l fi 39

THE EVOLUTION OF

THE BUDDHA IMAGE BENJAMTN ROWLAND JR

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THE ASIA SOCIETY. INC. DISTRIBUTED BY HARRY N. ABRAMS. INC.

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TilE l VOI U 110'-J Or II·IE BL.. DD IIA I1\I1\Gl "u cautlvguc of an exhibition ,elected b) l'rore.sor !lenjamin Ro" land. Jr and ' hown in the O.tllcries of Asia Hou>c '" nn acttvtt) of the A<iil Socict~. to further grc;uer umlen.tnnding and mutu<tl apprecinuon bet\\ccn the Lnitcll SUite' und the people, <>f A<iu.

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PREFACE

If 'r llrt (ortu11ott m ho••i11g ohlllmtd tilt ltamrd serriru of Pro(tssor 8rnjamil1 Ro11/and attht Wil/iam Hayu Fogg An \lustum ofllanard Lni•trsity i11 asstmbling tlu.r <'X­hibitioll N01 Olll) has Professor Ro .. Jand hrillen tht c·omplttt t<'W of this catnlollut. 11'/iir/1 ujfers liS o wliq11t ami ~xpert surrey cl) the theme, hut he has <1/so seluw/til~ illustrations to his tt.w a'i w~/1 a_s the u·ork.f of art that pcrmu us to trm·e th~ t~·olmiou of the Buddha 111111~,. through n serirs of ori~iftal da<·umtiiiS. Tlte catalogue. as a hook. and tM ,.,,hibition Itself hart bu11 designtd h) Richard Cle•·efand of tilt' Asia lloi.S<' Gttlfery. .

IVt ll'ish to express our 11'/trllltst.grar/tm/e tu all of the lt11ders. hoth .fmtric'a/1 ami for~ign, "ho hal·~ ptrmltied i1.1to borroh· Jhtlr trt'asur~s 011 this OC't'OSion Somt fl{ thts~ lenders hart o/ttll lte/ptJ/. .u/(1 Hotut in tills f{rnerous forltion and others 11011 rt'spo11d w our first requests for loans. Among tM /mter ""particularly • ·ish to than~ tltr Or/en· ral \fuuw11 111 Rome, i7ii 'baitokuji a~ti!'Horyuji 11useums.

Withom tltt kmd {Wtmissioll o{tht Japanese CommLuio11 for tltt Protution o{ Cu/-11/ra/ Proptrties amltlrl> e•·u rt-ody assisto11rt of.\lr. ltro E11Ja}i. \ftlllogmg Director oj tlrt Nfltoll Kei:m Sltimb1111 ( Jopo11 Eco11omi<· Jotu11ol) . tire spec ill/ /QliiiS from Jopa11 •multl110t hm·e ht>e11 ftussib/e. /11 tlrls COIIIIertloll ,..,. deep(•• CtJJprecilllt' the ltelp gi''''" 11s in Japo11 b)' \fr. Jolm Rosell}itld, Rock~ftller Research Ft-IIOh of llofl'nrd ('llhwslt)'OIIti Pro(nsor Ro11/and's assoda1~ m Tokyo,

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As a cull image and an anistic ideal the Bud­dha image is for the entire Eastern world the equivalent of the rcrresen tation of Christ, first invented in early Christian times and brought to perfection b) the great master;, of the medie,al period and the Renaissance. This single iconic fo• m. which may be understood to include por­trayals of the mortal Buddha. Sakyamuni or Gautama. as well as the di,·ine Buddhas of the Mahayana pantheon, presents o concentrated focal point for the ;tudy of the development of a single ae;,thetic ideal in rehgious an. The changes that the type underwent O\Cr a penod of many centuries illustrate throughou t this long history the de,elopment of religious and nation­al ideals in all the realms of the Orient. In this one invention of religious anists we can see un­fold the whole history of Eastern an.

According to a legend reported in many different sources. the very lim image of Buddha was a sandalwood statue carved in the Master's lifetime for King Udayana of Kau.sambi. The story relates that .. When Tathagata lirst arrived at complete Enlightenment. he ascended into Heaven to preach the Law for the benefit of his mother. and for three months remained absent. King Udaynna. thinling of him \\ith affection. desired to have an image of hi s person: there­fore, he asked Mudgal)'ayanaputra by a spiri-

INTRODUCTION

tual po\\er to transpon an artist to the heavenly mansion> to obsel'\e the e\ccllem marks of the Buddha's body and cnrve a sandalwood >tatue. When Tnthagata returned from the heavenly palace. the cal'\ed figure of .andah' ood arose and sa luted the Lord of the World. The Lord then graciously addressed it and said. 'The work expected from you is to toil in the con,er;.ion of unbelie,ers and 10 lead in the wa} of religion future age.:·• One cou ld hnvc no more eloquent statement of the missionary function that was to be performed by the tronslntion of the Buddha image to the entire Asian \\Orld. HsUnn-tsang, the famous Chinese pilgrim of the seventh century. referring 10 the Udnyana Buddha. re­lates that peoples of m3lly regions ··\\orshipped copies of it and they pretend that the likeness is a true original one and this is the original of all such figures." We shall encounter reflections of this famous sandal\' ood statue in many exam­ples of Chinese and Japanese art. Probably the Udayana legend is a pious fabrication which at some ume before Hsiinn-tsang's 'i;,it was nnached to the firM images of Buddha carved in Gandhara as early as the first century A.D. The legend of the Uda)ana statue b embroidered in certain Tibetan te\t;, b) the additional informa­tion that the Buddha. in order to facilita te 1he task of the artist who wa> blinded by the

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Tathng:un's effulgent brilliance. obligingly ca,t hi' rctlection upon the surface of a pool. The fact that the likeness was taken from a reflection on \\3ter. these accounts .:I). e\plains the "riprling" drapery in >tntue> of the so-<:alled Uda)ana t} pe. lt is perhaps not too much to ;uppo>c that this pan of the story was in,ented con.iderably later to explain the ripples of the clnssicul garments of thc>e fir>t icons of Snkyamuni.

lt is plain that, the beautiful Udnyana myth notwith>tnnding. the fir>t representations of Sakyamuni in human form \\Cre only crented cent uric> after his death" hen a special need was felt for ;.uch anthropomorphic reproentations of the Teacher. In early Buddhism. "hich \\35 a wa> of life or a philosophical system based on the doctrine of the founder. there was no need for representations of the Ma>ter. lt was be­lieved that the Buddha "who h:ts gone beyond the fetters of th<! body cannot be endowed by art "ith the likeness of a body" or. as "e may read in the Digha-nikaya. "On the dissolution of the body bc)ond the end of his life neither gods nor men shall knO\\ him ... The monal Teacher had pa;.scd with his irvana mto a realm of m'isibilit). and in early Buddhi>t art his pres­ence m narratives of his earthly career was sym­bolit.ed by such emblems ns the empty throne for the Enlightenment. the wheel for the First Preaching. and the stupn or relic mound for his

'irvana (Figure /). In the Kalingahodhi Jaraka the Buddha states that he c:1n be properly shown a~ a bodhi tree.

With the passing of the centurie5 Buddhism wa; tmn;formed from a r:uher hmited and selfish religious system. in \\hich the way to salvation was open only to those who could renounce the world for n monastic existence. to

n religiou alTering the promise of salvation to all men who foUowed the eight-fold path. Gradu­ally the demand arose for the reassurances and comfort of devotion to the per>On and founder him>elf rather than his doctrine. The cult of relics fo>tered by the Emperor Asoka in the third century B. C. is an early andic:~tion of this gro" 1ng "orship of the Buddha himself. Puja or prayer to Sakyamuni himself replaces yajna or the contemplation and practice of his message. This process of change was abetted by the gro\\ th of the blwkri cult, which means essen­tiall) the passionate love of the devotee (bhakra) for a particulnr di,·inity. This was a de,elop­ment from a S)Stem of thought to a popular religion. Sahation became possible through the devotion of the worshipper to his god as a reac­tion against the tedious intellectualism of the Upunislwds or the hard road to salvation offered by the early Buddhist creed. The development was affected. too, by the cult of the Hindu god Kri>hna who said. "None who is devoted to me is lo>t." Blwk1i. "the less troublesome way,'' add~scs itself to the manifestation of the deity that 1s most accessible and most at hand. Blwlw 1mplies the deific:~tion of the Buddha, ju>t n; this auachment to a personal god implies the deification of the Buddha, and idolatry. 1t is also probable that the steps leading to the first Buddha image included the influence of the anthropomorphic tradition of the Hellenic world "hich since the conque>t of Alexander had been in close contact with India.

The worship of divinities in anthropomorphic form had existed in the cult or nature spirits as early a> the Indus Valley period. Such divinities as .l'llkshis and a proto-Siva nrc commonly found on the Indus Valley seals. In the Maurya period the )'llk.1his arc portrayed ns superhuman titans,

FIG. 2. COIN Of KANISHKA.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

FIG. 1. REliC MOUND SYMBOLIZING THE NIRVANA

FREER GALlERY OF ART.

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and the rcprnenl(!lion of these and other old Ora' 1dian >Pirit> .uch as the naga•;, common in ;ome of the great monuments of the early Cla>>ic period. in which the Buddha is portrayed on l) in aniconie form.

In the beginning. at least. the rel igiou~ image in India was only ;I ;ubstitute for the prototype. lh function may be explained by the 1\0rd> of the Hermeneia of Athos regarding Christian ICOn<: .. All honor that 1\C pay the image 1\C refer to the archet~ pe: namely him who$e image it b. Ami iu no wise honor we the col or or th: nrt. but the archetype in Christ who i; in Heaven." A> in the history of all rehgJOns it wa> only later that a fetishi>tic 1\0r>hip came to be pa1d to the icon;; rather than their pro tot} pc>.

The amhropomorph1c representation of the Buddha almost certnmly went hand 1n hand "1th n change in the religion frnmthe ll inn).ln:l to the Mahayana doctrine. In .uch sutra> as the Mahtll'fiS/11 and the Saddltarma Pwularika. 1\hlch must date from the Kushan period of the firM and SCC011J centorics A.D .. the Buddh:t is nhetd) described a> a superhuman per.onage. no longer a mortal teacher. but a god um~le." and eternal as Orohmn himself. ' In Hinayan:1 Buddhism. salvation was po>·

''ble through the ex unction ofauachm.:nttl.l the ,~Jf b) p1acticmg the di~c1ptinc and meditation prncribed b) Sakyamuni. The repre>entallons of Sa~yamuni in Hinayana Buddhi>m 1\Cre not neccs;;.u ily portro)nh of Gautama "'a dh mit) but reminders of the Mus1er"s earthly tcuching exemplified in his image. At the same time. they offered the po~,ibilit> of devotion to his person. Cenamly it "a;, hoped that . .omcho"· from be)ond the gate;, of 1nana. the departed tcncheJ might anwer pr-.1yers and be\10" boons a> LorJ Krishna re\\arded hi~ devotee>. Such na

atlltudc of de,otion to Sakyamum inevitably led to hb .:onception as a god. stemming as it d1d from the ancient Indian nttac.hment to personal divin111e;,.

In Muhnyana Buddhi~m. Sakyamum the mortu l teacher is regarded ns the earthly ex· pr.:s;ion or appearance of a might) spiritua l bcmg. One of the fundamental tenet> of the Great Vehicle is the concept of the Three Bod1~ or Tril.mu: the Dlwmwkm·11 i~ the Buddhist logo.,. an in>isible force permeating the uni,er>e as the spiritual essence of' the ultimate and abso­lute Buddha: the Sambltogak(t)'ll or Body of Bhss 1s that tran;,figured Body of Sl>lendor which the eterual Buddha reveals only to the Bodhi>au,a;,: and the .Virmanakaya is the noumenal earthly >hapc in which the co!>mic Buddha re,ealed himself a~ an illusion for the benefit of mortals. lt is obvtously impossible to distlngui~h H.inayana from Mahayana images except by context or special :ntributes. We must remember. too. that, in the iconography of the Grcnt Vehicle. the cosm1c Buddha Va1rocana and h1~ regents. the Dh)am Buddhas, governing the four poin~ of the compa~s. assume the auitudcs und muclms of particular actions in th~ life of the mortal Budd ha symbolized by these same poses and gestures.

The I) pical Buddha image. beginning with the >ery cnrlie;,t representation> 111 Gandhara and ~lathum. shows the master "caring the mona~­tic garment or stmg/wti, sometimes co,cring both shoulder> or with the right shoulder burc. As will be seen in specific examples later. the head and body and limb' are characteli?.ed by variou~ laJ. \ltonar or magic mar~;, that distin· gu~>hed the anatom) of a Buddha from that or ordinary monals. In both Mandmg and seated image' the position of the hands or mudra ind1-

cates a certain power or function of the Budd ha or the gesture rnay bo associated "ith a pa rti­cular event in his life. The most common of these gestures is the ablwy11 mutlra. a gesture of reassurance or blessing, not connected with any specific event in the Buddha's life, in which the roght hand is raised. palm outward. Other fami­liar mwlras are the Dhpmlmudm or gesture of meditation with the bands folded in the lap and the hlmmispar.m mudra with the right hand of the seated Buddha reachi ng down to touch the earth. Both of these arc associated with the Grea t Enlightenment and later arc adopted for images of the Dhyani Budd has Amitabha and Akshobhya. TI1ere are essentially on ly two types of Buddha image: the standing figure or the seated Budd ha. In the lancr the legs arc folded as an invariable convention in the yoga posture. even though the position of the hands may not have anything to do with the act of meditat ion.

T he representation of certain individual /okshanos is extremely interesting for the changes in form and iconography in diiT~rcnt chapters in the evolution of the Buddha image. One of t h~ more distinctive of these marks is the uslmisha. the lump at the summit of the Bud­dha's head which. as a kind of auxilinry brain ac.:ording to the te.~ts. accommodated tha t cos­mic consciousness or supreme wisdom which Sakyamuni auai ned at his Enligh tenment. In Gandhara sculpture this feat ure. perhaps be­cause is was incomprehensible or distasteful to artist> trained in the Graeco-Roman trad ition. was disguised by wavy locks or by a topknot like that worn by Apollo in Hellen ic sculpture. In the purely l ndinn schools, the uslmisha is frankly portrayed us a cranial protuberance usually witb snail-shell curls. A11 ultimate devel­opment in late Thai sculpture places a flame-

shaped fi nial at the top of the Budd ha"s head, perhaps as a symbol of the divine rad iance emanating from this magic center.

The halo or nimbus which comes to be an inevitable a ttribute for al l Buddhist divinities probably derives from the ancient Iran ian con­vention of symboliLing the celestial light of t\hura Mazda by a disc or sun. sometimes. as in the reliefs of Per,epolb. placed behind amh ro· pomorphic representations of the Mazdaean personification of light. From this so\J rce the disc or halo found its way in to early Christian and BuddJt ist art as a means of signifying the d ivine mdiance or ft'}as emanating from the per­son of Christ and Budd ha.

lt is genera lly believed that the earliest images of the Buddh:~ were mnde in the ancient prov­ince of Gand hara towa rd the close of the first century A.D. This region. comprising tbe pres­ent northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan. was then under the rule of Kusban Scythian kings, a race of eastern Cen tral Asta n origin. who were in close commercial nnd diplomatic contact with the West. The craftsmen who served the KushaJt religiou;, establishments were in the beginning Roman journeymen craftsmen From such east­ern Mediterranean si tes as Alexandria and Antioch. i\mong the li•-st portrayals of Buddha in human form is a likenes> on a gold coin of the Emperor Kanishka. inscribed in provincial Greek, BOO DO ( Figure 2) . Kanishb is known as one of the great patrons of Buddhism who is temembered for convening the second g•c:ll Budd hist council. His reign is belicwd to have begun in 78 or 128 A. D. The presence of this likeness or the Bud cl ha on the money of Kunish­kn would seem to connote the previous exi~tcnce

of sta tues of similar type. The earliest Gandhnra Budd has were u com-

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bi111tlion of various elemcnl> druwn from 1he pn£nn repertory of the foreil!ll cruflsmen who were Cllllcd upon to in,·cnl on icon of the Bud­dha. The head i> an adaptauon of the mdianl )Outhful face of >uch a clasMcul pro1o1ype as the Apollo Behedcrc. and the mantle 11 tlh its 'olu­minou, fold' i> a Roman toga or pallium. 11 has been 'Ui!!!C>Ied that the choacc of the Apollo type :1> :a model for the features of Buddha had a ccrwm iconographical approprin1cncS> 10 sig­nlf'y that the Buddha. too, 11:t\ a Jler>Onification of incll'ablc light. In the :.am~ IV:tY the pallium could be thought of as a suuablc garment for the Buddha. since it had been a>sociated "ith the great teachers and lhc prie>l> 11ho \\elcomed the ;oul for the other world in the ffi)>tCI) cults m the pagan West. The >lyle of the earliest Gandhara Buddhas appro,imate' late Hellcnis· tic or Roman Imperial art of the early centuries of the Christian era. As Indian carvers took over the work of the firstgcncrotion of Roman sculptor\, the Gandhara Buddhas gradually undcn\ent a process of I ndianization. The tmagc> become more ri@Jdl) frontal. and the drapery. :b in the Roman pro,incial art of Palm)rn. i• reduced to a ;chematic pauem of Mringhke loop> appliqu&:d 10 I he ;,urfact of the body: at the same time the face assumes the more hicroaic mask-like character ,,r A~ian an. 11 wa\ this ILliCSt type of Gam.lhara Buddha which provided ahe model for countless repeti­aions of the style in Central A;ia and the Far

Ea't. Ju;t as 1hc relief ~ulpturc of Gnndhara is

de\(lled entire!) to >ubjccb enhcr from the Jowkaf or M:ene. from the life of the mortal Buddha, 11 appears that pracltcally all of 1he Buddha image> of lhb ~hool are rcpre>enta­tion> of Snkyamuni. During the flr.t few ccn-

turic; of its existence. the region of Gandhara and the nrt it produced seem 10 have been dedicated to the expression of the ideals of Htna)nn:l Buddhism. Only rorcl) doe> 11 seem passable 10 rccogntzc port m} ab of the m) thical Buddh:b of the \1ahayana pantheon. One cer­tain mdication of the gradual predominance of the Great \'ehicle i> the appearance of the colos­>nl image. The most notable examples of the Mahnynna concept of the Buddha ns a trons­ccndcnt personage. the equivnlent of the ancient Mahnpurusa or cosmic man. arc the colossal image, of the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan. The smaller 125-foot Buddha is an enlargement of a relati,el) earl) Gandhara l)pe. and ahe 175-foot Buddha (Figure 3) "ath ttS drape!) actually allhed 10 the body on a net of strings co,ered with clay is a magnification of the final lndian­ized I) pe of Buddha image. The;c statues. which were the wonder of the Chinese pilgrims who visited the holy land of Buddhism from the l'ourth century onward. provided the models for the giant statues of the di' imzcd Buddha in China and Japan.

