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The Bayon (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, Prasat Bayon) is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.
The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The temple is known also for two impressive sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The current main conservatory body, the Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (the JSA) has described the temple as "the most striking expression of the baroque style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat.
BUDDHIST SYMBOLISM
The Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor, and the only Angkorian state temple to be built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist shrine dedicated to the Buddha, though a great number of minor and local deities were also encompassed as representatives of the various districts and cities of the realm. It was the centrepiece of Jayavarman VII's massive program of monumental construction and public works, which was also responsible for the walls and nāga-bridges of Angkor Thom and the temples of Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei.
The similarity of the 216 gigantic faces on the temple's towers to other statues of the king has led many scholars to the conclusion that the faces are representations of Jayavarman VII himself. Others have said that the faces belong to the bodhisattva of compassion called Avalokitesvara or Lokesvara. The two hypotheses need not be regarded as mutually exclusive. Angkor scholar George Coedès has theorized that Jayavarman stood squarely in the tradition of the Khmer monarchs in thinking of himself as a "devaraja" (god-king), the salient difference being that while his predecessors were Hindus and regarded themselves as consubstantial with Shiva and his symbol the lingam, Jayavarman as a Buddhist identified himself with the Buddha and the bodhisattva.
ALTERATIONS FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF JAYAVARMAN VII
Since the time of Jayavarman VII, the Bayon has suffered numerous additions and alterations at the hands of subsequent monarchs. During the reign of Jayavarman VIII in the mid-13th century, the Khmer empire reverted to Hinduism and its state temple was altered accordingly. In later centuries, Theravada Buddhism became the dominant religion, leading to still further changes, before the temple was eventually abandoned to the jungle. Current features which were not part of the original plan include the terrace to the east of the temple, the libraries, the square corners of the inner gallery, and parts of the upper terrace.
MODERN RESTAURATION
In the first part of the 20th century, the École Française d'Extrême Orient took the lead in the conservation of the temple, restoring it in accordance with the technique of anastylosis. Since 1995 the Japanese Government team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (the JSA) has been the main conservatory body, and has held annual symposia.
THE SITE
The temple is oriented towards the east, and so its buildings are set back to the west inside enclosures elongated along the east-west axis. Because the temple sits at the exact centre of Angkor Thom, roads lead to it directly from the gates at each of the city's cardinal points. The temple itself has no wall or moats, these being replaced by those of the city itself: the city-temple arrangement, with an area of 9 square kilometres, is much larger than that of Angkor Wat to the south (2 km²). Within the temple itself, there are two galleried enclosures (the third and second enclosures) and an upper terrace (the first enclosure). All of these elements are crowded against each other with little space between. Unlike Angkor Wat, which impresses with the grand scale of its architecture and open spaces, the Bayon gives the impression of being compressed within a frame which is too tight for it.
THE OUTER GALLERY, HISTORICAL EVENTS & EVERYDAY LIFE
The outer wall of the outer gallery features a series of bas-reliefs depicting historical events and scenes from the everyday life of the Angkorian Khmer. Though highly detailed and informative in themselves, the bas-reliefs are not accompanied by any sort of epigraphic text, and for that reason considerable uncertainty remains as to which historical events are portrayed and how, if at all, the different reliefs are related. From the east gopura clockwise, the subjects are:
- in the southern part of the eastern gallery a marching Khmer army (including some Chinese soldiers), with musicians, horsemen, and officers mounted on elephants, followed by wagons of provisions;
- still in the eastern gallery, on the other side of the doorway leading into the courtyard, another procession followed by domestic scenes depicting Angkorian houses, some of the occupants of which appear to be Chinese merchants;
- in the southeast corner pavilion, an unfinished temple scene with towers, apsaras, and a lingam;
- in the eastern part of the southern gallery, a naval battle on the Tonle Sap between Khmer and Cham forces, underneath which are more scenes from civilian life depicting a market, open-air cooking, hunters, and women tending to children and an invalid;
- still in the southern gallery, past the doorway leading to the courtyard, a scene with boats and fisherman, including a Chinese junk, below which is a depiction of a cockfight; then some palace scenes with princesses, servants, people engaged in conversations and games, wrestlers, and a wild boar fight; then a battle scene with Cham warriors disembarking from boats and engaging Khmer warriors whose bodies are protected by coiled ropes, followed by a scene in which the Khmer dominate the combat, followed by a scene in which the Khmer king celebrates a victory feast with his subjects;
- in the western part of the southern gallery, a military procession including both Khmers and Chams, elephants, war machines such as a large crossbow and a catapult;
- in the southern part of the western gallery, unfinished reliefs show an army marching through the forest, then arguments and fighting between groups of Khmers;
- in the western gallery, past the doorway to the courtyard, a scene depicting a melee between Khmer warriors, then a scene in which warriors pursue others past a pool in which an enormous fish swallows a small deer; then a royal procession, with the king standing on an elephant, preceded by the ark of the sacred flame;
- in the western part of the northern gallery, again unfinished, a scene of royal entertainment including athletes, jugglers and acrobats, a procession of animals, ascetics sitting in a forest, and more battles between Khmer and Cham forces;
- in the northern gallery, past the doorway to the courtyard, a scene in which the Khmer flee from Cham soldiers advancing in tight ranks;
- in the northeast corner pavilion, another marching Khmer army;
- in the eastern gallery, a land battle between Khmer and Cham forces, both of which are supported by elephants: the Khmer appear to be winning.
