II. DOORWAYS 10. FINAL APPENDIX 267

11, has always its upper roll well developed, and, generally, the fillet between it and the cavetto vertical. The sloping fillet is indeed found down to late periods; and the vertical fillet, as in No. 12, in Byzantine ones, but still, when a base has such a sloping fillet and peculiarly graceful sweeping cavetto as those No. 10, looking as if they would run into one line with each other, it is strong presumptive evidence of its belonging to an early, rather than a late period.

The base 12 is the boldest example I could find of the exceptional form in early times; but observe in this, that the upper roll is larger than the lower. This is never the case in late Gothic, where the proportion is always as in fig. 11. Observe that in Nos. 8 and 9 the upper rolls are at least as large as the lower, an important evidence of the dates of the Casa Farsetti and Fondaco de’ Turchi.

Lastly, Note the peculiarly steep profile of No. 22, with reference to what is said of this base in Vol. II., Appendix 9 [p. 450].

(ii.) DOORWAYS AND JAMBS

The entrances to St. Mark’s consist, as above mentioned, of great circular or ogee porches; underneath which the real open entrances, in which the valves of the bronze doors play, are square-headed.

The mouldings of the jambs of these doors are highly curious, and the most characteristic are therefore represented in one view [on the next page]. The outsides of the jambs are lowest.

I wish the reader especially to note the arbitrary character of the curves and incisions; all evidently being drawn by hand, none being segments of circles, none like another, none influenced by any visible law. I do not give these mouldings as beautiful; they are, for the most part, very poor in effect, but they are singularly characteristic of the free work of the time.

The kind of door to which these mouldings belong, is shown with the other groups of doors, in Plate 14, Vol. II., fig. 6 a. Then 6 b, 6 c, 6 d represent the groups of doors in which the Byzantine influence remained energetic, admitting slowly the forms of the pointed Gothic; 7 a, with the gable above, is the intermediate group between the Byzantine and Gothic schools; 7 b, 7 c, 7 d, 7 e are the advanced guards of the Gothic and Lombardic invasions, representative of a large number of thirteenth century arcades and doors. Observe that 6 d is shown to be of a late school by its finial, and 6 e of the latest school by its final, complete ogee rich (instead of round or pointed), and abandonment of the lintel.

These examples, with the exception of 6 a, which is a general form, are all actually existing doors; namely:

6 b. In the Fondamenta Venier, near St. Maria della Salute.

6 c. In the Calle delle Botteri, between the Rialto and San Cassan.

6 d. Main door of San Gregorio.

6 e. Door of a palace in Rio San Paternian.

7 a. Door of a small courtyard near house of Marco Polo.

7 b. Arcade in narrow canal, at the side of Casa Barbaro.

7 c. At the turn of the canal, close to the Ponte dell’ Angelo.

7 d. In Rio San Paternian (a ruinous house).

7 e. At the turn of the canal on which the Sotto Portico della Stua opens, near San Zaccaria.

[Version 0.04: March 2008]