Notes – India and Pakistan

Maps:
Harappan Civilization
Vedic Period
Buddhist architecture and sculpture
Hindu Art, Dieties and Temples
film - The Temples at Khajuraho
Harappan Civilization 3000 – 1500 BCE

First discovery – Harapa City

• Largest urban civilization (earliest)
• Beginning of Urban Culture
 • Script has not been fully deciphered yet
• Spread for 1000 miles
o Standard measures, weights
o All the bricks are the same size

On the River Ravi

• 5 different Archaeological Mounds (sites)
o 2 with walls
o 1 palace
•

Mohenjo-Daro
• 3000 – 1500 BCE
• Stupa (200AD) before a big plaza, it is a Buddhist structure
• Public plumbing, beginning of an urban environment
• Amongst the fitst planned cities in the world
o 100 smaller towns surround it, which supported the city
• They had writing, seals and decorated tablets

Harrapan Seals
• Used in trade to prevent tampering with goods
• Made from: clay, pottery, some limestone, very few bronze

• Theme of bulls, script not yet deciphered

• Loops on the back, perhaps for an official to wear around the neck or suspend from a
rope/leather thong
 Famous Bull Seal
• Carved garland over shoulder
• Offering table
• 1 or 2 horns depicted
• Used for religious use/shipments?

Themes of Bulls and Cattle – usually found in Catal, Central Turkey – Bull imagery
Bamiyan Afganistan
Statues – Bamiyan Codas – Central Afganistan
• Hermits, monks would live in the caves around 1500CE
• Afganistans greatest archaeological treasure
• These are two ancient statues, carved into a cliff in Bamiyan in central Afghanistan in
the fifth century. They were Afghanistan’s greatest archaeological treasure They were
destroyed by the Taleban in March 2001, causing an international outcry. Now, an
international team is planning to rebuild them
Discussion issues
The statues have been the focal point of religious differences for centuries. Do we have a
responsibility to preserve these as works of art belonging to everyone, or are they the property
of governments and religious communities?

Destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

The Great Stupa At Sanchi:

Gate At Sanchi:
The Hill of Sanchi is situated about 9 kilometers south-west of Vidisha in Madhaya Pradesh,
India. Crowning the hilltop of Sanchi nearly 91 metres in height, a group of Buddhist
monuments commands a grand view even from a distance. It is unique not only in its having
the most perfect and well-preserved stupas but also in its preservation of a 1300 year tradition
of Buddhist art and architecture, from the third century B.C. to the twelfth century, A.D.,
almost covering the whole range of Indian Buddhism. The foundation of the temple complex
was probably laid by the Maurya emperor Asoka (circa 273-236 B.C.), when he built a stupa
and erected a monolithic pillar here.

• built between the 3rd Century BCE and the 12th Century AD
• Sanchi is 68 kilometers north of Bhopal in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is
unique, not only for having the most perfect and well preserved stupas, but
also for offering the visitor a chance to see, in one location, the genesis,
flowering, and decay of Buddhist art and architecture during a period of about
1500 years -- almost covering the entire range of Indian Buddhism. This is
 surprising since Sanchi was not hallowed by any incident in Buddha's life nor
was it the focus of any significant event in the history of Buddhism.
• Ashoka Maurya (273 - 236 BCE) was the most famous of the Buddhist rulers
of India. A dozen years or so after he began his reign, about 258 BCE, he
became a convert to Buddhism. He was a great administrator and a great
builder. His empire encompassed the whole of India and Afghanistan.
Ashoka's reign of paternal despotism has been compared to that of
Constantine or Cromwell. With tireless energy he personally supervised all the
affairs of government for 40 years.
• The foundation of this important center at Sanchi was laid by the Emperor
Ashoka when he built a stupa and erected a monolithic pillar here. Ashoka
built a total of eight stupas on the hilltop of Sanchi including the Great Stupa. A
great number of stupas and other religious structures were added over the
succeeding centuries.
• http://rogershepherd.com/WIW/solution12/stupa.html
• With the decline of Buddhism, the site decayed and was eventually completely
forgotten. But, between 1912 and 1919, the structures were carefully repaired
to their present condition and restored.

• The stupa is the most characteristic monument of Buddhist India. Originally

stupas were mounds covering the relics of the Buddha or his followers. In its
earliest stages Buddhist art didn't represent the Buddha directly. Instead, his
presence was alluded to through symbols such as the bo tree, the wheel of
law or his footprint. The stupa also became a symbol of the Buddha. More
exactly, it became a symbol of his final release from the cycle of birth and
rebirth -- the Parinirvana or the "Final Dying."

•
Andhra Dynasty
Karli Caves,
late 1st-early 2nd C. A.D.

Karli, Maharashtra state, W India. Nearby are Buddhist caves that may have been excavated
as early as the 2d cent. b.c. The most famous of them measures 124 ft by 45 ft (38 m by 14 m)
and is India's largest cave temple. Its ancient shrine, columns, and ornamentation survive in
part.
The Temples at Khajuraho

• Known as the Temple of Love – Built between 950AD and 1050 AD

• Aryan Descendants were the Persians, silly Hitler…
 • Explicit sexual depictions of all tastes, hetero and homo-sexuality displayed.
• Beastiality displayed
• British Response/Victorian response was that it was despicable, uncouth and all that
good stuff.
• In the temple architecture, the Khajuraho complex remains unique. Over one thousand
years ago, the Chandela Rajput kings of Central India, built 85 carved temples, near
the village of Khajuraho. The temples were completed between 950 AD - 1050 AD.
Today, of the original 85, only 22 have survived; but these are a wonderful expression
of creativity, life, love, and the beauty of sex.
• Today, of the original 85, only 22 have survived; but these are a wonderful expression
of creativity, life, love, and the beauty of sex.

