Page:A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria Vol 2.djvu/102

 86 A History of Art in Ciialma and Assyria. but even then the sculptor has succeeded in giving to the characteristic lines and attitudes of the human figure the pre- dominance that belongs to them, and, as it were, has made them cast an air of nobility over the whole composition. It is thus with a curious type to which our reader's attention should be drawn ; we mean that of the personage called Izdubar by some Assyriologists, and Hea-bani by others. Whichever name we may choose, the person in question was "a mighty hunter," like the Nimrod of Genesis, a hero distinguished for his valour and for the difficulties he overcame. So that he might be free in his movements and ready for every work of FIG. 35.— IzduLar and lion. Double the actual size. From a cylinder in the British Museum. activity and vigour, he is naked. Even under the dry method of .1 "-•»-« * Éme^fiàTaseaîT-g££l égayer we can appreciate the amplitude of his form and the power of his muscles. He is also distinguished by the size of his face, which is always fully seen, and seems to be the result of a compromise between the features of a man and those of a lion. This deliberately exaggerated head is enframed in long shaggy hair. Upon some cylinders we see Izdubar in a state of repose, behind the throne of a god to whom he acts as acolyte or guard of honour (Vol. I., Fig. 17), elsewhere he is seen in the exercise of his functions, if we may