Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 11. (Budapest, 1991)
RENNER Zsuzsanna: Baktay Ervin, mint művészettörténész és muzeológus
longer and more arched, the eyebrows, meeting at the root of the nose, more emphasized and all these details are indicated by lightly incised lines of an almost graphic character round the slightly protruding forms (Plate 11.). In the Gupta age the same details became much more plastic and animated (Plate 12.). Dating on the basis of stylistic differences, however, is rendered very difficult by the existence of transitional phases which might easily cause dating errors of several centuries. For instance, when the characteristic features of the Gupta age had already evolved in Magadha, the traditional style of the Kushan period was continued in Mathura; thus, sculptures bearing the stylistic features of the Kushan period might in fact originate in the Gupta period. The same problem emerges in connection with the turn of the of the Gupta period and the Middle Ages since in Mathura the Gupta style survived in the Early Middle Ages. The transitional phase between the Kushan and Gupta periods can be illustrated by the head of a woman (Plate 13.). Baktay dated it to that age because, apart from the plasticity of forms, its characteristic features, like the inorganic structure of the head or the eyes placed close to the root of the nose point to a period prior to the mature Gupta style. In some cases, further difficulties in the identification and dating of the sculptures were raised by their damaged condition or wornoff surface, rendering stylistic features and attributes barely recognizable. An example was the male head in Plate 14.; this was identified as Shiva by Baktay on the basis of its hairdress and the skull discernible above the forehead. The uncertainty about its identification was due to the lack of the third eye, which must have been worn off. Baktay dated it to the transitional phase between the Kushan and the Gupta age, that is, about the 4th century. Baktay's expertise and skill is revealed by the fact that his datings have well stood the test of time despite the great increase in the number of publications on Mathura sculpture since those years. One of the most valuable pieces in the Indian collection is a Vishnu head (Plate 15.). On account of its material, a kind of black schist, it is easily recognizable as a product of Pala-Sena art. This art, having developed a special type of Gupta style, florished in Bengal and Bihar in the 9— 12th centuries and was represented by five specimens among the sculptures presented by Schwaiger. The identity of the Vishnu head was subject of discussion for quite a long time. Baktay was sceptical about Zoltán Felvinczi Takács's original identification of it as Vishnu 4 because the sign visible on the forehead was rare on Vishnu images and similarly, the swans on either side of the head were uncommon on Hindu sculptures. Baktay presumed that the head above the forehead could be a Kirttimukha („Face of Glory"), although different from the usual type, which suggested a connection with Shiva. Baktay did not even exclude the possibility of its beeing a Buddhist image because the hairdress reminded him of the hairstyle of Magadhan bodhisattvas. Later on, the problem was partly solved by a renowned Indian art historian who pointed out that Vishnu's lilaka like Shiva's third eye was usually present on early medieval Vishnu images in Bengal and Orissa 5 . After that, Baktay accepted the identification of the head as Vishnu but did not stop working on the other iconographical problems it raised. Lamaist sculptures were the most impressive pieces of Schwaiger's donation; most of them came from Nepal and Tibet. Almost all of them were remarkable pieces highly valuable for the museum but also interesting from the international point of
