The place of hanging pictures in ancient houses was largely taken by fresco wall-paintings, several fragments of which are here shown. The floors of the houses were not covered with carpets, but were frequently decorated with mosaics, which might range from simple geometric patterns in black and white (as in many of the specimens here seen) to elaborate pictorial designs. The construction of these pavements, out of small stone cubes (_tesserae_) set in cement, is clearly seen in the examples exhibited. Genuine mosaic was sometimes imitated in painted plaster. One or two such fragments can be seen in the Case. As examples of the processes of sculpture, note a half-finished figure of a seated Sphinx (No. =499=); and a cast (No. =500=) of a half-finished figure of Hermes, from a private collection. The sculptor has made free use of the drill for the roughing out of the figure, and at the same time has brought the exposed parts to a high degree of finish. A piece of bead and reel moulding (No. =501=) is also unfinished. (=484=) Cf. Daremberg and Saglio, s.v., _Perpendiculum_. (=488=) For the stamped Roman bricks see, _Cat. of Terracottas_, E 148-153. For _C.I.L._ reff., see _ibid._ (but E 151 = _C.I.L._ xv. 214). (=494=, =495=) Newton, _Disc. at Halicarnassus_, II (1) p. 97; _Cat. of Sculpture_, II, 990, 991. (=498=) Cf. Pullen, _Handbook of Ancient Roman Marbles_. [Footnote 53: Virgil, _Ciris_, 222: Marmoreo aeratus stridens in limine cardo. ] [Footnote 54: _H.N._ xxxvi. 54.] XVI.--HORSES AND CHARIOTS. (Wall-Cases 49-51.) =Chariots and Carts.=--The war-chariot plays a conspicuous part in the Homeric poems, and the horse and chariot are there so closely identified that we find the phrase "he leapt from his horses" used as equivalent to "he leapt from his chariot." After the Homeric age, however, the use of the chariot in war died out in Greece and it thenceforward appears most conspicuously in the great Greek games, where it was used for racing purposes. A very early example of this racing chariot may be seen on a Boeotian bowl of the eighth century (on the top of Case D, First Vase Room).[55] Here are depicted two chariots with a high open framework at front and back, each drawn (apparently) by a single horse, and driven by a man clothed in a long robe distinctive of the Greek charioteer. There is little doubt that in reality the chariots are meant to be drawn by two horses, and that the deceptive appearance is due to the limitations of the artist. On Greek monuments of a later date than this vase, the light racing chariot is constantly represented. Some primitive chariots in terracotta and stone from Cyprus are also shown in Case 50. [Illustration: FIG. 204.--ROMAN RACING CHARIOT (NO. 502). L. 10-1/2 in.]