SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA BEFORE 1200 GARDINER CHAPTER 6-1 PP

SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA BEFORE BACKGROUND  Vast geographic area -> India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia  Tremendous cultural and religious diversity  Linguistic diversity  The art of South and Southeast Asia is equally diverse – and very ancient  This chapter examines the art from the beginnings 5 millennia ago to through the 12 th century

INDUS CIVILIZATION The Indus Civilization 1. Located along the Indus River and extending into India 2. Flourished between B.C.E. 3. Major sites are Harrapa and Mahenjo-daro -> fully developed cities with streets and multistory brick houses

MOHENJO-DARO  Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, ca. 2600–1900 BCE.  Robed male figure, from Mohenjo- daro, Pakistan, ca. 2600–1900 BCE. Steatite, about 7 inches high  Indus city which had sophisticated water supply and sewage  In the heart of the city was the Great Bath a brick complex with a sunken pool used for ritual bathing  Little art remains from the Indus Civilization -> all is small in scale  Robed male figure is bearded and might represent a priest-king -> iconography similar to Sumeria  Headband, armband, trefoils decorate the robe

HARAPPA  Nude male torso, from Harappa, Pakistan, ca B.C.E., red sandstone, 3 ¾ “ high  Highly polished surface and swelling curves of the abdomen  Pulsating vigor and emphasis on sensuous surfaces -> chief characteristics of South Asian sculpture for thousands of years

INDUS SEALS  Seal with a seated figure in yogic posture from Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, ca B.C.E. 1. Most common Indus art objects are steatite seals 2. Incised with designs 3. Most common subjects are animals or small narratives 4. Similar to Mesopotamian cylinder seals 5. Three faces? Erect penis, yogic posture -> may represent prototype of Shiva

VEDIC AND UPANISHADIC PERIOD VEDAS  Basis of new religious ideas were the oral hymns of the Aryans = a mobile herding people from Central Asia  1500 B.C.E UPANISHADS  Between BCE religious thinkers composed a variety of texts called the Upanishads  SAMSARA = cycle of rebirths  KARMA = an individuals past actions (good or bad) which determine the nature of future rebirths  NIRVANA = the ending of the cycle of rebirths and the merging of the individual into the vital force of the universe

Key Ideas  Indian Art stresses the interconnectedness of all the arts: architecture, painting, and sculpture.  Buddhist and Hindu philosophies form a background to Indian artistic thought.  A blend of various people who invaded India create the unique culture. Common Themes of Buddism  The Lion = Buddha's initial royalty  The Wheel (chakra) = Buddha's law  The Lotus = Buddha's pure nature  Columns surrounds by a wheel = Buddha's teachings  Empty throne, umbrella, footsteps, lone wheel, Bodhi tree = Buddha

HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM  HINDUISM and BUDDHISM are the two major modern religions originating in Asia  Developed in the late centuries B.C.E and early C.E.  Hinduism is the dominant religion of India today -> origins in Aryan religion  Buddhism founded by the BUDDHA – a historical figure -> advocated ASCETICISM = self-discipline and self-denial as a of freeing oneself from attachments to people and possessions -> thus ending rebirths

BUDDHISM  THE BUDDHA (Enlightened One)  Siddhartha  Meditating under the Bodhi Tree -> achieved complete enlightenment  THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS 1. Life is suffering 2. The cause of suffering is desire 3. One can overcome and extinguish desire 4. The way to conquer desire and end suffering is the EIGHTFOLD PATH  The Eightfold Path 1. Right understanding 2. Right thought 3. Right speech 4. Right action 5. Right livelihood 6. Right effort 7. Right mindfulness 8. Right concentration The Buddha’s path leads to Nirvana

BUDDHIST ICONOGRAPHY  Lakshanas = body characteristics of the Buddha 1. Urna – curl of hair between eyebrows/dot 2. Ushnisha – cranial bump/top knot 3. Elongated ears  Mudra = hand gestures 1. Right hand over the left palms upward – meditation 2. Right hand down reaching to the ground 3. Two hand wheel turning gesture 4. Right hand up palm outward  Episodes from the Buddha’s life are popular subjects in Buddhist art 1. His birth 2. Achievement of Buddhahood under the Bodi tree 3. First sermon as Buddha at Sarnath 4. Death at Kushinagara

MAURYA DYNASTY – ASHOKA  The Maurya Dynasty was founded by Chandragupta Maurya -> controls almost all of modern India  The greatest Maurya ruler was ASHOKA ( BCE) -> converts to Buddhism and spreads Buddha’s teaching across India and beyond  Lion capital of the column erected by Ashoka at Sarnath, India, ca. 250 BCE, polished sandstone, 7 ft. tall capital -> Ashoka formulated based on Buddha’s teachings and inscribed those laws on columns erected throughout his kingdom

THE STUPA  STUPA = grand circular earthen mound containing relics of the Buddha  The domed stupa represents the world mountain  CIRCUMNAMBULATION = Buddhists walk around stupas in clockwise direction -> bring the devotee into harmony with the cosmos  On top of the stupa is 1. HARMIKA 2. YASTI – pole at the center of the harmika 3. CHATRAS – three stone disks atop the yasti

SANCHI  The Great Stupa at Sanchi, India, 3 rd century BCE to 1 st century CE  Tall stone fence with four gates called TORANAS  The reliefs on the four torana gates depicts the story of Buddha’s life and his past lifes (jatakas)  Lower circumnambulation path  Double stairway leads to upper level walkway  Open to all devotees FLASHCARD #192-1

GREAT STUPA AT SANCHI – DETAIL  Buddha statue, ground level - Lower circumnambulation path FLASHCARD #192-2

GREAT STUPA AT SANCHI – NORTH GATE FLASHCARD #192-3

GREAT STUPA AT SANCHI – PLAN AND ELEVATION FLASHCARD #192-4

SANCHI  Yakshi, detail of eastern gateway, Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, mid first century BCE to early first century CE.  Carved on the eastern gateway is a scantily clad sensuous woman called yakshi. These goddesses, worshiped throughout India, personified fertility and vegetation  Pose of the yakshi later is used to depict the Buddha’s mother MAYA giving birth -> borrowing of the sensuality of the Indus sculptural tradition

KARLE  Interior of the chatiya hall, Karle, India, ca. 50 CE  CHAITYA HALLS house stupas  The chatiya hall carved out of the living rock at Karle is the best early example of a Buddhist stupa hall  Pillared ambulatory (walking path) allows worshippers to circumnambulate the stupa placed at the back of the sacred cave  Excellent acoustics for chanting

KARLE  section (top), and plan (bottom) of chaitya hall, Karle, India, ca. 100 CE  The Karle hall has a pillared AMBULATORY (walking path) that allows worshipers to circumambulate the stupa placed at the back of the sacred cave

GANDHARA  Meditating Buddha, from Gandhara, Pakistan, second century CE. Gray schist, 3’ 7 1/2” high  In Gandhara, sculptors fashioned representations of the Buddha in both free standing statuary and narrative reliefs. Note the Greco- Roman influences.

 The life and death of the Buddha, frieze from Gandhara, Pakistan, second century CE. Schist, 2’ 2 3/8” X 9’ 6 1/8”.

MARTHURA  Buddha seated on lion throne, from Mathura, India, second century CE. Red sandstone, 2’ 3 1/2” high. Archaeological Museum, Muttra. 1. Stylistically distinct from the Gandharan Buddhas 2. Buddha has the body type of a yaksha 3. Wears a monks robe and lacks jewelry and other signs of wealth