Colossal Statue Research Articles

Technical examination, elemental analysis and conservation of the arm of a colossal bronze statue from Aegion at the conservation laboratories of the National Archaeological Museum at Athens

The bronze arm, belonging to a colossal statue (presented by A. G. Vordos in this volume), was examined at the Chemical-Physical Research & Archaeometry Laboratory of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) in Athens. According to prevailing methodology the examination comprised: macroscopic, microscopic and endoscopic examination, elemental analysis p-XRF, X-ray radiography, recording of ancient repairs. It is assumed that the arm was manufactured by the indirect lost wax casting technique and was found to contain an enormous amount of lead (av. 40.15 %), a fact that dates it to the late Hellenistic or Roman period. The arm was consequently conserved at the Metal Conservation Laboratory of the NAM and it has now been returned to the Ephorate of Antiquities of Achaia in Patras

Beyond Rome: Brescia and the Difficult Heritage of Italian Fascism

Physical reminders of Fascist rule in Italy can be found in virtually every Italian town and city. To date, though, studies of how Italians have dealt with this ‘difficult heritage’ have focused overwhelmingly on Rome, where Fascism's copious remains are treated and admired as aesthetic objects, unmoored from their political–historical origins. Implied, assumed or articulated in these studies is the idea of Rome as an exemplar of the nation: that what is true of the capital is true of the country. In fact, the idea that Rome's approach to its Fascist heritage is representative of Italy's has yet to be properly tested. This article argues for the need to go ‘beyond Rome’ in order to gain a deeper, richer, and more nuanced understanding of the ways in which Italians have negotiated the difficult heritage of Fascism. Focusing on the provincial Lombard city of Brescia, the article reveals the complex interplay between time, place, use, memory, aesthetics, and politics in shaping how bresciani have negotiated three surviving ‘faces’ of Fascism: Marcello Piacentini's monumental piazza della Vittoria; Arturo Dazzi's colossal statue ‘L’Era Fascista’, popularly known as the ‘Bigio’; and Oscar Prati's monument-ossuary to the fallen of the Great War.

A case study on statue of unity: Engineering practices and challenges

The Statue of Unity, the Tallest Statue in the world, is a tribute to SardarVallabhbhai Patel's life, a role model of unity and statesmanship in India.The Statue is built in honour of SardarVallabhbhai Patel is dedicated to the nation.The Statue of Unity is a colossal statue of Indian statesman and independence activist SardarVallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950) who was the first home minister of India and the chief adherent of Mahatma Gandhi during the non-violent Indian Independence movement. Environmental law refers to rules and regulations governing human conduct likely to affect the environment. It reflects the legislative measures, and the administrative and judicial structures to protect the environment. The project includes a canopied bridge to the island, a visitor's centre, a hotel with a conference centre, a transit centre, and a 3.5 km road from the nearby town of Kevadia. This project was launched in 2010 as a public-private partnership model and was completed in 2019. This paper presents the Engineering practices and Challenges faced in building the statue.

Additional niches and architecture added in the Tang dynasty to the Vairocana niche in the Fengxian Temple at Longmen

Abstract The niche with the colossal statue of Vairocana Buddha in the Fengxian Temple in Longmen was carved in the second year of the Shangyuan reign period of the Tang dynasty. At the beginning of the Kaiyuan reign, additional niches were carved into the same cliff wall. Based on spatial analysis of the surviving holes for architectural structures and their relation to the niches added later, it is inferred that the architecture in front of the niche was not built after the construction of these later niches. These two construction events could have belonged to the same construction phase. The construction of the architecture in front of the Vairocana niche completely altered the outer appearance and visibility of the statues, which then resulted in the relocation of worship activities from the open area to an enclosed space created by the wooden-structured temple in front of the niche.

