paths to enlightenment the art of south and southeast asia before 1200

Paths to EnlightenmentThe Art of South and Southeast Asia

Before 1200

Robed Male Figure, Indus Civilization, Pakistan, 2000-1900 BCE

• Most impressive Indus Civilization sculpture

• Soapstone• Depicts male w/ half closed

eyes, closely trimmed beard and shaved upper lip

• Circular emblem• Trefoils (cloverlike designs)

Seal with seated figure in yogic posture, Indus Civilization, Pakistan, 2600-1900 BCE

• Steatite (local soapstone) seals- most common Indus art objects

• A boss- circular knob with a hole permitted string to pass through

• Frequently show: humped bull, elephant, rhino and tiger- all profile

• Sacred trees

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BUDDHISM

• Prince Siddhartha Guatama- THE Buddha, 563 BCE

• At 29- left palace• 6 years later achieved

complete enlightenment while meditating under a Pipal tree

• Preached first sermon at Sarnath- set in motion the Wheel (chakra) of the Law (dharma)

• The Buddha’s path leads to Nirvana (the end of the painful life, death, rebirth cycle)

Buddha in Art

1st century BCE- as robed monk

Urna- curl of hair between eyebrows (dot)

Ushnisha- ceremonial bump on head

Palms of hands and soles of feet imprinted with a wheel

Elongated earlobes

Halo or sundisk behind head

Lion capital of column erected by Ashoka at Sarnath, India, 250 BCE

• Maurya Dynasty- Ashoka• Spread Buddha’s teaching • Formed a legal code based

on Buddha’s dharma- inscribed on huge monolithic columns

• Columns along pilgrimage routes

• 2 pairs of lions on round abacus decorated with 4 wheels and 4 animals

Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, 3rd Century BCE to 1st century CE

• Buddhist monasteries: consist of viharas (monks live), stupas, chaitya halls, temples for sheltering images• The Stupa- monument housing relics of the Buddha- solid + filled with rubble• Enter gates (at cardinal points of compass) walk clockwise- harmony with cosmos

• 600 brief inscriptions- showing donations made

Yakshi, eastern gateway, Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, 1st century BCE- 1st century BCE

• Yakshi- goddesses representing fertility and vegetation

• Reaches up to hold onto mango tree branch- left foot pressed against tree trunk

• Buddhists later adopted this pose for the Buddha’s mother

• Early example of eroticism in Indian religious art

Interior of Chaitya Hall, Karle, India, 100 CE

• Best early example of a chaitya hall- used for housing smaller stupas• Circular ambulatories (walking paths) allow worshipers to circumambulate

the stupa at the back of the sacred cave

Life and death fo the Buddha, frieze from Gandhara, Pakistan, 2nd century CE

• Represents 1st sermon at Sarnath

• One of the earliest pictoral narratives showing Buddha as human form

• Frieze shows 4 scenes• Attributes of ushnisha,

urna and halo• Influence of Roman art

The Poses of BuddhaMudras, hand-gestures, meaning specific things

• Dhyana (meditation), with hands overlapping, palms upward

• Bhumisparsha (earth touching), right hand down reaching to ground, calling to the earth to witness the Buddha’s enlightenment

• Dharmachakra (wheel of the law, or teaching), two handed gesture, right thumb and index finger forming a circle

• Abhaya (do not fear), right hand up, palm outward, a gesture of protection and blessing

Buddha seated on lion throne, Mathura, India, 2nd century CE

• Closely linked with the yakshas- male equivalent of the yakshis

• Robust, powerful males with broad shoulders and open, staring eyes + monk’s robe with right shoulder bare

• Under Bodhi tree, on lion throne, abhaya gesture, dharma wheel on hands and feet

Seated Buddha preaching first sermon, from Sarnath, India, 2nd half of 5th century CE

• Gupta artists formed the Buddha image canon (general style)

• Monk robe covering both shoulders, soft, full-bodied Buddha figures, downcast eyes, hands in wheel gesture

• Below throne- deer + people

• Buddha sculptures largely replaced the stupas as the norm in Buddhist sacred architecture

Interior of Cave 19, Ajanta, India, 2nd half of 5th century CE

• Multiple images of the carved Buddha image

• Chaitya hall• Standing Buddha

flanked by columns into the front of the stupa

Bodhisattva Padmapani, wall painting in cave 1, Ajanta, India, 2nd half of 5th century

• Among a crowd of devotees, both princes and commoners

• Long dark hair, jeweled crown, holding a blue lotus flower

• Sensuous form, richly attired

• Early Indian painting

HINDUISM and Hindu Iconography

• Recognizes NO founder or great prophet

• Means “Religion of the Indians”

• Hindu practices and beliefs vary tremendously

• Ritual sacrifices by Brahmin priests- central to Hinduism

• Religion of many gods• Deities have various natures

and take many forms

The Three Major Hindu GodsShiva- the Destroyer + a

regenerative force. In human form has multiple limbs and heads, matted hair piled on top of his head, crowned by a crescent moon, serpent scarf, 3rd eye on forehead. Rides the bull, Nandi. Son= elephant-headed Ganesha.

