Art-170 by Alon

Indus Velley Civilization- The Art of Steatite Seals (2600-1900 BCE)

alon52264 — 2024-10-31 22:12:49 UTC

In the Indus Valley civilization 2600-1900 BCE there were numerous technological advances more than any other ancient civilization. They had a toilet sewage system, bathhouses, and their wax technique for making bronze statues. This civilization was living in a type of utopia. One of their work in the Indus Valley was the Steatite seals. They would use steatite as a cheap soapstone for carving, it is said that these seals were used as a watermark for merchants. A merchant would have a good in hand, a person would buy it and, in the process, give out a steatite seal. Here is where the watermark idea comes in, a person after making the purchase would know this is the merchant I got this good from. Coming from a civilization, I think with these steatite seals the people recognize which merchant had the best quality of goods. Another aspect of these seals is their meaning, such as the bull motif and other animals. One of these motifs is of a mediated human bull figure (Yogi), which people interpreted as the early signs of the Hindu god Shiva. With these seals, people ask, what is the symbolic meaning of the seals? Other than being a likely family name, what do these motifs mean? Symbols are seen above the bull motif. This is the first ever recorded writing in ancient India, but as of now, no one can interpret the meaning of these seals. As the destruction of the Indus Valley remains a mystery, their ancient civilization is one full of history.

The Great Stupa at Sanchi- Narratives ( 3rd Century BCE) 250 BCE

alon52264 — 2024-11-20 16:41:25 UTC

The Great Stupa at Sanchi had many narratives about the life of the Buddha (Siddharta Gautama). This one is about Siddharta's younger self, before he became known as the Buddha but first we must know what the Great stupa at Sanchi is. In the 3rd century BCE Ashoka, the emperor of India took upon himself to share and establish Buddhism as the religion for India. In this way, he built many Ashokan pillars and stupas based on the teachings of Buddha and his life. One of these was a temple called the Great Stupa at Sanchi. People all across India would come across this and "read" or interpret the carvings as narratives. Buddhism had been newly introduced but in India a religion known as the Vedic was widely known in the region. So many of these narratives that depict Buddha's life have the symbolism of the Vedic religion in order to attract people. This narrative is a continuous one that reads left to right. When you look up closely you see on the very left a palace that indicates Siddharta Gautama's early life as a prince. Moving along from that we see a horse carried by a group of people seen throughout the whole narrative, along in the middle a tree with an umbrella above it. The Buddha was often represented with the umbrella as a sign of royalty and divinity. Once in the end we see people praying and feet carved with wheels, meaning it's Buddha setting the wheel in motion with his first sermon at Deer Park. So, the people carrying the horse along the path who are those people? From the looks of it seems to be the Vedic gods called the Devas helping Buddha in his path. The Stupa at Sanchi contains many narratives with different styles and telling, but we know Ashoka used the Vedic religion and the teachings of the Buddha to build these incredibly detailed stories to spread Buddhism far across the land.

Kushan Gandharan Sculpture/ Narrative (3rd century BCE)

alon52264 — 2024-12-03 21:22:46 UTC

The Kushan empire was first established in the 1st through 3rd century CE. The emperor of the Kushan empire, established their rule as the son of heaven taking the title from the Qin dynasty. These are the first people to depict Buddha in human form, which back then The Buddha was depicted as a parasol or a wheel in aniconic form to signify he was mentioned. One impression of the newly introduced Buddhist religion was that Kushans did not know about the importance or the meaning of Samsara and Nirvana, which led to the creation of a Buddha in human form. As the empire embraced Buddhism, they made two workshops; The Gandharan in the north and Mathura in the south. When it came to depicting the Buddha's physical features (Lakshana) his divine parts such as Ushnisha which means knowledge and Urna a third eye. Which the Kushan described in text. This will depict the Buddha for the first time and make way for future sculptures. The Gandharan Kushan style came to be from the inspiration of the Greeks, which in turn came from the Greco-Roman style. It came from the West, where Alexander the Great took over many empires in India, and the Middle East. This emphasizes human psychical details like the body and face, the robe having folded details as it comes down, and lastly, the contrapposto poses. We can see many of those features displayed, from Prince Siddharta as a Bodhisattva statue made from Schist. The body is very fit and built, it contains a robe that comes down realistically, and the contrapposto pose. However, this statue also includes Bodhisattva features and Lakshana details with the Halo, webbed fingers, third eye, and head shape. All of these parts and details made the Kushan Gandharan style unique, allowing it to be told apart from works made in the Mathura style. This depiction (statue) of the young life of the Buddha was a statue that brought good fortune to the merchants passing by, which they would donate as it would mean they would accumulate good karma.

The Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha 5th century CE (2001)

alon52264 — 2024-12-04 07:05:35 UTC

When this was first explained my initial reaction was what good does this bring into the world, or at the very least what message are you trying to convey to the world? The Taliban must have a good reason for doing this, was it bringing discomfort to their beliefs? Seize control of a certain group of people? To me what can you do with your belief being about bettering yourself and achieving enlightenment? I know self-retaliation can be good, but when is it too far? Of course, these questions can be answered in any way, and this event can be depicted in many ways. From what I know this act is called iconoclasm which is the destruction of a religious image. The Bamiyan Buddhas under the Guptas were also a cave monastery where many Buddhist monks went into prayer and a resting place for merchants. A connection of roads for traveling. Being a road way into the Silk Road where many merchants would stop and rest, see the Buddha statues, and learn about the religion. In a sense the way location still holds a very important part of history to the world but especially to Buddhism. As it's known to be a religion of no harm to the world, this resting serves as a refuge and strength of the religion. In my viewpoint, the destruction shows the stability of a proud religion, as it was a world-known, religious image scene all around India. At one point or another, it would've been impacted by destruction, which serves as a foundation to stand strong. The style is a combination of Mathura and Sarnath, the amount of labor. These acts of violence, allowed us to learn the impact on the people and the significance of historical religious sites.

Neolithic Vessels (2000-1000 BCE)

alon52264 — 2024-12-04 08:29:08 UTC

In the Neolithic age of China in the 5th millennium, there were many tribes out there one of them was the Bampo in the Northwest. A number of potteries were founded in the Bampo village with a unique style. This Neolithic tribe utilized painted pottery which most came in urns, and wide bowls using the coil method. Although it was simplistic many of the pots were found in burial sites. Special types were painted with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic designs. When it came to Japan in their Jomon period, (Cord making) it first came as simple pots to hold water and crops in their daily lives. Letting them dry and then firing in a pit. Pots changed over time in the Jomon period, the one shown above is from the middle part, which shows surface patterns using a cord. In the middle period of the Jomon pot making, most of these pots seemed to serve a ceremonial purpose rather than a tool, as they look a hassle to carry around.

Both of these Neolithic groups used the vessels for daily use when it came to making them. As time went on the Jomon made these special pots which seemed hard to use daily, suggesting to be a ceremonial function. As well as having a burial and ceremonial use for them. The Chinese tribe believed in shamanism, which was a form of protection in the afterlife, many of the painted pots/bowls had a shaman mask and fish. Several tombs of children had different pots in them especially the one seen above. Similarly, when it came to elaborate details the Jomon used their cord technique. However, these Neolithic tribes shared values when it came to the function of pots. Ceremonial, daily use, or decoration, pots contain the history and culture of the people, and we see the advancements of different methods and uses.

Tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng- Eastern Zhou Period (433 BCE)

