Indian Bronze Sculpture: North and South India and Nataraja

Indian bronze sculptures have a long and illustrious history that dates back several centuries. India has been a leader in the bronze casting industry since ancient times, and their sculptures are highly prized for their fine workmanship, meticulous attention to detail, and cultural significance.

We will talk about Indian bronze sculptures in this article. This article discusses bronze casting methods, bronze sculptures from both North and South India, and some notable bronze sculptures, such as Nataraja.

Indian Bronze Sculpture

We are aware that Indian sculptors were experts at both stone and clay carving. They were also experts in the medium of bronze. (Bronze is Tin + Copper)

• Casting, also known as “Cire-Perdu” or “Lost Wax,” was mastered by the Indus Valley Civilization ages ago.
• The earliest known bronze sculpture, dating to 2500 BCE, is the “Dancing Girl” in tribhanga pose, discovered in Mohenjo-Daro.
• The procedure of combining copper, zinc, and tin to create bronze alloys was discovered by sculptors.
• From the 2nd to the 16th centuries AD, bronze statuettes and sculptures depicting Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain icons have been found throughout India.
• The majority of these have exceptional beauty and aesthetic appeal and were necessary for ceremonial worship.
• Aside from cooking, eating, and drinking utensils, other everyday objects were also made using the metal casting process.
• The “lost wax” method is still used by contemporary tribal societies as a means of artistic expression.

Also Read: Types of Vedas and Their Significance

North India

One of the best specimens of Indus Valley art is the statue of the Dancing Girl, which was discovered at Mohenjo Daro. It’s a bronze statue that displays the incredible talents of the Indus Valley painters. The size of the figurine is around 4 inches. Datable to 2500 BC. They claim that it is in the Tribhanga. Among the first bronze sculptures is this one.Other important bronze sculpture are:

• Pictures of the Jain Teachers
  • Discovered in Chausa, Bihar, and dating to the second century CE, the Kushana Period.
  • Pictures display the skill with which painters model the masculine human body.
  • An exceptional portrayal of the first Teerthankara, Adinath or Vrishabhanath, with long hair (most depictions of Teerthankaras have short, curly hair).
• Buddha statues can be seen in northern India, especially in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
  • Buddhas standing, their right hand in the Abhaya Mudra.
  • Gupta and Pre-Gupta Era.
  • The left arm is covered by the other end of the robe, while the Sanghati, or robe, is wrapped over the shoulders and turned over.
  • The Buddha figures’ clothing is thin.
  • Proportional and Youthful Figures.
  • Bronze depictions of Mathura style draperies, a sequence of descending curves, found Dhanesar Khera, Uttar Pradesh.
  • Buddha figure in Sultanganj, Bihar: minimal draperies, Sarnath style.
  • Images of Vakataka from bronze found in Phophnar, Maharashtra; these images date to the Gupta era.
  • influenced by the Andhra Pradesh Amaravati style of the third century. Monks would transport these movable images from one location to another for individual worship or installation at a vihara.
• Buddhist and Hindu deities in the Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir regions.
  • Period: 8th, 9th and 10th centuries.
  • There is an increase in the variety of Vishnu images iconography.
  • Worship of Vaikuntha Vishnu or Chaturanana Vishnu, the four-headed deity.
• The Buddhist Nalanda School of Bronze
  • Origin: the ninth century CE. Pala period.
  • In parts of Bihar and Bengal.
  • Avalokiteswara with four arms is a good illustration of a man figure in the tribhanga stance.
  • In Buddhism, the worship of the female form was observed during the Vajrayana period. Pictures of Tara were widely used.

South India

During the Middle Ages, the south experienced the height of the art of bronze image sculpture and casting.

• Pallavas
  • The best Pallava bronze depicts Shiva in the Ardhaparyanka pose, with one leg dangling.
  • With his right hand in the Achamana Mudra, he is preparing to ingest poison.
  • Period: 8th century
• Cholas
  • In the modern art world, Chola bronze artwork is highly prized.
  • 10th–12th century CE Period
  • During this time, exquisite works of art came into being. There are still people in south India who use this technique, especially in Kumbakonam.
  • The tenth-century widowed queen Sembiyan Maha Devi was a great patron of Chola bronze craftsmanship.
  • The iconic picture of Shiva as Nataraja. (Explained in detail below)
  • Shiva imagery is widely distributed throughout the Tanjore region.
  • Shiva and Parvati’s marriage, or panigrahana, is shown by two different statuettes in the Kalyanasundara Murti (9th century).
  • The picture of Ardhanarisvara depicts the union of Shiva and Parvati.
  • There are also separate representations of Parvati.

• Vijayanagara
  • Time Period: 16th Century
  • Artists that attempted to pass on the royal patrons’ knowledge to future generations can be found in portrait sculpture.
  • King Krishnadevaraya and his two queens, Tirumalamba and Chinnadevi, are depicted in a life-size standing bronze sculpture in Tirupati.
  • Although formidable, the physical form is shown as graceful.
  • In a position of prayer (Namaskara Mudra), the monarch and his queens are situated.

Also Read: Mysore Painting: History, Technique and Motifs

Nataraja (Chola bronze)

Shiva’s dance is considered to herald the end of the cosmos.”Lord of the Dance” is what Nataraja means.Details regarding Nataraja are:

• On his right leg, Shiva can be seen balancing. Suppressing the apasmara (the demon of ignorance or forgetting) is the foot of the right leg.
• He is holding a Bhujangatrasita position with his left hand, which symbolises expelling illusions or tirobhava, from a devotee’s mind.
• There are four arms extended.
• Abhayahasta is where the right main hand is.
• The Damaru, a rhythmic percussion instrument that is his favourite musical instrument, is held in his upper right hand.
• The right hand’s Abhayahasta is connected to the main left hand’s Dolahasta.
• The left upper hand holds a flame.
• The garland of flames, known as the jvala mala, envelops the entire dancing figure.
• Shiva’s hair flies to both sides, brushing against the Jvala Mala.
• There are numerous variants of this model.

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