Sculpture in the Indian subcontinent
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The first known sculpture in the Indian subcontinent is from the Indus Valley civilization. After the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization there is little record of sculpture until the Buddhist era, apart from a hoard of copper figures of (somewhat controversially) c. 1500 BCE from Daimabad.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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 Hindu, 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.[3] 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,[4] though the Elephanta Caves are probably slightly later.[5] 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. 850–1250) from south India, many designed to be carried in processions, include the iconic form of Shiva as Nataraja,[6] with the massive granite carvings of Mahabalipuram[7] dating from the previous Pallava dynasty.[8]
Bronze age sculpture
The first known sculpture in the Indian subcontinent is from the Indus Valley civilization (3300–1700 BC). 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.[9]
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Priest king of Mohenjo daro
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Harappan jasper torso
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Dancing girl bronze sculpture
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Dancing girl statue, Mohenjo Daro
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Daimabad Chariot
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Woman riding two bulls (bronze), from Kausambi, c. 2000-1750 BCE
Pre-Mauryan art
Some very early depictions of deities seem to appear in the art of the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300 BCE - 1700 BCE), but the following millenium, coinciding with the Vedic period, is devoid of such remains.[10] 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.[11]
Various artefacts may belong to the Copper Hoard Culture (2nd millenium CE), some of them suggesting anthropomorphological characteristics.[12] Interpretations vary as to the exact signification of these artifacts, or even the culture and the periodization to which they belonged.[12] 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.[12]
Most of the early finds following this period correspond to what is called the "second period of urbanization" in the middle of the 1st millenium BCE, after a gap a about a thousand years following the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.[12] The anthropomorphic depiction of various deities apparently started in the middle of the 1st millenium 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.[10] Some rudimentary terracotta artifacts may date to this period, just before the Mauryan era.[13]
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 pilars 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 vegetal 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.[14]
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 on 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,[15] 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.
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The Pataliputra capital, showing both Achaemenid and Greek influence, with volute, bead and reel, meander and honeysuckle designs. Early Mauryan period, 4th-3rd century BC.
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Masarh lion sculpture
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Mauryan statue 3rd-2nd century BCE
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Didarganj Yakshini
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Yaksha statue
Art of the Shunga period
Terracotta arts executed during pre-Mauryan and Mauryan periods are further refined during Shunga periods and 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.
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Bharhut stupa, Shunga horseman
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Shunga Yakshi
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Chandraketugarh figurine
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Male figure, Chandraketugarh, India, 2nd-1st century BCE
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Goat-faced Jain God Naigamesha, 2nd century BC
Satavahana art
Satavahana art was patronised in south India by Satavahana Empire and is dated between 2nd-century BCE-2nd century CE.
Sanchi art
Sanchi stupas were constructed by Emperor Ashoka and later expanded by Shungas and Satavahanas. Major work on decorating the site with Torana gateway and railing was done by Satavahana Empire.
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Sanchi gateway
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Carved reliefs of Sanchi gateway
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Sanchi Torana
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Satavahana relief regarding the city of Kusinagara in the war over the Buddha's relics, South Gate, Stupa no. 1, Sanchi
Cave temples
Between 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE under 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 evidence of ancient Indian architecture.
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Kanheri caves Buddha statue
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Kanheri caves statue
Amaravathi art
Amaravati school of Buddhist art was one of the three major Buddhist sculpture centers along with Mathura and Gandhara and flourished under Satavahanas, lots of limestone sculptures and tablets which ones were plastered Buddhist stupas provide a fascinating insight into major early Buddhist school of arts.
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Amaravati Marbles, fragments of Buddhist stupa
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Head of a lion, from Gateway pillar at the Amaravati Stupa
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Mara's assault on the Buddha, 2nd century CE, Amaravati
Kushana art
("Year 4 of the Great King Kanishka")
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.
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Four-fold Jain image with Suparshvanath and three other Tirthankaras - Circa 1st Century CE
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Spotted red sandstone Bodhisattwa, Mathura Art, Kushan Empire, 2nd century CE
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Yakshi Mathura
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Statue of a man, Mathura Lucknow Museum
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Sibijataka and other Buddhist legends, Mathura art, 2nd century CE
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Bhutesvara Yakshis, reliefs from Mathura, 2nd century CE
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.[20]
Although India had a long sculptural tradition and a mastery of rich iconography, the Buddha was never represented in human form before this time, but only through some of his symbols.[21] This may be because Gandharan Buddhist sculpture in modern Afghanistan displays Greek and Persian artistic influence. Artistically, the Gandharan school of sculpture is said to have contributed wavy hair, drapery covering both shoulders, shoes and sandals, acanthus leaf decorations, etc.
