Buddhas of Bamiyan

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Developments since 2002

In May 2002, a mountainside sculpture of the Buddha was carved out of a mountain in Sri Lanka. It was designed to closely resemble one of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.

The Afghan government has commissioned Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to recreate the Bamiyan Buddhas using fourteen laser systems to project the images of the Buddhas onto the cliff where they once stood. The laser systems will be solar and wind-powered. The project, which will cost an estimated $9 million, is currently pending UNESCO approval. If approved, the project is estimated to be completed by June 2012.

In September 2005, Mawlawi Mohammed Islam Mohammadi, Taliban governor of Bamiyan province at the time of the destruction and widely seen as responsible for its occurrence, was elected to the Afghan Parliament. On 26 January 2007, he was assassinated in Kabul.

Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei made a 95-minute documentary titled The Giant Buddhas (released in March 2006) on the statues, the international reactions to their destruction, and an overview of the controversy. Testimonies by local Afghans are recorded which validate that the destruction was ordered by Osama Bin Laden and that initially, Mullah Omar and the Afghans in Bamiyan had opposed the destruction.[35]

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Since 2002, international funding has supported recovery and stabilization efforts at the site. Fragments of the statues are documented and stored with special attention given to securing the structure of the statue still in place. It is hoped that, in the future, partial anastylosis can be conducted with the remaining fragments. In 2009, ICOMOS constructed scaffolding within the niche to further conservation and stabilization. Nonetheless, several serious conservation and safety issues exist and the Buddhas are still listed as World Heritage in Danger.[36]

In the summer of 2006, Afghan officials were deciding on the timetable for the re-construction of the statues. As they wait for the Afghan government and international community to decide when to rebuild them, a $1.3 million UNESCO-funded project is sorting out the chunks of clay and plaster — ranging from boulders weighing several tons to fragments the size of tennis balls — and sheltering them from the elements.

The Buddhist remnants at Bamiyan were included on the 2008 World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Fund.

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Oil painting discovery

After the destruction of the Buddhas, 50 caves were revealed. In 12 of the caves wall paintings were discovered.[37] In December 2004, an international team of researchers stated the wall paintings at Bamiyan were painted between the 5th and the 9th centuries, rather than the 6th to 8th centuries, citing their analysis of radioactive isotopes contained in straw fibers found beneath the paintings. It is believed that the paintings were done by artists travelling on the Silk Road, the trade route between China and the West.[38]

Scientists from the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in Tokyo (Japan), the Centre of Research and Restoration of the French Museums-CNRS (France), the Getty Conservation Institute (United States) and the ESRF (the European Synchrotron radiation facility) in Grenoble analysed samples from the paintings,[39] typically less than 1 mm across.[40] They discovered that the paint contained pigments such as vermilion (red mercury sulfide) and lead white (lead carbonate). These were mixed with a range of binders, including natural resins, gums (possibly animal skin glue or egg)[40] and oils, probably derived from walnuts or poppies.[38] Specifically, researchers identified drying oils from murals showing Buddhas in vermilion robes sitting cross-legged amid palm leaves and mythical creatures as being painted in the middle of the 7th century.[37] It is believed that they are the oldest known surviving examples of oil painting, possibly predating oil painting in Europe by as much as six centuries.[38] The discovery may lead to a reassessment of works in ancient ruins in Iran, China, Pakistan, Turkey and India.[38]

Initial suspicion that the oils might be attributable to contamination from fingers, as the touching of the painting is encouraged in Buddhist tradition,[40] was dispelled by spectroscopy and chromatography giving an unambiguous signal for the intentional use of drying oils rather than contaminants.[40] Oils were discovered underneath layers of paint, unlike surface contaminants.[40] Photos are available here, here, here and here.

