Indian Sculpture c3.5

c3.5

Western terminology cannot be applied without reservations when studying Indian art. Western methods of art-criticism, too, have to be recast according to the demands of Indian sculpture. Indian terms, on the other hand, can also not be employed. They occur in manuals for the use of the craftsmen and were based on a living tradition, inevitable for, and a matter of course with, the ancient Indian artist, inactive, however, at the present state. There was no need then to explain their implications. But as they stand, they do not convey their full meaning to the modern reader, and require interpretation which the sculptures themselves supply. To arrive at an understanding of Indian sculpture, and to name some of its outstanding qualities that are not, and could not, be classified in the ancient manuals, but are vitally present in the works of art, is aimed at here.