![]() ![]() 12 Based on these considerations, she interprets almost all sets of large buddha figures in the caves of the various monastic sites of Kuča as linked to the Great Miracle of Śrāvastī thus, they have to be regarded as emanations of Buddha Śākyamuni. 11 Howard suggests that these additional figures are auxiliary buddhas who are extensions of the Great Miracle of Śrāvastī and cannot, therefore, be considered as independent iconographical units. 10 In addition to these main figures, there are 13 or 14 different buddha images, almost life-size, painted on the walls of the corridors and one on each side of the entrance of the cave. mahāprātihārya) in which the Buddha emanates countless replicas of himself from his body (Skt. 9 Her analysis is based on the assumption that two of the buddhas depicted in Kızıl Cave 123 ( Höhle mit den ringtragenden Tauben, Cave of Ring-bearing Doves)-both more than three metres tall, opposite each other on the side walls of the cave’s main chamber, and endowed with mandorlas containing numerous small buddha figures-represent the Great Miracle of Śrāvastī (Skt. 2.2).Ģ Previous Interpretations of the Series of Large Buddha Figures in the Art of KučaĪngela Howard provides an explanation for the presence of the series of buddha figures in the caves of Kuča. 6 Kızıl Cave 163 is an example of this (fig. 5 In contrast, there are 13 caves in which the representation of the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa is combined with depictions of multiple large standing buddhas rather than paintings related to the Buddha’s death. This standard pictorial programme appears in 64 caves in Kuča. ![]() The corridors sometimes also feature rows of donor figures in addition to the scenes and rows of stūpas mentioned above. The wall paintings of the side corridors depict either scenes that occurred shortly before or after the Buddha’s death-such as the Buddha’s miraculous creation of a river that prevented the people of Vaiśālī from following the Buddha on his way to the place of his death, Kuśinagara, 4 the cremation of the Buddha’s body and the distribution of the relics-or rows of stūpas that contain small reliquaries or buddha figures. The Buddha’s parinirvāṇa itself is shown in the rear corridor or chamber. The rear part of the cave is decorated with representations of the Buddha’s death and his entry into parinirvāṇa. jātaka) or the meritorious deeds of individuals. The side walls of the main chamber are decorated with scenes of the Buddha’s sermons, while the barrel vault shows scenes of various Buddhist legends, mainly events from the Buddha’s previous lives (Skt. The ‘central pillar caves’ generally feature a uniform pictorial programme. As far as can be discerned from their accompanying figure, the individual buddhas in a series are buddhas of the past. The accompanying figure thus serves as an iconographic element for the identification of the respective buddha. As in the sculptural art of Greater Gandhāra, the series of buddhas in the Kuča paintings are arranged to be passed during the ritual circumambulation.Ī unique feature of the large-scale buddha figures in series from Kuča is that they are often accompanied by a smaller figure offering a specific donation to the buddha, and thereby alluding to a certain Buddhist narrative. The series of buddhas in Kuča’s painting are reminiscent, both compositionally and stylistically, of the sets of multiple large buddha sculptures that appeared in the art of Greater Gandhāra in the early 5th century and were most likely adopted from these locations. As it has not been satisfactorily analysed so far, this paper examines the manner in which it was developed and the reason for its development. According to its position in the cave and its size, this motif was of particular importance. One of the pictorial motifs recurring in the painted Buddhist caves in the area of Kuča on the Northern Silk Road is rows of large standing buddha figures occupying the entire height of the wall.
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