The eugubine or Iguvine tables are seven tablets of brass engraved with inscriptions of ancient Umbrian, discovered in 1444 in a ruined theatre near Gubbio in Central Italy. They seem to have been inscribed three or four centuries BC, and refer to sacrificial usages and ritual. Research Eugubine
Ivory carving is the art of carving ivory for ornamental or useful purposes, practised from prehistoric to modern times. The ivory most frequently used is obtained from elephant tusks, but other types of ivory or substitute materials include the tusks, teeth, horns, and bones of the narwhal, walrus, and other animals, as well as vegetableivory and synthetic ivories. The earliest ivory carvings known were made in the Old Stone Age. The inhabitants of Europe in the Perigoridan period more than 20,000 years ago produced great numbers of ivory, bone, and horn carvings, with nude female figures being the most common subject. Representations of animals occur most often in the subsequent Magdalenian period. In Egypt the art of ivory and bone carving was developed in predynastic times, before 3000 BC . Large numbers of carved figures of men and women, as well as carved combs, hairpins, and handles, have been found in Egyptian tombs dating from predynastic and early dynastic periods. Objects found in Egyptian tombs of later date include carved ivory weapon hilts and furniture and caskets inlaid with ivory carvings.
Mesopotamian ivories frequently show strong Egyptian influence. They include a series of tablets carved with figures in low relief, made at the ancient Assyrian capital Nineveh. The Minoans in Crete, and later the ancient Greeks, were noted for their ivory carvings. The Minoans carved small acrobats and snake goddesses.
The Greeks were famous especially in the 5th century BC for their chryselephantine statues, often of heroic size, in which the flesh was represented in carved ivory and the hair and garments in sculptured gold. Among the Romans, in late imperial times, consular diptychs of carved ivory were much in demand. A consular diptych was a two-leafed tablet decorated with portraits and scenes commemorating the inauguration of a consul. It contained a sheet of wax for writing and was given to friends. Ivory carving flourished under the Byzantine Empire, particularly in the 5th and 6th centuries and from the 10th to the 13th century. Christian figures, symbols, and scenes were the subjects most commonly depicted on ivory book covers, icons, boxes, shrines, crosiers, crucifixes, door panels, and thrones. A masterpiece of Byzantine ivory is the Throne of Maximilian. Most Byzantine carvings, however, were in the form of a diptych. In Europe during the reigns of Charlemagne and his successors in the 9th and 10th centuries, elaborately carved ivory book covers, reliquaries, and altarpieces were produced.
Relatively little ivory carving was undertaken in Romanesque Europe, but it reached great heights in the Gothic period. Gothic ivories from the 13th to the 15th century were chiefly religious, as in earlier periods, but were more for private devotions than ecclesiastical use. Popular objects included diptychs with deeply carved figures and elaborate architectural decoration. Especially fine work was produced in Paris. During the 15th and 16th centuries, ivory carving was not popular, but in the baroque and rococo periods in the 17th and 18th centuries it again came into vogue, especially in Germany and the Netherlands. German craftsmen were known for richly ornamented ivories; Flemish craftsmen produced statuettes and other sculpture- inspired ivory carvings. France again became an important ivory- carving centre. The chief centres of the industry were the French cities of Dieppe and Paris, where large numbers of crucifixes and other religious objects were produced.
