Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s27.6

v2.c8.s27.6

The designs *b* and *c* represent a mermaid and a boar-headed man respectively, and have been painted with the same flourishes and colour effect as those shown in the pair of geese. The selection by the painter of these mythical and real animals for his composition was apparently due to their being frequently mentioned in the religious tales extant at the time, though they might have appealed to his imagination by reason of the grotesqueness of their forms as well.