And speaking of
political disasters this past week, I’m pretty sure most folks would agree that
the Vietnam War (1955–1975) was one of them in the past. My problem with
that—aside from war itself—is that most people’s frame of reference about
Vietnam revolves around that awful, waste of a war. Southeast Asia has been a
region of fabulous kingdoms that flourished for centuries and produced fabulous
art. Central and Southern Vietnam were the location of the ancient Champa
Kingdom and Funan Kingdom. For goodness sakes, the Roman historian Ptolemy
(100–170 CE) knew about the major Champa port city of Cattigara in 150 CE and put it on his map of the world. Cattigara
is now called Ho Chi Minh City, once Saigon! An art historian’s recommendation
for changing a frame of reference about Vietnam is look at Vietnamese art. This week I’ll be doing just that in a
series of three posts all about the art of Vietnam.
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Apsara bracket, Champa Kingdom (flourished from 600s to 1800s CE), probably from Tra-kieu (ancient Simhapura), 900s CE. Stone, overall height: 22" (55.9 cm). © Cleveland Museum of Art. (CL-827) |
An apsara is the
depiction of celestial spirits of clouds and water in Buddhist and Hindu art.
Tra-kieu, the ancient Simhapura, meaning Lion
Citadel, was the capital of the Champa kingdom from the 300s to the 800s
CE. The Cham people were converted to Hindu by Indian missionaries as early as
the first century CE. There are some theories that the first Cham king was
Indian, but the first recorded king was Bhadravarman (ruled 349–361 CE).
Champa was a powerful and wealthy Hindu kingdom. The Cham
people, to this day, are the only Hindu population remaining in Vietnam, even
though Southeast Asia at one time had many thriving Hindu kingdoms, undoubtedly
stamped out by repeated incursions by the Chinese who introduced Buddhism. The
Cham themselves paid tribute to the Chinese. Much of the wealth of the Champa
kingdom came from its strategic position as a seaport on the route from China
to India, Persia, and ultimately, the Roman Empire.
There is nothing left of the city of Simhapura except the
blocks of the lower citadel walls. This apsara
undoubtedly came from one of the many temples dedicated to Siva. It shows much
more Cambodian sculptural style than Indian. It’s very interesting to think
about Vietnam’s connection to ancient Rome, particularly since so many
Westerner’s think that the only ancient empires were Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
My look into the history of Vietnamese art continues tomorrow with the development of ceramics in Vietnam.
Read the other posts in this series for more about Vietnamese art:
Part 2: Vietnamese Ceramics
Part 3: Contemporary Art
Read the other posts in this series for more about Vietnamese art:
Part 2: Vietnamese Ceramics
Part 3: Contemporary Art
Correlations: The
Visual Experience 13.3; Discovering Art History 4.5
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