WESTERN INDIAN BRONZE

any of a style of metal sculpture that flourished in India during the 6th to the 12th century and later, mainly in the area of modern Gujarat and Rajasthan states. The bronzes are, for the most part, images of the Jaina faithrepresentations of the saviour figures and ritual objects such as incense burners and lamp bearers. Important hoards have been discovered at Akota, near Vadodara (formerly Baroda, in Gujarat), and at Vasantgarh, near Pindwara (Rajasthan). The images are mostly small in size, intended for private worship. The bronzes were cast by the cire-perdue (lost wax) process, and the eyes and ornaments are frequently inlaid with silver and gold. In the earliest imagessuch as the Rsabhanatha and the Jivantasvami (Mahavira as prince) from Akota that are now in the Baroda Museumthe Gupta idiom is apparent. The dictates of the Jaina religion, which emphasizes the detachment of the Tirthankaras from the world, left little scope for variety of representation (see Tirthankara). The main figures are shown either standing stiffly with arms to the side in the kayotsarga (abandoning the body) pose or sitting in the posture of meditation (dhyana-mudra). More variety is seen in the attendant figures, such as the graceful cauri (whisk) bearer from Akota in the Baroda Museum. From the 8th century the number of attendant figures, such as yakshas and yakshis (respectively, male and female nature deities), and of the Tirthankaras increased, and the composition became more elaborate. This tendency reached its extreme in metal images depicting all 24 Tirthankaras. With the elaboration of design, the quality of the modeling became increasingly dry, so that the later bronzes are somewhat static and frozen.