Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/118

 I02 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud.ea. For obvious reasons, the woodcuts that figure in this part will not be all taken from our own work ; but where requisite for the elucidation and better understanding of the subject, we freely borrowed from Texier's plates, the first traveller who visited Boghaz-Keui, and the only one before us who made plans and drawings of the monuments.^ It would ill become us to ignore or undervalue the services which he rendered to science by his explorations in Asia Minor, Armenia, and Persia; undertaken too when Oriental expeditions were not the easy matter which they are at the present time. He had been admirably prepared, more- over, by long study of monuments in France, Italy, and northern Africa ; and, if he could boast no superior acquirements, this was amply compensated by natural intelligence, quickness, energy, great perceptive powers, and indefatigable industry, evidenced in his sketches, which betray a ready pencil and a light, crisp touch. In an evil hour he conceived the idea of having improved draw- ings made from them, that they might look better in the splendid work he was about to publish, forgetful that truth and accuracy are of far greater worth than mere prettiness. Comparison of certain copies of Texier's plates with his original sketches revealed the truth to us. This, the testimony or breach of confidence of the draughtsman whom he had employed for the purpose served to corroborate. Consequently, much as we should have wished, we have refrained giving his general plan of Boghaz- Keui, which, had it been accurate, would have enabled the reader to form a clear idea of the locality and the relative position of the monuments which we are about to describe. His architectural and sculptural drawings are decidedly better ; but even they show that the engraver softened the rude modelling, and repaired the ravages of time. Hence our reason for admitting only those which we were able to test on the spot as being less removed from reality will be appreciated. The part of Cappadocia upon which attention was directed some fifty years ago by the discoveries of Texier is unimportant, thinly populated, and not specified by modern geographers. It lies between the town of Tchouroum on the north, and lusgat on ^ Description of Asia Minor, 1833-183 7. Publiee par le Ministbre de I'lnstruction Publique. Beaux-arts, monuments historiques, plans et topographie des citds an- tiques. Ch. Texier, gravure, Lemaitre. Paris, Firmin Didot, 1 839-1 849, 3 vols, in folio.