Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 2.djvu/134

ii2 HISTORY OF ART IN PHOENICIA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES. and would, had it survived, have made the fortune of its. lucky owner. But its size and beauty were fatal. Small objects could be carried about, and turned into money without much danger, but such a statue could not be taken far from where it was found with- out drawing the attention of some Turkish functionary who would have seized it without more ado, and rewarded its finder with a round dozen from the courbash. Suspicions would be aroused that other and perhaps greater treasures had been found at the same time ; the village would be occupied by Turkish troops and the villagers perhaps thrown into prison. To avoid all this the statue was cut up and divided ; it was sold piece-meal, as old copper, in the bazaars of Larnaca and Nicosia, at 5 piastres the oke (about 43 ounces). The head alone was preserved: from the hands of a European of Larnaca it passed into those of M. Borrell at Smyrna. Ross supposes that it found its way to England, but I failed to find it at the British Museum. 1 From Cyprus, then, we have so far obtained nothing but small bronzes, such as the statuette here figured (Fig. 75). The shape of the pointed helmet recalls that of the Egyptian pschent. The movement of the arms suggests an act either of worship or bene- diction, and it is difficult to decide whether the person represented is a deity or a human being. This little figure must be very ancient ; the body is well proportioned, and the advanced leg is firmly modelled, but the extremities are only roughly blocked out ; the hands are formless and the feet absurdly long. 2 Cyprus is rich in plastic clay, which was widely used by her artists at a very early date. The great age of the modeller's art in the country is proved not only by the primitive character of many of the figures found in the grave-yards about Dali, but also by the traditions relative to Cineras. He was not only credited 1 L. Ross, Reisen nach Kos, Halicarnassos, Rhodes und der Insel Cypern, pp. 161 and 163. This forms the fourth volume of his travels in the Greek islands (Reisen auf den Griechischen Inseln], and, like the preceding volumes, contains several plates which are as faithful as the page of a rather small octavo will allow them to be. 2 In the neighbourhood of Tamassos, Ross bought a small bronze representing a P v g m y (Ibid. p. 163). In the Cypriot collection of the British Museum, which is mainly the result of Mr. Lang's explorations at Dali, there are a great number of small bronze statuettes belonging to the same class as M. Piot's figure. They are robed in the same tunic, and covered with the same head-dress. They are catalogued as Kings in Egyptian Costume.