63 4 
ihe Persians, however, represented in 
their bas-reliefs many symbolical expressions 
of the powers of (he Divinity, as well as of 
their religious ceremonies or heroic achieve- 
ments. 1 he bas-reliefs on the palace of 
Persepolis and the tombs of the Persian so- 
vereigns, are arranged in horizontal and per- 
pendicular lines, answering the double pur- 
pose of description and architectural deco- 
ration. 1 he style of drawing in these bas- 
reliefs resembles that of later hieroglyphics, 
except in the dresses of the figures, which 
are different from those either of the Egyp- 
tians or Hindoos. The Persians are repre- 
sented with long beards and ringlets, caps, full 
tunics, with regular folds and large sleeves. 
Uie Merles, in the. same ruins of Persepolis, 
have close tunics, d'he drapery in these bas- 
reliefs is superior to that of the Egyptians, as 
bearing a greater resemblance to nature. 
In Hindostan and Egypt the art of sculp- 
ture has been exercised in a similar manner 
in the shaping or adorning large rude masses 
of the hardest materials, and the works of 
these two nations may not improperly be 
considered together. The reader will find 
some accounts of their sculpture under the 
article Antiquities. 
In India, bas-reliefs have been found in 
great numbers in the caves of Ellora and 
Elephantis : the subjects are religious. The 
drawing of the figures bears a strong resem- 
blance to the Egyptian style, but they are 
less correct in their forms, the heads being 
generally very large, and the limbs dispro- 
portioned to the bodies. It may be ques- 
tioned, from the greater simplicity of execu- 
tion, whether the Egyptian hieroglyphics are 
not also more antient than the Hindoo ; the 
ground in the former being level with the 
highest relievo, and in the latter cut down to 
the lowest outline of the figure. 
The character and style of design among 
the Egyptians have been more fully noticed 
by writers, because the first progress of the 
art among that people is conceived to eluci- 
date that of most other antient nations. 
In the Egyptian idols, composed of parts 
of different animals, each part appears to 
have been distinctively studied from nature. 
In the human figure, the body and limbs 
were represented by general forms: the 
face, as being the most interesting part, was 
more minutely expressed. The form of a face 
was a rounded egg ; the lines of the eye-brows 
and lids were simple curves, inclining up- 
wards from the nose ; and the bottom of the 
nose and the line of the mouth were also in a 
similar direction. The eyes were full, nearly 
on a level with the forehead and cheeks, and 
the lines of the eye-brows, lids, and borders 
of the lips, marked with precision. The chin 
appears small and bony, the neck round, the 
shoulders high and broad, and the muscles of 
the breast are almost the only ones that are 
distinguished in the whole body. The loins 
are narrow, the limbs in general round and 
slender, the joints slightly indicated, the 
hands and feet flatfish, and the fingers and 
toes rounded without any appearance of 
joints, and nearly of the same length. This, 
with the allowance of some national pecu- 
liarities of form, may serve for the description 
of early sculpture in general among the 
antients. 
The quadrupeds on Egyptian monuments 
SCULPTURE. 
are represented in profile, and in the sim- 
plestattiludes. The Egyptians excelled more 
in these than in the human figure; but the 
anatomy of these also is insufficient and in- 
correct. The lion and the sphinx are par- 
ticularly to be noticed in their works. 
The larger Egyptian hieroglyphics (whether 
engraven on the surface of their architecture, 
or on the forms of animals), in which the 
figure is cut or sunk, in such a manner that 
the surface of the ground is level with its 
highest projection, may be considered as a 
species of bas-relief, more simple, and conse- 
quently more antient, than any other. The 
greater part of their temples, and other pub- 
lic edifices, were covered with hieroglyphics, 
or sacred figure-writing, in this kind of bas- 
relief; the largest of which formed regular 
ornaments in the friezes, centres over the 
doors, and other architectural parts. 
Besides the hieroglyphics, the Egyptians 
worked in bas-relief, with the ground levelled 
to the lowest part of the figures. In these 
they represented the great actions of their 
heroes, as may be seen in fine palace of 
Karnac, engraved by Denon, and in those 
described in the Bird’s Well, of which there 
is a specimen in the hall of the British Mu- 
seum. 
