Asia: Buddhism & Hinduism

• Ancient Buddhist art was aniconic

• Buddha and his teachings were represented by symbols like the lotus, wheel, or footprint

• Iconic representations of the Buddha emerge in 1st century CE

  • Imagery is an important part of Buddhist practice and can be found in

    • Shrine settings

    • Landscapes

    • Palaces

• Buddhism spread from India throughout Asia along the Silk Road

  • A network of historical trade routes across Europe and Asia

Form/Content

• Stupa is Sanskrit for “heap” - a hemispherical mound that is the burial ground of Buddha’s relics

  • 54 ft tall mound is undecorated and solid

  • Perched on a hill and surrounded by smaller stupas

  • Stupa/gateways represent a 3D mandala (recreation of the universe)

• Gateways elaborately carved with many scenes and figures - 35 ft tall

  • 4 gateways later added to mark the cardinal directions

  • Worshipers entered and walked around stupa clockwise

    • CIRCUMAMBULATE - suggesting the endless cycle of rebirth

• Buddhism often narrative scenes referencing fertility

• Buddha not show in human form when stupa was built

  • His presence is indicated through symbols: umbrella, lotus,  feet, wheel

Function

• Represents the burial mound of Buddha’s relics

• Focal point of worship

Context

• Before Buddhism, great teachers were buried in mounds in a seated, meditative position.

• Earliest stupas contained portions of the Buddha’s ashes

• Karma

  • If a practitioner builds a stupa he or she will not be reborn in a remote location and will not suffer from extreme poverty

• The shape of the stupa evolved as time went on but they still served as relic chambers and symbols of Buddha and his teachings

Form

• Prior to destruction, the Bamiyan Buddhas were considered the largest Buddhas in the world - 175 ft tall

• Carved into niches of the cliffside in high relief

  • Buddha’s feet were carved in the round, allowing worshippers to CIRCUMAMBULATE: a common practice in Buddhist worship

Function

• Little is known about them but their existence

  • Proves the importance of the Buddhist faith in the Bamiyan Valley - a vital link of Silk Road trade routes

Content

• Originally covered in metal, gems, and color

• Flowing robes and have been described as having wavy curls of hair

• Hairstyle and flowing drapery are elements rooted in early Gandharan Buddhist imagery

  • Combined Hellenistic Greek traditions of representation with Indian subject matter

Context

• In 2001, The Taliban destroyed the Buddhas because they viewed  them as “false idols.”

• Interesting Article about Taliban’s reasoning

• Bamiyan was a central location along the Silk Road

  • Fertile plains amid harsh terrain

  • An ideal location for merchants and missionaries to stop during their travels

• Missionaries and merchants were practitioners of the Buddhist faith and it spread because it was not location specific

  • Believers did not need to worship at a particular temple

  • Worship could take place anywhere and at anytime

    • Resulted in Buddhist cave architecture throughout Asia

Form

• 2,300 caves and niches filled with Buddhist art

• steep limestone cliffs extend for almost a mile

• contain approximately 110,000 Buddhist stone statues, 60 stupas, and 2,800 inscriptions carved on steles

• linear and abstract motifs are typical of the mature Northern Wei style

Content

Central Binyang Cave:

• surrounded by low relief carvings (painted in brilliant blue, red, ochre, and gold)

• pentad (five figures) across from entry, central Buddha, seated on a lion throne

• assisted by two bodhisattvas (enlightened, put off entering paradise to help others) and two disciples

  • flattened, elongated bodies, elaborate clothes, jewelry, and crowns, floral designs, gentle, smile

• finely chiseled haloes, lotus carving, celestial deities flutter down from the heavens

• Two relief carvings of imperial processions once surrounded the entrance

Fengxian Temple:

• group of 9 monumental images carved into limestone, high relief

• central Buddha (over 55 feet tall), bodhisattva, heavenly king, and thunderbolt holder (vajrapani)

• Buddha/bodhisattva- softer/rounder modeling, serene faces vs engaging and animated heavenly guardians and vajrapani

Kanjing Temple

• accurate portrayals of individuals, intense realism

• walls lined with images of arhats (worthy monks, far in quest for Enlightenment)

• 29 monk procession around cave, records lineage of great patriarchs of Buddhist doctrine

Function

• Foreign rulers of the Northern Wei, Buddhist images for authority and power

• Tang dynasty leaders asserted sovereignty with the assistance of Buddhist iconography

• sculptures intentionally mirrored the political situation

Context

• 1st century C.E., Buddhism brought to China new ideas

• periods of the Northern Wei (386­–534 C.E.) through early Tang dynasties (618–907 C.E.)

• NW Emperor Xiao Wen decided to move the capital south to Luoyang in 494 C.E.

