A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c17.28

c17.28

Two figures, one on the right and one on the left of the pulpit, identical save in certain minor details, are known conventionally as ‘Bacchus’. Each represents a nude young man facing, standing with the right leg straight and the left leg crossed over it. The body is supported by the left arm, which is twined round the stem of a vine overtopping and surrounding the youth with its foliage. His right hand is raised to the crown of his head (Plate LXXXVI, Fig. A). The pose is precisely the same as that of the Woman and Tree motive in Indian art, and the resemblance between the Mathurā and Aachen figures is so close that, in my judgement, it cannot be accidental. Both must have a common origin, which should be sought in Syria or Asia Minor, from which Egyptian Hellenistic art drew its inspiration. The motive was variously treated in Egypt, and, at least in one case, a woman takes the place of the youth. There is no difficulty in believing in the transference of Alexandrian ideas to India either before or after the Christian era. From Asoka’s time for several centuries intercourse between the ports of Egypt and India was continuous. The cupids, birds, and beasts interspersed in the foliage of the Aachen ivory are also often found in India. Compare, for instance, the Garhwā pillar (*ante*, Fig. 115) and various Mathurā sculptures.