Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/204

 i86 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud^a. of showing that the Pterian architect disposed of greater resources than these ruins seem to imply. Thanks to the care taken by the sculptor to imitate art objects, justly admired for their execution and the material employed, we can form some idea of the skill of the native silversmith ; but we have no such instance to guide us in our appreciation of their earthenware. For although the art of the potter is the oldest and most prolific of all handicrafts, its very popularity causes it to be viewed with disfavour, as of small account, and its shapes are not likely to be reproduced in more precious materials. Nevertheless, clay, when it is properly burnt, will resist destruction better than natural stones or metals ; and long burial in the ground will not injure it — abundantly proved by the prodigious number of vessels that have been found all over the world, in tombs and in the ruined cities of prehistoric peoples, wherever excavations have been made. That Cappadocia forms no exception to the rule is shown by the quantity of broken pieces of vases and pottery that strew the ground within the area of the palace at Boghaz-Keui. We collected enough to fill a case, but unfortunately it was among the items that miscarried in our home journey. If my memory serves me right, these fragments were all of unlustred yellowish clay, ornamented in simple geometric patterns, in dull colours of red and brown, quite distinct from Greek ceramics of any period. We had, however, forgotten their very existence, when going over the Jerusalem examples (Figs. 244, 245, 246, 247, 248) suddenly revived our recollections of them. It should be stated in this place that the only vessel figured in the Pterian sculptures is evidently a bronze bowl, and closely resembles the multitudinous specimens that have been unearthed in Assyria (Fig. 337). To him who can penetrate beyond the surface, the humble fragments of pottery heaped about the base of the ruins of ancient Pterium go a long way to confirm the testi- mony of Herodotus, in regard to the destruction of the town by Croesus, an event which virtually arrested the onward progress of civilization for centuries. § 8. — Gene7^al Cha7^acteristics of Pterian Monuments. The conventional forms and symbols carved upon the rocks of Cappadocia, in so far as they are cognate with those familiar to us