History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c20.s3.t3.4

v1.c20.s3.t3.4

In the Ajaṇtā caves, the paintings in the 9th and 10th caves are said to be created in 1st or 2nd century B.C. Specimens of paintings of Gupta period can be seen in the other caves of Ajaṇtā, Badāmi Bāg, Chittannavāsal in Tamil Nad, and also in the temples of Kanci and Tanjore at South India. In Ajaṇtā paintings extracts of plants and minerals were made use of in preparing pigments. First, the wall of the caves were prepared with a special *lepa* or coating and then the outline of the figure to be painted was drawn with black lines. Ellora mural paintings and Tanjore paintings of the 11th century are very famous for the beautiful depiction of figures in attractive bright colours and tints.