This is the first comprehensive survey of the sculpture of the Gupta period in India (4th, 5th and 6th centuries). The Gupta age is the classical period of Indian civilization, still regarded as a golden age, when many of the elements of Indian civilization which have endured to this day assumed their present form. More than 140 examples of Gupta sculpture, in both stone and terracotta, are illustrated. These include well known masterpieces like the Sarnath Buddhas as well as numerous work discovered in the past thirty years before its publication, both Hindu and Jain. Terracottas, in which the Gupta modelers reached heights rarely if ever surpassed and which have been hither-to grossly neglected, are here for the first time given proper attention.

An introduction briefly describes the historical and social background of Gupta art, and its development, and suggests some of its most salient characteristics. While Gupta is remarkably homogeneous in style, the Gupta dominion stretched across the whole of north India, and separate sections are devoted to the various regions. More detailed description of individual pieces, with other relevant information and bibliographical reference, are contained in the notes to the plates.

About the Author

Dr. James C. Harle, who was trained as a historian and a Sanskritist, has been a visitor to India over the past forty years. He was the keeper of the Department of Eastern Art, Ashmolean Museum, for most of this period and lectured for the faculty of Oriental Studies, Oxford University, on Indian Art and Architecture. He teaches Indian Art History at Oxford University. In 1990 the University awarded him the degree of D. Litt. For his published works which include along with many articles, Temple Gateways in South India (New Delhi, 1995), and The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent (New Haven and London, 1994), the standard text, also now in its second edition. The author recently retired after five years as President of the Society for South Asian Studies (British Academy).

Preface and Acknowledgements to the Edition
Forward and Acknowledgements
List of Plates
Introduction
Eastern Malwa and Central India
Mathura
The eastern Madhyadesa and Sarnath
The periphery: Ajanta and Western India
The late Gupta style
Terracottas
Bibliographical Note
Plates
Notes on the plates
Index

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