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Ancient
sculptures of India have been known to hail from as far
back as the Indus valley civilization. Many sculptures
in the form of seals, idols and pottery were discovered
by archeologists working on the sites where these ancient
civilizations once flourished offering proof of the ancient
culture's knowledge and love of the art of sculpting.
In fact, two main art sculptures found in these excavations
- that of a dancer cast in bronze and of a priest carved
out of limestone - reveal the skill of Indian sculptors
from that era. Famous sculpture artists in India since
time immemorial have been seen to have experimented with
various media. Today, there are many well known paper
sculptures, bronze sculpture India and Indian glass sculpture
artists are also well-recognized for their skill.
But the skill of Indian sculpture artists can even be
seen in the ancient statues of Buddha which date back
to some time in the fifth century. These sculptures are
testimony of the Indian artists' mastery of artistic imagery
in that these ancient depictions of Buddha incorporated
many subtle suggestions of enlightenment, divinity and
gentleness.
In the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries AD, Hinduism
flourished in India and this resurgence has been linked
with the creation of many sculptures of Hindu deities
in that era. Still, it was also in this period that the
elaborate sculpting work had begun in the Buddhist Ajanta
caves. The Elephanta caves, which are situated near Bombay
today stand as evidence of the expertise of Indian stone-sculptors
in the sixth century.
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