Art and Design from Indian Antiquity – Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards summarising key terms, artworks, sites, techniques, and dynasties covered in the lecture on ancient Indian art and design.

Art

A visual object or experience consciously created through skill or imagination in media such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, and installation.

Design

The process of envisioning and planning the creation of objects, systems, or structures with an emphasis on functionality and problem-solving.

Art History

The historical study of visual arts focused on identifying, classifying, describing, interpreting, and understanding artistic products and their development.

Indus–Saraswati River System

Region in which the Indus Valley Civilization flourished, including key sites like Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.

Harappa

Northern urban center of the Indus Valley Civilization noted for advanced city planning and rich artistic finds.

Mohenjo-daro

Southern urban center of the Indus Valley Civilization famous for its Great Bath, seals, and sculptures.

Lothal

Indus site in Gujarat known for a dockyard, bead workshops, and terracotta toys.

Dholavira

Indus site in Gujarat featuring a sophisticated water-management system and grid-planned city.

Terracotta

Baked clay used for figurines, toys, plaques, and utilitarian objects in ancient India.

Red Sandstone Torso

Indus Valley sculpture of a male torso showing sockets for movable limbs, illustrating advanced stone-working.

Bearded Priest (Soapstone)

Mohenjo-daro bust interpreted as a priest, draped in a trefoil-patterned shawl with half-closed eyes.

Dancing Girl

Bronze figurine from Mohenjo-daro, cast by the lost-wax method, depicting a confident young dancer with bangles.

Lost-Wax Technique

Metal-casting method where a wax model is encased in clay, melted out, and replaced by molten metal.

Mother Goddess Figurine

Terracotta Indus figurine with fan-shaped headdress, symbolizing fertility worship.

Seal (Indus)

Small steatite plaque bearing animal motifs and pictographic script, used for trade and as amulets.

Pashupati Seal

Famous Indus seal depicting a horned deity seated yogic-style, possibly proto-Shiva.

Zebu Bull Motif

Majestic humped bull image on Indus seals symbolizing strength, virility, or elite status.

Plain Ware

Most common category of wheel-made Indus pottery without painted decoration.

Black-Painted Ware

Indus pottery with red slip and glossy black geometric or animal designs.

Polychrome Pottery

Rare Indus ceramics decorated in red, black, green, and occasionally white or yellow.

Perforated Pottery

Indus vessels with many holes, possibly used for straining beverages.

Beads and Ornaments

Indus jewelry made of gold, semiprecious stones, shell, bone, and terracotta for both sexes.

Mauryan Empire

Indian dynasty (c. 322–185 BCE) that revived monumental stone architecture and sculpture.

Ashoka

Mauryan emperor who patronized Buddhism, erected inscribed pillars, and expanded the empire.

Ashokan Pillar

Monolithic polished sandstone column bearing edicts and capped by animal capitals.

Lion Capital of Sarnath

Ashokan pillar capital with four addorsed lions; adopted as India’s national emblem.

Lomas Rishi Cave

Mauryan rock-cut cave in Barabar hills with a horseshoe-arched entrance and polished interior.

Yaksha

Male nature spirit worshipped for fertility and wealth in pre-Buddhist and Buddhist contexts.

Yakshi

Female nature spirit symbolizing fertility; famous example is the Didarganj Yakshi.

Didarganj Yakshi

Polished Chunar-sandstone statue acclaimed for its realistic treatment and lustrous finish.

Great Stupa at Sanchi

Buddhist monument originally built by Ashoka, later enlarged; features toranas and double pathways.

Stupa

Hemisphere-shaped burial mound containing relics and serving as a focus for Buddhist worship.

Sunga Empire

Dynasty (c. 185–73 BCE) that renovated Mauryan stupas and produced Bharhut and Sanchi sculptures.

Bharhut Stupa

Madhya Pradesh stupa with low-relief narrative railings notable for linear style and tilted perspective.

Vedika

Stone railing encircling a stupa, often carved with narrative and decorative panels.

Torana

Ornamental gateway of a stupa, richly carved with scenes from the Buddha’s life and Jatakas.

Sanchi Stupa 1

Largest stupa at Sanchi, distinguished by four high-relief toranas and upper & lower circumambulatory paths.

Maya’s Dream Panel

Sanchi relief depicting Queen Maya’s dream of a white elephant foretelling Buddha’s birth.

Gandhara Art

Greco-Buddhist style in northwest India/Afghanistan blending Hellenistic forms with Buddhist themes.

Bactria

Ancient Central Asian region influencing the Gandhara artistic tradition.

Parthia

Iranian empire whose art contributed to Gandhara stylistic synthesis.

Kushan Period

Era (1st–3rd CE) when Gandhara art flourished under Emperor Kanishka’s patronage.

Bamiyan Buddha

Giant 6th-century standing Buddha statues carved into Afghan cliffs, destroyed in 2001.

Mathura School

Northern Indian artistic center producing early anthropomorphic Buddha images in red sandstone.

Chaityagriha

Buddhist prayer hall with apse housing a stupa; features vaulted or apsidal roofs.

Vihara

Buddhist monastery consisting of cells around a central hall for monks’ residence.

Gupta Period

Golden Age of Indian art (4th–6th CE) noted for classical perfection in sculpture and architecture.

Ekamukha Shivalinga

Gupta one-faced linga combining abstract form with a relief bust of Shiva.

Nataraja (Early Gupta)

Earliest depiction of Shiva as cosmic dancer, found at Nachna.

Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh

Early Hindu stone temple illustrating Gupta experimentation with structural design.

Udayagiri Caves

Gupta rock-cut shrine complex famed for Varaha (boar) relief of Vishnu rescuing Earth.

