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Figure of Brahma on bronze door, John Adams Building, Library of Congress.
Figure of Brahma on bronze door, John Adams Building, Library of Congress.

Pic of the Week: Brahma

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In honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month our Pic of the Week features Lee Lawrie’s sculptural relief of the Hindu God Brahma on the bronze doors of the John Adams Building. When we first launched Inside Adams, Donna Scanlon wrote about Our Bronze Doors, which symbolize the history of written word.

During my college years, I learned a great deal about the Hindu religion from coursework and working at a store called Eclectix, which sold art, jewelry and clothing from India. So when I first saw Lawrie’s representation of Brahma, I thought it to be anomalous. In Hindu tradition, Brahma is normally represented with four heads. He is characteristically associated with holding a number of objects: rosary, kusha grass, ladle, spoon, water pot, or book. He either rides a swan, which represents wisdom, or stands/sits on a lotus. Brahma’s mudras (hand gestures) are the adhaya (fearlessness/protector) and varada (charity/compassion).  Lawrie’s Brahma uses only two customary attributes: a book and the varada mudra.

For me, Lawrie’s Brahma is stylized after early renditions of the Buddha from Southeast Asia. You can see some of these early Buddha images from the Sackler Museum’s A Closer Look:  Art of Buddhism.  The most striking similarity between Lawrie’s Brahma and the early Buddha images is the transparent robe, bare feet, and the ushnisha (cranial bump) which symbolizes wisdom.

I can understand why Lawrie selected Brahma to represent the history of the written word. Brahma is known as the creator and the maker of all things. It is said that the first stage of an individual’s life is represented by Brahma. During this stage one is a student and knowledge is a constant companion. I can also understand why Lawrie stylized Brahma like Buddha. Both of these traditions come from India and have influenced each other.

Photograph of the sculpted bronze doors.
Sculpted bronze doors of the John Adams Building, east entrance. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, 2007.

To learn more about the John Adams Building art and architecture see “On These Walls: John Adams Building” and the StoryMap “A Handsome Box: The Adams Building.”

Comments (4)

  1. I am most pleased to learn about the cranial bump. I have seen it often, but incorrectly assumed it to be a “bun” at the top of the head. Thank you for presenting an illuminating fact I will not forget.

    • The ushnisha is often referred to as a top knot, so your intial thought that it was a bun on the top of the head is correct. However, the top knot (or bun) symbolizes wisdom and is not just a hairstyle 🙂

  2. Thank you very much for this information.I think we must protected this culture and tradition for future.
    Mari Berkomunitas Di Faceblog

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