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ARTSANDHUMANITIES ARTOFASIA ABEGINNER'SGUIDE

TOASIANARTANDCULTURE BUDDHISTARTANDCULTURE,AN
INTRODUCTION

Developmentofthe
Buddhaimage
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10/30/2017 DevelopmentoftheBuddhaimage(article)|KhanAcademy

ArchitecturalelementshowingtheBuddha'sfirstsermon,approx.200
400.Pakistan,formerkingdomofGandhara.Phyllite.Courtesyofthe
AsianArtMuseum,TheAveryBrundageCollection,B60S138+.

Thereissignificantdebateconcerningthe
developmentoftheBuddhaimagewhereitfirst
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occurred,why,andwhen.Broadlyspeaking,the
Yes

imageoftheBuddhaemergedduringthefirstfew
No
centuriesC.E.intwomajorcentersofIndianart

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10/30/2017 DevelopmentoftheBuddhaimage(article)|KhanAcademy

duringtheKushanaperiod.Onecenterofartistic
productionwastheancientregionofGandhara,an
areathatincludesnorthwesternIndiaaswellas
partsofpresentdayPakistanandAfghanistan.
Gandharanimageshaveastylethatisreminiscent
ofHellenisticsculpture,andartistsintheregion
werecertainlyinfluencedbythepresenceof
Hellenisticcolonies,andthelargescaletradeand
exchangethatoccurredinthisculturalcrossroads.

Asecondareaofartisticproductionisassociated
withMathura,acitythatstillstandstothesouthof
Delhi.Here,artistsdevelopedastylethatcanbe
characterizedasmoreindigenous,lessconcerned
withnaturalisticrealisminthehumanform,and
morewiththesymbolicqualitiesofthespiritual
figure.Mathuraartistscreatedotherkindsof
religiousimageryaswell.Itisprobablethat
Buddhistimagerywasinfluencedbythe
developmentofHinduandJainfigures,andthat
variouscommunitiesweredevelopingimagesof
devotionalfiguressimultaneously.

Averysignificantgapofseveralcenturiesexists
betweenthelifetimeofthehistoricalBuddha,and
thecreationofthefirstsurvivingimagesofthe
Buddhainstoneoranyothermedium.Thefirst
survivingBuddhistartinstonewasactually
createdpriortoimagesoftheBuddhahimself.
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DuringtheMauryaperiod,inthereignofemperor
Yes

Ashoka(272231B.C.E.),significantmonuments
No

andotherartworksinstonewerecommissioned,
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10/30/2017 DevelopmentoftheBuddhaimage(article)|KhanAcademy

apparentlyforthefirsttime.Althoughstone
sculpture,suchaslargecolumnssurmountedby
imagesoflionsandwheels,expressedBuddhist
symbolismandmotifs,therearenoBuddha
imagesfromthisperiod.Manyscholarshave
speculatedthatananiconic(withoutidols)period
existedinBuddhistart,wheretherewasa
prohibitionagainstdepictingtheactualBuddha,
andvarioussymbolssubstitutedforanexplicit
anthropomorphicrepresentation.Somescholars
haveinterpretednarrativereliefsatearlyBuddhist
monumentstoillustrateearlyBuddhist
processionsorfestivals,whereaniconicsymbols,
ratherthananthropomorphicsymbols,represented
theBuddha.

Notallscholarsacceptthesetheories,however.It
seemslikelythatvariouskindsofreligious
imagery,intheBuddhist,Hindu,andother
contexts,werecreatedinephemeralmaterials
beforebeingcreatedinstone.Indeedthegreat
sophisticationandhighlevelofsculpturalexpertise
expressedinMauryastonesculptureimpliesthat
thesculpturaltraditionwasalreadyhighly
developedbythistime.Theimperialmightand
BuddhistinclinationsoftheemperorAshokamay
havebeenthefirstgreatinstigatorsofatransition
tolargescalestonesculptureinIndia.Morethan
threehundredyearslater,intheKushanaera,a
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strongimperialrulerbringingvariousoutside
Yes

artisticandstylisticinfluencestotherealm,seems
No
tohavecontributedtofurtherartisticdevelopments
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10/30/2017 DevelopmentoftheBuddhaimage(article)|KhanAcademy

andahithertounseenprofusionofsculpture
createdinstone.

