Indian Sculpture c9.38

c9.38

The only well-preserved face of a Mauryan stone figure is the one from Dīdargañj. The features and their treatment well agree with those of the terra-cotta heads from Bulandhi Bagh and Buxar. Either of them may be called ‘Mauryan.’ It has been shown with regard to the treatment of the human and animal body in the art of the Indus valley and in Mauryan art of the Ganges valley that the tradition is unbroken. The terra-cotta heads from Buxar and Bulandhi Bagh equally belong to an ancient plastic type (‘Buxar Terra-cottas, Series A,’ No. 7, *Journal of the Bombay Historical Society*, Pl. opposite p. 186 is physiognomically a type by itself). But stylistically they are not on one level with heads in stone or clay of the Indus art, whereas their connection with the head of the Dīdargañj statue is close. One head (*Mohenjo-Daro*, op. cit., Pl. XCV, 23), with a modelled face and heavy in treatment, can be considered a remote ancestor.