Dept. of Asian Art, Art Institute of Chicago; Indonesian Art Collections; Pal, Pratapaditya
摘要
Part of a special issue on the Art Institute of Chicago's Asian collection. Selected Indonesian religious art objects in the collection，serving both Buddhism and Hinduism，are discussed. These items are all from Central Java, where art was inspired by ideas originating largely from India; they include small bronzes portraying Buddhist divinities, stone Buddhist narrative relief panels, and a stone sculpture of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha. After the 10th century，Java's political center shifted to the eastern part of the island，and there was a move toward closer ties with China. During the Eastern Javanese period，apart from bronze and andesite，much sculpture was produced in terra-cotta and tuff stone. A number of Eastern Javanese pieces in the institute's collection，including a rare complete 13th-century Shivalinga, a phallic symbol that is usually the focus of worship in a Shaiva shrine，are presented.
