Buddhist Art

A study of Buddhist sculptures of women at Sāñchī and Kanaganahalli, with profound implications for Buddhism and for the understanding of the origin of Christianity. (A revision which I recently made is this: I have replaced the earlier example of Buddhism’s occasional tendencies toward emphasizing the grotesque and unpleasant aspects of the human physical body [pp. 51-53] with a far more significant quoted description and illustration of the ghastly, midnight ‘Harem Scene’, which, in fact, represents the major turning point in the life of the Buddha-to-be [Prince Siddhārtha], and which, in this study, I am proposing as the very source of the enigmatic, so-called ‘Sheela-na-gig’ sculptures.)

Synopsis 'Cryptogram in Buddhist Art-A Continuing Legacy' was presented in 2001 conference at New Delhi National Museum of India. It began on an investigative note to understand how the mysterious endless knot engraved on several of copper tablets in Mohenjo-Daro suddenly materialize on an unusual terracotta seal in Taxila Jandial Temple. A knot of eternity called antelope or 'Deer Hoof' drawn by Chokwe shaman of Angola is astonishingly identical to the endless knot on the terracotta seal and the copperplates of the Indus Valley. The Deer Hoof endless knot known also to Egyptians is freehand Sona sand drawing that gives ceremonial safe passage to the departed in funerary rituals. Then the shaman obliterates half of the interlaced endless maze right down the middle so that the spirit cannot retrace its way back to the land of the living. Similarly threshold drawing of endless-knot patterns called kolam meaning 'guise' in Tamil is 'put down' in white sandy lines to trap wandering spirits. Interlaced kolam drawn daily at dawn by South Indian housewives is then obliterated underfoot by passersby. Thus spirits entrapped in the endless maze composed on mathematical principles are destroyed so as to protect one's residence. The cryptogram and the kolam of Tamil Nadu similar to Celtic interlacement is drawn from programmed memory. The paper also explores the technology of etched copperplate and the Kabul MS written in Indus pictographic script using stylus and ink. Recent research conducted on the birch bark manuscript renowned as Kabul MS from a copy in the Vienna Western Himalaya Archive (SNO5 1000, 7081) questions the antiquity of Indus Valley culture MARVELS OF THE DEEP A curious endless-knot shaped like 8 is carved in relief on the circular base of a miniature conical seal made of brownish clay mixed with red sand. The terracotta seal was found five feet below the surface of Mound C in Jandial. A temple built in Greek style once stood on the manmade mound about half a mile from the north gate of the satellite Sirkap necropolis in Taxila. The same version of the 'Knot of Eternity' engraved on a number of copper plates from Mohenjo-Daro is indeed an extraordinary phenomenon in the Indus Valley. The unusual intertwined cryptograph occur earliest at the two remarkable cult centres, which point to conviction in its efficacy if not shared belief in life after death. A pierced amulet seal strung through a chord can be worn as talisman but the conical terracotta seal measuring 2.37 inches in length is unpierced. 1 The seal found among other votives in the Jandial temple was surely a religious object most likely used as a stamp for ritual purpose. In Egypt a great number of cone-shaped baked clay seals with identical or similar pattern as part of tomb architecture were made for each tomb owner and set as a frieze along the upper edge of the façade. Yet, the geometrical knot of eternity interlaced around symmetrically placed dots on the conical seal is one

(可直接下載 Preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button below.)

In the past, researchers who studied ceramics tended to focus on the imitation of marbled ware in the pattern, or to incorporate it into the lead-glazed pottery system to be discussed. Research focused on marbled ware is relatively rare so far, and the value of historical data is still potential to be explored. In addition, in the newly unearthed archaeological information in recent years, marbled ware is widely found in tombs and ruins in East Asia. However, the use of this batch of materials and the export route have not been systematically studied.

In this research, we will first investigate the unearthed materials and related documents, then organize the marbled ware collections of museums in various countries to build a systematic research database. Furthermore, by comparing the styles of each type, this research will try to illustrate the relationship between the production time period and evolution of each type of marbled ware.

