ds executed many works in crystal,
and in particular a Christ Crucified for a Cross, with a God the Father
above, Our Lady and S. John at the sides, and the Magdalene at the foot;
and in a triangle at the base of the Cross he made three scenes of the
Passion of Christ, one in each angle. For two candelabra of silver he
engraved six round crystals. In the first is the Centurion praying
Christ that He should heal his son, in the second the Pool of Bethesda,
in the third the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, in the fourth the
Miracle of the five loaves and two fishes, in the fifth the scene of
Christ driving the traders from the Temple, and in the last the Raising
of Lazarus; and all were exquisite. The same Cardinal Farnese afterwards
desired to have a very rich casket made of silver, and had the work
executed by Manno, a Florentine goldsmith, of whom there will be an
account in another place; but he entrusted all the compartments of
crystal to Giovanni, who made them all full of scenes, with marble in
half-relief; and he made figures of silver and ornaments in the round,
and all with such diligence, that no other work of that kind was ever
carried to such perfection. On the body of this casket are the following
scenes, engraved in ovals with marvellous art by the hand of Giovanni:
The Chase of Meleager after the Calydonian Boar, the Followers of
Bacchus, a naval battle, Hercules in combat with the Amazons, and other
most beautiful fantasies of the Cardinal, who caused finished designs of
them to be executed by Perino del Vaga and other masters. Giovanni then
executed on a crystal the triumph of the taking of Goletta, and the War
of Tunis on another. For the same Cardinal he engraved, likewise on
crystal, the Birth of Christ and the scenes when He prays in the Garden;
when He is taken by the Jews; when He is led before Annas, Herod, and
Pilate; when He is scourged and then crowned with thorns; when He
carries the Cross; when He is nailed upon it and raised on high; and,
finally, His divine and glorious Resurrection. All these works were not
only very beautiful, but also executed with such rapidity, that every
man was struck with astonishment.

[Illustration: CASSETTA FARNESE

(_After_ Giovanni da Castel Bolognese (Giovanni Bernardi). _Naples:
Museo Nazionale_)

_Brogi_]

Michelagnolo had made for the above-mentioned Cardinal de' Medici a
drawing, which I forgot to mention before, of a Tityus whose heart was
being devou