![]() ![]() 6 Kızıl Cave 163 is an example of this (fig. 5 In contrast, there are 13 caves in which the representation of the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa is combined with depictions of multiple large standing buddhas rather than paintings related to the Buddha’s death. This standard pictorial programme appears in 64 caves in Kuča. The corridors sometimes also feature rows of donor figures in addition to the scenes and rows of stūpas mentioned above. The wall paintings of the side corridors depict either scenes that occurred shortly before or after the Buddha’s death-such as the Buddha’s miraculous creation of a river that prevented the people of Vaiśālī from following the Buddha on his way to the place of his death, Kuśinagara, 4 the cremation of the Buddha’s body and the distribution of the relics-or rows of stūpas that contain small reliquaries or buddha figures. The Buddha’s parinirvāṇa itself is shown in the rear corridor or chamber. The rear part of the cave is decorated with representations of the Buddha’s death and his entry into parinirvāṇa. jātaka) or the meritorious deeds of individuals. The side walls of the main chamber are decorated with scenes of the Buddha’s sermons, while the barrel vault shows scenes of various Buddhist legends, mainly events from the Buddha’s previous lives (Skt. ![]() The ‘central pillar caves’ generally feature a uniform pictorial programme. As far as can be discerned from their accompanying figure, the individual buddhas in a series are buddhas of the past. The accompanying figure thus serves as an iconographic element for the identification of the respective buddha. As in the sculptural art of Greater Gandhāra, the series of buddhas in the Kuča paintings are arranged to be passed during the ritual circumambulation.Ī unique feature of the large-scale buddha figures in series from Kuča is that they are often accompanied by a smaller figure offering a specific donation to the buddha, and thereby alluding to a certain Buddhist narrative. The series of buddhas in Kuča’s painting are reminiscent, both compositionally and stylistically, of the sets of multiple large buddha sculptures that appeared in the art of Greater Gandhāra in the early 5th century and were most likely adopted from these locations. As it has not been satisfactorily analysed so far, this paper examines the manner in which it was developed and the reason for its development. According to its position in the cave and its size, this motif was of particular importance. The caves, too, are designated as part of the World Heritage Site, their ceilings decorated with 7th-century oil paintings that are among the world’s oldest.One of the pictorial motifs recurring in the painted Buddhist caves in the area of Kuča on the Northern Silk Road is rows of large standing buddha figures occupying the entire height of the wall. ![]() War refugees returning from Pakistan had also made their home there. They were storing weapons and ammunition in the caves around the Buddhas’ feet to aid their fight against the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist movement that was battling to control the country. ![]() The valley teemed with armed men from the Hazara ethnic group that had long controlled it. From a hill, he admired the Buddhas, the wheat fields at their feet, and the Hindu Kush mountains behind them. Maitre had been to Afghanistan many times, but never to Bamiyan. Bamiyan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had drawn tourists and archaeologists until the country became too unstable to host them. They were weathered by age, neglect, and war, but still a striking reminder that the area had once been a bustling stop on the Silk Road and a center of Buddhist study. Built starting in the sixth century, the pair of stone Buddhas, one 125 feet tall and the other 181 feet tall, stood overlooking the valley. UNESCO named the entire valley, which includes painted caves and Buddhist monasteries, as a World Heritage Site.īamiyan was worth the risky journey. Right: For centuries, tourists, archaeologists, and pilgrims would visit the colossal Buddhas. ![]()
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