Indian History - 2

Bodhi · (This post was last modified: 01-25-2008, 02:30 PM by Bodhi.)

dhu · 01-29-2008, 05:21 AM

QUOTEWorld's first oil paintings in Afghan caves: expert 
Forget Renaissance Europe. The world's first oil paintings go back nearly 14 centuries to murals in Afghanistan's Bamiyan caves, a Japanese researcher says.

TOKYO (AFP) - Buddhist images painted in the central Afghan region, dated to around 650 AD, are the earliest examples of oil used in art history, says Yoko Taniguchi, an expert at Japan's National Research Institute for Cultural Properties.

A group of Japanese, European and US scientists are collaborating to restore damaged murals in caves in the Bamiyan Valley, famous for its two gigantic statues of the Buddha which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

In the murals, thousands of Buddhas in vermilion robes sit cross-legged, sporting exquisitely knotted hair.

Other motifs show crouching monkeys, men facing one another or palm leaves delicately intertwined with mythical creatures.

The paintings incorporate a mix of Indian and Chinese influences, and are most likely to be the works of artists traveling on the Silk Road, which was the largest trade and cultural route connecting the East and the West.

The Los Angeles-based Getty Conservation Institute analysed 53 samples extracted from the murals. Using gas chromatography methods, the researchers found that 19 had oil in the paint.

"Different types of oil were used on the dirt walls with such a sophisticated technique that I felt I was looking right at a medieval board painting dating from 14th or 15th century Italy," Taniguchi told AFP.

The discovery would reverse common perceptions about the origins of oil paintings.

<img src='http://www.sawf.org/newsphotos/2/A_Buddha_200801242105102651_afp.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
A mural painting of Buddha
AFP/File Selim Saheb Ettaba

The technique is widely believed to have emerged in Europe leading into the Renaissance, which flowered from 1400 to 1600.

Italian artist and architect Giorgio Vasari first wrote of oil painting in his book, "The Lives of the Artists," in the mid-16th century.

Art historians, however, argue that 15th-century Flemish painter Jan van Eyck may have known of the technique because he had developed a stable varnish, although he kept it secret until his death.

"It was very impressive to discover that such advanced methods were used in murals in central Asia," Taniguchi said.

"My European colleagues were shocked because they always believed oil paintings were invented in Europe. They couldn't believe such techniques could exist in some Buddhist cave deep in the countryside," she added.

Painters of the Buddhist murals used organic substances -- including natural resin, plant gum, dry oil and animal protein -- as a binder, which even today is an important element in paint.

A binder keeps pigment particles together in a cohesive film and allows the paint to resist decay.

The researchers are trying to restore the murals amid international efforts to salvage what is left of Bamiyan.

The Taliban, ignoring global protests, dynamited the two 1,500-year-old statues, the world's biggest representations of the Buddha, in March 2001, branding them un-Islamic idolatry.

The regime was ousted later that year in a US-led military campaign after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Although oil was used in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, there currently exist no examples of their use in painting. The oil was used for medicine, cosmetics or to coat boats, Taniguchi said.

Taniguchi hopes the advanced techniques used to analyse the murals would be put to use in ruins of other ancient civilisations.

Other early civilisations including those in current-day Iran, China, Turkey, Pakistan and India may have used similar techniques as well but their ruins have not been subject to advanced, extensive research, she said.

"In analysing old murals throughout Europe and Central Asia, I look forward to throwing light on the roots of oil paintings," she said.

dhu · (This post was last modified: 01-29-2008, 06:28 AM by dhu.)

<img src='http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200801/r219317_859473.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

A recent handout picture, released from the Japanese National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, shows an oil painting of a Buddhist image, discovered in a cave in Afghanistan's Bamiyan. (AFP: Japanese National Research Institute for Cultural Properties)
link

dhu · 01-29-2008, 01:58 PM

QUOTEBamiyan has worldâs oldest oil paintings

Wall paintings on ruins in Afghanistanâs Bamiyan Valley are the worldâs oldest oil paintings, dating to the late seventh century, according to research by the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in Tokyo.

As it has been thought that paintings on tamamushi-no-zushi, a small shrine belonging to Horyuji temple in Nara Prefecture, and the treasures of Shosoin, a storehouse at Todaiji temple, were likely painted in oil, the findings that the oil-based paintings exist in the Bamiyan ruins, which are on the ancient Silk Road, are drawing researchersâ attention over possible connections with ancient Japanese art.

Yoko Taniguchi, researcher at the institute, announced the findings at an international symposium held at the institute Tuesday.

There are many caves in the Bamiyan Valley, where two massive Buddha statues stood until being destroyed in 2001 by the then ruling Taliban.

The ceilings and walls of the caves are decorated with full color Buddhist paintings that are said to have been painted between the fifth century and 10th century.

The institute and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, based in France, analyzed pieces taken from 50 caves and found that paintings in 12 of them were made with oils between the late seventh century and 10th century.

Some documents suggest that oil paintings using litharge, a natural mineral with a red pigment, existed in the Nara period (710-784), and that oils were used as coating material for craft works in ancient Rome and Egypt.

However, the Bamiyan wall paintings are the worldâs oldest oil paintings confirmed by scientific analysis.

âIt was surprising that oil painting techniques were used for Buddhist paintings in Central Asia. It might be possible to know the origin of the technique by analyzing ruins and artifacts in Asian regions, including Persia and India,â said Kosaku Maeda, a professor emeritus of Asian history at Wako University.

