Asian Art
Ancient GandharaChina
India
Japan
Thailand
The Museum's Asian art collection is displayed in the Gallery of the Class of 1908. A generous gift from this class at the time of its fiftieth reunion not only provided for the construction of the gallery, but also allowed the Museum to purchase many fine works of Asian art over the next three decades. Important gifts from individual donors have continued to enrich the collection.
ANCIENT GANDHARA
Buddhist Stele
Pakistan, Gandhara (2nd century C.E.)
anonymous
sculpture: schist
30 3/4 " x 21" without base
Gift of Ellnora Krannert
Depictions of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563-c.483 B.C.E.), were forbidden by the early Buddhist church for almost five hundred years after his death. The earliest surviving images of the Buddha were made in Gandhara, the region of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the first and second centuries C.E.. It is believed that Gandharan sculptors drew inspiration from two artistic traditions, Indian and Greco-Roman (this northwest region of Indian had been invaded by Alexander the Great.) This large stone stele depicting a seated Buddha flanked by columns and by two bodhisattvas (perfected beings) is an excellent example of the Gandharan style. The "wet drapery folds, the poses of the figures standing with weight on one leg, and the facial features all show traces of Greco-Roman influence. The bare torsos and jewelry of the bodhisattvas reflect Indian sculptural traditions. The symbolic hand positions (mudras) seen here and in later Buddhist sculpture derive from ancient Indian dance and meditation practices. The gesture here is the dharmacakramudra, signifying the act of setting the wheel of the Law (Dharma) in motion. When Siddhartha preached his first sermon at the Deer Park, Buddhists believe that this new era of Buddhist Law was initiated. In the mudra, the lower hands mimes the axle and the upper hand a wheel, symbolizing the act of initiating the wheel of the law.
CHINA
Storage jar
Chinese, Yangshao, Third millenium BCE
Ceramic: earthenware with black and red slip
14 1/2" x 16"
Gift of the Estate of John Needles Chester 1981-12-1
The Banshan style seen in this vessel is one of the most striking of Neolithic painted pottery styles from Gansu Province. It is characterized by a red earthenware body painted with swirling designs. Yangshao ware was generally made by molding built-up coils and by finishing the work on a turn-table. Decoration was made by impression with a variety of materials, such as cord or textile, and by brushing on red and black pigments. Stylizations like the ones on this jar suggest a derivation from abstractions of nature. From the fourth millennium B.C., variations of spiral designs such as these spread throughout the Yangshao area. This type of jar was probably used in a burial for the storage of cereals.
Ritual Gui vessel
Chinese, Middle Western Zhou period, late 10th century BCE
Metalwork: bronze
5 5/8" x 11 1/2"
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1983-25-1
Inscriptions on bronzes became increasingly common during the Zhou dynasty, and they can be used to supplement contemporary texts with records of isolated facts and events. Zhou inscriptions tend to be markedly longer than those of the preceding Shang dynasty and seem more secular in nature, recording promotions, gifts from the king, marriages, etc. However, the significance of announcing these events to the clan ancestors through the commissioning of a bronze vessel was intrinsically religious. The right to make these announcements was jealously guarded and the act of making them legitimized and confirmed the status and title of the head of a household.
A stylistic interpretation of this vessel indicated a tenth century B.C. date; curators used various materials analyses to confirm its authenticity. By using electron microscopy, the composition of the vessel was shown to be consistent with other tenth century Chinese bronzes. X-ray radiography also showed porosity in the metal, indicating an early casting technique in which bubbles of gas were trapped in the metal. Both compositional and stylistic assessments of the vessel, therefore, support a date in the Middle Western Zhou period.
A material analysis of the gui vessel has been performed and is available on-line in the Science in the Art Museum exhibit in the Krannert Art Museum Explorer.
