Photo 212/6(21)

Genre: Architectural Photography

View looking along the façade. Lyon's 'Notes to accompany a series of photographs prepared to illustrate the ancient architecture of Southern India' (Marion and Co., London, 1870), edited by James Fergusson, gives the following description of this photograph: '471 - This view is taken from the entrance to the porch containing the bull. It represents the east façade between the two east entrances. Mr. Fergusson in describing this portion of the temple, says, 'On the terrace stands a frieze of elephants, following all the sinuosities of the plan, and extending to some 710 feet in length, and containing not less than 2,000 elephants, most of them with riders and trappings, and sculptured as only an oriental can represent the wisest of brutes. Above these is a frieze of Shardalas or conventional lions, the emblems of the Hoisala Bellalas who built the temple. Then comes a scroll of infinite beauty and variety of design, over this a frieze of horsemen and another scroll, over which is a bas-relief of scenes from the Ramayana, representing the conquest of Ceylon, and all the varied incidents of that epic. This, like the other, is 700 feet long. (The friezes of the Parthenon are only 550). Then come celestial beasts and celestial birds, and all along the east front, a frieze of groups from human life, and then a cornice with a rail divided into panels, each containing two figures. The stone slabs between the sculptured base and the roof are pierced through to admit light to the interior as at Bailoor, but the interstices, as just mentioned, are not so handsomely carved. The polygonal tower in the centre, marks the junction of the two porches, and is similar in design to the base of six Vimanas, which were originally intended to adorn the west side of this temple.' Another copy of this print at Photo 1000 (3119).