Indian Sculpture c8.41

c8.41

20. Same scene as in Fig. 17, on railing pillar, Bodhgayā. First half, first century B.C. The explicitly elaborated scene has dwindled down, and is substituted by a battlemented wall. Its arch-like recess, a compositional factor only, encompasses the easy flow of the kneeling and bowing attitude of Erāpata; no Nāga hood is shown to characterise him as their king; but a flying Kinnara with garland is added, a figure which is not specially connected with the scene. The subject matter is a pretext for experiments in linear and surface composition, just as Fig. 18 demonstrates systematically the manner of showing the reference of objects to each other.