Sculpture in the Indian subcontinent, partly because the climate of the Indian subcontinent makes the long-term survival of organic materials difficult, essentially consists of sculpture of stone, metal, or terracotta. It is clear there was a great deal of painting, and sculpture in wood and ivory, during these periods, but there are only a few survivals. The main Indian religions had all, after hesitant starts, developed the use of religious sculpture by around the start of the Common Era, and the use of stone was becoming increasingly widespread.
The first known sculpture in the Indian subcontinent is from the Indus Valley Civilisation, and a more widespread tradition of small terracotta figures, mostly either of women or animals, which predates it.Blurton, 22 After the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization, there is little record of larger sculpture until the Buddhist era, apart from a hoard of copper figures of (somewhat controversially) c. 1500 BCE from Daimabad.Harle, 17–20 Thus the great tradition of Indian monumental sculpture in stone appears to begin relatively late, with the reign of Asoka from 270 to 232 BCE, and the Pillars of Ashoka he erected around India, carrying his edicts and topped by famous sculptures of animals, mostly lions, of which six survive.Harle, 22–24 Large amounts of figurative sculpture, mostly in relief, survive from Early Buddhist pilgrimage stupas, above all Sanchi; these probably developed out of a tradition using wood that also embraced Hinduism.Harle, 26–38
During the 2nd to 1st century BCE in far northern India, in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara from what is now southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, sculptures became more explicit, representing episodes of the Buddha's life and teachings.
The pink sandstone Jain and Buddhist sculptures of Mathura from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE reflected both native Indian traditions and the Western influences received through the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, and effectively established the basis for subsequent Indian religious sculpture. The style was developed and diffused through most of India under the Gupta Empire (c. 320–550), which remains a "classical" period for Indian sculpture, covering the earlier Ellora Caves,Harle, 87; his Part 2 covers the period though the Elephanta Caves are probably slightly later.Harle, 124 Later large scale sculpture remains almost exclusively religious, and generally rather conservative, often reverting to simple frontal standing poses for deities, though the attendant spirits such as apsaras and yakshi often have sensuously curving poses. Carving is often highly detailed, with an intricate backing behind the main figure in high relief. The celebrated bronzes of the Chola dynasty (c. 848–1279) from south India, many designed to be carried in processions, include the iconic form of Shiva as Nataraja,Harle, 301-310, 325-327 with the massive granite carvings of Mahabalipuram dating from the previous Pallava dynasty.Harle, 276–284
Bronze Age sculpture
The first known sculpture in the Indian subcontinent is from the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300–1300 BCE). These include the famous small bronze Dancing Girl. However, such figures in bronze and stone are rare and greatly outnumbered by pottery figurines and stone seals, often of animals or deities very finely depicted and crafted.
Some very early depictions of deities seem to appear in the art of the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300 BCE - 1300 BCE), but the following millennium, coinciding with the Vedic period, is devoid of such remains. It has been suggested that the early Vedic religion focused exclusively on the worship of purely "elementary forces of nature by means of elaborate sacrifices", which did not lend themselves easily to anthropomorphological representations.
Various artefacts may belong to the Copper Hoard culture (2nd millennium BCE), some of them suggesting anthropomorphological characteristics. Interpretations vary as to the exact signification of these artifacts, or even the culture and the periodization to which they belonged. Some examples of artistic expression also appear in abstract pottery designs during the Black and red ware culture (1450-1200 BCE) or the Painted Grey Ware culture (1200-600 BCE), with finds in a wide area.
Most of the early finds following this period correspond to what is called the "second period of urbanization" in the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, after a gap of about a thousand years following the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilisation. The anthropomorphic depiction of various deities apparently started in the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, possibly as a consequence of the influx of foreign stimuli initiated with the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley and the rise of alternative local faiths challenging Vedism, such as Buddhism and Jainism and local popular cults. Some rudimentary terracotta artifacts may date to this period, just before the Mauryan era.
Art of the Mauryan period
The surviving art of the Mauryan Empire, which ruled, at least in theory, over most of the Indian subcontinent between 322 and 185 BCE, is mostly sculpture. There was an imperial court-sponsored art patronized by the emperors, especially Ashoka, and then a "popular" style produced by all others.
