SACRED ART IN EXILE: ICONOGRAPHIC STUDY OF GUPTA-ERA SCULPTURES IN THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON AND THE WORCESTER ART MUSEUM ART, USA

Le résumé fourni par la source

Kaman, situated at the tri-junction of Delhi, Rajputana, and Uttar Pradesh, represents one of the lesserdocumented yet artistically centers of early Indian sculpture. Under successive administration of the Yadavas, Gurjara-Pratiharas, Delhi Sultanate, Kachhwahas, Mughals, and Jats, this region created a distinct indigenous creative history that was strongly anchored in the Braj devotional context while absorbing other cultural currents. This paper aims to conduct a systematic iconographic analysis of sculptural works from Kaman, with focused examination of two exceptional pieces now held in international museum collections: the Gupta-period Kubera panel (c.320-540 CE) at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Ashtagraha-Panel (c. 550-575CE) at the Worcester Art Museum, USA. The methodology combines close formal analysis of sculptural attributes- including posture, gesture (mudra), attributes, ornamental details, and cosmological organization, with a comparative art-historical interpretation focused on canonical Guptaera sculptural traditions. The study shows that the Kubera panel exemplifies classic Gupta grandeur through the rajalilasana posture, a purse symbolizing wealth, and unusual wig-like headgear, while also reflecting the deity’s syncretic role across Hindu and Buddhist tradition. The ashtagraha-panel depicts only eight planetary deities, with abhaya mudra and kamandalu serving as consistent iconographic markers, and exemplifies Kushan-Gupta artistic synthesis in its formal figure treatment. The paper concludes that these two sculptures are critical material evidence of Kaman’s creative life and significance as a regional center or artistic patronage, necessitating ongoing scholarly attention and conservation on the cultural implications of Indian artistic heritage housed abroad.

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