Besides the unique capitals and bases in Persian art there is not much of the ancient Persian ornament and decoration that does not strongly partake of foreign influences. The upright support of the royal throne (Fig. 256) is distinctly Assyrian in feeling, and the upper horizontal moulding is very like Greek work. A moulding is seen on the upper rounded edges of the staircase (Fig. 246) and on the inner portion of the parapet wall (Fig. 257) of an elongated egg shape, which is one of the rare exceptions of ornament that is really Persian. [Illustration: Fig. 261.—Upper Part of Parapet Wall, Susa. (P. & C.)] The Assyrian daisy, patera, or rosette is a very characteristic ornament in Persian decoration (Figs. 249, 258). This is also a typical ornament in Greek architecture. Two well-known ornamental forms of Assyrian ornament occur on the crowning wall of the staircase of the Palace of Xerxes (Fig. 258), the cone-shaped pine-tree form, and the palmate-crowned tree stem. The prototype of the former may be seen as an ideal rendering from nature of the cypress or pine-tree (Fig. 259) in the Assyrian illustration of a royal park. The contour of this ornament may have reminded the Persian fire-worshippers of the flame shape, which circumstance may have accounted for their fondness for using it so much. The other adjoining palmate ornament is distinctly Assyrian; as also are the daisy borders. A common form of ornament is seen on the enamelled bricks from Susa (Fig. 260) consisting of a double palmate or lotus form of flower, alternating and joined to concentric circles to form a band. Below is an Egyptian chevron rather out of proportion to the rest of the design. The whole thing has a decided Egyptian look, and may be a copy of the enamelled ornament of that country. [Illustration: Fig. 262.—Lion, from the Lion Frieze in Enamelled Bricks at Susa. (P. & C.)] The Persian palaces were richly decorated with enamelled bricks and tiles, in strong blue, orange, white, and brown colouring, as the archer’s and lion’s friezes from Susa (now in the Louvre) testify. These two works are reproduced in colours in Perrot and Chipiez’ “History of Art in Persia.” The upper part of the crenellated parapet wall of the staircase at Susa gives an idea of the extreme richness of the decoration in glazed tiles with enamelled covering (Fig. 261). The Persians learnt their art of enamelling tiles and bricks from the Chaldeans, and they have never lost it. Under the Moslem rule in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the tiles and majolica that were made for the decoration of the mosques reached a high stage of perfection, especially in the colouring. This beauty is seen more particularly in the deep azure grounds, and in their treatment of conventional flower decoration that has never been surpassed in any country. This subject will be further treated in the future notice of modern Persian ornament.