| SCULPTURE
An
art form that traces Nepalese culture from its early beginnings
right up to modern times is sculpture. As previously mentioned,
many carved artifacts have been found in the Terai region of the
country, providing an insight into the religion of the country of
early times. As with painting, nearly all-Nepalese sculptures are
of a religious character. It seems that the artists themselves were
greatly imbued with a feeling of religious devotion.
The
Golden Age of Nepalese Sculpture
Nepalese sculpture reached its zenith in the Lichchhavi period (A.
D. 330-879). Stone, copper and bronze images from this period show
round faces with slanted eyes. A distinguishing feature of Lichchhavi
sculptures is their simplicity. The use of clothes and ornaments
was quite restrained, many Hindu deities, for example, are shown
wearing only a Dhoti (skirt-like lower garment). Buddhist deties
were carved to show them wearing long sanghatis (a saffron coloured
robe that the Buddhist wear hanging from the shoulders). Lichchhavi
period sculptors most often used basalt for their work, first chiselling
and then smoothing and varnishing, perhaps with iron dust. The limbs
of Lichchhavi period idols were so beautifully executed that it
is not possible to find one specimen with a chisel mark . Some of
the best examples of Lichchhavi art are the image of 'Sleeping Vishnu'
in Budhanilkantha, located eight kilometers north of Kathmandu and
the Vishnu Vikranta or Dwarf Incarnation found near Lazimpat in
Kathmandu.
ARCHAEOLOGY
Tilaurakot-
Over the past few decades archaeological work has been
conducted in the Terai region of the country where Nepal's first
settlements were probably located. Tilaurakot, for example, used
to be the capital of the Shakya dynasty. It is situated in Kapilbastu
district in western Nepal. The present archaeological site extends
over an area of more than five square kilometers. The central portion,
measuring approximately five thousand meters by four thousand meters,
is surrounded by a citadel built at three different periods. The
first and second ancient citadel walls are made of mud and date
from 600 to 200 B.C. while the third wall appears to have been constructed
with kilnburnt bricks around 150 B.C. The eastern gate, the eastern
stupa, the Ashita Apsidal Stupa and a defence wall were first discovered
at the site. More recent excavations have brought to light the majestic
western gateway complex including the watchman's room, sixmeter
wide roads of different periods (with cart-track impressions), the
moat on the east and west, three periods of defence walls and northern
twin stupas made and enlarged between the fourth and second centuries
B. C. The central portion of the site has also been excavated and
various brick structures from the third century B, C. to the second
century A. D. have been unearthed . Water storage tanks, big jars,
brick and terra-cotta ring wells and a fire-alter have also been
found . Other antiquities discovered at the site are human and animal
terra-cotta figurines (dated 400 B. C. to A. D. 200), silver punch-marked
coins, early cast coins with symbols, Mitra coins with different
symbols, Kushan coins, and pieces of Sunga and Kushan pottery. Apart
from these antiquities, practical items such as terra-cotta cart
wheels, iron implements, nails, arrowheads, bone and copper rods,
dice and fishing hooks have also been found.
Gotihawa
- Gotihawa, rich in possession of ancient ruins is situated
eleven kilometers south of Tilaurakot and six kilometers south west
of Taulihawa, the present district headquaters. To the north of
Gotihawa village, there is an ancient brick stupa and an Ashokan
Pillar. The lower portion, with its square granite base stone, is
still intact but the crowning features and inscriptional portions
are missing. The site can be safely identified as the Nirvan stupa
of Kakuchhanda Buddha (one of the previous Buddhas), whose hometown
lies within one kilometer of this stupa - pillar complex.
Sagarahawa
- This site is located two kilometers north of Tilaurakot
on the bank of the Banganga river. It was excavated in 1896 and
seventeen miniature stupas were found there.
In
the same general region, sites of ancient civilization have been
identified at Lumbini, Banjarhi, Nipaniya and Kadyatawa, to mention
just a few. Several important sites have also been excavated in
the eastern region of the country, the most important of which are
Bhediari, Varahakshetra, Janakpur and Simaraongad.
Bhediari.-
Located nearly ten kilometers south of Biratnagar, the
ancient ruins at this site include many important brick temples.
There is a two- meter high rectangular platform supported from inside
by cross walls. So far no image either of stone or terra cotta has
been found during the excavations; however, a number of silver punch-marked
coins have been found.
