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What inspired the creation of Indian sacred images? They played no part in early Vedic rituals, in which priests made offerings into a fire, asking gods for reciprocal blessings. Others did something similar with embodiments of nature, whose spirits – called yakṣas and yakṣīs – were sculpted in earthenware and stone.

A new exhibition at the British Museum charts links between these figures and depictions of deities and enlightened teachers revered by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. It also highlights overlaps between the three traditions, and how their art sometimes changed as they spread beyond India.

Sushma Jansari is the museum’s Tabor Foundation Curator of South Asia. She is also the author – with Sureshkumar Muthukumaran – of an accompanying book about the exhibition’s contents. Our conversation discusses its highlights, noting the relevance of ancient Indian art to contemporary practice, plus the impact of colonialism on theories of where objects come from and why they were collected.

The exhibition runs in London from May 22 to October 19. An introductory blog by Sushma is available here, and she is due to give an online presentation on June 5.

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