the problem of seasons - a medley

 The Problem of Seasons 

It may be late spring almost summer in the northern hemisphere but here its 

and yet we have green hills though with no temples amongst  them

so to start things off after the Easter hiatus I'm doing a stream of consciousness random reposts medley of older images such as getting back to autumn this image 

and finally 

be patient my fellow travellers amongst mountains and streams 

i have some new ideas for technozis and poem cards I will be sharing soon 

don't forget to visit my Patreon - JVartndesign  

Han Huang - Oxen

 Continuing the #yearoftheox theme here's a #Chinese #scroll #painting by #HanHuang

though these are #Buffalo #oxen or #bulls or maybe #cows anyway #bovines and #asian ! 

Happy Lunar New Year Everyone !

Phoenixes on Japanese Ceramics

#phoenixes # Japanese #ceramics 

 Here is an elegant example of 18thc. #japanese #ceramics showing how the Japanese took imported Chinese techniques and motifs and refined them further. I can think of some 18th Chinese Ceramics that seem to try to use every under and over glaze color with as much detail as possible to the point the figures become patterns whereas this Japanese work is restrained and elegant.

More phoenixes next time as they are this months post theme. Follow this series for examples of phoenixes on ceramics paintings lacquer and more.

A Choice of 3 Dragons

Here's a choice and test of three dragons.
Which of these comes from which Asian nation?

None of these were created in China. 

Over the next month I'll  tell you more details about them and other dragon art.

MARICI TWO

#Marici #asianart #buddhist #iconography

Marici may have originally been another form of Ushas the dawn goddess as she is described as travelling before the sun and moon

She rides either a single wild pig or a chariot drawn by 7

2 Tibetan depictions of Marici

A more modern image stressing her as a guardian warrior and archer 

More Marici images to come ! 

Kisshoten is Lakshmi

#Kisshoten #Lakshmi A Medley of Images

Yes Kisshoten is Lakshmi. Goddesses Migrate!

#japanesesculpture #hinduism #buddhism

Just being doing a stats check and all of my all time most popular posts was on the evolution of images of Lakshmi from those in India to later in Tibet and Japan.

So here's some again to save you scrolling down! 

An Avian Medley

#asianart #birds  #vietnamese #duck #ceramics #cormorants #chinesepainting #ukiyo-e #utamaro #roosters

A medley of three of my favorite pieces of bird theme art !

Vietnamese Ceramic Bowl Le Dynasty 

A page from an old calendar artist unknown. Early 20th century Chinese?

An Utamaro Design for a Book 

Maitreya One

The first known images of the #Boddhisattva #Maitreya are Indian or #Kushan #sculptures to be more precise.

Clearly a North Indian aristocrat but the first Chinese sculptors to create Buddhist images made this WEI dynasty stele.





And later we get a divergence between images like this but also identifications and depictions of Maitreya as Budai / Hotei.

Budai is an odd blend of Chan eccentric and Taoist Sage.

More about this next time.

Shu Hua Tong Yuan

#chineseart #asianart #proverb

Shu Hua Tong Yuan
Calligraphy Painting Same Source

Okay that translation's too "concise" but you get the idea

(I have used a horizontal alignment for those of you reading on mobiles or small screens so it also functions a header)

Using Calligraphy and Painting share a source or origin may seem odd but bear in mind Chinese Painting usually involves OUTLINES to start.

The "boneless" expressionistic ink play style evolved later.

Notice what the top part of both SHU and HUA is?

The ideogram depicting a hand holding a tool.
Originally this was a stylus but the modern form looks more like a tapering brush making strokes !

The oldest art we have western or eastern is usually a dot or a line!

Japanese Benten

Here's the Japanese equivalent of Sarasvati. You can see the Chinese influence on the iconography and painting style.

Dear readers I am bumping older blog posts done before I set up  a cross link with google+. As the widget that does this will not cross post (PRE)scheduled posts please use the Share button so other people can enjoy these posts. This is one of a sequence of 4 posts showing how depictions of Sarasvati changed from India to Japanese and elsewhere. 

Sarasvati Benten Three

Now for some Chinese / Japanese images.

I couldn't find a good image of Biancaitian as shes known in China so I've tried to pick Japanese images that show a strong Chinese influence.

Frankly I'm not sure if this first image is modern Chinese or Japanese and it does show a slight manga / anime influence but the goddess is depicted as a princess / lady of rank in Chinese costume.

this second image was painted in  18th century Japan but the artist clearly seems to have modelled his work on an older piece perhaps a badly damaged scroll imported centuries earlier from China a painting that had to be replaced? If you're familiar with both Chinese and Japanese painting the Chinese influence is very strong ... very.

Sarasvati Benten Two

Two More images of Sarasvati

These two images seem to depict the goddess peacock as a cross between a peahen and a gardua bird unless this is a VERY stylized swan or goose or other bird?

From Sarasvati to Benten One

This series of posts will show images of Sarasvati / Benten from across ASIA.

INDIA

Sarasvati or Saraswati is also depicted with a tiger or peacock and known as Shar(a)da in Southern India.

The most consistent feature of depictions of this goddess is her stringed musical instrument often described in English as a lute.