ARTH 109 Midterm Review

Sericulture

attributed to liangkai, illustrates the silk-making process, Production is costly and lengthy, 12-13 century, hand scroll with ink and color on silk

Silk gown 1 + 2:

demonstrates how light silk was and why it was so desirable and valuable, excavated from Mawangdui Tomb no.1 tomb, 2nd century

Earliest paper fragment hemp pulp:

• discovered in tomb 5 in gansu, china

• Shows roads of a map

• Important item that traveled along silk road because they recorded ideas

  1. Religion, culture, etc.

• different production process than papyrus, and cheaper than bamboo and silk

Double-sided painted wooden panel

• Dandan Oilik

  • Historic oasis town and Buddhist site discovered by Hedin in Taklamakan Desert

• Khotan Kingdom

• Contained Hindu deity Shiva (hindu god)

• Showed silk cocoons, and silk stretching, ultimately demonstrating the introduction of sericulture and how it traveled westward from china

Rectangular wooden panel painting

• 7-8 century, Dandan Oilik

• Khotan Kingdom

• Not a religious painting 

• Emphasis on the princess, gaze is towards the silk, showing the high value of silk

• Importance of sericulture and material items traveling westward

• blue halo deity=silk god

The Diamond Sutra (printed buddhist book)

• “world’s earliest dated printed book”

• Dunhuang (important site on the Silk Road, buddhist site)

• Discovered in the Mogao Cave’s library cave, where stein went to manuscripts and paintings

• The figures are facing left, their gaze directs to where to start reading the text

One of one million pagodas

• Compared to the diamond sutra

• actually an earlier “text”- one of the “One Million Pagodas” of Japan, Empress Koken patronized the creation of these pagodas and promoted Buddhist ideals (764-770 CE)

Wood printed copy of pure light dharani sutra

• Actually, the earliest wood printed text (compared to diamond sutra and 1 million pagodas)

• 751, Korea

Paul Pelliot

• Knew Chinese, didn’t need a translator, and was able to communicate directly with Abbot Wang, and he was allowed to enter the library cave

• Went to Mogao Caves 2 months after Stein

• examined all manuscripts, and organized them into “essential” and “desirable,” and brought them back to France

• Able to take items back bc Qing dynasty was weak

Lopnur Lake (photo taken in 1972) “The Big Ear”

• Shows the shoreline of previous lake which has dried out many times (completely dried out in 1972)

• “sea of death” bc its a terminal lake for rivers

• Tarim Basin

• Discovered by Sven Hedin, still had water when he was there (1920s)

• Loulan kingdom where Tarim mummies were found in Xinjiang

Princess of Xiaohe

• Discovered in 2003

• 1900 BCE-1613 BCE long before the Loulan Kingdom

• Tarim mummy

• 20-40 years old,152 cm

• Found in Xiaohe Cemetery in desert, sand hill with vertical wooden panels

• Discovered with baskets and other articles of clothing that indicated agriculture was present there at that time

Wooden coffin in the shape of a boat

• Found in Xiaohe Cemetery 

• Indicates a structure of religion that was discovered

• Concept of the afterlife because they would put themselves in a boat and potentially believed they could travel to the afterlife via the river

  • Water is the primary source of their life (maybe because they need it since they live in the desert)

  • Grains and wheat are common agricultural products

Belt buckle of animal combat

• Scythians, 4th to 3rd century BCE.

• Gold, hammered and soldered with inlay. Siberian collection of Peter the Great

• Nomadic people from the steppe region

• Tension and stress of the attack

  • Popular for the steppe people, Xiongnu

  • When Emperor Wu of Han launched full scale attack

• zoomorphic design/animal style

Griffin holding a wooden stag in its beak

• 5th century BCE.

• Visual synecdoche: Combine parts of animals to make one image. Griffin head, bird heads combined with the antler of a deer

  • Story-telling + metaphoric

  • This image is also seen with other Xiongnu art 

  • Griffyns have been seen in Chinese art

    1. Shows that the gryffin traveled from the Mediterranean to East China because of the Xiongnu

Buckle with a tiger and a bear attacking a horse

• 3rd to 2nd century BCE.

• Excavated from the princely tomb of the King of Chu in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. 

