Sacred Objects in Secular Spaces: Exhibiting Asian Religions in Museums

205 Pages·2015·5.917 MB·English

by  Bruce M. Sullivan (editor)

List of Illustrations Printed
in this Volume
1 Decorated Somaskanda (Sundareshvara), Avani Mula Festival, Minakshi-
Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai, India. (© 2007, Richard H. Davis)
2 Shiva with Uma and Skanda (Somaskanda), 950– 975 CE, Sivapuram, India.
Photo courtesy Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA.
3 The signature object for the CMA exhibition, a replica of the image
worshipped inside the Kalighat temple. T he Goddess Kali , 1800s. India,
Calcutta, Kalighat painting, nineteenth century. Black ink, watercolor, and tin
paint on paper; 45.9 ! 28.0 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William
E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward, 2003.110.
4 Yoga class in a gallery during the exhibition Y OGA: The Art of Transformation ,
with a 1938 fi lm featuring Krishnamacharya and Iyengar in the background.
Courtesy of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
5 Yoga in the South and Southeast Asia Gallery, with a seventh-century Vishnu
statue in the background. Courtesy of the Crow Collection of Asian Art.
6 MC Yogi performing at Y OGA: The Art of Transformation opening party, 2014,
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Image © Quincy Stamper. Courtesy of
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
7 Historical weapons at Paonta Sahib Gurdwara. Photo by Anne Murphy.
8 This plaque outside Takhat Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur describes the objects
that were repatriated from the United Kingdom. Photo by Anne Murphy.
9 The family of Buta Singh displays the objects for visitors. Photo by Anne
Murphy.
10 Room 20, “ India, ” showing black introductory panel to whole gallery (left
nearest) and introduction to life of the Buddha (black panel left furthest). To
right of central opening religious theme panel in white letters printed directly
on the wall. Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum.
11 General view of Room 19 (India and Himalayas) showing Tibetan Buddha and
Nepalese Tara fi gures. Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum.
12 Room 18, “ Southeast Asia,” showing plaster casts of reliefs at Borobudur
and Buddha’ s shrine from the Mandalay Palace. Courtesy of Victoria & Albert
Museum.
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13 E nter the Mandala exhibition gallery. Photo by Jeff Durham. Courtesy of Asian
Art Museum, San Francisco.
14 The cosmic Buddha Vairochana, approx. 1300; Tibet; colors on cotton.
Museum purchase, City Arts Fund, 1991.1. The multicolored lines constitute
a “ pointed shrine” ( kutagara ) made from the colors attributed to the Five
Buddhas. Screen shot from Asian Art Museum interactive display. Courtesy of
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
15 Shakyamuni Touches the Earth. The Buddha Shakyamuni with Sixteen
Buddhist Arhats, 1600– 1700; Tibet. Colors on cotton. The Avery Brundage
Collection, B62D31. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
16 Burmese Mahabodhi Plaque. Votive tablet with seated Buddha fl anked by
kneeling worshippers, approx. 1100; Myanmar. Terra-cotta. Gift of Mr. Johnson
S. Bogart, 2011.49. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
17 Vairochana Sculpture. Crowned Buddha in niche, a fragment of a votive stupa;
approx. 1000 – 1100, Pala period; Bihar state, India. Stone. The Avery Brundage
Collection, B60S86" . Courtesy of Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
18 The Buddhist deity Green Tara, 1200– 1300; Tangut empire, China. Slit-silk
tapestry (k esi ). museum purchase, City Arts Trust Fund, 1992.59. Courtesy of
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
19 Svayambhu Stupa, 1700– 1800; Nepal. Gilded copper. The Avery Brundage
Collection, B60B212. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
20 Buddhist Divinity; German, ca. 1710– 20; Porcelain (Meissen Manufactory).
H. 3 7/ in (9.8 cm). The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of
8
Emma A. Shaefer, 1973 (1974.356.506) © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
21 Buddhist Monk Budai. China, Qing dynasty (1644– 1911), seventeenth
century. Porcelain (Fujian Province, Dehua ware). H. 6¾ in (18.4 cm).
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 (32.100.422).
