[Illustration: 9 Egyptian winged genius (Louvre)] In early Art, the angels in the bloom of adolescence are always amply draped: at first, in the classical tunic and pallium; afterwards in long linen vestments with the alba and stole, as levites or deacons; or as princes, with embroidered robes and sandals, and jewelled crowns or fillets. Such figures are common in the Byzantine mosaics and pictures. The expression, in these early representations, is usually calm and impassive. Angels partially draped in loose, fluttering, meretricious attire, poised in attitudes upon clouds, or with features animated by human passion, or limbs strained by human effort, are the innovations of more modern Art. White is, or ought to be, the prevailing colour in angelic draperies, but red and blue of various shades are more frequent: green often occurs; and in the Venetian pictures, yellow, or rather saffron-coloured, robes are not unfrequent. In the best examples of Italian Art the tints, though varied, are tender and delicate: all dark heavy colours and violent contrasts of colour are avoided. On the contrary, in the early German school, the angels have rich heavy voluminous draperies of the most intense and vivid colours, often jewelled and embroidered with gold. Flight, in such garments, seems as difficult as it would be to swim in coronation robes. [Illustration: 10 Winged figure from Nineveh] But, whatever be the treatment as to character, lineaments, or dress, wings are almost invariably the attribute of the angelic form. As emblematical appendages, these are not merely significant of the character of celestial messengers, for, from time immemorial, wings have been the Oriental and Egyptian symbol of power, as well as of swiftness; of the spiritual and aerial, in contradistinction to the human and the earthly. Thus, with the Egyptians, the winged globe signified power and eternity, that is, the Godhead; a bird, with a human head, signified the soul; and nondescript creatures, with wings, abound not only in the Egyptian paintings and hieroglyphics, but also in the Chaldaic and Babylonian remains, in the Lycian and Nineveh marbles, and on the gems and other relics of the Gnostics. I have seen on the Gnostic gems figures with four wings, two springing from the shoulders and two from the loins. This portentous figure, from the ruins of Nineveh, is similarly constructed. (10.)