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
5 (of 13)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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Scythes et les Nomades des Steppes speaks of the Scythian animal style as a
precise lexicon of forms and she identifies individual elements of the Scythian
art language, which has made its syntax possible. On the other hand, Russian
archaeologists have worked extensively on Saka burials, in the territories of the
Commonwealth of Independent States.
Indologists have studied extensively Ĺšaka/Parthian numismatic and
archaeological evidences, as mentioned above in our Preface', but no
comprehensive study of Saka influence in early Indian art has so far been
attempted. The increasing number of the known Indo-Parthian and Scytho-
Parthian coins were taken into account for discussing the history of the Indo-
Scythians. In this connection, special reference may be made to A.
Cunningham's Coins of Alexander's Successors in the East, originally published
in a few numbers of the Numismatic Chronicle from 1868 - 1873, published in a
book form in London 1884 with a reprint from Delhi in 1970.
An account of the Sakas with cogent arguments was published by B. N.
Puri in his chapter' The Ĺšakas and Indo-Parthians' in Volume II of the History
of Civilizations of Central Asia, New Delhi, 1999.It is, however, to be noted that
almost all the writings on Scythian art deal with its forms in the western
section and parts of the eastern section. Archaeological reports from India and
