ASSYRIAN MONUMENTS. 



71 



had an interesting group of men carrying baskets of 

 grapes/ pomegranates — strung as they string onions 

 now-a-days — and exactly like those given by Layard 

 (pi. 9, * Monuments of Nineveh,' new series). One of 

 this Egyptian group carries a basket containing some 

 fruit, which is uncommonly like a fingered citron, and 

 which I give in fig. 32. I don't think this can be 

 interpreted into anything but a fingered citron, if com- 

 pared with fig. 29^. A bunch of carrots some might 

 suggest? No, carrots never curl their ends inwards, 

 as the fingered citron often does. Moreover, what is 

 more natural than to wonder at 

 the occurrence of such a phe- 

 nomenon — a citron splitting itself 

 into fingers — and to offer it as 

 a rare present — a sweet-scented 

 ' nuzur ' — to the king or his 

 minister. 



I think there is evidence enough 

 in support of the belief that the 

 citron was known both to the 

 Assyrians and Egyptians. 



Nevertheless, further consideration has led me to 

 abandon the citron theory of the cone-fruit held in 

 the hand of the genius, as will be seen in another 



Fig. 32. — From Egyptian 

 wall-painting of ' El-Kab ' 

 (much enlarged). 



^ It_ is interesting to note that the grapes are painted ilae, e\-idently in 

 imitation of the blue bloom on the black grapes. 



