Page:A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria Vol 1.djvu/277

 SECONDARY FORMS. 2 55 The Assyrians seem to have been so pleased with these crenc- lations that they-placed them upon such small things as steles and altars. In one of the Kouyundjik reliefs (Fig-. 42) there is a small Fm. 106. Battle nents of Sargon's palace at Khoivabnd ; compile! from Tlace. object a pavilion or nltar, its exact character is not very clearly shown which is thus crowned. Another example is to be found in a bas-relief from Khorsabad (Fig. 107). We are thus brought to the subject of altars. These are sufficiently varied in form. In the Kouyundjik bas-relief (Fig. 42) we find those shapes at the four angles which were copied by the peoples of the Mediterranean, and led to the expression, " the horns of the altar." In the Khorsabad relief (Fig. 107) the saHence of these horns is less marked. On the other hand, the die or dado below them is fluted. Another altar brought from Khorsabad to the FIG ,107. Altar ; from Raiinson. Louvre is quite different in shape (Fig. 1 08). It is triangular on plan. Above a plinth with a gentle salience rises the altar itself, supported at each angle by the paw