Unit 5: Africa

Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe:

•The Great Zimbabwe

Empire in southern

Africa had a trade

network that extended

to Mesopotamia and

China. Stone walls up to

32 feet high and conical

towers representing the

ruler’s generosity

enclosed the royal

residence.

Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool):

•The Golden Stool is the most significant of all royal treasures for the Ashanti people and is a strictly ceremonial

object. It represents national unity and is said to embody the soul of the Ashanti nation. The Golden Stool is

accompanied by its own entourage, umbrella, and drums. No one is allowed to sit on the stool, not even the

King. It is carefully hidden and only brought out on special occasions

Portrait mask (Mblo):

•The mask is a stylized portrait of an actual woman and was

danced in her honor in a multi•sensory performance.

• It represents her wisdom, respect, and introspection as well

as her health and individuality.

Bundu Mask:

•This mask refers to ideals of female beauty, morality,

and behavior. The large forehead signifies wisdom;

the neck design signifies beauty and health and

pregnancy; and the braided hair represents the order

of ideal households.

• It is worn by women and danced by women and

represents girls’ initiation into womanhood.

Aka Elephant Mask:

•Aka masks were used in

multisensory performances to

assert political power.

• The elite Kuosi society controls

the right to make and wear

elephant masks.

• The elephant mask is a

mechanism for the Kuosi to assist

the king in his role as preserver

and enforcer of a rigid social and

political hierarchy.

• Masks and costumes are

extremely expensive and

intricate with complex meanings.

Reliquary figure (byeri):

•Byeri figures represent the

qualities most admired by the

Fang – tranquility, vitality, and

ability to balance opposites;

therefore, the figures themselves

have opposite physical

characteristics presented in a

balanced form.

• They sat on boxes containing

ancestral relics and protected

those relics as well as helped

initiate boys into manhood.

• These boxes were necessary as

the Fang migrated.

Ndop (portrait figure) of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul:

• King Mishe miShyaang maMbul

founded the royal line of the Kuba

and was celebrated for his

generosity; this portrait figure

records King Shyaang’s reign for

posterity and solidifies his

accomplishments as well as

representing his spirit.

• Ndops were used in conjunction

with oral histories to prevent stories

from being transformed or forgotten

over the years.

• This is idealized and naturalized,

and it represents the emphasis the

Kuba place on composure and

intelligence.

Power figure (Nkisi n’kondi):

Power figures were activated by the nganga (priest) for rituals

connected to ancestor worship and communication with the spirit

world.

• Nails and other materials that represent either a problem or a

positive attribute are attached through ritual and transform the

n’kondi into a powerful agent: Piercing the body of the n’kondi

figure with nails gets the n’kondi’s attention and is a catalyst for

action.

• The power figure also serves as a document of the community’s

history and serves as a warning to would•be lawbreakers as well as

commemorating vows and promises.

Female (Pwo) mask:

• This mask represents the female ancestor of the

Chokwe people.

• It embodies ideal feminine beauty and displays

traditional Chokwe iconography and facial

scarification.

• The mask is worn/danced by men.

• It represents/models ideal standards of behavior for

women and men.

Lukasa (memory board):

• Memory boards illustrate critical

aspects of Luba culture, history

and political systems, and serve

as a library of geographic and

chronological information.

• They are entrusted to members

of the Mbudye Society, who are

the only ones who can interpret

them.

• The memory boards are encoded

with an intricate system of

engravings and beadings;

different configurations and bead

colors convey specific

information about historical

events and leaders.

• They are used as part of larger

ceremonies with rituals, dances,

etc.

Wall Plaque, from Oba’s palace:

• These high relief wall plaques decorated the Oba’s

palace in Benin (modern•day Nigeria).

• They are elaborate, intricate, and highly technically

advanced.

• They incorporate hierarchy of scale and illustrate the

strength and successes of Obas throughout Benin

history.

• In addition to emphasizing the power of the Oba,

they demonstrate extensive trade networks and the

continuity of Oba rule.

Ikenga (shrine figure):

• The Ikenga symbolizes greatness, vigor, determination, strength,

success, and at times, ruthlessness in the man who commissioned

it. It represents both what he has accomplished and what he

hopes to accomplish through his effort (through his “strong right

arm”).

• Ikengas serve as a point of contact between the patron and his

ancestor.

Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife (Opo Ogoga):

• This veranda post would face visitors as they entered the inner

palace courtyard. Hierarchical scale is employed, giving

precedence to the seated king and also to his larger senior wife,

alluding to the importance of women in Yoruba society. As she

supports the king, so she also supports the post and apparently

the veranda (though not really).

• Her gesture recalls the Yoruba coronation ceremony, where the

wife stands behind the king and crowns him, conveying the

notion men can’t rule without the support of women.

• Various imagery alludes to connection with ancestral spirits,

especially female spirits.

Unit 6: Asia (Religious)(Buddhism except Japan)

Buddha:

• Located on the Silk Road and an example

of eclectic influences (including Hellenistic

Greece), the original Buddhas were carved

and elaborately decorated. Pilgrims could

circumambulate the statues.

