Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 2.djvu/25

 Egyptian Perspective. the arrival of the guests. On the right we have one of the lateral faces ; it is pierced at one angle by a low door, above which are two windows and above them again an open story or terrace with slender columns supporting the roof. Still further to the right, at the extremity of the picture, the second narrow facade is slighdy indicated by its angle column and a portal, which appears to be sketched in profile. Want of space alone seems to have prevented the artist from giving as much detail to this portion of his work as to the rest. The left wing, that which is contiguous to the garden, remains to be considered. Those who agree with our interpretation of the artist's aims, will look upon this as the second lateral facade. It presents some difficulty, however, because it shows none of the plain walls which inclose the rest of the building and exclude the eye of the spectator ; its walls are left out and leave the interior of the house completely open. It may be said that this part of the picture represents an awning or veranda in front of the house. But, in that case, how are we to explain the objects which are arranged at the top of it — jars, loaves of bread, and other house-keeping necessaries ? It cannot be a veranda with a granary^ on the top of it. Such a store-room would have to be carefully closed if its contents were to be safe-guarded from the eftects of heat, light, and insects. It would therefore be necessary to suppose that the Egyptian painter made use of an artistic license not unknown in our own days, and suppressed the wall of the store-room in order to display the wealth of the establishment. By this means he has given us a longitudinal section of the building ver>^ near the external wall. There is no trace of an open story above. The latter seems to have existed only on that side of the- house which was in shade during the day and exposed after nightfall to the refreshing breezes from the north. This picture presents us, then, with a peculiar kind of elevation ; an elevation which, by projection, shows three sides of the house and hints at a fourth. Representations which are still more conventionalized than this are to be found in many places. The most curious of these are to be found in the ruins of the capital of Amenophis IV., near the village of Tell-el-Amarna. It was in that city that the heretical prince in question inaugurated the worship of the solar disc, which was represented as darting rays