ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF RELIGION

JUDAISM

BOWL FRAGMENTS WITH MENORAH, SHOFAR, AND TORAH ARK. 300-350 BCE

OPTIC

• O- A piece of a broken object, green and gold.
• P- Possibly a piece of a plate, it has a gold border with letters and there's also pictures.
• T- "Bowl Fragments With Menorah, Shofar, and Torah Ark." This shows Jewish influences and some type of religious ceremonial object.
• I- It looks like all of the objects in the photo are apart of some Jewish ceremony or observed holiday. I see the Menorah which is a Jewish object and the Shofar is a Jewish instrument.
• .

OPTIC CONT.

• C- This is a piece of art on a plate/dish commemorating a significant Jewish holiday or ceremony

ARCHITECTURE

OPTIC

• O- It's a building with colorful walls and a dome.
• P- There's a dome on the building, along with the front doors and the walls of the structure.
• T- "The Dome Of The Rock" The Rock could represent a spiritual leader, or a head of something. Dome is a nod to the main structural focus of the building.
• I- This relates to Judaism because Judaistic architecture typically has domes on it. It also looks to be in a region to where they can have mosaic art and not have to replace it often due to weather, so most likely somewhere in South West Asia.

OPTIC CONT.

• C- This is a Synagogue used as a Jewish holy place where people go to worship, most likely located in SW Asia.

Judaism is a monotheistic religion, the founder is Abraham in 300 BCE. Judaism spreads into modern-day Israel with the conquer of Canaan. It's also spread by the Mediterranean Sea Trade Route. It developed in the Roman Empire before the birth of Jesus Christ.
As it spread the role of Rabbis changed, seen as: teachers, religious leaders, or community leaders.

HINDUISM

SHIVA AS THE LORD OF DANCE. 11TH CENTURY

OPTIC

• O- it's a statue of a figure. There's a ring around the figure with hands. The statue is green.
• P- the body has multiple hands and has long wavy hair. The hands could be in a special shape that means something.
• T-"Shiva As the Lord of Dance" this is a deity from a polytheistic faith, South or South East Asia because of the name.
• I- Shiva is a Hindu deity, and can have many forms because it's one of the main deities.

OPTIC CONT.

• C- This is a statue made to commentate the Hindu deity Shiva. Shiva can have many forms and is portrayed within the figure as the lord of dance.

SRI RANGANATHASWAMY

OPTIC

• O- The picture shows multiple tall colorful buildings.
• P- There are three buildings, all with colorful figures on them. They are roped off. Looks like it could be a temple or shrine.
• T- "Sri Ranganathaswamy" Obviously in a regional dialect, it could the be the name of a city or a deity. It could also be for multiple deities. Sounds to be in a Indian dialect.
• I- The deities on the structure are all arranged in a pattern, and there are four main colors. The structures also look to be weathered, so it's very old.

OPTIC CONT.

• C- These buildings are temples and dedicated to one more Hindu deities. They are also very weathered, so these structures have been built for a long time.

Hinduism's founder is unknown, but we do know that it spread and origins are based in India. It's a Ethnic religion, meaning you have to be born into the religion to follow it. So for the most part it stayed in India. It did diffuse partially into the other Southern Asian countries through the Indian Ocean trades. Since there is no clear founder or clear book of worship there's a lot of room for interpretation. The four main branches are: Shaivites, Vaishnavas, Smartha, and Shaktism.

BUDDHISM

DRUM SLAB SHOWING THE BUDDHA STANDING IN THE GATEWAY OF A STUPA

OPTIC

• O- a stone with carvings in it .
• P- It's pictures chiseled into stone. There are figures, animals, and designs carved.
• T-"Drum Slab Showing The Buddha Standing In The Gateway Of a Stupa". This shows relation to Buddhism, the religion based around Buddha.
• I- Buddha seems to be standing at the center of attention, with people on his left and right and lions behind him. Lions are a sign of royalty.

