Greeks and the Art of India

Abstract

This chapter considers the influence of Greek techniques on Indian art. When European scholarship moved beyond seeing Indian sculptures as “monsters” and began to discern the historical trajectory of Indian art, many were convinced that Greek art was the mainspring that got Indian sculpture going. The chronological coincidence of Alexander's arrival in the north-west appeared to explain the sudden emergence of sculpture in the Maurya lands. James Fergusson asserted that Bactria was the origin of all Indian art. Inevitably the sculpture of Gandhara, with its pronounced Hellenistic features, was the first to catch the eye of explorers with a background in classical art. But the art of an earlier period was quick to follow.