After sorting out the basic information of marbled ware in the Tang and Song dynasties, this article will also study the foreign trade status of marbled ware, the class of users and the group of sponsors, and its special significance in religion and political rights. By comprehensively analyzing the historical information revealed by marbled ware, this research will try to restore its context of use during the Tang and Song Dynasties.

Ranging across the longue durée of Thailand’s history, Monastery, Monument, Museum is an eminently readable and original contribution to the study of the kingdom’s art and culture. Eschewing issues of dating, style, and iconography, historian Maurizio Peleggi addresses distinct types of artifacts and artworks as both the products and vehicles of cultural memory. From the temples of Chiangmai to the Emerald Buddha, from the National Museum of Bangkok to the prehistoric culture of Northeast Thailand, and from the civic monuments of the 1930s to the political artworks of the late twentieth century, even well-known artworks and monuments reveal new meanings when approached from this perspective.
Part I, “Sacred Geographies,” focuses on the premodern era, when religious credence informed the cultural alteration of landscape, and devotional sites and artifacts, including visual representation of the Buddhist cosmology, were created. Part II, “Antiquities and National History,” covers the 1830s through the 1970s, when antiquarianism, and eventually archaeology, emerged and developed in the kingdom, partly the result of a shift in the elites’ worldview and partly a response to colonial and neocolonial projects of knowledge. Part III, “Discordant Mnemoscapes,” deals with civic monuments and artworks that anchor memory of twentieth-century political events and provide stages for both their commemoration and counter-commemoration by evoking the country’s embattled political present.

Monastery, Monument, Museum shows us how cultural memory represents a kind of palimpsest, the result of multiple inscriptions, reworkings, and manipulations over time. The book will be a rewarding read for historians, art historians, anthropologists, and Buddhism scholars working on Thailand and Southeast Asia generally, as well as for academic and general readers with an interest in memory and material culture.

http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9828-9780824866068.aspx

In addition to providing a critical analysis of Behold the Buddha: Religious Meanings of Japanese Buddhist Icons by James Dobbins, this book review article seeks to shed more light on the discussion of museums and Buddhist studies and the religious experience of Japanese Buddhist art.

Celem niniejszego tekstu jest ukazanie zasadności stosowania perspektywy fenomeno-logii egzystencjalnej Sondry Horton Fraleigh do analizy tybetańskiego tańca sakralnego. W pierwszej części artykułu przedstawiam filozofię Fraleigh, ze szczególnym uwzględ-nieniem koncepcji ciała doznającego (lived body), problemu doświadczenia tanecznego i terapeutycznego wymiaru tańca. W drugiej części dokonuję porównania fenomenologii egzystencjalnej Fraleigh z buddyzmem i rozumieniem tańca czam (ʹcham) w kulturze tybetańskiej. Wskazując na łączące je podobieństwa, uzasadniam słuszność wyboru tej metodologii do analizy tybetańskiego tańca sakralnego.

Joint Winner of the Best Anthology Prize for 2014: The Art Association of Australia and New Zealand.
http://aaanz.info/prizes/

"How has Asia been imagined, represented and transferred both literally and visually across linguistic, geopolitical and cultural boundaries? This book explores the shifting roles of those who produce, critique and translate creative forms and practices, for which distinctions of geography, ethnicity, tradition and modernity have become fluid. Drawing on accounts of modern and contemporary art, film, literature, fashion and performance, it challenges established assumptions of the cultural products of Asia.

Special attention is given to the role of cultural translators or 'long-distance cultural specialists' whose works bridge or traverse different worlds, with the inclusion of essays by three important artists who share personal accounts of their experiences creating and showing artworks that negotiate diverse cultural contexts.

With contributions from key scholars of Asian art and culture, including art historian John Clark and anthropologist Clare Harris, alongside fresh voices in the field, Asia Through Art and Anthropology will be essential reading for students and scholars of anthropology, art history, Asian studies, visual and cultural studies."

