Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c3: Preface

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c3

Language: English

Preface

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STUDENTS of Art have already been familiarized with the paintings of Ajanta, first through the excellent copies made by Major R. Gill in earlier days (1844-63), and again through those executed by Mr. John Griffiths and Lady Herringham more recently, and published in splendid volumes—by the former in *The Paintings in the Buddhist Cave Temples of Ajanta*, and by the latter in *The Ajanta Frescoes*. These copies have proved of inestimable value in giving the world a general idea of the paintings, and, being accompanied by most carefully written essays on the history and artistic import of the frescoes, these admirable volumes will long be studied with advantage by every one interested in Indian Art.

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Notwithstanding their merits, these copies have not fully satisfied the connoisseur. For one thing the leanings and characteristics of the copyist have crept into them, and for another the technique of the original frescoes has been found too vigorous to be reproduced faithfully in a less pronounced medium. On the latter point the opinion of Lady Herringham, who spent several years in copying the frescoes on the spot, is decisive. She writes: ‘In reality the technique of the original work is so sure and perfect that none of us were good enough executants to repeat it,’ and further: ‘Most of it has a kind of emphatic, passionate force, a marked technical skill, very difficult to suggest in copies done in a slighter medium.’¹

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¹ *Ajanta Frescoes*, pp. 17-18.

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The Government of His Exalted Highness the Nizam, in whose dominions Ajanta is situated, have evinced no small solicitude to procure *faithful* copies of the frescoes, and in 1915, shortly after the creation of the Archaeological Department at Hyderabad, they were pleased to appoint an artist, Mr. Syed Ahmad, who had received his training under Lady Herringham, to copy the frescoes with greater fidelity to the originals. Mr. Syed Ahmad’s efforts in this respect have been crowned with a fair amount of success, for his copies as regards tone are distinctly superior to those made by previous artists. Art enthusiasts, however, have continued to crave for absolutely faithful copies, which they suggest are possible only by a mechanical process, such as colour photography, a method which has made great progress in recent times.

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The proposal for the reproduction of the frescoes by colour photography, although most welcome to His Exalted Highness’s Government, at first appeared impracticable, for through the neglect of centuries moisture and dirt had formed a crust over the paintings, which it was difficult to remove owing to the varnish which some archaeologists and artists had laid on the paintings with the idea of brightening their detail and safeguarding them from climatic effects. These injudicious measures, although undertaken with good intentions, have, in the course of a quarter of a century, not only made the fine brushwork of the frescoes more indistinct, but have in some cases, where the varnish was of a bad quality (copal) and where the dirt had not been removed beforehand from the fresco, converted the entire painting into

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a dingy smear. Thanks, however, to the generosity of His Exalted Highness the Nizam, and to the genuine interest and courteous help of the late Lord Curzon, Sir Rennell Rodd, the Ambassador of His Britannic Majesty in Rome, secured two expert *restaurateurs*, Professor Lorenzo Cecconi and Count Orsini, to clean the frescoes from the clotted mass of varnish and dirt which had in some cases affected even the colours beneath. The Italian experts worked at Ajanta for two seasons (1920-1 and 1921-2), and their efforts in cleaning the frescoes proved eminently successful, except in a few places in Caves XVI and XVII, where the varnish had penetrated into the colours and any attempt to remove it resulted in total obliteration of the colours themselves.

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After the cleaning of the frescoes so far as was practicable, the next step was to bring out to Ajanta an expert in colour photography. In the beginning Mr. O. H. Browne, of the Hyderabad Electricity Department, kindly made some experiments; but later the services of Mr. E. L. Vasey, a British expert, were recommended by Sir John Marshall and Sir Aurel Stein, who, it may be added parenthetically, have advised the Archaeological Department of Hyderabad most willingly at every stage of this scheme. The recommendation was readily accepted by His Exalted Highness's Government, and Mr. Vasey was engaged for five months, during which time he photographed nearly all the frescoes which have survived the ravages of time and have recently been thoroughly conserved.

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The negatives prepared by Mr. Vasey form the basis of the plates incorporated in the present publication. The colour-plates have been made and printed by the well-known firm of Messrs. Henry Stone & Son, Ltd., of Banbury and London, while the monochrome plates have been reproduced by the Oxford University Press under the able direction of Mr. John Johnson. The selection of colour subjects has been limited by the requirements of their being distinct in the originals, but the monochrome plates include almost every painting which survives on the rock-walls of Ajanta; and in a few cases, where even the design had been found too far obliterated for reproduction by photography, Mr. Syed Ahmad, our artist, has traced it, to the best of his vision and skill, and his copies are included in the Plates. For purposes of detail some subjects reproduced in colour have been repeated on a larger scale in monochrome, for some authorities consider that the black and white reproductions give a better idea of the original drawing of the frescoes. The work will comprise four parts: the first part, now issued, deals with the frescoes in Cave I only.