• Central Binyang Cave- one of 3 caves started in 508 C.E.

  • commissioned by Emperor Xuan Wu in memory of his father

  • other two caves, Northern and Southern Binyang, never completed

• Adopted Chinese aesthetic- reliefs may be inspired by secular painting, Chinese court robes

• Fengxian Temple- sponsored by Emperor Gaozong and his wife, the future Empress Wu

• Kanjing cave Temple- created from about 690–704 C.E. under the patronage of Empress Wu

Form

• Nearly 8 ft tall

• Larger than life-size image of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni

• Seated against gold jeweled throne with a jeweled crown

• Buddha wears thin monk robe

Function

• Represents the Buddha’s transition to nirvana

• The appearance of the sculpture coincides with foundation of Buddhism in Tibet

• Believed to be the most accurate portrayal of Buddha Shakyamuni

Content

• Shocking blue hair

• Seated in lotus position-”padmasana”

• Left hand in mudra (hand gesture) of meditation (dhyana mudra). Right hand is in bhumisparsha mudra (“calling the earth to witness”)

• Signifies moment of Buddha’s enlightenment

Context

• Rinpoche:”Precious one” in Tibetan language

• Sculpture has gone through restoration and reconstruction

• No one knows what it originally looked like

• Religiously and culturally important to Tibet

• Considered the most sacred Buddha image in Tibet

• Believed to have been carved by the architect Viswakarma while the Buddha was still alive, but historically that doesn’t make sense

Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple

Lhasa, Tibet. Yarlung Dynasty

Gilt Metals with Semiprecious Stones, Pearls, and Paint (and offerings)

Believed to have been brought to Tibet in 641 CE

Form

• Massive bronze Buddha statue

• Kei sculptures are detailed and exaggerated

• Wooden building with tiled roof

Function

• reflects the complex intermingling of Buddhism and politics in early Japan

• Unifies Japanese clans through government and spirituality

• displaying the power, prestige and piety of the imperial house of Japan

Content

• Also includes housing for monks and lecture hall

• Merging Japanese architecture with Buddhist elements

Context

• When completed in the 740s, Todai-ji (or “Great Eastern Temple”) was the largest building project ever on Japanese soil.

• rebuilt in the 12th century

• In 741, Emperor Shomu ordered temples, monasteries and convents to be built throughout Japan’s 66 province

• The Genpei Civil War (1180-85) caused it to need to be reconstructed

• Kei School reflects the Buddhism and warrior-centered culture of the Kamakura era (1185–1333)

Todai - ji

Nara, Japan

Bronze, Wood, and Ceramic Tile Roofing

743 CE, rebuilt in 12th cent Main Hall in 1709 CE

Function

• Buddhist temple

• The physical movement of circumambulating the structure symbolized the non-physical or spiritual path of the enlightenment

Context

• In fact the name Sailendra means “ Lord of the Mountain”

• The Borobudur’s design was created by architect Gunardharma (poet and thinker). Considered today to be a man of great of vision and devotion.

• The temple fell into disuse roughly 100 years after its completion

• For unknown reasons the rules of Java relocated the governing center to another part of the island

• Temple was rediscovered in 1814 by British Lieutenant Governor Thomas Stamford Raffles after hearing reports from islanders about an incredible sanctuary deep within the island’s interior

Form/Content

• Basic Structure resembles that of a pyramid.

• Yet it has been referred to as a caitya (shrine), a stupa (reliquary) and a sacred mountain.

• It’s overall plan is that of a three-dimensional-mandala

• Set up high upon a hill vertically enhanced by its builders to achieve a greater elevation

• It consists of a series of open-air passageways

• Devotees circumambulate clockwise along walkways that gradually ascent to its uppermost level.

• Meticulously carved relief sculptures radiate a physical and spiritual journey that guides pilgrims.

• Contains 504 statues of Buddha. 1460 stone reliefs on the walls

• An additional 1212 decorative reliefs augmenting the path.

• The relief sculptures narrate the Buddha’s teachings (The Dharma). Depicting various events of his past lives (Jataka Tales)

• Another 160 relief sculptures adorn the base of the monument

• After passing the base and going through the four galleries, the devotee emerges onto the three upper terraces, encountering 72 stupas. Each containing a three-dimensional sculpture of a seated Buddha.

• At the temple’s apex sits the large central stupa, a symbol of the enlightened mind.

Indonesia - Sailendra Dynasty

Volcanic Stone Masonry

750 CE - 842 CE

Form/Content

• Courtyard measuring 30 feet by 78 ft.

• Garden contains 15 stones of different sizes.

  • Five isolated groups one with five stones, two with three stones, and two with two stones.

