POST-MAURYAN TRENDS IN INDIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
The period following the Mauryan Empire in India was marked by a plethora of cultural, artistic, and religious developments. Various ruling dynasties like the Shungas, Kanvas, Kushanas, and Guptas in the north, and the Satvahanas, Ikshavakus, Abhiras, and Vakatakas in the south, contributed to the artistic landscape in different ways. This was also a period when Brahmanical sects like the Vaishnavas and Shaivas gained prominence.
1.Low Relief: The sculptures at Bharhut largely exist in low relief, suggesting a closeness to the plane of the stone slab they are carved from.
2.Linearity: There’s a focus on maintaining linearity, which may result from the technological limitations of the time, or perhaps an aesthetic choice.
3.Storytelling Precision: The relief panels frequently illustrate stories, emphasising key events and principal characters, using methods like tilted perspective to create a sense of depth and three-dimensionality.
4.Economy Of Space: Sculptors used the available space effectively. For example, folded hands are often shown flat, clinging to the chest, which might be a result of the flatness of the relief and the inability to project elements outwardly.