Bodhi · (This post was last modified: 01-29-2008, 02:51 PM by Bodhi.)

dhu · (This post was last modified: 02-03-2008, 08:33 AM by dhu.)

QUOTESri Lanka: China's ceramic trade with ancient Rajarata
23rd January 2008

By Prof. W. I. Siriweera,

SRI LANKA has had close contacts with China during the period of the ancient Rajarata Civilization. The contacts between the two countries were mainly motivated to enhance direct and indirect commercial relations. This essay focuses primarily on the Chinese Ceramics trade.

The recorded evidence of Chinese trade relations with Sri Lanka dates back to the first century A. D.. From this period onwards, sporadic textual references are found to missions exchanged between the two countries.

The earliest mission originated from China during the reign of Emperor P'ing (1-6 A.D.) of the Han Dynasty who sent a delegation of Chinese officials to several South Asian countries including Ssu-Cheng-Pu which can be identified as Sinhadipa, one of the ancient names of Sri Lanka. The object of the mission was to "spread the power and virtue" of the Han Emperor and search for precious objects. Later on, around 131 A.D., 414 A.D., 428 A.D., 435 A.D., 455 A.D., 527 A.D., 670 A.D., 712 A.D., 742 A.D., 746 A.D., 750 A.D., 762 A.D., and 989 A.D., thirteen missions were sent to China by kings of Anuradhapura. Some of these missions were of a purely religious nature but undoubtedly their objective was to establish cordial political relations presumably aimed at securing greater trade contacts. The fact that Anuradhapura kings took the initiative in sending all these missions suggests that Sri Lanka was a major beneficiary of trade between China and South Asia as well as China and the kingdoms of West Asia.

This trade was conducted at the time either through long-haul merchant voyages or zonal segmented merchant voyages with merchants of each region navigating and trading mainly within its sailing zone. Later on, the Chinese also initiated missions to Sri Lanka. The Mongols who assumed the dynastic name Yu'an, despatched four missions to Sri Lanka, all of them during the reign of Kublai Khan (1260-1294 A.D.), in the years 1273 A.D., 1284 A.D., 1291A.D., and 1293 A.D.

The outward-looking foreign policy of Kublai Khan and the greater Chinese interest in foreign trade were perhaps the key factors in the change of attitudes in initiating these missions. The only Sri Lankan mission to the Yu'an court was sent in 1293 A.D., i.e. during the reign of Sri Lankan King Parakramabahu III. Subsequently, under the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) Sri Lanka became one of the focal points of attention during the well-known maritime expeditions of Cheng-Ho.

One of Cheng-Ho's Sri Lankan visits in 1411-12 A.D. was unpleasant as he encountered hostilities with the nobility at Kotte, but another visit resulted in the enthronement of a king who had a friendly disposition towards the Chinese Emperor. Later on, there was an exchange of missions between the kings of Kotte and the Chinese emperors in 1416 A.D., 1421A.D., 1430 A.D., 1432 A.D., 1433 A.D., 1436 A.D. and 1459 A.D..

At least some of these missions exchanged between China and Sri Lanka would have had trade as the primary objective. For the ruling elite in both countries trade, besides being a source of revenue -was an important means of acquiring prestige goods. However, only by blending together the textual references with the archaeological data can a holistic picture of trading patterns between Sri Lanka and China be achieved.

All the missions mentioned above followed the sea route between the two countries. Several references to ships that plied between Sri Lanka and China are found in Sri Lankan and Chinese as well as other foreign sources. In the fifth century. A.D., the Chinese monk Fa-Hien who studied at Anuradhapura, on his return journey to China from Sri Lanka went in a large merchant vessel which could carry up to 200 men. The Persian writer, Cosmas Indicopleustes, wrote in the sixth country that Sri Lanka was visited by many ships from various parts of the world including China. According to R.A.L.H. Gunawardena and Sakurai Li Chao, the mandarin who wrote Tang Kou Shih pu reported two centuries later, that many foreign ships arrived at An-nang and Kuang-Chou each year and among them the ships from the "Lion Kingdom" (Sri Lanka) were the largest. Further, Li Chao refers to Sri Lankan vessels which reached Vietnam and China every year.

Several of the Chinese pilgrims whose voyages were recorded by I-tsing in the seventh century came to Sri Lanka before proceeding to the Western, South western and Southern parts of India perhaps because the facilities available made it easier to land from China and South-East Asia to Sri Lanka than to sail direct to India.

The patterns of shipping and navigation appear to have generally worked in favour of Sri Lankan ports and helped to enhance their importance in trade between South and South - East Asia, but after about the tenth century when the pattern of oceanic currents was known and with the improvements of nautical technology and direct sailing, the importance of Sri Lankan ports as transit centres diminished.

Yet, direct trade between Sri Lanka and South East Asia continued. Chinese vessels touched at the Sri Lankan ports as testified to by Chau-Ju-Kua while some Chinese vessels which did not reach Sri Lanka proceeded to Indian ports. In the latter case, Sri Lankan and Chinese products were exchanged by merchants in the Indian ports such as Jurfattan. Only when Chinese official intervention prohibited China trading beyond Malacca in 1433 did direct Sino-Sri Lankan trade relations come to a standstill.

