Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c10.33

c10.33

In the Buddhist period, however, this prejudice against portraiture was not so strong, and at Bharhut and Sanchi there are sculptures of semi-divine beings showing a clearly-marked individuality, suggestive of true portraiture. One from Bharhut is illustrated in Plate XXVIII. Among the later Gandharan sculptures in the Lahore Museum and elsewhere, there are many strikingly characteristic heads which are so markedly individual that they are taken by some archæologists to represent portraits of the Gandharan kings; but others consider them to be intended for Bodhisattvas, or for guardian demi-gods.