South and Southeast Asia Before 1200

AP Art History

Catrina Chen

India and Pakistan

• Indus Civilization

• Vedic and Upanishadic Period

• Maurya Dynasty

• Shunga, Andhra, and Kushan Dynasties

• The Gupta and Post-Gupta Periods

• Early Medieval Period

Southeast Asia

• Sri Lanka

• Java

• Cambodia

India and Pakistan

Indus Civilization

• 2600 – 1500 BCE

• Archaeological sites– Mohenjo-daro– Harappa

Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, ca. 2600-1900 BCE

Robed male figure

Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan

ca. 2000-1900 BCE

Steatite

Nude male torso

Harappa, Pakistan

ca. 2000-1900 BCE

Red sandstone

Seal with seated figure in yoga posture

from Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan

ca. 2300-1750 BCE

Seatite coated with alkali and baked

Vedic and Upanishadic Period

• ca. 1700 – 500 BCE

• Village life replaced urban culture

• Very little art

• Vedas – oldest Hindu scriptures

Vedas

• ca. 1500 BCE

• The Aryans

• First of 4 Vedas – Sanskrit compilations of religious learning

• Caste system

Upanishads

• 800 – 500 BCE

• Upanishads (religious texts)– Samsara– Karma– Moksha / nirvana

Buddhism

• Siddhartha Gautama

• Wheel (chakra) of the Law (dharma)

• Four Noble Truths– life is suffering – the cause of suffering is desire – one can overcome & extinguish desire – the way to achieve nirvana is to follow the

Buddha's Eightfold Path

Buddhism

• Theravada Buddhism – The Path of the Elders

• Mahayana Buddhism – Great Path– Bodhisattvas

• Amitabha Buddha (Amida)– the Buddha of Infinite Light & Life – Pure Land Paradise of the West

Lakshanas (attributes)

• Urna – curl of hair between eyebrows; dot

• Ushnisha – bump on the head

• Elongated ears

• Halo

• Mudras

Mudras (hand gestures)

• dhyana (meditation)

• bhumisparsha (earth-touching)

• dharmachakra (teaching)

• abhaya (do not fear)

Maurya Dynasty

• Chandragupta Maurya– r. 323 – 298 BCE– Founder of Maurya dynasty– Capital: Pataliputra

• Ashoka– r. 272 – 231 BCE– Converted to & spread Buddhism– Legal code based on Buddhist dha

rma– Monumental stone art / architectur

e

Lion capital of the column erected by Ashoka

Sarnath, India

ca. 250 BCE

Polished sandstone

Shunga, Andhra, and Kushan Dynasties

• Kushan empire– Mid first century CE– Northern India– Kanishka– Capital: Peshawar

Architecture

• Viharas – celled structures where monks live

• Chaitya halls – halls with rounded (apsidal) ends for housing smaller stupas

• Stupa – grand circular solid earthen mound housing relics of the Buddha

The Great Stupa, Sanchi, India,

third century BCE to first century CE

torana

circumambulation

The Great Stupa, Sanchi, India,

third century BCE to first century CE

torana

circumambulation

yakshi

The chaitya hall, Karle, India, ca. 50 CE

Meditating Buddha

Gandhara, Pakistan

Second century CE

Gray schist

Frieze from Gandhara, PakistanSecond century CE

Schist

Birth at Lumbini

Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya

First sermon at Sarnath

Death at Kushinagara (parinirvana)

Buddha seated on lion throne

Mathura, India

Second century CE

Red sandstone

The Gupta and Post-Gupta Periods

• 320 – 550 CE

• Captial: Pataliputra

• Chandragupta II (r. 375-415)

Seated Buddha preaching first sermon

Sarnath, India

Second half of fifth century

Tan sandstone

Interior of cave 19

Ajanta, IndiaSecond half of fifth century

Hinduism

• Shiva (Destroyer) – Represented by linga– Third eye– Rides the bull Nandi

• Vishnu (Preserver) – Four arms– Serpent– Avatars

• Devi / Shakti (Great Goddess) – Parvati / Uma, Lakshmi– Durga– Son is Ganesha

linga and yoni

Boar avatar of Vishnu rescuing the earth, cave 5, Udayagiri, India, early fifth century

Dancing Shiva, rock-cut relief in cave temple

Badami, India

Late sixth century

Shiva as Mahadeva

cave 1, Elephanta, India

ca. 550 – 575

Vishnu Temple

Deogarh, India

Early sixth century

Vishnu asleep on the serpent Ananta

Relief panel on the south façade of the Vishnu Temple

Deogarh, India

Early sixth century

Early Medieval Period

• 8th – 13th century

• Regional dynasties ruled parts of India

• Buddhism gradually declined

Rock-cut rathas

Mamallapuram, India

Second half of seventh century

Hindu Temples

• garbha griha – inner sanctuary• Northern

– shikhara (mountain peak) - beehive-like tower capped by an amalaka

– amalaka - a ribbed cusionlike form– has small towerlike roofs over the halls (mandapas)

• Southern– flat roofs– vimanas - shorter towered shrines; resemble multileve

l pyramids

Rajarajeshvara Temple

Thanjavur, India

ca. 1010

Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho, India, ca. 1000

mithunas

Shiva as Nataraja

ca. 1000

Bronze

Southeast Asia

Sri Lanka

• Formerly Ceylon

• Theravada Buddhism

Death of the Buddha (Parinirvana), Gal Vihara, Sri Lanka, 11th – 12th century

Java

Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, ca. 800

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDAoA4qKfek

Cambodia

• Khmer King Jayavarman II (r. 802-850) founded the Angkor dynasty

Harihara

Prasat Andet, Cambodia

Early seventh century

Stone

Vishnu lying on the cosmic ocean, from the Mebon temple on an island in the western baray, Angkor, Cambodia, 11th century. Bronze

Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia, first half of 12th century

King Suryavarman II

Bayon Temple

Angkor Thom, Cambodia

ca. 1200

Quiz

1). What art style influenced the sculptures at Gandhara?

a. Sumerian

b. Egyptian

c. Greco-Roman

d. Minoan

Quiz

2). Who erected the column with the lion capital during the Maurya dynasty?

a. Chandragupta Maurya

b. Ashoka

c. Jayavarman II

d. Chandragupta II

Quiz

3). What is a stupa?

a. a place where monks live

b. a Hindu temple

c. a monumental monolithic column

d. a circular mound housing relics of the Buddha

Quiz

4). What is this structure?

a. Angkor Wat

b. the Great Stupa

c. the Great Bath

d. Borobudur

Quiz

5). What style is the Rajarajeshvara temple?

a. southern style

b. northern style

c. western style

d. eastern style

Quiz

6). How do Buddhists venerate the Buddha’s remains at the stupa?

a. circumnavigation

b. circumambulation

c. circumcision

d. circumscription