Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c3.8

v1.c3.8

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.