吐魯番隨葬衣物疏中五道大神與果願大德比丘解題

中文摘要        "版權所有 引用請註明出處"
        他界觀科層化現象，意即將他界的架構想像為與現世中國官僚制度相對映的信仰概念，普遍被學者視為是中國宗教裡的一個重要特徵。中國宗教中他界觀科層化現象，自漢代起，最早具體呈現在前漢與後漢墓葬如遣策、地券以及鎮墓文，其後為道教、佛教吸收，發展成在喪葬儀式中所使用的牒文等。本文研究在吐魯番所發現六、七世紀高昌時期現存最早佛教墓葬衣物疏形成的起源。雖然經過一千多年，六、七世紀高昌時期佛教衣物疏中，佛教法師與他界五道大神聯繫的文書形式內容，與現代台灣佛教喪葬使用的三寶司牒文相較，仍存在相當程度的類似性。雖然根據史料，在四、五世紀甚至更早以前佛教已盛行於吐魯番地區，不過在高昌時期以前，吐魯番地區的墓葬卻極少發現關於佛教的文物。以往學者如馬雍以為這可能是因為佛教只盛行於上層貴族之故。  根據衣物疏的內容與形式，韓森 (Valerie Hansen) 認為這些吐魯番佛教衣物疏，不僅是佛教僧侶介入信眾墓葬的證明，同時也顯示佛教也由中國傳入吐魯番。  這些學者解讀吐魯番地區墓葬的論點，基本上是建立在墓葬中顯示的宗教觀與死者生前的宗教信仰應該是一致的前提下。
        不過，在本文中，我質疑這個前提是否適用於所有佛教徒的墓葬。我認為在探討佛教徒的墓葬時，有必要先釐清兩個重要的議題 第一：佛教教理與中國墓葬傳統相容性的問題。特別是佛教在印度與中國發展早期，在面對不同的環境以及文化條件時，如何處裡死者遺體的態度與方式。第二：印度與中國佛教僧侶在喪葬儀式中的角色。包括佛教僧侶在喪葬儀式中的主要工作，以及僧侶與葬儀人員及死者家屬在葬儀中的互動。
          我的研究顯示，最初，佛教僧人在喪葬儀式的主要角色就是誦經迴向功德給死者。在處理死者遺體的議題上，早期印度佛教中，因應不同環境條件，有不同處理死者遺體的方法。印度並沒有類似中國式的土葬葬儀，而在印度象徵尊貴的火葬，要到唐宋時期才逐漸被中國人接受，不過，這種在印度，因應不同狀況，有不同方式處理死者遺體的彈性態度也出現在六朝時期的重要偽經，《灌頂經》中。關於喪葬議題，《灌頂經》提到：只要是在依附佛教信仰的前提下，中國式的喪葬儀式傳統可以被視為是正確的喪葬處理方式。以在五世紀北涼時期吐魯番墓葬中發現的北涼王沮渠蒙遜之妻彭氏為例，她極可能如其夫婿及家族，也信仰佛教，不過在其衣物疏及墓葬文物中，並未發現有與佛教相關者。但是，這並不意謂在她的喪葬儀式中一定沒有佛教僧人的參與。可能佛教僧人有為死者誦經迴向功德，只是這樣的角色不一定能具體顯現在中國式的墓葬中。
          其次，關於高昌時期佛教衣物疏，有兩個問題已經困擾學者多年。第一，許多衣物疏都是由署名果願的僧人來聯絡他界的五道大神，不過由於最早與最晚提到果願的衣物疏相隔近一世記，所以，有些學者們懷疑果願可能是某種神聖稱謂，而非真有其人。第二，衣物疏中經常有語意片斷不完整文句，其中部分死者，特別是女性姓名常有留白、不詳的情況。在分析這些高昌時期佛教衣物疏時，過去學者有兩個基本的態度: 第一，佛教衣物疏是佛教僧人終於介入中國式墓葬儀式的證明。第二，他們傾向選取較完整正確的樣本研究，並視其他語意不全的樣本是因書寫者中文能力不足之筆誤。
        然而，高昌時期衣物疏中，僧人的出現並不意謂他們取代原先衣物疏中葬儀專家的角色。因為衣物疏本身陪葬物的內容還是必須有葬儀人員介入，所以這些佛教衣物疏所隱含的葬儀互動架構，應該不僅僅是建立在佛教僧侶以及信眾雙方間的互動，這個架構應該還包括葬儀專家在內的三角配合關係。在我的研究裡，我認為我們不能將那些在高昌衣物疏中，常見的死者或僧人之身份留白、語句顛倒不完整或語意錯誤單純視為是書寫者的錯誤。事實上，這些錯誤顯示反而為我們理解葬儀的互動架構提供許多線索。因此，不同於以往學者，傾向只選取少數內容較完整的衣物疏或墓葬為對象，並試圖將之解釋為處理高昌佛教衣物疏的較正確做法，我選取四個分別出土兩個以上衣物疏的家庭墓葬，作交叉分析比較，並輔以其他有特殊情形的個別衣物疏。我發現，雖然整體來說，高昌佛教衣物疏的書寫者對當中與五道大神聯繫的文書內容有一定程度的共識，但是他們之間對於文書內容的宗教目的、意義、忌諱似乎存有幾種不同的詮釋，有些甚至有可能是出自於誤解。即使是有出土佛教衣物疏的墓葬，有些似乎不見得實際上有佛教僧人的介入，它們的存在，有可能只是被葬儀人員當作是流行的或是具有避邪功用的陪葬物。換句話說，在墓葬的三角架構裡，三者之間的互動模式是有多元的可能而非只是依照某個單一模式。而且，在這個三角架構裡，葬儀人員或專家往往扮演著解讀這些吐魯番佛教衣物疏的關鍵角色。