Several sea routes, some of which were interlinked regional routes, were followed by navigators between Sri Lanka and China and vice versa. Of these, one of the popular routes from Sri Lanka was along the Coromandel Coast, Bay of Bengal, Burma Coast, Malacca Straits (Kalah Bar) and Hanoi in Indo-China to Canton (Khanfu). Depending on the monsoon winds, ships sailing to Canton from Sri Lanka avoided the Coromandel Coast, Bay of Bengal and the Burma Coast and sailed direct to the northern end of the Malacca Straits and passed through South Asian Kingdoms such as Ho-ling, Dvaravati, Fu-nan and sailed to Canton. The two wind systems helped navigation and trade along these routes. These were the South-West monsoon from April to September at the onset of which easterly direction navigation from South Asia started and the North-East monsoon from October to March at the onset of which navigation in a westerly direction from China commenced.

Chinese private trading groups, the office of Huang-men which was part of the Shao-fu or the Chinese Imperial treasury, Sri Lankan traders and traders from other countries who were engaged in intermediary trade were the four main groups involved in this Sino-Sri Lanka trade. The role of each group varied from time to time and according to circumstances and political conditions both in South Asia and China.

Of the items exported from Sri Lanka to China special reference may be made to precious stones, pearls, chanks, turtle shells, muslin and spices. Of the trade commodities sent from China to Sri Lanka both for the Sri Lankan market and for transhipment, Chinese silks and ceramics took pride of place.

There is no archaeological material confirming earlier mentioned textual references to Sri Lankan contacts in the first few centuries of the Christian era. But from the sixth century onwards contacts are represented archaeologically by several kinds of Chinese ceramics as well as Chinese coins belonging to almost every emperor from 976 A.D. to 1265 A.D..

The earliest of the ceramics are storage jars or jar fragments of the period of the Tang Dynasty. Thick, grey-brown coloured stoneware with pale olive-green glaze exterior and interior are the usual types of earliest Chinese ceramics found at the largest port in ancient Rajarata, Mahatittha-the great port. The most common form of these is a large, flat-based storage jar with a short vertical neck and six horizontal strap handles around the shoulder. These jars, found only in port sites indicate that they were used as storage vessels that would have served as shipping containers for valuable products than as objects traded for their intrinsic value.

Besides grey-brown coloured stoneware with glazed interior and exterior, black striated stoneware and dark brown glazed stoneware jars or jar fragments have been unearthed at Mahatittha. Black striated stoneware are restricted to flat-based storage jars while dark brown stoneware jars have dark brown glazed interior surfaces and contain vertical handles.

The fact that these large storage jars have been found in the busiest Sri Lankan port at the time, clearly indicates that they were not meant as religious gifts or gifts to the rulers but were brought into the island as shipping containes for valuables and fragile or easily damaged products. A high proportion of these storage jars found at the port of Mahatittha also indicates active Sino-Sri Lankan trade relations during the T'ang period.

Fragments of different varieties of Chinese bowls datable to the T'ang and Five Dynasties-approximately from the seventh to the tenth century A.D. have been found at the port of Mahatittha, the Abhayagiri monastic complex at Anuradhapura and at Mihintale. If they were found only at the monastic complexes they could not have been considered as definite evidence of trade contacts as the possibility of these items being given as religious gifts from China cannot be overlooked. But the fact that they have been found both at the port of Mahatittha and monastic complexes indicates that there was a brisk ceramic trade between Sri Lanka and China.

It should be noted that the eleventh century, besides Chinese ceramics, ceramics from West Asia particularly from Persia were also imported to Sri Lanka. However, during the eleventh to thirteenth centuries, the Sri Lankan sites contain almost no contemporary West Asian ceramics. The former balance between Chinese and West Asian ceramic goods has now tilted sharply towards the Chinese. High quality Sung Celadons and white porcelains became the import ceramics of choice. Pieces of these have been unearthed in the excavations of the later capitals such as Polonnaruwa and Yapahuwa along with hoards of Chinese coins. In addition, chance finds of ceramic cargoes at Allaipiddi in the northern part of Sri Lanka, Nilaveli in the north-eastern coast and of individual pieces at Galle harbour show that new ports were also used in Sino-Sri Lankan trade during the period eleventh to thirteenth centuries.

Despite the continuation in the Chinese ceramic trade with Sri Lanka, there seems to have been some change in its contents. The largescale usage of big storage jars either as shipping containers or as trade objects that was evident prior to the tenth century, has declined. The sites with luxury Sung ceramics no longer have so many pieces of the contemporary large stoneware jars.

A substantial number of Sung ceramics have been unearthed at Allaipiddi on the northern coast of Sri Lanka. Most of these are either bowls, bowl fragments, jars and jar fragments, but one is a large tub or a basin. The large tub which can be dated to the eleventh to early twelfth century A.D. is of grey-brown colour and is made of hard-fired clay. It is decorated with a medium brown glaze covering the interior and exterior surfaces but not the slightly incurring base. It has flaring sides and a rolled rim above its almost flat base.

So far there has been no archaeological evidence of the fourteenth and fifteenth century Chinese ceramic, in Sri Lankan sites. But literary accounts refer to six Chinese exploratory trading expeditions as far as the Mediterranean under Cheng-Ho, who visited Sri Lanka twice in 1411/1412 on these expeditions.

The Galle trilingual Slab inscription written in Chinese, Persian and Tamil set up by Cheng-Ho during his second voyage points to close trade contacts between the island and China in the fifteenth century.

The fifteenth century Chinese author, Ma Huan states that musk, coloured taffetas, blue and white porcelain ware, copper coins and camphor were imported from China to Sri Lanka and exchanged for pearls and precious stones.

Most of the Chinese ceramics found in Sri Lankan sites have come from the kilns is Zhejiang, Fujian, Huanan, Jianx and Guandong provinces which were the major areas of the manufacture of Chinese porcelain. The Alahana Parivena site at Polonnaruawa has led to the discovery of several samples of ceramics from the famous kiln at Jingezhen in the Jianxi Province.

