Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/159

Scheme of Study with regard to Hebrew Art. 141 § 3. — Scheme of Study with regard to Hebrew Art. Our plan in studying Jewish art must necessarily differ from that which we pursued for Assyrian, Babylonian, and Phoenician art. The monuments of the countries to which these arts belong are so plentiful, that they involved divisions and subdivisions ; whereas they are so few in Palestine, that they may be said to begin and end with the temple. This famous sanctuary has been destroyed, as well as the buildings that formerly stood around it ; yet we are not without hopes of being able to present a reconstruction imbued in all its parts, if not with absolute certainty, at least with common sense and reasonable probability. All our efforts will tend to have our method accepted as legiti- mate ; to this end we shall have to adopt a course that may appear long and deviating, albeit each step will bring us to the end in view. We will start with the topography of Jerusalem, notably the temple ; this done, we will stand upon the hill which formed its pedestal, and briefly describe the edifices successively built around it, noting their remains and the dates to which they belong as we proceed. Our individual task will then be confined to submitting and expounding to the reader the plans of M. Chipiez, calling to our aid texts and analogies to be derived from Eastern monuments, in order to confute the objections that might be raised against some of the plans, as well as making appeal to the laws and restrictions imposed upon the builder who understands his business. We shall neglect no detail, archaeological or critical, likely to throw direct or side lights upon the subject ; with archi- tects will rest the onus of pronouncing finally as to the merits or demerits of the restoration considered as a whole. Our closing chapter will deal with the art and industry of the Hebrews exclusive of the temple. If the evidence that we shall have brought to- gether will not materially add to the glory of Israel, it will fit in and complete our picture of Phoenician art ; showing the influence of the latter to have been paramount in the Jordan valley. The copious- ness of the Hebrew literature, better than meagre inscriptions, will enable us to indicate the manners and usages of the natives of Syria ; both in their dwellings, tombs, and places of worship. Their plastic art has almost entirely disappeared ; but they live before us in their characteristic dress, and the physiognomy proper to nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes in the biblical narrative.