Page:A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria Vol 1.djvu/294

 272 A HISTORY OF ART IN CIIALD.EA AND ASSYRIA. Its peculiar consistence did not permit of its being spread with a brush ; a trowel or board must have been used. The thickness of this cement was never more than one or two millimetres. 1 Its cohesive force was so great that in spite of its thinness it acted as an efficient protector. It has often been found in excellent condition, both upon flat and curved surfaces, upon the walls of courtyards and chambers, on the under sides of vaults, wherever in fact a stone casing did not supply its place. It would seem that some buildings had no outward ornament beyond the brilliant whiteness of this stucco, the effect of which may be seen at the present clay in the whitewashed houses of the East. The glare of such a wall was happily contrasted with the soft verdure that sometimes grew about it, and the dark blue of the sky against which its summit was relieved. Such a contrast gives importance and accent to the smallest building, as painters who treat the landscapes of the South thoroughly understand. We have reason to believe, however, that as a rule the white stucco served as a background and support to other colours. No Chaldsean interiors have come clown to us, while the exteriors are in such bad preservation that we can hardly form any true judgment of the colours and designs with which they were once adorned. But in the case of Assyria we know pretty well how the decorator understood his business, and it is probable that, like his colleagues, the architect and the sculptor, he was content to perpetuate the traditions of his Chalda^an masters. In certain cases the decorator makes use of wide unbroken tints. This is the simplest way of using colour. In the palace of Sargon, for instance, wherever the sculptured slabs are absent we find a plinth painted black in distemper. These plinths are from two to nearly four feet high, according to the extent of the courts or chambers in which they occur. The object of such a dado is clear ; it was to protect the lower part of the wal], if not against deliberate violence, at least against dirt. A white stucco in such a position would soon have been disfigured by spots and various marks which would be invisible on a black background. O Moreover, the contrast between the plinth and the white wall above it must have had a certain decorative effect.' 2 1 At Warka, however, LOFTUS found in the building he calls Witswas a layer of plaster which was from two to four inches thick. (Travels, p. 176.) 2 PLACE, Ninivc, vol. ii. pp. 77, 78.