Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c4.23

c4.23

Chapter XII, Stūpas in the Āndhra-Sātavāhana Period, concentrates on the wonderful output of a creative effort ranging over five centuries by the dominant spirit and wealth amassed by the Sātavāhana merchants and rulers. The evidence in the Mahāvaṃsa regarding the building of the Mahā-chetiya and that of the inscriptions has been particularly utilized for understanding these great monuments of Amarāvatī and Nāgārjunikoṇḍa, etc. The sculpture found there has a delicate feel as if cast in solidified butter. It has been shown that the art influences from Magadha, Kaliṅga, Central India, Western Indian Caves and South India, were converging on the Āndhra country which contributed to a new quality, vigour and variety of art motifs employed in the embellishment of the Stūpas and their railings.