Sanchi, in and out of the museum

A 33-foot-tall plaster cast of the Sanchi stupa's gateway, once displayed at the South Kensington Museum, highlights a paradox in conservation: while it preserved the original sculpture, the cast itself was lost due to shifting attitudes toward reproductions. The study traces how Henry Hardy Cole's casts, commissioned after his father's 1867 convention, promoted Indian art globally and deterred colonial competition for artifacts. Contrasting Cole's views with those of Alexander Cunningham and the Begum of Bhopal, it reveals differing standards applied to European and Indian reproductions—European casts remained, while Indian ones were discarded in the 1950s. This case underscores how museum practices reflect historical power dynamics and the fragility of conservation efforts.

Singh, K. (2019). Sanchi, in and out of the museum. Sculpture Journal, 28(3), 345–364. https://doi.org/10.3828/sj.2019.28.3.6