CHALDJEAN AND ASSYRIAN SCULPTURE.
Until recent years the monuments of Chal&ea and Assyria were classed together, as if they formed the continuous development of a single national art. Since the discoveries of De Sarzec at Tello in 1877 and 1881 the Chalthean monuments have been studied by themselves, and an attempt is now being made to emphasize their distinguishing characteristics and trace their historic development.
Chakieran Sculfiture.—The excavations at Tello have given us several statues in the round, in striking contrast with Assyrian sculpture, which almost without exception is executed in low relief. The material is dif ferent, as we find here basalt and diorite instead of the limestone and ala baster used by the Assyrians. We may even begin to distinguish periods of Chaldean art from the early tentative efforts exhibited in the Stele of the Vultures, through an archaic period represented by the statues of Goudea (pl. 3, fig. r), to a classic time to which may be referred a remarkably fine head covered with a turban. Far removed from the naturalism of these early days are the conventional forms of the neo-Babylonian period.
Assyrian Sculpture.—The remains of Assyrian sculpture are very extensive, as the Assyrian monarchs vied with one another in building great palaces and decorating them with sculptural ornamentation. In Egypt it was the tomb and the temple that made the greatest demand upon the sculptor; in Assyria he was limited to fashioning the imposing figures which guarded the palace gate, and to carving for the palace walls a monumental record of the exploits of the king. Of Assyrian sculpture in the round we have but a few statues, one of which, representing Shah manezer II., is illustrated in Figure 2.
Architectural Sculfiture.—As the Assyrian palaces were built of brick, it was convenient to protect the portals and the lower part of the walls with stone, and then to make them ornamental with carving. The larger sculptures, such as the winged bulls and figures of Izdubar strangling the lion, belong to the portals; the smaller ones in low relief decorated the palace walls and were arranged in parallel lines one above another.
When the pictured forms made a continuous history, they were read from right to left. (See Vol. II., /5/. t6, fig. t.) Sculfitured Scenes.—The pictured subjects naturally centre about the king, and in general follow a narrative, historical order. They tell us of the victories of the king, the castles he has stormed, and, even in all their horrors, the tortures he has inflicted upon his enemies. Some are of a quieter character and show us the king receiving homage from his subjects or engaged in sacrifice to the gods; others exhibit him hunting wild animals. In these scenes the representations of the lion are worthy of special admiration.
These sculptures show us a people restless and vigorous, ever engaged in strife or in some form of outward activity. There is no room here for grace and beauty, nor even for comedy: all is solemn, powerful, terrible. It is a record of warriors who wish to suppress all that is feminine.
1111% larica I C , the sculptures of Assyria are con sidetablv later than those of Chaldrea. The oldest of Assyrian sculptures, the figure of King Tiglath-pileser (1120-110o u. c.), is about a thousand years later than the statues of Gondea. Many of the finest early reliefs date from the reign of Assurnazirpal (886-85S n. c.); they are remarkable for the severity of their lines and for simplicity in execution. During this period, however, we frequently find cuneiform inscriptions carved across the figures. In the reign of Sargon (722-705 B. c.) this marring of the effect of the sculptures by inscriptions begins to disappear, and a new and picturesque element is introduced: the simple background now begins to be utilized for the introduction of a landscape. In Sennacherib's reign (7o5-681 11. c.) landscape backgrounds are very common, and an in creased attention is paid to richness of effect, especially in matters of detail. The sculptors of Assurbanipal (66S-626 11. c.) abandon the landscape back grounds, give greater value to individual figures, and show a finer sense of proportion. Further progress was arrested by the fall of Nineveh.