©  The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
22 Portable shrine with Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in Water-Moon manifestation
(Japanese: Byakue Kannon). Japan, Edo period (1615– 1868), nineteenth
century. H. 7½ in. (19.1 cm). Bequest of Stephen Whitney Phoenix, 1991
(81.1.166) © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
23 Bodhisattva, probably Maitreya. Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara), ca.
third century. H. 23 ¼ in. (59.1 cm). Schist. Rogers Fund, 1913 (13.96.16)
©  The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
24 View of Gallery 208 showing dry lacquer sculpture of Buddha Amitabha.
©  The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
25 Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in the Water-Moon manifestation. Korea, Goryeo
dynasty (918– 1392), fi rst half of the fourteenth century. Ink and color on
silk. 45 1/ ! 21 7/ in. (114.5 ! 55.6 cm). Charles Stewart Smith Collection,
16 8
Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard
Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914 (14.76.6). © The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
viii List of Illustrations Printed in this Volume
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26 Archival photograph, detail of 1938 exhibition C hinese Bronzes from American
Collections . © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
27 Archival photograph, detail of 1959 special exhibition A n Aristocracy of
Robes . © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
28 View of gallery 206. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
29 View of gallery 251 with D issected Buddha by Gonkar Gyatso . © The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
30 Pair of bowls with Buddha and Tibetan script, China, Qing dynasty (1644– 1 911),
nineteenth to early twentieth century. Jadeite. Crow Collection of Asian Art,
1988.54 (Courtesy of the Crow Collection of Asian Art 2013).
31 3-D Mapping Cultures, Tibet exhibition mapped landscape (photo by Ivette
Vargas-O’ Bryan 2013).
32 Six-armed Mahakala (Nag po chen po), Tibet, late nineteenth century. Bronze.
Crow Collection of Asian Art, L2011.86 (Courtesy of the Crow Collection of
Asian Art 2013).
33 Artist unknown, Japan. K esa , mantle for a Buddhist priest, nineteenth
century; slit tapestry weave (kesa), [k ’ o-ssu] type. 80 ! 45 in. (203.2 !
114.3 cm). Collection of Phoenix Art Museum. Gift of Helen Wilson Sherman
(1991.123).
34 Artist unknown, Sri Lanka. Buddha’ s Footprint (Buddhapada), eighteenth
century; opaque watercolor on cloth. Framed: 89 ! 45 ! 7/ in. (226.1 !
8
114.3 ! 2.2 cm); 81 ¼ ! 38 ½ in. (206.4 ! 97.8 cm). Collection of Phoenix
Art Museum. Gift of Barry Fernando MD and Coleene Fernando MD in honor
of the museum’ s 50th Anniversary. (2008.265).
35 Artist unknown, China. Large square panel with crossed vajras, eight
auspicious emblems, lotus blossoms, and other Buddhist symbols.
Ming Dynasty silk lampas; red silk ground of dyed yarns in 2/ twill weave,
1
interwoven in tabby weave with gold-colored silk yarns. 36¼ ! 3611/16 inches
(92 ! 93.1 cm); framed 43 ! 43 inches (109.2 ! 109.2 cm). Collection of
Phoenix Art Museum. Gift of Amy S. Clague (2005.152).
36 St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Buddha and bodhisattva
statues and stained-glass windows; photo by Charles D. Orzech, reproduced
courtesy of Glasgow Museums.
37 St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Shiva Nataraja beside stained-
glass window; photo by Charles D. Orzech, reproduced courtesy of Glasgow
Museums.
38 St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Zen rock garden with Catholic
cathedral in background and a clootie tree in foreground; photo by Charles D.
Orzech, reproduced courtesy of Glasgow Museums.
39 Durga from Bengal, probably about 1840 (British Museum 1845,1105.1);
courtesy of the British Museum.
40 Inscription from the Firuz Minar at Gaur, fi fteenth century (British Museum
1826,0708.1); courtesy of the British Museum.
List of Illustrations Printed in this Volume ix
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List of Illustrations Available to View
Online at Bloomsbury.com
( http://www.bloomsbury.com /sacred-objects-
in-secular-spaces-9781472590800/ )
41 Asian galleries (with Sivapuram Somaskanda on left), Norton Simon Museum,
Pasadena, CA (© 2004, Richard H. Davis).
