- Architecture, Art History, Architectural History, Medieval Architecture, Early and Medieval Islamic Art and Architecture, Ancient Indian Architecture, and 10 moreTheory Of Architecture, Mughal Architecture, Terracotta (Art History), doctor of history of art Bordeaux III, Contemporary Art, Aesthetics, Painting, Indian Temple Architecture, Temple Architecture of Late Medieval Bengal, and Sheldon Pollockedit
The Jor Bungla Kali temple at Itanda is located in District Birbhum, West Bengal. It is the only surviving Jor Bangla temple of this district. The other recorded Jor Bangla temple in this district was at Mirtrapur, as per the photo... more
The Jor Bungla Kali temple at Itanda is located in District Birbhum, West Bengal. It is the only surviving Jor Bangla temple of this district. The other recorded Jor Bangla temple in this district was at Mirtrapur, as per the photo archival record of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India). This Kali temple is a state protected monument under the Government of West Bengal. Till lately it was in a dilapidated state and the restoration and the conservation of this temple was recently concluded by the Shantiniketan chapter of INTACH (PI. 29.1). The terracotta plaques present on the façade of the temple are exquisite, both in terms of its beauty and its thematic representation, which makes it one of a kind;
Research Interests: Art History, History of Art, Indian Archaeology, Terracotta Figurines, Hindu temples, and 9 moreIndian Archaeology and History of Art, Bengali, West Bengal, Hindu temple architecture, iconography, Indian Temple Architecture, Ancient Indian Art and Architecture, Brick and Terracotta Indian Temples, Temple Architecture of India, and Terracotta Temples of Bengal
Research Interests: Art History, History of Art, Terracotta (Art History), Ancient History of Bengal, History of Indian Temple Architecture, Historiography, and 8 moreWest Bengal, Hindu temple architecture, iconography, Nineteenth Century Bengal, Indian Temple Architecture, Brick and Terracotta Indian Temples, Bengal Art, Temple Architecture of India, and Terracotta Temples of Bengal
The presence of brick temples in Bengal can be found from the ancient times. After a hiatus of three to four centuries, however, during the early modern and colonial period the temples building activities intensifiedprimarily as an... more
The presence of brick temples in Bengal can be found from the ancient times. After a hiatus of three to four centuries, however, during the early modern and colonial period the temples building activities intensifiedprimarily as an influence of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism.The uniqueness of these temples is characterized by, first, their formal and stylistic attributes, secondly, by theirassimilation of arcuate technique and vernacular in their idiom, and thirdly, by their decoration of terracotta plaques on the surface of the temple with depicted both religious and secular themes. In fact, the terracotta schemes were entangled with the architectural idioms, forms and techniques.
These temples were first noticed and and a sketch of the same were drawn by British officials. It is only during the 1970’s that these Bengal temples came to be rigorously documented and classified by scholars like David McCutchion,Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal, Mukul Dey, Tarapada Santra and others. The documentation primarily included some pictures of the structure as well as the terracotta plaques, measurement and in some cases ground plans. These studies have contributed immensely to the study of Bengal temples. However, the major limitation of these studies is that the temples have been considered or seen in absolute isolation from their contextual surrounding, the transformation of worshipped deities, the landscape, and the socio-political milieu in which they were being constructed and patronized. An attempt to make a deviation from this normative tradition was done by Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal and recently by some others including Pika Ghosh.
In this paper, I attempt to elaborate upon the new methodology of documentation/recording of these temples in reference to my fieldwork for last six years. I have attempted to see the temple(s) not as an isolated structure, or as a space for veneration. Neither do I intend to see these temples as some sort of repository of ‘artistic’ productions illustrating the ‘achievements’ and ‘creativity’ the artists and the ‘motives’ of the builders and patrons. Rather I point toward several new scopes and space of engagements which may bring to fore the complex relationship of artistic production, religious transformation and contemporary social and cultural dynamics. The transition from the early modern to modern (or colonial) and consequent deeply infected transformation of the cultures and societies of the colonized, as well as, the refashioning of the disciplinary history of the studies of these temples are required to be addressed. Instead of a sketchy art historical gaze, I claim, a rigorous and sincere interdisciplinary approach is essential to study these temples, their landscape context, their categorization and their entanglement with our identities. It is also, important, to look at the cultural biographies of these temples in relation to our living and disciplinary practice.
