National Museum, New Delhi – Pre-Gupta Sculpture

Delhi

By kevinstandagehotography on October 26, 2020 • ( 8 Comments )

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Continuing my series of blog posts showcasing the highlights of the National Museum in New Delhi, it’s time to turn our attention to the pre-Gupta sculptures that are housed in the museum.

The museum is of course famous for its Harappan Gallery, and in terms of Gupta and medieval sculpture there is an abundance of pieces on display in the museum. For this specific time period however, in particular from the Mauryan Empire, there is not much on display to the public. I can only assume this is largely because such pieces are housed in the local museums near to specific sites across the country.

The highlight for me has to be the 2nd century Buddha carved from dark grey Schist, quite unlike any other piece in the museum and wonderfully executed. For me this the standout masterpiece of the entire museum.

The galleries containing sculptures are a little mixed up in places from a chronological perspective, so I have ordered the following broadly by time periods. Therefore, what follows showcases works from the Maurya, Shunga, Satavahana, Kushana and Ikshvaka periods. Click on any of the images below to view them in a larger format.

Maurya (321 B.C. – 185 B.C.) and Shunga (185 B.C. – 75 B.C.)

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Mother Goddess
Made of greyware and seated on a round wicker-stool with her legs hanging down, this has to be one of the outstanding examples of early terracotta figurines of the Mother Goddess. She is shown with a child in her lap, with her head-dress decorated with a series of floral discs. Note she is also wearing large heavy coiled earrings. This image was worshipped as a deity who bestows on her worshippers all kinds of prosperity.
300 – 200 B.C.

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Left : Moustached Male Head
Made from fine grained light buff coloured Chunar sandstone, this is a portrait of a foreigner. Although the chin is sadly broken, he is depicted with a long drooping moustache with curly ends, full rounded cheeks, a short nose, broad nostrils, a small mouth and wide opened eyes. This sculpture possesses that signature Mauryan polished finish.
400 – 300 B.C. – Sarnath, Madhya Pradesh
Right : Dampati / Couple Seated on Couch – Kausambi, Uttar Pradesh

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Woman in Grief
With a carved lotus motif on the left and a lamp on the right
Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh

I found this “woman in grief” carving somewhat curious, as I had seen the exact same fragment of carving at the State Museum in Bhubaneswar just a week previously, which you can compare here. I can only conclude that this one in Delhi is the original, and the one in Odisha is a copy)

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King on an Elephant
Railing crossbar from a stupa
2nd Century B.C. – Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

Satavahana (Late 2nd Century B.C. – Early 3rd Century A.D.)

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Left : Fragment of Torana – 1st Century B.C. – Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh
Right : Royal Couple with Attendants – 2nd Century B.C. – Pitalkhora, Maharashtra

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The Great Renunciation of the Buddha
Here one can see Siddhartha symbolically over a horse, under a chhatra (umbrella) held by an attendant while exiting the palace through a torana (gateway)
2nd Century B.C. – Pitalkhora, Maharashtra

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Yaksha
This Yaksha is full of joy, with his wide smile revealing his row of teeth, indicating that the Yaksha is friendly and benign. He is adorned with several types of ornaments and his hair is twisted in rolls. He wears a Dhoti tied with a rope around his waist that hangs just above the knee and has pleated gathers on the side. His eyes are wide and expressive, welcoming everyone. The most important note of this sculpture is the inscription. It records that the sculpture was made by Kanhadasa, a goldsmith.
From cave no.3, Pitalkhora, Maharashtra

I was happy to see the National Museum has some pieces recovered 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 and carved limestone 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. A large proportion of the carved limestone slabs were subsequently removed, and now reside in 16 museums across the globe. The British Museum in London has a dedicated gallery to the Amaravati Stupa, and whilst it’s likely some of these works of art have been saved from destruction, it’s a great shame that much of it now resides outside India. So I was extremely happy to see these pieces, and hopefully one day a few more may return home.

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Left : Casing Slab – 1st-2nd Century A.D., Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh
Right : Asitas visit to Suddhadhana
Sage Asita visted King Suddhadhana at his palace when the Buddha was born as prince Siddhartha. Upon seeing the auspicious signs on the baby’s body, Asita prophesied that he would either become a great king or a great monk, of which the latter of course came true. This episode from the early life of Siddhartha is depicted on this relief panel
1st-2nd Century A.D. – Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh

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Garland Bearer
1st-2nd Century A.D. – Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh

Kushana (30 A.D. – 375 A.D.)

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Vasanatasena – Scene of a Courtesan House
2nd Century A.D. – Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

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Left : Kubera (God of Wealth)
Kubera is the God of wealth and prosperity and is the guardian of the north. His bare body is dominated by a voluminous stomach that rests against his left thigh. The divinity is seated in bhadrasana, on a high plain pedestal. Both the arms are no sadly lost, but were originally raised apart, possibly holding a deep bowl
2nd Century A.D. – Ahichchhatra, Uttar Pradesh
Right : Chaturmukha Shivalinga – 2nd Century A.D. – Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

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Lion Capital
2nd Century A.D. – Khokhrakot, Haryana

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Left : Bodhisattva Maitreya – 2nd Century A.D. – Gandhara
Right : Buddha – 2nd Century A.D. – Provenance Unknown

It is during the Kushana period that we first see Buddha being represented in human form, the two main artistic centers being at Mathura and Gandhara. With Gandhara being situated right next to the eastern border of Alexander’s empire, many of these early sculpted Buddha’s in human form clearly show influences from Greco-Roman iconography, in both form and the costumes being worn.

The influences did not stop there either, apparently the official language of the Kushana period was Greek. This sculpture, incredibly carved from dark grey schist, had to be one of the standout masterpieces of the museum.

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Buddha
2nd Century A.D. – Provenance Unknown

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Jain Ayagpatta
Ayagpattas are votive tablets used by Jains for worship. The word ‘Agyaga’ means ‘worshipful’. These slabs were placed around the stupa for worship and to receive offerings. They symbolically represent the whole cosmos and its square shape symbolises the earth. They belong to the transition phase when the worship of symbol was as important as the worship of Jaina images
2nd Century A.D. – Kankalitila, Mathura, Madhya Pradesh

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Left : Buddha – Ahichchhatra, Uttar Pradesh
Right : Bodhisattva Head – 3rd Century A.D. – Gandhara

Ikshvaka (3rd – 4th Century A.D.)

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Left : Adoration of Stupa – 3rd Century A.D. – Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh
Right : Buddha Life Scenes – 3rd Century A.D. – Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh

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Ayaga Frieze depicting scenes from Buddha’s life and from the Jatakas
3rd Century A.D. – Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh

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Adoration of Turban
3rd Century A.D. – Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh

That concludes my short virtual tour of the pre-Gupta period sculptures at the National Museum in Delhi. Further posts on some of the other galleries (e.g. bronzes and paintings) will be appearing over the next few weeks, which combined will hopefully give a reasonably comprehensive account of what can be seen there.

If you are planning on visiting this museum, I would suggest at least a full day is set aside and that you arrive early.

The National Museum opening times are usually :

Tue – Fri (10:00 AM to 6:00 PM)
Sat & Sun (10:00 AM to 8:00 PM)
(Closed on Mondays and National Holidays)

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Categories: Delhi, India, National Museum, Pre-Gupta Sculpture

Tagged as: Museums