alon52264 — 2024-12-04 19:19:47 UTC

In the Eastern Zhou period between 771-221 BCE. All over China had states and art productions. Three of these states were superpowers, Chu, Qin, and Jin. Many of these had control of smaller states, such as the Chu. The Tomb of Marquis was a discovery in the historical context of the Chu culture by uncovering an unknown small state called the Zeng. This excavated tomb is enormous consisting of four compartments each serving a function. They take names after the four cardinal directions. The East had a bed. North was an armory. The central point was a musical and vessel room. West had many sacrifices in coffins. In China, people believe there is an afterlife, and the soul is divided into two parts. The Po and Hun. The Po would stay inside the tomb with the offerings, while the Hun part goes on a dangerous journey into the beyond. A tomb like this would serve as a place where the soul could wander, as the compartments were all connected. The Marquis's tomb has many funeral bronze artifacts, coffins, sacrifices, and even a whole set of musical bells. In China, human sacrifice was still prevalent. Bronze vessels were highly detailed using techniques such as; section mold, lost wax, joinery, and pattern blocks, these vessels were very lavish. Each serves a role in the afterlife. Significantly the image on the right is that of a deer crane bronze figurine. This bronze figurine is a hybrid animal between a deer and a crane, it was cast with 8 parts. The wings, antlers, head and body, and legs. A very elongated neck, realistic features with antlers, and a podium. Molding and using the same techniques to cast all the parts together, along with the vessels. Using these creatures in a tomb would guide the soul into the afterlife. These bronze hybrid animals are my personal favorite artifacts because of the meaning of animal companions guiding you in your journey. In the early brush silk paintings, we see two people making their way into the afterlife using creatures such as hybrid animals and dragons to aid in the journey.

Tomb of the First Emperor vs Tomb of Emperor Nintoku ( 1974)

alon52264 — 2024-12-11 18:29:54 UTC

Lady Dai Banner, Han Dynasty 168 BCE (Sunday from Honkai Star Rail illustration.

alon52264 — 2024-12-16 21:37:07 UTC

In the Han Dynasty China, was established by a peasant named Liu Bang. (202 BCE) Expanded much of China's territory with a diverse government with Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. During this time three tombs were discovered, there tombs being an aristocratic family. The Marquis of Dai's tomb is tomb two which died in 186 BCE. Tomb three is Lady Dai's son who died after Lady Dai shortly after only being 30 years old. Tomb one is the Marquis of Dai's wife Lady Dai. All three tombs were covered with layers of charcoal, white clay, and pounded earth. The making of the tomb objective was to preserve the body, therefore the tomb had four lacquered coffins. Additionally, 1000 funereally items were preserved and found inside the tomb, many of which she owned when she was alive. (Mingqi) One of these items is a t-shape banner made out of silk. (Fei Yi) means "Flying banner. This ties in with the Chinese believing in spirits the Hun and the Po. The banner painting is divided into four sections, vertically in a continuous narrative starting from the underworld into heaven. My interpretation is a fictional character called Sunday from a video game called Honkai Star Rail. The game's premise takes place in a fantasy space setting, in which a group called the Trailblaze travels around the cosmos to save worlds from Stellarons "Cancer of all worlds". They hit a world called Penacony, which is called the planet of festivities and the land of dreams. Each planet has a faction (God) they follow, Penacony follows the Harmony. My character Sunday is an antagonist, whose organization (Oak family) follows the Order. His ideals are nihilist, on which he thinks everything should fall into place. "Are sinners equal to the righteous?" His ultimate goal is to build a paradise for everyone, but keep everyone asleep, him being at the top as well fulfill his organization's goals. The banner starts at the bottom, which is Sunday past tied by his organization being the thorny vines. The pose takes after a Christogram-like inspiration, with light symbolism of him having a savior complex. We move along to the top. On the right there is a "Charmony" Dove, this symbolizes Sunday's sister, which in the end he cares very deeply about. Sunday's sister named Robin, stuck with him even after his defeat, even after he betraye/-d her. On the left is an "Embryo of philosophy", that guides Sunday on his new path of redemption. In the middle of it all is Sunday falling. After being defeated by the trailblazers, he gave thought to his actions, and the different phases he went through to get there. Which involved getting jailed by the (IPC) Interstellar Peace Corporation. Although Sunday cannot face himself going back to Penacony from the guilt he feels. Never saying goodbye to Robin in his true form. Sunday joins the Trailblazers and marks a journey to redemption and self-discovery. Sunday is a very complex character and needs more in-game context. Lady Dai's tomb was filled with treasure, and we learned the methods used to preserve her body.