Art history 211

  The illustrated manuscript is also known as Miaofa lianhua jing, from the Korean culture. This is from the Goryeo dynasty, in the period of 918 through 1392. The exact year it was made in 1340, however the artist is unknown. There are many versions and paintings like this that are classified as volumes. This specific painting is considered Volume 2. This piece is an accordion-fold book. The practice of making these well-appointed Buddhist sutras used of very lavish materials. These materials extended beyond Japan to China and Korea.   The gold and silver is painted on indigo dyed mulberry paper. This example from Korea shows the intricate combination of silver and gold pigments with midnight blue indigo-dyed paper. The purpose of this is to saturate the sacred written word with a glowing luminosity. The Lotus Sutra, or the Sanskirt Saddharmapunarīka-sūtra. The Lotus means the Good law, or the True Doctrine. From early Mahāyāna Buddhist texts venerated as the ideal essence ...

 Celt with Incised Profile This piece does not have a creative title, it just called what it is, a Celt with Incised Profile. The Celt was created around the 10 th through the 4 th century B.C. The piece was found in Mexico, Mesoamerica, and is a part of the Olmec culture. The Celt is made from jade, or also known as jadeite. This piece is classified as Stone-Implement and jade. The Celt with Incised Profile is about 14 and 3/8 inches high and 3 and 1/8 wide. The diameter is 36.5 centimeters by 7.9 centimeters, by 1.9 centimeters. Around 1000 B.C., the style of this Celt became very popular. To make this style an elliptical ground stone tools to had to be used to create the elongated look.  Celts are a thin prehistoric tool, sot of like an adze, how, or axe. The Celts are usually made of stone or bronze. The greenstones in the piece would be hard and have a polished jadeite look. The purpose of this was to symbolize ears of maize. The profile is the main a...

Benin Plaques are very popular in African art and culture. The purpose of these plaques was to display how the Benin people viewed themselves, specifically to Portuguese traders and their soldiers. The people of Benin perceived them to have thin faces, bearded, strange attire, and pointed noses. These plaques would be placed throughout the king’s palace to show how the Portuguese were seen as symbols of the king’s power and wealth. The Benin people wanted to make a good impression on the Portuguese because they contributed to their trade a lot. Besides displaying people, animals had a lot of symbolism in the plaques as well. One of the most significant animals to be displayed on the Benin plaques is a leopard. The purpose of having leopards in art is to show how the king also has power over the tropical forest. The forest is covered in most of Benin, which is very important because it just makes the king that more mighty. The leopard symbolizes the king of the forest, while the Oba is ...

  These two Leopards of the house, also known as Ekpen N’owa are from around the 16 th century. The leopards are about 69 centimeters in length, and filled with a lot of detail. The two leopards are extremely identical. The details in the faces are all long exaggerated, especially the snout. The felines are baring their teeth, showing off their long fangs. The other small details such as the whiskers, nose, and ears are delicate. The eyes of the cats are angular and the general expressions of them seem to be happy and smiling. The rest of their bodies show strong form of the wild cats, details in the paws, and texture of fur throughout the bodies, all made from bonze. The purposes of these two leopards are to be used as water vessels, called aquamanile. These vessels are used in making ritual ablutions by pouring water that comes out the nostrils of the leopards. The leopards are displayed on royal ancestral altars and used by the Oba. The Oba of Benin is a sacred...