English
history of the art of | sculpture in India, from the study of the examples at Sanchi and Amravati, enables us to point with equal certainty to Bactria as the fountain head from which it was * introduced. We can thence follow it through the time when, from being a rude ‘and imitative art, it rose to its highest degree of refinement in the fourth or fifth century of our era, at which time it had also become essentially localized. From that point our history is easy, though somewhat discouraging, from its downward tendency towards the present state of art in India. We are now also able to trace the Yavanas _ step by step, as they penetrated over the Upper Indus, and spread their influence. and their arts across the continent of India to the very shores of the Bay of Bengal, at Cuttack, and Amravati. With almost equal certainty we can follow them as they crossed the bay, and settled themselves in Cambodia and Java. But the people who . did all this were not Greeks themselves, and did not carry with them the Pantheon of Greece or Rome, or the tenets of Christianity. They were a people of Turanian race, and the form of worship they took with them and introduced everywhere was that of Trees and Serpents, fading afterwards into a modified form of Buddhism. * See History of Architecture, by the Author, IT. 455, et sea: Py E35) (4) Tet CEE ee ee ae Sh i = ~ ; i *,7 ; ilies ce ; LE < 3 = ™ - : . : “ome > * *F = . ; a ‘ _ tt 31474 +y YY LY “yY g : BAUWD kk OS P . . m rY YD) Y hg XY nyYY ¥ WAGON a xO y KY ny Y Gurny RANAR AR A HAirepigct A DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. SANCHI TOPE, FRONTISPIECE AND PLATES L. 10 V. TuE frontispiece to the work is an elevation drawn to scale of the Nortiiern - Gateway of the great Tope, as seen from the inside. A photograph of the same - “subject will be found on. Plate VII., and a comparison between the two is not only useful but interesting at starting, as it proves, in addition to their artistic merits, how. exquisitely truthful Colonel Maisey’s rendering is of these complicated subjects, Although reduced in scale to bring it within the size of the page, the drawing adds ‘considerably to our knowledge of the bas-reliefs as reflected in the photograph. The elevation is also useful as showing the relative dimensions of the Gateway as compared with those of the Rail to which it was added. Plates I., II., and III. have already been partially described. The first shows the relative position of all the monuments in the immediate neighbourhood of the ~ great Tope at Sanchi, and includes all those which are referred to in the’ following pages. -The other groups of Topes_at Sondri, Satdhdra, Bhojpur, and Andher, are described in detail by General Cunningham, in his work on the Bhilsa Topes; but as I possess no photographs or information regarding them beyond what is found in his work, they will not again be referred to in these pages. They are principally . interesting in consequence of the relics which were found in the chambers in their interior, which throw considerable light on the history of Topes in general, and the purposes for which they were erected. They are, however, all smaller than those at Sanchi, and very inferior in richness of decoration, so that they.add very little 1 our knowledge of the architecture of the Topes, or the mode in which they were ornamented. They are, besides this, in so ruinous a condition that photography would hardly be available for their css and they possess no sculptured bas- reliefs of any description. Plate II. contains a plan and elevation of the great Tope restored by Lieutenant- Colonel Maisey, from the fragments found by him on the spot. The -details of their restoration and the measurements have already peer even at page 87, and ned not therefore be repeated here. - N2 100 THE TOPE AT SANCHI, Plate III. contains various details in costume, &c., some of which have been referred to already, others will be noticed in the sequel. Plates IV. and V. are complementary to Plate II., and represent the great Tope as photographed by Lieutenant Waterhouse from two slightly varied points of view. The first shows the North Gateway, nearly in front on the right hand, and a side view of the East Gateway on the left. In the foreground, but too much out of focus to enable its details to be distinguished, stand the ruins of the Gateway of the small ‘Tope (No. 8), shown more in detail in Plate XXI., with which it will be described further on. <u Plate V. represents the Tope with the Eastern Gitewny: nearly in front, and the North Gate is seen sideways on the right hand. Between the two is. seen the Rail, which is nearly perfect throughout this quadrant, and enables us to judge of its relative importance as compared with the Tope itself. The berm or platform | from which the dome springs, is also distinctly visible in both these photographs. In