Champa was an Indic civilization that flourished along the coasts of what is now central and southern
Vietnam for roughly a one thousand year period between 500 A.D. and 1500 A.D. The original Chams were probably colonists from the
Indonesian islands, who adopted as their principal vocations those of trade, shipping, and piracy. Their cities were ports of call on important trade routes linking
India,
China and the
Indonesian islands. The history of Champa was one of intermittent conflict and cooperation with the people of
Java, the
Khmer of
Angkor in
Cambodia and the
Dai Viet of what is now northern Vietnam. It was to the Dai Viet that Champa finally lost its independence.
Sadly, the artistic legacy of Champa has been decimated by neglect, war, and vandalism. Much of the damage has been done in the twentieth century. It is of some small consolation that French scholars such as Henri Parmentier and Jean Boisselier were able to take photographs, create drawings, and pen descriptions of works which have been destroyed in the meantime. Neglect continues to endanger the legacy of Champa to this day, especially the neglect of the inscribed stone
steles, the source of much valuable information on the history of Champa. The participants in the
Vietnam War wrought their share of devastation, wiping out for example the magnificent cluster of Buddhist temples at Dong Duong (
Quang Nam).
[1] Willful vandalism and pilfering are an ongoing concern.
Forms of visual art
The remnants of Cham art extant today consist mainly in temples of brick, sandstone sculptures in the round, and sandstone sculptures in high and low relief. A few metal sculptures remain as well.
Temples of brick
Unlike the
Khmer of
Angkor, who for the most part employed a grey stone to construct their religious buildings, the Cham built their temples from reddish bricks. Some of these brick structures can be still be visited in the Vetnamese countryside. The most important remaining sites include
My Son near
Da Nang,
Po Nagar near
Nha Trang, and Po Klaung Garai near Phan Rang.
Sandstone sculptures
The Cham created freestanding sandstone sculptures in the round, as well as haut-relief and
bas-relief carvings of sandstone. In general, they appear to have preferred sculpting in relief, and they excelled especially at sculpture in high relief. Cham sculpture went through a marked succession of historical styles, the foremost of which produced some of the best works of Southeast Asian art.
[2]
Periods and styles of Cham art
Scholars agree that it is possible to analyze the art of Champa in terms of distinct "styles" typical for various historical periods and different locations. Several have attempted through their study to set down a classification of historical styles. Perhaps the most influential of these attempts are those of the French scholars Philippe Stern (''The Art of Champa (formerly Annam) and its Evolution'', 1942) and Jean Boisselier (''Statuary of Champa'', 1963).
[3] Summarizing the conclusions of these scholars, art historian Jean-François Hubert has concluded that it is possible to distinguish at least the following styles and sub-styles:
[4]
★ My Son E1 (7th to 8th century A.D.)
★ Dong Duong (9th to 10th century A.D.)
★ My Son A1 (10th century A.D.)
★
★ Khuong My (first half of 10th century A.D.)
★
★ Tra Kieu (second half of 10th century A.D.)
★
★ Chanh Lo (end of 10th century to mid-11th century A.D.)
★ Thap Mam (11th to 14th century A.D.)
Each style is named after a place in Vietnam at which works exempletive of that style have been found.
My Son E1 Style
The ruins at
My Son are not all of the same style and do not all belong to the same period of Cham history. Scholars have coded the ruins to reflect the diversity of periods and styles. The earliest identifiable style has been dubbed the My Son E1 Style. It is named after a particular atructure, which scholars refer to as My Son E1. Works of this style reflect foreign influence from a variety of source, primarily from the
Khmer of pre-
Angkorian
Cambodia, but also from the art of
Dvaravati, of
Indonesia, and of southern
India.
[5]
Perhaps the most famous work of the My Son E1 style is a large sandstone pedestal dated from the second half of the
7th century A.D. Originally, the pedestal had a religious function, and was used to support a huge
lingam as a symbol for
Siva, the primary deity in Cham religion. The pedestal itself is decorated with
relief carvings featuring scenes from the lives of ascetics. It represents Mount Kailasa, the mythological abode of Siva which was also home to many forest and cave-dwelling ascetics, just as the lingam it supported represented the god himself.