This Master’s thesis (SAMPLE) is an analysis of the statue of Shūkongōjin 執金剛神 of the Hokkedō 法華堂 (hall) of Tōdaiji 東大寺 (temple) in Nara, Japan. Information about this dynamic and well-preserved Buddhist icon, a protective divinity, has largely been drawn from stylistic analysis and records that postdate or predate the work, some of which may be spurious. Recent repairs to the clay image and its pigmented surface and subsequent studies have provided new information about the Shūkongōjin. The hall and its statues were examined twice during the periods 1996–99 and 2010–13, providing new evidence about the decorative motifs represented by the pigments on the statue; additionally, new evidence about its physical placement in the hall emerged. The objective of this thesis is to synthesize all available information regarding the statue in order to determine its most likely date and role in the ancient Hokkedō. To reach these conjectures, this thesis analyzes the appearance and iconography of the statue, early and recent scholarly opinions, worship of Henge Kannon 変化観音 (transformed forms
of the bodhisattva Kannon) in the eighth century, and the history of the Hokkedō hall. These aspects were considered as an organic whole in order to propose the most likely scenario for the Shūkongōjin statue's creation, the history of its placement in the hall, and its function therein.

Salsette island off the west coast of India is one of the group of islands that have been merged into one landmass known as Bombay or the present city of Mumbai, as a result of several land reclamation projects. The Portuguese ceded seven of the islands as dowry of Catherine of Braganza on the occasion of her marriage to King Charles II of England in 1661. Charles II rented the islands to the British East India Company in 1668 and by 1774 the English had occupied Salsette as well. Though densely settled, Salsette is known for the 109 Buddhist caves located on the hill of Kanheri on the northern side of the island in a protected forest area termed the Borivali National Park. Richly sculpted and inscribed with donations from patrons, the rock-cut caves at Kanheri continued to be occupied well into the tenth-eleventh century. At present the Buddhist caves are nationally protected monuments preserved for their heritage value. 
Socotra is a small archipelago of four islands about 250 kilometres east of the Horn of Africa off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia in the western Indian Ocean. The largest island in the group is also called Socotra. The 132 kilometre long island is often described as the most isolated place on Earth, though this account does agree with its central location in the maritime networks of the early centuries of the Common Era. Explorations in the 2000 metre deep Hoq cave on the northern face of the island of Socotra in 2001 led to the discovery of 200 graffiti, drawings and small offerings dated to the late 2nd to 4th century CE. A majority of the graffiti is in the Brahmi script also known from the caves at Kanheri. Thus both islands have undergone changes over time and are best known at present for natural diversity and protected forests.
In keeping with the theme of connectivity and locating hubs across the Indian Ocean, my focus in this paper is on narratives relating to sailing between Salsette island and Socotra in the early centuries of the Common Era. A Greek text crucial to this understanding is the first century CE Periplus Maris Erythraei by an anonymous sailor, which provides graphic details of coastal centres in the western Indian Ocean. The Periplus (section 30) refers to Socotra as Dioscorida and describes inhabitants living on the coast toward the north as ‘foreigners’, a mixture of Arabs, Indians and Greeks. On the west coast of India, the Periplus designates Barygaza at the mouth of the river Narmada as a major centre along the coast that follows a north-south orientation (section 50-52), but has little to report regarding the islands south of Barygaza. Yet archaeological investigations have provided valuable insights relating to several early coastal centres.   
This paper contrasts the information provided in the Periplus with archaeological information obtained from explorations as also from inscriptions and monumental architecture both in Hoq cave at Socotra and at Kanheri on the island of Salsette. How do these contrasting views help understand cultural encounters in antiquity?

