INDIAN BRONZE

7
SCULPTURE
I NDIAN sculptors had mastered the bronze medium and
the casting process as much as they had mastered
terracotta sculpture and carving in stone. The cire-perdu
or ‘lost-wax’ process for casting was learnt as long ago as
the Indus Valley Culture. Along with it was discovered the
process of making alloy of metals by mixing copper, zinc
and tin which is called bronze.
Bronze sculptures and statuettes of Buddhist, Hindu
and Jain icons have been discovered from many regions of
India dating from the second century until the sixteenth
century. Most of these were used for ritual worship and
are characterised by exquisite beauty and aesthetic appeal.
At the same time the metal-casting process continued to
be utilised for making articles for various purposes of daily
use, such as utensils for cooking, eating, drinking, etc.
Present-day tribal communities also utilise the ‘lost-wax’
process for their art expressions.
Perhaps the ‘Dancing Girl’ from Mohenjodaro is the
earliest bronze sculpture datable to 2500 BCE. The limbs
and torso of this female figurine are simplified in tubular
form. A similar group of bronze statuettes have been
discovered from archaeological excavation at Daimabad
(Maharashtra) datable to 1500 BCE. Significant is the
‘Chariot’, the wheels of which are represented in simple
circular shapes while the driver or human rider has been
elongated, and the bulls in the forefront are modelled in
sturdy forms.
Interesting images of Jain tirthankaras have been
discovered from Chausa, Bihar, belonging to the Kushana
Period during second century CE. These bronzes show how
the Indian sculptors had mastered the modelling of
masculine human physique and simplified muscles.
Remarkable is the depiction of Adinath or Vrishabhnath,
who is identified with long hairlocks dropping to his
shoulders. Otherwise the tirthankaras are noted by their
short curly hair.
Gujarat and Rajasthan have been strongholds of Jainism
since early times. A famous hoard of Jain bronzes was Kaliyadaman, Chola bronze,
found at Akota, on the outskirts of Baroda, dated between Tamil Nadu

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the end of the fifth and the end of the seventh century CE.
Finely cast through the lost-wax process, these bronzes
were often subsequently inlaid with silver and copper to
bring out the eyes, crowns and details of the textiles on
which the figures were seated. Many famous Jain bronzes
from Chausa in Bihar are now kept in the Patna Museum.
Many Jain bronzes from Hansi in Haryana and from
various sites in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are kept in
various museums in India.
The hoard of bronzes discovered in Akota near Vadodara
established that bronze casting was practised in Gujarat
or western India between the sixth and ninth centuries.
Most of the images represent the Jain tirthankaras like
Mahavira, Parshvanath or Adinath. A new format was
invented in which tirthankaras are seated on a throne;
they can be single or combined in a group of three or in a
group of twenty-four tirthankaras. Female images were also
cast representing yakshinis or Shasanadevis of some
prominent tirthankaras. Stylistically, they were influenced
by the features of both the Gupta and the Vakataka period
bronzes. Chakreshvari is the Shasanadevi of Adinath and
Ambika is of Neminath.
Many standing Buddha images with right hand in
abhaya mudra were cast in North India, particularly Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar, during the Gupta and Post-Gupta
periods, i.e., between the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries.
The sanghati or the monk’s robe is wrapped to cover the
shoulders which turns over the right arm, while the other

Shiva Family, tenth century CE, Ganesh, seventh century CE,

Bihar Kashmir

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INDIAN BRONZE SCULPTURE 105

end of the drapery is wrapped over the left arm. Eventually

the pleats are held by the extended hand of the same arm.
The drapery falls and spreads into a wide curve at the
level of the ankles. The Buddha’s figure is modelled in a
subtle manner suggesting, at the same time, the thin
quality of the cloth. The whole figure is treated with
refinement; there is a certain delicacy in the treatment of
the torso. The figure appears youthful and proportionate
in comparison with the Kushana style. In the typical bronze
from Dhanesar Khera, Uttar Pradesh, the folds of the
drapery are treated as in the Mathura style, i.e., in a series
of drooping down curves. Sarnath-style bronzes have
foldless drapery. The outstanding example is that of the
Buddha image at Sultanganj, Bihar, which is quite a
monumental bronze figure. The typical refined style of
these bronzes is the hallmark of the classical quality.
Vakataka bronze images of the Buddha from Phophnar,
Maharashtra, are contemporary with the Gupta period
bronzes. They show the influence of the Amaravati style of

The Lost-wax Process

The lost-wax process is a technique used for making objects of
metal, especially in Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Devi, Chola bronze,
Pradesh and West Bengal. In each region, a slightly different Tamil Nadu
technique is used.
The lost-wax process involves several different steps. First a
wax model of the image is made by hand of pure beeswax that
has first been melted over an open fire, and then strained through
a fine cloth into a basin of cold water. Here it resolidifies
immediately. It is then pressed through a pichki or pharni —
which squeezes the wax into noodle-like shape. These wax wires
are then wound around to the shape of the entire image.
The image is now covered with a thick coating of paste, made
of equal parts of clay, sand and cow-dung. Into an opening on
one side, a clay pot is fixed. In this molten metal is poured. The
weight of the metal to be used is ten times that of wax. (The wax
is weighed before starting the entire process.) This metal is
largely scrap metal from broken pots and pans. While the
molten metal is poured in the clay pot, the clay-plastered
model is exposed to firing. As the wax inside melts, the metal
flows down the channel and takes on the shape of the wax
image. The firing process is carried out almost like a religious
ritual and all the steps take place in dead silence. The image
is later chiselled with files to smoothen it and give it a finish.
Casting a bronze image is a painstaking task and demands
a high degree of skill. Sometimes an alloy of five metals —
gold, silver, copper, brass and lead — is used to cast bronze
images.

