Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c11.152

c11.152

We have already seen in the case of the Chandragupta Sabhā that its architectural planning, conception of pillars, wooden roofing and floor and the shining polish were in the true Indian tradition. The testimony of the Greek writers that the Mauryan palace was much superior in all respects to the Achaemenian palaces at Susa and Akhabatana is strong enough to rule out the participation of foreign artists in the building of the palace; if they were from Iran, they should have done better in their home. The masters who executed the rock-cut caves in the Barabar hills were perfect adepts in the technique of wooden construction, in the matter of flat and vaulted roofs, circular and rectangular halls, doorway, sloping jambs, arched gable façade, beams, and last but not the least, producing the mirror like polish on all the parts of the building. The art was decked by long traditional experience and technical skill practised for thousands of years right from the Vedic time.