New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-15
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE uJsTuBY OF ART.

hIsroRY OF ART IN PHENIClA AND i r.p UEr
"A pSNnESCIIEs By GEORGES PgRRoT ana ChAhnas
r,.,mrz translated and Edited 10y WALTER ARM
C,p.sh Two Volumes Illustrated. New-York:A
q Armstrong & Son. 1888.
-. "a rr,.,dma /" says NJ Perrot, "inventcd the
,ns ana created the models that awoko the plastic
a,,us Of the Greeks" But, there must have beeh mo
ale men by whom the forms and motives inVeh'eo a"
rvvpt and Mesopotamis were carried TO the Ioreis"
races who borrowed and used Them This was inc
,lave by the Ph9ncIans Toward the twentesh cen'u-
- beforc oar era they appeared from an unknown
and settled the narrow strip OF country only ioo
miles long ON the east coast Of the Mediterranean "nc
IN known as Syria This was nation OF mcrchan's uu
mariners and their found from one emu 10 tue
other OF the Mediterranean Itwasinstncve oVeoi gam
which built the cities Of Tyre and sdon ana SET
these commercial agents "pups and imitators OF peo
pes who had looked much at nature to making Dasre
ess statues and statuetes, everything IN Iac tna
would sell whether on native or iorcisn
markets" They were clever artisans anu
quick-wtted observers but they can hardiy DC sau
Co have had q national art Like an unstaoie
compound Ph9nician art dssolves into Its ele-
meuts and VIC recognize as Egyptian another as
Assyrian yet another In its later years. as PuoV
Greek The only thing that the Ph9nicans can ciain
Is their is the recipe, so to speak, 1or inc
Looking at 1t as a whole. one Is tempted W
conclude that the sole originality Of Phencian art hes
An s ant of that quality 1t not SO with lndusy'
there Phenca was superior to her neghoors tnere
abe developed activity and variety Oh rosouio0
conucls our admiration Out Of the lust for gain
crew the Phencian invention Of alphabetical writing,
" because It was necessary the proper Keeping OF
their books" They did not invent money, because
Hrst Il was not absolutely essential In their system VI
barter But they did invent the Tyrian purple mos'
famous of ancient dyes aud Phenca, although not ING
native, was the adopted country OF glassmaRihg'
Thus in their commercial they were distributors
of knowledge a true civilizing agency, although
they thought only Of good bargains "They
left behind them the knowledge OF that wonderful
machine through which the Greeks were TO create
philosophy history an science they left behind the,
too those fgurines OF bronze, OF ivory, VI glazeu
earthepwaro and stone and those vessels OF pahteu
cay or chiseed metal by which the sentiment OF plastic
art was awakened In the that was to produce
Phidias and Praxiteles."
The authors of the present work have already poVea
their powers OF patient and their scholarly at
tanments in histories ofthe art of Egypt andof arc III
Chadga and Assyria In these two volumes they have
gathered IN wedigested form all the knowledge WITHIN
their reach regardg the history OF the Phrncahs the
character Of their country cities and harpors tner
architecture temples and tombs their sculpture III all
its varied dvi sons their work in glass and their achve
men Is in the ceramic glypc arts All this material
which includes late discoveries is rendered integble
by comparisons and conclusions OF writers
recognized as psychologists whose authority is not to
be lightly questioned That the work is free from error
IL improbable, but such may exist will hardly
concern the average reader The text nghtened py
multitude of Illustrations among which are several re-
Of Cyproe statuary from originals In the
Metropolitan Museum and In foreign collections.