lo. 83.-193{-')l ARll.ot INDIA .4.

ND tNl)o-cHrNe

485

THE ART OF INDIA AND INDO-CHINA WITH SPECIAT REFERENCE TO CEYLON

Vrcron

corlJor*,

D. Pu.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, fn ancient rimes nearly the whole Peninsula of Indo-China, with the exception perhaps of Tongking, adhered to the .rulture of India. The eastern part of the Peninsula, r:,ctually known as Annam, was then inhabited by u ltalayo-Polynesian race, the Chams who, from the com.;r"lencement of our western era, were in direct relationship ,rith India. The conquest of that country by the Annamites in the fifteenth century brought about the disappearance *l the Cham kingdom.
of Indo-Chin& was occupied by the iihmers or Cambodians, a race equally of Austro-Asiatic t;Lood, and not of Sino-Tibetan origin, as some scholars i'ave supposed. The Khmers still exist, and they form a rative Buddhist kingdom of about eighteen hundred tliousand inhabitants, under French protection.
tr'or the earliest history of the Chams, as well as of their, rrtighbours the Cambodians, we are indebted to the Chinese. 'l.he Tsin-Chou, or the history of the Tsin dynasty, contains tr, lot of information concerning a vast kingdom, Xtou-nan 1,,'i' ttu^", situated on the Lower l\fekong ancl the coast of

,The westorn part

Ctchin-China. This kingdom can be identified in part, at with the Cambodia of the present day. The Chinese clrronicles tell us that this country \Mas conquered. at the triginning of the western era bV a Brahmin called Kau4dinya. In 484 A.D., the king of }'ou-nan addressed, through the *u446trt monk Sihya Na,gasena, a petition to the Emperor i:i China, in the course of which he gives sdme most interest.
It-.ast,

456

ioirRNAL, B,.A.s.

(cEyLoN) lVol. XXXI.

No.

83.-1930]

ARr oF rNDrA AND rNDo-crrrNA

157

ing information concerning the religious customs observed in his country, Images of bronze were mentioned, with many heads and many arms, as well as elephants in sandalwond: and'dtCi$as in'ivory.

f have chosen some examples of Cambodian and Cham sculptures, which will, I think, prove that, the point of view c{ Dr. Coomaraswamy is the right one.
The first picture is that of a bronze Buddha discovered fur l9ll among the ruins of Dong-Duong in Central Annam. (Describing
u,oright,

fliei iniosi I ancibnt inscription found iri Ind.o-China is a Sanskrit text dating as far back as the early third or even the end of the second century. ft was discovered in 1885 in a village near Nha-trang, on the coast of Southern Annam, and is known as the Vo-Canh inscription. It deals with a pious foundation instituted by a sovereign who proclaimed
himself to

be a descendant of a certain king

Sri-MA,ra.

Numerous other inscriptions have furnished detailed information on the Cham kingdom and its history. The most

ancient of these are written

in Sanskrit. Later on some

of them are in the Cham language. Past the twelfth century, no Sanskrit, inscriptions are to be found; and all are written in the indigenous idiom.
ri

The most ancient

Cambodian inscriptions actrlally

known date from the beginning of the seventh century. Some of them are in the Khmer language, others in Sanskrit. The epigraphical monuments of Cambodia are, &s a general rule, very well eomposed, and they have a good reputation among Sanskrit scholars. Some of them are considered tobe models of calligraphy.

1cbe. Although discovered in Annamite soil, this bronze drres not give the impression of being of Indo_Chinese origin. In a lecture delivered at the India Society in 1g22, I suggested tlrat this statue may be of Ceylonese origin. euite similar st;r,nding Buddhas are to be seen at Anuradhapura as well a-" in the Colombo Museum and especially the folds of the dr:;l.pery are treated in exactly the same way as those of tlur sedent Buddha from Badulla. I think we ma,y consider thls most beautiful statue as a masterpiece of the fifth or si::Lh"'century modelled and. chiselled in the monumental style of the marble AmarA,vati Buddhas, perhaps even as a f,opy in bronze of ono of them. f should also say that thr,rre is a slight influence of Indo_Hellenistic art in the exilressive and almost imperious attitude of the discoursing Bu,ldha. If really this Buddha is a replica or copy of the Ar.i:arAvati marble statues, the Indo-Hellenistic influence
ma'g be easily explained.

