Les représentations portraitistes des donateurs laïcs dans l'imagerie bouddhique

Abstract

In this huge field concerning the creation of the portrait in Buddhist art, the author attempts to search for its origin in the Middle East, restricting himself to the middle of the Buddhist world including the North and the North-West of India, as well as Afghan Central Asia, Tajik and Uzbek, going from the second millenary to the third century of the Christian era, to prove that the image of the lay donor is his own portrait. He proposes terms such as “portrait effigy”, “anonymous portrait”, “imaginary portrait”, to represent the donors as well as the realistic faces of the monks. He proves that several portraits or effigies of Kushan royal or princely donors with shaved hair and wearing a monastic coat over the cafetan, the tunic, the pants and the boots of the steppe horsemen, represent them during the Mokṣa ceremony, making them great contributors. .