The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org); Andrea K. Scott (newyorker.com, May 22, 2023); CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, Wiki edit
Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India at The Met
Ancient Sumerian story |
- Fifth Avenue, Gallery 999
- Upcoming: July 21-Nov. 13, 2023
- The Met (free with museum admission)
Sublime imagery adorned the most ancient monumental religious structures in ancient India, known as stupas [Central and North Asian burial mounds].
The stupa housed the relics [sariras, unique crystallizations left in the cremation ashes of fully enlightened beings] of the Buddha and also honored him through symbolic representations and visual storytelling.
Original relics and reliquaries are at the heart of this exhibition, which culminates with the Buddha image itself.
"Dragons" are a worldwide phenomenon |
With major loans from a dozen lenders across [modern] India, as well as from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, it transports visitors into the world of early Buddhist imagery that gave expression to this new religion as it grew from a core set of ethical teachings into one of the world’s great religions.
Objects associated with Indo-Roman exchange reveal India’s place in early global trade.
The exhibition showcases objects in various media, including limestone sculptures, gold, silver, bronze, rock crystal, and ivory.
Highlights include spectacular sculptures from southern India — newly discovered and never before publicly exhibited masterpieces — that add to the world canon of early Buddhist art.
The exhibition is made possible by Reliance Industries Limited, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global, and the Fred Eychaner Fund.
These are sariras or funerary "relics." |
The symposium is made possible by the Fred Eychaner Fund.
The catalogue is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Publications.
Additional support is provided by Albion Art Co., Ltd. More
Trees & Serpents at The Met
Andrea K. Scott, The New Yorker (newyorker.com)
First The New Yorker starts talking seriously about UFOs, and now it's reptilians. |
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Just as flowers take root in graveyards...Ages before the invention of mindfulness apps, Buddhism was born at the base of a tree, in northern [Bihar, in future] India, where a [former] prince sat down to meditate and — [one time by a pond during a rainstorm while meditating came] under the protection of a seven-headed snake [a shapeshifting royal naga named Mucalinda*] — [after he had already] reached enlightenment [previously under a Ficus religiosa tree at another location].“Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE–400 CE,” at The Met, revisits the first 600 years of artistic response to the tradition, through more than 125 objects, including recent finds from ancient Buddhist monastic sites. (Opens July 21.) ♦
Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edits
Graciously, King Mucalinda gives shelter to the Buddha from the storm by covering the Buddha's head with [by shapeshifting into a massive cobra with] seven heads [20]. The king then takes the form of a young Brahmin and pays homage to the Buddha [20].
Why did Europeans worship dragons/nagas? |
In Tibetan Buddhism, nagas are known as klu or klu-mo [sea serpents]. They are associated with water and cleanliness, as they live in oceans, rivers, lakes, and springs, and do not want their environments to be disturbed or polluted [22].
The two chief male disciples [corresponding to his two chief female monastic disciples Ven. Khema and Uppalavana] of the Buddha, Ven. Sariputta and Ven. Moggallāna are both referred to as mahā-nāga or "great nāga" [23].
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