THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM have recently opened their new Buddhist Galleries. It is a very welcome new addition to the museum, as it allows the visitor to see a variety of Buddhist works of art from various Asian countries together for the first time. Objects in the four galleries have mainly been grouped geographically to show the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia.
The journey starts in India with an early relief from the Kushan period, ‘The Adoration of the Empty Throne’, which shows the presence of the Buddha as a symbol, rather than in human form, and progresses to a large Gandharan sculpture of the Buddha and on to 11th-century North Indian works. The first pieces highlight the early years of Buddhism, before it disappeared from India, and moves on to other representations, including works from Sri Lanka with all works dating from the 2nd to 11th centuries. This approach has allowed Dr John Clarke, a curator in the Asian department and lead curator of this gallery project, to show the different responses evoked in the different regions whilst tracing the flow of Buddhism out of North India across continents. This complex journey also looks at the many cultural and philosophical layers that have been woven into Buddhism over centuries. In the second room, the sculpture reflects the different teachings that evolved in different cultures: when Buddhism spread north to the Himalayas it developed a tantric culture and included more mystical elements in its teachings and practice than is found in the more individualistic approach of other Buddhist sects. To the south, in Sri Lanka and beyond, Buddhism developed a different form based on Buddha’s teachings – the Theravada school. These teachings use the Buddha himself as a model for spiritual development and this school spread across into Burma and into Southeast Asia. Another route was taken through the Silk Road first into China and later Japan, where the teachings and beliefs focused on Pure Land Buddhism and the prominence of the Amida (Amitabha) Buddha.
Local responses to the arrival and adoption of Buddhism into these very different cultures and its development can clearly be seen in the art itself. Local populations responded in many ways to this incoming religion and the objects on display in the four galleries allow the viewer to see how local craftsmen represented the Buddha and his teaching in their own personal way.
As the migration of Buddhism is complex, so too is its iconography. Asanas (postures) and mudras (hand gestures) used in Buddhist art all have specific meanings that have to be studied to be understood. In the museum’s galleries there are clearly presented explanations on an interactive display that allows the visitor to become acquainted (or reacquainted!) with the basic iconography of Buddhist art. There is even a quiz to prompt your memory or understanding of basic Buddhism and sects, for those ambitious enough to test their knowledge in public… To make this art come to life, there are also three films to watch: one looks at the ancient Buddhist monasteries of Ajanta in central India, Taboo in Tibet and the third shows the living traditions of contemporary Buddhist practice in the Indian Himalayas.
The works of art all come from the museum’s collection of Buddhist sculpture ranging from monumental Chinese temple sculptures to smaller portable gilded Buddhas. Many of the sculptures on display have either not been seen by the public before or have not be exhibited for many years – if not decades. One of the works on display for the first time is an early surviving image of the meditating Buddha (circa 300) from North West India, as is the 16th-century gilded figure of Tara from Nepal.
Highlights of the new galleries include a gilt-bronze figure of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara from 14th-century Nepal, a monumental gilt bronze seated Buddha from Tibet, a protective standing Buddha from Ayutthaya in Thailand, and a 7th- century marble torso of the Buddha from Tang China, as well as associated images of Bodhisattvas, Guardians and Taras. The South Asian sculptures are displayed alongside recently restored 19th-century oil paintings, which record the 5th-century murals of the previous lives of the Buddha in the great rock-cut Buddhist shrines of Ajanta in central India. Contextual background will also be provided for Southeast Asian works through displays of life-sized copies of the world-famous sculptural reliefs from the 8th-century Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Java.
A highlight of the galleries is a rare bronze standing figure of the Buddha dating to the late 6th or early 7th century, which is considered one of only a handful surviving from a particularly formative period in the development of Buddhist imagery. The figure depicts the Buddha standing in a slightly flexed posture raising his right hand in the gesture of protection. This type of figure represents the endpoint of a long process of stylistic development at the important monastic centres of Mathura and Sarnath (the latter is where Buddha gave his first sermon). It is clearly related to Gupta images in stone where the monastic robe, which covers both shoulders, clings to the body, revealing the contours as if made of some extremely fine material. This form of North Indian standing Buddha was to become highly influential through Southeast and East Asia, where, carried by evangelising monks and lay Buddhist such as merchants, it gave rise to numerous local copies.
The works from North East India and the Himalayas date to the period between 11th and 13th centuries, with the beliefs of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in India and their transference northwards to the Himalayan region. The spiritual ideal of the bodhisattva, who with supreme altruism vows to stay within the cycle of rebirths in order to help all sentient beings on the spiritual path. This belief became central to the Great Way or Mahayana Buddhism and a white Tara by the Newari craftsmen of the Kathmandu Valley. The Tara is shown seated in the posture of padmasana or meditation, her right hand raised in the gesture of teaching a point of Buddhist doctrine. The two open lotus flowers rise on stalks above each shoulder, symbolic of her spiritual purity. Tara, in numerous forms, is widely worshipped in Tibet and Nepal where she is regarded as the feminine embodiment of compassion.
At the centre of the new galleries is the spectacular three-metre high Mandalay shrine, a rare surviving piece from the now destroyed royal palace at Mandalay in Burma that is on display for the first time. This wood and lacquer shrine is displayed complete with its ensemble of offering vessels, attendant figures and manuscript case. Based on Burmese royal thrones of the period, the shrine demonstrates the close relationship between beliefs in the spiritual rule of the Buddha and that of the Burmese king’s semi-divine status.
About 50 sculptures between 200 and 1850 are housed in the galleries, all carefully selected to show the diversity of artistic expression throughout Asia and will reflect the differing Buddhist practices of India, Sri Lanka, the Himalayas, Burma, Java, Thailand, China and Japan.
The final and smaller room focuses on East Asia and includes a powerful 7th-century marble torso of the Buddha from Tang dynasty China and the head of a monumental Buddha once carved directly into the rock face of a 6th-century cave temple complex at Xiangtangshan, northern China. The Japanese Buddhist sculptural tradition is represented by a beautiful, 17th-century Nyoirin Kanon (Avalokitesvara) and an 18th-century standing bronze figure of Fudo, the protector of religion.
SARAH CALLAGHAN
The Robert H N HO Family Foundation Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum. South Kensington, London, www.vam.ac.uk