A Buddhist Bhairava? Kṛtanagara’s Tantric Buddhism in Transregional Perspective

This article discusses some key aspects of the historical and religious background of the period of Kṛtanagara and his aftermath in East Java and Sumatra. Our analysis is based on a comparative study of Sanskrit, Old Javanese, and Tibetan textual sources and artistic vestiges (“medias”) to highlight the transregional networks of tantric Buddhism (“traditions”) that may have contributed to shape the king’s religio-political agenda. Having identified the enigmatic colossal statue at Padang Roco/Sungai Langsat in Dharmasraya (Central-Western Sumatra) as a Mahākāla bearing Śaiva iconographic contaminations, and as a product of Siṅhasāri-period East Java from Sino-Tibetan prototypes, we revive Moens’ (1924: 557) idea of an association between the icon and Kṛtanagara. Adding to the discussion on the Eastern Indian-style icon of Arapacana Mañjuśrī found near Candi Jago, we highlight further parallels that complement and fine-tune the idea advanced by previous scholars about the commonality of the tantric Buddhist paradigms practiced at the courts of Kṛtanagara and Kublai Khan, and propose that their legacy was adopted by the political elites of the subsequent generation in both Nusantara and China.

The Language of Ruins: Greek and Latin Inscriptions on the Memnon Colossus

The Language of Ruins: Greek and Latin Inscriptions on the Memnon Colossus

Constructing Imperial and National Identities: Monstrous and Human Bodies in Book of Watchers, Daniel, and 2 Maccabees

Monster theory illuminates the construction of imperial and national identities in the portrayals of monstrous and human bodies in three early Jewish texts; Book of Watchers, Daniel, and 2 Maccabees. Book of Watchers expresses anxiety about Judean/Jewish identity in the shadow of empire through its portrayal of a vulnerable humanity terrorized by voracious giants and their demonic spirits. Daniel dehumanizes empire and its agents, imaging empire as a colossal statue, an animalistic were-king, and a series of monstrous beasts, while one like a human being poses an alternative to imperial rule. Second Maccabees, by contrast, demythologizes, decapitates, dismembers, and disintegrates the imperial body in order to portray the integral Judean political body (and soul) as mature, pure, capable, and ordered.

Metal and Stone: An Analogy between the Story of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17) and the Story of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream (Dan 2)

Abstract The image that appears to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, in which a colossal statue made from different metals is struck to the ground by a stone (Dan 2), creates an affinity between this story and that of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17). These two stories convey an identical message through the same symbols. While the stone signifies the divine, the man-made metal symbolizes human might. Though this is a broad analogy, which includes both thematic and linguistic parallels, it has not yet received sufficient scholarly attention. This paper unravels the analogy, shedding new light on Daniel 2, its meaning and its purpose.

Domitian, Literary Restriction, and the Poetics of Catasterism and Divinity in Statius’s Silvae 1.1 and 1.2

Abstract This paper questions the post-Flavian reception of Domitian by exploring the imagery of catasterism in the Silvae’s first two poems. 1.1 solemnly celebrates Domitian’s colossal equestrian statue by overlapping imagery of catasterism with apotheosis. This is typical for imperial panegyric, but also key to Domitian’s divine self-portrayal. The tone becomes playful in 1.2, which celebrates the nuptials of the book’s patron, suggestively named Stella. I suggest that the contrastive effect deflates the grandeur of apotheosis, which risks offending the emperor. Domitian’s lack of punitive response, however, indicates that he was not as stringent with literary censorship as posterity has suggested.

