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鈥攁 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 6 - Scythian (Saka) elements in the Later Art of India
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trousers in the Scythian mode, is shown in front of the club. He could be a
Scythian or Kush膩峁嘺 convert, donor, or a native who had adopted the foreign
attire.
Early Gupta gold and silver coinage had evolved from Hellenistic and
艢aka-Kush膩峁嘺 coinage, not only in design but also in treatment and
execution. In some of the imperial coins up to Skandagupta, the costume of
the kings and its treatment retain Scytho-Kush膩峁嘺 characteristics.鹿
The large number of pottery spouts assignable to the Gupta period and
found from Ahichchhatra, R膩jgh膩t, 艢膩kambhar墨 and other sites are indeed
remarkable. They are mostly designed in the form of animal heads such as
boars, elephant, lions, makaras etc. There can be no doubt that such
utilitarian devices, like, spouts and lug-handles or lug-ears of cooking and
drinking vessels, etc., had evolved from earlier models, with modifications.2
The 艢aka-Scythian tradition of using animal heads as motifs on utilitarian
objects, must have had an indirect influence on later Indian models.
1 Hist. Cul. Ind. Peo., Clas. Ag., p. 559.
虏 Ibid., p. 557.
