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Chapter 6
Paths to Enlightenment:
The Art of South and Southeast Asia
before 1200
Gardners Art Through the Ages,
12e
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South and Southeast Asia
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Goals
Understand the late Neolithic origins of Indian and Southeast
Asian art and culture.
Understand how the indigenous beliefs and the beginnings of
Buddhism and Hinduism influenced the art and architecture.
Identify hallmarks of architecture from Hindu and Buddhist
monuments.
Understand the artistic influence of Buddhism and Hinduism in
Southeast Asia and the varying appearances of the human figure
in art.
Identify hallmarks of temple and monastic architecture in
Southeast Asia
Understand the role of the monarchs in Southeast Asia in the
middle ages.
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6.1 India and Pakistan
Understand the late Neolithic urban development of
northern India and Pakistan in the Indus Valley.
Examine early art form and compare with Near Eastern and
Egyptian arts of the same time period.
Examine indigenous beliefs as they lead to the origins of
Buddhism and Hindu belief systems.
Identify the first Buddhist leader and the influence on art and
architecture in the early dynasties.
Understand the artistic influences of the Gandhara and
Mathura regions of the Kushan dynasty.
Explore the Buddhist and Hindu imagery and temples of the
Gupta dynasty and afterwards in India.
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The Indus Valley
Understand the late Neolithic urban development of
northern India and Pakistan in the Indus Valley.
Examine early art form and compare with Near Eastern and
Egyptian arts of the same time period.
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Figure 6-1 Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, ca. 26001900 BCE.
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Figure 6-2 Robed male figure, from Mohenjo-daro,
Pakistan, ca. 26001900 BCE. Steatite, 6 7/8 high.
National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi.
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Figure 6-3 Seal with seated figure in yogic posture, from Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, ca. 26001900 BCE. Steatite coated
with alkali and baked, approx. 1 3/8 X 1 3/8. National Museum, New Delhi.
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Art and Architecture in the Early Dynasties
Identify the first Buddhist leader and the influence on art and
architecture in the early dynasties.
Explore the construction and purpose of the Buddhist Stupa.
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Figure 6-4 Lion capital of column erected by Ashoka at
Sarnath, India, ca. 250 BCE. Polished sandstone, approx.
7 high. Archaeological Museum, Sarnath.
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Figure 6-5 Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, third century BCE to first century CE (View from the east).
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The Early Art of Buddhism
Understand how the early art of Buddhism relates to pre-
Hindu ideas and imagery.
Understand why abstract imagery the wheel, the bohdi tree
-- is also used in early Buddhism.
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Figure 6-7 Yakshi, detail of eastern gateway, Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, mid first century BCE to early first century CE.
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Figure 6-8 Interior (left), section (top right), and plan
(bottom right) of chaitya hall, Karle, India, ca. 100 CE.
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Gandhara and Mathura
Examine the design traditions and influences in the Buddhist
art from Gandhara.
Understand why the Buddhist art from Mathura presents a
different tradition.
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Figure 6-9 Meditating Buddha, from Gandhara, Pakistan,
second century CE. Gray schist, 3 7 1/2 high. Royal Scottish
Museum, Edinburgh.
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Figure 6-10 The life and death of the Buddha, frieze from Gandhara, Pakistan, second century CE. Schist, 2 2 3/8 X 9
6 1/8. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
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Figure 6-11 Buddha seated on lion throne, from
Mathura, India, second century CE. Red sandstone, 2 3
1/2 high. Archaeological Museum, Muttra.
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Figure 6-12 Seated Buddha preaching first sermon, from
Sarnath, India, second half of fifth century. Tan sandstone, 5
3 high. Archaeological Museum, Sarnath.
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Figure 6-14 Bodhisattva Padmapani, wall painting
in Cave 1, Ajanta, India, second half of fifth
century.
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Figure 6-15 Boar avatar of Vishnu rescuing the earth, Cave 5, Udayagiri, India, early fifth century. Relief approx 22 X 13;
Vishnu 12 8 high.
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Art of the Guptas
Examine the Buddhist and Hindu imagery of the painted
caves of Ajanta.
Explore ideas of Buddhist and Hindu coexistence in Shiva
and Vishnu imagery.
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Figure 6-16 Dancing Shiva, rock-cut relief in cave
temple, Badami, India, late sixth century.
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Figure 6-17 Shiva as Mahadeva, Cave 1, Elephanta,
India, ca. 550575. Basalt, Shiva 17 10 high.
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Figure 6-18 Vishnu Temple,
Deogarh, India, early sixth century.
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Figure 6-19 Vishnu asleep on the
serpent Ananta, detail of facade of
the Vishnu Temple, Deogarh,
India, early sixth century.
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Figure 6-20 Rock-cut temples, Mamallapuram, India, second half of seventh century. From left to right: Dharmaraja, Bhima,
Arjuna, and Draupadi rathas.
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Figure 6-21 Rajarajeshvara Temple, Thanjavur, India, ca. 1010
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Figure 6-22 Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho, India, ca. 1000. (View looking northwest and plan).
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Figure 6-23 Sculptures on temple wall, Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho, India, ca. 1000.
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Figure 6-24 Shiva as Nataraja, bronze in the
Naltunai Ishvaram Temple, Punjai, India, ca. 1000.
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The Belief Systems
Examine indigenous beliefs as they lead to the origins of
Buddhism and Hindu belief systems.
The Vedas: great religious knowledge written in Sanskrit
The Upanishads: samsara, karma, moksha (nirvana)
Hinduism: an outgrowth of indigenous beliefs coupled with
the Vedas and the Upanishads, codified between 8-500 bce.
Buddhism: a reaction to indigenous beliefs begun with the
preaching of Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha after 500 bce.
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6.2 Southeast Asia
Understand the artistic influence of Buddhism and
Hinduism, combined with the indigenous beliefs of the
various peoples of Southeast Asia.
Identify hallmarks of monumental temple and monastery
architecture in Southeast Asia.
Understand the different presentations of the human form
between India and Southeast Asia.
Identify the key leaders in the middle ages whose works set
the standards for art and architecture.

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Art of Southeast Asia
Understand the artistic influence of Buddhism and
Hinduism, combined with the indigenous beliefs of the
various peoples of Southeast Asia.
Identify hallmarks of monumental temple and monastery
architecture in Southeast Asia.

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Figure 6-25 Death of the Buddha (Parinirvana), Gal Vihara, near Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, eleventh to
twelfth century. Granulite, Buddha approx. 46 long.
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Figure 6-26 Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, ca. 800.
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The Human Image in Southeast Asia
Understand the different presentations of the human form
between India and Southeast Asia.
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Figure 6-27 Harihara, from Prasat Andet, Cambodia, early seventh century.
Stone, 6 3 high. National Museum, Phnom Penh.
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The Khmer Kingship
Identify the key leaders in the middle ages whose works set
the standards for art and architecture.
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Figure 6-29 Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia, first half of twelfth century.
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Figure 6-31 Bayon, Angkor Thom,
Cambodia, ca. 1200.
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Discussion Questions
What ideologies in Buddhism and Hinduism determined
the appearance of figures in art and architecture?
Why does the Buddhas appearance change in different
places and time periods?
Do you think that the Gandharan style is the result of
Alexander the Great and the Greeks contact with India?
Explain why or why not (or to what extent).
What is the purpose of the Stupa and how is it similar or
different from other large scale architecture we have
examined?