Lala of Cyzicus, the lady artist just referred to, lived in the time of Augustus Cæsar. She has the honour of being the first miniaturist on record, and is said to have produced excellent portraits "in little," especially those of ladies, on both vellum and ivory. Her own portrait, representing her engaged in painting a statuette, is still to be seen among the precious frescoes preserved in the museum at Naples. The term "miniature," now applied to this class of work, has been frequently explained. It is derived from the Latin word _minium_, or red paint, two pigments being anciently known by this name--one the sulphide of mercury, now known also as "vermilion," the other a lead oxide, now called "red lead." It is the latter which is generally understood as the _minium_ of the illuminators, though both were used in manuscript work. The red paint was employed to mark the initial letters or sections of the MS. Its connection with portraiture and other pictorial subjects on a small scale is entirely owing to its accidental confusion by French writers with their own word _mignon_, and so with the Latin _minus_. In classical times, among the Romans, the "miniator" was simply a person who applied the _minium_, and had nothing to do with pictures or portraits at all, but with the writing. That the rubrication of titles, however, was somewhat of a luxury may be gathered from the complaint of Ovid when issuing the humble edition of his verses from his lonely exile of Tomi:-- "Parve (nec invideo) sine me liber ibis in urbem: Hei mihi quo domino non licet ire tuo. ........................... Nec te purpureo velent vaccinia succo Non est conveniens luctibus ille color. _Nec titulus minio_, nec cedro carta notetur Candida nec nigra cornua fronte geras."[1] _Tristia_, Cl. 1, Eleg. 1. [1] "Go, little book, nor do I forbid,--go without me into that city where, alas! I may enter never more.... Nor shall whortleberries adorn thee with their crimson juice; that colour is not suitable for lamentations. Nor shall thy title be marked with minium, nor thy leaf scented with cedar-oil. Nor shalt thou bear horns of ivory or ebony upon thy front." There are many allusions in these pathetic lines which would bear annotation, but space forbids. The one point is the use of minium. CHAPTER II VELLUM AND OTHER MATERIALS Difference between vellum and parchment--Names of different preparations--The kinds of vellum most prized for illuminated books--The "parcheminerie" of the Abbey of Cluny--Origin of the term "parchment"--Papyrus. As vellum is constantly spoken of in connection with illumination and illuminated books, it becomes necessary to explain what it is, and why it was used instead of paper.