Hill jar (2nd century CE)
Chinese, Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE)
Ceramic: earthenware with grren glaze
diam.: 11 3/4" x 9 1/2"
Gift of Sophie and Brian Leung 1992-1-1
Although the Han dynasty was much characterized by a rational, Confucian world view, ancient customs, especially evident in funerary traditions, remained popular. One such practice was the furnishing of graves with objects from everyday life (mingqi) to comfort the deceased. Hill jars were replicas of metal wine jars but are more finely decorated than their common counterparts. The lid of a hill jar represents the sacred mountains of the intermediary realm between earth and heaven through which a spirit would climb on its way to heaven. The sacred mountains were filled with animals who live in this magic land; these wild creatures can be found running among the mountains around the sides of the jar.
Hu vessel (2nd century CE)
Chinese, Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE)
Ceramic: earthenware with red, black and white slip
diam: 8" x 5 1/2"
Gift of Sophie and Brian Leung 1992-1-6
Mountains in Han dynasty art often represent a sacred wilderness between this world and heaven. The idea of mountains as an intermediary realm was developed throughout the Han period with new types of imagery. This Hu jar, a grave furnishing for wine storage, has the mountain motif in a band around its shoulders. Another decorative element found on the Hu jar is yunqi (spirit cloud), a curvilinear or scroll pattern, often infused with forms of dragons and birds. Yunqi, a good omen, represents the mystical vital force as it gathers into a cloud form carrying immortals. The yunqi motif readily combines with the mountain scene, as the sharp projections of the yunqi (dragons' claws or birds' beaks) seem to form peaks and cliffs.
Meditating Bodhisattva (Maitreya) (570 CE)
Chinese, Northern Qi dynasty, 6th century CE
Sculpture: white marble
13 3/4 x 6 1/2"
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1982-4-1
This small statue of a meditating bodhisattva Maitreya (the future Buddha) demonstrates both indigenous and foreign styles of sculpture. The pose of the figure and drape of the cloth indicate a Chinese Buddhist character, while the facial expression and natural shape of the torso reflect the softening influence of the Indian Guptan style. During the Northern Qi dynasty, the emperor encouraged Buddhism, therefore, small sculptures such as this one, used at small temples and on family altars, were popular among the common people. A votive inscription on the back of the sculpture asks the bodhisattva for salvation for all sentient beings, indicating belief in the Mahayana Buddhist concept of the compassion of the bodhisattva.
The subject of this sculpture is unclear. It is believed to be either the historical Buddha, Prince Siddhartha, or bodhisattva Maitreya. During the late fourth to early sixth centuries, the focus of Buddhist worship shifted from Siddhartha to Maitreya. Many people took comfort in the hope of his arrival, bringing peace and unity in this life. Sculpture also changed, as an abstract linearity began to give way to a natural softness, full of life and spirit. The iconography paralleled the new ideas in philosophy: attributes once only suited to Siddhartha were related to Maitreya as he became a more prominent object of worship, and there grew a need for a closer relationship with this figure from beyond the human world.
Funerary horse (618-906)
Chinese, Tang dynasty, 7th-10th century
Ceramic: lead glazed earthenware
22 1/4" x 26 1/2"
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1968-6-2
During the T'ang dynasty, China enjoyed a period of consolidation, achievement, and confidence. T'ang art tends to reflect this assurance in its realism, energy, and dignity. Pottery of this era is often compared to that of Classical Greece for its excellence in sculpting and modeling. This statue resembles a portrait of a living creature with its lifelike features and expressive head. To add to the realistic effect, a mane made of real hair would have been attached to the statue at the groove along the horse's neck.
As horses were often symbols of the afterlife, this funerary statue seems to be ready to bear his owner into the afterlife. Horses held particular significance with T'ang rulers and aristocrats, who relied on them for military preparedness and diplomatic policy. In addition, horses were also revered for their religious significance: ancient tradition linked them to the dragon, designating them as supernatural creatures.
