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Buddhist art - Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE | | Buddhist art - Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE: Encyclopedia II - Buddhist art - Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE | | The first clear manifestations of Buddhist art date back to the time of the emperor Ashoka during the Mauryan era (322-180 BCE), through the building of numerous stupas, such as the one at Sanchi, and the erection of pillars. The pillars were surmounted by animal capitals and decorated with Buddhist symbols (such as the wheel), which invoked respect for all creatures and the acceptance of the Dharma.
During the 2nd to 1st century BCE, sculptures became more explicit, representing episodes of the Buddha’s life and teachings. These took the form o ...
See also:Buddhist art, Buddhist art - Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE, Buddhist art - Iconic phase 1st century CE – present, Buddhist art - Northern Buddhist art, Buddhist art - Afghanistan, Buddhist art - Central Asia, Buddhist art - China, Buddhist art - Korea, Buddhist art - Japan, Buddhist art - Tibet and Bhutan, Buddhist art - Vietnam, Buddhist art - Southern Buddhist art, Buddhist art - Burma, Buddhist art - Cambodia, Buddhist art - Thailand, Buddhist art - Indonesia | | | Buddhist art, Buddhist art - Afghanistan, Buddhist art - Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE, Buddhist art - Burma, Buddhist art - Cambodia, Buddhist art - Central Asia, Buddhist art - China, Buddhist art - Iconic phase 1st century CE – present, Buddhist art - Indonesia, Buddhist art - Japan, Buddhist art - Korea, Buddhist art - Northern Buddhist art, Buddhist art - Southern Buddhist art, Buddhist art - Thailand, Buddhist art - Tibet and Bhutan, Buddhist art - Vietnam, Buddhism, Buddhist architecture, Buddhist music | | |
| | | Buddhist art: Encyclopedia II - Buddhist art - Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE
Buddhist art - Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE
The first clear manifestations of Buddhist art date back to the time of the emperor Ashoka during the Mauryan era (322-180 BCE), through the building of numerous stupas, such as the one at Sanchi, and the erection of pillars. The pillars were surmounted by animal capitals and decorated with Buddhist symbols (such as the wheel), which invoked respect for all creatures and the acceptance of the Dharma.
During the 2nd to 1st century BCE, sculptures became more explicit, representing episodes of the Buddha’s life and teachings. These took the form of votive tablets or friezes, usually in relation to the decoration of stupas.
Although India had a long sculptural tradition and a mastery of rich iconography, the Buddha was never represented in human form, but only through some of his symbols. Among them:
- The Wheel of law (skt. dharmacakra), symbol of the Four Noble Truths expressed by the Buddha.
- The Bodhi tree, the tree where the Buddha reached enlightenment. It has some antecedent in fertility cults and representations of the tree of life.
- The Buddha footprint (skt. Buddhapada “Buddha feet”) to represent the impact of the teachings of the Buddha on the world.
- The Empty throne.
- The Lions, symbol of his royalty. The Buddha was known as the “Shakya Lion” during Ashoka’s time, so this symbol was used on the Buddhist pillars he planted throughout India.
- The Columns surmounted by a wheel, symbol of his teaching.
- The Lotus, symbol of pure, unspoiled Buddha Nature, for its beautiful blooming and the impossibility for water to adhere to it, leaving it spotless.
This reluctance towards anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, and the sophisticated development of aniconic symbols to avoid it (even in narrative scene where other human figures would appear), seems to be connected to one of the Buddha’s sayings, reported in the Dighanikaya, that disfavored representations of himself after the extinction of his body. This tendency remained as late as the 2nd century CE in the Southern parts of India, in the art of the Amaravati school (see: Mara's assault on the Buddha). It has been argued that earlier anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha may have been made of wood and may have perished since then. However, no related archaeological evidence has been found.
Other related archives10500 BCE, 1127, 180 BCE, 1st century BCE, 1st century CE, 200 BCE, 2nd, 2nd century CE, 300 BCE, 322, 332 BCE, 5th century BCE, 67, 68, 6th, Afghanistan, Alexander the Great, Amaravati, Angkor, Ashoka, Asia, Asoka, Ayutthaya, Bactria, Bingling Temple, Bodhi tree, Bodhisattvas, Borobudur, Brahmanism, Buddha Dordenma statue, Buddha footprint, Buddhas, Buddhas of Bamiyan, Buddhism, Buddhism in China, Buddhist architecture, Buddhist music, Burma, Cambodia, Central Asia, Champa, Chan, Chang'an, Chanoyu, China, Chinese, Chinese Turkestan, Chola, Chongqing, Confucianism, Datong, Dazu Stone Carvings, Dharma, Dighanikaya, Dogen, Dunhuang, Eastern Asia, Eisai, Former Han, Four Noble Truths, Funan, Gandhara, Gansu, Gautama Buddha, Greco-Bactrian, Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, Greco-Buddhist, Greco-Buddhist art, Greco-Roman, Greek artistic, Greek mythological, Gupta, Hadda, Haniwa, Heian, Hellenistic, Henan, Hinayana, Hindu, Hinduism, Ikebana, Indian subcontinent, Indo-Greek Kingdoms, Indonesia, Islam, Japan, Japanese Art, Japanese gods, Java, Jiangsu, Jomon, Kamakura, Kharoshti, Khmer, Khmer Empire, Kingdom of Khotan, Kofuku-ji, Kofun, Korea, Korean, Kuchean, Kushan, Kushan Empire, Kushans, Laos, Leshan Giant Buddha, Lokaksema, Longmen Grottoes, Lotus, Luoyang, Mahabharata, Mahayana, Malaysia, Mara's assault on the Buddha, Mathura, Mauryan, Mediterranean Sea, Middle East, Ming, Mogao Caves, Mon, Mongols, Myanmar, Nara, Nepali, Nestorianism, Nirvana, Northern Dynasties, Pagan, Pakistan, Pali, Pali canon, Parthian, Persia, Philippines, Portable shrine, Punjab, Ramayana, Roman, Rome, Sanchi, Sanskrit, Scythian, Serindian art, Shanxi, Shinto, Siam, Silk Road, Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, Silla, Sogdian, Song, Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian, Sri Lanka, Sri Vijaya, Sui Dynasty, Sukhothai, Sumatra, Taliban, Tang, Tang Dynasty, Tang Dynasty art, Tantric Buddhism, Taoism, Tarim Basin, Thai art, Thailand, Theravada, Tibet, Tibetan art, Vietnam, Wheel of law, White Horse Temple, Wuzong, Xi'an, Xinjiang, Xuzhou, Yaksas, Yayoi, Yongjing, Yungang Grottoes, Zen, Zoroastrianism, arhats, capitals, clay, dukkha, ethnic Thai, fertility cults, friezes, gilded, haikus, iconic, idolatry, mandalas, mantras, martial arts, muslin, of the Book, pagoda, reliefs, sandstone, schist, statuary, stucco, stupas, sumi-e, syncretism, wall paintings, yoga
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
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