BUDDHIST STYLE IN NEIGHBORING LANDS. Passing now to outlying parts of India and neighboring provinces, we find in the seques tered province of Nepal. between India and Tibet, an archaic style that explains some of the origins of Indian art and illustrates the connec tion with China. A first type of monument is that of the large circular domieal stupas of earth and brick, surrounded not by a balustrade. but a simple plinth, and dedicated to Buddha. These are the earliest (Sambunath. Buddnath). A second and far commoner type is that of the pagoda-like temples in brick and wood formed of several stories of superposed roofs. each one in retreat and raised at the corners, in perfect analogy to Chinese monuments (Bhatgaon, Pa tan). A third type is that of stone temples of quite a different style and of admirable design. Chronologically all these buildings are late—not more than two to five centuries old—but they represent earlier types in a region that remained in a prehistoric undeveloped condition. So the class of pagoda-like temples of brick and stone is of extreme interest. It is the same in Burma, where many monasteries were built of wood or brick, and forms of Babylonian origin are per petuated.
Of even greater architectural interest is Cam bodia, whose ruined cities have only recently been discovered, with buildings dating between 950 and 1350. Here brick construction and stonework are very successfully combined. The ancient capital. Angkor, lms a superb series of temples, particularlv that of Nakhon Wat. Its inclosure measures about one mile each way. and the build ings are well composed. As in Southern India. there is a large pond surrounded by courts, cor ridors. and temples. Grouped pyramids are used, in stories of decreasing size. Monumental stair cases most effectively connect the buildings. The sculpture is exceedingly rich, but is symmetric ally arranged. and the lines are not broken up, but compose simply in a manner quite un-Indian.
The Penais,an•e character of some of the orna mentation is startling. In quality of detail the Angkor buildings are unsurpassed in India.
In Java. also. there is an interesting offshoot of Buddhist art. Its chef-trunivre is the famous Boro-Buddor built in the seventh century, a perfect epitome of Buddhist art hefore its fall. it a slur] or dagoba in seven stories. ap proached by five processional paths, along which are seventy-two small domes surmounting sepa rate dagobas which surround the central oe. Nothing like this remains in Northern India among Buddhist monuments, so that for compari son one must go to Oandara. in the Northwest, to .lamalgiri and Taklit-i-Bahi, which are its proto types.
Still ithother little-explored region Is the island of Ceylon. which also contain, a mass of 1;11(1(111)st monuments. The ancient capital. Anuradhapura, is unique among Buddhist cities in having a se ries of monuments illustrating this cult through out nearly a millennium, it having lasted here for •cnturies after Brahmanism had displaced it on the mainland. There remain seven separate stupas, with processional paths. a. iu of these sutras have three rows of high columns surrounding the central mound, monoliths about 26 feet high, reminding of the columns of a Per sian palace. There is hut little sculpture used in the decoration, and its some of it the lines of hieratic animals give additional points of re semblance to Western Asia.
AlottAmNIEDAN STYLE. The superb Nlohatn medan architecture of India is treated under .MOITANI MEDAN ART. It belongs to two stages— the Afghan and the Mongol. in some cases, as at Ahmedabad. the fusion with pure Indian art is so thorough as to leave only part of the credit to imported ideas from Persia and Bagdad. But at Delhi and Bijapur the style is fundam•n tally foreign.