Bottle vase (1368-1644)
Chinese, Ming Dynasty, 14th - 17th centuries
Ceramic: glazed porcelain with cobalt blue
diam: 17 1/2" x 14 1/2"
Purchase, Class of 1908 fund 1966-14-1
The famous blue and white Ming style of porcelain was made by painting a blue wash design on an unbaked vessel before a single firing at a very high temperature. The principal decoration of this vase is a three-clawed dragon, whose curling tail and claws reflect the tendrils of the lotus scrolls in the background. Dragons, as symbols of spring, storms, and the emperor, were a common decorative theme in Ming porcelain, but throughout the dynasty, dragons carried different associations. Fifteenth century dragons are usually depicted among watery elements, such as clouds and waves, which form their natural habitat, while an environment of lotus flower plants is indicative of the early sixteenth century Cheng-te period. The shape of this vessel, however, is similar to that of other pieces from the early fifteenth century, thus causing some difficulty in dating this object.
Landscape after Wang Meng (1576)
Hou Mougong Chinese, Ming dynasty, 14th-17th centuries
Painting: inkwash and color on paper
50" x 12 3/4"
Purchase, Class of 1908 1974-5-2
Hou Mougong, whose works date from 1569 to 1604, was a student of the Wu School of painting and a follower of the famous Wen Zhengning. This School was centered in Suzhou, the artistic capital during the mid-years of the Ming Dynasty. In Suzhou flourished the "literati" artists who appreciated the artistry of brush strokes and imitated old masters of landscape painting, such as Wang Meng (c. 1309-1385). Wang Meng's landscape style typically used the tall, narrow format seen in this composition. The viewer of this painting is invited to follow the lone visitor as he travels up the scroll along the rocks, cliffs, and snowy peaks. The image can be interpreted as a pilgrimage to a pure, sacred mountain in order to experience the Dao (Way) revealed in nature, unspoiled by human concerns. In this sense, the artist's mountain journey serves as a metaphor for a spiritual journey.
Lohan Seated in a Tree (1608)
Ding Yunpeng (1547-c.1628)
Chinese, Ming dynasty, 14th-17th centuries
Painting: ink and light color on paper
49" x 17 1/4"
Gift of Marie Ann Caro 1974-4-1
Inscribed: "On the sixteenth day of the ninth month, autumn of Wu Shen (1608), respectfully drawn by the Buddhist disciple Ding Yunpeng."
Ding Yunpeng's style is characterized by a lively, bright quality of line and color. One of the major late Ming masters of figure-painting, he realized in art the ideal of individualism of contemporary literary criticism. Liang Kai depicts a lohan (enlightened being) meditating in a tree. The earliest extant example of a Buddhist monk being portrayed in a tree is by the thirteenth century painter Liang Kai. He depicted Pan Daolin (741-824), a Chan master, receiving a visit from the poet Bai Juyi. In a famous recorded exchange, Bai commented that the Master was living in a precarious situation. Pan Daolin replied that Bai's situation was far more precarious than his own, for Bai lived in a place ignorant of the true Dharma (Buddhist Law).
INDIA
Young Emperor Jahangir Visiting a Holy Man
Indian, 18th century|
Deccan School
Miniature painting: gouache on paper
5 1/2" x 7"
Gift of George P. Bickford 1966-12-5
The Deccan school of painting is one of three major categories of the Rajput style, whose origins can be traced to traditional Indian medieval manuscripts and more closely to the naturalistic Persian Mughal style of the empire. Rajput art in the eighteenth century continued to be influenced by the visual specificity of Mughal court artists, except in the Deccan region where Mughal realism gave way to a celebration of the worldly luxury and pomp of the elite. Painters who created miniatures thrived on this regional atmosphere of wealthy courts throughout the empire by relying on local aristocrats for patronage.
The emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) inherited a secure, orderly empire and could thus concentrate his energy on cultural matters. A great patron, collector, and connoisseur, he indulged his varied interests in philosophy and the arts. His fondness for being depicted with poets and religious leaders, as in this painting, suggests that he was most concerned with establishing and displaying his spiritual character.
