Persepolis paintings perfectly glorious’ was the verdict Prentice Duell cabled from Egypt to James Henry Breasted, founder of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (OI). He had just seen the work American artist Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950) created at the ancient Persian city.
Founded by the Achaemenid king Darius I around 518 BC, Persepolis is home to the impressive remains of columned halls and palaces. The buildings were richly decorated with finely carved reliefs that depict processions, gifts being brought to the king, and lions and bulls in combat. It is these two powerful royal animals, as portrayed in the Apadana (the great audience hall), that we see in Smi
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