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

THE MAL'RYA PERIOD 6l)
heraldic animals is not notably different from
the type of column or order which in many
different forms is found in the palace architecture
of Achaemenid Iran in the ruins of
Persepolis and, for this reason, is designated as
Persepolitan. The extremely lustrous finish of
the stone is again a borrowing from the technique
of the carvers of the palaces of Darius and
Xerxes. The use of animals placed back to back
as a supporting member has its obvious precedent
in the Persepolitan form and so, too, has
rntial shape of the stylized lotus. The
stiff and heraldic character of the lions themselves
is a continuation of the ancient Oriental
tradition which we can see in the animal carvings
of Achaemenid Iran. The mask-like
character of the lion-heads, together with the
manner of representing the muzzle by incised
parallel lines and the triangular figuration of the
eyes, are among the more obvious resemblances
to Iranian lion-forms.
It is at once apparent that the style of the four
smaller animals on the plinth is quite different
These beasts are portrayed in a distinctly lively,
even realistic manner. In them we can recognize
at once a style related to Greek tradition. The
closest geographical parallel to the horse [21] is
the steeds on silver bowls made in Bactria
during the Hellenistic occupation. The style of
the monument is, in other words, a combination
of Iranian and Hellenistic features; it is not
unlikely that the workmanship was by actual
foreign sculptors imported from Iran and the
Hellenistic colonies on India's northern and
21. Lion capital from Sarnath, detail. £*>"
Sarndth. Arc lusaam 7f