Eastern Indian

Scope note: Generally, this term refers to a variety of painting styles found in Eastern India during a broad time span. It often specifically refers to a style of painting in India that was mainly confined to the Buddhist monasteries of Bihar, Bengal, and Orissa in the 11th and 12th centuries. Many palm-leaf manuscripts survive with miniature paintings; the text most often decorated is 'Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita' ('Perfection of wisdom in 8000 sections'). The viewpoint is usually frontal and besides a few trees the background is usually empty. Because of their small size, never more than 80mm square, they are not iconographically complex; they generally consist of conventional icons of Buddhist gods and goddesses with little narrative representation. Most surviving manuscripts are stylistically linked to those in the Pala style. The monasteries themselves were probably frescoed and decorated with banner paintings which have not survived. The style declined with the destruction of the eastern Buddhist centers by Islamic invaders in the 13th century.

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