Indian Sculpture c8.145

c8.145

The whole panel, with the suggested tree device on top, is modelled throughout with breadth. The more striking, however, is the decisive linear accent, four times repeated, and of a concave stiffness, of the legs, with knees stretched. Such a treatment is distinct from contemporary sculpture in other parts of the country, where, even if limbs are shown stretched (Figs. 59, 62), the knee is always indicated as a joint which ensures pliability. An inorganic treatment, like that of the legs of the Nāgarī figures, appears as a foreign element in classical Indian sculpture.