"Intrusive Art" at Ajaṇṭā in the Late Middle Period
The Case of Bhadrāsana Buddhas
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3343643 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicolas Revire (Thammasat University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 771 |
| Publication date | 2022-08-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel13090771 |
| OpenAlex | W4292879098 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
Following the apparent chaos that ensued at Ajaṇṭā during the so-called "period of disruption" in the wake of King Hariṣeṇa's death (ca. 478-480 CE), local monks and residents in the caves continued to sponsor the donation of what we term "intrusive" images after the late Walter Spink. These new donations consisted of hundreds of Buddha images, a few of which retain today painted or incised dedicatory inscriptions in Sanskrit. Many of these images represent the Buddha preaching and seated in the "auspicious pose" (bhadrāsana) on the conventional lion throne with his legs down. In this article, the author focuses on the images accompanied by inscriptions since they provide a better understanding of the reuse of consecrated caves, and of the nature of this new and brief iconographic development implemented by local Buddhist residents. The sudden appearance of Bhadrāsana Buddhas seems indeed to correlate with a rise to prevalence of Mahāyāna Buddhist practices at Ajaṇṭā during the late Middle Period
Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Buddhism · Cave · Gautama Buddha · Literature · Sanskrit · Throne · Chinese history and philosophy · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Law
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |