The land of the Hittites : $b An account of recent explorations and discoveries in Asia Minor, with descriptions of the Hittite monumentsGarstang, John
History
The land of the Hittites : $b An account of recent explorations and discoveries in Asia Minor, with descriptions of the Hittite monuments
Garstang, John
Hittites; Turkey -- Antiquities
No. xi. The stone which follows is small, and the figure upon it faces
to the right. It is the representation of an archer with bent bow. He is
shown with all the common features of male attire—the tunic, turned-up
shoes, skull-cap, curl, girdle, and dagger. He stands upon his left leg
with the right knee bent, in the act of shooting. This stone is set
upon another below it, in order to bring it up to the required height,
and it brings the inner wall of this recess to an end. The adjoining
wall advances eastward, and consists of five stones decorated with four
subjects.
Nos. xii.-xiii. A stag facing to the right occupies the first two
stones. It is badly drawn. The head and neck are utterly mis-shaped; the
conventions of animal representations are exaggerated, and a lifeless
picture is the result. It is preceded on the third stone by a kid looking
backwards, the carving of which is perhaps more successful, though still
displaying little artistic feeling or application. The muscles are
outlined in the usual fashion.
No. xiv. A different picture, better drawn and better carved, fills the
whole height of the block which follows. The subject here is a winged
lion rampant, whose left paw claws the air, while the right paw is
depressed. A wing rises from his near shoulder and passes behind the
neck. The tail is erect behind the back, ending in a stiff curl. The
muscles of his haunches are suggested with some vitality, but the claws
are exaggerated.
No. xv. The next stone brings this series to an end, the corner having
been rearranged in antiquity by the inclusion of a pedestal. Upon the
face we are considering there is the figure of a man carrying over his
right shoulder what seems to be a large double-headed stone hammer, or
a double axe. He is clad in a short tunic, fringed, shoes with upturned
toes, and a skull-cap so high as to be almost conical. The Hittite curl
is prominent behind his neck; the strong nose may be traced, and a
square-cut beard falls from his chin. He is armed also with a long dagger
shown with the hilt behind the girdle and the blade or sheath projecting
forwards. His legs are bare as usual, and his figure is perhaps unusually
powerful and muscular.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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