Varahakshetra
- This is another important temple site located at the
confluence of the Koka and Koshi rivers. The site is known to belong
to the period of later Guptas, who had issued a copper grant for
the two Varaha images found there. There are also many miniature
Gupta period temple replicas, which suggest that many such temples
and idols were made during the sixth and seventh centuries A. D.
Narasingha
Tappu - Some years ago, while cultivating at Narasingha
Tappu, close to the present town of Itahari, an idol of Vishnu was
discovered. The image belongs to the fifth or sixth century A. D.
and is of the Gupta tradition. It is now kept inside a local Shiva
temple . The site, according to local people, also contains pottery
items, indicating that it belonged to the ancient Gupta dynasty
(fourth-fifth century A. D.)
Janakpur
- At Ram- Janaki temple complex near Janakpur there is
an important image depicting Uma lying on a bed and feeding a baby.
Ganesh and Kumar are also depicted in the panel while on the top
of the scene is a Shiva linga. The piece datesback to the twelfth
or thirteenth century A. D. and belongs to the Karnatakas of Simaraongad.
Simaraongad
- This was an old capital city of the Karnatakas of Mithila
and was built by King Nanyadeva in A. D. 1097-98. The ruins of the
city extend over an area of 16 kilometers which is still surrounded
by a high wall of kiln-burnt bricks. There are more than one hundred
images and sculptures scattered throughout the area. Most are made
of black schist stone and are nicely polished; a few are made of
sandstone. The images at the site are of Vishnu, Narayan, Laxmi
Narayan, Shankersana, Garudopari Vishnu, Uma-Maheshwara, Durga,
Shiva and Surya. In different parts of Simaraongad, there are remains
of temples and gateways of the old city.
Other
sites bearing Karnataka images and sculptures are Kanchanpur (near
Rajbiraj), Murtiya (west of Janakpur) and Valmiki Nagar (near the
Gandaki barrage), as well as several other places between the Gandaki
and Sapta Koshi rivers.
PAINTING
Two
media that reveal a lot about Nepalese culture, both past and present,
are painting and sculpture. Fortunately, there are many fine and
well-preserved pieces that have survived the passage of time and
thus enable detailed research to be made. Looking briefly at the
history of Nepalese painting, it appears that ancient icons and
religious paintings entered the Valley during the Lichchhavi period
. Lichchhavi inscriptions inform us that traders, monks and Brahmans
as well as artists from neighbouring areas, visited Kathmandu Valley
from the mid-fifth century A. D. The visitors may have brought religious
icons and paintings with them which served as models for local artists.
The
Chinese envoy, Wang Hsuan Tse, who came to Nepal in the seventh
century A. D; described quite eloquently the houses in the Valley,
which at that early time were embellished with sculptures and paintings.
Although there are no surviving examples of paintings from the Lichchhavi
period, it can be surmised that the murals or wall paintings noticed
by the Chinese envoy were just as sophisticated as the surviving
pieces of culture from this period.
The
earliest examples of Nepalese painting are in the form of manuscript
illustrations on palm leaves. Nepalese manuscripts go back to the
ninth century; however, not all early manuscripts were illustrated.
The earliest known example of an illustrated manuscript is the Astasahasrika
Prajnaparamita, dated A. D. 1015. These manuscripts invariably consists
of narrow folios of palm leaves about thirty centimeters long, depending
on the text, but not wider than five centimeters. The manuscripts
are perforated in two places, loosely held together with string
and protected by wooden covers on both sides. These wooden covers,
a large number of which have survived, are more lavishly painted
than the manuscripts themselves. In palm leaf manuscripts the scribes
left spaces for the artists to later paint in the figures of divinities.
After
the introduction of paper, palm leaf became less popular; however
it continued to be used until the eighteenth century. Early paper
manuscripts imitated the oblong shape but were wider than the palm
leaves.
Influence
of Religion on Painting
All surviving illustrated manuscripts, whether Buddhist
or Hindu, are illustrated with hieratic images of gods and goddesses.
A large number of manuscripts are devoted to the principal events
from the life of Buddha or the hieratic representations of Vajrayana
deities, which bear little relation to the text. During the early
medieval period, Prajnaparamita, the personification of wisdom,
became one of the most popular deities in Nepal. Manuscripts consecrated
to this deity were repeatedly copied. Besides these Buddhist manuscripts,
illuminated manuscripts of Hindu divinities such as Brahma, Vishnu,
Shiva, Kartikeya and Ganesh were also frequently represented.
