Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s5: Flying Figures, Floral Designs, and Other Artistic Motifs
Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s5
- Language
- English
Flying Figures, Floral Designs, and Other Artistic Motifs
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Plates X a-b and XI a-b
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The subject X a is painted in the middle of the ceiling of the veranda, and X b adjoins it towards the left. Both are reproduced in colour. The figures XI a and XI b are delineated to the right of X a, and as they do not show much colour, they are reproduced in monochrome.
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THE ceiling of the veranda of this cave is painted, and shows a large variety of decorative motifs, such as flowers, fruits, birds, fantastic and sportive figures, geometric patterns, and jewellery designs. Among flowers, the lotus is prominent, and several varieties are noticed, but the large white and the blue are the loveliest. The fruits include mangos, pomegranates, and pine-apples, and are painted either as separate bunches, or shown hanging from branches in the midst of very pretty surroundings. Among the birds, parrots, geese, ducks, and cranes may be mentioned, to which the artist, in the zeal of his decorative mood, has sometimes given fanciful forms. The sportive figures include dwarfs, buffoons, jugglers, wine-bibbers, foreigners in quaint dresses, and many similar characters, all admirably portraying the artist's sense of light humour.
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Apart from their decorative merits, these designs exhibit many a nice technical detail. For instance, the effect of light and shade on the skin of human figures is shown by light-yellow and dark-brown washes (Plate X a). Again, in designs in deep tints, such as dark green or dark brown, the outline is marked by white dots, and to bring the subject into relief, the background has been given a still darker tint.
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Among the subjects reproduced, Plate X *a* represents a quarter of the middle panel, showing a pair of flying figures amidst white and green clouds. The delineation of the female figure is extremely graceful; in one hand she holds a double string of pearls with a pendant, as an offering to the Bodhisattva, while she has placed the other hand in a most charming manner on the shoulder of her consort, apparently to support herself. Unfortunately, the heads of both figures are damaged, so the expressions of their faces cannot be studied, but the gesture of the hand of the male figure shows that he is explaining some doctrine of the faith to his consort, who is listening to him with attention, as indicated by the inclination of her head. The poses of the body and the drawing of the limbs show much artistic feeling.
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Below this celestial pair, the panel has a series of decorative bands, among which may be noticed in the Plate a design of white and blue lotus creepers, intertwined and showing the flowers in various stages of bloom. The artist has marked out the petals by red lines, which have been used also to show the stamens of the small flowers. But in painting large white flowers he is more realistic, as he has shown the stamens with fine pale brush-lines, and above them has given a dark shade to indicate pollen. This fine detail has been lost in reproduction, but in the middle of the large flower darkish lines may be noticed.
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A white belt separates this design from another which is rather conventional, combining floral and jewellery patterns. It is, however, most interesting to study the method of the artist, who has marked out the design in white dots on a surface of red ochre. Afterwards, to give the effect of perspective, he has given a darker shade to the background, and has inserted dashes of blue here and there to add colour to the scheme. The design, though apparently most intricate, is very easy to work out once it has been conceived.
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Plate X *b* represents a few more of the large variety of designs with which the ceiling of the veranda is adorned. Among them the blue and white lotus creeper and fruits like pineapples and pomegranates are particularly striking, and the ingenuity of the artist, the prettiness of his detail, and the purity of his colours are highly admirable.
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The Plate shows three more floral designs, each of which is a gem in its own way. There is also a bunch of fruit, probably of the custard apple, but the colours given to the fruit are more fanciful than realistic.
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To the right of this bunch, a greenish band representing the key pattern may also be noticed. Side by side with most elaborate scrolls, there are also very simple devices consisting of check patterns or wheel and star designs, done in black and white, probably to relieve the eye when fatigued by studying the intricate detail of the former subjects.
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Interspersed in such ornamental panels of varied design are sportive figures, and the one reproduced in this Plate (X *b*) is that of a snake-charmer. He is looking upward in an attitude of feigned carelessness, while with his hand he is holding the neck of a hooded cobra, which stands erect from a basket. The crouching pose of the charmer, with one knee bent to the ground, apparently suggests alertness in playing with the snake, but as the head of the figure is damaged, the comic effect of the expression of his face cannot be fully appreciated.
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PLATES X a-b, XI a-b & XII-XIV
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The artist's love of humour is better illustrated in subjects XI a and b. In the former, we see a pair of wine-bibbers, one of whom is apparently a foreigner, as shown by his features and dress. His sunken cheeks and the tuft of beard on his chin have given him a somewhat comic appearance, and although he is offering a cup of wine to his boon companion, the latter, judging by the gesture of his hand, feels more inclined to pull his beard than to take the cup. The dress of the foreigner is also more or less in the style of the jokers of the present day. He is wearing a conical skull cap with a tassel, which is seen hanging behind his head. The coat and trousers are tight, and on his feet are socks with flaring blue stripes. A scarf appears to be tied round the neck, for its borders are seen flying at the back of the figure.
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The other figure is dressed in the same style, but his features present a great contrast to those of the foreigner. The former appears to be an inhabitant of Magadhadeśa, while the latter evidently hails from Bactria or some other neighbouring country. In the palmy days of Ajanta, votaries would have assembled there from different Buddhist countries, and the artist found ample material for his fantastic studies in the variety of their features and the quaintness of their manners and dresses. In this subject the thick, flowing moustache of the Bihārī and his plump oval face are as typical as the thin moustache, sunken cheeks, and scanty beard of the Bactrian.
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The other subject in this Plate (XI b) represents two pot-bellied friends of dwarfish size, both being in a serio-comic mood. The figure on the right is making a loop with his fingers to denote the dharmacakra or the riddle of life. His companion does not understand the significance of the symbol, and in joke has protruded his middle finger, as vulgar people are apt to do in India to this day. The style in which the aṅgochhā (scarf) is worn round the shoulders by the right figure is very characteristic of the practice of the Bihārī and Oṛiya Brāhmans even now.