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Carved in a reddish sandstone, the elegance of the form of this depiction is captivating. In the few centuries following the height of Gupta style, the fresh and appealing forms of the Gupta canon are graced with a slightly leaner, more taut line giving them an envious elegance without rendering them mannered. This carving embodies the pinacle of such a form. Ambika's elaborate coiffure and ornaments add grace and delicacy to the successful composition of the whole as the mango sprays overhead form a gently arching canopy and the sculpted plinth under the lion polishes and completes the panel.
The rendering of Ambika's scarf behind her shoulders indicates the advance in sculptural technique over the Kushan period's tendency to present the scarf is an ambiguous and almost clumsy canopy-like carving over the head of the figure. Also during the Kushan period, the image of the mother in the Buddhist context is represented by that of the demonness Hariti holding her child at her breast or in the scenes of the birth of Siddhartha Gautama from the side of Queen Maya. Yet, in terms of capturing the tenderness of maternal expression, the concept of the mother is brought to its finest form in this figure of Ambika, nurturing and yet alone and self-sufficient. The fructifying character of the feminine ideal for the beholder is personified in the yakshi figures of Jainism where none better represents the type than Ambika.
Considered to be one of the masterpieces of metal sculpture from South Asia, the 9th century yakshi (939.17.20) from Deccan India illustrates one central aspect of the nature of the yakshi, her association with vegetation. In this case, the depiction of the lotus rhizome to which her torso forms a rhythmic counterpoint and the remains of a lotus bud in her left may associate her particularly with the concept of purity as well. The lotus flower with its radiant petals, though born from the mud, symbolizes purity in South Asian art. Without any further cognizance, however, it is impossible to identify her concretely.
The charming head of a Tirthankara, ca. 10th century, (980.138.16 Gift of Louise Hawley Stone) carved in pale sandstone in the Candella school comes from central India. Unfortunately, without any further portion of the original figure, it is impossible to determine the identity of the image. Nonetheless, certain features of his iconography serve to render him characteristic of his typology. The serene expression of his softly smiling countenance indicates the character of a liberated soul. Other characteristics, such as the lengthened earlobes, the protuberance at the crown of his head, and the cluster of curls formed by his hair, are shared with images of the Buddha in the same period, for these elements are the signs of the superhuman being according to the shared cultural ideals of the subcontinent. Were we to have a more complete figure, we might find an intricately carved rhombus on his chest, the shrivatsa, and three parallel umbrellas shading him overhead. He would either be standing
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in the body-abandonment posture, indicating the severity of the austerities performed to remove the last bit of impurity from his soul, or else seated in meditation with his hands open-palmed in his lap. Whatever the context, however, the vision of the gentle smile and demure expression on his face brings an ample measure of peace and joy to the beholder. Above all the images representing the religious complexities born of an expanding pantheon of deities and a conflicting assortment of doctrines and ritual practices of the ancient period of South Asian art, this serene expression teaches us the tranquility and patience with which to approach the next task falling to our lot.
The South Asian collection at the Royal Ontario Museum has considerable breadth with which to represent the many regions, periods, dynastics, schools and religions in the ancient period of the artistic production in the subcontinent. Certainly it is important to have a firm grounding in mankind's historical underpinnings: in our cultural, social, and religious distinctions. We can only appreciate the worth of a tradition different from our own if we try to understand its rationale, its function, and its living vitalism. That is to say, we can only appreciate the worth of another tradition by coming to an understanding of its historical context. For that reason, the value of a collection such as that of the South Asian holdings at the ROM exists only in its ability to make a comprehensive statement about itself to its own public and to reveal to a new public the culture and society it represents.
But it is also possible in our complex and compartmentalized society today to assign a heightened value to the differences separating various parts of our experience of humanity from others. It is possible to permit this heightened value of difference to separate us further from integration into the stream of the human record viewed as a more comprehensive whole. To remedy this error, we must be able to find universal statements in our diverse and complex record. universal statements of our humanity which lower the barriers of distinction and make an easier ford permitting us to cross the streams of experience which separate us.
Here we begin to appreciate the real value of the Jain component in the holdings from the ancient period of South Asia art at the Royal Ontario Museum. In nearly each instance, the Jain artefact has been able to reach, by comparison and contrast, beyond its own particular statement to reveal or unlock the greater articulated statements of cultural synthesis and societal expression of artistic form from the subcontinent for the benefit of the visitor.
Elizabeth Anne Knox is a scholar in the field of South Asian Art. She was a Curatorial Assistant for South Asian and Tibet at the Royal Ontario Museum. She was trained in Sanskrit and dramacurgy and art history:
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