Module 10: Africa

                           

   Stupa 3, 1st c., Sanchi, India (photo: Nagarjun Kandukuru, CC: BY 2.0)                    The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th Century)

For this week's module I've chosen the option to do a comparison post between The Great Stupa (the left) and the Stelae 2 (the right). Although these two memorials appear to have completely different forms, they share the similarities of memorializing people of high status, portraying a story within its layout and they both tie to a religion. Starting with the fact that they both memorialize people of high status. The Great Stupa is a dirt burial mound faced with stone; earliest stupas contained portions of the Buddha’s ashes, as a result, the stupa began to be associated with the body of the Buddha. The Stelae were carved mainly from solid blocks of nepheline syenite (a weather resistant rock). The wide variation in size and carving sophistication is most likely due to the varying degrees of social status and wealth of the deceased. The stelae appear to decorate the graves of the Aksumite kings. If you didn’t already take away the fact that the story of the Great Stupa is to symbolize the seated Buddha (a Buddha meditating towards enlightenment). The Great Stupa is also tied to Buddhism (clearly) and the Stelae is connected with Christianity. For the remainder of the post I’ll be focusing on the details of both memorials. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, it cannot be entered and is meant to be circumambulated by patrons (walk with right shoulder facing and clockwise like the sun). The function of the Stelae is supposed to be markers for underground burial chambers. The decorated Stelae include such architectural details as false doors, windows and timber beams which were carved directly into the stone. With all that being said, the two pieces clearly have many similarities and differences but the ones I pointed out above are the ones that seemed most important for me to share with you (the reader). I know I more than likely am under the text limit but I feel like I got everything out that needed to be told. This was one of my favorite pieces to write about considering they’re from the same realm but hold two religions/purposes. 

Dr. Karen Shelby, "The stupa," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, accessed November 11, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/the-stupa/.

Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th Century).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aksu_2/hd_aksu_2.htm (October 2000)