Probabl) at a he same momentthattheentirely foreign I) pe of Buddhist icon was created in Gandhara, the workshops at Mathura, the southern capital of the Ku;hans. produced an Indian Buddha image. These ~tatuc~. of which the one dedicated by Friar Baln at Sarnath is the most famous. arc usually over-life-si:tc figures. recalling the massive proportion~ of the J'tli..fhi \tatue> of the Maul) a and Sungu Period>. From th~ proiOI)peS they derhcd the l)p•cal Indian fcehng for expansh·e \olume and the connOLa· taon of the softness and "armth of the flesh by the ;\\citing roundnes> of simple interlocking ;urfncc~. For reasons that are not entirely dear. these Ku,han statues usually represen t Sakya-

fiG. 3. COlOSSAl BUDDHA.

IAMtYAN, AfGHANISTAN.

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mun1 a~ a Bodhisnnm: that is, wearing not the mona>1ic mantle but a skirt or dhoti. and nude from the \\aist up sa\e for the robe O\er the left ;,houlder. In contrast to the cold expres;ion le>; ma~k~ of the Gandharn s ta tues. the fucc, of the Mat hum Buddhas arc shown with open eyes and softly ~mi l i ng lips, so that they have a kind of radiance and friendly warmth that welcome the devotee'> adoration. Just as the Gandhara sculpture rchcd on classical protol) pe>. the Mathura cnr.crs created their \cr,ion of the Buddha 1mage on the foundation of type> and tcchmque' of the early Indian tradition. The~ tmagc, "ere certain!~ made in accordance wtth a li\ed >)'tcm of proportions and \\ith >etupu· lou' aucntion to representing the magtc marks or lakfiltllltl\ that distinguished the body of a Buddh:t from ordinary mortals. Folio" ing the technique of the ancient Indian schools. the drtt i)Cry i> mdicatcd on ly by incised line; "ith u conceptual cmphu'i' on the seam> and border> of the gum1cnt. There ''ere occu;ional unita· t•on; of the Gandharn type in Muttrn. butthe;c tra\C>tiC> of the provincial Roman ;,t) le are V:htl> outnumbered b) the cult imag~' of com· plctcl) lndtan l)pc The Ku;.han Buddha\ of 1\lathura ,till remm something of the dtrcct ;.tatemcnl and po"er C\prC»Cd b~ the ;.heer bulk and ..ea le of the Maurya and Sunga 'latuc,. Such charactcri,tb of the;e image> a' the cnormou' breadth of ;.houldcrs and tin) \\al>l> indicate lhe emergence of a formula for por· trU) ing the anatom) of a superman that wa' to dewlofl intO U ;.ophi;ticated language or CX(WC>·

'ion in the Gupta period. A nwdilkation of the Kushan Buddha tyre

wa' ildOfllCd in the Andhm l.ingdom or Amara-.tll and l\:ag<1rjunakunda in the e:lfl) ccnturic' ol our era. These imagcs. 'duch arc

caned from a beautiful grccmsh·\1 hite lime· ~tone. are characterized by a rather \lilT hiemtic quality; the bodies ha\e ~omething of the full· ne>s of the Mathura type. whi le the drapery. usua ll y represented in a series of li nes or ridges. appea rs to be a convcntionulita tion of the Ga ndhara formula. The pla>tic au>tcrity and sophistication of these images a I read) antic ipate the idea of the Gupta period. Close contacts bet\\een the Andhra Empire and Ccylon led to the introduction of thi> SI) le to Anuradham­pura. perhaps as earl) as the fourth or fifth centur) A.D. Image, of the Amara,au type. both in stone and in bronLe. have been found in lndo-China. Borneo. and the Celebe,. indieat· ing the enormous inlluence of the Buddhist ci\ ili7.ation of South India.

The Gupta period. often dc~cribed a\ the Golden Age of Indian art. i> not so much a Rena issance in 1hc European sense of the term ns it i' a cu lmination and refinement of many earlier forms and technique~ of Indian art. The cuhi\'atcd beauty of exprc,;,ion in poetry. drama. and the dance ha'> 11; parallel m the pl:t>tic arts. 11 is quite po"tblc to \U) "ithout re'-Cr.ation that the Buddha tmage> of the Gupta period repre.em the final \lCp m the e•olution of the Indian ideal of the cult image.

11 I> gcnetall~ belie,ed th:ll b~ the fourth or fifth century the canon~ of Indian art "ere al­ready formulated in such \\Ork; a; the K1111W

\11/rtl and the l'i.llmwlflflflll<ltwrum. These \ll.\lrlrr e>tablished the norm' for ac>thctic pmc· ticc'> in much the .amc way U> the man uals or the Byzantine tradi tion perpetuated the rule> for nrti\lic procedures. ProportiOn\, mca;ure­mcnh, posture>. ge;ture>. rnooth. and e\pres· '10n" fo1 different type' of images in p:unting and -.culpture are all defined. Thc'e -.amc princi·

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FIG. •. CANON OF PROPORTIONS FOR

FIGURE OF THE BUDDHA TIIET AN.

pies of artbtic procedure continued 10 ,hape the dc:.tin~ of art in India long after the c\Unction of Buddh1sm in the thirteenth centul)

Ccnam lhed canons for the ma~mg of ..acr<-d images made their appeamnl-.: in India at an earl} pcr1od. The purpose of the <';mons fixed b) iconomctry 11as to produce likcnc"e' of the gods valid and correct for wor,hip. and any dc\iation from the formula 11oulu rc,uh in an icon unlit for devotion. Such pro1>0rtion' were intended 10 produce a nature tr:lll,ccnding humanit} and its ephemeral. imperfect beauty. The ba,ic unit of mca~uremcnt 11a' the angula or linger. \ometimes ta~cn from the breadth of the donor'~ finger 10 render hi' 1dcntilkation

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11ith the icon more complete. \ppro\lmatcly twelve anj!ula~ con\tltutcd a thalcm or palm and this unit 11as repeated mnc 11mcs for the hc1ght of the standing figure and lh c umcs for the <.eated figure'> I Figurt• ./). Th~> mathema1ical ~}stem of proport1on. \IIth no reference to the anatomy of human beings. 11as till entire!~

arbitrary one designild to produce a supernat­ural rather than a human proportion. This mathematica l ,)',ICill of IOC;It-UrCI11Cill \\'liS bused in part. too. on the magical properties of ccrtttin numbers. Its u\c j, cumpa•ablc to the tnvcntion of a super-human ana tom~. con,tructetl on the bl:.is of an nb,trac:t modulu>. for the god~ of Eg) pt and Greece of the :trchaic period. The

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angulas determined the proportion of eve!) section of the image. and the face was generally divided into three equal parts of four angulas each: from hairline to eyes, eyes to base of nose, and nose to the tip of the chin.

During the Gupta period the principal schools or workshops for Buddhist sculptUre were Mathura and Sarnath. and the types estab­lished at these ccnters continued to influence the making of cult images into the Period of the Hindu Dynasties.

In style the sta tues of the fourth and firth centuries from Mathura, like the superb exam­ple lent by the William Rock hill Nelson Gallery of Art. are a combination of elements assimi· lated from the Kushan and Gandhara Buddha types. The standing image has the massive and heavy proportions of the Kushan Buddha; the drapery has been reduced to a schematic con· vention of quilted ridges fa lling in repeated loops down the median line of the body. so that the form appears nude as seen through a net· work of cords. The bodies of these Buddhas retain the same feeling of expansive vol ume through the construction in simplified rounded planes that at the same time connote in abstract fashion the warmth and fullness of the fleshly envelope. The head of a typical Gupta Buddha from Mathura is conceived as a spheroidal mask with its smooth interlocking planes even more suggestive of u pure- geometric volume than its Kushan prototypes. This fullness com· municates a feel ing of warmth and aliveness to the facial mask. The features of these Gupta icons are unmistakably represented according to a metaphorical method. whereby the individ· ual parts of the face are not imita ted from counterparts in any human model but from certain shapes in the world of nature. regarded

as more beautiful and finnl than anything to be found in the accidental and never perfect beauty of a mortal face. Accord ingly the countenance has the perfect oval of the egg: the eyes arc shaped l.ikc lotus buds or lotus petals: the lips huve the fullness of the mango. and the brows the curve of Krishna·s bow. In the heads of the Gupta images the hair is invariably represented in the form of snail-shell curls covering the head like a cap. This convention of tightly wound spirals for the short locks exactly follows the textual description of the appearance of the Buddha's hair after he had cut ofr his princely ringlets at the time of the Great Renunciation. In a similar way the lt~kslwntls likening the Buddha"s Herculean shoulders to the head of an elephant and his torso to the tapered body of a lion are literally fo llowed in the carving or painting of a supernatural rather than a human anatomy.

Among the great masterpieces of Gupta sculpture are the Buddha images of Sarnath. the sacred site near Benares that witnessed the Buddha"s First Preaching. These statues are fashioned of the same chunar sandstone that more than five centuries earlier had been used for the Asokan piJ iars. The Sarnath Buddha type differs specificaUy from the Mathura ideal, in that all traces of drapery folds have dis· appeared. so that the body appears swathed in a sheath-like garment that completely reveals its immaculate perfection. The standing images are generally carved wit h the body bent in a Praxitelean $-curve. a posture certainly derived from the repertory of the Indian dance. which serves to confer an extraordinary vita li ty and grace to the forn1. In tJ1e Sarnath Buddhas the bodies become a kind of geometric abstraction of combined spheroida l and cylindrical shapes,

and the very purity of these textu reless smooth surfaces communicates the idea of the trans­figured and immortal nature of the body of the Tathagata. The heads of the Sarnath Buddhas have a sofl, lyric beauty based o n a similar geometric purity or form. Oocasional inscrip­tions like that o n a Buddha dedicated by Amitabhyamitra in 474 A.D. seem to indicate an aesthetic concern for the beauty of religious icons: '' Image of images. unparalleled for its merits ... adorned with wonderful an."

A rare example of metal scu lpture of the Gupta period is the sma ll bronze Buddha from Dhanesar Khera lent by the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art. ll is a miniature version of some of the great masterpieces in stone in which the head recalls the founh and fifth cen­tury Buddhas of Mathura and the robe is a combination of the transparcm robe of tbe Sarnath school with reminiscences of the mll­uralistic treatment of drapery in Gandhara. Small images of this type, often repealing tradi­tional types, were made at centers like Nalanda as late as the eighth and ninth ceutury: their export provided a means of spreading Indian styles of Buddhist sculpture to every region of the Indian world .

The only para llels in painting for the canons of beauty observed in Gupta sculpture are the surviving images in the wall paintings o f Ajanta. Examples dating from the fifth to the seventh century in Caves I and 9 seem to indicate the same formula observed at Surnath. with the Buddha represented in the most simplified shapes. which in these pictorial counterparts arc made to appear in relief by a slight reinforcing of the wiry contour lines with arbitrary shading.

Like the immortal inlluence of the forms and types of the Greek gods in Western art the ideal

Buddha im:1ge developed in Gupta India be­came, as it were. the everlasti ng canon for Buddhist icons throughout the Indian world and for the entire later development of religious art in the Far East.

Even as early as the times of Asoka and Kanishka the Vale of Kashmir was intimately connected with India. K ashmir was a pocket of culture that. in its mountainous isolation, per­petuated the ideals of Gandhara and Gupta art long a fter the eclipse of these schoo ls in Ind ia proper. The great era of Buddltism and artistic expression came under the reign of King Lali­taditya i11 the eighth century. To this period belongs the dedication of the monastic estab­lishment at Ushkur. The ruins of this convent have yielded numerous examples of stucco and ierra-coila scu lpture. Buddha heads like the magn ificent example lent by Mr. Georgc Bickford are reminiscent of the type developed in the Gandharn cemers ofTaxi la and Hadda as well as of the seventh century Afghan site of Fondukistan (Figure 5). The free. impressionis­tic trca1111ent of the hair reminds us of the tech­nique of Gandhara stucco sculptUJe while the arching brows and lotiform eyes suggest the fully developed Gupta formula. The feeling for roundness and warmth in the modeling of the facia l mnsk and the softly expressive lips suggest some of the Indian masterpieces of the fourth and fifth centuries.

The fina l development of Buddhist art in India took place under the Pala and Sena dynasties in the Bengal Valley. The great centers of Buddhism from the seventh century onward were a t Bodh Gaya and Nalanda, where. accordi ng to the testimony of the Chinese pil­grim. Hslian-tsang. the Mahayana faith was at its zeni th. This final phase of Indian Buddhism

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wru. dommatcd by the Y:1Jf3)ana doctrine. the ancestor of Jnpanesc Shu1gon. in which rcliunc:c on spell>. ritual. and magic diugrams marked the gradual ab..orption of the rcli!!ion into llmdu­ism. Some of the more cx.-cult conccph of Yajrayana. such as the beJc"eled Buddha 3'> an emblem of the resplendent body 11 hich he reveal> only to the Bodhi>uttvus. replaced the simple cult image~ or earlier times. In the ca..c of man) of the >t:ltue. caned in the hard. blacJ.. stone of Magadha. it b •mpo"•ble to tell llheth­er the icon rcpre.ent> the mortul Teacher or one or the my,tic Buddhm, who had assumed the mudrm of Sakyamuni'> mortal career. AJ...,ho­bhya. the L<lrd of the [:1\t. b sho"n m the

fiG. 5. BUDDHA FROM FONDUKISTAN

KABUl MUSEUM. AfGHANISTAN.

blllmll~'fJar.w mutlm of the Enlightenment. and Vairocana. the co:,mie Buddha. a>~umes the <llwrmacakra mudra of the Fir:,t Preaching. From the point or \iCII of St)IC. the Buddh:l tmagc;. from the eighth to the thirteenth century reveal a faithful imitation of Gupta prototypes. The caning is often dry and mechanical in execution. There i> an elab01ation of ncccs­sorie,. and a hard preci;.ion of car,mg seems to taJ..e precedence O\ er the formal sculpturnt qu­alillc;. of the 110rk. 1 he stone and bronLe images of 'alanda. which mu;t have been exported in quun titic;,, furnished the models for later Buddh­ist urt in Tibet and epa l and the regions of South ell>l A>ia. or c'ccpLional beaU!) are the

seventh and eighth century bronzestatuelles from Bihar"hich perperuateGupta types in miniature.

According to tradition. Buddhi>m was intro­duced to Nepal by the Emperor Asoka. but the great period of Buddhism and Buddhist nrt begins in the eighth and ninth centuries wi th contacts with the Pala culture of Bengal and the introduction of Vajrayana Buddhism. The iconography and forms of Pala an were literally transplanted to this Himalayan kingdom. prob­ably in the beginning through the participation of imported artists. and these forms have been perpetuated with little change for more than a thousand years. Although the Nepalese paint­ings nnd sculptures of the Buddha image repeat Lhe old types of the Bengal Valley. they are invariabl) informed with a feeling for sinuou~ linear rhythms and an e~qui:.ite precision of craftsmanship that give them an unmistakable national character.

Before the appearance of Buddhism. the religion of Tibet- Bonpo \\3S an antmtsuc cult including man) elements of sorcery and sexual m)Stici~m. The entire culture of Tibet has been determined by Lhe eh iliting influence of Buddhi>m. probably first in troduced through alliances wi th Nepal and Chinu in the seventh century and firmly established by the holy man Padmasambhava in the eighth. As in 'epal. the form of the religion adopted by the Tibetans was the so·called Third Vehicle or Vajrayana. In the art of such a religious system the simpler forms of Buddha images arc va~tly outnum­bered by the great host of deities. many of Hindu origin, thnt crowd its teeming pantheon. So great was the feeling of rc,erencc and indebted­ness to Indian Buddhism for its rai>ing Tibet to a higher le,el of chilization that e\ery effort was made to retain as close an approximation

as possible to the types and techniques ongt­nally borro\\ed. This reverence for canonical types was so firmly rooted that Lhe types and techniques of surviving paintings of the tenth century can scarcely be distinguished from replicas of the same iconography painted in the eighteenth century. In the course of centuries Tibetan art "a~ inlluenccd by the Buddhist culture of Khotan in Central Asia and repeat­edly by Chinese an. especially folio" ing Lhe conquest of the country b) K 'ang hsi in Lhe eighteenth century.

Although wa ll paintings exist in the monastic ccnters of both Nepal and Tibet, our knowledge of painting in these Himalayan regions is limited largely to the great numbers of survh ing ta11kas or religious banners. Undoubted!) based on earlier Indian temple icons, the painting of umkas in Nepal and Tibet was rigidly codified by iconographic:ll and technical ma nuals of Indian origin. The function of these icons in Vajrayana \\:IS e~~entially magical, ju~t as their painting itself \\a;, a liturgical rite perfom1ed b) the artist after yogic meditation on the divini­ties he was to portray. The banner~ were magic symbols to defend the devotee from the ;nares :tnd hazards of the world of nature. tO facilita te for the beholder escape from the world of C\istence to immaculate celestial;phcrcs evoked in the picture'>. The concept of religious icons as emblems of terrible po''er that could O\er­come karma to transport the worshipper to the paradise of hi;, choice is identical with the regard for icon;, in the an of Shingon Buddhism of Japan.

The actual t)pe> of Buddhas. as \\ell as the style of painting them. in Nepalese and Tibetan ta11kas are a faithful perpetuation of the style of the Pala period. although certain type,, like the

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Paradi>c 1conograph). "ere probabl~ deri\ed from Central Asia. In the Tibetan painting, of the eigh teenth century something of the precios­ity of Chinese art or the Ch"ing period re•cals itself in the intricate and e\quisite preci;ion of ornament.

Among the earliest indicauons of the pene­tration of the Gupta sytle into Further India arc the Buddhist ~lntues of Thaila nd and Cambodia in the sixth and seventh ccnlUries. These icons. generall) referred to as the pre-Khmer period. "ere the accompaniment or Indian mi~;ionar) acti,it) m these region;. The beautiful sultues or the Ovuru,ati period in s tone and bronze follow the ideal of the Sarnath school. including the transparent sheath-like garment and the dehanchement of the bod) . The) displn) certain nathe trail> at the same time. The snail-shell curls are enormously enlarged. and the feulUres have a peculiarly beautiful decorative qua lity. The metaphorical character or the individual fe:nure> t> e'ag£erated. ;o that the e}e> are e'en more hke actuallotu' petals in shape and the mouth hth the fulln~\ of an exquisite Horal shape. The lotiform shape of the eyes is echoed in the curve of the full lip~. The body and head alike have the simplicit) :tnd sculptural so lidity of Gupta ima£es. and the \\hole icon i> 1mbued "ith a feclmg or tcn:.e ali,enes. that make> u a veritable emblem or ;creOil) and religious ecstasy.

