If the worst of these faults are anywhere overcome, it would seem to be in the land lion-hunt, from which the noble head represented below is taken; and in the river-hunt of the same, beast, found on a slab too much injured to be re-moved, of which a representation is given.

[PLATE LXXIII.] From what appears to have remained of the four figures towards the prow of the boat, we may conclude that there was a good deal of animation here.

The drawing must certainly have been less stiff than usual; and if there is not much variety in the attitudes of the three spearmen in front, at any rate those attitudes contrast well, both with the stillness of the unengaged attendants in the rear, and with the animated but very different attitude of the king.
Before the subject of Assyrian sculpture is dismissed, it is necessary to touch the question whether the Assyrians applied color to statuary, and, if so, in what way and to what extent.

Did they, like the Egyptians, cover the whole surface of the stone with a layer of stucco, and then paint the sculptured parts with strong colors--red, blue, yellow, white, and black?
Or did they, like the Greeks, apply paint to certain portions of their sculptures only, as the hair, eyes, beard and draperies?
Or finally, did they simply leave the stone in its natural condition, like the Italians and the modern sculptors generally?
The present appearance of the sculptures is most in accordance with the last of these three theories, or at any rate with that theory very slightly modified by the second.

The slabs now offer only the faintest and most occasional traces of color.