UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Interrelationships in South and Southeast Asian Art: Cham Female Iconography, Buddhist Inscriptions and the Seated Buddha Image Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9mx6k5n9 Author Chau, My Ket Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Interrelationships in South and Southeast Asian Art: Cham Female Iconography, Buddhist Inscriptions and the Seated Buddha Image A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Art History by My Ket Chau 2014 © Copy Right by My Ket Chau 2014 ABSTRACT OF THESIS Interrelationships in South and Southeast Asian Art: Cham Female Iconography, Buddhist Inscriptions and the Seated Buddha Image by My Ket Chau Master of Arts in Art History University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Robert L. Brown, Chair The majority of archaeology in Champa consists of Hindu arts and architecture. Buddhism co-existed with Hinduism, but it was not the dominant religion. In 875 CE, Indravarman II was the first Cham ruler to actively support Buddhism with the construction of the Đồng Dương temple located in present-day Bình Định, Vietnam. An analysis of Sanskrit Buddhist inscriptions helps shed light on Cham royal women. The inscriptions revealed that royal women and the king shared an interest in Buddhism. Narrative relief carvings from two altar pedestals displayed the prominent role of females. In addition, a rare seated Buddha statue with the legs pendant— a posture associated with female goddesses also intensified the importance of female power. In the 9th century, the female role in art at Đồng Dương is extraordinary in the Buddhist context. I argue, that the seated Buddha with the legs pendant and narrative relief panels of the Buddha’s life depicted at the temple emphasized the female realm. ii The thesis of My Ket Chau is approved. Hui-Shu Lee Dell Upton Robert L. Brown, Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2014 iii To my parents who survived the Vietnam War—thank you for the inspiration to learn more about Vietnam. To my sister, Ha Kiet Chau taught me about Asian culture through her poetry. To my family members and friends supported me throughout this journey. iv Table of Contents I. List of Figures…………………………………………………………………...………..vi II. Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………...….viii III. Part One: Introduction……………………………………………………………………..1 IV. Part Two: Historical Background and Literature Review…………………………………2 V. Part Three: Buddhist Sanskrit Inscriptions………….…………...………………………..8 VI. Part Four: A Seated Buddha with Two Legs Pendant………………...….…………...…13 VII. Part Five: Royal Women from the Vihara………………………...…………….………29 VIII. Part Six: Royal Women from the Main Shrine………………………….………...…...33 IX. Part Seven: Conclusions…………………………………………………………………35 X. Appendices…………..………………………………………………………….……...…37 XI. Bibliography…………...……………………………………………………….………..41 v List of Figures: Fig. 1. Plan of 9th century Đồng Dương temple. Schweyer, Anne-Valerie. Ancient Vietnam: history, art and archaeology. Bangkok: ACC Distribution, 2011. p. 30 Fig. 2. Buddha Bronze Statue, 9th century, Đồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 32 Fig. 3. Seated Buddha with the legs pendant, 9th century, Dồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 82 Fig. 4. The Goddess Nana seated on a lion. 2nd century. From an impression from a Kushan intaglio. British Museum Cunningham, NC, 1892. pl. XII.18. Rosenfield, John M. Dynastic arts of the Kushans. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967. p. 84 Fig. 5. Unidentified goddess from Gandhara. 2nd century. Ghose, Madhurvanti, “Nana: The Original Goddess on the Lion,” Journal of Inner Asian Art and Archaeology 1 (Belgium: Brepols Publishers, 2006). p. 103 Fig. 6. Animal-headed goddess with wine cup. 2nd century. Zwalf, Wladimir. Buddhism: art and faith. London: The British Museum Press, 1985. fig. 440 Fig. 7. Statue of King Vima Kadphises, 2nd century. Zimmer, Heinrich, 1955, The Art of Indian Asia, Princeton, Bollingen, plate 59. (Archeological Survey of India, courtesy of Prof. L. Bachhofer) Fig. 8. Seated Kubera. Late Kusana period, probably Kausambu. 3rd- 4th century. The Cleveland Museum of Art. Czuma, Stanislaw J. Kushan sculpture: images from early India. Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland Museum of Art: Indian University Press, 1985. Fig. 9. Kubera and Hariti http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=50008;type=101Pakist an, Gandhara region, South Asia. Fig. 10. Hariti with children. Rowan, Jennifer. Danger and devotion: Hariti, mother of demons in the stories and stones of Gandhara: a historiography and catalogue of images, MA Thesis, University of Oregon, 2002. p. 309 Fig. 11. Hariti with children. Rowan, Jennifer. Danger and devotion: Hariti, mother of demons in the stories and stones of Gandhara: a historiography and catalogue of images, MA Thesis, University of Oregon, 2002. p. 309 Fig. 12. Standing Hariti from Skarah-dheri, Peshawar. Early 2nd century CE. American Institute of Indian Studies. Maheshwari, Madhurika. From ogress to goddess. Hariti: a Buddhist Deity. IIRNS Publications Pvt. Ltd. 2009. p. 26 vi Fig. 13. Sandstone figure of the seated Buddha. From Eastern India, Sarnath Gupta Period, 5th century http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/asia/s/sandstone_figure_of_t he_buddha.aspx Fig. 14. Seated Figure with base of goddess, 200 CE, Odani, Nakao. “The Banquet Scene on the Base of A Seated Buddha in Gandhara” in Religion and Art Religion and Art: New Issues in Indian Iconography and Iconology 1. Ed. Claudine Bautze-Picron, (London: The British Association for South Asian Studies, 2008). p. 31 Fig. 15. Relief of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya, 9th century, Đồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 90 Fig. 16. Relief of Queen Maya Lumbini Garden, 9th century, Đồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 93 Fig. 17. Seated Figure, 9th century, Đồng Dương, Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 94 Fig. 18. Photograph of Seated Figure. 9th century, Đồng Dương. Boisselier, Jean, La Statuaire du Champa. Paris: École Française d'Extrême-Orient, 1963. fig. 59 Fig. 19. Relief of child holding mother. 9th century, Đồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 94 Fig. 20. Mara Riding on Elephant, 9th century, Đồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 91 Fig. 21. Relief of Siddhartha Cutting His Hair, 9th century, Đồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 99 Fig. 22. Relief of Queen Mahprajapati Gautami. 9th century, Đồng Dương. Chutiwongs, Nandana. “Buddhism in Champa: Narrative Reliefs of Two Images Pedestals at Dong-duong.” SACHE Lettre, No. 14, 2011. p. 20 Fig. 23. Relief of the Marriage of Siddhartha and Yasodhara. 9th century, Đồng Dương. Chutiwongs, Nandana. “Buddhism in Champa: Narrative Reliefs of Two Images Pedestals at Dong-duong.” SACHE Lettre, No. 14, 2011. p. 21 Fig. 24. Relief of Naga Princess. 9th century, Đồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 101 Fig. 25. Relief of Mara’s Daughters. 9th century, Đồng Dương. Guillon, Emmanuel, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. River books Ltd, Bangkok, 2001. p. 102 vii Acknowledgements At the University of California, Berkeley, I was fortunate to study with Professor Joanna Williams and Professor Marian Feldman. Their mentorship and teachings gave me the foundation to conduct research on international artistic exchanges. I owe a debt of gratitude to my advisor, Professor Robert L. Brown for his academic guidance, references, insightful comments, and sense of humor. I also like to thank Professor Dell Upton for expanding my methodological and critical approaches to visual studies and my third reader, Professor Hui-shu Lee. The ideas in this paper were first presented at the conference, 4th Annual USC/UCLA Joint East Asian Studies Center Conference—“Religion, Political Identities and Sacred Symbols in East Asia,” at University of California, Los Angeles on November 15, 2013. A subsequent version was presented at the Buddhist Studies Consortium Graduate Student Conference at University of California, Santa Barbara on March 8-9, 2014. I would like to thank the organizers and discussants for the questions and feedback generated from both conferences. viii Part One: Introduction Champa is a region of small coastal polities that is now south and central Vietnam.1 The Chams are an Austronesian linguistic and ethnic group who occupied the southern part of present-day Vietnam. The Vietnamese lived in the northern part of Vietnam. The Chinese controlled northern Vietnam during the Han period from 111 to 938 CE. The Chams were independent from the Vietnamese and Chinese until the annexation of Champa in 1471. Scholars use Sanskrit and Cham inscriptions, historical