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Gwalior. Larger Sas-Bahu Temple. 1093.

Date

Authors

Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham

Journal Title

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Volume Title

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Abstract

Description

The Sas-Bahu Temple is an example of architecture in India 'after the fall' or rather after the Moslem invasion in 1024. The Indian artists did not allow their styles to succumb completely to the foreigners and quite pugnaciously resisted adopting Moslem canons for anything they built in their own homeland. We can see that several architectural features common to early medieval India have been fallen back on and added to with perhaps less refined new elements. The raised base beneath the temple, for example, is a characteristic Nagara or northern element while the relative horizontality of the roof is a southern tradition. Neither feature is the same as it had been three hundred years earlier, however, for both have been given different roles to play. The raised base now forms the stairway, which enters the temple, and the horizontal roof has allowed for the opening up of broad verandas and porches. A noticeable decrease in decorative sculpture is also present.

Citation

Source

Type

Archives Series

Basham Collection

Date created

circa 1970s

Access Statement

License Rights

This item is provided for research purposes. Contact the Australian National University Archives at butlin.archives@anu.edu.au for permission to use.

DOI

Restricted until

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