Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/224

 Idols. i8i sprung up in Chaldsea ; whence from stage to stage it spread among neighbouring nations, and through the medium of Syro- Cappadocian populations it reached the coasts of the ^gean, where a copy of it, but a very rude copy, has been recognized in a lead idol which was discovered at Troy (Fig. 291). The figure was probably cast on the spot, if not in the Troad itself, then close by. In composition and dryness of make it bears a strong analogy to the forms seen on certain stone moulds which we have attributed to Lydia.' The isles of the Archipelago were further removed than the Troad from the cradle-land of the type we are considering ; accordingly, it was only known here by F[U, J19.— Marblv iiiol. Ileighl, oni., 196. characterless imitations, due to a large extent, no doubt, to their inability to model the roundness of the breasts or the open palms pressed against them. Hence the arms are reserved, and rest on the hips. Though simplified, the type did not lose its significance with the natives, for It suggested a perfect type known to them from such specimens as had found their way to the Grecian shores.* A variant on this type, both rare and droll, is furnished by a statuette which carries an erect but much smaller and very similar figure on its head (Fig. 328). It is plain, from the position given to the personages, that the sculptor intended to 1 HiUoryofArt. ■^ DiJMMLER lyAthenische Miffktilungen) has fully grasped its far-reaching significance.