A kind of terracotta art style was in vogue throughout the Ganga-Jamuna Valley and Central India during the Shunga and Kusana periods, spreading from the second century BC to the third Century AD. Plaque sculptures belonging to this tradition and fully made in moulds have been found at mahasthan in Bangladesh, and Tamluk, Chandraketugarh, Pokharna and other places in West Bengal. Most of these are figures of youthful men and women. Ornaments of fantastic shapes and designs are found all over the figures which also wear various styles of hairdressing.
Plaque sculptures for hanging on walls have been found which belong to the Shunga period (2nd century BC). These may be said to have been the first attempt of architectural ornamentation with the aim of putting an end to the monotonous linearity of walls.
These sculptures became much more elegant, refined, well-shaped and worldly in the Kusana period (2nd and 1st centuries BC). These were high reliefs smooth in finishing and quite developed in terms of craftsmanship. Figures have been made tri-dimensonal by using two moulds - one for the front and another for the back. Specimens of this category found at Bangarh are worth mentioning. A number of plaque sculptures belonging to the Shunga age have been discovered at Mahasthangarh after excavation. The union of thought with aesthetic quality and that of inner beauty with outward form which took place in North Indian sculpture during the gupta rule (c 300-550 AD) can be traced in the terracotta sculptures in Bengal.
The terracotta sculptures of this period found in Bengal are of better quality than stone sculpture of the same period and region. Excess of dress and ornaments that had marked the sculpture of previous ages did now disappear. An excellent example is the Bodhisattva figure with half-shut eyes and gentle meditative face found at Mahasthangarh. The classical form of Gupta sculpture can be noticed in the plaques found at the same place which feature crowned heads with smooth faces and figures of couples both executed by skilled artists. Terracotta figures of deities, representations of Puranic legends, and ornamented plaques which had first been used to decorate the brick-built temples at Bhitargaon in North India in the fifth century AD have been extensively applied in Mahasthan, bhasu vihara, paharpur and mainamati.
Use of brick in architecture became popular in Bengal due to non-availability of stone and inconveniences in transport, and with that grew the tradition of decorating the outer surface with terracotta plaques. There are still about two thousand terracotta plaques on the sides of the very wide circumbulation path of the great somapura mahavihara at Paharpur built in the eighth and ninth centuries.
Terracotta head, Mahasthan
And more than eight hundred such plaques, scattered as they were around, have been collected. Daily and occasional lives as well as life's various experiences have been portrayed on the terracotta plaques that decorate the temple walls.
Among these, worth mentioning are nature, man, animals, tribal people, Kinnar-Kinnari [semi-divine beings expert in music and dance], gandharva [another species of similar semi-divine beings], skinny ascetic on the street and so on. Plinth of the cross-shaped principal temple of the shalvan vihara at Mainamati was once decorated with a row of terracotta plaque sculptures, like the temple of Paharpur. These are exceptional specimens of the people's art of Bengal in that age.
34 plaques belonging to a later age and found at Bhasu Vihara are much more sophisticated in aesthetic qualities and in terms of skill employed compared to those of Paharpur and Mainamati. These plaques constitute an evidence of advancement in style. Half-man, half-fish or flower, pearl string on duck's beak, elephant, and archer are among notable representations on the plaques.
Plaque sculptures for hanging on walls have been found which belong to the Shunga period (2nd century BC). These may be said to have been the first attempt of architectural ornamentation with the aim of putting an end to the monotonous linearity of walls.
These sculptures became much more elegant, refined, well-shaped and worldly in the Kusana period (2nd and 1st centuries BC). These were high reliefs smooth in finishing and quite developed in terms of craftsmanship. Figures have been made tri-dimensonal by using two moulds - one for the front and another for the back. Specimens of this category found at Bangarh are worth mentioning. A number of plaque sculptures belonging to the Shunga age have been discovered at Mahasthangarh after excavation. The union of thought with aesthetic quality and that of inner beauty with outward form which took place in North Indian sculpture during the gupta rule (c 300-550 AD) can be traced in the terracotta sculptures in Bengal.
The terracotta sculptures of this period found in Bengal are of better quality than stone sculpture of the same period and region. Excess of dress and ornaments that had marked the sculpture of previous ages did now disappear. An excellent example is the Bodhisattva figure with half-shut eyes and gentle meditative face found at Mahasthangarh. The classical form of Gupta sculpture can be noticed in the plaques found at the same place which feature crowned heads with smooth faces and figures of couples both executed by skilled artists. Terracotta figures of deities, representations of Puranic legends, and ornamented plaques which had first been used to decorate the brick-built temples at Bhitargaon in North India in the fifth century AD have been extensively applied in Mahasthan, bhasu vihara, paharpur and mainamati.
Use of brick in architecture became popular in Bengal due to non-availability of stone and inconveniences in transport, and with that grew the tradition of decorating the outer surface with terracotta plaques. There are still about two thousand terracotta plaques on the sides of the very wide circumbulation path of the great somapura mahavihara at Paharpur built in the eighth and ninth centuries.
Terracotta head, Mahasthan
And more than eight hundred such plaques, scattered as they were around, have been collected. Daily and occasional lives as well as life's various experiences have been portrayed on the terracotta plaques that decorate the temple walls.
Among these, worth mentioning are nature, man, animals, tribal people, Kinnar-Kinnari [semi-divine beings expert in music and dance], gandharva [another species of similar semi-divine beings], skinny ascetic on the street and so on. Plinth of the cross-shaped principal temple of the shalvan vihara at Mainamati was once decorated with a row of terracotta plaque sculptures, like the temple of Paharpur. These are exceptional specimens of the people's art of Bengal in that age.
34 plaques belonging to a later age and found at Bhasu Vihara are much more sophisticated in aesthetic qualities and in terms of skill employed compared to those of Paharpur and Mainamati. These plaques constitute an evidence of advancement in style. Half-man, half-fish or flower, pearl string on duck's beak, elephant, and archer are among notable representations on the plaques.
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