Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/358

 338 History of Art in Antiquity. or any other Persepolitan edifice. To the present hour Persian dwellings and palaces have but a ground floor, divided into apartments, the number of which depends upon the fortune of the owner. As to the great throne-rooms, their character excludes the notion of more than one story ; each shell, being a perfect unit in itself, was in no need of dependencies, so that we cannot suppose any having exbted here. Aught more whimsical than the restoration of Fergusson, who places a second order of pillars above the ceilings of the hypostyle halls with a Bre-altar for the king to worship at, cannot well be imagined, and will not bear the test of close inspection. In the economy of these build- ingSy where was it possible to find sufficient space for a monu- mental staircase, the flights of which would reach a height of fifteen or twenty metres, after the fashion of those of the palaces ? We cannot imagine the monarch clambering up like common workmen when required to repair the roof or regulate the hangings/ Our restoration of the principal facade (Plate IX.) offers, so to speak, no doubtful elements. This any one can see for himself by reference to the views of the ruins in their present state, published by Coste and other explorers.' The crenelations at the side of our stairs are furnished by fragments recovered among the ruins of the building (Fig. 60). A frieze, composed of palms highly conventionalized and cliaracteristic of Persian decoration, adorns the front of the landing-place (Figs. 65, 66, 69). In the middle appear the lower extremities of grififins and a winged globe.^ The monolith antae at the sides are still extant ; one has preserved its whole height, 6 m. 80 c, and the other is trun- cated. The finely built basenient of large blocks of stone which carried the wings is still in place up to about the height of the stairs; it has a slight projection which at the extremities serves as base to a kind of pilaster. The depth and the traces left by the porch have already been adverted to. As to the niches and doorways at the back and the sides of this same ve.stibule, ^ Fergusson thought enough space could have been left at one side of the building for a narrow staircase. — ^Trs. twn, Plates CXVII., CXVIII. ; Dibvlafov, VArt woigtu, PUtes XV.-XVII., X.XII. Digitized by Google
 * Flandih and Coste, Peru atuiemiu^ Plates CXIV.-CXVIL ; T^ier, Deserip-
 * The griftins liave seemingly been forgotten. — 'I rs.