Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/689

ARCHITECTURE C53 of the science of architecture there remain but fragments, though sufficient, with the assis- tance of history, to teach us their antiquity. Throughout the globe we find remains of edifices which proclaim an early possession of certain degrees of architectural knowledge. The most remarkable vestiges of these primitive struc- tures, save the Celtic monuments, were once supposed to be the works of giants or Cyclops like those mentioned in the Odyssey. By whom they were erected, however, is unknown, though they have been attributed to the Pelas- gians. The walla of the cities and of the sa- cred enclosures and tombs were composed of blocks of stone of a polygonal form well adjust- ed. No cement was used, the interstices being filled with small stones. At times they present horizontal layers whose upright joints are vari- ously inclined. Their entrance gates received different forms, the most common being quad- rangular, composed of upright jambs, either perpendicular or inclined, supporting a lintel. Others assume the shape of a pointed arch, the jambs gathering to a point at the summit. Examples also present themselves of truncated pointed archways over the lintel, an arch occa- sionally being constructed to relieve this mem- ber of the superincumbent weight. We are led to suppose that within their city walls the hab- itations were erected without order, a place being reserved in the midst for public assem- blies. Little is known of their domestic archi- tecture, as there exist no vestiges of those pal- aces so highly spoken of by the ancient poets. Perhaps the most interesting of their struc- tures are their circular subterranean chambers styled treasuries ; they present vaulted ceilings, although not constructed on the principle of the arch, the vaulted form being obtained by horizontal annular layers, corbelling inward, and the projecting edges of the stones being taken off after the construction was completed. According to Blouet, they served for tombs as well as for treasuries. Internally they were covered with sheets of bronze. At Mycenae and Tiryns several examples are to be found. One of the most ancient nations known to us who made any considerable progress in the arts of design is the Babylonian. Their most cele- brated monuments were the temple of Belus, the Kasr, the hanging gardens, and the wonder- ful canals Nahar Malca and Pallacopas. From the dimensions of their ruins can be formed an idea of the colossal size of the struc- tures they composed. The material employed in cementing the burned or sun-dried bricks, upon which hieroglyphics are still to be traced, was the mortar produced by nature from the fountains of naphtha and bitumen at the river Is, near Babylon. No entire architectural mon- ument has come down to us from Nineveh, the superb capital of the Assyrians ; nor from the Phoenicians, whose cities, Tyre, Sidon, and others, were adorned with equal magnificence ; nor from the Hebrews, the Syrians, the Philis- tines, and many other nations. Our want of knowledge concerning the architecture of these oriental nations is attributable partly to the devastations of war and partly to the perish- ability of the materials that were employed, such as gypsum, alabaster, wood, terra cotta, and brick, with which their ruins abound. From recent discoveries, we have been able to see the great affinity existing between many of the works of these nations and those of Egypt and Greece ; in their sculptures and ornaments, for example, and in the coloring of the various parts of their structures, which were without doubt polychromatic. Of the very ancient Chinese monuments we have no trace, they having been destroyed by Tsin-Chi-Hoang-Ti upon his ascending the throne. Their pagodas are merely imitations of the design of the nomadic tent. The Chinese wall is one of the most stupendous structures of the world. Japan, Siam, and the islands of the Indian ocean abound in ancient ruins once sacred to the divinities of the Buddhist faith. The Hindoos, in their colossal structures, with their endless sculptured panels, their huge figures, and their astounding intricate ex- cavations, evince a perseverance and indus- try equalled only by the Egyptians. The Hindoo structures are remarkable for their severe and grotesque appearance. The his- tory of the art in other regions and in its later developments may be most convenient- ly treated under several divisions. I. EGYP- TIAN ABCHITECTITKE. The architectural types of all other structures of antiquity sink into insignificance when compared with those of Egypt. The obelisks, pyramids, temples, pal- aces, tombs, and other structures with which that country abounds, are on a colossal scale, and such as can have been executed only by a people far advanced in architectural art, and profoundly versed in the science of mechanics. These works, like the Hindoo structures, were remarkable for their gigantic proportions and massiveness. Intricate and highly painted ri- lievo sculptures or hieroglyphics covered the entire extent of their walls. The earliest works of the Egyptians are their hypogea or spea, wherein their dead were interred, and which served also as subterranean temples. In these excavations, or caves in the flanks of mountains, square piers were reserved in order to support the superincumbent weight. They were covered internally with hieroglyphics and bass-reliefs, enriched with color. Subse- quently temples were constructed in the open air. At Amada exists perhaps the most an- cient example of these temples. It is peculiarly interesting .to archaeologists, as it forms the connecting link between the superb edifices of the Pharaohs and their prototype, the spea. It also furnishes us with the proto-Doric order, combining square pillars with cylindrical col- umns. The plan of the temples constructed by the Egyptians is very similar to that of their hypogea, or caves. They were generally ap- proached by an avenue, on either side of which