A new exhibition at the British Museum in London shows the rich journey of spiritual art of India. Entitled ancient India: Living traditions, it brings together 189 remarkable objects covering centuries.
Visitors can explore everything-from 2000-year-old sculptures and paintings to complex narrative panels and manuscripts, revealing the stunning evolution of spiritual expression in India.
The art of the Indian subcontinent has undergone a deep transformation between 200BC and AD600. The images that depict gods, goddesses, supreme preachers and enlightened souls of three ancient religions – Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism – have been resumed from symbolically to more recognizable stemming from human form.
While the three religions shared common cultural roots – worshiping ancient natural spirits, such as powerful snakes or fairy Pauli, they negotiated dramatic changes in religious iconography during this major period, which continues to have modern importance of two millennia from each other.
“Today we cannot imagine the worship of Hindu, Jain or Buddhist Divine spirits or deities without human form, can we? Which is what makes this transition so interesting,” says Sushma Yansari, curator of the exhibition.
The exhibition examines both the continuity and the change in the sacred art of India through five sections, beginning with the spirits of nature, followed by subsections dedicated to each of the three religions, and ending with the spread of faith and their art beyond India in other parts of the world such as Cambodia and China.
This panel – from a holy sanctuary in Amaravati (in the southeastern part of India) – was once part of the decorative round base of the stupa [The Trustees of the British Museum]
This golden relic of around the 4th century may represent the most dated image of the Buddha shown as a person [The Trustees of the British Museum]
The central element of the Buddhist section of the exhibition – a striking bilateral sandstone that shows the evolution of the Buddha – is perhaps the different in the depiction of this great transition.
One side, carved into about AD250, reveals the Buddha in human form with complex beauty, while on the other – carved earlier in about 50-1bc – it is symbolically represented through a tree, empty throne and prints.
The sculpture – from a sacred sanctuary in Amaravati (in the southeastern part of India) – was once part of the decorative round base of the stupa or Buddhist monument.
To show this transformation of “a single panel of a single shrine is quite unusual,” says G -Jans Jansari.
The figure looks like Yakshi – a natural spirit – and an Hindu deity, a major moment in the 4th century in an artistic presentation [The Trustees of the British Museum]
In the Hindu section, another early bronze statue reflects the gradual evolution of sacred visual images through the depiction of the goddesses.
The figure looks like Yakshi – a powerful primary spirit of nature that can give both “abundance and fertility, as well as death and disease” – recognizable through its floral hat, jewelry and full figure.
But it also includes numerous weapons holding specific sacred objects that have become characteristic of how Hindu female deities are represented in the short centuries.
Jane Religious Art focuses on the representations of the 24s Enlightened teachers called Tirthankaras. The one of the sandstone is from AD200-300 [The Trustees of the British Museum]
Display are also fascinating examples of Jain religious art, which largely focuses on their 24 enlightened teachers called Tirthankaras.
The most early such ideas were found on spots of pink sandstone dating back to about 2000 years, and began to be recognized through the holy symbol of an endless node on the chest of teachers.
This show has 40 loans from 37 museums and libraries around the world, including this leader of the Grimasal Jaksha – a powerful natural spirit [Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford]
The sculptures ordered in these religions are often made on common workshops in the ancient city of Matura, which curators say, explain why there are noticeable similarities between them.
Unlike other broadcasts in South Asia, the exhibition is unique because it is the “first” view of the origin of the three religious artistic traditions together, not separately, says G -Jans Yansari.
In addition, he carefully pays attention to the origin of each object of display, with brief explanations of the trip of the site through different hands, its acquisition from museums, etc.
The show emphasizes the intriguing details such as the fact that many of the donors of Buddhist art were women. But he fails to answer why the material transformation of the visual language was carried out.
“This remains a matter of $ million. Scientists are still discussing this,” says Mrs. Jansari. “Unless more evidence emerges, we will not understand. But the extraordinary flourishing of imagery art tells us that people have really taken up the idea of imagining the divine as human.”
The exhibition aims to give visitors a multisensory experience, with aromas, curtains, natural sounds and vibrant colors [The Trustees of the British Museum]
The show is a multisensory experience – with scents, curtains, sounds of nature and living colors designed to cause the atmosphere of active Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religious shrines.
“There is so much happening in these sacred spaces and yet there is an inherent calm and peace. I wanted to get it out,” says G -Janzari, who collaborates with several designers, artists and partners in the community to collect it.
From about the 3rd century BC. [The Trustees of the British Museum]
Putting displays are screens showing short films of practitioners of worshipers from each of the religions in the UK. They emphasize that this is not only about “ancient art, but also for the living tradition”, which is constantly relevant to millions of people in the UK and other parts of the globe, far beyond the boundaries of modern India.
The exhibition draws from the collection in South Asia at the British Museum with 37 loans from private creditors and national and international museums and libraries in the UK, Europe and India.
Ancient India: Living traditions are shown in the British Museum, London, from May 22 to October 19.
Follow BBC News India on Instagram., YouTube, X and FacebookS