A Photogrammetric Documentation and Condition Assessment of a Pala-Period Vishnu Stele in the Varendra Research Museum, Rajshahi: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

This report presents a photogrammetric documentation and condition assessment of a Pala-period Vishnu stele held at the Varendra Research Museum, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Carved in dark phyllite, the stele is a fine example of eleventh- to twelfth-century Pala-Sena sculpture: a four-armed Vishnu (Chaturbhuja) standing in samabhanga, bearing the shankha, chakra, gada and padma, flanked by Lakshmi and Saraswati, set against a carved prabhavali above a lotus pedestal. A handwritten label attached to the object suggests it was recovered by police in the Sherpur area rather than acquired through documented excavation; if substantiated, this would point to a previously unrecorded Pala-period Vaishnava site. The documentation was undertaken independently and without commission. Approximately 200 photographs captured with a Canon EOS 80D were processed in Agisoft Metashape to produce a high-resolution three-dimensional model of over 3.5 million faces, archived openly on Sketchfab. The object's condition is a matter of serious concern. At the time of documentation it was resting on the museum veranda, fully exposed to direct sunlight, rain and open tropical air, with no label, barrier or shelter. Surviving red and blue pigment on the lotus pedestal — rare physical evidence of the original polychromy of Pala cult images — is being actively and irreversibly lost to this exposure. The report catalogues the damage zones and sets out urgent conservation recommendations, including what must not be done.