aces by means of small
nails. They had no great merit. The embossed or hammered work, on the
contrary, is artistic and very curious. Large numbers of embossed bowls
and dishes have been found, and this work was used for the end of
sword-sheaths, the sides of chairs and stools, and various other
ornamental purposes. It is probable that the main part of the tables,
chairs, and so on were of wood, with the ornaments in embossed metals.
All this shows the Assyrians to have been an artistic people, and to
have reached an interesting stage in their arts, though their works are
coarse and imperfect when judged by Greek standards or by our own idea
of what is beautiful. If we had the space to consider all the various
designs of the bas-reliefs in detail, you would learn from them a great
many interesting facts concerning the domestic life of this ancient and
interesting people. From them we can learn all about the costumes worn
by the king and those of lesser rank; can see how their wars were
carried on, and what their chariots, weapons, and equipments were.
Their games, amusements, musical instruments, agricultural pursuits,
food, and, in short, everything connected with their daily life is
plainly shown in these sculptures, and, as I have said before, the whole
history of Assyria is better studied from them than from any other one
source. For this reason their great value cannot be over-estimated (Fig.
13).

Other very ancient nations had sculptors, and a few remains of their
arts still exist. This is true of the Medes, Babylonians, and Persians;
but the general features of their arts resembled those of the Assyrians,
though they were less advanced than that nation, and have left nothing
as interesting as the Egyptian and Assyrian remains which we have
considered. I shall therefore leave them and pass to the sculpture of
Greece.

[Illustration: FIG. 14.--MODE OF DRAWING THE BOW. _Koyunjik._]

CHAPTER II.

GREEK SCULPTURE.

We have seen that the Egyptians and Assyrians were skilful in sculpture,
but at the same time their works have not moved us as we wish to be
moved by art; there is always something beyond them to be desired, and
it remained for the Greeks to attain to that perfection in sculpture
which satisfies all our nature and fills our highest conceptions of
beauty and grace. In truth, in Greece alone has this perfection in
plastic art existed, and since the time of its highest excellence there
no other