Art History Timeline by Thao, Kayli S

Priest King 2600-1900BCE

kthao331 — 2024-09-16 03:53:10 UTC

This artifact in 2600 and through the 1900 BCE Indus Valley Civilization was named Priest-King. English archaeologist Sir John Marshall dug at Mohenjodaro and Harappa which is referred to as the Indus Valley Civilization. This city had over 700 wells that were connected to the source of water and had its very own access to each house. This was a key function of this city because they were able to have their functional bathroom as well. The city was well organized and successfully fully operated on its own. They even had their own Great Bath structure in the Indus Civilization. To this day we are not sure what it originally functioned as, but you can see that there are walls and some kind of rooms alongside the bath. Some might have said it was to be used as a ritual place for the city, a town bath, or an area for animals to get water. Often artifacts are molded out of clay into some kind of bronze. This specific model is a formal figure which is stylized. As you can see in this sculpture, his ears are enlarged way bigger than the normal-sized ear of a human. The way his hair is formed so nicely in straight lines shows that the model was made unrealistically. There were other great discoveries during this period that made us believe that this Indus Civilization was able to take care of its people and repopulate into a bigger and more advanced place. Some cross-cultural comparison with Mesopotamian votive shows us the the widen eye to make them look more awaken and their closed hands.

Kushan Mathura 375-415CE

kthao331 — 2024-10-10 21:22:06 UTC

In 320-647 CE the group Kushans was raided by a Persian group called Sassanids in the third century CE. The Guptas overpower and came to north central India all under King Chandragupta ll in 375 to 415 CE. Similar to the Kushans the Gupta created two different sculpture workshops one in Mathura where red sandstones were used and the other at Sarnath where it was created in the Gupta workshop. This specific sculpture is named Kushan Mathura, this will be the very first time we see Buddha in human form. This way it was more welcoming especially during the silk roads. He is to be sitting on a peddle stone that has lions on the bottom. These animals are known for their loyalty, and the adaptation from the Persians. The sculpture has a urna which is his third eye on his forehead. He has transparent clothing on, as you can see it from his shoulders and then it disappears. His eyes are open and more welcoming than other Buddhas as shown to be more in a human form than symbolized through other items. In addition bodhisattvas is this creation there is also the fly whisk bearer symbolizes as if to slap your illusions away. The Buddhist imagery was based a lot on the local yakshi and yaksha prototypes.

The Great Stupa of Sanchi 3rd Centry

kthao331 — 2024-10-24 20:01:35 UTC

The Great stupa at Sanchi was a Buddhist monument. It holds the Three Jewels of Buddhism, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The East Gateway was one of the four entrances at The Great Stupa at Sanchi and it has 3 architraves going across the two posts. On the architrave it shows pieces of the life of the Buddha. One of the three told a story about how Prince Siddhartha left the city or palace life. This could be shown as on the left, you could see buildings like a palace, as you move towards the right we see horses and some kind of Bodhi tree. Towards the end you can see a pair of feet and people bowing at these feet. Some other things we can pick from these archives are pieces like Devas praising Saharsa because he had won. You can also see more enlightenment trees. On the posts of the architraves it is common to see animals. Some may be lions or elephants. Another common feature on these posts are Yakshi, who is the fertility goddess. They are usually in a tribhanga pose, which means opposite arms and legs are bent and these goddesses are not standing hands and feet close together. The Great Monkey Jataka, is a story of self sacrifice. He decided to make a bridge between the river so the rest of the monkeys can run to safely. This was a Hierarchical scale which showed that the monkey king was the main character of this story because he was way bigger than the rest of the characters. Through out the posts and architrave has areas filled with decorations, another word for that is Horror Vacui. There are a lot of techniques artis had put into these, such as stacking in that way everyone could be shown. Foreground, middle, and background were all things the artist had done to add details.

Northern/Southern Dynasties 4-6 Centuries

kthao331 — 2024-10-24 21:06:11 UTC

In this week's class, we watched the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. There were sandstones carved of Buddha measuring from 53 meters and 35 meters in the city of Bamiyan. They were carved in cliffs during the 5th century CE. My initial thought of these amazingly carved Buddha in the cliffs was mind blowing. Thinking back at that time they were so limited in supplies and tools, how was it possible to create something so sturdy in that time of period. After watching the video of destruction, my initial reaction was heartbreaking. This was part of someone's life, and who they are and it was completely ripped from them. History itself is an amazing part of who we are as individuals and groups of society. Something I learned from this violent act of destruction personally that it was not necessary. Even if it went against what someone else was to believe in, it didn’t give the right to destroy it for others who worshiped upon them. I strongly feel for those who fought to rebuild and restore what was gone, and also those who just want to leave the missing pieces alone as a new part of their history. As it will gain more tourism in their city to advance into a higher developing country, it also doesn't seem right to be paying so much for something that is already gone. I still believe that the empty niches where the Buddhas once stood in the cliffs, the villagers are saddened but honored as well as it is part of who they are now. It also teaches the rest of us of this impactful and tragic event that had happened in Bamiyan. In a way I believe because of this impact of destruction a lot more people will remember it better.

Neolithic Vessels

2024-12-16 19:34:47 UTC

This is a red clay and was only made by using the coil method. Clay would be rolled into coils and built from layers and layers. After they have made been it would be fired in the pits. The Banpo people were a group in the 5h millennium BCE. Their village was well defended off by creating a ditch around their village. A lot of the vessels that were made during this period had paintings, and those that are painted were for memorial sites. If there was to be any paintings on the vessels they were mainly painted with a fish design, geometric and abstract designs, or anthropomorphic designs. The ones found in burial memorial sites often had meanings for some kind of offering or funerary practices. In this case this vessel was for children urn because it was so small. Compared to the vessels during the Middle Jomon in Neolithic Japan. These vessels were in the Cord Making period, pots were decorative patterns and used for spirituals. There is a method called rope patterns which the artists would wrap it around in wet clay. The patterns on the pottery show a lot of swirls and lines unlike the vessel in Banpo. Although in Neolithic Japan, the flame pot was used for funerals just like the red clay from the Banpo in Neolithic China. Although both vessels had been made by two different groups, they hold some similar meaning to the individuals. Their sole purpose is for the ceremonies as decorations or tools.

Tomb of the marquis Yi of Zeng 433 BCE

2024-12-16 20:25:59 UTC

In the Tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng, you would find plenty of artifacts that were buried with him. He also had a very unique style. When he was buried his tomb was not made like the others, it was split into different chambers that held different purposes. They were created as passages so the soul could wander. They believed that humans had two souls. One would stay in the chambers and enjoy the things that were offered to them as the poor soul while the other one would leave the tomb. He had women and younger girls in his chamber with him. The most impressive thing that was found in his chamber of memorial was 124 musical instruments. They have been believed that it was really used during his time of life. The bells found here were enough to create a whole orchestra. It kept so well that the parts of the bells were still in good shape. The instruments found in his chambers were cast from bronze and weighed anywhere from 2.5 metric tons. The biggest one was called the “Grand Bell” and it was in the middle of the others. It weighed 440 lbs. They were made in many different sizes that played different notes. Since the bell was so huge it played the lowest note. As the bells got smaller the higher the note played. On the outside of the bells were very well-detailed characters explaining the pitches and scales. Not only were they used for the life of music but also for memorial purposes.

2024-12-16 21:14:39 UTC

Lady Dai's Guideway 2 BCE

2024-12-16 22:36:08 UTC

In my journey of the hun soul, after I have passed away from old age, I am going through this spiritual journey as the big red butterfly. I am guided by this beautiful purple caterpillar. It is here to guide me, For I should keep moving forward because evil temptations will try to portray a fantasy heaven to grab and lure me in. Because evil knows temptation, flowers are in my way hoping I make a stop. But as the purple caterpillar is here to guide me through these desires I am reminded of the world above me. My final destination is the sun, where I can finally reach a never-ending freedom in brightness and warmth. The symbols that I have added are the circles around the living creatures. It means a never-ending life, as you are born and to be reborn again.