The outer gallery encloses a courtyard in which there are two libraries (one on either side of the east entrance). Originally the courtyard contained 16 chapels, but these were subsequently demolished by the Hindu restorationist Jayavarman VIII.
THE INNER GALLERY
The inner gallery is raised above ground level and has doubled corners, with the original redented cross-shape later filled out to a square. Its bas-reliefs, later additions of Jayavarman VIII, are in stark contrast to those of the outer: rather than set-piece battles and processions, the smaller canvases offered by the inner gallery are decorated for the most part with scenes from Hindu mythology. Some of the figures depicted are Siva, Vishnu, and Brahma, the members of the trimurti or threefold godhead of Hinduism, Apsaras or celestial dancers, Ravana and Garuda. There is however no certainty as to what some of the panels depict, or as to their relationship with one another. One gallery just north of the eastern gopura, for example, shows two linked scenes which have been explained as the freeing of a goddess from inside a mountain, or as an act of iconoclasm by Cham invaders. Another series of panels shows a king fighting a gigantic serpent with his bare hands, then having his hands examined by women, and finally lying ill in bed; these images have been connected with the legend of the Leper King, who contracted leprosy from the venom of a serpent with whom he had done battle. Less obscure are depictions of the construction of a Vishnuite temple (south of the western gopura) and the Churning of the Sea of Milk (north of the western gopura).
THE UPPER TERRACE: & THE 200 FACES OF LOKESVARA
The inner gallery is nearly filled by the upper terrace, raised one level higher again. The lack of space between the inner gallery and the upper terrace has led scholars to conclude that the upper terrace did not figure in the original plan for the temple, but that it was added shortly thereafter following a change in design. Originally, it is believed, the Bayon had been designed as a single-level structure, similar in that respect to the roughly contemporaneous foundations at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei.
The upper terrace is home to the famous "face towers" of the Bayon, each of which supports two, three or (most commonly) four gigantic smiling faces. In addition to the mass of the central tower, smaller towers are located along the inner gallery (at the corners and entrances), and on chapels on the upper terrace. "Wherever one wanders," writes Maurice Glaize, the faces of Lokesvara follow and dominate with their multiple presence."
Efforts to read some significance into the numbers of towers and faces have run up against the circumstance that these numbers have not remained constant over time, as towers have been added through construction and lost to attrition. At one point, the temple was host to 49 such towers; now only 37 remain. The number of faces is approximately 200, but since some are only partially preserved there can be no definitive count.
THE CENTRAL TOWER & SANCTUARY
Like the inner gallery, the central tower was originally cruciform but was later filled out and made circular. It rises 43 metres above the ground. At the time of the temple's foundation, the principal religious image was a statue of the Buddha, 3.6 m tall, located in the sanctuary at the heart of the central tower. The statue depicted the Buddha seated in meditation, shielded from the elements by the flared hood of the serpent king Mucalinda. During the reign of Hindu restorationist monarch Jayavarman VIII, the figure was removed from the sanctuary and smashed to pieces. After being recovered in 1933 from the bottom of a well, it was pieced back together, and is now on display in a small pavilion at Angkor.
WIKIPEDIA
Going through my hard drive and deleting pics no longer required when I found this image I took a while ago. It was a modern art installation but I liked the classical figure in the background.
As classically beautiful as anything a modern woman could wear to a soiree or even the Academy Awards. This Athabascan tanned hide garment, with floral beadwork -- on display in Palmer, Alaska, at the local visitor center and museum -- was made in Chickaloon. The village is on the border of the Copper River Valley -- where the Ahtna people live -- and the Matanuska Valley, which is Denai'na Country. This tendril-decorated beadwork on moosehide that has been bleached white is reminiscent of older-style beadwork. Earlier beading, which used fewer beads, tended to have looping vines. As time went on, and beads became more common, denser beading, which covered large squares or ovals, began to become standard. (This posting is on "Finding Alaska.")
