Indian Bronze Sculpture (South Indian and the Vijayanagar Period)

Bronze Sculptures of South India

South Indian Bronze Sculpture:

• Bronze sculpture reached a higher developmental stage during the medieval time frame in the southern part of India

• 8th and 9th centuries: Most exquisite statues are from the Pallavas period
• Tenth to Twelfth century: Remarkable statues are from Chola Period in TamilNadu

• Bronze image fashioning technique is still practised in Kumbakonam
• During the 10th century, the benefactor was the bereaved Chola sovereign, Sembiyan Maha Devi

Prominent examples:

Lost Wax Process

Metalworking techniques such as lost-wax casting are popular in Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal. Each region uses a slightly different method.

The lost-wax process consists of several steps. To begin, a wax model of the image is handcrafted from pure beeswax that has been melted over an open fire and then strained into a basin of cold water through a fine cloth. It instantly resolidifies here. The wax is then pressed through a pichki or pharni to form a noodle-like shape. These wax wires are then wound around to form the image’s overall shape. 

The image is now covered in a thick paste made of equal parts clay, sand, and cow dung. A clay pot is inserted through one of the openings on one side. It is filled with molten metal. The metal to be used is ten times heavier than wax. (The wax is weighed before the process begins.) This metal is primarily composed of scrap metal derived from broken pots and pans. While the molten metal is poured into the clay pot, the clay-plastered model is fired. As the wax inside melts, the metal flows down the channel and takes on the shape of the wax image.

The firing procedure is almost religious in nature, with all steps taking place in complete silence. The image is then chiselled with files to smooth it out and give it a finished look.

Casting a bronze image is a laborious process that necessitates a high level of skill. To cast bronze images, an alloy of five metals — gold, silver, copper, brass, and lead — is sometimes used.

• Pallava Period:The symbol of Shiva situated in ardhaparyanka asana (one leg continued to hang). The right hand is in the achamana mudra (going to drink poison)
• Chola Period: The notable moving figure of Shiva as Nataraja

• Shiva iconography in the Thanjavur part of TamilNadu

• The kalyanasundara murti of the ninth century is remarkable and represents Panigrahana by two different statuettes
• Shiva with his right hand accepts the bride, Parvati’s right hand
• The association of Shiva and Parvati is extremely keen, addressed in the murti in a solitary picture
• Parvati’s independent figurines have also been modelled, standing in graceful tribhanga posture

Vijayanagar Period in Andhra Pradesh (the sixteenth century):

• Portrait sculpture represents the preserved knowledge for royal patrons for posterity
• Life-size standing picture sculptures were projected in bronze at Tirupati and portrays Krishnadevaraya with his two sovereigns, Tirumalamba and Chinnadevi

• The physical body is modelled to appear graceful and imposing
• The standing king and queen are praying, with both hands joined in the namaskara mudra

Nataraja

It is a figure of Shiva who is related with the finish of the astronomical world (with which this moving position is related)             

• Right Leg: The right leg of nataraja shows balancing himself and stifling the apasmara (the evil spirit of obliviousness or distraction) with the foot of a similar leg
• Left Leg: The left leg of nataraja is raised in bhujanga trasita stance that shows tirobhava,that is kicking away the cloak of maya or enthusiast’s brain delineation
• Four Arms: His four arms are stretched

• Main right Hand: Posed in abhaya hasta and gesture represents not to fear nearby evil

• Upper right hand: Holds the damaru and his favourite musical instrument in order to keep the beat tala
• A fire is conveyed by the upper left hand. The main left hand is positioned in dola hasta and connects to the right hand’s abhayahasta
• Hairs: Hair secures nataraja fly on the two sides contacting the round jvala mala or the festoon of fire which encompasses the whole moving figuration

India’s southern region

• The bronze casting technique and the production of bronze images of traditional icons reached a high point of development in south India during the mediaeval period
•  The icon of Shiva seated in Ardhaparyanka asana is the best Pallava period bronze from the 8th century (one leg kept dangling)
• Although bronze images were modelled and cast during the Pallava period in the eighth and ninth centuries, some of the most beautiful and exquisite statues were created during the Chola period in Tamil Nadu from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD
• The art of creating bronze images is still practised expertly in South India, particularly in Kumbakonam
• During the 10th century, the widowed Chola Queen, Sembiyan Maha Devi, was the distinguished patron
• Chola bronze images are highly sought after by art collectors all over the world
• During the Chola period, the well-known dancing figure of Shiva as Nataraja evolved and fully developed, and many variations of this complex bronze image have been modelled since then
• In Tamil Nadu’s Tanjore region, a diverse range of Shiva iconography evolved
• The 9th century Kalyanasundara Murti is notable for the way panigrahana (marriage ceremony) is represented by two separate statuettes
• Shiva accepts Parvati’s (the bride’s) right hand with his extended right hand, who is depicted with a shy expression and taking a step forward
• The union of Shiva and Parvati is cleverly represented in a single image in the Ardhanarishvara
• Beautiful independent figurines of Parvati in the graceful tribhanga posture have also been created
• Sculptors experimented with portrait sculpture during the 16th century, known as the Vijayanagara period in Andhra Pradesh, in order to preserve knowledge of the royal patrons for prosperity
• The bronze life-size standing portrait statue of Krishnadevaraya and his two queens, Tirumalamba and Chinnadevi, was cast in Tirupati
• The likeness of the facial features has been combined with certain idealisation elements in the sculpture
• The idealisation is also visible in the way the physical body is modelled to appear both imposing and graceful
• The standing King and Queen are shown praying, with both hands in the Namaskara mudra

Conclusion

However, by the early 16th century, the art had begun to decline in Vijayanagar. It is clear from the treatment of the Bronze sculptures’ faces and the modelling of the legs, such as the contraction at the knee-joint, the stretching out of the leg, and so on. After 1600 AD, conventionalised emblems became more popular, and the dress and ornaments were also worn conventionally in these Vijayanagar bronze sculptures.