0001076 - Rock-cut Architecture in East and South Asia

insegnamento

ID:

0001076

Durata (ore):

36

CFU:

SSD:

Archeologia e storia dell'arte dell'Asia centrale e dell'India

Sede:

UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"

Url:

Dettaglio Insegnamento:

Archeologia: Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo/Archaeology: Networks of Exchange Anno: 1

Anno:

2026

Periodo di attività

Primo Semestre (28/09/2026 - 15/01/2027)

Obiettivi Formativi

The course is designed to provide students with the theoretical and methodological foundations necessary for the study and understanding of rock-cut architecture in South, Central, and East Asia, with particular attention to the interactions between these diverse cultural contexts. It also aims to develop students' ability to apply this knowledge to the description and analysis of the works of art examined.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding

By the end of the course, students should have acquired the knowledge required to identify and interpret the sites and monuments studied from both iconographic and iconological perspectives. Building on their understanding of architectural traditions, they should be able to recognize, analyse, and critically describe the materials examined, placing them within their appropriate historical and cultural contexts.

Autonomy of judgement

Students should demonstrate the ability to observe, identify, and situate the works studied within their broader historical, geographical, and economic contexts, showing that they have acquired the fundamental knowledge necessary for an informed and critical appreciation of the artistic traditions covered in the course.

Communication skills

Students should demonstrate mastery of the specialist terminology and methodological tools required to describe and discuss the works studied in an appropriate, critical, and academically informed manner.

Learning skills

Students should have developed the knowledge and critical skills necessary to pursue further study with a high degree of intellectual autonomy.

Additional Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to integrate architectural, archaeological, and textual evidence through an interdisciplinary and critically informed approach. The analytical and methodological skills acquired will be transferable to the study of other archaeological and art historical contexts.

Prerequisiti

It is important and recommended that attending students have a good knowledge of the history and geography of Asia. A basic understanding of the ancient art of South and East Asia is also useful. For non-attending or working students, a solid knowledge of the history and geography of Asia is essential. In this case as well, familiarity with the ancient art of South and East Asia is beneficial.

Metodi didattici

The learning objectives of the course will be achieved through participation in lectures, which will be supported by a rich selection of images and PowerPoint presentations. In addition to in-class teaching, the course will make use of the e-learning platform managed by the University Language Centre (CLAOR), based on the open-source Moodle system, as well as the Microsoft Teams platform, in order to enhance learning quality by facilitating access to resources and services, and by supporting remote interaction and distance collaboration.

Verifica Apprendimento

The achievement of the intended learning outcomes will be assessed through an oral examination. During the examination, students will be asked to describe, analyse, and contextualise selected artefacts, monuments, and archaeological sites studied during the course, with the aid of visual materials. The examination will be conducted in English.
The final grade, expressed on a 30-point scale, will evaluate the student's ability to identify, describe, analyse, and contextualise the sites, objects, iconographic programmes, and artistic traditions examined during the course. Assessment will be based on the completeness and accuracy of the student's knowledge, the appropriate use of specialised terminology, and the quality of their descriptive, analytical, and critical skills.

Testi

India: Cave Temples

Granoff, Phyllis. 2013. What's in a Name? Rethinking Caves. In Living Rock: Buddhist, Hindu and Jain Cave Temples in the Western Deccan, edited by Pia Brancaccio. https://www.peepultree.world/livehistoryindia/story/monuments/whats-in-a-name-rethinking-caves

Brancaccio, Pia. 2023. The Silk Road and the "Cotton Road": Buddhist Art and Practice Between Central Asia and the Western Deccan. In The World of the Ancient Silk Road, edited by Xinru Liu with Pia Brancaccio. New York–London: Routledge.

Brancaccio, Pia. 2022. Views from the Black Mountain: The Rock-Cut Mahāvihāra at Kānheri/Kṛṣṇagiri in Konkan. In Early Medieval Buddhist Monasteries in South Asia, edited by A. Shimada, A. Amar Singh, and N. Morrissey, 74–88. RINDAS Working Paper Series, no. 34. Kyoto: Ryukoku University.

Brancaccio, Pia. 2019. Monumentality, Nature and World Heritage Monuments: The Rock-Cut Sites of Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta in Maharashtra. In Decolonising Heritage in South Asia: The Global, the National and the Transnational, edited by Himanshu Prabha Ray, 111–127. New Delhi: Routledge.

Afghanistan and the Oasis of Kucha

Blänsdorf, C., M.-J. Nadeau, P. M. Grootes, M. Hüls, S. Pfeffer, and L. Thiemann. 2009. Dating of the Buddha Statues – AMS 14C Dating of Organic Materials. In Monuments and Sites 19. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/monsites/article/view/22983

Blänsdorf, C., and M. Petzet. 2009. The Giant Buddha Statues in Bamiyan: Description, History and State of Conservation before the Destruction in 2001. In Monuments and Sites 19, 17–35. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/monsites/article/view/22885

Barnes, T. G. 1995. Bamiyan: Buddhist Cave Temples in Afghanistan. World Archaeology 27(2): 282–302. https://www.jstor.org/stable/125086

Flood, Finbarr B. 2002. Between Cult and Culture: Bamiyan, Islamic Iconoclasm, and the Museum. The Art Bulletin 84(4): 641–659. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3177288

In addition, brief introductions will be provided to the sites of Kakrak, Fouladi, Haibak, and Jaghuri.

The Chinese Tradition

Howard, Angela F. 1988. Tang Buddhist Sculpture of Sichuan: Unknown and Forgotten. Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 60: 25–35.

McNair, Amy. 2007. Donors of Longmen: Faith, Politics, and Patronage in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Sculpture. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, Chapter 6. https://archive.org/details/donorsoflongmenf0000mcna/page/n1/mode/2up

Tsiang, Katherine R. 2002. Changing Patterns of Divinity and Reform in Late Northern Wei. The Art Bulletin 84(2): 222–245.

Recommended Online Resources

https://smarthistory.org/

https://asia.si.edu/

https://whc.unesco.org/en/

https://idp.bl.uk/

Contenuti

This course explores the rich and varied tradition of rock-cut architecture in South and East Asia from antiquity to the medieval period. Through case studies from India, Afghanistan, and China the course also investigates religious, political, and artistic developments associated with rock-cut monuments and highlights cross-cultural connections. Topics include the origins and evolution of rock-cut sites, the relationship between architecture and landscape, the development of iconographic programs, construction techniques, and patronage systems.

Contents:1. Introduction to Rock-Cut Architecture – Why caves? (Prof. Brancaccio) 2. Geography and landscape, historical and religious contexts, techniques, and tools (Prof. Brancaccio) 3. India: Buddhist Caves in the Western Deccan – Bhaja, Nasik, Kanheri (Prof. Brancaccio); Ajanta: Painting and Narrative; Ellora: Multireligious Patronage 4. Afghanistan and Central Asia (Prof. Filgenzi) Bamiyan, glimpses of Kakrak, Foladi, Haibak, Jaghuri Caves of the Kucha Oasis: Artistic Exchange and Cave Architecture 5. The Chinese Tradition (Prof. Visconti) Dunhuang Caves, Yungang and Longmen: Buddhist Caves in North and Central China The rock-cut cliff at Nankan: Buddhist caves in South China