Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c15.23

c15.23

Records of its plan together with fragmentary accounts of its dimensions have been preserved, but of its shape, proportions, and composition as a whole, little evidence of a material nature exists. From such meagre data it would seem almost a hopeless task to attempt to recreate the appearance of this monument, and thus to recapture some of its former physical and spiritual splendour, were it not for one remarkable fact. It was the practice to include in the carved decorations of the stupa, small duplicate copies of itself in bas-relief, showing clearly and in full detail exactly what the main structure was like. Certain portions of the ornamental scheme consisted of a series of panels in the form of a frieze or dado, each panel containing a conventional but quite definite representation of the stupa, the intention being to combine an appropriate design with the merit of endless repetitions of the same immaculate symbol. With these as a guide a fairly accurate conjectural restoration of the building becomes possible. (Plates XXXV and XXXVI).