Art Hist MT
vitarka
teaching or intellecual debate
Prana
the invisible life force Breathlife infused into a sacred hindu image Done by a priest Way of consecrating a new Hindu image so that it is prepared for the deity to worship it
Darshan
worship through simultaneously seeing and being seen by a deity in the presence of its image
Mudra
a symbolic hand gesture in Hindu and Buddhist art
Dhyana
meditation and balance
Vakataka Dynasty (462-480)
mid 3rd centry -dynasty that Ajunta was built under -Prosperous period in which they had alot of money to put into religious art Focus on developing temples for religious worship
Bhumisparsha
moment of enlgihtment calling the earth to witness
Nagara
nothern style of temple -rounded peaks and rounded layout -sikhara - main peak - rounded and made to look like mountains -encounter Ganesha when entering - god of begginings indicates you are going right way for worship
gupta dynasty
(ad 320-500)ruled indias golden age in science, art, and literature 4-6 CE Court is Hindi Gupta style of art which is merging the local and hellenistic styles Creating first hindu images Golden age of art where Hindu divine images became more popular - and temples
mathura
-City where early images of Buddha were sculpted -Regional school of Buddhist sculpture during the Gupta Period -Round faces, full lips, broad noses, transparent robe material (seemingly a combination of Mathura and Gandhara styles) -Drapery: series of regular strings hanging over the body
axis mundi
3 tiered umbrella at top of stupa Represents head of Buddha in response position Also represents the axis on which the universe spins - since the stupa also represents what the universe looks like Also represent tradition of enclosing a sacred tree in a fence Umbrella represents Buddha
Shiva
A Hindu god considered the destroyer of the world. God of destruction Know for 3 spear trident Animal pelt Dreadlocks with Ganges in hair Serpent around neck
Vishnu
A Hindu god considered the preserver of the world Has crown Has conch shell Typically seen napping of anata
linga
Aniconic image that represents siva - siva in most powerful form Just a column - typically what is put in the womb chamber
Vahana
Animal vehicle or carried associated with particular dieties Siva = bull Vishnu = egal Brahma = swan Durga = lion
Iconography
Art contains image of human figure - human representation of something Typically religious paintings Around 1 CE is when switched from depicting Buddha aniconically to iconically
attribute
Aspects that help indivudals idetify which diety that are looking at Familiar, or a weapon/object, or a physical trait
Prana
Breathlife given to the scultprue during the consecration ceremony - last step
dharmachakra
Buddha's first sermon - turning the wheel of law
vihara
Buddhist monastery, often cut into a hill -sqaure building where monks lived - have preserved paintins of Buddha
Nataraja
Depiction of siva doing the devine cosmic dance that brings the universe into existence
Aniconic
No representation of human figures Use symbolism or anthropomorphic images to represent a certain person or idea you are referencing
continuous narrative
No spaces between the different scenes on carvings at stupas so by using repetition of a certain figure (in one instance it is a white horse) you are showing separation between each of the scenes, but also that it is a continuous narrative Carvings need to be read in a certain order and are telling a story
Durga
Goddess that will fight the buffalo demon - deities came together and created durga - she has all of the deitys weapons Has lion Very firece
Puja
Hindu devotional worship of deities at home or in a temple -images bathed, clothed andadorned - honored as a guest
Indus river
Large river in which a huge civilization spanning from modern day pakistan to India - water good for trading as well as agriculture and travel Where most early Indian art comes from Very stratified culture and not quite sure how the civilization enIndian culture really started to take shape Once Aryan civilization moved in - roots for
Devi
Mother goddess within Hinduism; widely spread following collapse of Guptas; encouraged new emotionalism in religious ritual
buddha's actual name
Siddhartha Gautama
Ganesha
Son of shiva - god of beginnings so typically see in Nagara at start of area of worship so you know you are going the right way Elephant head
jataka
Stories of former lives of Buddha Contain lots of messages that Buddha learns in each of his lives Sproties of different virtues that are important to Buddhism
Style
Style takes into account the medium used (what was used to make the art) as well as the technique used to produce this art Style can be used to determine who made the art and where the art may have originated from Know that stone sculptures started popping up in India, when there was no real transition from wood carved sculptures The style and medium used indicates that maybe persian artists came in and started making Buddhist sculptures
garbhagriha
Womb chamber where the image of the deity is stored Dark - like going into the earth Supposed to feel comfortable and safe
samsara
The cycle of rebirth that Buddhism is looking to escape Can only escape if you reach enlightenment, which you can only do if you understand the 4 Noble Truths Basically you must stop suffering to then be able to reach enlightenment Must sever all connections to the material world
Patronage
To give support In Buddhism one gets merits if they commissioned the building of a religious piece of art or a stupa Stupas usually constructed due to popular patronage - lots of people from community who want to earn merits giving money so that stupa can be erected Get merits from building a stupa because it is actually the idea reminding others of the Buddha's message that gives one merits and the stupa directly represents the Buddha's teachings since when walking around the structure you are supposed to reflect on his teachings - try to understand them
chaitya hall
a Buddhist shrine or prayer hall with a stupa at one end - round at back and flat in front - perosn circumambulates around to pay respect -Indicated what wooden architecture would have looked like during the time -Lots of reliefs surrounding interior and exterior -Had couples - thought either for protection or patrons
urna
a circle of hair on the brows of a deity, sometimes represented as focal point
Bodhisattva
a person who has attained enlightenment but who has postponed nirvana in order to help others achieve enlightenment
Pradakshina patha
a raised path for procession around the garbha griha
Gandhara
area of Indo-Greek interaction, influential in the creation of Buddhist art hellenistic style
Kailasa Temple
carved from a single rock mass Temple in Ellora Maharasthres (1st century) Rock cut Kailasa is mountain where siva lives Built to seal emproors role as Universla emperor - could bring such a sacred spot into his kingdom
Varda
charity and fulfillment of wishes -palm out fingers dowm
ushnisha
cranial protrusion
Bhakti
honoring dieity -bowing, touching feet
abhaya
reassurance, blessing and protection
Brahmanism
religion of Vedic India, based on priests and rituals, particularly sacrifices to the gods Religion from Vedics - early stage of hinduism Brahma is one god at core of universe - in Hinduism all other gods are just extensions of him - technically expanded polytheism Sacred liturature of Hinduism Narratives Treat 5 subjects Primary creation of universe Secondary creation ofter annihilation Genealogy of gods and patriarch Reign of first humans History of solar and lunar dynasties
Dravida
southern style -Vimnan = main peak -more pyramidal - have large gateway to indicate entrance to worship area - rectangular layout
Kushan dynasty
stabilized the trading route through central Asia Dynasty where anthropormophic image started to become popular Shiva Nataraja became a popular image during this time Images show influence from several different cultures due to rise in silk road trade and therefore mixing of cultures - most likely due to mixing of cultures and need for image to focus worship on