The most significant remains of monumental Mauryan art include the remains of the royal palace and the city of Pataliputra, a monolithic rail at Sarnath, the Bodhimandala or the altar resting on four pillars at Bodhgaya, the rock-cut chaitya-halls in the Barabar Caves near Gaya, the non-edict bearing and edict bearing pillars, the animal sculptures crowning the pillars with animal and botanical reliefs decorating the abaci of the capitals and the front half of the representation of an elephant carved out in the round from a live rock at Dhauli.Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). Ancient India, New Delhi: S.Chand, New Delhi, , p.348
This period marked the appearance of Indian stone sculpture; much previous sculpture was probably in wood and has not survived. The elaborately carved animal capitals surviving from some Pillars of Ashoka are the best-known works, and among the finest, above all the Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath that is now the National Emblem of India. Coomaraswamy distinguishes between court art and a more popular art during the Mauryan period. Court art is represented by the pillars and their capitals,Thapar, Romila (2001). and the Decline of the Mauryas, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, , pp.267-70 and surviving popular art by some stone pieces, and many smaller works in terracotta.
The highly polished surface of court sculpture is often called Mauryan polish. However, this seems not to be entirely reliable as a diagnostic tool for a Mauryan date, as some works from considerably later periods also have it. The Didarganj Yakshi, now most often thought to be from the 2nd century CE, is an example.
Art of the Shunga period
Terracotta arts executed during the pre-Mauryan and Mauryan periods are further refined during Shunga periods. Chandraketugarh emerge as an important center for the terracotta arts of Shunga period. Mathura which has its basis in the pre-Mauryan period also emerges as an important center for Jain, Hindu and Buddhist art.
Satavahana art The Satavahana dynasty ruled much of the Deccan and sometimes other areas, including Maharashtra, between about the 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE. They were a Hindu dynasty who made many generous donations to Buddhist monks; some queens may have been Buddhist. The most significant remains of their sculptural patronage are the Sanchi and Amaravati stupas,Harle, 28, 32-38 along with a number of rock-cut complexes.
The Sanchi stupas were constructed by Emperor Ashoka and later expanded by Shungas and Satavahanas. Major work on decorating the site with the Torana gateway and railing was done by the Satavahana Empire.
Cave temples Between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, under the Satavahanas, several Buddhist caves propped up along the coastal areas of Maharashtra, and these cave temples were decorated with Satavahana era sculptures and hence not only some of the earliest art depictions, but also evidence of ancient Indian architecture.
Amaravati art
The Amaravati school of Buddhist art was one of the three major Buddhist sculpture centres along with Mathura and Gandhara, and it flourished under the Satavahanas, many limestone sculptures and tablets which once were plastered Buddhist stupas provide a fascinating insight into major early Buddhist school of arts.
Early South India Stone sculpture was much later to arrive in South India than in the north, and the earliest period is only represented by the Gudimallam Lingam with a standing figure of Shiva, from the southern tip of Andhra Pradesh. The "mysteriousness" of this "lies in the total absence so far of any object in an even remotely similar manner within many hundreds of miles, and indeed anywhere in South India".Harle, 271 It is some 5 ft in height and one foot thick; the penis is relatively naturalistic, with the glans shown clearly. The stone is local, and the style is described by Harle as "Satavahana-related". It is dated to the 3rd century BCE or 2nd/1st century BCE.
Though the hardness of local granites, the relatively limited penetration of Buddhism and Jainism in the deep south, and a presumed persistent preference for wood have all been proposed as factors in the late development of stone architecture and sculpture in the south, "the mystery remains".Harle, 271-272, 272 quoted The form of the Gudimallam Lingam, for example, would be a natural one to evolve in wood, using a straight tree trunk very efficiently, but to say that it did so is pure speculation in our present state of knowledge. Wooden sculpture and architecture have remained common in Kerala, where stone is hard to come by, but this means survivals are very largely limited to the last few centuries.Harle, 342-350; Blurton, 225
Kushana art
Kushan art is highlighted by the appearance of extensive Buddhist arts in the form of Mathuras, Gandharan, and Amaravathi schools of art.
Mathura art
Mathura art flourished in the ancient city of Mathura and predominantly red sandstone has been used in making Buddhist and Jain sculptures.
Gandharan art
Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE and the Islamic conquests of the 7th century CE. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the strong idealistic realism of Hellenistic art and the first representations of the Buddha in human form, which have helped define the artistic (and particularly, sculptural) canon for Buddhist art throughout the Asian continent up to the present. Though dating is uncertain, it appears that strongly Hellenistic styles lingered in the East for several centuries after they had declined around the Mediterranean, as late as the 5th century CE. Some aspects of Greek art were adopted, while others did not spread beyond the Greco-Buddhist area; in particular the standing figure, often with a relaxed pose and one leg flexed, and the flying cupids or victories, who became popular across Asia as apsaras. Greek foliage decoration was also influential, with Indian versions of the Corinthian capital appearing.Boardman, 370–378; Harle, 71–84