The Paintings of Bagh Cave

The paintings on the wall and ceilings of the viharas

of Bagh, the fragments of which are still visible in
Cave 3 and Cave 4 were executed in tempera. These
paintings are materialistic rather than spiritualistic.
The ground prepared was a reddish-brown gritty and
thick mud plaster, laid out on the walls and ceilings.
Over the plaster, lime-priming was done, on which
these paintings were executed. Some of the most
beautiful paintings were on the walls of the portico The elephant heading the procession
of Cave 4.
To prevent further loss of the values of Indian
classical art, most paintings were replicated in ASI
Gujari Mahal Museum.

The Bagh caves, like those at Ajanta, were excavated

by master craftsmen on perpendicular sandstone
rock face of a hill on the far bank of a seasonal
stream, the Baghani. Buddist in inspiration, of the
nine caves, only five have survived.
The Bagh Caves were quarried in the 5th -6th century
AD, in the very late stages of Buddhism in India,
Four personage presumably all male, engaged in a very
serous discussion.
Painting of a Bodhisattva in Bagh Cave 2.