Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c13.s6.7

c13.s6.7

The group from Pali Khera (C 2, Mathura Museum) shows on its obverse all the elements analysed above; and on the reverse the same fat man ‘in a state of helpless intoxication’. But the culmination was reached in the Bacchanalian group from Maholi exposed in 1938 showing a complete Indianisation of the entire subject carved on the two sides and also an aesthetic perfection in the true Mathura style. The sculpture measures 3′ 4″ x 2′ 6″ x 1′ 2″. It supported a bowl, now partially damaged, resting on the top of the trunk of a tree carved in the background. On obverse there are four figures, the middle one showing a graceful female in half kneeling posture, in a drunken mood resting her left hand on the shoulders of a kubjikā girl who has a goblet in her hand. The lady in her drooping posture is being supported by a male figure, obviously her husband, who holds her right hand. In the background is a female attendant, a hermaphrodite (varshadhara), expressing surprise. On the reverse side there is a scene involving four figures in a joyous dance. [Fig. 154].