History of Sculpture in India dates back to the Maurya dynasty. The sculptures of India has influence of three religions - Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The Buddhist and Hindu sculptures have great similarity. For example the the Great Stupa at Sanchi seems like a Hindu sculpture. It is around fifty four feet high and is surrounded by a stone railing and have four gateways on every side. It is finely carved and elaborately designed. But Buddhist sculpture developed a quality of its own when the Buddhist religion moved to the north west from India. The history of Sculpture of Buddhism developed from the first Century A.D. Around 85, 000 dome shaped monuments known as Stupas were established. These Stupas have teachings of Buddha inscribed on the pillars and rocks.
Even though Buddhism disapproved the worship of image or idols, but the idea was changed with the growing popularity of Buddhism. To stress of his divinity several human forms of Buddha, various images and figures were created. All the statues depicted features like dharmachakra or a halo around his head. Every statues and sculpture, which are related to Buddha, presents a serene face. It showcases excellent craftsmanship. Other forms of Buddhist architecture include caves, monasteries, temples and pagodas.
History of Buddhist Sculpture in Gandhara:
A school of Buddhist sculpture developed during the first Century A.D in the north west of India, Gandhara, which is now in Pakistan. Gandhara had several foreign influence and according to western scholars, the sculptures and art forms that developed in this region had Greek influence. The Romans also had a great influence on the art form that developed in Gandhara.
Between the 5th and 6th Century A.D., Buddhism moved out of India and entered Afghanistan. The evidence of this type of sculptures are the rock carved Buddhas of Bamiyan.
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History of Buddhist sculpture in China:
The religion then moved to east along the Silk Road and entered China. The Mahayana Buddhism provides a range of legendary figures. It gave the sculptors ample ideas and imaginations for creating sculptures, which is related to Buddhism. Yun kang of China is also widely known for several caves that are adorned with sculpture carved in the rock. Chinese sculptors developed immensely because it got encouragement from different pilgrims and merchants. The Buddhist carvings in China is considered as a phenomenon in the history of sculpture for its sheer quality.
For further information on Sculpture, refer to our website Buddhistsculptures.com
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