OPTIC CONT

• C- This slab commentates some type of event where Buddha was around a lot of people and doing something spectacular.

Haeinsa Temple

OPTIC

• O- a building with sliding doors and a courtyard surrounding it.
• P- There's a building, and what looks to be multiple building out of frame. It's a well kept place, which signifies significance.
• T- "Haeinsa Temple" The title represent that the building is a religious place. It also has a Korean name, and Korea's main religion is Buddhism.
• I- There are pictures on the sliding doors, indicating a story or special meaning. The sliding doors are commonly found in Asian architecture. All of the buildings look to be apart of one center for religion.

OPTIC CONT.

• C- This complex of buildings is a religious center, located in East or South East Asia. We can infer from the name of the temple that it's located in Korea. Korea's main religion is Buddhism, so we can also infer it's a Buddhist temple.

Buddhism's founder is Siddhaetha Gautamata. Buddhism followed the Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade roots to Korea and Japan. As it traveled and diffused it split into three different branches: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.

CONFUCIANISM

A DISH WITH THE THREE FRIENDS OF WINTER

OPTIC

• O- A red dish with borders and designs.
• P- The dish has designs of flowers and has a fluid shape to it, indicating an Asian culture.
• T- "A Dish With the Three Friends of Winter"- This indicates that it comes from a culture with a colder winter climate, so Northern Asia like China or Japan.
• I- The color of the dish is a deep red, which is closely tied to Chinese culture and it symbolizes life. There are also orchids, which symbolize Confucius and his teachings.

OPTIC CONT.

• C- This dish was inspired by the teachings of Confucius, and was created in China. The dish represents the simple beauty and the soft slow of the culture.

LINGXING GATE

OPTIC

• O- This is a building with intricate doors and roof design
• P- The roof is nicely decorated, and well as the doors. That shows there's importance and respect to the building.
• T- "Lingxing Gate"- I can tell from the title that it's in China, and most Chinese were Confucianist.
• I- Main colors of the temple were red and gold, important colors in Chinese culture and philosophy. It also has high roofs with upturns. That could represent it's connection to heaven or people trying to reach heaven.

OPTIC CONT.

• C- This temple is a Confucius temple in China. It has many special factors, including color and architectural design.

Confucianism was founded by Confucius. The religion spread all throughout China and neighboring countries like Korea and Vietnam. This was due to the popularity of the teachings, as well as the use of the Silk Roads. The religion didn't change much because it isn't based so much on deities but based on teachings and philosophies.

CHRISTIANITY

THE ANTIOCH CHALICE

OPTIC

• O- a cup with designs on it.
• P- it's a brown cup with intricate grape vines on it. It also shows a figure among the grapes.
• T- "The Antioch Chalice"- Antioch is a Christian term, so we can assume the figure is Jesus Christ.
• I- The grapes represent the wine that Jesus drank during his last meal before his crucifixion by the Romans the next morning. This is a big moment in Christian history.

OPTIC CONT.

• C- This chalice represents the cup Jesus Christ drank from during his last meal the night before he was crucified by the Roman army.

ST. PETER'S BASILICA

OPTIC

• O- it's the inside of a building, there are high ceilings and columns. The walls are decorated
• P- there are old lights hanging from the ceilings, there are also angles on the sides of the walls, and a cross at the end. This signifies that it's a Christian church.
• T- St. Paul's Basilica. The title tells us that it's a Roman Catholic Church. Basilica is an Italian word, showing that the church is based in Italy.

OPTIC

• I- There are cherubs on the wall, and they are baby angles. Jesus said that angles are his army. The Italian writing symbolizes where the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity started; Italy.
• C- This Is a Roman Catholic Church, which is a branch of Christianity. From angels to holy words on the wall and crosses lifted high in the air to represent Jesus and how high his sacrifice was this church is full of Christian symbolism.

Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ. It was spread by the power of the Roman Empire and traveled along trade routes. It spread to Europe, and parts of Northern Africa. Through diffusing many different branches came, and there are 3 main branches: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant.