Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s8.t2.7

v1.c28.s8.t2.7

The Gāndhāra (Kuṣāṇa), Mathurā and Amarāvatī traditions of stone and metal sculpture were readily imbibed into the Gupta era traditions on copper, bronze and brass icons. If the Maurya era may be termed as the renaissance period of Indian non-ferrous ore mining, we may consider the Gupta era as the golden chapter of metallurgy producing beautiful gold coins, the famous iron pillar, wootz and steel and the beautiful icons made of bronze and brass. The last tradition spread all over the country: to Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kashmir and the Buddhist monasteries of the Eastern India. By the sixth-seventh century AD, the brass revolution in India was in full swing. When Hiuen-Tsang toured across India during the first half of the seventh century AD, he found many brass objects and icons (chapter 18). Those were not only of Buddha but also of Viṣṇu, Śiva and Sūrya etc. (*vide* Nos. 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 in Table 20.7).