42 Kali image on the title wall of the exhibition I ndian Kalighat Paintings ,
photograph © The Cleveland Museum of Art.
43 Advertising billboard for the exhibition on a commuter feeder to downtown
Cleveland. The Goddess Kali , 1800s. India, Calcutta, Kalighat painting,
nineteenth century. Black ink, watercolor, and tin paint on paper; 45.9 !
28.0 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William E. Ward in memory of
his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward, 2003.110.
44 Yoga in the South and Southeast Asia Gallery, with a seventh-century Vishnu
statue in the background. Courtesy of the Crow Collection of Asian Art.
45 Yoga in the South and Southeast Asia Gallery before portion of a building:
Upper Floors of the Faç a de of a Haveli or Private Palace; North India,
Rajasthan, Mughal period (1526– 1756), eighteenth century. Red sandstone,
carved with relief panels and pierced stonework (j ali technique); 144 !
336 !  18 in. (365.8 ! 853.4 ! 45.7 cm). (1984.31). Courtesy of the Crow
Collection of Asian Art.
46 MC Yogi singing (with his wife Amanda to his right) at Y OGA: The Art of
Transformation opening party, 2014, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
Image © Quincy Stamper. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
47 Internal space of the Guru Nanak Sikh Museum, Leicester. Photo by Anne
Murphy.
48 These murals on the external face of the center at Bagrian portray the
historical objects related to the l angar that are kept at the site. Photo by Anne
Murphy.
49 Iron skillet (t awa ) that is maintained in association with the historical langar.
Photo by Anne Murphy.
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50 Gurchet Singh, who led the family in 2002, is pictured here with the Rath. His
son Boota Singh now leads the family as caretaker of the site and the family’ s
objects. Photo by Anne Murphy.
51 Bhai Boota Singh of the Bhai Rupa family stands with the objects that he
brought from India at the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar (Surrey, BC).
Photo by Anne Murphy.
52 Objects were displayed with short captions. Photo by Anne Murphy.
53 Plan of Victoria & Albert Museum ground fl oor showing in yellow highlights
Rooms 17 – 20 (large rectangle) and Gallery 47f (small rectangle). Courtesy of
Victoria & Albert Museum.
54 Room 19 panels. Left: religious theme panel in white lettering on blue wall.
Right: historical and geographical information on the area white lettering on
black Corian® panel. Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum.
55 The cosmic Buddha Vairochana, approx. 1300; Tibet; Colors on cotton.
Museum purchase, City Arts Fund, 1991.1. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum,
San Francisco.
56 The cosmic Buddha Ratnasambhava, approx. 1300; Tibet; Colors on cotton.
Museum purchase, City Arts Fund, 1991.2. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum,
San Francisco.
57 The cosmic Buddha Amoghasiddhi, approx. 1300; Tibet; Colors on cotton.
Museum purchase, City Arts Fund, 1991.3 Courtesy of Asian Art Museum,
San Francisco.
58 Plaque with scenes of the life of the Buddha, 1000– 1200; Bihar state, India.
Pyrophyllite. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. David Buchanan, 2010.330. Courtesy of
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
59 Taima mandara, 1300– 1400; Japan. Ink, colors, and gold on silk. The Avery
Brundage Collection, B61D11" . Courtesy of Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
60 The cosmic Buddha Vairochana, 1100– 1200; Tibet. Colors on cotton.
Acquisition made possible by the Avery Brundage estate, Sharon Bacon,
Mona J. Bolcom, Dr. Edward P. Gerber, Jane R. Lurie, Margaret Polak,
Therese and Richard Schoofs, Dr. and Mrs. William Wedemeyer, and
anonymous friends of the Asian Art Museum, 1992.58. Courtesy of Asian Art
Museum, San Francisco.
61 Screenshot of collaborators on the “ M apping Cultures, Tibet” project; photo
by Jessica Nikasio, 2013.
62 Students from “ M apping Cultures, Tibet” with CCAA director of education
Karin Oen; photo by Kasumi Chow, 2013.
63 “ Mapping Cultures, Tibet” project layout in the Crow Collection’ s Exhibition
Taking Shape: Fresh Perspectives on Asian Bronzes , spring 2013 (Courtesy
of Agathe Dupart, the Crow Collection of Asian Art 2013).
