Govt plans to preserve Buddhist caves - The Times of India

GANDHINAGAR: The state government is busy readying a master plan to preserve the Khambhalida caves. This is part of an initiative designed to give due importance to Buddhist destinations in the tourism circuit.

The government, in reply to a question posed by Jodiya MLA Raghavji Patel, said on Tuesday that there are places of Buddhist importance in Siyot in Kutch, Ranpur in Jamnagar, Sana, Junagadh, Prabhas Patan, Savnigiri in Junagadh district, Khambhalida in Rajkot, jajpur in Bharuch district. Apart from the Khambhalida plan, the government plans to spend Rs 43.4 lakh for the caves in Rajkot.

Officials said there are three caves in Khambhalida, the central one being a 'chaitya' with a worn-out stupa. The entrance of the 'chaitya' is flanked by two large sculptures of the Bodhisatvas-Padmapani on the right and Vajrapani on the left. These caves dates back to 4th-5th century AD and are scooped out from the local limestone rock.

The Siyot caves in Lakhpat of Kutch districts date back to first century AD. They have an east-facing sanctum and an ambulatory. Siyot must have been one of the 80 monastic sites that the 7th century Chinese travellers reported at the mouth of Indus river. The government said that it has been spending over Rs 1 lakh for the maintenance of these caves.

Prof claims to have discovered clinching evidence | Annigeri, the department of Kannada of Karnatak University (Dharwad) | - The Times of India

HUBLI: Even as people are curious to know the mystery behind the skulls found at Annigeri, the department of Kannada of Karnatak University (Dharwad) has claimed to have discovered two important inscriptions of the 10th century, which may unravel the mystery.

J M Nagaiah, associate professor of Dr RC Hiremath Institute of Kannada Studies ( KUD), has said that he has discovered the inscriptions, one each at Hottur near Shiggon taluk of old Dharwad district, and at Gawarwad near Annigeri.

According to the Hottur inscription, Chola emperor Rajaraja, during an expedition, had attacked Belaval-300 province with the help of his nine-lakh-strong army and captured Annigeri during 1007-08. The emperor then tried to forcibly convert people into Shaivas (followers of Lord Shiva). He is also said to have ruthlessly chopped people, including children, who refused to be Shaivas. King Sataysharava Irive Bemdag of Chalukyas of Kalyan was ruling Annigeri then.

The Gawarwad inscription says emperor Rajadhiraja I of Cholas, during his expedition, attacked Annigeri, the then capital of Belavan Nadu-300 (comprising 300 surrounding villages). After capturing Annigeri, Rajadhiraja I destroyed Jinnalya, temples built by Jains, and also killed those who opposed the destruction of temples during 1018-1050.

The Hottur inscription is included in `Epigraphy India' (volume No. 16), while the Garwada inscription is included in `Epigraphy India' (volume No. 15). "The two inscriptions are enough to unravel the Annigeri skull mystery," Nagaiah told `The Times of India'.

He said that human skulls discovered at Annigeri must be of those who were killed for opposing Rajaraja's attempts to convert them to be Shiavas, or of those who were killed by Rajadiraja for protecting Jain temples.

"But for these incidents, there are no evidence of massacre (near Annigeri). The skulls must be of those who were killed by the Cholas," he claimed.

"I'm planning to bring the two inscriptions to the notice of State Archeological Department. We will be able to come to a definite conclusion about the skulls after getting the carbon dating test report from Bhuvaneshwar," he said.

Bronze battle-axe | Excavated in 1965 from the No. 1 Subutun Shang Tomb in Qingzhou, Shandong province

BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The on-going exhibition, The Art of Chinese Bronze Wares, at the National Museum of China, offers not just a peek into ancient Chinese civilization, but also a rare look at the sense of humor of its ancient creators.

Take the Ya Chou bronze battle-axe, for example.

Excavated in 1965 from the No. 1 Subutun Shang Tomb in Qingzhou, Shandong province, and now kept in Shandong Museum, this bronze battle-axe of the Shang Dynasty (16th century-11th century BC), is 32.7 cm long and 34.5 cm wide, and features a human face with exaggerated features such as bow-shaped eyebrows, round eyes, elliptical ears, a bull-shaped nose, and a wide-open mouth full of sharp teeth.

"This style is consistent with other bronze wares of the Shang Dynasty, that are both majestic and scary," says Lu Wensheng, head of Shandong Museum.

As one of the 18 weapons of ancient times and commonly used by the king, the battle-axe stood for power and justice.

This also explains why the Chinese character for "king" found on bone inscriptions resembles the shape of the battle-axe.

