Chapter VII Jewish Art
Palestine, which unites Syria to Egypt, was inhabited by numerous Semitic and Canaanitish tribes which have left us very meagre remains of their art. Like that of the Hittites, this art drew its inspiration both from Assyria and Egypt, though it never did more than imperfectly imitate them. Pharaonic influence is, however, more deeply to be felt here than among the Hittites, since Palestine was nearer to the valley of the Nile. The most important inhabitants of this region were the Jews, and in spite of the poverty of our archæological documents, numerous scholars have, for three centuries, taken a special interest in the works of this people who played so extraordinary a part on the stage of the world. It must be added that almost all these researches have been concentrated upon the exploration of the Temple of Jerusalem and its furniture, which in fact were the highest effort of Jewish art; and though the monuments themselves are no longer in our hands or before our eyes, there is not a single edifice in all oriental or classical antiquity of which we possess written descriptions so circumstantial and so numerous. A hundred restorations of the Temple, taking these as their basis, have been attempted; the least complicated system, and that which has obtained the greatest scientific credit, is that of M. de Vogüé. We will correct and complete it by means of the more recent researches of English explorers. Accordingly, all the art of Palestine being concentrated in the Temple of Jerusalem and its furniture, we shall only speak incidentally of the few other ruins anterior to the Macedonian epoch that have been remarked, whether in Judæa or among other nations of southern Syria, and even among the Nabatæan Arabs.