The fina l evolution or the Cambodi:m ideal of the Buddha image took place during the clti>Sic centurie> that "itnes;ed the rise or the eapual and the famou, lO\\ered temple<; of Angkor. In the head; of Buddha image\ of the l\\elfth and thirteenth centuries the ultima te indcbtcdnes> to the Gupta canon i; >ti ll apparent m the essentiall) ma~>ive. spheroidal conception of

the head. What ma) be regarded as a peculiarly Khmer fo1 mu la or even a cticbl! for indicating the self-contained bliss and serenity of the En· lightened One appear> in counties> exumple> in the C)t' closed in rever) and the lips distended into a long mystenou> smile. Man) of Lhe Khmer heads of thi> cla.-ic period ha\c a posi­ti\C suggestion or personality or individuality within the mould of iconographical and formal con,cntion. T his is perhaps to be explained by the fact that these icon~ "ere at the l>Bme time idealited ponrni~ of the reignin£ monarch in the guise of a demraja or god-king. Whether the state religion wus Hinduism or Buddhism the conception of the ruler as the earthly em­bodiment of the presiding deity of the realm had for centuries been an C>tablished tenet of belief in Cambodia. Generally the chief cult image of the empire sho\\ ing the ;overeign in the likeness of V ish nu or Buddha was enshrined in a temple mountain, an architectural symbol of the sacred Mount Meru of Indian cosmology. at the magic center of the empire. In Khmer sculpture the pre' ale nee of the icono11raphy of the Buddha seated on the coils of n gia nt serpent and shel­tered by it~ cobra hood is not entirely a portrayal of the obscure legend ofSakyamuni"; encounter "ith a 11uga after hi> enlightenment. lt is a reference to the legend that the 11agM or serpent dei tie> \\ere the dh ine progenitors and pro­tector~ of the Cambodian throne.

In general, the heads or Buddhas of the later ccnturie> of Khmer sculpture tend to a>sume a more hard linear character in the mci>ed defini­tion of the features. ln,ariably the mass of the hair IS separated from the face. sometime> by a broad band. as though it were a cap litera lly pulled over the sku ll. In certain examples of the period of the 83)0n m the thirteenth century.

the indi' idual features do not stand out as 5Cparate parts attached to the block of the head. but melt into this mass. so tha t to ~ome degree there b a return to the strong plnstic conception of the earliest period. The best of these late Buddha masks have a soft. dreamy expression. a wonderful ~uggestion of a being rapt in inner contemplation. Although verging on the >ent i­mcnta l. these final Khmer masks are the perfcx:t ;ymbob of the self-contained beatnudc and rea~uring benevolence inherent in Buddhi>m a~ a rclig1on dedicated to the sal\ at ion of human­it) .

The indigenous tradition of monumental art in Cambodia came to an end with the linal Siamese conquest of Angkor in the fifteenth century. All later development> take place in Thailand "here the earlier sty le~ continue to be repeated with innumerable loca l variations until modern times. The ramifications of this >tylistic evolution of these later centuries arc far too complex to fo lio" here. T he best of the Thai Buddha> through the sixteenth century >till rcta&n the plastic integrity of the cltl>>ic >t)lc in Cambodia. The de,·elopment is toward a more and more decorati,·el) stylized concept of the Buddha •mage culminating in the elegant :lllcn­uated formula achie'ed at Ayudhya. Familiar a>pcch of this St) le arc the Hame finial that seem> to carry up"ard the 10\\Cring aucnumion of the ;lim image. the svelte unmodclcd ;mooth­nc>s of torso and tubular limbs. the pliant cunes of elongated lingers. and the mas~;, in which the features are a decorative repeti tion of :&re' and curve>. In its reduction of earlier monumental form~. often very moving in their pla>tic gran­deur. to a mannered e~quisite :.tercot) pc. this ultimate Siamese style in "hich only grace prc­'ail; i\ the eastern counterpart of the ncocla;:.&c.

The last outpost of Buddh&;m in the Indian "orld was the island of Java. where the Sailen­dra, ··King of the Mountain and the lord of the Isles:· was the ruler of a grea t Indonesian em­pire in the eighth and ninth centuries. Javanese Buddhism w:ts dependen t on the Indian center a t Nalanda. Many bron1c images from Bengal have been found in the i;land and the prevailiJlg type of Buddhism was an oiT;hoot of the eso­teric doctrine of the Pain period.

The great monument of Ja,anesc Buddhism_ one of the \\Onde!'> of the Asian "Orld. ;, the stupa of Borobudur. Th1s temple"~ dedicated to Vairocana. the hi>torical Buddha idealized in the Dhamwknytt. the eternal body of the L:m. The "hole >lructure \\ith it> hundred> of reliefs and statue> wa; conceived as a vast moudaltt that revea ls nil phase' of existence a t a ll time; and in all place; as ;o m:tny material manifesta tions of 1hc divine and universa l essence of Vairocana. Like the painted mondttfas ofTibet and Japan, Borobudur i'> a magic replica of the Material and Spiritual world;. "ith each of its Ooors or store}> reprc>entmg a separate "orld or plane of life. The 'ecreh of Borobudur are linked with the identity and function of the Dh)ani Buddha &magc> that co,cr the monu­ment from top to bouom. In deep grouo-like niches on the four >ide> arc in,tallcd the mystic Buddhas of the four dircct&On> and. on the upper terrace>. se,ent) -1" o image;, of Vairocana {Figure 6). These statues of the co;mic lord arc half hidden under lauiccd bcll->haped stupas as though to empha>ilc by their partial conceal­men t the mysterious. ne, er completely revealed nature of the ultimate reality in a world without form. "bich is the realm of the Dlwmwkaya. Presumably the image placed in the closed terminal Mupa "a> another final form of

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Vairocana enthroned at the cent er of the cosmic "'heel. at the \Cl) pole of lhe "orld. as the ;upreme manifestauon of \'amx:ana and. as in Cambodia. a, the e'sence and apotheo>is of divine kingship.

The style of the Buddha images of Borobudur. as may be seen even in single detached heads, is dcri\Cd direct!) from the Gupta style ofSarnmh. These Buddhas arc made" ith great mathemat­Ical mccty of measurement from one of the systems of propomon for sacred images fol­lowed throughout the Indian world. The finest of them represent such u beautiful realizntion of plastic mass and volume. such breathing life and transcendent spintual clarity of e>.pre.sion that they ma) r:1nk among the greatest examples of sculptural genius m the entire world . In these 1mage; there is scarcely any longer the ~uggcs­uon of real flesh. but rather these statues seem to be made of an imperishable and pure >pi ri­tual oubstance that marvelously symbolizes in stone the incorruptible and radiant and ada­ma1uine nature of the Diamond. the Buddha's eternal bod).

The extension of Buddhism and it> art to Central Asia or Turkestnn certainly began as enrly as the Ku~han period when the western pam of the region were under Kushan >uzer­aint) . The ~tucco sculpture oft he early >ites lile Khotan and \hran is the1efore a pro\meial cxtemion of the Gandhara style ca>tY.Jrd along the trade route to China. Fragmcn~ of Buddha image> from the;e monastic centers and from rumschuq are mi;understood and conven­tionalized imitation~ l.lf the originally Gr:tcco­Roman type, of Buddha statue> of Hndda and Ta\ila.

h \\35 ccruunl} on theS<! and later rcpetttions of this manner at K ~ril that the ea1lic<.1 Buddhi~t

images of China were based. According to record. m1ssionaries bcarmg >Utras found their \lay to the Han coun as earl) as 2 B.C. The famou' legend of the Emperor Ming and his dream of a golden image lending to the import or a copy of the famous Udayana statue in 66 A-D. C. probably to be interpreted as a symbol of the introduction of replicas of famous Indian icon~ to the Far EasL Certainly Buddhism "as no more than a sporad1c fad in court circles during the Han period. although it may be possible to identify crude representations of the Buddhtl in the Cbiating caves in Szechwan.

The Horcscenee of Buddhism in China begin~ in the Six Dynasties period following the in­\a;ion of northern China by the Topa Tartars in 386 A.D. h has been assumed that thc.c barbarians already had some acquaintance with Buddhi>111 in their original homeland near Lake Bnik;tl. lt appears evident that the foreign reli­gion may have served a political purpose for these rulers as a unifymg force in opposition to the native Rligious S}>tcms of Confucianism and Taoism. just as the Kushnns in India es­pou>ed the docmne of Sakynmuni as an instru­ment of imperialism. Although a few bronze images lil..c the famous gilt bronze from ihc Brundngc Collection dated 338 antedate the foundmg of the Wei 0} nasty by the Topa rulers. the first official patronage of the religion i~ recorded \1 ith the caning of the rock-cut temples of YUn Kang under imperial patronage.

YUn Kang is located some thirty miles from the Tartctr c:tpitnl of Ta-t'ung-fu in the shadow of the Great Wall. The vn;l undertaking of he\\ing out more than t\\cnty grotto temple> \\:IS begun. as the ll'fl S/111 relat~. under the auspu:e; of the priest Tan )30 in -150 and con­tinued until 494. The concept of carving an

FIG. 6. VAIROCANA BUDDHA.

80R0BUDUR, JAVA.

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-· , entire monastic e;,tublishment from the living rock had been anticipated in the Thousand Buddha Caves in Tun-huang. which. according to tradition, were consecrated in 366. Indian prototypes exist for these complexes such as the Buddhist dwitylls o f the Western ghm:. and the fa mous cave sanctuaries of Bamiyan. There i, a probable connection between YUn Kang a nd the Tun-huang caves , incc the Wei Slw info rms u' that in 435. 35,000 families from Liang, the present Kansu. were seu lcd m Ta-t'ung. Of further interest is the mention that the people of Linng took their models for buildi ng and stat­uary from .. the Wes tern Countries," u collcc-

fiG. 7. COLOSSAL BUDDHAS. YUN KANG, CH INA.

Live tern1 by which the C hinese described the kingdoms of Central Asia and India as well. The fi rst dedications at YUn Kang comprised five colossal Buddhas in memory of the first rulers of the house of Wei. Such a memoria l to ances tors suggests the infiltration of Confucian conceptS into Buddhism. lt reminds us that Buddhism only came to China relatively late in the developmen t of the civili7.ation and thro ugh­out ils entire history was hard ly more tha n a ripple o n the face of the sea of indigenous tradition. Although the inspiration fo r the colos­sal images at YUn Kang, some of them seventy feet in height. might have but probably did no t come from the famo us giants at Ba miyan. the style of this sculpture clea rly reveals a Central Asian origin (Figure 7). it may well be that the sculptors e mp loyed at this site were drawn from the Cen tral Asian colony moved fro m Tun­huang to the capital in 435. The Buddha images of every dimension at YDn Ka ng clearly show a tra nslation into stone of the expression less round faces of the s tucco images of Kizi l and Tumschuq. Similarly the drapery reduced to a network of tape-like bands breaking into fo rked folds is a further conventionalizat io n of a man­nerism found at these sites. Interes ting from the iconographical point of view is the fact that the colossi of the western caves a t YOn Kang were intended to portray the concept of the cosmic Budd ha as described in such sutras as the Saddltamw Pwtdarikfl and the A 1'0/am.wka.

The famous bronze Budd ha Maitreya dated 477 or 486. lent by the Metropolitan Museum of Art is an illustration of the style of YUn Kang colossi in a sma ller replica. The mantle with its folds indicated by ribbon-like forms applied to

the surface is characteristic of the Central Asian formula but the beautiful rhythm of the robe. spread out like 1\ings unfurled. and the block­like nbstraction of the head with its wedge nose. almond eyes. and archaic smile already suggest the evolution of the Chinese idea l of the Six Dynasties period.

Toward the close of the period of activity nt

YUn Kang. a much more Chinese conception of the Buddha image begins to ma~e its appear­ance. The faces become more cubic with sharp breals bet\\een the planes of the face. and the completely linear treatment of the drapery tends to reduce a ll feeling of the plastic existence of the body to a llat silhoucuc. Detail> of the cos­tume, ;uch ~ the trailing SC':U"~ passing through n Jade ring. the cusped necklaces. and the serrated swallow-tail contour of the flaring skirts repluce the Central Asian dress. especially in the imugcs of the Buddha of the Future, Maitreya.

These tendencies ~--come intensified in the carving of the ea'e temples of Lung-men begun after the removal of the \\'ci capatal to Loyang in 494. These images take on a truly Roman­esque appearance in the ''~\Y that their abstract linenr style. hier',llic frontality. and disembodied spiritUality suggest some of the great sculpiUres of t\\elfth century Europe. Thi> conception of the figure in geometric and linear teams has nothing to do "ith an) Indian prototype. The image has an almost ideographic simplification, in that the only aspects of significance to the worshipper the benign mask of the face and the blessing hand - are modeled in relief. The rest of the body is flattened out so that it ap­pears a~ an immaterial rather than a sub>tan­tially convincing shape. lt ma) be that. with the removal of the capital and centcr of Buddhbm

to the ancient centcr of Chinese culture at Loyang. a rea~;crtion of the ancient Chinese feeling for design in calligraphic line and llat patterned surface, was directed to the making of Buddhist images. At the same time this ab­wact mode in the creation of such awe-inspi ring hieratic forms wns peculiarly appropriate for expressing the Chinese attitude tO\\ard the imponed divinaties as strange magacal >pirits promising all ~ind> of boons and at the same time reminiscent of the nl"ays abstractly con­ceaved deities of the native pantheon.

A new era of purely Indian inlluence in Chinese Buddhist art begins in the seventh century" ith the founding of the Tang Dynasty. This was a moment "hen the subjugation of rebellions within and barbarians "ithout the girdle of the Great Wall once more mnde China :1 great united empire. The military conquests of T'ni Tsung were followed by even more memorable triumphs in an. From the seven th to the ninth ceniUry China. in her material and spiritual splendor. \\3S the greatest po"er on earth unrivaled e'en by theempircsof B)Z:Intium and Iran. In Buddhi;,t art. the haunting abstract style of the si.\lh century is replaced b) a closer imitation of lndiun models as a direct resu lt of the ne\\ diplomatic and religious con tacts with the West.

This renC\\3( of relation, with India begins "ith tbe ne\\ unit) of China under T'na Tsung and the subjugation of the Turkt>h khans beyond the \\C>tern limits of the Great Wall. The travels nnd >tud ies of Hsllnn-t>ang, the independent pilgrim adventurer. initimcd a new chapter in the hi;tory of Mahayana Buddhism 10 the Far East. An imentOI') of the sutras translated b) the Master of the Lll\\ at Ch"ang­an re, eats how the first real conception of the

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FIG. 8. Gll T 8RONZE BUDDHA. FOGG ART MUSEUM.

faith of the Great Vehicle was due entirely to his enterprise. The contribution of HsUan-tsung is comparable to the discoveries and influence of the Renaissance humanists on the later devel­opment of classic learning in the West.

No less important \\ere the official missions of the Imperial envoy. Wang Hsllan-tS'c, who. with a corps of artists and scribes. brought back not only religious texts but what must have been fairly accurate pictorial records of the holy place> of India. Of great import for the problem of the transmission of Indian types to China are

the itemized lists of actual replicas of famous Indian statues collected by these visitors to the ""Western Countries": for example. Hslian­tsang had copied the famous sandalwood image of King Udayana and o ther famous icons. A unique wall painting from Tun-huang shows the transportation of such an Indian image in a boat across a body of water. A banner from the library a t Tun-huang reproduces copies of many of the famous sacred sta tues venerated in the West in a purely linear techniq ue which seeks. however, to capture the style of the originals. A gill bronze Buddha in the Fogg Art Museum so completely follows a Gandharan original that it may have been one of these replicas of famous Indian statues (Figure 8).

IL seems thal a definite merit was anached to copies- even remote ones - of images at the sites that were associa ted with the great cvems of the Buddha's career. "Something of the Buddha" was believed to survive in these effigies related to him: indeed the whole effort of later Mahayana art in the Far East as in India was 10

imitate by time. place, and form ihe corporeal manifestation of the absolute truth. The ' 'irtues of these copies of famous s tatues from the holy land of Buddhism lay in the belief that they incorporated the omnipresence of the Dlwrma­koyo; something of the Buddha's transcendental persona lity remained anached to places where his human form had appeared as well as to icons commemorating these appearances. so that copies of these s tatues at famous sites were though t to derive supernatural power from their relation to origina ls thus animated by the Buddha himself.

IL i> not aL all surprising in view of this new first-hand acquaintance with Indian models that many examples of rang scu lpture are

clearly aucmpts to imiunc the >tyle of the Gupta period. The >landing imnt:e lent by the Scaule Art Museum i> n uanslationmto Chine<e terms of the Sam:uh type" ith the characten>ttc robe. >rnooth and devoid of fold~. and the e:.scntially spheroida I conception of 1 he head. Only the feature;. ;.uch a~ the "edge-shaped no;.e and the archaic smile ;.ccm 10 be a perpetuation of the purely Chine>c ideal de-eloped in the Sh Dynas· tics period. In the same way. a small bronze Buddha in the present exhibition is a reduction of a familiar Pala type.

In some Tang sculptun: like the famous ;tmua!) of T'tcn Lung-;hnn (Figur~ /()) "c ;cnse the presence of the Gupta canon as nn ultimate precedent but the reduction of the head and body to e'en more geometricall) :tbstrnct shapes result> in a loss of the feeling of warmth and breathing life inherent in the Indian prototype just a~ the rhythmic and in a sense naturalistic S\\cCp of the drapery is mon: sug· gesthe of the brush stroke than the car-er"s tool.

