THE ANCIENT HITTITES. 701 



work as the starting- point of stone sculpture, for figures in metal are 

 driven from the back of the plate to the front, and the muscles and 

 other details are then indicated by reversing the process in the respec- 

 tive parts of the metal. The writing of the Ilittites also indicates such 

 origin for their art, the oldest inscriptions showing the characters cut 

 in relief, which is much more difficult than intaglio work to produce 

 in stone. 



The primitive sculptures also show an utter lack of proportion. 

 The lower part of the human body is usually much too small in pro- 

 portion to the upper part, or the arms are two thin and too short. 

 Animal bodies are either excessively drawn out or are shortened. But 

 while these faults are less evident in the better sculptures, there is 

 common to all an almost entire absence of perspective. Of objects 

 with some depth only the fore side is represented. Thus in fig. 3 and 

 pi. I, table and chairs seem to have only two legs each, and the plate 

 of the former is merely a line. The toes on the feet of human figures 

 and the claws of lions are generally piled one upon another instead of 

 being entirel}^ or partly spread out, while the old artist always has 

 endeavored to show as much as possible. In pi. iv the chest of the 

 god who advances to the right is completely turned about so that it 

 appears in a front view. Both shoulders, besides being- too much 

 drawn up, are not shortened. The artist evidently desired to bring 

 the emblems of the god into clear view, but was not equal to the task 

 of com])ining it with a natural attitude of the body; and he probabl}' 

 also hesitated about hiding the face b}^ the arm and hammer. The 

 existence of such a principle among artists of western Asia is evi- 

 denced by numerous Assyrian reliefs, upon which the bow and liow- 

 string are simply omitted when they would cover the face or chest. 

 The unnatural position of the arm of the god or goddess (pi. i) is 

 probabl}^ to be explained in the same way. In order that the vessel 

 might not obscure the drapery, evidently executed with much care, 

 the artist extended the arm far to the front. Upon a relief at Ueynek, 

 which depicts a person ascending a ladder, the ladder is represented 

 with a front view, but the person with a side view, so that he seems to 

 cVun]) upon the cross beam of the ladder. On this as on other sculp- 

 tures the artist tries to do justice to the laws of perspective b}" short- 

 ening the figures in the background, but does not maintain a propor- 

 tion as regards their Ineadth or in relation to the other figures. Thus 

 on a relief from ^larash a warrior is consideraljl}' larger than the horse 

 which he leads b}' the bridle. Frequently also rear figures are placed 

 on the same level as front ones, giving the appearance of adults and 

 children, although judging from the above characteristic this is not at 

 all intended. Where several rows of figures ranged one behind the 

 other are to be represented, as upon the Marash relief mentioned 

 above, they are placed, as on steps, one above the other, because the 



