Piero di Cosimo \ko-'se-mo\ orig. Piero di Lorenzo (b. 1462,
Florence, Republic of Florence—d. 1521, Florence) Italian painter. His name derives from that of his master, Cosimo Rosselli, whom he assisted on frescoes for the Sistine Chapel. His later mythological paintings exhibit a bizarre Romantic style. Many are filled with fantastic hybrid human- animal forms engaging in revels ( The Discovery of Honey, c. 1500) or fights ( Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapiths, c. 1500). His art reflects his eccentric personality. He belonged to no school of painting but borrowed from many artists, including Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci.
The Baptism of Christ, panel painting by Piero della Francesca, c. 1440-45; in the National Gallery, London.
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pig iron ► Pilcomayo River I 1499
Europe c. 1500 bc, are less developed. Pigs are regarded as highly intel¬ ligent. Domestic pigs are classified as lard (thick fat, carcass weighing at least 220 lbs, or 100 kg), bacon (carcass about 150 lbs, or 70 kg), and pork (carcass about 100 lbs, or 45 kg) pigs, depending on the principal product derived from them; they are also a source of leather. Today they are usually bred in almost complete confinement. See also boar, hog.
pig iron Crude iron obtained directly from the blast furnace and cast in molds (see cast iron). The crude ingots, called pigs, are then remelted along with scrap and alloying elements and recast into molds to produce various iron and steel products (see Bessemer process, finery process, pud¬ dling process).
Pigalle \pe-'gal\, Jean-Baptiste (b. Jan. 26, 1714, Paris, France—d. Aug. 21, 1785, Paris) French sculptor. Born into a family of master car¬ penters, he began training as a sculptor in Paris at 18 and then studied in Rome (1736^40). Returning to France, he modeled the first version of his famous Mercury Fastening His Sandals, which in a later version won him admission to the Royal Academy (1744). The statue became so popular that in 1748 Louis XV commissioned a life-size marble version to present to Frederick II of Prussia. He was also noted for his portrait sculptures. His Nude Voltaire (1776), an anatomically realistic rendering of the aged phi¬ losopher, caused a furor when it was first shown.
pigeon Plump, small-billed, monogamous birds of the family Colum- bidae, found almost worldwide and recognizable by their head-bobbing strut. Unlike other birds, pigeons suck liquids and provide the young with regurgitated “pigeon’s milk.” The 175 species of true pigeons include the Old and New World Columba species and the Old World Streptopelia species; all eat seeds and fruit. Common street pigeons, or rock doves, are descendants of the Eurasian rock dove ( Columba livia). From antiquity pigeons were trained to carry messages over long distances. About 115 species of fruit pigeons occur in Africa, southern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands. The three species of crowned pigeons (genus Goura ), of New Guinea, are nearly the size of a turkey. See also dove; mourning dove; PASSENGER PIGEON; TURTLEDOVE.
pigeon hawk See merlin
pigment Any intensely coloured compound used to colour other mate¬ rials. Unlike dyes, pigments do not dissolve; they are applied as fine solid particles mixed with a liquid. In general, the same ones are used in oil- and water-based paints, printing inks, and plastics. They may be inorganic com¬ pounds (usually brighter and longer-lasting) or organic compounds. Natu¬ ral organic pigments have been used for centuries, but today most are synthetic or inorganic. The primary white pigment is titanium dioxide. Car¬ bon black is the most usual black pigment. Iron oxides give browns, rang¬ ing from yellowish through orange to dark brown. Chromium compounds yield chrome yellows, oranges, and greens; cadmium compounds brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds. The most common blues, Prussian blue and ultramarine, are also inorganic. Organic pigments, usually synthesized from aromatic hydrocarbons, include the nitrogen-containing azo pigments (red, orange, and yellow; see azo dyes) and the copper phthalocyanines (bril¬ liant, strong blues and greens). Chlorophyll, carotene, rhodopsin, and mela¬ nin are pigments produced by plants and animals for specialized purposes.
pika Vpe-ko, 'pi-ko\ Any of numerous round-eared, tailless members (genus Ochotona, family Ochoto- nidae) of the rabbit order (Lagomor- pha), found in Asia, eastern Europe, and parts of western North America.
Though not hares, they are some¬ times called mouse hares. The hind legs are less developed than a rab¬ bit’s; pikas scamper rather than bound. Their brownish or reddish fur is soft, long, and thick. Most pikas weigh between 4.5 and 7.1 oz. (125 and 200 g) and are about 6 in. (15 cm) long. Many species live in rocky, mountainous areas, but some Asian species inhabit burrows. Pikas do not hibernate, but in summer and autumn they “harvest” vegetation and store it in protected places (e.g., under rocks) to be eaten in winter.
pike Ancient and medieval infantry weapon consisting of a long, metal- pointed spear with a heavy wooden shaft 10-20 ft (3-6 m) in length. Its
use by Swiss foot soldiers in the 14th century contributed to the decline of the feudal knights. A variation is used by the picador in bullfighting.
pike Any of several voracious freshwater fishes (family Esocidae, order Salmoniformes) with a slender body, small scales, long head, shovel-like snout, large mouth, and strong teeth, and with dorsal and anal fins far back on the tail. The northern pike (Esox lucius) of North America, Europe, and northern Asia may grow to 4.5 ft (1.4 m) long and weigh 45 lbs (20 kg). A solitary hunter, it lies motionless or lurks among weeds, then suddenly lunges, seizing an approaching fish or invertebrate. Large species also take waterfowl and small mammals. See also muskellunge, pickerel.
RUSS KINNE-PHOTO RESEARCHERS
Pike, Kenneth L(ee) (b. June 9, 1912, Woodstock, Conn., U.S.—d. Dec. 31, 2000, Dallas, Tex.) U.S. linguist and anthropologist. Pike was associated throughout his career with the Summer Institute of Linguistics (now SIL International), an organization dedicated to linguistic study of little-known, unwritten languages, as an ancillary to Bible translation. He originated the linguistic theory known as tagmemics. The tagmeme, a unit comprising a function (e.g., a subject) and a class of items fulfilling that function (e.g., nouns), is identified by semantic as well as syntactic func¬ tion.
Pike, Zebulon Montgomery (b. Jan. 5, 1779, Lamberton, N.J., U.S.—d. April 27, 1813, York, Ont.) U.S. explorer. He joined the army at age 15. In 1805 he led an expedition to find the headwaters of the Mis¬ sissippi River, traveling 2,000 mi (3,200 km) from St. Louis to northern Minnesota, where he erroneously identified Leech Lake as the river’s source. In 1806 he was sent to the Southwest to explore the Arkansas and Red rivers. Passing through Colorado, he tried unsuccessfully to climb the 14,110-ft (4,301-m) mountain later named Pikes Peak. His party con¬ tinued into northern New Mexico (1807); his report on the Santa Fe region encouraged later expansion into the Southwest. In the War of 181 2 he was killed in the attack on York (Toronto).
Pikes Peak Mountain peak, eastern Colorado, U.S. It is located in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, near Colorado Springs. At 14,110 ft (4,301 m) in height, it is known for the panoramic view from its summit. It was discovered in 1806 by U.S. explorer Zebulon Pike. The view from it is said to have inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write “America the Beautiful” in 1893.
pilaster \pi-Tas-tar\ In Classical architecture, a shallow rectangular col¬ umn built into a wall and projecting slightly beyond it. It has a capital and base and conforms to one of the orders. In Roman architecture the pilas¬ ter gradually became more decorative than structural, and it served to break up otherwise empty expanses of wall.