Room 12 | India 2500 BC-AD 600 gallery
Explore the early development of Indian art, from the artefacts of the Indus Valley to the Hindu and Buddhist sculpture of north India and Gandhara.
The Gupta emperors were able to unify a wide area of north India under their rule, and the period named after them is regarded as India’s great classical age for Sanskrit literature and theatre as well as for the visual arts.
The art of temple sculpture reached new heights. Images of the Hindu deities and enlightened beings such as the Buddha combine elemental power with sensuous grace in their form. Their rounded, full-lipped features and introspective gaze convey a deep spiritual insight and compassion. This Gupta aesthetic spread widely across the subcontinent, and it would underlie the later sculpture both of India and of lands far beyond her borders.
Head of Shiva as an ascetic (EA2013.88)
Female head with headdress (EA1961.138)
Figure of Surya, the Sun god (EA1972.45)
Head of a Jina (EA1963.27)
Brick inscribed with the Sutra on Dependent Origination (EAX.404)
Plaque with a makara, or aquatic monster (EA1971.13)
Freestanding sculpture
Fragmentary standing figure of Vishnu (EA1996.77)
Head of Shiva (EAOS.38)
Notice
Objects may have since been removed or replaced from a gallery. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.
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