A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c8.15

c8.15

In the time of the Sunga dynasty the *stūpas* and their appurtenances became more ornate. Sculpture was freely applied to every member of the railing—to the posts, rails, and coping. The standard example of such a sculptured railing of early date is that at Bharhut. Late in the second century of the Christian era, at Amarāvatī, the railing was transformed into a screen covered with stone pictures in comparatively low relief. The sculpture of such highly ornate rails will be discussed in subsequent chapters, and we shall see that various ornamental designs were applied also to the decoration of the *stūpas* themselves. The openings giving access to the procession path inside the railing were dignified by the erection of lofty gateways (*toraṇa*), copied from wooden models, and covered with a profusion of sculpture. The best examples of such gateways are those at Sānchī.