Earlier this year, I spent a few days in Kolkata. The most satisfying day was when I visited the Indian Museum there. One day is just too short a period for a museum like this, so I tried to make the best use of my time.
I started with the Bharhut Gallery:
Profusely carved in red sandstone depicting scenes from the Buddha's pre-birth stories, floral and other animal motifs; besides yakshas, yanshinis and devtas, the Bharhut remains constitute a visual store-house for the reconstruction of the political, social, economic and cultural history of India during 2nd - 1st century B.C.E.
The sculptures of Bharhut mark a new period in the field of indigenous art tradition. Many of the scenes bear short labels in Brahmi script of the 2nd century B.C.E. and mention donors who provided funds for the construction of various parts of the stupa. On a gateway pillar, there is an inscription recording its erection during the reign of the Sungas by Vatsiputra Dhanabhuti.
(Text based on Encyclopaedia Britannica and an explanatory board in the Indian Museum, Kolkata)
On entering the building one is welcomed by a huge statue.
This photo is by Biswarup Ganguly Wiki
I started with the Bharhut Gallery:
Bharhut is a
village located in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It is
known for its famous relics from a Buddhist stupa. The Bharhut sculptures
represent some of the earliest examples of Indian and Buddhist art
Bharhut sculpture, early Indian sculpture of the Shunga
period (mid-2nd century bce) that decorated
the great stupa, or relic mound, of Bharhut, in Madhya Pradesh state. It has
been largely destroyed, and most of the existing remains—railings and entrance
gateways—are now in the Indian Museum in Kolkata (Calcutta). The
Bharhut style, though
at times archaic and primitive in its conception, marks the beginnings of a tradition
of Buddhist narrative relief and decoration of sacred buildings that continued
for several centuries. Sculptures similar to the Bharhut remains are located
throughout northern India, suggesting that
the Bharhut site was the main place for this style type.
The magnificent
remains of the railings and gateway of the Buddhist stupa discovered in 1873
from Bharhut near Satna in Madhya Pradesh are displayed in the gallery of the
museum from 1878. The railings, about nine feet high, consist of pillars,
cross-bars and running coping stones. The eastern gateway of the stupa bout
twenty-three feet high had survived the ravages of time while others, once
placed on cardinal directions were lost.
Profusely carved in red sandstone depicting scenes from the Buddha's pre-birth stories, floral and other animal motifs; besides yakshas, yanshinis and devtas, the Bharhut remains constitute a visual store-house for the reconstruction of the political, social, economic and cultural history of India during 2nd - 1st century B.C.E.
The sculptures of Bharhut mark a new period in the field of indigenous art tradition. Many of the scenes bear short labels in Brahmi script of the 2nd century B.C.E. and mention donors who provided funds for the construction of various parts of the stupa. On a gateway pillar, there is an inscription recording its erection during the reign of the Sungas by Vatsiputra Dhanabhuti.
No comments:
Post a Comment