Sarcophagus with triumph of Dionysos, detail
Roman, Imperial Period, about A.D. 215–225
Marble, from the island of Proconnesus in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul
Bhumi, as a production, for the first time, creates in India, its very own circus meets Indian classical dance performance experience.
Presented by the Natya Nectar International Dance Company, “Bhumi,” is rooted in the earth, but supported by four pillars that will provide a strong base to hold up this monumental performance.
What “Bhumi” stands for is our aesthetic rendering of the relationship between Mother Earth and her inhabitants. It explores environmental issues, in India, that lead to diseases, and health concerns, which impact our future. But more importantly, it highlights the solutions. It interlaces a narrative of holistic life. It imbues all aspects that negate selfishness, consumerism and the negative facets of technology.
Yoga, spirituality and organic relationship with Earth are the uplifting, hopeful messages of Bhumi, and we hope the audience left feeling inspired by what they witnessed. These messages are routed through the entire performance as we ended with Bhumi Pranam in respect and prayer to the Earth.
It is a collaborative experience weaving together:
Indian Classical dance
Circus Aesthetics
Indian Electronic/ Live Music
Fine Art Ballet Photography: Nikon D810 Elliot McGucken Fine Art Ballerina Dancer Dancing Classical Ballet Seascape Landscape Photography!
Fine Art Ballet Photography: Nikon D810 Elliot McGucken Fine Art Ballerina Dancer Dancing Classical Ballet Seascape Landscape Photography!
White leotard and flowy dress!
Dancing for Dynamic Dimensions Theory dx4/dt=ic: The fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions at the rate of c!
New ballet & landscape instagrams!
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Nikon D810 Epic Fine Art Ballerina Goddess Dancing Ballet! Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Ballet!
Marrying epic landscape, nature, and urban photography to ballet!
Nikon D810 with the Nikon MB-D12 Multi Battery Power Pack / Grip for D800 and D810 Digital Cameras allows one to shoot at a high to catch the action FPS! Ballerina Dance Goddess Photos! Pretty, Tall Ballet Swimsuit Bikini Model Goddess! Captured with the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II from Nikon, and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Nikon! Love them both!
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A pretty goddess straight out of Homer's Iliad & Odyssey!
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The 45EPIC landscapes and goddesses are straight out of Homer's Iliad & Odyssey!
I'm currently updating a translation with the Greek names for the gods and goddesses--will publish soon! :)
"RAGE--Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Zeus fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. " --Homer's Iliad capturing the rage of the 45EPIC landscapes and seascapes! :)
Ludwig van Beethoven: "Music/poetry/art should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman."
The Birth of Venus! Beautiful Golden Ratio Swimsuit Bikini Model Goddess! Helen of Troy! She was tall, thin, fit, and quite pretty!
Read all about how classical art such as The Birth of Venus inspires all my photography!
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"Photographing Women Models: Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype"
Built in 1919-1920, this Chicago School and Sullivanesque-style building was designed by Louis Sullivan for the Farmers and Merchants Union Bank in Columbus, Wisconsin as one of his late-career “jewel box” bank buildings that are largely located in smaller communities throughout the midwest. The building was the last “jewel box bank” designed by Sullivan, and the second-to-last commission of his career, and was intended to communicate the bank as a modern and progressive institution, rather than employing the stodgier and more traditional Classical design found on most other banks of the era. The bank was commissioned by the president of the bank, J. Russell Wheeler, whose wife, Anna May Wheeler, pushed him to commission Sullivan to design a new home for the bank. In addition to Louis Sullivan, the building’s stained glass windows, were designed by architectural decorator Louis J. Millet, and the terra cotta by clay modeler Kristian Schneider, whom developed moulds for the building’s terra cotta, metal, and plaster details. The two artisans worked alongside Sullivan on several other bank projects. The building was heavily documented in Sullivan’s 1924 “A System of Architectural Ornament”, published shortly before he died.