The Temples are covered with Friezes in a storyboard format, High relief

IRAQ:
Lost Treasures of Iraq:
Artifacts from the beginning of civilization, stolen from the Iraq National Museum, April,
2003

• The looting and destruction in Baghdad of historical records narrating the

development of civilization over 5,000 years is a disaster for humanity that recalls the
burning of books and the destruction of irrigation networks in Iraq by Hulago and his
soldiers in 1258.
• In addition to the widely reported looting of the Baghdad Museum, the Iraqi National
Library and Archives in Baghdad had also been looted and burned, as had the library
of Islamic manuscripts attached to the Ministry of Al-Awqaf [Religious Endowments],
destroying irreplaceable artifacts of Mesopotamian and Arab civilization.
• This means that part of the development of the human intellect has been lost forever.

Gold helmet of King Meskalamdug, from the Royal Cemetery at Ur; dating circa 2,400 B.C.
 • Upper part of a statuette, possibly a king, from Uruk;dating circa 3,000 B.C.

•
•

Bowl, made of grey stone, inlaid with mosaic of limestone and shell, from Uruk; dating circa
3,000 B.C
Fluted gold beaker, from the Royal Cemetery at Ur; dating circa 2.400 B.C.

Gold dagger with lapis handle and sheath, from the Royal Cemetery at Ur; dating circa 2,400
B.C.
Two statues of worshippers, gypsum, from the Abu Temple, Tell Amar; dating circa 2,600
B.C.

Steatite bowl with relief decoration, from Ur; dating circa 3,000 B.C.

Spouted jar, made of grey stone, inlaid with mosiac of limestone and shell, from Uruk; dating
circa 3,000 B.C.
Statue of worshipper, gypsum, from Khafaje; dating circa, 2,500 B.C

Ivory plaque (furniture piece), head of a women, from Nimrud; dating circa late 8th Century
B.C.

Nasiriyah stelae showing prisoners of war, from Nasiriyah (near Ur); dating circa 2,300 B.C
Alabaster Uruk vase, with reliefs of plants, animals, humans, and temple scene; dating circa
3,000 B.C

Detail of Alabaster Uruk vase, Ianna priestess receiving provisions; dating circa 3,000 B.C

Scarlet ware jar, from Khafaje; dating circa 2,900 B.C

Head of retainer wearing jewelry, in situ, from Royal Cemetery at Ur; dating circa 2,400 B.C

Limestone vessel with relief carvings, probably from Uruk; dating circa 3,000 B.C

White marble head of a women from Uruk; dating circa 3,000 B.C.
Cast copper statue head from Nineveh, of either King Sargon I or his grandson, Naram-Sin;
dating circa 2,250 B.C.

Votive plaque, showing ritual banquet scene, from Khafaje; dating c. 2, 600 B.C
Look at these sites:
• The Lost Cultural Treasures of Baghdad
• http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2003/04/20030416_a_main.asp
• http://www.archaeologychannel.org/

Cylinder Seals:

• Post-Akkadian, about 2200 to 2100 BC From Mesopotamia The tree, serpent and
figures carved on this greenstone cylinder seal suggested to George Smith, an
Assyriologist working in The British Museum between 1840 and 1876, that the scene
was related to the Old Testament story of the temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden.
In fact, the seal shows a scene that is common on seals of the twenty-third and twenty-
second centuries BC, with a seated male figure (identified by his head-dress of horns
as a god) facing a female worshipper. The date palm between them and the snake may
be symbolic of fertility, but there is no reason to connect the scene with the story in the
Book of Genesis. Height: 2.71 cm Diameter: 1.65 cm British Museum
• Was it Stolen?

White calcite (marble) cylinder seal (3200-3000BC)

White calcite (marble) cylinder seal From Mesopotamia Late Uruk / Early Jemdet Nasr period,
about 3200-3000 BC An extensive trade route between eastern Mesopotamia and Syria and
Egypt This seal shows animals and pots in front of a shrine or temple. It is perhaps a ritual
scene. Monumental buildings dating to the late fourth millennium and decorated with niches
and buttresses have been excavated in southern Mesopotamia, especially at Uruk, and are
found at a number of sites further north along the River Euphrates. The poles with rings were
probably the symbol of a god or goddess but which one is unknown. The seal is typical of a
style using filed lines and drill-holes, found in the Diyala, north-east of Baghdad, but also in
Syria. Seals like this are evidence of a trade network between the two regions. The earliest
cylinder seals were rolled over hollow clay balls containing tokens; later they were impressed
on clay tags and tablets marked with tally signs. A variety of early scenes carved on the seals
show economic activities, food production, processions or ritual acts. These may reflect
different 'departments' within the central authority. Height: 4.4 cm Diameter: 3.9 cm British
Museum

