Part III

the tertiary release; and this supposition is borne out by two sculptures, one from the Temple of Apollo EJpicurius at Phigalia (Fig. 44) , and another from 36 ANCIENT AND MODERN METHODS Lycia, Asia: Minor. (Fig. 45.) In these two examples the hand seems to be in the attitude of drawing the bow, with the fingers partially bent on the string, and the thumb Fig. 43. Amazon archer. assisting in holding the arrow ; and this is the form of the tertiary release. ; The earliest Greek release that I have seen is represented Fig. 44. Phigalia. v on a block of stone sent to this country by the Assos Exhibition, and now the property of the" Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It is supposed to date about* 2200 B. C. % Fig. 45. Lycia, Asia Minor. In this figure the hand is vigorously grasping the string, with the first and second fingers abruptly bent, the third and fourth fingers apparently having been broken away. (Fig. 46.) OP ARROW-RELEASE. 1\ 37 If this release really represent a permanent form of shooting, then this form should have been designated the primary release ; but, so far as I have learnedMt seems to be a temporary mode resorted to only under fecial con- ditions. In testing the stiffness of a bow, for example, An the string is grasped in this manner. instance of this is seen on one of the Assyrian slabs, where the king is represented as trying a bow. I was informed by a Zufli chief that when shooting in a great hurry the string was vigorously clutched by three or four fingers, the arrow being held against the first finger by the thumb. The Ainos on the west coast of Yezo also informed me Fig. 46. Assos. * * that when shootingJn great haste the string was clutched in precisely this amnner. In the use of a bow of any strength, the attrition of the string on the fingers must be very severe ; and only a hand as tongh, and as thoroughly calloused as^he paw of an animal, could endure the friction of the string in such a release. For convenience of reference this form may be referred to provisionally as the Archaic release. In abas-relief in marble representing Herakles drawing a bow, a figure of which is given in Kaj'et's Monuments de I'Art Ayitique, it is rather curious that the hand is represented As clutching the string in the vigorous manner iust described. The date of this work is put down as the fourth or fifth century B. C. Doubts have been expressed 38 ANCIENT AND MODERN METHODS as to the genuineness of this work. Dr. Alfred Emerson has expressed his belief in the "American Journal of Archaeology," Vol. i., p. 153, that the work is a modern fraud. Pa. the following number of the Journal MrFurtwangler* defends the work, but would place it not earlier than the first century B. C. He says it is not ar- Grecian. chaic, but archaistic. "Whether the work _be genuine or spurious I am not competent to judge. I may venture to say, however, that the attitude of the shaft-hand is very inaccurate. However absurd the .drawing of the hand often is in these early Greek releases, the artists have rarely failed to adjust the arrow correctly in relation to Fig. 48. Grecian. the bend of the bow and the angle made by the string in tension. In this bas-relief of Herakles, however, the attitude of shooting is one of which no artist capable of making so robust and correct a body and pose would-be guilty, and it certainly lends some weight to the supposition of Dr. Emerson as to the possible character of the work. �3 OE ARROW-RELEASE. A%. 39 The accompanying figures are interesting as/showingthe conventional and even grotesque ways in which the arrow release is often represented on early Grecian vases. Figs. 47 and 48 are copied from Weiner Vorlage Blotter, Series D, Taf. IX, XII. Fig. 47 shows the hand reversed, with the thumb below instead of above. It is possible to shoot an arrow in this way but hardly probable thajb so awkward and unnatural an attitude would be taken. This release is intended to represent the tertiary release. Fig. 48 as drawn is an impossible release, though this release also may be intended to represent the tertiary release, the thumb being straight, and the arrow being held between X Fig. 49. GieoAn. Fig. 60. Grecian. the thumb and fojlfinger, while the second finger, and in Fig. 48 the-sddoiid, third, and fourth fingers are on the string. In Monuments Inedits., Vol. i., Plate li., is figured the famous Chaleldian or Achilles vase, supposed to have been made in the early part of the sixth century B. C. Here the archer is shown left-handed. Assuming the drawing to be correct, the release represents the archaic form (Fig. 49). Anothei release figured in the same volume, Plate xx., may be ''Intended to represent the tertiary release (see Fi"- . 