CLASS XI
UNIT III
INDIAN BRONZE SCULPTURES
INTRODUCTION INDIAN BRONZE SCULPTURES
Indian sculptors had mastered the bronze medium and the casting process as much as they had mastered terracotta
sculpture and carving in stone. The cire-perdue 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 statues 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 magnificent beauty and aesthetic appeal.
● 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, Buddha, Bodhisattva and Hindu deities have also been found from different
parts of India which belong to the Kushana, Gupta and post Gupta periods in north India during 2nd century A.D. to
7th century A.D. This process of making idols continues till now.
Many other remarkable bronze sculptures have been casted in south India during Chola and Pallava Periods, 7th to
12th centuries A.D. Natraja and Devi Uma are the main Figures of that period.
THE LOST-WAX PROCESS
The lost-wax process is a
technique used for making objects
of metal, especially in Himachal
Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh and West Bengal. In
each region, a slightly different
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
or plaster of paris.
● 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.
CHOLA PERIOD
1. NATARAJA
Place : Thanjavur Distt., Tamil Nadu
Medium : Bronze Sculpture
Year : 12th Century AD
Collection : National Museum, New Delhi
● In Chola Period, bronze sculpture of Shiva has been
shown balancing himself on his right leg and suppressing
the Apasmara on his right leg, the demon of ignorance or
forgetfulness, with the same leg.
● At the same time he raised 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 Abhayahasta or the gesture suggesting.
● In the upper right hands, he is holding the Damaru, his
favourite musical instrument.
● The upper left hand carries a flame while the main
left hand holds Dolahasta and connects with the
Abhayahasta of right hand
● His hair locks fly on both sides of the circular
Jwalamala or the garland of flames which makes the
entire dancing figurative.
● Shiva is associated with the end of the cosmic world
with which this dancing position is associated.
CHOLA PERIOD
2. DEVI UMA
Place : Thiruvaduthurai, Tamil Nadu
Medium : Bronze Sculpture
Year : 11th Century AD
Collection : National Museum, New Delhi
● Devi Uma or Parvati, the wife of Shiva, has been cast in bronze by the
sculptors of Chola and Pallava periods.
● This is a graceful figure which attracts the people.
● The main attraction of this image is the posture in the multi-bent
dancing pose.
● She adorned loincloths with girdles, along a multi-levelled crown on
her head.
● She was adorned with armlets and bracelets. And ornaments around
her neck.
● She is standing in such a way, that she is holding a flower or in the
style to say something and trying to understand someone.
● This idol belongs to the Chola Period.
● Many other figures were also cast in that period by Pallavas and
Chalukyas.
Coming up Next
UNIT III
SOME ASPECTS OF
INDO- ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Prepared by
Shiven Singh Tanwar
