The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c14.36

c14.36

shrines, consisting of a cell—the holy of holies—and an antechamber; but without the splendid halls of worship (*mandapams*) which belong to the larger and more famous ones. It would take volumes to do justice to the intuitive sense of beauty and splendid craftsmanship which they display. A complete study of their structure would be a valuable addition to architectural knowledge, but would form a considerable monograph in itself. In some of them a cone of brickwork, suggestive of the structures shown in the Nineveh bas-relief (fig. 40), forms the core upon which the stone facing of the sikhara is built. Many are built entirely of exceedingly fine brickwork, with cut or moulded ornaments, finished with fine polished stucco.