Download Five World Religions

SACRED word
and image:
Sacred – consecrated, holy, hallowed, worthy of veneration,
entitled to reverence and respect. Throughout mankind’s
written history and even before it, the human spirit has
sought to find sacred significance in the existing world.
While Western science has proposed answers to many
questions about our human origins, our place on earth, and
the nature of the universe beyond our world, religion plays
an important part of our history and our present.
This exhibition offers an opportunity to better understand
our commonalities and differences as people belonging to
various religious faiths. Viewers can compare the rich variety
of visual and textual expressions that have characterized
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism
over the past 1,500 years. The variety of materials used to
document mankind’s significant thoughts and beliefs is
astonishing. These sacred objects linked to the tenets and
values of a religion were created to be used as part of rituals,
devotions and celebrations within their respective traditions.
They embody physically the ephemeral experiences of faith,
forgiveness, redemption, purity, beauty, compassion and
sanctity. As our ways of communicating continue to evolve,
it is revelatory to see how past civilizations used the means
available to them to create lasting documents of thoughts,
visions, beliefs and hopes for a better world, in both the
present and future.
ABOVE: Chinese Qur'an. China, 18th century. Ink, color, and gilt on paper, leather binding; 10 1/4” x 7 1/2.” Collection of
James and Ana Melikian. Photo by Ken Howie.
This exhibition is presented by U.S. Bancorp Foundation and U.S. Bank
Private Client Reserve. Support provided by Amy S. Clague, Coleene and
Barry Fernando, Dr. Dhira Mahoney and James and Ana Melikian.
SACRED
WORD
AND
IMAGE:
1625 N. Central Avenue | Phoenix, AZ 85004 | (602) 257-1222 | PhxArt.org
ABOVE: Painting of Krishna and Radha under an Umbrella. India, 19th century. Ink and color on paper; 8 3/8” x 6 3/8.” Collection of
Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of George P. Bickford. Photo by Craig Smith. INSIDE PHOTOS - From Left to Right: Large Painted Tile with
the Bust of Christ (detail), dated 1880. Isfahan, Iran. Ceramic with underglaze black decoration; 18 3/8” x 15 3/8.” Collection of James
and Ana Melikian.* Offering Vessel (Hsun-ok). Burma, 20th century. Lacquer on bamboo and wood; 32” x 13.” Collection of Pari and
Peter Banko.* Jeweled and Enameled Silver Reliquary Box. Armenia, 17th–18th century. Silver, enamel, and diamond; 4 3/8” x 4
3/8” x 2 7/8.” Collection of James and Ana Melikian.* Sīva Natarāja, Lord of the Cosmic Dance. India, 17th century. Bronze; 11 3/8”
x 8 3/4” x 3 1/2.” Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of George P. Bickford. Photo by Craig Smith. Turkoman Prayer Rug.
Afghanistan, 20th century. Wool; 49” x 33 1/2.” Collection of Lionel Diaz and Jacqueline Butler-Diaz.* Pair of Gilt Bronze Manuscript
Covers Embellished with Turquoise and Coral. Tibet, 18th century. Gilt bronze, wood, pigments, turquoise and coral; 4” x 16 1/4.”
Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Amy S. Clague in honor of the Museum’s 50th Anniversary.* Buddhist Ritual Diadem (detail).
China, Ming dynasty, 15th century. Silk of broken twill weave, embroidered with polychrome silk threads using laid and couched,
split, satin, and outline stitches; 6 1/2” x 5 1/8”; Band: 1 1/8” x 18 1/8”; Leather tie: 5/8” x 10 5/8.” Collection of Phoenix Art
Museum, Gift of Amy S. Clague.* Velvet and Silver Episcopal Crown. Armenia, mid-19th century. Silver, velvet, and cotton; 10 5/8”
x 8 1/8.” Collection of James and Ana Melikian.* Polyglot New Testament printed in Four Languages (Latin, Hebrew, German, and
Yiddish), 1746. Prague. Ink on paper, leather binding; 11 3/4” x 8.” Collection of James and Ana Melikian.* Horizontal Silk Panel with
a Buddhist Mantra. China, Ming dynasty, mid-15th–early 17th century. Silk brocade in tabby weave, interwoven with paper faced with
gold leaf; 8 1/2” x 26 1/8.” Collection of Amy S. Clague.* Footprint of the Buddha (Buddhapada). Sri Lanka, Kandyan period, 19th
century. Pigment on cloth; 81 1/4” x 38 1/2.” Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Barry Fernando MD and Coleene Fernando
MD in honor of the Museum's 50th Anniversary.*
* Photos by Ken Howie.
