Question

write a note on art and architecture

Answer 1

The earliest examples of Indian art come from the Indus Valley, an area in present-day Pakistan. The Indus Valley, or Harappan, civilization flourished from about 3200 to 2000 B.C. Many small sculptures of metal and clay survive from this period. They usually represent human or animal figures. Other objects include soapstone seals engraved with writing and animal forms. The seals may have been used to stamp trade goods or as a means of personal identification.

Four larger bronze statues of a buffalo, rhinoceros, elephant, and bull with chariot driver have also been found near Bombay. They are thought to date from about 1300 B.C.

About 1500 B.C., nomads from the Russian steppes (plains) invaded India. The era that followed is known as the Vedic period. It was named for the religious hymns called Vedas that were brought by the nomads to India. Except for some pottery and metal figures, few works of art remain from the Vedic period.

Buddhist Sculpture
Indian sculpture flourished during the Mauryan dynasty (about 321-184 B.C.). Much of the surviving art of this age is Buddhist. Among the most important monuments of the Mauryan period are large stone pillars that stood at crossroads and important sites. A pillar often had a lotus-shaped top bearing the figure of a lion. The lion was a symbol of imperial rule borrowed from Iranian art. Many pillars also featured important Indian symbols. These included the elephant, the bull, and the lotus itself.

Asoka (Ashoka) was the most famous Mauryan ruler. He made Buddhism the state religion. But he tolerated the worship of such traditional village gods as yakshas and yakshis. These were male and female nature spirits. Many larger-than-life stone images of these spirits were made during Asoka's reign. Smaller versions began to be placed on Buddhist monuments.

During the Mauryan period and the following Shunga dynasty, burial mounds (stupas) were built. Often, ornately carved gateways surrounded the stupas. Reliefs (raised carvings) on the gateways used symbols rather than a human image to represent Buddha.

Answer 2

Indian art and architecture, works of art and architecture produced on the Indian subcontinent, which is now divided among India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In the Western world, notable collections of Indian art can be seen in the British Museum, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.