Page 261 - The Art & Architecture of the Ancient Orient_Neat

PART TWO:
the peripheral regions
whether it was used in the capitals or
for gate figures. Compared with its Assyri
prototypes it lias less vigour; it an
i 11 i~ i ^ seems
c niildcr, almost subdued; the sharp cdccs re-
entrant surfaces bold shadows of die Assyrian figures (Plates 77 and 83) have been
cast <Grcek°Uf ^ W° “T* ^ ^ rcsPonsiblc for this change, for
. G k ar.t 15 ln,ost: vlSorous and vivacious. But we have already stressed the limita­
tions imposed on the Ionian sculptors. Craftsmen of many nations gathered at Susa and
Persepohs contributed their diverse skill to produce monuments for which there were
no parallels m any of the countries whence they came. The work as a whole, and the
spirit winch pervaded it, were Persian. The very features which seem shortcomings, when
we compare Achacmenian sculpture with that of Egypt and Assyria, appear consistent
widi its true nature, when we consider them on their
own merits. For Achacmenian
sculpture is a form of decoration, and it is in the nature of ornament to be subservient.
When a design arrests us by its subject-matter or the exceptional vigour of its execution,
it transgresses the limits set to decoration. The patterns and rhythms achieved by a repe­
tition of figures or groups are, on the other hand, pre-eminently suitable for ornament.
Achacmenian sculpture is more closely related to the applied arts than that of most
other countries. Here, too, there is exquisite detail, richness, and at the same time strict
appropriateness of design. Many of the motifs recur; the monster which the king destroys
on the door-jambs of his palaces and which, built in with glazed bricks, adorns their
walls (Plate i88b), forms the fmials of a bracelet set with enamels or semi-precious stones
(Plate 190A), or decorates the spout of a libation vessel, a rhyton (Plate 191). But not
only do the motifs recur; die very method of design is the same whatever medium is
used. On the sword scabbard of figure 117, the central subject is a repetition of goats,
diminishing in size towards the point, posed as unnaturally as the bull in Plate I79B> The
rows of lions which are embroidered upon the canopy over the king’s throne and on
the hem of his robe97 recur in metal in the frame of his chariot.98
When we realize that the principles of Achaemenian sculpture are die same as those of
the applied arts we can solve the paradox of its origin. We have stated that the Persians
did not possess a monumental art of their own, that foreign craftsmen built and decor­
ated the Achaemenian palaces, and that the resulting monuments were, nevertheless,
essentially Persian in character. The oddities of the architecture - the scattering °f b .
mgs over platforms, the elongated columns, their number, the bizarre capitals - a t us
betrays the direction of people foreign to the tradition, the practice, and the potenti ties
of Near Eastern architecture. But they were not people devoid of aesthetic sense; on t ic
contrary, they betray throughout a cultured inclination towards rich, harmonious, u
essentially decorative designs. This is a taste not uncommon among nomads, an 1
would seem that the Persians drew on the traditions of their native crafts, w lie y

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