Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 14. (Budapest, 1994)

RENNER Zsuzsanna: A Pála-korszak szobrászatának emlékei a Hopp Ferenc Kelet-Ázsiai Művészeti Múzeum indiai gyűjteményében

ZSUZSANNA RENNER PALA SCULPTURES IN THE INDIAN COLLECTION OF THE FERENC HOPP MUSEUM OF EASTERN ASIATIC ARTS The Päla period is represented by seven sculptures in the collection of our museum: two votive stupas, one stele, one stone relief which probably belonged to a smaller stupa, and three sculptural fragments. The stele and the fragments were donated to the museum in 1950 by the eminent art collector and dealer of Hungarian origin Imre Schwaiger ( 1864— 1940), while the votive stupas were handed over to our museum in 1954 by the Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts. None of the objects had any insciptions. nor was their provenance given.

1 Our stele (plate 1) represents SDrya, the Sun God of Hindu religion. Assuming his typical posture, the erect figure of the deity is represented in a frontal view. He is shown wearing his royal garment, crown and jewellery, and with fully blown lotuses, the symbols of the Sun, held in his hands. The long sword worn in Scythian fashion and the inevitable pair of boots are the two iconographical attributes which refer to the nonIndian - probably Iranian - origin of the deity.

2 He is flanked by his two male attendants, Danda and Pingala: Danda, who is identified by the club in his hand, on the left and Pingala, Sürya's scribe who is shown with a beard and a protruding belly and whose attributes are the pen and ink-pot, on the right. At Sürya's feet Aruna, driver of the Sun's celestial chariot is represented. According to the legend, he was born prematurely, with his legs missing; that is why he was always represented without feet, except in the Päla period. Behind Aruna stands Usas, one of Sürya's wives, who heralds the arrival of the Sun by walking in front of him. The female archers shown at the feet of Danda and Pingala are called Usä and Pratyusä, the goddesses of Dusk, who kill the demons of darkness with their arrows. The iconographical features, therefore, precisely reflect the natural phenomena personofied by the divine figures: the goddesses of Dusk appear first, followed by Usas, the Dawn; finally emerges Surya the Sun. The female figures on Surya's two sides, depicted in the company of Danda and Pingala, represent the Sun God's further wives, although they cannot be positively identified, partly because the texts do not agree as to the precise number or names of Sürya's wives (they could be Sanjnä, Chäyä, Räjni, Nisprabhä)\ and partly because they have no distinctive iconographical features or special attributes: their transparent dhoti, their jewellery, their hair gathered into a bun and tied with a ribbon, are all completely identical; furthermore, they both hold a fully blown lotus flower in one of their hands and they both stand in a relaxed posture, with their other hand on their hips. They can be better regarded as general female attendants than as particular deities. The seven horses pulling the Sun's chariot appear on the pedestal. With the exception of the one in the middle, they are all represented in profile. With their legs and heads bent, they create the impression of flying; that impression is reinforced by Sürya's fluttering sashes and the figures of the archers flying through the air, as well as by the flying