Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/349

 History of Art in Antiquity. white trunks which rose upwards with so bold an air to meet the roof ; then, as he lowered it to the floor, or raised it towards the capitals and the ceilings, it beheld none but soft rich tints which the subdued light, falling from above, had fused into a marvellous, harmony and graduated into dark shades in the distant parts of the hall. The play of light and shade changed with every hour of the day with the rise and fall of the curtains, but, though the aspect varied, the edifice was not robbed of its depth, one would be tempted to say its immensity, could the expression be applied to a work made by human hands. Juxtaposition and comparison of this structure with the hall where Xerxes has affixol his signature lead to the inevitable conclusion that it was also an audience, a throne room. Resem- blances between the two edifices strike the beholder from the first. The same materials were used in both to raise a pavilion over the head of the monarch, whilst the cohimns constituted arrangements that were precisely similar. Nevertheless there are marked diflerences. The Hall of a Hundred Columns covers a more extensive area than the central pavilion of the other palace. As already observed, however, the latter, considered in its entirety, with the porches flanking it, is far greater ; but though it occupies a wider surface, it counts but seventy-two instead of a hundred columns, a deficiency made up by loftier pro- portions. The Palace of Xerxes is carried by a platform which raises it and adds to its importance ; nothing of the kind occurs here; there are no differences of level involving monumental stairs, turned to so splendid a purpose by the builder. The floor of the edifice rests on the second esplanade, somewhat apart from the other palaces, so that the open space surrounding it shows off its dimensions to good advantage. Here as there, sculptor and architect have united and joined hands in impressing upon the mind an idea of the power and quasi-divine majesty of the sovereign ; but the sculptures which elsewhere adorn the basement arc carved here on the body of the edifice— they embellish the jambs of the portals. As the field where they appear is dif- ferently shaped, the bands shorter and vertical instead of being horizontal, the figures are fewer, and assume a ditferent air altogether; and colossal imac^es jut out from the heads of the walls. This result is due to divergence of the architectural scheme adopted by the authors of the rival buildings — difference between