Interactions: Artistic Ideas Around the World

Who, What, Where, When?

This large amphora, or storage jar, is more than 2600 years old and was made in Crete, the largest of the Greek islands. It is significant both for its size—it is almost five feet tall—and its surface decoration, which is evidence of cultural exchange in the ancient world. Greece has numerous peninsulas with harbors and easy access to the Mediterranean and Black seas. This geographic advantage allowed many Greeks to become seafaring traders. During the 8th – 6th centuries, these traders founded colonies along the coastlines—including Egypt—as well as on the islands of the Mediterranean. Greek traders exchanged wine, olives, and pottery for coveted items such as grain, wood, and precious metals.

Patterns and Motifs

On the base and neck of the amphora are alternating knobs and rosettes and more rosettes are seen on the lid. Molds and stamps—which were used to make these designs—were technological conventions that originated in Near Eastern and Egyptian art. Additionally, the vertical bands on the body of the amphora resemble patterns found on late reliefs from the Assyrian Empire of the Near East.

Entities and Imagery

The mythological creatures in the band near the top are sphinxes. Egyptian in origin, the concept of the sphinx depicts a being with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a woman. The Greeks later incorporated this Egyptian monster into their own works of art and mythology, which is further evidence of the cultural exchange between the two societies.

Who, What, Where, When?

Only a fragment of a larger Roman statue, this head was sculpted in the second century and portrays one of the most frequently represented deities in Greek and Roman art: Dionysos (sometimes spelled Dionysus), god of theater, wine and madness.

While the origins of Dionysos are not fully known, evidence points to multiple origins. He could have originated to the east of Greece, or he could be a native Greek god. What is clear though is by the mid fifth-century B.C., he is considered one of the 12 Olympian gods of the Greeks.

In Italy, the native Italian god Liber Pater, god of fertility and wine, ultimately became identified with Dionysos. He may have been introduced here in the early third-century B.C. by Greeks who settled in southern Italy or by way of Greek influences in Etruria (present day Tuscan region).

Entities and Imagery

Most ancient Mediterranean cultures were polytheistic, meaning that they worshiped a wide variety of gods; in the Graeco-Roman period, only the Jewish God (adopted by Christianity) required monotheistic devotion. Each god represented a force of nature, abstract concept, sphere of life or aspect of the cosmos, and it was necessary to honor them all. Special bonds might exist between regions, cities, families, or individuals and a particular deity.

As ancient cultures encountered one another, deities and religious practices often became intertwined and blended. From a very early period it appears that the Romans assimilated the gods of Greece to the point where the two cultures shared a common pantheon consisting of twelve principle gods Zeus (Jupiter), Hera (Juno), Athena (Minerva), Apollo, Artemis (Diana), Poseidon (Neptune), Aphrodite (Venus), Hermes (Mercury), Hephaestus (Vulcan), Ares (Mars), Demeter (Ceres), and Dionysos (Liber Pater), also known in both Greece and Rome as Bacchos/Bacchus.

Representation

Over the course of the centuries, the way Dionysos is represented changes. At first, he is first shown as bearded, older, and clothed in a long robe. Later he is represented as beardless, youthful, and often nude. In this Roman image we have the second type, which dates to the second century A.D., possibly to the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (117-35 A.D.). He appears youthful with ivy in his hair and heavy lids that may imply an altered state. He also wears a mitra, or a type of scarf or headband often worn by Dionysos and his followers. The philosopher Aristotle claims that this type of band would be worn to counteract the effects of wine.

Who, What, Where, When?

As Roman power became the dominant force in the Mediterranean, Roman influences also enriched cultural practices in Egypt. For example, the ancient custom of mummification began to undergo modifications after the Romans occupied Egypt in 30 B.C. During the first three centuries of Roman Egypt, the dead who were fortunate enough to afford mummification were also honored with painted portraits like this one. These portraits are called Fayum masks, after the Egyptian site where the first examples were found. There, on high ground, safely away from where the Nile flooded every year, the Greeks and Hellenized people of the region buried their dead.

Technologies and Techniques

Merging Egyptian funerary practices with Greco-Roman portraiture, these panels were placed over the faces of the mummies instead of the masks used earlier in Egypt. This example was painted using the encaustic technique, in which pigment was added to heated beeswax and applied to a wooden panel.

