Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/337

 The Hypostyle Hall of Xerxes. 321 day. It was fastened to screw-rings driven in the inferior face of the architrave, between the capitals. In Plate VI. we were obliged to displace it and transfer the points of attachment round the external face of the cross-beams so as to show the ceilings, but the curtain occupies its right position both in the geometrical elevation (Plate IV.)«and the perspective view (Plate V.). Putting together our knowledge of Oriental tissues of this nature, derived both from ancient texts, monuments, and the -magnitude of the hollows this particular curtain would cover, a pretty &ir notion of its aspect may be gained. Thus the space between the columns is about seven metres ; the length of the drapery, to look well and fulfil its purpose, must have been from nine to ten metres and proportionally wide (Fig. 157). Of course a curtain of this dimension could not be in one piece; this is proved from the canopy figured a little farther on (Fig. 156), which plainly shows that the original upon which the sculptor had copied his was made up of a number of strips joined together, with a long fringe and tassels sewn upon the lower border. In this instance the principle was the same, except that many more pieces were required to reach across the wide intercolumnations. The curtain is divided horizontally into two pieces, fastened by rings to three or four rods of metal, themselves firmly fixed by stout screw-rings driven into the cross-beams of the ceiling and the capitals at the side. The upper band is no more than loose netting. A number of narrow open strips of insertion are let in between the vertical bands of the main piece, and on each side a row of thickly studded rosettes enframe the figured decoration, the latter consisting of griffins set in pairs, face to face, with a palmette between them in true Assyrian fashion. They are " the sacred animals of the Persians and Susians," spoken of by a Greek writer as having been carved about the portals of the Persepolitan palaces.* The griffin figured here was furnished by a frag^mentof sculpture recovered at Athens, and no hesitation need be felt in recognizing in it a form borrowed from some Asiatic tapestry' (Fig. 158). Lions passant had their appointed place both above, below, and as the character of the bas-ieUef ptibiished by him. I cannot make out why he should incline to see in it a representatkm of a txinner; the standards of the ancients were not of woven materials. y
 * Hist. 0/ Art, torn. v. p. 556.
 * CLARAC<i/irxlr<^.S!W//Mr<r, Plate CXCV. torn. ii. p. 285) has thoroughly grasped