Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/209

 Persian Sculpture. 179 Persia. There are bat few remains of Persian sculpture extant, and these few consist almost entirely of bas-reliefs on the walls of the palaces and the fronts of the rock-cut tombs. The principal, from the royal palace of Persepolis (Fig. 75), date from about 521-467 B.C., the golden age of the Persian monarchy. In these bas-reliefs the working of Fig. 75. — Persian bas-relief, from Persepolis. Assyrian and Egyptian influence can be distinctly traced, combined with a character peculiarly their own. In Persian works, historical events are frequently represented ; but scenes of the chase or of war, so common amongst the Assyrians and Egyptians, are almost entirely unknown. Everywhere we see the king in an attitude of dignified N 2