Representation

The subjects of Fayum portraits include Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, Romans, and Ethiopians, a diverse assortment of ethnic backgrounds typical of the population of Roman Egypt at that time. This portrait beautifully captures the luminous eyes of a Roman Egyptian woman, an appropriate emphasis since the eyes were considered windows to the next life. She wears a rose-colored dress and a mantle (a sleeveless garment worn over the shoulders) edged with a broad, dark stripe, all marks of a fashionably dressed upper-class woman in Roman Egypt.

Who, What, Where, When?

This image is from the Ghandhara, an ancient Northeastern Indian state, which lies in present day Pakistan. Gandharan Buddhas, like this one, are among the earliest known Buddha images in human form created in Asia. It was made between the second and third centuries.

Entities and Imagery

Buddhism, which originated in ancient India (present-day Nepal), underwent significant changes over the centuries. Its basic teachings are attributed to the Buddha, a great teacher whose birth name was Siddhartha Gautama (traditional dates: 563–483 B.C.) Few, if any, sculptures of the Buddha date back to Siddhartha’s lifetime.

Representation

Before the late 1st century B.C., the Buddha was not represented in human form by Indian artists, probably for fear that he might be worshiped as a divinity. Early Buddhists regarded Buddha not as a god, but as a gifted mortal who taught a powerful spiritual message. As time passed, however, Buddhists began to think of him not as a mortal teacher, but as a god-like being worthy of adoration and worship. This devotion led to representations of the Buddha in an accessible human form.

As artists began to represent the Buddha in human form, information derived from Buddhist scriptures, artistic influences that arose from the invasions of Alexander the Great, and contact with Silk Road kingdoms all contributed to the appearance of early sculptures. Buddhist scriptures describe 32 marks (lakshanas) that were thought to distinguish the Buddha from other people. One or more of these characteristics usually appear when the Buddha is depicted. On this sculpture, for example, he has the ushnisha, a fleshy bump (here shaped like a bun) on the top of his head that stands for superhuman wisdom. Another mark, depicted as a raised circle, is the urna, a whorl, or tuft, of hair between his eyebrows that symbolizes extraordinary insight.

Style and Design

The draperies of his outer garment, which cascade from his palm and spread over the plinth below him, as well as the folds of his toga-like robes reveal Greek and Roman influences on the art of Gandhara. Buddha images in this style, which combines Asian and Hellenistic elements, was one of India's most significant artistic exports, providing the earliest models for a long tradition of imagery in Central and East Asia.

Who, What, Where, When?

This Chinese mirror back was produced during the Tang dynasty. In the early years of the Tang dynasty (618–907), military campaigns extended the Chinese empire to the north and west and established Tang control of the Central Asian sections of the Silk Road. The resulting growth in trade fueled an expanding Chinese economy and accelerated cultural exchanges between China and the West. Goods coming from China included tea, ceramics, rhubarb, paper, lacquer, gunpowder, and bamboo. Heading in the other direction, merchants traded gold, glass, various glazes, and grapevines.

Patterns and Motifs

Made of bronze coated with gold, the surface is adorned with five lions surrounded by birds and grapevines. One lion is crouching in the center of the mirror, while the other four are arranged around him in lively poses. Lions and grapevines, which are not native to China, were introduced into Chinese culture by Silk Road traders around the 2nd century BCE. Artistic ornamentation featuring lions and grapes, however, did not become popular in Chinese works of art until after the 5th and 6th centuries, when Buddhist influences began to arrive in China—also by way of the Silk Road.

Who, What, Where, When?

In the Inca language Quechua this drinking vessel is called a qero (pronounced care-oh). It was carved and decorated by Inca artisans in the central highlands of Peru in the 17thcentury during the Spanish colonial period. Qeros were used by the Inca during communal religious festivals to hold the maize beer called chicha (pronounced chee-chuh). They were made in identical pairs so that two individuals could drink together. The shape of and images on this qero are interesting visual records of encounter and exchange between Europe and the Americas.

The Inca people of Peru were once part of the largest and most powerful pre-Columbian empire in America. A bloody war of succession and a deadly outbreak of disease, likely of European origin, greatly weakened the empire shortly before the empire fell to Spain. In 1532, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro captured the Inca emperor and seized power. Inca resistance continued in parts of the empire until 1572, but the Spanish ultimately consolidated their authority—and began their efforts to convert their new subjects to Roman Catholicism.