Avalokiteśvara in Gold: Art and Ideology at Contemporary Baodingshan

On June 13, 2015, the newly renovated Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara statue at Baodingshan was officially unveiled to the public in Chongqing, China. Sculpted in the twelfth century, the colossal statue is now covered in glittering gold and vibrant colors. While many criticized the lavish conservation work, others stressed the fact that the statue had undergone similar restorations over the course of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911), which saw the application of new pigment and gold to protect the heavily deteriorated stone. This paper aims to explore the motivations behind the decision to conserve the statue by such lavish means in 2015. I demonstrate that while the 2015 conservation project is but a continuation of the government supervision of local religious and cultural activities at Baodingshan, it has a decidedly different agenda from previous efforts. The recent conservation work is premised upon the assumption that the Avalokiteśvara statue should be recognized as a work of “art.” Moreover, two narratives differentiate Baodingshan sculptures from those at other famous historical Buddhist sites : that it was Chinese rather than foreign scholars who made the discovery, and that Baodingshan sculptures represent an indigenous Chinese style. Such designation serves as the bedrock of Baodingshan’s transformation into a cultural heritage site. Both the Chongqing and national government saw the conservation project as an opportunity to reaffirm the artistic merit of a local religious image, which would both generate economic interest and galvanize patriotism.

Buddhist Stone Sutras in China: Sichuan Province ed. by Lothar Ledderose and Sun Hua

Reviewed by: Buddhist Stone Sutras in China: Sichuan Province ed. by Lothar Ledderose and Sun Hua Bart Dessein (bio) Lothar Ledderose and Sun Hua, editors. Buddhist Stone Sutras in China: Sichuan Province, volume 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014. xx, 445 pp. 36 illustrations, 240 plates. Hardcover, €148.00, isbn 978-3-447-06932-8. This first volume of a series of four that is to appear on Buddhist stone sutras in Sichuan Province is the result of research jointly conducted by the Heidelberg Akademie der Wissenschaften, the Institute of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, and the Chengdu Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. It presents the stone sutras that are located at the northern side of the Grove of the Reclining Buddha (Wofoyuan) in Ziyang City, Anyue County, in the eastern part of Sichuan Province. The complex, to which the Grove of the Reclining Buddha belongs, also includes caves on the southern side of the valley, some of which have sutras engraved in their walls, and some of which are filled with sculptured images and miniature relief pagodas. With a total number of 341,000 characters divided over sixty-nine caves—of which, actually today only fifteen contain sutras—this complex contains the largest quantity of sutra texts ever engraved in a single Buddhist cave precinct in China. In line with the overall feature of this series, before turning to a detailed description and interpretation of Wofoyuan, the volume starts with a topographical introduction to all the caves in the valley, including a detailed description of their physical features and measurements, and the layout of the contents of each wall of each engraved cave. Having gained a general picture of the layout of the site, in this tremendously helped by the wonderful and lavish photography that characterizes this series, Lothar Ledderose touches upon the chronology of the grove. As he mentions, “most scholars accept a Kaiyuan era (713–741) date for the main figure, it is also a common opinion that changes and additions were made later. It has even been suggested that the entire figure may only have been carved in the tenth century, or even later” (p. 19). This, along with the presence of nine Tang dynasty inscriptions (five of which are dated to the first half of the eighth century), five colophons from the Five Dynasties, and nine from the Song dynasty, and the fact that, “[i]n front of the colossal statue, Ming dynasty stone buildings facing south have come to light” (p. 34), shows the extended development in time of this grove—and thus of the history of Buddhism in this part of Sichuan Province. It therefore is a pity that “[t]he chronology will be discussed systematically in a later volume” (p. 33; repeated on p. 63). Even though the other groves of the volume are discussed later (see Tsai Suey-Ling and Sun Hua, eds., Buddhist Stone Sutras in China, Sichuan Province, volume 2 [Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag; Hangzhou: China Academy of Art Press, 2014]), a short chronological summary of the grove would have been welcomed here. As things are presented now, a full appreciation of the significance of this Wofoyuan is not really possible. [End Page 342] While an important part of the second volume on Sichuan is devoted to the discussion of the Great Parinirvāṇa Sūtra (which forms an exemplary pair with the reclining Buddha), the bulk of the present volume (pp. 39-426) is dedicated to the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law (Miaofa lianhua jing). In its 406 c.e. translation by Kumārajīva in twenty-eight chapters and seven scrolls, the Lotus Sutra covers the six walls of two adjacent caves on the northern edge of the valley. In his contribution to this volume (pp. 39-67), Stephen F. Teiser provides us with some reflections on the possible reason for the positioning of the Lotus Sutra at the feet of the reclining Buddha, on the possible place the Lotus Sutra (and other texts carved in other caves in the valley) had in the Tiantai system (both the Lotus Sutra and the Great Parinirvāṇa Sūtra occupied the uppermost position in Zhiyi’s [538...

