Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/66

 36 HISTORY OF INDIAN ARCHITECTURE. any one now attempting the task would be able to select perfectly authentic examples from Hindu temples of the best age. If this were done judiciously, and the examples carefully reproduced, it would not only afford a more satisfactory illustration of the mythology of the Hindus than has yet been given to the public, but it might also be made a history of the art of sculpture in India, in all the ages in which it is known to us. From its very nature, it is evident that sculpture can hardly ever be so important as architecture as an illustration of the progress of the arts, or the affinities of nations. Tied down to the reproduction of the immutable human figure, sculpture hardly admits of the same variety, or the same development, as such an art as architecture, whose business it is to administer to all the varied wants of mankind, and to express the multifarious aspirations of the human mind. Yet sculpture has a history, and one that can at times convey its meaning with considerable distinctness. No one, for instance, can take up such a book as that of Cicognara, 1 and follow the gradual development of the art as he describes it, from the first rude carvings of the Byzantine school, till it returned in the present day to the mechanical perfection of the old Greek art, though without its ennobling spirit, and not feel that he has before him a fairly distinct illustration of the progress of the human mind during that period. Sculpture in India may fairly claim to rank, in power of expression, with mediaeval sculpture in Europe, and to tell its tale of rise and decay with equal distinctness ; but it is also interesting as having that curious Indian peculiarity of being written in decay. The story that Cicognara tells is one of steady forward progress towards higher aims and better execution. The Indian story is that of backward decline, from the sculptures of the Bharaut and Amaravati topes, to the illustrations of Coleman's or Wilkins's ' Hindu Mythology.' When Hindu sculpture first dawns upon us in the rails at Bodh-Gaya, and Bharaut B.C. 200 to 250, it is thoroughly original, almost without a trace of foreign influence, but quite capable of expressing its ideas, and of telling its story with a distinctness that never was surpassed at least in India. Some animals, such as elephants, deer, and monkeys, are better represented there than in any sculpture known in any part of the world ; so, too, are some trees, and the architectural details are cut with an elegance and precision which are very admirable. The human figures, too, though very different from our standard of beauty and grace, are truthful to nature, and, where grouped together, combine to express the action intended with singular felicity. 1 ' Storia della Scultura, dal suo risorgimento in Italia sino al seculo di Napoleone.' Venezia, 1813.