ReHection> of Indian forms are paramount in the Buddhi>t p:1inting ofT'nng times as may be seen in the murals of Tun-huang and the lost \\all painting> of Hol)ujt at Kara \\hich 11ere painted in the fashionable Indian >I} le of the eighth century. The annat. of Tang paltlting are filled with references to artiSt>" ho arc credited with introducing the l>l~ le of the ··We;tem Countries:· They are credited "ith rcpre.enting forms with :1 \\Onderful illusion of relief. pre· sumably by the use of the type of abwact ;had­ing found nt Ajanta and in Central A;iu. The name of \\ci-ch"ih 1-seng i> >Ornetime> attached to a painting of the Buddha in the M u,eum of Fine Arts, Bo>ton. in which the figure of Snkyamuni appears as a free and linear adupt3·

FIG. 9. BUDDHA FROM T'IEN·LUNG.SHAN

FOGG AU MUSEUM.

tion of a Gandharn I} pc. In man~ C\amples of Tang sculpture in

bronze and >tone "e note the beginning of a tendency to L'Oncci'e the form in u pictorial ra.hion. This releals itself Ill the intricacy of the can in g. the depth of undercutting. and multi· plication of :uxel>.>orie~. These characteri>tics wou ld be even more apparent if the images retained their original polychromy. In the painted 11ooden image, of Sung and YUan tomes the depth of can ong and dependence on color make the.e statues uppear like p:unted forms transferred to sculpture. Their immediate

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26

PIG. 10. BUDDHA f ROM f'IE " ·LUNG·SHAN. FOGG ART MUSEUM,

nn tcccdcnts may be the pa inted clay sta tues found '" great number> '" the Liao Dynasty temples located in Ta T' ung·fu. At the same time the greater delicac) of e'ecuuon. the ;cnti· mental preniness of type. and the v.insome e>-· pre.."ons of both Buddha and Bodhisan'a t) pe> mal.c it possible to equate these icom v.ith Baroque rdigiou; art in the We;t. These Jigurc> with their ingratiating >m iles and lan ­guid, tender ges tu res offer the more immedia te ,olace or a religion devoted more and mo re to

ca;y mean> of sal,•a tion by dc,•otion and o ft'cr· ing. to 1mages of such pcr;onablc rcprcsenla· ti\C> of n Buddha no longer remote or inacces· >1ble.

One of the most famou' Buddha images in Japan is the statue ofS3k}amuni at Seif)oji in the outskirts of Kyoto ( Fig11rt' //) According 10 the \ ilwngi R,rllkll. thb was n COp) of the famou; ;andalwood image of King Udayana rnnde for the priest Cho nen Ql K'ai Feng-fu and brought to Japan in 987. All such copies o f this lcgcndaf) sta tue of Buddha. it>clf regarded as a \trllable material facsimi le of SakY'~muni. were e>tccmed as onl) slight!~ l~s potent embodi­ment~ of the Buddha"s earthly manifestation. The Seir}Oji icon. \\hether 11 is the original Chinese ;1a1ue or the ten th centuf) Japanese replica. demo nstrates the veritable im mortality of the Gandhara s tyle in the •tyliLed reprcsen· tntion or u classical robe in n mesh of closely pleated folds tha t had come to symbolize the "nppling" drapery or the mm1eutous Udayana ICOn

Throughout the v.hole hi;tory of Chinese Buddh1>m certain tradillonal type; continue 10 be repea ted sometime> \\ith liule change. The hronze of the Ming period lent by the De troit ln'>titute of Arts is a perfect illuw ation of the pcr~istcncc of the famo us Udayuna image 111

this nrchaistic reiteration of a drapery style of the Six Dynasties period. The same miracle­\\Orl.ing prototype i, rc:prc,entcd in countless rcphcas made 111 Nepal and Tibet as late as Lhe t\\entielh century.

The name of Chang S>u-l.ung, a painter belie,ed to ha\e \\orked in the orthern Sung penod. 1S anached by tradition 10 a number of Buddhi;t paintings found mostly in Japanese collection>. A parliculu rly line example of the

style of this rare master is the Buddha Trinity lent by the Broo~lyn Museum. The figures have a swaying grace and elegance enhanced by the SOftl) flo\\ing gttrrllents. The p3111tl0g has an e\traordinnry refinement in e'<ecuuon and. like Sung sculptured image>. the appeal of these forms IS 10 their bOfl grace and decorati\c splcndor. The use or gold leaf. the delicacy or drnughtsmanship in hnir-tbin line>. and beauty of calor in thi> and other wor~; attributed to Chang Ssu-kung are so suggesti\e of Japanese Buddhist painting of the Fujh•nra period that one wonders if this nebulous artbt may ha' e influenced the idcttl; or that mo;t exquisite period of Japanese religious an.

The kind or delicate superficial refinement alread) exemplified in Lbe painting. b) Chang Ssu-kung wa> perpetuated "ell into the late Ming and Ch'ing periods. The example in the pre>crH collection rc>eals a desiccation and hardening of the drawing of ib prototype. and nt the same time the tmage is lost in a \\eallb of >urfa<-e decoration. The fascinaung and elabo­nnc architectun: or Sakynmuni"s throne vies for ;mention with the bhape of the Buddha himself. As in the declining phase of religious an in so man) pans of Asia and the We,t. the 'irtuoSII)' of the technical performance take> precedence O\er the no longer meaningful icon. Sin~ Ch'an or Zen Buddhism >pecifically

denied the validity of ritual and attachment to icon5. the Buddha image seldom appc-Jrs in the an of tlus purified philosopbjcaJ >CCt e'cept in such occasional temple banners a; the fnmou> painting of Buddha b) Liang K 'at. formerly in the collection of Count Sakai. in which the MU!>ter is shown. not in any U>Unl iconographi· cal form. but as a "ild-eyed. ragged 'agabond C\emrlif)ing the rugged austerit> and unonho-

dox po" er of Zen tdeals. The traditional date for the introduction of

Buddhi~m to Japan is the year 552. when the kmg ofKudnrn in Korea sent n gift ora Buddha tmage and ~cred t~xts to the reigning emperor. The national religion of Japan at thi> moment \>US the cult of the Shinto Jwmi stmlll. the god~ of elements und natural forccb. upon whose favor the ver) >tabi)j ty of the empire and indi· 'idual "ell-being depended. lt i~ not strange that the mtroduction of this foreil!Jl faith .hould ha\C aroused su~ptcions a; "ell as the fear of offending the native dcitie<. The Emperor b reported to have spoken us follows: .. The countenance of this Buddhu "hich has been presented .. 1> of severe dignity >uch as "e have ne, er seen before. Ought it to be \\Orshipped or not"! Shall Yamato alone rcfu;e to \\Orship it'!

"'Those \\ho have ruled the Empire in this our state have always made n their care to worship In spring. summer. autumn. aud "inter. the 180 gods of hea,cn and earth. nnd the gods of the land and of gram;. lf ... \\C \\Cre to \\O~hip in their stead foretgn deities. it muy be feared thnt we >hould incur the wrath of our national god~:·

lt was not long before an ou tbreak or pc>ti­lence seemed tndeed to indicate the displeawrc of the sun godd=. and >O the>e first tokens of Buddhbt ritual \\ere fonhwnh thro"n into the >C:t ut Naniwn. lt \\:lS onl) in the beginning of the seventh century under the Empress Suiko and the enlightened Prince Shotoku that Bud­dhism" ith their fer,ent patronage "as acecptcd in Japan. The founding or the carlic.t ;hrinl'S nt Gangoji and Hor) uji in the t\arn plain date from thi$ period. as do the earliest Buddhibt icons to be made in Japan. Among the earliest ;urviving religiou; images arc the golden brontc trinities of "¥ aJ..u;hi and ShaJ..n by a certain Tori

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28

fiG 11 BUDDHA FROM SEIRY0J1.

JAPAN.

Busshi dedicated at Horyuji in 607 and 623 (Figur~ /1). The cult of Yakushi (Bhaa~hujya­guru). the Buddha of Healing. wa. one of the fir.t to gain popularity in Japan because of the miracu lous cu res offered by this divine physi­cian.

Tori Busshi 11ns the grandson of n sculptor 11 ho had emigrated from the kingdom of Linng m South Chma in 522. The SI) le of Tori's reli­gious images marks the introduction to Japan of the forms and technique, of Chinese Bud­dhi>t !>Culpture of the Six Dynasties period. The central Shaka of the trinity dedic-.1ted m mcmol) of Shotoku Taisbi in 623 illu;trat~ the slight modifications thi> style has undergone in its translation to Japan (Figure 11). The image is domonatcd by the two plastoc elements of the block-like head and the great hand rnised in blessing: the body itself, as in con tinen tal >Culpt urc. uppears almost dematcrializcd under the intricate surface linear rhythms of the orn­pcry. The face itself is a darkly brooding mask, ;ugge,ting the mysterious and onscrutablc prop­erties attached to Buddhism by the Japanese of the sc1enth century. Perhap:. the mo;t Japa­ne>e features of this icon nre the delicac) and preci:.ion of Lhc: craftsmanship and the abstract beauty of design in Lhe flame halo and the tlo\\cr-likc comolution> of the pattern of the drapery falling over the dais. Although many icon> of the Suiko period have the same rather fc~rsomc and awe-inspiring coutcnancc;, the fncial rnn>ks of a certain nu mber of thcoc curly ,tntuc; have a wangcly child-like cast. ti lled "ilh n radiant expression of innocence nnd cnndor. This typically Japane;c quality is des­cribed by words like ltt!imt'i or mei~ttiJei. mean­ing litcmll) "radiant Hatnes>.'' or simplocoty and and e'er) thing opposue to the dark and occult.

fiG t2 SH,KA lRtNI!Y, HORYUJI.

NAR A, JAPAN

30

The terms may also be applied to Lhe specifically flat. pancrnized conception of the images as a whole and the decorative manipulation of sur­face design. This is a quality which continues to appear as an immortal thread throughout the whole Inter fabric of Japanese art.

By the end of the seventh century the manner­isms of Six Dynasties art had been replaced by an assimilation of the Tang style. Japanese Buddha images of the Hakuho and Tcmpyo periods repr~sent the same refinement of con· tinental models begun in the Suiko era. The great black bronze Trinity of Yakushiji is the metal coun terpart of Chinese stone sculpture of the seventh and eighth centuries {Figur~ 13). The

FIG. 13. YAKUSHI, YAKUSHIJI.

HARA, JAPAN.

central Buddha has the feeling of volume and weightiness of Tang statues set off by the fluid naturalism in the disposition of the drapery folds.

The painted equivalents of such eighth cen­tury masterpieces were the Buddhas of the Four Paradises of Horyuji Kondo. the famous wall paintings destroyed by fire in 1949. The iconog­raphy of this cycle illustrates the complexity of Japanese Buddhism in the Hakuho period. The four Buddhas portrayed - Shaka, Amida, Miroku, and Yakushi - form a mandala or magic diagram of the four directions. each with its heaven presided over by a divine Buddha. It may be assumed that the basis of this icono-

graph teal arrangement is not to be found in an) one text but in n number of difTercnt sutras popular at the time. The style of ~inglc figu res like the Amida has nothing Japanese about it : the form itself recall~ the rang ''all paintings at Tun-huang. and the shading of the robe in bands of dark pigment reinforcing the lines of drnpery is a Chinese tech niq ue that may be seen in such famous rang originals as the Scroll of the Thirteen Emperor;, by Yen Li-pen. Some of the small figure> of reborn souls in thts compo­;,ilion are so strong!) Indian in fot m and in use of a heavy chiaroscuro that they might have been inspired di rectly by Indian originab.

The Tempyo period was an age of secular and religious po"er and splendor rivaling the Tang ci' ilizatioo of China. China continued to pro­vide the models for C\ery phase of Japanese art: the capital at Nnra was laid out on the plan of the Chinese city of Ch'ang-an and the Oaibutsu. the giant Buddha of Todaiji, was inspired by the colossus dedicated by the Empre.s Wu at Lung-men. ln the eighth centuf) Buddhism and Shin to were reconciled in the tenet that the uni­versa l Buddha Vairocana and the sun goddess Amuterasu were only different mani festations of the same cosmic splendor. The doctrine of t he Bommokyo. in which the universal Buddha is the center of the 1\0rld system with all phenom­ena. spiritual and material, emanating from hi m. provided a religious parallel for the polit­ica l structure of Japan with the emperor at the summit of the social and religious S)stem of the realm.

Many Japanese Buddha images such as the famous Roshana a t Kanima nji arc informed with a feeling of expansive volume. described by the Japanese term ryo. which approximates the suggestion of the presence of an inner breath or

pneumatic force of Indian image>. It is well to note that even Matues of >uch colossal siLe reveal somethi ng of the expres>ion of gentleness and ingenuous S\\eetness that emerged a; 11

Japanese trait in the \ery earliest period of Bud­dhist art. For the presentauon of sheer plastic mass. the conception of sculpture as an exercise in inter-locking abstract volumes proclaiming the solidity and weightiness of the form. the masterpieces of Japanese caning of the eighth century "ere scarcely equated b) the sculptors of rang China. The Tempyo masterpieces ha•e a classic nobility and serenity that was to be emulated in ma ny later periods.

The dangers inherent in the ever-encroaching inRuenceofthe Nara priesthood on the admins­stration of the empire. led to the removal of the court to K)oto in 794 and the withdra\\al of further govcrnmettt support of the Budd hi>t church. The whole program of Buddhism in Japan had perforce to be revised with the specif­ic end of gaining the support of the nobilit) m the new capital. This aim 1\35 achie'ed through the appeal of the cults of esoteric Buddhism. Tendai and Shingon, which were introduced by the priests Saicho nnd Kobo Daish i in the early runth centuf). In essence the esoteric sects pro­vided a read) ritual for exorcism. healing. and 1\0rldly benefits. 1t was no \\Onder that the convenience and practicality of obtaining such boons simply by recourse to a pric;,t >hould have appealed to the effete ruling hierarchy in Kyoto "hose faith \\3S partly a form of 1\0rldly amusement. partly superstitious trust in super­natural aid.

From the philosophical point of view. Shin­son or The True Word was an esoteric doct rine (Mikk,ro. "secret teaching") descended from the lndtan Vajrayana >ystem. ln Shingon the cos-

3t

32

fiG. tc. AMtDA, BYODO-IN.

UJI, JAPAN.

mos is identified 11 hh the Universal Buddha. Vairoc;ma or Dninichi. The particular features of the unil'ersc in the form of multiple deities are all manifest:uions of the cosmic Buddha. All things in the materia l and spirilUal worlds are emanations of Vairocana, a va;t con>tella­tion revolving around the mystic ccntcr of the worlds. This occult system was pictorially pre­sented in the form of the maudula.f or magic diagrams of the material and spiritual worlds. As in Vajrayana. the recitation of magic spells and yogic meditation admitted the devotee to the secret heart of the uwuda/a and identifica­tion with the cosmic lord. A> Jung expressed it, .. llte secret instrumenl (of yogn) is therefore

only intended for him whose light of conscious­ness is capable of freei ng him from the powers of life (and consciousness) in order to en ter into the ultimate undivided unity. into the ccnter, the heart of the psyche:· lt was no wonder that such a doctrine would impose an even more abstract and hiera tic form upon the Buddha image. con­ceived now as a remote godhead and an emblem of terrible magic power. especially since these images were regarded as actual emhodiments of this deity.

In all the esoteric sects mystic union with the Buddha was the eventual goal. These cults based on superstition and implicit faith demanded the employment of secret rituals and spells with priestly aid for all ma nner of cures and worldly benefits. Specific icons were required for differ­ent rituals and needs. and the reliance on matical rites for concrete benefits made the religion approximate the Brahmanism against which the mortal Buddha had rebelled.

The Buddha images of the Jogan period have a new and heavy solemnity and imposing weighty grandeur in keeping with the trans­cendental aspect of the Shingon deity. The tendency toward expansiveness and heaviness of form is so exaggerated in some Buddhas of the Jogan period that they appear imbued wi th an oppressil•e heaviness and bulk. lt is as though the t-drvers wished to connote the supernalUral power of the divine beings through the emphasis on their sheer massiveness of bodily form. In these images of the ninth century the drapery is often reduced to shallow su.rface grooves, as though the carver were unwilling to in terrupt the sensation of volume and mass by a deeper carving. One formula. the so-called •·rolling wave style" (Hompa Sltiki) which occasionally appears provides for folds with a rounded pro-

file alternating with sharp ridges. a convention which goes back to the school of Gandhara. In some Jogan sculpture, like the famous torso of Toshodaiji, the drapery appears to be a copy of the more Huid manner of lacquer sculpture.

In the Fujiwarn period the cit) of Kyoto became the center of a wonderful but narrow culture, the chivalric pageant of the Ttde of Genji. in which the cultivation of aesthetic refinement in every detail of life was the preoccu­pation of emperor and nobility. The an of the Fujiwara period is the art of the capttal. FoUow­ing the cancellation of further official missions tO China in 894, Japan entered a period of isolation. For this very reason the icons of Fuji"ara times, created apart from continental inHuences. were more expressive of national ideals.

The Fujiwara period saw the creation of a new canon of Buddhist sculpture established by the famous image of Amida by the sculptor Jocho in the Byodoin at Uji (Figurt' 14). The inert hea"iness of the Jogan style has disap­peared in what is a conscious return to the ideal of the Tempyo period. Characteristic of Jocho's type are the benevolent face with downcast eyes, small nose and mouth. the slender a.rms \\ith tiny feminine hands. and the robe designed in flowing parallel curves of drapery. There is in this formula a balance between massiveness and grace. Although the Jocho canon revived something of the classic form of the eighth century. the Fuji\\nra images gi•e an impression of greater lightness and delicacy enhanced by the exquisite delicacy of their gestures and the feminine gentleness nnd beauty of the facial masks. This was a type which with little change continued to be repeated in later centuries in Japanese an.

It was the special cult of the Buddha Amida that more than anything else affected the devel­opment of the new aesthetic ideal in Buddhist art of the Fujiwara period. The worship of the Buddha of Light. Amitabhn. the ruler of the Westetn Paradise. bad long been known in Japan. but only in the tenth century did it develop into a special sect. This new faith in the saving grace of Amida was furthered even more by the generally held belief that two thousand )ears after the Buddha's death a terrible period of degenerntion "ould set in. The devotion to Amida was popularized by the preaching of the holy man Eshin Sozu who held out the prom­ise of rebirth in the land of Bliss beyond the sunset. Even more attractive \\US the easy possibility of salvation by mere in"ocation of the name of Amida - "namu Amida butsu." Such a simple formula, without the bocus-pocus of esoteric sects, to gain an eternal reprieve from suffering had a mighty appeal for men of all classes in these troubled times. Many paintings are actually associated "ith Eshin as their creator, such as the famous triptych of Koya­san. which shows Eshin's vision of Amida and his hosts supported on wreaths of cloud drifting down from the sky over the hills of Kyoto (Figure IS). The picture is a faithful represcnta· tion of the account of the descent of Amida in the Amirayur sulra: "When one who has prac­ticed these merits is about to be born in that country. Buddha Amitayus. together with the two Bodhisan,as Avalokitesvara and Mahas­thamaprnpta, also numberless created Buddhas, and a hundred thousand 8/riksus and Sra\"0/.:os with their whole retinue, and innumerable gods, together with the palaces of the seven jewels. will appear before him; Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta will offer a diamond seat to

33

34

h1m: thereupon Amita)US himself "ill ;end fonh magnilkcnt r:I)S to shine O\er the d) ing pcr.on'; lxxl):· In this as in countle..; other paintml)> deriH~d from iL the centrnl figure of Am1da I> e\CCuted in the technique of ~irigum. ··cut gold:· Gold leaf is cut \\ith a bamboo knife into a lace" or~ paucrn of geometric or noral dc,ign,. and then this \\eightleM, ;pidcr­web of gold i' nrJllied to the silk, sometime> over an undcrlaycr of gold lcnf, to symbolitc in its metallic Jumc the mdiant golden glory of Amida. Thb refinement of technique i> mmched by thnt of the ligurc>. dr.l\\n in line; of infinite thin ne;; and churacteri7cd b) a feeling of l.U.tcc and elegance. an arbtocrotic aloofness and

FIG. IS. YAMAGOSHI AMIDA.

