the sub- 
 presbitery of the Basilica (they are now contained with- 
 in the High Altar); two notable subjects in the history 
 of this Church and of art. I quote here the inscription 
 on the painting, as it was copied in 1854 by Durand 
 (p. 3o. in note) and as I myself have verified it, being 
 led to do so by the incorrectness of some writers. Thus 
 in the lower portion, in the first division on the left, 
 under the painting is written : M. CCC. XLV. MS. AP'lIS. 
 DIE. XXII; and under the painting of the fifth compart- 
 ment: MGR. PAVLVS. CV. LVCA. ET. lOHE. FILMS. 
 SVIS. PINXERVT. HOC. OPVS. But the primitive writ- 
 ing of the date, that is before the repairing of the cover, 
 was thus in i835: ... CCCXLV.¥S. APL. DIE. XXII . Of 
 this we are assured by the learned and diligent patri- 
 cian Leonardo Manin in his Memorie storico-critiche 
 intorno alia vita ec. di S. Marco Evangelista ( Vene- 
 cia, 1845, fig., second edition, p. 45). So that to the 
 modern restorer after i835 must be attributed the in- 
 exact difference of the inscription. 
 
 The value of this painting is increased, besides the 
 actual merit and that air of meditation and devotion, 
 
39 
 
 by the name of Maestro Paolo and of his sons, contempo- 
 raries of Giotto, and the earliest of the Venetian painters 
 whom we know of. The history of painting does not 
 record, I believe, by Paolo, any other painting beside 
 this, and that which is preserved in the Sacristy of the 
 Conventual! at Vicenza; and which he executed in i333. 
 
 The back of the Palla d' oro was covered with 
 thin wood, where in the same Byzantine manner were 
 painted in thirteen compartments the Apostles, and in 
 their midst the Redeemer, almost as if the painter had 
 wished partly to imitate the idea of the aforesaid Palla, 
 Under the painting is this inscription: 
 
 MAPHEVS VERONA F. 
 and lower down the following distich : 
 
 LIQVISTI MVNDO ET MARCE TVA MVNERA PACEM 
 PAX IGITVR VENETO VIVAT IN IMPERIO. 
 
 Although Verona (i 576-1618) was a follower of the 
 school of Gagliari, neverthless he has shown in this 
 picture his great skill in painting in tempera, and in the 
 style used in the middle ages; and he adapted himself 
 (which few artists understand) to the place and to the 
 object for which the picture was intended. {See the il- 
 lustration opposite to page 3j). 
 
 Fourteen locks, seven on the right and seven on 
 the left, secured the Palla d' oro from behind ; and a 
 small winch served to help in raising in two folds the 
 heavy half of the Palla, forming together with the co- 
 ver one single piece, for the other half that is to say 
 the lower, was immovably fixed upon two small co- 
 lumns of verd antique \ and which, when the precious 
 monument was entirely open shewed upon the capitals 
 two small statues ; the Archangel Gabriel and Maria 
 
40 
 
 Annunziata. With such a high and holy thought the 
 Venetians intended to warn the devout citizen that on 
 the solemn day (25th. of March) of the manifested my- 
 stery ab eierno and from the beginning of human salva- 
 tion had its origin the city of Saint Mark. These colon- 
 nettes, which were taken away in the last reconstruction 
 of the sacred Table, may be seen in the dramng opposite 
 page 3j\ that also represents the ancient Ciborium of 
 the High Altar with its spherical cupola; which, as 
 Sansovino says ( Venecia descritta, I. i., cap. xli) was 
 removed thence in past times because, being of wood, 
 the numerous lamps had accidentally set it on fire. 
 
