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

I08 THE EARLY CLASSIC PERIODS
•
53. Relic bowl from Sonari.
London, Victoria and Albert Museum
54. Ivory mirror handle from Pompeii (front).
Naples, Museo Nazionale
55. Ivory mirror handle from Pompeii (back).
Naples, Museo Nazionale
The technique is repousse, with engraving of
the details ofthe interior drawing. A steatite relic
bowl from Sonari [53] is a work that may be associated
with the Early Andhra domination of
the Sanchi region. The design consists of engraved
lotuses embracing the foot of the vessel
and a band of rectangular panels running around
the body of the vase. These compartments are
filled with various animal forms represented by
incision and the shallow cutting away of the
background. The raised surfaces have been
polished and contrast with the greyish core of
the stone. These formalized beast forms suggest
the similarly abstract animals of the railing of
Stupa 2 at Sanchi. 7
Although no examples of jewellery and the
like have survived from the §unga Period, we
can gain some idea of the character of personal
ornaments from the detailed realistic representation
of these accessories from the sculpture at
Bharhut. The devata from this site [29] shows
the deity wearing an elaborate series of necklaces.
These strands appear to be made up of
metal beads, rather than precious stones. At the
centre of each is a little box or casket to contain
amulets or spells to ward off evil forces. As will
be seen later, this type of amulet container persists
in the jewellery of the Kushan Period. The
goddess's adornments include heavy anklets of
a type that persists until Kushan times, and
above these 'stockings' of thin bangles matched
by similar massed bangles on her wrists.
Belonging properly to the realm of the minor
arts is one of the most beautiful surviving objects
of Early Andhra carving. This is a mirror
handle in the shape of a courtesan and two
attendants carved in high relief, almost in the
round [54 and 55]. This remarkable object was
found in the Via dell'Abbondanza at Pompeii,
which establishes its date as prior to a.d. 79, the
year of the fateful eruption of Vesuvius which
buried this ancient Campanian city. 8 The style
of this figurine, with the provocative emphasis
on the sexual aspects of the anatomy, is a miniature
version of the famous yakshis of the
toranas of Sanchi [43 and 44]. The figure is still
composed on the additive principle noted in
many other examples of Early Classic art in
India. Like the Sanchi goddesses, the lady of
the Pompeii ivory is carved in such a way that
the figure appears as two high reliefs placed
back to back rather than as a form in the full
round. The strong resemblances between this
work and its stone counterparts only reinforces