Le voyage des motifs. II. La Lune, le Soleil et le Feu

Abstract

In Japanese Buddhist sculpture and painting of 7th and 8th centuries, several bodhisattva have their tiara or diadem decorated with a disk cradled by a crescent. This pattern is also seen in Korea and mainly in China where it appeared about the 5th century. Some scholars had shown this disk-and-crescent motif, which is rather frequent in Buddhist paintings of Afghanistan, took its origin from Sasanian kings crowns. But in fact, it is more ancient: we can see it on the rock grave of King Darius (522-486 B.C.) and even on a cylinder-seal from Susa dating from the 3rd millenary. This motif is probably an abbreviated repesentation of the Sumerian astral trinity, that is to say Moon, Sun and Star (planet Venus). On the other hand, the disk-and-crescent pattern is seen too in Egyptian art. For example, the Sun cradled by horns of god-bull Apis and goddess-cow Hathor, or covering the head of Sun-god Amon-Rê's sacred ram. By the way, the theme of solar ram had existed in Northern Africa since the Neolithic period, and is also known to-day in Western Black Africa. Another pattern in Japanese Buddhist sculpture of the 7th century is flames springing from bodhisattva shoulders. Unknown in Korea, very rare in China, this motif appeared in certain of Gandharan statues. But its origin is older: such flames are spurting out of shoulders of Babylonian Sun-god Shamash, as it is represented on the famous stele of Hammurabi's Code (18th c. B.C.) and also on Mesopotamian cylinders from the 3rd millenary. The fact that this Fire motif had been transmitted to Buddhist statues let suppose relations between Buddha and Light or Sun gods in Middle and Near East, especially Persia. And the golden colour of Buddha's body has perhaps some connection with beliefs of ancient Egypt.