The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c11.s1.177

c11.s1.177

Any special inquiry would lead us, we believe, to this double conclusion : on the one hand, the close filiation of the Javanese Buddhist images in relation to their Indian prototypes, and, on the other hand, their more or less distant kinship with the Tibetan, Chinese, or Japanese idols, derived from the same origin. If no profound divergence from the composition or style of the common models seems to guarantee to this province of Buddhist iconography any great originality, its interest, on the other hand, promises to extend far beyond the local horizon. It is important for the general advancement of Asiatic studies that it should at last form as a whole the subject of some publication. Not only would the harvest be abundant, but we have carried away the impression that it is ripe and ready to be gathered. It is much to be desired that the enlightened government of the rich colony should provide some Dutch savant with the necessary leisure.