The origins of Greco-Buddhist art are to be found in the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom (250 BCE – 130 BCE), located in today’s Afghanistan, from which Hellenistic culture radiated into the Indian subcontinent with the establishment of the small Indo-Greek kingdom (180 BCE-10 BCE). Under the Indo-Greeks and then the Kushans, the interaction of Greek and Buddhist culture flourished in the area of Gandhara, in today’s northern Pakistan, before spreading further into India, influencing the art of Mathura, and then the Hindu art of the Gupta empire, which was to extend to the rest of South-East Asia. The influence of Greco-Buddhist art also spread northward towards Central Asia, strongly affecting the art of the Tarim Basin and the Dunhuang Caves, and ultimately the sculpted figure in China, Korea, and Japan.[22]
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Gandhara frieze with devotees, holding plantain leaves, in purely Hellenistic style, inside Corinthian columns, 1st–2nd century CE. Buner, Swat, Pakistan. Victoria and Albert Museum
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Coin of Demetrius I of Bactria, who reigned circa 200–180 BC and invaded Northwest ancient India (present-day Pakistan)
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Buddha head from Hadda, Afghanistan, 3rd–4th centuries
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Gandhara Poseidon (Ancient Orient Museum)
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Taller Buddha of Bamiyan, c. 547 AD., in 1963 and in 2008 after they were dynamited and destroyed in March 2001 by the Taliban
Medieval, c. 600 onwards
Pala and Sena empires
The Pala Empire ruled a large area in north and east India between the 8th and 12th centuries CE, mostly later inherited by the Sena Empire. During this time, the style of sculpture changed from "Post-Gupta" to a distinctive style that was widely influential in other areas and later centuries. Deity figures became more rigid in posture, very often standing with straight legs close together, and figures were often heavily loaded with jewellery. The typical form for temples is a slab with a main figure, rather over half life-size, in very high relief, surrounded by smaller attendant figures. Critics have found the style tending towards over-elaboration, who might have freer tribhanga poses. The quality of the carving is generally very high, with crisp, precise detail. In east India, facial features tend to become sharp.[23]
Much larger numbers of smaller bronze groups of similar composition have survived than from previous periods. Probably the numbers produced were increasing. These were mostly made for domestic shrines of the well-off, and from monasteries. Gradually, Hindu figures come to outnumber Buddhist ones.[24]
Temples of Khajuraho
The temples of Khajuraho, a complex of Hindu and Jain temples, were constructed in the 9th and 11th centuries CE by the Chandela dynasty. They are considered one of the best examples of Indian art and architecture.[25]
The temples have a rich display of intricately carved sculptures. While they are famous for their erotic sculptures, sexual themes cover less than a tenth of the temple sculpture. The sculptures depict various aspects the everyday life, mythical stories as well as symbolic display of various secular and spiritual values important in Hindu tradition.[25]
Dynasties of South India
The Chola bronzes are some of the most iconic and famous sculptures of India. They were created using the lost wax technique. The sculptures were of Shiva in various avatars with his consort Parvati, and Vishnu with his consort Lakshmi, among other deities.[26]
The most iconic among these is the bronze figure of Shiva as Nataraja, the lord of dance. In his upper right hand he holds the damaru, the drum of creation.[27] In his upper left hand he holds the agni, the flame of destruction. His lower right hand is lifted in the gesture of the abhaya mudra. His right foot stands upon the demon Apasmara, the embodiment of ignorance.[28]
The Vijayanagara Empire was the last major Hindu empire, constructing very large temples at Hampi, the capital, of which much remains in generally good condition, despite the Mughal army spending a year destroying the city after its fall.[29] Temples are often highly decorated, in a style that further elaborates the late Chola style, and was influential for later South Indian temples.
Early Modern period (1206-1858)
The period was dominated by Islamic rulers, who not only did not produce figurative sculpture themselves, but whose armies, especially in the initial conquests, destroyed vast amounts of existing religious sculpture, which considerably discouraged the production of new figures.
Nonetheless, religious sculpture continued, especially in the far south, where the larger temples continued to expand in a rather competitive. The late medieval southern innovation of towering gopuram gateways continued, and these were covered with large sculptures, in recent centuries mainly in brightly painted stucco. Very large halls were constructed for the large numbers of visitors in temples, sometimes filled with spectacular sculpture, like the famous row of life-size rearing horses at the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam from the 17th century.
Rajput Kingdoms
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British Colonial period (1858-1947)
During this period, European styled statues were erected in city squares, as monuments to the British Empire's power. Statues of Queen Victoria, George V, and various Governor-Generals of India were erected. Such statues were removed from public places after independence, and placed within museums. However, some still stand at their original location, such as Statue of Queen Victoria, Bangalore.