During the 18th century, however, the demand for ivories diminished. Ivory recovered its popularity in decorative arts in the Art Nouveau style at the end of the 19th century. Old ivory carvings are especially valued by 20th-century collectors of ivory, but very little ivory work is now produced in the western hemisphere. Muslim craftsmen in the Middle East created ivory inlay in intricate arabesque patterns on furniture and other woodwork. In the Far East the best-known ivories are those of India, Japan, and particularly China. Indians carved figures of their gods and ornate caskets, often imitating Italian styles. Japanese netsukes, small carved purse toggles, are often made of ivory. The Chinese have traditionally esteemed ivory and encouraged their artists to work in it. The art still flourishes today; objects created include statuettes, chess pieces, fans, screens, toilet articles, chopsticks, and models of buildings and boats. The Chinese are world famous for their ivory curiosities, particularly the concentric ivory balls carved one inside the other by Cantonese craftsmen. In Inuit, African, and American Indian cultures, carving in ivory, horn, and bone has been practised from the earliest times to the present day. Research Ivory Carving
The Twelve Tables was the original Roman code of law drawn up around 450 BC by a body of 10 Decemviri who had been sent to Greece to examine into foreign laws and institutions. They consisted partly of laws transcribed from the institutions of other nations, partly of such as were altered and accommodated to the manners of the Romans, partly of new provisions, and mainly, perhaps, of laws and usages under their ancient kings. They were written in ancient Latin on copper tablets and was set up in the forum of Rome. Research Twelve Tables
In Sumerian mythology, Enlil (Ellil) was the son of Ki and An. He was the god of the sky and separated the earth from the heaven. He guards the tablets of destiny, which allow him to determines the fate of all things animate or inanimate. Research Enlil
In Babylonian mythology, Zu is an evil lesser-god who steals the tablets of destiny from Enlil while he was washing, and flies away to his mountain. He was killed by Lugalbanda who was sent by the gods to retrieve the tables of destiny. Research Zu
Absorbed medications come in various forms: ointments which are applied to the skin, such as nitro-glycerine ointment for angina. Transdermal patch. A medicinally impregnated adhesive bandage that gradually releases drug. Examples include nitro-glycerine for angina, scopolamine for motion sickness, nicotine for quitting smoking, and oestrogen for hormone replacement. Implants. These are capsules implanted under the skin that release a drug into the body for an extended period. Norplant, an effective form of long-term birth control, is the only commercially available implant today. Sublingual tablets, in which the drug is held under the tongue for rapid absorption into the bloodstream. For example nitro-glycerine capsules. Buccal tablets in which the drug is placed between the cheek and the gum, where it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. Research Absorbed Medications
Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA) is a powerful drug that acts as a stimulant and can produce hallucinations. The original designer drug, ecstasy was first invented in Germany in 1912, and later rediscovered in California during the 1970s where it was used by marriage guidance counsellors to increase empathy in clients. Ecstasy became popular as a recreational drug during the 1980's, with a single tablet in Southampton then costing around 17.50 pounds, by the end of 2005 the price had dropped to 1.50 pounds, with ecstasy tablets sold by a Southampton dealer at a New Year's Eve dance in Birmingham at the start of 2006 at 3 pounds each. While usually sold as a tablet, ecstasy is also produced as a white powder which may be smoked or inhaled. The effects of ecstasy take about 30 minutes to be felt and then last several hours, giving the patient energy and making them feel more alert, empathy is enhanced and serotonin levels in the brainsoar, though they then drop for a few days afterwards. Side effects include paranoia, vomiting, dehydration and heart attacks. In the UK ecstasy is illegal, and is often supplied mixed with dangerous, cheaper, other compounds including amphetamines or caffeine or even scouring powder. Research Ecstasy
N-hexane is a chemical made from crude oil. It is used in laboratories, primarily when it is mixed with similar chemicals to produce solvents. Common names for these solvents are commercial hexane, mixed hexanes, petroleumether, and petroleum naphtha. The major use for solvents containing n- hexane is to extract vegetable oils from crops such as soybeans, flax, peanuts, and safflowerseed. They are also used as cleaning agents in the textile, furniture, shoemaking, and printing industries, particularly rotogravure printing.
N-hexane is also an ingredient of special glues that are used in the roofing, shoe, and leather industries. N-hexane is used in binding books, working leather, shaping pills and tablets, canning, manufacturing tyres, and making baseballs. Consumer products that contain small amounts of n-hexane include petrol, rubbercement, type over correction fluids, non-mercury thermometers, alcohol preparations, and aerosols in perfumes.
N-hexane is also a component of preparations such as paint thinners, general purpose solvents, degreasing agents, or cleaners. N-hexane is a colourless liquid with a slightly disagreeable odour. It evaporates very easily into the air and dissolves only slightly in water. It is highly flammable, and its vapours can be explosive. It may be ignited by heat, sparks, and flames. Flammable vapour may spread away from a spill.
