Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/210

 180 Persian Sculpture. repose, attended by his court and receiving the homage of ambassadors, bringing tribute in the form of horses, camels, or costly raiment and vessels. These groups are probably faithful representations of actual scenes in the time of Darius or Xerxes. They are remarkable for the lifelike rendering of the animals and the graceful flowing drapery with which the human figures are clothed, suggesting Greek influence, and contrasting favourably with the close and heavy Egyptian and Assyrian garments. A noteworthy exception to what we have said of the repose of Persian bas-reliefs, is a large group, hewn out of a steep and lofty rock at Behistan in Kurdistan, which represents a Persian king placing his foot on a prostrate enemy, with one hand holding a bow and the other raised as if about to strike. Nine prisoners bound together await their doom at a little distance from the victorious monarch, who is supposed to be Darius Hystaspes, after he had quelled the Babylonian rebellion in 516 B.C. Human-headed and winged bulls and unicorns are of frequent occurrence in Persian sculptures. The king is sometimes seen contending with some huge symbolic creature ; but even in the thick of the struggle he retains his calm self-possession and dignified expression of unruffled serenity. On the facades of the rock-cut tombs, the king is generally represented worshipping Ormuzd, the god of light, the Ferouher or protecting spirit hovering above his head in the form of a man with the wings and tail of a bird. The Persians greatly improved the art of gem-cutting. They adopted the cylindrical form of the Assyrians, but quickly abandoned it for the conical, employing chalcedony,