FIG. 10.--STATUE OF SARDANAPALUS I.
_From Nimrud._]

The number of Assyrian statues that have been found is small; this one
given here (Fig. 10), of Sardanapalus I., is in the best state of
preservation of any of them. It is smaller than life size, being about
forty-two inches high. The statuettes of the Assyrians are less artistic
than the statues. They are made from a clay which turned red in baking,
and are colored so as to resemble Greek pottery. They are almost always
of a grotesque appearance, and usually represent gods or genii. They
also combine human and animal forms in a less noble and artistic way
than is done in the Egyptian representation of the Sphinx. There are
also small figures of animals in terra-cotta, principally dogs and
ducks. But the large and small statues of the Assyrians are their most
unimportant works in sculpture. It is in their bas-reliefs that their
greatest excellence is seen, and in them alone their progress in art can
be traced. This sort of sculpture seems to have been used by the
Assyrians just as painting was used in Italy after the Renaissance. It
was their mode of expressing everything. Through it they gave expression
to their religious feeling; they told the history of their nation, and
glorified their kings; they represented the domestic scenes which now
make the subjects of _genre_ pictures; and even imitated vegetables and
fruits, as well as to reproduce landscapes and architecture in these
pictures cut from stone. In truth, it is chiefly from the bas-reliefs
that we learn the history of Assyria, and in this view their sculptures
are even more important than when they are considered merely from an
artistic view.

[Illustration: FIG. 11.--LION-HUNT. _From Nimrud._]

The most ancient palaces at Nimrud furnish the earliest examples of
bas-relief. These date at about the end of the tenth century B.C. One
striking peculiarity in the design is that all the figures, both men and
animals, are given in exact profile. In spite of this sameness of
position they have much spirit and action. The picture of a lion-hunt
given here (Fig. 11) is one of the very best of these reliefs, and you
will notice that the animal forms are much superior to those of the
human beings. This is true of all Assyrian art in all its stages. In
these oldest bas-reliefs there are no backgrounds; but later on these
are added, and mountains, hills, streams, trees, and wild animals are
all introduced as details o