Last Sunday, I got to see a terrific exhibit on early Buddhist art at the New York Metropolitan Museum. Called “Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India 200 BCE-400 CE”, the artworks show, among other things, how pre-Buddhist nature deities and imagery were absorbed by the new religion. In this sculpture — part of […]
Early Buddhist Art Naga Mucalinda Protecting the Buddha Read More »
This African mask from the 1500s is on display this fall of 2022 at the NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of an exhibit on the African origins of civilization. Exquisitely carved from precious ivory, it provides testimony to one of Africa’s more recent civilizations, the Kingdom of Benin. The capital city of Benin
The Kingdom of Benin Read More »
These figures painted in the Manda Guéli Cave in central Africa in prehistoric times show humans amidst animals they have domesticated. They illustrate the importance of pastoralism in human history, which isn’t just something that changed some people’s food supply (instead of foraged plants and animals, pastoralists focus on the nutrients from their domesticated beasts).
Pre-History Lactose Tolerance Read More »
Japanese history has a remarkable record of women who excelled in the martial arts, despite the overall legacy of Medieval patriarchy that co-existed for so long. Many stories of female generals and warriors only appear briefly in the historical sources, and cloud the details of such women’s lives. And this is one of the reasons
This is a sword by Goro Nyudo Masamune (c. 1264-1343), considered to be the greatest swordsmith in Japanese history. His swords have a recognizable set of characteristics, one of the most famous being his skill in producing a quality called “nie” an appearance in the blade of Martensite (hard steel in crystal formation) embedded in
A Sword By Goro Nyudo Masamune Read More »
The Vietnamese Trung sisters rose up against invading Chinese armies in 40 CE, and successfully rebelled for three years before their deaths. Often depicted as sword-bearing women riding on elephants, they have become a nationalist symbol for Vietnam. The Trung sisters have temples dedicated to them, statues of them adorn many city quarters, and holidays
This is an Edo-period Japanese war fan from the first half of the 1800s, made out of paper and lacquer, and — the active ingredient — iron. Folding fans had been a part of Japanese aristocratic culture since the 600s. The paintings on them, the gold or silver foil that adorned them, and the mannerisms
Rocks! But wait, there’s more: the technology heralded by these Acheulean hand-axes that you see (noted for their pear and oval shapes) signify not just the very cutting-edge (groan) way to cut into bone developed between 2 and 1.6 million years ago, but also, the formation of human language and maybe even the genesis of
Acheulean Hand-axes Read More »
Buddhist stele with the Thousand Buddhas motif, from the Northern Wei Dynasty, about 521 CE. Notice the Chinese-drapped sleeves of the historical Buddah in the center, but the surrounding Buddhas are wearing the off-shoulder monastic garb of Indian monks. Smithsonian, Sackler Gallery.
Buddhist Stele with the Thousand Buddhas Motif Read More »
Check out the exhibit “Empresses of China’s Forbidden City: 1644-1912,” at the Arthur K. Sackler Gallery, part of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.. This epic portrait of the last dowager empress, Cixi, was commissioned by her. I love the fingernails!
Last Dowager Empress Cixi Read More »
This finial crowning the top of an elaborately carved tusk from 19th-century Kongo depicts a nursing mother. A skilled artisan would have made the tusk as part of a commissioning by a community leader. The few women depicted on this tusk form a striking counter-narrative to most of the images. One woman carried a small
Finial Crowing Top of Tusk Read More »
This traditional African village in Camaroon is one example of many of the pervasiveness of fractals in many African cultures. Ron Eglash has documented the indigenous use of fractals – repeating patterns on ever-larger scales – in African religions, textiles, and village communities. Sometimes, as one approaches the smaller or innermost components of a fractal,
African Villages Fractals Read More »
The Mongolian invasions of Japan were famously brought to an end in 1281 when a tumultuous storm destroyed the entire Mongolian fleet. But it was not just the kamikaze or “divine winds” that destroyed the invaders. The Japanese samurai showed a surprising flexibility in adapting their fighting style, working together more than they had ever
Mongolian Invasion of Japan Art Read More »
Today (January 22, 2023) marks the lunar New Year in Chinese culture, marked by many festivities and foods as the celebrants hope to usher in a year of prosperity and happiness. This reel and the following images show the New Year Lion Dance, an ancient tradition wherein people (often martial artists from a local school)
Ikkyu (d 1481) was a famous Zen monk. Since Zen Buddhism focuses on getting practitioners to think outside the box, it shouldn’t be surprising that he was highly unorthodox. Fond of drinking and attending brothels, Ikkyu critiqued many Zen leaders of his day for getting too caught up in propriety and material possessions. He eventually
Ikkyu the Zen Monk Read More »
This 10th c. sandstone relief depicts the Hindu goddess Kali – the Goddess of time, destruction, sexuality, salvation, and protection. She has a horrifying image – bloody fangs, belt of human hands, necklace of skulls, with eyes bright red and skin blue or black. This appearance would have represented a completely uncontained female, something wholly
Hindu Goddess Kali Read More »
This painting is a super blunt image of a woman relieving herself. Painted in the early 1600s, it gets at a very different perspective (compared to modern USA) about human effluences in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Instead of pushing our human elimination as far away as possible, urban dwellers strove to use it. Historian
In an article published in the premier science journal _Nature_ earlier this week, a team of scholars announced their analyses of the operations of the first-ever discovered mummification workshop, and what they found was fascinating! This picture shows the layout of the “mummy factory”, first unearthed at the Egyptian site of Saqqara, about 20 miles
“PetThe political intrigues and love affair of Mark Antony and Cleopatra have captured the imaginations of generations, even before the famous couple’s deaths in 30 BCE in their war against the future Emperor Augustus of Rome. This statue is the only known image of their twin children, Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios. At least, that’s
Cleopatra’s Twins by Mark Antony Identified Read More »
The Arthrashastra, an Ancient Indian text written in Sanskrit. Dating from as early as the 2nd century BCE, it is the first diplomatic text in India’s history. It has advice on things like taxation, governance, and warfare, and tells the reader that good governance is necessary to prevent society from following the “law of the
