Indian Sculpture c8.36

c8.36

15. ‘The woman, Āsāḍhā, the jackals in a funeral ground (her) kinsman.’181 Part of inside frieze of coping stone, railing of stūpa of Bhārhut. Second half, second century A.D. Indian Museum, Calcutta. Framed by battlement and lotus border on the top, and by a bead chain with bells at the bottom, an undulating lotus stalk carries jewellery and supports the scene. Its movement is freely repeated by the branches of the tree into which the female figure is fitted. Oversecting and foreshortening are employed, but are kept in check by a clear disposition of the surface and its linear connectedness.