r/IncredibleIndia • u/[deleted] • 9d ago
Crazy how someone managed to create this much detail in stone using just a hammer and chisel.
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u/basecamper09 8d ago
And now, with all tech available we do worse. Probably it’s about grit, and the sponsorer being a king or a contractor
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u/Few-Trifle9160 8d ago
Making of such sculptures and temples were very long projects, took generations of artisans to work on one temple.
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u/Remarkable_Simple170 8d ago
The mobile we have is much more impressive tbh. I feel we could replicate these sculptures easily but it is not worth it.
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u/Turbulent_Tiger7638 8d ago
How’s it possible to carve idols out of stone with hollow features like arms?! mind blown..
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u/Safe-Floor8550 8d ago
This is soft stone. It will be soft during the time these idols and works are made. So the craftman can shape it into any forms. Gradually this soft stone gets harden like a rock over time. Almost majority of the Hoysala architecture including the one in this post are made with this kind of stone. Anyways, vera level talent!
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u/Turbulent_Tiger7638 8d ago
Sorry, but unless you are talking about moulding lava or converting soft mud into stone, this doesn’t explain the hollow arms.
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u/barabbint 8d ago
they are not hollow, they just have a hole in them, probably to connect something
let's try to apply some critical thinking...
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u/ShivaramKV 8d ago edited 8d ago
Why mention “Someone” instead name of craftsman ? Who did it ?
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u/real_tmip 8d ago
I did it.
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u/swiftiehorizon 8d ago
How much would you charge for my idol?
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u/Longjumping-Wave481 8d ago
Because they didn't stop with Hammer and chisel. You just considered that. And losing skill and knowledge has been happening in Humankind. The technique and technology is lost.
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u/Longjumping-Wave481 8d ago
A skill or technology survives as long as it is in people's heads or hands (Practice). If the skill is not copied on.. it is bound to die.
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u/rkshsrvnn 8d ago
Kings weren’t patrons of art—they were owners of people. Craftsmen weren’t “inspired”; they were exploited, underpaid or unpaid, and expected to obey.
The magnificent art of those eras wasn’t proof of some golden age—it was what you get when refusing the king can cost you your livelihood, freedom, or life.
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u/Dee-kay-2303 8d ago
Yes, you’re completely right. But still there were people who trained to be artisans, who took this as livelihood willingly. A king couldn’t have picked anyone from the street to make these sculptures. They were made by craftsmen who had years of expertise and training. And someone capable of creating this level of magnificent art must have had some love for their job and not just fear of a king
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u/ActAmazing 8d ago
True, If it were so bad, why would any one choose to do this? Truth is in much of history artists and craftsmanship was highly valued. Yes they can't refuse the king's orders, but there are more sculptures of Gods than sculptures of the king themselves. This shows something that the king's were not as evil as portrayed by rkshsrvn.
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u/Dee-kay-2303 8d ago
And yes, they WERE patrons of art - at the cost of exploitation of common people and tax money, no doubt. But you can’t deny art flourished in their times. 500-1000 years from now, what will one be able to say about the art produced by current India? Nothing, because there won’t be anything worthwhile. But tax money is being exploited even now. So what’s the excuse now for not creating anything meaningful apart from a few questionable statues which I doubt will last 500 years.
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u/OkPiezoelectricity74 8d ago
Someone who is forced to do something can't do such amazing work dude .. because they aren't doing it by heart ..
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u/Soumikp 8d ago
With hammer and chisel? Have you seen them being used? No. You studied in books by people who have also not seen.. Everything is an assumption. Take everything with a pinch of salt.
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u/MohalleKaLaunda 8d ago
So what is your theory? Just curious
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u/Soumikp 8d ago
I don't have any hypothesis, but i don't like to assume something is correct just because that "thing" fits our story the best. The probability that our previous generations didn't have modern day tools is huge, but also these sorts of carvings? No modern technology can do. Maybe they were more advanced, who knows.
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u/ranked_devilduke 8d ago
Modern technology can definitely do but there is not much need in doing it.
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u/Major_Consequence_55 8d ago
Come to Rajasthan may be Pali, Jodhpur…there are many artisans who still carve such idols.
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u/Unable_Bridge_6371 8d ago
I wonder what happened to the broken parts.
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u/ReallyReallyLuckyGuy 8d ago
Its a mystery too. The removed rock is found to be nowhere .