The building is clad in red tapestry brick, which features blue and green mixed with the red clay mixture in some bricks, creating variation in color and texture across the facade. The brick creates a backdrop to some of the best terra cotta on any of Sullivan’s projects. The terra cotta features many of the floral and geometric motifs found on Sullivan’s other works, and is arranged similarly to other Sullivan banks that utilized brick cladding. The building features two principal facades, with a narrower facade along James Street, and a broader facade facing Dickason Boulevard. The James Street facade features two openings close to ground level, with the eastern bay housing a large plate glass window, and the western bay housing a doorway flanked by skylights, both of which are recessed under a large terra cotta architrave and flanked by square pilasters with decorative Sullivanesque ornament panels at the capitals. The architrave above the doorway and window is divided into three segments by vertical terra cotta elements that feature floral motifs and, like many Sullivan buildings, appear like plants with roots, branches, and crowns. The outer panels of the architrave feature circular cartouches with hexagonal trim, leaves, and geometric elements, with circular central medallions featuring the years 1861, when the bank was founded, and 1919, when the bank was completed. The central panel is clad in marble with the words “Farmers & Merchants Union Bank” and “Louis Sullivan, Architect” engraved into the stone with yellow pigmentation, contrasting against the white and green marble background. Atop the two vertical elements on either side of the central panel are griffin sculptures holding shields, a common element on many of Sullivan’s “Jewel Box Banks,” while the base of the outer vertical elements features the initials of the bank at the base. Above the architrave is an arched bay that houses a stained glass window, trimmed with decorative terra cotta at the inner and outer rings of the arch, with the bay becoming more recessed after each concentric arch, much like the entrances to medieval Romanesque churches. Besides a band of belt coursing that runs on either side of the architrave and wraps the corner to a tapered buttress on the Dickason Boulevard facade, the only other adornment is an eagle sculpture on a vertical trim element at the center of the parapet, which terminates many brick courses above the arched opening below, and another band of terra cotta trim along the top of the parapet, which forms a cap on the parapet around the perimeter of the building’s low-slope roof. On the Dickason Boulevard facade, the building features five recessed clerestory arched bays housing stained glass windows, flanked by tapered buttresses. Surrounding the arched tops of the windows are decorative trim panels with floral motifs, which begin just below the base of the arches, and extend up above the top of the arches, terminating in a band of belt coursing. Atop the buttresses at either end are trim elements featuring large spheres atop rectilinear legs with floral motifs below, undulating in and out with the brick below. Additionally, a band of belt coursing, which wraps the corner of Dickson Boulevard and James Street, runs beneath the windows, only interrupted by the buttresses. Toward the back, on the building’s original rear wing, there are three windows at eye level in the original building, with bands of belt coursing below and at the top of the parapet. The rear window is a recessed bay window flanked by two pilasters with sullivanesque terra cotta panels, while the smaller windows are flanked by sullivanesque relief panels. The rear wing features a roof at multiple heights, and was extended in 1961 with a matching addition by Law, Potter and Nystrom, since removed. The rear of the taller portion of the building features a simple recessed bay with an arched window, and a similar eagle sculpture and vertical trim piece as on the front facade.
Inside, the front wing of the building features a tall banking hall with brick cladding on the walls up to the level of the windows, where it terminates at a wooden sill. The space is split down the middle by a row of brick piers and low walls framing the teller cages, which terminate at the sill line of the windows, dividing the space while still allowing it to read as a single continuous lofty space. The brick forms piers at the teller’s cages, pilasters separating desks on the exterior wall, and low brick walls with marble caps. The upper portion of the walls and the coffered ceiling in this space is finished with white plaster, which gives the space a very vertical and airy feeling, as do the cream-colored terrazzo floors, which feature black edges at the base of the walls, tying the space together. The space features a terra cotta water fountain, or bubbler, also designed by sullivan, which features intricate ornament by Schneider. The space also features two mezzanine balconies with metal railings that run below the arched windows at the front and rear of the space, allowing managers to observe the activities in the lobby and teller area below from the rear balcony, while the front balcony exists solely to balance the space and keep it symmetrical. An office for private conferences with customers was originally located near the front of the space, along with a manager’s office, allowing convenience for customers seeking a meeting with the bank management. The teller’s side of the space also housed the bank’s two vaults and several other private offices. The bank originally featured a large meeting room in the one-story rear wing, behind the vaults, with a women’s waiting room sitting along the Dickason Boulevard side of the rear wing, featuring a bay window and a restroom. The building’s interior has changed in function somewhat due to the growth of the bank, changes in bank operations, and expansion of the building with new additions to house offices and a drive-through in the rear.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and is a contributing structure in the Columbus Downtown Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The building saw an addition in 2006, clad in buff brick, which replicated a historic building that formerly stood to the east, and wraps the building to the rear, with a two-story section behind a one-story annex that connects the one-story rear wing of the bank to the new building. This wing replaced older additions made in 1961, which matched the one-story rear wing of the historic building, and 1980, which was modern in appearance and slightly recessed along James Street to give precedence to the historic building. The building still functions as the main office branch of the Farmers and Merchants Union Bank, which has grown substantially. The building has been long considered to be among the best of Sullivan’s “Jewel Box Banks,” and has been kept in excellent condition by the bank’s careful and caring generational stewardship.
A member of the piano tag team at the Royal Concert Hall, during Nottingham's Night Light. Taken with a 10× zoom.
