Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/267

 Glyptic Art. 249 cloak Is draped about the right shoulder is far beyond the ken of the Hittite engraver; and his skill would have been utterly inade- quate to handle several figures with diversified costume and attributes. So elaborate a piece of workmanship testifies to an eclectic art which knows what to choose and what to reject ; and the place of its fabrication, therefore, must be ascribed to Assyria or Phoenicia. It is more difficult to pronounce upon a cylinder in the national collection at the Hague (Fig. 380), which portrays a god standing on a mountain, receiving the homage of two worshippers, clad in Chaldaean robe and Assyrian mantle ; a crescent with central globe intervenes between them, which it is needless to say is of frequent occurrence in Mesopotamia. The posture, headdress, and short tunic of the deity closely resemble those of the lasili-Kaia figures (Plate VIII. E), whilst the costume of the warrior behind the god, including his sword and spear, recall Fig. 262, with this difference, that Tarkondemos carries a sheathed sword, whilst It is drawn in this instance. But the wild goat, often encoun- tered in Syro-Cappadocian Inscriptions, on the silver boss of Tarkondemos, also occurs here. We may venture to ask the question as to whether the artist intended to com- memorate the victory of a Hittite chief, who is seen by the side of his national deity, equipped in the armour with which he successfully overcame his adversaries, the latter offering costly gifts to the local god or prince, perhaps both, save that the skill and technique displayed in this composition tell against such a theory. The same hesitation is felt In trying to classify cylinders which have been recently acquired for the Louvre. The first in the series (Fig. 381) comes from Aidin In Lydia. Its apex, now chipped off, had a hole for the purpose of suspension. The second figure, counting from the left, is the only one which presents some analogy with our rupesque carvings. He wears the usual short tunic and tip-tilted shoes ; but his dress and that of the other pictures are treated in true Chaldaean style. The peculiar con- trivance of investing the central figure with a double profile, that he may address the multitude on each side without hnvlnnf to turn Fig. 381. — Cylinder. Hemat. Drawn by St. Elme Gautier.