The archaeology gallery of the Indian Museum showcases a panorama of Indian sculptural art that celebrates the evolution of sculptural art in South Asia. The exquisite collection of sculptures exhibited in this gallery marks the transition from the Mathura School of the Kushana period to the Sarnath School of the Gupta era, followed by the emergence of medieval sculptures from Eastern and Southern India.
It is a very well presented gallery. I particularly appreciated the free-standing sculptures on plinths in the middle of the exhibition space, which allowed the viewer a 360 degree close-up view of the pieces free from being confined in dusty and sometimes rather grubby side cabinets.
Many regions of India are represented here, in addition to other kingdoms in south-east Asia such as Java and Cambodia, where Indian artistic trends travelled from a very early period.
What follows is essentially a virtual tour of the Archaeology Gallery, showcasing the sculptures as best as I could capture in what is not a particularly well lit space.
Please click on any of the images to view them in a larger format.
Right : Astabhuja Durga – 11th century CE – Hornblende, Bihar
Right : Dancing Shiva – 12th century CE – Halebidu, Karnataka
Right : Buddha – 385 CE – Bodhgaya, Bihar
Right : Mahaparinirvana – 10th century CE – Dinajpur, West Bengal
The largest single piece in the gallery comes from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. This consists of three pillars with a coping stone, each pillar depicting Yakshis trampling on evil entities. On the back of each pillar, further scenes have been carved depicting Sibijakata and other Buddhist legends.
Between the 1st and 3rd century CE the region around the ancient city of Mathura emerged and flourished as a very important school of indigenous art. Though the art activities started here as early as the 3rd century BCE in the form of massive yaksha and yakshi figures, it’s most prolific output occurred during the rule of the Kushanas, specifically under Kanishka, Huvishka and Vasudeva, who established their supremacy over a large portion of the Ganga-Yamuna Valley.
2nd century CE – Bhutesar, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
2nd century CE – Bhutesar, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
2nd century CE – Bhutesar, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
2nd century CE – Bhutesar, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Middle : Mahisasuramardini – 12th century CE – Manbhum, West Bengal
Right : Seated Devi – 11th century CE – Bogura, Bangladesh
Middle : Parvati – 12th century CE – South Mohammadpur, Bangladesh
Right : Rishabhanatha – 10th century CE – Manbhum, West Bengal
Middle : Tirthankara Chandraprabha – 9th century CE – Bihar
Right : Garuda – 12th century CE – Cambodia
Middle : Devi – 10th century CE – Satna, Madhya Pradesh
Right : Vaishnavi – Chingleput, Tamil Nadu
Middle : Crowned Buddha – 10th century CE – Bihar
Right : Uma-Mahesvara – 11th century CE – Bihar
Middle : Vishnu on his mount – 8/9th century CE – Bihar
Right : Manjushri – 10th century CE – Bihar
This next piece I found particularly captivating, the level of craftmanship is staggering. Carved from limestone, it depicts scenes from the life of Buddha, and comes from the Amaravati Stupa in Andhra Pradesh.
The first formal record of the site by westerners occurred in 1797, when Major Colin Mackenzie reported discovering a large Buddhist construction built of bricks and faced with limestone slabs. He returned to the site 19 years later in 1816, and was shocked to find much of the site had been destroyed. Many of the Stupa bricks had been excavated and reused to build local houses. Mackenzie recognised that the monument was rapidly disappearing, so undertook his own rudimentary excavations on the site to record and draw a plan of the Stupa.
Fragments from the stupa are housed in a total of 10 museums throughout India, in addition to 7 other museums across France, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States. Probably the largest collection on artifacts from the stupa can be seen in the British Museum, where there is a dedicated galley to showcase them.
This bas-relief consists of three distinct compartments separated from one another by a representation of the end of an ornamental wall.
In the compartment to the left (above), the father of Buddha, Suddhodana, is represented seated on a throne, with a halo behind his head, and an attendant on each side of the throne with a chauri (flywhisk), the other surrounding figures probably his courtiers.
In the central compartment (above), the Buddha is depicted as an elephant having descended from heaven, Tusita, in a pavilion carried by celestial dwarfs, amidst great rejoicing. A banner and an umbrella are borne in front of the ark, and human figures are dancing and playing musical instruments around it. Note that one of the musicians is playing a lute, this is one of the earliest depictions of this instrument in India.
In the compartment to the right (above), the mother of the Buddha, Mayadevi, is seen lying on her couch, whilst another female figure is seated on the floor in front. At each corner of her bed is found a male guard. She is dreaming of her immaculate conception when the Buddha, in the shape of a while elephant, descends and enters her womb. The elephant is represented on the upper ornamental margin of the compartment.
Middle : Maitreya – 11th century CE – Bihar
Right : Avalokitesvara – 11th century CE – Bihar
Middle : Standing male – 5th century CE
Right : Gangavatara scene pillar – 5th century CE – Chandimau, Patna, Bihar
Middle : Life scenes of Buddha – 5th century CE – Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh
Right : Amorous couple – 2nd century CE – Sankisa, Uttar Pradesh
Middle : Scenes from Buddha’s life – 5th century CE – Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh
Right : Seated Buddha – 7th century CE – Bihar
Middle : Taming of Nalagiri by Buddha – 10th century CE – Patna, Bihar
Right : Khadiravani Tara – 10th century CE – Bihar
Middle : Mirichi – 9th century CE – Bihar
Right : Standing Tara – 10th cetury CE – Bihar
Middle : Tara – 9th cebntury CE – Kurkihar, Bihar
Right : Vasudhara – 9th century CE – Bihar
Middle : Seated Buddha – 10th century CE – Bihar
Right : Buddha – 10th century CE – Kurkihar, Bihar
Middle : Conch blower – 1st/2nd century CE – Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Right : Jina head – 2nd century CE – Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Middle : Garuda – 11th century CE – Jalghata Kachery, West Bengal
Right : Kartikeya – 12th century CE – North Bengal
Middle : Dancing Ganesha – 12th century CE – North Bengal
Right : Surya – 12th century CE – Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Middle : Boar incarnation of Vishnu – 11th century CE – Bihar
Right : Dancing Bhairava – 12th century CE – Jagnail, West Dinajpur, North Bengal
Middle : Sardulavyala – 10th century CE – Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
Right : Ganesha – 8/9th century CE – Java, Indonesia
Middle : Unknown
Right : Brahma – 10th century CE – Java, Indonesia
Right : Indra inside Chaitya niche – 5th century CE – Bhumara, Madhya Pradesh
Middle & Right : Chaturmukha Linga – 7/8th century CE – Java, Indonesia
Right : Nagaraja – 9th century CE – Bihar
Right : Buddha offering protection – 5th century CE – Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh
Right : Ganesha – 5th century CE – Bhurnara, Madhya Pradesh
Right : Tara – 6th century CE – Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh
Right : Buddha – 3rd century CE – Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Right : Sardulavyala – 10th century CE – Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
Right : Mother with child – 10th century CE – Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
Right : Subrahmanya – 12th century CE – Mallangudi, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
Right : Kubera (god of wealth) – 7th century CE – Bihar
Right : Shiva-Parvati – 5th century CE – Kausambi, Uttar Pradesh
That concludes my virtual tour of the Archaeology Gallery at the Indian Museum in Kolkata. Annexed to this gallery is the wonderful Gandhara Gallery, probably the best presented gallery to be found in the museum, with excellent lighting and the sculptures well spaced out in a sizeable room.
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