Analysis Of the Southern Asia Ancient History, Culture, and Architecture Via Virtual Non-Western Museum Visit

Many artworks in several museums represent Southeast Asia’s spiritual world of gods and goddesses. Some of the artwork that provides a clear representation of the Southeast Asia Hinduism and Buddhist culture are Buddha, Tara, and Ravana

Buddha

The artwork title is ‘Buddha calling the Earth to witness.’ The collection is preserved at the National Gallery of Australia Museum (Culture 2021). The artwork date is 1347 to 1400, and the creator of the is Early Ayutthaya period. The collection is from the National Gallery of Australia located in Canberra. I visited the museum virtually on 15th June 2021.

Tara

The artwork is found in the British Museum, and its title is ‘Statue of Tara.’ The artist who created the statue is Sir Robert from Brownrigg (Culture 2021). The artwork date is 700 to 799 and is in the British Museum gallery. I visited the British museum virtually on 16th June 2021.

Ravana

The museum’s name is found in the National art Museum Australia, and the title is ‘Ravana, King of Lanka.’ The artist responsible for the artwork is from Thailand and created it in the Ratanakosin period (1782). National art Museum Australia purchased the artwork in 2010 (Culture 2021). The artwork date is between the late 18th and early 19th century. The National Gallery of Australia has this collection, and the museum was visited virtually on 17th June 2021.

Description Of Each Artwork

The first artwork is the image of Buddha, historically referred to as Shakyamuni. The imaged is designed in U-Thong style, dating back to the fourteenth century in Thailand. U-Thong style of the Buddha image was named after Prince U Thong (Leekhitpreechakul 108). Prince U Thong played a key role in fostering Buddhism as the state religion and was the first king of the Thai Kingdom. The reign of Prince U Thong was from 1351 to 1369. By then ruled as Ramathibodi I. Buddha calling the earth to witness sculpture is a clear representation of the move to teaching earthly Buddha away from Mahayana traditions influenced by Khmer during the Lopburi period.

The Statue of Tara is regarded as the most popular Buddhist goddess, bodhisattva of compassion, and the consort of Avalokiteshvara. Buddhism is believed to arrive in Sri Lanka in the third century BC and is now considered in Theravada Buddhist countries like Cambodia, Burma, and Thailand. The Statue of Tara is believed to be clear evidence of the Theravada religion and Mahayana Buddhism (Pradeepa 1). The cavity in the headdress is believed to contain the image of Buddha Amitabha. Buddha Amitabha is regarded as the parent Buddha to both Tara and Avalokiteshvara. The image originally was identified as Pattini, a local goddess with its cult mostly found in Sri Lanka (Anderson 62). However, as time progressed, the image was identified as Tara instead of Pattini.

It is believed that in 8th or 9th century was when Indian traders introduced Ramayana in Southeast Asia. Ramayana in Thailand was known as Ramakien, which refers to the Glory of Rama (Rachmawati 75). Many ancient stories have been written regarding king Rama I as he devoted himself to promoting the Ramakien beliefs. Ravana, the supreme villain, and King of Langka, commence the lengthy tale through battles and abduction of Sita’s wife to Rama. In the Ramakien version of the story, Sita was Ravana, a daughter who was meant to destroy the demon race and be banished. The prophecy relating to Sita as the destroyer of the demon race was made evident when the Monkey army, Rama and Lakshmana (Phra Lak), led by Hanuman, fought for the release of Sita and defeated the demon king.

Theme Evident from Artwork

The core theme evident in the case of Buddha image is religion and philosophy in that believers strive to attain inner peace and ultimate enlightenment. The religious theme fostered through the image related directly to the Buddhism culture. Buddha calling the earth to witness sculpture represents the move to the teaching of earthly Buddha away from Mahayana traditions influenced by Khmer during the Lopburi period (Leekhitpreechakul 108). Therefore, the core influence in the work’s creation was the transition from the Mahayana traditions, which Khmer mainly impacted. An example of a cultural idea evident from the sculpture is the right-hand gesture which signifies the call upon the earth to witness enlightenment in Buddhism culture.

The theme of religion is evident from the statue of Tara and is directly linked to Buddhism culture. The sculpture was created under the influence of the difference in faith whereby people mostly from Sri Lanka preferred to worship the local goddess, who initially was identified as Pattini (Anderson 62). An example of Buddhism cultural ideas is Tara’s right hand in varadamudra, hence signifying giving.

The theme of religion and war is evident in the Ravana, supreme villain, and King of Langka sculpture. Ravana’s image is related to the Hinduism culture and represents the struggle that had to be undertaken to defeat the demonic race among Hindus. The war between the Monkey army, Rama, and Lakshmana (Phra Lak) led by Hanuman and Ravana and his ally Sahasadecha influenced the creation of the sculpture (Rachmawati 78). Cultural ideas, religion, and philosophical aspects are made evident in the sculpture. Examples of the cultural ideas, religion, and philosophical aspects are represented through multiple heads, bulging eyes, fangs, and descriptions ranging from 10 to 1000.

