( Golden diadem with Kinnaris (Crown of a queen .. gold inset with garnet ) relating to the 9th or 10th lying in the Asian section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York . Accession No..1988.395 )
( The Blogger outside MET New York )
KASHMIR ARTIFACTS IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK
There is a section in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (gallery 237 ) devoted exclusively to Kashmir. This section falls in the Florence and Herbert Asian Wing of the MET Museum. It is a real pleasure to see how some treasures from Kashmir have been nicely preserved, protected and displayed over here.
During my visit in September 2019, I saw a stone sculpture of goddess Sharda, terracotta tiles from Harwan Kashmir, a Vaikuntha Vishnu sculpture, a broken sculpture of kamdeva, two Pashmina shawl , brass images of Gajalakshmi, Bronze sculptures, Kartikeya sculpture, Brahama Vishnu Mahesha triad in black stone, golden crown of a kashmirian queen, sculpture of Bhairava, sculpture of Shiva Ekmukhlinga, metal mask of Bhairava, metal mask of Vaikuntha Vishnu, sculpture of Indra or Vajrapani, Buddha in postures some golden coins of kushana period and many more artifacts.
KAAM DEVA FROM KASHMIR
In Kashmir, Kaamdeva images were sculpted in temples of Avantipora and Anderkot (the capital of King Jayapida, grandson of King Lalitaditya). The description given for the broken Kaamdeva stone image held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York reads:
‘ Kama, the god of love, is here identified by a wondrous mythical creature (makara), who spews arrows from its jaws. The bow and arrow and a pair of lovebirds are Kamadeva’s principal identifiers. This subject is a rare survivor from early medieval Kashmir.’
TERRACOTTA TILES FROM HARWAN.
I also saw three tiles from Harwan in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Out of these three, two are broken, and one is unbroken and complete.
The tiles show a distinct Parthian or late Sasanian influence, revealing the close connections that Kashmir had with the Gandhara region at a time when Buddhism was the prevalent system of belief in both regions.
The unbroken tile displayed in the MET Museum has images of emaciated naked ascetics and couples drawn on it. The images are a mixture of Buddhist and Shaivite Yogic images that relate to a period between the 5th and 6th century A D. These tiles decorated the courtyard of an apsidal temple at Harwan.The tiles show a distinct Parthian or late Sasanian influence, revealing the close connections that Kashmir had with the Gandhara region at a time when Buddhism was the prevalent system of belief in both regions.
The additional details given by the MET Museum for these Harwan tiles are as follows:-
"Given that similar mixtures of Hindu and Buddhist imagery appear at other contemporary sites in Afghanistan and western India, the tiles may be a part of la arger exchange that occurred in relation to the emergence of esoteric Buddhism. Numerals in the Kharoshti script have been incised into the tiles, presumably as an aid to their placement ."
Such tiles establish without any ambiguity the presence of a fully evolved school of art in ancient Kashmir.
In the Asian section ( first Floor adjacent to the Korean Art section ) of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, I saw a crowned idol of Goddess Sharada from Kashmir. This late 9th-century sculpture has been done in Chlorite Schist and is in good shape. As per details collected by me, the idol was gifted to the MET Museum in 1984 by Mr and Mrs Perry J Lewis, residents of Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. Sharada is a Kashmiri synonym for Saraswati, the Goddess of learning.
This four-armed idol is housed in Gallery 237 in the MET Museum. It is about 32 cms in height and 20 cms in width. It was exhibited twice as perthe details below:-
(1) Art Institute of Chicago. "Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure," April 5, 2003–July 27, 2003.
(2) New York. Asia Society. "The Arts of Kashmir," October 2, 2007–January 27, 2008.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art treats it as a notable acquisition of ancient Kashmir.
A careful look at the idol reveals that the two hands of the goddess rest on two children,) each holding a manuscript representing Vidya ( Knowledge ) and Gyana ( Wisdom ). It could not be confirmed from the Museum officials whether this idol is from the ancient Sharada Temple of Kashmiri Pandits ( now in POK ).
KARTIKEYA..
Kartikeya, or the God of war, is a metal sculpture from the ancient kingdom of Kashmir. Id I wIas been done in brass with silver inlay. This 8th century Sculpture was gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, by Florence and Herbert Irving in 2015. This Sculpture is displayed on the first floor inside the Asian section of the MET Museum.
Kartikeya is the second child of Shiva and Parvati after Ganesha. Other names of Kartikeya are Murugan, Skanda, Subhramanaya and Kumara. Kartikeya is the most handsome god in Hindu Mythology. The vehicle of Kartikeya is a peacock.
KARTIKEYA..
Kartikeya, or the God of war, is a metal sculpture from the ancient kingdom of Kashmir. Id I wIas been done in brass with silver inlay. This 8th century Sculpture was gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, by Florence and Herbert Irving in 2015. This Sculpture is displayed on the first floor inside the Asian section of the MET Museum.
Kartikeya is the second child of Shiva and Parvati after Ganesha. Other names of Kartikeya are Murugan, Skanda, Subhramanaya and Kumara. Kartikeya is the most handsome god in Hindu Mythology. The vehicle of Kartikeya is a peacock.
Next time more.
(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\.
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