Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/274

 General Ciiaracilrisiics of the Palace. 265 remember that the Asiatic palace constructed for polygamous princes, who shut up their wives and have them guarded by eunuchs, has alwajrs been divided into two distinct sections, called respec- tively by the Turks uhmUk and kargm^ HrMn and anderUn hy the Persians. Out of these one only will lend itself to a possible resto- ration, that which has left considerable traces and remains above ground ; notably the public portion of the building where the king held his court If this is so it is because in making his monu- mental portals and groves of columns, the builder used none but stone blocks of great size. We therefore propose to re-establish this division only of the palace. The kiosk has always held a most important place in the unit of royal constructions. Its ele- ments are very simple,' and may, at will, be enlaiged to the propor- tions of a colossal edificet or reduced to the size of a small elegant building; it is an open hall, with outlook upon the court at the end of which it stands. Of course it has offices, smaller apart- ments for secretaries entrusted with the despatch of current business, serving- men, body-guards. Behind these a private pas- sage, used by the king when, after official hours, he desires the privacy of his own apartments. In this portion of the palace are banqueting halls, small parlours, and sleeping apartments, which do not call for magnitude and height, such as we expect to find in the chambers where the sovereign, when he admits his sub- jects to contemplate hb face, wishes to appear enhanced and exalted, as it were, above humanity by the exceptional proportions and magnificence of the setting. In the harem we no longer require stone of great calibre, whose function is to cover vast spaces that will be filled by multitudes; monolith side-posts and lintels, massive shafts of limestone, would be superfluous; so would the longest beams of cypress and cedar from Lebanon and Elburz, such as would permit the widest possible interval between the supports. Length of span is not wanted here. All we demand of walls is that they shall be thick enough and lofty enough to oppose an adequate barrier against peering eyes and inquisitive ears ; whether they be of brick or stone will not matter ; it will always be easy to conceal them behind drapon,' and wainscoting. These apartments were furnished with great luxury ; but nothing remains, or almost nothing but slight and confused vestiges, that do not even permit of a plan being made. All that the curiosity of the archd£ologist can hope to grasp and evoke — aided thereto