oms were decorated with glazed tiles, but the majority of
them were covered with bands of coloured** bas-reliefs which portrayed
various episodes in the life of the king--his state-councils, his lion
hunts, the reception of tribute, marches over mountains and rivers,
chariot-skirmishes, sieges, and the torture and carrying away of
captives.

* At the east end of the hall Layard found a block of
alabaster covered with inscriptions, forming a sort of
platform on which the king's throne may have stood.

** Layard points out the traces of colouring still visible
when the excavations were made.

[Illustration: 070.jpg THE WINGED BULLS OP ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a sketch by Layard.

Incised in bands across these pictures are inscriptions extolling the
omnipotence of Assur, while at intervals genii with eagles' beaks, or
deities in human form, imperious and fierce, appear with hands full
of offerings, or in the act of brandishing thunderbolts against evil
spirits. The architect who designed this imposing decoration, and the
sculptors who executed it, closely followed the traditions of ancient
Chaldaea in the drawing and composition of their designs, and in the use
of colour or chisel; but the qualities and defects peculiar to their own
race give a certain character of originality to this borrowed art. They
exaggerated the stern and athletic aspect of their models, making the
figure thick-set, the muscles extraordinarily enlarged, and the features
ludicrously accentuated.

[Illustration: 071.jpg GLAZED TILE FROM PALACE OF CALAH]

Drawn by Boudier, after Layard.

Their pictures produce an impression of awkwardness, confusion and
heaviness, but the detail is so minute and the animation so great that
the attention of the spectator is forcibly arrested; these uncouth
beings impress us with the sense of their self-reliance and their
confidence in their master, as we watch them brandishing their
weapons or hurrying to the attack, and see the shock of battle and the
death-blows given and received. The human-headed bulls, standing on
guard at the gates, exhibit the calm and pensive dignity befitting
creatures conscious of their strength, while the lions passant who
sometimes replace them, snarl and show their teeth with an almost
alarming ferocity.

[Illustration: 072.jpg LION FROM ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL'S PALACE]

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph of the sculpture i