The Yakṣa has had multiple meanings, ranging from an abstract concept in the Vedic period to a powerful mythological being. Yakṣas have been shown as images and mentioned in various literary sources for over two thousand years. They have been an essential part of various folk cultures. Especially in the Buddhist Pāli texts like the Jātaka stories and Saṃyutta Nikāya they have been treated widely in relation to the Bodhisattva and the Buddha. They became more prominent in the Indic region during and after the Maurya period (ca 4th to 2nd c BCE) as they began to be widely represented in art forms, most importantly those of the expanding Buddhist religion. As Buddhism reached the Northern regions and the Nepal Proper (NP) or Kathmandu valley, it absorbed local deities including yakṣas and yakṣiṇīs. In particular, the concept of Yakṣa was pivotal for the transition of Buddhist art from the symbolic to anthropomorphic. By the time images began to be made, Buddhism had made a paradigm shift from a monastic movement into a cult, a large part of which was fuelled by the Yakṣa in the form of art.
This thesis is aimed at describing the influence of Yakṣa on ancient Buddhist images of Nepal. For this, the Buddhist notion of Yakṣa has been first derived from literary sources. Then, various yakṣa, yakṣiṇī and related Buddha/Bodhisattva images from NP have been studied, comparing them to similar figures from India. Finally, based on history, iconography and aesthetics, the mode of incorporation of these deities in the Buddhist tradition of NP has been defined.

This article seeks to present a short overview of the astronomy of Sanchi and Udayagiri (near Vidisha), and a longer overview of the astronomy of the Ajanta caves 26 and 19. With regard to Sanchi and Udayagiri, it presents excerpts from the published researches in order to create a background and context for the main topic, that is, Ajanta on which subject fresh observations are being presented here for the first time to reveal a hitherto undisclosed dimension of the architecture of two magnificent monuments of Ajanta. Eventualy, the article seeks to convey that science and astronomy had a great role to play in the temple building activity in the fifth-century India.

Narrative is an integral feature of Burmese Buddhist art yet there has been little investigation into why or how visual narratives came to dominate the Buddhist artistic repertoire. The origins of these narratives can be found in Buddhist canonical and non-canonical literature. The initial interpretation of narratives followed a pictorial narrative framework, with the visual being viewed as a literal representation of these textual narrative. Pictorial narrative theory now acknowledges that a visual narrative may be seen as concurrently representing a particular story and illuminating multi-layered meanings. This paper reviews the multiple narratives that are dominant visual features of the Ananda Temple at Pagan and offers an interpretation that extends beyond the text-image pictorial narrative view.