[6]
Another important work of the My Son E1 style is the unfinished sandstone
pediment that was once affixed over the main entrance to the temple at My Son E1. The pediment shows the dawn of the present era according to
Hindu mythology.
Vishnu is reclining at the bottom of the ocean. His bed is
Sesha the serpent. A lotus grows upwards from Vishnu's navel, and
Brahma emerges from the lotus in order to recreate the universe.
[7]
Dong Duong Style
In
875 A.D., the Cham king Indravarman II founded a new dynasty at Indrapura, in what is now the
Quang Nam region of central
Vietnam.
[8] Departing from the religious traditions of his predecessors, who were predominantly
Shaivists, he founded the
Mahayana Buddhist monastery of Dong Duong, and dedicated the central temple to
Lokesvara.
[9] The temple complex at Dong Duong having been devastated by bombing during the Vietnam War, our knowledge of its appearance is limited to the photographs and descriptions created by French scholars earlier in the twentieth century.
[10] A fair number of sculptures of the period have survived, however, in the museums of Vietnam, and collectively they are known as the works of the Dong Duong Style. The style lasted until well into the 10th century.
The Dong Duong style of sculpture has been described as a highly original style of "artistic extremism," "with exaggerated, almost excessively stylized features."
[11] The figures are characterized by their thick noses and lips and by the fact that they do not smile.
[12] Prominent motifs include scenes from the life of the
Buddha, Buddhist monks,
dharmapalas (guardians of the Budhist law),
dvarapalas (armed temple guardians), the
bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and the goddess of compassion
Tara, who was also regarded as the
shakti or spouse of Avalokiteshvara.
[13]
My Son A1 Style
The art of the My Son A1 style belongs to the 10th and 11th centuries A.D., a period of
Hindu revival following the
Buddhist period of Dong Duong, and also a period of renewed influence from
Java. This period has been called the "golden age" of Cham Art.
[14] The style is named after a temple at
My Son, "the most perfect expression of Cham architecture" according to art historian Emmanuel Guillon, that fell victim to the
Vietnam War in the 1960's. Most of the remaining monuments at My Son also belong to the My Son A1 style, including most of the constructions of groups B, C, and D.
[15]
As to the sculpture of the My Son A1 style, it is known as being light and graceful, in contrast with the more severe style of Dong Duong. According to Guillon, "It is an art of dance and movement, of grace, and of faces which sometimes wear a slight, almost ironic style, as though surprised by their own beauty." Indeed, dancers were a favorite motif of the My Son A1 sculptors. The style is also known for its fine relief images of real and mythical animals such as elephants, lions and garudas.
[16]
The My Son A1 style encompasses not only works of art found at My Son, but also works found at Khuong My and Tra Kieu, though the latter are sometimes treated as representing distinct styles. The works of Khuong My in particular are frequently treated as transitional between the styles of Dong Duong and My Son A1.
[17] Likewise, works found at Chanh Lo are sometimes treated as belonging to the My Son A1 style and sometimes treated as transitional between the My Son A1 and Thap Mam styles.
[18]
Khuong My Style
In the village of Khuong My in the Vietnamese province of
Quang Nam stands a group of three Cham towers dating from the 10th century. The style of the towers and the artwork associated with them is transitional between the powerful style of Dong Duong and the more charming and delicate My Son A1 style. The style of Khuong My also exhibits Khmer and Javanese influence.
[19]
Tra Kieu Style
Although the Cham monuments at Tra Kieu in
Quang Nam Province have been destroyed, a number of magnificent pieces of sculpture associated with the site remain and are preserved in museums. Especially noteworthy are the are a large pedestal serving as a base for a lingam that is known simply as the "Tra Kieu Pedestal" and another pedestal known as the "Dancers' Pedestal."
