4. Comparative Studies
4.1 Introduction
There are numerous ivory and bone objects discovered in Central and South Asia which demonstrate the antiquity and splendor of the art of ivory and bone carving. These ivory and bone finds not only attest to the extent to which there existed local workshops in areas such as Bactria, which were not known environments of the elephant, but also indicate the breadth of a rich international trade in ready-made ivory and bone objects.
It is not the aim of this thesis to describe the extent of this craft in the ancient world. Only ivory and bone carvings analogous to those from Begram have been chosen for further elaboration, particularly the degree to which they illuminate the issues of dating and geographic placement of the Begram examples. However, since these analogous ivory and bone objects are relatively scarce, and much of the previous analyses pertaining to the time and place of the Begram carvings has concentrated on comparison to the ancient stone sculptural styles of India, this chapter will also outline those connections to more general, which is to say non-ivory carving, art styles of the regions surrounding Begram.
Copyright © 2005 Sanjyot Mehendale, Jeanette Zerneke, and the Regents of U.C. unless otherwise noted.
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