Maurya and Shunga Art c16.8

c16.8

Fig. 7. Lauriya-Nandangarh. Single lion 'recouchant' crowning the capital of an Aśoka column. Compared to the Basarh-Bakhira lion the present example is more tense and tight, surface treatment is also more clear and precise, but stylisation is on the increase; both form and treatment tend to be more conventional. The Rampurva lion, though earlier by a year, shows decided advance in the clear and precise cutting of the stone, in general finish, in the feeling for form and in linear rhythm. Modelling is also more powerful and vigorous, The Rampurva example, artistically speaking, is even superior to the Sarnath quadripartite. The Lauriya-Nandangarh specimen is, comparatively speaking, thin and clumsy. C. 243 B. C. Photo : A. S. I.