The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-05-05
From the Ne,o York Courier
IE NINEVAH MARBLES IN NEW YORK


tured stone slabs from the ruins of NinevaI,,
recently imported by James Lcnox, ESQ,
have been presented to the Historical So.
ciety. They have been placed in the lower
hall of the Socie,y's building ed ave, uc,
corner of llth street, and will be open for
The inspection of the audience after the lee
+ure.
They are twelve in number, and are
placed against the walls of the apartment,
which they nearly cover on all sides, Leiny
ffarge, from about four to seven fee, in
Breadth. The height is uniform hcing ahou,
sight feet. The thickness is ab,utsix inches
The weight is said to he one and a half to
two tons. They arrived here from Boston
about six weeks ago, and are in very GOOD
order, that is, the scnl turcd surfaces are
almost perfect. although most of them have
been broken into two or more pieces, but
neatly put together. The material is said
to be species of sulphate of lime, natu-
rally inferior to good marble; and prescrva-
ton Of many Of the faces of the slabs hih
erlo found among the various ruins on the
great plains beyond the TigriS, has been
owing to the fact that they fell forwards, n,
the time Of the destruction of The immense
edificcs to which they belonged, and have
lain many centuries thus protected. The
walls were very thick. hut often formed
only OF earth. In places were remains
of timber, a piece of which. Lanyard rccng.
nized AS cedar Of Leh,n"n. But we do
not wish to repeat the many interesting
facts given in the numerous books now in
the Libraries of our readers.
All the twelve stones now in the histori-
cal building, have one or more figures, sur.
rounded with broad scupturcd ornamental
borders. in which the honey suckle or,,a-
ment is placed in different forms. Across
the middle of each stone passes Il long in
scripli"n, in small cunrifnrm. or arrow
head characters, of from twenty to twenty
five lines each, running over the figures
ornaments, DC. Most of the. iirur.s are.
gigantic heroes ar diviniIicS, all winged, in
rohes and sandals, boldly drawn aud we'll
proportioned, making AN imposing ctlrc,
when struck hy a slanting light, all being
in basso relievo, ahou, half an inch deep.
There ia rviden, monncriSm in the outlines.
the regular cnrs Of the hair AMI long
ibeards, the wings, the folds Of robes frinpcd
and hanging to The feet.
The first accounts of the discoveries a,
Ninevah represented the style Of sculpture
IN exaggerated terms. COMPARED will,
those III the temples of Egypt, which they
in some respects resemble, they are. on tn.
whole, quite superior, lcing more true to
nature, to the rules Of proportion and anat
omv, and displaying greater degree of
skill in the use Of tools, rs well as more
patient finish in details But one who has
heard them compared fav"rahly with the
productions of eminent Greek sculrturS, i,
destined to disappointment. wheu he has
opportunity TO Judge for himself S,.rIi',
Of IDEAS, absence of originality, and Il scr
vile copying of models. will strike linn
but lie will admit what has been pron",,n
ced by artists decided superiority in III.
original models to those of HE E.yp,ian>
The countrnances. like the figures. are gen
orally wei! forme'l, expressive aud dignifcd
The head dresses are various hut simple;
bracelets and armcts are frequent, the lii
of sword is here and there visible aud
sandals are numerous. fastened hy bands
over the too and ankle, and crossing bands
over the toe and ankle, and crossing bands
over the instep but with a ligh back piece
behind the heel. The robes have deep
flinges round their borders, and are grace
fully disposed. sometimes with cords and
tasseIs hanging nearly to the ground. The
lower part of the leg is sometimes left bare.
and shows powerful muscles, drawn witt,
spirit. but exaggerated.
Most of the figures are pluckng a fruit
somewhat resembling the cone Of pine
tree, or holding it as if offering it to anoth
er pesonage.
The stone in the middle Of the northern
end Of the hall. which is Of the larger size,
is the only one which is divided into two
compartments. In the upper is n standing
figure, facing sitting one, each with one
hand raised. Below are two figures, one
with the head Of bird instead of the hu.
man, each holding up fruit carrying n
vessel like basket, with the other hand.
On the western side Of the room is a
large stone with two figures, both facing
the south. tine first supporting shallow
bowl on the finger of the right hand, and