• Demonstrates steppe Xiongnu art influence in Chinese tombs

Jade disc with phoenix and dragon designs

• 2nd century BCE. Excavated from the princely tomb of King of Nanyue, Guangzhou, China

• Demonstrates steppe Xiongnu art influence in Chinese tombs

• Trans-eurasian visual language, how zoomorphic images traveled from the Mediterranean and went east

Gold Coin of Kanishka

• Kushan Empire (predecessors are Yuezhi, had influence from Mediterranean art, NW china, Yuezhi defeated by Xiongnu and forced to leave)

• This coin is significant because it has the earliest securely-dated image of Buddha  (127-150 CE)

• follow the Greek-Roman way of creating coins

• Tamga seal- signature of the emperor or authority

  • Shakyamini Buddha, from Nepal, protrusion on top of his head

Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya (buddha of the future, not called buddha)

• Resembles Roman clothing with draped robes

• They are very realistic, which is different from later Buddhist art

• Standing posture

• Kushan Empire first major attempt to depict buddha in human form

Seated Buddha

• 1-2nd century CE

• Draped robe

• Halo→ god of the sun, which was commonly depicted in classical art in Greco-Roman culture

• Influence of romans on buddhist art

• Kushan Empire first major attempt to depict buddha in human form

Northern Liang Stone Stupa

• Commissioned by Gao Shanmu 428 CE 

• Similar top part of the stupa (called the chattra)

  • First stupa in asia, not steppe region?

  • Stupa (buddhism)

    • Top part: chattra

    • 2nd layer: seated buddhas

    • 3rd layer: inscription

    • Bottom layer: figures 

      • Eight trigrams (indigenous belief)

      • Originates from yinyang

      • Split up into seasons and then 8 different weather types

      • Encoded by gender, age, and kinship

      • Ex. buddha of the future with 7 buddhas of the past (2nd layer), the figure below the buddha of future is the gen trigram which means stopping, the ghost gate through which spirits enter and exit

        • Death is the stop, but also the rebirth (the promise)

    • Incorporated Chinese culture with their northern liang culture

      • 14 other similar stupas found in northern liang region

demonstrates cultural hybridity

Hat Ornament

• Former Yan (after northern liang)

• Excavated from tomb no.2 of Tiancaoguo, Chaoyang

• Braided into the hair via flat metal piece 

• Golden leaves w/ branches 

  • Signature features from other cultures

    • Similar leaves in afghan crowns

    • Similar hat ornament in mongolia/steppe region

    • Similar queen’s crown in korea

    • Gilt bronze crown similar leaves in Japan

• With golden art pieces also can see buddhist features

Gold Crown w/ disk ornament

• Afghan Crown

• similar to buyao hat ornament

• Signature features from other culture

Silla Queen’s gold crown

• queen’s crown in korea

• Excavated from the Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, 5th

• similar to buyao hat ornament

• Signature features from other culture

Plate with hunting scene

• Pingcheng Age in Northern Wei

• Imported metal work from Sasanian empire

  • kingdom/culture between the west and east

  • Known for making luxury objects

• silver, found tombs in pingcheng, boars, spear, plants in background

  • Created before sasanian gold ones

• excavated from tomb of Feng Hetu

Silver plate with hunting scene (silver, mercury gilding)

• man riding a horse, shooting arrows at deer, depicting a person hunting, aspects of royal figure

• similar plate found in sassanian empire in iran

• 5th century

• Pingcheng Age in Northern Wei

• Imported metal work from Sasanian empire

Silver plate with hunting scene (gilt silver, Afghanistan)

• similar to northern wei/pingcheng plate (late 4th century)

• provincial sasanian Afghanistan

• shows how it traveled

Stem cup with figures and grapevine

• not common form of drinking wine in china (lacquered ear cup is), motifs show birds on grapevines which form a circle with a boy picking the grapes in the center, leaf and beaded decorations, found in pingcheng

  • Also a stem cup with animal and humans in Sassanian empire

  • With both these cups, only background was gilded (can see with gold) not the decorations

• excavated at datong, shanxi

• imported metalwork from sassanian empire

Stem Bowl

• gilded silver, from sassanian

• chinese didn’t gild decorations, so it shows how the ones above in China came from the Sassanians via the Silk Road

Section of a painted screen (in Sima Jinlong tomb)

• northern wei/han, wife xiongnu

• tomb im pingcheng

• Screen placed behind an important person in their tomb

• Several stories recorded on this screen that portrayed virtuous women and sons that had good morals, also had written annotations of the stories

  • Emperor cheng (riding in chair) of western han dynasty deeply in love with consort ban (woman behind him), she politely rejected him bc she said he focus on government bc she would be a distracted, shows a virtuous woman

  • There was also a painting of emperor cheng and consort ban made in the south by hu kaizhi, portraying the same story

  • Differences between south and north portrayals: south has more men carrying emperor, more color in north bc its a screen, emperor cheng appears more creepy bc he is peeking outside to consort and the men are watching him (in the south) and more normal (in the north)

    • More emotion in south painting

• fusion of northern xianbei and southern han culture

Maitreya Buddha (pingcheng)

• gilt bronze with traces of pigment

• Emphasis on body shape, tighter fitting robe

• 486m pingcheng era

• ghandara style, represents how xianbei/northernwei used to be more like xiongnu before moving south to the Han

Maitreya Buddha (Luoyang)

• Gilt bronze

• Flowy robe, less tight (Han chinese robe, not found in central asia)

