Asian Art Exam 1

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Flashcards on Asian Art Exam 1, created by Gabby Probert on 21/02/2019.
Gabby Probert
Flashcards by Gabby Probert, updated more than 1 year ago
Gabby Probert
Created by Gabby Probert about 5 years ago
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STAMP SEAL AND IMPRESSION WITH A "UNICORN" AND A RITUAL OFFERING STAND. ca. 2600-1900 BCE. Burned steatite. -Symbols still undeciphered, but we can tell they go from right to left. -Stamps have hole on back so they may have been worn as a necklace. -Beats may be a unicorn or a bull. -Stamps used to seal document or goods.
TORSO OF A "PRIEST-KING". ca. 2600-1900 BCE. White, low-fired steatite. -Torso of either a priest, high official, clean leader, or admired ancestor. -Formal, dignified, solemn, schematic hair, stylized, symbolic. -Would have been painted, adorned with gold jewelry, and had shells for eyes.
FIGURINE OF MOTHER GODDESS. ca. 2600-1900 BCE. Terra cotta. -Votive offering, to be dedicated to Mother Goddess. -Wears fan-shaped headdress, heavy necklace, and heavy belt. Would have had braided hair attached. -Crudely made. -Female attributes refer to fertility. -Devotees would take these figurines to an altar or temple to ask for the Mother Goddess's blessing/help.
FIGURINE OF DANCING GIRL. ca. 2500 BCE. Bronze. -Shares features with "Priest-King" and "Torso". -Not for religious purposes. -Indian style seen in bracelets. -Asymmetrical hair. -Nude. -Breasts, hips, and jewelry emphasized.
COLUMN ERECTED BY ASHOKA. 264 BCE. Polished buff sandstone. -Ashoka adopted Buddha's law as the law of his land. He visited all 32 sites. Said to have constructed 84,000 sites dedicated to Buddha. -Atop of these columns were capitals of carved animals. -Monolithic. -Most columns have Ashoka's edict carved into them. -Associated with religious site. -Symbolic presence of Ashoka throughout his kingdom.
LION CAPITAL FROM AN ASHOKA COLUMN. ca. 250 BCS. Sandstone. -Best preserved capital. -Lotus bell base. -A large wheel would have sat on the lions' heads. -The lotus represents purity of body, speech, and mind in Buddhism. -Wheel symbolizes Buddha's law from his first sermon. -Lions represent Buddha and royalty. Buddha's voice is compared to that of a lion's roar. -Lions were highly stylized.
STUPA 1 (GREAT STUPA). Sanchi, Madhya, Pradesh, India. Original stupa ca. 250 BCE and renovated ca. 50-25 BCE. -Curving form represents Earth. -Place for pilgrimage. Devotees came to visit Buddha's remains inside stupa. -Legend says there are 94,000 stupas holding Buddha's ashes and relics. -First stupas were very simple and over time they became more elaborate. -Meditation appropriate stories carved along the stupa. -Original Great Stupa built by Ashoka in 250 BCE.
GREAT DEPARTURE OF THE BUDDHA. ca. 50-25 BCE. East gateway. -Tells the story of Siddhartha leaving his luxurious palace life to begin his 6 year journey of meditation. -Reads left to right. -The horse and footprints represent Buddha moving through the scene. -The footprints indicate when Buddha got far enough away from the palace that he got off his horse and continued on foot. -Continuous narrative.
MONKEY JATAKA. Stupa 1 (Great Stupa). Sanchi. ca. 10-30 CE. -Upper part of the south pillar at the west gate. -Tells story of monkey king sacrificing himself to save all the other monkeys. -Typically in stories of past Buddha, he is sacrificing himself in some way to benefit others. -Very stylized. Organized.
BRACKET OF A WOMAN AND A MANGO TREE. ca. 50-25 BCE. East gateway, Stupa 1. -The woman is a yakshi, which is a nature spirit. -Direct descendant of the Mother Goddess. -Fan headdress, banded belt, heavy jewelry, emphasized feminine body. -Decorative. -Is there to provide protection for the stupa and the visitors.
CHAURI BEARER. 3rd century BCE. Maurya period. Polished sandstone. -Yakshi. -Holds a ceremony whistle representing that she is an attendant. -Heavy jewelry. Refined belt. -Very sophisticated.
SEATED BUDDHA WITH TWO ATTENDANTS. Kushan period. 82 CE. Red sandstone. Mathura. -All sculptures made in Mathura were made of red sandstone. -Sitting in a lotus position. -Wears a ceremonial robe over one shoulder. -Third eye (urna). -Missing his hair and bump. -One of the first sculptures of Buddha. -Early Buddha sculptures had his eyes wide open. -Many of Buddha's characteristics from the writings.
