A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c14.s2.6

c14.s2.6

The paintings are not necessarily of exactly the same age as the caves which they adorn. The most ancient unquestionably are certain works in Caves IX and X, partially overlaid by later pictures. These earliest paintings are so closely related to the Sānchī sculptures that they may be referred to approximately the same age, about the beginning of the Christian era, or earlier. They may be credited to the patronage of the powerful Āndhra kings of the Deccan, who, even if not themselves Buddhists, certainly put no obstacle in the way of Buddhist worship. So far as appears, no paintings were executed for centuries afterwards. The next in date would seem to be the Buddhas on the pillars in Cave X, with various forms of the nimbus and a style of drapery which brings to mind the sculptures of Gandhāra and early Christian art (Griffiths, Pl. 42, 43). These might be as early as a. d. 350, but may be considerably later.²