Upward and upward we went, flight after flight of stairs,
and through passages, till at last we found an official who ushered us
into a large saloon. It was the Hall of Audience. Its heavily embossed
ceiling, rich with tarnished gold, was a feature of antique magnificence,
and the only one that it retained, the floor being paved with tiles and
the furniture scanty or none. There were, however, three cabinets
standing against the walls, two of which contained very curious and
exquisite carvings and cuttings in ivory; some of them in the Chinese
style of hollow, concentric balls; others, really beautiful works of art:
little crucifixes, statues, saintly and knightly, and cups enriched with
delicate bas-reliefs. The custode pointed to a small figure of St.
Sebastian, and also to a vase around which the reliefs seemed to assume
life. Both these specimens, he said, were by Benvenuto Cellini, and
there were many others that might well have been wrought by his famous
hand. The third cabinet contained a great number and variety of
crucifixes, chalices, and whatever other vessels are needed in altar
service, exquisitely carved out of amber.
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