Projects
-
Ajanta-Projekt (with collaborators from India)
The conservation work currently being carried out in Ajanta on the paintings in the ancient Caves IX and X from the 1st century BC by the Chemical Department of the Archaeological Survey of India is based on the interpretations of the paintings given in the Ajanta handbook. The work in the Ajanta caves brought to light numerous details that were only identified in the manual's identifications on the basis of literary traditions and comparative representations from other art regions, e.g. the Wheel of Teaching/Dharmacakra in the oldest painting of the Buddha's teaching proclamation (cf. Schlingloff, Ajanta-Handbuch 1, p. 61). This wheel was so badly preserved before cleaning that G. Yazdani (Oxford 1930-55, Vol. 3, p. 27) interpreted it as a stupa. Similar confirmations of the contents identified in Munich by the restoration work carried out in situ concern several paintings of narratives, including the story of the Nagaraja Elapatra or of the mass murderer Angulimala. In addition, the cleaning of the paintings reveals details that were previously completely unknown. The interpretation of the painting on the front wall of Cave IX was one of the most difficult problems in the Ajanta complex, as there are two layers of painting here: A new layer was applied to the old painting from the 1st century BC in the 5th century. The curmbling newer layer revealed old painting remains that could be identified as scenes from the Pandaraka Jataka. Only the cooperation of the conservators working in Ajanta prevented the plans of the Archaeological Survey of India to reconstruct the newer layer of painting, which would have destroyed the much more valuable representation from the pre-Christian period. Currently, the restoration of the painting on the rear left side wall in Cave X, where the depiction of the Udayana story is located, is being carried out. One of the most important tasks in the near future is to convince the conservators in Ajanta and the others responsible for the paintings of the necessity of preserving and protecting even the smallest and smallest remains of paintings. Otherwise, there is a danger that they will be irretrievably lost due to the extreme humidity produced by the daily masses of visitors and, moreover, due to incorrect conservation measures.
-
Studien zur Schulzugehörigkeit der Kunst von Amaravati und Nagarjunikonda (DFG Project)
The identification of the reliefs from the South Indian art schools of Amaravati and Nagarjunikonda (including smaller sites such as Jaggayyapeta, Goli, Ghantasala, Gummadiduru, Bhattiprolu and others) presents great difficulties. Traditionally, these reliefs are interpreted on the basis of Pali Buddhist texts, as in the standard publication by C. Sivaramamurti (Madras 1942). However, many of Sivaramamurti's interpretations of the reliefs are very unconvincing, and several are demonstrably false; however, there is no evidence in the Pali literature of textual models that are closer to the depictions. It seems reasonable to assume that either the ancient texts that served as models for the depictions have not survived, or that the textual tradition is to be sought not in the southern Pali, but in the northern Sanskrit tradition. Detailed studies of individual objects of Amaravati and Nagarjunikonda art are required, which should lead to the determination of the literary tradition and thus promise an answer to the question of the school affiliation of the region. In the current research project, the reliefs are being compared with their textual models. Conclusions can already be drawn from the analyses carried out; it seems that in the first centuries AD a tradition of transmission existed that has not come down to us. This tradition was probably fixed in literature and known in the South as well as in the North. One of the proofs of this are representations of the mass murderer Angulimala. The 2nd-4th century reliefs, from geographically distant regions such as Amaravati and Gandhara, show details of the story that are only known from later texts (cf. Mitleid und Wunderkraft, pp. 101-23). The depictions thus suggest the existence of a common source that has not survived. At present, nothing can be said about the school to which this source belongs. However, some of the reliefs from Amaravati and Nagarjunikonda show stories whose details have been transmitted exclusively in the versions in the Mahavastu (Sudhana story) or in the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya (cf. "The Mukapangu Story..." pp.157-67), which indicates a relationship with the Sanskrit tradition. Several of the South Indian reliefs, such as "Man in the Well", or the stories of Sarvadada, Prabhasa- (ibid. pp. 167-77) or Apalala -story (cf. Mitleid und Wunderkraft, pp. 54-68) can be traced exclusively within the traditions of Sanskrit Buddhism.
-
Studies on the interpretation of the Kizil paintings
Among the paintings published in Sino-Japanese publications (The Grotto Art of China; Murals for Xinjiang) are many that have not been interpreted before. The identifications of these paintings will be published in a series of the articles.
So far, essays have been published in which the paintings have been interpreted as stories of Yasa and Makandika (Indo-Asiatische Zeitschrift 9), of Sudaya and Brhaddyuti (IAZ 11) and of Sundarika-Bharadvaja (IAZ 12); as well as an article identifying a scene from the Buddha legend in the "Cave with the Steps" (Cave 110), explaining it as the rendition of the competitive discipline of "cane (bundle)-piercing" (kalamacchedya) (IAZ 12). The other essays are in progress.