A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c12.s1.70

c12.s1.70

‘The old bell-capital of the Asoka period has now been considerably altered by bands of ornament and the addition of foliated turn-overs. In later times these turn-overs were greatly increased in size, while the body of the bell was lessened until it resembled a water-vessel or *kumbha*, which eventually became its well-known designation. This curious change from the old bell-capital of Asoka to the water-vessel of the mediaeval temples is very clearly traceable in the different examples of the Gupta period.’¹