Elliot marbles
Also called: Amaravati marbles · Topic: Early Indian Art and Architecture: Stupas, Rock-cut Caves, Temples · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"
Meaning
The Elliot marbles are carved sculpture panels taken from the ruined Amaravati stupa in Andhra Pradesh. In 1854 Walter Elliot, the commissioner of Guntur, collected them and sent them to Madras. They are named after him. Many later went to London and are now in the British Museum. Their removal is a classic case of colonial-era plunder of Indian monuments.
Example
Elliot judged Amaravati to be one of the grandest stupas ever built. Yet by the 1850s its slabs were scattered among Calcutta, Madras and London, and some decorated British officers' gardens. Its mahachaitya, the great stupa, became "an insignificant little mound".
Don't confuse with
- Elgin marbles: sculptures taken from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, and also kept in the British Museum. They have nothing to do with India.
Related concepts
- Indian Museum, Calcutta
- Preservation of Sanchi
- Shahjehan Begum
- Sultan Jehan Begum
- H.H. Cole
- In situ preservation
- Treasure Trove Act
- Rajendra Lala Mitra
- European views of Indian art
- Arjuna's Penance