Hammurabi’s Code

• Collection of laws and edicts of king Hammurabi of Babylonia dating to the middle of
the 18th century BC. The laws in this collection were not made by Hammurabi, but
were based upon older Sumerian law. Today we have more than one source to the
laws, but the very most important single one was discovered in Susa in 1901, and is
now exhibited in Louvre museum in Paris, France. This is a stone of black diorite,
about 2,2 meter high, and was made around 1740 BC. It was originally placed in the
Marduk temple in Babylon. The block was found in three pieces, but has been
restored. On this stone, the text is written in Akkadian language with cuneiform
writing. There are 282 case laws, which altogether cover 16 columns on the front side
(the side where Hammurabi is depicted, receiving the the symbols that allows him to
administer the divine law from the sun-god Shamash) and 28 on the back side.
 Queen's Lyre (UR, 2600-2400 BC)
From Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC Music for the afterlife Leonard Woolley
discovered several lyres in the graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. This was one of two that he
found in the grave of 'Queen' Pu-abi. Along with the lyre, which stood against the pit wall,
were the bodies of ten women with fine jewellery, presumed to be sacrificial victims, and
numerous stone and metal vessels. One woman lay right against the lyre and, according to
Woolley, the bones of her hands were placed where the strings would have been. The wooden
parts of the lyre had decayed in the soil, but Woolley poured plaster of Paris into the
depression left by the vanished wood and so preserved the decoration in place. The front
panels are made of lapis lazuli, shell and red limestone originally set in bitumen. The gold
mask of the bull decorating the front of the sounding box had been crushed and had to be
restored. While the horns are modern, the beard, hair and eyes are original and made of lapis
lazuli. This musical instrument was originally reconstructed as part of a unique 'harp- lyre',
together with a harp from the burial, now also in The British Museum. Later research showed
that this was a mistake. A new reconstruction, based on excavation photographs, was made in
1971-72. A similar bull-lyre is depicted on the Standard of Ur. Height: 112 cm British Museum
 The Standard of Ur (2600-2400BC)
The Standard of Ur From Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC A mysterious object with
one of the earliest representations of a Sumerian army. This object was found in one of the
largest graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, lying in the corner of a chamber above the right
shoulder of a man. Its original function is not yet understood. Leonard Woolley, the excavator
at Ur, imagined that it was carried on a pole as a standard, hence its common name. Another
theory suggests that it formed the soundbox of a musical instrument. When found, the
original wooden frame for the mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli had decayed,
and the two main panels had been crushed together by the weight of the soil. The bitumen
acting as glue had disintegrated and the end panels were broken. As a result, the present
restoration is only a best guess as to how it originally appeared. The main panels are known
as 'War' and 'Peace'. 'War' shows one of the earliest representations of a Sumerian army.
Chariots, each pulled by four donkeys, trample enemies; infantry with cloaks carry spears;
enemy soldiers are killed with axes, others are paraded naked and presented to the king who
holds a spear. The 'Peace' panel depicts animals, fish and other goods brought in procession to
a banquet. Seated figures, wearing woollen fleeces or fringed skirts, drink to the
accompaniment of a musician playing a lyre. Banquet scenes such as this are common on
cylinder seals of the period, such as on the seal of the 'Queen' Pu-abi, also in the British
Museum. Height: 21.59 cm Length: 49.53 cm British Museum

Islamic Art – Islam and beyond

Artistic Forms – Dance, Poetry, Caligraphy

Visual Representation – Architecture.
 The tomb of the Samanids at Bukhara,
is one of the earliest Islamic mausolea
to survive to the present day. Early
10th century.

Ben Yusuf Madrasa in Marrakesh,

Morocco, built between 1564 and
1565.

Mosque – Religious Temple

Madrasa – Thoelogical School
• Very conservative Religious depiction, innovation not present in these building
• Innovation tended to be found in Homes and Markets.

The Quran
• The Holy Book
 •

16th c Persian painter

Mir Sayyid Ali.

Cloth, Textile designs, Woven Linen. Five Principles of

Islamic Art

1. Writing as Art – Caligraphy

2. Aniconism (no images of people)
3. Arabesque + Geometry
4. Exuberant use of color
5. Willfull Ambiguity
Brief Timeline
Life of Muhammad ca. 570-632
Muhammad moves to Medina (Hijra) 622
Conquest of Mecca 630
All Arabia under Muslim control 634
Dramatic spread of Islam
under 2nd & 3rd Caliphs 634-656
Rightly Guided Caliphs 651-661
Conquest of Egypt, North Africa 639-42
Umayyad Period 661-750
Abbasid Period 750-1258

Birth of Islam:

Umayyad Period 661-750

Abbaasid Period 750-1258

The art of writing

Recite in the name of thy lord who created,
Created man formed from a clot:
Recite in the name of thy lord,
Who taught by the pen,
Taught man what he knew not.
-Quran

Shroud of Josse

Medieval France: St Josse Bones were wrapped in this shroud that originall belonged to a
corpose of Islamic descent. Beauty was apparent as it was used to wrap a saint.
Dome of the Rock – 692 AD – 70AD (Destruction)
Commemorates the place where Muhammad ascended.

Inside beautifully decorated, aniconism (no images) Art in writing.

Aniconism
Not all present, there are depictions of images:

The last 2 images are from the very beginnings of documented astrology, they are star charts.
Use of imagery is usually frowned upon as it is seen as a godly pursuit.
• is a proscription against the creation of images of Allah in Islam. Other forms of
aniconism in Islam prohibit the depiction of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which is
the consensual view among sunni Muslims,or even, in the case of more extreme case,
other living creatures in artwork.

The Qur'an, the Islamic holy book, does not explicitly prohibit the depiction of human figures;
it merely condemns idolatry (ex.: 5:92, 21:52). Interdictions of figurative representation are
present in the Hadith, among a dozen of the hadith recorded during the latter part of the period
when they were being written down. Because these hadith are tied to particular events in the
life of Muhammad, they need to be interpreted in order to be applied in any general manner.
Sunni exegetes, from the 9th century onward, increasingly saw in them categorical
prohibitions against producing and using any representation of living beings. There are
variations between religious schools and marked differences between different branches of
Islam. Aniconism is common among fundamentalist Sunni sects such as Salafis and Wahhabis
(which are also often iconoclastic), and less prevalent among liberal movements in Islam.
Shi'a and mystical orders also have less stringent views on aniconism. On the individual level,
whether or not specific Muslims believe in aniconism may depend on how much credence is
given to hadith (e.g. Submitters do not believe in any hadith), and how liberal or strict they
are in personal practice.

Aniconism in Islam not only deals with the material image, but touches upon mental
representations as well. It is a thorny question, discussed by early theologians, as to how to
describe God, Muhammad and other prophets, and, indeed, if it is permissible at all to do so.
God is usually represented by immaterial attributes, such as "holy" or "merciful", commonly
known from His "Ninety-nine beautiful names". Muhammad's physical appearance, however,
is amply described, particularly in the traditions on his life and deeds recorded in the
biographies known as Sira al-Nabi. Of no less interest is the validity of sightings of holy
personages made during dreams.

• Wikipedia, take it with a grain of salt.

