Art of Indiabefore 1200

By: Nauma Haider

Mohenjo-Daro

• An elevated citadel area (surrounded by 50ft. Walls) containing buildings assumed to be important government structures.

• There is a large water tight pool which may have been a public bath or used in rituals.

• The ancient Indus Valley cultures had similar designs, suggesting a coherent culture.

• Mohenjo-Daro was constructed in a grid-like plan and the houses were constructed of fired brick, more durable than other bricks used at the time.

• The city had a large plumbing system to get rid of sewage.

Indus Valley Civilization. 2600-1900 B.C.E. \/

Seal Impressions

• The motifs on these seals suggest continuities with later South Asian cultures.

• This scene depicts a man in a mediative posture, commonly called a yogi. He is one who seeks mental and physical purification and self-control for spiritual purposes.

Indus Valley Civilizations. 2500-1500 B.C.E.

Priest-King• This terra-cotta figurine may

represent a leader or ancestor figure.

• Mesopatamian influence is shown in the striated beard and smooth, planar surfaces of the face.

• Distinctions are the low forehead, broad nose, thick lips, and long slit eyes.

• Clothing has a trefoil motif. (three-lobed). The depressions were filled with red paint and the eyes were inlaid with stone or shell.

• 2000-1900b.c.e. Steatite >

Pillars• First created by the Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan

Period.

• Pillar consisted of a tapered sandstone shaft. The foundation slab was 10 feet into the ground.

• There were carved inscriptions relating to the rules of dharma.

• The elaborate capital consisted of an animal sculpture.

• Represented the “axis mundi” or axis of the world, which bridged the earth and cosmos.

• Bottom represents the turned down petals of a lotus flower which symbolizes divine purity in an imperfect world.

• The abacus (slab forming the top of the capital) has low-relief carvings of wheels (chakras) and animals alternating which include an elephant, lion, horse, and bull. The animals may represent the 4 great rivers of the world.

• Lions may represent the Buddha himself. There is a strong pattering of realistic elements. They have a richly textured mane and legs are detailed with tendons and veins. Large claws are depicted.

Lion capital from Ashokan pillar at Sarnath. 250 B.C.E. Mauryan Period.

Stupas

• Built by Ashoka.

• Stupas are religious monuements enclosing a relic chamber.

• The hemispherical dome was made from dirt and rubble and faced with dressed stone and then covered with a shining white plaster made of lime and powdered shells.

• There is a walkway around the perimeter of the stupa, enclosed with 11 ft. stone railings. The railings are carved with octagonal uprights and lens-shaped crossbars.

Madhya Pradesh, 3rd century B.C.E.

East Torana of Great Stupa• There are four stone gateways called

toranas which punctuate the stone railing.

• The toranas are set at four cardinal direction which symbolize the Buddhist cosmos. They are the only ornamented elements of the Great Stupa. The capitals consist of four elephants on two gates, dwarfs on one, and lions on others. The capitals support the three tier structure whose posts are elaborately carved with more symbols and scenes which depict yakshis and yakshas (riders on real and mythical animals).

• Andhra Period. 1st century B.C.E.

• These yakshis are some of the finest female figures in Indian art.

• This sculpture of yakshi forms a bracket between each capital and a crossbar. The Sanchi yahkshi has an emphasis on idealistic details. She represents the source of life.

• “Yakshi Holding a Fly Whisk” Patna, Bihar. 250 B.C.E. Sandstone.

^ On east torana of the Great Stupa at Sanchi. Stone, 5ft.

Buddhist Rock-Cut Halls

• In India, caves have been considered hallowed places. By the second century B.C.E., Buddhits monks hew caves for their own use from stone plateaus in the Deccan region.

• The exteriors and the interiors were carved like pieces of sculptures. The enigmatic atmosphere, the echo, and the energy all combined to promote a state of heightened awareness.

• There were two types of rock-cut halls. One was vihara, monks’ living quarters, and the other was chaitya, which enshrined a stupa.

• The Chaitya hall at Karla dates from first century B.C.E.

• At the entrance, there are columns, which once supported a balcony, as well as a pair of Ashokan-type pillar. The walls of the vestibule are carved in relief, simulating the façade of a great multistoried palace. At the base of the façade enormous statues of elephants support the entire structure. The upper portion of the façade contains large opening called a sun window or chaitya window.

• There are three entrances. There are sculpted panels of mithuna couples flanking the entrances. The ceiling of the interior hall forms a barrel vault ornamented with arching wooden ribs. A wide central aisle and two side aisles lead to the stupa in the apse.

Chaitya Hall at Karla

Chaitya Hall at Karla. Early Andhra Period, 1st century B.C.E.

• Maharashta, India.

Kushan Period

• The Kushans, a nomadic people, settled in North India. Three schools were founded.

• The Buddha statue wears a monk’s robe, called a sanghati. There are 32 distinguishing marks called lakshana, such as a golden-colored body, impression of a wheel on his palms and soles of his feet, and the urna, which is a tuft of white hair between his eyebrows. The top of his head has a protuberance called ushnisha, which is symbolized as a topknot and represents enlightenment. • The Standing Buddha statue from Gandhara, Pakistan. 2nd-

3rd century, Kushan Period.

Standing Buddha

• The figure has a mildly relaxed pose, wearing a clear robe. This sanghati does not display any of the creases shown in the Kushan period images. The figure is graceful, with broad shoulders and a well-proportioned torso. The downcast eyes suggest otherworldly connection but the gentle posture links with humans. Behind the head, there was a stone halo decorated with foliage. This is the Sarnath Gupta style that reveals the Buddha’s spiritual purity intertwined with his physical purity.

• 474 c.e. Sandstone >

Bodhisvatta

• A mural from a rock-cut hall, this wall painting was painted in the fresco technique. It is very outlined and uses tonal gradations to create a 3-d illusion. The figures appear divine yet human at the same time.

• 475 c.e. Gupta Period Wall Painting

Vishnu Temple at Deogarh

• The superstructure is called a shikara, which rises as a solid mass above the flat, stone ceiling and the windowless walls of the sanctum, or garbhagriha, which holds an image of a deity. It curves inward from a mathematical ratio. On top, is a circular element called an amalaka, or a type of fruit. From here, a finial (knoblike decoration at the top of a spire) points to where the heavenly and earthly worlds join. The entrance is elaborate and meaningful. Large panels of votive carvings, form the walls.

• ^ 530 c.e. Post-Gupta Period.

Vishnu Temple of Shiva at Elephanta

• Complex in layout to represent the nature of Shiva. Has 3 entrances and the interior, impressive in grandeur, is designed along two axes’. The entrances provide only light source and gives a confusing atmosphere. Many columns, but they are not structural. The overlapping madalas, an image of cosmos represented by geometric shapes, create a symmetric yet irregular space. The focus of an axis is the lingam shrine, which is the phallic symbol of Shiva. The focus of the other axis is a relief of Shiva, called the internal Shiva (rock-cut relief, 6’).

• mid-6th century c.e. >