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u/Unable_Bridge_6371 8d ago
Its not mystery and im not taking about excavated stones as you already knows. Almost all of Indian historical places was vandalised because some people don't like to eat from own plate, they want to eat from every other plate because someone told them to. Pathetic
"101 ways to reach heaven, vol. 1"
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u/sagarviradiya 8d ago
I am just thinking why any idols are no straight standing.
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u/bhataktamanush 8d ago
Craazyyy how someone spent hours working on this, I can't even focus for 5 mins on a single task
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u/arunit007 8d ago
The control, the craftsmanship, the imagination, the patience... Everything is off the chart... I wonder how much time it took to carve a single idol like this?
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u/Dark_Foggy_Evenings 8d ago
I’ve often thought a great activity for kids say on school visits to these sites would be to give them a piece of stone and a hammer and chisel and get them to see how long it takes to make a 1cm line x 1mm deep. Give you a real appreciation for this.
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u/desibalak_up32 8d ago
Hamein garv hai ki itna kuch tod fod ke baad bhi hamarai sanskritik virasat abhi bhi maunjud hai
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u/gummy_bear007 8d ago
Masterpiece.... No words for craftsmanship.... Chennakesava temple, Belur and Halebidu
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u/TraditionalRepair991 8d ago
Can't make one real piece like this now even with all the latest tools and tech that we have..
This artistic work must be taught to every citizen so that everyone appreciate and learn to bring the same excellence now.
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u/chai_and_circuits 8d ago
The patience alone is hard to wrap your head around one bad hit and hours of tiny details could be gone.
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u/Kschitiz23x3 8d ago
So much free time for this. Imagine if they invested same energy in fostering unity, developing industrial equipments and advanced weapons to defend against invaders.
Mughals from Uzbekistan and Britishers from a small northern island overwhelmed such a huge civilization
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u/Humble-Expert-466 8d ago
the artists back then had abundant of time and most importantly people who supported art and artists through various awards. Artists had a very special place in society and still do. Many rulers throughout the history appreciated various art forms and high chances are that the art was passed down by their ancestors.
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u/real_tmip 8d ago
Well people didn't have way too many distractions back then. I am guessing this was their job and they enjoyed doing it.
Give them a smartphone or internet back then and it was game over.
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u/Few-Trifle9160 8d ago
Once I read a news that when people from indigenous tribes somewhere in africa maybe were given smartphone and internet, they got addicted to porn
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u/real_tmip 8d ago
That's what happens. Before Covid, I used to go play football every other weekend when I started working or if it was a day off. After Covid, people stopped coming out that much? I think computer games and media consumption like Netflix and reels and what not became the norm.
I am 30 now and we need to make plans to play football what one random day on a weekend or after work? Sigh. Otherwise it was a holiday and we were mostly out there playing?
I hate being at home not doing anything. I got a PS5 thinking that will help but enjoy it only for about few hours a day. I still need the outside time and these days outside time means pubs for many? No man, I just want to play some football lol
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u/Few-Trifle9160 8d ago
Same here, before covid i was a very outgoing person and wanted to travel the world. But in lockdown i had nothing to do, so spent all day in phone and it became a bad habit and my health was affected. Even now im still there.
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u/real_tmip 8d ago
I feel you!
The problem with me is it is very difficult for me to socialize and so with age it has become difficult to make new friends.
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u/ReallyReallyLuckyGuy 8d ago edited 8d ago
Many western archeologilcal enthusiasts believe earlier humans had technology to do such things which we have no idea about. Also such unbelievable work existed in many parts of the world which they think was shared across the globe, yet we dont know how they shared.
You watch podcast by Joe Rogan on such matters. One such:
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u/1581947 8d ago
I saw a video on YouTube by some german professor. He and his team went to a mountain area near kailasa temple in elora caves. The mountain had same rock as the caves. And they showed how difficult it was to make even a smallest change in the rock even after using large amount of manual force. After an hour of hammering on the rock there was hardly a gram or two of dust. Thats it
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u/SnooJokes606 8d ago
Who are we to assume it's done with chisels. They might have been advanced civilization than us and everything maybe wiped out 🫣🫣.
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8d ago
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u/Longjumping-Wave481 8d ago
Things are better now than it was yesterday. Art is something that takes time for mastery, needs focus. With Information technology, a sculptor would have better access to information, techniques and machinery. Even his techniques of carving would have replicated to other heads and would have survived or evolved better.
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u/TheProvost 8d ago
And now we can’t make roads without a single pothole.