Aniconistic art

Arabesque & Geometry

 Tower if a minarat

Use of Colour
Willful Ambiguity
China

Root of many cultures in eastern asia

Find:
China
Mongolia
Tibet
Taiwan
Japan
Beijing
Great Wall
Xian
Anyang
Silk Route
Yangzi River
Hangzhou
Timeline
• Neolithic Period 7000 – 2250 BCE
• Xia Dynasty c. 2250 - 1700
• Shang Dynasty 1700 – 1045 BCE
– Anyang, last capital
– Tomb of Lady Fu Hao
• Zhou Dynasty 1045 – 256 BCE
– Confucius 551 – 479 BCE
– Lao Zi ‘The Book of the Way’ 604 – 531 BCE
• Period of the Warring States/Zhou 480 – 221 BCE
• Qin Dynasty 221 – 206 BCE
– Xian, Emperor QinShiuangdi
• Han Dynasty 202 BCE – 220 CE
• Northern & Southern Dynasties 265 - 581
• Buddhism arrives in China
Neolithic
• 7000-2250 BCE
• Pottery
• Jade

Pottery
• Painted pottery – Yangshao
o Geometric designs
• Black Pottery – Lungshan
o Exceptional quality
 o exceptional quality, polished exterior, never painted, almost always without
decoration

• 500 to 5000BCE

Neolithic jar, Yangshao 1

Yangshao is the best known of the early cultures from the Yangtze River Valley (7100-5900
BP). During the Yangshao period, social changes are evident as storage facilities become
associated with individual residences, ditches enclose villages, and evidence of labor
specialization appears. At Ban'po'ts'un, a pottery production area was uncovered just outside of
the enclosed village. Archaeologists recovered over 500,000 potsherds and six kilns. Some of
the sherds have fish and animal representations leading some to suggest these figures represent
an early form of pictographic writing.
•
•
 • Yangshao – Northern Mountainous region,
• Painted Pottery fired in high degrees without use of a wheel, coiling used where you
make the thin tube of clay and coil it then pad it down.
• Swirling curving patterns on top half of the pottery, bottom half bare because it was
placed in the ground usually perhaps to keep it cool or steady.
• Loops on the sides for holding
• Knobs or loops on the top lid edges for securing a cover or a lid.
•

• The First Dynasties

• Xia Dynasty c. 2250 - 1700
• Shang Dynasty 1700 – 1045 BCE
• Start of the writing system
• Oldest form in present use, little has changed to modern script
• Appearance of bronze.
•

Lady Hao’s Tomb – Anyang

• Royal Capital 1300 – 1045BC
o Raised Platforms
• Consort of King Wu Ding
• This tomb was one of the few undisturbed, it was slightly away from the official royal
cemetery which could have led to it being left alone.
• Contained: 440 Bronze pieces, 600 Jade, many Chariots, Gold and Silver and even
Ivory Pieces.
Casted Bronze

• Called “Ding” used for serving food, food vessel

• Grounded with rounded rectangles
• Lady Hao was a warrior and a general, the third wife of the last Shang Dynasty
Emperor. The tomb of Lady Hao was discovered in 1977 at Anyang, Henan Province,
in north China. It was a tomb of modest scale by comparison to the great royal tombs
opened there in the late 1920's and 1930's. Its undisturbed chamber yielded a
tremendous amount of magnificent tomb furniture, however, making it the
bestpreserved of any tomb ever excavated at Anyang, the last capital of the Shang
Dynasty (c. 1300-1050 BCE). Jane Vadnal and Jeffrey Jacobson have created a three
dimensional schematic of some of the layers in the tomb and some of the objects
found there. This is available at http://usl.sis.pitt.edu/PlanetJeff/LadyHao/

Bronze
Yan
YU:
1200 BC
• Elaborate complex form
• Ceremonial Wine Jar
• Animals, mythical world, Depict Raw Power
• Called Tiger Devouring Man
• Shang Dynasty Beliefs: Feared death but it was also a passage to rebirth
Other Shang Dynasty bronzes

Spouted Ritual
Wine Vessel, Guang
China, Shang, 16th-11th c. BCE, early Anyang, 13th c. BCE, bronze

Detail of Spouted Ritual

Wine Vessel, Guang
China, Shang, 16th-11th c. BCE, early Anyang, 13th c. BCE, bronze
 Detail of a food vessel, decoration, China, Shang Dynasty, 13th - 11th
c. bronze
 Shang bronze cauldron
China, Shang, 13th-11th c. bronze
Shang Bone Oracles

This is the rubbing of an oxen scapula that served as an oracle bone for divining about when
to going to hunt. The characters were filled with cinnabar to make them readable. Some of the
characters have no modern counterpart like the animals, in the transliteration simply called
"deer". Making the burning cracks into the bone was the task of an oracle specialist, the
specialist of this example is called Gu. After creating the cracks, the king himself as a diviner
reads the cracks and interprets them. Finally, a scribe wrote down the result of divining and
the real outcome of the events.

This "oracle bone" dates from the reign of King Wu Ding in the Shang Dynasty. Oracle bones
were used by ancient Chinese rulers for divination. The bones were heated until they cracked,
and then the cracks were interpreted. The questions asked of the bones (and sometimes also
the prognostications and the actual outcomes) were then carved into the bones. The
inscriptions on these bones are the earliest known examples of Chinese "characters."
Following is a partial translation of the left-hand side of this oracle bone. [Preface:] Crack
making on gui-si day, Que divined: [Charge:] In the next ten days there will be no disaster.
[Prognostication:] The king, reading the cracks, said, "There will be no harm; there will
perhaps be the coming of alarming news." [Verification:] When it came to the fifth day, ding-
you, there really was the the coming of alarming news from the west. Zhi Guo, reporting,
said, "The Du Fang [a border people] are besieging in our eastern borders and have harmed
two settlements." The Gong-fang also raided the fields of our western borders. This
translation follows (with slight modifications) David N. Keightley, Sources of Shang History
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978), p. 44. The oracle bone being cited is Ching-
hua 2.

