ASPECTS OF ANCIENT INDIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE M.A. History Semester - I MAHIS - 101 SHRI VENKATESHWARA UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH-244236 BOARD OF STUDIES Prof (Dr.) P.K.Bharti Vice Chancellor Dr. Rajesh Singh Director Directorate of Distance Education SUBJECT EXPERT Dr. S.K.Bhogal, Professor Dr. Yogeshwar Prasad Sharma, Professor Dr. Uma Mishra, Asst. Professor COURSE CO-ORDINATOR Mr. Shakeel Kausar Dy. Registrar Author: Dr. Vedbrat Tiwari, Assistant Professor, Department of History, College of Vocational Studies, University of Delhi Copyright © Author, 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication which is material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or transmitted or utilized or stored in any form or by any means now known or hereinafter invented, electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the Publisher. 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Office: A-27, 2nd Floor, Mohan Co-operative Industrial Estate, New Delhi 1100 44 Website: www.vikaspublishing.com Email: [email protected] SYLLABI-BOOK MAPPING TABLE Aspects of Ancient Indian Art and Architecture Syllabi Mapping in Book UNIT 1: Sculptures of the Indus Valley Civilization Unit 1: Sculptures of the Indus Valley Civilisation (Pages 3-45) UNIT 2: Mauryan art Unit 2: Mauryan Art (Pages 47-76) UNIT 3: Early Buddhist Sculptures Unit 3: Early Buddhist Art and Architecture (Pages 77-106) UNIT 4: Emergence of Regional Schools: Gandhar Unit 4: Emergence of Regional Schools Mathura (Pages 109-142) Amaravati Sarnath UNIT 5: Sculptures ofAssam Unit 5: Art and Sculpture of Assam Early phase (Pages 143-166) Pala-Sena art Kamarupa Deopani CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 UNIT 1 SCULPTURES OF THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION 3-45 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Objectives 1.2 Origin of The Indus Valley Civilization 1.3 Geographical Extent 1.4 Town Planning and Architecture 1.4.1 City Plans and Physical Layouts 1.4.2 Non-residential Structures 1.4.3 Public Works 1.4.4 Drainage System And Waste Management 1.5 Some Major Sites 1.6 Art And Sculpture 1.6.1 Human Sculpture: The Red Jasper Male Torso 1.6.2 Gray Stone Torso Of A Dancer 1.7 Art And Craft 1.8 Religion And Art 1.8.1 Human Figurines 1.9 Terracotta Figurines 1.9.1 People, Plants And Animals In Indus Art 1.9.2 Human Sculpture: The Priest Or King 1.9.3 The Stern Man 1.9.4 The Dancing Girl 1.9.5 A Second Bronze Girl 1.10 Seals 1.10.1 The Male God: Pashupati 1.10.2 Seal Depicting Divine Adoration 1.10.3 Animals On The Seal 1.10.4 Resemblance In Iranian And Indus Seals 1.11 Pottery And Painting 1.12 Summing Up 1.13 Key Terms 1.14 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 1.15 Questions and Exercises 1.16 References and Suggested Readings UNIT 2 MAURYAN ART 47-76 2.0 Introduction 2.1 Objectives 2.2 Visual Arts 2.2.1 Architecture 2.2.2 Sculpture 2.2.3 Painting 2.2.4 Terracotta 2.3 Evolution of Mauryan Art 2.3.1 The Mauryan Period (320-185 Bce) 2.3.2 Prelude to Mauryan Art 2.3.3 Major Specimens 2.4 Classification of Mauryan Art 2.4.1 Characteristic Features of Mauryan Court Art 2.4.2 Mauryan Pillar 2.4.3 Mauryan Art and Its Indigenous Roots 2.5 Popular Art 2.5.1 Yaksha/Yakshi 2.6 Miscellaneous Arts 2.6.1 Terracotta Figurines 2.7 Constraints of Mauryan Art 2.8 Summing Up 2.9 Key Terms 2.10 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 2.11 Questions and Exercises 2.12 References and Suggested Readings UNIT 3 EARLY BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE 77-106 3.0 Introduction 3.1 Objectives 3.2 Early Buddhist Art: An Introduction 3.3 Stupas: An Overview 3.4 Art and Architecture of Bharhut 3.5 Sculptural Art of Sanchi 3.5.1 Stupa I Or The Great Stupa 3.5.2 Stupa II 3.6 Rock Cut Caves of Western India 3.7 Summing Up 3.8 Key Terms 3.9 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 3.10 Questions and Exercises 3.11 References and Suggested Readings UNIT 4 EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL SCHOOLS 107-139 4.0 Introduction 4.1 Objectives 4.2 Gandhar School of Art 4.3 Mathura School of Art 4.4 Sarnath School of Art 4.5 Amravati School of Art 4.6 Summing Up 4.7 Key Terms 4.8 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 4.9 Questions and Exercises 4.10 References and Suggested Readings UNIT 5 ART AND SCULPTURE OF ASSAM 141-164 5.0 Introduction 5.1 Objectives 5.2 Ancient Assam 5.3 Architecture of Assam 5.3.1 Early Phase 5.3.2 Palas and their Contributions to Art and Architecture 