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INTRODUCTION
Early Arcliaeologists including even Fergusson held that all that was noblest and best in Indian Art was the outcome of inspiration from without, that is, Graeco-Roman or Gandharan influence. Eut Havell las conclusively shown that even the Gandharan influence was more inspired by Indian traditions than foreign. Even recently a Hungarian Scholar Dr. Fabri divides Art movement in India in three Chronological zones, viz, 1st about 2600 B. C. when onc encounters Indian Art during the period of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa; 2nd 1800 B. C.; nothing is known of the period between 2600 B. C, and 1800 B. C., owing to thousands of unexplored sites in Sind and Baluchistan; and the 3rd the period beginning from 1800 B. C, starts the Aryan period and from 300 B. C. starts the period of Asoka when Indian art manifests itself at its highest form of expression. Explaining this last period, Dr. Fabri says that the Asokan movements are a slightly fostered and forced development, and concluding the feature of Buddhistic art, he continues that it is fresh and vigorous. It is a new art and in fact, only one step further than the most archaic art, having perfect frontality and syminetry and in later stages, manifesting some movement. The question now is whether Indian Art originated all of a sudden with the advent of Buddhism. There could be no more convincing reply to this than the words of M. Foucher.
"The appcarance of Buddhist Art is a relatively late phenomena" according to M. Foucher. "Sculptures are almost the sole survivors amongst the productions of this art and we have at least preserved to us not only the labelled bas-reliefs of Barhut documents of the very highest rank Nonc indeed of the monuments known at the present time, building or sculpture takes us further back than the Maurya Dynasty. Does that mean that Art was created entire in India towards the year 250 B. C. by a decree of the Emperor Asoka ?"
Of course it would be absurd to believe this,
"From the Vedic times Indian Civilisation had at its disposal the Services not only of the carpenter, the wheelwright and the blacksmith, of the potter, the weaver and other fabricators of objects of prime necessity but also of those whom we call art workers, painters, goldsmiths, carvers in wood or ivory. If the texts were not there to tell us this in words, the evidence of the sole surviv ng monuments would be sufficient to establish it.
" We can gather froin an inscription that it was the ivory workers of fafest who carved in the immediate vicinity of that town one of the monumental gates at Sanchi. Besides it is obvious that the finished and weli polished bas-reliefs which are for us the first in date represent not by any means the first attempis of beginners; but they are the works of sculptors long familiar with their business and changing their material but not their technique. The whole transfor.
