Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c39.9

c39.9

These terracotta plaques at Harwan each of which was moulded with a design in bas-relief, are of a character which makes them unique in Indian art Pressed out of moulds so that the same pattern is frequently repeated, although spirited and naive in some instances, they are not highly finished productions, but their value lies in the fact that they represent motifs suggestive of more than half a dozen alien civilizations of the ancient world, besides others which are indigenous and local. Such are the Barhut railing, the Greek "swag," the Sasanian foliated bird, the Persian vase, the Roman rosette, the Chinese fret, the Indian elephant, the Assyrian lion, with figures of dancers, musicians, cavaliers, ascetics and racial types from many sources, as may be seen by their costumes and accessories. Moreover, as their size is approximately 18 inches by 12 inches, these terracotta facings are not exactly tiles, but slabs or small panels, and, it may be noted, of the same dimensions, and attached to their background in much the same manner as the *typos* or terracotta mural reliefs of the Romans, found in their *opus doliare* of the first century B C. The remains at Harwan indicate that the memorable impact of diverse historical cultures, which took place in this part of Asia in the early centuries of the first millennium, also had repercussions on the arts of Kashmir.