Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s17.3

v3.c12.s17.3

THE present subject is a continuation of the last, although it begins after a large gap in the fresco, wherein only one head is left, the rest of the figures representing the royal party having completely decayed. The portion in which the drawing can be made out with certainty first shows an umbrella, and close to it a mango tree. Below the latter are four heads, one of the guard with the special headgear which has been described above (*supra*, p. 25). The two heads below this are probably those of the rājā and of his minister, or of his son. The fourth head is just in front of the trunk of the tree, and can be made out from the turban; otherwise it has almost perished. To the right of these figures is an areca-nut tree, of which the slender trunk and cluster of branches at the top have been painted quite realistically. The mango tree is shown laden with fruit of a round variety.