An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s18.31

v1.c9.s18.31

AHICCHATRĀ, KAUŚĀMBĪ, RAJGHAT and MATHURA are among the sites yielding human figurines in prolific numbers. Well-documented stratigraphic evidence comes from AHICCHATRĀ. As there was a remarkable uniformity in the art of clay-modelling covering much of the area from Taxila to sites in e. India, the evidence of AHICCHATRĀ may be regarded as typical. Before 300 B.C. hand-modelled figurines of the so-called mother-goddess [12.6] were prevalent. Their typical features include an exaggerated waist often provided with a girdle. In 300-50 B.C. when the practice of moulding was introduced, two types of figurines are noted. (1) Standing female figurines mentioned in the preceding paragraph, and (2) the *mithuna* figures and similar other plaques which are often given the label 'Śuṅga'. The former type, not reported from AHICCHATRĀ, shows an expressionless face with hardly any elaboration. The other type, on the contrary, has a joyous expression evident on the faces of both the male and female. The female figurines, with the typical rounded face, are profusely decorated and the headgear ornamentation often include the depiction of war weapons like the spear, axe and sword. Apart from AHICCHATRĀ such figurines have been reported from ŚRĀVASTĪ, ROPAR, KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT, besides sites in e. India. In the succeeding subperiod, 50 B.C.-A.D. 300, moulding in the round was introduced in a limited way. There was an increasing tendency towards the adoption of the style of stone sculptures. The Bodhisattva Maitreya figure from HASTINĀPURA Pd IV and the many so-called Śaka-Parthian types are examples of this adoption. The Śaka-Parthian types consist of two main groups: (1) dwarf-musicians, and (2) *Naigameṣa* figurines recovered in large numbers from AHICCHATRĀ and KAUŚĀMBĪ. They are generally believed to have foreign ethnic features and the manner of their head-dress shows similarity with figurines from Parthian sites outside India. Votive tanks [12.11] with similar dwarf musicians occur at several sites, notably AHICCHATRĀ, HASTINĀPURA, KAUŚĀMBĪ and ROPAR.