Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s8.4

v1.c28.s8.4

The Gāndhāra-Mathurā tradition of sculpture strongly influenced the iconic traditions of the Gupta Period. With the Sultanganj copper (some alloying elements might be present) Buddha, earlier discussed in chapter 10, the glory of the icon-casting tradition of Harappan India was at last revived, with less secular and more spiritual overtones. Swarnakamal (1980) has given several examples of pre-Gupta Period icons from Gujarat which we would discuss later. The bronze Brahmā, a colossal image (gilt bronze inlaid with silver) from Mirpur Khas, Sind, now in the Karachi Museum, is one of the earliest known examples of the Western Indian sculpture, closely following the Gupta traditions. During the Gupta Period, the literary tradition of recording the metal fabrication and casting techniques was initiated; we have reviewed this literature earlier.