Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 2.djvu/251

CHAPTER III. GEMS. AN intaglio is nothing but a small bas-relief reversed, and he who executes it can only be looked upon as a sculptor working under particular conditions. We shall, therefore, find in the glyptic monuments of Phoenicia the same characteristics as those we have already studied in larger works. Both in the forms of seals and in the figures cut in them, the signs of an eclectic art, of an art at once sterile and prolific, which found it easier to borrow than to invent, may be readily traced. This perpetual bent towards imitation had one curious result : the copies are sometimes made with so much skill that we can hardly distinguish them from the originals. The archaeologist does not want to be duped by these pasticcios, but when he seeks to shake himself free of the embarrassment thus caused, he cannot depend upon those facts and indications which help him when works of sculpture proper are in question. Such things as rings, cones, and scarabs, travel easily, and information as to where and how they were found is often wanting and nearly always untrust- worthy. Even where the evidence of witnesses to a find may be thoroughly relied upon, it is of little value except in the case of large deposits of gems of one character and class of execution. The provenance of a statue may often be divined from its material, but the hard stones from which gems are cut are found in many countries, and when they are wanting they can be easily imported in lumps each of which will yield many intaglios. It is evident, then, that this question of origin is surrounded by many difficulties ; the real way to decide it is to study the details of the finished gem with great care and minuteness. Sometimes it will bear an inscription ; in that case alphabet and language will