History of Indian and Indonesian Art c8.s2.6

c8.s2.6

The Graeco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra must now be discussed in greater detail. The whole subject is highly controversial, and even the most important points at issue depend upon a balance of evidence rather than upon positive data. It will be helpful to distinguish, as M. Foucher has done, the Indian from the Hellenistic elements of the iconography. The former, which predominate, include a part evidently of Indian origin, and another part that belongs to the common Indo-Īrānian inheritance of "Early Asiatic"; for present purposes these can be considered together. The following motifs exemplify those current in pre-Gandhāran Indian art (cf. figs. 85—95): Types and compositions: *Jātakas* (cf. figs. 47 and 93); the Sun god; Atlantes; Indra, Brahmā, and Yakṣas as probable prototypes of Avalokiteśvara, Maitreya, and Vajrapāṇi²; "woman and tree" (*Yakṣī* or *Vṛkṣakā*) motif³; figures of donors; lotus-seat, &c. Architectural forms: *stūpas*⁴; the double-roofed *vihāra*; the *caitya*-window arch; Buddhist railing; "Persepolitan capital"; battlements. Animals: Lion, elephant, bull, horse; winged lion, centaur, and other monsters; *haṁsa*, *garuḍa*, *makara*, &c. Floral: rose-lotus forms; blue-lotus derivatives (palmette and honeysuckle); vine (already at Sāñcī); various trees. Patterns: diaper, dog's tooth, reel and bead, checker, &c. Symbols: lion, elephant, bull, horse; wheel, *triratna*, &c.