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Indus Valley bronze figurine in the contrapposto pose

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"Dancing girl", Indus Valley Civilization, 2600-1900 BCE

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"Dancing girl", Indus Valley Civilization, 2600-1900 BCE

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This statue is called the dancing girl, which we learned about in class this week. we learned that she was bronze so she would have been made with the lost wax technique, which was primarily used during that period of time. Originally historians thought that the statue was a fertility statue because many other statues during that time were created as fertility statues. But we learned that it is most likely not a fertility statute because although it's naked and shows off her body parts like the fertility statues. She's not accentuated in certain areas like the other statues. Another thing we learned about the dancing girl statue was that it's both organic and stylized. This is because the statute's proportions are off but its face and hair are accurate.

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Indian temple gateway at The Great Stupa

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The North Torana Gateway of The Great Stupa Sanchi, Great Stupa at Sanchi, 3rd century BCE

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The North Torana Gateway of The Great Stupa Sanchi, Great Stupa at Sanchi, 3rd century BCE

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The stone statues called toranas are meant to be ceremonial gateways into the stupa. They're meant to be a type of Sanchi sculpture. There are 4 entrances the the stupa, each with a torana. Each stone gate way is made up of two square shaped posts. with 3 horizontal parts covered in multiple kinds of carvings. these cravings depict multiple events of the Buddhas life, Jatakas life stories (Buddha’s previous lives), and early Buddhism. Along with the carvings, the names of donors are also inscribed in the stone. This one is the North torana, at the front entrance of The Great Stupa.

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Mathuran Buddha sitting with the Bodhisattvas 

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Mathuran Buddha Statue, Kushan Empire: Mathura, 3rd century BCE

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Mathuran Buddha Statue, Kushan Empire: Mathura, 3rd century BCE

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This statue is the Mathuran version of the Budhha in statue form. Even though the buddha had previously only been represented using aniconic symbols, these people did not fully understand the meaning of rebirth so they made a human version to worship. this version has a hairstyle that makes the ushnisah look like a swirl, it includes the urna between the eyebrows and the face has a positive expression. Looking at the body it seems to be thin but not athletic, and on the hands, there's the dharma wheel and maybe webbed fingers. The clothes on the figure are also sheer to show off the body, which is reminiscent of fertility statues. Behind the Buddha, there's the halo and 2 figures which are Bodhisattvas acting as Flywisk bearers. Lastly, above the Bodhisattvas are 2 Apsaras.

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The Buddhas of Bamiyan, Sandstone cliffs of Bamiyan, 5th century CE

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The Buddhas of Bamiyan, Sandstone cliffs of Bamiyan, 5th century CE

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The Buddhas of Bamiyan are 2 large statues, one is 53 meters high, and the other is 35 meters. They are constructed out of limestone and are meant to be representations of the Gupta Mathura Buddha as they have many similarities. One of them has the clothes drape showing string folds. Which they were able to show by using rope and plaster that's studded into the statue. Unfortunately, in the march of 2001 the Taliban said they would bomb the statues. Many world leaders tried to plead the Taliban to not bomb the statues but nothing worked. The Taliban bombed the statues, destroying both greatly. On top of that the Taliban also destroyed the paintings in the nearby caves by smashing them with their shoes.

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Painted Pottery, Neolithic Banpo, 5th century BCE

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Painted Pottery, Neolithic Banpo, 5th century BCE

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This bowl is made out of red clay and is assumed to have been made using the coil method. The main purpose of these bowls was to be urn covers for the urns of children in the village. Each bowl has a different imagery. This bowl has Zoomorphic images shown as fish because they believed that when you die you just go in to a spirit world and they put the imagery of fish to make sure the child had fish to eat in the spirit world. The other imagery on the bowl is Theriomorphic in the form of a shaman in order to make sure that a shaman could be a bridge between the real world and the spirit world to allow communication. The shaman imagery could also be considered apotropaic imagery in order to protect the Childs soul.

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Used Shang-dynasty turtle shell oracle bone

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Oracle Bones, Shang Dynasty China, 2000-1000 BCE

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Oracle Bones, Shang Dynasty China, 2000-1000 BCE

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Oracle bones were used to give King Wu Ding divine guidance for his everyday life. The oracle bones were found in pits where they were assumed to be disposed of. They were usually made of turtle shells that were gifted to the king but could be made with other kinds of bone. In order to get divine guidance, notches would be put into the shell and they would heat a pole and touch it to the notches while asking questions. based on the cracks created on the bone the King would read his Divine guidance and base his future on it. Based on what he would read he would perform different sacrifices to help get rid of his problems.

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Shang Bronzes: Taotie, Shang Dynasty, 3rd century BCE

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Shang Bronzes: Taotie, Shang Dynasty, 3rd century BCE

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Shang bronzes from the Shang dynasty are characterized by their Taotie motifs. The term taotie was taken from the 3rd century BCE text Lu Shi Chunqiu, which talks about a mythological animal described as "has a head but is bodiless." There are five types of taotie that are shown on Shang bronzes. To figure out which of the five types of taotie it is you have to look at how detailed the lines are on the bronze. the first style of Toatie is characterized by the small eyes and thin lines. Style 2 has thicker lines than the first, and style three has eyes that come out of the piece. Style four has more detailed lines while style five has very detailed lines that stick out of the bronze.

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Marquis Yi of Zengs lacquered double coffin

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Marquis Yi of Zengs Coffin,Eastern Zhou Period, 771-221 BCE

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Marquis Yi of Zengs Coffin,Eastern Zhou Period, 771-221 BCE

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This is the Coffin of Marquis Yi of Zeng. What made it so unique was the fact that it was it is made out of Lacquered wood, with an inner and outer coffin. To make Lacquered items, sap is extracted from the lac tree, which is indigenous to China, and added to the wood. The sap in itself is highly toxic to humans when using it in the raw, making it super expensive to make and buy. The part shown is the inner part of the coffin, where the body is placed. The window motifs on the coffin are for the soul to leave the coffin (both the hun and the po). The mythological apotropaic creature motifs on the coffin are meant to help the hun into the dangerous journey of the afterlife.

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Terracotta Warrior, Qin Dynasty, 2nd century BCE

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Terracotta Warrior, Qin Dynasty, 2nd century BCE

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This is a terracotta soldier from the tomb of Emporer Qin Shi Huangdi or the First Illustrious Emperor of Qin. His tomb had three different sections, one with thirty-one rare birds in clay coffins along with a burial of three hundred sacrificed horses. Near that, there was a pit with one hundred skeletons in a mass burial. The most famous part of the tomb is the terracotta soldiers. The tomb had a terracotta army, with over eight thousand warriors and horses standing in battle formation. All in three pits of pounded earth to safely store them. Each of the terracotta soldiers are unique and made from different molds (not by hand as most people think) that were adjusted slightly for each soldier. On top of that, there were different kinds of soldiers, like archers and charioteers, along with generals and commanding officers. Each had real weapons and were painted based on their rank. On top of that, they had real weapons. They were made to be sacrificial vessels for the Emperor.

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Lady Dai's coffin, Han Dynasty China, 168 BCE

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Lady Dai's coffin, Han Dynasty China, 168 BCE

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This is the coffin of Lady Dai from her tomb. The coffin is what is called a nesting coffin. Like Russian nesting dolls, it has four parts that nest into each other. Each with different designs that relate to her hun soul and its journey to the afterlife. The outer coffin is a wooden box to protect the other three. The third coffin has clouds on it to signify the land of the immortals. The second coffin has animal and mythological creature designs that are meant to protect the hun. The innermost coffin has black and red silk around it in the form of feathers, which are symbols of the immortals. Each coffin was decorated with different themes that they believed would be necessary for Lady Dai to have a safe and enjoyable afterlife.

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Chinese Ceremonial Gilded Bronze Buddha statue  

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Gilded Bronze Buddha statue,Period of Division, 4th century CE

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Gilded Bronze Buddha statue,Period of Division, 4th century CE

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This kind of Buddha was found in the tomb of Chinese people who embraced Mahayana Buddhism. Which was embraced by the Northern Dynasty that was run by the Xianbei (who were not of Chinese descent). When making their Buddhist statues the Xianbei borrowed other art styles from statues that represent the Buddha that have already been made. Looking at the statue you can see multiple different styles of art. For example, the statue is sitting in the cross-legged position on top of the pedital like the Kushan Gandhara and the Kushan Mathura Buddhas. The string folds on the clothing looks like the Gupta Mathura Buddha statue. And it has the clothing fold around the neck like the Kushan Gandhara Buddha does.