A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c16.s3.1

c16.s3.1

The prevalence in India of the practice of cremation deprives the archaeologist of the chance of obtaining the rich sepulchral deposits so abundant in other countries, and the frequent catastrophes to which nearly every Indian town of importance has been subject have involved the destruction of countless hoards of private wealth. Ancient jewellery of intrinsic value is consequently very rarely found in India. The few examples known are believed to have all come from the relic chambers of *stūpas* or *dāgabas*, in which it was customary to deposit valuables at the time of dedication, in honour of the relics. The most artistic specimens extant are a pair of pendants bought, with other minor articles, from a dealer at Rāwal Pindi, and alleged to come from the site of Taxila, but conjectured by Mr. Marshall to be part of a hoard found in the Yūsufzai subdivision of the Peshāwar District, and to date from the third century of the Christian era. The better preserved pendant is reproduced in Plate LXXIII, Fig. 13.