med indian sculpture

7/23/2019 Med Indian Sculpture

1/8

IMEDIEV L

INDI N

SCULPTURE

BY ALAN PRIEST

Curator

of

Far Eastern

A'rt

Mr.

Raymond

Burnier has

made

and

brought

to

America a

really

dazzling

series of

photo-

graphs

of medieval Indian

sculpture,

mostly

from

the

sites

Khajuraho,

Mahoba,

and Bhu-

vaneshvar.

The

photographs

are

of

Hindu

tem-

ples

of

the

tenth,

eleventh,

and twelfth cen-

turies,

a

period

considered late in

the

history

of

Indian

sculpture

but

one

which

may

be seen on

the merit of this

exhibition to

have

been

quite

wonderful

in

its

own

right.

It

should be

ap-

proached so. While most of the larger Ameri-

can

museums

have

examples

of

Indian

sculpture

(only

the

Boston

Museum

has

any

considerable

collection),

there has

nowhere

in

these

parts

been

seen

anything

that can

convey

to the

pub-

lic

the

experience

of

visiting

a

large

Indian

tem-

ple.

Not

that

this

is a

life-sized

model or

a

Colonial

Exposition,

wall-by-wall

presentation.

On

the

contrary

it

is

a

series of

large

photo-

graphs

mostly

of

single

figures

or

details,

but

by

seeing

a

large

number of them

together

the

observer

experiences

much

the

same

thing

that

he

does when

visiting

an

actual

temple.

It

is

a

very

exciting

and

beautiful

exhibition

indeed.

All

this is

a

powerful

visual

manifestation of

a

very

old and

powerful religion,

the

beginnings

of which

were

simple, inspired

by

the

common

desire

of man

to

understand

and

to be

in

tune

with

the

principles

that

govern

the

universe.

Most

religions

start

simply

and

rapidly

become

complicated,

so

that

when their

sculptors

and

painters

attempt

to

put

metaphysical

concepts

into

visual

terms the

eye

is often

satisfied with

the enchantment and

fails

to inform

the mind

of the

spiritual meaning.

It

is

not

necessary

to

know book or

verse on

Hinduism

to

thoroughly

enjoy

these

deities

translated into an

under-

standable

human

form,

any

more

than

it is

OPPOSITE

PAGE: Head

of

an

apsaras.

Mukteshvar

Temple,

Bhuvaneshvar.

x

century.

Photograph

Raymond

Burnier-Copyright

Pierre Beres

necessary

to be a well-tutored Christian

to be

uplifted

by

the

sculptured

representations

of

the

Old and New Testaments

which

appear

on

the Gothic

cathedrals.

It is true that the

more

one knows about the

meaning

and

history,

the

more one's

pleasure

is

increased;

we see

the

wheel

and

know

it

is

Saint

Catherine,

the

lion

and

know

that

it

is

Saint

Jerome,

but even

with-

out that

knowledge

we would

be aware of

some-

thing.

So

with these

Hindu

deities we

may

learn

to see a thunderbolt and know that it is Shiva,

a ram and

flames

and know that it is

Agni,

or

recognize

Yama

dancing

on

a

buffalo.

The

more

we

know,

the

greater

our

interest,

but

without

any

such

knowledge

at all both

Gothic cathe-

drals and

Hindu

temples

are bound

to attract

our

eye.

If

they

attract us into

finding

out

more

about

their

meaning

so

much the

better.

Bhuvaneshvar is an ancient

city

of

Orissa,

near

the

bay

of

Bengal,

south of Calcutta. It

was

partly

abandoned

when the Mahanadi

river

changed

its

course

a

few

centuries

ago,

but

it

re-

mained a

center

of

pilgrimage

and its main

temples

are still

used for

worship.

The most

im-

portant

of them date from the tenth and

elev-

enth centuries.

Khajuraho

was the

capital

of

an

important

kingdom

in

the center

of

India

during

the

tenth

century,

a

city

of

large

avenues

lined with

sump-

tuous

temples.

Today

about ten

temples

remain

standing

over

a

wide area covered with

fields

and

jungle.