N-hexane can react vigorously with oxidizing materials such as liquid chlorine, concentrated oxygen, and sodium hypochlorite. It will attack some forms of plastics, rubber, and coatings. It is insoluble in water and miscible with alcohol, chloroform, and ether. It is incompatible with strong oxidizers. N-hexane is also known as hexane and hexyl hydride. Research N-hexane
Arsenic is a trivalent and pentavalent, solid, poisonous common element usually found combined with metals as arsenides, the commonest of which is arsenical pyrites, FeAsS. It has a steel colour and high metallic lustre, and tarnishes on exposure to the air, first changing to yellow, and finally to black. In hardness it equals copper; it is extremely brittle, and very volatile, beginning to sublime before it melts. It burns with a blue flame, and emits a smell of garlic. Its specific gravity is 5.76. It forms compounds with most of the metals. Combined with sulphur it forms or-piment and realgar, which are the yellow and red sulphides of arsenic. Orpiment is the true arsenicum of the ancients. With oxygen arsenic forms two compounds, the more important of which is arsenious oxides or arsenic trioxide (As40e), which is the white arsenic, or simply arsenic of the shops. It is usually seen in white, glassy, translucent masses, and is obtained by sublimation from several ores containing arsenic in combination with metals, particularly from arsenical pyrites.
Of all substances arsenic is that which has most frequently occasioned death by poisoning, both by accident and design. The best remedies against the effects of arsenic on the stomach are ferric hydroxide or magnesic hydroxide, or a mixture of both, with copious draughts of bland liquids of a mucilaginous consistence, which serve to procure its complete ejection from the stomach. Oils and fats generally, milk, albumen, wheat-flour, oatmeal, sugar or syrup, have all proved useful in counteracting its effect. Like many other virulent poisons it has been described as a safe and useful medicine, especially in skin diseases, when judiciously employed. Arsenic was also employed by men during the Victorian era to enhance sexual prowess However, arsenic is also addictive and the body becomes dependent upon it, not receiving enough when dependant can cause heart failure.
Arsenic is used as a flux for glass, and also for forming pigments. The arsenite of copper (Scheele's green) and a double arsenite and acetate of copper (emerald green) were formerly largely used to colour paper-hangings for rooms, but as poisonous gases are liable to be given off, the practice was abandoned. Arsenic compounds have in the past been used for colouring confectionery, and other articles, bright green. It is found in crude oil of vitriol, and occasionally in the past in products such as grape-sugar, beer, etc, in the manufacture of which oil of vitriol was employed. Arsenic tablets were formerly worn as protection against the plague. Research Arsenic
Jade is a compact, opaque gemstone ranging in colour from dark green to almost white. The term is applied to specimens cut from the minerals jadeite and nephrite.
Jadeite, the less common and more highly prized of the two minerals, is a silicate of sodium and aluminium, NaAl(SiO3)2, usually containing some iron, calcium, and magnesium. It belongs to the group of minerals called pyroxenes.
Jadeite crystallizes in the monoclinic system but rarely occurs in distinct crystals and is usually found in fibrous, compact, massive aggregates. It has a hardness ranging from 6.5 to 7; it is extremely tough and difficult to break. The lustre on fresh fracture is dull and wax like, but polished jadeite has a vitreouslustre. Jadeite is found chiefly in eastern Asia in Burma, as well as in sections of Tibet and southern China. Nephrite, a member of the amphibole group of minerals, is a silicate of calcium and magnesium, with a small amount of iron replacing part of the magnesium. It is a tough, compact variety of the mineral tremolite with a hardness of 6 to 6.5. Polished nephrite has an oily lustre. It is found in Alaska, Mexico, New Zealand, Siberia, and Turkestan.
Jade was used in ancient times for weapons, utensils, and ornaments. A variety of jade called axstone is used by the natives of the South Sea islands for making hatchets. Jade has always been prized by the Chinese and Japanese as the most precious of all stones, and the most beautiful specimens of carved jade in the form of ornamental pieces, such as vases, bowls, tablets, and statues, many of which are now museum pieces, were made in China. Jade is a highly valued gemstone used in jewellery. Research Jade
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Eugubine
