Buddhist narrative reliefs; ancient Āndhradeśa; Gandhara; influences from Mediterranean World; Kavikumāra; Mahāpaduma-jātaka; Narrative Motifs; Rückenfigur
摘要
Based on a selection of examples from the sculptural art of Andhra, the paper discusses what possibly motivated the inclusion of motifs and stylistic elements from the ancient Mediterranean into the Buddhist art of the region. While in some cases such adaptations may have been driven by the need to find suitable solutions for the depiction of critical events or by the fact that a foreign motif tied in perfectly with already existing concepts, and thus, reinforced the message to be conveyed, in other cases no such reasons can be detected. Artists seem to have used foreign image types and stylistic variations deliberately to show their supreme craftsmanship or to add aesthetic sophistication to the image programme. The artists of Andhra, therefore, can by no means be regarded as epigones slavishly adhering to the examples set by the Mediterranean; the region—which is the place where narratives later spreading over large parts of Asia and Europe were first depicted—rather has to be regarded as on par with the classical cultures of Greece and Rome in terms of artistic versatility and creativity.
目次
Abstract 1 Pictorial Motifs from the West in the Reliefs of Andhra 1 A Masterpiece of Art from Andhra and the Unidentified Narrative It Illustrates 6 The Lost Narrative in the Relief and Its Importance for the Narrative Motifs of Mankind 16 References 18
