an enemy's country, naval
expeditions, and triumphant returns from foreign war, with the trophies
and fruits of victory; 2. Religious scenes, either mythical or real; 3.
Processions generally of tribute-bearers, bringing the produce of their
several countries to the Great King; 4. hunting and sporting scenes,
including the chase of savage animals, and of animals sought for food,
the spreading of nets, the shooting of birds, and the like; and 5.
Scenes of ordinary life, as those representing the transport and
erection of colossal bulls, landscapes, temples, interiors, gardens,
etc.

The earliest art is that of the most ancient palaces at Nimrud. It
belongs to the latter part of the tenth century before our era; the time
of Asa in Judaea, of Omri and Ahab in Samaria, and of the Sheshonks in
Egypt. It is characterized by much spirit and variety in the design, by
strength and firmness, combined with a good deal of heaviness, in the
execution, by an entire contempt for perspective, and by the rigid
preservation in almost every case, both human and animal, of the exact
profile both of figure and face. Of the illustrations already given in
the present volume a considerable number belong to this period. The
heads [PLATE XXXIII.], and the figures [PLATE XXXV.], represent the
ordinary appearance of the men, while animal forms of the time will be
found in the lion [PLATE XXV.], the ibex [PLATE XXV.], the gazelle
[PLATE XXVII.], the horse [PLATE XXXI.], and the horse and wild bull
[PLATE XXVIII.] It will be seen upon reference that the animal are very
much superior to the human forms, a characteristic which is not,
however, peculiar to the style of this period, but belongs to all
Assyrian art, from its earliest to its latest stage. A favorable
specimen of the style will be found in the lion-hunt which Mr. Layard
has engraved in his "Monuments," and of which he himself observes, that
it is "one of the finest specimens hitherto discovered of Assyrian
sculpture." in [PLATE LXIV., Fig. 3.] The composition is at once simple
and effective. The king forms the principal object, nearly in the centre
of the picture, and by the superior height of his conical head-dress,
and the position of the two arrows which he holds in the hand that draws
the bow-string, dominates over the entire composition. As he turns round
to shoot down at the lion which assails him from behind, his body is
naturally and gracefully bent, while his charioteer, being en