ZENRINJII, KYOTO, JAPAN.

delicacy that are the religious countcrpan of the refinement of eanhl) society. The Fuji\\aro porlrn)al> of Amida ma) be 1cgardcd as an c\pr~sion in JaJ)anese term; of the Buddha I) JlC introduced from Tang China m ~uch protol)Jl<'S of the eighth century as the Amida of Horyuji Kondo.

11 \\as inevitable that the >Oft civilitntion of the Fujiwara. in which the inlluencc of the monarchy sc:1rccly extended beyond the capital. ~hould fall to one of the powerful military clans that for long had been disputing the rc<tl ru le of the country. With the installation or a military dietntor.hip under Minamoto no Yoritomo. it "a> not >urprising that an era of practicality and

materialism should replace the etfete dream world of the Fujiwom. These quali tie> assert themselves particularly in the new realism and force and austerity in religious art. The ortho­do>. types of Buddha images in both painting and .culpture are >ea reel) more than mechanical repetitions of the earlier formula.

The Kamakura paintings of Amida Raigo, "Amida coming (to ;,a,e)." or the Yamagoshi Amida in "hich the Buddha loom;. li~e a great ;.un beyond the mountains (Figur~ 15). "~re created not only for the benefit of the li' in g. but e.pecinlly for tho;.e in 1!.\tremi.r. Such painting:>. sometimes in the form or screen;.. were brought to the death-bed to facili tate the dying man's translation to Paradi>e.

In the Buddhist p:lintings of the Kamakurn period. as though to emphasi1e the urgcnc) of their celestial mission of salvation, the velocity of the descen t of Amida and hi. heavenly host in the Rnigo compo;itions as;.umcs a 'eritable rocket-like sp..'Cd. The Buddha and hi;. 'ariou;. attendants arc portrn~ed as tender and gentle. intimate and infinitely solicitou;. The 'ery haste of tl1e divine beings to ;uccor their devotee-s and their radiant benevolent character ;eem to reflect the increased and implicit reli­:lllce on Amida for 1he promise of rebinh to a beuer "orld. In thC>C da)s of ;.trife and unccr· tain ty 1here was no longer, :1s in lhe golden dream of the Fujiwara. with its reliance on c>oteric magic. an) thought of bringing paradi>c to earth. bu1 on I) the hope of e'caping to the L:md of Blhs 1hrough the intcnention of Amida. In many Kamakura painting> of the Amidist sects, f..irigum• or cut gold leaf almost en ti rely replaces pigmcnL and the forms of Buddha Amida nnd his train shine like lumi­nou;. disembodied appearnnec>. Their fragile

gmce and delicate linear definition reminds the beholder of the radiant. unearthly shapes created by the fourteenth centu ry painters of Italy. In Kamukura scu ip1ure certain type> of Buddha image. created by sculptors like Kaikei and Kokei combined 1he new realism \\ith an archaistie rciUrn 10 the s1ylc of Jogao and the Fujiwara periods.

In the la1er cen turies orthodox Buddhism was challenged b) the more dynnmic appeal of Zen and the doctnnes of Nichircn. and its pic1orial tmagery enlcr> a long period of decline. The exquisite delicacy of the J..irigtme technique i. replaced by gold pain t. so that figures tnkc ono metnllic rather than a iuminou. quali ty. As in c\cry spent tradition. a hard ne;; and df) ne;~ charnctcrize the process of atroph) in work> of the Ashiknga period and later.

lt is hardly filling to end our accoum of the evolution of the Buddha image on a note of decay and aurition in Buddhi;m and its an. E'en today. in the region' of the religion'> strength. icon;. continue to b.: produced and in accordance with traditional canons that emun: their power and beauty. Finally. it should be ;uid that 1hc purpose of the prc;ent exhibllion and its description in the page;, of this catalogue has not been >imply to d1>pla) the ob' 1ous borro" ing and endless repetition of the t) pc of Buddh:1 image originally developed in Iodin. but r:tther to show how the canon for these superb C\OCatiOnS Of invisible presences. these para­digms of ben ut) in the religious image. "ere adopted b) e'er) Asian land \\here Buddhhm prevailed a;. a point of departure for the creation of icons approprintc for the religious need, :1nd reHecLing the ucMhetic ideals of many peoples for nearly 1\\0 thousand )Can,. The history of the evolution of the Buddha image in it> mani·

35

36

fold translations into national artistic idioms O\er Asia parallels the e\er-renewed reworking or the canons of the Graeco-Roman world and the forms of Christian an and its iconography

through all the centuries of our Western culture.

Benjamin Rowland. Jr. Harvard University

SOUTH ASIA

1. HEAD Of BUDDHA INDIA, GANDHARA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

2. $TANDII'IG IUOOHA INDIA, GANDIIAltA 2MD aNT\lltY A.D.

3. SEATED BUDDHA INDIA, GAI'(DHARA laD OR .TH at~T\lltY A.D.

~. SEATED IUOOHA INDIA, GANDHARA 3110 Olt ~TH CENTURY A.O.

5. STAttOING IUOOHA INDIA, GANOHAIIA, KUSHAN Ja!>-4TH CfNTIMY A.O.

43

6. IUDDHA FU.GM.ENT INDIA. KUSIIAN PEliOO 2ND CEiffilRY A.D.

7. HfAO Of IUOOHA

IHOIA. KUSHAH l'fliOO 2HO QHTUitY A.O.

8 . SU. TEO IUOOHA

IHDIA, KUSH.VI l'fiiOD 3RD 01 4TH QNTUIY A.O.

9, TO«SO Of A IUOOHA IMOIA, GUPT A PElt lOO

STH CfMTIJIIY A.O.

10. HfAO Of A 11U00HA

IMOIA, GUPTA PUIOO

5 rH CfMTIJIIY A..O.

49

11. TORSO Of BUDDHA STATUE

INDIA, GUPTA PERIOD

5TH CfNTURY A.D.

12. HEAD Of BUDDHA

INDIA, GUPTA PERIOD

STH CENTURY A.D.

52

I 3. SEATfD a UOOHA IHOIA. GUPTA 1'01100 $1H CftmJIIY A.D.

14. STANDING BUDDKA INDIA, GUI'TA PERIOO slH CfNTURY A.D.

53

1$. HfAO Of IUOOHA KA$11-nH C£t1TUIY A.O.

16. SU.TfD IUODHA KASHM. IJTH-10111 CfHT\IIIY A.D.

ss

17. ST£LE ~ IUOOHA INDIA. ,AlA PU100

9TH- 10TH CENT\JI't A.O.

11. STANDING IUOOHA INDIA, ,AlA l'fliOO

10TH CENTUIY A.O.

•

19. CIIOWNfD BUDDHA

INDIA, PAI.A PERIOD 10TK CENTURY A.D.

60

20. $EA no euooHA INDIA, PALA PUIOO

7TH-8TH CEHTUitY A.D.

61

62

71 . SEATED BUODHA

INDIA. PALA l'fRIOD

7TK-tTH CfNTURY A.D.

•

22. CROWNED IUDDHA IENGA~. INDIA, P~ PERIOD lOTH CENTURY A.D.

23. SEATED BUDDHA

HEr Al. 16TH CENTURY A.D.

2•. PAMCAVJCSIIA MAMOAlA

nan lllll CEMTUitY A.D.

2S. PAGE FIOM A PI>LJA LEAF SIITJA

NEPAL lllli- 12TH CEMTUitY A.D.

~6. IUOOHA ANO THE EIGHT IOOHISATTVAS NEPAL 14TH CENTVU A.O.

69

SOUTHEAST ASIA

70

17. tUOOIIA ll1AILANO, OVARAVAtl PfRIOO

7TH CEI~lURY A.D.

72

28. STANDING BUDDHA THAILAND, MON.DVARAVATI PElUOO

7TH CENT\IItY A.D.

29. HEAD Of IUDOHA

KHMEII 13TH CEHTUitY A.D.

JO. SEA T£D BUDDHA

THAilAI'{(), SUKHOOAYA STYLE I~TH CENTURY A,O.

31. STANDING BUDDHA THAILAI'{()

13TH CfNTURY A.D.

32. HEAD Of 8UDOHA THAILAND 16TH CfNTURY A.D.

33. $TANDING 8UOOHA THAILAND, AYUOifYA SlYlf 16Tll CENT\IIY A.D.

n

78

30. 8UDOHA JAVA

8lli-9TH CfHTUIY A.D.

80

35. HEAD Of IUDDHA INDONESIA

CA. 800 A.D.

81

CHINA

82

36. STANDING IUDDHA CHINA, SIX DYNASTIES PERIOD DATED <144 A.O.

37. SU.TtO IUOOHA Oil HA OA TEO 338 A.O.

38. IUOOHA WITH TWO Ami«<ANTS

OIIHA 5TH C!I4TIMY A.O.

as

39. STANDING MAilllfYA IUOOKA

CKINA, Sill DYNASTIES PE«IOO

DATED 477 OR .136 A.D.

87

•o. IUOOHA MAITUYA

CHINA. SIX OYNA511fS

PERIOD OATIO 538 A,O,

41, SEA T£0 MAl TUYA IUOOHA

CWIW., SIX OYHAS TitS

PEIIOO

~2. STtl.f Wltl1 IIUOiliiA lo\AilllfYA

CHINA. SIX DYNASTIES rt'IIOO

92

43. SU. TtO tVOOHA

CHINA. T'AHG PERIOD

93

... MAHDALA

CHINA. rA~ rEIIOO

•s. STANDING &UDOHA CHINA

6TH C£NTURY A.D.

ol6. HEAD Of' &UDOHA

CHINA. rANG PUIOO

98

4. STAI'IDING IUODHA

Oil !'lA DAT£0 1107 A.O.

~9. STANDING IUOOHA CHINA, MING r01100

101

102

~. STANDING •uDDHA CHINA, CH'ING ffitiOD

Sl . SEATED IUDDHA CHINA. Mtt~ 01 CH•tHG PEIIOO

105

JAPAN and KOREA

106

52. MAITIEYA IN MEDITATION JAPAN, SUIKO PEliOO nH CENTUIIY A.D.

108

53. IUOOKA AMIDA COrY fROM WALl r AltrnHG

fROM HOIIYU· Jl

-~

54, SHAKA TRINITY

JAPAN, SUIICO PUIOD DATED "IN THf YfAR

Of BO·SHI" 628 A.O.

109

110

. ~ .... .

SS. HEAD Of IUDOHA

JAPAN, TfMPYO PEaiOD

56. IUDOHA SEA TfD OH A LOTUS

JAPAN, TfMPYO PEIIOD

111

112

51. TOIISO Of STANDING lUOOHA

JAPAN, lOGAN PERIOD

9TH CENTUitY A.D.

11 4

~. suno I UDOIIA ),r.P,r.H, £AALY f UJlWAJI,r. PBtiOD

$9. S IAHDIHG IUDOit ..

J"'""'· JOG .. H PBIIOD 9TI1 CDITWY ... o.

60. ICHIJI KONIIIN (DAINICHI) JAPAN, LATE fUJIWARA OR EARLY KAIMKURA PERIOD

111

118

61. SVlltA JAPAN

fUJIWARA

ffRIOO

121

62. J000 MANDA.A JAPAN, I(AMAI(URA PUIOD

63. SEA TtD IUODIIA JAPAN, fUJIWAAA PUIIOD

122

64. STANDING BUDDHA

ATTRIIUTED lO KAIKfl JAPAN. KAMAKURA PERIOD

65. AMIDA GOSON

JAPAN, KAMAKURA PERIOD

12~

66. IUDOHA

KOitfA, $1LLA PEIIOO

668 93S A 0.

61 SfAitO IIJDOtiA

JA'AH. ASHIIC,AGA 'EliOD

126

68. AMITAIHA ntiHITY

ICOitfA, Yl PE«IOO

18TH CfHT~Y A..O.

DESCRIPTIVE NOTES

128

I. HEAD OF BUDDHA India. Gandbara

2nd -·ury Sdlisl Htl;lu: 6' Mr.&: Mrs. Beojamio Roll land,

Jr.

2. STANDING BUDDHA India. Gondhara 2nd ~nlury Schlsl llelglll : 40' An.onymOU§ loon

J. SEATED BUDDHA I ndla. Gandbara Jrd-llh ~nlury Sb1< trolglu: 2lW \ 'ale lJnlnrshy Art Gallery Anonymous gift

4. SI':ATEI) BUDDHA lnd lo. Gondhara l'rom Snd Dh<ri. Paldslan Jrd-llh Ct'IIIUr)' Slot• Htlllbl: 4l' Mr. &: Mrs. Beojamin Rowbnd,

Jr.

71ris htod Is typlcol of tire l'ery rarlitst Gandhora stJit, In ~-hlch tht type of {~a turn oJtd tuhnU,u~ ar~ still strorrgly r~m/JIIsttnl of dassf~o/ pr~ud~nts. 71rt w[t. •ffmrlnor. ftaturtS and tlut wavy lwir srniq to disgu/u tlut ush­nisha opptor duivtdfrom a Grotct>oRomlln Apollo type. l""""'raphicolfta­tuus such os thr tlongattd tar-loiNs and the uma or mmk /Nt,.trn tht bro~·s art, of COUTK. lndi.tm rle,...nts rombiMd •ith Wrstrrn r.chniqur.

71rt hrod with Its soft, r/feminorefraturu is dtril'td from a Gratct>oRaman t)·pr, possibly tire Apollo /klrrdert. 71re robe is a schematl:rtil'trslon of the rarmtntl of RomaJr lmptrial portrait Slll/UtS of the August Oil Otrd Claudion periods. Tl,. strongly cliJSSical charac,.r of this am/ other early Gandlwra Budflllns op~ars 10 /ndlratr tltar tlt~y M'Cre corvtd by k'Orktrs rralntd ill the pagan ••orkslrops of the Roman Near East, possibly In SJ•ria or Egypt. 71re JYtsttrn tulmlqut has been JuperilllPOS'd 011 an lmlla11 /co11ography.

Tltls/moge i1111stratrs th~ "indianl:atloll" of th~ orlgilw/ly classical type of Gandhora Buddha. 71rr lutariness of tlr< bed)' and tht fiillllus of the fau are m()rr Indian, and th~ I'Q(aminous tota of th~ early BuJJira type has been rom·~ntionali:td into a lu~Mr formula in 'M h/ch tht folds ar~ r~prtNnted by quilttd ridg~s applied to tlut srnfact of tht ix>d)· 71rls Is a formula thor pro­•i<lrd a model for COWitltSS imitations of Gandhtua t)peS in Cmtral Asia DJtr.l tht Far Eon. The statw INan an inscription In KhorosthJ.,..~IIJr t.ht name "&1," probably that of tht riDIIDr of tht lnflllt. 71rt Buddha is rrpresenttd in tlrr mud m of m<rlttotlon or dhyani, a gesturr lndicatlllJithotthls is Sakya­mulll atthr time oftht! Gr~al Lzllghltnmtnt.

Sari Dlr~rJ Is tl silt ntar Peshawar tltat has ylcrltltd objects from tht Indus Vallt)' ptrlod to Kuslrau times. T1u"s small fragme/11 lllmtrotts one of t he moll,.' ('01114!111/0mlll:ations of tht cltwlcal ro~ of tarty Gnm/110rn Butldlras to a simple 1/rrtor incision. 71rr Budtlha, probably parr of a long slob from a monaJttry fa<atle, Is s/tOk'n In the nbbaya mudrn, the trsture ofbltsslng or ltaJJtJfQIICt.

5. STANDING BUDDHA lndl•. Gandhanl 3rd4tb tftltury

Bronu Hdghr: u ;· Tbe MttropoUtao M uswm of

Art Edith Ptrr)' Chapman fund,

1948

6. BUDDHA lndb. Kusban Period From Motbura 2nd ttntury Redsancb1ont Height: u;· 1\fus<um of fine Arts. ll<»toa

7. HEAD 01' BUDDHA lodb. Ku>lw> Period 2lld .... tur)

Red sandstOM Height: 9! • Mr. & Mrs. N•sli Heuamontck

8. SEATED BUDDHA Jndilo. Kusbln Period From Matbura 3rd4th century Red sondston• Height: 24' Tbe Clc•dand liiUSCtllll of Art:

Ed\Ollrcl 1.. WitttmOrt' Fund

71ril objt<t is one of a small nmnbtr of Gond/rora mt1a/ sratuts that reflect tht ll)'lt of the more familiar stone lmagts. lt is liktly that it •'Os through the txport of such smail•·trslotu of the Gtwiluua type of Buddha that tht form ond ltanograplry found tlttir 14't1J' to CtnirtJl Ana ond tltt For &st.

11ris fragmmt of o llotut /1 a smoiltr I'Orfont of such famous Kuslr<VJ Bud­dluu DJ that dtditatttl by Friar &la in tht! Archa~o/ogical Afllltum at Sar-11(11/t or thtt Stott*tl Bmltllw from Katra ;, the ftftlllra A1,stum. ThfJ Is a

complttt.f)' Indian I)'JH »·lth the lxKi)l anti/act represemtd In txptmsl••c, roundtJ nrrus.t!s indlt'otnl b)• simplt. g~ntl)' sk·t/ling plants, on Indian ttch­nlqut tlrot, in all tfosslc sculpturt, connotts tlrt fullnus tutd •ormth of jf~ in on abstract m«lt. 11rt drapt'ry, indicottJ b) incisions and rltftrs, Jttms from tlrr ttchnlqut of tht archaic Indian schools. As in all fnllton Butldlros tlr~r~ Is scr11pu!ous illllltatlon oftht laksh3nn or magic marJ..s.

