Essay name: Scythian Elements in early Indian Art
Author:
Swati Ray
Affiliation: University of Calcutta / Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture
This essay studies Scythian Elements in early Indian Art—a topic that has not garnered extensive scholarly attention. Although much research has focused on various aspects of Saka/Scythian culture, such as politics and numismatics, their contribution to Indian art remains underexplored. This essay delves into archaeological evidence, historical texts, and art forms from Eurasian steppes to decipher the Scythian impact.
Chapter 1 - Introduction—Scope, Sources and Method of Study
12 (of 13)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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Throughout the twentieth century, a series of imposing researches
attracted the attention of the world. However, as with so many contested issues
in academe, we have come to something of a theoretical and methodological
impasse. In spite of such researches at our disposal, some aspects of the highly
peripatetic art like the Saka art of the Indian subcontinent and its borderlands
are not properly documented. It needs to be stressed on the latter aspect, since
it holds a key position in understanding Indian art and reconstructing its
history and also its crosscurrents with the art of the neighbouring countries. In
spite of so many years of excavations, archaeologists, historians, and art
historians still face a major task in exposing the Saka (Saka) art forms in the
Indian subcontinent vis a vis a broader context in the macro level, i.e. Indian
art, along with Oriental art and their extensions.
In addition to the art objects themselves, the epigraphic evidences are of
basic importance. With the help of the latter, some speculations have been
cleared and corroborations made on information based on literary sources,
both indigenous and foreign. Often, in the methodology of this study, it
becomes imperative that the chronological attribution of some artifacts has to
be based entirely on their stylistic elements. We have tried to take due notice of
the decorative details (the individual or set of motifs) which were usually drawn
from a common repertoire of the period and definitely have been current in a
