Gardner, Percy: Sculptured tombs of Hellas (London, 1896)

CHAPTER VI

sparta

The group of grave reliefs which constitutes our record
of the customs and beliefs of the Lacedaemonians in regard
to the tomb, a group which is inferior to few sets of ancient
monuments in historical interest, has not very long been known
to the world. Attention was first called to it in 1877 by
Drs. Dressel and Milchhoefer, and it has since then found
a place in all the histories of sculpture.

Of these reliefs the most important and the best preserved
is now in the Museum of Berlin. It was found at Chrysapha
near Sparta. It is represented in one of our plates (II), from
which representation it is possible to gain some notion of the
fashion of its carving- which is remarkable, and has been
generally considered to indicate a hand or a school more
versed in the carving of wood than in the sculpturing of
marble. As in the carving of an onyx, we find several distinct
planes one behind the other, on which are respectively pro-
jected the different parts of the relief, the outlines of each
part being slightly rounded, and the inner markings graven
in shallow lines with a tool. The face and arm of the nearest
figure project most from the background; next, his body; and
so on, layer beyond layer, to the ground of the relief. The
style is rude, hard, and vigorous ; though the capacity of the
artist is narrowly limited, he moves within his limits with