The

illustrations shown

here are

from

Medieval

Indian

Sculpture,

the current exhibition

of

photographs by Raymond

Burnier, presented

under the

patronage

of

the Government

of

India. Mr.

Burnier,

who

has traveled extensive-

ly

in India

photographing

Hindu

temple sculp-

ture,

is

Honorary

Officer

on

Special

Duty

of

the

Archaeological Department

of

the

Government

of

India.

67


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ABOVE: Head

of

an

apsaras.

Rajarani

Temple,

Bhuvaneshvar.

xII

century.

OPPOSITE

PAGE:

Head

of

Rudra,

the Lord

of

Tears,

who

personifies

the

destructive

aspect

of

Shiva.

Duladeo

Temple,

Khajuraho.

x

century.

Photographs

Raymond

Burnier-Copyright

Pierre Beres

Like

the

Hindu

temple

itself

each

sculpture

is

built

upon

a

diagram,

and

very

strict canons

regulate

all the

proportions

of

each

figure,

the canons

being

different

for

the

representation

of

different

kinds

of

deities.

Every

detail,

even the size

of

the

pupils

or

the breadth

of

the nostrils

is

given

in

the

canons. The

unit

of

measure

for

the

whole

temple

is

generally

the

finger

breadth

of

the

architect or

that

of

the

donor. Most

of

the

canons

are still available

in the

Sanskrit

treatises on

architecture and

sculpture,

very

few of

which have

so

far

been translated

into

Western languages. These canons give a strange life to Hindu sculpture. They aim at creating

ideal,

entirely

harmonious

types

in

which the

proportion

of

every

limb,

the

rhythm

of

every

gesture

conveys

one

given feeling,

one

given

idea,

achieving

relations

very

much

like

those on

which chords

of

music

are

built.

The

temple,

which is

generally

raised

on

a

high platform,

consists

of

three

parts:

the

sanctu-

ary,

a

small,

dark,

unadorned

room

containing

the

image

or

symbol

of

the

deity

to whom

the

temple

is

dedicated;

the

hall,

usually

built around a

central

corbel

vault

of

elaborate

design

which rests

on massive

pillars;

and

the

porch,

to which

steps

ascend. The

walls

of

every

part

of

the

temple

inside and outside are

covered with

sculptures

and

ornamentation.

Each

element

of

the

temple being

meaningful,

there cannot be

any

blank,

meaningless

wall.

69


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ABOVE: Head

of

an

apsaras.

Kali

Temple,

Khajuraho.

x

century.

OPPOSITE PAGE:

Apsaras

with a

mirror. Adinath

Temple,

Khajuraho.

x

century.

The

Apsarases

were in Hindu

mythology

the

beautiful

maidens

of

India's heaven.

They

are much in

evidence

in

both

Hindu and Buddhist

painting

and

sculpture.

In India

they

are

represented

as

young

persons

of

a

beauty

that

might

be

described

as luscious-in China as

they

tear

through

the air with

flying

draperies

they

are

often

mistaken

for

angels. Photographs

Raymond Burnier-Copyright

Pierre

Beres

71


7/8

ABOVE:

Shardula, one of the fantastic lions that represent the power of nature. Rajarani Tem-

ple,

Bhuvaneshvar.

XII

century.

OPPOSITE PAGE:

Yama's

Buffalo.

Rajarani Temple,

Bhuvanesh-

var.

xII

century.

Yama,

the

Lord

of

Death,

rides on

a

buffalo.

He

presides

over

judgment

and

punishment-"a

vague

but

effective

figure" personifying

"the

inflexible

powers

that summon

the

living

to

the

other

world.... When

a

sinner

dies

he

is led

before

King

Yama,

who asks

him

if

he never saw

the

three

messengers

of

the

gods

sent

as

warnings

to

mortals....

[He]

...

admits

that he

saw but

did

not

reflect,

and

Yama

sentences

him

to

punishment,

until

suffering

com-

mensurate

to

his sins

has been

inflicted."

Photographs

Raymond

Burnier-Copyright

Pierre

Beres

72


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