neither view is it possible to distinguish any remains of. the stucco which~ once covered the whole of the dome. Fragments of it are still found lying about, sufficient to show that its thickness was about four inches; but there is nothing to enable us to. determiné whether it was painted, or whether it was covered with ornaments in relief, as there is every reason to believe was the case at Amravati. From such representations of Topes as are found among the sculptures at. Sanchi, the inference would rather ‘seem to ‘be that the surface was plain, but that on great festival occasions it was adorned with wreaths and garlands hung on pegs, and it may also have been adorned with tapestries or painted cloths, but so far as can now be seen, not by any permanent decorations. — The Tee and its enclosures have been thrown down, though some fragments of them are still seen lying on the surface of the mound —quite sufficient, apparently, to justify its restoration, as shown in Plate II, Even, however, if no fragments remained, there could be no doubt but that a: Tee once adorned the summit of the monument, — and that it must have been very similar to the one here represented. It is probably quite correct to assert that no Dagoba ever was erected without this igdispensable adjunct, and from the numerous representation we have of it, both at Sanchi and - Amravati, and in other places, we can have little doubt as to its general appearance. Its dimensions are given a Ry the diameter of the platform on the top, irrespective of other, evidence. SA ROR PLATE Vil Ral ‘ Eat Soe ?, h: tt os VERY RA | ; nar oi ht Wa hype Sh aa Le he om \. > . { ~DYXY YLVVYIYXY YH YYAYYMYVYYIYD *y KMYIYKY 1 YY hit ry OR =H ry N AKMALRAK KAMAL AK A AY ALA AAMAAKAN ARKAKAKKAKRAF DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 101 PLATES VI. anv VII. Front AnD Back Views oF THE NorRTHERN GATEWAY. _ Iw describing the- photographs, it will not be necessary to allude to the various sculptures on the pillars of the standing Gateways, as they have all been drawn by Colonel Maisey, and lithographs from his drawings will be described in their proper places further on. Owing, howevér, to the difficulties of getting up to them, none of the horizontal architraves above the Elephant capitals were drawn by him, with the exception of the central ‘piece of the back of the lower architrave of the Northern: Gateway (Plate XXXII.). We are thus left almost wholly to the photographs and Colonel Maisey’s manuscript notes for our knowledge of these, which is to be regretted, as some’ of them appear at least as interesting as any that are drawn.* _ On the right hand projection of the lower architrave, in front, ‘is a conical- es roofed ‘ut, with figures and animals.”+ The face of the stone is so weather-worn, that itis unfortunately impossible from the photographs to add anything to this very meagre description. The hut, however, looks very like a Serpent temple. “On the left-hand projection, huts, with numerous male and female figures, some “© praying and others carrying various implements,” whether Dasyus or Hindus is _ not stated. So far as can be made out, they seer? to belong to the latter class. ©The central compartment has on its right the gateway and buildings of a ‘© walled city, like those in other sculptures. Inside are numerous spectators and * some figures apparently doing homage to two sacred elephants or to their riders. * Near the outside of the gate stands a male personage wearing the Dhoti and large “ Turban” (Hindu) “attended by several figures in respectful attitudes. The Chaori * and Chatta which accompany him mark him either as a & Aang or a saint. There “ are also a number of women with covered jars or vases.’ '. * Next appears a four-horsed chariot of a different shape from those seen else- _* where (see Plate III.). It contains a man dressed as above, and attended by ** Chatta and Chaori bearers (women) and two children with tufts or plumes in their * heads. On the left another stage of the ceremony is apparently represented. The ** same charict is seen unharnessed, the yoke held up by a woman. The two children still occupy it, but the king, or whoever he may be, is standing near the pole with “ his arm stretched over the yoke, and is apparently conferring some grant or gift “to the priest or ascetic (Dasyu) before him, into whose hand he is pouring water, * an ancient mode of sealing a gift. The costume of this last figure is. what is - * T presume the same difficulty which prevented Colonel Maisey from delineating them, prevented General Cunningham from making out these subjects ‘sufficiently to enable him to describe them. No mention of them is made in his work on the Bhilsa Topes. ¢ As all the quotations between inverted commas in these descriptions are from Colonel Maisey’s manuscript notes, this one Bekorency will serve for all.