Thank you for downloading this episode of A History of the World in 100 Objects from BBC Radio 4.
There are many surprises about working in the British Museum,
and one of them is that we occasionally find offerings of flowers or fruit
reverently placed in front of the Hindu sculptures.
It's a touching demonstration that religious objects don't need to lose their sacred dimension
when they move into the secular museum.
And it's also a reminder that in the census of 2001,
nearly 5% of the population of England and Wales stated
that their family origins were in the Indian subcontinent.
It's all part of a long shared history that has sometimes been violent and conflictual and always been intense.
For centuries, the British have been fascinated by the cultures of India,
and they've struggled with greater or less success to understand them.
For the 18th century European, the most intriguing mystery of India was Hinduism,
a faith that confusingly seemed to advocate both world-denying asceticism and riotous physical pleasure.
Why were some Hindu temples, unlike English cathedrals, richly decorated with erotic sculpture?
Where the Christian God endured unbearable suffering, Hindu gods seemed to rejoice in sex.
But around 1800, one man, Charles Stuart, decided to explain to the British
that Hinduism should be seriously studied and greatly admired.
As part of his campaign, he collected and displayed pieces of ancient temple sculpture,
and one of those pieces is the object of this program.