Medieval Craftsmanship in Stone

Abstract

The post-Gupta phase of Indian art, termed as 'medieval', has generally been represented as a phase of decline in the quality of sculpture, both in form and imagery. This perception partially flows from valorization of the antiquity factor, which constitutes the ''ancient' as qualitatively superior to the periods that followed. In that order, the early phase of Indian sculpture, roughly between the post-Mauryan times and the end of the Gupta period (c. 550 AD) is underscored as a period of innovation: when inconographies were creatively evolved, forms perfected, and classicism prevailed ubiquitously. These conclusions make sense eminently but problems arise when, in comparison, medieval Indian art is perceived as imitative, stereotyped, and bereft of purity of style or evocative imagery.