Kanpur: Relief of intoxicated lady drooping, 150 A.D.

Another less elaborate 'palace amusements' relief, which looks quite reminiscent of the Bacchanalian stone sculptures in the Maholi examples, makes its appearance on a section of a pillar, The motif is a particularly favorite one in Indian art at this period and makes good use of traditional figures in an entirely foreign pose, The numerous instances of scenes of this type and others related to it indicate an interest on the part of the Kushan artist to create a rich composition with tremendous artistic variety, reflecting a real joy drawn from life, After the Kushan period, by about the 4th century A.D., the railing and pillar decorations recede into the background, and the lively scenes are transferred to the interior decoration of stupas, On this particular example, there seems to have been less importance put on finished detailing, for the figures are more silhouettes than fully sculptural images, and the lines denoting their relief from the background are almost indistinguishable, -- Allahabad, Municipal Museum