Untitled
Indian, 18th century
Bundi
Miniature painting: gouache on paper
5 3/4" x 8 1/2"
Gift of George P. Bickford 1970-10-3
The Bundi court was linked economically and politically with the imperial court during the Mughal dynasty (1526-1756). Through this connection, the local Rajput folk tradition in painting was influenced by the refined, detailed realism of the imperial Persian artists. During the later years of the empire, however, Mughal influence diminished and local artists developed their own stylistic identity, which can be recognized particularly in the ideals of each style. Mughal art usually depicted specific events or portraits, displaying individual personalities; eighteenth century Bundi artists, however, reflected Hindu conceptual themes such as the inseparability and universality of different forms. This painting has a traditional Hindu subject: four gopis, women who search for the god Krishna along the banks of a river and serve as metaphors for the soul's devotion to religion.
Vishnu as the All-Pervading Protector of the World
Indian, c. 12th century
Sculpture: sandstone
40 1/2" x 22 5/8"
Gift of Ellnora D. Krannert 1969-10-1
The Hindu deities Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver), and Shiva (Destroyer) constitute the Great Trinity. Vishnu is usually thought of as benevolent and mild, granting salvation to his followers for their devotion. Here Vishnu is depicted with his most characteristic elements: the lotus on which he stands, a sun-disk (he is sometimes a solar deity), conch shell (a war trumpet), and mace (symbolizing his authority). These symbols of war and power and the title of Vishnu as protector perhaps refer to the dominance of the military class in Hindu medieval civilization. The lotus is also identified with one of Vishnu's goddess queens Laksmi, who is the life-bestowing goddess of abundance and luck; the other queen, Sarasvati, is the mother of the universe and patroness of prosperity
Hindu art often depicts deities with their hands displaying symbolic gestures called mudras. In this case the hand is in the abhayamudra, a symbol of reassurance or the absence of fear. Hindu religious statues with beautiful ornamentation were not made for aesthetic reasons alone, but in order to please the deity whom the worshiper invites through meditation. The statue is a temporary vessel or residence of a deity and should thus correspond in beauty to the worshiper's vision of the god.
JAPAN
Fudo Myoo
Japanese, Late Heian (Fujiwara), 12th century
En-School at Sanyo
Sculpture: cypress wood, lacquer, polychrome, gold leaf, crystal
h: 26 3/4"
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1982-5-1
Fudo Myoo became a primary object of worship in the Shingon ("true word") sect of Esoteric Buddhism. Esoteric Buddhism emphasized the use of magic to control supernatural forces in order to reach spiritual enlightenment, and the Shingon sect became very popular among the Heian aristocracy because of its ritualized, mystical practices. The origin of Fudo Myoo, the central deity of the Five Great Kings of Light, derives from Hindu influences on Esoteric Buddhism. His function was to uphold Buddhist law and attack such evils as ignorance and passion. Although he appears wrathful, his anger is compassionate and protective.
Sculptures of Fudo Myoo were commonly used on temple altars and put outside buildings to frighten evil spirits. He typically holds two tools to assist him in his battle against ignorance: his lasso (missing from this figure) to seize people and lead them to salvation, and his sword to conquer doubt and illusion with intelligence and truth.
A material analysis has been done on the Fudo Myoo sculpture and is featured on-line in Science in the Art Museum in the Krannert Art Museum Explorer.
Amida Buddha
Japanese, Muromachi Period, 14th-15th century
Sculpture: wood, lacquer, gold leaf
18" x 7"
Gift of Akira Komai 1983-43-1
During the Muromachi period (1392-1568), there was such a pervasive Buddhist influence on culture that it is difficult to distinguish secular from religious art. A particularly popular sect, Jodo, focused worship on Amida, the Buddha of boundless light and the western paradise. The appeal of Jodo was simple and emotional: to be saved, one only had to love Amida. The sect attracted many followers through its ease of salvation and worldly, sensuous imagery of paradise. Amida is depicted here with his hands held in two mudras (symbolic religious hand gestures): the left hand, in the varada mudra, shows his willingness to bestow gifts and fulfill rows, and the right hand, in the vitarka mudra, symbolizes teaching.
