IMPERFECT LABELLING OF ART OBJECTS BY SPS MUSEUM ,SRINAGAR

                                      

Two Museums, Two Ways of Seeing: Why Kashmir Must Learn to Label Its Own  Heritage 

A museum label is not a price tag. It is the voice of the object. When that voice is weak, even the greatest masterpiece becomes mute. Two photographs before me illustrate this contrast with painful clarity and they raise a fundamental question for all lovers of Kashmiri heritage.Both have been photographed by me.

Chicago Museum Labelling: Perfect, Descriptive and Scholarly

The first photograph shows a standing Bodhisattva sculpture displayed in a museum in Chicago. The sculpture dates to the second to third century from the Gandhara region. The label beside it is a model of professional curatorial scholarship. It does not merely name the object. It teaches.

It states that the sculpture and other early depictions of Bodhisattvas represent enlightened beings who have chosen to remain in the world to help humanity and therefore wear princely attire. Such finery can also be seen on portrayals of the historical Buddha when he was Prince Siddhartha, before he embarked on his spiritual journey and discarded luxurious trappings. It notes that the figure is adorned with a romantic complex in ancient Gandhara, a crossroads of global trade routes. It draws attention to the muscular build, the strong facial features and the carefully draped dress that shows the impact of Greco Roman art from the time of Alexander the Great, while the long earrings suggest influence from the nomadic Indo Scythian peoples known as the Saka.

In about one hundred words, the viewer learns the what, the when, the where, the how and the why. The material, the iconography, the style, the historical context and the cross cultural influence are all explained by a professional who knows art history. This is what scientific cataloguing means. It respects both the object and the visitor.

Kashmir Museum Labelling: Casual, Imperfect and Sketchy

The second example is from our own Shri Pratap Singh Museum, Srinagar, in its new building at Lal Mandi.

The object is a magnificent stone sculpture of Shiva, retrieved from Gupkar in Srinagar, dated to the ninth century. Its label reads only, "Shiva, Ninth Century CE, Stone, Gupkar Srinagar, Kashmir, Acc No 2496" .

This is casual, imperfect and sketchy work. It is not cataloguing at all. To write only Shiva means nothing in Indian art history.

Shiva has countless iconographic manifestations. He is worshipped and represented as Mahadeva, as Trimurti, as Panchamukhi, as Harihara, as Ardhanarishvara, as Linga, as Bhairava, as Nataraja. Each form has a distinct philosophy, a distinct set of Lakshanas prescribed in the Agamas and Vishnudharmottara Purana, and a distinct stylistic evolution. A single generic name erases all that knowledge.

The Gupkar Shiva: What the Label Should Have Said

A careful look at the Gupkar sculpture shows that it is not an ordinary Shiva. It is Shiva as Mahadeva in his Trimurti aspect, a form that is the very heart of Kashmir Shaivism.

The sculpture shows three faces carved with superb skill. The central face is Tatpurusha, serene, meditative and yogic, with a tall "Jata-mukuta "and a calm expression. The face on the deity's right is Aghora or Bhairava, fierce in expression with a powerful gaze, representing the destructive and protective energy. The fierceness is shown through the modelling of the eyes and brows and the open mouth. The face on the deity's left is Vamadeva or Uma, gentle and feminine, with soft features and graceful ornamentation, representing Shakti as Parvati. The topmost face, Ishana, which would have made it a full Panchamukhi, is now lost, as is common in many surviving examples.

Thus in one image, the sculptor of ninth century Kashmir, during the glorious period of the Utpala dynasty, has united in one form the creator, the destroyer and the feminine principle. It is Mahadeva containing within himself Bhairava and Uma. It is philosophy in stone, the core of the Trika system for which Kashmir was the greatest centre in the world.

A professional label written by an art historian and a scholar of Shaiva iconography would have explained all this. It would have specified the material as chloritic schist, the style as mature Kashmiri under the Utpalas, the iconographic text as referring to Shaiva Agamas, the provenance as the Gupkar find spot, and the comparative examples from other collections.

Conclusion: If Not in Kashmir, Then Where

The Bodhisattva in the Chicago photograph belongs to Gandhara. The American museum has explained it with full scholarship, even though it is not their own cultural heritage.

The Shiva as Mahadeva belongs to Kashmir. It is our own God, our own philosophy, our own art, carved by Kashmiri hands on Kashmiri stone. If this profound form is not elaborated, interpreted and celebrated in the SPS Museum of Kashmir itself, where else will it be?

The Chicago museum teaches us how to honour another culture's heritage. The SPS Museum is today failing to honour its own.

This is therefore a humble appeal to the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, Jammu and Kashmir. Please get the entire collection professionally re catalogued. Engage scholars of Kashmiri art, of Buddhist and Shaiva iconography, of Sanskrit and Persian manuscripts, from the University of Kashmir, University of Jammu and Central University of Kashmir. Let each object speak with the knowledge it deserves.

Our heritage does not need mere storage. It needs storytelling. And that storytelling must begin at home.

( Avtar Mota )

PS

Both photos by Avtar mota

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.