ly king, which Mr. Layard discovered at
Kileh-Sherghat [PLATE LXIII, Fig. 1], and which is now in the British
Museum, may be instanced as quite free from this disproportion. It is
very observable, however, in another of the royal statues recently
recovered [PLATE LXIII, Fig. 2], as it is also in the monolith bulls
and lions universally. Otherwise, the proportions of the figures are
commonly correct. They bear a resemblance to the archaic Greek,
especially to that form of it which we find in the sculptures from
Branchidae. They have just the same rudeness, heaviness, and stiff
formality. It is difficult to judge of their execution, as they have
mostly suffered great injury from the hand of man, or from the weather;
but the royal statue here represented, which is in better preservation
than any other Assyrian work "in the round" that has come down to us,
exhibits a rather high finish. It is smaller than life, being about
three and a half feet high: the features are majestic, and well marked;
the hair and beard are elaborately curled; the arms and hands are well
shaped, and finished with care. The dress is fringed elaborately, and
descends to the ground, concealing all the lower part of the figure. The
only statues recovered besides these are two of the god Nebo, brought
from Nimrud, a mutilated one of Ishtar, or Astarte, found at Koyunjik
[PLATE LXIII., Fig. 3], and a tolerably perfect one of Sargon, which was
discovered at Idalium, in the island of Cyprus.

The clay statuettes of the Assyrians possess even less artistic merit
than their statues. They are chiefly images of gods or genii, and have
most commonly something grotesque in their appearance. Among the most
usual are figures which represent either Mylitta (Bettis), or Ishtar.
They are made in a fine terra cotta, which has turned of a pale red in
baking, and are colored with a cretaceous coating, so as greatly to
resemble Greek pottery. Another type is that of an old man, bearded, and
with hands clasped, which we may perhaps identify with Nebo, the
Assyrian Mercury, since his statues in the British Museum have a
somewhat similar character. Other forms are the fish-god Nin, or Nin-ip
[PLATE LXIV., Fig. 1]; and the deities, not yet identified, which were
found by M. Botta under the pavement-bricks at Khorsahad. [PLATE LXIV.,
Fig. 2.] These specimens have the formal character of the statues, and
are even more rudely shaped. Other examples, which carry the grotesque
to