Page 105 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

102 ART AND CRAFTS

in the rendering of tiny motifs – a trend essentially developed in North Bengal – is
present; it does, however, blend with the fundamental tendency towards regional
distinctness, preserving bare spaces on the back-slab which enhance the crisp and
intricate ornamentation.
A particular and limited aspect of this stylistic idiom deserves to be noted, which is
exclusive to the 11th and 12th c. images of the Buddha which have been found from
Dhaka to Chittagong, and relate to some of the cast images found at Jhewari (fig.
2.12). It does preserve a clear structure, allowing a perfect reading of a rather
complicated iconography which betrays the existence of contacts with Pagan. Such an
image shares with the Brahmanical images from Vikramapura the introduction on the
back-slab of small divine representations: of the Buddha himself and of the Buddhas
of the past here, of the avataras, the Aditiyas, or the Dikpalas on the Brahmanical
images. The heaviness of the limbs, however, like the facial features of the Buddha
remind us more of his images in Pagan.
Thus the school of Southeast Bengal emerged with its own conception of style where
the clearly drawn composition contributes to emphasize the distance between the deity
and the world on which he/she rules. Although the evolution runs parallel to the way
followed in the North, showing taste for an extremely refined carving, this notion will
remain basic throughout the development.
c. West & South Bengal
West & South Bengal, which covers most of the Indian state of West Bengal, is a wide
region which incorporated the artistic impact of the neighboring regions. Due to this
geographical position, it did not develop a strong stylistic unity such as the one
observed in North and in Southeast Bengal. Images, stone as well as bronzes, collected
in the northern district of Murshidabad, relate thus to the North Bengal stylistic idiom
and their study is included here within this geographical context whereas images from
Purulia, Bankura and Midnapur districts in West Bengal relate to the artistic
production of the bordering regions of Orissa and Bihar (now Jharkhand). 14
Cast images
a. North Bengal
Probably one of the earliest cast images recovered
in North Bengal, the gilded Avalokiteshvara from
Mahasthangarh (pl. 2.2) reflects, like other
images from the 7th c. & 8th c., the impact of the
fig. 2.13 Sarnath atelier in the Delta– as it is also observed
Avalokiteshvara, in Bihar. The elongated body, the fluid lines
Mahasthangarh, Bogra following a restrained movement, the soft smile,
District Varendra
Research Museum, are all features present in contemporary images of
Rajshahi; after Asher the Buddha found at Bhasu Bihar and in North
15
1980, pl. 229 Bengal. Like on Nalanda bronzes of the 8th c.,