StevieJ461261267 at 12:41, 25 January 2024

2024-01-25T12:41:19Z

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{{multiple image| header=Indo-Corinthian capitals|align = right| perrow=1/2| direction = horizontal |total_width=300| header_align = left/right/center| footer = '''Left image''': Classical Greek [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] [[anta (architecture)|anta]] capital.<br> '''Right image''': An Indo-Corinthian capital with a palmette and the Buddha at its centre, 3-4th century, [[Gandhara]].| footer_align = left | image1=Ahin Posh stupa reconstitution, Simpson 1878.jpg|caption1= The [[Ahin Posh]] stupa was decorated with Indo-Corinthian capitals. 2nd century CE.<ref name="EE156">{{cite book |last1=Errington |first1=Elizabeth |title=Charles Masson and the Buddhist Sites of Afghanistan: Explorations, Excavations, Collections 1832–1835 |date=2017 |publisher=British Museum |pages=156–159 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/3355036}}</ref>|image2 =Greek Corinthian anta capital.jpg | caption2 = | image3 =Buddha Acanthus Capitol.jpg|caption3 = }}
'''Indo-Corinthian capitals''' are [[capital (architecture)|capital]]s crowning [[column]]s or [[pilaster]]s, which can be found in the northwestern [[Indian subcontinent]], and usually combine [[Classical architecture|Hellenistic]] and [[Indian architecture|Indian]] elements. These capitals are typically dated to the first centuries of the [[Common Era]], and constitute an important aspect of [[Greco-Buddhist art]].

==Corinthian design==

Indo-Corinthian capitals display a design and foliage structure which is derived from the academic [[Corinthian order|Corinthian capital]] developed in Greece. Its importation to India followed the road of Hellenistic expansion in the East in the centuries after the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]]. In particular the [[Greco-Bactrian kingdom]], centered on [[Bactria]] (today's northern [[Afghanistan]]), upheld the type at the doorstep of India, in such places as [[Ai-Khanoum]] until the end of the 2nd century BCE. In India, the design was often adapted, usually taking a more elongated form and sometimes being combined with scrolls, generally within the context of Buddhist [[stupa]]s and temples.

==Figurines==
[[File:Corinthian capital with the Buddha in the center.jpg|thumb|Figure of the Buddha, within a Corinthian capital, [[Gandhara]], [[Jamal Garhi]].]]
Indo-Corinthian capitals also incorporated figures of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] or [[Bodhisattva]]s, usually as central figures surrounded by, and often under the shade of, the luxurious foliage of Corinthian designs. This practice was not limited to India, and also found favor in various areas of [[Central Asia]]. The depiction of figurines within the foliage of Corinthian capitals is not in itself an eastern development. In the ancient Greek world in the [[Mediterranean]], figurines were often represented this way:
{{quote|Figural additions are very common in the classical world, and from an early period, usually take the form of heads or busts, but the Gandhara treatment is original in that the [[acanthus (ornament)|acanthus]] leaves form a canopy over it.<ref name="crossroads205">{{cite book |last1=Errington |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Cribb |first2=Joe |last3=Claringbull |first3=Maggie |year=1992 |title=The Crossroads of Asia: Transformation in Image and Symbol in Art of Ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan|location=Cambridge|publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust|isbn=0-9518399-1-8 |page=205}}</ref>}}

==Combinations with Buddhist architecture==

Indo-Corinthian capital were also used in combination with architectural elements, such as Buddhist stupas. One of the best example was excavated and reconstituted at [[Sirkap]].

<blockquote>Perhaps the most notable divergence from the western concept of function occurs at Kalawan, [[Taxila (modern)|Taxila]], where a large acanthus capital set on a lotus base was inserted between the conventional square basement and cylindrical dome of a votive stupa.<ref name="crossroads205"/></blockquote>

Further, in the art of [[Gandhara]], Indo-Corinthian capitals on top of separating pilasters are used extensively in narrative [[frieze]]s of the life of the Buddha. This usage continued as late as the 5th century.

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Base of pillar, Indo-Corinthian capitals and elephants from base of stupa, Jarwal-Garhi.jpg|Base of pillar, Indo-Corinthian capitals and elephants from base of stupa, [[Jamal Garhi]]
Image:PilarImage4.jpg|An Indo-Corinthian capital from the [[Butkara Stupa]] under which a coin of [[Azes II]] was found. Dated to 20 BCE or earlier ([[Turin City Museum of Ancient Art]]).
File:Capitello corinzio con busti di devoti clarified - Butkara I (Swat).jpg|Indo-Corinthian capital representing a Buddhist devotee wearing a Graeco-Roman coat with [[fibulae|fibula]]. [[Butkara Stupa]], [[National Museum of Oriental Art]], [[Rome]].
Image:ColumnWithFigurine.jpg|A pilaster decorated by a Corinthian capital and a female figurine, Athens, 2nd-1st century BCE.
Image:BuddhaCapitol2.JPG|The Buddha, within the foliage of a Corinthian capital.
File:Series of Indo-Corinthian capitals from Jamal-Garhi.jpg|Series of Indo-Corinthian capitals from Jamal-Garhi.
Image:BuddhistTriad.JPG|A Buddhist triad flanked by two pilasters with Indo-Corinthian capitals, Gandhara, 3rd century CE.
Image:StupaCanopy.jpg|Indo-Corinthian canopy at the [[Chakhil-i-Ghoundi stupa]], [[Hadda, Afghanistan|Hadda]].
File:Small Gandhara architectural pillar by Serrot M 1883.jpg|Small Gandhara architectural pillar
File:ButkaraIKapitell.jpg|Capital with central [[quadriga]]. [[Butkara Stupa]].
File:Corinthian Capital with Sun God Surya Riding a Chariot (Quadriga) Gandhara 100-200 CE.jpg|Indo-Corinthian capital featuring the charriot-driving sun god [[Surya]]. Gandhara, 2nd century CE.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Indo-Greek art]]
*[[Greco-Buddhist art]]
{{commonscat}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Buddhist architecture]]
[[Category:Hellenistic architecture]]
[[Category:Orders of columns]]
[[Category:Gandhara art]]

Indo-Corinthian capital - Revision history

StevieJ461261267 at 12:41, 25 January 2024