Utsusemi Scene from the Tale of Genji (detail)
School of Iwasa Matabei (1578-1650)
Japanese, 17th century (1650-1670)
Screen painting: 63" x 145"
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1980-16-2
The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu (c.978-1026) tells the story of Prince Genji of the Fujiwara clan. This tale embodies the highly aesthetic, courtly atmosphere of the Heian period (897-1185), emphasizing rank, prestige, appearance, and refined ceremony. The amorous, handsome, and talented young Genji matures into a wiser man who regrets the pain he has caused and gains insight into Buddhist teachings.
Although the medium of screen painting originated in China, it became a popular art form in Japan. Japanese houses utilized screens instead of fixed walls, so painted screens served both practical and aesthetic functions. Yamato-e, as practiced by the school of Iwasa Matabei, is a highly decorative painting style that addresses indigenous subjects, such as the heroes of folklore or classical literature. This painting, therefore, embodies Japanese traditions in form, style, and subject.
Utsusemi Scene from the Tale of Genji (detail)
School of Iwasa Matabei (1578-1650)
Japanese, 17th century (1650-1670)
Screen painting: 63" x 145"
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1980-16-2
The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu (c.978-1026) tells the story of Prince Genji of the Fujiwara clan. This tale embodies the highly aesthetic, courtly atmosphere of the Heian period (897-1185), emphasizing rank, prestige, appearance, and refined ceremony. The amorous, handsome, and talented young Genji matures into a wiser man who regrets the pain he has caused and gains insight into Buddhist teachings.
Although the medium of screen painting originated in China, it became a popular art form in Japan. Japanese houses utilized screens instead of fixed walls, so painted screens served both practical and aesthetic functions. Yamato-e, as practiced by the school of Iwasa Matabei, is a highly decorative painting style that addresses indigenous subjects, such as the heroes of folklore or classical literature. This painting, therefore, embodies Japanese traditions in form, style, and subject.
Isoda Koryusai (Japanese, 1735-90)
Standing Courtesan, 1775
Woodblock print: 25-1/2 x 4-1/4 inches
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1974-15-1
THAILAND
Ceremonial vessel
Thai, Ban Chaing, 4th-3rd Millennium BCE
Ceramic: black reduction-fired earthenware
h: 10 1/2"; diam.: 10 3/4"
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1979-9-1
Pottery of this type is generally associated with burials; this is most likely a ceremonial vessel used in funerary ritual. Three types of decoration are found on this pot: freehand incisions drawn with a stylus, furrows made with a roulette or by rocking a stamp, and cross-hatching formed with a cord-wrapped paddle. These designs were probably indigenous to Ban Chiang and not adopted from other areas. This pottery type is one of many kinds of artifacts and discoveries that propose a reinterpretation of Southeast Asian prehistory. It had previously been assumed that civilization in Southeast Asia developed through diffusion of ideas and influence from China or India. However, recent evidence, such as indications of local development of domestication of animals and cultivation of plants, suggests that culture in Southeast Asia was primarily the result of indigenous evolution.
Stele: Buddha and Two Attendants
Thai, Mon Period, 7th-8th century
Sculpture: sandstone
h: 10 4/5"
Purchase, Class of 1908 Fund 1978-10-1
The Mon period refers to the sixth through tenth centuries AD during which the Mon people, originating probably in Burma, came south into Siam, established the Dvaravati kingdom, and ruled the area for four centuries. The Gupta style, developed in the "Golden Age" of India, characterized Mon art as Buddhism spread eastward from India into Burma and Siam. This figure embodies the Gupta ideal of the representation of Buddha, as seen in the curled hair, full lips, and small waist. The Mon adaptation of the Gupta style incorporates both Hindu and Buddhist iconography. In this work, Buddha is depicted as descending from Tushita Heaven while riding Garuda, the sky-bird of Vishnu.