Through its landmark exhibition Ancient India: Living Traditions, the British Museum presents a compelling journey into the spiritual and artistic heritage of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism—traditions that continue to shape cultures worldwide. These three pivotal religions, as articulated by the curators Dr. Sushma Jansari and Kajal Meghani, reveal the untold stories behind sacred statues, beautiful miniature paintings, and rare objects, each serving as a vital link between the 5,000-year-old past and vibrant traditions still thriving today. This groundbreaking exhibition distinguishes itself as one of the first major shows worldwide to approach the early devotional art of India from a multifaith, contemporary, and global perspective, emphasizing that these sacred images are not mere relics but active, living parts of these religions today. This dynamic continuity is visually underscored by semi-transparent fabric displays, depicting modern veneration practices and creating a powerful connection between ancient artifacts and present-day faith.
The journey began over 2,000 years ago, around 200 BCE, in an India characterized by dense forests, rich agricultural lands, and powerful rivers sustained by monsoon rains. Rural communities at this time held deep beliefs in powerful nature spirits and sacred snakes, which they believed inhabited their world, influencing harvests and daily existence. These primal deities, profoundly rooted in nature, were sculpted in stone and terracotta and often venerated outdoors, placed under trees or beside bodies of water. The exhibition highlights Yakshis, female nature spirits believed to bestow abundance and fertility but also capable of bringing death and disease if not appeased. They are frequently depicted as full-figured, bejeweled women standing by fruit or blossom-laden trees. A truly extraordinary aspect, as the curators point out, is the enduring power of certain goddess images, such as Gaja Lakshmi (elephant Lakshmi). The exhibition proudly features what is perhaps the earliest sculptural depiction of Gaja Lakshmi, dating to the 2nd century BCE, generously loaned by the CSMVS museum in Mumbai. This ancient imagery, featuring Lakshmi on a lotus, lustrated by elephants, has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years and continues to be found on contemporary posters and calendars today.
Jainism, which also emerged over two and a half millennia ago, centers its religious art on 24 tirthankaras, enlightened human teachers. A significant innovation in Indian religious art, the curators explain, occurred around 2,000 years ago with the earliest certain depictions of tirthankaras in human form. These were carved from distinctive mottled pink sandstone in the workshops of the ancient city of Mathura in North India and ingeniously incorporated features from earlier nature spirits and divine serpents, underscoring the protective role snakes play in Jain narratives. This protective motif is vividly illustrated in the story of the serpent Dharanendra shielding Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara, from a malevolent attack.
Buddhism, originating in northern India at a similar time, follows the teachings of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who achieved enlightenment to become the Buddha. Early Buddhist art symbolically represented the Buddha through motifs like trees, parasols, empty thrones, and footprints. It was later, around the 2nd century CE, that the Buddha began to be depicted in human form, a development that, as the curators observe, appears to have occurred independently in various sacred centers across what is now India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. A fascinating two-sided panel from a stupa in Amravati, southeastern India, dramatically illustrates this artistic transition: one side from the mid-1st century BCE shows symbolic representations, while the reverse, re-carved around 250 CE during a major renovation, features the Buddha in human form standing at the stupa entrance.
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Curators' tour of Ancient India: living traditions.
A crucial aspect of the exhibition's development and research, as the curators underscored, was uncovering the provenance—the origins and journeys—of its objects. These often complex and compelling stories reveal the extensive travels and rich histories of these artifacts. The tale of the great stupa at Amaravati, a mound built over sacred relics, is particularly poignant. Rediscovered in the late 18th century, the stupa suffered dismemberment and dispersal, with workers employed by local landowner Raja Vasireddy Naidu tragically repurposing its stones for a new town, leading to the destruction of its dome. British colonial officials, including an officer from the East India Company, subsequently excavated the site, removing many sculptures that were transported to Madras (now Chennai). There, they were meticulously drawn by Tamil artist Murugesan Mudaliar for the East India Company in London. While some eventually made their way to the East India Company's India Museum in London—only to be stored outside again after the museum closed, incurring further damage before their transfer to the British Museum—most became part of the newly opened Government Museum in Madras. The curators noted that these intricate provenance narratives are illuminated on distinctive panels throughout the exhibition, designed by the exhibition’s Graphic Designer to ensure visitors do not overlook them.
Hindu art, encompassing a vast array of traditions and practices that have evolved over millennia, likewise centers on the representations of gods. While some deities, such as Vishnu, continue to be venerated symbolically through natural elements like fossilized ammonites found in rivers, human depictions emerged around 2,000 years ago, integrating imagery from nature spirits. An early bronze goddess, with her floral headdress, abundant jewelry, and full figure, echoes the Yakshis encountered earlier. This period also saw a pivotal innovation in the 1st century CE: the incorporation of multiple arms holding specific sacred objects, allowing devotees to identify particular gods and their qualities. The curators expressed particular fondness for one such early bronze goddess, despite her broken arms and missing attributes, highlighting her as one of their favorite objects in the exhibition.
Crucially, the exhibition illuminates the global journey of these devotional objects. Hindu and Buddhist art, in particular, traveled extensively via ancient sea and land trading networks to Southeast, Central, and East Asia. It's fascinating, as the curators conveyed, to observe how these artworks inspired artists in distant lands, who adopted and adapted the sacred imagery to suit their own cultural contexts. Buddhist art from Gandhara, in present-day Pakistan, served as a significant artistic wellspring for Central Asia and even Japan. A stone panel from the Jamalgarhi stupa (2nd-3rd century CE), depicting the Buddha preaching flanked by bodhisattvas, finds its compositional echo in a stunning 8th-century silk painting from Dunhuang, China, over a thousand miles away, and in a 19th-century tracing of a 600 CE Japanese wall painting, possibly of Miroku, the Buddha of the future, located more than 3,000 miles from Jamalgarhi. These movements of people, the curators explain, have carried these religious traditions even further, profoundly shaping and being shaped by the devotional arts and architecture of diverse places.
Today, these traditions find a vibrant presence in the UK, deeply woven into our shared British cultural life through the South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian diaspora communities. The exhibition powerfully brings this to life with contemporary sacred images, mirroring the ancient sculptures that greeted visitors at the outset. These include a golden Buddha made in Thailand in 1980, blessed by monks, and venerated at the Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon; a golden dancing Ganesha, purchased in 2007 by Om Creatives for a sister's wedding and now a fixture at many UK celebrations; and a painted marble sculpture of the Jain teacher Parshvanatha, commissioned in India in 1995 for veneration in a London household. All three were generously loaned by the exhibition’s community partners—practicing Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains—who, the curators shared, contributed their insights into what religious practice means to them, their voices resonating through videos and labels throughout the show.
Beyond the visual, "Ancient India: Living traditions" promises a full sensory experience, complete with soundscapes, music, moments of tranquility, and even smells, to immerse visitors in the landscapes and practices of these global religions. For those unable to attend, a unique accompanying "vegan publication"—the British Museum's first, developed with community input to avoid animal products—offers further insights, a challenge eagerly taken up by the publishing team. It is a powerful testament, as the curators conclude, to the enduring power and adaptability of these ancient traditions that continue to live and evolve today. If you love history, culture, or simply beautiful things, this tour truly is your front-row seat to one of the world's most fascinating civilizations.
