Buddha Head

This Buddha-head, sculpted out of the deep ash-grey fine marble, obviously in imitation of the 3rd-4th century Gandhara images of the Great Master, a head of which the State Museum, Lucknow has in its collection, combines the characteristics of transitional phase of late Kushana and early Gupta sculptures and is reminiscent of a timeless art of India's golden age. Though a late work, this stone-piece is endowed with superb sculptural quality and is a masterpiece by any parameters. The sculptor had before him the finest models and an age old tradition of art and thought but to their excellences he had his own emotional fervour to assimilate. Thus, the divine serenity, which has been arrived at and makes it an image that transcends the mind to a world absolutely unlike ours, is also the product of his chisel and hammer.

The fine grains of the stone impart to the image exceptional illumination and texture of light and shade by their mutual interaction. The facial type, almond-shaped half closed eyes, though a little more curved, straight nose, save for its greater sharpness, are characteristically the attributes which the sculptor has inherited from the Kushana sculptures of Buddha, while typically dressed wavy hair and sharp arched eye-brows, though their ends floated a little upwards, seem to have been taken from Gupta art of early phase. The head displays great anatomical balance and a unique synthesis of physical and spiritual and more than the anatomy the enshring serenity seems to be the theme of the stone.

The face has a sublime look and is endowed with great aesthetic beauty. The head has been tilted a little to right, which gives to face-build added angles and further effects of light and shade. The right cheek gains a shape and angle different from the left. The deep socketed eyes are highly meditative and impart to the face anatomical variety. The tuft of hair created in the middle of the symmetrically rising wavy hair meant for suggesting 'Ushnisha' also balances the verticality of the neck which rises, though in coils, to a verticality that without the rest of the body could appear awkward. The horizontal width of the forehead waves like a flying bird in between the curling hair and waving eye-brows.The 'urna' mark in its centre distributes its horizonatlity. Many of them are attributes of Gupta art but with further freshness added to them.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and culture.

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Of Related Interest:

Buddha Head (Wood Sculpture)

Four Headed Buddha (Green Stone Sculpture)