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Geographical
Division of art
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The
Indian art spans a period of five millenniums from 3000 BC to the present
but there are some discontinuities, since India’s artist craftsmen usually
work in perishable materials. Clay figures that are readily broken or
dissolved by water have been the most common objects of popular worship.
Many are meant for a single brief occasion. However they have influenced
the works in metal and stone. Wood is favored for houses, places and
temples and for the sacred images of the altars. All the ancient masterpieces
have vanished. The earliest Indian monuments known are a series of brick
ruins unearthed in Indus Valley, the most extensive sites being at Mohenjo-daro
and Harappa. A number of steatite seals bearing animal symbols and inscriptions
have not yet been deciphered.
Due to absence of information storage media, no primary reference is
available for perishable art forms before Indus valley civilization.
The ancient era spreads through various dynasties. The Maurya period
reigning from Khaiber to Deccan from 322 to 185 B.C. Sculpture includes
carvings of Saranth. In the Sunga period 185-72 BC, the Buddhist art
enjoyed one of its great creative periods . The stupa or simple burial
mounds were constructed in the era. The early Andhra Period 72-25 BC.
The original Stupa of Sanchi founded at the time of Mauryan emperor.
Ahoka was enormously enlarged by the patronage of the Andhra Dynasty.Chaitya
Halls at Kanheri and Nasik on the west coast were formed in this time
span.The era of art under the Kushan is witness to the Greek Roman influences
on form and Indian iconography. They represent various phases such as
Gandhara, Mathura, Buddhist art in Afghanistan and Turkasthan.
The later Andhra dynasty 25 BC to 320 AD. carvings at Nagarjun Conda
and Amaravati are the examples of art in this period. In Gupta period
Budhhism underwent a process of intellectual absorption into Hinduism.
The last phase of Buddhist art was produced under the patronage of Pala
and Sena period (730-1197 AD). The Buddhist era and their influence
came to an end due to invasion of white Huns in north India and in the
south the rise of Hinduism.
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