1. adès, 2. remember Benjamin Britten, 3. Gavin Bryars, 4. William Byrd Motets and Mass for Four Voices, 5. Peter Maxwell Davies - Torino Settembre Musica, 6. Grave of Frederick Delius and his wife, 7. Sting concert featuring compositions from John Dowland at Santa Maria delle Grazie 13-dec-2006 Milan, 8. Edward Elgar, 9. Finzi and Ashmansworth: 2, 10. Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), composer - marble bust, 11. Percy Grainger Museum: front door, 12. Handel by Roubiliac, 13. gustav holst, 14. Henry Purcell 060702, 15. John Rutter, 16. Arthur Sullivan Memorial, 17. Disappointed, 18. Well We All Love The Old Ralph Vaughan Williams, 19. Home of Sir William Walton, Hampstead, 20. IMG_7000
Model: Saint Alkaline
Photographer: Bailey Northcott
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Prof J. Cartwright is explaining what a relay ramp is by standing directly on in it and walking the ramp. This is a textbook example, so quite impressive to see in real life.
A beautiful old home, fallen upon hard times, taken on High Street in Macksburg Ohio. I had a nice chat with the owner who told me that his aunt had lived here and that he now owns it and lives here with his wife. I can hardly wait to see what will become of it.
Statues down at the garden centre. I was keeping abreast of statuary developments while my other half shopped for plants.
A different view here www.flickr.com/photos/mabvith/8679451495/in/photostream
2020 Clock and Statues of Mercury / Hermes above the Entrance to Grand Central Terminal Railroad Train Station 42nd Street in New York City 05/30/2019 May Social Distancing NYC during Coronavirus Protection Medical Corona virus COVID-19 NYC NYC stone nude nudes classical clocks tower gargoyle gargoyles public art sculpture statue sculptures myth myths mythology mythological medical staff snakes snake entwined wings hat helmet wing winged bird birds roof above entrance
Bagan; (formerly Pagan) is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10.000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.
The Bagan Archaeological Zone is a main draw for the country's nascent tourism industry. It is seen by many as equal in attraction to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
ETYMOLOGY
Bagan is the present-day standard Burmese pronunciation of the Burmese word Pugan, derived from Old Burmese Pyugam (meaning 'Pyu Village'). Its classical Pali name is Arimaddana-pura, lit. "the City that Tramples on Enemies". Its other names in Pali are in reference to its extreme dry zone climate: Tattadesa, "parched land", and Tampadipa, "bronzed country". The Burmese chronicles also report other classical names of Thiri Pyissaya and Tampawaddy.
HISTORY
7th to 13th CENTURIES
According to the Burmese chronicles, Bagan was founded in the second century CE, and fortified in 849 CE by King Pyinbya, 34th successor of the founder of early Bagan. Mainstream scholarship however holds that Bagan was founded in the mid-to-late 9th century by the Mranma (Burmans), who had recently entered the Irrawaddy valley from the Nanzhao Kingdom. It was among several competing Pyu city-states until the late 10th century when the Burman settlement grew in authority and grandeur.From 1044 to 1287, Bagan was the capital as well as the political, economic and cultural nerve center of the Pagan Empire. Over the course of 250 years, Bagan's rulers and their wealthy subjects constructed over 10000 religious monuments (approximately 1000 stupas, 10000 small temples and 3000 monasteries) in an area of 104 square kilometres in the Bagan plains. The prosperous city grew in size and grandeur, and became a cosmopolitan center for religious and secular studies, specializing in Pali scholarship in grammar and philosophical-psychological (abhidhamma) studies as well as works in a variety of languages on prosody, phonology, grammar, astrology, alchemy, medicine, and legal studies. The city attracted monks and students from as far as India, Ceylon as well as the Khmer Empire. The culture of Bagan was dominated by religion. The religion of Bagan was fluid, syncretic and by later standards, unorthodox. It was largely a continuation of religious trends in the Pyu era where Theravada Buddhism co-existed with Mahayana Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism, various Hindu (Saivite, and Vaishana) schools as well as native animist (nat) traditions. While the royal patronage of Theravada Buddhism since the mid-11th century had enabled the Buddhist school to gradually gain primacy, other traditions continued to thrive throughout the Pagan period to degrees later unseen.
The Pagan Empire collapsed in 1287 due to repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301). Recent research shows that Mongol armies may not have reached Bagan itself, and that even if they did, the damage they inflicted was probably minimal. However, the damage had already been done. The city, once home to some 50.000 to 200.000 people, had been reduced to a small town, never to regain its preeminence. The city formally ceased to be the capital of Burma in December 1297 when the Myinsaing Kingdom became the new power in Upper Burma.
