The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c9.102.1

v1.c9.102.1

**Its general character :** The art of the Uriyās had its foundation on the canons of the *Śilpa Śāstra* which itself deduced them when Indian art had attained a certain pitch of excellence, for it conforms to them in all its main features ; and thus taking a text-book instead of nature for its model, it had an uphill work to exceed the limit of excellence which that text assigned it. The *Śilpa Śāstra*, however, dwelt on the forms, proportions, and features of gods, but it said nothing about ordinary human figures, and the artists had accordingly some liberty in dealing with the latter ; but as gods are only the ideal types of men, the advantage was not considerable. Nevertheless conventional forms are more frequent in the representations of gods than in those of mortals ; and the statues of gods and goddesses in [ 57 ] Orissa, though carved in finer stones and finished with greater care and labour, are less successful as works of art than figures of ordinary men. This is best shown in Illustrations Nos. 63 and 64. The first is taken from a colossal figure of Bhagavatī, “the mother of the universe”, elaborately carved in black chlorite, and placed in one of the principal niches of the Great Tower of Bhuvaneśvara ; and the second, a mere ornamental figure of a dancing girl, in a side niche of the Rājarāṇī Temple ; and yet the mortal is far handsomer and more faithful to nature than the goddess. Illustrations Nos.