STANDING FIGURE OF BUDDHA. 2nd-3rd century CE. Schist. Takht-i-Bahni Monastery. -Different material and much more realistic than the sculptures from Mathura. -Slightly damaged. -Discovered at a stupa shrine. -The cloth is much more realistic. -Stands in contrapposto.
BUDDHIST TRIAD. Kushan period. ca. 182 CE. Grey schist. Gandhara. -Has a date inscribed on it. -Two bodhisattva sit with Buddha. -Realistic clothing and draping. -Avalokitashbara sits to Buddha's left. Most common bodhisattva. Has small sitting Buddha on head. -The bodhisattvas wear jewelry and fancy clothes, Buddha wears much simpler clothes and no jewelry. -Mediterranean influence in faces. -Eyes half-closed.
BODHISATTVA MAITREYA. Kushan period. 3rd century CE. Schist. Gandhara. -Wears heavy jewelry and turban. -Has third eye and mustache. -Future Buddha. Waits in heaven for his final birth after the current era Buddha.
STANDING BUDDHA (NOW DESTROYED). 5th century CE. Bamiyan. -A passage once circled his head for devotees to circumambulate. -Body's form was cut from sandstone. Ropes were then attached and covered with mud plaster to create the drapery. -Once was painted and had a mask covering face. -Destroyed by Taliban in during the war in 2001. -Xuanzang, a monk from the Tang Dynasty in China, traveled here to find original Buddhist texts. He is a real figure who appears in the novel "Journey to the West". -During the 7th century CE, it was reported there were 10 monasteries and over 10,000 monks here.
JINA. 2nd-3rd century CE. Sandstone. Mathura. -The workshops in Mathura created sculptures for more than just Buddhists, this sculpture is Jain. -Sitting in lotus position with soles facing upward. -Naked, eyes wide open, halo, long ears, curly hair. -Has srivasta (endless knot) on chest. -Most Jinas are naked, some wear a loin cloth. They do not have third eyes.
SHIVA RELIEF. ca. 535-550 CE. South wall of the Great Cave, Elephanta, Maharashtra. -Most important sculpture on entire island of Elephanta. -Shows Shiva's different aspects on separate heads. Creation, protection, destruction. -Head on right side is Uma, part woman. Earrings, full lips. Creation. -Head on left is angry, has mustache, holding a cobra. Destruction. -Central head is serene and represents protection. -All three heads are decorated with jewelry.
LINGA WITH FACE OF SHIVA (EKAMUKHALINGA). Gupta period, first half of the 5th century. Sandstone. -While many linga are plain, some show Shiva beginning to manifest. -Lingas are found in the inner sanctums of Hindu temples.
KRISHNA KILLING THE HORSE DEMON KESHI. Gupta period. 5th century CE. Terra cotta. -This was once attached to some kind of furniture. -Continuous narrative. The horse is shown dead at the bottom. -Vishnu is in his Krishna form.
DANCING GANESH. 10th century CE. Mottled red sandstone. -Human son of Parvati. Shiva cut his head off before realizing who he was and replaced it with an elephant head. -Helps overcome obstacles. -Vehicle is a rat.
EXTERIOR OF CAVE 6. Udayagiri. Inscription dated 406 CE. -These reliefs represent the advancement of Hindu iconography during this period. -The recession of the gods and goddesses depicted lead the viewer through prayer, starting with Ganesh.
VISHNU RECLINING ON THE SERPENT ANANTA. ca. 530. Sandstone. Back wall, Deogarh temple. -His consort is holding his leg. -Below him are the coils of Ananta. -Ananta has many heads and his name means endless, eternal, etc. -Brahman sits on a lotus at the top and he has four heads. -This tells the story of the creation of the universe. -
DURGA TEMPLE. Late 7th-early 8th century CE. Originally dedicated to Surya. -Raised on a platform of multiple moldings. -
RELIEF ETIHER SHOWING THE DESCENT OF THE GANGES OR ARJUNA'S PENANCE. Early-to-mid 7th century CE. -Made up of two giant boulders. -Largest human figure is Shiva. He is presenting something. -Below Shiva is a dome temple with Vishnu inside. -Big snakes are referring to water. -Seems to purposely have two different interpretations. -Stories are not laid out in successive order.
STANDING BUDDHA. Gupta period, ca. 319-500 CE. Mottled red sandstone. Mathura. -Elaborate halo carvings. -Smooth pleats in robe. -Matured style. -Body is full and fleshy. -Downward gaze.
BUDDHA. Gupta period, first half of the 5th century CE. Sandstone. Sarnath. -Shares characteristics with Mathuran sculpture like the body shape, tightly curled hair, and wide stance. -Different because there are no folds in robe, the gray sandstone instead of red sandstone, and robe ends with protruding hem. -Sarnath only produced Buddhist sculptures.