Another bronze battle-axe was also excavated at the same time from the No. 1 Subutun Shang Tomb, the largest and best Shang tomb after the Tomb of Shang Kings in Anyang, Henan province.

Now kept at the National Museum of China, this battle-axe also has a human face like the Ya Chou, except the eyes and nose are shaped differently and the mouth is even bigger.

These two bronze battle-axes are the only ones found in China with an openwork carving of a human face.

Another key difference between the two is that there are four symmetrical pictographic inscriptions of "Ya Chou" carved under the two ears on both sides of the Ya Chou battle-axe, while there is none on the other one. The inscription is also the reason the battle-axe is called "Ya Chou".

Guo Moruo (1892-1978), Chinese author, poet, historian, archaeologist and an expert on ancient writing, believed that Ya Chou was the title of an ancient nation that existed in the Xia Dynasty (21st century-16th century BC) or even earlier.

It is believed the human face on the Shang Dynasty battle-axe was intended to scare the enemy. But it is hard to say how effective that strategy was.

Gazing at it in the 21st century, one is more amused than scared, a feeling that also seems reflected in the upturned corners of the mouth of the image.

National museum exhibits 14th century Chinese celadon

Popular Longquan ware found in sunken ship off coast of Sinan shows beauty and culture of 14th century Asia


The National Museum of Korea is holding a special exhibition featuring about 90 pieces of 14th century Chinese celadon ware found in a shipwreck.

The featured pieces are known to be from the Longquan region of China’s southern Zhejiang province, where the most superior kind of Chinese celadon ware was produced at the time.

In 1323, a Chinese merchant vessel carrying more than 30,000 items for export, including ceramics, sank off the southwest coast of Korea at Sinan. It was en route from Ningbo, China to Kyoto, Japan.

The ship was accidentally discovered by a Korean fisherman in 1975 ― more than 650 years after sank. Its site was excavated from 1976 to 1984, bringing the long-lost artifacts back to the surface.

Among the 30,000 artifacts, 14,000 pieces were found to be Longquan celadon ware, including tableware.

Celadon Vase with Two Grips incised with Lotus Designs (National Museum of Korea)

“The pieces found in the Sinan wreck show how the Japanese had a strong preference for Longquan ware at the time,” said Kim Young-mi, a researcher at the National Museum. “By the 16th century, Longquan ware was being exported to Western Asia, Africa and even Europe.”

The exhibition showcases different types of Longquan ware, its signature jadish color, and cultures of 14th century Asia reflected in the featured pieces.

It was during the Southern Song Dynasty that the production and quality of Longquan ware reached its highest level. The icy, jadish color of the celadon ware was called “Fenqing,” meaning layers of transparent blue with a subtle white hue.

Celadon plate with cloud and crane patterns (National Museum of Korea)

“They were trying to imitate the color of a clear sky after rain,” said Kim.

The items on display include dishes, bowls, stem cups, ewers, incense burners, flower vases and pots for interior decoration.

Many of them are decorated with patterns of peonies, lotus flowers, eight trigrams and dragons with clouds.

“The Japanese enjoyed tea ceremonies using Longquan ewers and cups,” said Kim. “They also used the incense burners to keep their indoor air pleasant. And some people simply used them for decoration purposes.”

The term “celadon” in fact has a close connection with Longquan ware. During the 16th century, an opera called “l’Astre,” was extremely popular in Europe.

In the opera, a character named Celadon, who loves the heroine l’Astre, wears a costume of jadish color.

When Longquan ware pieces were first imported to Europe, people started calling them “celadon ware,” as their color was similar to the one of opera character Celadon’s costume.

“China does own a lot of Longquan ware,” Kim said. “But I believe our museum owns one of the widest collections (of Longquan ware) in the world.”

18th-century Chinese silk scroll painting tops $30M at Paris auction

18th-century Chinese silk scroll painting tops $30M at Paris auction
PARIS (AP) – A giant 18th-century Chinese silk scroll painting of a military troop review has been sold at auction for more than euro22 million ($30.8 million), the highest auction price for a Chinese work in France.

The work, found in a Paris attic and sold in Toulouse by auctioneer Marc Labarbe, is one of a series of four works of 17th-century maneuvers that mobilized some 20,000 men.

A Hong Kong collector, who asked to remain anonymous, made the winning bid Saturday of euro22,057,000 after a ferocious bidding war with seven others.

The 24-meter-long (78.7 feet) horizontal scroll was painted around 1748 under Emperor Qianlong.

One of the four scrolls is in the Palace Museum of Beijing, and another was auctioned off in 2008 at Sotheby's in Hong Kong for $67.86 million.