Az írás azt a folyamatot mutatja be, amelyben a " megnyilvánulatlan " eszménye a buddhizmusba integrálódott. Kifejti, hogy a történeti Buddha halála után kialakulóban levő buddhizmus – korának kulturális paradigmaváltásához illeszkedve – miként alkalmazta a térbeli gondolkodás szemléletét, és erre támaszkodva számára hogyan vált meghatározóvá a vizuális gondolkodás úgy az analitikus filozófiai absztrakció, mint a szimbólumokat felhasználó képi gondolkodás használatakor. A tanulmány sorra veszi azokat a fontosabb módokat, ahogyan a Tan láthatóvá tételének törekvései együttjártak a láthatatlan végső valóság rejtett dimenzióinak megmutatását célzó igénnyel. Zárásként az írás röviden áttekinti a buddhista vizuális gondolkodás főbb nyelvészeti, pszichológiai és teológiai szemléleti elemeit. 1. Új szemlélet születik, avagy az idő tériesítése 1.1. A jelen és az emlékezés A történeti Buddha szemléleti beállítódására jellemző, hogy bár a védikus-bráhmanikus kultúra örökségének, ezen belül a spirituális útkeresésnek és a filozófiának számos gondolatát és kifejezését átvette, azokat azonban gyakran átértelmezte – mondhatni " buddhizálta " –, vagyis új jelentéssel bővítette ki, vagy éppen a régebbi jelentéstartalmat teljesen megváltoztatta. Egyik példaként említhető a brāhmaṇa kifejezés, amely buddhizált tartalmában már nem a magát a legkiválóbbnak hirdető társadalmi rendbe született egyént jelenti, hanem társadalmi hovatartozástól függetlenül az erkölcsössége révén kiválóvá vált személyt. Egy másik példa a " három tudás " (szanszkrit: trayī vidyā) kifejezés lehet, amely eredetileg az akkor létező három Véda ismeretének elnevezése, a Buddha azonban azt a magasabb rendű három tudást (páli: tevijjā) értette alatta, amivel saját bevallása szerint a szenvedés létforgatagába kötő nem-tudás legyőzésekor maga is rendelkezett, vagyis a visszaemlékezést a korábbi életeire, a más lények tetteit látó égi látást és a káros befolyások megsemmisítését. Az említettekhez hasonló sorsra jutott az eredetileg " emlékezést " jelentő kifejezés (sz.: smṛti, p.: sati) is. A Buddhánál és a későbbi buddhizmusban ugyan megmarad a szó " emlékezés " jelentéstartalma, azonban e mellett egy sajátlagosan buddhista értelmet is kapott, mint a " valóság éber jelen-tudatossága ". Ez utóbbi jelentés tartalmilag olyannyira meghatározó, hogy a Buddha szemléletének és gyakorlati útjának azt a lényegét fejezi ki, amelynek révén valamennyi kortársától radikálisan eltér: prezentálja, megmutatja a jelen valóságot, " amint az van " (p.: yathābhūtaṁ), tehát olyannak, mint ami állandótlan, ki nem elégítő és szubsztancia nélküli. E szemléletváltás során a kortársaihoz képest a Buddhánál megváltozott a viszony a valósághoz és az időhöz, mindkét esetben dinamikussá, gyakorlativá, cselekvővé vált. Egyrészt az éberség készenléte (p.: satipaṭṭhāna) meditációt végző törekvő a jelen valós tapasztalataira összpontosítva mentesül a múlt nyomásának és a jövő elvárásainak terheitől, megszabadul a múlt hordalékaitól és a jövőre vonatkozó képzelgésektől, ezért valós helyzeteit komplexebben átlátja, így egy adott konkrét helyzetben a célnak a leginkább megfelelő cselekedetet tudja választani. Másrészt a Buddha következmény etikán alapuló karma tana szerint a múlt szándékolt vagy motivációval rendelkező tetteinek ugyan van hatása a jelenre és a jövőre, de azok nem mechanikusan érvényesülnek, a jelen tudatos cselekedetei

This article, originally published years ago in the Laughing Man, a journal of contemporary spirituality, examines accounts of the extraordinary manners of death attributed to mystics, saints and sages of numerous spiritual traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

During the summer of 2007, a collection numbering over a thousand leaves of rare and important Indian paintings on palm leaf and paper were rediscovered during a renovation and storage relocation project within The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Asian Art Department.  The first exhibition, in a series of permanent collection rotations, focused on a remarkable select group of forty-five early palm leaves that cite the Buddhist Sutra of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahashrika Prajnaparamita). 
Historic evolution of the structure, the sacred ceremonial functionality and utility of the manuscript traditions, and technical background, material composition, support preparation, painting techniques, pigment analysis, condition assessment, and inherent deterioration mechanisms of both the support and media will be examined and described.  Conservation treatment materials and procedures such as structural stabilization of the aged palm leaf, including ethical considerations in compensation and reintegration of design, mounting, housing, display and storage; topics pertaining to the care and understanding of these early Indian paintings on palm leaf will be discussed in detail.