These temples were first noticed and and a sketch of the same were drawn by British officials. It is only during the 1970’s that these Bengal temples came to be rigorously documented and classified by scholars like David McCutchion,Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal, Mukul Dey, Tarapada Santra and others. The documentation primarily included some pictures of the structure as well as the terracotta plaques, measurement and in some cases ground plans. These studies have contributed immensely to the study of Bengal temples. However, the major limitation of these studies is that the temples have been considered or seen in absolute isolation from their contextual surrounding, the transformation of worshipped deities, the landscape, and the socio-political milieu in which they were being constructed and patronized. An attempt to make a deviation from this normative tradition was done by Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal and recently by some others including Pika Ghosh.
In this paper, I attempt to elaborate upon the new methodology of documentation/recording of these temples in reference to my fieldwork for last six years. I have attempted to see the temple(s) not as an isolated structure, or as a space for veneration. Neither do I intend to see these temples as some sort of repository of ‘artistic’ productions illustrating the ‘achievements’ and ‘creativity’ the artists and the ‘motives’ of the builders and patrons. Rather I point toward several new scopes and space of engagements which may bring to fore the complex relationship of artistic production, religious transformation and contemporary social and cultural dynamics. The transition from the early modern to modern (or colonial) and consequent deeply infected transformation of the cultures and societies of the colonized, as well as, the refashioning of the disciplinary history of the studies of these temples are required to be addressed. Instead of a sketchy art historical gaze, I claim, a rigorous and sincere interdisciplinary approach is essential to study these temples, their landscape context, their categorization and their entanglement with our identities. It is also, important, to look at the cultural biographies of these temples in relation to our living and disciplinary practice.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Art History, Architectural History, History of Bengal, Indian Art, Indian Temples, and 14 moreAncient Indian Architecture, History of architecture, Indian Archaeology, Hindu temples, Indian Archaeology and History of Art, Bengal, History of Indian Temple Architecture, Historiography, Temple Art and Architecture, Hindu temple architecture, iconography, Indian Temple Architecture, Brick and Terracotta Indian Temples, Architectural Elements In Indian Temple, Temple Architecture of India, and Indian Classical Dance and Temple Architecture
Research Interests: Architecture, Medieval Archaeology, History of Bengal, Indian Temples, Medieval Indian History, and 15 moreTemple Architecture of Late Medieval Bengal, Indian History, Hindu temples, Indian Archaeology and History of Art, History of Indian Temple Architecture, Historiography, Iconography, Cave and temple architecture, Hindu temple architecture, history, symbology, temple plans, rectangular temples, Indian temples, Hindu temple architecture, iconography, Art and Art History, Indian Temple Architecture, art history, Hindu temples, south asian art and architecture, Architectural Elements In Indian Temple, Evolution of Temple, Hindu temple, Kalinga architecture, Odishan style, plan from, and Terracotta Temples of Bengal
Research Interests: Art History, History of Bengal, Late Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Indian History, Temple Architecture of Late Medieval Bengal, and 12 moreLate Medieval History, Hindu temples, Bengal, History of Indian Temple Architecture, Historiography, West Bengal, Temple Art and Architecture, Hindu temple architecture, iconography, History of Bengal (ancient-medieval period), Late Medieval Art, Indian Temple Architecture, Bengal Art, and Bengali art and architecture
Research Interests: History of Bengal, Temple Architecture of Late Medieval Bengal, History of Indian Temple Architecture, Historiography, Hindu temple architecture, iconography, Temple architecture, and 4 moreIndian Temple Architecture, Archaeology of Mediaeval Bengal, Temple Architecture of India, and Hindu Temple Architecture of Bengal
Research Interests:
Among the many scholars who have documented and catalogued the terracotta temples of Bengal, the most pioneering and exhaustive work is by David McCutchion (during 1970’s). Other than him, scholars like Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal, Tarapada... more
Among the many scholars who have documented and catalogued the terracotta temples of Bengal, the most
pioneering and exhaustive work is by David McCutchion (during 1970’s). Other than him, scholars like Hitesh
Ranjan Sanyal, Tarapada Santra, Amiya Kumar Bagchi, S.K. Saraswati, A.K.M. Zakaria, and Satish Chandra
Mitra have also contributed to the vast body of knowledge on Bengal temples of this period. To date, the data
have been extensively used as a primary source to analyse and interpret different aspects and attributes of these
temples. However, never have they been attended to question several dominant discourses.
