Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c11.s1.1

c11.s1.1

The tradition of folk art may be recognised in a group of free standing statues which have been found at many places in north India, in Bihar and in Orissa. They are mostly figures of Yakṣhas and Yakṣhīs and they carry with them a distinct plastic tradition which it is not possible to connect with the finished products of the court art. The material as observed about the images has been found over a very extensive area, from Mathura to Orissa and from Patna upto western India, thousands of miles in length and breadth, which establishes in an undisputed manner the existence of a far flung style. These can be classed as representing the earliest Indian statuary consisting a group of free standing huge figures (more than life-size), installed under any protective shed or the open sky, carved out in the round, but still conceived frontally. They are symbol of power, impressive in their sheer volume, powerful built, colossal size, proclaim unmistakably their divine character. The following images are noteworthy :—