Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-03-16
WHOSE WAS IT?
The Great Sidon Sarcophagus Was
it AleXander's-

Century: Even /, a disinterested
spectator, when this sarcophagus was
first unlocked in my presence, found my
self wild with amaZement and enthu-
siaSm. With its beautiful cOlOrs and
perfect lines and real perspective, it
came to me as a dazzling revelation Of
the possibilities Of vivid realism in mar
bic. Two Of its sides-a longer and Il
shorter side-represent battle between
Greeks and PerSianS. At the extreme
left Of the long side, the beginning of
the scene, is Alexander the Great on
horseback The central figure is a
young, beardleSs, handsome Greek, al
so mounted, and wearing a gilded hat
the only one who enjoys this distinc-
ton. At the extreme right Of the long
side is another mounted Greek. the on
ly one whose face reappeaIs in the
hunting scene which occupies the other
two sides. Whose was the sarcopha-
gus? Apparently it belonged to one Of
the three above described. At one
time Handy supposed it's owner to
have been the man on the right, regard
Greek, who is represented in one of
the gables as being aSsasSinated by
Greeks. This he took to represent the
murder of Perdiccas, Alexander's gen
eral. who would then have been the
owner or occupant Of this coffin. Now,
| think, he is more inclined toward
the idea, based on the occurrence of
the figure Of Alexander in the fore
front of the battle, that it was the
coffin of Alexander himself, the tradi-
ton of his internent in Alexandria
to the contrary Notwithstanding. But
he has not yet committed himself TO
any theory.
But to return to the execution. The
figures in the foreground are in very
high relief, almost free-Standing statues
From this they recede through every
degree of relief TO painting on q fat
surface, and without the use of touch
you cannot determine where the re-
lief ends and the fiat surface begins
The figures in the battle-scene on the
long side are balanced with almost ma
thematical precision, two hOrsemen,
a Greek and a Persian. on the left, two
in the centei and two one the right,
while the fOOtmen and the cOrpSeS are
similarly distributed in absolutely SYM
metrical fields. But this does not OBJ
trude itself upon the eye, and the for
NAL, mathematical plan is so gracefully
and naturally handled that it is i'm
probable that any one would observe
it unless by accident he should count
the figures, as / did. The motion and
realism Of the whole scene, AS well as
of each Individual figure, are unsur-
passed in sculpture. This realism is
carried out in mechanical details also,
SO that not only was everything colored
with it's real color, the national costumes
accurately represented, and the faces
made actual portraits, but objects of
wood or metal-spears, bits, shields.
and other details-were, where the re-
lief permitted, made Of wood or metal.
In one point, however, this realism
signally fails-namely, in the lions and
leopards represented in the hunting
scene. The men and dogs and horses
are tue to life, but the lions and leo
pards are mOnsuosities, and their size
is out of all proportion. Evidently the
artist knew them only from pictures.