Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c15.29

c15.29

Yet the question then arises was this great marble production, with all its refinements ever a convincing example of the building art, in a word, was it truly and objectively architectural? By its very nature the tumular formation on which it is founded unless it departs materially from its original intention, can never attain that elegance of proportion or grace of form which are the essentials of a finished work of art In its globular mass there could have been little that was rhythmic, or that could arouse real aesthetic satisfaction It contained no interior hall, so that it served no special functional purpose, it merely formed a grand structural foundation on which to picture in form and colour the story of the Great Teacher. The Amaravati stupa could not stand high therefore as an architectural accomplishment, but there is little doubt that for the sheer beauty of its sculptured enrichment, in which aesthetic excellence, dramatic quality, and religious significance were combined, it was unrivalled