Consider the following statements regarding early Buddhist relief art excavated at monument sites like Bharhut and Sanchi stups:
1. The art exhibits a highly strict pattern of aniconism, completely avoiding any physical anthropomorphic depiction of the human form of Gautama Buddha.
2. Buddha is represented symbolically through markers like an empty throne under a pipal tree, footprints, a parasol, or the wheel of law.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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Both statements are correct. Early Theravada art was fully aniconic before the rise of the Gandhara and Mathura schools under Mahayana trends. The artists believed that Buddha who had achieved Mahaparinirvana could not be captured inside finite bodily bounds. Therefore, his enlightenment was depicted through an empty stone platform beneath a sacred tree, and his sermons were visually represented via the Dharmachakra.

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