A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c10.s1.12

c10.s1.12

Without exception, all the sculptures come from Buddhist sites and were executed in the service of the Buddhist religion, so far as is known. No trace of works dedicated to either Jainism or Brahmanical Hinduism has been discovered. Moreover, the subjects treated are not only Buddhist, but purely Indian. Buddha may appear in the guise of Apollo, the god Brahmā in that of St. Peter, or a door-keeper in that of Pallas Athēnē, but however Greek may be the form, the personages and incidents are all Indian, and centre round the person of Buddha, whose image dominates the compositions.