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Indian Art during Pre-historic times


""Chittam, Chittenaiva Chintitam""

- Lord Buddha


Any artistic creation (chittam), be this a painting, sculpture or any form is a stroke of genius imagination (Chittenaiva) and essentially a product of the mind (Chintitam).



(Cave paintings from Bhimbetka caves, Madhya Pradesh, India)


Would you like to know about these ancient caves from pre-historic times still well-preserved in the heart of India? Well, be my guest and read on....


Masterpieces - Celebrating Creativity


This blog demystifies the story of Indian art spread over the millennia. The history of Indian art is as old as the civilization itself and every major period of history has given it newer modes of expression and forms of art. I am attempting to unravel the story of living arts in India as entwined in the history, religion and philosophy of the Indian subcontinent. The ancient Indian civilization is complex with its manifold cultures and sub-cultures, numerous religions and faiths, hundreds of spoken and written languages and scripts, enormous regional variations spread across a vast and varied geographical terrain. Each period in history of this ancient land is earmarked by their beautiful sculptures, paintings and artifacts. Out of this enormous repository of artefacts representing different artistic genres, I have chosen a few to highlight the magnificent creations of these master artisans and craftsmanship.


This concept of art as a creative expression of timeless value is elucidated in the ""Shilpa Shastras" which provided artists theoretical principles with conceptual depth. Shilpa Shastras essentially mean the science of Shilpa (arts and crafts). These constitute numerous Hindu texts that describe arts, crafts and their design rules, principles and standards. In the context of Hindu temple architecture and sculpture, Shilpa Shastras were manuals for sculpture and Hindu iconography. They talk about the proportions of a sculptured figure, composition, principles meaning as well as the rules of architecture. creative work and artists were granted the sanctions of a sacrament in ancient Indian culture. An artist expresses the spiritual and holiness in his or her art. This belief continues to manifest in modern India in the form of rituals, where in the autumn festival of Dussehra, craftsmen worship their tools with incense, flowers and unhusked rice.


Bhimbetka cave paintings




About 30,000 years ago (the date though contested) the genesis of this creative philosophy is reflected in the pre-historic rock shelters of the Vindhya range, especially at Bhimbetka, situated in the heart of India. In these cave sites rock art is inscribed, drawn and painted with stones, bones and twigs using natural pigments like vegetal extracts and minerals grounded and mixed with water or animal fat. The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archeological site in Central India that spans the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. it exhibits the earliest trace of human life in India. Now, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site that consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters distributed over 6.2 miles.


Some of the Bhimbetka rock shelters feature prehistoric cave paintings and the earliest are about 10,000 years old, corresponding to the Indian Mesolithic. Bhimbetka rock art is considered the oldest petroglyphs in the world, some of these similar to the aboriginal rock art in Australia and the paleolithic Lascaux cave paintings in France. Explorations so far have revealed 642 rock shelters of which many are covered with drawings and engravings featuring different species of animals. Hunting scenes also depict hunters carrying sticks, spears, bows and arrows sometimes accompanied by dogs, horses, deer and others. The archeologists have found interesting illustration of Mother Goddess, traps, animal chase, stick figures and animal forms rendered in the manner of X-rays, depicting inner organs. The male figures and dancers are shown wearing masks or crowns or horned headdresses.


Indus Valley Civilization



(Iconic seals of Indus Valley civilization)


The Indus Valley civilization dates between 3000 BC to 1200 BC and mostly flourished in and around the cities of Harappa and Mohenjadaro. This was a Bronze age civilization in the north western region of India and parts of South Asia. Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of the world's three early civilizations. This flourished in the basin of the Indus river and the civilization cities were noted for their urban planning, baked brick house, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of non-residential buildings, and new techniques in handicrafts and metallurgy.


The aesthetic sensibility of this period is exemplified in the finely adorned terracotta sculptures of the Mother Goddess and carved steatite seals which were used for rituals and trade. The stone seals with their intricately layered imagery which was first carved with burin and then coated with alkali and finally baked to achieve a glazed finish reveal the technical sophistication of the civilization. The storage jar in terracotta was excavated from the Chanudaro settlement in the lower Indus valley. This represents the most common type of pottery of the Harappan civilization, which is painted black on red ware. Various sculptures, seals, bronze vessels, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze and steatite have been found at the excavation sites. The Harappans also made various toys and games , among them the cubical dice with one to six holes on the face.



(Dancing doll of Mohenjadaro)


The Dancing doll statuette of a young girl from Mohenjadaro is another striking example of a bronze figurine using lost wax method. This speaks of a though knowledge of anatomy and metal technology in Indian antiquity. Her elongated limbs in pipe like form and of un-naturalistic proportions appear graceful through its confident posturing. This posture suggests that she was a lady of authority or a dancer beating her feet to the rhythm of some music. Her many necklaces, armful of bangles which tribal Indian women wear even today, coiled hair tied into a bun at the back, high held forehead, pouting lips and insolent look speak of Indian social life of that era.



(Bearded man of Mohenjadaro)


The bust of a powerful bearded man from Mohenjadaro is one of the few carved stone sculptures found from the Indus sites. His hairstyle and garment, which is covering his left shoulder, are particularly notable as these are different from contemporary local fashion. Extensive research on this figurine has identified him as a priest king or a high ranking official because of his meditative eyes and headdress.


Vedas - the source of Ancient Knowledge


We cannot understand the knowledge on Ancient India unless we study the Vedas, a large body of sacred Hindu texts. The Rig Veda is the oldest of the four prime scriptures with 1028 hymns composed orally in Sanskrit between 1500 BC and 900 BC. The art of religious writings in India with the Vedic period around 2'nd century BC.


(Coach driver 2000 B.C. Harappa)


The Coach driver, one of the four artefacts discovered from an archeological mound at Ahmednagar, north -east of Mumbai. The coach is yoked to two bulls and driven by a standing man. It is cast in bronze with lost wax technique. The wheels can be dismantled and reassembled, which suggests remarkable workmanship and technology. The elongated figure of the charioteer is similar to the figurine of the young girl from Mohenjadaro, which is from around 2100 to 1500 BC.


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