We can scarcely suppose that there was any very material difference, in respect of taste and aesthetic power, between the two cognate nations, or that the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar fell very greatly short of the Assyrians under Asshur-bani-pal.

It is evident that the same subjects--war scenes and hunting scenes--approved themselves to both people; and it is likely that their treatment was not very different.

Even in the matter of color, the contrast was not sharp nor strong; for the Assyrians partially colored their bas-reliefs.
Tho tints chiefly employed by the Babylonians in their colored representations were white, blue, yellow, brown, and black.

The blue was of different shades, sometimes bright and deep, sometimes exceedingly pale.

The yellow was somewhat dull, resembling our yellow ochre.