11rls lrtad is on rxamp/r of thr tarfitll lntflan t)pc of Buddha. 711t sharply cl~ftnl'd ploMs. tht roth" iltOI'fonic. odditb·~ application ofth~ hroJ rontin~ thr tttlrnlqw oftltt n~rlitr Indian schools of gulpturt. Tlrtrt iJ an C'titknt atumpt to rt!!fder the fact o/thC' Enlighun~l OM -..·arm ond b<nt•·oftnl by tht k'ldt-optn ryts. th~ smiling mouth, and tilt radlanr wt!lf·IH'Ing connoted by tlrt >'tr)' fullr~tss of tilt fo<lalmask.

11ris Buddlta ltos tlrr mossl•r hraoy proportions of the Kushon ranon. Tht trtotmtnt of tht droptr) m o sptrm of pora/M quilttd rldtfu ontiripotu tlrt formula of tht Gupto lmagts of tlrt fouTth onJ fifilr ttnturl-s. os dHs the s•·rlu to~ring oftht torso tmd the shorp prttislon oftht cunlrw.

129

130

9. TORSO OF A BUDDHA lndlo. Cuptll Ptrlnd From Madwr2 Sth cmtury Rt'd S:lndstOM

•••lght : -IS!' Ntl'iOn Gallery (Nol.,.;n Fund)

Kun<aS O ty

10. H EAD OF A BUDDHA lndlo. Cuplo Period From l\lolhuro Sth cmtury Rt'd s:u•lst~ Htlght: llf" Mustum of Fme Arts, Boston

11 . TO RSO OF BUDOiiA STATUE

lndl•. Cuplll Period From Samotb Sth cmtW') Chunnr sandsc~ Height : 30' The Cle•cltlnd J\lustum of Art :

Purclwe from IM J . H. \ \ odt Fond

Tilt BuddJws caFI'~d durin/{ tire Gupta prr/od ou a combination of the mas· sl•·r. typically Indian type of body of thr Kushan imDtt~ and thr originally cl~mlcal drapery of Gantllrara. Tlor folds. as In thr latt Gant!Jrara aamplrs orr simplifirtl to stnnz·likr ritfgrs fallinz In paral/rlloops tlo•11 thr «ntral axis oftJr.~ form. 11tt rippling /710l'rmt'nt ofthi.s n~r of folds stn·u to nlie•·e tht static colwmwr rigltlit)• of the body.

This I.J the IJ'JN' of htad that 'M'OJ1ftl lrrn·e /Ntn auachtd ro thtt torso from Ka11JIIS Cit)'. Thr fact has tire spherical fullness o/thr Kus/1011 Buddha, carc<tl witlt ltrji11ite soph/Jtlcatlo11 and frrllnt for the btaury oftht s/mplr inrulack­lng pluMs thot t:ontptlst tire masA. Tltt t)'C*J,follo-.·ing tht unhtrStJlltWtD-­I'horlcal n>mrnrlon, art s/taptd liAr /otUJ petals: thr bro•s haw: the subtlr .<printint cur•·r of thr nttm plant or thr bow. 11rr snail-sht/1 rorls tkttri« tht Buddha's hair afur ht had cut off ltls printrl)' locks at thr Grrot Rt­uunrlmlon. T11r greatly elotrgat~d ~arlobes In t!Jis ami otlttr Buddha l~ttlds 11rr to be txp/ain.,l by tht focr tlrot. as a Prinu of tht Sokyo t/an, Sltl· tllmrtlm likt! ertry lndltlll nobleman wor~ tnormowly ltt!avy earrings -..·hlch oruficiall)' srmchrrlthr /obts.

n,r, is a fragmt•ltl ,, Ollt! o/tht! grt!CII IIUJfltrpitct!J of Gllpltl sculptuu tltat llhmrotts rhr finttl rrali:arlon of tht lt1rllon itltol o/tlrr ButfJha lnUJgt. Tlrr rW has be~n r~urnl to a smoorlt trantpartm ltlrmt'nl rompltttlyurm/iJ11 tht form bttntotlt. lt is a t.ol'llkr/ullllrntratlon o/tht! Indian sculptor'.s ro,. reption ofrht bocl)· as on abstract shoJW compoRd o/lmtncamr!Nrtd plaMs that in thdr gentlt tnltrlorking ronnott hotlt tht swtllilf)f fitllntss of tht form tmd tht k'ilfluth offltslr. lu simplidt>' nnd crystalliut' perfi•ttion mak~ it a f"tf.ct symbol uf tht immomlott purity o/thr body o/tlr. Tothogara.

12. HEAD OF BUDDHA I ndla. Gupr• Ptriocl From Sarnarb 5th t't'll tury Chunar snndslont Height: Uij' Mr. & MtS. Nasll HttnDilllltd:

13. SEATED BUDDHA India. Gupm Ptrlod S lb t't'lltury Bromr Htighr : 7' Or. &: Mrs. Samutl Eil<nbtrg

14. STANDIN G BUDDHA India. Gupla Period From Ohllnesar Khenl, 8anda

dislrict. Urtor Prod<Sb Sth ctniUry

Bromr Height: 14}: Nelson Galltr) (Ntlson Fund)

15. NEAD O F BUDDIIA Kashmir From Ushkur 7lb century Tun..mtta Htigbt: 9J' ~ Bid:ronl, Cle•dand,

Ohio

111u I>Muri/ul fragmrnt Is from on~ of th• Buddlta l•nag~s miHk at th• slu of /M First Pnachl1f6 In tht mid-fifth ctntury. 111< IFfW npnunts tht ultl· matt nfintm.nt of prtctdtnts of th< Gandhara and Kushon schools. lt is th• final fiUIIan id.al for th• Butldha foe.. Under tht bro••s t11n·rd lib o bow. tl~e/ottiS·pttalt)'tS arc tiiJ!rarttl in lo•• rtlief. 771f full,jlower·liktlips rtptot r};~lr gou/e curres. All O/tlrtse features art compltttly lm~gratttlt~.·ltlrllltlrt mass of tht head a1td tht p~r/tct Ol·oid of its contour. A sin oiiiiHJSttrpltrtl of tht Gupta ptriod, thrrt fs an ollnost gcom<~rit perfrction of form In thr unlnttrrupud SliiOOthntss of tht fodJJI p/an.s and, at tht sa""' timt, b) Its dtstription in quitt, circular shopts, tht fact rodiatrs a fttling of inforflt sutnity and purity.

n,t Buddha iS rcpr~J·tnud stoud on a raisttl dfa1, hl.s riglltltand in tht mmlrn of charity. Tlrll btmll/fill JlllttU!tU has all tlu! WQIIIImttrtalfty of the grtat

txnmplrs of Gupta scu/ptur~ in stone.

11111 ll'tftal imagt' is a rt'pttitio~r in small scalt of tht stylt o/tlrt fourth and fifth c~·fllllf)' stotrt imogts of Sornnth. lt retains at tht same tin~ somtthlng of tht soft IIOIIJTOIJstlc trtollnelll of draptry setn In early Gatrdhclfn sru/pturt. Coumftss small sratut.l of tltls t)~ "''trt mmlt' In Gupta times and. lutu, at l•ialolllfD untltr tht Palas. 111rlr upon ltd to tilt sprtad of Indian st)·lrs throughouttht ~holr l11<1iun •urld.

Kasltmlr remolltt•ti us an isolatt'd ompost o/lnd/a, Buddhism anti its art t'll· d11rtd long Qjitr the tcflp.re nf tht Kushan ami Gupta empires. In st)'lt'. tltt' ltt'ad with its [rte, .fomtM-Imt ncllllralisrlt' fiiOdtllt.g suggtsts tht> ttclml(filt' of tlrt srurco satlpturrs of Gandhara. This Is romblnt"d ·with somt"thmg of tht ltltol absrraclton of form llSJIXiattd •'ilh thr Gupta st)lt of Mothura anJ SamarJr.

131

132

16. SEATED BliDDHA Kasbmlt 91h-101h t'ftllury

Gill bront< Hoighl: 4t' Mr. & Mrs. Nasli Hooramancck

17. STELE OF BlrDDHA IDdis. Pab Period 9th-101h t'ftllury

Blark thlorioe soone Helglll : 25' Nelson Call..-y (Nelsoo Fund),

Kansas Cily

18. S1'ANOINC BlJDDHA lndlu. PaiA period IOih ••nlury Blatk thlorile Slone Heighl: 41' Frank Caro

19. CROWNED BUDDHA India. Pab Porlod lOth <ftllllr)'

Diad< dllorho SIOOO Heighl: 16}' Mr. & MN. NllSii Htera~JJan«k

This itnDg~ u onotAtr iffusrrotion of th~ ~nduring in/W~nc~ of tM Gupta itkol, long afttr th• sty/~ Dlfd tlrt r<-litlon lt S<'n'td in India hod wmlslrtd. Tht rtlotionshtp of this statumt to -to/ Buddlras of N•pal and Tibtot is ~xplaintd not only by thtir common d~rNntion from tilt art of tht &ngal Valley, but olso h)• tht txcharrg.s artistic, rtlltlous, and tllplomotlc. which are known to ltawt taken plau ~ht'ttn Kashmir and t!te Comrtry ofrhe Snows.

This imogt u l)#col of countless uompl.s of stotuts t:t~~wd dMring tlrls lost ptriod of Buddilism in India. Th~ srylt Is tss.ntiJJI/y o r<-ptt/tlon of th<- tdrJJI l)'ptS of tht Gupta ptriod, htr• rtduc.d to o somtwhot mechanical. dry at­cm ion. The Budtllra Is sllo11'n in the bhumispnrs.a. or earth·touclu'tfl, mudra. 71tis is a rtft'ttiiCt! to fill ~pisode of the Grtar Enlightenment"'"'"· assaulted by th< Dt111011 Mt1ra, Sokyumuni cnllrtlupon tht Eonh Godtl.ss 10 support his rig hi to takt his s-at btontolh tM Bodhl Trtt 01 Ill< pal< of tltt unil·erst. In Moha)ona ButldJriJm, this poSt' is tak•n Ol'tr for ponro)·ols of Akslrobhya, the Dhyani Bwldlro oftlr< East, and /t mo)' •tll bttlrot this stotu~lsartprrs­<ntotion of thil m>·stlc di•int Buddlro.

71re sttle slrows the Butldha with hi's bolly brill in a gent/~ Cllfl.'C as /11 the images of tht Guptu JMrlod. The pou ,.,,, urtalnly dt~•ls.tl origlnnlly to Im­port a /~tling of niO\'tml'nt. almost a suggtsrlon of the But.ldha·l moviq to•·ard tht dt~Ottt. Tht stylt, as 1uuo/ In tht Polo sculptur<- of &ngal, ,._ fttcts 1ht Gupto canon in" dry prteisl! ttchnlqur. The btost of tlrt Po/Q Icons, ilk< tht prtSMt onr. still rrtoin somttlung of the •-onduful fnling for im­moculatt surfou and •·o/ume tlrat t)'pl/itd tltt srylt of Samath In the fifth ctlttury.

Suclr c:row11td and ~jt't~.'tl/ed images nre gtntrally rtgaFdtd as rtpresl'nta. rlons of tht &uldl1o trunsfigurtd ;, SambhOI!Ilkaya with ro)ol our/butts S)'mboli:irrg th< di>inr rodionu and spltntlor oftlr~ Body of Bliss. This t)'pt •ith tht Jrands In tht guruu of Turmng 1hr 11'11<-tl of th~ l.o•• (Dharma­cakra mudra) Is rtP'ottd in N•pol, Tibtot, ond tht Far Eos1 for rtprtstn· rations o/tht suprtmt Buddha Vafroama.

20. SEATED BUDDHA India. Pa!a Period From Kurkilulr (Bihar) 7tb-81b century Gilt bromc Height: 3 1/ 16' Mr. & Mrs. Nosli Heeramaneck

21. SEATED BUDDHA Iodin. Palll Period From Sirpur 7th-Sib century Gilt bronu Height: 7f' Mr. & Mrs. Nasli HeemJlllllWek

22. CROWNED BUDDHA Beogal, India. Pnla Period lOtb ""ntury Gill bronze Height: 9 llfl6' Mr. & Mrs. Nasli H ceramantd<

23. SEATED BUDDHA Nepal !6tb ~tury Gilt bronze Rclgbt: 9i' Mr. & Mrs. Nasli Heeramaned:

24. PANCARAKSHA M ANDALA Tibet 18th century Color and gold oo linen

E1•en more than th~ stone sculptures oft/re Polo puiod. tire small bronzt imag~s from sites like Kurkihar and Sirpur ~peat th~ id~alism and re/ine-­m~Jtl of tJt~ Gup111 sty/~. Tltey ttnd ro bl! mor~ ltluarlc:. and formaliud, but the examoles in the presellf eol/ectlon:disp/ay a much greater bto11ty of rec.h­ttiqu~ and form tlratJ the beltt r·known bronzes mmle at NCifanda in the Polo era.

71Jl.s image represents the Buddha stated in European fashion and may,for tiJis reason. be a portrayal of J\1olir~ya. Tit~ type of lt~ad and rlr11 body tn .. dosed in tile smO(Jth mantle perpetual~ tm a small scaltt the beautiful tDJlOII

of the Gupta style of Sarttath.

Thi.s mBtal image is a minlature counterpart of the iconographical type /re~ qmmtly encount~ud in rh~ stone sc11fpture of tilt period. The preselll image in the Bhum.isparsa or earth-touching mudra may be a rtprtsvuario, of the Buddha Akshobhya. Statumes of this tYP< are the auc•stors of the Dhyani Buddlms iu~/Vepal and nl~t.

Tire strict adltf'rt.wce 10 cunonkal rules for /C(JnS in Nepal and Ti/Nt made for (I clrtmgtltss repetition of earlier types. This rigid traditionnli.rm ;, the mak· ing of icons Is to be explai11t!d by tht fact that a special sanctity was auachffl to BudiUw lmages mOlle in India. Staw~s ~·enerf1ttd or famous situ were somehow thought to partake of th~ essence of tire Buddha ~!to once mam·­festtd himself there, so that .wmething of tlu"s virtue and miraculous property would be tratu/trred 10 a Strict rep~titlDII of tlr~ sacr~d originals.

71tis palming Is of o type deJ·cribed br Tibet ti.S a gser t'an I.Jr "goltle" ranka" characterl;etl by the goldfiguus against a red ground. In this beomifitl d~co­rothtt mode rite figurts emerge Ilk~ iridt.ft:l!flf goldtnjlow~rs against the ruby bockgromul. Tile C'entral figure is Sakyomunl auended by the /kJdllisau•·as

133

134

JSt' by 26!" Fogg Art Museum (Wmel

Bequest)

25. PAGE fROM A PALM· LEAFSUTRA

Nepal 11 tb·l2tb century 22:l' by 21' Mr. &: Mls. NasU Hetr.ullllneek

26. B U DDHA RATNASAM­BHA VA (Rin-chen abyunldlln and the Eight Bodhisath·as

Nepal 141b <"'ntury Color on Uneo Mr. & Mrs. Nasli Heeramantd< (Co•·.,.. flluslnltloo)

26a. SEATED BUDDHA Centrnl Asia, from Tumscbuq 4tb·Stb eentury Oay Muse< Gulmet, Paris (Not iiiU!tnlted)

27. BUDDHA Thailand. Dvaravati Period From Chieog Mal

Al•olokltl'n•ara and Maltre~·o. &low, to the le/1 and right, ar~ Kuvna the god of•·talth and the Hi1uiu deity of w!Jdom Gonuha. and, at the •·<r)l bot· tom. Mahakala, "th~ great Black One," one of the eight ttrribl~ prottctlng di••lnitln of Jhe Vajrayana pantheon. As always in Tibetan art, tire forms are based on prc-txlsting paradigms. so that the close resemblance to earliest examples of Nepalese pointilll in the collection are not at all surprising.

The miniarure illustrations accompanying the inrocations of,•arfoiiS deities in tlt•s• ma11uscripts are faithful copies of the style of the Pala period in Jndia. The fiaur~s hove bun uduud to a fiat decoratin~ /or m of the same beauty of eo/or that characterizes the earliest examples of Nepalese painting.

Ratnasambhava Is the Dhyani Buddha of the South, and thisranko may ha••e formed part of a s<t Including all fi•·e oft he mystic Buddhas of the dlr<ctions. His distincriw! eo/or is yellow, and he is shown in tht varada mudra or geswre of charity. Tlte costume with crown and jn.•e/s follows the lconogrtr phy of impllcotions of/ridden erotlc charm in tire f!.nigmt:ltic expressions, the svelte elegance of the bodies, and the sinuo11s moving line. a quality entirely compatible with tlie magic se:tUill dr11racur of Jlajrayana Buddhism. In this ~·rry early example of paintiltg in Ni!pal the brr'/liant colors and the mo.nu· mental figurt.'i seem like a dlstam ecl1o of th~ classic Indian style of Ajanta.

This fragmem from the montHtrri~s o/Tmnsdmq in Turkesta11 was recover~d by an ~xptdirlon ltd by Pa11/ Pel/lot early 111 tht presem century. Th~ sculp­ture of Tumschuq represents an eastward exrensio11 of the styles of clay Q.Jtd stucco SCiilplllre found at Hadda and Folldukistan in Afgham'stan. ne treat­ment oflht drapery illustralts a fitrther formoll:.atlon of whal H'al OftCl! tlze classic ro!N of 1.he GandJ1ara sta.tue.s and proo;idt.s the dlrtCI prototype for thtt earliest Buddhist sculplllre of Chinll.

This beautiful image of the Dvara~·ati or Pr~Kltmtr pedod Is clearly derio;ed fromthf Gupta Buddhas of rlre Sarnath Sclrool. Tire breadth of shoulders ancl the n•tltt tapered prof'()rtion oflht body hm·e btt11 exaggerated iniO a mol ...

7th wuury Black .~one Height: Slt' Nelson Gallery (Ndson Fund)

28. STANDING BUDDHA Tballancl. Dvatll>"llti Period 7th century Bronze Height: Sl' The Cleveland Museum or Art;

Norman 0. Stone aod Ella A. Stone Memor!•l Fund

29. HEAD OF BUDDHA Khmtr 13th eeorury Limt'Stooe H•ight: sr Fogg Ar1 Museum

30. SEATED BUDDHA Thailand. Sukhod:ly• style 14th eeotury Bronze, with Jl'ltina unci traces

of gilding Height : Z4l' Breeu"·ood Foundation,

Monkton, Md.