 But to return to the Palla, inasmuch as, on ac- 
 count of the times which preceded the end of the Ve- 
 netian Aristocracy, and the succeeding revulsions of 
 public fortune, it shewed the necessity for thorough 
 repairs, and these were carefully studied. But before 
 commencing this work, the sacred Table was renew- 
 ed (i836), and every care was taken to find men of 
 undoubted ability, thoroughly qualified for the difficult 
 and jealous task ; and this was entrusted to the skill- 
 ed judgment of the goldsmiths Lorenzo Favro and his 
 son Pietro, called Biiri. The many artifices and the 
 cunning skill made use of by them in order to arrive 
 at such a praiseworthy result would seem incredible if 
 narrated ; and the work was felicitously brought to a 
 conclusion after ten years of study and labour. In this 
 manner the Palla was reduced to one single whole; 
 but no longer as before, being folded or unfolded for 
 opening or closing; but furnished with thick glass and a 
 moveable iron grating, designed scale-fashion, and gilt; 
 fixed upon a new and elegant base of choice marbles ; 
 
41 
 
 lastly the ancient tavola of Maestro Paolo was repaired, 
 and, in place of the already ruined one of Verona, it 
 was placed on the back of the Palla with the following 
 inscription set above it, in letters of gold : 
 
 Tabulam. intus, servatam. opere. gemmis. aiiro. 
 
 longe. pretiosam. arae. d. marct. evangelistae. 
 
 ohm, impositam. temporis. iniuria. vindicatam. 
 
 summa. q. diligentia. vetiisto. splendori. restitu- 
 
 tam. additis. picturis. qui bus. tabula, ipsa, clau- 
 
 debatur. curatores. basilicae. marcianae. hoc. in. 
 
 loco, spectantibus . commodiore . erigendam. de- 
 
 creverunt. a. MDCCCXLVII. 
 And for all these works there was expended the 
 sum of more than twenty thousand lire (francs). 
 
 Lastly we must touch upon a discovery made 
 while the Palla was being called back to new splen- 
 dour. In the taking to pieces which occurred before the 
 patient work of restoration was commenced, the tavola 
 of Maffeo Verona being taken away, underneath it was 
 -found another {See illustration page 3'j). Some assert 
 it to have been painted by Vivarini; others deny this; 
 some would have it to be of the Venetian -mosaicist 
 Michele Giambono ; others that it is anterior to the 
 fifteenth century. However this may be, its very bad 
 condition and the thinness of that of Verona prove 
 that one was superimposed to preserve the other . 
 Both of these tavole are now preserved in the upper 
 chambers of the Basilica, with other remains from past 
 and recent restorations of the church, by the esteemed 
 possessor of memorials and drawings of his own, Si- 
 gnor Antonio Pellanda. He has courteously been wil- 
 ling to show to me the ancient wooden framework of 
 
( 
 
 42 
 
 the upper portion of the Palla d'oro; upon which, from 
 the time of Andrea Dandolo were fixed the enamelled 
 panels and the precious stones and the chiselled orna- 
 ments ; the traces of which are still visible on the wood. 
 This framework, already almost rotten, deserves to be 
 preserved because on the back there is written with a 
 pen, and certainly autographic, the name of the gold- 
 smith (unknown to the history of art) and the precise 
 year in which he completed the work of arranging and 
 securing the decoration, not, it would seem of that part 
 only, but of the whole of the Palla : 
 
 MCCCXLII 
 
 J|Sas bonesegna me fecit 
 Orate pme 
 
 I read it thus : Joannes Paulus Bonensegna me fecit. 
 Orate per me. I cannot imagine how the abbreviation 
 Ipas of the double name should have been explained by 
 as many as have quoted it as Giam. or Giammaria., or 
 worse. Then I should believe to be of Florentine ori- 
 gin rather than Venetian, the artificer Giampaolo Bonin- 
 segna. 
 
 The third and last discovery made was of some 
 coins, found in the ancient cover of the said Palla; the 
 which are, in part, of the years between 1342 and i354, 
 that is to say contemporary with Dandolo; and of these 
 some with his name, others, certainly then current in 
 Venice, of the cities of Verona and Brescia; and, in 
 part, belonging to later doges, Giovanni Delfino (i356), 
 Tommaso Mocenigo (1414), Alvise Mocenigo (1570), 
 Leonardo Donato (1606); under whom it may be sus- 
 
 ! 
 
9 
 
 43 
 
 pected thai the Palla may 
 have been in some way re- 
 paired. These coins were 
 recognized as being valua- 
 ble by Count Leonardo Ma- 
 nin, and were explained by 
 Prof. Pietro Pasini, an able 
 numismatist, and uncle of 
 the learned illustrator of the 
 present work on the Tesoro 
 di San Marco (Bellomo op. 
 cit,^ p. 42 e not. 3g). 
 
