A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c7.40

c7.40

It would be futile to attempt to fix in a scale of precedence the relative rank of the art of India as compared with that of other countries in Asia, not to speak of Europe. Each has its merits and defects. So much may be affirmed with confidence, that Indian art does not deserve all the scorn heaped upon it by Professor Westmacott or all the praise lavished upon it by Mr. Havell. Truth, as usual, lies somewhere between the extremes. Sir C. Purdon Clarke was not far wrong when he wrote: ‘I, whilst giving Indian art a good place among the arts of the world, do not place it in the first rank, except for its eminent suitability to its country and people.’¹