About the Cover

Abstract

About the Cover Catherine Raymond, Curator Click for larger view View full resolution Front Cover. Cover: Bodhisattva. Arakan, 6th‒8th century. Excavated from Selagiri Hill, Kyauktaw, Arakan. Sandstone. H. 0.6 m, W. 0.4 m, D. 0.14 m. Now in Mahamuni Museum. Photo: Catherine Raymond. Cover design: Jeff Strohm, Northern Illinois University. The Bodhisatt va image adorning the cover of the Journal of Burma Studies Volume 19, Number 2, had been first identified by the late Pamela Gutman (1998:103‒11), pioneer researcher in Arakanese art history. The illustrated statue was discovered at the foot of Selagiri Hill and is associated with Buddhist high relief sculptures in red sandstone recovered from a ruined stupa across the Kaladan River from Kyauktaw. This is an especially significant location in its proximity to the Mahamuni shrine at Dhanyawadi: one of the ancient cities of Ancient Arakan. There, according to local legends, the Buddha himself descended and appeared to King Candrasuriya, who then ordered a similar likeness sculpted. The resulting “Mahamuni Image” was the palladium of the Kingdom of Arakan, before its seizure in 1785 by the Burmese king, Bodawpaya. The Burmese king re-located it to the Mahamuni Temple in his capital Amarapura, where it remains a highly venerated image till today. This serene crowned Bodhisatt va standing hieratically on an un-ornamented circular pedestal is especially intriguing; due in part to the broken arms, and the now missing hands which presumably once held attributes. Usually, such attributes, wielded by Hindu or Mahayana figures, enable identifying the deity depicted. But its identification is further complicated by the jewelry adorning the figure—particularly the unpaired earrings: a round disc on the left earlobe and an elaborate ornament hanging on the right ear. Although this practice of unpaired earrings does not seem to be uncommon on the 7th‒8th century statuary from Northern Bangladesh. But here the materials and craftsmanship found around the ruined stupa, resemble that of the other five Buddhist high reliefs recovered from the same site. Such a standing devotional figure, with an oval halo behind the head, would have been placed on each side of a larger Buddha image, as is the case with the Vajrapani at Nalanda Museum (India) which similarly displays a conical matted hairstyle held in place by the ornamented crown. As Gutman noted, crowned slim male figures standing hieratically with simple necklaces and garments knotted on the side can be found elsewhere in Southeast Asia—especially in 7th‒8th century Dvaravati— with a particularly lengthy yajnopavitas (the sacred rope) hanging from the left shoulder and falling above the knees of the right leg. But this figure could be compared as well to similar reliefs from the former Buddhist sites of Paharpur and Mahasthangarh (Northwest of Bangladesh): dated also from 7th‒8th century. Numerous representations of Avalokiteshvara discovered recently at Mainamati (the former Devaparvata; Southeast of Bangladesh) also shed light on this figure. Mainamati is located in the ancient Samatata region on the western foothills of the Rakhine Yoma: where Mahayana Buddhism flourished since the Deva dynasty and continuing into the Candra dynasty (7th‒8th century). This intriguing link deserves much further exploration, insofar as the Arakanese Buddhist community installed along the Kaladan River, was probably in close contact with the ancient Samatata region: where not only Mahayana but also Vajrayana were practiced. Catherine Raymond, Curator Burma Art Collection at Northern Illinois University Copyright © 2015 Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University