A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c9.s1.15

c9.s1.15

Within the limits thus determined the artists enjoyed considerable latitude, and in consequence the surviving capitals vary widely in detail. The abacus might be either rectangular or circular so as to suit the form of the sculpture above. The edge of the abacus of the beautiful Lauriyā-Nandangarh pillar is decorated by a row of flying sacred geese in quite low relief. The abaci of the pillars at Allahabad and Sankisa (Fig. 28) and the newly discovered bull pillar at Rāmpurwā exhibit elegant designs composed of the lotus and palmette or honeysuckle. Whatever the device selected, it is invariably well executed, and 'chiselled with that extraordinary precision and accuracy' which characterize the workmanship of the Maurya age, and have never been surpassed in Athens or elsewhere.²