Manuscripts
continued to be painted and copied for centuries, for the act of
donating a manuscript to a monk, priest, monastery or temple was
considered by both Hindus and Buddhists to be an act of great virtue.
Early illustrated manuscripts were executed in the same basic style.
But later examples, particularly paper manuscripts, clearly show
signs of deterioration in quality.
Paubha
(Thangka) Painting
Religious paintings worshipped as icons are known as Paubha
in Nepalbhasa and Thangka in Tibetan. The origin of Paubha or Thangka
paintings may be attributed to Nepalese artists as early as the
ninth or tenth century.
Realizing
the great demand for religious icons in Tibet, these artists, along
with monks and traders, took with them from Nepal not only metal
sculptures but also a number of Buddhist manuscripts. To better
fulfil the ever-increasing demand, Nepalese artists initiated a
new type of religious painting on cloth that could be easily rolled
up and carried along with them. This type of painting became very
popular both in Nepal and Tibet and has remained popular to this
day. One of the earliest specimens of Nepalese Paubha painting dates
from the thirteenth or fourteenth century and shows Amitabha surrounded
by Bodhisatwas. Another Nepalese Paubha with three dates in the
inscription (the latest one corresponding to A.D. 1369), is one
of the earliest known Paubha with inscription. The 'Mandala of Vishnu',
dated A.D. 1420, is another fine example of the painting of this
period. Early Nepalese Paubha are simple in design and composition.
The main deity, a large figure, occupies the central position while
surrounded by smaller figures.
Influence
of Tantrism on Paintings
From the fifteenth century onwards, brighter colours gradually
began to appear in the Nepalese painting. Because of the growing
importance of the Tantric cult, various aspects of Shiva and Shakti
were painted in conventional poses. Mahakala, Manjushri, Lokeshwara
and other deities were equally popular and were also frequently
represented in Nepalese paintings of later dates. The embrace of
male and female is another common motif of the Tantric Buddhist
art of this period.
WOOD
CARVING
Besides stone sculpture another art form worth mentioning
is woodcarving. No visitor to the Kathmandu Valley can go without
being impressed by the numerous extremely beautiful windows, doors,
temple roof-struts and other intricately carved artifacts. As wood
is vulnerable to the ravages of time, well-preserved specimens date
back only to the fourteenth century. Woodcarving has been an integral
part of Nepalese architecture, some of the examples being the old
royal palaces of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur and a number of
different Viharas (monasteries) around the Valley.
ARCHITECTURE
Nepalese religious architecture is another art medium that
is an important part of the country's cultural heritage. There are
three broad styles - the pagoda style, the stupa style and the shikhara
style.
The
Pagoda Style
This style refers to multi-roofed structures with wide
eaves supported by carved wooden struts. Windows, either latticed
or grilled, are usually projecting, while the roof is generally
topped off by triangular spires enclosing an inverted bell of stucco
or burnished gold. The pagoda style shows the architectural genius
of Nepal.
A
young architect-sculptor-painter named Balbahu (or Arniko as the
Chinese call him), led a delegation of 80 Nepalese artists to Tibet
during the late thirteenth century at the invitation of the Chinese
Emperor Kublai Khan. The pagoda style was soon adopted in China
and from there spread to other Asian countries.
The
best example of the pagoda style in the Kathmandu Valley is Kasthamandap,
a wooden pagoda built in the Malla period and from which the name
of the capital city is said to be derived. The nine-storey Basantpur
Palace built by King Prithvi Narayan Shah is another outstanding
pagoda specimen. The Pashupati, Taleju and Changu Narayan temples
are also notable examples.
The
Stupa Style
The Swayambhu and Boudhanath shrines are Nepal's first
examples of the stupa or Chaitya style. This style is purely Buddhist
in concept and execution. The outstanding feature of the stupa is
a hemispherical mound topped by a square base supporting a series
of the thirteen circular rings. Narrowing towards the top, the rings
are crowned by a parasol. The four sides of the square base or the
harmika, as it is called, are often painted with pairs of mystic
'all-seeing eyes'. The stupas in Patan, said to have been built
by King Ashoka, are considered to be the most ancient stupas of
Nepal.
The
Shikhara Style
The
Shikhara style forms yet another architectural design found in Nepal.
The super structure is a tall curvilinear or pyramidal tower whose
surface is broken up vertically into five to nine section. The final
section consists of a bell-shaped part at the top. The Krishna temple
in Patan, consecrated by King Siddhi Narsingh Malla, is the finest
specimen of the relatively less popular Shikhara style.
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