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Andhra Pradesh in the third century CE and at

the same time there is a significant change in
the draping style of the monk’s robe. Buddha’s
right hand in abhaya mudra is free so that the
drapery clings to the right side of the body
contour. The result is a continuous flowing line
on this side of the figure. At the level of the ankles
of the Buddha figure the drapery makes a
conspicuous curvilinear turn, as it is held by the
left hand.
The additional importance of the Gupta and
Vakataka bronzes is that they were portable and
monks carried them from place to place for the
purpose of individual worship or to be installed
in Buddhist viharas. In this manner the refined
classical style spread to different parts of India
and to Asian countries overseas.
Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir regions also
produced bronze images of Buddhist deities as well
as Hindu gods and goddesses. Most of these were
created during the eighth, ninth and tenth
centuries and have a very distinct style in
comparison with bronzes from other parts of India.
Ganesh, Kashmir, A noteworthy development is the growth of different types of
seventh century CE iconography of Vishnu images. Four-headed Vishnu, also
known as Chaturanana or Vaikuntha Vishnu, was worshipped
in these regions. While the central face represents Vasudeva,

Bronze sculpture,
Himachal Pradesh

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the other two faces are that of Narasimha and Varaha. The
Narasimha avatar and Mahishasuramardini Durga images
of Himachal Pradesh are among the very dynamic bronzes
from that region.
In Buddhist centres like Nalanda, a school of bronze-
casting emerged around the ninth century during the rule
of the Pala Dynasty in Bihar and Bengal regions. In the gap
of a few centuries the sculptors at Kurkihar near Nalanda
were able to revive the classical style of the Gupta period. A
remarkable bronze is of a four-armed Avalokitesvara, which
is a good example of a male figure in graceful tribhanga
posture. Worship of female goddesses was adopted which is
part of the growth of the Vajrayana phase in Buddhism.
Images of Tara became very popular. Seated on a throne,
she is accompanied by a growing curvilinear lotus stalk
Nataraja, Chola period, twelfth
and her right hand is in the abhaya mudra. century CE
The bronze casting technique and making of bronze
images of traditional icons reached a high stage of
development in South India during the medieval period.
Although bronze images were modelled and cast during
the Pallava Period in the eighth and ninth centuries, some
of the most beautiful and exquisite statues were produced
during the Chola Period in Tamil Nadu from the tenth to
the twelfth century. The technique and art of fashioning
bronze images is still skillfully practised in South India,
particularly in Kumbakonam. The distinguished patron

Nataraja
Shiva is associated with the end of the cosmic
world with which this dancing position is
associated.
In this Chola period bronze sculpture he
has been shown balancing himself on his right
leg and suppressing the apasmara, the demon
of ignorance or forgetfulness, with the foot of
the same leg. At the same time he raises his
left leg in bhujangatrasita stance, which
represents tirobhava, that is kicking away the
veil of maya or illusion from the devotee’s mind.
His four arms are outstretched and the main
right hand is posed in abhaya hasta or the
gesture suggesting. The upper right holds the
damaru his favourite musical instrument to
keep on the beat tala. The upper left hand
carries a flame while the main left hand is held
in dola hasta and connects with the abhaya
hasta of the right hand. His hair locks fly on
both the sides touching the circular jvala mala
or the garland of flames which surrounds the
entire dancing figuration.

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during the tenth century was the widowed Chola queen,

Sembiyan Maha Devi. Chola bronzes are the most sought-
after collectors’ items by art lovers all over the world.
Among the Pallava Period bronzes of the eighth century
is the icon of Shiva seated in ardhaparyanka asana (one
leg kept dangling). The right hand is in the achamana
mudra gesture, suggesting that he is about to drink poison.
The well-known dancing figure of Shiva as Nataraja
was evolved and fully developed during the Chola Period
and since then many variations of this complex bronze
image have been modelled.
A wide range of Shiva iconography was evolved in the
Thanjavur (Tanjore) region of Tamil Nadu. The ninth century
kalyanasundara murti is highly remarkable for the manner
in which Panigrahana (ceremony of marriage) is represented
by two separate statuettes. Shiva with his extended right
hand accepts Parvati’s (the bride’s) right hand, who is
depicted with a bashful expression and taking a step
forward. The union of Shiva and Parvati is very ingeniously
represented in the ardhanarisvara murti in a single image.
Beautiful independent figurines of Parvati have also been
modelled, standing in graceful tribhanga posture.
During the sixteenth century, known as the Vijayanagar
Period in Andhra Pradesh, the sculptors experimented with
portrait sculpture in order to preserve knowledge of the
royal patron for posterity. At Tirupati, life-size standing
portrait statues were cast in bronze, depicting
Krishnadevaraya with his two queens, Tirumalamba and
Chinnadevi. The sculptor has combined the likeness of the
facial features with certain elements of idealisation. The
idealisation is further observed in the manner the physical
body is modelled to appear imposing as well as graceful.
The standing king and queens are depicted in praying
posture, that is, both hands held in the namaskara mudra.

EXERCISE
1. Do you think that the technique of bronze casting has
been a continuous process? How did it evolve over a period
of time?
2. In India sculpturing in stone and metal happened
simultaneously. In your opinion what were the similarities
and differences between both technically, stylistically and
functionally?
3. Why are Chola bronze sculptures considered as the most
refined?
4. Search for visuals of bronze sculptures of the Buddha
belonging to periods other than the Chola Period from
Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, etc.

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