been already given. They usually contain a star or
scarab in the centre, beyond which is a series of bands or borders,
patterned most commonly with figures. [PLATE LXXVI., Fig 1.] It is
impossible to give an adequate idea of the delicacy and spirit of the
drawings, or of the variety and elegance of the other patterns, in a
work of moderate dimensions like the present. Mr. Layard, in his Second
Series of "Monuments," has done justice to the subject by pictorial
representation, while in his "Nineveh and Babylon" he has described the
more important of the vessels separately. The curious student will do
well to consult these two works, after which he may examine with
advantage the originals in the British Museum.

[Illustration: PLATE 76]

One of the most remarkable features observable in this whole series of
monuments, is its semi-Egyptian character. The occurrence of the scarab
has been just noticed. It appears on the bowls frequently, as do
sphinxes of an Egyptian type; while sometimes heads and head-dresses
purely Egyptian are found, as in [PLATE LXXVI., Fig. 2], which are
well-known forms, and have nothing Assyrian about them and in one or two
instances we meet with hieroglyphics, the _onk_ (or symbol of life),

[Illustration: _onk_ on page 223]

the ibis, etc. These facts may seem at first sight to raise a great
question namely, whether, afterall, the art of the Assyrians was really
of home growth, or was not rather imported from the Egyptians, either
directly or by way of Phoenicia. Such a view has been sometimes taken;
but the most cursory study of the Assyrian remains _in chronological
order_, is sufficient to disprove the theory, since it will at once show
that the earliest specimens of Assyrian art are the most un-Egyptian in
character. No doubt there are certain analogies even here, as the
preference for the profile, the stiffness and formality, the ignorance
or disregard of perspective, and the like; but the analogies are exactly
such as would be tolerably sure to occur in the early efforts of any two
races not very dissimilar to one another, while the little resemblances
which alone prove connection, are entirely wanting. These do not appear
until we come to monuments which belong to the time of Sargon, when
direct connection between Egypt and Assyria seems to have begun, and
Egyptian captives are known to have been transported into Mesopotamia in
large numbers. It has been suggested that the entire series