 So far we have describ- 
 ed and, as far as possible, 
 explained, the Palla d'oro, 
 follow^ing in discoursing of 
 the various parts, a course 
 somewhat different from 
 that of past illustrators, nor 
 always strictly kept to by 
 them . We have not neglected 
 to give, either from investi- 
 gations made, or from our 
 ow^n judgment, some addi- 
 tional explanation, not inop- 
 portune perchance for the hi- 
 story of sacred art, or to cor- 
 rect indirectly false opinions 
 with regard to any obscure 
 points of the precious mo- 
 nument. But of the origin, of 
 the use, and of the enlarge- 
 
44 
 
 ments, so much has not yet been said as may suffice 
 
 for the desire to show that something is yet required. 
 
 It is said then, in an ancient Chronicle the most an- • 
 
 . . . * . 
 
 cient of all the Venetian Chronicles, and as it is called, 
 
 the true foundation of Venetian history^ that Pietro Or- 
 seolo I., a doge for two years only (976-978), a monk 
 for nineteen years, then canonized, having of his rich 
 patrimony disbursed money to rebuild the burnt Tem- 
 ple of Saint Mark, willed that for the Altar of this 
 Church there should be made at Constantinople a pic- 
 ture {tabula) afterwards called Pala^ of stupendous work 
 in gold and silver ; In Sancti Marci altare tabulam 
 miro opere ex argento et auro Constaniinopoli peragere 
 jussit. Now, either the author of the Chronicle was, as 
 most persons believe, one Giovanni Sagornino, a Vene- 
 tian, and an iron worker by profession, who lived be- 
 tween the tenth and eleventh centuries, (Foscarini Lett, 
 Ven.^ lib. n.); or was, according to Pertz {Monum. 
 Hist. Germ. ix. i.) one Giovanni a Venetian deacon, 
 who had been in the service of the Orseolo family, and 
 partly in that of Pietro; certain it is that to cast a doubt 
 upon the authority of such contemporary testimony, and 
 deny the execution of that pious wish, would seem, to me 
 at least, an effort of criticism not too w^ise. This testimo- 
 ny was followed and other parts of the Chronicle were 
 copied, perhaps on the authority of a more authentic doc- 
 ument, by the weighty Chronicler Andrea Dandolo; and 
 after him by Gian-Jacopo Caroldo, Giovanni Bembo, 
 and other Chroniclers ; who repeat, either in the same 
 words, or in substance the passage of the above quoted 
 Chronicle. We cannot, then, agree with Signor Zanotto 
 {Venecia e le suelagune^ t. n., part 2.^^ , page 82); who, 
 
45 
 
 because of Orseolo no mention whatever is made in the 
 inscriptions engraved on the Palla, and already quoted 
 by us, maintains that none of its parts can be ascribed 
 to the times of that Doge; whence it is clear that, accord- 
 ing to him, the words of the ancient chronicler would 
 have a colour even less than legendary. It is certain that 
 to recognize that part of the Palla which belongs to 
 one century, and that which belongs to another, is a 
 thing extremely difficult, not to say impossible, on ac- 
 count of the constant uniformity of character, of costume, 
 of style in the Byzantine paintings. We have already 
 stated this before, and it is worth while to repeat it 
 now. Only circumstances quite special and minute can 
 smooth the way and remove inevitable ambiguities. 
 Among the twenty seven panels above described, which 
 border the lower portion of the Palla, we have noted 
 (p. 24) that that one which represents the Crucifixion 
 (N. 72 on the key plate, p. 10) gives us in the very atti- 
 tude of the Crucified the clear indication of a date cer- 
 tainly not later than the tenth century ; in which from 
 the fineness of the work, and from other similiar qua- 
 lities of art observed there (pages 26 and 32) it may be 
 argued that also the remaining panels wxre executed. 
 We are therefore in the time of Orseolo ; and we feel 
 bound unwillingly to differ from the opinion of Labarie 
 [Peinture en emails p. 29-30); who attributing them to 
 the time of Ordelafo Faliero, would remove them from 
 the times of the Sainted Doge by more than a century. 
 
