A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c12.s1.42

c12.s1.42

the fingers in the position (*mudrā*) associated by canonical rule with the act commemorated. The wheel symbolizing the Law and the five adoring disciples to whom it was first preached are depicted on the pedestal. The woman with a child on the left probably is intended for the pious donor of the image. The beautifully decorated halo characteristic of the period is in marked contrast with the severely plain halos of the Kushān age. The style, marked by refined restraint, is absolutely free from all extravagance or monstrosity. Allowance being made for the Hindu canon prohibiting the display of muscular detail, the modelling must be allowed to display high artistic skill. The angels hovering above may be compared with the similar figures at Dēogarh (*ante*, p. 162). The close-fitting smooth robe is one of the most distinctive marks of the style, which is singularly original and absolutely independent of the Gandhāra school. The composition is so pictorial that it may have been designed after the model of a painted fresco.