ARTICLE
Pala Bronze Sculptures
A Pala bronze sculpture held in New Delhi’s National Museum depicts the episode of the Buddha’s birth in Lumbivana. Maya retired into these woods and delivered the child as she held onto the branches of the sal tree. These figures are represented along with that of Indra, shown receiving the newborn child. The Maitreya form of the Buddha has also been recovered, showing fine silver and copper inlaying, the latter of which can be seen in the reddish hues of the lips. This sculpture, showing the Maitreya seated in the rajalilasana pose, stands at 12 cm.
The National Museum in New Delhi also holds a Shiva-Parvati bronze sculpture, flanked by Kartikeya and Ganesha, carrying the oval-aureole frame at the back, and a layered seating area where Nandi and Parvati’s lion is shown lying at their preceptors’ feet. The same museum holds what is described to be the most elaborate metal votive stupa recovered from India, with parasol rings on top and depicting eight episodes from the life of Buddha. Another notable Hindu divinity depicted is Surya, standing with attendants in one instance and sitting cross-legged in another.
Other institutions housing Pala bronze sculptures include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Bibliography
Asia Society Museum. “Sculpture of the Pala Period”. Accessed December 08, 2021. https://www.asiasocietymuseum.org/region_results.asp?RegionID=1&CountryID=1&ChapterID=4.
Britannica. “Pala Art”. Accessed December 08, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pala-art.
Christie’s. “A FINE AND RARE SILVER-AND-COPPER-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF MAITREYA”. Accessed December 08, 2021. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5978086.
Google Arts & Culture. “Indian Bronzes: Masterpieces from the National Museum Collection”. Accessed December 08, 2021. https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/indian-bronzes-national-museum-delhi/JwIihvjeqB8eLg?hl=en.
Huntington, Susan L. The “Pāla-Sena” Schools of Sculpture. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1984
Huntington, Susan L and John C. Huntington. Leaves from the Bodhi Tree: The Art of Pāla India (8th-12th Centuries) and Its International Legacy. United Kingdom: Dayton Art Institute, 1990.
Kempers, A.J. Bernet. “The Bronzes of Nalanda and Hindu-Javanese Art”. Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië 90 (1933): 1–88.
Kumar, Tanuj. “Art of the past: Uma-Maheswara, 11th-century Pala bronze”. Livemint. Accessed December 08, 2021. https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/SWPfADPv3PMVDan6A8VLOM/Art-of-the-past-UmaMaheswara-11thcentury-Pala-bronze.html.
Michell, George and Balraj Khanna. Human and divine: 2000 years of Indian sculpture. Berkeley: Hayward Gallery Pub., 2000.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. “Crowned Buddha”. Accessed December 08, 2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39189.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.“Tara”. Accessed December 08, 2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38934.
Weiner, Sheila L. “From Gupta to Pāla Sculpture”. Artibus Asiae 25, no. 2/3 (1962): 167–192