A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c9.s2.46

c9.s2.46

(Plate I and Fig. 1) and the surrounding railing. The stone railing itself is a perfectly plain copy of a wooden post and rail fence, dating probably from the time of Asoka. The four gateways, a century later, more or less, are covered with masses of sculpture so intricate as almost to defy description in detail. The most ancient portal, the southern, was already prostrate when visited by Captain Fell in 1819; the western one came down between 1850 and 1860; while the northern and eastern gateways have never fallen. All have undergone thorough repairs during recent years, and are now erect. The work on the sculpture, which must have continued for many years, may be assigned approximately to the period between 150 and 100 B. C.