Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/258

 ki-:i'Kicsi';.TATiONs OK Human Lh-'k. 213 the other stela;, this would undoubtedly rank among the best works of Mycenian art. We may regret that the sculptor should have failed to do this, since it would have ensured durability to his work. To account for this apparent contradiction, we have only to remember how extensively the Mycenian architect utilized lime coatings to decorate his edifices. The elaborateness of the work and other reasons prove that the artist employed here all the resources at his command. The surface, left pur- posely rough, was overlaid with a thin coat of plaster; this not only served to conceal the unlovely state of the background, but was a capital vehicle for colour. Hence we may assume that additional cunning touches were put in with the brush to complete and accentuate the form, as on the Vaphio vases {Figs.