The Bejewelled Buddha: From India to Burma: New Considerations (Sixth Kumar Sarat Kumar Roy Memorial Lecture)
Author:
Claudine Bautze-Picron
ISBN:
9788190995009
Binding:
Hardcover
Year:
2010
Pages:
206 with 177 b/w illustrations
Size:
19 x 25 x 3 cm
Weight:
973 grams
Price:
INR
1795.00
This book represents a comprehensive study of ‘The Bejewelled Buddha’ considering stylistic as well as iconographic issues. A crucial moment in the Buddha’s life seems to have been referred to through this image, namely, the sojourn on Mount Meru, where the Buddha sat on Indra’s seat and taught all the gods. By occupying the seat of the king of the gods he was able to endorse the royal function of this deity; this becomes particularly evident in the late fifth century, and probably rerflects the dramatic situation that the Buddhist community was confronted with, i.e. the political power essentially fostering the Hindu religion and social structure. Hence, the Buddha is depicted as a perfect and powerful ruler sitting at the top of the universe and showing himself adorned as a king; more than any human ruler, the Buddha rules over the universe. There is also another dimension that should never be neglected – as in any other Indian cult, worship of his image entailed offerings of various kinds, such as flower garlands or jewels, being made to the Buddha. The image of the Bejewelled Buddha thus included various constituents while at the same time it was used as the locus where different religious or political concepts found a way of expression. The result was the creation of an image of multi-layered significance which found its way into all Asian cultures.
Claudine Bautze-Picron
Claudine Bautze-Picron os a research fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris, and teaches Indian art history at the Free University of Brussels. The main focus of her research for many years has been the art of eastern India, about which she published a large number of articles. Her publications include: Eastern Indian Sculpture in the Museum of Indian Art, Berlin, Berlin, 1998; with Joachim K. Bautze, The Buddhist Murals of Pagan, Timeless Vistas of the Cosmos, Bangkok, 2003, and Indian Night, Dreams and Sleep in Indian Culture (edited), New Delhi, 2009.