Styles and Design

European styles soon influenced Inca aesthetic traditions. The beaker shape of the qero can be traced back to some of the earliest cultures in Peru—thousands of years before the Inca—but this 17th-century vessel incorporates Spanish elements into its traditional design. The figures—hunters and animals—are drawn from European styles of figure painting, while the geometric stepped pattern of the central band is distinctly Inca.

Who, What, Where, When?

Dutch artist Jan De Heem painted this sumptuous display in Antwerp (present-day Belgium) around 1640-50. The Dutch Republic at this time was Protestant, so most citizens did not decorate their churches with large religious paintings because the use of paintings for devotion was considered idolatrous. Instead, they adorned their homes with portraits, landscapes, and still lifes like this one.

Historians call the late 16th and 17th centuries the Dutch Golden Age, a time of prosperity during which the Dutch Republic was the richest and most successful maritime power in the world. Its ships transported goods from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. They traveled throughout the Americas, to Africa, and beyond. Dutch investors in joint-stock companies grew wealthy through international trading monopolies, especially the ones established in India and Japan. Affluent Dutch merchants and professionals of the Dutch Golden Age commissioned thousands of paintings as a consumer economy developed in the Netherlands.

Representation

The expensive fruits, vegetables, and flowers in De Heem’s composition are from distant places across the world. That may seem normal by today’s standards, but in the 1600s, the acquisition of these items would have been expensive and dependent on the reach of Dutch traders. The objects in this painting were specifically assembled to show the wealth and sophistication of the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age. Like many still-life painters of his time, De Heem often included some form of animal life in his work, such as the African gray parrot seen in this painting.

Not as apparent to a modern audience, 17th-century viewers would have seen another message within the opulence: worldly wealth cannot overcome death and judgment. In this painting, the beautifully detailed watch in the golden case implied that worldly pleasures were fleeting and best enjoyed in moderation.

Who, What, Where, When?

This monumental Buddhist sculpture was made in 14th century Japan of wood with polychrome lacquer, copper, crystal, and glass. Japanese Buddhism was well-established by this time and Japan had dozens of temple complexes, priests, and skilled artisans to craft sculptures, paintings and other regalia that was needed.

One of the world’s major religions, Buddhism reached Japan in 552 A.D., nearly a millennium after it originated in India. It spread first to China and from China to the Korean peninsula. Diplomats from Korea brought images of the Buddha as well as volumes of Buddhist texts to Japan. Most Japanese at the time were practicing Shinto, which was the native religion of Japan and involved ancestor worship, nature spirits and belief in kami, a sacred power of animate an in-animate things. As in Korea and China before, syncretism allowed Buddhist and native traditions and teaching, (Shinto in this case), to co-exist and even blend.

Entities and Imagery

The bejeweled and crowned figure who sits upon the back of an elephant is a bosatsu called Fugen. Bosastus (known as Bodhisattvas in India and China) were compassionate beings who postponed their own enlightenment in order to assist Buddhists through difficulties and lead them to salvation. Fugen was considered a protector of Buddhist law.

Elephants are not indigenous to Japan, China or Korea, and more than likely entered those nations in the form of imported art, including prints and sculpture. Therefore, the representation of the elephant in this sculpture was probably not based on first-hand knowledge of an elephant, but rather, images from other art works from India, China and Korea. This may account for some of the elephant’s peculiar features.

Who, What, Where, When?

Once displayed in Mansion House, the grand home of prominent 18th century Philadelphians Ann and William Bingham, this elaborate piece of furniture has ties to India, England, and the United States. Guests in the Bingham’s home would have considered this drop-front secretary a “curiosity,” but it also evidence of the couple’s sophisticated taste, reflecting the expanding boundaries of American commerce. It was made in Vizagapatam, India and belongs to a body of elaborately detailed furniture intended for the Western market.

The English East India Company was chartered in 1600 to create strong trading relationships with India. Similar companies were founded by the Dutch in 1602 and the French in 1664.

As the volume of trade with Europe increased, Indian craftsmen began to produce goods like this one designed specifically for foreign markets.

Style and Design

Made from Indian sandalwood that is covered with etched ivory panels, the piece blends an English form with Indian materials. The classical broken pediment at the top of the piece can also be found on examples of English and Early American furniture.

