The Formation Of Buddhist Sculptures In The Early Middle Ages

This dissertation is concerned with the making of Buddhist sculpture in early medieval period in perspective of making.Through examining certain range of Buddhist sculptures from the late 5th century to the end of 6th century,my intention is to reconstruct these sculptors' original making processes.In the course of rebuilding such processes,I focused on the artwork per se,tried to play the role of sculptor,and attempted to understand the sculptor as the sculptor understand himself or herself.Various styles and forms of sculptures are,to certain extent,impacted initially by the natural characters of different materials and different making process.To be specific,I analyzed how the sculptor understand front plane,back plane,and sculpture in the round these three parts,which are the repertory of Buddhist sculptures in early medieval period,as well as the foundation sculptures of subsequent period.Such manners were brought into play in how viewers perceive,and play a role in our understanding of these sculptures.