Vishnu- the Preserver of the Universe. Shown with 4 arms holding different attributes. Descends to earth to restore balance. Assumes different forms (boar, fish, turtle, Buddha)

Devi- great goddess- creates and destroys. Takes many forms and has many names.

Boar avatar of Vishnu rescuing the earth, Cave 5, Udayagiri, India, early 5th century

• Earliest Hindu cave temples• Monumental relief sculptures- fully developed religious

iconography• Political + religious purpose

Dancing Shiva, rock-cut relief in cave temple, Badami, India, late 6th century CE

• Cut into cliff walls above Badami

• Shiva dancing cosmic dance- 18 arms swinging

• Some hands hold objects, some form mudras

• Elephant-headed son (Ganesha) and bull shown



Shiva as Mahadeva, cave 1, Elephanta, India, 550-575 CE

• Shiva- having three faces. Each showing different aspects of the deity.

• Quiet, balanced • Right face= female (Uma)=

creative • Left face= grimacing male

(Bhairava), curling mustache, cobra earring. Destructive.

• Represents cycle of death and rebirth

Vishnu Temple, Deogarh, India, early 6th century

• Small, simple, decorated with narrative relief displaying fully developed iconography

• One of the 1st Hindu temples constructed of stone blocks

• Elaborately decorated doorway. 3 reliefs-1/side

• Doorway= transition from dangerous exterior- sacred interior

• Stone plinth- base

Vishnu asleep on the serpent Ananta, Vishnu temple, Deogarh, India, early 6th century

• 3 reliefs- important Vishnu stories

• Lakshmi (his wife) massages his legs- he gives birth

• 4 armed Vishnu dreams universe into reality

• Smooth bodies + clinging garments

Rock-cut temples, India, 2nd half of 7th century

• Freestanding temples carved from rocky outcroppings• Rare. Earliest and most impressive.• Called “rathas” (“chariots”= vehicles of the gods)

Rajarajeshvara Temple, India, 1010 CE

• Largest and Tallest temple of its time

• Inside walled precinct

• Dedicated to Shiva

• Reliefs in the niches- Shiva in various forms



Vishvanatha Temple, India, 1000 CE

• Khajuraho, India• 1 of more than 20 large and elaborate temples at the site for

Vishvanatha (another name for Shiva, “Lord of the Universe.”• Similar to mountains (Himalayas= Shiva’s home)

Sculptures on temple wall, Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho, India, 1000 CE

• Depicts god and mortals- especially pairs of men and women embracing or engaged in sexual intercourse

• Erotic reliefs suggest fertility and life and serve as protectors of the sacred precinct

Death of the Buddha, Sri Lanka, 11th-12th century

• One of the largest sculptures in Southeast Asia• Influenced by classic Gupta sculptures of India

(clinging garments, rounded faces, distinctive hair)

Shiva as Nataraja, Punjai, Temple, 1000 CE

• Portable, cast in solid bronze

• Under Chola kings• Shiva- dances as “Lord of

the Dance.” Balancing on one leg atop a dwarf representing ignorance, which god stamps out as he dances

• 4 arms extended- 2 touching the flaming nimbus (light of glory), mudra “fear not” gesture

• Not just an image of the god- but the god itself

Borobudur, Indonesia, 800 CE

• Buddhist monument unique in form and meaning• Colossal in size- 400 ft per side, 98 ft tall• More than 500 life size Buddha images, 1000 relief panels and

1500 stupas of various sizes



Harihara, Cambodia, early 7th century

• Vishnu as Harihara• Sculptor divided

sculpture in half- Shiva on right side/ Vishnu on left

• In the round sculpture

Vishnu lying on cosmic ocean, Cambodia, 11th century

• Shows wealth of Khmer kings

• Bronze. Gold/silver and jewels were inlaid

• Surviving portion 8 feet long- complete sculpture 20 ft long

Angkor Wat, Cambodia, first half of 12th century

• Engineering marvel- grand complex of temples and palaces• Each Khmer king built a temple mountain at Angkor and

installed his personal god on top (Shiva, Vishnu, Buddha)



King Suryavarman II holding court, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, first half of the 12th century

• Relief from Angkor Wat

• King holding court + Vishnu in his various avatars

• Hierarchy scale• Religion +

politics

Bayon, Angkor Thom, Cambodia, 1200

• Jayavarman VII- built more than all other Khmer kings combined

• Towers carved with giant faces

• Adopted Buddhism + Lokeshvara “Lord of the World”

• Combined image with himself

paths to enlightenment the art of south and southeast asia before 1200

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