Gupta Ivory Female with Parrot, 320 CE - 550 CE
Ivory
1.5 x 3.6
OF.027
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire, founded by Sri Gupta, which existed at its zenith from approximately 320 to 550 AD spreading over much of the Indian Subcontinent....
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire, founded by Sri Gupta, which existed at its zenith from approximately 320 to 550 AD spreading over much of the Indian Subcontinent.
The peace and prosperity created under the leadership of the Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavours. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy, crystallising in its achievements the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture.
Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty. The 4th century AD Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Gupta Empire with having conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both in and outside India.
The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculptures and paintings. The Gupta period produced scholars which made great advancements in many academic fields.
Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Scholars of this period include Varahamihira and Aryabhata, who is believed to be the first to come up with the concept of zero, postulated the theory that the Earth moves round the Sun, and studied solar and lunar eclipses. Aryabhata, a noted mathematician-astronomer of the Gupta period proposed that the earth is round and rotates about its own axis. He also discovered that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight. Kalidasa, who was a great playwright, who wrote plays such as Shakuntala, and marked the highest point of Sanskrit literature is also said to have belonged to this period. The ancient Gupta text Kama Sutra is widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by the Indian scholar Vatsyayana. The earliest available Indian epics are also thought to have been committed to written texts around this period.
The famous Sushruta Samhita, which is a Sanskrit redaction text on all of the major concepts of ayurvedic medicine with innovative chapters on surgery, dates to the Gupta period. Practicing doctors also invented several medical instruments and performed complicated operations. Chess is said to have originated in this period, where its early form in the 6th century was known as catura?ga, which translates as "four divisions [of the military]" – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry – represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, rook, and bishop, respectively. The empire gradually declined because of many factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories and the invasion by the Huna peoples (Ephthalite Huns) from Central Asia.
After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms.
The peace and prosperity created under the leadership of the Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavours. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy, crystallising in its achievements the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture.
Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty. The 4th century AD Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Gupta Empire with having conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both in and outside India.
The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculptures and paintings. The Gupta period produced scholars which made great advancements in many academic fields.
Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Scholars of this period include Varahamihira and Aryabhata, who is believed to be the first to come up with the concept of zero, postulated the theory that the Earth moves round the Sun, and studied solar and lunar eclipses. Aryabhata, a noted mathematician-astronomer of the Gupta period proposed that the earth is round and rotates about its own axis. He also discovered that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight. Kalidasa, who was a great playwright, who wrote plays such as Shakuntala, and marked the highest point of Sanskrit literature is also said to have belonged to this period. The ancient Gupta text Kama Sutra is widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by the Indian scholar Vatsyayana. The earliest available Indian epics are also thought to have been committed to written texts around this period.
The famous Sushruta Samhita, which is a Sanskrit redaction text on all of the major concepts of ayurvedic medicine with innovative chapters on surgery, dates to the Gupta period. Practicing doctors also invented several medical instruments and performed complicated operations. Chess is said to have originated in this period, where its early form in the 6th century was known as catura?ga, which translates as "four divisions [of the military]" – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry – represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, rook, and bishop, respectively. The empire gradually declined because of many factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories and the invasion by the Huna peoples (Ephthalite Huns) from Central Asia.
After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms.