Art Of South And Southeast Asia

The Amaravati school of thought often focused on stories from Buddha's life. The stories would include messages and other dieties instead of just one central Buddha. Two examples of Amaravati sculpture are, Buddha's Birth, and The Story of the Presents of King Bandhuma.

This piece is entitled, Bodhisattva. It was located on the wall of a cave in India. This mural, as was with most murals in ancient India, was painted in mineral pigments on a prepared plaster surface. The piece depicted episodes from the Buddha's past lives. The subject appeared divine, yet human.

Gandhara Mathura Amaravati

This sculpture is entitled, Torso. It was made of red sandstone and stands 3 3/4 inches tall. The man has a fleshy, soft appearance, rather than a perfect sculpted body, like was common in other cultures. This fleshy appearance was typical of the art of India.

The Gandhara school of thought combined Hellenistic, Persian, and Native styles. The earliest figures come from the Gandharan region. Gandhara flourished from the first century to the fifth. It was distinctly Greco-Roman in style, with the earliest figures had the head of Apollo with the body dressed in a Roman-style toga.

This sculpture was carved into the side of a mountain. It is a carving of Buddha and stand over 55 feet tall. The most likely purpose for this statue was to remind people of their god and the importance of remaining devoted to Buddha.

The interesting thing about the people of the Ancient Indus Valley is that the people seem to have just disappeared, and historians and archeologists cannot figure out what happened.

Buddha is always shown as peaceful and wise, and yet with great strength and power. He always appears both human-like and divine. The Buddha almost always has stretched earloads. The Buddha's hair and headpiece is always a top his head, in a bun style.

This sculpture is entitled, Priest King. It was made out of limestone with traces of paint and stands only 6 7/8 inches tall. This sculpture shows typical facial features of the Indian sub-continent, including, low forehead, broad nose, thick lips, and long slit eyes.

This sculpture is entitled, Buddha and Attendents. It was made of sandstone flecked with cream-colored spots. Buddha's right hand is raised in a gesture meaning "have no fear". This sculpture is from the Mathura school of thought.