Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s1.t2: Historical Period Art-Works and Stones
Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s1.t2
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Historical Period Art-Works and Stones
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The above examples illustrate the art traditions and the choice of materials during the centuries immediately following the demise of Gautama Buddha. The traditions went on without any break or interruption. The author of this monograph had the opportunity of visiting a beautiful display of ancient Indian art objects in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston during June 1990. The collection was chronological and emphasized specific materials used for the artefacts. Some of the exhibited items are recorded in Table 20.1. The tabulated data illustrate how different materials terracotta, sandstone, marble, schist, schistose marble, ivory, metal alloys (to be discussed later in detail), soapstone, jade etc. were used in India in different epochs and locations to produce diverse artefacts and works of art.
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One should particularly note the definite Hellenistic influences, found in the Kuṣāṇa and Mathurā art, introducing brilliant sculptures and facial expressions on stone and metal. The exquisite ivory carvings from Begram, Afghanistan (now in Musee Guimet, Paris) resemble in style the Kuṣāṇa sculpture from Mathurā and the Amarāvatī sculptures of the first-second centuries AD for obvious reasons: expansion of the Kuṣāṇa empire and the cultural contact with the Sātavāhana empire through Buddhism. While Begram specialised in ivory, and Mathurā artisans preferred sandstone, there was the dark-mauve sandstone at Bharhut, and we have the master pieces from second century AD Amarāvatī (Adoration of the Buddha’s Alms Bowl) and from third century AD Nāgārjunakoṇḍa (The Nativity and Seven Steps) made in the pale-greenish limestone of Palnad. The medium differed but there was a homogeneity of artistic styles across Greater India. We find similar moonstone doorsteps in Amarāvatī, Nāgārjunakoṇḍa and Anuradhapura at Sri Lanka. The colossal Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan was carved out of a sandstone cliff around fourth-fifth centuries AD and this was reported by Hiuen-Tsang. The Kuṣāṇa bronze tradition was quickly disseminated in the Early Gupta Period.
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Table 20.1
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A Sample of Chronological Collections of Art Objects from Ancient India
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(Boston Museum of Fine Arts)
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| Date | Item | Material |
| 3rd century BC | Standing Mother Goddess with big ear-ring and hair-dress | Low fired grey terracotta |
| 2nd century BC | Standing female figure, Peshawar, hand-modelled, mother cult, hair-dress, cāndmālā. | Fine terracotta |
| 120 BC | Torso of fertility goddess Yakṣī | Sandstone |
| 25 BC | Yakṣī | Grey sandstone |
| 1st century BC | Goddess with three fishes | Terracotta covered with pigment |
| - do - | Gajalakṣmī | Terracotta |
| 1st century AD | Different forms of sitting Buddha | Red sandstone |
| AD 50 | Birth of the Buddha — Amarāvatī | Pinkish schistose marble |
| 2nd century AD | Makara goddess — Mathurā | Red sandstone |
| 2nd century AD | Buddha as a mendicant monk. Gāndhāra style | Grey schist |
| 2nd century AD | Mother goddess with child, Double molded | Terracotta |
| 2nd century AD | Bodhisattva | Grey schist |
| 2nd century AD | Worship of the Bodhi tree; Representative of a Stūpa; Temptation of the Buddha, Amarāvatī | Grey and white schistose marble |
| 2nd century AD | Worship of the wheel, Dharma Cakra | Schistose marble |
| 2nd-3rd century AD | Parinirvāṇa of the Buddha — Pakistan | Grey schist |
| 5th century AD | Gaṅgā Devi on crocodile; Makaravāhinī; Besnagar | Sandstone |
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| Date | Item | Material |
| 8th century AD | Ivory Buddha from Kashmir, then a flourishing centre of ivory-carving | Ivory |
| 10th century AD | Bodhisattva of compassion — Bihar | Grey schist |
| 10th century AD | Lotus, bearing Buddha — Bengal | Black schist |
| 10th-11th century AD | Buddha, Mahavira, Viṣṇu | Bronze and brass |
| 10th-11th century AD | Model of Mahabodhi temple. Small models used to be brought home by pilgrims as souvenirs. | Soapstone |
| Mughal Period | Handles of steel sword | Jade (greyish green) |
| | Bowl | Jade (White) |
| | Spoon | Jade (green) |
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There are some specific publications on potteries authored by B.P. Sinha (1969), Vibha Tripathi (1976), T.N. Roy (1986), A. Ghosh (1989: Vol. I, Section 11 on potteries including ceramics). Many items are of great artistic interest. However not much scientific work has been done. We have mentioned some exceptional scientific work on NBPW pottery and the slip glaze on it in chapter 11. There are specific writings on terracotta art. (P.L. Gupta, 1972; A. Ghosh, 1989: Vol. I, Section 17)
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Archaeological excavations have yielded many pre-historic and proto-historic brick structures which are of great artistic value and archaeological interest. Although several authors (Chattopadhyaya, D, 1986; Ghosh, A, 1973 and 1989: Vol. I, pp. 294-95) have discussed different aspects of the brick structures in ancient india, much more scientific work remains to be done. It is also necessary to analyse the ancient rectangular tiles made of gritty clay mixed with straw. (Ghosh, 1989: Vol. I, p. 296)