FONDUKISTAN ~ A GRECOBUDDHIST MONUMENT IN AFGHANISTAN

Fondukistan is a Buddhist site in the Ghorband valley (Parvan province, Afghanistan), c. 120 km north-west of Kabul. It is located on the top of a hill overlooking the valley from the south, a bit north of the route that passed through the Hindu Kush, and connected India to Bactria and Central Asia in the past.

Although coins found at the site of Fondukistan had been recorded  since the first half of the 19th century, the first archaeological expedition there was conducted in 936, by Joseph Hackin of the Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan. A year later, Jean Carl (also a member of the Délégation) conducted limited excavations on the site. However limited,the archaeologists discovered stunning artifacts.The results were summarized in a short paper published by Hackin (1959).

 Only a small part of the structures have been excavated so far; a temple and an adjoining building connected to it by a vaulted passage. The latter structure, built of adobe, consists of numerous cells, congregation halls for the Buddhist community saṅgha, and other rooms. There have been do detailed publishings about the site.

The overall building plan of the square temple has not as yet been determined. Hackin assumed that it was a vaulted hall; according to others it was a domed structure (Rowland, 1961); a third opinion holds that it was an open courtyard (Tarzi). Judging by the photographs published by Hackin, the sides of the temple must have been ca. 8 to 10 meters long. Its walls—not very thick and with deep niches—were obviously not built to support the weight of a large dome. Most likely the temple was indeed an enormous courtyard, with a square stupa in the middle. The stupa had a two-tier foundation, with pilasters along each ledge. On the upper ledge, above the pilasters, there were trapezium-shaped arches, which framed another row of pilasters. The massive cylindrical drum was also decorated with small arches and pilasters.

In the walls of the temple there are 12 deep niches, 3 on each side, covered by elliptical vaults. The 5 gateway arches are supported by pilasters with corinthian-style capitals, and the archivolts of the gateway niches are trimmed with wide strips of carved-scroll ornamentation. The walls and the vaults of the niches are decorated with magnificent frescoes. In niche E there is an image of Maitreya Buddha seated cross-legged on a throne. His head is inclined over his right shoulder; in his right hand he is holding up a blue lotus flower and in his lowered left hand a Brahman water flask. The Boddhisattva is richly bejeweled, wearing a diadem, earrings, bracelets, etc. The frescoes in another niche depict the sun god and the moon god. Each niche was a shrine holding an ensemble of clay sculptures built up around a wooden lattice or armature. Some sculptures were depicted in full length, others as torsos. These figures of Buddhas, Boddhisattvas, devata, princes, princesses, etc. are true masterpieces of Buddhist art, striking images, remarkable for their vivid polychromy.

Both sculptures and frescoes exude warmth and breathing, depicting elegant little curvatures of the body and flower-like gestures of the hands, as if capturing for eternity the complex movements of a dance. The genesis of this art form can be traced back to the art of Gandhāra and the Guptas. 

The Fondukistan site is usually dated to the 7th century C.E. on the evidence of artistic style and numismatic finds, the oldest of which is from 689 C.E. However, the shape and the decorations of the stupa suggest that the complex can be dated even earlier, around 6th-7th century C.E.

EDITED FROM: Encyclopedia Iranica

SERINDIAN ART ~ GREEK INFLUENCE IN CHINA

The art of the Tarim Basin- also called Serindian art.

Serindian art is the art that developed from the 2nd through the 11th century C.E. in Serindia or Xinjiang, the western region of China that forms part of Central Asia.

It derives from the Greco-Buddhist art of the Gandhara district of what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan. Gandharan sculpture combined Indian traditions with Greek influences. Greek-influenced culture was most probably in existence prior to Alexander the Great's invasions, Afghanistan natives retained this influence which was lost in Greece.

The arts of China, Korea and Japan adopted Greco-Buddhist artistic influences, but tended to add many local elements as well.The characteristics that remain most readily identifiable from Greco-Buddhist art are the following:
The general idealistic realism of the figures, reminiscent of Greek art.
Clothing elements with elaborate Greek-style folds.
The curly hairstyle, characteristic of the Mediterranean.
The hovering winged figures holding a wreath, which appear in some Buddhist representations.
Greek sculptural elements such as vines and floral scrolls.

Greco-Buddhist artistic elements can be traced in Chinese Buddhist art, with several local and temporal variations depending on the character of the various dynasties that adopted the Buddhist faith. Some of the earliest known Buddhist artifacts found in China are small statues on "money trees", dated circa 200 CE, in typical Gandharan style (drawing): "That the imported images accompanying the newly arrived doctrine came from Gandhara is strongly suggested by such early Gandhara characteristics on this "money tree" Buddha as the high ushnisha, vertical arrangement of the hair, moustache, symmetrically looped robe and parallel incisions for the folds of the arms." ( "Crossroads of Asia" p.209 )

Some Northern Wei statues can be quite reminiscent of Gandharan standing Buddha, although in a slightly more symbolic style. The general attitude and rendering of the dress, however, remain. Others, like the Northern Qi Dynasty statues, also maintain the general Greco-Buddhist style, but with less realism and stronger symbolic elements.

Moreover, some Eastern Wei statues display Buddhas with elaborate Greek-style robe foldings, and surmounted by flying figures holding a wreath.

SERINDIAN ART ~ GREEK INFLUENCE IN JAPAN

In Japan, Buddhist art started to develop as the country converted to Buddhism in 548 CE. Some tiles from the Asuka period, the first period following the conversion of the country to Buddhism, display a strikingly classical style, with ample Hellenistic dress and realistically-rendered body shape, characteristic of Greco-Buddhist art.



Other works of art incorporated a variety of Chinese and Korean influences, so that Japanese Buddhist art became extremely varied in its expression. Many elements of Greco-Buddhist art remain to this day however, such as the Heracles inspiration behind the Nio guardian deities in front of Japanese Buddhist temples, or representations of the Buddha reminiscent of Greek art such as the Buddha in Kamakura .

Various other Greco-Buddhist artistic influences can be found in the Japanese Buddhist pantheon, the most striking of which being that of the Japanese wind god Fujin.

 In consistency with Greek iconography for the wind God Boreas, the Japanese wind god holds a draping or "wind bag" with his two hands, above his head, in the same general attitude. The abundance of hair has been kept in the Japanese rendering, as well as exaggerated facial features.

Another Buddhist deity, named Shukongoshin, one of the wrath-filled protector deities of Buddhist temples in Japan, is also an interesting case of transmission of the image of the famous Greek God Heracles to the Far-East along the Silk Road. Heracles was used in Greco-Buddhist art to represent Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha, and his representation was then used in China and Japan to depict the protector gods of Buddhist temples .

Finally, the artistic inspiration from Greek floral scrolls is found quite literally in the decoration of Japanese roof tiles, one of the only remaining element of wooden architecture throughout centuries. The clearest ones are from 7th century Nara temple building tiles, some of them exactly depicting vines and grapes. These motifs have evolved towards more symbolic representations, but essentially remain to this day in many Japanese traditional buildings .