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Another giant statue unearthed

On 8 September 2008 archeologists searching for a legendary 300-metre statue at the site of the already dynamited Buddhas announced the discovery of an unknown 19-metre (62-foot) reclining Buddha, a pose representing Buddha's passage into nirvana.[41]

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Restoration

The UNESCO Expert Working Group on Afghan cultural projects convened to discuss what to do about the two statues between 3–4 March 2011 in Paris. Researcher Erwin Emmerling of Technical University Munich announced he believed it would be possible restore the smaller statue using an organic silicon compound.[8] The Paris conference issued a list of 39 recommendations for the safeguarding of the Bamiyan site. These included leaving the larger Western niche empty as a monument to the destruction of the Buddhas, a feasibility study into the rebuilding of the Eastern Buddha, and the construction of a central museum and several smaller site museums.[42] Work has since begun on restoring the Buddhas using the process of anastylosis, where original elements are combined with modern material. It is estimated that roughly half the pieces of the Buddhas can be put back together according to Bert Praxenthaler, a German art historian and sculptor involved in the restoration. The project, which also aims to encourage tourism to the area, is being organised by two organisations, UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The work has come under some criticism. It is felt by some that the empty niches should be left as monuments to the fanaticism of the Taliban, while others believe the money could be better spent on housing and electricity for the region.[43]

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Footnotes

    ^ a b Gall, Carlotta (2006-12-05). "Afghans consider rebuilding Bamiyan Buddhas". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ Morgan, Kenneth W. The Path of the Buddha. Google Books. Retrieved 02-06-2009.
    ^ a b Gall, Carlotta (2006-12-06). "From Ruins of Afghan Buddhas, a History Grows". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ Bamiyan Valley
    ^ Why the Taliban are destroying Buddhas
    ^ Waduge, Shenali (2008-03-14). "Afghans destroy Buddhas, but cry foul over cartoons". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
    ^ Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area
    ^ a b Researchers Say They Can Restore 1 of Destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas. AOL News, March 1, 2011.
    ^ Bamiyan and Buddhist Afghanistan
    ^ a b Xuan Zang and the Third Buddha
    ^ Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Warsaw - Bamiyan
    ^ "afghan_reaction.htm". Institute-for-afghan-studies.org. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
    ^ Buddhas of Bamiyan
    ^ What Lies Beneath
    ^ booklet web E.indd
    ^ Laban Kaptein, Eindtijd en Antichrist, p. 127. Leiden 1997. ISBN 9073782899
    ^ Semple, Michael Why the Buddhas of Bamian were destroyed, Afghanistan Analysts Network 02-03-2011
    ^ Harding, Luke (2001-03-03). "How the Buddha got his wounds". London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2006-02-28. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
    ^ Semple, Michael Why the Buddhas of Bamian were destroyed, Afghanistan Analysts Network 02-03-2011
    ^ Vawda, Moulana Imraan. "The Destruction of Statues Displayed in an Islamic State". Ask-Imam.com. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ "World appeals to Taliban to stop destroying statues". CNN. 2001-03-03. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ Bearak, Barry (2001-03-04). "Over World Protests, Taliban Are Destroying Ancient Buddhas". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-13.[dead link]
    ^ Zaeef, Abdul Salam, My Life With The Taliban eds Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn, p.120, C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, ISBN 1849040265
    ^ Zaeef p.127
    ^ "Destruction of Giant Buddhas Confirmed". AFP. 2001-03-12. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ Zaeef p.126
    ^ "Taliban destroy ancient Buddhist relics – International pleas ignored by Afghanistan's Islamic fundamentalist leaders"
    ^ Photos document destruction of Afghan Buddhas (cached from Internet Archive)
    ^ ""Destruction and Rebuilding of the Bamyan Buddhas" by Slate Magazine".
    ^ Bergen, Peter. "The Osama bin Laden I Know", 2006. p. 271
    ^ Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (2010). American Taliban: How War, Sex, Sin, and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right. Polipoint Press. ISBN 1936227029.
    ^ Crossette, Barbara (2001-03-19). "Taliban Explains Buddha Demolition". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ Kassaimah, Sahar (2001-01-12). "Afghani Ambassador Speaks At USC". IslamOnline. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ Michael Falser: The Bamiyan Buddhas, performative iconoclasm and the 'image' of heritage. In: Giometti, Simone; Tomaszewski, Andrzej (eds.): The Image of Heritage. Changing Perception, Permanent Responsibilities. Proceedings of the International Conference of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for the Theory and the Philosophy of Conservation and Restoration. 6–8 March 2009 Florence, Italy. Firenze 2011: 157-169.
    ^ "Laden ordered Bamyan Buddha destruction". The Times of India. 2006-03-28. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ Petzet, Michael (2010). "Safeguarding the Buddhas of Bamiyan". In Christoph Machat, Michael Petzet and John Ziesemer (Eds.), "Heritage at Risk: ICOMOS World Report 2008-2010 on Monuments and Sites in Danger".. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag, 2010.
    ^ a b "Scientitsts discover first-ever oil paintings in Afghanistan". Earthtimes.org. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
    ^ a b c d Highfield, Roger (2008-04-22). "Oil painting 'invented in Asia, not Europe'". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2008.[dead link] However, the press release picked up by media, clearly misdates the earliest uses of oil paint in Europe, which is well known to be fully described in a treatise by Theophilus Presbyter of 1100-1120, and may date back to the Ancient Romans. See: Rutherford John Gettens, George Leslie Stout, 1966, Courier Dover Publications, ISBN 0486215970 Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopedia (online text), p. 42 [1]
    ^ "Ancient Buddhist Paintings From Bamyan Were Made Of Oil, Hundreds Of Years Before Technique Was 'Invented' In Europe". Sciencedaily.com. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
    ^ a b c d e "Ancient Buddhas painted in oils". nature.com. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
    ^ New Bamiyan Buddha find amid destruction, AFP, November 8, 2008.
    ^ Expert Working Group releases recommendations for Safeguarding Bamiyan April 27, 2011
    ^ Kakissis, Joanna Bit By Bit, Afghanistan Rebuilds Buddhist Statues July 27, 2011 NPR.org

