How to Read Buddhist Art

Behrendt, Kurt
2019
136 pages
110 illustrations
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Intended to inspire the devout and provide a focus for religious practice, Buddhist artworks stand at the center of a great religious tradition that swept across Asia during the first millennia. How to Read Buddhist Art assembles fifty-four masterpieces from The Met collection to explore how images of the Buddha crossed linguistic and cultural barriers, and how they took on different (yet remarkably consistent) characteristics in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Himalayas, China, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

Works highlighted in this rich, concise overview include reliquaries, images of the Buddha that attempt to capture his transcendence, diverse bodhisattvas who protect and help the devout on their personal path, and representations of important teachers. The book offers the essential iconographic frameworks needed to understand Buddhist art and practice, helping the reader to appreciate how artists gave form to subtle aspects of the teachings, especially in the sublime expression of the Buddha himself.

Buddha, probably Amitabha
, Dry lacquer with polychrome pigment and gilding, China
China
early 7th century
Buddha Offering Protection, Copper alloy, India (probably Bihar)
India (probably Bihar)
late 6th–early 7th century
Standing Bodisattva Maitreya (Buddha of the Future), Schist, Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
ca. 3rd century
Water-moon Avalokiteshvara

, Unidentified artist, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Korea
Unidentified artist
first half of the 14th century
Achala with His Consort Vishvavajri, Distemper on cloth, Nepal, Kathmandu Valley
Nepal, Kathmandu Valley
1525–50
Mahakala, Protector of the Tent, Distemper on cloth, Central Tibet
Central Tibet
ca. 1500
Reliquary with Contents, Schist with objects of copper, gold, rock crystal, and pearl objects, Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
ca. 1st century
Inscribed Reliquary, Donated by King Indravarman, Schist, Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara, Bajaur)
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara, Bajaur)
5–6 CE
Reliquary in the Shape of a Stupa, Bronze, Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
ca. 4th–5th century
Two Lotuses, from the Bharhut Stupa, Red sandstone, India (Madhya Pradesh)
India (Madhya Pradesh)
ca. 1st century BCE
Tree Spirit Deity (Yakshi), Red sandstone, India (Uttar Pradesh, Mathura region)
India (Uttar Pradesh, Mathura region)
1st–2nd century
The Conversion and Ordination of Nanda, Limestone, India (Andhra Pradesh, Goli)
India (Andhra Pradesh, Goli)
3rd century
Vajrapani Attends the Buddha at His First Sermon, Schist, Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
ca. 2nd century
Buddha, Schist, Pakistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, possibly Takht-i-bahi monastery, ancient region of Gandhara
Pakistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, possibly Takht-i-bahi monastery, ancient region of Gandhara
3rd century
Funerary Urn (Hunping), Stoneware with olive green glaze (Yue ware), China
China
Reliquary in the shape of a coffin, Gilt bronze, China
China
8th century
Seated Buddha, probably Shakyamuni (Shijiamouni), Gilt bronze; piece-mold cast, China
China
late 4th–early 5th century
Buddha Dipankara (Dingguang), Sandstone with traces of pigment, China
China
dated 495 (19 (?) year of Taihe reign)
Buddha Maitreya (Mile), Gilt bronze with traces of pigment; piece-mold cast, China
China
dated 486 (10th year of Taihe reign)
Buddha, Sandstone, Southern Cambodia
Southern Cambodia
mid-7th century
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———. 2019. How to Read Buddhist Art. How to Read 7. New York: Metropolitan museum of art.