The Allahabad Museum has an impressive collection of Sunga, Gupta, late Gupta and early medieval period sculptural masterpieces discovered at different places around Allahabad. During the last twenty-five years a sizeable number of sculptures, mostly pertaining to the early medieval and medieval art styles have been added to the collection of the Museum. This catalogue represents a comprehensive selection of objects arranged chronologically from third through first century BC, first through third century AD, fourth through seventh century AD, and eighth through fourteenth century AD. These periods roughly correspond to the Maurya, Sunga, Kushan, Gupta and medieval periods of Indian history. It documents nearly 400 sculptures broadly classified sect-wise starting with various categories of Brahmanical gods and goddesses, followed by deities of the Buddhist and Jaina pantheons and terminating with secular and miscellaneous themes including architectural members. The introduction to the catalogue details the history of the collection, iconographical peculiarities of some images, chronological range and special traits of the various art centres and concerned art styles and reviews the aesthetics of the art specimens studied. This profusely illustrated catalogue will prove useful in studying not only the materials which constitute the history of Indian art but also Indian history itself.
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