Esra Canogullari, Milia Fisher,

1

Paths to Enlightenment
The Art of South and Southeast Asia Before 1200

• Esra Canogullari, Milia Fisher,
• Jesse Kranzler, Jacob Harris

2
India and Pakistan Indus Civilizations 2600-1500

• Mohenjo-daro
• one of first sophisticated system of water
  supply/sewage
• great bath in heart of city
• fairly few works of art discovered
• Intaglio stealite seals (pg. 159) (fig 6-5)
• Showed pictures of animals (humped bulls,
  elephants, rhinos, tigers) tiny narratives,
  sacred trees

3
India and Pakistan Indus Civilizations

• Indus artist had intended to portray the fluid
  movement of the living body, not necessarily the
  anatomical structure which was portrayed in Greek
  art

fig. 6-4 (Nude Male Torso),
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India and Pakistan Indus Civilizations

• Period in which Hinduism and Buddism developed
• Vedas Sanskrit compilations of religious
  learning
• Upanishads religious texts about the cycle of
  birth and death
• Nirvana (moksha) A blissful state in Buddhism
  and Hinduism where one escapes the cycle of birth
  and death by merging oneself with the vital force
  of the universe.
• Samsara The belief that individuals are reborn
  after death in an almost endless cycle of birth
  and death.
• Karma Ones past actions that determine the
  nature of ones future rebirths.
• Bodhisattva An exemplar of compassion who holds
  back from nirvana to aid others in earning merit
  and a chance at buddhahood.

5
Mauryan Dynasty 323-185 BCE

• Ashoka Maurya Greatest Mauryan ruler
• converted to Buddhism, spread his teachings
  through and beyond India
• formulated a legal code and inscribed on
  monolithic columns (30-40 ft.)
• stood along pilgrimage routes to sites associated
  with the Buddha,
• first monumental stone artwork in India
• capitals related to those of Near East (fig. 6-6)

6
Shunga, Andhra, and Kushan Dynasties (185 BCE
320 CE)

• The Maurya dynasty came to an abrupt end when its
  last ruler was assassinated by one of his
  generals, who founded a new dynasty in his own
  name Shunga.
• Their realm was confined to central India.
• The Shunga dynasty was succeeded by the Andhras,
  who also controlled the Deccan plateau.
• The Kushan, rose to power in northern India under
  King Kanishka in the late fist century and early
  second century CE.
• Kina Kanishka set up capitals at Pershawar and
  other sites in Gandhara, (largely todays
  Pakistan) and grew rich on trade between china
  and the west to the roman empire
• The unifying characteristic of this age was the
  patronage of Buddhism.

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Shunga, Andhra, and Kushan Dynasties (185 BCE
320 CE)

• Yakshi (fig. 6-8) personify fertility and
  vegitation
• Sanchi yakshis are scantily clad women who make
  mango trees flower
• pose was later used to represent Queen Maya
  giving birth to the Buddha

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Shunga, Andhra, and Kushan Dynasties (185 BCE
320 CE)

• Meditating Buddha (fig. 6-10) many of earliest
  portrayals of the Buddha in human form Gandhara
  and depict the Enlightened One as a robed monk
• The style of this Gandharan Buddha owes much to
  Greco-Roman art
• Ushnisha A cranial bump or knot of hair on top
  of the head, one of Buddhas lakshanas.
• Shakyamuni Siddhartha became the historical
  Buddha, known as the Shakyamuni (Wise Man of the
  Shakya Clan), from the day he preached his first
  sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath.

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Shunga, Andhra, and Kushan Dynasties (185 BCE
320 CE)

• The Life Death of the Buddha (fig. 6-11)
• frieze from Gandhara, Pakistan, 2nd century CE
• the Gandharan frieze is one of the earliest
  pictorial narrative cycles in which the Buddha
  appears in human form
• it recounts the Buddhas life story from his
  birth at Lumbini to his death at Kushinagara.

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Gupta and post-Gupta Periods (320-640)

• Gutpa New empire in North-Central India
• The gupta emperors chose Pataliputra as their
  capital, deliberately associating themselves with
  the prestige of the former Maurya Empire
• Great patrons of art and literature
• Gupta sculptors established the canonical buddha
  image in the fifth century, combining gandharan
  iconography with a soft, full-bodied figure in
  clinging garments

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Gupta and post-Gupta Periods (320-640)

• Dancing Shiva (fig. 6-17)
• rock-cut relief in cave temple, Badami, India,
  late 6th century
• Shiva here dances the cosmic dance and has 18
  arms, some holding objects, others forming mudras
  
• Mudras hand gestures of the Buddha with specific
  meanings
• Hindu gods often have multiple limbs to indicate
  their superhuman nature and divine powers.