14th to 19th CENTURIES
Bagan survived into the 15th century as a human settlement, and as a pilgrimage destination throughout the imperial period. A smaller number of "new and impressive" religious monuments still went up to the mid-15th century but afterward, new temple constructions slowed to a trickle with fewer than 200 temples built between the 15th and 20th centuries. The old capital remained a pilgrimage destination but pilgrimage was focused only on "a score or so" most prominent temples out of the thousands such as the Ananda, the Shwezigon, the Sulamani, the Htilominlo, the Dhammayazika, and a few other temples along an ancient road. The rest - thousands of less famous, out-of-the-way temples - fell into disrepair, and most did not survive the test of time.
For the few dozen temples that were regularly patronized, the continued patronage meant regular upkeep as well as architectural additions donated by the devotees. Many temples were repainted with new frescoes on top of their original Pagan era ones, or fitted with new Buddha statutes. Then came a series of state-sponsored "systematic" renovations in the Konbaung period (1752–1885), which by and large were not true to the original designs - some finished with "a rude plastered surface, scratched without taste, art or result". The interiors of some temples were also whitewashed, such as the Thatbyinnyu and the Ananda. Many painted inscriptions and even murals were added in this period.
20th CENTURY TO PRESENT
Bagan, located in an active earthquake zone, had suffered from many earthquakes over the ages, with over 400 recorded earthquakes between 1904 and 1975. The last major earthquake came on 8 July 1975, reaching 8 MM in Bagan and Myinkaba, and 7 MM in Nyaung-U. The quake damaged many temples, in many cases, such as the Bupaya, severely and irreparably. Today, 2229 temples and pagodas remain.
Many of these damaged pagodas underwent restorations in the 1990s by the military government, which sought to make Bagan an international tourist destination. However, the restoration efforts instead drew widespread condemnation from art historians and preservationists worldwide. Critics are aghast that the restorations paid little attention to original architectural styles, and used modern materials, and that the government has also established a golf course, a paved highway, and built a 61-meter watchtower. Although the government believed that the ancient capital's hundreds of (unrestored) temples and large corpus of stone inscriptions were more than sufficient to win the designation of UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city has not been so designated, allegedly mainly on account of the restorations.
Bagan today is a main tourist destination in the country's nascent tourism industry, which has long been the target of various boycott campaigns. The majority of over 300.000 international tourists to the country in 2011 are believed to have also visited Bagan. Several Burmese publications note that the city's small tourism infrastructure will have to expand rapidly even to meet a modest pickup in tourism in the following years.
There is a well-known saying of Myanmar people : "If you are a real Myanmar, you must have been to Bagan." Bagan is spirit of history of Myanmar.
GEOGRAPHY
The Bagan Archaeological Zone, defined as the 13 x 8 km area centered around Old Bagan, consisting of Nyaung U in the north and New Bagan in the south, lies in the vast expanse of plains in Upper Burma on the bend of the Irrawaddy river. It is located 290 kilometres southwest of Mandalay and 700 kilometres north of Yangon. Its coordinates are 21°10' North and 94°52' East.
ARCHITECTURE
Bagan stands out for not only the sheer number of religious edifices of Myanmar but also the magnificent architecture of the buildings, and their contribution to Burmese temple design. The artistry of the architecture of pagodas in Bagan prove the achievement of Myanmar craftsmen in handicrafts. The Bagan temple falls into one of two broad categories: the stupa-style solid temple and the gu-style hollow temple.
STUPAS
A stupa, also called a pagoda, is a massive structure, typically with a relic chamber inside. The Bagan stupas or pagodas evolved from earlier Pyu designs, which in turn were based on the stupa designs of the Andhra region, particularly Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda in present-day southeastern India, and to a smaller extent to Ceylon. The Bagan-era stupas in turn were the prototypes for later Burmese stupas in terms of symbolism, form and design, building techniques and even materials.
Originally, an Indian/Ceylonese stupa had a hemispheric body (Pali: anda, "the egg") on which a rectangular box surrounded by a stone balustrade (harmika) was set. Extending up from the top of the stupa was a shaft supporting several ceremonial umbrellas. The stupa is a representation of the Buddhist cosmos: its shape symbolizes Mount Meru while the umbrella mounted on the brickwork represents the world's axis. The brickwork pediment was often covered in stucco and decorated in relief. Pairs or series of ogres as guardian figures ('bilu') were a favourite theme in the Bagan period.
