CATACOMBS
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CATACOMBS
polytus, bishop and martyr, in the Lateran Museum,
which was dug up near the catacomb bearing his
name. The statue, of which only the lower half has
been preserved, belongs to the middle of the third
century. The figure of the Good Shepherd, also in
the Lateran Museum, belongs probably to the time
before Constantine; there are, besides, some other
statuettes of the Good Shepherd, which are assigned
to the second half of the fourth century. Of the
work of the stone-masons and sculptors in the eubicula
of the martyrs, and in the ornamentation of the al-
tars, choir-screens, pulpits, Easter candlesticks, etc.,
of the great basilicas only scanty remains have been pre-
served. Early ( hristian sculpture reached its zenith in
the first half of the fourth century when it joined in
the triumph of the Christian religion as it emerged
from the catacombs. Sculpture was employed at
this period chiefly to ornament Christian graves with
symbols of religious hope in the risen Christ.
VI. Small Objects Found in the Catacombs. — The ornaments which the early Christians put in the graves, the lamps and perfume bottles that they
6mall objects of early Christian times is that of the so-
called " gilded glasses", or the bases of glass drinking-
vessels with Biblical incidents, pictures of saints, or
family scenes, designed in gold-leaf and laid between
two layers of glass; most of these glasses belong to
the fourth century. Such drinking-cups or glass mugs
were popular as presents at baptisms and wedding
anniversaries; they were also probably used at the
love-feasts or agapw, which, on the great feast days
of the saints, were spread for the poor in the porticoes
of the churches. This explains the great number of
gilded glasses ornamented with the portraits of the
two chief Apostles. The designs shown by such
glasses vary greatly; they throw valuable light on the
paintings, the ornamentation of the lamps, the car-
vings of the sarcophagi, and in many ways are of
dogmatic importance. Thus the design of Moses
smiting the rock in the wilderness and the water
gushing forth bears the inscription "Petrus", a proof
that the early Christians saw in the leader of the
Israelites the prototype of Peter, who in this case is
regarded as the mediator for the Christian springs of
placed outside, the coins, pieces of glass, and rings, that
were pressed, to distinguish the spot, into the fresh
plaster that sealed the opening, all these remains of
early Christianity are often of artistic and scientific
value. Both the coins and the factory stamps on the
tiles that sealed the grave are in many instances im-
portant clues to the age of a gallery in a catacomb, as
well as to the date of the inscriptions and paintings
that may be found in it.
Earthen lamps were set in the fresh plaster sealing the slab which closed the grave, or were placed on projecting mouldings in the eubicula, and these lamps in the early period were very simple. It was not before the middle of the fourth century that Christian potters began to ornament lamps with Christian pictures and symbols; these consisted mainly of the Biblical scenes already noted in the frescoes, e. g. Jonas, the Good Shepherd, Oranti, the Three Hebrew Children in the fiery furnace. In addition to these,
other Biblical characters were introduced, e. g. Josue and Caleb carrying the great, bunch of grapes, the
three angels visiting Abraham, Christ carrying the Cross and adored by angels. A large number of the lamps of this period are ornamented with pictures of animals (the lion, peacock, cock, hare, fish), shells, trees, geometrical designs, for both Christian and heathen potters chose ornaments without a religious character in order to offend neitherChristian nor pagan customers. A number of bronze lamps have also been preserved, many with three small chains for hanging; but metal lamps were more used in the homes than in the catacombs. The most important group of these
grace, and in the pictures of the Transmission of the
Law (Dominus legem dat), as the mediator of the
truths of salvation. When these gilded glass mugs
or cups were broken, the bases containing in gold-leaf
the religious pictures were set in the mortar sealing
the grave. No whole glasses have been preserved,
and these bases are only found in the catacombs.
Much discussion has arisen over the ampullae said to contain blood. These are small earthen pots or phials and vessels of glass containing a reddish- brown deposit on the inner side, that have been found secured in the outer surface of the mortar seal of large numbers of graves. This incrustation was held to be the blood of the martyrs, and each grave where such a phial was found was believed to be the burial place of a martyr; accordingly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the bones discovered in these graves were presented, as the remains of martyrs, to the churches of Italy and beyond the Alps. This assumption was not shaken by the fact that many of these vessels were found on
the graves of children, and that the statements as
to the consul given in the epitaphs showed dates at tin' end of the fourth century when martyrdom a longer suffered. It is now universally held by scholars that these vessels contained pungent essences intended to counteract (he odour of the decay perceptible in the galleries of the catacombs. In the same way folded
linen has been found inside the graves, which when burned still gives out a strong and agreeable scent : this linen must have been soaked with essences to attain the same end, i. e. to overcome the smell of decay.
