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Plotting Cosmological Space in Burmese Art

Sun, March 19, 8:30 to 10:30am, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, Floor: 2nd Floor, City Hall

Abstract

Notions of Buddhist cosmology have been evident in Burmese art for more than 1,500 years. Plotting Buddhist ideas onto horizontal and vertical hierarchies emerged in the Pyu period (1st millennium CE), became more elaborated in the Pagan period (c. 11th-14th centuries CE), and continued in highly standardised formats in a variety of media until the 20th century. Thus, the representation of the four cardinal directions through encirclement of a central point came to indicate the totality of space, as seen in the Khin Ba hoard of the 5th-7th centuries, votive tablets from the 12th century, cosmology manuscripts of the 19th century, and popular posters from the 20th century. A representation of Mount Meru displaying the vertical organisation of the cosmos, which mapped spiritual development, emerged in the 12th century CE and continued to play a role in art until the early 20th century. In the 18th century, representations of pilgrimage sites depicted as a visual list developed. In the late 20th century, however, different mapping techniques were incorporated into these formats. This is particularly evident on souvenir posters of major pilgrimage sites, where a topographical map of the site has become popular, sometimes in combination with a representation of a biographical moment from the Buddha’s life. These images represent a convergence of cosmological and modern topographical spaces, yet the subject matter continues to reinforce fundamental religious ideas and practices in Burma.

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