 Orseolo, however, ordered the Palla {tabu lam al- 
 taris ov frontal) at Constantinople, as Didier the cele- 
 brated abbot of Monte Cassino, ordered there in emu- 
 lation of the Venetian Prince, in 1068, a frontal for the 
 
46 
 
 Abbey of S. Benedetto, with figure scenes taken from 
 the Gospel, and miracles of the titular Saint, neither more 
 nor less, than as in our Palla we see the events in the 
 life of S. Mark, and the miracle of the Evangelist, from 
 whose translation to Venice I do not doubt there was 
 still, after more than a hundred years, an ardent popu- 
 lar enthusiasm. And in fact he ordered as was ordered 
 by Hildebrand (afterwards Pope Gregory VII) at Con- 
 stantinople a frontal, perhaps for the monastery of S. 
 Paolo in Rome, before loyS; not to speak of other 
 commissions from the West given in that capital where 
 such arts were flourishing. So that this frontal of Or- 
 seolo, which in its dimensions must have corresponded 
 to the ancient and certainly not large Altar of the Ba- 
 silica, and which today is incorporated with the won- 
 derful Palla, covered the front side of the Altar itself. • 
 But in the total absence of any document, who Would 
 be able to point out except by dubious and fallacious 
 conjectures, one by one all the parts of the primitive 
 Palla of Orseolo? Labarte suspects (p. 3o) that the whole 
 of the upper portioit and Christ seated in the centre of 
 the lojver^ with the twelve Archangels and the twelve 
 prophets may have composed the Palla of Orseolo. We 
 will not deny it, except in part; for, taken to pieces and 
 recomposed to receive fresh arrangements and new di- 
 mensions it does not preserve more than some faint 
 trace of it; and almost might be said to have disappear- 
 ed, even from the twelfth century, together with the de- 
 vout object, also the name of the Sainted Doge, if the 
 Cronaca Sagornina, generally unknown in those times, 
 had not registered both the name and the object. . 
 
 This being premised, it is manifest that the only 
 
47 
 
 reason for such a disappearance was the enlargement 
 and a greater richness of gems and novehy of form, 
 which in the year iio5 the Palla received from Or- 
 delafo FaHero, who through a sentiment of greater 
 veneration for the Patron saint of the city, and wish- 
 ing still more to ennoble it, placed it above the Altar, 
 already rendered more splendid and majestic. Tabu- 
 lam auream^ says Dandolo (Cron. Ven.^Part. n. p. 260), 
 gemmis et per Us mirifice Constantinopoli fabricatam 
 (that is by order of Orseolo) pro iiberiori reverentia Bea- 
 tissimi Marci Evangelistae^ super ejus altari deposuit. 
 Really the modest language of the inscriptions quoted 
 only says : nova facta fuit. In which words it seems to 
 me are included all the modifications carried out in 
 the frontal of Orseolo, in such a way that a different 
 arrangement of the parts and the addition of other pa- 
 nels, not worked in Constantinople, but in Venice it- 
 self, may have given a new aspect to the monument, 
 obliterating the ancient frontal. I have spoken of pa- 
 nels worked in Venice; however here there were Greeks 
 who especially worked in painting; whether they were 
 called from Constantinople, or whether, being settled in 
 Venice, they had their own workshops there. So that 
 at the forming of the new Palla there was no want of 
 Greek artists, in the same way as with regard to the 
 ancient mosaics of the Basilica. This is proved by an 
 anonymous Chronicle of the fifteenth century , and 
 repeated by another of Stefano Magno ; which tells us 
 that in the days of Ordelafo Faliero the Palla fo lavo- 
 rada per un maistro greco {Cron. e docum. per la Ba- 
 silica di San Marco^ Ongania, publisher. Doc. io3 
 and 112). So that, if there were no other argument. 
 
