irable beauty. On each
were seen captives, chained in all sorts of fashions, but
chained only by little Loves, unsurpassably executed. As for
the figure itself, it represented a girl about eighteen
years old, but one of surprising and perfect beauty. Every
feature of the face was marvellously fine;[176] her figure
was at once so noble and so graceful that nothing more
elegant[177] could be seen; and her dress was at once so
handsome and so unusual, that it had something of each of
the usual garbs of Tyrian ladies, of nymphs, and of
goddesses; but more particularly that of the Wingless
Victory, as represented by the Athenians, with a simple
laurel crown on her head. This statue was so well set on its
base, and had such lively action, that it seemed actually
animated; the face, the throat, the arms, and the hands were
of white marble, as were the legs and feet, which were
partly visible between the laces of the buskins she wore,
and which were to be seen because, with her left hand, she
lifted her gown a little, as if to walk more easily. With
her right she held back a veil, fastened behind her head
under the crown of laurel, as though to prevent its being
carried away by the breeze, which seemed to agitate it. The
whole of the drapery of the figure was made of
divers-coloured marbles and jaspers; and, in particular, the
gown of this fair Phoenician, falling in a thousand graceful
folds, which still did not hide the exact proportion of her
body, was of jasper, of a colour so deep that it almost
rivalled Tyrian purple itself. A scarf, which passed
negligently round her neck, and was fastened on the
shoulder, was of a kind of marble, streaked with blue and
white, which was very agreeable to the eye. The veil was of
the same substance; but sculptured so artfully that it
seemed as soft as mere gauze. The laurel crown was of green
jasper, and the buskins, as well as the sash she wore, were,
again of different hues. This sash brought together all the
folds of the gown over the hips; below, they fell again more
carelessly, and still showed the beauty of her figure. But
what was most worthy of admiration in the whole piece was
the spirit which animated it, and almost persuaded the
spectators that she was just about to walk and talk. The