Entrance to one of the smaller excavations at Elora
Photographer: Scott, Allan Newton
Medium: Photographic print
Photograph of a small temple at Ellora from the Album of 'Views of Western India' attributed to Allan Newton Scott c.1857. The site of Ellora has a spectacular series of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cave temples excavated into the rocky façade of a cliff of basalt. The works were carried out under the patronage of the Kalachuri, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta dynasties between the 6th and the 9th Centuries. This view shows a single storey rock cut temple with monumental square pillars. The upper part is decorated with architectural niches that are occupied by images of seated deities. This decoration imitates horseshoe-roofed pavilions typical of South Indian temple design.