Burmese Sketches - Khamkoo

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if0n5Ul ui ^"-QTrRMESE SKETCHES. gij
in the expansion and consolidation of Burmese dominion, but
also in an outburst of architectural energy, the introduction of
the Southern School of Buddhism, and the religious and
commercial intercourse with Southern India and Ceylon, which
infused a new spirit into the Burmese nation. The most
celebrated buildings were erected between I057 and 1284 A.D.,
i.e., between the conquest of Thaton by Anawrata and the
invasion of Pagan by Kublai Khan. The period, during which
stone sculpture flourished is even more limited, as it extended
from 1057 to 1234 A. D. The earliest specimen of stone-carving
is found in the Theinpaya at Myinpagan, one of the numerous
ordination halls consecrated by Anawrata (1059 A, D.), and
the latest in the Setkudaik, a lecture hall, built in 1234 A.D.
by Kyazwa Mingyi, who abdicated his throne in favour of his
son, in order to devote himself to study and instructing others
in the Buddhist scriptures. As falling between these tw^o
dates, may be mentioned the Nanpaya, erected in 1059 A. D.,
by Manuha, the last King of the Talaings, whose sculpture,
the Ananda Temple,
both on the exterior and interior, is unique ;
built in 1090 A. D., by Kyanzittha, which still remains the
grandest religious edifice in Burma, and the greatest storehouse
of statuary in stone ; and the Kyaukku Temple, built in
1 188 A D., by Narapatisithu against the face of a ravine, on
the jambs of whose entrance are carved, in low relief, most
interesting figures illustrating Buddhist cosmogony.
(c) STONE SCULPTURES IN THE ANANDA.
The Ananda Pagoda is likewise adorned with eighty pieces
of stone sculptures of exquisite workmanship depicting scenes
in the life of Gotama Buddha from his conception and birth to
his Nirvana. The pose, contour, and drapery of the figures
are distinctly Indian, and the architects employed must have
been foreigners.
(d) TERRA COTTA TFLES AT PAGAN.
Two kinds of terra cotta tiles have been found at Pagan
adorning the basements and corridors of Pagodas. They
illustrate scenes in the life of Gotama Buddha and during his
previous births, and serve as sermons in baked clay exhortng
the laity to follow, in both worldly and spiritual matters, in
the footsteps of the Buddha, who is looked upon as the highest
type of humanity. In the Shwezigon and Ananda, the tiles
are enamelled in a green colour, while those decorating the
ambulatory passages of the Petleik are of red baked clay. All