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Pre-modern Indian subcontinent provides a treasure trove of art historical data in the form of stone sculptures and reliefs to study dance. While significant steps towards understanding the literary and visual language of dance have been made, artistic production from Gandhāra (the ancient region broadly covering the northwestern part of the subcontinent) largely remains absent in scholarly discussions. Ancient Gandhāra readily lends itself to a global approach as an active participant alongside the so-called ancient Silk Roads connecting the Mediterranean regions with China. Furthermore, as part of the Buddhist pilgrimage routes, Gandhāra also developed ties with Buddhist sites located further east and participated in the spread of Buddhism to China. Within this context, this article discusses the most common dance depicted in Gandhāran art to understand how artists represented dance in the static medium. Using this dance as an illustration, this article also argues that the iconographic conventions of the Gandhāran artistic repertoire for dance are shared outside the region, notably in Kizil, which is located alongside the northern branch of the Silk Roads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how business ecosystems evolve, what is the identity of business ecosystem and is the ecosystem identity static or dynamics. To understand the above questions, this paper is conducted on stone carving clusters in India. Design/methodology/approach: The author engaged the ethnographic approach in this study. To sample stone carving clusters of India, the author followed the snowball sampling method. Further, the author did collect the information by informal personal discussions, focus group discussions and participant observations. Furthermore, the thematic analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis were applied to process the data. The validity and reliability of the method was ascertained by testing the credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. Findings: The author found that the business ecosystem of stone carving was dynamic, and it was transformed from the buyer-driven ecosystem to the supplier-driven ecosystem. The identities of the early stage business ecosystem and the late stage ecosystem were analyzed through product, network and information flow. The author developed a structural framework to conceptualize the identity domain of the business ecosystem and the author named it as "nature-conduct-performance model." Also, the author conceptualized the identity evolution, the influence of social system on business ecosystem identity, and identity-based conflicts and identity-based cooperation in the stone carving business ecosystem. Originality/value: This study is making additional theoretical contribution in conceptualize the business ecosystem from the identity construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While generations of scholars have recorded the rock-cut inscriptions found on the walls of southeast Indian temples, not until recently has attention been given to the inclusion of text in murals of the same region and locations. Epigraphists and historians of all stripes have focused mainly on the semantic content of text, largely ignoring the materiality, placement, and legibility of the inscriptions themselves. However, a more recent turn to the study of materiality has refocused attention on these issues. Emerging from an art historical perspective, this essay argues that the study of murals can methodologically enrich a reading of inscriptions, no matter their medium. This essay argues that the images and texts that adorn temple walls, both carved in stone and painted in murals, may be best understood within a larger matrix of aesthetic experience that neither reduces them to their materiality nor removes them from a contextually-specific reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the survey on stone sculptures found at the village of Sanghol in Punjab, India and mentions the various artistic postures of female figures portrayed in the sculptures as well as provides photographs of the stone sculptures.

The article provides insights regarding the image, style and development, historical background, importance and challenges so that the Khartse Khar Rock Sculpture of Metreya Buddha sculpture is brought under the protection list in Kargil, India and as a valuable tool of contracting regional history. The two armed image was carved on the face of a steep schist rock, with 9.14-meter in length and its maximum breadth is 3-meter. Fredric Drew was first who gave a pictured documentation of the image and identified it as Metreya. The Archaeological Department of Jammu and Kashmir and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) particularly have a big role to play in this direction.

Background: Stone carving at Jaipur in Rajasthan state of India, is a traditional craft employing a large number of local youths. As an unorganized sector problems are many ranging from lack of benefits to occupational ergonomic issues of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders(WMSDs) and injury to body parts. Study Design: Twenty five male workers were selected in each of the three sections of a stone carving unit. The focus was to identify different ergonomic risk factors associated in this profession from the field. Methods: Still photography and video photography was used to record different activities. Different types of non invasive tools like Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), Occupational Repetitive Action Index (OCRA) were used. Psychophysical measures were investigated by Body part discomfort map, rated perceived exertion scale and visual analogue scale. Objective measurements (heart arte and skin temperature) were recorded with stop watch and digital thermometer. Results: The working heart rate after 30 minutes of work was 112.4 beats per minute categorizing the work as moderately heavy. Postural analysis by REBA indicated high score (13/13). Similarly postural analysis by RULA showed high score (7/7). These indicate vulnerability of many of the postures to musculoskeletal disorders and injury. Conclusion: The study indicates that majority of the activities are in the high risk category and demands immediate ergonomic intervention in the form of tool, workstation and process design. This could be done by involving different Non Government Organizations (NGOs), political parties, and the Human Rights Department both at the center and at the state level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights various significant stone images from Uttaranchal, India. These include the first three-headed Hari-Hara, made of soapstone, which was discovered in the village of Paithani; the Indra Vaikuntha, an image of a three-faced god standing in Samapāda sthānaka mudrā which was found in Bhagirathri Valley; and, lastly, a rare image of the love-god Kamadeva, which was discovered in Katyura valley. Detailed descriptions of the images are also provided.

While exceedingly rare on any given archaeological site, engraved stone artefacts have nonetheless been reported from sites covering a range of periods and regions across the world. Attempts to interpret such engravings have often focused on potential representational or communicative functions, including their role in notational systems, symbolic depiction, and the development of early forms of writing. Contextual and microscopic investigation of a number of engraved artefacts discovered in a large assemblage of dolerite artefacts excavated from a Neolithic hilltop habitation and stone-tool production site in south India suggests, however, that an alternative interpretation of engraved stone artefacts is possible. Drawing on ethnographic evidence concerning the perception of stone, and particularly natural markings on stone, this article argues that the stone pieces on which the marks were engraved were more than just passive surfaces for the creation of unrelated signs. Instead, engravings appear to draw on natural features within and upon the surface of the dolerite, and to suggest an appreciation for the patterns of nature, as well as a lack of distinction between anthropogenic and natural markings. It is argued that the engravings may have been a response to a perceived 'life-force' within the dolerite. The fact that they were produced and then broken apart by knapping suggests that they may have been made to accentuate or attenuate a power that was perceived as either somehow beneficial or in need of careful control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the aspects of workmanship and metal works in India. The craftsmen in Rangasaipet in Warangal district are known for their proficiency in the field of stone and metal sculpture because they made vigrahas and vahanas along with other accessories like crowns of the gods and goddesses of temple and temple ornamentation. Accordingly, flat ornamentation is the earliest form of sheeting in India, where the sheet of brass is placed on a warm bed of lac over a wooden plank. Among the products of hollow sheeting being produced by Indian metal workers are flower pots, lampshades, and drum containers.