Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c10.139

c10.139

"It is still easily recognisable as a vivid representation of the ceremonial attending the presentation of their credentials by the Persian envoys (from Khushru II., King of Persia, to Pulikesin, in the thirty-sixth year of his reign, A.D. 625–6). This picture, in addition to its interest as a contemporary record of unusual political relations between India and Persia, is of the highest value as a landmark in the history of art. It not only fixes the date of some of the most important paintings at Ajanta, and so establishes a standard by which the date of the others can be judged, but it also proves, or goes a long way towards proving, that the Ajanta school of pictorial art was derived directly from Persia and ultimately from Greece."¹