A Note on the Ancient Name of Dayr al-Barshā

Summary This article supplements a longer study published in ZÄS 132 (2005), pp. 173-189. It specifically addresses the place name Tjerty mentioned in the inscriptions accompanying the scene showing the colossal statue of the nomarch Djehutihotep, that exists in his tomb in Dayr al-Barshā. It is argued that the name al-îūd, used by the local population of Dayr al-Barshā for an open area in the south of the village, goes back to the ancient name Tjerty, adding an important argument in the discussion over the location of that settlement and the place where the Djehutihotep statue was erected.

Dreams inspired by Phoebus: Western visitors to Delos from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century*

Delos first became a serious target for Western visitors in the 1620s, when it was virtually looted on behalf of collectors such as the Earl of Arundel, the Duke of Buckingham and King Charles I. Many marble sculptures and altars were removed, and objects which could not be transported whole were gradually broken up, like the colossal statue of Apollo. In the eighteenth century, visitors were primarily concerned with recording what they saw, relating it to descriptions in ancient literature, and studying the architecture. Some treated their visit almost as a pilgrimage to one of the holiest sites of Antiquity. The effects of the Napoleonic Wars brought more British tourists to Delos from the end of the eighteenth century, and there was much small-scale removal of marble objects, often to be displayed as souvenirs in the grounds of country houses. A group of five Delian altars in the grounds of Wrest Park, Bedfordshire, helps to illustrate changing tastes and interests over a period of two centuries.

À propos de l'identification du Temple a de Mît Rahîna/Memphis*

New reading of an inscription carved on a colossal statue of the Mît Rahîna museum allowing an identification for the monument named ‘Temple A’ by the Survey of Memphis (EES) to be proposed: the sanctuary of ‘Ramesses II beloved-like-Ptah’. This may have been a place dedicated to personal piety.

Practice, politics, and possibilities.

In 1501, at the tender age of 26, a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet called Michelangelo Simoni was asked by a Florentine guild to create a colossal statue portraying a symbol of Florentine freedom. The statue was to be given pride of place in the Piazza della Signoria in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. It is said that the young artist gazed on the massive block of white marble from the Carrara quarries in Tuscany and said quietly ‘I see possibilities’. And what possibilities! Before he had even picked up his tools, and 4 years before the work was completed, an image of one of the greatest sculptures of all time, the Statue of David, was clear in his mind. Our responsibility as members of a respected speciality within an influential profession must be to see ‘possibilities’, to look at what we have now, to imagine a masterpiece and then to sculpt. In this lecture I am going to explore just how close our speciality is to a masterpiece. I am going to describe my view that while we have achieved an enormous amount, there is still much to do. And there are times when it feels like we are not making sufficient progress, or even have a clear vision of what we are trying to achieve. I am going to suggest that in order to make progress we should be less inclined to think within the boundaries of our discipline and more inclined to look outwards. I am going to suggest that we must think not only about our traditional role as doctors helping to care for patients, but about the role of general practice within our local communities and as part of a wider health and social care system. I will attempt to address this ambitious remit by …

A Monumental Debate in Budapest: The Hentzi Statue and the Limits of Austro-Hungarian Reconciliation, 1852–1918

Two of the most iconic photosof the 1956 Hungarian revolution involve a colossal statue of Stalin, erected in 1951 and toppled on the first day of the anti-Soviet uprising. One of these pictures shows Stalin's decapitated head, abandoned in the street as curious pedestrians amble by. The other shows a tall stone pedestal with nothing on it but a lonely pair of bronze boots. Situated near Heroes' Square, Hungary's national pantheon, the Stalin statue had served as a symbol of Hungary's subjugation to the Soviet Union; and its ceremonious and deliberate destruction provided a poignant symbol for the fall of Stalinism.