Five World Religions
Jan. 4 – Mar. 25, 2012
SACRED SPACES
AND PLACES
Reliquaries are containers of the physical or bodily remains
of saints or holy persons or containers for written prayers
or sacred talismans. The veneration of holy relics has a long
tradition in Christian and Buddhist practices. Depictions of
religious structures associated with events in the lives of
Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed are often shown on reliquaries,
and represent places to which adherents hope to make
pilgrimages. Sacred artifacts might be transported from one
place of worship to another. For those who lacked the means
or the strength to visit actual places of veneration, devotional
objects could allow them to make an internal or spiritual
journey. In Islam, prayer mats or rugs create a holy space
for the sacred act of devotion by an individual wherever they
may be at the time of daily calls to prayer. The orientation
and design of a prayer rug focuses on Mecca as the divine
center of Islamic faith.
LANGUAGE AS
TRANSMISSION
The written word is associated directly with holy or sacred
concepts and gives permanence and sanctity to oral traditions,
beliefs and rituals. In Islam, the original language of the
prophet Mohammed is Arabic and it is the only one acceptable
for use to maintain the perfection of the divine word as
transmitted from Allah. Likewise, In Sri Lankan Buddhism,
Pali script is used for sacred texts though the spoken language
of the people using then today is different.
In Tibetan Buddhism, sacred incantations are believed to be
most efficacious when offered in the original Sanskrit words.
Other faiths, such as Judaism and Christianity permit the
translation of sacred texts into the native languages of the
people who embrace their teachings, leading to the
development of bi-lingual or even polygot language editions.
symbols of power
During much of the history of the world, literacy was very
limited. Thus, images and symbols became powerful tools to
bring understanding of abstract concepts, divine beings and
narrative stories to a greater number of potential believers.
These visual tools may represent virtuous traits and models of
behavior or indicate a divine presence. In Buddhism, the lotus
flower is a symbol of purity; as it grows in the muddy depths of
the water yet blooms pure and white upon the water’s surface.
The footprint of the Buddha is a symbol of his divine presence.
Other motifs, such as the cross in Christianity, symbolize the
pivotal events such as Christ’s crucifixion and suffering for the
redemption of mankind.
OTHERWORLDLY
VISIONS AND
MIRACULOUS EVENTS
In religious thought, the vision of other realms beyond this
earthly one are often a major aspect of belief and hope. In
much of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, the belief in the
life to come following our earthly existence has resulted in
heavenly visions of places where suffering and evil are replaced
by experiences of eternal peace, joy or enlightenment.
The lives of Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha are filled with
miraculous events that transcend ordinary human
experience and mark these individuals as divinely inspired
or enlightened beings. In Catholicism, the elevation of the
Virgin Mary’s status led to the creation of icons and the
practice of supplication to her for the alleviation of sins and
suffering. This concept of compassion for human suffering
is echoed in the Bodhisattvas of Buddhism, whose multiple
eyes or hands represent their super-human abilities to
observe suffering and thus grant blessings upon devotees.
divine beauty
The concept of sanctity has often been translated into
anthropomorphic form to bring about a greater
understanding and connection between divine nature and
human nature. Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity use
images of perfected or transcendent human beauty and
specific physical features to convey the divinity of spiritual
beings. In Hinduism, deities portrayed with animal features
and multiple arms or heads are based on literary traditions
that describe their super-human personalities and powers.
Hindu narratives also reveal attributes such as passion,
chastity, love or valor through physical attributes. In
Buddhism, the image of the historical Buddha conforms
to specific texts that describe the ideal proportions and
features of the Buddha, thus suing a physical ideal of
perfection to symbolize spiritual perfection. The Christian
ideals of beauty as depicted in images of the Virgin Mary
and infant Jesus are imbued with purity, maternal femininity
and child-like innocence and divinity.