The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c29.118

c29.118

The allied art of sculpture, usually cultivated in India as an accessory to architecture, attained a degree of perfection not recognized until recently. The best examples, indeed, are so good that they may fairly claim the highest rank among the efforts of Indian sculptors. Painting, as exemplified by some of the best frescoes at Ajaṇṭā and the cognate works at Sīgiriya in Ceylon (A. D. 479–97), was practised with equal, or, perhaps, greater success. Certain gold Gupta coins are the only pieces issued by Hindu kings entitled to rank as works of art.