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Bronze Sculpture
Hoards of metal cast images have been recovered from various sites of
North and Southeast Bengal. Those found in the North are mainly Hindu
and belong to the 11th and 12th centuries, whereas those from the Southeast
are essentially Buddhist. Their production stretched over a long period,
starting from the 7th century. These images are preserved in various institutions
of Bangladesh, such as the bangladesh
national museum in Dhaka, the varendra
research museum in Rajshahi or the Mainamati Site Museum. Some
are preserved in India, for example, in the indian
museum, the asutosh
museum, the vangiya
sahitya parishad in Calcutta and the National Museum in New
Delhi. Moreover, numerous bronze images have been repeatedly appearing
in the Western art markets. Although said to be 'of unknown origin', they
probably originate in the Delta of the Ganges. It is also a fact that
images have often disappeared from Bangladeshi and Indian public collections
only to find their way into the Western art market.
Style and composition
Proper stylistic analysis and iconographic evaluations are required
in order to consider the images in their historical/religious contexts,
such endeavours will facilitate an iconological approach of the images.
In the composition of the sculptures the conventional
rules were strictly followed. Typically, the image of the deity stands
or sits on a pedestal and in front of a back-plate. Various iconographic
motifs are introduced on these two parts of the image. These motifs contribute
towards defining the symbolic aspects of the deity. Thus, a lotus may
sustain the deity above the pedestal while the vehicle of a god may be
depicted on its front side and a human devotee may be kneeling in front
of it. The pedestal may refer to the lower cosmic level of the earth,
which supports the deity. The back-plate may include motifs of a more
divine nature: flames which run along the edge of the back, but in fact
arise out of the divine body; a nimbus shaped like a lotus which refers
to the heaven. Motifs practically generalised in stone sculpture are rarely
noticed in bronze images, for instance, real and fantastic animals that
refer to the elements or the kirtimukha (monstrous face) which
protects the central image.
The central deity may be taller than the attendants distributed on either side. All of them are thus images of veneration, facing the viewer. Narrative scenes, like the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, were very rarely cast. Local stylistic idioms emerged in each region, characterised by a particular selection of motifs and by their treatment, by a specific rendering of the volumes or by a specific partition of the space allotted to the different elements that compose the image. In course of time, the shape of the motif changed, which allows us to follow their evolution and propose a relative chronology.
A proper iconographic study cannot be proposed without
also considering the period and place of production of the images. Similarly,
the iconology of the images cannot be done without including in this study
the style of the images. A depiction of Visnu in the early period (7th/8th
c) differs completely from one of the same god in the 12th century. New
motifs were introduced; the treatment became more and more refined, and
a more heavenly image was projected; and the spatial relations of the
deity with his surroundings were transformed.
1. Lalmai Hills The
earliest dated image, the present whereabouts of which is unknown, was
donated around 700 AD by Queen Prabhavati, wife of Deva Khadga. Found
in Comilla district it inaugurates a stylistic idiom which is illustrated
by numerous bronzes cast at Mainamati and in the surrounding region. It
holds a major position in the introduction of metal casting in Indonesia.
Other isolated examples of this local style were found in Buddhist sites
of Bihar (Nalanda, Kurkihar) and in Hindu icons found at Kalhipara in
Assam. These examples also originated from the region.
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f ig. 1
Vajrasattva, Mainamati
(Courtesy: G Bhattacharya) |
f
ig. 2 Visnu, Art Institute of Chieago
(Courtesy: JK Bautze) |
Those finds reflect the importance of this school which
reached a high level of craftsmanship producing large size images, as
illustrated by the Vajrasattva recently excavated at Mainamati. (fig
1) A particular style eventually emerged. (fig 2) The images
have smooth shapes, round limbs, oval and full faces with wide-open eyes
and smiling mouths. The movement and the position of the body are marked
by elegance and easiness, which reflects peace and harmony. Most images
share the following features: the pedestal is usually solid and rectangular
in shape, with a narrow moulding running along the upper and lower edges;
it supports a circular plain back-slate adorned by flames, and eventually
a beaded row with an undulating line. The upper part of the tiara is curved
and is topped by a small bud.
2. Jhewari (Chittagong
district) A homogenous stylistic group of Buddhist bronzes, mainly depicting
the Buddha, were discovered in the vicinity of Chittagong. Some illustrate
the Buddha seated on a cushion without any back slate or any pedestal,
features which are also noticed in bronzes found in nearby Myanmar. Numerous
tiny curls cover the broad usnisa, the eyes are elongated and wide
open, the smiling mouth is pointed; the flap of the dress falling on the
left shoulder wears parallel lines incised for showing the pleats which
often end in a strict horizontal line - a feature which can also be noted
in Pagan (Myanmar). Some Buddha images are much more hieratic, with elongated
faces, curled lips, incised eyebrows and front-lines stressed by plain
edges; they depict a meditative smile. Some other images, smaller and
often depicted in groups, reflect the stylistic idiom of the Lalmai Hills,
integrating either the large back-plate and the umbrella with the knotted
garland above it or the large round nimbus with flames and the wavy line
along its edge.
