Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s18.6

v2.c8.s18.6

The next figure, to the right, is wearing a peculiar head-dress. It may be a striped scarf decorated with embroidery, tied round the head in the style of the women of Palestine. The ribbon-like scrolls seen on her shoulders may be only the ornamented borders of the scarf. Head-gear of this type is frequently to be seen in the sculptures of Ajanta as well as of Ellora, and it may either represent an independent local type, or may have been borrowed from Western Asia through the *Yavanas* who were present in the Deccan in considerable numbers during the early centuries of the Christian era.¹ This head-gear has, however, led some visitors to compare this figure, as well as the one to the right of it, with some of the Madonnas of Europe.