48 . . 
 
 that which has already been advanced here would suf- 
 fice to demonstrate that the care taken by the Doge to 
 embelHsh and enlarge the Palla [aliquibus interjectis 
 thesauris^ says Dandolo), and at same time to give 
 greater glory to the Evangelist, gave, in the inscriptions, 
 the chief honour to Ordelafo Faliero [see his figure 
 reproduced opposite the title page of the work: II Te- 
 soro di San Marco in Venezia). 
 
 Let us pass on now to the second, or according to 
 what has just been said, the third period of the won- 
 derful monument. It is at the time of Doge Pietro Ziani 
 (i 205-1229). The fourth line of the inscriptions on the 
 Palla says of him : Quae renovata fuit /e, Petre^ duc(;inte, 
 Ziani ; and with regard to these words we have alrea- 
 dy argued (p. 35) a renewing, either for repairs, or for 
 additions which had been made. But, except the origi- 
 nal testimony of Dandolo, from which we gather that 
 Angelo Faliero, the only Procurator of the Church, 
 Tabulam altaris sancti Marci^ additis gemmis et perlis, 
 Ducis jussu^ reparavit ^ no other document has ever 
 been brought forward to give us more complete infor- 
 mation about new improvements. Whence, both La- 
 barte (p.3p) and as many others as have studied the 
 question, agree in affirming that nothing more was 
 added under Ziani beyond gems and pearls. At the 
 very most, the French archeologist admits that if, by 
 chance during the life of Ziani, the Palla was enriched 
 with enamels, these cannot have come other than from 
 Constantinople, at the time when, the capital being 
 sacked, and the treasures seized, despoiling palaces 
 and churches, the Venetians were able to take pos- 
 session of all sorts of Oriental valuables, and to clothe 
 
; 49 
 
 with richness and magnificence their own monuments. 
 (Pasini, Frofttale in San Marco, p. 26-27). ^^fe- 
 runtur, exclaims the Pontiff Innocent III, in his Let- 
 ter on the taking of Constantinople (in Arte dicta- 
 7ninis Boncompagni Bononiensis , MS.) aurea et ar- 
 gentea pasa, pallia et lapides pretiosi de famosissimo 
 Sophiae Templo, duodecim Apostoloriun basilica, Vir- 
 gliorum (read Vigiiorum) et Pantocratore a victoribus 
 spoliantur. (See also Du Gange, Cpl. Christ.). Upon 
 which matter it seems to me most important to refer 
 to a testimony not known, as I have already said, or 
 at least quoted by no one; and which becomes a com- 
 ment on the history of the Palla, clearing up certain 
 points which on account of their difficulty, have given 
 occasion to opposing opinions; and as that w^hich from 
 the time of doge Andrea Dandolo is divided only by 
 ninety three years, and by fifteen precedes the fall of 
 the Eastern Empire, it deserves, from the archeological 
 point of view to be no longer forgotten. 
 
 The Emperor Giovanni Paleologo, having to attend 
 the Gouncil of Ferrara, landed at Venice in February 
 1438. He was followed by his brother Demetrius, De- 
 spot (or Prince) of the Morea; the Greek Patriarch Giu- 
 seppe, and other prelates and important personages ; 
 and they had from the Doge and the Senate a public 
 and solemn reception ; inckiding all the splendour and 
 majesty of which the Venetian Republic knew how, in 
 similar circumstances to display. And taken by surprise 
 at seeing Venice, a marvellous city, says the historian 
 Franza, rich, variated, most worthy of praise, and most 
 learned, the Patriarch and his followers wished to visit 
 the Church of S. Mark (I translate from the history of 
 
5o ^ . 
 