31. STANDING BUDDHA Thailand. From Lopbwi 13th century

ing canon of beauty. Touchts of uafism, as in the swelling fold of flesh at rht waist DJtd the indlcarlon of thl' knte. caps., tUiimatt the. abstract collctp­tion. Particularly beautiful and typical of .ar/y Thai Buddhas is the decora· ti~·e rtp~tition of the lines of the indiw'dual {e~:~tures in ethoing curvts.

This srafl1t-lle is a ,small count~part of the standing stone Buddha from Cltieng Mal. Its deril'tuion from a model of the Gupta JH!rlod at Sarnath is e•·li:J~nt in the disposition of the hotly in an S·cune and in the chmaCJeristic sheath-like ro~H. Local traits of this imported Indian style ore the enlarged curls, open eyrs. und full lips, parts of a head h'lrich, as usttal, is somewhat out of scale with the proportion of the body.

The /"ads of Buddha imagts of the last cenwry of the classic period of Cambodian art prestrve the solid cubic mass of torli~r ty~s. The fraturl!s, Instead of being applied to the .rurface and reilljorutl with engravt!d outlines, are llOW absorbed in tlrr plastic mass oftlrr head. 11Jls teclmique ruulrs in a greatu softness of modelling which Sr!n·ed to accentuate the introspectit·e dreamy exprts.st'on implltd by the familiar formula of tire dosed eyts and smlling /lps. The Sl4gge.ttlon of personality is to M explained by the fact that in Cambodia images of divinities were ideal portraits of the king in the guise of the presiding dttity of th' rra/m.

1?1e robe is -...·orrr in the .. open'' mode, one rnd being folder/ back and forming o shoulder flap. 71te posu~re of the image I$ known to tilt Siamese os Maravi­jaya. The noble, decorotli·e Jtyl~ of the image ltas many rtminisuncu of the classic Klw~r nroJml'r.

The Buddha is rtpresenud with both hands in the gesture of r~assurance (Abhayo mudra) and wearing a crown. This /attu emblem designated tllf concttption of tlrt' Buddlro as transfigJ~red in Samblrogakayo a11d a/ludtJ to

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136

Broau Htlgbt: 6j• u- P. Coollclge

JZ. HEAD OF BUDDHA Thaibuld 16tb ttoltlr)' Bronze Holght : UW Fogg Art MUS<'um

33. STANDING BUDDHA Thailand. Ayudbya style 16th = tury Broau, <<ntml with lacq_.

intei'IMd as ao adbesin to ~ the gold letf

llolgbt: 28! • lltftwoood Fouodatioa.

M onl..tOII, Maryland

33a. STANDING BUDDHA Thailand. Bangkok sryle 19th <"fiiiUr)'

Wood, lacquered and gilded Height : 103 on. ~zc~ood Foundation,

Monkton, Md.

tht Cam/xJdian and Siamt:« cult of dcva raja. Tlo< stylt u that of tht laJt tiOJstc monumtnts of tht JWriod of tht &)-on at Aqkor.

11rt BudJha htads in 11railand of thU f"rlod rontlnut tht formula of tM classic period of Khmtr scu/pturt in Cam/xJdla. 11rt Yparatlon of tltt hair from tht fact by a broad band is a tft•·ict of Khmtr htadJ oftht Aqkor JWriod, and attht samt tlmt the 11raift•t1i"8 for the dtcoratl••t persists In tht petal· slroJWd t)'ts that rtpeat tht formula for tht tarlim imOJ/<3 of tht D•-ora••atl JWrlod.

/11 adtlltlon to the mOIIIJStlc robe, .. :/rich is In the ''c<n·trbtg" modt, tltt 811d· tlha wtorl tht ornamtms of TDJ'tllty. The abh.ayamudra of Indian Iconogra­phy U know11 to tht Slomts.t as Ham Nati . .. prt••tntbtg klnsmtn from qUJlr· rtllq o>tr tht "''altr rights of tht Rohini." Tlo< imOJI<IJ doubtltss a ropy of some rrtat CJJ/1 .statut, which tttYJre a gold crokt·n ONJ liad rtal orfW.ItlDfts tuJWr/mpostd on tht monastic drtss, possibly tht Sorbtjno, tht Palladium of A)'udh)·a. Bodl)' damagtd duriJtg tht Burm•st •or$ of th• late tight .. ntlr etntury,tht Sorlw}nafound its t<ay to IJol!lkak tarly In tht nin<tttntlr antu­r)· anJ "41 Malt*d up insilk a cetiya tott.·tT. /t is J.M,.n tltatlt -.w a stDlfli"llll lnaagt. bur {urlhtr ducription is lackin,g.

71t~ suptrnatura/ anatomy is ratlrtr in.s.isted on htrt! and the ushnisha, thl! diJttlldtd tarlobrs. antltlt~ gold..colortd skill are almost llnh·trsolln Si.amtst Bmldhn lmagn. Tht tt'tn fingers antlrMt and tht pro}trlilfG hrtls au usual, hut tht~ urnn IJ much ltss common. The monastic tlrns, rcpust!ntt'd as red cloth rmbroltlered with gilt flo-..,rs. Is •·om In thr "OJWn" mode. a11d tholtlfh ltls styllutl, lt IJ coherently and comprthtnJft•e/y nndtrtd. Certain tltmenu of tltt "''alst doth, wlliclr is ,.aJ/y undtr tilt robt, ar< vlslbl• btcoutt tht radiance of tht Buddha's /xJdy malct3 the robt tronspattnt. 71rl! visible tft. nwnll lnciUilt tht up~r part of tht ~aht cloth. turntd tlottrn ovtr an lnrlsiblt cloth btlt, and a pant/ of pftattd doth fal/iq tJo,.n vtrtlcally btt•· .. n tlrt l<gs.

34. BUDDHA Indonesia .• From J ava 8th-9th century Bro= Height: 7t' Professor Samuel Eilenberg

35. HEAD O F BUDDHA Indonesia. From Borobudur ea. 800 Grey voleanlr stone Height: I Si' Seattle Art Museum; gift of

Mr$. J ohn C. Atwoud, Jr.

36. STANDING BUDDHA

37.

China. S ix Dynasties Period Dated 444 Bronze Height : 111' Museo Nazionale deU' Arte

Orlentale, Rome

S EATED BUDDHA China Datod 338 Gilibronze Height: l ;Ji' M. H. De Yo­

t.fuseum, San Afery Brundage

Memorial Francisco, CoUectlon

This small statue, like. all such metal lmag~s. h'tlS mad~ by a peculiarly r~ fined use of the cire-perdue process. The fact that tire Budtllla is in vitarka mudra, tlte gesmre of inslrucrlon. makl's it likdy tltaJ tltis is a represmto­tion of Vairocana, probably inundttd for prh'ate ~·nrerorlon in a monastic establlshmem. The style of tM.t Mautifu/ suuuette with Its softly mod~IINI smooth p!UlleS o11d radiam spiritual e:cpressil'tmess Is ;, reality o mi11iaturc replica of the guat stat11es of Borobmlur.

This head of om! of the Dhyani Buddhas from tlu~ gr~arest mommrenr of Indonesian Bmld/Jism represents allttltimau refin~menr oft he Gupra formu­la. The moviltg simplicity of tlte planes of the mask make this a symbol of the crystallin~ perftttion of the myslic Buddha.

This Jtatt"tte is one of the t>atlfest known examples of elated Bmldilist sculp­ture in China. 71Je style of drapery is a lini'ar com·emionalization of t he Gatulharaformulo. The figure with the lorgeltead and pudgy feawru DPMOrs to be on imitation of some Cemral Asian proto-tyM", rather than an actual Indian model. lt amiclpates the ttl'en more formo/i:ed presentations of feo· mres and drapery In the Buddha Images of Ynn Ka11g and the large bronze Mairreya of 477 ltnt by the Metropolitan Mustum of Art. The aurtol< bordettd with jlam~ pal/erns is frequently encounured in Chinese Buddha images of the first hD/f of the fifth cmtury.

1/ authellfic. the inscription orr the rt:l'ersc of tlu's image 'i''Ould make ir the earliest known ~xnmple of Buddhist sculpture in China. Tlrt: rather crud~ sty/~ is an imitat/f)n of Cemral Asian Buddhist sc-u/pt11re. in which the Gan­dltara ryp~ has already been reduced ro !deographlc slmpllcity. The rigid in· organic portrayal of body and face seems like a ptrpe.tuarion of the purely Chlnese abstract manner of symboli:lng human figures In Hnn rimts.

137

138

38. BUDDHA \'11TH TWO ATTENDANTS

ChlD2 Sth -tury Sandsl ooo H<lgbl: 25! • Mr. & MIS. Null Ht<nlma!Wk

39. STANDING MAITREYA BUDDHA

China. Six D)'llaSiics Period O.lod 477 or 486 Gilt bronze Ht lghl: SSi" 'Th<- M <lropolilsn M useum or

An . New York; Kennedy Fund 1926

40. BUDDHA M..UTR£YA Chloo. Six Dyaaslies Period Oalod S38 C01 broftu H<lgbl: 24• Unhtr'Sily or P•msylfllnill Mu­

seum, Plllladdphla

41 . SEATED MAITREYA BUD-DHA

Chlno. Six Dynasties P eriod From t.ung-mon 61h cenlury Bl11<k llmeslooe Hel&hl : IIW Mr. & MJS. Beojamio R ow land.

Jr.

The ctntrol figure of Buddha illusrrotu the Imitation of tltbaud Gondhoro motlels/rom Central Asia that pre•·oiled m Chintsc Buddhist art during the tarty period of its dt,.lopmLnt. Tht txtrmH"I)· archaic technique of carvillg, as '"'11 as tht type and drapery of the Buddlro figure, co"tSPOnd to tilt style of tht fifth untlfl'}' sculptuns of Yiin K0111.

This Is one of the tar/lest and most important doud &1ddJrist bron=u in tltt WtJ'ttrn world. According to tht dart, it 'lt"(ZJ modt or tht timt of the firn grtat period of Buddhist sculpturt at Yiln Kong. Thc drapery Is rtndertd in the sam• com·entlon of ribban•like bands breaking Into forked folds that wtz.r ustd for some of tht stone colossi m tlttt t:Ol'tf temples In Sllansi. The ratfltr block-like trtatment of the head ••I tit Its ••ttfgt-shoptd nose and or· rho/~ Jmllt sttm 10 mdicatt tht tmtrgtnct o/th~ mort abJtract ltyle of Chfntst Biuldlrfsr Jtulpturr.

This beautiful bron~• imogr ill.strotts thl! choflle In stylr that hod tokm p/ou In thl! sixth ctntury. lnsttod of thr complrttly Crntro/ Asian m<UU~rr rtpustnttd by rlw bron=~ stat~ of 4n. tht pttHnt exampiL is co_n.. cri•ed m o complrtrly Chineg modi!. Tht body is prtsrntrd as a jfiJt profilt tmphosl:ed by the SLrrated s..·o/Jo .. ·-toil s/wpt of tht /fa/ring robe. in •hich lintar Jurfa« pautrn pre,·aiJs o••tr any piMtlr ni/JJS. Tltt abnroet cubic formula/or the htod '"'ith its archaic smlft and almond t)'l!l is typical of this >'l!fY Chlnu• phose of Buddhist SCIIIptufl!.

This "Pfl!.<entation o/tht Budtlha of the Futurt Is t)plcul of the type of Bndtllllst sculpture t•·olreJ in the early sixth ctnwry a t the site oftht famous ta•·e rtmplrs at Lsmg·mtn. The ButMhisr Messiolr Is <lrtss••d In o toltume lllllally rtstrw~d for Bodhisatr,·as or Budilhlsr atthmrgel.r with long scon-es or srolts troJSetl over rhe torso. 17tt hitrotk and fiat mamttr of rtpusLnfing the body In linrar ttrms, tht geometric simplification of thr farm art typical of this most Chinrg phase of Boddhist sculptufl!, ofl•n romportd to Roman­aqw stulpturt by uQSQn of its att.ro-i!Uplrlng 1tr-trlty and obJtrattlon.

42. STELE WITH BUDDHA MAJTR£\'A

China~ Northtra \'"ei Prriod Dattd 500 UmostOM H clgbt: 37!" Tbt Cle•<land M115eWD or Art:

Mr. & Mrs. Sennmce A. Milikan Coll«tlon

43.. SEATED BUDDHA China. T'ang Period 7th-8th <tntury Cllt bronze Height: 4 ' Mr. & Mnl. IJetllamjo Rowbnd.

Jr.

44. MA>..,DALA China. T'aog Period lkh-9111 c:tllttlr)'

CUt bnln:tt ~·by Si" M•tblu KODIOt

-15. STANDING BUDDHA China uuo 6th or early 7th century Llmt>10IKI Height: SO!" S..u~ Art Museum; Eugeoe

Fu.lltr Memorial Collecrioo

This Is on Iron rhor ~r/url)• illusrrora rh• fully d .. 't'lopro Chin.s• st>1• of Butldhlst sculptur~ In the sixth c~ntury. Son~ S4ggtsllon of tlrt rtWSthtntl$ of on JnJ/rm or Crntra/ A.sion origlnal rtmoilfS. but tlrt formoll:nl hlrrolic ron«ptfon of rh• bod)' mainly in "P'oted linror rhythms Is rompl•tel)• Chi­n~.u. as Is tltt trtotn~nt o/tM fau witlt iJs or~hoic smllt and IMmnrical/y sinrp/ifiro /"'runs.

This ln101e In its so/tntlS and roundn~ss of form illuslfotts tht JHittffotion of Gupta id~o/s to China in tht se•·tnth and right)! rrmurfts. Tht jf11ltl plc· tor/a/ trtutmtnt of the Jraptry is t)rpical of tit~ CltlntU rrmiJformalion of tltc- /ndi1111 formula.

In the- «rtll'r of tht' pluqu~ il a rrinit)1 of Buddha DJtd ,.,.'0 Bodhl.safll'DS sur· roulllkd by u galaxy of smullrr Buddha jigur~J. This Is o slmplrr form ofrll• •·ostl)' NJmpl/<a,.d diagrams of Ul)lrric Buddhism. n.. orflin of this mult/­plirotk>n of /Judd)oos around IM antral Tar/ragota Is in th• Grrot \flrad• Sra•·ostl, •htn SoJ..)·amuni <GJULd myriad .-pli<as of himM/f ID fillth• JA)'. Eun In such tiny scol• it is poJJibl• 10 su thottM /igurts ho•• th• orfllnolly lntlion fullncu offonn fa•-or<d in T'ang rtligious art.

711/s sltfllllllrl)' beautf/ill imagt, which IN/ongs ~ithtr to tht tron.ritioffol Sui per/O<I or th• •arly T'ong, Is a prrf•cr illustration of rh• translation of Indian Gupta IJtals Into Chlm•se terms. Th~ repruematlon of tilt body a.r a smooth ''olumr rtrcasttl In a sllt'oth·llkt' roiH is a familiar tlevlrt of the Samarh sc1mo/, htrt rtduced to an ~~·t'n gr~ter slmp/ificotiolf of the- sltDJH!S that hal't' rh• ~r/urlon of gromttric solids. Th• round, !Hn/g'n mOJk o/rh•fau, dtt­portiflg from rh• ongulor formula ofrk Six DynOJtf-. P"rlod, is 11ltirttDUiy /nd/on, 100, but rh•/N11Jif.S main som.thiflg of rh• orcholc ronv•ntions of tht' .-orllut &Jtldhist sculpt'ilrt ill Chi110.

139

1<40

46. HEAD OF BUDDHA China. T'ang P<riod. From tbt

"Elephant Chapel," Chlng Chow, Kansu Provl-

lale 6lb 0<' early 7th cealllr)' Limes! OM

Heigbt: 12' Fogg An MUStU111

47. THE GOLDEN IMAGE OF CH'ANC KAN·SSU

China. T'ang P<riod WaU p•lnting from Ca>< 140. Tun·hllllng

8th c<!ntury 10' by 37' Fogg Arl Museum

48. STANDL"'C BUDDHA China. Nortl>ern Sung Pmod Oaled 1107 h ·ory Height: 161' Rlllph M. Chait

49. ST Al'i.'DINC BUDDHA Clllna. Mlng P<riod 16th-17th century

CUt bronze Heigbt: 45l' Tbe Odrol1 lDStitvlt or ArU

This h~ is OM of a nunlbu r<<OIVM from this rmtot< sit< by Longdon Worn<r during his exprdttion to Tu,.huang in 1924. The style of the head In such /taltlrts as rht cap-Ilk~ hair and the archaic smilt! repeats the formula oftlte Yiin Kong ca•·ts ofth< fifih century, but th< <Onctption of the form as a more rouNkd plastic mass betokens the infiltration of Indian Gupta influence that ~·as to transform Chlnue sculpture ofth< T'ang pniod.

The paiming/11/lstratts the legettd of a golden image ofBudtllta 11t<Jtlt by the fourth daaghttr of AsoAa and mlraculot4/y transported to C/Una. The s10ry rontinuts that in the Chin era(JZ6·JJ4) tho Image ~'OS recorertdfrom th< bay by a nrtain Kno U and carried b>• boat to the ttmple of Ch'arl/! Kan· JS/1. This Is ont of many Jllch legends dta/lng with lntllan in"''ts finding their •·ay to China, ~hich rmut be <YtntUJJI/y basM on th< <Ktuollmpartt>­rlon of icons from tht IYt"sttrn t'OIIJttrlu. lt is ~rlwpl nor oulrrly an acci­dtnr that the srntu~ rt'prt.rrnrtd in tht poinfiltJl IHar:s some res~mblanu 10 a Gandhura original.

17tls statum• Is a perfect illustration of tile elaboratt pl<torlol style tlrat clwracterl"" Buddhist SCIIIpture of the Sung prriad and /mer. Typical, too, of this last sentimental phOS< of Buddhism is the grau and feminin< refine· nr~nt o[/Nturts and nos~. T1rt exqulsilt pttd5;on and dtplh of can•ing that manlpt~lalt lht medium lnlo a cotutlt r/tit of painlerly tlfec/.S art JH!rhaps more approprlou to i-.·ory than lorg~scale sctllpture. The rich grain and pal· ina perftctly complt-nt the tl<tant beauty of this baroque style, in which the rtligiouJ image U only a pretext for a virtuoso ~rformanct.

This sraJue Is a l}'plco/ 11/usrratlon ofth< archaistic re>i•'Ois of corlter Jtylu in China in lottr prriads. Ultimately the style •ith rippling drapery foldr goes back to Garrdlrara. Its rom•tntlonallzatlan into applied ribbofls breaking Into forked folds uprats the style of Chinue Buddha lnliJ8U Dfth< lo.tt fifth etntury at Yun KDng. Th< figure is probably to be itkntiMt/ tu Dnt of the innu,.rable laltr copies of the famous sanda/•'00<1 lmnge of Jang Utlayana.

