Hindu Stone Sculptures (NMN) [Photo gallery]
These photos represent Hindu stone sculptures (prastara-murti-kala) and are exhibited in the National Museum of Nepal (Kathmandu), also known as the Rashtriya Museum. [...] These sculptures depict not only the development of Nepali stone art spanning a period of nearly 1900 years but also give expression to the atypical genius of the ancient Nepali artists. [...] The stone images crafted skillfully and precisely with various themes and motifs are important to understand the civilization and culture of Nepal since they contain the psyche, sentiments and philosophy of ancient Nepali society. [...] However, even with the visible influence of Mathura-Kushan Art of India, the facial features of the earliest Nepali stone images remain distinctively Nepali.
Throughout the history of Nepali stone art, the sculptures of the Lichhavi period are highly unique and overwhelming in terms of their artistic impetus. It is believed that the Lichhavis started their rule in Nepal around the 1st century A. D. This was the time when the genius of the ancient Nepali stone artists came out to create the unmatched examples of stone sculptures. This gallery houses some of the masterpieces of the Lichhavi sculptures dated and inscribed.
During the early medieval period, both Hinduism and Buddhism were deeply influenced by the Tantric practices [...] The Nepali stone sculptures represent the religious beliefs, practices, social norms and values prevalent in the contemporary society. [...] The stone sculptures displayed in this gallery represent the different forms of iconographic features, styles and the philosophy of Nepali people of different period of history.
Gallery: 50 images
Click each photos to see detailled description, exif-information and high-resolution:
