Indian Sculpture c4.s1.t1: Chronology of Indian Plastic Art
Indian Sculpture c4.s1.t1
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Chronology of Indian Plastic Art
c4.s1.t1.1
The plastic art of the Indus civilisation must have begun in the palæolithic age, and continued to that of Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, etc. But there it did not come to an end. Potentially it persisted further, and underlay Indian sculpture as long as it remained creative. This compels us to view Indian art under its own chronology,¹⁶ which is twofold. On the one hand, chronology in the accepted sense indicates what happened along the arrow of time in the direction from now to then. On the other hand, it suggests what persisted throughout those happenings and which could not have come about without that underlying and persistent potency. Chronology along the time line rests upon ephemeral factors, such as mainly invasions by foreign civilisations. These last, however, once they had begun to participate in the art of the country, were drawn into and supported by the vitality of its soil. Every seemingly passing aspect of Indian art, if at all it is an aspect and not a stray incident, sank into and drew its forces from the fertile and enduring potency.
c4.s1.t1.2
This chronology is potential and enduring on the one hand, and transitory on the other. Between these two—the movement on the surface and the existence as well as the movement underground—an active and ceaseless connection is established.
c4.s1.t1.3
Plastic art of the Indus valley is mainly conspicuous for its ponderosity and its naturalism, i.e. innervation. Animals chiefly, but also trees, with their sinuous stems suggestive of vegetation, occupy exalted positions. Associated and combined with them, the human figure becomes divine. It also transcends human limits by such devices as multiple heads and limbs, indicative of superhuman potentialities. In the case of animals with multiple heads, super-animalic potentialities are suggested. Nature and the supernatural are experienced as dynamically connected.