New-York tribune., 1884-01-13


,ho yost nonnlation who cultivated the richest
nlans in Asia. and created the wealth and power OF
dvnosties which controlled the world, the ART OF the
conntrv records nothing. This is remarkaoio
feature. Egyptian art relates the story OF the
nrince and of the peasant with equal minutehess'
All classes of Egyptians commanded ART prouuc,v"'
patronized art according to Their means anu uo-
sires But in Chaldea and Assyrla only mohaion'
seem 70 have ordered the illustrative productions
of art and those productions illustrate only Wha'
was for the qualification of royal pride. Inc oeoos
of kings and their armies in the field. the repose anu
luxury of royalty at home these are the oui'''n "
what we may call the literature OF the "l''
these the details are abundant. The weapons oi
war; the dresses and ornaments oil the coui'' wv
erueltes in which every Asatic sovereign hau SUI
rro,,a delight the pleasures which surronndeo h's
rest among the memorials of his conquests "n"
crpeltie> those we know all about for the ihoHu-
ments freely describe them The art OF Oh"i"'
and Assvria was one and the same. "h'on1'o'
was in the more ancient days master Oh 'no 0'"0-'
in the long years after Assyra became 'ny
manent lord and Babylon subject ci'y' 'no Wv"
&C ,,baldea with but little modification, was inc ni'
90 N;neveb But we have illustrations ol lho iii'
manners and customs, employinehts Pl'"' -
Mains of the people of either northern OF sou'noin
country. Neither has exploration given US '"S
number of objects of domestic OF pciSon''
Nevertheless. in the immense quantity OF art Wo,N
-,L;oI, bao been recovered and is now gathered IN
Western museums there is record Oh the Woih VI
ortis+s and artisans perhaps more complete than we
nossess of anv ancient people except the Egyptians
Tbere is no stone in Chadea. Assyrla FURNISHES
little that is available for purposes oi
The northern hills supplied species OF a'aD''S''i'
moor material for the sculptor and liable 10 oeco"i-
nosition when exposed to weather. Sido9 Vi '"S
latter sometimes very large ana "eiRn'"E -
.L;4- toms were used for relief sculpture anu
nloced in the brick walls of buildings Inc "hi-
vcrsol buildirg material was brick mostly cIuuc
hricLs unbaked. These were Iald WITHOUT hoi'
or cement The vast structures composed oi '"'"'
endured for ages, the superintendent "e'enV pa
inc, tbc bricks into solid mass through which the
modern excavator digs his way without hhui"s
lines of separation and only now and then sor, Vi
s+ratnm line of color When and where they
learned the art of enamelling pottery Is uhkho"n'
II 10 probabe that Egypt gave this art 10 ASA
The covering of burned brick with gorgeous cpolS
III enamel gave a brilliancy TO Assyriah arr ",n'"
il would have lacked otherwise. lhls lclt ho'""S
in tbe wav of color to be desired in either eA'eri
or internal decoration. The designs Ill INC ci'"'''
furnish thorough illustration 0t the lhoI'cS anu
intents of Assyrian decorative art VINO oesio' ~
o+udv these must consult the numerous liuotId'on'
in these volumes.
We have no space nor is it practlcaOir' 10 cou-
dense in this notice any account OF AssyI'" ''",P
+ro If any one have imagined it to be either rude
nowerlcss or void of instruction. he mas small
| knowledge of it. In one department at least the
ronrosento,on of life Of lions and other ANNALS
the sssvuan artist needed no Greek Or modern Gan
| ovo IN teach him. lie had seen lions. Greek ana
later sculptors have also seen lions occasionally;
hut in general fat fellows, grown obese III cage lie.
! The ordinary lion of sculpture is conventional
NOT an imaginary, beast. The Assyrlan sculptor hau
hunted lions with the king when fifty or hundred
were the bag of a days sport. They were mighty
animals lank 1.-THE and royal in Their show OF Doho
! and sinew and hard bundles Of muscle. Such liey
are on the monuments cut in stone. y Wouhdeu
Ioness, her spinal cord paralyzed by an arrow
dragging her huge body and nerveiess nina legs
along the ground in the rage and agony OF dcath'
,yos q subiect well fitted for the powers of the
Assvrion artist Perhaps in none is the line more
! clearly traceabe than in glyptic art Every man
| in Babvlon had his engraved seal when lIer0dotus
was there The art of engraving hard stones was
| very ancient in Chadea. The earlier ana fuder
products were followed by finer productions. NJ
| pcrrot finds in the New-York Museum one OF the
best illustrations of the highest products OF the art
a Chaldean cylinder. representing Zduoar ana
| Hea-bani struggling with bull and hon. lhl'
! cylinder
! ola collection in which are the superb works of
archaic Greek art which. have been revelation III
tbe history of gem-engraving. The continuous line
of the art was proved without missing link, III the
! KuZium treasure vaults.
| IL the reader will turn to page 16l OF the second
volume where is shown this wounded liOness, or 10
the hounds of Assurbanpal on page 147, he will be
| seizod with desire to know more about the artist
! and the art which, after two thousand years OF
burial. is now revealed in such examples as these
Tins mnch of the aesthetic character of the art.
| Much more might be SAID But art is not confined TO
illustration. 1t produces the useful and the beauti-
ful These Asiatics had high sense OF the beauli-
| full They had ample knowledge OF useiui afts'
Among the oldest relics we find are works III gold'
conner bronze iron and lead. Silver does not seem
70 have been known IN the early times. lhey had
tin for it was essential to bronze. Iron was used
only for personal ornaments at first but became so
| abundant in later times that NJ. Place found at
! Kborsabad room full of iron instruments, hooks,
gronpling tools hammers, chains, pioughshares
Place believed some of the objects to have steel
tins This is doubted In the ninth and eighth cen
turies b. c. iron was abundant, more so than in any
other country. In the British Museum are many
bronze objects with iron cores: Thrones OF kings,
made of wood decorated with ivory, bronze and
apisazul attest skill and luxurious taste III furnl-
ture The sculptures amply testify to the splendor
of textile fabrics. In short, the art of Assyria,
measured by any and every standard, was Ill the
highest rank of the arts of utility and beauty.
OF the religion of the Chaldeans and the Assyrians
we know little or nothing. Their art strangely
enough, among the vast quantity of illustration,
fails to assist us. Astounding in supernaturallSmS
it is so mysterious that it reveals no connected sys-
TEN of mythology. ProfessorOPerr with some
others, imagines that the earlier religion was a
vague belief in. or fear of, spirits innumerable a
cloud of surrounding powers, and that from tins III
time grew the assignment OF homes TO some OF the
more dreaded, or more respected. among those
spirits-residences in stars or on snowy mountain