Post-Independence (1947 - present)
Modern Indian sculptors include D.P Roy Choudhury, Ramkinkar Baij, Sankho Chaudhuri and Chintamoni Kar.[30] The National Gallery of modern Art has a large collection of modern Indian sculpture.[30]
Gallery
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Jain tirthankara, 10th century
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Jain chaumukha sculpture, 1st century CE
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'A Jain Family Group' sculpture, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 6th century
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Shiva panel, Kailash Temple (Cave 16), Ellora.
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13th century Ganesha statue
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Stone Inscription at ASI Museum, Amaravathi
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Secular scenes
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Bahubali, Metropolitan Museum of Art (6th CE)
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Buddha from Sarnath, 5–6th century CE
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Statue of Suparshvanatha from c. 900 C.E.
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Seated Ganesha, sandstone sculpture from Rajasthan, 9th century
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The Colossal trimurti at the Elephanta Caves
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The iconic 57 ft high monolithic Statue of Gommateshwara, Shravanabelagola, 10th Century
See also
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Notes
- ^ Harle, 17–20
- ^ Harle, 22–24
- ^ a b Harle, 26–38
- ^ Harle, 87; his Part 2 covers the period
- ^ Harle, 124
- ^ Harle, 301-310, 325-327
- ^ "Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- ^ Harle, 276–284
- ^ "South Asian arts - Visual arts of India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon)". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- ^ a b Paul, Pran Gopal; Paul, Debjani (1989). "Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations". East and West. 39 (1/4): 111–143, especially 112-114, 115, 125. JSTOR 29756891.
- ^ Paul, Pran Gopal; Paul, Debjani (1989). "Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations". East and West. 39 (1/4): 111–143. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29756891.
- ^ a b c d Shaw, Ian; Jameson, Robert (2008). A Dictionary of Archaeology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-470-75196-1.
- ^ Gupta, C. C. Das (1951). "Unpublished Ancient Indian Terracottas Preserved in the Musée Guimet, Paris". Artibus Asiae. 14 (4): 283–305. doi:10.2307/3248779. ISSN 0004-3648. JSTOR 3248779.
- ^ Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). Ancient India, New Delhi: S.Chand, New Delhi, ISBN 81-219-0887-6, p.348
- ^ Thapar, Romila (2001). Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-564445-X, pp.267-70
- ^ a b Dated 100 BCE in Fig.88 in Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2007). History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE. BRILL. p. 368, Fig. 88. ISBN 9789004155374.
- ^ "Seated Buddha with Two Attendants". www.kimbellart.org. Kimbell Art Museum.
- ^ "The Buddhist Triad, from Haryana or Mathura, Year 4 of Kaniska (ad 82). Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth." in Museum (Singapore), Asian Civilisations; Krishnan, Gauri Parimoo (2007). The Divine Within: Art & Living Culture of India & South Asia. World Scientific Pub. p. 113. ISBN 9789810567057.
- ^ Close-up image of the inscription of the Kimbell Buddha in Fussman, Gérard (1988). Documents épigraphiques kouchans (V). Buddha et Bodhisattva dans l'art de Mathura : deux Bodhisattvas inscrits de l'an 4 et l'an 8. p. 27, planche 2.
- ^ Boardman, 370–378; Harle, 71–84
- ^ Dehejia, Vidya. "Buddhism and Buddhist Art". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- ^ Boardman, 370–378; Sickman, 85–90; Paine, 29–30
- ^ Harle, 212-216; Craven, 170, 172-176
- ^ Harle, 212; Craven, 176
- ^ a b c "Khajuraho Group of Monuments". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- ^ "Great Living Chola Temples". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- ^ Smith, David (David James), born 1944 (2002). The Dance of Siva: religion, art and poetry in South India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0521528658. OCLC 53987899.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja)". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- ^ Rowland, 317
- ^ a b "Modern Sculptures". National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
References
- Boardman, John, ed., The Oxford History of Classical Art, 1993, OUP, ISBN 0198143869
- Craven, Roy C., Indian Art: A Concise History, 1987, Thames & Hudson (Praeger in USA), ISBN 0500201463
- Harle, J. C., The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press. (Pelican History of Art), ISBN 0300062176
- Paine, Robert Treat, in: Paine, R. T. & Soper A, The Art and Architecture of Japan, 3rd ed 1981, Yale University Press. (Pelican History of Art), ISBN 0140561080
- Rowland, Benjamin, The Art and Architecture of India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, 1967 (3rd edn.), Pelican History of Art, Penguin, ISBN 0140561021
- Sickman, Laurence, in: Sickman L & Soper A, The Art and Architecture of China, (Pelican History of Art), 3rd ed 1971, Penguin (now Yale History of Art), LOC 70-125675
Further reading
- Lerner, Martin (1984). The flame and the lotus: Indian and Southeast Asian art from the Kronos collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0870993749. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
- Welch, Stuart Cary (1985). India: art and culture, 1300-1900]. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780944142134.