It is likely that many of the Chinese ceramics found in Sri Lankan sites were imported as trade commodities for the use of royalty, the elite and the Buddhist priesthood. Some may have reached Sri Lanka as gifts from the Chinese emperors, nobles and merchants as well as through Chinese pilgrims and travellers. Some of the items found in the ports and coastal sites may also have been items meant for transit trade. In any event, both archaeological and textual evidence prove beyond any doubt that there were very considerable Chinese ceramic imports to Sri Lanka particularly between the beginning of the sixth century A.D. and the end of the thirteenth century A.D. However, a great deal of further research has to be conducted to understand the mechanics of this trade e.g. collection and export from China, storage in ships, entrepot trade, unloading in Sri Lankan ports, the nature of exchange and payments, transport to cities such as Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa in the interior, distribution within cities and donations to the monastic establishments

dhu · (This post was last modified: 02-11-2008, 08:00 AM by dhu.)

QUOTEhttp://janajaati.blogspot.com/2008/02/bamian.html

Oldest Oil Paintings Found in Caves

February 6, 2008âA newly discovered mural is one of many in 12 of Afghanistan's famed Bamian caves that show evidence of an oil-based binder. The binder was used to dry paint and help it adhere to rocky surfaces.

The muralsâand the remains of two giant, destroyed Buddhasâinclude the world's oldest known oil-based paint, predating European uses of the substance by at least a hundred years, scientists announced late last month.

Researchers made the discovery while conducting a chemical analysis as part of preservation and restoration efforts at Bamian, which lies about 145 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Seen in a 2005 photo, a towering alcove in Afghanistan's Bamian Valley cliffs shows the former home of a giant Buddha statue. Dating to between the fifth and ninth centuries A.D., the statue was one of a pair destroyed by Taliban officials in 2001 for allegedly insulting Islam.

The region also has as many as a thousand caves. About 50 contain the depictions of ornate swirling patterns, Buddhist imagery, and mythological animals that led UNESCO to name the area a World Heritage site.

Since 2003 Japanese, European, and U.S. researchers have been working to preserve the damaged murals. As part of that venture, the scientists conducted the first scientific analysis of the paintings since the 1920s.

Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry revealed that some of the murals contained oil- and resin-based paintsâlikely the earliest known use of either substance for painting.

Afghanistan's Bamian cliffs are probably best known for once holding two enormous Buddha statues, as seen in this February 2001 image.

Just one month after this photo was taken, Taliban officials began to destroy the mighty carvings as part of a hard-line crackdown on anything they considered anti-Islamic and idolatrous.

Scientists from around the world have since embarked on a painstaking process to collect the remnants of the dynamited statues and reconstruct them.

In the meantime, researchers have found that the paint used on the Buddhas, along with murals in 12 of 50 painted Bamian caves, contained oil-based bindersâthe world's oldest known examples of oil paintings.

A Buddhist mural dated to around the seventh century A.D. is one of many in Afghanistan's Bamian Valley that were recently found to contain oil- and resin-based paints.

The use of the substances at such an early date is a surprise, since they require sophisticated knowledge of chemical properties, scientists say.

Oil is used in paints to help fix dyes and help them adhere to surfaces. It also changes a paint's drying time and viscosity.

Europeans began using oil in their pictures by about 800 A.D., but the new research on the Central Asian pushes back the onset of oil-based painting by at least a hundred years.

Researchers hope to find even earlier examples by studying other Central Asian sites.

A mural from the Bamian cave Foladi 6 has been dated to the eighth century A.D. Its artists used an oil-based paint, scientists say, in an early example of mixing organic binding agents with pigments.

The murals were painted using a structured, multilayered technique reminiscent of early European methods, according to researcher Yoko Taniguchi of the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation in Tokyo.

The painters first applied a white base layer of a lead compound. Then an upper layerânatural or artificial pigments mixed with either resins or walnut or poppy seed drying oilsâwas added.

"The discovery of the use of oil [in Afghanistan] is important, because it shows that these undervalued paintings are far more important and far more sophisticated than anyone might have thought," said Sharon Cather, a wall-painting expert from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

<img src='http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/photogalleries/Bamian-pictures/images/primary/1_BAMIYAN_461.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

<img src='http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/photogalleries/Bamian-pictures/images/primary/5_BAMIYAN_461.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

dhu · (This post was last modified: 04-26-2008, 12:14 PM by dhu.)

QUOTEOil painting 'originated in East'
By Vincent Dowd

French-based scientists have been investigating cave paintings at the ancient complex of Bamiyan.

Until 2001 two vast 6th-Century Buddhas stood at Bamiyan. Then they were blown up by Afghanistan's then-Taleban government as un-Islamic.

Behind the Buddhas was a network of caves in which monks lived and prayed.

Now a team from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble has painstakingly analysed the ancient paintings in those caves.

They say that in 12 caves 7th-Century wall-paintings were created using oil paint, derived possibly from walnuts or the poppies which grew in the area.

It is believed oil painting in Europe began only some six centuries after this. The findings suggest these may be the oldest known examples anywhere of painting with oil.

Lessons from Bamiyan

The wall-paintings were devotional art showing the Buddha, often in colourful robes.

Probably the work was carried out by itinerant artists travelling the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the West.

There are plans to reconstitute the Bamiyan Buddhas - work which everyone acknowledges would be tremendously difficult.

But even without their presence, Bamiyan has much to tell the world about an era of art which is still little understood.

dhu · (This post was last modified: 04-24-2008, 10:08 PM by dhu.)