Shang People were literate, widespread literacy

Bones would be burnt in fire and cracked, then written on for predictions.
Questions were carved into the bones and asked.
The King would read the oracles and the outcome would be written on it.
Zhou Dynasty 1045 – 256 BCE
• Confucius 551 – 479 BCE
• Lao Zi ‘The Book of the Way’
604 – 531 BCE
• Moved the capital to Xian
• Cast bronze more plentiful

Zhou Bronze – Guang (wine container) handle

Zhou bronze of a deer head. From the 13 – 11th C BCE elaborate decoration was added to
bronze ritual vessels. The fantastical head is typical of an added decoration a handle on a
guang wine container.

Zhou Jade
• Took carving Jade to new heights
• Jade had mystical qualities, revered
• Gleaming implied Divinity Benevelance
• Luminescence – implied intelligence
• (would grant, implied ect)
•
 Western Zhou (11th c.-771 B.C.)

Openwork Dragon-Shaped
Jade Ornament.
Openwork Dragon-Shaped Jade Ornament. Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.)

Jade Bi with three Dragons

Openwork Jade Disk with Three Dragons. Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.)

Called a Bi

A bi is a flat jade disc with a circular hole in the centre. Neolithic bi are undecorated, while
those of later periods of China, like the Zhou dynasty, bear increasingly ornate surface carving
whose motifs represented deities associated with the sky (four directions) as well as standing
for qualities and powers the wearer wanted to invoke or embody.

As laboriously crafted objects, they testify to the concentration of power and resources in the
hands of a small elite.

• The original function and significance of the bi are unknown, as the Neolithic cultures
have no written history. From these earliest times they were buried with the dead, as a
sky symbol, accompanying the dead into the after world or "sky", with the cong which
connected the body with the earth.[5] They were placed ceremonially on the body in the
grave of aristocrats. Bi are sometimes found near the stomach and chest in neolithic
burials.[6][7]
• Jade, like bi disks, has been used throughout Chinese history to indicate an individual
of moral quality, and has also served as an important symbol of rank.[8] They were
used in worship and ceremony – as ceremonial items they symbolised the ranks of
emperor, king, duke, marquis, viscount, and baron with four different kweis and two
different bi disks.[9]
• In war during the Zhou dynasty period (11th to 250 bc), bi disks belonging to the
leaders of the defeated forces were handed over to the victor as a sign of
submission.[10]
 Period of the Warring States & Qin Dynasty

• Famous for the Terracotta warriors, first emperor Yu

Qin Dynasty, Terracotta Army 1

The first emperor of China Qin Shih Huang (259-210 BCE) consolidated the country, and
concentrated power. His mausoleum is marvel of ceramic arts. In 1974 a group of peasants
digging a well, made what was to become the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century
when they unearthed fragments of a life sized Terra Cotta Warrior. Excavation of the vault
revealed thousands of warriors and their horses, an entire army designed follows its emperor
into eternity. The site is located 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) east of the Qin Mausoleum. The
emperor's terra cotta army was found in three underground timber lined vaults. Pit 1 contained
chariots and ranks of six thousand soldiers. Pit 2 held fourteen hundred figures of cavalrymen,
horses and infantrymen, along with ninety wooden chariots. Pit 3 contained about seventy
figures. Excavating them has been a massive undertaking. To date, more than a thousand
warriors have been reassembled.
•
Terracotta Warriors

Terracotta
Warriors, Emperor Qin Shih Huang Mausoleum 1
The first emperor of China Qin Shih Huang (259-210 BCE) consolidated the country, and
concentrated power. His mausoleum is marvel of ceramic arts. In 1974 a group of peasants
digging a well, made what was to become the greatest archaeological find of the 20th
century when they unearthed fragments of a life sized Terra Cotta Warrior. Excavation of
the vault revealed thousands of warriors and their horses, an entire army designed follows
its emperor into eternity. The site is located 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) east of the Qin
Mausoleum. The emperor's terra cotta army was found in three underground timber lined
vaults. Pit 1 contained chariots and ranks of six thousand soldiers. Pit 2 held fourteen
hundred figures of cavalrymen, horses and infantrymen, along with ninety wooden
chariots. Pit 3 contained about seventy figures. Excavating them has been a massive
undertaking. To date, more than a thousand warriors have been reassembled.

Bronze Bells – Tomb of Lord Yu at Suizhou, Hubei Province.

Found in Sept 1977 at Suizhou in Hubei Province, the bronze bells in Lord Yu's
magnificent tomb have been conserved and can now be played.

Treasures of Lord Yu’s Tomb

Han Dynasty
202 BCE – 220 CE

• Period of dramatic expansion

• Han shaped the arts and culture of China for centuries to come
• Lady Dai’s tomb
• Liu Sheng’s tomb
 Lady Dai’s Funerary Banner
This 6¾ foot long Western Han painting on silk was found draped over the coffin in the grave
of Lady Dai (c. 168 BC) at Mawangdui near Changsha in Hunan province, China. The scenes
depicted on it seem to illustrate the journey of the woman's soul. The top section shows the
heavenly realm, complete with dragons, leopards, and hybrid creatures. At the corners are the
crow that symbolizes the sun and the toad that symbolizes the moon, the pairing of the sun
and moon representing the cosmic forces of yin and yang.

Painted on Silks
 Liu Shengs Tomb

The Chinese imperial period began with the unification of China in 221 by the
state of Qin and the consolidation of a huge empire under the succeeding Han
dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). Consolidating the empire involved not merely
geographical expansion, but also bringing together and reconciling the ideas
and practices that had developed in the different states. The new state
incorporated elements of Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism in its ideology
but the officials who administered the state came to be identified more and
more with Confucian learning. Reflecting the development of religious
practices during the Warring States period, Han art and literature are rich in
references to spirits, portents, myths, the strange, and the powerful.

