[Talk – London, 8 Oct 2019] Hindu Buddhist Java: Examining the Evolution of Dress on Sculpture

Readers in London may be interested in this upcoming talk at SOAS by Dr Lesley Pullen.

Hindu Buddhist Java: Examining the Evolution of Dress on Sculpture
Dr Lesley Pullen (Post-Doctoral Research Associate)
Venue: Russell Square
Date: 8 October 2019
Time: 5:15 PM

This lecture examines a corpus of freestanding sculpture produced in Java during the Hindu Buddhist period from the 9th to 14th century whose elaborate dress displays textiles with detailed patterns. It places the statues into an historical and religious context in Central and East Java and relates them to a specific site or caṇḍi.

This surviving body of sculpture, with their textiles carved in stone in bas relief or cast in metal, varying in size and condition, now stands in archaeological sites across Java, and within museums in Indonesia and worldwide. Situated a few degrees south of the equator, the climate of Java has precluded any textiles from this period surviving in situ to the present. Considering supporting evidence from elsewhere in Asia, this lecture explores the origins of the medieval textiles depicted on these sculptures and the identity of the textile types represented. It also provides some analysis of specific motifs, such as those representing tantric iconography.

Source: Hindu Buddhist Java: Examining the Evolution of Dress on Sculpture