WearenotentirelysurehowallBuddhistfigures
wereusedinritualandworship.Buddhistimages
andsculpturesoriginallyadornedthecomplexesof
stupas(sacredmoundscontainingrelics)aswell
asmonasticstructures.EarlyBuddhistsitesalso
incorporatedindigenousimagerysuchasloving
couplesandfertilityfigures.Caveswerehewn
fromrockinpartsofIndia,creatingspacesfor
worshipritualsandcommunitymeetings,aswell
asmonasticdwellingquarters.Theserockcut
cavecomplexesbecameincreasinglyelaboratein
termsofimageryandiconography,whichwas
createdinpaintingaswellascarvedfromstonein
situ.Laypersonscontributedtosmallandlarge
scaleconstructionsasameansofacquiringmerit.
Votiveimagesalsodevelopedforprivateuse,and
assouvenirsforpilgrimstosacredsites.
ARTOFASIA ABEGINNER'S
GUIDETOASIANARTAND
CULTURE ThefigureoftheBuddhaandattendant
Buddhistartandculture, bodhisattvas,andotherdivineandsemidivine
anintroduction beings,becametheobjectsofdevotion
themselves.Asthesedivinepersonages
Howtoidentifya expandedinnumberandcomplexity,theyrequired
Buddha
largerstupaandtemplestructurestohousethem.
Developmentofthe Overtime,theproliferationofgreatnumbersof
Buddhaimage
Buddhistimages,insomecasesexplicitlycreated
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throughmassproductiontechniques,reflected
Yes
FourBuddhasatthe
AmericanMuseumof beliefsinthemeritoriousrepetitionofvarious
No
NaturalHistory
namesandphrases.
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10/30/2017 DevelopmentoftheBuddhaimage(article)|KhanAcademy

TheBuddhatriumphing InBuddhistart,theimageofthehistoricalBuddha
overMara
isoftenlabeledShakyamuni(sageoftheShakya
TheBuddhatriumphing clan).Thisdistinguishestheimageofthehistorical
overMara
Buddha,theBuddhawholivedonearthduringthis
presentperiod,frompast,future,orcosmic
Bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara buddhas,bodhisattvas,orotherdivinebeings.

BodhisattvaMaitreya

Askaquestion...

Questions Top Recent

Tips&Thanks

I'mansweringmyownquestionhereincaseothersaren't
familiarwiththeterms"aniconic"and"anthropomorphic"
fromthethirdparagraph.

Aniconismisthepracticeoforbeliefintheavoidingor
shunningofimagesofdivinebeings,prophetsorother
respectedreligiousfigures,orindifferentmanifestations,
anyhumanbeingsorlivingcreatures.

Anthropomorphism,orpersonification,isattributionof
humanformorothercharacteristicstoanythingotherthana
humanbeing.
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9votes Comment Flag 3yearsagoby kaw111763
Yes

No
Pleaseputthisontipsandthanks

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0votes Comment Flag

2yearsagoby DawnellWiebe

WhatisthedifferencebetweenIconoclasmandAniconism?
1vote Comment Flag 6monthsagoby AndyBurt

thefirstonebreakstheexistingicons.Thesecondhas
noiconstobeginwith.
2votes 1comment Flag
6monthsagoby DavidAlexander

Attheendofthethirdparagraphitreads:"...ratherthan
anthropomorphicsymbols,representedtheBuddha."I
don'tbelievethereissupposedtobeaspaceinthemiddle
ofrepresented,soIjustthoughtIwouldpointoutthetypo:)
1vote Comment Flag aboutayearagoby Bray

Thankyou!Wewillfixthis.
1vote Comment Flag
aboutayearagoby drszucker

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TheJewishpeoplesitshivaforthedead....Isitthesamein
Buddhist....Ifsowhichcamefirst?I,vemissspelled"shiva?
Yes

1vote Comment Flag 2yearsagoby 1591nyc

No

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HowtoidentifyaBuddha
FourBuddhasattheAmericanMuseumofNatural
History

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