Influences of wind flow over heritage sites: A case study of the wind environment over the Giza Plateau in Egypt

Wind influences are important environmental factors that cause deterioration of historical heritage sites. This work presents a computational framework for investigating the influences of the wind flow over such sites. The wind flow is considered to be fully turbulent, isothermal and incompressible. The present framework employs three-dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations along with multi-block approach and non-conformal meshes to perform wind flow simulations over such sites with complex geometry. As a case study, the influences of wind flow over the “Giza Plateau”, one of the most important Egyptian historical heritage sites, were studied for the Northwest wind (at average wind speed over the year) and the Southwest windstorms. The study addresses the less understood, yet important, influences of the wind flow structure on the site and its famous monuments: the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx. Qualitative and quantitative treatments of the results are carried out for estimating the wind loading on the different monuments within the plateau. Particular attention was paid to the Great Sphinx to investigate its most vulnerable parts to the wind, as one of the critical environmental factors that cause erosion of this colossal statue.

The Year of the Four Emperors and the Revelation of John: The `pro-Neronian' Emperors Otho and Vitellius, and the Images and Colossus of Nero in Rome

This article draws attention to the events of the `Year of the Four Emperors', the period of unrest and civil war which followed Nero's death in 68 CE. Their bearing on the Revelation of John has been underestimated. My aims are to demonstrate the centrality of Nero in John's understanding of the seven-headed beast, and its image, and to propose a precise dating for the composition of Revelation in the period under Galba, Otho and Vitellius in 68/69 CE. This involves an analysis of Nero's Golden House, his colossal statue and the pro-Neronian attitude of his successors Otho and Vitellius. After my consistent rereading of Revelation in the context of 68/69 CE, I set out to disprove the common interpretation of Revelation, which draws upon the provincial imperial cult in Asia under Domitian. I finish by showing the relevance of Nero's expected return for a reading public in the Roman province of Asia.

Where Did Djehutihotep Erect His Colossal Statue?

The tomb of Djehutihotep at Deir al-Barsha contains a well-known scene depicting the transport of the nomarch's colossal statue from Hatnub. Little attention has been paid to the matter of what the destination of the monument was. This article first reevaluates the most elaborate statement on the issue, by P. E. Newberry, whose conclusion that the statue was brought to Ashmunein has been almost universally accepted. Close study of the scene and of the accompanying text suggests that Newberry's arguments contain several weaknesses, and that it seems more likely the statue remained on the East bank of the Nile. The results of recent archaeological work at the site of Deir al-Barsha lead to a reevaluation of its spatial layout. The article offers a suggestion about the location of the statue within that wider context.

Special Report: Afghan Archaeology on the Road to Recovery

The world reacted swiftly to the terrible news of the destruction of the Great Buddha of Bamiyan, when Taliban forces dynamited the colossal statue in 2001. This, however, was just a part of the Taliban's strategy. Excavations that had unearthed Persian and Hellenistic strata uncovered at Bagram (ancient Kapissa) were bulldozed into the ground and destroyed. The once admirable Afghan National Museum in Kabul was looted and the building destroyed. Everywhere the Taliban destroyed anything that told a story about Afghanistan's cultural and historical heritage that predated their own sectarian version of history. Seventy years of hard work and research have been lost through the chaos and anarchy of war. The central government had become so weak that it was not in a position to protect any public or state properties. In the early 1990s, over sixty thousand citizens of Kabul died in the fighting, and nearly seventy percent of the objects of the National Museum were plundered.