DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5253#0239
RELIEFS FROM LAKEDALMONIA.
207
agreeably filled. A very interesting variation on these reliefs, and bringing new
light on certain points, is one in which the hero appears alone, seated on his
lotos-crowned throne (Fig. 101). The pomegranate and cantJiaros are here, but
the snake has disappeared; and in its place is a trotting-horse, and a dog leap-
ing up on the hero's knees.341 In the older reliefs, the dog sits stiffly by the
side of the throne, —a cold symbol : here he is made to give expression to his
friendly interest; and, although his form is faulty, we are touched by this at-
tempt of the old carver to weave a kindly, loving element into, his work. The
drapery is only partially carved out ; the remainder having, doubtless, been
expressed by color.
We meet this quaint figure again in a relief which may date from soon after
500 B.C. His throne has become more elegant, the hair more natural, the eyes
less oblique ; and we see in the folds of the sleeve some correspondence to the
form of the arm beneath. The enthroned lady holds out her veil less stiffly;
and her hand, enveloped in its folds, is indicated through them. The man is
also in profile ; and, although the folds of his dress are straight, they are no
longer so stiffly parallel : and the whole
relief has come to be an agreeable repre-
sentation.
Out of the small worshippers of the
older scenes, independent types seem to
have grown. Thus, a girl bearing a bud
seems a development of the tiny, uncouth
worshipper of Fig. 100; and how ex-
quisitely such a motive was carried still
farther will be seen in another relief, now
in the Louvre, from Pharsalos (Fig. 130).
On still another of these very archaic
sepulchral reliefs from Arcadia, and now
in Athens, the veiled woman, holding a
flower, occupies a throne alone.3*2 Be-
fore her stands a youth, offering a wreath
to her companion, Of the latter, the
feet alone are left; but, judging from
analogy with later sculptures, there can be no doubt that he appeared reclining,
as at the feast of the dead. In this relief, we see the archaic prototype of a
class of representations which became very common in later times, one of which
is given in Fig. 213. Throughout this series of reliefs from ancient Lakedai-
monia, there is noticeable a striving to subordinate the details, the whole being
divided off into broad planes. We feel that the sculptor was guided by a mathe-
matical principle, which, although harsh and stiff, does not seem to represent a
thoroughly child-like art, groping to find its way, but has a firmness only to be
Fig. 101. Tombstone Relief from Lukedaimonia. Pri-
vate possession.
207
agreeably filled. A very interesting variation on these reliefs, and bringing new
light on certain points, is one in which the hero appears alone, seated on his
lotos-crowned throne (Fig. 101). The pomegranate and cantJiaros are here, but
the snake has disappeared; and in its place is a trotting-horse, and a dog leap-
ing up on the hero's knees.341 In the older reliefs, the dog sits stiffly by the
side of the throne, —a cold symbol : here he is made to give expression to his
friendly interest; and, although his form is faulty, we are touched by this at-
tempt of the old carver to weave a kindly, loving element into, his work. The
drapery is only partially carved out ; the remainder having, doubtless, been
expressed by color.
We meet this quaint figure again in a relief which may date from soon after
500 B.C. His throne has become more elegant, the hair more natural, the eyes
less oblique ; and we see in the folds of the sleeve some correspondence to the
form of the arm beneath. The enthroned lady holds out her veil less stiffly;
and her hand, enveloped in its folds, is indicated through them. The man is
also in profile ; and, although the folds of his dress are straight, they are no
longer so stiffly parallel : and the whole
relief has come to be an agreeable repre-
sentation.
Out of the small worshippers of the
older scenes, independent types seem to
have grown. Thus, a girl bearing a bud
seems a development of the tiny, uncouth
worshipper of Fig. 100; and how ex-
quisitely such a motive was carried still
farther will be seen in another relief, now
in the Louvre, from Pharsalos (Fig. 130).
On still another of these very archaic
sepulchral reliefs from Arcadia, and now
in Athens, the veiled woman, holding a
flower, occupies a throne alone.3*2 Be-
fore her stands a youth, offering a wreath
to her companion, Of the latter, the
feet alone are left; but, judging from
analogy with later sculptures, there can be no doubt that he appeared reclining,
as at the feast of the dead. In this relief, we see the archaic prototype of a
class of representations which became very common in later times, one of which
is given in Fig. 213. Throughout this series of reliefs from ancient Lakedai-
monia, there is noticeable a striving to subordinate the details, the whole being
divided off into broad planes. We feel that the sculptor was guided by a mathe-
matical principle, which, although harsh and stiff, does not seem to represent a
thoroughly child-like art, groping to find its way, but has a firmness only to be
Fig. 101. Tombstone Relief from Lukedaimonia. Pri-
vate possession.