Later India and Southeast Asia
1000 to the Present
Jahangir Preferring a Sufi
Shaikh to Kings, Bichitr, Mughal
Painting, India, ca. 1615-1618
Opaque watercolor on paper
The Mughal court had no equal
in India in its lavish patronage of
the arts. By giving the Koran to
the Muslim holy man, Jahangir
shows him honor over the two
kings depicted and gives up
worldly life and control for the
spiritual.
Krishna and Radha in a
Pavilion
India, ca. 1760
Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu,
was a cowherd who spent an
idyllic existence tending his
cows and sporting with beautiful
herdswomen. As many Indian
works of art are expressions of
all that is sensuous and erotic
with the body, so is this work
depicting Krishna as he tenderly
embraces Radha beneath a
pavilion.
Great Temple, Madurai,
India, 17th century.
The Nayak rulers, once
vassals of the Vijayanagara
kings, came to power in the
17th century. They built
huge temple complexes.
The builders erected large
enclosure walls with
directional gorupas
(gateway towers like the
one here) that stand about
150 feet tall. These are
large and are almost like
independent cities with
thousands of pilgrims &
many festivals each year.
Walking Buddha, from Sukhothai, Thailand
14th century bronze
The Thai people revere the distinctive type of
Buddha image that developed at Sukhothai. The
Sukhothai Buddhas are highly idiosyncratic. A
flame leaps from the head and a sharp nose
projects from the rounded face. A clinging robe
reveals fluid rounded limbs andinflated bodies.
The Sukhothai walkking-Buddha statuary type
does not occur elsewhere in Buddhist art. The
Buddha strides forward, raising his heel off the
ground, his left arm raised with the hand held in
the fear-not gesture of a deity encouraging
worshippers to come forwarrd in reverence.
Thee Sukhothai artists intended the body type to
suggest a supernatural being expressing beauty
and perfection.
Sukhothai is the ancient Capital of the -then- Tai people (no typing
error!) Later during the Sukhothai period the Kingdom was called Siam
for the first time. The Sukhothai period covers the time from approx.
1240 -- 1350 and comprises five or eight reigns, dependent on the
fact if the "vassals" of the later Kingdom of Ayutthaya, during the last
years of the Sukhothai era, should also be counted as reigns
belonging to the period. King Ramkamhaeng was doubtless the most
important King of Sukhothai. The Historic Park of Sukhothai is
recognized as a World Cultural Heritage
by UNESCO.
Emerald Buddha
Bangkok, Thailand
15th century, Jade
It is not known for sure
when the Emerald
Buddha was carved
however judging from
the appearance and
style one could
conclude it was carved
in Northern Thailand
not much earlier than
the 15th century. The
Emerald Buddha is not
carved from an actual
emerald, but is
probably green jade.
Schwedagon Pagoda,
Rangoon, Burma,
ca. 14th century
Renowned for the gold,
silver,and jewels encrusting
its surface, the Shwedagon
Stupa stands 345
feet high. Its upper part is
covered with 13,153 plates
of gold and at the very top
is a 7 tiered umbrella
covered with a gold ball
inlaid with4,351 diamonds,
one weighing 76 carats.
The stupa was created as a
gift to the Buddha from the
Burmese people.
Death of the Buddha (Parinirvana), Gal Vihara, near Polonnaruwa, Sri
Lanka, eleventh to twelfth century. Granulite, Buddha approx. 46’ long
Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, ca. 800.
Harihara, from Prasat
Andet, Cambodia,
early seventh century.
Stone, 6’ 3” high