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Medieval Period (7th-12th centuries)

• Medieval Southeast Asian art and architecture
  reflect Indian prototypes, but many local styles
  developed.
• India was ruled by many regional dynasties.
• Kingdoms of the Palas and the Chandellas in
  northern India and the Pallavas and Cholas in the
  south.
• Buddhism gradually declined and the various local
  kings vied with one another to erect glorious
  shrines to the Hindu gods.

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Medieval Period (7th-12th centuries)

• Shiva as Nataraja (fig. 6-25)
• c. 1000, bronze, Naltunai Ishvaram Temple, Punjai
  
• one of many portable images of the gods used in
  Hindu worship
• this solid-bronze statuette of Shiva as Lord of
  the Dance depicts the god balancing on one leg
  atop a dwarf representing ignorance
• Shiva Hindu god who takes many aspects the
  Destroyer, but also can be a regenerative force,
  represented in this form as a phalluys/cosmic
  pillar or linga. When appearing in human form in
  Hindu art, he often has multiple limbs and heads.
  Also shown as Lord of Beasts a cosmic dancer
  father of the elephant-headed god Ganesh or
  trident-carrying rider of the bull Nandi.

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Medieval Period (7th-12th centuries)

• Mithuna Reliefs (fig. 6-24)
• detail of the north side of the Vishvanatha
  Temple, Khajuraho, India, c. 1000
• Northern Hindu temples are usually decorated with
  reliefs depicting deities and amorous couples
  (mithunas).
• The erotic sculptures suggest the propagation of
  life and serve as protectors of the sacred
  precinct.

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Southeast Asia

• Once thought that Southeast Asian art and
  architecture was an extension of Indian
  civilization.
• Culture spread was only peaceful and
  non-imperialistic, a by-product of trade.
• Shri Lanka
• Island where the oldest form of Buddhism is
  worshipped. Now has the longest lived Buddhist
  tradition in the world
• Gal vihara
• Java
• part of the modern nation of Indonesia
• Borobudur
• Cambodia
• Ruled by the Khmer King Jayavarman II, founded
  the Angkor dynasty
• Sponsored the construction of hundreds of
  monuments

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Southeast Asia

• Borobudur (Java, Indonesia, c. 800)
• Borobudur is a colossal Buddhist monument of
  unique form.
• Built on nine terraces with more than 1,500
  stupas and 1,500 statues and reliefs, it takes
  the form of a cosmic mountain, which worshipers
  circumambulate.

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Southeast Asia

• Angkor Wat (fig. 6-30)
• Angkor, Cambodia, first half of 12th century
• Built by Suryavarman II to associate the Khmer
  king with the god Vishnu
• has five towers symbolizing the five peaks of
  Mount Meru, the sacred mountain at the center of
  the universe.

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Discussion

• How do the Hindu temples compare to those of the
  Greeks and other preceding cultures/
  civilizations? Why?

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Key Terms

• Karma Ones past actions that determine the
  nature of ones future rebirths.
• Nirvana (moksha) A blissful state in Buddhism
  and Hinduism where one escapes the cycle of birth
  and death by merging oneself with the vital force
  of the universe.
• Samsara The belief that individuals are reborn
  after death in an almost endless cycle of birth
  and death.
• Bodhisattva An exemplar of compassion who holds
  back from nirvana to aid others in earning merit
  and a chance at buddhahood.
• Mudra hand gestures of the Buddha with specific
  meaning.
• Shakyamuni Siddhartha became the historical
  Buddha, known as the Shakyamuni (Wise Man of the
  Shakya Clan), from the day he preached his first
  sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath.

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Key Terms

• Ushnisha A cranial bump or knot of hair on top
  of the head, one of Buddhas lakshanas.
• Urna A curl of hair between the eyebrows, one of
  Buddhas lakshanas.
• Devi The Hindu Great Goddess who takes many
  forms and names she creates and destroys. She is
  worshipped alone, as a consort of a god, or as
  Durga, a multiarmed goddess who rides or is
  accompanied by a lion.
• Shiva Hindu god who takes many aspects the
  Destroyer, but also can be a regenerative force,
  represented in this form as a phalluys/cosmic
  pillar or linga. When appearing in human form in
  Hindu art, he often has multiple limbs and heads.
  Also shown as Lord of Beasts a cosmic dancer
  father of the elephant-headed god Ganesh or
  trident-carrying rider of the bull Nandi.
• Vishnu Hindu god, Preserver of the universe,
  rescuer of the earth, restorer of balance. He is
  often portrayed with four arms that hold various
  attributes. Sometimes appears as Krishna (the
  devine lover) the boar Varaha or as the Buddha.