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174 History of Art in Antiquity. at FerQz*Abad with a physiognomy other than that of the Perse- politan exemplars, the imitation referred to above is certainly very clumsily jnainaged, but none the less unquestionable. Niches in the palaces of Darius and Xerxes have a purpose to fulfil ; they play the part of windows closed by shutters, or oftener still of recesses, whereas here their only depth, is that of the feeble relief of their mouldings beyond ^ ^ the wall. More- over, the abnormal width of the arches involved the ne- cessity of enlarging the rectanc^iilar frames ; so that, in one of the cham- bers at least, they are brought so close to each other as to touch at the top, and the effect is far from happy. This never occurs in the buildings whence the types originated (Fig. ^^^^ 88). To judge from the drawings Fig. 87.— Fefflt'AlMtd. Detail of nicbes. Eienktioa and MctiM. r^^^^ ^..A T^:.... Flandin and Coste, rertt mdmmtt Plate XLII. <>• OS tc a n cl 1 J 1 eu - laftjy's pliotograph (accurately reproduced by our drauglitsman), the design of the cavetlo itself has undergone alteration at Feruz-Abad, and does not start, as at Persepolis, with a straight line as a true I"lgy[)tian gorge should, but curves and splays from the first, yielding a profile that lacks the firm and frank character of the model. Finally, the cornice of these doorways and niches has not the remotest connection with that of the Persepolitan entablatures, consisting as it does of a plain tooth ornament and a double band (Fig. 88). It is equally insignificant at Sarvistan, where it occurs twice ; once as crown to the walls, and another time over pendentives. Digitized by Google