In 1968 two tombs were found in present-day Mancheng County in Hebei

province (review map). The first undisturbed royal Western Han tombs ever
discovered, they belong to the prince Liu Sheng (d. 113 BC), who was a son of
Emperor Jing Di, and Liu Sheng's consort Dou Wan. The structure and layout
of the tombs departs from earlier traditions in significant ways. To see a
drawing of Liu Sheng's tomb and learn about its layout,
Liu Sheng and Dou Wan were buried in two separate caves hollowed out of a
mountainside. Each tomb has an entrance passage, two side-chambers for
storage, a large central area, and a rear chamber in which the coffin was
placed. The central chambers in both tombs originally had wooden structures
with tile roofs, which have since collapsed.

Liu Sheng's tomb:

Entrance passage: 65 feet long.

South side-chamber: Chariots and remains of horses.
North side-chamber: Vessels and jars for wine, grain, fish, and meat; Cooking
utensils and tableware.
Central chamber: 50 feet long by 40 feet wide. Large canopies, bronze
vessels, lacquerware, pottery, and clay figures of attendants.
Rear chamber: Lined with stone slabs. Coffin placed on north side; a room
on the south side of the chamber contained small stone figures of servants,
wine flasks, lamps, and an incense burner.

Liu Sheng's tomb contained over 2,700 burial objects. Among them, bronze
and iron items predominate. Altogether there were:

419 bronze objects

499 iron objects
21 gold items
77 silver items
78 jade objects
70 lacquer objects
6 chariots (in south side-chamber)
571 pieces of pottery (mainly in north side-chamber)
silk fabric
(From: http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/archae/2liumain.htm)
 Jade Suit:

Although their coffins had collapsed, Liu Sheng and Dou Wan were each found
in a well-preserved jade suit. Liu Sheng's was made of 2498 pieces of jade,
sewn together with two and a half pounds of gold wire (Dou Wan's was
smaller). Each suit consists of 12 sections: face, head, front, and back parts
of tunic, arms, gloves, leggings, and feet. It has been estimated that a suit
such as Liu Sheng's would have taken ten years to fashion. Along with the
jade suits, Liu Sheng and Dou Wan each had a gilt bronze headrest inlaid with
jade and held jade crescents in their hands.

Archaeologists had known of the existence of jade burial suits from texts, but
the two suits found at Mancheng are the earliest and most complete examples
ever discovered. During the Han, jade funerary suits were used exclusively
for the highest ranking nobles and were sewn with gold, silver, or bronze wire
according to rank. The practice was discontinued after the Han.
 Intricate Broze Detail, Incence Burner,
Mythical or Magic Mountain

Disunity, 6 Dynasties/ Wei Dynasty

Colossal Buddha
Colossal Buddha at Yungang, Shanxi. A period of disunity, the 6 Dynasties period, followed
the Han Dynasty. The Wei Dynasty followed in northern China, lasting from 388-535 CE.
They established important Buddhist religious centers, with cave temples and monumental
sculptures. Living near the eastern end of the Silk Road, the Wei rulers had a great deal of
contact with Central Asia. This colossal sculpture is near Datong at Yunang ‘Cloud Hill’ The
huge rock carvings were commissioned by Emperor Wen Cheng, whose father had persecuted
Buddhist from446 to 452. Emperor Wen Cheng had fifty three caves in over a kilometer of
cliffs carved.
Video:
• 3 Gorges Recording & Relocation
• Bronze Bells
• Shou Boat coffins
Jade suit
Describe how Canada is assisting the China to preserve ancient art and architecture
impacted by the rising waters of the 3 Gorges Dam Project?
PEG treatments on Shou boat coffins
What qualities of jade were important to the makers of the jade suit?

Video -Bells of the Bronze Age

What are the relationships between art and religious ceremony described in the film.

The bronze bells and other objects in the tombs are both works of art and symbols of
power. In what way?

The film discusses the use of art and music for the creation of social harmony.
Comment.
 Notes – Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia

Early Periods of Japanese History

Jomon 12000-300 BCE
Yayoi 300 BCE – 300 CE
Kofun 300 – 710
Asuka 552 - 645
Hakuho 645 - 710
Nara 710 – 794
Heian 794 – 1185
Kamakura 1185- 1333

Japan -
Jomon pottery
Incipient Jomon 10,500 to 8,000 B.C .
Initial Jomon 8,000 to 5,000 B.C.
Early Jomon 5000 to 2500 B.C.
Middle Jomon 2500 to 1500 B.C.
Late Jomon 1500 to 1000 B.C.
Final Jomon 1000 to 300 B.C.

Shinto Beliefs: Nature seen as the path to peace, sacred areas are pools and places of peace
Quests for purity and harmony with nature

This belief system led to art that focuses around nature. Quality of the materials especially
Simplicity, keeping to a rustic nature.

Intense Urbanization is depicted in todays Japan.

Does not preserve well, organic materials made up most of the structures, artifacts.

Jomon (string) Pottery

Jomon created some of the earliest ceramics ever known.

Markers for archaeologists, why, what are they for?
Japanese did not have agriculture. They only developed agriculture in 5000 BC.
Earliest pieces have cord(string) markings on them.
Characterized by cord marking, allows arch to identify organic materials. What string was
made of, what their fibres looked.

Jomon pot
By the middle Jomon period the cord decorations had become abstract, asymmetrical
sculptural forms in luxuriant curling shapes. The vessel walls seem to leap and burst with
energy. Are they leafy, growing plants? Cresting surf? Flames of fire? Jomon pottery is among
the most spectacular examples of art that was made during the Neolithic period.

No wheels used, coiling method applied with a pavel and baton

Cut in and Stuck on designs.
Believed to be made by women early on.
Early Jomon:

Jomon Artifacts
Tools, Cups, Baskets
A Variety of Jomon ceramics
By the middle Jomon period the cord decorations had become abstract, asymmetrical
sculptural forms in luxuriant curling shapes. The vessel walls seem to leap and burst with
energy. Are they leafy, growing plants? Cresting surf? Flames of fire? Jomon pottery is among
the most spectacular examples of art that was made during the Neolithic period
Middle Jomon pottery
Middle Jomon 2500 to 1500 B.C.

