Page 107 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

104 ART AND CRAFTS

fig. 2.16 (top) Visnu, Southeast, it preserves empty space within which
North Bengal, The iconographic motifs are included.
Cleveland Museum of This tendency will remain permanent in the
Art subsequent centuries (from the 10th to 11th c.), 20
© Joachim K. Bautze
when the deities are cast in the round and the
fig. 2.17 (bottom) back-slab constitutes a separate unit (pl. 2.1),
Mandala, private which explains why it may have been eventually
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collection lost in some cases. The result is that artists could
fig. 2.17a (left) produce extremely intricate compositions where
fig. 2.17b (right) all figures stand on their own, for instance, in the
© Joachim K. Bautze marriage scene from Mandoil. Elements are
drawn from previous centuries, such as the large
flower acting as nimbus which is pre-eminently
displayed on this bronze, not being hidden by the
head of one of the deities. The full pedestal stands
now above feet: in course of time, its height will
increase through the multiplication of levels, thus
elevating the deity from above the earthly level.
Although the back-slab can still be hollowed out,
the slanting struts have disappeared and a broad
plain band fringed with flames and supporting the
umbrella unifies the composition.
A strong tendency to raise the deity is noticed: the pedestal is constituted of
superimposed layers of moldings resting above feet; the back-plate has more presence
than in earlier time, giving prominence to the image of the deity who stands above a
high double lotus (fig. 2.15). The preference for wide open space behind the deity
which was so much evident in the early period, can still be noticed here since large
rectangular spaces are hollowed out behind the lower part of the deities. But on the
whole, the image breathes peace and calm; the body of the deities is elongated and
movements are still restrained; through loosing their nimbus, the attendants grow
since the space allotted to them remains proportionally the same.
Images of the late 11th c. and 12th c. depart from the earlier ones in including a back-
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slab with motifs otherwise noticed in stone images, such as the kirtimukha topping the
image or the animals symbolizing the four elements (fig. 2.16). The overall
composition is comparatively less clear than in
the earlier images with the plain band. The high
pedestal can be partly hollowed out. The
movements of the attendants can be exaggerated
with a strong bending of the body; the images of
the deities are loaded with overwhelming
jewelry. Whereas the identification of the earlier