Sultanganj Buddha
In Bermingham Museum & Art Gallary

The Sultanganj Buddha is 2.3m high and 1m at its widest point and weighs about 500kgs. It was cast by the technique known as the 'lost wax' process, in which a solid core of clay is overlaid with wax. The sculptor models the fine details in the wax coating. The wax is covered with a liquid layering of clay and plaster which
hardens to form a mould. When heat is applied the wax melts and molten metal is poured in. The finished statue is finally obtained by removing the outer casting when cool.

    
Manjushas are temple-shaped boxes, made of bamboo, jute straw and paper. According to legend, Manjusha art traces its origin to the Bihula-Vishahri or Mansha folktale,
popular in erstwhile Anga Pradesh and found also in an altered form in West Bengal. The paintings are drawn primarily on the occasion of the Bishari puja, celebrated usually in August to propitiate the snake gods. As Bihula’s boat was decorated by a character called Lahsan Mali, this art has been confined to the Mali or gardener caste. Like Madhubanis, Manjushas too are pictorial reflections of folklore, poetry and the larger cultural consciousness of the region.