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Hannah Draplin
Alec Thomson
History 134
June 10, 2016
Art History: Buddhism and Indian Art
Buddhism is the spiritual path one takes to obtain enlightenment through understanding
of the Four Noble Truths and following the Eightfold Path. It does not worship a god but instead
the teachings of the Buddha. It is one of the main religions of India. As a form of expression,
Indians created pieces of art. While most pieces were inspired by religion, some were not. We
can see how these works of art transformed as time passed as well as how Buddhist art spread
through Asia.
History/origin of Buddhism
Buddhism originated in India in the sixth century and was established by Prince
Siddhartha.1 The origin of Buddhism in India is believed to be adopted as the religion during
Asokas rule over the Mauryan Empire.2 After leading his army in a bloody battle of the
Kingdom of Kalinga, he realized he wasnt a violent leader; instead he wanted to rule through
peace. This is when he converted to Buddhism and then created missions in attempt to spread the
religion through the empire and parts of Asia.
The Aniconic phase
The Aniconic phase was between the fifth century and first century BCE. During this time
period, the art pieces were made to represent Buddhas life through symbols.3 One example of
this type of art were stupas, which were dome-shaped shrines. We did not see Buddha in human

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form yet4. Asoka erected his own stupas throughout the Mauryan Empire to show his devotion to
his religion.
The Iconic phase
Over some time, we see a transformation in the forms of art. The next time period is known as
the Iconic phase from the first century to the present. This is when artwork began to depict
Buddha in human form. The art was more of sculptures and statues that resembled a real-life
being. According to Wikipedia, it was said to be characterized from the start by a realistic
idealism, combining realistic human features, proportions, attitudes and attributes. This created
an image of Buddha for the religion.
The Expansion of Buddhist Art
Across Asia we can see that there were also different forms of art being expanded outside
of India. One of the reasons for the spread of Buddhism across Asia was the trade routes of the
Silk Road.5 Northern Buddhist art extended from central Asia, China, Korea and Japan.6
Southern Buddhist art circulated through Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.7 As we
move across the area we can see that the civilizations all created some sort of art. Mahayana
Buddhism had great influence on the art of the north. Different images and sculptures of Buddha
were created in stucco, schist, or clay. Across Central Asia stupas and monasteries were forms of
art seen in cities along the Silk Road. These were Buddhist sacred places of worship. There is
also evidence of Chinese Serindian art, which consisted of wall paintings and sculptures found in
caves.8
Architecture is another form of art seen in India. The Dynasties of South India began using the
form of Dravidian architecture which were pyramid shaped temples.9 A great example of this is
the Shore Temple. It consists of a large block of stone and Hindu god sculptures. Although this is

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not a Buddhist shrine, it was part of Indian art. It shows us that India had a diversity of religious
beliefs which included: Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism.
Over time we can see that Buddhist works of art changed from aniconic symbols to
iconic showing more human form. There were also differences in the form of Buddhist and
Indian art as we moved across Northern and Southern Asia.

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Endnotes

1 "Buddhism - The Art of Asia." Buddhism. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, n.d. Web. 10 June 2016.
2 "Mauryan Empire of Ancient India." TimeMaps. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2016.
3 See section titled Pre-iconic Phase. "Buddhist Art." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8
June 2016. Web. 10 June 2016.
4 "Buddhist Art." New World Encyclopedia. N.p., 18 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 June 2016.
5 See section titled Northern Buddhist art. "Buddhist Art." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 8 June 2016. Web. 10 June 2016.
6 See section titled Northern Buddhist art. "Buddhist Art." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 8 June 2016. Web. 10 June 2016.
7 See section titled Sothern Buddhist art. "Buddhist Art." New World Encyclopedia. N.p., 18
Jan. 2014. Web. 10 June 2016.
8 See section titled Serindian art. "Buddhist Art." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 June
2016. Web. 10 June 2016.
9 "Indian Art." Wikipedia. N.p., 10 June 2016. Web. 11 June 2016.

Bibliography
"Buddhism - The Art of Asia." Buddhism. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, n.d. Web. 10 June 2016.
This article is about Buddhist art pieces. It is from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts which has a
collection of 80,000 art pieces.
"Buddhist Art." New World Encyclopedia. N.p., 18 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 June 2016.

This article gives facts about the history of Buddhist art. It was written for The New York
Encyclopedia, an informational site filled with thoughtfully written articles supervised by
scholars.
"Buddhist Art." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 June 2016. Web. 10 June 2016.
This article gives facts about Buddhist art. Information is cited from the books: Buddhist
Sculptures of Sri Lanka and The Golden Age of Sculpture in Sri Lanka - Masterpieces of
Buddhist and Hindu Bronzes from Museums in Sri Lanka as well as a few other references and
readings of credible sources.
"Indian Art." Wikipedia. N.p., 10 June 2016. Web. 11 June 2016.
This article gives facts about the history of Indian art. There are multiple
sources and books that are referenced.
"Mauryan Empire of Ancient India." TimeMaps. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2016.
Time Maps is a world history website that specializes in map-based timelines. They have been
around for 70 years. Peter Britton is the head of the history teachers and writers of the site. This
article tells history about Ancient India.