Winckelmann thought he discovered two 
different styles of Egyptian sculpture, which 
prevailed at different periods. The first of 
these ends with the conquest of Egypt by 
Cambyses. The second begins at that time, 
and extends beyond the reign of Alexander 
the Great. In the first style, the lines are 
straight, or projecting very little ; the position 
is stiff and unnatural. In sitting figures, the 
legs are parallel, the feet squeezed together, 
and the arms fixed to the sides; but in the 
figures of women, the left arm is folded across 
the breast. The forms of the head and body 
are such as have been already described. The 
statues of men are naked, excepting only that 
they have a short apron, and a few folds of 
drapery surrounding their waist. The vest- 
ments of women are only distinguishable by 
the border which rises a little above the sur- 
face of the statue. In this age it is evident 
the Egyptians knew little of drapery. 
Of the second style of sculpture practised 
among the Egyptians, Winckelmann found 
specimens in t he two figures of basaltes in the 
capitol, and in another figure in theVilla Al- 
bani, the head of which has been restored. 
The two first of these, he remarks, bear visible 
traces of t he former style, which appear espe- 
cially in the form of the mouth and shortness 
of the chin. The hands possess more ele- 
gance; and the feet are placed at a greater 
distance from one another than was cus- 
tomary in more antient times. In the first 
and third figures the arms hang down close to 
the sides. In the second they Jiang more 
freely. Winckelmann suspects that these 
three statues were made after the conquest of 
Egypt by the Greeks. They are clothed 
with a tunic, a robe, and a mantle. The 
tunic, which is pleated in numerous folds, 
descends from the neck to the ground. The 
robe in the first and third statues appears to 
be every where close to the body, and is only 
perceptible by some little folds. It is tied 
under the breast, and covered by the mantle, 
the two buttons of which are placed under 
the epaulet. 
Tiie Antinous of the capitol is composed 
| of two pieces, which are joined under the 
haunches; but as all the Egyptian statues 
which now remain have been hewn out of one 
block, we must believe that Diodorus, in say- 
ing the stone was divided, and each half 
finished by a separate artisan, spoke only of 
a Colossus. The same author informs us 
that the Egyptians divided the human body 
into 24f parts; but it is to be regretted that 
he has not given a more minute detail of that 
division. 
The Egyptian statues were not only form- 
ed by the chisel ; they were also polished 
with great care. Even those on the summit 
of an obelisk, which could only be viewed at 
a distance, were finished with as much labour 
as if they had admitted a close inspection. 
As they are generally executed in granite or 
basaltes, stones of a very hard texture, it is 
impossible not to admire the indefatigable 
patience of the artists. 
The eyes were often of different materials 
from the rest of the statue ; sometimes they; 
were composed of precious stones or metal. f 
We are assured that the valuable diamond 
of the empress of Russia, the largest and most 
beautiful hitherto known, formed one of the 
eyes of the famous statue of Scheringham in 
the temple of Brama. 
After the Egyptian works of art, the most 
antient are those of the Etrurians or antient 
Tuscans, who, in the opinion of the same 
learned writer Winckelmann, made advances 
in sculpture at an earlier period than the 
Greeks. The art is said to have been intro- 
duced among them before the siege of Troy, 
by Dedalus; who, in order to escape the re-: 
sentment of Minos, king of Crete, took re- 
fuge in Sicily, from whence he passed into 
Italy, where he left many monuments of his 
art. Pausanias and Diodorus Siculus inform 
us, that some works ascribed to him were to 
be seen when they wrote, and that these pos- 
sessed that character of majesty by which the 
Etrurian sculpture was afterwards distin- 
guished. 
A character strongly marked forms the 
chief feature of those productions of Etruria 
which have descended to us. Their style was 
indeed harsh and overcharged ; for it is not to 
be supposed that a people of such rude man- 
ners as the Etrurians could communicate to 
their works that refinement and beauty which 
the elegance of Grecian manners inspired^-' 
On the other hand, there are many of the 
Tuscan statues which bear so close a resem- 
blance to those of G reece, that antiquarians 
have thought it probable that they were 
conveyed from that country or Magna Grecia 
into Etruria, about the time of the Roman 
conquest, when Italy was adorned with the 
spoils of Greece. 
Among the monuments of Etrurian art, 
two different styles have also been observed. 
In the first the lines are straight, the attitude 
stiff, and the shape of the head without 
beauty. The general form of the figure is 
likewise too slender: the head is oval, the < 
chin peaked, the eyes flat, and looking ob- 
liquely. 
All these are evidently the defects of an 
art in a state of infancy, and some of them 
are equally conspicuous in the early statues 
of all nations. The style of the Etrurian 
sculpture is so similar to that of the Egyp- 
tians, that one is almost induced to suppose 
