A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c11.s3.10

c11.s3.10

*stūpa*. It is possible that higher bands of decoration may have existed and been wholly destroyed. The railing in the relief has four cross-bars, and not only three as in the real monument. The 'moonstone' at the entrance agrees in form, though not in design, with the Ceylonese examples. The lions and some of the architectural forms are survivals of the Assyrio-Persian patterns of the Asokan age. The meaning of the five *stelae* or pilasters on the face of the *stūpa* is not known. The worshippers in the central scene adoring the chair occupied only by an object which may be a turban, might have appeared in a Sānchī or Bharhut relief, where images of Buddha are unknown; but here, at the top of the picture, we also find Buddha seated in the conventional *yogī* attitude. The flying figures are not quite successful, having too much the appearance of resting upon solid support. The frieze at the top of the slab contains nearly fifty figures, and the general effect, like that of nearly all the reliefs, is marred by excessive elaboration. But the skill of the artist in design and drawing, and his technical powers of execution, are beyond dispute.