Through the Perspective of Post-Colonialism: Re-Evaluating Hinduist Iconoclasm in the British Museum

Hanying Li

2025

Abstract

Iconoclasm, from the Greek for “icon smashing,” originally pertained to an 8th-century Orthodox Christian dispute. Today, it extends beyond physical destruction. Any act diminishing an icon’s religious function qualifies, like removing a religious item from a museum. This study, through a post-colonial perspective, examines the British Museum’s representation of two Indian icons: Nataraja Bronze and Harihara sculpture. Their meanings are recontextualized within colonialism, with the colonizer’s power altering their original religious significance. In the museum, the colonizer’s power syntax eclipses, or even redefines their original religious meanings. The essay will explore the ongoing colonizer-colonized struggle, especially regarding the removal and representation of religious icons, highlighting the structural inequality between them.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Li H. (2025). Through the Perspective of Post-Colonialism: Re-Evaluating Hinduist Iconoclasm in the British Museum. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Innovative Education and Social Development - Volume 1: IESD; ISBN 978-989-758-779-5, SciTePress, pages 347-351. DOI: 10.5220/0013985800004912

in Bibtex Style

@conference{iesd25,
author={Hanying Li},
title={Through the Perspective of Post-Colonialism: Re-Evaluating Hinduist Iconoclasm in the British Museum},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Innovative Education and Social Development - Volume 1: IESD},
year={2025},
pages={347-351},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013985800004912},
isbn={978-989-758-779-5},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Innovative Education and Social Development - Volume 1: IESD
TI - Through the Perspective of Post-Colonialism: Re-Evaluating Hinduist Iconoclasm in the British Museum
SN - 978-989-758-779-5
AU - Li H.
PY - 2025
SP - 347
EP - 351
DO - 10.5220/0013985800004912
PB - SciTePress