Zen dry garden:

• Asymmetrical arrangement

• Structured environment symbolizing the natural world

• Water symbolizes purification

• Highly organized placement

Function

• Served as a focus for meditation for zen buddhist monks.

Context

• Zen stressing meditation leading to enlightenment, discipline and concentration

• Tea ceremony

• It is believed that the garden originally created in the 15th century.

• The garden was said to originally contain 9 larger stones that represented “tiger cubs crossing the river”.

Ryoan - ji

Kyoto, Japan

Rock Garden

1480 CE (Current design 18th Century)

Form/Content

• Entirely made from stone - very impressive detail

• The temple is entered through the South gate

  • Avenue of statues carrying a mythological serpent

  • 4 faces on the gate, each facing a cardinal directions

    • Statue of similar style is around the city

• Exposure wall around city protects the grounds from the moat which projects the city

• There are many gallery walls that commemorate military exploits, city life at hight, etc.

• Five stone towers symbolizing the five mountain ranges of Mt. Meru (the mythical home of the gods)

  • The galleries and the empty spaces between towers and the moat are envisioned as the mountain ranges and oceans that surround Mt. Meru

  • The towers create an axis-mundi (a cosmic or world axis that connects heaven and earth)

• The city as a whole is organized to be in harmony with the universe and is set up like an mandala

• Reliefs

  • 1,200 square meters of reliefs representing 8 different Hindu stories

  • The most famous - Churning of the Ocean of Milk

    • Story about beginning of time, creation of universe, good over evil

    • Churning the ocean of milk, Gods and demons are fighting like tug-of-war using Naga (the serpent king) as the rope and Vishu is represented in the center. Churning the milk causes many things to happen such as the foam producing apsaras or celestial maidens seen around Vishu. The concoction causes Indra (the Vedic god who is considered the king of all the gods) is seen descending from heaven to catch it and save the world from the destruction of the demons

• The site took over 30 years, over 300,000 workers and was never completely finished

Cambodia - Hindu

Stone Masonry, Sandstone

800 - 1400 CE

Form/Content

• Almost every surface of the temple is covered with erotic sculptures

  • Faces aren’t individualized

  • stylized horses, elephants, and lions

• Temple dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva, Surya

  • Vishnu: preserver and protector of the universe

  • Shiva: god of destruction

  • Surya: Hindu god of the sun

• Has corbelled roof (A roof constructed using stone slabs that progressively overlap each other to create a false vault or dome)

• Ashlar masonry: finely beveled rocks fitted closely next to one another

  • Similar to Incas

Function

• A place for worship

  • more intimate, individual

Context

• First of several temples built by Chandela Kings

  • patronized artists, performers, poets

    • built large irrigation systems out of sandstone

• Originally over 80 temples

  • dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Surya

    • others dedicated to divine teachers of Jainism

  • only 30 remain

• Commissioned by Yashovarman, Chandella King

  • gained control of territories in Bundelkhand

  • died before it was finished

    • Son, Dhaga finished and dedicated temple in 954 CE

• Classic Style of a Naga Hindu temple

• Depicting idealized female

  • sacred and almost protective

  • texts with different “types” of women

    • emphasizes roles as symbols of fertility

  • figures engaged in sexual intercourse

    • ritualistic, symbolic

Lakshmana Temple

Khajuraho, India Hindu

Sandstone

950 CE

Form

• 2ft x 3ft

• Ornate

• Overall figure is balanced

• No color

• Shiva depicts a human

Function

• Made for mobility & for religious purposes

  • Size of the deity (for personal prayers at home)

  • Blessings - let people know that your home is blessed

Content

• Combines temple statues w/iconography

• Depicts Lord Shiva “Destroyer”

  • Hindu belief that all things must come to an end

  • Literal embodiment of the divine

• Frozen in time while dancing

• The ring of fun represents the cosmos

  • Endless cycle of life & death

• Right hand holds he damaru - the drums

  • Act of creation and passage of time

• Lower right hand

  • Palm raised & facing toward viewer (abhaya mudra)

Context

• Nata: dance or performance, raja: king or lord

• Originated from Chola Dynasty now Tamil Nadu in South India

  • One of the longest lasting empires in South India

• Has the perfect portions for a divine being (Similar to the perfect man)

• This image is taken from the ancient Indian manual of visual depiction (Shilpa Shastras)

  • The Science or Rules of Sculptures contained a precise set of measurements & shapes for a divine being

    • Arms were to be long like stalks of bamboo, faces round like the moon, eyes shaped like almonds or lotus leaves

  • Shastras were ideals of beauty or physical perfection in Hinduism

India Hindu

Cast Bronze

11th Century CE