QUOTEOil painting 'invented in Asia, not Europe'
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor

The idea that oil painting was invented in Europe is overturned today by a remarkable discovery made as a result of one of the worst examples of cultural vandalism in recent years.

In 2001 the Taliban destroyed two ancient colossal Buddha statues in the Afghan region of Bamiyan, around 140 miles northwest of Kabul, which were hewn out of sandstone cliffs in the sixth century and, measuring up to 55 metres, were the biggest of their kind.

Although caves decorated with precious murals from 5th to 9th century A.D. also suffered from Taliban attacks on this World Heritage Site, they have since become the focus of a major discovery, revealing Buddhist oil paintings that predate those in Renaissance Europe by hundreds of years.

Scientists have proved, thanks to experiments performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, that the paints used were based of oil, hundreds of years before the technique was "invented" in Europe, when artists found they could use pigments bound with a medium of drying oil, such as linseed oil.

In many European history and art books, oil painting is said to have started in the 15th century in Europe. But the team that used the ESRF, an intense source of X rays, found the Bamiyan paintings date back to the mid-7th century AD

The murals show scenes with Buddhas in vermilion robes sitting cross-legged amid palm leaves and mythical creatures. Other motifs show crouching monkeys, men facing one another or palm leaves delicately intertwined.

A dozen out of the 50 caves were painted with oil painting technique, using perhaps walnut and poppy seed oils, conclude Ms Yoko Taniguchi from the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in Tokyo, working with the Centre of Research and Restoration of the French Museums-CNRS, France, the Getty Conservation Institute.
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"This is the earliest clear example of oil paintings in the world, although drying oils were already used by ancient Romans and Egyptians, but only as medicines and cosmetics", explains Ms Taniguchi, leader of the team.

"My European colleagues were shocked because they always believed oil paintings were invented in Europe. They couldn't believe such techniques could exist in some Buddhist cave deep in the countryside."

A combination of techniques to study the paintings was crucial to conclude that oils were used, says Dr Marine Cotte, one of the team. "We needed different techniques to get the full picture".

The results showed a high diversity of pigments as well as binders and the scientists identified original ingredients and alteration compounds. Apart from oil-based paint layers, some of the layers were made of natural resins, proteins, gums, and, in some cases, a resinous, varnish-like layer.

Protein-based material can indicate the use of hide glue or egg. Within the various pigments, the scientists found a high use of lead whites. These lead carbonates were often used, since antiquity up to modern times, not only in paintings but also in cosmetics as face whiteners.

The paintings are probably the work of artists who travelled on the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China, across Central Asia's desert to the West. Other early civilisations including those in current-day Iran, China, Turkey, Pakistan and India may have used similar techniques as well but their ruins have not been subject to the same battery of studies.

The results were presented in a scientific conference in Japan last January, but are only published today in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry.

dhu · 04-26-2008, 12:12 PM

Synchrotron proves Europeans were not the first painters to use oils

Europeans are often a little to eager to take credit for innovation. Copernicus may have formalized the heliocentric model of the solar system in the early 1500s, for example, but the Pole only did so with the help of vast tables of astronomical measurements taken 200 years earlier in Iran. Even the scientific method itself, often thought to have emerged from Galileoâs experiments in Italy around the same time, has its roots with Arab scientists of the 11th century.

Similar lapses of history occur in the art world. Many still think of oil painting as a European invention of the early Renaissance, perfected by the 15th century Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, who supposedly stumbled across the medium while experimenting with glazes. But they too are mistaken.

âA whole mythology sprang up around van Eyckâs so-called invention of oil painting,â explains Jenny Graham, an art historian from the University of Plymouth, UK, and author of the recent book Inventing Van Eyck. âBut it has long been recognised that oil painting was documented in the 12th century or even earlier and may have originated outside Europe.â

Art historians have always lacked real examples to bear out this documentary evidence. Now, however, scientists performing experiments at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) on samples of murals taken from Afghanistan say they have uncovered what could be the earliest known examples of oil paintings.

Seventh century art

The Afghan murals were discovered back in 2001 after Taliban fighters demolished two sandstone Buddha statues, each around 15 storeys tall, in the highland town of Bamyan. Behind the rubble was the entrance to a network of some 50 caves where the murals had been painted. They were dated to the mid-7th century, more than seven centuries before the Renaissance.

Yoko Taniguchi of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in Tokyo first looked at the paintings three years ago, and noticed what appeared to be a shrunken film on the surface. âI thought that it could be oil, but since it was not a major material [used in the Afghan region], I did not really consider it,â she says. Taniguchi decided to take some small samples to Grenoble, France, where she could work with Marine Cotte and colleagues at the ESRF.

The ESRF provides synchrotron light with a high brightness and wavelengths from infrared to X-rays, which means Cotteâs team were able to use three different imaging techniques to study the samples. Micro X-ray fluorescence and micro X-ray diffraction could penetrate deep into the samples to discern the composition of the pigments. But it was using micro Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, which provides spectra for separate layers in the samples, that the researchers could discover the signatures of carbonâhydrogen and carbonâoxygen bonds. These bonds indicated that the pigments must have been bound with oil (J. Anal. At. Spectrom. doi: 10.1039/b801358f).

