Hindu Architecture
Garbha Griha
A dome-like Buddhist structure that often houses relics and is used for circumambulation and meditation is called a
The iconographic term for the circular mark or whorl between the eyebrows of the Buddha or bodhisattvas is the
A written inscription or commentary on a Chinese painting or handscroll, often added by later viewers or collectors, is called a
colophon
The Japanese genre of woodblock prints and paintings meaning "pictures of the floating world" is called
Ukiyo-e
The Lakshmana Temple uses a type of precise stone cutting where blocks are fitted closely together with thin joints. Name this technique.
Ashlar
Name the large Indonesian monument that functions as a three-dimensional mandala with terraces and many stupas, built 750-842 C.E
Borobudur
The Chola bronze that shows Shiva in his cosmic dance is commonly called
Shiva natar aja, or "Shiva as Lord of the Dance"/Nataraja
The painted funerary textile that contains the earliest known portrait in Chinese painting and was found in Lady Dai's tomb is called the
Funeral Banner of Lady Dai (or Xin Zhui)
Name the artist of "Travelers Among Mountains and Streams," a monumental Northern Song landscape painting.
Fan Kuan
At Lakshmi Temple devotees walk clockwise around the temple base before entering the mandapas and vimana. What is the technical term for that path or act of ritual walking?
circumambulation/pradakshina patha
At Sanchi, the decorated ceremonial gateways around the stupa are called
Torana
Describe two attributes (objects or gestures) held by Shiva Nataraja and explain their symbolic meaning in one sentence each.
Damaru: (hand drum) - represents the rhythm of creation and time
Agni: (flame) - represents destruction that clears the way for renewal. Also abhaya mudra gesture meaning "do not fear."
Xu Bing's conceptual work that fills a gallery with hand-printed pseudo-characters and plays with the idea of textual authority is titled
"Book from the sky"
Hokusai's famous woodblock prints showing a great wave and Mount Fuji in the background is titled
"Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa"
The tall mountain-like spire that rises above the vimana in Nagara-style temples is called the
sikhara
Describe in one sentence the symbolic relationship between the stupa's dome and the meditating Buddha's body.
The dome of the stupa represents the Buddha's seated body in meditation, so walking around the dome mirrors meditating on the Buddha's teachings.
What is bodhisattva?
a bodhisattva is a being who seeks enlightenment but delays final nirvana out of compassion to help other beings; often shown wearing princely ornaments.
In East Asian handscroll narrative painting, a single long painted story read section by section is called an
Emaki
Explain in one sentence how landscape paintings like Fan Kuan's express Neo-Confucian ideas about nature and self-cultivation.
Neo-Confucian landscape painters used monumental, ordered depictions of nature to express the idea that by studying and contemplating nature one could discover universal truths and cultivate moral character.
Explain in 2-3 sentences how the Lakshmana Temple's exterior sculptures (mithuna and other friezes) function symbolically at the juncture between the vimana and the mandapas.
Sculptures of loving couples (mithuna) at the junction symbolize the joining of ritual (mandapas) and divine presence (vimana); they mark transition from public to sacred space and refer to fertility/creation that complements the temple's cosmic symbolism.
Borobudur has three conceptual zone representing stages on the path to enlightenment. Name the lowest (world of desire) and the highest (formless) zones in their Sanskrit terms. (2 terms)
Lowest: Kamadhatu
Highest: Arupadhatu
(middle: rupadhatu)
The Jowo Rinpoche statue in the Jokhang Temple serves as a proxy for the Buddha and is shown with one hand in the mudra of meditation. Name the mudra on the left hand (meditation) or describe its basic position.
The mudra of meditation is the Dhyana (meditation) mudra - hands in the lap, palms up, one hand resting on the other, thumbs touching to form a triangle.
Explain in 2-3 sentences why colophons are collector inscriptions are important for understanding Chinese paintings' history and provenance.
Colophons record later owners, dates, and viewers' reactions; they help establish provenance, show changing tastes and interpretations, and provide documentary evidence that complements stylistic and technical analysis.
Compare, in 2-3 sentences, how Chinese literati landscape painting and Japanese Zen rock gardens (ex. Ryoan-ji) each encourage contemplation but use different visual strategies.
Chinese literati paintings use ink and brush to suggest vastness and subtle spiritual order through latered brushwork and scaled figures, inviting slow, internal reflection; Japanese Zen rock gardens use pared-down stone placement and raked gravel to create a tactile, minimalist field for focused meditation and instantaneous insight.