SHIVA AS THE LORD OF DANCE (NATARAJA). Chola period. ca. 11th century CE. Copper alloy. -Flaming wheel is boundary of world. -Flowing hair suggests movement. -Lost wax method. -Used during parades. -Shiva holds the fire of the cycle of rebirth, a drum, and gestures to have no fear.
RUSTAM KILLS THE WHITE DIV. ca. 1425-1450. Folio from the "Jainesque" Shahnama. -Recounts tales about legendary kings from Iran. -Div means demon. -Although of a Persian poem, we see Indian influence in the red background, the eye projecting from the far side of the face, and the depiction of women. -Rustam appears more like a Hindu ascetic than how he was usually depicted in Persian art.
Farrukh Husain. IBRAHIM 'ADIL SHAH II HAWKING. ca. 1590. Opaque watercolor. -Shows Ibrahim 'Adil Shah II, a sultan, out hawking and riding a horse. -He was also a poet, artist, and musician. -He is shown as virile and powerful. Identified by his round face, hooked nose, and receding chin. -Pink robe helps him stand out from dark background. -Lush landscape is poetic and dreamy. -Horse and robe are stylized. -The image of a king participating in some sort of hunt on horseback is a common trope (device) used for royal portraits.
TAJ MAHAL. 1631-1643. Agra. -An ivory white tomb made for Shah Jahan's beloved wife. -Best example of Mughal architecture. -Flanked by guest house and mosque. -Surrounded by towers and a long pool stretches out before it. -Commemorative tomb. -Highly detailed in style of Iran & Central Asia. White marble and red sandstone. -Reflects the palace they lived in.
ALAM SHAH CLOSING THE DAM AT SHISHAN PASS. From the Dastan-I Amir Hamza (Hamza-Nama). Mughal school of Akbar, 1562-1577. Color and gold on muslim. India. -Blend of Persian and Indian style. The juxtaposition of shapes and colors are from Persian paintings. -The more important the figure is, the bigger the figure is, making some figures look distorted compared to others and the landscape. -Shows collaboration between Indian and Persian artists within the workshops established by Akbar. -Represents the new aesthetic of this era of combining Indian and Persian styles.
WINE CUP OF SHAH JAHAN. Mughal dynasty. 1657. White nephrite jade. Northern India. -Mughal's love jade. It is a rare hardstone found only in Central Asia and Western China until the 8th century. -Jade represents how the people felt, that the specialness was inside and you had to go find out, it won't be obvious. It is reserved. -The gourd shape refers to wine cups from China. Inside has ribbed design. The base is a lotus flower. -The end is a realistic ram's head that comes from European art.
Bichitr. JAHANGIR PREFERRING A SUFI SHAYKH TO KINDS. Mughal dynasty, ca. 1615-1618. Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. -Bichitr = Indian artist. -Jahangir sits in the middle. -The decorative borders and use of depth and space show the evolution from the previous illuminated manuscripts. -We see European influences such as the angels, the halo, and the hourglass. -Displays the portraiture unique to the Mughal workshops. -Jahangir's birth was predicted by a sufi (the same sufi who stands before him) and he was named after said sufi, but he later gave himself the name Jahangir. -The second man in line is a sultan from the Ottoman empire. His robe and turban show he is a foreigner. His hands are placed together in respect. Third figure is King James. He is facing forward instead of facing Jahangir like the other figures, giving the the viewer an uneasy feeling. The fourth figure is the artist himself and is holding a picture. His dress tells us that he is a Hindu in service at the Mughal court, which shows that people of different religions worked under the Islamic court.
THE NGOC LU DRUM, Dong Son culture. 600 BCE-200 CE. Bronze. Tanh Hoa, northern Vietnam. -The drum head shows people plowing with oxen, weapons, instruments, boats, festivals, and houses. Bares a star in the center, which was typical of these drums. -The inner most band shows some sort of ceremony. Warriors with feather headbands march in counter clockwise direction behind a solitary vehicle carrying a single person, who must be of high status. We also see two men sitting in a saddle-like house and a bird perching on the house. Four figures also appear to be beating drums. -The middle band shows deer and large birds. -The outer most band shows bird flying. -The drum was possibly for ceremonial use. -The drum was cast in one piece through the lost wax method.
GREAT STUPA AT BOROBUDUR (site), 8th-9th century. Magelang (city), Java (island), Indonesia (country). -Largest, most impressive Buddhist monument in the world. Referred to as a sacred mountain and temple mountain. -Top resembles a mandala. The top is covered with 36 open-work stupas. -The crowning stupa of the monument is the tallest point. -Completely covered in Buddhist scenes. -Small buddhas all sit in their own little temples. -The corridors are open to the sky. -The realm of existence raises with each level of the temple.
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