GUPTA A.D. 320–c. 600.—In early Gupta art the spirit is still at the height of its vitality, but maturer, more intellectually conscious, more introspective ; at the same time the expression is less re served. Gupta art is characteristically logical, sophisticated, gracious and sensuous. Early Gupta art is important in the his tory of Indian art, as representing a completely unified national style within the limits of India proper, and at the same time embodying the types of which the influence predominates in the south-eastern and far-eastern developments of Indian iconog raphy and architecture. The Gupta style is unmistakably recog nizable in the sculpture and architecture of fifth to seventh cen tury date in Burma, Siam and Cambodia. (See FURTHER INDIA and INDONESIA.) The Buddha figure of the Gupta period is characterised by its definition and refinement ; the diaphanous robe, covering one or both shoulders clings closely to the body, almost without folds ("wet drapery") ; the hair is invariably arranged in short curls, the usnisa is indicated as a cranial protuberance, and there is a lotus or lion pedestal, usually with figures of donors. The finest examples have been found at Sarnath and Mathura, in relief at Ajanta. One colossal copper figure, weighing over a ton, found at Sultanganj is now in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Brahmanical sculpture is represented by mukha-lingams of admirable workmanship from Bhumara, Khoh and other sites in Bundelkhand; reliefs of Visnu, Narasirinha, and Durga, and the magnificent Varaha Avatar at Udayagiri, Gwalior; Ramayana scenes from the basement of the late Gupta temple at Deogarh; sculptures of the Ramesvara cave, Elura; and the stucco reliefs of the Maniyar Matha at Rajagrha.
The famous paintings of Ajanta and Bagh, all on the walls of excavated Buddhist temples and monasteries, the so-called "Caves," belong for the most part, to the Gupta period, though none appear to be immediate products of Gupta patronage. Those of Caves IX. and X. date about the beginning of the Christian era or even earlier, those of Caves XVI. and XVII. about A.D. 500, those of Cave XIX. about the middle of the sixth century; those of Caves I. and II. date from the seventh century, and thus Early Mediaeval. The subjects are all Buddhist, representing Jatakas and scenes from the Life of Buddha, with the popular mythology of Yaksas and Nagas as incorporated in Buddhism.