pentation and the left hand occupied in raising the monastic

the picture) : The figure of Buddha is with the right hand lifted in the attitude of argu_

The art of Cambodia as well as the art of Champa ha,ve been profoundly influenced by Hindu traditions, but it would be a mistake to consider them as pure Indian; native tend' encies had the effect of giving to those arts a rather national character, and I agree entirely with my friend Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, when he says that "Indian Colonial Art" is not a good definition of the arts of Further India and Indonesia.. Of course, those arts had borrowed a lot of formulas from fndia, but they have also their own life" thoir own traditions, and they have to be considered in

The fact that a work of Ceylonese origin was found fnclo-China is not in itself surprising. There was cor{stant communication between Ceylon and the far east at l,he beginning of the middle ages and sometimes objects 6f art, particularly Budrthist imagos, were sent to China bY pioo. Sinhalese kings.

in

their nativo development as ind.igenous.

art. ft

(Indicating another picturei : i,et us now have a look at a stone image of Hari-Hara (Siva) a work of the seventh ceinturL one of the most perfect
specimens
represents what

would call

of Cambodian the transitional style

458

.ToI.IRNAL, R.A.s.

(cEYLoN)

[Vor,.

XX{1,

No.

83.-19301

ARr oF rNDrA aND

rNDo-cnrNA

4bg

in which the elements borrowed from Indian plastic art are slill predominant. Note specially tho poee of the statue, It reminds us slightly ol the poso known in Indian soulpt'rue, as the 'o three flexions " (tribhaiga) although the god see6g to be represented in a quite straight and hieratic attitude, Recently some other Khmer images of the same period and. representing the same god have been found in Siam, and the attitude of those is the pure Indian " tribhariga. " In the later Cambodian sculptures, and that is a most' important point, t'here is a tendency to stiffen the pose of the divine images and to provide them with heavy, clumsy logs. The ancient Cambodian images of the first period &ro more elogant and better proportioned than tho later ones. Here is a most perfect examplo. You may pay some attention to the peculiar cylindrical head-dress, not unknown to Indian art scholars. Similar head'dressog occur in the Andhra, Gupta and. Pallava art, and are most probably of Iranian origin. Tho expression of the face is solemn, the eyes aro wide open, the mouth is closed, and tho lips are without a smilo. The proportions of the bocly
givo an improssion of refinement and elegance.

diately. The impression is one of harmony ancl calm, and creates an atmosphere of complete serenity. The smile is a characteristic feature of the clas,.ic Cambodian art (indicating the next picture), the art of tho flourishing Angkor period. In French we often call it, ,'lo sourire d'Angkor." It occurs in almost ever5r Oambodian
scr.rlpture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and even on tlmples adorned with human-shaped faces, like the Bayon of

,A.ngkor-Thom which we know to havo been originaliy clcrlicated to the Bodhisattva Lokesvara. It is instructive to compare with tho beautiful Buddha of the Bayon, a Buddha in meditation holding a thunderbolt
(r.'a,jra) (referring

to another picture) found near Banteai_

in Northern Cambodia. The first difference to note is ihe presence here of ethnological characteristics which aro absent from the former examples. The faco is almost scluare, the nose flat, the mouth very broad, tho eves are strantfpg, and the eye-brows curve up to the temples. All
O|rnar

(Referring to another slide): I now draw attentioa to a figuro of the Buddha in meditation, from the Museun of Phnom-Penh. It was found near the Bayon, one of the most magnificent tomples of Angkor-Thom. The Buddhs is seated on the coils of a Niga. This arrangement is not rare in Cambodian art but there is no doubt about its fndian origin. fn the Madura Museum there is a sitting Jain saint who may bo considered as a plastic ancestor of all Buddhas overshadowed by the cobra hood. Anothell particular feature of this statue is the nakedness of ths, thorax. Cambodian Buddhas of the classic period often represented without the upper dress. But we ignoro the origin of this tradition which may be based on a heretical interpretation of the Buddhist monastio r The plastic perfection of this sculpture strikes the eye

in many representatives it is fair to conclude that this Buddha iruage is an example of purely nativo r,r,-ork. Now this (indicating another picture) is the head of a Buildha from Anghor-Vat which is related in style to the la.st example, but here the features are interpreted with such a delicate touch that one might almost think it is a portrait. We have in fact here a masterpiece of Cambodian art where the chiselling of the Khmer craftsman has attainecl the summit of perfection. I now turn (indicating the next picture) towarcls an exarnple of the female plastic ideal of ancient Camboclia. This slide represents a range oI deuatds, or divine fomalo attendants on a god, (in this special case the attendants on Vishlu). There are hunclreds of theso in Angkor-Vat and at rnany other temples of Cambodia. They repeat most exa,ctly the features of the Indian goddesses ; the waist is slerrder and supple, the breasts are accentuatecl,
of the Khmet race, and

these details can be actually noticed

r,
1l

460

JOUB,NAL, n.e.S. (CnVr,ON)

[Vor. XXXI.