64 Avalokiteshvara (Spyan ras gzigs), Sino-Tibetan culture, eighteenth century.
Bronze. Crow Collection of Asian Art, 1985.7 (Courtesy of the Crow Collection
of Asian Art 2013).
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65 Ganesha (Ganapati, Tsog gi dag po), India, eighteenth— nineteenth century.
Bronze. Crow Collection of Asian Art, 1982.50 (Courtesy of the Crow
Collection of Asian Art 2013).
66 Ganesha 3-D (photo by Isaac Cirlin 2013).
67 Mahakala 3-D (photo by Isaac Cirlin 2013).
68 Mahakala 3-D close-up from computer screen (photo by Isaac Cirlin 2013).
69 Artist unknown, Tibeto-Chinese t hangka : Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara
in Cosmic Form, 1800– 25; ink, color, and gold on cotton. 12½ ! 9 ½ in.
(31.8 !  24.1 cm). Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of William Henry
Storms. (1988.47.)
70 Artist unknown, Sri Lanka, standing Buddha, solid-cast gilt bronze. 22 3/
8
! 5 15/16 ! 5 15/16 in. (56.8 ! 15.1 ! 15.1 cm). Base: 3 ! 6 ! 6 in. (7.6 !
15.2 ! 15.2 cm); 19 ! 7 ! 3 3/ 8 in. (48.3 ! 17.8 ! 8.6 cm). Collection of
Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Barry Fernando MD and Coleene Fernando MD.
(2008.264.A –B .)
71 Artist unknown, Burma, gilded wood Buddha shrine, nineteenth century;
painted and gilded wood and lacquer with colored and mirrored glass.
27  !  32 in. (68.6 ! 81.3 cm). Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Anonymous
gift. (2008.323.)
72 Artist unknown, India, painted Hindu manuscript cover, eighteenth century;
painted wood. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Ms. Amy S. Clague
in honor of the museum’ s 50th anniversary (2008.329.TMS2).
73 Artist unknown, volume from a Chinese Q ur’ a n (Juz II), 1700s; multicolored
ink on paper. Lent by Collection of James and Ana Melikian. (L390.2010.)
74 Durga from Bengal (probably about 1840) in conservation. (British Museum
1845,1105.1); courtesy of the British Museum.
75 Display case showing the display of Southeast Asian objects. The label reads:
“ Objects Illustrating Buddhism in Burmah. The religion was introduced in
its purer form from Ceylon into Burmah in the 5th and into Siam in the 7th
century AD.” (Department of Asia Collection Records; courtesy of the British
Museum).
76 Europa, found in Crete and acquired by the British Museum in 1862. (British
Museum 1862,0201.1); courtesy of the British Museum.
77 Marble group of Europa, as restored from eight fragments. The head, arms,
and feet of Europa and the forelegs and part of the right hind leg of the bull
are lost. (British Museum 1862,0201.1); courtesy of the British Museum.
78 F iruz Minar at Gaur , hand-colored etching by W. Baillie, between 1752 and
1799. (British Museum 1878,0713.4553); courtesy of the British Museum.
xii List of Illustrations Available to View Online at Bloomsbury.com
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Notes on Contributors
Janet Baker (PhD in Art History, University of Kansas), Curator of Asian Art, Phoenix
Art Museum. She organized, edited, and contributed to S acred Word and Image:
Five World Religions (2012) and G uardian of the Flame: Art of Sri Lanka (2003),
and contributed to A Tradition Redefi ned: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Ink
Paintings from the Chu-tsing Li Collection, 1950-2000 (2008). She also organized
Quiet Rage, Gentle Wail: Prints and Masks from Japan’ s Noh Theatre (2014), and has
produced Phoenix Art Museum’ s two electronic publications to date.
John Clarke (PhD in Art History, SOAS, University of London), Curator of the
Himalayan and Southeast Asian collections in the Asian Department of the Victoria &
Albert Museum. He is the author of J ewellery of Tibet and the Himalayas (2004) and
Tibet: Caught in Time (1997), and numerous articles on the arts of Tibet.
