Today's lesson is ARTS Module 5.
This is about the development of Traditional and Functional Arts and Crafts in South, Central, and West Asia. These include India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Tibet.
A. INDIA
1. Ancient Period which is from 3900 BCE to 1200CE.
The ARTS from this period are bronze and copper statuettes and steatite seals.
It specifically talked about the Ajanta Caves of Maharashtra which consists of 30 rock-cut cave monuments that date back from the 2nd century BCE to the 600 CE. In these caves, you will see masterpieces of Buddhist religious art like the picture below:
It also has Frescoes that are reminiscent of the Sigiriya paintings in Sri Lanka. Fresco (plural frescos or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting.
2. Classical Period from 5th to 6th centuries.
The image of Shiva is one of the representative arts of this period. In the picture above you see Shiva the destroyer as a cosmic dancer. It has four arms. One holds fire (he uses to destroy), another a drum (the sound heard during creation in their belief), the third arm pointing upwards, and the last arm pointing downwards to the dwarf she is dancing to. Here are the other symbolism aside from the ones mentioned in our module.
3. Islamic Ascendancy (1192-1757) or Transitional Period
The next art you are probably familiar with already if it is discussed in your English class. They are the Two Great Epics of India: the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
It is considered the longest epic poem known and has been described as "the longest poem ever written".
b. Ramayana
Rāmāyana is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient Indian history, the other being the Mahābhārata. Along with the Mahābhārata, it forms the Hindu Itihasa. The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya city in the kingdom of Kosala.
In this period, paintings and architecture were enriched. The most famous representative art of this period is Taj Mahal. It is originally called the Rauza-i-munawwara. It is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the southern bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra.
We've already discussed the Rangoli arts and the Diwali Festival before. Let's review the Diwali Festival first. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus in India and all around the world in October or November. It is a very exciting and colorful holiday, where homes are cleaned to welcome the New Year and windows are opened so that the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, can enter.
Rangoli, on the other hand, is one of the most beautiful and most pleasing art forms of India. The traditional form of Rangoli made use of designs and motifs based on nature. These are created on the floor using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand, or flower petals. The materials used in the Rangoli patterns of today give either a very flat appearance or a 3-D effect.
B. PAKISTAN
Now let's proceed to the next country which is PAKISTAN. There are four recognized periods of Pakistani Architecture: Pre-Islamic, Islamic, Colonial, and Post-Colonial. These are the three large buildings developed in the 3rd millennium that survived up to these modern times.
Mohenjo-daro which means 'Mound of the Dead Men'. The mounds contain the remains of what was once the largest city of the Indus civilization. The second one is Harappa.
Harappa was the center of one of the core regions of the Indus Valley Civilization, located in central Punjab. The Harappan architecture and Harappan Civilization was one of the most developed in the old Bronze Age.
The last one is the Kot Diji. Kot Diji site consists of a stone rubble wall, dating to about 3000 BCE, that surrounds a citadel and numerous residences, all of which were first excavated in the 1950s.
Their representative arts are of course the colorful crafts like bags, tapestries, and cloth which show their mastery and creative genius in embroidery, weaving, printing, and designing.
3. SAUDI ARABIA
As mentioned in the module, "the culture of Saudi Arabia is defined by its Islamic heritage, its historical role as an ancient trade center, and its Bedouin traditions." The English word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, which means "desert dweller". Bedouin territory stretches from the vast deserts of North Africa to the rocky sands of the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has a rich history of crafts. These were not considered works of art in their country, rather the essence of daily life in the Kingdom.
a. Weaving - From camel shoulder decorations to tents, they weave everything! The prominent design in Bedouin weaving is the longitudinal stripes in plain weaves.
b. Pots - Their pots are used to store food. A hole would be dug in the ground to keep the pot. The picture above is called a pot-in-pot refrigerator, clay pot cooler, or Zeer (Arabic: زير) is an evaporative cooling refrigeration device that does not use electricity.
c. Dowry Baskets - Most commonly found in the Qatif region, these baskets would be used by brides to carry their dowry. These would be carried on the head, with the smaller basket on top.
d. Dresses and Costumes - Fourth is Traditional dresses and costumes, decorative and in combinations of black and burgundy.
e. Baskets - Palm fiber from palm leaf and grass blades would be used to make circular mats and baskets.
f. Jewelry - While men would adorn their rides or swords, women adorned themselves with jewelry. These were also considered the signs of a woman’s status and wealth.
4. TIBET
Tibetan Artists design painted furniture and even murals. The vast majority of surviving artworks created before the mid-20th century are dedicated to the depiction of religious subjects, with the main forms being thangka, distemper paintings on cloth.
Thangka is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. And just like in Saudi Arabia, Tibetan men and women use rich displays of artifacts or jewelry as a way of expressing their happiness and importance. The more artifacts they have on their body the higher their status is and the wealthier they are.
Their clothes also reflect their culture, values, and beliefs. A woman will wear an apron if she's married. But if her husband dies or leaves her, she does not need to wear the apron anymore. That would mean she's single again.
The last art is of course the MANDALA. A mandala is a repetitive geometric pattern that begins at a central dot and works outward. Mandalas are symbolic in many cultures and often symbolize wholeness and unity.
The three most common types are the following: Teaching, Healing, and Sand Mandala.
a. Teaching Mandala
Teaching mandalas are symbolic, and each shape, line, and color represents a different aspect of a philosophical or religious system. The student creates his or her own mandala based on principles of design and construction, projecting a visual symbolization of everything they have learned. Teaching mandalas serve as colorful, mental maps for their creators.
b. Healing Mandala
Healing Mandalas are made for the purpose of meditation and intended to deliver wisdom, evoke feelings of calm, and channel focus and concentration.
c. Sand Mandala
Buddhist monks and Navajo cultures used sand mandalas for a long time as a traditional, religious element. These intricate designs use various symbols made from various colored sand which represent the impermanence of human life. It means that no matter how much effort we put in or how great our achievements are, it will end the same way for everyone. We should not focus on material things and earthly achievements.
If you want to download the module for this lesson, you may CLICK THIS LINK. You may also watch the video lesson for this module here. Thank you and happy learning!
Disclaimer: All of the contents are taken from the module and of other blogs I've read (I will update the footnote later on). This blog post are for the students' use only.
