The Art of India

1. Title: Lingam stone, or egg of the Brahman
Date: Unknown
L.=57cm, Circum.=82cm
This piece stands out among other works in the Gallery's collection for its sheer simplicity of form and lack of formal representational qualities. It is associated with the Brahman belief, which requires meditation on reality and the form of existence of the individual. Brahma is said to be a deity who is at once a personification of the universe and all its attributes, while simultaneously being devoid of all attributes. Brahma is conceived as having physical form, but not a definite human form which is capable of action in this world. Devoid of all desires, Brahma is unswerving and self composed, being deathless and eternal, akin to a rock. This stone egg reflects the unity, composure and meditative qualities of the Brahman belief.
Source: The Essential Colourlessness of the Absolute or the Un-Conditioned Brahma. Swami Yogeshwarananda Saraswati. Published in Rishikesh, 1976.

2. Title: Standing Buddha
Date: 10th century
H.=18cm
Though small, this Buddha figure is striking because of the richness of the materials used in its making (brass with silver inlay). Buddha stands in a straight pose, his feet placed squarely and a little apart. His left hand holds a symbolic object, while his right is in an open gesture, welcoming devotees in audience as is common in depictions of the Buddha. He wears simple robes which reveal the undefined form of his legs. The straight standing pose of the figure is a little peculiar in Indian representation, but seems more appropriate for a representation of the serene Buddha, who stands on the often repeated signifying lotus and wears his hair in the tightly curled fashion most commonly attributed to him.

3. Title: Winged Atlanta figure
Date: c.200-99
H.=22cm
This stone sculpture is a small figurine which is highly reminiscent of Greek and Roman Classical and Hellenistic pieces. The full face with small pursed lips and the defined torso muscles hint at Classicism, while the loose curls of the hair and the addition of wings to the human form evoke the mythology and style of the Hellenistic era. The piece does not make use of symbols or symbolic gestures, indicating that it falls outside the boundaries of traditional Indian religious representation. The softly tapered waist and the modelling of the arms and shoulders, however, and the way in which the left arm is held in an angular pose are more akin to other examples of Indian sculpture, with its rounded forms and twisting arm and hand gestures.

4. Title: Buddha calling the earth to witness
Date: c.900-999
This image of the Buddha depicts him in the often repeated act of calling the Earth to witness, an event which can be seen represented in works from Thailand (image no.2) and Burma (image no.1). This sculpture shows the Buddha in the more Indian form of depiction, where he is placed against a background as if in a relief wall carving. A type of halo has been drawn onto the surface behind his head, drawing attention to his face. His torso is tapered down to a narrow waist and his shoulders are rounded in the Indian style. Once again, the Buddha sits on a lotus pad and is surrounded by organic forms of decoration on the backing piece. Unlike Indian Hindu representations, Buddha is not accompanied by any attendants or other figures on the backing section. He appears more contemplative and focussed on his inner thoughts than concerned with the exterior world.

5. Title: Head from an image of a mourner
Date: c.300-399
H.=20cm
This piece depicts a human figure and differs in several ways from representations of religious figures in Indian art. The first is the way in which the face has been shown with expression, a mournful expression as described in the title. The eyes are quite downcast and deeply set and there is a furrow in the forehead and between the eyes. The mouth is also set in a grim manner. These features are not usually present in images of deities or gods, where the faces are highly stylised and generally devoid of any emotion other than serenity. The hair of the mourning figure is also more 'human', being loosely swept back and showing a more natural style of curling. The use of painted terracotta and plaster as materials supports the notion of this figure being merely a mortal, not subject of the fine materials and symbolic attributes of the deities.

6. Title: The goddess Sita
Date: Vijayanagar period, 15th century
H.=68cm
The goddess Sita, in Hindu tradition, is one of the ten incarnations of the god Vishnu. In this cast bronze representation, she displays all the ideal elements of Indian beauty. Sita is held to be representative of chastity and fidelity, following the legend which tells of how she was abducted from her husband Rama and forced to live in the same dwelling as her captor, Ravana. She maintained her fidelity to Rama, however, and upon her rescue was duly allowed back with her husband and accepted as his faithful wife. Originally, this statue would probably have been grouped with representations of Rama and his brother Lakshmana.

7. Title: Female figure
Date: c.1600-1699
Carved out of wood, this female figure is shown in a simple pose with little embellishment or adornment. Her posture is straight, with little emphasis on her hips or breasts, the features of the female body which are generally emphasised in depictions of beautiful Indian women. This woman is obviously a mortal, given that she is not depicted as being exceptionally beautiful and that she looks more like she is undertaking some kind of work with the object in her hands. She does wear jewellery and attention has been paid to the careful representation of her hair, but her relatively formless figure and frontal attitude are not alluring or mystical in any way. Her left hand is held in an open gesture similar to that of the Indian standing Buddha, but the woman here does not display the signature hairstyle, robes or pedestal of the Buddha himself.

