Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/78

 62 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud^a. from Birejik, where it was found built in the wall of a castle, is now in the British Museum, entitled "Monolith of a King" (Fig. 278). His attitude, the object he holds in his hand, doubtless a pomegranate, his gaze fixed on the patera in the other hand, which is raised, suggest a wor- shipper standing before the deity, whose presence is announced by the solar disc over his head. The tall, very modern-looking hat will be noticed ; it is unique of its kind, and nothing like it has been seen in Chaldaea, Assyria, Cyprus, or Phoenicia. The narrow dimensions of this stela call to mind the ancient monuments of Babylonia. It is without inscription,^ and may with equal propriety be ascribed to Mesopotamia, whence it was carried off by a Hittite prince as a memento of some expedition or, conversely, have been set up here by Nebuchadnezzar or some other Chaldaean conqueror. In favour of this hypothesis is the fact that the tablet is basalt, the stone of the country. On the other hand, the absence of a cuneiform inscription renders it probable that the stela, being found on the very border of Mesopotamia, was due to a Chaldaean, or a native craftsman in- structed by the former. This applies to a semi-column i m. 70 c. in height from Jerabis. The characters inscribed on the curved face are remarkable for clearness and the peculiar shape of some Royal Stela. British Museum. ^ It was first noticed by M. Badger, and pictured by him in his work on the Nestorians and their Ritual^ torn. i. p. 352, 1852. Mr. Wright had misgivings in respect to this bas-relief, which he first reproduced firom Professor Sayce's The Monuments of the Hittites^ but which does not figure in the second edition of The Empire. Plate XX. gives the figure ; Plate X. the inscription.