Indian Sculpture c5.s3.t2.23

c5.s3.t2.23

The entire relief-panel as such is frequently sunk into the bottom of a three-sided recess (for rudiments of this treatment see Bhājā and Udayagiri). The two projecting side-faces, as well as the one above, delimit the depth of this totality, which is much higher than the foremost surface of the carved figures of the actual relief. Frequently, moreover, the sunk panel is flanked by projecting pilasters, so that the sculptures dwell in a stepped and twofold recess.136 They are set back into depth, and in front of them a figureless compartment acts as a reservoir of atmosphere. This shifting of the relief behind an atmospheric reservoir, back into depth, is quite different from what was done about the same time by the craftsmen at Māmallapuram (p. 81), who showed the scene of the relief as if coming forth from the undefined mass. Yet in either case the relief, in its main artistic effect and significance, is no longer contained within the tangible extension of the carved surface.