Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c13.s6.29

c13.s6.29

The stone statues of Vema and Kanishka confirm the portraits on their coins. The headless statue (ht. 6' 10", square base 3' 3") of Vema shows the emperor seated on a lion-throne holding in right hand a sword in front of the breast and the left hand placed on a scabbard laid across the knees. The enthroned monarch is dressed in a long sleeved tunic with a richly embroidered border nearly three inches broad shown running down the breast in a double band and continued over the knees and the heads of lions on the throne. The right sleeve shows similar ornamentation. The tunic is bespangled with little rosettes. Under it was another short coat indicated near the neck. The legs were covered by heavily folded trousers and the feet by thickly padded boots decorated with a vine pattern three inches wide rising from the toes upwards. This was the characteristic northern dress (udīchya veśa) worn by the Scythians which is repeated on many other sculptures at Mathura and also seen in a couple of guardian figures at Bharhut and Sanchi. An inscription on the top of the foot-stool (pāda-pīṭha) refers to Mahārāja rājātirāja devaputra Kushāṇaputra Shāhi Vema takshama in which Vema is the name of the monarch and takshama his title, an Old-Iranian word meaning strong or brave. From the viewpoint of art this statue is a superb creation representing the best qualities of portraiture combining a rare dignity and matter-of-fact style. [Fig. 157].