50). On Plate l., Vol. n., of the same work is fig- 40 ANCIENT AND MODERN METHODS ured a Grecian vase of the fourth century B. C, on which are depicted two releases which are probably the tertiary form (Fig 51). On Plate xviii. of the same volume is figured an archaic Etruscan vase on which a curious de- IPig. 51. Grecian. lineation of an archer is given. The bow-hand is so well drawn that one is almost inclined^ to imagine that some mechanical device for releasing the arrow is intended by the curious representation of the shaft-hand (Fig. 52). Three other curious releases are shown in Figs. 53, 54 and Fig. 52. Etruscan, 55, the latter copied from a Greek vase (black figures on red) supposed to be of the sixth century B. C. All these, though incorrectly represented, are probably intended for the tertiary release. Fig. 56 is copied from a figure given in Auserlesene Vaserbilder, representing a Greek vase of i OP ARROW-RELEASE. the sixth century B. C. In this the archer's hsyid most certainly suggests the Mongolian release. It is true the thumb is not bent on the string, but it is bentiwith the second and presumably the first finger pressing against it. Concerning ancient Persian releases, only two have fallen Fig. 53. Grecian, an (bas-relief). under my notice. One is presejveil on a silver cup of the Sassanid Dynasty, fifth cejjMg^fir C. This is figured in Monuments Inedits., VdZm., Plate 51. In this figure the bow is a typical Majchu. The release is unquestion- ably a variety of the Mongolian release, the second and Fig. 55. Grecian. Fig. 56. Grecian. third fingers aiding the thumb, while the index finger is straight and inactive. The hand has attached to it a curious gea/of leather, apparently held by a band about the wrist^ " Whether this suggests a finger- and thumb- 6 42 ANCIENT AND MODERN METHODS guard similar to that used by the Japanese it is difficult to determine. (Fig. 57.) In the Journal of the Eoyal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. VII., Part i., p. 258, 1883, is a communication from. Major General A. Cunningham, entitled "Kelics from AncieilSPersia in Gold, Silver, and Copper." These objects were found on the northern bank of the Oxus. Judging frorn^e coins, the author regards the deposit as having been madwqot later than 180 or 200 years B. C. Among the relics wa.sk, stone cylinder, upon which were represented two Persian srodiers capturing two Scythians. The representations ofkthe hands are too imperfect for one to judge with any jftecision of the character of the release in- tended. The attitude of the hand ih%very case, however, suggests the Mongolian release. T^^bow is short, and of a form similar to the Manchu bow of to-day. It is in- teresting to notice that the Scythians are represented as shooting left-handed, and in this connection to recall the -- advice which Plato gives in regard to archery, that both hands should be taught to draw the bow, adding that the V Scythians draw the bow with either hand. In regard to Chinese archery in ancient times, the classics of China abound in allusions to archery, and there can be no doubt that the release as practiced to-day is identical with the release practiced three thousand years OF ARROW-RELEASE. 43 ago. The Analects of Confucius, the Doctrine] of the Mean, and other ancient writings bear ample testimony to the high esteem in which this manly art was held. In the Shi King, or book of ancient Chinese poetry (translation of Legge) , the following allusions refer to the use of the thumb-ring, which was also called a'thimble, and also &pdn chi, or finger regulator. ^$� " With archer's thimble at his girdle hang.' And again, " Each right thumb wore the metal Concerning Japanese archery methoJi in past times, what little evidencewe have on the subject points to a Mongolian form of release. The archers have always formed a favorite "study for the Japanese artist, and many details of the bow and arrow and attitudes of the archer may be got fromjpld paintings and drawings. The rep- resentations of thj| hand in shooting, though often drawn conventionally ,%are easily interpreted as releasing the ar- row after the Mongolian method. Fig. 58 is copied from a vigorous drawing, showing the attitude of the shafthand in the altitude of release. In the Shinto temple at Miyajima is a picture over two hundred years old, in which the 'archer's hand is shown in the attitude of the ) ? ANCIENT AND MODERN METHODS A Mongolian release. picture of Tanniu, painted one hundred and fifty years ago and supposed to be a copy of a Chinese subject six or seven hundred years old, shows plainly the Mongolian release. In a picture by Keion, seven hundred years old, the archer is represented in the act of wetting with his tongue the tips of the first two fingers flJBhis hand ; and this certainly suggests the Japa- nese fonBlbf the Mongolian release. Among^be Emperor's treasures at Nara is a silver ves- sel supposedly be of the time of Tempei Jingo (765 A. D.), upon wffich is depicted a hunting-scene. Here the release, if correctly depicted, suggests the Mediterranean form. The bowms Mongoloid. The vessel is probably Persian : it is cerflfjjjpto' not Japanese. The earliest allu- sions to Japanese arcfiery are contained in "Kojiki, or