Perry, Walter Copland: Greek and Roman sculpture: a popular introduction to the history of Greek and Roman sculpture (London, 1882)

78

EXTANT WORKS OF ARCHAIC ART.

marble which, with slight reason, is supposed to be the arm of an official
chair. It contains three figures, inscribed respectively with the names of
Agamemnon, Taltkybios, and Efieios, of whom the first is seated, while
the two last stand reverentially behind him, as if in attendance at
some solemn conference of the Greeks at Troy. The frame on the
right of the slab, which is very much broken away, was originally
formed of the scaly neck and open jaws of a horned monster; the
upper border is ornamented with flowers and palm leaves, and the

Fig. 29.

RELIEF OF SAMOTHRACE.

lower one with a simple plait common to Oriental, Greek, and
Etruscan works of art.

In striking contrast to those of the foregoing Dorian reliefs, the
figures are extremely slight and elegant in their proportions, approach-
ing very closely to the types on the earliest painted vases, which our
relief also resembles in the waving lines of the inscriptions. This re-
lief is executed in the most primitive style, and is so low that it is im-
possible to distinguish the right legs of the two attendants from the