Style and Execution. 431 marked without damaging the effect the painter aimed at pro- ducing. The contrast offered by the broad vertical plaits which at Persepolis interpose between the relief of the drapery (Fig. 208) was obtained by a band» in the same situation, of different hue than the rest of the dress (Plate XII.) As to the oblique plaits of the yellow petticoats, patterned with rosettes, they are indicated by a light ribbing, which is left out from the white specimens, where it would have been more difficult to bring it into harmony with the character of the form, those lozenge-shaped towers, copied perhaps on those of the fortress at Susa (Fig. 209). In order to appreciate the advantage which the Persian sculptor derived from drapery, we must, then, turn to the sculptures on stone, when it will be acknowledged that he used his knowledge with no small skill to assure play of light and shade,: which would have been misplaced in those parts where he strove above all to charm the eye by contrast and harmonies of hues. The folds his chisel modelled are not wanting in breadth and dignity ; given the cut and tiie movement of the body, they are as they should be ; their fault, like that of Greek archaic art, lies in uniformity which verges upon sameness. Thus in the number of subjects we have placed under the eye of the reader, and they are not few, there is a repetition of exactly the same figures, attitude, and dress which is wearisome ; whilst the costume of several of the tribute-bearers and the caryatids supporting the throne, is a tight-fitting kind of corselet or straight mantle, barely outlined. Take, for example, the gaily apparelled archers of Susa or the guai^ds of Persepolis mounting the steps or filing past on the substructures, all are alike and on the same pattern ; at Susa the only item which differentiates them is the colour of their dress, and at Persepolis minor details of costume and equipment Pose, however, and even gesture are precisely similar in all; one might almost fancy that they were machine-made. The artist who planned this sculptured decoration does not seem to have been altogether free from certain misgivings, and now and again the desire of introducing a little variety in the interminable rows of people, as like as peas to one another, is very apparent. In the vast composition which co%'ers the sides of the stairs and the supporting wall of the great Palace of Xerxes, there is evident effort to break through the tiresome repetition of the same form. In the processional scene, composed of Persian Digitized by Google
