Buddhist Art in Java

PLATE XLIV


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Plate XLIV Cf pp. 265-266

Photograph by Major Van Erp ; for the identification cf. pp. 265-6. On the plinth stretches the top of a palisade of large wooden stakes joined by a thin crossbar. Behind are seen the waves of a lotus pond, in which are supposed to grow the lotuses which support the three principal persons. Two Nagas, recognizable by their serpent head-dresses, hold up the stem of the central lotus, and thus recall those of the « Great Miracle at Cravasti » (cf. pll. XX; XXIII; XXVffl, I). The stereotyped trees attest a remarkable feeling for ornament. At the foot of the two lateral ones are placed treasure-vases. The central tree, surmounted by a parasol, is further embellished with birds and hanging bells, and, conformably to tradition, is flanked by adoring divinities, here enframed in finely chiselled folds of cloud. The iconographic motif, carved in position, thus extends over the whole wall of the temple.

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