In his recent lecture series, Bronzes of India, John Dawson focussed on works created during the Harappan civilisation, their forms and shapes. He told Darpan Mago that they were made for veneration in temples
The only seated image of Buddha in Bronze from Uttar Pradesh unfortunately lies in the British Museum in the United Kingdom. The bronze statue of Nataraj might be very common in Indian homes, but not many dive into the philosophical nature of the masterpiece. First patronised by the Cholas around 11 century AD, the overall mood of the image is rare and unites the process of birth and death. The artefact denotes the process of creation and destruction continuously happening around us. Shiva is said to have invented 108 types of dances, the one represented in this bronze sculpture is panchtatva or the five elements of life. According to Hindu mythology, Shiva holds a kettle drum (damru) whose initial vibrations are said to have originated the universe. The raised leg and second right hand in abhay mudra offer assurance to all devotees who come under Shiva’s shelter. Shiva is dancing on a dwarf, which is the demon of ignorance or Apasmara and symbolises God’s victory over darkness. In his upper left hand Shiva carries agni or fire, which is the symbol of destruction. The figure is surrounded by a circle, representing flames and manifestation of Universe. like a circle doesn’t have a beginning or an end, the universe is also on the same lines. Shiva is neutral throughout the dance and his stoic facial expression exemplifies balance.
A lecture series by John Dawson on the Bronzes of India at the India Habitat Center revealed some interesting historical facts. John is a former curator (archeology) and a custodian of the largest collection of bronzes for more than two decades. “The lecture series was organised to give people an academic input on the wealth of bronzes treasure in India. This initiative was to make people more appreciative of their culture, and heritage. A country like America doesn’t have much of history, so naturally they don’t have much of art history as well. India is not like that, we have a long history beginning from nearly 2600 BC, which makes us the successors of a nearly 4600-year-old culture. The prime concern for us is to preserve our rich cultural heritage,” said Dawson.
The earliest bronzes in the Indian subcontinent are dated to the mature Harappan period from 2600 to 2000 BC. “In the earlier Harappan period bronzes were cast by a technique called hammering. later, Indian artists discovered a new technique called the ‘lost wax method.’ It was the first time in India that artists began to make a wax model and then they coated it with three layers of clay. After it hardened, the model was heated and wax was allowed to flow out, forming an empty mould. The molten liquid metal was then poured in this mould and outer clay shell was broken to obtain the bronze. This bronze was later smoothed and certain engravings were done on them,” explained Dawson. Talking about different characteristics of bronze from various periods in India, Dawson threw light on the minds of artists. “In Kushan and Gupta period we had a unique and unabated flow in creation of bronzes. Due to the economic prosperity in these periods, artists came up with some finest creations. Perfection of human form was achieved in Gupta period with subtle physiognomy and keenness towards human body.
A sense of spiritualism or calmness was brought in the facial expression of these figures. The artists in Gupta period employed Mahapurusha lakshans or signs to show a commoner emerging from a great person. Few of these changes were indicated through eyebrows, pointed nose, full lips, elongated ears and tri-valya or the three rings on the neck,” informed Dawson. It is unfortunate that many Indian bronzes today are scattered all over the world. “There are only 30 sculptures from the Pallava period all over the world. Out of these the National Museum has two, a few are in Madras Museum in Chennai and the others are scattered in different countries. Possessed by some US, British and German museums, none of the Gupta period bronzes are today present in India. We enacted the antiquities and art treasures act much later in 1978, whatever happened before this has to be undone very diplomatically,” said Dawson.