Anna Filigenzi


Art and Landscape

Buddhist Sculptures of late antique Swat/Uḍḍiyāna
with contributions by Luca M. Olivieri and a note by Peter Rockwell



ISBN 978-3-7001-7241-3
Print Edition
ISBN 978-3-7001-7823-1
Online Edition
Denkschriften der phil.-hist. Klasse 462 
2015,  352 Seiten mit zahlr. Abb., broschiert, 29,7x21cm,
€  99,00   
Open access

Anna Filigenzi
is a researcher at the University of Naples “L’Orientale"


Archaeology has long since identified modern-day Swat (North-West Pakistan) with ancient Uḍḍiyāna, known in the past as one of the most sacred lands of Buddhism. The landscape of Swat, indeed, still bears conspicuous traces of this. The profusion and splendour of monuments, which one can still easily imagine based on the ruins, and the luxuriant beauty of the surrounding scenery provide eloquent evidence of the fascination this land held all over the ancient Buddhist world. However, archaeology also reveals that in Swat Buddhism was already on the wane before becoming irrevocably overshadowed by Islam. Against this background, an apparent anomaly is represented by the Buddhist rock sculptures that flourished in the country in the seventh to eighth centuries. Buddha and bodhisattva figures started populating numerous paths leading to Buddhist sacred areas that in most cases were already decayed if not abandoned. Due to their unusual features, poor preservation state and blurred cultural context, these sculptures have long remained almost ignored or at least underestimated. In fact, analytical study – based on nearly two hundred specimens documented over the years by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan – reveals that the artistic value and theoretical foundations of these sculptures are far more refined than we used to believe. Thus they partly fill a void in the history and, moreover, start reducing the distance between the Uḍḍiyāna of the legend and the Uḍḍiyāna of real life, where even long after the advent of Islam Tibetan pilgrims came in search of the holy homeland of Vajrayāna Buddhism and its apostles Indrabhūti and Padmasambhava.


Gedruckt mit Unterstützung des Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF).

Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400
https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: verlag@oeaw.ac.at

Bestellung/Order


Art and Landscape


ISBN 978-3-7001-7241-3
Print Edition
ISBN 978-3-7001-7823-1
Online Edition



Send or fax to your local bookseller or to:

Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2,
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400
https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: bestellung.verlag@oeaw.ac.at
UID-Nr.: ATU 16251605, FN 71839x Handelsgericht Wien, DVR: 0096385

Bitte senden Sie mir
Please send me
 
Exemplar(e) der genannten Publikation
copy(ies) of the publication overleaf


NAME


ADRESSE / ADDRESS


ORT / CITY


LAND / COUNTRY


ZAHLUNGSMETHODE / METHOD OF PAYMENT
    Visa     Euro / Master     American Express


NUMMER

Ablaufdatum / Expiry date:  

    I will send a cheque           Vorausrechnung / Send me a proforma invoice
 
DATUM, UNTERSCHRIFT / DATE, SIGNATURE

BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT, WIEN (IBAN AT04 1100 0006 2280 0100, BIC BKAUATWW), DEUTSCHE BANK MÜNCHEN (IBAN DE16 7007 0024 0238 8270 00, BIC DEUTDEDBMUC)
X
BibTEX-Export:

X
EndNote/Zotero-Export:

X
RIS-Export:

X 
Researchgate-Export (COinS)

Permanent QR-Code


Thema: asian
Anna Filigenzi


Art and Landscape

Buddhist Sculptures of late antique Swat/Uḍḍiyāna
with contributions by Luca M. Olivieri and a note by Peter Rockwell



ISBN 978-3-7001-7241-3
Print Edition
ISBN 978-3-7001-7823-1
Online Edition
Denkschriften der phil.-hist. Klasse 462 
2015,  352 Seiten mit zahlr. Abb., broschiert, 29,7x21cm,
€  99,00   
Open access


Anna Filigenzi
is a researcher at the University of Naples “L’Orientale"


PDF Icon  TABLE OF CONTENTS ()
S.  5 - 8
Open access

Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften


  2015/06/12 07:21:29
Object Identifier:  0xc1aa5572 0x0032422e
.

Archaeology has long since identified modern-day Swat (North-West Pakistan) with ancient Uḍḍiyāna, known in the past as one of the most sacred lands of Buddhism. The landscape of Swat, indeed, still bears conspicuous traces of this. The profusion and splendour of monuments, which one can still easily imagine based on the ruins, and the luxuriant beauty of the surrounding scenery provide eloquent evidence of the fascination this land held all over the ancient Buddhist world. However, archaeology also reveals that in Swat Buddhism was already on the wane before becoming irrevocably overshadowed by Islam. Against this background, an apparent anomaly is represented by the Buddhist rock sculptures that flourished in the country in the seventh to eighth centuries. Buddha and bodhisattva figures started populating numerous paths leading to Buddhist sacred areas that in most cases were already decayed if not abandoned. Due to their unusual features, poor preservation state and blurred cultural context, these sculptures have long remained almost ignored or at least underestimated. In fact, analytical study – based on nearly two hundred specimens documented over the years by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan – reveals that the artistic value and theoretical foundations of these sculptures are far more refined than we used to believe. Thus they partly fill a void in the history and, moreover, start reducing the distance between the Uḍḍiyāna of the legend and the Uḍḍiyāna of real life, where even long after the advent of Islam Tibetan pilgrims came in search of the holy homeland of Vajrayāna Buddhism and its apostles Indrabhūti and Padmasambhava.


Gedruckt mit Unterstützung des Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF).



Inhaltsverzeichnisse und Leseproben sind frei zugänglich. Tables of Contents and Reading examples are freely accessible.
Vergessen Sie nicht das Login am Server, wenn Sie auf Kapitel zugreifen wollen, die nicht allgemein zugänglich sind.
Links zu diesen Dokumenten werden erst nach dem Login sichtbar.
Do not forget to Login on the server if you want to access chapters that are not freely accessible.
Links to these documents will only be visible after logon.

Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400
https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: verlag@oeaw.ac.at