Important Points: Indian Bronze Sculpture | Fine Art for Class 11 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

1. Mastery of Bronze Medium:

• Indian sculptors mastered bronze casting using the cire-perdu (lost-wax) process.
• Process originated during the Indus Valley Culture.
• Creation of alloy (bronze) by mixing copper, zinc, and tin.

2. Historical Bronze Sculptures:

• Dancing Girl from Mohenjodaro (2500 BCE) is the earliest bronze sculpture.
• Bronze statuettes from Daimabad (Maharashtra) dated to 1500 BCE, including a Chariot with simplified circular wheels and elongated driver.

3. Jain Tirthankaras:

• Kushana Period (2nd century CE) bronzes from Chausa, Bihar depicting Jain tirthankaras with detailed masculine physiques.
• Gujarat and Rajasthan: Early strongholds of Jainism with a famous hoard of Jain bronzes found at Akota (Baroda) dated between 5th and 7th centuries CE.

4. Gupta and Post-Gupta Periods:

• Standing Buddha images with abhaya mudra cast in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (5th-7th centuries).
• Sarnath-style bronzes characterized by foldless drapery and monumental figures like the Buddha image at Sultanganj, Bihar.

5. Influence of Gupta and Vakataka Periods:

• Vakataka bronze images of Buddha from Phophnar, Maharashtra, showing Amaravati style influence and significant changes in drapery style.

6. Iconography and Portable Worship:

• Growth of different types of Vishnu images like Chaturanana (Vaikuntha Vishnu).
• Portable bronzes for individual worship or installation in Buddhist viharas.

7. Distinct Regional Styles:

• Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir: Bronze images of Buddhist deities and Hindu gods from the 8th-10th centuries.
• Nalanda: School of bronze-casting during the Pala Dynasty, with notable bronzes like four-armed Avalokitesvara and images of Tara.

8. Chola Period:

• High stage of bronze casting in Tamil Nadu during the medieval period.
• Exquisite statues produced, notably Nataraja bronze sculptures, depicting Shiva in a dynamic dancing pose.
• Chola Period bronzes highly sought after by collectors.

9. Vijayanagar Period:

• 16th century portrait sculptures in Andhra Pradesh, such as life-size statues of Krishnadevaraya and his queens at Tirupati.

10. Lost-Wax Process:

• Detailed steps: Creating a wax model, covering with clay, sand, and cow-dung paste, and pouring molten metal.
• Used for making articles of daily use and present-day tribal art expressions.
• Alloy of five metals (gold, silver, copper, brass, lead) sometimes used.