Patterns and Motifs

Garlands, trees, flowers and paisleys that decorate the surface derived from a combination of local Indian textiles and Western prints. The little mansion, cottages, temples and bungalows that are depicted my derive from western architectural prints or on models of the town of Vizagapatam itself.

Who, What, Where, When?

This spectacular object is a howdah, a throne-like saddle placed on the back of an elephant. It was made during the era of British crown rule in India (1858–1947) when opulent silver-clad howdahs were popular with the Indian rulers who were recognized as “princes” by the British and allowed to maintain order in their own small states.

Seated high atop an elephant on a mobile throne was the grandest—and safest—way a ruler could move through the throngs during public processions marking coronations, royal birthdays, and other dynastic events. The ruler sat in the front section of the howdah, while attendants in the smaller section at the back held parasols, chauri (wisks), and other royal regalia. State howdahs were often outrageously showy works of art intended to overwhelm, delight, and entertain.

Patterns and Motifs

The ornamentation on this howdah unites Western and Indian motifs. The carefully worked silver features four large leogryphs (lion-like creatures): the two at the front of the howdah battle with a mythical beast and a ferocious fish; the two at the back are shown standing in full roar. Ornate, highly Westernized floral decorations (sprays, creepers, and scrolls) fill the howdah's front, back, and side panels. The front panel features a coat of arms with a monogrammed cartouche (the monogram is not decipherable) flanked by two rampant lions and crowned by a human-faced sun. The symbolism of this heraldic device derives from examples of European coats-of-arms.

Who, What, Where, When?

Probably once used by a high-ranking court official or member of royalty, this object is a stool made by an Akan artist in the 19th or 20th century in what is the modern-day nation of Ghana in Africa.

Once called the Gold Coast, the modern-day country of Ghana, is located on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. This area has long been known for the abundant resources of gold that spurred the development of regional and international trade in European firearms, luxury goods, gold, and enslaved people. The Akan, the largest ethnic group in Ghana today, dominated gold mining and the gold trade between the 15th and 19th centuries.

Style and Design

This Akan official’s stool is made of wood covered in brass sheeting decorated with intricate hammered designs. The stool’s upward curving seat ultimately derives from the original Golden Stool—the Sika Dwa Kofi or “the Friday-born Golden Stool”—of the Asante kingdom. Their Golden Stool, which is traced to the beginning of the 18th century, is venerated as the central symbol of the Akan people.

Representation

The support of the stool is shaped to represent a powder keg and two rifles, perhaps symbolizing the military strength made possible by European firearms, which were exchanged for gold—and captured, enslaved Africans. Flanked by bands of geometric patterns and two pairs of crossed swords, the central field of the seat depicts three captives being led away by captors, whose brimmed hats suggest they are European. Two birds perch on the seat of the stool. Each bird touches its tail with an egg. The egg is a symbol of the future; the tail is a symbol of the past. This image is called “Sankofa,” which means “return and get it.” The juxtaposition of the scene showing the captives and sankofa birds with the powder keg and rifles may suggest that a ruler needs to wield force to guarantee safety. However, given the subtlety of Akan proverbs and symbols, the message may also be that guns and gun powder, in addition to making regional domination possible, were also the source of grief not to be forgotten.

Who, What, Where, When?

Made in Northern India in the 15th or 16th century AD, this fascinating object is testament to the lasting presence of Islam after the Muslim conquest of the region in the 12th century.

At the very center of Islam is the Qur’an which presents the religion’s theological and moral bases. More than any particular content, it is the holy book’s overall potency that is evoked by this object, a talismanic, or magical, shirt inscribed with nearly the entire text of the Qur’an. Such tunics might have been worn to avert illness and to ward off enemies and evil the sacred words functioning to protect wearers from peril.

Patterns and Motifs

Penned in fine black and red ink, the Qur’anic text is organized within square compartments framed by gold margins and small red and blue roundels, as well as in elongated lappets along the bottom of the tunic. Larger roundels containing the name of God (Allah) cover the shoulders. Breast medallions feature the Islamic statement of truth (“There is no god but Allah: Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger”) An elongated cartouche on the back fittingly refers to God as the Protector while the collar, sleeves, sides, and front opening are surrounded by a wide band featuring a number of God’s names in gold script.