• Face is narrower than Pingcheng, han chinese aesthetics

• 525, Luoyang age

Headless standing figure

• Terracota woman wearing head covering in song shaozu tomb

• Significance: Artist had no interest in depicting the body, beauty does not come from body like ghandara and greco roman structures

• Clothes becomes the body, body depicted through clothes

• Compared in female figurine in SimaLong tomb

  • Simalong had traditional xianbei clothes

  • This figure had han clothes

• excavated from yongning monastery, luoyang (Perpetual Tranquility, smile of the northern wei, functioned like buddha stuppa)

Emperor Xiaowen and His Court

• Dress in a long robe (Han Chinese traditions)

• Shows imperial family in Luoyang

• From Longmen grottoes

• Binyang Central Cave commisioned by northern wei emperor

Empress Wenzhao and her Court

• Longmen Grottoes

• Binyang Central Cave commissioned by northern wei emperor

• Recreated but does have some differences: more relief in originals’ faces more upper class, recreated version does not recreate this effect

Twin Buddha Niche (cave 3 Yungang Grottoes in Pingcheng)

• twin buddha motif: the historical Buddha and one of the past Buddhas seated together

  • intertwine w/ patrinage of elite women in northern wei bc it symbolized equality between the 2 buddhas

  • Having 2 people side-by-side reflects equal power

  • coincided with peak of elite women influence in northern wei court

Twin Buddha Niche (Mogao Cave, dunhuang)

• twin buddha motif: the historical Buddha and one of the past Buddhas seated together

  • intertwine w/ patrinage of elite women in northern wei bc it symbolized equality between the 2 buddhas

  • coincided with the peak of elite women influence in northern wei court

  • Having 2 people side-by-side reflects equal power

“Hall of Ambassadors”

• Afrasiab (Sogdiana), Sogdians

• contained wall paintings

  • west, east, north, south wall murals

Murals of the West Wall

• found in the Hall of Ambassadors

• 1st group of people holding silk, textiles, threads, and cocoons→ chinese embassy 

• 2nd group has 2 people from with swords/weapons→ korean diplomats

• 3rd group dressed in robe with beaded pattern and circular motif→ central asia diplomats

• Inscription alludes to 2 central asian states→ Chaganian, Cach

  • These states are sending people to Samarkand to present gifts 

  • This can be confirmed by chinese historical scripts

• Top part ruined, reconstructions made

  • Assumption 1: Varkhuman Unash is at the top, and they are giving items to the governor

  • Other possibilities: there are 2 sogdian deities at the top representing the heaven, and the lower part represents earth, no governors

Cup (Sogdian Metalwork)

• ancient Sogdiana, found in the Don River in Russia

• Mountain goat depicted, enclosed in a roundel

• Thumb rest with two wrestlers grappling with each other

  • This is seen with other Sogdian metal work

    • Sogdian Painting shows a man putting his thumbs on the thumb rest 

    • Because Sogdians drink a lot, you can observe this a lot, several drinking vessels are depicted in art pieces

Lobed bowl (Sogdian metalwork)

• pearl/beaded roundel, with a lion and foliage in the center

  • If you see an animal in a roundel→ sogdian ppl

  • Sogdian work smaller and has animal themes

    • Sassanina is bigger and has royalty hunting themes

• acutally a wine cup, because Sogdians liked to drink

Ossuary

• Mazdaism/Zoroastrianism funerary box that priests put the burned remains/bones into after the birds eat the body

• terracota

• There is an image on the ossuary of priests conducting the fire rituals because it is considered one of the most sacred elements

• The priests are wearing masks because they were worried their own impure breath may contaminate the fire (which is sacred)

Lunette on the Gateway of An Jia’s tomb

• Tomb: stone gateway, stone epitaph, stone funerary bed/couch

  • Gateway: lunette which was gilded and painted, this image depicts mazda priest wearing masks doing the fire ritual after the death of someone, also two female goddesses in heaven/paradise playing music

    • Priests depicted with bird body and human head, which is also seen in Buddhism (exquisite sounding bird)

    • Female goddesses are also similar to celestial deities in Buddhism (apsara)

Funerary Bed of An Jia

• a person lay on stone bed; shared practice amongst nomadic ppl at that time, there are also gilded panels with painted figures

  • Similar to Sasanian metalwork where only the background is gilded and the figures are painted (shows commonalities)

  • 12 panels, one shows An Jia and his wife drinking inside a Chinese pavilion, wife is not sogdian bc she is Chinese (dressed in han robe), which is maybe why she is not in the tomb

    • other panels show hunting scenes, banquets/parties and music scenes, departing scenes (his wife and some cross bridge to return to real life, and he remains in paradise/afterlife)

    • Panels show him and his wife in different stages in life

• 579

sima jinlong funerary bed

• not the same as the nesting coffins of Lady Dai

• aspect of northern way culture that was different from the emperor cheng/Han aspect

emperor Cheng of Han and Consort ban

• attributed to Gu Kaizhi

• Han aspect of sima jinlong’s northern wei tomb