“The seven personages in the middle register are all alike. The left hand is lowered and holds a bow with a double curve, while the right brandishes a large curved dagger over the head. Behind the right shoulder the quiver can be seen full of arrows, and the strap worn across the breast. They wear large head-dresses, below which hangs their long hair. The beard is worn long, and from their general appearance they appear to belong to the Semitic races. The tunic which covers the body is confined at the waist by a belt, and falls below the knees, open in front. Although they are carefully studied and rendered with tolerably correct proportions, these figures are far from presenting the artistic qualities of the sculptures on the stela of Naram-Sin. They are stiff, too slender, their limbs are lanky, and their feet disproportionately long. “Notwithstanding these defects, they are superior to Assyrian work, and show that the Elamites possessed artistic instincts to which we are not accustomed among Semitic people of this period.”[111] The inscriptions accompanying these figures are in the Elamite language; they are votive, and refer to the building of temples in honour of various divinities. Thus, possessing no stone for carving bas-reliefs comparable to those of Nineveh, the Susians supplied the deficiency by casting gigantic bas-reliefs in bronze. Their knowledge of metallurgy, which was so marvellously developed, extended yet further: having no means of obtaining great blocks of diorite such as were employed by the Chaldæans for the statue of Gudea at Tello, they demanded of their bronze-founders, statues of that metal, similar to those of their neighbours. They succeeded in producing statues more than life-size at one single casting, in solid bronze. On entering the _Salle Susienne_ at the Louvre, one’s attention is immediately drawn to the bronze statue of queen Napir-Asu, wife of king Untash-Gal, who reigned B.C. 1500. This statue, of which the head unfortunately is lost, is life-size. With outstretched fingers the queen crosses her hands over the breast, on her wrists there are quadruple bracelets, and on the fourth finger of the left hand she is wearing a ring; the anatomical details of the finger-joints are particularly well rendered. The costume consists of a long fringed robe that falls to the feet. The general outline of the skirt is bell-shaped, and is striped and sprinkled with stars, no doubt intended for spangles worked into the tissue. The bodice is tight-fitting, and shows the outlines of the figure; on the shoulder there is a jewelled fibula, and down the length of the sleeves there are elegant clasps. Finally, a large embroidered shawl is thrown over the shoulders; one end hangs in a point in front, like the enormous wing of some bird. It is, indeed, marvellous that such details could be accurately rendered in a statue of solid bronze, weighing I know not how many tons.