. A history of art in ancient Egypt . ts where the sphinx avenues terminated, generally at theprincipal entrance of the temple but sometimes at secondarygateways, these portals expanded Into those towering masses whichby their form as well as their size, so greatly impress the travellerwho visits the ruins of ancient Egypt. These masses have by ^ The wall of the principal inclosure at Denderah, that on the north, is not lessthan 33 feet high, and between 30 and 40 thick at the base. Its surface isperfectly smooth and naked, without ornament of any kind, or even rough-cast.(Mariette, Denderah,
. A history of art in ancient Egypt . ts where the sphinx avenues terminated, generally at theprincipal entrance of the temple but sometimes at secondarygateways, these portals expanded Into those towering masses whichby their form as well as their size, so greatly impress the travellerwho visits the ruins of ancient Egypt. These masses have by ^ The wall of the principal inclosure at Denderah, that on the north, is not lessthan 33 feet high, and between 30 and 40 thick at the base. Its surface isperfectly smooth and naked, without ornament of any kind, or even rough-cast.(Mariette, Denderah, p. 27.) At Karnak the bounding walls are in a much worsestate of preservation ; they are ten or twelve centuries older than those of Denderah,and those centuries have had their effect upon the masses of crude brick. Our onlymeans of estimating their original height is by comparing, in the representationsfurnished to us by certain bas-reliefs, the height of walls with that of the pylonson which they abut. 2 Mariette, Karnak, pp. 5, Fig. 206.—Gateway and boundary wall of a temple ; restored by Ch. Chipiez. The Temple under the New Empire. 341 common consent been py/o7is. They seem to have been ingreat favour with the architects of Egypt, who succeeded by theirmeans in rendering their buildings still more original than theywould have been without them.^ The pylon is composed of three parts intimately allied one withanother ; a tall rectangular doorway is flanked on either hand by apyramidal mass rising high above its crown. Both portal andtowers terminate above in that hollow gorge which forms thecornice of nearly all Egyptian buildings. Each angle of thetowers is accentuated by a cylindrical moulding, which adds to thefirmness of its outlines. This moulding bounds all the flatsurfaces of the pylon, which are, moreover, covered with bas-reliefsand paintings. It serves as a frame for all this decoration, which itcuts off from the cornice and from the uneven line which
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1883
