Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c13.s3.9

c13.s3.9

The style of Mathura railing gives some indication of its very early date. The carving is all in low relief which is near to wooden prototypes. There is a want of human figures in alto-relievo. One of the very stricking features is that the Uttarakuru motifs of the wishfulfilling trees and creepers producing ornaments, clothes etc. which form such a common feature at Bharhut are completely absent in the Mathura railing pointing to the priority of the religious concept of the latter even to that of Bharhut. The Jaina tradition of the building of the Devanirmita Stūpa also assigns it to very early times, and it is likely that the Stūpa and the railing were put up in the 3rd century B.C.