Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s16: Cherubs, Floral Designs, and Other Decorative Motifs

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s16

Language: English

Cherubs, Floral Designs, and Other Decorative Motifs

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*The painting is on the ceiling of the shrine, and being well preserved, it is reproduced in colour.*

THE arrangement of the subject is the same as that of Plates X a and XXVI; that is, a series of concentric belts enclosed in a square panel with figures in the spandrels, but the exquisiteness of the designs and the luminousness of the colours place this painting among the best specimens of the decorative art of Ajanta. The figures in the corners represent four beautiful cherubs (*Gaṇas*) floating amid clouds and bringing offerings of flowers from heaven to the Buddha. The artist has shown extraordinariness sensitiveness in depicting their movement, and the delineation of their hands and feet is marvellous. The drawing of their bodies is most refined, and the cherubs in their sweet plumpness resemble their analogues in the West during the Renaissance period. The colours are plain, red ochre, yellow ochre, *terra verde*, and lamp-black, but they have been used with such fine taste that the artistic effect is perfect.

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The palms of the cherubs’ hands have been painted red. The only covering which they have on their bodies is a short *dhotī* round their loins, the ends of which are flying in the air, adding to the beauty of the pattern. Two of them are wearing socks, which, contrasted with the scantiness of their dress, gives a comic effect. For the sake of variety the artist has painted each of them in a different pose, but it is frolicsome in each case and harmonizes well with the mirthful expressions of their faces.

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Among the designs of the concentric belts, one represents a lotus-vine in which flowers of various types are shown. The skill of the artist in the representation of the flowers with all the beauty of their form, the delicacy of their petals and stalks, and the charm of their colours, is worthy of great admiration. As the design is so full of richness and colour, the artist has painted a band of simple devices in black and white, apparently to give rest to the eye. Among these motifs some may be symbolical, such as, for example, the four conches joined by a *svastika*-like mark, which represented the esoteric doctrine of the Buddha and was adopted by several sects. Another device represents a pair of posts or a gateway, which may also be symbolical.

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In the darkness of the shrine the magnificent paintings of the ceiling add to the mystery and beauty of the Buddhist doctrine, and the skill of the artists in depicting the joyousness of their spirit, in spite of the apparent gloom and melancholy of their lives, cannot be too highly praised.