Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/267

 Elevation of the Temple. 241 pedestal, and caused the stream of fashion to forsake the banks of the Nile for those of the Tigris. Now things are more evenly- balanced, and each country is awarded her proper due. During the Egyptian mania, the restorations of Solomon and Ezekiel's temples, by Thenius, De Saulcy, and De Vogué, were on the models of Theban's temples. 1 Nor was their presentment without a large proportion of truth. Those who have followed us thus far cannot have failed to have noticed the special stress laid by us, upon the immense influence exercised by Egypt upon Phcenician art exhibited in the cavetto, the ordinance of the peristyle, the wide projection of the pylon, etc. But what we deny is that the temples, be it at Tyre, Byblos, Paphos, or Jerusalem, were servile copies of Theban or Memphian religious buildings. We believe that Phoenicia had a hieratic architecture, which was not wholly indebted to Egypt for its forms and subjects. Elements such as long gateways with vestibules, passages flanked by chambers, gates pierced in monumental blocks of unbaked bricks, were Assyrian rather than Egyptian. So was the castellated device, which we have introduced as crowning edge to our walls — a con- structive detail well fitted to a brick architecture wherein it had its birth. On the other hand, it is rarely met with in the Nile Valley, save as embattlement to fortresses ; whilst the Assyrian artist used it as crowning form in every class of buildings, what- ever their purpose might be, as well as a simple ornament to sculptured and painted objects. As a purely decorative feature, it was adopted by the Phoenicians, who, wherever there was found an edge, bestowed it without much thought or care as to its congruity, as the tomb of Amrit bears witness, where it is applied to stone and repeated twice around the monument. 2 The merit of the Phcenician architect consists in having modified elements which were originally fabricated in different materials, so as to bring them well within the capabilities of those which were at his disposal, suited moreover to the special genius and the needs of his countrymen. Thus the monolith needle patiently worked in Syene granite, is transformed in metal or stone pillars carefully wrought. It loses, no doubt, something of its characteristic bold- ness and peculiar beauty, whilst preserving its wonted place at 1 Das vorexilische Jerusalem und dessert Tempel. Leipzig, 1849, Plate III. Hist, de F Art Judaïque, p. 194, and following. Le Temple, c. iii., Plate XIV. 2 Hist, of Art, torn. iii. Fig. 95. VOL. 1. R