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Comparison of the First Pair of Sculptures
The first pair contains Lion Capital of Ashoka and Rampurva Zebu bull capitals. The
former is a statue of four lions facing opposite directions on a foundation of other animals. The
sculpture was designed as the official symbol of India in 1950 and was placed at the Buddhist
spot of Sarnath at around 250 BCE (Gardner and Kleiner 24). On the other hand, the Rampurva
sculpture represents the Ashoka pillars invented in 1876 BCE and located west of Champaran
district (Geer 6). While the Rampurva Bull capital comprises a lotiform foundation with floral
designs as well as an artistic depiction of a zebu bull, the Lion Capital is sculptured from a single
block of sandstone featuring four Asiatic lions straddling on an abacus.
The two sculptures are significantly different in terms of style, materials, purpose, scale,
and the socio-political contexts. The Lion Capital can be categorized under the hieratic style due
to its Sargonid and Achaemenid influence (Gardner and Kleiner 32). On the other hand, the
Rampurva bull capital depicts the style of Maurya art initially developed in Iran (Geer 26).
Besides, while the two are stone sculptures, the Lion Capital is made of sandstone, while the Bull
Capital comprises hard rocks (Geer 16). Apparently, the base of the two statues is designed from
a similar scale with sharp edges all around. However, the upper parts are different since the Lion
figurine is in six dimensions, while the bull carving can be viewed from four dimensions.
Besides, both have historical and political significance. The lions represent Buddha as well as the
spread of Dharma (Gardner and Kleiner 40). In other words, it is a depiction of the fact that