Analysis Of the Artwork

Various features were employed by each artist when creating the artwork to meets the desired meaning and purpose. Buddha’s image has an unadorned monk robe that runs across the left shoulder as his right hand extends to the earth’s surface (Guthrie 19). The right-hand gesture signifies the call upon the earth to witness enlightenment attained by Buddha. Buddha’s legs are crossed, making the right foot sole only visible. Buddha image has a serene facial expression which makes cranial bump more pronounced. Cranial bump is capped with jewel flame-like and hence resembling the Thai Buddhist art. In the Theravada Buddhist culture, the image is utilized focus for contemplation of the Buddha teachings. Therefore, the artist designed the Buddha image to symbolize the Buddhism teachings as it focused on attaining inner peace and ultimate enlightenment (Guthrie 21). Buddha sculpture is in the yoga pose and hence inner peace.

The statue of Tara is an example of a bronze-casting figural image achieved through the use of lost wax. The flame-like surround on Tara’s headdress was inlaid with valuable stones. The cavity in the headdress is believed to contain the image of Buddha Amitabha (Pradeepa 1) (Bordeaux 4). Tara’s image is naked to the waist, and her lower garments cover up to the ankles. Tara’s right hand is in a varadamudra position signifying the gesture of giving. The left hand is empty, and it is believed to have been holding a lotus flower. The artist used solid yellow bronze color to represent Tara’s strength, and the top part was naked to show the beauty of the goddess. The hand gestures were utilized to indicate the Buddhism culture when it comes to giving.

Ravana, supreme villain, and King of Langka’s demonic qualities are represented through multiple heads, bulging eyes, fangs, and descriptions ranging from 10 to 1000 (de Koning 02). The sculpture is seated in a reverential pose and is adorned at a temple or noble resident entrance. It is believed that the artist used multiple heads to depict deception associated with the demonic power. Fangs and bulging eyes evident in the sculpture were used to indicate the fear demon imposed on people. The sculpture is seated in a reverential pose to indicate defeat or surrender to the greater power.

Interpretation And Evaluation of The Artwork

When it comes to the image of Buddha, it can be deduced that the artist was trying to communicate the value of gaining inner peace and ultimate enlightenment. Buddha’s image has a serene facial expression, which makes cranial bumps more pronounced. Cranial bump is capped with jewel flame-like and hence resembling the Thai Buddhist art (Leekhitpreechakul 109). Furthermore, there is an emotional connection with the Buddha image since the pose used resembles the one yoga practice when one wants to attain inner peace. The meaning of the Buddha image is not dictated by its time and location. Therefore, people in any part of Southern Asia or any other part of the world can be associate themselves with the Buddha image.

The artist was trying to communicate the beauty and Tara’s strength as the goddess. Shiny solid bronze-casting is much stronger compared to clay which is mostly used on many sculptures. Tara’s image is naked to the waist, and her lower garments cover up to the ankles. Therefore, the sculpture represents beauty in the same respect. I feel emotionally removed from the image since goddess beauty needs to be sacred and not publicly displayed. The meaning propagated through the statue of Tara is dictated by time and location since not Buddhists worship the goddess.

Through Ravana King of Langka sculpture, the artist is trying to communicate the mighty, good, and strong power greater than demonic forces. Ravana King of Langka sculpture is seated in reverential pose to indicate defeat or surrender to the greater power. Therefore, the emotion of triumph was embraced when the image was being designed (Shukla 4). The image draws my attention to discovering the philosophy, cultural or religious ideas behind the multiple heads. There is some distance between me and Ravana King of Langka’s artwork since I believe the demonic forces were defeated in the past and hence did not need to embrace its qualities. Meaning linked to Ravana King of Langka sculpture is dictated by time and location since the battle that ensued was in a designated place and time in the history of Hindus.

Cultural Merit of The Artwork

Buddha, Tara, and Ravana’s artwork provide a clear presentation of the Hinduism and Buddhism culture. The image of Buddha is a good representation of Buddhism culture since the sculpture has an unadorned monk robe that runs across the left shoulder as his right hand extends to the earth’s surface (Guthrie 19). The right-hand gesture signifies the call upon the earth to witness enlightenment attained by Buddha. Buddhism’s cultural values represented through the sculpture entail giving, through the left hand, and enlightenment via the right hand. The Buddha image is appealing since it is a common sculpture in Southern Asia history hence encompasses deep-rooted meaning and values.

The Statue of Tara culture-wise is of high value since it can indicate the variation within the Buddhism cultural practices. Not all Buddhism culture worshiped Buddha directly, but some committed their faith indirectly through goddess (Regmi 8). Buddhism’s cultural values are depicted through Tara’s right hand, which is in the varadamudra position signifying the gesture of giving. The Statue of Tara is appealing due to the shiny materials used when casting and diversification bring about in Buddhism culture.

Ravana King of Langka sculpture is also important in the Hinduism culture since it represents that’s forces that the religious leaders defeated to attain the desirable values enjoyed in the present day (Shukla 3). Ravana’s demonic qualities are represented through multiple heads, bulging eyes, fangs, and descriptions ranging from 10 to 1000 (Richman 169). All these features in the Hindus culture are of value since the sculpture, on most occasions, tends to be placed at the entrance of the temple or noble residence. The image is appealing because it indicates the type of forces that were overpowered for the Hindu people to gain fruitful culture.