Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/386

 A History of Art in Sardinia and Judaea. who were the first to supply the Greeks and the Italians with earthenware, the primitive word passing in both languages. The Philistines and the Phoenicians had im- ported in very early days the potter's art from Egypt. Their cities be- came centres of manu- facture and exportation, and were the means of diffusing the more ele- mentary processes of the handicraft in Canaan ; so that the Hebrews found it in full swing on their arrival. They adopted the common ware of the country for domestic pur- poses ; show pieces, how- ever, were in no request until towards the end of the monarchy ; perhaps not until the Persian rule, when pottery was enlivened with a variety of tints and elegant designs. The supposition of clay vessels having been exported Fig. 246. — Fragments of Vases. Plans, Elevations, Sections, Plate XLV. Figs. 247, 248. — Fragments of Vases. Plan*, Elevations, and Sections, Plate XLV. from Judaea to the Mediterranean islands cannot be entertained