5.4 Sculpture of Assam 5.4.1 Sculpture of Animals 5.4.2 Sculptural Designs 5.4.3 Iconography in Assamese Art 5.4.4 Images at Deopani 5.5 Summing Up 5.6 Key Terms 5.7 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 5.8 Questions and Exercises 5.9 References and Suggested Readings Introduction INTRODUCTION The culture and history of India is dynamic, unique and intriguing. It is amongst the first civilizations to have come into existence. Historical records trace the beginnings of this NOTES great nation to the Indus Valley Civilization, which was one of the oldest known civilizations in the world. Some of the most striking aspects of the discoveries in the Indus Valley are the town planning and architecture, art and crafts. Much has been known about the town planning and architecture of the Harappan civilization. The cities boasted of well- planned roads (wide and straight) and houses provided with an efficient drainage system and ventilation. Following the decline of the Indus Civilization, Aryan tribes migrated from the north-west frontier into the Indian subcontinent during the second millennium BC. The Aryans settled in the middle Ganges River valley. Contacts with Central Asian people between 200 BC and AD 100 brought to India new methods of coin making and sculpture making. Many schools of art emerged in India, such as Gandhara School, Mathura School and Amravati School. Gandhâra style of Buddhist art is a consequence of merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian and Indian art traditions. The development of this form of art started in Parthian Period (50BC–AD75) and achieved its peak during the Kushana period. Mathura school of art is regarded as a centre of ancient Indian art. The period of Mathura school of art coincided with the rule of the Kushanas. This school also reached the zenith of success during the reign of the Kushanas and expanded further in the Gupta period. The artists of Mathura school of art created sculptures which are immortal in the history of art in India. Amaravati school of art and sculpture evolved during the Satavahana period. Amaravati School is credited with depicting Buddha in the human form for the first time. In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, northern India was integrated under the Gupta Dynasty. During this period, which is often referred to as the Golden Age of India, Hindu culture and political administration attained great heights. The Gupta period witnessed a brilliant development in the fields of architecture, sculpture and painting. Their rule witnessed a culmination of earlier tendencies and style and the beginning of new style and technique in the field of architecture. The book, Aspects of Ancient Indian Art and Architecture, is written in SIM (Self Instructional Material) format for Distance Learning. Each unit starts with an Introduction and Objectives. Then, the detailed content is presented in an understandable and organized manner. Each unit has Check Your Progress questions to test the readers’ understanding of the topics covered. A Summing Up along with a list of Key Terms and a set of Questions and Exercises is provided at the end of each unit for effective recapitulation. Self Learning Material 1 Sculptures of the Indus UNIT 1 SCULPTURES OF THE INDUS Valley Civilization VALLEY CIVILIZATION NOTES STRUCTURE 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Objectives 1.2 Origin of The Indus Valley Civilization 1.3 Geographical Extent 1.4 Town Planning and Architecture 1.4.1 City Plans and Physical Layouts 1.4.2 Non-residential Structures 1.4.3 Public Works 1.4.4 Drainage System And Waste Management 1.5 Some Major Sites 1.6 Art And Sculpture 1.6.1 Human Sculpture: The Red Jasper Male Torso 1.6.2 Gray Stone Torso Of A Dancer 1.7 Art And Craft 1.8 Religion And Art 1.8.1 Human Figurines 1.9 Terracotta Figurines 1.9.1 People, Plants And Animals In Indus Art 1.9.2 Human Sculpture: The Priest Or King 1.9.3 The Stern Man 1.9.4 The Dancing Girl 1.9.5 A Second Bronze Girl 1.10 Seals 1.10.1 The Male God: Pashupati 1.10.2 Seal Depicting Divine Adoration 1.10.3 Animals On The Seal 1.10.4 Resemblance In Iranian And Indus Seals 1.11 Pottery And Painting 1.12 Summing Up 1.13 Key Terms 1.14 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 1.15 Questions and Exercises 1.16 References and Suggested Readings 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Indus Civilization is one of the three civilizations in the ‘Ancient East’ which along with Mesopotamia and Egypt was the cradle of early civilization in the Old World.