No.

83.-1930]

ARr otr rNDtA AND

iNDO.cHiNA

46I

We may consider them like near cousins of the delightfiri

frescoes of Sigiriya (referring to the slide). I now draw your attention to a female flancer fro6 the Museurn at, Tourano (indicating the next slide) in Central Annam. It is not Cambodian sculpture. It is Cham, and may be assigned to the eighth or ninth century. This lovely alto-relievo reveels the high level of plastie art which the Chams attained during their best period. Here, equally, the features are Indian, a,nd the movement recells, to a certain extent, the rhvthm of the dancers carved a,t Polonnaruwa, at the beautiful Lankd,tilaka-Yihdre. Now let me turn your attention towards architecturo. The oldest Cambodian temples (referring to the next slide) reproduce the Indian brick temples of the early mediaeval period. They exhibit an undeniable resemblance with the Si,khara, especially in the roofing which is obtained by reduplication o{ similar elements. The same type of temple occurs in the Javanece art (exhibiting another slide) for instance at Dicng. We doubt il Ceylon has ever possessod temples of that type. Later on, during the classical Angkorian. period, tho high parts of the Cambodian temples afiect thc form of a pointed dome resembling a lotus bud. As an example, I have chosen this magnificent, prasad, of Angkor-Yat, (indicating the next slide) dating from the twelfth century. A most charactoristic featuro of Cambodian architoc' ture are the storied pyramids with central stairways on oach side (referring to the next slide) and supporting stone galleries on the top. You see here the Phimeanakas, .a Vaishnava foundation of the late ninth or early century, and one of the architectural gems of Imperial

opinion. The original plan of the building seems to have been octagonal and not quadrangular, and, on the other hand, there is no doubt that the Sat 'Mahal Prasada proceeds from the ma,ny-storied fndian buildings of the
hiuddhist period.

There is another Ceyloneso building (indicating the next slide) whose shape presents eome relation with old fjambodian temples. The stairway of Yapahuwa reminds cnc strongly of the stairway of the storied Khmer pyramids, but this resemblanco cannot be ascribed to an artistical contact between Ceylon and Indo-China.
Now let us pay a short visit to a small but most beauti{ul Cambodian temple (pointing to the next picture) which h*s been partly unearthed and freed from the jungle some Jrears ago, in lg23 by the Ecole Frangaise d'Extreme-Orient. lil:e temple is called Banteai Srei ; its ancient Sanskrit name was fsvarapura (Siva's town). This picture gives you an idea ,of the state in .which we found the temple, hardly
covered with earth and grass. Here you see tho beginning of l,he work (indicating tho next slide). This shows you

li

leJt without chiselling. There is another part of the

ther

tlre present state of the main buildings. You will now se* (indicating the next slide) some details. The whole teinple is covered with sculptures ; there is not an inch
same temple (indicating

next slide) with sculptures, showing Krishlra and Balar6,ma

Angkor-Thom.

It has been believed by some scholars that the Mahal PrS,sdda at Polonnaruwa may be the copy or of a Cambodian building. I confess that I do not share th

in the forest; surrounded by the bircls, snakes and other animals, all waiting for rain. Another sculpture (referring to the next slide) represeribs an episode of the RimA,yana, when RAvar,ra (wellknown in Ceylon) tries to shake the KailA,sa. Our last slide represents the roofing of the principal ternplo of lsvarapura. You see on the top of the roofing a pfrryagha{a, a symbol of welfare and happiness wellknown in Ceylon.

462

JOUIiNAI,, R.A.S. (CEYLON)

fVor,.

XXXI.

Nrt 83.-1930]
1ir9:url.

