Buddhist Visual Arts
Stupas ~ Chaitya Halls ~ Figure Sculpture

Stupa

• Burial mound transformed into a place of meditation
• Circumnavigate while in contemplation
• Topped by a symbolic bodhi tree
  • Early stupa from India
  • Stupa design
  • Later stupa
• Pagoda - The Chinese version of the Indian stupa
  • Multilevel tower-like structure
  • More vertical than a stupa
    

Chaitya Hall

• Chaitya Hall - Cave temples carved into mountainsides
• "Knowledge halls" for meditation
• Often contain small stupas inside similar to the altar in the apse of a Christian cathedral

Buddha Figure Sculpture

• Basic terminology for buddha sculpture (head detail)
  • Mudra - Hand position which conveys a specific meaning
  • Urna - Small dot on the forehead of the Buddha representing the 3rd eye of awakening
  • Ushnisha - Raised knot on the head representing his wisdom
• Three styles of Buddha Figure Sculpture
  • Gandhara (example 1) (example 2)
    • Plain undecorated halo
    • Heavy drapery with folds not unlike Greek sculpture
  • Mathura (example 1) (example 2)
    • Large highly ornamented halo
    • String-like folds to drapery in a more Asian style
  • Sarnath (example 1) (example 2)
    • Large highly ornamented halo
    • Smooth drapery a pure Asian style
      

Full-sized art works may be seen under Lecture Images

Humanities Resource of Mark Hunter