Studies in Indian Art c12.s10.1

c12.s10.1

The head and bust of a female figure in the Lucknow Museum, No. B215(e) is reproduced here as it is more than of ordinary interest. The statue is in the spotted red sandstone of Mathura and was found in one of the mounds at the famous site of Kankali Tila, Mathura. It shows a young woman playing on a syrinx which is made of reeds fastened together in a row and tuned to produce varying notes. This wind instrument is said to have been the invention of Pan, the god of shepherds in classical mythology and therefore known as Pan pipe or Pandean pipe. In the present illustration the number of reeds is eight. They are all of equal length. In the classical pan-pipe they are gradually lessening in length. (Fig. 101).