Die Entdeckung des Grabs des Beamten Han Xiu aus der Tang-Dynastie (617-907 n. Chr.) hat international für viel Aufmerksamkeit gesorgt. Eine Wandmalerei, die sich an der Nordwand des Grabs befand, gilt als eine der frühesten Landschaftsmalereien (chin. Shanshuihua) in China. Daraus ergeben sich die Fragen, ob der Ursprung der Landschaftsmalerei im Grabkult liegt und wie sich die Landschaftsdarstellung zur eigenständigen Landschaftsmalerei entwickelte. Um diese Fragen zu beantworten, befasst sich die vorliegende Arbeit mit Landschaftsdarstellung im Grabkult zur Zeit der Tang-Dynastie. Die Werkanalyse der Wandmalerei in Han Xius Grab wird als Ausgangspunkt für die vorliegende Arbeit vorgenommen. Zum einen wird auf ein bestimmtes Muster in der Komposition des Werks verwiesen, welches für die damalige Zeit üblich war. Des Weiteren wird das Wandgemälde in Bezug auf die Besonderheiten des stellschirmähnlichen Rahmens im Grabraum-Kontext analysiert. Aufgrund der Ähnlichkeiten zwischen dem vorliegenden Werk und den Wandgemälden in Dunhuang werden zudem die gegenseitige Beeinflussung von Buddhismus und Landschaftsmalerei untersucht. Der letzte Teil handelt von den Entwicklungen der Landschaftsdarstellungen im Grabkult jener Zeit und der Einordnung der Landschaftsmalerei in den historischen Kontext. Dadurch wird das Werk in Bezug auf dessen historische Bedeutung, räumlichen Kontexte und kulturellen Hintergrund erforscht, was zu einem umfassenderen Verständnis der Bedeutung und Funktion der Landschaftsmalerei führt.

This project investigates the materials and techniques used by Tibetan artists. Six Tibetan thangkas were analyzed by infrared reflectography, energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, and high-performance liquid chromatography. The analysis has suggested that three thangkas of the eighteenth-nineteenth century have a traditional palette, which includes azurite, vermilion, orpiment, bronchantite, red lead, dolomite, magnesite, organic red with calcite or magnesite substrate, and alumino-silicate clay minerals. Another late nineteenth or early twentieth century thangka shows the use of Western pigments such as emerald green, ultramarine, calcite, gypsum, chrome yellow, gold color from brass powder, and red and yellow dyes with barium sulfate substrates. Two twentieth century thangkas made for the tourist trade revealed a twentieth century palette such as titanium dioxide, phthalocyanine blue, phthalocyanine green, and other pigments such as red lead, chrome yellow, barium sulfate, and gypsum.

The Malakand district has to hold a very significant ancient and archaeological background in the region of Gandhara. In general, there have several rock art discoveries earned by the Antiquarians and archaeologists in the Gandhara region. Particular in the Malakand district the explorations of rock art have credited by Olivieri (2002, 2013, and 2015), Nazir Khan (1995) and Bahadur Khan (1999) have documented many rock art sites. The present research article is limited to rock art in the area. Besides, during the recent Archaeological Survey in the Malakand district (2016-17), twenty more new painted sites of anticipated Pre-Buddhist and Buddhist periods have documented. These newly explored paintings comprised of different images of animals, hunting scenes, Buddhist Stupas and some unidentified images that are illustrated on the ceilings of rock shelters. Among these newly painted shelters, four rock carvings sites, four cup-marks sites and one site of wine pressers have explored during the campaign. In conclusion, it purports the significance of rock art in the Malakand district archaeology and threats to these ancient remains.