[20]
The Tra Kieu Pedestal, consisting of a base decorated with friezes in
bas relief, an ablutionary cistern, and a massive
lingam, is regarded as one of the masterpieces of Cham art. The figures on the friezes are especially beautiful, and represent episodes from the life of
Krishna as related in the
Bhagavata Purana. At each corner of the pedestal, a leonine
atlas appears to support the weight of the structure above him.
[21]
The Dancers' Pedestal, likewise, is regarded as a masterpiece. The purpose and function of the pedestal, which has the shape of a corner piece, remain obscure. Each side of the corner is graced by a dancing
apsara and a music-playing
gandharva. The base underneath these figures is adorned with leonine heads and
makaras.
[22]
Thap Mam Style
After the 10th century, Cham art went into gradual decline. Both architecture, as exemplified by the temples of
Po Nagar and Po Klaung Garai, and sculpture became more sterotyped and less original. Only the sculptures of mythical animals, such as the
makara or the
garuda, could rival their counterparts of the earlier styles.
[23]
The Thap Mam Style of the 11th through the 14th century is named for an achaeological site in
Binh Dinh Province. The sculpture of this style is characterized by "a return to hieratic formalism and the simplification of shape, leading to a certain loss of vitality."
[24] The sculptors seem to have been concerned more with the detail of ornamentation than with the grace and motion of the figures themselves. Indeed, the style has been characterized as "baroque," in reference to the proliferation of ornamental details that distinguishes it from its more "classical" predecessors.
[12]
One of the most original motifs of the Thap Mam period was the sculpting in stone of a row of female breasts around the base of a pedestal. The motif first emerged in the 10th century (the Tra Kieu Pedestal at one point had such a row of breasts) and became characteristic of the Thap Mam Style. It appears to have no counterpart in the art of other southeast Asian countries.
[26]
References
★ Huynh Thi Duoc, ''Cham Sculpture and Indian Mythology''. Da Nang, Vietnam: Danang Publishing House, 2007.
★ Emmanuel Guillon, ''Hindu-Buddhist Art of Vietnam: Treasures from Champa'' (translated from the French by Tom White). Trumbull, CT: Weatherhill, 1997.
★ Jean-François Hubert, ''The Art of Champa'' (translated from the French by Anna Allanet). USA: Parkstone Press and Confidential Concepts, 2005.
★ Lê Thành Khôi, ''Histoire du Viêt Nam des origines à 1858''. Paris: Sudestasie, 1981.
★ Ngô Vǎn Doanh, ''Champa: Ancient Towers''. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 2006.
★ Ngô Vǎn Doanh, ''My Son Relics''. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 2005.
Footnotes
1. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.36.
2. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.31.
3. Hubert, ''The Art of Champa'', p.39 ff.
4. Hubert, ''The Art of Champa'', pp.33-34.
5. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.33 ff.
6. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.73.
7. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.72.
8. Ngô Vǎn Doanh, ''Champa: Ancient Towers'', p.72.
9. Ngô Vǎn Doanh, ''Champa: Ancient Towers'', p.73.
10. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.36 ff.
11. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.40.
12. Hubert, ''The Art of Champa'', p.43.
13. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.81 ff.; Huynh Thi Duoc, ''Cham Sculpture'', p.66 ff.
14. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.41.
15. Ngô Vǎn Doanh, ''My Son Relics'', p.140-141.
16. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.128 ff.; Huynh Thi Duoc, ''Cham Sculpture'', pp.55 ff.
17. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.45, 105 f.
18. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.134.
19. Ngô Vǎn Doanh, ''Champa: Ancient Towers'', Ch.5: "Khuong My," p.95 ff.
20. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.110 ff.
21. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.110-116.
22. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.120-127.
23. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.54 f.
24. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.57.
25. Hubert, ''The Art of Champa'', p.43.
26. Guillon, ''Treasures from Champa'', p.147 ff.
See Also
★
Champa
★
Architecture of Cambodia
External Links
★
Photos of Cham art from collections in the museums of Vietnam.
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
