hing
features were its height, its stiffness, and the blue and white fillet
which encircled it.

Among other certain indications of the royal presence may be mentioned
the golden sceptre, and the parasol. The sceptre, which is seen
frequently in the king's hands, was a plain rod, about five feet in
length, ornamented with a ball, or apple, at its upper end, and at its
lower tapering nearly to a point. The king held it in his right hand,
grasping it near, but not at, the thick end, and rested the thin end on
the ground in his front. When he walked, he planted it upright before
him, as a spearman would plant his spear. When he sate, he sloped it
outwards, still, however, touching the ground with its point.

The parasol, which has always been in the East a mark of dignity, seems
in Persia, as in Assyria, to have been confined, either by law or usage,
to the king. The Persian implement resembled the later Assyrian, except
that it was not tasselled, and had no curtain or flap. It had the same
tent-like shape, the same long thick stem, and the same ornament at the
top. It only differed in being somewhat shallower, and in having the
supports, which kept it open, curved instead of straight. It was held
over the king's head on state occasions by an attendant who walked
immediately behind him. [PLATE XXXII., Fig. 3.]

The throne of the monarch was an elevated seat, with a high back, but
without arms, cushioned, and ornamented with a fringe, and with moldings
or carvings along the back and legs. The ornamentation consisted chiefly
of balls and broad rings, and contained little that was artistic or
elaborate. The legs, however, terminated in lions' feet, resting upon
half balls, which were ribbed or fluted. The sides of the chair
below the seat appear to have been panelled, like the thrones of the
Assyrians, but were not adorned with any carving. The seat of the throne
was very high from the ground, and without a rest the legs would have
dangled. A footstool consequently was provided, which was plain, like
the throne, but was supported on legs terminating in the feet of bulls.
Thus the lion and the bull, so frequent in the symbolism of the East,
were here again brought together, being represented as the supports of
the throne.

With respect to the material whereof the throne was composed, there
can be no doubt that it was something splendid and costly. Late writers
describe it as made of pure gold; but, as we hear of its having