• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.21-41
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• 2009

The Art of the Buddha's Life which depicts the life and before-life of Buddha flourished in Sanci and Bharhut in the ancient India and in Gandhara during the Kushan period. More than one hundred scenes from Buddha's life were represented in the form of relief sculpture or wall painting. They are found in Gandhara and Mathura during the Kushan period, Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda during the Satavahana period, in Mathura and Sarnath during the Gupta period, and during the Pala Period. They unfolded in various forms and styles according to the text(Buddhist scripture), layout, and expressive technique. In Mathura, where the Evolution of the Buddha image was made about the same time as in Gandhara during the Kushan period, the Buddha's life was presented in a number of scenes related to the sacred sites; in four or eight scenes. In the case of the Eight Great Events of the Buddha's Life, the four scenes out of eight were different from those that were represented in Sarnath during the Gupta period, manifesting a transitional period. The Gupta period is widely known as the time when the classic artistic style was established. The art of Buddha's Life was produced only in Sarnath during this period, and it was the time when the Eight Great Events of the Buddha's Life was established as iconography, providing a model for those of the Pala period. Also, it was the time when the single image of Buddha was produced such as the 'Buddha delivering his first sermon,' 'Buddha's Enlightenment,' and 'Buddha's Death,' thus showing the emergence of the single Buddha image from the narrative Buddha's life image. In this paper, a general introduction of the relief sculpture of the Buddha's life from Sarnath during the Gupta period was given. The art of Buddha's life gave great influences on that of China, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, and can be emphasized as an important subject in understanding the development of the Buddhist art in East Asia. A further study will be made on the art of Buddha's Life of Southeast Asia in the future, which will enhance the understanding of the art of Buddha's Life in East Asia as a whole.

• KOMUNHWA
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• no.62
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• pp.59-85
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• 2003

Unified Silla Era, when buddhist sculpture had its prevailing era, was an era of the most beautiful cultural art of Korean history of art. Especially in the era of King Gyeongdeok, it was era of combined Indian Gupta Culture and Chinese Tang Culture, and

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.99
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• pp.10-29
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• 2021

This paper is an introductory study of the wooden Buddha images excavated in the Mekong Delta in present-day southern Vietnam. Approximately thirty examples of wooden Buddha images have been recovered in the Mekong Delta. As they were found among the major historic sites of Funan (the first kingdom in Southeast Asia), including Oc Eo, and likely date to the sixth century, they can be regarded as the works of Funan. Similarly to stone Buddha images, these wooden examples are considered important for their demonstration of aspects of early Buddhist sculpture in Southeast Asia. Most of these Funan wooden Buddha images are presumed to have been produced around the sixth century based on radiocarbon dating and their stylistic characteristics. This paper analyzed the iconography and style of eight examples whose forms are relatively recognizable. The eight images can be divided into four types according to their postures, dress styles, and hand gestures. They all share features of the Sarnath style of the Gupta period in India as seen in their slender bodies and the outer robe that clings to the body. However, some display a South Indian style of Buddha images in their upright posture, style of wearing a monastic robe with the right shoulder exposed, and making the vitarka mudra (preaching gesture) that is often seen in Sri Lankan Buddha images. This suggests that Buddhist sculptors in Funan devised a new style by incorporating the principal styles of Indian Buddhist sculpture. Another notable feature of these Funan images is their material, namely, wood. While none of the contemporaneous Hindu sculptures discovered from the same historic sites are made of wood, numerous Buddhist sculptures are. This paper postulates that the use of wood in Buddhist sculptures was promoted for reasons beyond ease of carving. According to the Buddhist literature, the first-ever Buddha image was the so-called 'Udayana image' made out of sandalwood. This image and its story was well-known in the Southern Dynasty of China around the sixth century. Interestingly, some auspicious sandalwood images of the Buddha was believed to have been brought into the Southern Dynasty from Funan. This suggests the possibility that the legend of the Udayana image might have been known in Funan as well and resulted in the production of wooden sculptures there.