So very torn and worn away is this piece that the whole of its elaborate design cannot be made out; but enough is discernible to prove an Asiatic influence. The monster, with the human face staring at us, calls to mind the Nineveh sculptures in the British Museum. 1236. Silk Damask; ground, crimson silk; pattern, in gold thread, two very large lions, and two pairs, one of very small birds, the other of equally small dragons, and an ornament not unlike a hand looking-glass. Oriental, 14th century. 2 feet 5½ inches by 2 feet ½ inch. A piece of this same stuff is described under No. 7034 in this catalogue; and Dr. Bock, in his useful work, “Geschichte der Liturgischen Gewänder des Mittelalters,” t. i. plate iv. has figured it. 1237. Tissue of Silk; ground, dull reddish deep purple; design, a lozenged diapering. South Italian, 13th century. 6½ inches by 5½ inches. So thin is this web that we may presume it was meant as a stuff for lining garments of a richer texture. 1238. Piece of Linen, or the finest byssus of antiquity. Egyptian. 5½ inches by 3 inches. Whether this very curious example of that rare and fine tissue known in classic times, and later, as byssus, was of mediæval production in Egypt, or found in one of the ancient tombs of that land, would be hard to determine. Another equally fine and no less valuable specimen may be seen in this collection, No. 8230. From Dr. Bock we learn that the sudary of our Lord, given to the Abbey of Cornelimünster, near Aix-la-Chapelle, by the Emperor Louis the Pious, circa A.D. 820, was much like the present example. 1239. Piece of Silk Damask; ground, creamy white; design, broad-banded lozenges, enclosing a two-headed displayed eagle, and a pair of birds addorsed, each within an oval. Greek, 11th century. 10¾ inches by 7½ inches. It is said to have been a fragment of the imperial tunic belonging to Henry II, Emperor of Germany; and not unlikely. If wrought for the occasion, and a gift from his imperial brother-Emperors of Constantinople, Basil and Constantine, worthy was it for their sending and of his acceptance, since the silk is rich, the texture thick, and the design in accordance with the ensigns of German royalty. In shreds, and ragged as it is, we may prize it as a valuable piece. 1240. Piece of Silk and Cotton Damask; ground, a yellowish green; design, large elliptical spaces filled in with Saracenic figurations. The warp is of green cotton, the woof, of pale yellow silk. South of Spain, 14th century. 16½ inches by 4¾ inches. This strong stuff most likely came from the looms of Granada. 1240A. Piece of Silk and Cotton. Another piece of the same texture. 1241. Silk and Cotton Damask; ground, blue; design, circles filled in with conventional ornamentation in crimson (now faded). Greek, 13th century. 15¼ inches by 7½ inches.