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Religious Arts in the Early Classical Period in Southeast Asia

Heejung Kang 1

1서강대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The religious sculptures in Southeast Asia deserve special attention as they best represent the multi-cultural aspect of the area. This paper shows the Indian influence of the visual arts in Southeast Asia during the early classical period. The arts of India were transmitted to Southeast Asia via the maritime route. It is possible to assure by comparing their artistic styles. The maritime trades of the intellectual and material resources activated migration from India to Southeast Asia. It resulted in the sudden and brilliant development of the first stage of Southeast Asian Art history. In the initial stages of arts in Southeast Asia, the Buddhist and Hindu images show close association to the styles of Central and Southern India. The influence of the visual arts during this period spread beyond the confines of India. It extended to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. The religious arts of India and Sri Lanka were most likely transmitted to Southeast Asia via the maritime route of the Ganges and the Krishna River to the Bay of Bengal. It then set the foundations for the earliest production of religious sculptures in Southeast Asia. The traders from India, at the time, probably passed through the two maritime routes. One route was from central India, using the coastal area to the Kra Isthmus. The other route was from South India via Sri Lanka. These two maritime routes seemed to have had easier access into Southeast Asia than overland Himalayan routes. The maritime trades of the intellectual and material resources activated migration from India to Southeast Asia. The trades and migrations resulted in the sudden and brilliant development of the first stage of Southeast Asian history. In the initial stages of religious arts development in Southeast Asia, the Buddhist and Hindu images show close association to the styles of Central and Southern India. These arts demonstrate the diffusion of Indian religious arts into Southeast Asia through the various maritime route channels. Accepting the diversified art,as soon as they acquired the techniques and ideas for their own religions,the artisans in Southeast Asia began creating their own masterpieces.

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* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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