Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 2.djvu/268

 244 HISTORY OF ART IN PHOENICIA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES. above this appears a well-cut line of Phoenician letters, reading : ' Abd-Baal, servant of Baal ; ' while at the top, the purely Phoe- nician symbols of a disk embraced by two drooping wings, and a disk within a crescent are introduced. Judging by the form of the characters we must ascribe the next scarab (Fig. 171) to the following century. The legend reads as follows : To Akhotmelek, wife of Joshua}" The figure seated on the throne to whom an attendant is giving a bowl, is most likely the proprietor of the seal herself. The forms of the bowl and of the cenochoe are not without elegance, but the most interesting detail is the head-dress of the principal figure : this is a low tiara from which an ample veil hangs down over the back of the neck, and in front is drawn over the cheeks and under the chin, an arrange- ment required by the climate and still in use. The rest of this person's costume seems to be striped with many-coloured bands ; they show, however, only on the right arm, and the rest of the body FIG. 171. Scarab of the seventh century. 2 FlG. 172. Scarabaeoid. 3 may be covered with a mantle of one colour ; a similar contrast may be noticed in the dress of the servant. Subjects of this kind, by which we learn something of the na- tional habits and costume, are quite exceptional in Phoenician gems ; we here figure another example (Fig. 1 72) from Curium ; it is quasi- historical in character. The stone is a brown sardonyx. The engraving is roughly executed, but the subject has been recognized by some as a conflict between a Cypriot and a Persian. 4 The Persian is on the right, the spectators left. He receives his 1 DE VOGUE, Melanges, 6r., p. in. 2 Ibid, plate v. 3 From CESNOLA, Cyprus, plate xxxvi. 4 In the Gazette archeologique for 1878 (p. 107), the late M. FR. LENORMANT, writing over the signature of LEON FIVEL, first pointed out the significance of this intaglio. It had been wrongly explained by Mr. O. King in his description of the Curium treasure (CESNOLA'S Cyprus).