Fine Arts: Class 11 — Chapter 7: Indian Bronze Sculpture

The cire-perdu or lost-wax process is a highly skilled, traditional casting technique practiced across various regions of India, including Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal, with minor regional variations.

1. Wax Model Creation: A detailed model of the image is sculpted by hand using pure beeswax that has been melted over an open fire, strained through fine cloth into cold water to solidify, and pressed through a pichki or pharni to create noodle-like wax wires.
2. Clay Coating: The finished wax model is covered with a thick, multi-layered paste made of equal parts clay, sand, and cow-dung.
3. Metal Allocation: A clay pot is fixed to an opening on one side of the model. The weight of the metal (often scrap metal from broken pots and pans) is calculated to be exactly ten times the weight of the wax model.
4. Firing and Casting: The clay-plastered model is exposed to firing. As the wax inside melts and flows out, molten metal is poured into the clay pot, flowing down the channel to occupy the exact cavity left by the melted wax. This firing process is treated as a sacred ritual, conducted in absolute silence.
5. Finishing: Once cooled, the clay mold is broken, and the bronze image is carefully chiselled, filed, and polished to achieve its final refined finish.

In sacred icon production, an alloy of five metals known as panchaloha (comprising gold, silver, copper, brass, and lead) is frequently utilized.

• Mohenjodaro (c. 2500 BCE): The earliest known bronze sculpture is the iconic Dancing Girl, characterized by simplified, tubular limbs, a tilted head, and an arm loaded with bangles, demonstrating early mastery of the lost-wax process.
• Daimabad (c. 1500 BCE): Archaeological excavations in Maharashtra yielded a significant group of bronze statuettes, including a Chariot with simple circular wheels, an elongated driver, and sturdy, dynamically modeled bulls.
• Chausa (2nd Century CE): Discovered in Bihar, these Jain tirthankara images from the Kushana Period demonstrate early mastery of masculine human anatomy with simplified muscular structures. Notable is the depiction of Adinath (or Vrishabhnath) identified by long hairlocks falling to his shoulders, contrasting with the short curly hair of other tirthankaras.

A major hoard of Jain bronzes discovered at Akota (on the outskirts of Baroda, Gujarat) establishes that bronze casting was highly active in Western India between the 5th and 9th centuries CE.

• Stylistic Features: Finely cast using the lost-wax process, these bronzes were frequently inlaid with silver and copper to highlight the eyes, crowns, and textile patterns.
• Iconographic Formats: Introduced a new format where tirthankaras are seated on a throne, either individually or in groups of three (tritirthi) or twenty-four (chaturvimshati).
• Female Deities: Castings of female yakshinis or Shasanadevis became prominent, such as Chakreshvari (associated with Adinath) and Ambika (associated with Neminath), showing stylistic influences from both Gupta and Vakataka periods.

• North Indian Standing Buddhas (5th-7th Century CE): Cast in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, these figures feature the right hand in abhaya mudra. The monk's robe (sanghati) is wrapped to cover the shoulders, turning over the right arm while the left hand holds the pleats, falling in a wide curve at the ankles.
• Mathura vs. Sarnath Styles: Bronzes from Dhanesar Khera (UP) exhibit Mathura-style drapery with drooping, parallel curved folds. Sarnath-style bronzes feature smooth, foldless drapery, exemplified by the monumental Sultanganj Buddha in Bihar.
• Vakataka Bronzes (Phophnar, Maharashtra): Contemporary with the Gupta period, these Buddha images show strong influence from the Amaravati style of Andhra Pradesh. The drapery clings closely to the body contour, creating a continuous flowing line, and makes a conspicuous curvilinear turn at the ankles.
• Portability and Spread: These bronzes were highly portable, allowing monks to carry them for individual worship, which facilitated the spread of classical Indian art styles to East and Southeast Asia.

• Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh (8th-10th Century CE): Developed a highly distinct regional style for Buddhist and Hindu deities. Notable for the growth of complex Vishnu iconography, particularly the four-headed Vaikuntha Vishnu (or Chaturanana), where the central face represents Vasudeva, flanked by Narasimha (lion) and Varaha (boar) faces. Highly dynamic images of Narasimha avatar and Mahishasuramardini Durga were produced.
• Pala Dynasty (9th Century CE onwards): Centered around Buddhist monastic sites like Nalanda and Kurkihar in Bihar and Bengal. Sculptors revived the classical Gupta style, producing elegant bronzes like the four-armed Avalokitesvara in a graceful tribhanga (triple-bend) posture. The rise of Vajrayana Buddhism popularized female deities like Tara, depicted seated on a throne with a curvilinear lotus stalk.

During the 8th and 9th centuries under the Pallava dynasty, bronze casting achieved high aesthetic refinement. A key iconographic type is the image of Shiva seated in ardhaparyanka asana (one leg dangling) with his right hand in the achamana mudra, symbolizing his preparation to drink the cosmic poison.

The 10th to 12th centuries in Tamil Nadu mark the absolute peak of Indian bronze sculpture under the patronage of the Chola dynasty, particularly championed by the widowed Chola queen Sembiyan Maha Devi. Chola bronzes are globally celebrated for their fluid lines, elegant proportions, and deep spiritual expressiveness.

• Kalyanasundara Murti (9th Century): Represents the sacred marriage (Panigrahana) of Shiva and Parvati using two separate, highly expressive statuettes.
• Ardhanarisvara Murti: An ingenious single-image representation of the union of Shiva and Parvati, combining male and female physical attributes in perfect iconographic symmetry.
• Parvati Figurines: Independent standing images of the goddess executed in the graceful, fluid tribhanga posture.

"The Nataraja, Chola period, twelfth century CE: Shiva is shown balancing himself on his right leg and suppressing the apasmara, the demon of ignorance or forgetfulness... His hair locks fly on both the sides touching the circular jvala mala or the garland of flames..."

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Analysis / Historical Value: The Nataraja bronze is the ultimate synthesis of Chola aesthetic and religious philosophy. Shiva's cosmic dance of destruction and creation is captured through precise symbolic gestures: the upper right hand holds the damaru (sound of creation/tala), the upper left carries the flame of destruction, the main right hand is in abhaya hasta (protection), and the main left hand in dola hasta points to his raised left foot in bhujangatrasita stance, symbolizing tirobhava (liberation from the veil of illusion/maya).

During the Vijayanagar Period in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, sculptors pioneered bronze portraiture to preserve the likeness of royal patrons. At Tirupati, life-size standing bronze portrait statues of King Krishnadevaraya and his two queens, Tirumalamba and Chinnadevi, were cast. These works combine realistic facial features with idealized, imposing physical proportions, depicting the royals in a praying posture with hands in namaskara mudra.