Buddha
Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Gandharan. c. 400-800 C.E. (destroyed in 2001). Cut rock with plaster and polychrome paint
The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara school of Buddhist art.
Form & Function:
- high relief sculptures
- carved into cliff face but feet and head in the round
- allowed worshippers to circulate
- circumambulation is a common form of worship and meditation in buddhism
- surrounding monasteries might have come to the caves to pray
Content:
- 2 monumental figures carved into the cliff face facing the valley
- western buddha (Buddha Varaichona) stood 175 ft tall
- eastern buddha (Buddha Shakyamuni) stood 120 ft tall
- described by writings of Chinese monk as covered in metal and other semi-precious decorative materials
- statues wore wooden masks covered in brass featuring facial features
- pigments were applied to the stucco
- cross cultural connections and influences
- combined Hellenistic style with Indian images
- greek drapery in robes
- painted statues like in ancient greece
-greek hairstyles (wavy hair)
Context:
- Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan was a stop on the Silk Route
- along with fertile land, ideal location for merchants and missionaries to stop
- plurality and lax nature of buddhist worship created pretext for buddhist cave architecture
- 1000 buddhist caves along 1300 meters of cliff face in Bamiyan
- destroyed in 2001
- taliban's iconoclastic campaign
- backlash to western interest and funding for maintenance
- falsely claimed as an islamic act; Bamiyan was muslim by 10th century yet maintained statues
- only niches and faint outlines remain
(informational video: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/world/taliban-destroys-bamiyan-buddha-statues-in-2001/2015/07/29/8e0c35ca-362f-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_video.html?utm_term=.092f1c3de502)
Sources: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/west-and-central-asia/a/bamiyan-buddhas
