Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 1.djvu/159

 DECORATION. Finally we may cite a last monument which has unhappily suffered even more than the one we have just described. It comes from the same district. In the only feature of the decoration that is now recognizable, we see a stem supporting a head of falling leaves, which, again, is surmounted by a globular fruit (Fig. 84). ] But the condition of the stone is such that we can form no probable conjecture as to its purpose. We have tried to make this catalogue of the elements of Phoenician decoration complete, but nevertheless we should have a very imperfect conception of it if we forgot to take account of the part played by metal sheathings and by paint. The calcareous tufa of the country was not susceptible of any very delicate orna- ment, and it was quite by exception that granite, alabaster, or FIG. 84. Fragment of a sculptured slab. From Kenan. marble, brought from Egypt or the Greek islands, was used to case buildings constructed of inferior material. As a rule they were content with commoner stone, in spite of the unkindly way in which it lent itself to the work of the chisel and they could always disguise its poverty under a casing of wood or metal. This casing has everywhere disappeared, but in the curled volutes and leafy decorations of the Cypriot capitals, we seem to recognize motives suggested to the ornamentist by the elasticity of bronze and by its behaviour under the hammer. In the temple at Jerusalem, which was built and decorated by Phoenician artists. the naked walls were nowhere left visible, at least in the interior. 1 REXAN, Mission, p. 658.