An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s18.7

v1.c9.s18.7

We may digress here to mention a few important early historical ceramics that are found after the disappearance of the NBPW in about the 2nd century B.C. In n. India the pottery of the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D. has often been lumped under a composite group called Śuṅga-Kushan assemblage, comprising the bowl, lid-cum-bowl, inkpot-type lid, waisted jar, etc. This wide grouping is unfortunate as it does not allow the detection of elements, if any, produced under the influence of foreign invasions. In Gujarat a distinctive pottery of fine fabric and bright-red surface came into being in the 1st century A.D.; it is called the Red Polished Ware [11.23], its exclusive shapes being the sprinkler and *surāhī*. It has been thought that it was a variant of the Roman Samian Ware, but soon it started being locally produced and during the next four centuries gained wide currency. N. Rajasthan seems to be the home of the Rang Mahal Ware [11.24], with a variety of shapes, a bright terracotta-red surface and a profusion of painted designs. Originating in the 2nd century A.D., it is by no means confined to n. Rajasthan but is found far and wide. In the lower Deccan, coeval with the last days of the Megalithic Ware [11.15.3], i.e. 1st century A.D., but outliving it by two centuries, was the Russet-coated Painted Ware [11.22]. The Rouletted Ware [11.21] was for the first time identified at ARIKAMEDU, where, being pre-Arretine [11.20] in date, it originated in the 1st century B.C. It is classed as a Roman ware, though the fabric and shapes have nothing Mediterranean about them; it is only the technique of rouletting that may be foreign. It was locally produced at many a widely dispersed site. The above list—the Śuṅga-Kushan assemblage, the red polished ware, the Rang Mahal ware, the russet-coated painted ware and the rouletted ware—does not exhaust the ceramic industries current in the country in the later half of the early historical period: they have been mentioned because of their diagnostic and chronological values.