Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/22

 6 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud^a. His fine collection of coins and engraved gems — subsequently- sold to England — had made him known to Western scholars, with some of whom he was in correspondence. He at once recognized the importance of the inscribed stones, and, unwilling that his country should be deprived of them, he telegraphed to the Sultan to have them securely deposited in the museum at Constantinople. The Waly's offer to Dr. Wright to accompany him on a journey of inspection included Mr. W. Kirby Green, British consul at Damascus. Hamath stood on the list of places that were to be vfsited. Here the two Europeans lost no time in discovering the locality of the inscribed stones. They next persuaded the pasha to have them taken to the serai — governor's palace — that they might have leisure to take good casts of them undisturbed. The removal of these peculiar monuments produced a great com- motion among the green and white turbans of the place. The next day, a deputation, consisting of all the more influential members of the Moslem community, waited on the Waly to urge a restora- tion of the stones. The account of this interview and the final discomfiture of the ulemas should be read in Dr. Wright's graphic narrative, where he recounts by what skilful management — a com- bination of good-humour and firm policy — Subhi Pasha not only succeeded in quelling the disturbance, but sent away the deputation satisfied and comforted. The Hamah stones, five in number,^ are far away the most important monuments of this class that have as yet been dis- covered. Messrs. Wright and Green, to guard against accidents, of frequent occurrence among Turkish officials, took two sets of casts in plaster of Paris ; one was sent to the Government for the Pritish Museum and the other to the Palestine Fund, where every- body may study them, their excellence making them as good as the actual originals.^ The copy that had been made of the Aleppo inscription, although very imperfect, served to prove that similar characters were not confined to Hamath, but were to be found in other parts of the country.^ Soon after (1874 and 1875), Mr. Skene, British consul ^ See Salomon Reinach, Catalogue du Musee Imperial [Constantinople] d'Anti- quttes, p. 83, 1882. ^ The Plates I-V., " Hamath Inscriptions," in Dr. Wright's book, were repro- duced from the casts sent to England. ^ These copies were reproduced in Plates V., VI., VII., in Dr. Wright's Empire.