 the Council of Florence) ; and there they observed the 
 sacred objects extremely rich and of great value; pre- 
 cious stones large and sparkling ; and all kinds of sa- 
 cred furniture worked in excellent and valuable mate- 
 rials : of w^hich several ingeniously carried out in re- 
 lief in fine stones, others in pure gold; (and he referred 
 to the Treasury). « Here (continues the Greek text) v^e 
 )) have seen the divine figures of the so-called sacred 
 )) Templon^ shining in the brightness of gold; and which 
 )) for the abundance of the precious gems^ and beauty 
 )) and size of the pearls, and for the variety and fine- 
 )) ness of the art are a marvel to beholders. And this at 
 )) the conquest when the city fell into the power of the 
 » Latins , were thence transported {strictly speaking 
 )) not all) by the law of spoil; reduced Jo the form of a 
 )) great image (or picture), placed above the Altar w^hich 
 )) is in the Sanctuary {Presbyterio) ; well protected be- 
 )) fore and behind with very strong coverings, and with 
 » keys and seals preserved. And those coverings being 
 )) opened twice a year, at the feasts of Christmas and 
 )) Easter, that picture, composed of many parts, is uni- 
 )) versally admired ; the pride and joy of its pos- 
 )) sessors ; but from whence it was taken is to us pre- 
 )) sent there a reason for sadness. And although we 
 )) have been told that those figures were from the Great 
 )) Church (5. Sofia) nevertheless have we precisely re- 
 )) cognized both from the inscriptions and from the pa- 
 » nels {oTTjloyQacpcai^ painted-stars) of the Comneni, that 
 )) the same belonged to the Monastery (or Church) of 
 )) the Omnipotent. Now, if so great were the riches of 
 )) this Temple, imagine the treasures of that of Santa 
 )) Sofia All this the Patriarch having diligently ob- 
 
5i 
 
 » served, and the Doge also was with him, {owovToq 
 )) avTU) Kal Tov Jovxog)^ he took extreme delight in it ». 
 (Sguropiil. in Hist. Concil. Flor. Sect, iv., cap. xvi). 
 
 Comparing this curious and singular narration 
 with the precious monument, we believe it to be suffi- 
 ciently proved that not a few of the enamelled plates of 
 the Palla d' oro, and above all things the seven pict- 
 ures which form the upper portion of it, considered in 
 their size (in respect to other smaller figures of the lojp- 
 er portion) not less than the « Despotic » figures which 
 are there, are not of the time of Orseolo, nor belonging 
 to Faliero, as almost all the illustrators have up to the 
 present time wrongly supposed, but present a portion 
 of the Templon of the Omnipotent in Constantinople ; 
 which is equivalent to saying that what fell into the hands 
 of the Venetians was saved from the confusion in the 
 miserable catastrophy of 1204. We have already point- 
 ed out to our readers (p. 8) what the Templon was 
 among the Greeks, and which and how many figures, 
 that are called (c Despotic » it should ordinarily pre- 
 sent. It is now important to point out that the Monas- 
 tery of the Omnipotent, situated near the basilica of the 
 Apostles, was of such a size and capacity, that in 1 145 
 it contained about seven hundred Monks ; and on the 
 subjugation of the Capital, it served as a Palace for the 
 Latins (Byzantius, Descript. Cpl., t. i. p. SS4. Gr.). Be- 
 side that, its Temple, similar both in construction and 
 in the domes to the Basilica of S. Mark in Venice, was 
 in size and beauty among the most important of the ci- 
 ty ; today, the Monastery being destroyed, that Temple 
 still endures, converted into a mosque with the name 
 of Zeirek. Giovanni, or Calojanni, Comneno(i 1 1 8-1 143) 
 
52 
 
 and his August Consort Irene, {see the figure of her 
 in the jvork : II Tesoro di San Marco, at the side of the 
 beginning of that illustration) built and enriched it. 
 (Cinnam. Hist,^ lib. i, n.° 4; — Niceta, in Manuel Co- 
 mnen.) ; and these are precisely the two Emperors of 
 whom we have above argued (p. 34) and who, being 
 represented in two of the panels of the Palla d' oro, 
 were immediately distinguished by the Patriarch Jo- 
 seph, by his co-visitors, and by the very author of the 
 above quoted History of the Council; and what is more, 
 their inscriptions were also observed. Certainly such 
 occular witnesies could not be deceived ; and who , 
 more than in the mind had in the heart the memory 
 of things lost from their own native land ; they, arri- 
 ved here from Constantinople itself, where the Temple 
 of the Omnipotent was still open and in use, and where 
 still the visible signs of the carried off Templon spoke 
 sadly. So then the change of Giovanni Comneno into 
 Ordelafo Falier in 1438, had not yet taken place ; so 
 then the figures of Giovanni and of Irene are the same 
 ones w^hich adorned the Templon of the Omnipotent, 
 since the Emperors of Constantinople were accustomed 
 (and this is proved by the monasteries of Mount Athos) 
 to place entire their own figures in the sacred edifices, 
 or in the enrichments made by them. Whence it is that, 
 lastly, it will be permitted with full certainty to assert 
 that the whole of the upper portion with other minor 
 panels of the Palla (which perhaps w^as originally fold- 
 ed vertically like a dyptich) is no other than an addi- 
 tion made, to express myself by means of the not vain 
 apostrophe of the inscription, te, Petre^ ducante Ziani\ 
 and that in consequence those seven representations 
 
