The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

PART FOUR
THE GOLDEN AGE AND END OF BUDDHIST ART
CHAPTER 14 A
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THE LATER ANDHRA PERIOD
The foundation of the Andhra Empire of South
India goes back to the period of confusion
following the death of Asoka in 232 B.C. Although
for art-historical purposes the artistic
achievements of the Dynasty are generally
divided into Early Andhra (72-25 B.C.) and
Later Andhra (25 B.C. to a.d. 320), it must be
noted that these categories represent two
different moments of artistic development in
the history of the same ruling house. At the
height of their power the Andhras, a race of
Dravidian origin, were in possession of the
entire region of the Deccan from sea to sea, and,
as may be gathered from certain inscriptions,
this vast tract was united by a magnificent
system of roads in addition to the maritime
communication possible between the ports of
the western and eastern coasts. As early as the
first century a.d. these same ports were opened
to the trade of the Roman Empire; indeed, as
mentioned by such classical geographers as
Ptolemy, there were Roman trading posts
established on both coasts. This fact, coupled
with the finding of hoards of Roman coins and
pottery fragments, has led some to look for
actual Roman influence in the art of South
India. The} 1 Later Andhra Buddhist communities
were also in close contact with their
contemporaries in Ceylon; inscriptions testify
to their missionary activity in Gandhara, Bengal,
and China. A close commercial relationship was
maintained with Indonesia, Burma, and China.
As we shall discover, a purely Indian tradition
of art appears to have been stronger and less
affected by foreign influences here in the south
than it was in the territories of the Kushans.
We have already seen in the example of a slab
from Jaggayyapeta considered in relation to the
Sunga carving at Sanchi, that there was a
flourishing tradition of Buddhist art in the
eastern domains of the Andhras as early as the
first century B.C. Other dedications of this early
phase would include a number of Buddhist
chaitya-halls at Kanheri and at Nasik on the
west coast.
The high point of development in South
Indian Buddhist art was attained in the socalled
Later Andhra Period in a collection of
monuments dedicated by the Andhra sovereigns
at Amaravati at the mouth of the Kistna
River. Although this region had been converted
to Buddhism as early as the third century B.C.
and some of its remains actually date from the
Early Andhra Period, the dedications of the first
and second centuries of our era surpass all these
earlier monuments. There are indications that
the Buddhist establishments were supported by
the queens of the ruling house, while the kings
were followers of Hinduism.
As exploration of the desolate region around
the Kistna River has shown, there must have
been at one time literally scores of stupas and