Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/476

 45^ History of Art in Antiquity. of art; but the inscriptioa which accompanies it is sufficient voucher of its being a royal seal, with a royal name, written too in the three languages employed in the chancellery of the Achsmenidae, instances of which appear both on the fa9ades of the rock-tombs and the palaces. Even without the legend, the forms by themselves would almost have been enough to reveal the probable use and the exalted rank of its owner. In the first place, there is the symbol of AhurA-Mazda, and the god would surely not have lowered himself to spread his wings over a no- body. Again, the monarch alone had the right to pursue the king of the forest seated in his car, and the theme was one to which Assyro-Chaldsean art had assigned a conventional meaning not likely to fall into desuetude from want of practice. Finally, if the monarch has not the high tiara slightly swelling as it ascends towards the top, identified with the kitaris, kidaris (Fig. 190), the lower fluted tiara he wears, is likewise a royal head-dress, which invariably occurs upon darlcs (Figs. 227, 228). The brevity of the inscription affords no clue as to which of the Dariuses the signet should be ascribed. The first impulse is to credit the son of Hystaspes with it ; one's self-love is secretly flattered in being able to handle a cylinder used by the greatest of the Achremenidae to impress the sign of his royal will upon wax or soft day. We cannot discuss in this place the considerations put forth in respect to the writing, in order to justify a proneness to yield to the temptation referred to above.' In make the engraved stone under notice is cold but tolerably good ; in it the artist has introduced forms taken from ancient models, without arranging or modifying them so as to make them stand and look well. Such would be the archer taking aim at the lion, and the action of the latter as he prepares to spring- upon the man. The piece betrays traces of the decay which descended upon the empire towards the middle of the fifth century n.c, when government, manners and customs, religion and language all underwent rapid change. In such a state as this, art could not escape the general corruption which must have invaded gem-engraving and sculpture on a large scale as well. We should rather incline, therefore, to date the seal from the last Achaimenid, Darius Codomanus, or more likely perhaps, seeing that his reign was peaceful and lasted a long time, Darius Nothus (425-405). Digitized by Google
 * J. MiNANT, RtdurdHs sur lagljftiqui mentaUt torn. ii. p. x6S.