Richard H. Davis (PhD in South Asian Languages & Civilization, The University
of Chicago), Professor, Religion and Asian Studies, Bard College. He is the
author of Lives of Indian Images (1997), G ods in Print: Masterpieces of India ’ s
Mythological Art (2012), The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography (2014), Ritual in an
Oscillating Universe: Worshiping Siva in Medieval India (1991), I mages, Miracles,
and Authority in Asian Religious Traditions (1998), and other works, including
chapters in W hat’ s the Use of Art? and The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola
Bronzes from South India.
Jeff Durham (PhD in Religious Studies, University of Virginia), assistant Curator of
Himalayan Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. He is the author of a chapter in
Phantoms of Asia (2012), and an article in the journal L otus Leaves .
Denise Patry Leidy (PhD in Art History, Columbia University), Curator of Asian Art,
Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is the author of T he Art of Buddhism: An Introduction
to Its History and Meaning (2009), and T reasures of Asian Art: The Asia Society’ s
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection (1994), and coauthor of M andala:
The Architecture of Enlightenment (2000), W isdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and
Daoist Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2012), S illa: Korea’ s Golden
Kingdom (2013), and other works. Dr. Leidy serves on the editorial boards of T he
Metropolitan Museum Journal and Arts of Asia.
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Anne Murphy   (PhD, Columbia University), associate Professor in the Department
of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, works on the cultural and
religious history of Punjab. She is the author of T he Materiality of the Past: History
and Representation in Sikh Tradition (2012), chapters in  Teaching Religion and
Violence   (2012), and T he Punjab Reader   (2012); and articles in  Journal of the
American Academy of Religion ,  Sikh Formations , and H istory and Theory ; she
edited   the   volume  Time, History, and the Religious Imaginary in South Asia (2011).
Charles D. Orzech (PhD in History of Religions, The University of Chicago), Reader
in Religion, Confl ict & Transition, School of Critical Studies, University of Glasgow.
He is the author of P olitics and Transcendent Wisdom: The Scripture for “ H umane
Kings” in the Creation of Chinese Buddhism (1998), contributor to and General Editor
of E soteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia (2010), and author of chapters
in B uddhism in Practice , T antra in Practice , and Religions of China in Practice , and
articles in C ahiers d’ Extr êm e-Asie , History of Religions , and other journals.
Deepak Sarma (PhD, Philosophy of Religion, The University of Chicago), Professor
of Religious Studies, Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of An
Introduction to Madhva Vedanta (2003), E pistemologies and the Limitations of
Philosophical Inquiry: Doctrine in Madhva Vedanta (2004), H induism: A Reader (2007),
Classical Indian Philosophy: A Reader (2011), and other works, including articles in
Brill ’ s Encyclopedia of Hinduism , M ethod and Theory in the Study of Religion , J ournal
of the American Academy of Religion , and other journals. Dr. Sarma was a guest
Curator at the Cleveland Museum of Art (2011).
Bruce M. Sullivan (PhD in South Asian Languages & Civilization, and History of
Religions, The University of Chicago), Professor, Comparative Study of Religions &
Asian Studies, Northern Arizona University. He is the author of K rsna Dvaipayana
Vyasa and the Mahabharata: A New Interpretation (1990), two volumes of Sanskrit
drama translations and studies (1995 and 2001, with coauthor N. P. Unni), and
Historical Dictionary of Hinduism (1997), as well as articles in Journal of the American
Academy of Religion , Asian Theater Journal , J ournal of Hindu Studies , I mplicit
Religion , and other journals.
Ivette M. Vargas-O’ Bryan (PhD in the Study of Religion, Harvard University),
Associate Professor, Religious Studies, Austin College. She is the coauthor of
Disease, Religion and Healing in Asia: Collaborations and Collisions (2015), and
author of articles in J ournal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies and
Religions of South Asia , and chapters in edited volumes on Tibetan Buddhist religious
and medical traditions.
xiv Notes on Contributors
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Michael Willis (PhD in Art History, The University of Chicago), Curator of early
South Asian and Himalayan collections, The British Museum. He is the author of T he
Archaeology of Hindu Ritual: Temples and the Establishment of the Gods (2009),
Buddhist Reliquaries from Ancient India (2000), T ibet: Life, Myth and Art (1999), and
other works, including articles in S outh Asian Studies and J ournal of the Royal Asiatic
Society , and two edited volumes.
Notes on Contributors xv
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