53 
 
 belong to the twelfth century, in spite of the erroneous 
 suspicions of Labarte, here quoted by us (p. 46). It is 
 not that the condition of those panels, so much more 
 injured, compared with all the others allows us to attri- 
 bute them to an epoch much more remote; as has been 
 thought by those who yet knew nothing of their primi- 
 tive destination. But the having formed part of a Tern- 
 plon^ which, like any other constructional part of a 
 church, naturally remains exposed, must of necessity 
 have rendered the injuries very possible. After these 
 notices we would ask : At what period was it that the 
 historical truth was disturbed, in substituting the Doge 
 Falier for the Emperor Comneno ? And the Latin cha- 
 racters of its inscription, although they may not have 
 been later than the middle of the fifteenth century, 
 would they be a pure imitation of the fourteenth ? Per- 
 haps some one may be able to answer ? But leaving 
 to any one who pleases the thankless task of investiga- 
 tion, we, returning to the Templon^ will assert to be 
 confirmed, and, almost divined, that which the keen 
 Durand (See p. i3 of the present work) and two years 
 later the learned and lamented Vincenzo Lazari {Guida 
 ' di Veneiia etc.^ P- -21) have imagined with regard to 
 the upper portion of the Palla d'oro, seeing there frag- 
 ments of some unknojvn monument^ united to that by 
 Pietro Ziani. 
 
 After a hundred and thirty six years, it seems that 
 the need of new repairs manifested itself. On which ac- 
 count Marco Loredano, and Francesco Quirini, Pro- 
 curators of the Church of Saint Mark, Andrea Dandolo 
 the celebrated Chronicler and friend of Petrarch, being 
 Prince, proposed to the Great Council that, both in 
 
54 
 
 honour of the Patron Saint and for the greater repute of 
 the city itself and its Palla, provision should be made 
 for restoring and adorning it. Therefore on the 26th. of 
 March 1843 it was resolved that of the moneys of the 
 Comune there should be given to the Procuratia of 
 Saint Mark four hundred ducats; M^ith which, and as 
 many more, which the Procuratia held, destined for 
 the advantage of the Temple, the Palla was enriched 
 with an extraordinary quantity of gems and of pearls. 
 This is attested by the Cronaca of Dandolo {Part, u, 
 p. 260) and another, preserved in the Biblioteca Qui- 
 rini Stampalia {Class, iv. Cod. cxii, a cart. 212). The 
 adornnment was not, however, of jewels only, nor do 
 I think that it was necessary to spend a large sum in 
 jewels, for in them the Venetians abounded. But the 
 chiefest task and work was to renew, almost entirely, 
 the architectural arrangement of the Palla, removing 
 and changing here and there the panels, so that it should 
 present a more noble and majestic aspect; and at the 
 same time to border each of the two portions with a very 
 beautiful and elegant frame of silver gilt in chiselled 
 work. Of this frame we have spoken above (p. 36) nor 
 is there now any need to say more. For us it suffices to 
 have possibly given in the course of this long labour 
 some explanations, omitted in preceding works on the 
 Palla, nor perhaps useless for correcting wrong opin- 
 ions ; and above all to have, as may be hoped, ren- 
 dered a service to the history of the monument by a 
 weighty testimony, not before published. 
 
 GIOVANNI VELUDO. 
 
LA 
 
 BASILICA DI SAN MARCO IN VENEZIA 
 
 OPERA DIRETTA ED EDITA DA 
 
 FERDI NANDO ONGANIA 
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i