 Ancient Indian Sculpture is an integral part of Indian art and culture. Ancient Indian sculptures were relatively simple and date back to the days of the Indus Valley Civilization of the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC. The rich intricate sculptures of this civilization mainly emphasised on the works of stone, terra cotta and bronze. Starting from Indus Valley Civilization to the various rulers who ruled India, different sculptures portray different history of their own.
Design of Ancient Indian Sculpture Ancient Indian sculpture features various elegant designs and themes taken from lifestyle. A characteristic of Indian sculpture is that it is primarily realistic in nature and the human forms appear in it more closely related with the surrounding. Flora and fauna have also found its presence in sculptures of India along with the innumerable respected deities. Sculpture found in excavated cities consists of small pieces, terra-cotta objects, soapstone, or steatite, seals carved with animals, and a few statuettes of stone and bronze. The terracotta figurines are modelled and provided with elaborate jewellery. It was made separately and applied to the surface of the piece. The work is easy excepting for a small group of human heads with horns which have been made very skilfully. Animal figures are common like bulls. A unicorn is another animal, but it has been stylized frequently. Seals are carved with bisons, elephants, rhinoceroses and tigers. There are also images of religious significance. 
The terra-cotta sculpture and the seals show two clear and distinct stylistic trends. The sculptures are sensuous and the seals are linear and abstract. Full and refined modelling is a fragmentary torso from Harappa. A jaunty bronze dancing girl with head tilted upward is also from Mohenjo-daro. There is also a headless figure of a male dancer from Harappa whose shoulders twisted in a circular movement. The bearded figure from Mohenjo-daro wearing a robe decorated with a pattern made of trefoil motifs is another well known sculpture. These sculptures have tight, compressed body shape. The expansive modelling of the head reveals that the two aspects of form in Indus valley art interacted with each other. It is also indicated in the interplay of modelled form and textured surface. |
| Recently Updated Articles in Indian Sculpture | |
| • | Chalukya Sculptures Chalukya sculptures evolved a new idiom for the construction of several temples and are renowned for their exquisite architectural marvels. |
| • | South Indian Sculptures Types of South Indian Sculptures are categorized with the social and religious life of Hindus during the rule of Pallavas, Cholas and Rashtrakutas. |
| • | Temple Sculpture of Khajuraho Temple Sculpture of Khajuraho is composed of finely grained stone; this temple pragmatically endorses the eroticism. Khajuraho Temple is located in Central India in the state of Madhya Pradesh. |
| • | Sculpture of Konark Temple The temple is designed to achieve the shape of a colossal chariot with seven horses and twelve wheels of the Sun God. The temple of the Sun at Konark is magnificent in its construction and if often referred to as the “Black Pagoda”. |
| • | Saptamatrika Sculptures of South India The Saptamatrika is a South Indian sculpture that is said to contain energies of the deities of the Hindu pantheon. Saptamatrika Sculptures of South India dates back to 3rd century B.C. In most of the ancient temples of South India, the sculptures of the Saptamatrikas are found. |
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