Preaching Lord Buddha Kadamba Wood Statue from Jaipur

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This wooden image of Lord Buddha, representing him primarily in preaching posture of his classical iconography, is a splendid example of great craftsmanship. The statue is unique in revealing in the beauty of form rare spiritual simplicity. The image seems to melt out of gold, not carved from wood, yielding its luminosity, all its gentle expressions, refinement, fluidity of lines, plasticity and transcendental quality combined with perfectly balanced anatomy and warm sensuousness as revealed the great traditions of the Buddhist art. In subtlety of expression, discovering details of various parts : drapery and ‘vedika’ in particular, and in its firm yogi-like seating posture the statue is close to Buddha’s fifth-sixth century Sarnath images.

With his right hand gesticulated in ‘vitarka-mudra’ – interpretive posture, the statue represents the Great Master as delivering sermon to his disciples. He led the ignorant mankind to the path of righteousness for some forty years, though for portraying this aspect of his life these are just two sets of his images that are often used : one, when he delivered his first sermon to his five errant friends at Deer Park in Sarnath, known in the Buddhist tradition as 'dharmachakra-pravartana' – setting the wheel of Law in motion, and the other, representing him as moving from one place to other teaching ignorant ones, an image usually designated as ‘Buddha, the Universal Teacher’.

As the Buddhist texts and tradition have it, after he was enlightened and all knowing, he decided to share his knowledge with the world for its weal. He hence proceeded from the place he was doing penance and reached Sarnath where he encountered his five former friends who had deserted him. The divine glow on the Buddha's face led them to prostrate before him. Here at Deer Park Buddha delivered to them his ever first sermon and thus the wheel of Law was set in motion.

Thus, the wood-piece represents the Buddha as teacher. His image enshrines a lotus seat installed on a podium consisting of conventionalised lotus-motifs. An exquisitely incised half ‘vedika’ consisting of four as elegantly carved pillars and a back-wall houses the lotus-seat that the Great Master enshrines. The lotus, the Buddha enshrines, has been beautifully conceived. The glow that enshrines his face is born of the enlightenment, and sublimity and divine calm, of his great spiritual strength. Broad forehead, sharp nose, elegantly delineated lips, though pointed but subdued chin and lotus petal like carved eyes define the aesthetic beauty of his face. An elegantly pleated ‘chadara’ – long sheet of unstitched textile, not only covers his entire figure down to foot-joint, except the right half of the torso, but also lay folded on the figure’s left shoulder and left arm and spread on the pedestal under the Buddha-image.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

Sculpting Serenity: Unveiling the Art of Crafting Wood Statues

Wood has been a preferred material for sculptures and statues since ancient times. It is easy to work with than most metals and stones and therefore requires less effort to shape it into any desired shape or form. The texture of the wood gives an element of realism to the sculpture. The selection of an appropriate wood type is necessary for carving. Woods that are too resinous or coniferous are not considered good for carving as their fiber is very soft and thus lacks strength. On the other hand, wood such as Mahogany, Oakwood, Walnut wood, Weet cherry wood, etc., are preferred by sculptors because their fiber is harder. A wood sculptor uses various tools such as a pointed chisel in one hand and a mallet in another to bring the wood to the desired measurement and to make intricate details on it. A carving knife is used to cut and smooth the wood. Other tools such as the gouge, V-tool, and coping saw also serve as important tools in wood carving. Although the wood carving technique is not as complex and tough as stone carving or metal sculpting, nonetheless, a wood carver requires a high level of skills and expertise to create a stunning sculpture.

1. Selecting the right wood

The process of wood carving begins with selecting a chunk of wood that is required according to the type and shape of the statue to be created by the sculptor. Both hardwoods and softwoods are used for making artistic pieces, however, hardwoods are preferred more than softer woods because of their durability and longevity. But if heavy detailing is to be done on the statue, wood with fine grain would be needed as it would be difficult to work with hardwood.

2. Shaping the wood

Once the wood type is selected, the wood carver begins the general shaping process using gouges of various sizes. A gouge is a tool having a curved cutting edge which is useful in removing large unwanted portions of wood easily without splitting the wood. The sculptor always carves the wood across the grain of the wood and not against it.

3. Adding detailing

When a refined shape of the statue is obtained, it is time for making details on the statue using different tools. This is achieved by using tools such as a veiner to make and a V-tool to create decorative and sharp cuts.

4. Surface finishing

Once finer details have been added, the sculptor is ready to smoothen the surface and give it a perfect finish. Tools such as rasps and rifflers are used to get a smooth surface. The finer polishing is obtained by rubbing the surface with sandpaper. If a textured surface is required, this step is skipped. Finally, to protect the statue from excessive dirt accumulation, the sculptor applies natural oils such as walnut or linseed oil all over it. This also brings a natural sheen to the statue.