ART oB rNDrA AND rNDo-clrrNA

,f

6:l

ask now your kind permission to exhibit to you a emall bronze statue belonging to the Colombo Museum. In 1922 I was rather surprised to find among your collections a small Cambodiarr image. I askecl ltr. A. E. Jayasinha of the Colombo Museum, and he kindly gavo me somo information about it. After stuclying it, I formed the impression that this little masterpiece of bronzc casting mav be ascribed to the eleventh or twelfth ienturv. At the bcginning of this eliort lecture I showed you a Ceylonesc work of art which wos broirght to Annam anrl now I show you a Cambodian god forrnd in Cr..ylon. Ch.airntatt,.-The learned lecturer mentioncC. in tho courso of his lecl,urc, tho narno of another very distinguished visitor whorn we have hero l,oday. I refer to l'rofessor Finot, late Ditector of L'Ecole Franr;aiso d' Extromo-Orient. Another distinr:tion whlc! !-ringl him very closs to us is thal, he i-o an .Flonorary melnber of-th-c ltroyal Asiatic Socioty of Great Rritain. I anl sure thai I'e s'ill bc very giad if ProfesJor }'inot, r-ill also fincl it possiblclo acldress a lew words io r". Till he rnakes up his minil to do so, there is one mernber of our Ccuncil who has hatl opportunitv to visit rvorks of this kind in ,Tava. I rr:fer to Mr. Iieimors---and I aln sure he will rnake a few

-vory greatly indebted to French archaeological workers many 9"1a", 9un4 moro particularly to tho rvork done-by professor Irrinot and Dr, Goloubew. It is a great honour to us to havo them rn this room this evening, and it has proved a greet source of profit ii.r students in Ceylon that they have devoteJ their lives to ttris sr,udy.- I was particularly struek by the vory apt way in which the L,:arned. lecturor has pointed out the link botw:een bamboclia and []eylon. Ifo began with that Ceylonoso image in Cambodia and fortunately ho romombered that little bronzc stituo found in Dondra. r..hich he has shown is a Cambo,lian image rcproduced in Cey]on. iti is a subject which wc might discourso oi fo" ^hours-tho arcliaeolcgical intorcourso botrreon tho two countries, but f think it is a i'ubject which I sh-ould not touch upon after the admirable v,ay in lhich it, hae beon brought out thie evening.
(']eyion a,r
irr

;ubjoct that,Dr. Goloubow has mado pe-culiarly his o.wn. "u1 ,r.ssuro you.that those whoconsult this'librarv,.ilt nrra that rro in

Dr. A. Nell : Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlomon, I will not !o mako ^ar.ry observations of my o.,in this evening on a "I

Chairmon: Professor Finot vsill now

Prof,

add.ress

tho houee.

spoaking in French, oxpresses tho keen interest he l:as taken in the fino w-orks of Sinhales Crt it was his good luck to rrieet during his deligh-iful tour in this Isiand. He begge,d to convoy

Finot,

remarks on the locture.

Mr. E. Reimors : Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemon' L"l was my privilog; to visit Java last yea,r, as represontative o{ this Society, rtr,l'to haie been present at itre tsottianniversary of. the lioyal Batavian Socicty. W-e wero all taken to mid-Java t'o view the Archaeo' logical remains, t,ho work of presorvation qnd rer:onstruction thore at- Borobodor and the varioui Hindu temples at' Prambanam' It lvas my good fortuno at tho time t'o meot Pfof' J' Coed6s of Bangkok and M. Paul Mus of Hanoi and it struck rrro that tho r,vork of presor' vation and roconstruction was a voly brighi business both in Java botween the Ilutch and French authoritios. For instanco at Prambanam thsre was a stono missing from one of the temples 3. it time beforo t,o the King of Siarn, and by tho joint ha,,l b;;; gi"". "o-. efforts of Frof. .I. Coecls and tho Fronch government thot' stono was; A party of us rvent to rnicl'Ja'va under tho.guidanco, o.f "u"tu""a.Stei; Cailonfels and I v'ondered at the enthusiasm of that Dr. Van led us round llorobolpr was unbounded' -u.. His knowledgetemples similar Hethoso in Cambodia' IIo a placo "o.rttini.rg" -to * ui irrct like ono oT t hu Mul*y" themselves, he was wcaring e .s*"o:g:
feet Lare, his beard reaching
and Indo-China ; rvhat impressed mo w&s

d'lrlxireme;Orient.

to tho echolars who had lcnt to him his friend V. Golouborv such invaluabls help, espocially to Jlr. Pieris, President of this Society, Dr, Pearsonf ActingDiroc,tor r i tho A_rchaological Survey, and Dr. A. Nelt. Iile hoporl ttiat their risit rvill result in a closer co-oporation botween the sci-entific workers lr' this country and thoso of^France antl fndo-China, particularty betu'oon the Asiatic Socioty of Ceylon and the Ecol6 frangais-e
llrs feelings of thankfulness
e:iLd

aliow mo to add to ei,sgested to mo.

