The west, or principal wall, facing the entrance, is divided into two large subjects, each containing two figures the size of life. In the division to the right, Rameses II worships Ra; in the division to the left, he worships Amen-Ra; thus following the order observed in the other two temples, where the subjects relating to Amen-Ra occupy the left half and the subjects relating to Ra occupy the right half of each structure. An upright ensign surmounted by an exquisitely drawn and colored head of Horus Aroëris separates these two subjects.[131] In the subject to the right, Rameses, wearing the red and white pschent, presents an offering of two small aryballos vases without handles. The vases are painted blue and are probably intended to represent lapis lazuli; a substance much prized by the ancient Egyptians and known to them by the name of _khesbet_. The king’s necklace, armlets and bracelets are also blue. Ra sits enthroned, holding in one hand the “ankh,” or crux ansata, emblem of life, and in the other the greyhound-headed[132] scepter of the [Illustration: anch] gods. He is hawk-headed and crowned with the sun-disk and asp. His flesh is painted bright Venetian red. He wears a pectoral ornament; a rich necklace of alternate vermilion and black drops; and a golden-yellow belt studded with red and black stones. The throne, which stands on a blue platform, is painted in stripes of red, blue and white. The platform is decorated with a row of gold-colored stars and “ankh” emblems picked out with red. At the foot of this platform, between the god and the king, stands a small altar, on which are placed the usual blue lotus with red stalk and a spouted libation vessel. To the left of the Horus ensign, seated back to back with Ra upon a similar throne, sits Amen-Ra--of all Egyptian gods the most terrible to look upon--with his blue-black complexion, his corselet of golden chain-armor, and his head-dress of towering plumes.[133] Here the wonderful preservation of the surface enabled one to see by what means the ancient artists were wont to produce this singular blue-black effect of color. It was evident that the flesh of the god had first been laid in with dead black, and then colored over with a dry, powdery cobalt-blue, through which the black remained partially visible. He carries in one hand the ankh, and in the other the greyhound-headed scepter. To him advances the king, his right hand uplifted, and in his left a small basket containing a votive statuette of Ma, the goddess of truth and justice. Ma is, however, shorn of her distinctive feather, and holds the jackal-headed staff instead of the customary crux ansata. As portraiture, there is not much to be said for any of these heads of Rameses II; but the features bear a certain resemblance to the well-known profile of the king; the action of the figure is graceful and animated; and the drawing displays in all its purity the firm and flowing line of Egyptian draughtsmanship.