3. Vikramapura
Some rare metal images have been found in this area, among which
is a silver image of Visnu. This constitutes a major artefact of the 12th
century. (fig 3) Though a long gap has elapsed between the images
from the Lalmai Hills and these images, the stylistic features still relate
this late production to earlier one.
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fig. 3 Visnu,
Indian Museum after Bhattasali 1929 |
fig.
4 Sadasiva, Fine Arts Museum of Richmond, (Courtesy:
JK Bautze) |
For instance, the high pedestal reproduces the same composition,
but the two mouldings show more depth, include more levels, and are now
articulated on recesses. The back-plate is open behind the god but still
preserves a plain and broad arch. Flames run along the inner and outer
edges of this arch which is crowned by a large kirtimukha which
is proportionally very large. Gorgeous jewellery pieces hide the body
of the god and his wives; a tall crown surmounts their heads. Each image
is cast in the round. These metal images reflect a perception of the deity
as a god of heavenly richness, which differs from the simplicity of forms
noticed in the Lalmai Hills. When compared to earlier bronzes, the images
of the deities are proportionally much smaller than the back-plate. Various
images, mainly of Shiva (fig 4) may also be related to the area,
such as the Shiva Nataraja worshiped in a temple near Chidambaram in Tamil
Nadu where it was perhaps brought by a rajaguru. All those images
betray stylistic features which bind them to the area, although they are
earlier in origin than the Visnu.
4. North
Bengal Buddhist sites No major hoard has so far been recovered
in sites like Paharpur and Mahasthangarh, but images of various iconographies,
including Hindu or Jain ones, and of different periods, have been collected
here.
The relative scarcity
of images makes it impossible to define the stylistic idiom of the
region. Thus we face here a situation which differs completely from
the one encountered in Southeast Bengal.
It is, however, evident that local ateliers were
capable of casting major images, since rather large images have
been collected, such as the gilded Bodhisattva from Mahasthangarh
(fig 5) (84 cm) or the torso of the Buddha found at Paharpur,
both reflecting great artistic skills and an accurate perception
of the plasticity of the body and its smooth surface. Both are also
clearly associated with the stylistic idioms of Sarnath and various
Buddhist sites in Bihar.
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fig. 5 Avalokitesvara
Varendra Research Museum
(Courtesy:
JK Bautze)
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5.
North & Western Bengal Hindu images Hindu images
have been recovered from small hoards scattered all over North & Western
Bengal; for instance at Sahibganj (Rangpur district), at Sagardighi (Murshidabad
district), Mandoil or Nimdighi (Rajshahi district). Some of the bronzes
are large. They can be dated to the 10th and 11th centuries and reflect
a stylistic unity which make them distinct from the southern idiom. For
instance, although the pedestal shows the same composition as in the south
with superimposed groups of mouldings, it is sustained by feet (like the
bronzes of Bihar) while the back-plate is carved through and its various
elements are distinctly separated.
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fig. 6 Vaisnava
Triad, National Museum of Bangladesh, (Courtesy:
JK Bautze) |
fig.
7 Manasa, National Museum of Bangladesh, (Courtesy:
JK Bautze) |
The composition is well equilibrated, but the ornamentation
is overwhelming (figs 6-7). The nimbus shaped as a lotus with thin
and elongated petals is usually integrated within the back-slab, fixed
within the plain aura, along the edge of which a row of flames runs, and
which culminates into a triangular ornament crowning the composition (Sahibganj);
this ornament seems to be replaced by an umbrella protecting the deity
(Mandoil) or by the kirtimukha (Sagardighi). The pedestal combines
the superimposed groups of mouldings and the feet; usually triangular
ornaments hang below each of the recesses.
Images of the 10th and 11th centuries reflect some rigidity
and some hieratism in the attitude of the deities and include only a limited
ornamentation. But later images of the 12th century, such as the image
from Hatpukuri in Dinajpur District (fig 6), become three-dimensional.
All three deities stand here in various positions, which give them plasticity
and introduce movement in the composition. The back-slab is also proportionally
large, a feature typical of the 11th century and of later metal images.
The ornamentation is overwhelming, with features which characterise the
images of the time (figs 3 & 6). [Claudine Bautze-Picron]
Bibliography
Sisir Kumar Mitra, (ed), East Indian Bronzes, Calcutta University,
Calcutta, 1979; Debala Mitra, Bronzes from Bangladesh: A study of Buddhist
Images from District Chittagong, Delhi, 1982; Nihar Ranjan Ray, Karl
Khandalavala & Sadashiv Gorakshkar, Eastern Indian Bronzes, Lalit
Kala Akademi, New Delhi, 1986; Asok K Bhattacharya, Jhewari Bronze
Buddhas, A Study in History and Style, Indian Museum, Calcutta, 1989.
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