Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/200

 170 Egyptian Sculpture. temple of Boro-Buddor, in Java, there are no less than 400 small images of Buddha in the external niches. All are alike remarkable for repose of attitude, and dreamy passiveness of expression. Representations of life in action, such as the bas-reliefs mentioned above, are rare. Siva, the Destroyer, whose work forbids repose, is, however, generally depicted with his six arms in violent agitation. In many of the sculptured female figures of India we see evidence of the want of energy and character which is the result of the systematic oppression of the women of the East. Symmetry of form is replaced by a soft voluptuous- ness, and the only expression is a graceful simper, or a vague, dreamy smile. The goddess of Beauty, in the Pagoda of Bangalore, and the female divinity seated on an elephant in the cave-temple of Ellora are instances ol this. Egypt. Egyptian sculpture may be divided into three periods : The Old Empire, or Memphian Egypt, 3645-2668 B.C., the New Empire, to 524 B.C., and the Ptolemean Empire, to 30 B.C. Sculpture in Egypt, as in India, is principally of a religious character, and the mythology of the country should be studied in connection with it. The chief char- acteristics of Egyptian art of every kind are massive grandeur and solidity; the constant struggles with the power of nature in which the inhabitants of the banks of the Nile were engaged precluded dreamy contemplation, and engendered an energy and self-reliance which were reflected in the monuments erected.