India, home to Buddhism, has numerous Buddhist shrines across the country, particularly in the north and north eastern states. Among the Buddhist sites one of the oldest, largest and most important is the fascinating and awe-inspiring Great Shrine of Amaravati, founded far back in 200 BC. Amaravati is now in the state of Andhra The sculptures include richly carved relief panels showing narrative episodes from the life of the Buddha, as well as Buddhist emblems and symbols. They were used to decorate the outside of the stupa sculpted on the railing that surrounded the walkway. In the olden days the decoration of the stupa was funded by ardent devotees and the stone inscriptions carry details of such gifts.
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| Amaravati sculptures British Museumupload.wikimedia.org , |
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| Amaravati sculptures British Museumubritishmuseum.org |
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| British Museum, London. commons.wikimedia.org |
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| British museum London Amaravati gallery robertharbisonsblog.net |
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| Amaravati sculpture, Londonkevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com |
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| Amaravati sculpture, British museum. kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com |
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| Amaravati sculpture, British museumkevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com |
In the famous British museum in London, a storehouse of Indian artifacts, bronze idols, etc., the Amaravati sculptures occupy a pride of place as a separate gallery often known as Eliot Marbles’ because Sir Walter Elliot of English company attached to the Madras Presidency in the 1840s was mainly responsible for their excavation and careful preservation Aesthetically displayed in London museum the Elliot marbles are commonly called Amaravati collections or Amaravati marbles these include a roughly 120 exquisite sculptures and inscriptions carefully collected from the ancient Amaravati site near Guntur, AP. It is to be borne in mind the rock is not marble and actually the sculptures are carved out of limestone works .
The sculptures that are on display are of different types such as ‘toranams’, gateways, pillars, cross bars, copings, drum panels, guardian lions, and several miscellaneous pieces. The richly figurative works in relief with several crowded scenes illustrating the Buddhist Jataka tales are attractive ones.. No doublet, these pretty old marble sculptures bear testimony to the rich Buddhist cultural heritage and ethos.
The much acclaimed Amaravati sculptures, commonly called Amaravati collections or Amaravati marbles, is a series of nearly 120 exquisite sculptures and inscriptions collected from the ancient Amaravati site near Guntur and aesthetically displayed in British Museum, London. The Amaravati sculptures in British museum are also known as ‘Elliot Marbles’, on account of their association with Sir Walter Elliot, who caused their excavation in 1840s
The earliest explorations at Amaravati were conducted by Col. Colin Mackenzie, a native of Scotland of the British army (of the Madras presidency) was the first one who did excavations at Amaravati using the army in 1798. This was followed by Walter Elliot, who evinced great interest in the unique discovery and undertook large scale excavations at Amaravati in 1845 and shifted the rare excavated items to Madras Ft. St. George and later to the museum in Egmore.
As the marble sculptures were exposed to various climatic conditions, there was a need to save and curate them. In 1853, Edward Belfour, the curator of the Madras museum advised the authorities in London that the Amaravati sculptures were of historical value and needed to be transported for curation, etc. To support his view, he sent the drawings (made by one Murugesa Mudaliar) and photos of the sculptures to them. Accordingly in 1859 the Amaravati sculptures were in London and at last the authorities kept them in the ‘India Museum’ founded in 1801 and on display at the new museum were natural history specimens, books, manuscripts and other items collected by the EIC officers.
After 1858 the English company was taken over by the British govt. London and now the Amaravati collections were shifted to a private collection house in Whitehall (occupied by James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (died in 1809). Prior to that it was at Beale's Wharf in Southwark and was finally open to the public in 1861. Because of humid conditions in the Private collection house, finally the Amaravati marble sculptures were transferred to British Museum in 1880. During World War II when Nazi Germany was on extensive bombing raids on London, the sculpture were safeguarded during those tumultuous days. Since 1992, the oldest Buddhist sculptures have been on display in a separate gallery at the British museum.
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| British museum, London, India gallery/ independent.co.uk |
Sir Walter Elliot:
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| Indologist Sir Walter Elliot KCSI en.wikipedia.org |
Sir Walter Elliot KCSI (16 January 1803 – 1 March 1887) , who brought to light one of the oldest Amaravati Buddhist marble sculptures of beauty and artistic work was a man of erudition and scholarship. A multifaceted personality he single handedly saved these sculptures from near ruin, neglect and interference that dogged them after their un-burial. Had action not been taken at the right time, these rare historical sculpture would have become part of a mound of dust dust . He was a well-known Orientalist, linguist, naturalist and ethnologist. A native of Edinburgh (born in 1803), he joined the Madras Civil Service when young and by dint of hard work he reached high positions in the company, mostly worked for the Maras presidency. During his first cousin Lord Elphinstone 's tenure as governor of Madras in 1836, Walter Elliot became his private secretary, the position he held up to 1842. His great-uncle was William Fullerton Elphinstone, the company's director and he got the post through his influence. Towards the end of his life Elliott began to lose his sight and in his later years was completely blind. He retired from service in 1859 and returned to Wolfelee in Roxburghshire in 1860. Quite impressed the way he carried out the excavation in Guntur, AP in a systematic and scientific manner, the Court of Directors of EIC appointed him as the Commissioner of Northern Circars, a position he held till 1854 when he finally became a member of the Governor’s council.
Because of his painstaking archaeological work, the Amaravati marbles are were therefore called as “Elliot Marbles'' Though mining activities were prevailing in the Amaravati area and adjacent places prior to 1845 and consequential damages due to inadequate storage over 114 years, it’s amazing that they have survived in the condition they can be seen today. It is said of the sculpture recovered from the Amaravati site, approximately one third is in London with the vast majority in the Government Museum in Chennai and the rest in museums across the world.
Photocredit: https://kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com
/2019/10/03/amaravati-marbles-british-museum-elliot-marbles
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/india-amaravati
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaravati_Marbles
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/india-amaravati
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