Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s27.3

v2.c8.s27.3

THE ceiling of the interior of the cave, like the walls, has suffered much from the smoke and heat of the fire, and the result is that the colours and fine brushwork of the beautiful patterns and artistic figures which were painted on the ceiling have much faded, if they have not altogether perished. The variety of these designs is almost endless, representing not only floral patterns, geometrical devices, and jewellery motifs, but a large number of mythical beings, religious objects, and sportive scenes, which throw a flood of light on the rich imagination and technical skill of the painter on the one hand, while on the other they elucidate the religious and domestic life of the time. We have therefore ventured to get five of these designs copied by our artist, Mr. Sayed Ahmad, and as a guarantee of the fact that he has not over-emphasized the beauty of the original drawing of the frescoes by his own artistic imagination, we have reproduced two of the subjects by photographic process in monochrome (Plates XVII *b* and XLIX *d*), reproduction in colour being considered useless owing to the scorched condition of the frescoes.