As the story of the Buddha goes, after the Sakya Muni attained Enlightenment under a Pipal tree, known in the tradition as the Bodhi-vraksha – tree of Enlightenment, at the bank of river Nairanjana near village Uruvilva, and emerged in his new being as Buddha, he decided to share his knowledge with other seekers of truth for the world’s weal. The first ones who came to his mind were his prior five pupil-colleagues at the ashram – seat, of Ramaputra Rudraka. He had left them engaged in penance at Deer Park at Sarnath. The Buddha reached them and delivered to them his ever first sermon. They heard with rapt attention the whole night and the whole day and with them, as his first disciples, Buddha founded his new Law and the Commune of the seekers of truth and to it the Buddha and his five disciples were the first converts.

Some of the more significant aspects or features of the image are : the huge halo carved elaborately with foliated scrolls behind the Buddha’s image symbolising the image’s divine aura radiating from it; fingers’ posture articulating a meaning, as when engaged in discourse or elaborating a point, defined in the iconographic tradition as ‘vyakhyana’ or ‘vitarka-mudra’; the wheel motif, as if rolling, in the centre of the pedestal just under the Buddha image, symbolic of the wheel of Law set to roll; icons of two deer flanking the wheel, as if listening to the great message, not merely indicating the identity of the place as Deer Park but also that even the earth and nature heard and shared it; and, finally, the seven tiny human icons, six major and one child, carved on the two sides of the wheel-motif, five, the Buddha’s first disciples, sixth, the donor-devotee woman and the seventh, her child. The gently bent arms and interknitted supple fingers in the posture of explaining something, perhaps the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path, not only manifest the aggregate of the Buddha’s vision or define the iconography of the Buddha in his ‘Dharma-chakra-pravartana’ form but located exactly in the centre of the figure this posture of hands and fingers also becomes the pivotal point of both, the theme and the iconic body manifesting it.

Difficult to move eye away from, the figure of the Buddha reveals rare magnificence and exceptionally high level of artistic endeavour and merit. The calm oval face of the Buddha with a gentle smile on lips revealing divine bliss, strange glow, a flower’s tenderness, and unique lyricism define the iconography of the figure. The same level of artistic skill reflects in the carving of beautifully arched eye-brows, heavy eye-lids, half-shut eyes and elongated earlobes, a characteristic feature of divine iconography, the Buddhist and the Jain in special. The figure is unique in geometrical dimensions, body’s rhythmic curves and symmetry. Both exceptionally transparent, neither the skin is able to contain the inner glow nor the sash-like textile carried on forearms, the anatomy of the hands. The refined simplicity of the form, elegance reflecting in modeling of various parts, a benign face submerged into spiritual ecstasy and grace, all are rendered, and on such miniaturized scale, with remarkable skill. It seems as if in its creation feeling, faith, idea, imagination and tradition, all have amalgamated.

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.

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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.