. Persia past and present; a book of travel and research, with more than two hundred illustrations and a map . ptures in thelarger vaulted recess. The first set of bas-reliefs and presumably the oldest, althoughthis is not certain, consists of four figures carved on a smoothedsurface of the rock next to the villa and covering an expanse ofabout eighteen feet by ten. A special interest attaches to thegroup, as I have stated in my Zoroaster, because it has beenthought that the figure to the extreme left may represent theProphet of ancient Iran.^ For that reason I devoted particu-lar attention to
. Persia past and present; a book of travel and research, with more than two hundred illustrations and a map . ptures in thelarger vaulted recess. The first set of bas-reliefs and presumably the oldest, althoughthis is not certain, consists of four figures carved on a smoothedsurface of the rock next to the villa and covering an expanse ofabout eighteen feet by ten. A special interest attaches to thegroup, as I have stated in my Zoroaster, because it has beenthought that the figure to the extreme left may represent theProphet of ancient Iran.^ For that reason I devoted particu-lar attention to it on the occasion of my visit to Tak-iBostan. I shall briefly describe the composition of the sculp-tured gronp.^ The two figures to the right represent personages of royalrank ; the central one is a king who stands with a triumphantair, his left hand on his sword and his right hand grasping a rib- 1 See Justi, Empire of the Persians, ^ See my Zoroaster, pp. 288-294. p. 258; de Morgan, Mission Scienti- ^ Consult in this connection the ac- fique^ 4. 309, 333, and cf. p. 221, below, companying The Nimbus-crowned Figure SASANIAJSr BAS-RELIEFS 217 bon-decked coronet, which he receives from or bestows upon asecond personage of lofty bearing. The latter stands beforehim with the right hand on the chaplet and the left restinggracefully upon the hip. Both figures wear crowns, the centralone a helmet-shaped cap surmounted by the globular adorn-ment commonly seen in the sculptures of the Sasanian kings,but conventionalized here into a bulb, the other wearing amural crown, beneath which thick, flowing hair is seen. Bothfigures have the characteristic Sasanian head-decoration (sar-piisK) of streamers and veil hanging down behind, and theremainder of their ornaments and dress belong also to thatperiod. So much for the two royal personages. Directly behind the central figure stands a third, differingfrom the other two in that he has his head encircled by a haloof rays and his
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