• The Taliban destroyed the statues in 2001.

Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple:

• Believed to be the face of the actual

Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha), this is the

most sacred site in Tibet and is a focal

point of the Tibetan resistance to

China.

• All Tibetan Buddhists try to make a

pilgrimage here to transform their

energy and aid in reincarnation.

• Pilgrims circumambulate to the

statue; drums and butter candles

provide a multisensory experience.

• Gold is offered to the statue in honor

of sick or deceased relatives.

Longmen caves:

• These in situ rock•cut sculptures represent the transmission of

Buddhism to the East.

• Commissioned by Empress Wu, the artists suppressed surface

detail in favor of monumental simplicity.

• Vairocana Buddha is surrounded by bodhisattvas, guardian

figures, and other figures.

• In addition to inspiring devotion and meditation, these figures

also show political dominance and assimilation.

Great Stupa at Sanchi:

• The Great Stupa is a domed mound that

contains some relics of Shakyamuni

Buddha.

• It is a 3D mandala and a sacred mountain,

and it contains an axis mundi.

• Worshippers circumambulate the stupa in a

clockwise direction to venerate Buddha and

meditate to achieve Enlightenment.

• The four toranas serve to separate sacred

from secular and they contain scenes from

Shakyamuni’s life.

Borobudur Temple:

• The world’s largest Buddhist shrine is a cosmic

mountain and a mandala meant to guide pilgrims in

both a literal and a symbolic journey from darkness

to enlightenment as they circumambulate.

• Relief carvings, Buddhas with different mudras, and

stupas guide and focus their meditation.

Unit 6: Asia (Religious)(Buddhism Japan)

Todai-ji:

• This temple is the culmination of imperial

architecture in Japan and has been rebuilt

several times. It’s influenced by China,

Korea, and Shintoism.

• It was meant to express the simplicity of

Zen Buddhism as well as politically unify a

fractured country.

•

Visitors pass through the South Gate,

guarded by fierce and threatening

Guardian Figures, to the Great Buddha

statue. The figures represent life and

death, beginning and ending.

• The Great Buddha statue is the largest

metal Buddha statue in the world and was

activated when an artist painted his eyes

open.

Ryoan-ji:

• The Dry Garden is meant to represent physical

discipline and the incompleteness of human

understanding before enlightenment is attained.

• The Wet Garden symbolizes the natural world and

purification.

• The combination of the Dry Garden and the Wet

Garden suggests a relationship between Shintoism

(particularly the appreciation of nature) and

Buddhism (particularly the concept of a spiritual

journey) in their spiritual connection to the natural

world.

Unit 6: Asia (Religious)(Hinduism)

Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja):

• This portable bronze statuette of Shiva as

Lord of Dance depicts the Hindu god

balancing on one leg atop the dwarf of

ignorance.

• He drums the world into an endless cycle of

creation and destruction and re•creation.

• He represents the Hindu ideal of beauty, and

his various arms, hands, eyes, etc. attest to

his supernatural powers.

• This statue represents that, through belief in

Shiva, the soul can be transported from the

bondage of ignorance and illusion to

salvation and eternal serenity.

Lakshmana Temple:

• This Hindu temple was designed to solidify

the Chandella Dynasty’s rule AND to honor

the god Vishnu.

• The exterior is covered with elaborate

carvings and sculptures, and it represents

both Mt. Meru and a human body.

• It is constructed from ashlar masonry, rests

on a plinth, and uses horizontal moldings.

• In an attempt to attain darshan,

worshippers circumambulate to the

garbhagriha where a statue of Vishnu

resides. Worship is individual, not

corporate.

• Various carvings represent fertility and

abundance, as well as power and strength.

Angkor, the temple of Angkor Wat, and the city of Angkor Thom, Cambodia:

• Angkor Wat, built by Khmer King

Suryavarman II, associates him with the

Hindu god Vishnu.

•

It has five towers that symbolize the

five peaks of Mt. Meru.

• The complex is covered with elaborate

bas•reliefs, including Churning of the

Ocean of Milk, which is an early Hindu

story about the struggle for the elixir of

immortality.

• Angkor Thom is a city within the

complex, accessible by the South Gate.

In Angkor Thom is a temple built by a

Buddhist Khmer King, and it has 216

images of his face on the temple to

show his eternal watchfulness and

compassion.

Unit 6: Asia (Secular)(Petra)

Petra, Jordan: Treasury and Great Temple:

• The Nabataeans, a nomadic people group with

extensive trade networks, created this rock•cut

city at a crossroads on the Silk Road.

• It was home to an extensive network of tombs

and architectural structures, as well as an

impressive water management system.

• The style is called Roman Baroque, due to its use

of classical elements with no regard for classical

rules. There are also eclectic influences

throughout, specifically Hellenistic and Near

Eastern.

• The Treasury is actually a tomb, and the Temple is

large and probably also an audience hall.

Unit 6: Asia (Secular)(China)

Terra cotta warriors from mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China:

• Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor of unified China,

commissioned this mausoleum to be an underground

parallel of his earthly existence after death.

• The entire complex was a replica of the Emperor’s

court and included horses and chariots, court

officials, acrobats, etc.

