A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c9.s1.14

c9.s1.14

The best evidence of the state of the art of sculpture, both in relief and in the round, during the reign of the great emperor is afforded by the capitals of the numerous monolithic columns erected between 250 B. C. and the end of the reign in 232 B. C., as briefly described and illustrated in Chapter II (*ante*, p. 20, Plate II). The capital of each pillar, like the shaft, was monolithic, comprising three principal members, namely, a Persepolitan bell, abacus, and crowning sculpture in the round. The junction between the shaft and the abacus was marked by a necking, the edge of the abacus was decorated with bas-relief designs, and the crowning sculpture was occasionally a sacred symbol, such as a wheel, or more commonly a symbolical animal, or group of animals. Sometimes the inanimate and animal symbols were combined.