Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 2.djvu/209

 MEN. ,g 5 We have other examples of figures modelled like this as parts of a group, but now deprived of their companions. In many cases they were only held in their proper positions by a dab of clay laid upon the plinth. This is notably the case with a group of which numerous versions have come down to us. The common theme is a religious dance round some sacred object, such as a cone or a nest of doves. 1 Sometimes a flute-player occupies the centre of a ring formed by three or more women dancing in a circle (Fig. 1 23). The attitude and costume of the dancers should be noticed. They hold each other by the hand, but at arm's length ; they are draped' Fro. 122. Limestone statuette. New York Museum. in long robes falling over the feet and with pointed hoods, which make them look like nuns. In such a group the figures are, of is the execution of a judicial sentence. Here there are six figures in all. Before the judge, who is enthroned and sceptred, a man applies the bastinado to the back of a culprit stretched prone on his face. In another group there are two nude figures, a man and a woman. The man is seated in a bath while the woman stands outside ; her left arm rests on the man's shoulder, while, with her right, she holds a cup which appears to serve for throwing the water over the bather. There are also several obscene subjects. It is difficult to say with what object all these groups were made. They should be studied in the New York Museum, which is very rich in monuments of the kind. 1 The most curious and the best preserved of all these groups is that belonging to M. de Clercq. It is of terra-cotta. In the middle rises a rough column or tree trunk, on the top of which is perched a nest with four doves in it. By the side of this column stands a large vase shaped like the crater from Amathus (Vol. I. Fig. 211). Round these symbols four persons are arranged ; three of the four hold each other by the hand and move in measure, while the fourth stands outside the circle and strikes a tambourine. For information on the groups of this kind possessed by the Louvre, see HEUZF.V, Catalogue, p. 200. VOL. II. B B