A Note on the Grey Stucco Capitals from Patakā (Swāt)

Abstract

The stucco capitals and reliefs externally coated with a thin grey layer are occasionally found at archaeological sites in the valleys of Peshawar, Taxila and Swāt. Decorating stucco images with various colours to enhance their beauty was a normal practice of the artists. But decorating them with grey colour is something different, for, dull grey colour could not make them look more beautiful than white/creamy stucco. What then was the reason behind it? Were they meant to pass off as the real stuff of schist, or do they mark a phase of transition from schist to stucco? This note is an attempt to address these questions with particular reference to the capitals found at Patakā (Swāt).