DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1021#0278
226 THE MYCENAEAN AGE
even more for its material value. Hence, works o£ a cheap
or intrinsically valueless material — such as wood or bone,
or common stone — would be very lig-htly esteemed. In
the later Mycenaean culture, there is a marked advance m
this respect, as attested especially at Vaphio. In the tomb
treasure there we find but few gewgaws. There are no
leaves, nor crosses, nor belts, nor knee-buckles of gold; but
the designs of the engraved gems have a real artistic qual-
ity, and this is true in a yet higher degree of the two gold
cups. This moderation in the offerings of the later graves
we have taken to indicate a growing refinement in notions
of the future life; but this presupposes an advance in gen-
eral refinement, particularly in the sense of beauty. An
outcome of this would be to deepen the love for art in itself
regardless of the material, and so for architectonic decora-
tion by which sculpture was to profit. For it was under
this new inspiration the Lions' Gate was reared with its
stately relief; the Treasury of Atreus and the tomb of Cly-
temnestra, with their ornate architecture j and the Treasury
of Minyas, with its splendid ceiling. At the same time,
graceful vases were shaped out of marble and alabaster,
and then carved with reliefs. And, finally, there was a
great advance in the art of engraving precious stones —■
of which we have but rare examples in the earlier period.
These varied activities afforded work for the chisel, and
enabled sculpture speedily to recover lost ground and pres-
ently to rival the goldsmith's art. On the purely material
side of his art, the sculptor of the later period knows how
to saw, cut, and drill the harder varieties of stone, so that
he is no longer driven to employ the soft shelly limestone
of his predecessors. In their design and execution, the
architectural decorations and reliefs show correct model-
ing, grace and a plastic character in no way inferior to the
even more for its material value. Hence, works o£ a cheap
or intrinsically valueless material — such as wood or bone,
or common stone — would be very lig-htly esteemed. In
the later Mycenaean culture, there is a marked advance m
this respect, as attested especially at Vaphio. In the tomb
treasure there we find but few gewgaws. There are no
leaves, nor crosses, nor belts, nor knee-buckles of gold; but
the designs of the engraved gems have a real artistic qual-
ity, and this is true in a yet higher degree of the two gold
cups. This moderation in the offerings of the later graves
we have taken to indicate a growing refinement in notions
of the future life; but this presupposes an advance in gen-
eral refinement, particularly in the sense of beauty. An
outcome of this would be to deepen the love for art in itself
regardless of the material, and so for architectonic decora-
tion by which sculpture was to profit. For it was under
this new inspiration the Lions' Gate was reared with its
stately relief; the Treasury of Atreus and the tomb of Cly-
temnestra, with their ornate architecture j and the Treasury
of Minyas, with its splendid ceiling. At the same time,
graceful vases were shaped out of marble and alabaster,
and then carved with reliefs. And, finally, there was a
great advance in the art of engraving precious stones —■
of which we have but rare examples in the earlier period.
These varied activities afforded work for the chisel, and
enabled sculpture speedily to recover lost ground and pres-
ently to rival the goldsmith's art. On the purely material
side of his art, the sculptor of the later period knows how
to saw, cut, and drill the harder varieties of stone, so that
he is no longer driven to employ the soft shelly limestone
of his predecessors. In their design and execution, the
architectural decorations and reliefs show correct model-
ing, grace and a plastic character in no way inferior to the