âWe were very fortunate that analytical techniques using synchrotron radiation made it possible to analyse layer-by-layer at the micro level,â says Taniguchi. âIf we could analyse samples from other areas â such as west-Asian and Mediterranean regions â we may find similar examples.â

Binding pigments

Aside from supporting the idea that oil painting may have been known to non-Western cultures before it was practiced in Europe, it could shift our understanding of when oils were first used to bind pigments, rather than to simply glaze a piece made with other materials. The medical writer Aetius described the use of drying oils as a varnish in connection with artists in the 6th century, but it was not until the 12th century, with the writings of the German monk Theophilus, that more concrete references were made to the mixing of oil with pigment to make paint.

âThe significance of this find for art historians,â explains Graham, ârests on the distinction between glazing with oil as described by Aetius, and what we seem to have here, genuine oil painting, where the pigment itself is mixed with an oily binder, a practice usually dated to around the 12th century. So in Afghanistan, we not only have real rather than documentary evidence of one of the earliest instances of oil painting, we have a non-European example which supports a far more internationalist story of art.â

Shambhu · 05-27-2008, 09:17 PM

http://www.ifih.org/ecd-finalproducts.htm#

International Forum for India's Heritage

**acharya** · 06-02-2008, 06:17 AM

Capt M Kumar · 06-04-2008, 12:08 AM

One of the most heartrending moments in the Ramayana is the tragic death of Jataayu, the vulture-king, in his vain attempt to defend Sita as she is being abducted by Ravana. âJataayu-Vadhaâ, the ceremonial enactment of this event, is part of the repertoire of many genres of classical and folk theatre and dance in different parts of the country. Jataayu was a friend of Rama and a decent person pledged to performing his duty, upholding his sacred dharma.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/317661.html

Bodhi · 06-06-2008, 06:38 PM

QUOTEPushkar: 11th century Jain statue found

6 Jun 2008 TNN

AJMER: A medium-sized black stone statue of 17th Jain Tirth-ankar Kuntunath, dating back to 11th century, has emerged during excavations in holy town of Pushkar, about 15 kms from here.

The statue is one of the more than 36 statues found in last one year at old Pushkar and Ghat areas of the region. The discoveries con-firms of a religious congregation being held at the place some time in the medieval period.

Eighteen more such statues have been discovered in old Pushkar alone, including a Shivling of nearly one thousand year old, rare statue of god Kartikeya, statue of Vishnu and more Jain Tirthankar statues.

The statue of Jain Tirthankar Kuntunath in a meditating posture appeared when renovation work was going on at the famous Varaha temple in Pushkar. It bears characteristics of Jain architecture - curly hair, sharp features on face, etc. The style of meditation is also peculiar of Jain philosophy.

The statues have been kept in the government museum at Akbar Fort in Ajmer. Archaeologists and historians are studying different perspectives of new scripts of Chouhan dynasty of 11th century.

Two months ago, more than 20 statues were found during construction work on a personal land near Jat Vishramsthali behind the famous Bramha temple. The work containing scriptures in Ingal and Pingal, local dialects spoken during 10th century, and representing the meditation postures, dates between 6th and 11th centuries.

"These new discovery shows that Jainism flourished well at the time of Hindu ruler Prithvi Raj Chouhan,"said Akbar Fort museum superintendent Syeed Ajam Hussein. "Pushkar has the importance of multi-religious studies. The statues are in very good condition,"he said, adding that the statues bear pure art of Jain sculptures and therefore have significance for the scholars and archaeologists.
About 8 years ago, a metallic statue pertaining to Jain religion was also found in the area which dated back to more than two thousand years. "The period is important because that was the time when the region was ruled by Hindu kings, and Ghajnis invaded the land,"added Ajam.
"Pushkar is an ancient city and clues are there that Vikramaditya of 6th century had studied in Pushkar. The land has more treasure dug under it,"said a Pushkar-based archaeologist Rajendra Yagnik. "More than 4 times, the university at Pushkar was ruined by the invaders. This university was unique with Samkhya, Yoga and Jain philosophies being taught there,"he said, adding, "A group of Italian archaeologists also visited the place and gathered information of scriptures found here."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/...how/3104476.cms

Husky · (This post was last modified: 06-06-2008, 07:41 PM by Husky.)

QUOTE(Capt M Kumar @ Jun 4 2008, 12:08 AM)One of the most heartrending moments in the Ramayana is the tragic death of Jataayu, the vulture-king, in his vain attempt to defend Sita as she is being abducted by Ravana. âJataayu-Vadhaâ, the ceremonial enactment of this event, is part of the repertoire of many genres of classical and folk theatre and dance in different parts of the country. Jataayu was a friend of Rama and a decent person pledged to performing his duty, upholding his sacred dharma.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/317661.html
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Good grief. Now Jataayu is a person? For goodness' sake, he's a bird. Indian Express finding it hard to swallow "those Hindoos and their animal friends" (and finding it harder still to actually read the Ramayanam... If they can't read, should they really be writing - and for a newspaper what's more).

Yeah, I know we dress up like Jambaavan, Hanuman and the other Kapis, and like Jataayu when enacting the Ramayanam, but that doesn't make the characters that Hindus dress up as human. Hard for christoconditioned Indian media to comprehend, isn't it. The christoconditioned simply can't get it through their heads that animals aren't sidelined in Hindu narratives. "Indian" media is so far alienated from Hindu Dharma.

ramana · 06-10-2009, 09:01 PM

Chiron in BRF posted his blog article:

Central Asian threat to Bharat

Husky · 06-14-2009, 03:46 PM

Here?

http://haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?P...807&SKIN=B
QUOTEHindu groups condemn exclusion of stalwarts in history textbooks
14/06/2009 02:48:50Â

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/article...8,prtpage-1.cms

PUNE: Threatening to intensify their protest if the names of Dadaji Konddeo, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Keshav Baliram Hedgewar are not included in the revised history textbooks again, several organizations on Friday, including Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Hindu Mahashaba and Samasta Hindu Aghadi - said that they will not deter from going to the court if the need arises.