Records of Ancient Miners," of which its translator, Mr. Basil Hall Chamberlain, say� : � It is the earliest authentic literary product of that large dii#sion of the human race which has been variously denominfrojd Turanian, Scythian, and Altaic, and even precedes byjat least a century the most ancient extant literary confwsitions of non-Aryan India." These records take us b�^k without question to the 7th century of our era. In this mfrk allusion is made to the heavenly feathered arrow, to the vegetable wax-tree bow and deer bow, and also to the elbow pad. It is diffi- cult to understand the purpose of the elbow pad in arch- ery, assuming the same practice of the bow in ancient times as in present Japanese methods, jilt is difficult to believe that a pad on the elbow was rfeeded to protect that part from the feeble impact of the string. If the pad was a sort of arm-guard surrounding the elbow, then one might surmise the use of a highly strung bow of Mon- golian form held firmly and not permitted to rotate as in the Japanese style. *^ OF ARROW-RELEASE. 45 The peculiar twist given the bow by the Japanese archer is, so far as I know, unique in archery practice. In Siam, a bow of curious construction is used for throwing clay balls. The ball is held in a netting, thefetring of the bow is double, the bow-hand has the thumbpraced vertically against the inside of the bow, so that 4t may A not interfere with the flight of the ball. peculiar twist is given the bow, so that the ball passes free from it. I know of no record to show that the Japanese ever used a bow of this nature ; in the Emperor's treasure- house at Nara, however, is preserved a curious bow nearly a thousand years old, and this is undoubtedly a bow used for throwing clay or stone balls. Instead of a netting to hold the ball there is a perforated leathern piece. This piece is adjusted to the cord a third way down the bow, at about the point from whichjhe Japanese archer dis- charges the arrow. WhetherWie Japanese archer ac- quired this curious twir^Plhe bow to protect the feathers from rubbing against itsdside, or to escape the painful im- pact of the string, or, which is not improbable, acquired this novel twist from fusing the ball-throwing bow it is difficult to determine. In regard to the release practiced by the various tribes in India, I have no information. Through the courtesy of the lamented James Fergus- son, I was permitwfl to examine his large collection of photographs of iKlian Temples ; and in a brief examina- tion of these picmres I discovered a few releases in the sculptures. In me Peroor Temple near Coimbatore, an eight-armed God' is represented as holding upright, be- tween the first and second fingers of the right hand, an arrow. It is impossible to conjecture the form of release in this attitude ; though, if the arrow were carried to the string in this position, the Mediterranean release would be suggested. * 46 ** ANCIENT AND MODERN METHODS 4 On the southwest face of the temple of Halabeed, My- sore, an archer is shown with the arrow already released the attitude of the hand, however, suggests the Mediter- ranean form. In the Valconda, a small, ruined temple near Calamapoor, archers are shown having the tips of all the fingers on the string, in the same position as shown in the later Assyrian release ; and this would indicate the secondary release. These data are altogether too few and vague to deter- mine the form or forms of release of these people. : Concerning ancient methods of archery in America, but little can be said. Probably the most reliable data are to be found in the few Mexican records which survived the shocking desecration by the Catholic Church at the time of the Conquest. 1 < An examination of th| plates of Kingsborough's " Mexi- can Antiquities" reveals a'nUgaber of hunters and warriors armed with bows and arrows, ffhe figures at best are somewhat rudely drawn ; those trlrt are in action have the shaft-hand so poorly drawn that inmost cases it is diffi- cult to make out the release. In, the few drawings in which the attitude of the shaft-hand is clearly shown, the tertiary release is probably indicated. To Mrs. Zelia Nuttall Pinart I am indebted for tracings of archers from the Atlas Duran, Plate i., and Mappe Quinatzin i, Plate iv. These, thougnfcuite as ambiguous as those to be found in Kingsborough's^can only be inter- preted as representing the tertiary release. In the latter & . 1 The fiercely intolerant spirit of the representatives of the church is well illustrated by the language of a letter written by Zumarragaphe chief inquisitor of Mexico, to the Franciscan chapter at Tolosa, in January, 1S31. The words are as follows : "Very reverend Father, be it known to you that we are very busy in the work of converting the heathen; of whom, by the grace of God, upwards of one million have been baptized at the hands of the brethren of the ordjr of our Seraphio Father, Saint Francis; five hundred temples have been levelled to 'the