Ajanta Caves

Buddhist cave complex in Maharashtra with 2nd BCE and 5th CE phases of rock-cut halls and murals.

Fresco Secco

Painting technique on dry plaster used for Ajanta murals with mineral & plant pigments.

Jataka Tales

Stories of the Buddha’s previous births depicted in Ajanta murals.

Simhala Avadana

Ajanta narrative painting depicting the adventure of Simhala rescuing island maidens.

Mahajanaka Jataka

Ajanta mural illustrating Prince Mahajanaka’s shipwreck and enlightenment quest.

Pala Empire

Dynasty (8th–12th CE) in Bihar/Bengal that patronized Mahayana Buddhism, bronzes, and manuscripts.

Pala Bronze

Lost-wax alloy sculpture continuing Sarnath style with sensuous modeling and ornate detail.

Nalanda

Major Buddhist monastic university and center for Pala bronze casting and painting.

Kurkihar

Pala bronze-casting village whose works spread to Southeast Asia.

Palm-Leaf Manuscript

Long, narrow Pala book format painted with opaque water-color illustrations of Buddhist deities.

Prajnaparamita Sutra

Buddhist perfection-of-wisdom text often illustrated in Pala palm-leaf manuscripts.

Avalokitesvara

Bodhisattva of compassion; frequently depicted in Pala-period paintings.

Western Indian Rock-Cut Caves

Group of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain caves in Maharashtra including Ajanta, Ellora, Karla, Bhaja, and Kanheri.

Ellora Caves

UNESCO site with Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain monuments; includes the monolithic Kailasa Temple.

Kailasa Temple

Largest rock-cut monolith (Cave 16, Ellora) carved in Dravidian style, dedicated to Shiva.

Elephanta Caves

Island cave temples near Mumbai housing the 7-m-high Sadashiva Trimurti of Shiva.

Sadashiva Trimurti

Triple-headed Elephanta sculpture embodying Shiva as Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer.

Karla Caves

Site with one of the largest early Buddhist chaityagrihas (50–70 CE) and wooden-imitative facade.

Bhaja Caves

Early Buddhist complex near Karla containing a chaitya hall and rock-cut stupas.

Kanheri Caves

Extensive Mumbai cave complex of viharas and chaityas with abundant Buddhist sculpture.

Sun Temple, Modhera

11th-century Solanki temple in Gujarat aligned with the Tropic of Cancer, fronted by the Surya Kund tank.

Surya Kund

Stepped tank with 108 shrines situated before Modhera Sun Temple.

Dilwara Temples

11th–13th-century Jain marble temples at Mount Abu famed for intricate carvings and lace-like ceilings.

Vimal Vasahi

Oldest Dilwara temple, dedicated to Rishabhanatha, built by Vimal Shah in 1031 CE.

Bhandar

Monastic library where illustrated Jain manuscripts were donated and stored.

Western Indian School of Painting

Medieval manuscript-illustration tradition centered in Gujarat and Rajasthan, often Jain themed.

Kalpasutra

Jain text on Tirthankara biographies, frequently illustrated in Western Indian manuscripts.

Sangrahini Sutra

Jain cosmological text depicting planetary bodies and universe mapping in illustrated form.

Chola Dynasty

South Indian rulers (9th–13th CE) renowned for monumental Dravidian temples and bronze artistry.

Brihadisvara Temple, Tanjavur

Granite temple (c. 1010 CE) built by Rajaraja I, crowned by a 65-m vimana tower.

Gangaikondacholisvaram

Temple built by Rajendra I featuring a 53-m vimana and elaborate sculptures.

Airavatesvara Temple

Darasuram temple with chariot-shaped mandapa and refined late-Chola stone sculpture.

Chola Murals

Paintings at Brihadisvara temple depicting Shiva narratives; earlier layer exposed beneath Nayak over-paint.

Sembiyan Mahadevi

Widowed Chola queen who generously patronized bronze image production in the 10th century.

Chola Bronze

Copper-alloy icons made by lost-wax casting, celebrated for graceful modeling and spiritual expression.

Shiva as Nataraja

Iconic Chola bronze showing Shiva’s cosmic dance within a flaming aureole, symbolizing creation and destruction.

Shiva Tripuravijaya

Chola bronze of Shiva poised to shoot an arrow, commemorating the destruction of demon cities.

Prabha (Prabhamandala)

Flaming halo or aureole surrounding deities in Chola bronze icons.

Contrapposto

Balanced pose with weight on one leg, used in Indus Dancing Girl and Chola bronzes for dynamism.

Chaulukya (Solanki) Dynasty

Gujarat rulers who built Modhera Sun Temple and promoted western Indian temple architecture.

Rashtrakuta Dynasty

Deccan rulers who sponsored major Hindu and Jain caves at Ellora, including Kailasa Temple.

Bhima I

Chaulukya king during whose reign the Dilwara Vimal Vasahi temple was commissioned.

Monolithic Architecture

Structures carved from a single rock mass, exemplified by Kailasa Temple and rock-cut stupas.

Vedanta

Philosophical tradition influencing iconography like Sadashiva Trimurti (Creator-Preserver-Destroyer).

Trefoil Pattern

Three-lobed motif adorning the shawl of the Indus Bearded Priest figure.

Addorsed Lions

Back-to-back lion figures forming the capital of the Sarnath pillar.

Chaitya Arch (Horseshoe Arch)

Distinctive front-façade motif of early Buddhist chaitya halls such as Bhaja and Karla.

Gupta Halo

Circular nimbus behind divine figures, edged with floral bands, typical of Gupta sculpture.

Halo (Prabha)

Circle of light indicating divinity, common in Gupta and later Indian art.