In Plate XXIX we have a reproduction of one of the best preserved of these bronze dishes found by Layard at Nimrûd. The griffins which occupy the principal place in the scheme of decoration are entirely Egyptian in conception, while they further wear on their heads the familiar double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The front left hoof of each griffin rests in an almost parental fashion upon the head of a child, who is also clearly Egyptian. Both before, between and behind the griffins, tapering columns such as are frequently found in Egyptian architecture are observable, and in the centre of the space separating the back of one griffin from the back of the nearest animal in the adjoining group, there is a more substantial pillar, the capital of which is shaped to represent a winged scarab. The animals are all beaten out in relief, but the finely chased circles of fleurettes which form the sole decoration of the centre, are the work of the engraver. _PLATE XXIX_ [Illustration: _Photo. Mansell_ _British Museum_ BRONZE BOWL, FROM NIMRÛD] [Illustration: FIG. 42. (After Layard.)] In Fig. 42 on the other hand we have a dish also made of bronze, and found on the same site as the one described above, but it betrays not the slightest trace of Egyptian influence. The motif is one frequently employed in Mesopotamia; the decoration of circular objects by consecutive chains of animals following each other round in a circle was no invention of the Assyrians, for it may be traced back to the earliest Sumerian times. It occurs on the famous silver vase of Entemena (cf. Fig. 45) as well as on the stone mace-head of Mesilim (cf. Fig. 26), which is decorated with a group of wonderfully life-like lions pursuing each other round the mace. In the innermost circle, a troop of gazelles, such as are often seen depicted on cylinder-seals (cf. Fig. 51), march along in file; the middle register forms the circus for a variety of animals all marching in the same direction as the gazelles. A bull, a winged griffin, an ibex and a gazelle, are followed by two bulls who are being attacked by lions, and a griffin, a bull, and a gazelle, who are all respectively being attacked by leopards. In the outermost zone there is a stately procession of realistically conceived bulls marching in the opposite direction to the animals parading in the two inner circles, and thus relieving the otherwise aggressive monotony of the decorations. The preservation of the handle by which it was held or suspended is an additional point of interest. Unfortunately these platters bear no cuneiform inscriptions, though a few of them contain an inscription written in Phœnician characters on the reverse, which is probably an indication that they were fashioned by Phœnician artists, if they were not actually made in Phœnicia itself. As has been already stated, some of the dishes under consideration are clearly Assyrian in art and conception, while others are as certainly Egyptian, but notwithstanding