Art & architecture styles
Rock paintings, Mauryan polish, Gandhara and Mathura, temple orders, bronzes and Indo-Islamic building.
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Prehistoric🏺 Ancient
Bhimbetka's painted shelters
About 800 rock shelters, 500 of them painted, near Bhopal — discovered in 1957–58 by the archaeologist V. S. Wakankar.
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c. 2500 BCE🏺 Ancient
The ‘Dancing Girl’ and lost-wax casting
The lost-wax process of casting was known in the Indus Valley; the Dancing Girl from Mohenjodaro is perhaps the earliest bronze sculpture.
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Mauryan period🏺 Ancient
The Sarnath Lion Capital
The finest example of Mauryan sculpture — and India's national emblem. Mauryan images are also known for their polished surface, as on the Didarganj Yakshi.
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1st century BCE – 5th century CE🏺 Ancient
Ajanta's paintings
Ajanta is the only surviving example of painting from the first century BCE to the fifth century CE.
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First century CE onwards🏺 Ancient
Gandhara and Mathura
Gandhara, Mathura and Vengi became major centres of art, and the Buddha, earlier shown by symbols, was given human form in Mathura and Gandhara.
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Temple age🏰 Medieval
Nagara, Dravida — and Vesara
Temples follow two broad orders: Nagara in the north and Dravida in the south; some scholars also name a Vesara style that mixes the two.
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After c. 750 CE🏰 Medieval
The Kailashnath temple, Ellora
Described as the greatest architectural achievement of the Rashtrakutas, who took control of the Deccan by about 750 CE.
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Indo-Islamic period🏰 Medieval
The arch and the dome
The arcuate form was introduced, with arches of interlocking blocks (voussoirs) strong enough to carry domes; walls were decorated with pietra dura, mosaic, calligraphy and jalis.
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