od out. This conception of Assyrian coloring, framed
confessedly on the assumption of a close analogy between the
ornamentation of Assyria and that of Egypt, was at once accepted by the
unlearned, and naturally enough was adopted by most of those who sought
to popularize the new knowledge among their countrymen. Hence the
strange travesties of Assyrian art which have been seen in so-called
"Assyrian Courts," where all the delicacy of the real sculpture has
disappeared, and the spectator has been revolted by grim figures of
bulls and lions, from which a thick layer of coarse paint has taken away
all dignity, and by reliefs which, from the same cause, have lost all
spirit and refinement.

It is sufficient objection to the theory here treated of, that it has no
solid basis of fact to rest upon. Color has only been _found_ on
portions of the bas-reliefs, as on the hair and beards of men, on
head-ornaments, to a small extent on draperies, on the harness of
horses, on sandals, weapons, birds, flowers, and the like. Neither the
flesh of men, nor the bodies of animals, nor the draperies generally,
nor the backgrounds (except perhaps at Khorsabad), present the slightest
appearance of having been touched by paint. It is inconceivable that, if
these portions of the sculptures were universally or even ordinarily
colored, the color should have so entirely disappeared in every
instance. It is moreover inconceivable that the sculptor, if he knew his
work was about to be concealed beneath a coating of paint, should have
cared to give it the delicate elaboration which is found at any rate in
the later examples. All leads to the conclusion that in Assyrian as in
classical sculpture, color was sparingly applied, being confined to such
parts as the hair, eyes, and beards of men, to the fringes of dresses,
to horse trappings, and other accessory parts of the representations. In
this way the lower part of the wall was made to harmonize sufficiently
with the upper portion, which was wholly colored, but chiefly with pale
hues. At the same time a greater distinctness was given to the scenes
represented upon the sculptured slabs, the color being judiciously
applied to disentangle human from animal figures, dress from flesh, or
human figures from one another.

The colors actually found upon the bas-reliefs are four only--red, blue,
black, and white. The red is a good bright tint, far exceeding in
brilliancy that of Egypt. On the sculptures of Kh