Art of Mathura
Videos
Photos
The Art of Mathura refers to a particular school of Indian art, almost entirely surviving in the form of sculpture, starting in the 2nd century BCE, which centered on the city of Mathura, in central northern India, during a period in which Buddhism, Jainism together with Hinduism flourished in India. Mathura "was the first artistic center to produce devotional icons for all the three faiths", and the pre-eminent center of religious artistic expression in India at least until the Gupta period, and was influential throughout the sub-continent.
The "Katra stele". Seated Bodhisattva Shakyamuni in Abhaya mudra, with inscription "Amoha-asi (...) erected this Bodhisattva". Northern Satraps, end of 1st century CE. This is the finest and best preserved of the so-called Kapardin statues.
Mathura anthropomorphological artefact. Copper Hoard culture (2nd millennium BCE). Mathura Museum.
A terracotta votive figurine from Mathura. The wide hips and fantastic floral headdress suggest a devotion towards fertility and abundance. She has lotus stalks in her head, and children clinging to her. Height: 25.7 cm (10.1 ″). Mathura, 3rd-2nd century BCE.
Terracotta figurine, Mathura, 4th century BCE
Indian art
Videos
Photos
Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and at times eastern Afghanistan. A strong sense of design is characteristic of Indian art and can be observed in its modern and traditional forms.
Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka, circa 250 BCE. Sarnath Museum, near Varanasi, India
Rock painting at one of the Bhimbetka rock shelters.
Prehistoric petroglyphs in the Edakkal Caves, Wayanad
The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro"