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Compare and contrast between a painted pot from northern China and a middle Jomon period Pot from Japan

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Painted Urn Lid, Clay, Painted Pottery Culture, Banpo China, 5000 BCE                                                           Middle Jomon Vessel, Clay, Jomon Period, Neolithic Japan, 2500-1500 BCE

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Painted Urn Lid, Clay, Painted Pottery Culture, Banpo China, 5000 BCE                                                           Middle Jomon Vessel, Clay, Jomon Period, Neolithic Japan, 2500-1500 BCE

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The images above are of a Banpo urn lid (top) and of a middle Jomon decorative vessel (bottom. Both items are believed to have been as funerary items in their respective cultures. The Banpo item is a lid for an infant urn. The urns were found inside of the village which helps to explain why the lids were painted and why the imagery was chosen. The Jomon item is a vessel from the middle Jomon era and due to its highly decorative rim and the high death rate of that period it is believed to have been used in a funerary context.

The urn lid was found at Banpo type site which is a small agricultural village in neolithic northern China. Banpo was one of many villages that are included in the painted pottery culture of northern China (although only three percent of the vessels are painted all being found inside of burial sites). The vessel from the Banpo site was believed to have been from around 5000 BCE while the Jomon vessel was believed to have been created much later between 2500 BCE and 1500 BCE. The vessel was from the middle Jomon era of neolithic Japan which had people migrating between the coast and inland areas as the seasons change. The Jomon vessel is like many others found during that time and its creation aligns with a period of high mortality which leads people to believe that the vessel had some sort of funerary context (the exact function is still unknown).

Both items were made from clay and were hand made. The Banpo lid was made using the coil method while the Jomon vessel was made using the additive method. Both items are decorated, the lid with painted imagery and the vessel with grooves made with a bamboo stick. The painted detains on the Banpo lid are of geometric fish, fishing net, and an animalistic shaman mask. The grooves on the Jomon vessel are both slightly geometric with the use of sharp corners and circular shapes and also abstract (lack of clear theme).

The images on the Banpo lids were painted on the concaved/interior surface. That way the designs would face into the urn that they capped. All of the urns held the remains of infants and were found inside the village (not outside like typical burials). 73 urns were found inside the village which suggests that there was a period of high infant mortality – possibly from disease – which scared the people of Banpo. The context of the infant death influenced the designs chosen. Fish and fishing nets were painted as a way of making a permanent offering/ providing sustenance in heaven. The animalistic mask was most likely a depiction of a shaman (a priest/religious figure). Shamans were believed to be able to communicate with heaven and acted as a bridge between the living world and heaven. The shamans always wore masks that resembled animals so that any evil spirts couldn’t attach to them. The shaman mask facing the infants remain was so that the infants spirts could connect with their parents in the living world.

Unlike the Banpo pottery, we don’t know the exact context of the Jomon vessel. The decorative rim makes this unlikely to have been a vessel that was used in everyday life. We assume that because of an increase in death rate which corresponds with an influx in these decorative vessels that they were used for some sort of funeral ritual.

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Fertility Figurine, Clay, Indus Valley, South Asia, 2600 BCE- 1900 BCE  

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Fertility Figurine, Clay, Indus Valley, South Asia, 2600 BCE- 1900 BCE  

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Depicted above is a figurine that was made in the Indus River Valley civilization sometime between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE.

The figure is made of terra cotta which is a type of clay. Clay was readily available and it didn't require specialized skills to manipulate it into the desired shape. The figure was sculpted using the additive method in which a general shape is established then details are created by adding clay balls and coils. The balls and coils are affixed to the base using slip; clay and water slurry. The figure itself is a stylized women with the focus being on her hips and breasts. The women is sculpted with five flattened ribbons of clay along her neck and chest which resemble necklaces. Each clay ribbon has smaller oval balls of clay attached to them which could be the pendants to the necklaces. The women is also sculpted with clay coils low on her hips which could represent a belt. The details of the belt and necklaces could be used by the sculptor to further draw the eye to the hips and breast. In addition to the jewelry the women was sculpted with she also wears a large headdress.

The headdress and jewelry could indicate high status of that of a queen or goddess. This figure was found in the Indus River Valley civilization, but shares many characterizes with Mesopotamian fertility goddess sculptures (emphasis on breasts, hips, and curves). The heavy resemblance to the Mesopotamian fertility goddess led archeologists to believe this is an early sculpture of a Indus River Valley fertility goddess.

Sculpting of a goddess out of cheap material like of clay is odd. Most statues made for temples are made of a metal or stone so that are durable and last longer. This figure being made of terra cotta suggests that she might not have been in a temple, but rather in someone's home. Having a statue of a goddess in one's home means that the statue can be worshipped more frequently especially for lower class people within the Indus Valley civilization. It's also important to realize that this terra cotta goddess statue could be made by anyone and is probably not the only one of its kind.

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Tuned Orchestra Bells, Bronze and Lacquered Wood, Minor Vassal State of Zeng, China, 433 BCE

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Tuned Orchestra Bells, Bronze and Lacquered Wood, Minor Vassal State of Zeng, China, 433 BCE

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The bell set pictured above is apart of the orchestra set found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. Previous to the discovery of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng no one new that Zeng existed. Zeng is a vassal state the larger kingdom of Chu. Chu was a kingdom in southern China where they valued music, dancing, and partying. These values were reflected in the burial tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng. Marquis Yi had a four chambered tomb with the central one containing more than one hundred musical instruments and a variety of food and drink vessels. The offerings were placed in the tomb because the southern Chinese believed that when someone dies they have two souls, po and hun. The po soul resided in the tomb while the hun soul went on a dangerous journey to the heavens.

One of the most notable instruments was a large set of orchestra bells. The bells were attached to a frame made of lacquered wood and bronze fittings. Lacquer is a luxury item that was more expensive than bronze because of the toxicity of the sap from the Lac tree. Lacquer comes in a variety of colors (red, yellow, and black) and must be applied in many thin layers. The lacquered designs were small geometric pinwheels with a curling design around each pinwheel in the shape of a square. The bronze ornamentation included tigers, soldiers (which is a reference to the waring states period), dragons, and textured patterns that were made with a pattern block.

The bells were hung in three layers according to size/pitch. The lowest pitch bells were on the bottom layer and were played with long wooden poles. The Higher pitch bells were in the middle layer and were played with mallets. The very top layer were bells used to tune the rest of the orchestra.

The orchestra bell set contained 65 bronze bells. The set played twelve notes in the chromatic scale in three different octaves which means that bells can play any note a piano can play. Each bell plays two notes. One note when struck on the front face and the second note when struck on the side. Each bell is perfectly tuned to the next bell.

The construction of the bells is still unclear to archaeologist. It appears that the bells were cast and the bell was in tune without any extra manipulations (filing or otherwise altering the shape). Each bell has a bumpy texture around the hanging apparatus and around the bells in bands. The texture was made using a pattern block which allowed for the recreation of pattern. Each bell made has an gold inscription that reads "Marquis Yi of Zeng made this. Cherish it."

One bell does not resemble the other bells. This is because it was a gift from the King of Chu. An inscription on the bell states that it was gifted at the time of the Marquis Yi's funeral in 433 BCE. A gift from the King of Chu shows that Zeng was an important vassal state for the Chu Kingdom.

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King Ashoka's Pillars, Sand Stone, Mauryan Empire, South Asia, 263 BCE 

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King Ashoka's Pillars, Sand Stone, Mauryan Empire, South Asia, 263 BCE 

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King Ashoka succeeded his grandfather Chandragupta and inherited the Mauryan empire. The Mauryan empire spanned most of the Indian subcontinent. The empire (the northern portion especially in modern day Afghanistan) had Greek influence from the Greek conquest almost fifty years prior. Roughly ten years after he assumed the throne, Ashoka led his army into a gruesome battle against the eastern Indian state of Kalinga. The battle turned Ashoka against violence. Ashoka decreed that Buddhism would replace the Vedic Religion as the official religion of the Mauryan empire.

Ashoka began to erect large stone pillars. The pillars were tall and meant to catch the eye of anyone who walked past it. The main part of the pillar had writing carved into it. The writing was a message from King Ashoka which told the story of his conversion to Buddhism. King Ashoka was manipulated the reader by:

-Bragging about his conquering of the Kalinga.

-Saying the Vedic devas loved him which was meant to make his decision more palatable to his mostly Vedic empire.

-speaks about many other people have accepted Buddhism (wants to make people feel left out so they are more inclined to join)

On top of the pillar was a capital(three part stone carving): the inverted lotus, the abacus, and the crowing animal.

The inverted lotus could reference be a reference to Buddha's first steps as a boy where lotus flowers bloomed out of his footprints.

The abacus is the middle section of the capital. The abacus had the wheel of dharma (which is a throw back to Buddha's first sermon at Deep Park at Sarnath where he set the wheel of dharma turning) and many locally found animals carved into it. Many of these animals could have been found on Indus Valley Civilization clay seals.

The top of the capital was four lions. The lions were sculpted so that they sat with their tails together and all faced in a different direction. The lions were not sculpted to look fierce. Instead they were sculpted to appear non threatening which mirrors the Buddhist ideals of non-violence. Lions are uncommon in Indian art because they aren't local animals and people who live in India wouldn't recognize them. Lions are more common in Persian/Greek art and use of them in art corresponded with the reign of Alexander the Great. This imagery would be more familiar to people living in the northern part of Ashoka's empire. Ashoka used the lions to reference royalty. He used the lions to reference the Shakya clan (Siddhartha's father's clan), Himself (the ruler of the Mauryan empire), and to Buddha's previous life as Prince Siddhartha.

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Lady Dai's Silk Guideway, Silk textile, Han Dynasty, China, 168 BCE

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Lady Dai's Silk Guideway, Silk textile, Han Dynasty, China, 168 BCE

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Underworld: I don't know what would lurk down there, but I hope that I would have some sort of a protector. I hope that my animal protector would be able to watch my back and keep me secure. That's why I drew a dragon who "sits" below my little part of earth. The dragon looks down to make sure nothing can sneak up on my body/soul.

Funeral Scene: I don't know what material possessions I would take with me. I have never been very materialistic. I hope that travelling lightly will allow me to convince the dragon to give me a ride into heavens.

Ascension: I denoted the change from my funeral scene to ascension with a color change. I changed the lightly sky blue to a powder blue. I made a choice to make the color change into a Heng ornament which the people of the Han dynasty used to represent the earthly realm. I made the choice to have the bottom of the Heng ornament be a solid figure while the top blurs up into the heavens.

I also included falling leaves from the Gingko tree. Gingko trees symbolize peace and longevity. My Gingko leaves hopefully show my long life with a peaceful transition to the afterlife.

In my accession, I would also be greeted by a kettle (what a silly word) of vultures. Vultures typically have a strong negative connection with death as they feed on dead animals, but to me vultures show a way for energy to be returned to the energy cycle. Since I would be in ascension I would no longer need my physical body, so I hope that the vultures can help return my energy back to the cycle.

Afterlife: I made the choice to depict the afterlife to be above the clouds. Depiction of the clouds in Han dynasty China often symbolized the world of the immortals and the heavens. The white clouds break in the middle to allow passage for the souls.

The first thing I hope I would see is my childhood dog, Lilly. She was also very calm and gentle with me when I was a child, but I think that she would be excited to see.

Up in the heavens all stars would come in pairs. This imagery is from one of my all time favorite poems "Two-Headed Calf" by Laura Gilpin. To me, the poem shows that even though time is limited it is still possible to find beauty and peace in that moment. I hope that the paired stars remind me that even if my life wasn't exactly how I planned it was still beautiful and worth experiencing.

Above the stars is the moon that takes the shape of a Bi disk which is a symbol that has been used in Chinese art as a symbol of heaven since the East-Coast (Liangzhu) cultures in 3000-2000 BCE.

To the left of the moon is the constellation Orion. In Wisconsin, Orion is a winter constellation that is seen easily because of the three bright stars that make up his belt. In Greek mythology, Orion was a skilled hunter who hunted with Artemis to me he depicts death necessary for survival. To the right of the moon is Lyra, a summer constellation viewable in Wisconsin. Lyra is a lyre originally written about in the Greek story of Orpheus and Eurydice (I'm just going to assume you're familiar with it). After Orpheus fails to rescue Eurydice from the underworld he wanders the world constantly playing his lyre. After his death, Zeus places his lyre into the night sky and Orpheus gets to reunite with Eurydice in the underworld. To me Lyra depicts the love that Orpheus has for Eurydice. I feel that the two constellations offset each other nicely one representing the violence of death and the other show the kindness of death (reunification of loved ones).

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Prince Siddhartha sculpted as a Bodhisattva 

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 Prince Siddhartha Bodhisattva, Schist Stone, Kushan Gandharan Workshop, South Asia, 200 CE to 300 CE

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 Prince Siddhartha Bodhisattva, Schist Stone, Kushan Gandharan Workshop, South Asia, 200 CE to 300 CE

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The Kushan are a group of semi nomadic pastoralist who migrated from western China into the Indo-Gangetic plain and Bactria. The Kushan conquered the local people who where very diverse in culture, language, and ethnicity. The Kushan empire had two capitals one in the north (Begram)and one in the south (Mathura) and would travel between the two during different seasons. Both of the capitals had a main artistic workshop close to them. The northern work shop is the Gandharan workshop.

Before the Kushans Buddhism was aniconic meaning that Buddha wasn't depicted in human form only in symbols that represented him. This is because Buddha reached parinirvana (complete release from self) and depicting him in human form is disrespectful. The Kushans were not from the Indian sub content and prior to their arrival had never encountered Buddhism or their beliefs. They saw nothing wrong with depicting him as a human and referenced the Buddhist sutras to portray him.

The sculptural style of the Gandharan workshop represented the cultural influences of the area. Sculptures produced from this workshop are Greco-Roman in style an sculpting method. The Greco-Roman influence is from the Greek colonists that settled in Afghanistan during the Greek empire's conquest of south Asia under Alexander the Great. Key parts of the Greco-Roman style are very anatomically accurate, heavy fabric folds and drapes, a body that is fit/ideal, and often sculpted in contrapposto. Pieces from the Gandharan workshop are also recognizable because of the gray schist stone used.

The sculpture shown above is one of many Buddhist sculptures made in the Gandharan workshop. The sculpture is of Prince Siddhartha Gautama which is Buddha's last life before he reached enlightenment. Siddhartha is dressed as a bodhisattva; a person who reached nirvana but has chosen to say in the cycle of samsara to help others on their journey.

Prince Siddhartha is sculpted standing in contrapposto which a pose that is used in Greek art. Contropposta is similar to Tribhanga where the figure is in a relaxed pose often with one hand relaxed down by their side and the other is raised near their chest. Siddhartha is sculpted in with his hands in a fear not mudra(symbolic hand position). The sculpting of the fabric is very detailed making the fabric seem light weight and delicate (and expensive). Behind Siddhartha's head is a large halo which has origins in depictions of Persian sun gods. The use of a halo may have made Siddhartha seem more appealing/familiar to people that worshipped Persian gods. Siddhartha keeps many of the material possession that he had before going on his journey of enlightenment. He wears large earrings, many necklaces, bangles on his wrists, and cuffs on his biceps. The outfit Siddhartha is wearing is not a Greek style tunic/drape. Normally Greek figures are sculpted with their drape covering both shoulders not leaving their chest and stomach exposed like Siddhartha. This depiction of his outfit would later become the outfit that other Bodhisattva would be depicted wearing. Siddhartha is also sculpted with his Lakshana which are superhuman physical characteristic. They include a small urna and an ushnisha that looks more like a top knot and less like a cranial protrusion. As for his facial expression he has the closed eye look that is unique to the Gandharan workshop. His closed eyes make him appear meditative and rather powerful.

This statue is interesting because works coming out of the Gandharan workshop are usually made for temples and are very modestly clothed Buddhas. This Statue displays wealth and prosperity to people who are unaware of the story of prince Siddhartha. This regal rich looking sculpture was used to get merchants traveling along the silk road to donate to the Buddhist temples and in return receive good karma or "good luck". This donation in return for "good luck" was remembered by the merchants and spread with them as they travelled the routes.

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Terra Cotta Warriors, Terra Cotta Clay, Qin Dynasty, China, 208 CE               Haniwa Sculpture, Clay, Kofun Period, Japan, 400 CE - 500 CE             

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Terra Cotta Warriors, Terra Cotta Clay, Qin Dynasty, China, 208 CE               Haniwa Sculpture, Clay, Kofun Period, Japan, 400 CE - 500 CE             

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Part 1 of Qin Dynasty China and Kofun Period Japan

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Tomb of emperor Qin Shi Huangdi vs Tomb of emperor Nintoku

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Tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Haungdi, Qin dynasty, Central China, 208 BCE  Tomb of Emperor Nintoku, Kofun period, Japan, 400 CE - 500 CE              

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Tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Haungdi, Qin dynasty, Central China, 208 BCE  Tomb of Emperor Nintoku, Kofun period, Japan, 400 CE - 500 CE              

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Part 2 of Qin Dynasty China and Kofun Period Japan

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Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, Sandstone, Bamiyan Afghanistan, 600 CE

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Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, Sandstone, Bamiyan Afghanistan, 600 CE

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While watching the video of the Bamiyan Buddhas being destroyed I couldn't help but notice the voices of Taliban members behind the camera. They were praising god and they sounded so relieved and proud to have destroyed the Buddha's. I wonder if any of the people were even conflicted choosing between their nation's culture (if the soldiers were from Afghanistan) and serving their religion (Islam). The destruction of the Buddhas seemed unnecessary and hurt a community that was a key part of Afghanistan's tourism industry. I think we can learn that strong emotions and a sense of duty to a cause can result in people to becoming unwilling to consider other people's emotions. The destruction of the Buddha's hurt some members of the Taliban just as much as it hurt the people of Bamiyan. I hope that we as a global community can become more empathetic of each others beliefs and work to strengthen intercultural respect. I think that seeing the cavities in the cliff face is quite a sore spot for many of the people who lived when tourism was a main source of income. The cavities would be a constant reminder of what was and how quickly it was taken away from them. As for the younger generation I think the cavities could serve as a reminder for how feelings of entitlement and superiority can affect other. As for global affects of cavities of the Bamiyan Buddhas I think that they can represent impermanence. I think that to many people thought that the buddhas would exist forever so they never took the time to fully appreciate them or give them much thought at all. The destruction of the Buddhas shows that there is a finite period of existence for everything and that we must appreciate it while it still exists.