They condemned the omission of names of Shivaji Maharaj's mentor and of the founders of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha and Banaras Hindu University from the revised history textbooks of standard VIII and IV in all state-run and aided schools.

These organisations have demanded a clarification for "the need for these changes in the textbooks" and demanded the continued use of old books. They added that the government should dissolve the textbook committee responsible for these changes.

"We will write to the state government to immediately include the now-omitted names and references in the history textbooks of standards VIII and IV. We will further intensify our agitation if the government fails to take action," said Sunil Ghanwat of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti. He added that the government should publicly display the references used to make these alterations in the text.

The organisations have organised a morcha to protest against the government's move on June 15 at the office of the district collectorate.

Himani Savarkar of the Hindu Mahasabha said that the government's decision (to omit these references) was taken on the behest of certain anti-social elements. "We will not tolerate any false projection of our history," she said, adding, "There is ample evidence to prove that Dadaji Konddeo was Shivaji Maharaj's mentor and imparted vital lessons in warfare to Shivaji during his childhood."

Savarkar said that the Mahasabha will not hesitate in going to the court for justice. "The omissions indicate towards active and strong caste politics being played in the state," she added.

Milind Ekbote of Samasta Hindu Aghadi, Raj Yadav of Mard Maratha Sena and Parashar Mone of Shri Shivpratishthan Hindusthan were also present at the press conference.

06-15-2009, 11:58 PM

came via email-
The story of Paraiyansâ
QUOTE happened to read description about Pariahs in the following book. After analyzing, I started getting suspicion that Paraiyans were an important caste group (even Brahmins) who were put down when British were grabbing power in South India.

Read the chapter while keeping in mind that this was written in 1909 after casteism was established. Key points to be noted are those mentioned as their earlier stories or histories and customs. Of course, filter out British spins during narration.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Erin3nkU3...&cad=1#PPA77,M1

Following are my data points to be considered:

- Page 81: Valluvans (part of Paraiyans) used to wear sacred thread
- Page 83, first para: They had separate burning grounds - Not burial ground as they happened to do later
- Page 83: describes about Parayans priestly privileges
- Page 83: "In 1799, however, the right to enter temple was stopped at Dhvajasthambham". This tells when lower castes were prevented from entering temples! This was the age when British were taking over India.
- Page 84: Says Parayans also used to pull temple carts
- Page 84: Brahmin women used to worship at Paraiyan shrines
- Page 84: They claim to be descendents from Brahman priest Sala Sambhavan. Beef theory may have a different angle. Their story says that Brahmins priests are their cousins
- Page 85: Their story says "Paraiyans were the first creation, who first wore sacred thread"
- Page 86: They were the experts of village boundaries
- Page 87: Sometimes, the separation between Brahmin gramam and Paraiyan cheri was just a road or lane
- Page 88: Mentions an instance when Paraiyan started occupying agraharam vacated by Brahmins, and still called Agraharam
- Page 89: Paraiya women used to put ceremonial Kolam (or sacred pattern) in front of their house
- Page 91: Adultery is considered as a serious crime
- Page 92: There were excommunicated Paraiyans!
- Page 94: There were Vaishnavaites and Shaivaites among Paraiyans
- Page 94: There were cross cousin marriages among them
- Page 99: Valluvan priest performs homam in corrupt (British spin) Sanskrit!!!!
- There are lot of descriptions about Paraiyan rituals, which are very similar to any other major caste group

There are some important data about Paraiyans of Kerala:
- Page 131: They claim to be Brahmins!
- Page 132: It mentions about a Brahmin who became Paraiyan
- Page 132: Adultery was considered as a serious crime, and practiced Smarthavicharam, one practiced by Nambuthiris
- Page 135: Girls had mini marriage (kettu kalyanam) as achild and regular marriage (sambandam) as adult.These were practiced byÂ Nairs too.
- Page 137: Some Paraiyars had good ancestral properties - not poor
- Page 138: In AD 927, one Raja gave privileges to Praiyars
- Page 138: During war with Tipu prclamation was made that every Paraiyar must have a master!!! This is the beginning of subjugation to slave like condition!!!
- Page 138: It says that some resepectable Paraiyars contacted Nambuthiris to accept them as slaves for money.
- Page 139: They claim that they were Brahmins and entrapped by enemies by making them eat beef
- Page 139: It was made their custom to eat meat of dead animals. This, I think, was a forced degradation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some analysis:

- In Karnataka, their entry into temple was stopped in 1799! (after William Jones published his English Manusmriti)

- In Kerala, their status was made to that of slaves during the raid of Tippu. All I can guess here is that when Tippu invaded, the Travancore king needed British help. This proclamation must have been a British demand, because it doesn't help war against Tippu any way.

- Another thing I noticed is that Paraiyar had a lot of mystic capabilities (they are now labeled black magic). Only other caste that has similar capabilites are Brahmins. It is possible that Pariyars possessed some great sacred knowledge of Hinduism.

- I see every possibility that Paraiyars were subjugated to lowest level through systematic effort by British. Most likely they must have been the first defenders of Hinduism in South India. Subjugation of Paraiyans must have scared off other Brahmins, and that must be the reason why Brahmins fully cooperated with British in their agenda.

