Hindus have welcomed inclusion of various Hindu deities in the recently reopened South Asian Galleries after major transformation and comprehensive renovation at Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA).
These newly reinstalled and reimagined galleries, with new oak and terrazzo flooring, showcase granite Pillared Hindu Temple Hall dating to around 1550 CE from Madurai (India) with 12 large sculpted pillars forming the central aisle of the hall. The figures on these pillars include Rama, Hanuman, Sita, Bhima, Garuda, Agastya, Jambavan, Purushamriga, Tumburu, etc.
Other Hindu artifacts exhibited include dancing Ganesha (stone, around 750 CE), Indra (copper alloy, around 1200 CE), Surya (stone, 12th century), Bhairava, Nandi (schist, 1200-1250 CE), etc.
Meanwhile, commending PMA for inclusion of various Hindu deities in its reinstalled galleries, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.
PMA, founded in 1876 and which claims “a world-renowned collection” of over 240,000 objects, has also published a book “Krishna’s Earthly Paradise”, and the Museum’s collection of Hindu artifacts is also available online. Leslie Anne Miller, Timothy Rub and Darielle Mason are Trustees Chair, Director and Curator of Indian-Himalayan Art respectively at PMA.
Source : From Our Correspondent