• It is most famous for the 8,000 6’ tall terra cotta

warriors, individualized in appearance despite being

produced on an early assembly line.

• These extremely realistic figures served to guard him

in the afterlife as well as highlight the ethnic diversity

of the newly unified China.

• This was the largest sculpture production ever

undertaken, and it emphasizes Shi Huangdi’s

tremendous power.

Funeral banner of Lady Dai (Xin Zhui):

• This T•shaped silk banner was draped over

the innermost coffin of Lady Dai, who is

shown at the center awaiting her ascent to

immortality in the heavenly realm. Her

family is depicted below her, offering prayers

for her ascent.

• The banner is meant to attract her soul to

the tomb so it can begin its journey to the

afterlife.

• Upper and lower registers depict Chinese

myths and symbols, including symbols

related to Yin & Yang.

•

It gives remarkable insight into ancient

beliefs and funerary practices.

• It is the earliest known portrait in Chinese

painting.

Travelers among Mountains and Streams:

• Fan Kuan, a Daoist recluse, retreated

to the mountains to study various

aspects and effects of nature.

• He was one of the first masters of

recording light, shade, texture, etc.

• This painting was meant to be

meditated on, and it represents

Daoist, Confucian, and Buddhist

beliefs – specifically the balance

found in nature.

• It is not an actual landscape; it

expresses a cosmic vision of man’s

harmonious existence in a vast but

orderly universe (AKA Man is small

and insignificant!).

The David Vases:

• These vases are early examples of porcelain

with Persian cobalt•blue underglaze decoration.

Other eclectic influences include Turkey and India.

• The vases are decorated with auspicious symbols,

and they were part of an altar set donated by an

extremely wealthy patron who sought blessing and

prosperity for himself and his children. Dragons

and phoenixes are the major painted motifs. They

may be symbols of male and female energy or

Confucianism and Daoism, and they also represent

good fortune.

• They are named after the British art collector who

purchased them.

Forbidden City:

•

This complex was the home to the

Chinese imperial family for over

500 years.

• It was a political and religious

center that solidified his divine

right to rule (Mandate of Heaven).

•

It is called the Forbidden City

because people were forbidden to

enter or leave without permission.

• Much of the iconography is

auspicious, and there is Confucian

symbolism throughout the

architecture.

• The Hall of Supreme Harmony is

where his throne was located and

was the site of many ceremonies.

Unit 6: Asia (Secular)(Korea)

Gold and Jade Crown:

• The Silla Kingdom was a powerful

Korean kingdom that eventually came

to dominate the Korean Peninsula.

• Despite Chinese influence, Silla royalty

practiced shamanistic rituals in

important ceremonies, including

coronation and burial.

• This crown represents a sacred tree

(axis mundi!), reindeer antlers, and

other symbols of fertility, abundance,

and spiritual power.

• Its eclecticism is influenced by the Silk

Road (of course) and even includes

Mediterranean influence.

Portrait of Sin Sukju (1417 – 1475):

• This painting commemorates the great

accomplishments of Sin Sukju, a brilliant Korean

scholar, civil servant, Prime Minister, and “Meritorious

Subject” (4 times!).

• He was painted by the Imperial Bureau of Painting, an

official organization which sought to reinforce

Neo•Confucian ideals as well as faithfully render the

likeness and personality of the subject.

• The painting, in addition to honoring the subject,

would hang in a family shrine where it would embody

the spirit of the subject and serve as a focus for

ancestor worship.

• Sin Sukju’s face is individual, but the portrait itself

contains many Korean portrait conventions.

Unit 6: Asia (Secular)(Japan)

Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace:

• This Japanese scroll painting is a historical narrative

(yamato•e) that dramatically chronicles a surprise

attack in which rebel forces stormed the Sanjô Palace,

abducting a retired emperor. The rebels eventually

lose this struggle.

• It is an eye•witness, bird’s•eye view depiction of the

events, read chronologically right to left.

• Strong diagonals, vivid colors, and rapid, staccato

brushstrokes add to the sense of drama and urgency.

• This was intended for private ownership/viewing, not

public display, and the target market was men (this is

the Samurai influence).

White and Red Plum Blossoms:

• The Japanese artist Korin painted in this

typical Rinpa•style of decorative

painting, which emphasized

compositional asymmetry, visible in the

jarring, uneven positions of the white

and red plum trees.

• It uses tilted perspective, and there are

strong contrasts of shapes and colors

and textures. The artist employed the

tarashikomi technique.

• This is actually a screen to divide a room,

and it can be understood to represent

the path of life, symbolized by the

winding stream running through the

middle of the work, and the contrast of

the purity and mourning of old age with

the toughness and positivity of youth.

The Great Wave:

• Adopting the low horizon

line of Western painting,

master woodblock

printmaker Hokusai used

the flat and powerful

graphic forms of Japanese

art to depict the

threatening wave in the

foreground and the

diminished Mt. Fuji in the

background, while a group

of boats faces the wave

head on.

•

This ukiyo-e painting was

geared both for middle

class Japanese and for

tourists.