Maurya Empire. In India, Greek artists would carve stan-
dardized torsos of men and women, leaving off the heads, and
would later supply heads when orders for individual portraits
were made. Th us were made numerous portraits of wealthy
Indians that had identical Greek bodies. Indian-style sculp-
tures were also common, especially for public works. Such an
example from about 200 b.c.e. is in the Patna Museum. It is a
depiction of a yakshi, a female spirit that protected the wealth
of the earth. At 5 feet, 4 inches tall, it has a lifelike height, but
its curves are exaggerated, creating fl uidity in its pose and
suggesting it might step forward, alive. Its clothing and other
physical features are done in fi ne detail, and it glistens with
Mauryan gloss, a smooth, highly polished shiny surface that
was unique to the Maurya Era.
Th e Buddha’s death sparked another kind of sculpture
that came into full fl ower during Asoka’s reign. Burial hemi-
spheres of dirt, called stupas, had been in use on a small
scale for the interment of important people, but the Buddha’s
ashes were divided into eight large stupas aft er his death. A
fervent convert to Buddhism, Asoka had seven of the stupas
opened, and he divided the remains among 84,000 new stu-
pas throughout India. Th e fi nest of these is the Great Stupa
in Sanchi in central India. Originally a mound of dirt 25 feet
tall and 60 feet across, the dirt was covered by bricks and sur-
rounded by temples and gates. Th e stone gates date from the
fi rst century b.c.e., and they mark the end of the major build-
ing period for the shrine. Sculpting the stone as if working
in wood, artists adorned the gates with a dazzling number
of fi gures so that the pillars and crossbeams appear to be
crawling with life, including graceful fi gures of women who
exemplify inner vitality. Indians loved depictions of life, and
their architects believed that no public building was complete
without depictions of women.
Th us, for Indians buildings became works of art. Th ey
built towers abounding with sculptures of trees, plants, ani-
mals, and stones, making the entire structure a sculpture on
a grand scale that was meant to emulate mountains. Th ese
towers represent a Buddha-like climb to enlightenment.
Th e ascendancy of Buddhism did not last for long in India,
and by the 100s c.e. Hinduism was reasserting itself. New
Hindu towers were adorned with sensuous images of gods,
goddesses, nature spirits, and people, usually naked and al-
most always graceful and lively; these towers represent the
phallus, symbolizing creative power.
Buddhism inspired another spectacular form of sculp-
ture. In Bihar, near Nepal, Asoka displayed his religious
tolerance by having rooms carved into huge rocks so that
a non-Buddhist sect of ascetics could meditate in them dur-
ing the rainy season. Th e interiors of the rooms are carved
to look like the interiors of wooden, thatched houses. Th ey
would inspire great Buddhist structures elsewhere in India.
Good examples of their development can be found in the
Western Ghats mountain range, where thousands of rock
structures were carved into the mountainsides and cliff s.
Th e fi rst structures were Buddhist monasteries, begun in
150 b.c.e. Th ese were followed by temple complexes, carved
by iron tools into rock faces, with one temple having a hall
124 feet long. Th e main structural elements were made to
look like wood, as if the monastery or temple were wooden.
Th e walls were carved with scenes of the Buddha’s life and
teachings. Dancers, preachers, kings, and bodhisattvas were
depicted on pillars and walls as well. Bodhisattvas were peo-
ple who could have ascended to oneness with God but who
chose to put off their salvation to help other human beings
reach nirvana—a state of blessedness or union with the god-
head. As Hinduism returned to dominance in India, caves
were carved to become Hindu temples where even lower
castes would worship. Th ey feature lush statues of nature
deities, oft en monumental in stature. At Elephanta Island a
three-faced statue of the god Shiva from the 500s c.e. is 17
feet tall and situated so that light from the entrances to the
cave falls directly on the faces.
Th e Indian style of sculpture, especially when connected
to the Buddhist or Hindu faiths, spread throughout Indo-
china and eventually to the main Indonesian islands, reach-
ing Java in about the 700s c.e. Th e Indian painting style also
spread, though surviving examples in Indochina tend to date
from the 1200s c.e. In the 100s and 200s c.e. Buddhist evan-
gelists brought Indian sculptural and painting traditions to
China, which already had a well-established painting tradi-
tion of its own.CHINESE PAINTING
Th e earliest known paintings in China are from Inner Mon-
golia. Consisting of mineral pigments drawn on stone, they
are on large rocks and sheer rock faces, all in the open; none
so far have been found in caves. Th e paintings depict animals
and stick-fi gure people, and they include elephants—crea-
tures that became extinct in the area before 8000 b.c.e. Such
rock paintings continued to be created among illiterate peo-
ples in this region until about 200 b.c.e. Th ey may have been
created to give the painters magical powers while they were
hunting, or they may have had more prosaic uses, such as tell-
ing travelers the kinds of game that could be found nearby.
Lacquer at fi rst came from the resin of the lacquer tree
(Rhus vernicifl ua), yielding a glossy black paint that was
highly durable. During the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1500–ca. 1045
b.c.e.), Chinese painters began experimenting with pigments
in lacquer to give it color, and vivid yellows, reds, and browns
still survive. Archaeological fi nds suggest that lacquer may
not have come into widespread use until the Warring States
Period (453–221 b.c.e.). From the 400s b.c.e. on, lacquer was
used for decorative art on chests, furniture pieces, walls,
doors, and other household surfaces. Th is must have made
homes brightly colorful during the Warring States Period and
the ensuing Qin Dynasty (221–207 b.c.e.) and Han Dynasty
(202 b.c.e.–220 c.e.). Surviving paintings depict animals and
mystical beasts such as dragons, usually in highly stylized
forms more interesting for their symmetrical patterns than
their verisimilitude.102 art: Asia and the Pacific