Indian Museum Calcutta
The Art Section of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, consists of two Galleries- (1)
Picture Gallery and (2) the Gallery of objects of art and Textiles.
Picture Gallery:
It is situated on the topmost storey of the Chowringhee extension of the main
Museum building. The Gallery contains drawings and paintings in water color
and tempera and they could be broadly classified in two groups- (a)Tibetian
Temple Banners and (b)Drawing and Paintings in Persian and Indian styles.
Tibetian Temple Banners:
Several Banner paintings displayed in the Gallery are the scrolls of cloth or
paper having a ground on which the paintings were executed in tempera. Some
of the Banners are made of silk and embroidered. The subjects depicted in these
banners are episodes from the myths of gods and goddesses depicted in Lamaism
which has been characterized as a mixture of Sivaite mysticism, magic and Indo-Tibetian
demonolatry with influences of Mahayana Buddhism. Sometimes personages who made
themselves famous by their nobel deed of serving the faith also find a place
here with their wives who are shown in their godly attributes. Thus the kings
and queens, ministers, and religious prechers of Tibet are painted on the banners
as the Tibetian king Srong-tsan-gampo by his service to the faith has been canonized
as an incarnation of Avalokiteswara. His Chinese queen has been deified as "White
Tara" and his Nepalese queen as "Green Tara". The gods of Sivaite
and Tantric cults brought from India have also their respective places in these
banners.
The demons and their consorts who play a very important role in Tibetian pantheon
are not less worshipped than gods, on account of their supernatural powers with
which they are attributed. They are painted with their respective weapons in
a way to inspire awe. There are also a number of Tibetian astronomical and anatomical
banners displayed in the Gallery.
To the uninitiated these banners appear as extravagances of imagination but
they are a source of never-ending interest to them who can properly understand
their symbols and meaning.
An exhibit - Lord Buddha (Tibetian School)
Drawing and Painting in Persian and Indian styles :
The exhibits in this group are mainly album paintings and drawings executed
on hand-made paper. There are a few large cartoons on paper belonging to Rajput
School (18th century). Tracings from these cartoons were used in making wall
paintings. These are many works mainly representing the various schools of paintings
such as Persian, Indo-persian, Deccani, Rajasthani, Pahari, Sikh and Patna and
the collection is particularly rich in the paintings of the Mughal Court and
the Rajput Ragini series ie. the pictorial representations of music. Among the
numerous paintings exhibited in the Gallery the works of such masters as Aqua
Riza of Khorasan, Ustad Mansur, Nanha, Gholam and many others may be found.
There are several portraits of Indian emperors, kings and courtiers some of
which have great historical importance. A large collection of paintings of the
Mughal School in the Gallery depicts genre subjects. Paintings of the Rajasthan
and Pahari Schools largely depict mythological subjects and scenes from the
life story of Sri Krishna. There are, however, quite a good number of specimens
showing scenes of contemporary life of common men of the time including love
scenes. These paintings give us an insight to the court and social life and
behavior and the character and costumes of the people of India from the 15th.
to 19th. century.