8. Title: Ganesha
Date: 15th century
H.=41cm
This small bronze statuette depicts the Hindu God of wisdom, Ganesha, who has the body of a small child and the head of an elephant. It has been said that Ganesha, the son of the God Shiva and Goddess Parvati, was decapitated by his father when just a boy. Shiva later regretted his action and vowed to replace his son's head with that of the next being they encountered. It so happened that the next animal they met was an elephant, so Shiva cut off the creature's head and gave it to Ganesha. He remained that way thereafter. Ganesha is the God whom devotees worship before undertaking any difficult or important tasks, as he is the God who rules over obstacles. His two rear hands hold an elephant's goad and a noose, while his front hands show the broken tip of the elephant's tusk and a round sweet, a symbol of his childhood.

9. Title: The goddess Prajnaparamita
Date: Ganga dynasty, 12th century
H.=60cm
This piece would originally have resided in a Buddhist temple. It shows the goddess as the personified image of the Prajnaparamita Sutra (the Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom) seated on her throne with her hands in the preaching gesture (dharmachakra mudra). she is surrounded by her attendants and worshippers, as well as ritual objects along the base of the piece. The work is carved from stone during a period when Buddhism held great popularity in the eastern part of India, from the third to the thirteenth centuries. From the seventh century, Hindu was being revived in India, alongside the existing forms that Buddhism took in this country.

10. Title: Shiva as Nataraja (the Lord of Dance)
Date: Chola dynasty, second half of 10th century
H.=83cm
An image of serenity is captured on Shiva's face as he performs the Dance of Bliss (ananda-tandava). His pose displays the five acts of creation inherent in Hindu philosophy. Creation begins by beating the drum he hold in his rear right hand; his front right hand signals the gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra); he stands on the dwarf Apasmara to rid ignorance; he signals solace by the gajahasta mudra gesture of his front left hand; while the flames at his rear left hand signal the end of the universe which is necessary before new creation can take place. In form and in narrative, this sculpture of Shiva tells much about the cyclical nature of the Hindu religion.

 11. Title: Maidens worshipping Ganesha
Date: c.1800
36/48.5cm
[Apologies for the poor quality pic]
In this watercolour and gold painting on card, Ganesha, the God of wisdom adopts a central position in the scene, with six maidens arranged about him. Ganesha sits on a throne under what appears to be a canopy of some kind, a sign of his high status within the group. What is interesting in this painting is the use of perspectival devices which are not used in most Indian painting, showing the influence of European techniques. Whereas a lot of Indian paintings depict a narrative in several different scenes, where events which happened at different times are shown simultaneously, this painting shows a single scene, with the figures clearly within that scene. The walls shown at the sides of the frame recede into the background symmetrically and draw further attention to Ganesha. With the placement of figures within their own defined spaces, the image attempts a three dimensional representation rather than a more traditional two dimensional one.

12. Title: Maharana Jawan Singh hunting
Date: c.1835
213/318cm
This painting, executed on cotton, depicts the then ruler of the Mewar region of India on a Tiger hunt. It stands not only as a narrative of his hunt, but also as an assertion of his power as traditional ruler soon after the arrival of British control in 1818. Maharana's power in symbolic, religious and real terms are signified in the various scenes which make up the composition. He is depicted with a golden halo about his head at all times. The parasol he carries while hunting is a common symbol of royalty in much Asian art. Maharana offers his prayers to a Hindu temple, a sign and assertion of his religious belief. The flattened perspective and concurrent depiction of separate events within the picture frame are recurring features of Indian painting.

13. Title: Canopy for shrine
Date: late 18th century
Indian textile production was both an influence on and was influenced by other forms of textiles throughout Southeast Asia. The very structure of Indian society, with its kingdoms, strict heirarchies of royalty through to slave and caste system played a part in shaping the designs and materials used for specific cloths. The size, colour, intricacy and exclusiveness of textile designs signified the status of the wearer or bearer of the cloth. Honours earned by members of the royal courts were signified with a gift of a textile. The Indian traditions of textile use for reward, for noble parasols and canopies such as this which signify rank spread throughout Asia and were incorporated into textile production techniques by different cultures. This particular cloth, with its floral type design was possibly influenced in some way by the textiles of trading Islamic cultures, where such patterns were particularly popular.

For examples of Brahman verse with accompanying commentary and images, see my page on

• Indian Art and Brahman Verse

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