30,000 Years of Art depicts a world view of art by presenting pieces sorted by chronology rather than by the context of culture. The book includes these quintessential examples of funerary, sacred, and religious art from 800AD.
1. Book of Kells, folio 291v, Vellum, Hiberno-Saxon Insular Style, Ireland
In this title page of St. John’s gospel, the evangelist sits upon a chair with three objects that depict the tools of a scribe – his gospel, his reed pen, and his inkhorn. The center of the painting is dominated by the saint’s vivid yellow and red halo, elaborate in designs similar to modern-day gold jewelry-making. Behind the blue lined border there is evidence of a figure – believed to be God himself – visible only by the feet at the bottom and the hands to the right and left. Sadly, during a brutal 19th-century rebinding of the manuscript much of the head was cut off of this figure. But the richness of the colors and the intricacy of the intertwined details (much of which requires a magnifying glass to appreciate) remain. The manuscript can be viewed at the Trinity College Library, Dublin.
2. Durga Slaying the Buffalo, Volcanic Stone, Central Javanese Style, Indonesia
In Hinduism, the Great Goddess Durga is often depicted as the embodiment of feminine and creative energy with several arms holding weapons in the act of killing a buffalo (a demon in a buffalo's form). This example shows Durga standing on top the buffalo just moments after its death. In Indian art, the violent struggle and battle between Durga and the buffalo are emphasized. But here, in the Javanese style, the moment of victory, with the beast dead and the battle won, is displayed. The sculpture uses a naturalistic style by showing the goddess moving her hips and resting her weight on one leg. Her adornments and weapons are sculpted in a fine level of detail. The piece is in a private collection.
3. Cocle Pectoral, gold alloy disk, Panama
Such gold disks [10 1/4 x 7 in (26x18 cm)] – made by the Cocle people of central Panama – are typically found in burials on the chests of the dead. This piece shows the image of a human figure representing a shaman in the throes of ecstasy with lightning bolts emanating from his head. His animal spirit is represented by his crocodilian feet and hands and the lizard-like creatures at his waist. It is believed that such gold body adornments indicated the supernatural power and social authority the wearers possessed. The disk is housed at the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
4. Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Gilded Bronze Statue, Sri Lanka
This beautiful figure depicts the Buddhist mythological figure, Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva (or enlightened being) of Infinite Compassion, in a classic “pose of royal ease” with one leg lifted and one resting on the ground. The eyes are inlaid with rock crystals and the elaborately plaited hairpiece is inset with precious stones. The image was found in the ruins of a monastery in Mihintale in Sri Lanka. Today the figure can be viewed in the National Museum of Colombo.
Source:30,000 Years of Art. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2007.
Related article: Decorative World Art from 800 AD
