International studio (19.1903)

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r*r*'HE LAY FIGURE: LORD
] CURZON'S SPEECH ON THE
] DECAY OF THE INDIAN
ARTS.
" WoNDERS witt never cease," remarked tlie
Reviewer. "For the iirst time in my iife—one
might atmost say for the hrst time in Engiish history
—an English statesman has spoken clearly and with
intelligent earnestness on a question of artistic
importance. Lord Curzon's speech on the decay
of the Indian Arts has certainly provoked a good
deal of opposition, but it is none the less of very
great interest at the present time."
" No doubt," said the Manufacturer coldly.
" The subject of the speech has a far-reaching
interest, but in character it is so complex that no
one can deal with it fairly in the ofhcial manner
that commends itself to Lord Curzon."
"OfHcial manner !" the Reviewer cried. "What
do you mean by that ? "
" I mean,"' replied the other, " that Lord Curzon
speaks to us from his position as Viceroy of India,
and not as a large-minded critic, well versed in the
hundred-and-one problems of business connected
with his subject. As Viceroy, wisely or unwisely,
he is distressed by the fact that the Indian arts
and handicrafts are swerving away from their
very ancient traditions. He sees decadence and
decay in the changes which are taking place, and
he calls upon the Indian princes and leading men
to arrest the mischief by giving up their present
practice of buying art-work of European manufac-
ture. It is with the utmost scorn that Lord
Curzon speaks of the preference shown by them
for European carpets, furniture, brocades, tissues,
and bric-a-brac. Yet their preference for these
things should not be scorned by the Viceroy of
India, for it is a sign or token of the response made
by the Indian princes and leading men to the
influence of British ideas. Under British rule,
and in sympathy with the Imperial Idea, changes
of racial character are showing themselves in
India ; and hence we may be sure that a liking
for British forms of thought and of art is more
likely to increase than to diminish. But Lord
Curzon looks at the whole question front a point
of view that excludes many practical considera-
tions. It is his wish that the peoples of India
should bc rnodern and British in their political
duties yet ancient and un-British in all that apper-
tains tocommerceandtoart. Itisaboldwish,
having no connection with good statesmanship."
"You believe, then,"said the Reviewer, "that
78

it is waste of time to bemoan the changes which
are taking place in all the Eastern arts ? "
"Certainly I do,"the Manufacturer replied.
"The spread of Western ideas and habits cannot
be stopped in Eastern countries ; and the tendency
of those habits and ideas is to make the Eastern
arts dependent on European and American patron-
age. Nor can it be said at this early date whether
this infusion of European ideas will be bad for the
Eastern genius in art. This is a matter which the
future alone can decide."
"The subject appears to me," said the Critic,
" to be a perplexing one, but it is not for that
reason to be ignored. That the arts and crafts of
India have deteriorated during the last two centuries
there can be no manner of doubt. While losing
their ancient vitality, contact with European ideas
has not, down to the present time, been sesthetically
beneftcial. For example, the carved wood arm-
chairs and tables made by Bombay craftsmen for
European use cannot be defended upon testhetic
lines; neither can the badly designed aniline-dyed
carpets turned out at several of the jail factories in
India be accepted as satisfactory. But I can
imagine, nevertheless, that it is possible for Indian
craftsmen, under wise guidance, to so depart from
their traditional forms as to make their productions
acceptable to European requirements, without lay-
ing themselves open to legitimate blame."
" That is precisely my view of the case," said the
Manufacturer, "and if the Indian prince desires to
receive his British guests and make them comfort-
able by allowing them the use of chairs and tables,
knives and forks, there is no reason why he should
not do so, without departing disastrously from the
canons of art. The one great paramount duty of
the British in India is to encourage and develop
native craftsmanship and commerce. India, no
more than any other nation, can afford to stand still.
She must either be progressive or retrogressive, and
it is for us to consider how we can guide and aid a
progression which shall give to the India of the
future a new prosperity—a prosperity of wisdom,
of intelligent work, and of happiness and content."
" Meantime," said the Critic, " Europe and
Amertca have already opened to the Indian crafts-
men many rich markets, and that co"nts for a great
deal in a country which suffers frequently from
famine. When I think of the multitudes that die
in India every year for want of food, I must needs
believe, in opposition to Lord Curzon, that the
Indian craftsman cannot receive too much wise
encouragement from our Western civilisation.
THE LAY FlOURE.