Relief: View of the Great Stupa, from Amaravati
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Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
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Andhra was the third of three major artistic regions coming to the foreground under the reign of the Kushans, and their art is best represented by the fine limestone sculpture from the ruined stupa at Amaravati, cut in a deeply incised fashion with highly sophisticated control, The local form of the stupa, seen in the relief, is more elaborately decorated than those at Sanchi and is constructed in the elongated bubble form rather than in the half-dome shape common to 2nd century B.C. stupa shrines, The most unique feature of the stupa, as we can see in its miniature on the relief, was the Great Railing which was richly ornamented as the best of its kind in all India, The cross-bars, for instance, were adorned with full-blown lotuses while the coping at the top was carved with an elaborate garland motif, The gate was simple in comparison to that at the Great Stupa at Sanchi, but was masterfully handled, Each gate has four lion guardians, Around the dome of the shrine are other lotus garlands and bands of round medallions bearing figures, and palm trees encircle the shoulder just above the garlands, Its careful planning and use of bold imagination made it the perfect example of monumental art in the Satavahana age in the later Kushan Period, --Later Andhra Period (begun 200 B.C. , embellished 2nd Century A.D.), Madras, Government Museum,
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Basham Collection
Date created
circa 1970s
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This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.
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