The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-08-19
SOME COLOSSAL STATUES.
THE WORLDS GREATEST GRAVEN
AND MOLTEN IMAGES.
Huge Sculptures i'm Persia, Egypt an"
south Amcri"n-IIO1cTn COll0S-

Huge Sculptures i'm Persia, Egypt and
south Amcri"n-lIOicTn C0lloS-
susc,-Thc 1snrtholdi Statue.
Even among the rudest nations efforts
at statuary are and always have been com
mon, the ATTEMPT at this sort of art being
apparently first directed toward depicting
some representation of the god held most
in reverence by the sculptors. As skill
increased the talent of the artists was
employed in portraying the features OF
their greatest military and civil leaders,
and as the living memory OF these faded
and their glory frightened in the legends
remembered and invented of them, so
the effort to represent their forms and
features in statuary became also ideal
lied. In Persia the heroic and gigantic
statues of the kings were very numerous,
but none of them remain entire enough
to atTc.d more than the d!mmcst idea Of
their size. There arc large fragments, evil
IDENTIFY once belonging to gigantic statu-
ary, in the ruins of Susa and other Per-
sian cities, bat tho malice of state enc.
mics, together with the dccaying hand
of time, has made identification an i'm
possibility. Numbers Of cities in Hin
dos'an have legends of gigantic images
of their idols. and in some cases frag-
mcnts of these statues remain, but quite
frequently the IIindoo idols were con-
s;ructcd OF other aad more pcrishablc
materials than stone, and so, for the
most part these statues arc but legend
airy. The AZtccs Of Mexico ard Central
! America and the Pcruvians have left
many evidences Of their skill III stone
cutting, but comparatively few statues
are found, and these arc evidently con-
vcntional. In the mountain districts of
Peru there are many of these odd, half
statue, half monument figures, from six
to twenty feet high, carved from a
single block, but whether they were de-
signed as objects of worship, as statues
of the Aztec rulers, or as ornaments for
pa aces, cannot now be asccrtancd.
Some Of the most notable stone statues
of ancient times are those Of the Egyp-
tian kings, Ramcses H., or the Great,
appears to have been fond of having
himself represented in this manner, and
the statues he left are, some of them,
almost as perfect rs when they came from
the scuIptor's hands. 4 peculiar thing
about the Egyptian statues and monu-
ments is the fact that every ore is cut
from q single solid block, not sign of
a patch or scam being anywhere obscrv.
able. This is the case, not only with
the statues, but with the obclisks also,
some of which are nearly 100 feet high,
but each of single book The cngin-
ccring skill required to move those
enormous masses OF stone must have
been very considerable, but in the
catacombs of Egypt there remain pic
lures which show many details OF the
work. In one picture huge statue is
being drawn on beams by long lines of
men, over 500 in each linz. who arc pull
ing on ropes, being guided in their ef-
forts by leader standing on the base of
the statue and motioning to man by
his side, who clashes pair of cymbals
rs a signal to pull. Others rearrange the
beams rs the statue passes along, while
Others, with jars, empty oil on the wood
to diminish the friction.
The sphinx is not often thought Of in
connection with statuary, but it is one of
the most wonderful statues in the world,
whether considered with regard to its
size, the workmanship displayed, or the
skill required in moving so immense a
mass of stone. 1t is believed to be con-
temporary with the pyramids, but for
ages the purpose of its erection has been
lost. The shifting sands of the desert
have buried it almost to the chin, but
several attempts at great labor and cX-
pense have been made to uncover
enough Of it to make accurate measure
mcnts. None of these have been entirely
successful, since the desert winds blow
back the sand almost as fast as it is
taken out; but enough has been done to
approximate the dimensions of this enor-
nous statue. The head is twcnty-cight
feet and six inches from the top to the
chin, while from the top Of the head to
the pedestal on which the body rests is
ninety feet. The body is that of a
crounching lion, and is 14G feet long,
while the paws project in front of the
head nearly fifty feet. The breadth
of tllc shoulders is thirty.Six feet, and, so
far rs has yet been disccrncG, the entire
statue is Of one block. An entcrprsng
investigator bored an experimental hole
in enc Of the shoulders TO depth of
twenty-scvcn feet, but found solid stone
without seam. How the mass was ever
carved, or being carved, how it was
moved and paced in position will never
| bc known.
The celebrated Colossus of Rhodes,
was Of bronze, and is commonly cited as
one Of the wonders OF the world. 1t was
the work Of Charcs. q noted sculptor,
who spent twelve years in making it. 1t
stood only sixty six years, and WAS over
thrown by an earthquake b. G. gel. Its
height was 10j feet, without pedestal.
lis thumb measured q fathom round.
The statue was hollow, and the cavity
was filled with stones. After the earth
quake the Colossus helped the lsholians
out with q swind!c as gigantic rs itself,
which they pcrpctratcd on the rest OF the
Greeks, subscriptions for replacing the
statue being collected 10 more than five
times the value of the work needed, and
then the money being diverted 10 other
uses. The statue lay OF the ground for
Syl years, when, the island being con-
oucrcd bv the Saraccns, tho fallen ColoS-
sus was sold for old brass to Hebrew
Junk. dealer Of those days. who cut it up,
loaded 900 camcls with the brass, and
made 4 fortune out of his speculation.
Allowing 500 pounds for each camel load,
the total weight Of the bronze was 12O, :
600 pounds, and this after the statue had
been subjected to the rust and waste
from the theft of nine centuries. The
pedestal was triangular, and there was q
staircase to ascend TO the top. Rhodes
was famous for lis statues, however, as
Pliuy mentions a hundred other colos-
suses, not so large, in the various quar-
tiers OF the city.
Modern gigantic statues have been com
mon enough, quite number Of scu ptors
having cxccl.cd in executing them.
Among the noblest the Moses and
David'' of Michael Angelo may be mcE-
toned, but the modern world has few
colossal statues to beast Of. The "Ba-
varia" at Munich is one Of the most no.
table, its height being forty-nine feet and
two inches; while at Puy the French, in
honor Of their share in the Crimcan war,
erected in 1860 bronze statue Of the
Virgin, its height being tifty-two feet
and four inches. 1t was cast from the
metal Of 24G cannon taken at Scbastopol,
and WAS deemed Il triumph OF tho found
cr's skill. The famous statue of St.
Charles Barromco is sevcnty-two feet in
height. and is notable from the fac,
that the style Of its construction j;
very similar to that of the Liberty,
being made of copper plates fastened
to framework, this joined to cen
trail column. The great liberty statue tc
be set up in New York harbor is tho
largest ever known. The statue is 15l
feet > inches in height without the pcdcs
tai, but including the pedestal, the bas'
and the foundation, the statue towers
30j. II feet above the low-watcr mark
it is of sheets of copper, q miilimctcr
+l,:ol- I,n,tn, irtr, ,,1orp and fitted tp IN