Few other paintings in India and southern Asia survive
from before the 200s c.e. because surfaces such as wood and
silk and other fabrics, which were used for painting, decay
quickly in wet climates and are subject to destruction by fi re.
In India the second-earliest surviving paintings are found on
walls in cave temples at Ajanta; they are fragmentary because
much of the paint has peeled off over the centuries. Cave X of
Ajanta houses the earliest painting that dates from the fi rst
century b.c.e. It depicts the life of the Buddha and is so richly
presented that the mural suggests that painting had become a
highly sophisticated art form much earlier in history. Much
better preserved are paintings in Cave I from the 400s c.e. In
these paintings, human beings and gods are sometimes serene,
sometimes joyful, and always surrounded by activity, suggest-
ing that life is an enterprise rich in spiritual and physical plea-
sures that people who set free their inner vitality can enjoy.
INDIAN SCULPTURE
Th e roots of Indian arts probably reach back to the Harap-
pan civilization of the Indus River region (ca. 2600–ca. 1500
b.c.e.). Metal casting emerged early in Harappan culture,
perhaps 2300 b.c.e., and it was already highly developed, sug-
gesting that the Harappans learned how to make bronze and
other metal fi gures from Mesopotamians. Most Harappan
castings have been found in the ruined city of Mohenjo Daro.
Perhaps the most spectacular artifact is the copper image of
a young woman housed in India’s National Museum in New
Delhi. Dating from before 1750 b.c.e., she is 5½ inches tall,
missing her feet, and clad only in bangles and a necklace. She
features the wide nose and thick lips typical of the Harappans
and may represent a dancing girl. She is in a relaxed, languid
pose, as if waiting for something, and the fi gure presages the
graceful ancient Indian style to come.
Th e Harappan culture began to decline between 1900
b.c.e. and 1800 b.c.e. Aft er its fall to natural disasters and
an Aryan infl ux around 1500 b.c.e., the primary infl uences
on Indian art were remnant Harappan populations southeast
of the Indus River and the Greeks. Th e Aryan tribes that in-
vaded the Harappan lands in the Indus Valley spread through
northern India. Little remains of Indian art from about 1500
b.c.e. to about 500 b.c.e., though Indian writings indicate
that the period was a colorful one for the arts. Perhaps most
artworks were made with perishable materials such as wood,
which rapidly decayed in India’s wet environment.
A new sculptural tradition began in India from the in-
fl uence of a Hindu prince named Siddhartha Gautama. Born
into the warrior caste (one of four social divisions in India),
Siddhartha lived from about 563 to about 483 b.c.e., and
he became known as the Buddha. He traveled through the
northeastern kingdoms, urging people to forsake their de-
sires, and he formed the fi rst Buddhist order of monks. At
fi rst Buddhist sculptures focused on symbols, but in the 200s
b.c.e. artists began sculpting realistic portraits of the Bud-
dha, starting an artistic tradition that would shape much of
the art and taste of Asia and the Pacifi c.
In 326 b.c.e. Alexander the Great conquered much of
northwestern India. He brought with him Greek culture, in-
cluding artists. In 321 b.c.e. a general of the Nanda Dynasty,
Chandragupta Maurya, overthrew the Nanda government
and defeated the Greek state that had been created by Alex-
ander in the northwest of India. Th e Maurya Dynasty (321–
185 b.c.e.) featured great empire builders in its fi rst three
rulers, who expanded their nation to cover most of the In-
dian subcontinent, but in 261 b.c.e., Chandragupta’s great-
grandson Asoka had a crisis of conscience aft er seeing the
misery his conquering had caused, converted to Buddhism,
and made his nation a pacifi st state. Th ereaft er its power and
territory waned, yet the Mauryans initiated a great age of
stone sculpture.
Greek-style sculpture was immensely popular, especially
for portraits, and Greek sculptors found ready work in theSchist head of the fasting Buddha, from Rawalpindi District, Gand-
hara, Pakistan, second to third century c.e. (© Th e Trustees of the
British Museum)art: Asia and the Pacific 101