Middle Jomon Period Pot

By the middle Jomon period the cord decorations had become abstract, asymmetrical
sculptural forms in luxuriant curling shapes. The vessel walls seem to leap and burst with
energy. Are they leafy, growing plants? Cresting surf? Flames of fire? Jomon pottery is among
the most spectacular examples of art that was made during the Neolithic period.
(repeated I know)

Flower Form of pottery takes off, natural, much to Shinto Beliefs

(I think its for placing heated rocks for warmth)
Leads to the belief that hunter gathers may have not been always on the go, that there was
time in order to create art.
Unglazed.

Exception: Specialization is apparent but agriculture is not.

Modern replication of Jomon Pottery
Koruna Period

Mound Tomb of Emperor Nintoku

Mound Tomb of the Emperor Ninkotu

This huge tomb, located in the Osaka area near the city of Sakai, is the largest in Japan and
covers nearly 80 acres. According to legend, it was conceived and built by emperor Nintoku,
who reigned, according to the Nihon shoki from 313 to 399. This huge keyhole-shaped
tumulus with an overall length of 486 meters and an area of approx. 460,000 square meters is
alternately surrounded by three moats and two green belts. The mausoleum is one of the
world's three largest tombs along with the tomb of Shihuang-di, the first emperor of the Qin
Dynasty, China, and King Khufu's Great Pyramid in Gizeh, Egypt. A VRML of the burial
mound is at http://www.city.sakai.osaka.jp/kofun/3d/vrml_nin_e.html
Haniwa figures

Left:
Male Haniwa Figurine
Height: 75.0 cm Kofun Period (6th Century) Excavation site: Wakiya, Gunma Prefecture
Human-figured haniwa figurines have generally been found in tumuli postdating the mid-5th
Century. Earlier tumuli tend to have non-human haniwa forms, such as canopies, shields,
armor and houses. Many human-figured haniwa, including female shamans, dancers, people in
full dress, warriors, farmers, harpists, and hawking men, have been found in the Kanto district.
This male figure wears a sedge hat and a necklace and dresses his hair in the mizura style. He
wears a short sword, and carries a hoe on his right shoulder. Burial styles changed as stone
room tumuli became more common. Typically, several types of clay figurines would be
arranged in front of the stone room, almost as if they were attendents at the burial. Human-
figured haniwa are helpful in studying costumes and customs of the periods in which they
were made.

Kofun Period
Right:
Haniwa Figure of a Warrior
From the Gumma Prefecture, made from terracotta, currently held in the Aikawa
Archaeological Museum

Heian Period 794 – 1185

•Reduced contact with China

•Amitabha Hall, the central building of Byodoin Temple, (Phoenix Hall)

Phoenix Hall, Byodoin

The hall has phoenixes on its roof, symbols of the Empress. The upswept roof lines resemble
the wings of the phoenix. A reflecting pond is shaped like a Sanskrit 'A', a symbol of Amidha
Buddha. It is an earthly counterpart of the Western Paradise where Amidha Buddha watches
over newly arriving souls, reborn within lotus buds.
•
Horyuji Temple
 Horyuji Temple
Horyuji Temple, also known as Ikaruga Temple, was built by Shotoku Taishi and his aunt
Empress Suiko, in accordance with the last wishes of the preceding emperor, Shotoku Taishi's
father Emperor Yomei. The temple grounds are broadly divided into two compounds, the Sai-
in or western compound and the To-in or eastern compound. The Sai-in contains such
architectural treasures as the Kondo (Main Hall)--the world's oldest wooden structure--and the
Five Storied Pagoda. The To-in compound contains such structures as the graceful octagonal
hall known as the Yumedono, or Hall of Dreams, while between the two compounds stands the
Daihozoden (Treasure Hall), which houses a tremendous number of Buddhist statues,
paintings, and other articles. Horyuji is home to a total of 1,780 pieces of art or architecture
officially classified as "national treasures" or as "Important Cultural Assets." Much of
Horyuji's statuary, such as the main Shaka triad in the Kondo, the Kudara Kannon and
Yumechigae Kannon in the Daihozoden, and the Guze Kannon in the Yumedono, is done in the
"Asuka style," characterized by long, slender faces and an "archaic smile." In December 1993,
Horyuji became the first temple in Japan to be registered by UNESCO as a "World Cultural
Heritage."

Portrait of Shunjobo Chogen

From the Kamakura period, 1185-1333, in the Todaiji Temple, Nara
Tale of Genji

Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji is a fifty-four chapter epic novel written by Murasaki Shikubu (about 973-
1030). The story follows the life and loves of Prince Genji, the son of the emperor and his
favorite concubine, Kiritsubo. Although fictional, the Tale of Genji is taken to be an accurate
representation of aristocratic life in the middle of the Heian period (794-1195). The oldest
surviving Tale of Genji hand scrolls were painted in the late Heian period. Generations of
court appointed painters, mostly from the Tosa family, kept the tradition of Tale of Genji
painting alive. By the middle of the Edo period (1600-1868) when this work was completed,
most literate people knew the narrative well. Artists continued to produce Genji hand scrolls in
the colorful and highly decorative yamato-e style of the Heian-period originals. Art historians
often refer to Tale of Genji hand scrolls as "monoscenic narratives." A short section of text and
an illustration represents each chapter of the tale. The Tale of Genji is the most famous novel
written by a Japanese woman and also the first known Japanese novel was the Tale of Genji,
written in the 11th century by Lady Murasaki. It is story of romantic life at the Heian court, the
loves of Prince Genji, and the style of the paintings which illustrated it is called the "woman's
hand painting style." In calligraphy, the women's hand differed from the more Chinese style of
calligraphy by its emphasis on the use of few lines, a freer and simpler gesture without density
or clutter. In the painting we see very little detail given to faces or to the architecture of the
setting although the lack of detail does not make the scene abstract in any way. It is safer to
think of it as uncluttered and unpretentious and having a goal of communicating as much as
possible with as few lines as possible. Yet, having said this, it is also possible to look at the
Genji painting as being more "painted" than the pictures you see below, in the "men's style." I
am not referring to the use of color in the picture above but to the control of the lines which
suggest a very carefully composed composition as opposed to the sense of sweeping rhythm
we are likely to find in the Chinese style of calligraphy.