- The key missing piece in this jigsaw puzzle is the interaction between Paraiyars and British in 1600s and 1700s.

Could you please contact your contacts in Tamil Nadu, to investigate in this angle?

06-16-2009, 12:24 AM

Some pages on Older form of Hindusim in South West Punjab
majority of these area is now under different sect

06-17-2009, 03:16 AM

Why INDIA didn't convert to Islam 

Islam conquered many countries in a very short period of time. Most of the great nations and civilizations that came under Islamic rule end up being Muslim nations such as Persia, Egypt and Mesopotamia. India was something new in the history of Islamâs territorial expansion. For the first time, the majority of the conquered population did not convert to Islam. How come this happened in spite of the fact that majority of the country was being ruled by Muslim rulers for 800 years? Many people give different reasons for this. Many Pakistani Muslims love to claim that this was due to the tolerance of Muslim rulers who practiced secularism. This is a false claim. Muslim rulers tried every possible way to erase Hinduism from Indian scene. The only reason the majority of India did not convert is the dedication of the Indian men, women and even children towards their faith and honour of their country. The greatness of Indian civilization lied in its strong emphasis on religious freedom and even attaining martyrdom to preserve it. Many Indian men and women chose to die over giving up their faith or being dishonoured by the enemy.

Following is the story of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the ninth Guru of the Sikhism, who gave up his life in order to preserve Hinduism in India. He was given the title of âHind ki Chadorâ (Shield of India) by people of India for his great sacrifice to preserve their religion and culture.

During the reign of Muslim Emperor Aurangzeb in India, Hindus, Sikhs and Sufis were subjected to many atrocities and discrimination. In 1675 CE, the Delhiâs emperor cherished the ambition to convert entire India into Islam. Aurangzeb decided to begin his evil mission from the beautiful Kashmir, as Kashmiri Hindus were known to be the most highly learned and orthodox of the Hindu leadership. Hindus Kashmiris were known as Pundits, which means scholars or learnt people. Aurangzeb felt that if they could be converted the entire Hindu India will easily follow them. Therefore, he placed the orders on the Governor of Kashmir, Iftikhar Khan to carry out the policy to convert all the non Muslims by force. Iftikhar Khan gave an ultimatum to Hindus of Kashmir, embrace Islam or die.

Given the ultimatum, a large delegation of 500 Kashmiri Pundits decided to go to Anandpur Sahib (a city in Northern India) to seek the help of Guru Tegh Bahadur. This delegation was led by Pundit Kirpa Ram Dutt, who eventually joined the Sikh Army later in his life and became a martyr. The Pundits met the Guru and explained to him their dire predicament to the Guru and requested him to find a solution to their problem. As the Guru was pondering over this issue his ten year old son Gobind Rai walked into the room. He noticed the gloomy mood of his father and thus began the famous conversation between a father and his son which changed the future of India.

Gobind Rai: âGuruji, I see the acutely sad faces of the Sangat (Congregation) and you are silent in a deep thought. What is the problem?â

Guru Tegh Bahadur: âSon, this is a Sangat from Kashmir. The emperor Aurangzeb has given them ultimatum, of a choice between Islam and death. Unless a holy man lies down his head for the sake of these Hindus, there is no hope for their escape from imperial tyranny.â

Gobind Rai: âFor that great sacrifice, O Father, who can be worthier than you?â

Pundits were delighted that a solution was found and duly informed Emperor Aurangzeb of their decision. They told the Emperor, that Guru Tegh Bahadur is our leader and guide, first make him a Muslim and then we shall follow. Therefore, Aurangzeb ordered his officers to arrest the Guru and bring him to Delhi. On 27th July, 1675 CE Guru was arrested along with his three companions, Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dyal Das. Guru and his companions were tortured. Guru himself was chained and was kept in a cage. In order to terrorize him further into submission, his companions were tortured to death. The Qazi (Muslim priest) told Bhai Mati Das to embrace Islam âBrother, embrace Islam and enjoy the pleasures provided by the government. Moreover when you die as a Muslim, you will go to heaven where there will be streams of milk, many kinds of wine to drink and beautiful women to enjoy. If you do not embrace Islam, your body will be sewn into two.â Bhai Mati Dass replied, âI can sacrifice hundreds of such heavens for my faith. I donât need women or wine. I see all the happiness in the path of my faith.â After his refusal, by the order of the Qazis, the executioners sawed Bhai Mati Das in two on the 8th November, 1675 CE. On the 9th of November, Bhai Dayal Das was boiled alive. On the 10th November, Bhai Sati Das was wrapped in cotton wool and was burnt alive.

Finally, on 11TH November, 1675 CE, the Guru himself was taken into the famous public spot, the Chandni Chowk of Delhi. Under imperial charge that he was preventing the spread of Islam in India, he was beheaded.

In this carnage, India saw the rise of a new nation of heroes. The martyrdom of Guru and his companions evoked the conscience of India. It was realized that there could be no understanding between brutal imperial power and a proud people wedded to a life with peace with honour. The sacrifice roused the Hindus, Sikhs and even Sufi Muslims from their passive silence and gave them the fortitude to understand the power that comes from self respect and sacrifice. In order to honour the Guru, they gave him the title of Hind ki Chador, Shield of India.

Following is a verse of poetry written by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in Punjabi.

Bah Jinahn di pakariye / Give up your head
Sar dije bah na chhoriye / but forsake not those whom you have undertaken to protect.
Tegh Bahadur bolya / Says Tegh Bahadur, sacrifice your life, but
Dhar payae dharma na chhoriye / relinquish not your faith

Jai Hind!

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