The original Indic design was gradually modified first by the Pyu, and then by Burmans at Bagan where the stupa gradually developed a longer, cylindrical form. The earliest Bagan stupas such as the Bupaya (c. 9th century) were the direct descendants of the Pyu style at Sri Ksetra. By the 11th century, the stupa had developed into a more bell-shaped form in which the parasols morphed into a series of increasingly smaller rings placed on one top of the other, rising to a point. On top the rings, the new design replaced the harmika with a lotus bud. The lotus bud design then evolved into the "banana bud", which forms the extended apex of most Burmese pagodas. Three or four rectangular terraces served as the base for a pagoda, often with a gallery of terra-cotta tiles depicting Buddhist jataka stories. The Shwezigon Pagoda and the Shwesandaw Pagoda are the earliest examples of this type. Examples of the trend toward a more bell-shaped design gradually gained primacy as seen in the Dhammayazika Pagoda (late 12th century) and the Mingalazedi Pagoda (late 13th century).
HOLLOW TEMPLES
In contrast to the stupas, the hollow gu-style temple is a structure used for meditation, devotional worship of the Buddha and other Buddhist rituals. The gu temples come in two basic styles: "one-face" design and "four-face" design - essentially one main entrance and four main entrances. Other styles such as five-face and hybrids also exist. The one-face style grew out of 2nd century Beikthano, and the four-face out of 7th century Sri Ksetra. The temples, whose main features were the pointed arches and the vaulted chamber, became larger and grander in the Bagan period.
INNOVATIONS
Although the Burmese temple designs evolved from Indic, Pyu (and possibly Mon) styles, the techniques of vaulting seem to have developed in Bagan itself. The earliest vaulted temples in Bagan date to the 11th century, while the vaulting did not become widespread in India until the late 12th century. The masonry of the buildings shows "an astonishing degree of perfection", where many of the immense structures survived the 1975 earthquake more or less intact. (Unfortunately, the vaulting techniques of the Bagan era were lost in the later periods. Only much smaller gu style temples were built after Bagan. In the 18th century, for example, King Bodawpaya attempted to build the Mingun Pagoda, in the form of spacious vaulted chambered temple but failed as craftsmen and masons of the later era had lost the knowledge of vaulting and keystone arching to reproduce the spacious interior space of the Bagan hollow temples.)
Another architectural innovation originated in Bagan is the Buddhist temple with a pentagonal floor plan. This design grew out of hybrid (between one-face and four-face designs) designs. The idea was to include the veneration of the Maitreya Buddha, the future and fifth Buddha of this era, in addition to the four who had already appeared. The Dhammayazika and the Ngamyethna Pagoda are examples of the pentagonal design.
ECONOMY
Bagan's economy is based mainly on tourism. Because of boycotts against the previous military government, the Bagan region's tourism infrastructure is still quite modest by international standards. The city has a few international standard hotels and many family-run guesthouses. Bagan is also the center of Burmese lacquerware industry, which to a large degree depends on tourist demand. Much of the lacquerware is destined for souvenir shops in Yangon, and to the world markets. Moreover, the lacquerware-making process itself has become a tourist draw.
WIKIPEDIA
Built in 1919-1920, this Chicago School and Sullivanesque-style building was designed by Louis Sullivan for the Farmers and Merchants Union Bank in Columbus, Wisconsin as one of his late-career “jewel box” bank buildings that are largely located in smaller communities throughout the midwest. The building was the last “jewel box bank” designed by Sullivan, and the second-to-last commission of his career, and was intended to communicate the bank as a modern and progressive institution, rather than employing the stodgier and more traditional Classical design found on most other banks of the era. The bank was commissioned by the president of the bank, J. Russell Wheeler, whose wife, Anna May Wheeler, pushed him to commission Sullivan to design a new home for the bank. In addition to Louis Sullivan, the building’s stained glass windows, were designed by architectural decorator Louis J. Millet, and the terra cotta by clay modeler Kristian Schneider, whom developed moulds for the building’s terra cotta, metal, and plaster details. The two artisans worked alongside Sullivan on several other bank projects. The building was heavily documented in Sullivan’s 1924 “A System of Architectural Ornament”, published shortly before he died.
