DEER HUNT. 
177 
representation of the chase of the deer. * The chief of the field 
appears near the top of the sculpture, entering in state under 
the shade of an umbrella, and mounted on a finely caparisoned 
horse. He carries his bow across his neck ; an awkward fashion, 
and rather too convenient for the treachery which often made 
it an instrument of sudden strangulation; in the same man¬ 
ner that the twisted shawl of Barbary, from being the orna¬ 
ment of a great man’s head and neck, may be snatched over his 
face in one moment, and by a single jerk of its fold terminate 
his existence. Another equestrian figure, mounted on a horse 
at full speed, appears in the same costume at the bottom of the 
field; and, most probably, in the style of our own painters of 
■old, he is a repetition of the first personage in the same piece, 
removed to his hunter and in the full career of the chase. The 
centre colossal hero in this hunt may answer to the second 
personage in the opposite bas-relief. Towards the top of this, a 
raised scaffold presents itself, in which rows of musicians are 
seated, playing on a variety of instruments ; all curious speci¬ 
mens of the art, at that period. Amongst other luxuries of 
Khosroo’s court, the singers are mentioned “ as of sweeter notes 
than the nightingale’s,” and that no heart could resist the strains 
of his enchanting musician, Barbaud. An upright compartment 
on one side of the chase, is dedicated to carrying of the spoil; 
and the division opposite, to a range of elephants in pursuit of 
the deer. The whole scene is surrounded by a similar inclosure 
to that of the boar hunt; and at intervals men are seen holding 
up parts of the curtain, to allow the animals to escape when 
hardly pressed by the hunters. 
* See Plate LXIV. 
VOL. II. 
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