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Further reading

    Fabio Maniscalco, World Heritage and War, monographic series "Mediterraneum", vol. 6, Naples 2007, Massa Publisher "Catalogo: MEDITERRANEUM". Massa Editore. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
    Japanese researchers make breakthrough on destroyed Bamyan paintings. Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, 2004-12-11.
    Wriggins, Sally Hovey. Xuanzang: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road. Boulder: Westview Press, 1996
    Bamian Buddha Statues and Theosophy
    Afghanistan 1969-1974: February 2001
    Artist to recreate Afghan Buddhas. BBC News, 9 August 2005.
    "World appeals to Taleban to stop destroying statues". CNN, 3 March 2001. (New York)
    The Rediff Interview/Mullah Omar, April 12, 2004
    Pakistani, Saudi engineers helped destroy Buddhas Daily Times, Sunday, 19 March 2006.
    "Afghan who had statues destroyed killed" at the Wayback Machine (archived January 28, 2007)
    Olivier Weber, The Assassinated Memory (Mille et Une Nuits, 2001)
    Olivier Weber, Tha Afghan Hawk: travel in the country of talibans (Robert Laffont, 2001)
    Olivier Weber, On the Silk Roads (with Reza, Hoëbeke, 2007)
    Gall, Carlotta. "Afghans consider rebuilding Bamyan Buddhas", Herald Tribune, 5 December 2006.
    Harding, Luke. " How the Buddha got his wounds ", The Guardian, 3 March 2001.
    Kassaimah, Sahar. "Afghani Ambassador Speaks At USC", IslamOnline, 12 March 2001.
    Cloonan, Michele V. "The Paradox of Preservation", Library Trends, Summer 2007.
    Noyes, James. "Bamiyan Ten Years On: What this Anniversary tells us about the New Global Iconoclasm", "Telos", 1 March 2010.

    Michael Falser: The Bamiyan Buddhas, performative iconoclasm and the 'image' of heritage. In: Giometti, Simone; Tomaszewski, Andrzej (eds.): The Image of Heritage. Changing Perception, Permanent Responsibilities. Proceedings of the International Conference of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for the Theory and the Philosophy of Conservation and Restoration. 6–8 March 2009 Florence, Italy. Firenze 2011: 157-169. For a presentation of this paper online: http://atti.fly-events.com/THE_IMAGE_OF_HERITAGE/swf/0014.html. In a German version: Michael Falser: Die Buddhas von Bamiyan, performativer Ikonoklasmus und das 'Image' von Kulturerbe. In: Kultur und Terror: Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaft, vol. 1/2010: 82-93.

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Historic footage of Bamiyan statues

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Bamyan Video Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNYLTWCPkvQ&feature=related