DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5066#0453
422 SAITE ART ch. XTH
the Ionians (Eacotis)'—succeeded to the inheritance of
Thebes, Memphis, and Sais, assuredly not for the wel-
fare of the Egyptians. All that they lost, all they were
doomed to lose, turned to the profit of the young and
energetic world in the North. The city grew with
incredible speed; her foundations were laid from the
destroyed temples and monuments of Sa'is, which found
a new destination in the construction of the royal
palaces, temples, fountains, canals, and other public
works. In short, Alexandria became one of the capitals-
of the world.
From this epoch the monuments are absolutely silentr
and there are only isolated inscriptions to be found here
and there, containing perpetual songs of woe. Hence-
forth the source of our knowledge is the inquisitive
Greek, who, travelling in the Nile valley, gathered his
information from ignorant interpreters.
The art of this period is distinguished by a peculiar
beauty, in which we cannot fail to recognise Greek
influence. An extreme neatness of manipulation in
the drawing and lines, in imitation of the best epochs
of art in earlier times, serves for the instant recognition
of the work of this age, the fineness of which often
reminds one of that of the seal-engraver. The little
statues holding a shrine of the Saite dignitary Pa-Tebhur
the monument of Ut'a-Hor-resenet in the Vatican, and
many small objects which now enrich the collection in
the Gizeh Palace, besides numberless statuettes in
bronze, furnish specimens of the refinement and deli-
cacy of the artists' work during the period now in
question. The return to the good old times is proved
by monuments, not few in number, upon which the
representations, both of lifeless objects and of living
creatures, standing out in relief upon a flat surface, call-
to remembrance the masterpieces of the old kingdom-
the Ionians (Eacotis)'—succeeded to the inheritance of
Thebes, Memphis, and Sais, assuredly not for the wel-
fare of the Egyptians. All that they lost, all they were
doomed to lose, turned to the profit of the young and
energetic world in the North. The city grew with
incredible speed; her foundations were laid from the
destroyed temples and monuments of Sa'is, which found
a new destination in the construction of the royal
palaces, temples, fountains, canals, and other public
works. In short, Alexandria became one of the capitals-
of the world.
From this epoch the monuments are absolutely silentr
and there are only isolated inscriptions to be found here
and there, containing perpetual songs of woe. Hence-
forth the source of our knowledge is the inquisitive
Greek, who, travelling in the Nile valley, gathered his
information from ignorant interpreters.
The art of this period is distinguished by a peculiar
beauty, in which we cannot fail to recognise Greek
influence. An extreme neatness of manipulation in
the drawing and lines, in imitation of the best epochs
of art in earlier times, serves for the instant recognition
of the work of this age, the fineness of which often
reminds one of that of the seal-engraver. The little
statues holding a shrine of the Saite dignitary Pa-Tebhur
the monument of Ut'a-Hor-resenet in the Vatican, and
many small objects which now enrich the collection in
the Gizeh Palace, besides numberless statuettes in
bronze, furnish specimens of the refinement and deli-
cacy of the artists' work during the period now in
question. The return to the good old times is proved
by monuments, not few in number, upon which the
representations, both of lifeless objects and of living
creatures, standing out in relief upon a flat surface, call-
to remembrance the masterpieces of the old kingdom-