Sculpture and architecture were intimately connected in Southeast
Asia and monumental reliefs were used to decorate the walls of
buildings.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Discuss the techniques, themes, and common subjects of the monumental reliefs of Borobudur
and the Khmer temples.
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Relief is a sculptural technique. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the
sculpted material has been raised above the background plane.
Relief sculpture was used to decorate the walls of buildings, particularly Hindu and Buddhist
temples, and accomplished on a very large scale. It was greatly influenced by Indian styles and
techniques and generally portrayed religious themes with highiconographic precision.
Other themes included court and battle scenes, scenes depicting daily life and the customs of the
people, and animals, both real and mythical.
Most of ancient Southeast Asian relief sculpture was done inbas-relief, where the projecting
images have shallow overall depth, although the kingdom of Champa in southern and central
Vietnam excelled in haut-relief sculpture, which was marked by much greater depth and undercut
areas.
The most famous examples of monumental relief sculptures in Southeast Asia are to be found in
the 9th-century Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Java, Indonesia.
The Khmer of Cambodia were also renowned for their monumental bas-reliefs, which usually
took narrative form, depicting stories from history and mythology. The most famous example of
Khmer sculpture is the 12th-century Hindu temple of Angkor Wat.
TERMS [ edit ]
bas-relief
A low or mostly-flat sculpture which is carved into a wall, or is in the form of a tile mounted flat to
a wall, rather than a fully three-dimensional, free-standing figure.
sunken relief
a type of sculpture largely restricted to the art of Ancient Egypt, in which the image is made by
cutting the sculpture itself into a flat surface
EXAMPLES [ edit ]
Notable examples of monumental reliefs include Borobodur in Java, Angkor Wat in Cambodia;
The Sanchi case in India; and many South Indian temples,Unakoti group of sculptures(bas relief)
at Kailashahar, Unakoti District, Tripura, India.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [edit ]
Relief is a sculptural technique which
gives the impression that the sculpted
material has been raised above the
background plane. This is accomplished
by cutting into a flat surface of stone or
wood, thereby lowering the field and
leaving the unsculpted parts seemingly
raised. Reliefs depicting figures that are at
least life-size or bigger or are attached to
monuments of some sort are
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termed monumentalreliefs by art historians, thus distinguishing them from small metal
or ivory reliefs, portable sculptures, and diptychs.
Monumental Reliefs
Monumental reliefs represent an important facet of ancient Southeast Asian art, where
sculpture and architecture were intimately connected with one another. As a result, relief
sculpture was generally used to decorate the walls of buildings—particularly Hindu and
Buddhist temples—and was accomplished on a very large scale. It was greatly influenced by
Indian styles and techniques and generally portrayed religious themes with
high iconographic precision. Court and battle scenes, scenes depicting daily life and the
customs of the people, and animals (both real and mythical), were some other common
subjects. Most of ancient Southeast Asian relief sculpture was done in bas-relief, where the
projecting images have shallow overall depth, although the kingdom of Champa in southern
and central Vietnam excelled in haut-relief sculpture, which was marked by much greater
depth and undercut areas.
Borobudur
The most famous examples of monumental relief sculptures in Southeast Asia are to be found
in the 9th-century Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Java, Indonesia. Built during the rein of
the Indic Sailendra Dynasty, the temple is constructed to reveal many different levels of
terraces, many of which are heavily ornamented with intricate bas-reliefs. In total, there are
2,672 individual bas-reliefs, 1,460 of which depict narratives from Buddhist lore, including
the birth and life of the Buddha. The remaining 1,212 are solely decorative.
Themes
The reliefs have a diverse range of themes. They depict mythical, spiritual beings from the
Buddhist pantheon such asbodhisattvas, apsaras and gandharvas, or celestial dancers and
musicians; and asuras or demons . They also depict images of people: the king and queen,
princes, priests, courtiers, soldiers, servants, and commoners. They provide glimpses of
scenes from 8th-century Java: courtly palace life, a hermit in the forest, commoners in the
village, temple and marketplace scenes, native vernacular architecture, and flora and fauna.
These bas-relief sculptures have served as a reference for historians in the study of ancient
Javanese architecture, weaponry, fashion, and transportation .
King and Queen with their subjects
he bas relief of 8th century Borobudur depicted the palace scene of King and Queen accompanied by their
subjects. Its strongly suggested that the relief depicted the actual scene of Sailendran royal court.
Lalitavistara Deva listening to Dhamma
Detail of carved relief from Borobudur, depicting a figure from the Buddhist pantheon.
In addition, a group of 160 panels of monumental relief sculpture provides a complete
illustration of the law of karma or the principles of cause and effect. There are depictions of
both praiseworthy activities (including charity and pilgrimage) and blameworthy activities
(ranging from gossip to murder), with their corresponding rewards and punishments. These
panels provide particularly complex scenes of daily life, depicting the full panorama of
samsara (the endless cycle of birth and death. )
Khmer Temples
The Khmer of Cambodia were also renowned for their monumental bas-reliefs, which usually
took narrative form, depicting stories from history and mythology. They decorated the
tympana (semi-circular arched spaces above a doorway), walls, and ceilings with complex
scenes. The earliest surviving example of Khmer narrative bas-relief sculpture comes from
the 10th-century Hindu temple of Banteay Srei, which has carved tympana and towers
depicting scenes from the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The most
famous example of Khmer bas-relief sculpture is undoubtedly at the 12th-century Hindu
temple of Angkor Wat, which has 13,000 square meters of narrative bas-reliefs on the walls
of its outer gallery .
The Churning of the Sea of Milk, Angkor Wat
This episode from Hindu mythology is depicted in bas­relief on the south of the east wall of Angkor Wat's
third enclosure.