A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c13.s3.15

c13.s3.15

‘the seventh scene is in all probability the most interesting of the whole series, and in its half a dozen figures gives us both a duel and an execution. The upper pair of men fight with shields and sabres, and their armour, accoutrements, &c., even to the knobs and bosses on their shields, are most carefully delineated, and show that the manufacture of these articles has altered as little during the last eight centuries as that of the musical instruments figured elsewhere. The lower portion of this comprehensive and instructive scene shows a pair of kneeling figures bound hand and foot, while an executioner holds his knife to the neck of the male figure to our left; but the female with him may possibly be a mere witness, though it is pretty clear from the general distribution of action in this trio that she awaits her turn for immolation.’³