A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c10.s1.30

c10.s1.30

The abundance of modified Corinthian columns, pilasters, and capitals in the art of Gandhāra contrasts strongly with the total lack of Doric and the extreme rarity of Ionic forms. Most of the Gandhāran friezes exhibit representations of columns or pilasters with capitals more or less related to those of the Corinthian order, and which may be fairly called Indo-Corinthian. The shafts, whether round or square, are never fluted, and resemble those of the second or third century after Christ at Palmyra and Baalbec. The bases of structural pillars have been found at Jamālgarai only, and show that the shaft might be either cylindrical or square. The conviction of the architects that the form of column used concerned merely the decoration of a façade is well illustrated by the often-published slab from Muhammad Nari, on which Persepolitan columns are mixed up with Indo-Corinthian pilasters (Plate XXIV).