The Lotus: Theme and Variations

Balustrade post, Stupa 2, Sanchi

A yaksha is shown among elaborate lotiform decoration which pictures the lotus flower in many of its different aspects. The carving seems special because its closely observed and lovingly depicted plant forms are presented in a varied and well-developed design. This is so close to a textbook on how to render the lotus, that I suspect it may have actually been derived from a copybook on that theme. In a purely formal sense, the handling of multiple symmetries - full, partial, and broken, some circular and others reflective about the horizontal or vertical axis - will repay the viewer's close attention.