SO. STANDING BUDDHA China. Cll'ing Pmod 1811> or 19th c:mtary

CUr IJroonu Hrigbr: Si' FoaAr1M.......,.

SOa. CHANC SSU-KUNC. BUD-DHA TRINITY

China. Northern Sung Period llrh <entury CoiOI'$ on silk Hdll)lt: 51 3/ 16' Srooklyn Museum

51. SEATED BUDDHA China. Mlng or Cl> 'ing Period 1711>-1811> <en~ury Coloroo .. .,... 49' by 28i' Mr. & Mn. ll<ojamin Rowland,

Jr.

52. MAITREVA IN MEDITA­TION (HANKA-5H rYUI­ZO)

Ja .. n. Suiko Pmod 7rh """rury Cllr bronz~ ~ldghr: 18' 1'ht- Cln•laod M...,.,.. of Ar1;

Job L S..·tnnce F'UDd

Statumts afth/J t)'pe •"<re 1PliNh- in large num/wrs in TI!Nt and In t!rt LAma­ist tstabli.sJun~nts in China as /at~ as tM nin~tt~ntlt ctntury. Ukt tht /argtr bron:t ltffl by tht Dtrroit lnstituu of Arts, rltU is a1t0tht'r txamplt of tlrt Utlayano I)~. ltt'rt rnlu«d to tln ~·tn mort rigid ron-.·tnrloiiDii:atlon.

Chant Ssu-kung Is o ntbulous figure -..·lrost namt has b<tn prtstntd only In Japantst rtrord.s and is rt'prtstnttd almost tntirtly by polllfi1rgs prtstn-td in Japan. Ills stylt rtprts-nts a rtd/JC/ion oftht po••uful T'ang mann<r to a formula of txtrrnw dtlica('y and duoratl\•t /Homy of to/or mu/ Unt. 71tt compOSition of tilt prtsent po1ntiltg with the Buddha attd his smnlltr att~n· tlams arrang~d on a diagonal r-ep~ats the orrmrg~·ment o/tlrr trlnltiuof emper· ors and acolytes In the famous scroll of Thl' 11rirtrtn EmMrors by Yen Ll·pen In the ~1uscmm of Fine Arts. BostOn.

In this last pltast of Buddlrm art in China, tltt actual figur< oftht Buddho is a/mon lost in tlrr intrlcatr rirtliOsity of pointilfK the dropt'ry pollrflfS and tht lntriC11tt Drc"lrit«turt oftht thront. 17rt Buddlro figur< lt~t/f Is o rothtr dr)' anJ Mtorotb·t rtfHtition of a rypt goin;r htJck to T 'tJIC6 tlnws.

11rls IHtmtlful im(lgt Is an Illustration of tire artiiDir' St)•lr of Japotrl'St! Bud· tlhlsr sculpll~rc inauguratctl by Tor/ Bussltl. Uke all thtl s totuts of the sr,·tmh century it Is o more rl'/ilt(d ''trsion of tlte abstract stylt oft he Six Dyno.'ftlrs Cltlna. more Jt1pt1nrJ't In its lightness. the dreamy lnuorence o/tht /ado/ rxprru;on and the txquisltt rtfincment of its "aftsmanshlp.

141

1.42

53. BUDDHA AMIOA: COPY OF A WALL PAINTING FR0 :-1 KONDO. H ORYU· .II,NARA

J opu 69' by 4sr Fogg Art M useum

54. S HAKA TRJNITY Japan. Sulko Pw od O:ar<d ''In the )tar of Bo-sbi,"

628 CUt btonzt HO<)bji Museum. Nana

SS. HE.>.D OF BUOOHA J apan. Trmpyo Period 811\ <eGIUJ')' From O:alanji Ttmpk Wood, ptrhaps orfginnlly

lllcqutred Nothaa V. Ham...,.

56. BUDDHA SEATED ON A LOTUS JapAn. T• mpyo 11w od 8tlt <ftllury

Bronu litigbl : Natba.n V. Hammer

This r~plico of ant ofth•fomous tlghth c.mury ~VIII paintings, d.stroyl'd b)· jiu In 1949. 1iru an itka oftht scale and approximatt OpPforonu oftlr<" original. Various attributions lra>"<" bun ojftud for tl,. Horyl;}l murnls. lnclutllng 011~ tO a Kor~an onlsr numtd Doncho. but it st~m.s ntoJtliktly tluJI tlrt)' • ..,. th<" •-orA of a hfllrl) comprunt poup of artists imported from r·ang Chilln. Tllis tDPJ' of rh~ untrol imllJI~ clearly shows th~ combination of 'k'ir~·likt 1/M and abs1rac1 shod/111 tlrot tharottt'Tiznl sunirllfl examplts of Tang poillfing. Tht imagt pustniJ a ptr/e~r txomplt' of the translation o/tht srren~ tmJ massJ-..·ely bnprtJsf••t Indian Ideal into Far Eosttrn t~rms.

17ris Trinity. of .,.,.Jtirh on~ Bodhisath'D is mining, r6peats tltt iconopaphy of thrfamous group by Tor/ Busshlln the Horyujl Kondo: Shaka atttntkd by thr t•o BotlJrisatrrtn of hroling. Yakuo and Yokujo. This txtrrmrly impor· tant objut Is In tht stylr of tit• Tor/ workshop. on Importation to Jopa11 of th~ Clrln~..H Si:t DJtttutt'~s monMr Thr mask of tht «ntrol Buddltt1 is SOnH!­•·Irot ltss mystrriou.< and o•·<Nnsp/ring titan the fact of tl,. great S/1oka Trinity by Tori. it rt>•rals something oftht mort irrgtnuous. bland. ond s•utt txpr~sslon thsrrilxd by th~ Japanut t~rm. heimci. Uke somt Clrfntst Six D)'nastlt1S Buddhas. tltt central figurt Is nttt11uoud from tht waist up to gilt thr icon a fnling of riSIII/f grondtur and n111jesty. The beautiful abstract dro~ry forms and tht dtsigns of tht halo ore- o Jopontst rt'/intmtnt of tlrt­Cililltst sty/• ofthr si.Tih ctntury.

E•'f!n In its ruinous condition this llrod possesses tht classic sertnity of tX·

prtJJfon ami /ttllng for sculptural mass that choratttri:cd tht ITN/ mDJt~r·

pitcts of Ttmpyo scu/prurn. HounniV{ suggestions remtzln oftht con·tr's /etlfng for Ms mtdlum tmd Stnslriw'ry for the modtlli!IK o/t.ht surfau in softly inttrlocAing plants.

lt opPfors 1/krl)' that this Is a rrpr<"~ntotion of tht Buddha Amido and orfl/nol/y formtd port of a"""" p/nJiic rtprntlllnllon of tht Poratliu of the WtJI, likt the famous sJufn• of L.ody Tochlbano at Horyuj/, Nora. E>tn in its small SCIJit tht fixure displays tire imposing. classic dflmty of Tempyo .rculpwr~.

S1. TORSO OF STANDING BUDDHA

Japu. Jopo P<riod 9tb C<ft!W)'

W ood Height: 73!• ToshodJIIjl, Nara

S9. STANDING BUDDHA .faJIIln. Jopn P<riod 9tb C<ftlW)'

Wood Height : 281' Nathan V. HllDllliOr

S8. SEATED BUDDHA (DAI· NI CHI!)

JapRn. Early Fujiwara Period IOih· lllh ..,..tury Wood Bosoml Colledion. Osaka

111is blluutifi•l and lmposlnl! fragmmt of sculpture illustraus tire final de­•·tlopmmt oft/re TtmNO style in the Jogan periiHI. The form has tak.n on att e\"tllfrmto fu.lhtt>s.tllltd sqgfition of ~x~nsi•·e J'Oiu~ than the i11tDg~S of the f/ghth Unt1H'y. The JII#Utfon ofs.el/ilfl IOUJMIIU.S U enJuur«d rwt only by th• mosslve proportiotrS oft/re limbs and trunk, but also by the re­peoml tlln'tt of the lin.s of drapery over tire abdomm and thlglr~. The dls· appearanu of all the thief anthropomorphic /'lllllrtt. head, hands, and feet, make it possible for us to C()nc~ntrote o" the lntrfnslc sculpwrol form of this obstroctly /Nautiful ruin. As Langdcn Jflarntr once ob~n·HJ, ··onr can the mDrt eosily grasp certailf IIIJked ,_ntia/s of ~oodcarring" and o "beauty lntkpen<knt of humanity." This torso Is an illustration of how In Jagan limn sculptors souglrt to imprtiJ upon the tt·orshipJWr the m}'Sttry OJUI pt)'ltt'tr r~ sltiiJ18 ln the J~ity by an O\'trWhtlming SUI(ftstion of pow~r lmpllt!d in its rlronfc form and weightlnt!JS. nr~ drapery, ~Jth t/r(t a/urnnrl'ly rounded and pointed profiles oft he folds, Is o per/etllllustrutlon oft he so-callrd "rolliJ'If• ••are" Jlylr. The ctu\·lng of the softly flo•·lng folds of the outer mantle may perltops be r«Dgni=ed to lmltart tu mDre fluid ttthnique of /ocquer st~~lptun in a'VXKI.

Thi1 lmag-~ U an t-xamplr of the trtmtndous fotling for ~XpDIIJf,-c 1'0illmt and ~-.lghty solidity of form tltot typified Joponese religious sculpture of the Jogon period. This ..... " sty!•. originally d..-1.-ed from ralfl motkls. m •-hi eh the very mossi>·eness of the form ~·as lntrndd to suggesttlte mystrrlou.s po•·er to the Shingon tleltles.

The Image witlJ tlJe luurJs sltoping the mudra o/instnlctio• Is probably o rtprestntatlon of the Japoneu form of the Unlrersol Buddho Vairoeana. Or/giMIIy this imagt a·as pari oftM plastic manila/a or COimlc di'ogrum in­cluding all fi•·e of the Dhyani Buddha.r. 71re style of the lmfl/le, with Its ll{glurr, mort g-rauful propottlo11s and tht mort ff,'(quisite ufim~meltl of the /ac.J and ltondJ. illustrates tire drporture /tom the massb-e conon of Jogan titMS to the ideal o/tlte Fu}l•ora periiHI.

143

I«

60. ICHIJI KONIUN (OAlNICHI) Japan. Late Fujh•llft oo- Early

Kamakun Period Late 12th or early 13th century Colors on silk sst· b> 3zi· Howard Hollis

61. SUTRA Japan. Fujiwara Ptrlocl From Jl~~~:oji, Kyoto 11 tb-12th <elltllr)'

Gold on paper 01"<r11111ength: 93' Mathru Komor

62. JOOO MANDARA Japan. KIUJillkuru Period From Jakujo-in, Koyu!Oin JJtb <ttuury Colors on silk

4 '9. b) ~··· Nakomum Collecllon

63. SEA TEO BUD OH\ Japan. Fujinra Period llth· llth century Gilt bronze H<lgllt: 7i. Mr. & \lrs. Btnj:unin Rowlaad,

Jr.

This is a rtprr .. ntation of Dofnichl. "tht Grrat 1/fumilltltor," in his supr<nr< mllll/fmotlon in tlot DiamDIId or Konaokai Mandata. 11ot tntur< of tht hands •'lth tht fi•·• fingtrs oftht right hand rrmpittg the ind.x finger of th• ltft is tht mudra of thr Six £iemtms, the fi•·• material tltmtnts of ~·hidt man Is rompos~d and tht Jpirittwl tsJence or mind of the cosmic Buddha. The joining of tht hands thus signJ/itl th• union oftht motu/a/ and SPiritual 'AOr/ih of tltt t~"' ma!klo/as. In Shllflon BudJhism the auirulks tutd gutu:rtl oftht polnttd or St11fpn1Ud inrQitl M"trt ID M assumed by tlt••otees os o mean.t of achieving mystic ldentljicatiOtt with tht ob}tct of •·orsltlp. 71~< 11ylt with 111 softly grad11ottd co/ors ami stnsiti\·~ /In~ drt~WJ'ng -v.-ould sttm to plau this pointing In tht thirtc.nth untury.

TIJis fromlsplec~ rt!prtsrnting .Dutldha's paradisr Is typical of n lnrge mmJ.

INr ofth~ uligious ttxllformtrly at Jingo}/. 711~ uchnlqut of pointing in gohl Olf a dark purple ground is a mtthod ofttn ~mploytd in th~ mtl11iktlas and m)Stic diQgrams of Shlngon Buddhism. Tit~ <lctcurion htu all tht dtli· cac)' anti ujinrn~nt t)'pitol of Fujlk'tlfD dt'aftsmmuhip.

Tilt composition •lth Amltobho ( Amlda) S<!Qttd In tht midst of tlr< po/ac<S and /ttl'rl trtes of tht WcJttm Para(I/Je probably originated in Ctmral A~·la. It IIWJ' IN found both In tltt wall polntlttgs ofTun-lmang and in f<lrly Ntpoles~ pointiJII. According to Japontu tradition all lattr Yersio111 of this subf«t strm from a mandata k'O\·tn/or TalttJO<ojt in rh~ Trmp)'O .{H!rlod. Tht extrtnH! refincmmt of rolor anti drowint >till uf/tet thnt)·l~ oftht Ftifl••araptriiXI.

This objrct is to IN dt<cri/Nd as u kal.e·butsu or "hanging BuJJJoa," "'"of a luttt numbtr of s11ch small figurrs In uli<f nuorhtd to tht halo of a /argrr swtur ro j)'mboli:t' Ollt' of tht m)'rltul bunshin ur tmmnationJ of tht Unb·ersa/ BmMha, Vairoca11a ur Dainic:hi. The soft idtali:ttl/ace tdtlr itJ small/to· tureJ. tht full form, onJ f/o"'ing droptrlu lllwtralt tht re•·f>ol of tht tarlttr dasslt' Slylrs of Jcponnr sculp111r~ m Fujiwara tin~s. combm'd tdtlt a M'-' dtltrory of technique arul rathtr S'- t~t. gtfltlt tXprtsst'on.

64. STANDING BUDDHA AT· TRIBUTED TO KAIKEI

J apan. KlliDllkllnl Period

13th """'IUJ' Wood, lacqoertd and glided Height: n~·

'athanV.~

65. AMIDA GOSON (Amitabbl with BodbisattTas A .. lokil .. s•ara and Mahasthamapnplll stnd the Arhals Allllndo and Kas)'ll ... )

J apan. Kwnakura Period 13th =tul')' Gold and color on silk Height: 3Si' Width: IS' Mr. & Mrs. B<ajamirt Ro" land,

J r.

66. BUDDHA Ko,..., Silla period (A. D. 668-935) CJU broJU< Height: 19' Nolhon Hammer

67. SEATED BUDDHA Jopan. Asblbp Period 16th <mhlrY Lacquerrd wood, gill Height: :zs• Fogg Art Museum

Kailc~l is onr of a m1mber of sculptors act Ne in tht lntt t•~:t/fth and tarty thirteenth cenlllrlt.r. Although acontempqrDryofthefamous Unkti. his scu/p. rure lacks tht boltlnus anti tltpth of carv/llfl typ/co/ of that mmtrr. Koik<i's st:ulprur~. likr the pr~stnt rxampl~. is mort s/lght 011d dtllcort with u shai­IOM' d~rDfil't ltthnlqutt of caning. His lmQgtl hint tht sum~ air of sent/· mentallztd uunft)' that tll.stinguh.hes Kllmokura pclnllffl.

The pn'Mnu of the thlrf diniplu of Sak}'omun/ i1 prrhaps to ~ aplainM by tht /actlhar. In many sutrus det"OI~d to Amitla ond lr/$ ptJradise. ir h the mortal &uldha •ho explains these mysr.ries. T)•plcal of Xomakura pointltllf is the lavish use of npplitd gold /rof or kirignne to suggest the luminous splentlor of tl~es. tl•ltles of light. n •• tltlitacy amlg-.ult tendtmes.s of tl!< fYJMS c-ontlmte tltt Meal of Fujiwara arr.

This Image 11/ustratrs a prriod of KDrrl1JI ort •hen the impart of T'DJII injfu~nu hofl dlspluc~d an ~arUer nlionu 011 modtls of rht Six D}nnstitl pt~ritHI. Typical of this ami tmmy otlrtr Stlla bro11us Is tht squat cono11 of proptJrtltms wllh tht heat/ ;, a ratio of fit·~ 10 th~ toto/height of the stafllt. Tilt IIUISSI\'~IItJr oft/re form and the reductio, of the tlrt1ptry 10 a paunn of flo•·l11g ,,,..,. rtstrlttttl to the .<urfau of tltr body foruasrs the style of Japanese srulptur< of tire Jogon prriod.

Xortatt rrllgloUJ po.lntllfiS of the late unturlts tllfpla) rtrtuln contmllOII)• rt~ot«< manne-risms and arrltaistic borrott·inr$ usN fi.,- J.-corotite PllTJIOSD. 71re prrRnt polntt111f rrJW1Ju the iconography of the KantiJJ..uro Amida Goson, /'io. 65. 11te rolors are inroriably applirtl In flat ar.os and the polrtte limited to r.·hltt, Oflltflt, grHn, and blue. Th~ alltn.dotll &>dlu"sattlas tt:ith tht st"attd Ollfllllt of their ro~s reptot tit~ sty/~ of t!J~ Six Dynastl~s ~riot/. The composition is ~sstlltial/y tluoratb·e .. ·itll tl fontbtess for sharp. spikty fomu. as In tlte lo/IIJ pttals and tht da'"•./lkt fingtrs.

1-45

68. AM ITABHA TRINITY WlTH AliiANDA AND KASYAPA

Kor ... Yl Period. 18th tftllllr)' Colors on silk 3'4' by 3'41' Mr. & Mr<. lknjamin Rowland,

Jr.

T1ris i111111e •lth the hands foldrd In thr grnwe of 11Witatlon is probably a r~pnso~tatil'~ of Budt:Uta AmitiJJ, a uporau cult imog~ or paTI of a plastic rnandal11 containing the Fi•Y! Dhyani Buddhas. Tire style Is a late, J<Jmeo·hat dry pu~ruaJion o/th~ dassic canon lnaugurot~d ~·ith Joclro"s famous suuue of Amida f11tlte B)'odo-in at Uji. As /11 painted upuse11tatlons of Amlda, the gold leaf Is llltellllrd to SYmboli:t tht rf!u/gtllt splendor of tl,. Buddha of the Wrst.

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