The "Scythian" Period

J.E. Van Lohuizen-de Leeuw’s The "Scythian" Period deals with the history, art, epigraphy and palaeography of north India of the period between the first century BC and the first century AD. Utilizing all available materials, particularly finds of images and inscriptions, Lohuizen-de Leeuw has reconstructed this most obscure period of Indian history which is termed as the "Scythian" period and brought together a mass of facts. The book is divided into seven chapters entitled: the Eras; the Art of North-west India; the Buddha and Jina images in the Kusana Art of Mathura; the post-Kusana Art of Mathura; the Brahmi inscriptions of the post-Kusana period; the History of North India from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD. Particularly important is the chronological scheme which is the backbone of this book. Her discussion of the style of the Mathura school of art is especially masterful and art historians will find her analysis and discussion of the evolution of north-west Indian art very cogent. The mass of facts, including results of latest researches, brought together by Lohuizen-de Leeuw, make The "Scythian" Period indispensable for historians, archaeologists and art-historians.