Abstract
The article presents a series of pieces excavated by the ISMEO Italian Archaeological Mission in two Buddhist sacred areas in Swat (Pakistan). The pieces are chosen for their connection to the theme of monumental entrances of cultic buildings. In the first case (Gumbat), the building is a shrine. In the second, (Amluk-dara) it is a Main Stupa. The pieces belong to three different entrance parts: lower sides of the stairs, decorated steps or stair-riser friezes, and decorated frames of doors. Pieces like these, which belong to specific architecture, can be hypothetically positioned in their places, allowing thus a more vivid reconstruction of the original appearance of the monuments. The decorative apparatus of the entrances to Buddhist monuments, although apparently extraneous to the religious language, is not less rich than the Buddhist iconographic programme illustrated on the stupas or inside the shrines. The second part of the article deals with the interpretation of the language of the entrance as ‘symbolic capital’ of the political élites, who were the donors of the great Buddhist architecture in Swat.
Highlights
Summary 1 Preamble. – 2 Stair-Risers and Stairways. – 2.1 Measurements. – 2.2 Finds Associated to Architecture. – 3 Building Doors or Gates. – 4 Staging Power in Threshold Space: The Ambiguity of Access. – 4.1 A Preamble to the World of the Buddha: Gandharan Stairway. – 4.2 The Hellenistic Motifs on the Stairs of Amluk-dara. – 4.3 The SocioEconomic Context of Amluk-dara: The Rural Landscape as Source of Empowerment. – 4.4 Technologies of Power
Amongst these can certainly be counted the existence of figured and decorated ‘stair-risers’.1. These pieces are amongst the most ‘talkative’ pieces of Gandharan art, as they contain a heterogeneous repertoire of motifs, which include classical motifs, mythological bestiary, ‘Dionysiac scenes’, and some of the most expressive Jātaka and didactic religious stories. These elements are associated to tall stairways, which are amongst the most typical features of Buddhist architecture in Gandhara, as they are structurally linked to the innovative position of the stupa on top of a raised podium (Kuwayama 2002)
New information on the features of the stair-riser friezes is provided by two sites excavated in 2011 and 2012 by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Swat, namely Gumbat/Balo Kale (GBK) (Olivieri et al 2014b) and Amluk-dara (AKD) (Olivieri et al 2014c), two sites located respectively 5 km south-west and south-east of Barikot/ Birkot-ghwandhai, the major archaeological urban site of Swat
Summary
A certain number of things are well-established in the Buddhist architecture of Gandhara. Amongst these can certainly be counted the existence of figured and decorated ‘stair-risers’ (or better: stair-riser friezes).1 These pieces are amongst the most ‘talkative’ pieces of Gandharan art, as they contain a heterogeneous repertoire of motifs, which include classical motifs, mythological bestiary, ‘Dionysiac scenes’, and some of the most expressive Jātaka and didactic religious stories. These elements are associated to tall stairways, which are amongst the most typical features of Buddhist architecture in Gandhara, as they are structurally linked to the innovative position of the stupa on top of a raised podium (Kuwayama 2002). Vivek passed away in Ahmedabad on 28 April of this tragic year 2021
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