Page:A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria Vol 2.djvu/306

 274 A History of Art in Chald.ea and Assyria. it, and it is believed to be a reduction from a contemporary bas-relief. In the centre appears the holy tree with the supreme deity floating over it in the winged disk. On each side of the tree is the figure of a king with a winged eagle-headed genius behind him. These last-named creatures have their right hands raised, while in their left they hold the bronze buckets we have already encountered at Nimroud (Vol. I., Fig. 8). There is one detail which is not to be found, so far as I know, in the bas- reliefs, namely, the double cord that descends from the winged disk into the hands of the king. The artist, no doubt, meant to symbolize by this the communication established by prayer between the prince and his divine protector. Among the dated and authenticated examples from this epoch the cylinder inscribed with the name of Ursana, king of Musasir and adversary of Sargon, may be quoted. 1 We do not reproduce it because it differs so little from the example of Assyrian gem engraving given in our Fig. 141. The same genius appears in the middle, but instead of two winged monsters he holds two ostriches by the neck. We have already encountered this fight between a man and an ostrich on a stone dating from the same century (Fig. 75). We may name as a last example the stone found by Layard at Kouyundjik, which may be the very signet of Sennacherib himself (Vol. I., Fig. 70). If we place all these impressions side by side we shall find they have a certain number of common characteristics which will enable us to recognize those of Assyrian parentage even when they bear no lettering, or when their inscriptions tell us nothing as to their origin. In the first place they are mostly of fine materials, such as chalcedony or onyx. Secondly, they contain sacred emblems and types that are not to be found in the primitive arts of Chaldsea, such as the mystic tree, the winged globe, the eagle-headed genius, &c. Thirdly, the fantastic animals of Assyria are different in general appearance from those of the southern kingdom ; and, finally, the costume of the two countries is not the same. In the cylinders from Calah and Nineveh we find neither the flounced robes nor the cap with turned-up borders. As in the palace reliefs, the mantle-fringes cross the figure slanting-wise — an obliquity which affords a ready 1 Menant, Catalogue des Cylindres orientaux du Cabinet royal des Médailles de La Hayt (The Hague, 4to.), No. 135.