ISO 



V. A. Smith — Grmco-Roman influence [No. 3> 



These reliefs excited the warm admiration of Mr. Fergnsson, and 

 are certainly deserving of high praise.* Unfortunately they are far 

 from complete. The surviving portions, however, are of considerable 

 extent, and are available for study in Oases 1 — 3 of the Asiatic Saloon in 

 the British Museum. The arrangement in the museum is arbitrary, and 

 determined rather by the dimensions of the cases than by the order of 

 the steps, or the subject of the sculptures. 



When first discovered the series was more nearly perfect, and the 

 discoverer was able to recognize two Jdtaias or Birth-stories, the TFes- 

 santara and the Sdma. 



The latter may be read pretty clearly from the remains in the British 

 Museum (Cases 1—3, tier No. 4). The recognizable scenes are briefly 

 described by Sir A. Cunningham as follows : — 



" 1. — The young lad, son of blind parents, filling a vessel with water 

 from a lake frequented by deer. 



2. — The youth, shot accidentally by the Raja of Benares, who aimed 

 at the deer, is lying on the ground with an arrow sticking in his side. 



3. — The Raja in a pensive attitude, his head resting on his hand, 

 promises to take care of the lad's parents. 



4. — The Raja presents a vessel of water to the blind parents. 



5. — The Raja leads the two blind people by the hand to the spot 

 where their child's body is lying. 



6. — The youth restored to life." 



This story occupied the eighth step of the staircase. The Wes- 

 santara Jdtaha, which adorned the fourth step, is exhibited on the fifth 

 tier from the top of the British Museum arrangement. 



The extremely small scale of these sculptures, which are only about 

 eight inches high, interferes with the correct proportional rendering of 

 the several parts. The trees, for instance, are altogether out of scale. 

 But, when allowance is made for this defect, which is unavoidable in the 

 execution of complicated designs crowded into a space so limited, these 

 reliefs may rightly be held to deserve much praise for their vigour of 

 execution, and for their realistic fidelity to nature. 



An exhaustive description of the various scenes and multitudinous 

 figures in the alti-relievi of the Jamalgarhi staircase would task too 

 severely the patience of the most conscientious reader, but a brief dis- 

 cussion of some of their more interesting features may not be unwel- 

 come. 



The uppermost tier in the museum arrangement comprises ten 

 small panels, divided one from the other by broad Corinthian pilasters. 



History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, p. 173. 



