Indian Art and Culture

Section 1 : Ancient Indian History

 1. The stone Ages
• Art not fully developed
• Human societies in the phase of evolution
• Ideas of art and aesthetics were in the making
• The tool types used by people in different phases are certainly the
examples of their perceptions and the efforts in bringing these
perceptions to reality
• Tools of different ages show considerable growth in the making styles
and thus one can trace the story of the beginnings of aesthetics and
art
The first stone tools to be used : Hand axes
Transition in tool types
Further refinements
• Age of microliths
• Beginning of settled life
• Beginning of plant and animal domestication
• Change in lifestyle influences the aesthetics as well
Neolithic revolution: tools ground grooved & polished

Stone Sickle:
many
microliths
embedded
on a handle
like base:
beginning of
complex
tools
Settled life leading to further refinement of
aesthetic sense
Prehistoric
rock art/
cave
paintings
The first musical instruments : culmination of
leisure and pleasure
The first free standing sculpture
The first handmade earthen storage vessel
The first man-made shelter
The earliest burials: beginnings of metaphysics
The megaliths in south : first tombs
 2. The Harappan Civilization
• The first bronze age civilization in India
• The use of metal marked the transition from culture to civilization
• The first extensively urban civilization
• Copper was the first metal to be used
• Later bronze was made by mixing 9 parts of copper with 1 part of tin
• Khetri mines in Rajasthan supplied copper
• The use of script cause this phase to fall in proto-historic phase
• The use of metal caused further growth of art and aesthetics
• Art was mostly of a utilitarian nature
Sculpture:
The bronze dancing girl from Mohenjodaro

Few inches tall,

free standing
bronze figurine
made by ‘lost wax’
(cire perdue)
technique and is
often referred to
as “pert &
provocative”.
The steatite image of the priest king at Mohenjodaro

Things to note:
• partially closed eyes
• The shawl with tri-foil
designs
• Shawl seems to be woven
• The head gear
• The hairstyle, beard
• The thick lips
• The armlet
The red sandstone torso of a man from Harappa
To focus
• Glazed surface
• Physical
features
• Detachable
limbs
• Navel and
belly
The mother goddess

To focus
• The fan shaped
head gear
• The necklaces
• Eyes
• Thick lips
• Nudity
Terracotta figurines from Harappa
The Harappan Seals
To focus
• Made of steatite
• Polished surface
• Square or rectangular
• Image of animal
• Script undeciphered
• Mostly humpless bull
depicted
• Purpose of these
seals not yet clear
• Have a hole in the
rear to tie them using
a thread
• May be used for
stamping
merchandise
Harappan Beads
To focus
• Barrel shaped
• Cylindrical
• Faience and
carnelian used
more
• Piercing
technique
Harappan Jewellery
Harappan Pottery
Town planning of Harappan Cities
The Citadel
Harappan Streets and Drains
The Great Bath at Mohenjodaro
The Granary at Harappa
 Pottery traditions
• Hand-made
• Wheel-thrown
• Sun-dried
• Kiln-baked
• Black and Red Ware
• Red Ware
• Black on Red ware
• Painted Grey Ware
• Ochhre Coloured Pottery
• Northern Black Polished Ware
• Pottery traditions of Chalcolithic cultures : Combed Ware, Buff Ware, Lustrous Red Ware, etc
Pottery: Significance for Humanity
Types
Coinage
• Barter system of exchange
• Silver bar coins
• Punch marked coins
• Guild coins (Nigam Coins)
• Coins of Gold, silver, copper, lead, etc
• Commemorative Coins
• Use of cowrie shells as medium of exchange
Punch Marked Coins
3. The Mauryan Period
 Art becomes Court Art or Royal patronized Art
Ashokan Pillars : Text on Stone

• Monolithic, free-standing structures

• Use of chunar sandstone
• Polished surface
• Carry inscriptions
• Animal capitals
• Comparison with Persian Pillars
• Transportation techniques
Animal Capital in Ashokan Pillars
Ashoka’s policy of Dhamma
The pillars of king Darius of Persia
A Comparison
Other Sculptures

The Dhauli-
Jaugada
Elephant at
Orissa
The Yakshini Figurine at Didarganj
The Yaksha Figure at Parkham
The Cave architecture

Caves at
Barabar Hills
and Lomash
Rishi Caves
near Gaya
Stone
masonry still
uses wooden
patterns
The interior plan of Barabar Caves
The Royal Palace made of wood at Pataliputra

Extensive use of
wooden pillars and
beams
Stupa Architecture popularized by Ashoka
Stupa Architecture
Evolution of the Stupa Architecture
Use of Ring Wells
 4.Post-Mauryan phase: The period of Shunga,
Kanva and Satavahana dynasties
Major factors influencing Art and Culture

• The geographical expanse of the respective kingdoms

• The locally available raw materials
• The local traditions of craftsmanship
• The political requirements
• The tastes of Royalty
• The religious inclinations of the ruling Dynasty
The Mauryan Empire
The Shunga Dynasty
The Kanva Dynasty
The Indo-Greeks in North-West
The Kharavela kingdom in Kalinga
Other Minor Political Powers
The Satavahanas in Deccan & The Kushanas in North
 Renovation of Sanchi Stupa by Shungas

• Enlargement
• Replacement of wood by stone at the railings and gateways
• Donations by non-royals, e.g., Guild of Ivory workers made donations
towards the decoration of Sanchi Gateways
• Transition from state-art/ royal-art/court-art to popular-art
Sanchi Stupa During Shungas
The intricate carvings at the gateways
Use of different motifs and yakshis (tree spirit deity)
Nasik, Bhaja and Karle Caves of the Satavahana Period
Bhaja Caves of Satavahana Period
Karle Caves and Chaitya
Major Centers of art during the Satavahanas