The building is clad in red tapestry brick, which features blue and green mixed with the red clay mixture in some bricks, creating variation in color and texture across the facade. The brick creates a backdrop to some of the best terra cotta on any of Sullivan’s projects. The terra cotta features many of the floral and geometric motifs found on Sullivan’s other works, and is arranged similarly to other Sullivan banks that utilized brick cladding. The building features two principal facades, with a narrower facade along James Street, and a broader facade facing Dickason Boulevard. The James Street facade features two openings close to ground level, with the eastern bay housing a large plate glass window, and the western bay housing a doorway flanked by skylights, both of which are recessed under a large terra cotta architrave and flanked by square pilasters with decorative Sullivanesque ornament panels at the capitals. The architrave above the doorway and window is divided into three segments by vertical terra cotta elements that feature floral motifs and, like many Sullivan buildings, appear like plants with roots, branches, and crowns. The outer panels of the architrave feature circular cartouches with hexagonal trim, leaves, and geometric elements, with circular central medallions featuring the years 1861, when the bank was founded, and 1919, when the bank was completed. The central panel is clad in marble with the words “Farmers & Merchants Union Bank” and “Louis Sullivan, Architect” engraved into the stone with yellow pigmentation, contrasting against the white and green marble background. Atop the two vertical elements on either side of the central panel are griffin sculptures holding shields, a common element on many of Sullivan’s “Jewel Box Banks,” while the base of the outer vertical elements features the initials of the bank at the base. Above the architrave is an arched bay that houses a stained glass window, trimmed with decorative terra cotta at the inner and outer rings of the arch, with the bay becoming more recessed after each concentric arch, much like the entrances to medieval Romanesque churches. Besides a band of belt coursing that runs on either side of the architrave and wraps the corner to a tapered buttress on the Dickason Boulevard facade, the only other adornment is an eagle sculpture on a vertical trim element at the center of the parapet, which terminates many brick courses above the arched opening below, and another band of terra cotta trim along the top of the parapet, which forms a cap on the parapet around the perimeter of the building’s low-slope roof. On the Dickason Boulevard facade, the building features five recessed clerestory arched bays housing stained glass windows, flanked by tapered buttresses. Surrounding the arched tops of the windows are decorative trim panels with floral motifs, which begin just below the base of the arches, and extend up above the top of the arches, terminating in a band of belt coursing. Atop the buttresses at either end are trim elements featuring large spheres atop rectilinear legs with floral motifs below, undulating in and out with the brick below. Additionally, a band of belt coursing, which wraps the corner of Dickson Boulevard and James Street, runs beneath the windows, only interrupted by the buttresses. Toward the back, on the building’s original rear wing, there are three windows at eye level in the original building, with bands of belt coursing below and at the top of the parapet. The rear window is a recessed bay window flanked by two pilasters with sullivanesque terra cotta panels, while the smaller windows are flanked by sullivanesque relief panels. The rear wing features a roof at multiple heights, and was extended in 1961 with a matching addition by Law, Potter and Nystrom, since removed. The rear of the taller portion of the building features a simple recessed bay with an arched window, and a similar eagle sculpture and vertical trim piece as on the front facade.
Inside, the front wing of the building features a tall banking hall with brick cladding on the walls up to the level of the windows, where it terminates at a wooden sill. The space is split down the middle by a row of brick piers and low walls framing the teller cages, which terminate at the sill line of the windows, dividing the space while still allowing it to read as a single continuous lofty space. The brick forms piers at the teller’s cages, pilasters separating desks on the exterior wall, and low brick walls with marble caps. The upper portion of the walls and the coffered ceiling in this space is finished with white plaster, which gives the space a very vertical and airy feeling, as do the cream-colored terrazzo floors, which feature black edges at the base of the walls, tying the space together. The space features a terra cotta water fountain, or bubbler, also designed by sullivan, which features intricate ornament by Schneider. The space also features two mezzanine balconies with metal railings that run below the arched windows at the front and rear of the space, allowing managers to observe the activities in the lobby and teller area below from the rear balcony, while the front balcony exists solely to balance the space and keep it symmetrical. An office for private conferences with customers was originally located near the front of the space, along with a manager’s office, allowing convenience for customers seeking a meeting with the bank management. The teller’s side of the space also housed the bank’s two vaults and several other private offices. The bank originally featured a large meeting room in the one-story rear wing, behind the vaults, with a women’s waiting room sitting along the Dickason Boulevard side of the rear wing, featuring a bay window and a restroom. The building’s interior has changed in function somewhat due to the growth of the bank, changes in bank operations, and expansion of the building with new additions to house offices and a drive-through in the rear.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and is a contributing structure in the Columbus Downtown Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The building saw an addition in 2006, clad in buff brick, which replicated a historic building that formerly stood to the east, and wraps the building to the rear, with a two-story section behind a one-story annex that connects the one-story rear wing of the bank to the new building. This wing replaced older additions made in 1961, which matched the one-story rear wing of the historic building, and 1980, which was modern in appearance and slightly recessed along James Street to give precedence to the historic building. The building still functions as the main office branch of the Farmers and Merchants Union Bank, which has grown substantially. The building has been long considered to be among the best of Sullivan’s “Jewel Box Banks,” and has been kept in excellent condition by the bank’s careful and caring generational stewardship.