The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

. . (these) . . . images
THE EARLY ANDHRA PERIOD 99
would approach .
with
similar expectations.' 2 Although their presence
confirms acceptance by the Buddhist Church,
their provocative charms seem almost symbolic
of that world of illusion that the worshipper
leaves behind when he enters the sacred precinct.
The effectiveness of this yakshi and the
figure from the south gate of Sanchi in Boston
[44] does not, in comparison with the Bharhut
yakshi, depend on any closer imitation of a
natural model, but on the sculptor's more successful
realization of form within essentially the
same conceptual framework. The advance is not
within the direction of naturalism, but in the
more plastic articulation of the body itself and
the dynamic vitalization of the form. We have an
even more notable connotation of the quality of
flesh in stone achieved by the essential shapes
and interlockings of smooth convex surfaces
that suggest, rather than describe, the softness
and warmth of a fleshly body. The suggestion of
flesh and the swelling roundness of form is denoted
further by the constricting tightness of
the belt and by the contrast of the straight and
angular tubular limbs with swelling convexities
of bust and pelvis. A sense of vitality is communicated
by the tense twisting of the torso on
its axis. In the frankness of their erotic statement
the SanchI yakshis are a perfect illustration of
the union of spiritual and sensual metaphor that
runs like a thread through all religious art in
India.
43. {left) Sanchi, east gate, yakshi
2>
44. Yakshi from south gate, Sanchi. . a.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts
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