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It must also be added that reproduction of the frescoes by colour photography, highly costly and difficult as the undertaking was, would never have been accomplished but for the judicious and able handling of the scheme by Sir Akbar Hydari (Nawab Hydar Nawaz Jung Bahadur), first in his capacity as Secretary to His Exalted Highness's Government in the Archaeological Department and later as Finance Member. Sir Akbar Hydari's love for Ajanta has become almost proverbial, and his name will long be associated with the work carried out there during the last decade and a half. It is only right to mention in this

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connexion also the name of Nawab Akbar Yar Jung Bahadur, the distinguished successor to Sir Akbar Hydari as Secretary to the Government in the Archaeological Department, who has displayed a keen interest in this scheme and has supported it warmly throughout.

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As the publication of the Plates would have been incomplete without an explanatory account of the frescoes, I have ventured to describe them; but not in the spirit of an expert in Buddhist lore or as an adept in the technicalities of Art. My acquaintance with them, as Director of Archaeology, Hyderabad, however, is deep and intimate, since I have had to watch and study them unremittingly. The reader, it is hoped, will find the Introductory Essay, written by Mr. Laurence Binyon, than whom there is perhaps no greater authority on the art of the East at the present time, of extraordinary value and interest in appreciating the merits of these marvellous frescoes.

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The correction of proofs, on account of the distance between Ajanta and Banbury, has occupied a long time, but the assistance of Mr. Syed Ahmad and the expert knowledge of Mr. J. A. Milne, C.B.E., have proved most useful, so that difficulties which appeared to be insurmountable in the beginning have been successfully overcome.

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Lastly, my deepest gratitude is due to my esteemed friends, Mr. C. E. A. W. Oldham, C.S.I., and Dr. L. D. Barnett, for reading through the proofs of the Explanatory Text and for making many valuable suggestions.

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G. YAZDANI

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HYDERABAD, DECCAN 1st May, 1930 the Roman world, and the most important events of the reign of Constantine are thus represented as the immediate consequences of his conversion. But the historian, who must be content with the evidence of the times, will not be easily persuaded that the zeal of Constantine was not stimulated by the hope of political advantage, or that the conversion of the empire was not the result of a long and gradual process of change.

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The conversion of Constantine is a subject which has been discussed with great warmth by the historians of the church, and it is not surprising that their opinions should be divided. The panegyrists of the emperor, who were eager to celebrate his piety and his zeal, have represented his conversion as a miraculous event, which was confirmed by the appearance of a cross in the sky, and by the victory which he obtained over his rival Maxentius. The critics, on the other hand, who are less disposed to believe in the supernatural, have sought to explain the conversion of Constantine by the influence of his mother Helena, or by the political necessity of securing the support of the Christians, who were already a powerful and influential body in the empire.

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It is probable that the truth lies between these two extremes, and that the conversion of Constantine was the result of a combination of motives, in which the influence of his mother, the political advantages of the Christian religion, and the genuine conviction of his own mind, all played a part. The character of Constantine was complex and contradictory, and it is not easy to determine the precise nature of his religious beliefs. He was a man of great ambition and of great ability, and he was always ready to adapt his conduct to the circumstances of the time.

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The conversion of Constantine was a turning point in the history of the Roman empire, and it had a profound influence on the development of the Christian church. The emperor, who had once been the persecutor of the Christians, became their protector and their patron, and he used his power to promote the interests of the church and to suppress the pagan religion. The conversion of Constantine was the beginning of a new era in the history of the world, and it is a subject which will continue to be discussed by historians for many years to come.

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The present volume is the first of a series of studies on the history of the English language, which I hope to publish from time to time. It deals with the history of the English language from the earliest times to the end of the Middle English period. The second volume will deal with the history of the English language from the beginning of the Modern English period to the present day.

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In the preparation of this volume I have consulted the works of the leading authorities on the subject, and I have endeavoured to acknowledge my indebtedness to them in the footnotes. I have also made use of the results of my own researches, which have been carried on for many years.

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