New
Delhi, Mar 24: With museums across the country opening their vaults for
a mammoth exhibition currently underway in the national capital, an array of
exquisite art objects, ranging from the
Harappan civilisation to modern times, have become available for public viewing
for the first time.
A few tiny Harappan figures, a
monumental Naga Deva, an 8th-century Uma-Maheshvara, an animal-headed
anthropomorph and a marble tomb of a Mughal lady are among the artefacts being
shown for the first time as part of ‘The Body in Indian Art’ at the National
Museum.
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| The Nativity of Mary |
Curated by art historian Naman P. Ahuja, the eight-gallery
exhibition explores the complex understandings of the ‘Body’ in Indian art.
This he does through an entire gamut of cultural artefacts such as sculptures,
paintings, masks, jewellery, amulets, posters, video installations, music clips
and two large textiles.
The 11-week high-voltage exhibition at the museum comes
after a successful showing in Brussels as part of the art festival Europalia
which concluded recently.
“Around 20-25 per cent of the 300-odd artefacts in the
exhibition have never been shown before
and another 60 per cent have seldom been seen before as they were lying in
museums in small towns and were too fragile to be sent to Brussels,” pointed
out Dr Ahuja, an Associate Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
The curator, who has spent years
exploring the storerooms (reserve collections) of numerous small
regional museums, said he and his curatorial team located many objects
that were not on public display. Some were even in the gardens of museums
and had thus escaped any critical attention from scholars.
A significant new discovery is the
boar-headed copper anthropomorph (2nd or 1st millennium BC) which was
lying unnoticed in a museum storeroom. Exhibited in Brussels for the first
time, it has now been properly catalogued and is on display here.
“It is a rare piece of art that existed between the
Harappan civilisation and the Mauryan Empire, and takes the story of Indian
gods and goddesses to an earlier date than what we had imagined… It is a huge
find and an exciting object for art historians, archaeologists and linguists.”
Equally fascinating are some tiny Harrapan figures that
are on display here for the first time since they were excavated in 1933. They
comprise a steatite Seal (2500-1700 BC from Kalibangan, Rajasthan); a
terracotta female figurine with animal horns (2500-1700 BC, Mohenjodaro); and
two horned maskes (both almost identical). All these objects have been lying in
the cells of ASI at Purana Quila, Delhi.
Similarly, a monumental Naga Deva — a 9th century
sculpture — has been lent by the Bhopal Museum, and it has never been
shown in a public exhibition before. This remarkable statue is carved from a
porous stone that flakes in a manner that gives it the appearance of
snakeskin.
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| Animal headed Anthropomorph |
National Museum Director-General
Dr Venu V said the exhibition is the most extensive collaboration
of museums and collectors across the country. “Significantly, it has
brought into public domain a number of art objects that have remained largely
hidden for the outside world.”
The exhibition in Delhi also features
some objects which did not go to Brussels. An 8th century Uma-Maheshvara, which
has been on display in the Bhopal Museum but never in a public exhibition
before, is one such instance.
Another object being shown for the
first time in India is a marble tomb of a Mughal lady (Delhi region, 17th
century). Kept in the ASI’s Red Fort Archaeological Museum, it is a wonderful
example of Islamic art. Judging by its lavish, white marble and fine
calligraphy, it must have belonged to a member of the imperial family.
A tiny toe-suckling ‘Bal Krishna’ in bronze was found
in the storeroom of Chennai Museum. It did go to Brussels but is being
exhibited in India for the first time.
Particularly special is the book Akitoosha-i-ukba
(Provision for the next world). Made of copper pages with silver
calligraphy, there are the 99 names of Allah inscribed in this extremely rare
book. Being shown for the first time, this is from the ASI’s Museum, Red Fort.
It was made during the reign of Aurangzeb.
The National Museum, the biggest
lender of objects to the exhibition, has also opened its magnificent reserve
collections for first-time viewing. This includes a page of the Shahnama
(written by Persian poet Firdausi between 977 and 1010 AD), depicting the birth
of Rustom, the legendary Persian warrior.
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| The Birth of Rustam folio from Shahnamah |
It has also lent a Mughal painting of the Birth of Mary,
based on an engraving by Dutch painter Cornelius Cort (around 1735). Made in
the court of Mohammed Shah, it depicts the bathing of new born Mary, mother of
Jesus, by a group of female attendants.
The Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar
has lent eight sculptures, collectively known as Ashta Dikpala (Gods of Eight
Directions). At Brussels, only five of these sculptures, dating from the 12th
century, were shown. But in the Delhi exhibition, all the eight are on display.
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