Reflections on the material and making of an image in ancient/early-medieval northern Bengal (Varendrī region) during the Pāla-Sena period (6th-13th C.E.)

Abstract

In this short-paper,at first, the established notions regarding the origin of the black coloured stone that is used in making most stone sculptures in the region, including during the Pāla-Sena period are problematized. Then it is shown how the processes of appropriation, assimilation and preservation with respect to art from the Indian subcontinent, especially from the region associated with modern day Bengal are not devoid of complexities. Through this we seek to understand the historiography of Pāla-Sena art, as well as the factors which play significant roles in order to give form and shape to an object of antiquity, from Bengal or from the subcontinent, as we see them today in museums all over the world.