Today featuring this lost statue from Afghanistan. Pretty amazing for carvers to carve things out of solid rock.
9. Buddha of Bamyan, Afghanistan
The Buddha of Bamyan were monumental statue of standing Buddha carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul. 55 meters tall. It were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Japan, Switzerland, and UNESCO, among others, have pledged support for the rebuilding of the statues.
More info over at Wikipedia.
The Buddhas of Bamyan (Pashto: د بودا بتان په باميانو کې De Buda butan pe bamiyano ke, Persian: تندیسهای بودا در باميان tandis-ha-ye buda dar bamiyaan) were two monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km (143 miles) northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters (8,202 feet). Built during the 6th century, the statues represented the classic blended style of Greco-Buddhist art.
The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. This coating, practically all of which was worn away long ago, was painted to enhance the expressions of the faces, hands and folds of the robes; the larger one was painted carmine red and the smaller one was painted multiple colors[2]. The lower parts of the statues' arms were constructed from the same mud-straw mix while supported on wooden armatures. It is believed that the upper parts of their faces were made from great wooden masks or casts. The rows of holes that can be seen in photographs were spaces that held wooden pegs which served to stabilize the outer stucco.
They were destroyed by the Taliban with the assistance of Pakistani and Saudi engineers in 2001. Japan, Switzerland, and UNESCO, among others, have pledged support for the rebuilding of the statues.
The Taliban's destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyan in March 21, 2001
No comments:
Post a Comment