Frolicking Animals
 rolicking Animals
The men's style of painting from the same period is seen in this example from a set of scrolls
called Frolicking Animals. It is a satirical painting with no text to accompany it; it tells the
story through its pictures which are entirely of animals. In one scene we see a frog who
demonstrates his physical skill by tossing a rabbit to the ground, while in another we find a
frog pretending to be buddha and a monkey, dressed as a monk, praying to the frog. In terms
of the style we still have a tendency to keep strokes to the minimum. The section on top may
remind you of calligraphy even more than the one on the bottom, but both should remind you
of the bone style of painting. The sense of liveliness compressed into each stroke is roughly
equal to the irony which is presumably packed into the story, thought to be a satire on the life
of people in society. This tendency to disguise people as animals is a strategy we encounter
again during the Edo period when artists are searching for ways to circumvent restrictions on
their subject matter, trying to get around censorship.
 Landscape
Inscription by the artist et al. By Sesshu. 148.6x32.7. Muromachi Period, 15th century.
National Treasure of Japan.

Borobodur Temple, Java

Built 750 – 850
Largest Buddhist temple in the world

Between two volcanos, center of the world implied. Spiritual map to the path of
enlightenment.

Wikipedia:

Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java,

Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms,
and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.[1] A main dome is located at
the center of the top platform, and is surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside
perforated stupa.

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The
journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating
the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology,
namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu
(the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a
system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the
balustrades.

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of
Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam.[2] It was
rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, the British ruler of Java. Borobudur has since
been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken
between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the
monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[3] Borobudur is still used for
pilgrimage, where once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and
Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction
Rediscovered in 1814, resconstructed early 1800s, and by UNESCO in the 1960s
Angkor Thom, Cambodia
Palaces and temple
10th century – Khmer Dynasty

Face of the king is displayed everywhere.

Angkor Thom was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was
established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII. It covers an area of 9 km²,
within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by
Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the
Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the
north.
Bayon temple, Angkor Thom
WIKIPEDIA

Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre
of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as
the groom and the city as his bride. (Higham, 121)

Khmer capital on the site, however. Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was
centred slightly further northwest, and Angkor Thom overlapped parts of it. The most notable
earlier temples within the city are the former state temple of Baphuon, and Phimeanakas,
which was incorporated into the Royal Palace. The Khmers did not draw any clear
distinctions between Angkor Thom and Yashodharapura: even in the fourteenth century an
inscription used the earlier name. (Higham 138) The name of Angkor Thom — great city —
was in use from the 16th century.

The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which
was dedicated in 1295. Thereafter the existing structures continued to be modified from time
to time, but any new creations were in perishable materials and have not survived. In the
following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom in decline until it was
abandoned some time prior to 1609, when an early western visitor wrote of an uninhabited
city, "as fantastic as the Atlantis of Plato" which some thought to have been built by the
Roman emperor Trajan. (Higham 140)

Angkor Thom is in the Dom style. This manifests itself in the large scale of the construction,
in the widespread use of laterite, in the back-towers at each of the entrances to the south
cheack and in the naga-carrying giant monsters which accompany each of the towers.

Site:
The city lies on the right bank of the Siem Reap River, a tributary of Tonle Sap, about a
quarter of a mile from the river. The south gate of Angkor Thom is 7.2 km north of Siem
Reap, and 1.7 km north of the entrance to Angkor Wat. The walls, 8 m high and flanked by a
moat, are each 3 km long, enclosing an area of 9 km². The walls are of laterite buttressed by
earth, with a parapet on the top. There are gates at each of the cardinal points, from which
roads lead to the Bayon at the centre of the city. As the Bayon itself has no wall or moat of its
own, those of the city are interpreted by archaeologists as representing the mountains and
oceans surrounding the Bayon's Mount Meru. (Glaize 81). Another gate — the Victory Gate
— is 500 m north of the east gate; the Victory Way runs parallel to the east road to the Victory
Square and the Royal Palace north of the Bayon.

The faces on the 23 m towers at the city gates (which are later additions to the main structure)
take after those of the Bayon, and pose the same problems of interpretation. They may
represent the king himself, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, guardians of the empire's cardinal
points, or some combination of these. A causeway spans the moat in front of each tower: these
have a row of devas on the left and asuras on the right, each row holding a naga in the attitude
of a tug-of-war. This appears to be a reference to the myth, popular in Angkor, of the
Churning of the Sea of Milk. The temple-mountain of the Bayon, or perhaps the gate itself,
(Glaize 82) would then be the pivot around which the churning takes place. The nagas may
also represent the transition from the world of men to the world of the gods (the Bayon), or be
guardian figures. (Freeman and Jacques 76). The gateways themselves are 3.5 by 7 m, and
would originally have been closed with wooden doors. (Glaize 82) The south gate is now by
far the most often visited, as it is the main entrance to the city for tourists.

At each corner of the city is a Prasat Chrung — corner shrine — built of sandstone and
dedicated to Avalokiteshvara. These are cruciform with a central tower, and orientated
towards the east.

Within the city was a system of canals, through which water flowed from the northeast to the
southwest. The bulk of the land enclosed by the walls would have been occupied by the
secular buildings of the city, of which nothing remains. This area is now covered by forest.
Took several centuries to complete. Many temples. Often used as a movie set.
Tomb Raider – used as a set.
The Struggle for Angkor

Describe the symbolism of harmony at Angkor.

Many large monuments were built according to astronomical features. How do allusions
to the heavens reinforce the power of the state and the king?

What are the arguments for against the conservation or reconstruction of ancient sites.

Given all the needs for food, health and education in the developing world, can we
justify the work of the World Monuments Fund?

Good Resource
http://www.threeland.com/cambodia-travel/Angkor-Wat-Thom.htm