6o A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud^a. as bases to pillars or columns ; these in their turn supported a lintel or penthouse. It is a disposition of frequent occurrence in Assyria, one, too, which was revived with excellent effect by mediaeval builders to decorate the porches of cathedrals and important buildings/ One line of the inscription runs along the backbone, and then there is a slight ledge on the side and top, yielding a convenient space for the superincumbent pillar.'^ One out of Fig. 276. — Carving, Carchemish. St. Elme Gautier, from a photograph of Dr. Gwyther. the two Merash lions was sent by Handi Bey to the museum at Constantinople. Our woodcut (Fig. 268) shows it before it was taken down from its exalted position. These and other figures of the same class — the Albistan lions, for example — stand midway between images worked in the round, the highest degree of perfection reached in sculpture and bas- reliefs, the handling of which offers fewer difficulties. Low reliefs, ^ Hist, of Art ^ torn. ii. pp. 228, 229.
- It was Dr. Wright who pointed out the ledge on the lion's back. A side view
may be seen in Fig. i. Plate XXVI., Empire of the Hittites. All these inscriptions and drawings were reproduced from those published in Trans. Soc. Bibl. Archce., vol. vii., made from the casts by the secretary, Mr. Ry lands. — Editor.