This paper attempts to use the same records to problematize a few fundamental notions and discourses about
the development, transformation and spatio-temporal variabilities. For example, the normalized role of Neo-
Vaishnavism in the development of these temple building activities can be questioned. The complex process of
interconnected processes of contextual transformations can also be related to the difference in formal as well as
transformation of religious terrain in Bengal. The regional variations and gradual changes in socio-religious
contexts, I argue, was entwined to these temples.
pioneering and exhaustive work is by David McCutchion (during 1970’s). Other than him, scholars like Hitesh
Ranjan Sanyal, Tarapada Santra, Amiya Kumar Bagchi, S.K. Saraswati, A.K.M. Zakaria, and Satish Chandra
Mitra have also contributed to the vast body of knowledge on Bengal temples of this period. To date, the data
have been extensively used as a primary source to analyse and interpret different aspects and attributes of these
temples. However, never have they been attended to question several dominant discourses.
This paper attempts to use the same records to problematize a few fundamental notions and discourses about
the development, transformation and spatio-temporal variabilities. For example, the normalized role of Neo-
Vaishnavism in the development of these temple building activities can be questioned. The complex process of
interconnected processes of contextual transformations can also be related to the difference in formal as well as
transformation of religious terrain in Bengal. The regional variations and gradual changes in socio-religious
contexts, I argue, was entwined to these temples.
Research Interests:
Monuments are a crucial and essential part of tangible cultural heritage of any region or nation. The documentation of these monuments by different scholars in the past through rigorous field work has left behind a vast data base in the... more
Monuments are a crucial and essential part of tangible cultural heritage of any region or
nation. The documentation of these monuments by different scholars in the past through
rigorous field work has left behind a vast data base in the form of illustrations, photographs
and measurements; which becomes absolutely crucial in the studying the cultural biography
of the monuments. The cultural biography as explained by Kopytoff is a ‘cognitive process’
where a monument holds different meanings for different set of people. With respect to this
the late medieval temples of Bengal need to be studies from a different paradigm. The late
medieval Bengal temples of which Jor-Bangla temple type is a different temple type has been
documented in the past by both Indian and foreign scholars have left behind a vast data base
as archival material. The field data from the same temple sites is different from the archival
material. Therefore, an attempt will be made through this paper to interconnect the archival
and field data to understand these Jor-Bangla temples of Bengal and in the process also try
and establish the cultural biography of the same.
nation. The documentation of these monuments by different scholars in the past through
rigorous field work has left behind a vast data base in the form of illustrations, photographs
and measurements; which becomes absolutely crucial in the studying the cultural biography
of the monuments. The cultural biography as explained by Kopytoff is a ‘cognitive process’
where a monument holds different meanings for different set of people. With respect to this
the late medieval temples of Bengal need to be studies from a different paradigm. The late
medieval Bengal temples of which Jor-Bangla temple type is a different temple type has been
documented in the past by both Indian and foreign scholars have left behind a vast data base
as archival material. The field data from the same temple sites is different from the archival
material. Therefore, an attempt will be made through this paper to interconnect the archival
and field data to understand these Jor-Bangla temples of Bengal and in the process also try
and establish the cultural biography of the same.