Subhechcha Ganguly 
India essentially takes centre stage in this curatorial conversation. This is evident in the installation of the magnificent red sandstone sculpture “Yajna Varaha: Boar Incarnation of Vishnu” from Sunaari village in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, in the middle of the marvels of Greek, Roman, Assyrian, and Egyptian art.
The exhibition Ancient Sculptures: India, Egypt, Assyria begins with the towering limestone sculpture known as the Lotus Medallion, which dates back to the second century CE. Greece. In Rome, at the Vastu Sangrahalaya of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (CSMVS).Part of a railing crossbar, this amazing piece is from the Great Buddhist Stupa of Amaravati, a well-known location in modern-day Andhra Pradesh. In the Indian subcontinent, lotuses in particular have long been considered sacred. It represents wealth, purity, harmony, and beauty.
Joyoti Roy, assistant director of the CSMVS Museum and project curator for the CSMVS Ancient World Project, notes that it has been significant to the cultures of ancient Egypt and China both as a plant and as an abstract concept.It establishes the framework for the remainder of the sculpture show, which is housed in the museum’s Rotunda. “The dialogue started shortly after the historic exhibition, ‘India and the World: A History in Nine Stories,’ which closed in 2018, and the current show is the culmination of that dialogue,” explains Sabyasachi Mukherjee, director of the CSMVS museum.
