Page:Picturesque Nepal.djvu/274

centre depicting a mythological incident, or a pictorial arrangement of various deities, while around the whole in high relief is displayed a kind of traditional convention of Garuda, Makara, Nagas, and ornament, nearly always composed on the same general lines. A picturesque detail, and one on which the Newar woodcarver delighted to show his skill and versatility, is the afore-mentioned roof-strut, supporting the wide overhanging eaves of the pagodas. The broad roofs of these buildings naturally threw deep shadows, and the duty of breaking up this dark mass with some light and graceful design was left to the artistic devices of this craftsman. This individual conceived the idea of converting these constructive elements into figures of deities provided with many arms, and the problem was solved in a most satisfactory manner. The light catches on these fanciful figures with their outspread arms, and the heavy appearance of this shadow is at once corrected, and an artistic and picturesque effect attained. But this is only one of the many clever contrivances invented by the Newar woodworker