Dr.

Goloubew

: Mr. Chairman, ladios and gentlemen, You will my lecture somo remarks- rrhich havo been

tie very closn

co'operation'

alo"t to his rvaist, ancl he stood in tho .i" i".ttri"irg to us. llhe ihought struck,me at^tho time that Drj' Van Siein Cailenfe Is' enthrisi".- filgftt overflow to Ceylon : he oxpressod a wish to reo t,he remains hore, and it would certainly bo a groar object achieved if v'o could provail on Dr. Van Sbein Callonfels to C.yro" or, hi" *ty to }iollancl on one of the vory rare occasions "irill on which he takes a holidaY. Chairman.-As you know, iadies and gentlemen,. Dr' Noti,jn the rnitlst of numerous preoccupations' has paid attontion to Ceylon ;o"ia utl to make some remarks' art and architecture. P;J;;iti;

Somo scholars of a .. Cambodian quartor in Polonnaruwa. - havo examinedspeak attontion the buildings rnet" in Polonnoruwa; Vl',l nith tLi: feoling is that although they a,ro related-and in many points oi view-to t,ho monuments of Cambodia, none of them havd been sr rrlp-tured by Cambodians. Tho frescoes at Polonnaruwa although c{l::oiy related and connectod with the Sigiriya freseoes, w-hich aio c{risidored fndian-reveal to us something difierent from Indian pr:rntings: especially in tho colourings with predominant yellow atrri red tints; there is very littlo use of green and no use at all of b[r,e. What I will admit qirite freely is that there may have boen 8o ro Mogul influonce on lato Sinhalese painting I nevertholoes tl; io is i v'ell clefinod local Ceylonese Btyle: It #ould bo rathor us:r',{al 16 continuo tho researches of Dr. A. Coomaraswamy, Dr. A. N-i:ii ancl other loarnod scholars, ancl to reveal this interesting phose oi -lsylslsgs art rovealed by describing end publishing tho freJc6os of ,l'.tdy, Kelaniya and othor places of Coylon, Wo must not loso any tur,s becauso many of thogo froscoos will vanish and disappear and tlr' ro is great danger of restoration by pious vandals. Steps must bo tat' 'n to kcep with great care what has romainod and to prevont rurihor restoration w-hich may bo carriod out by inexperienced ari;sts. What is needed is -scholarship and tradition. .I think thr,se elemonts aro

filrr s.61[,

to bo found in Ceyton'a,nd t,here can be dono very

164

.TouRNAL, B.A.s. (cEYLoN)

;Vor,.

XXXI.

'

the opinion of himself and of Prof. Finot the Art of Polonnaruvs Art of Ce ylon. The importanco of a pronouncement of thet naturo from men who among tho low whose opinion is worth having. is to us of immense weight. It is to us a, great inspiration ; snl to those of us who beliove in tho possibility of a Ceylon Art s1 the futuro-not an Art which is an imitation of Sigiriya, as f once pointed out, but an Art of Ceylon in tho yoar 1930-it comes as great inspiration that w'e did once have an independent ert of
is the

Chairman; Now it remains lor me, ladies and gentlemen, 61 your bohalf to tonder our most hearty t,hanks to the lecturer q1 t'his evening. Rut ap&rt from tho lecture the occasion has beon more than justified by one pronouncement which he made-that in

our own.

To you Sir (addressing tho lecturer), it is difficult to expreds how deep and great our Benso of obligation is. It is our good fortuno that you should bo interested in our country; it is a vqry great thing that you should come and personaliy inspect and jutiee
for yourself and it is a great thing that, you should with your sympathy and kindness, tell us what your views are and what are the impressions you formed. Your interest will stimulate us for many years, and the knowledge that men of your position in the world of learning, are interested in the works of our country w-ill help tho rising generation towards that, seli-respect and pride which wo aro so anxious to inculcate. In the name of the Society I thank you most heartily for the lec{ure you have delivered this evening.
The vote of thanks which was carried with acclamation broughi the proceedlngs to a close,