Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/446

 TlIEHBS AND THEIR SITUATIONS. 421 and the variable dimensions which the architect had reserved for him. Was it the same at Susa, and was the twofold theme which furnished the whole decoration at Persepolis adopted there also ? The fact that sculpture on stone is practically non-existent in the Susian city, its sole representatives being the bulls at the summit of columns, renders it very doubtful. It would seem, however, that stone door-frames were not unknown, since fragments were re- covered by Dieulafoy (Fig. 59) ; but nothing proves that, as at Pasargadae and Persepolis, sculptures adorned the inner faces at the sides. No bas-reliefs have been found at Susa except those on terra-cotta, a material that does not lend itself as well as stone for varied aspects Moulds made for impressing clay figures in them are not cast away after one exemplar has been obtained. Hence it is that it would have been difficult to procure, by the processes of stamping, aught approaching the processional scenes of the tribute-bearers in front of the hypostyle hall of Xerxes, scenes where pose, costume, and attributes change from one figure to another. The result of the excavations at Susa fully justify our unbelief. In the vast quantity of glazed bricks collected there, nothing seems to have been found that could have belonged to trains such as the gift-bearers, or the sculptures chiselled on the jambs of the doorways of Persia. The piecing together of these fragments has revealed the fact that they belonged to friezes, a location where the same form may be carried round the whole edifice. In this way were reconstructed friezes of walking animals (Plate XI.) and guards' processions (Plate XII.); whilst certain portions seem to indicate that the combat between the lion and the bull likewise adorned the angles formed by the slope of the stairs.^ The remains . of the latter are interesting, in so far as they prove the existence at Susa of a subject in favour with Persian sculpture ; their number, however, is too small to permit a reconstruction of the group of Besides the glazed tiles in question, there are fragments from Susa which lead to the conclusion that flat figures painted with the brush were ap[>lied to the front wall of the stairs. These frai^ments contain also l ortions of the band which ran ujj the sides of the steps and along the central projection facing the spectator ; but the broken pieces are too minute to permit hasarding a guess as to the theme of the deooraUon. Digitized by Google