SEA Architecture Flashcards
It’s one of the larger temple complexes within the historic park. It translates to “Holy Sword” in Khmer, named by JayavarmanVII in honor of his battle victory against the invading force of Chams, who belonged to a kingdom in what is now Vietnam, in the year 1191. This majestic temple complex is surrounded by a moat, and its surface area stretches over as watch of land that’s 800 meters by 700 meters, enclosing an area of 56 hectares.
Preah Khan Temple
Located on the island of Java in Indonesia, the rulers of the Śailendra Dynasty built the temple around 800 C.E. as a monument to the Buddha. square 123 meters (403 feet) on each side and 32 meters(105 feet) high. Constructed of unmortared grey andesite and volcanic basalt stone and surrounded by lush green fields of the Kedu Plain and tourist infrastructure, it is about the size of a stadium and took about 80 years to build. Four large volcanos, including the often-smoking Mount Merapi, and numerous hills are visible in the distance. The temple’s design in Gupta architecture reflects India’s influence on the region, yet there are enough indigenous scenes and elements incorporated to make the temple uniquely Indonesian.
Temple of Borobudur
It’s dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu who is one of the three principal gods in the Hindu pantheon (Shiva and Brahma are the others). Among them, he is known as the “Protector.” The major patron of the temple complex was King Suryavarman II, whose name translates as the “protector of the sun.”
Angkor Wat
This style/period is also known as the “Land of million rice fields”, founded by King Phya Mangrai. It emphasizes the enormous size of the shrines and a relatively small sermon or temple hall. Stupas were later built from the mid-14th century onwards since the entrance of the Lankawong Buddhism sect.
Changmai/Lan Na Period
The pagoda is built in Mon architectural style featuring staircases, richly ornamented spires and gates, and a large golden finial beautifully designed with gems. Some treasured relics including Buddha’sfrontal bone, collarbone, and a tooth are thought to be preserved in thePagoda. To honor these relics, shrines of the 37 Great Nats have been constructed. The pagoda has five square terraces, which rise in a pyramidal form and are covered on the top with chatris or umbrellas.
Shwezigon Pagoda
This temple is also known as the “Heaven and Earth”, the temple complex that houses the Emerald Buddha is located on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. It was built by Rama I in 1782 when he built his capitol in Bangkok.
Wat Phra Kaew
It’s a Buddhist temple that was built at the beginning of the XII century in the city of Bagan during the Pagan Dynasty. Its main feature is the relation between religion, politics, and architecture that has a deep influence on its morphology and plan. Its Cruciform plan, within a central square of 53 meters and a final length of 88 meters is due to the positioning of the four standing Buddhas that are facing the different Cardinaldirections (North, South, East, West). This is because the temple was built during the first reunification of the country.
Ananda Temple
The construction of the pagoda began in the mid-11th century during the reign of Pagan Emperor Anawrahta. According to a popular belief, Anawrahta sent a white elephant with a bone relic of GautamaBuddha to wander freely. It was also mounted with the royal declaration that the place, where the elephant halted, would be selected as the site for setting up the pagoda. The pagoda was finally erected on a dune, where the elephant stopped.
Shwezigon Pagoda
The version of the stupa in Burma.
Chedi
This style was founded by King Ramathibodi I in the lower Chao Phraya River, one of the largest and most prosperous empires of its time. It’s said to be the society of builders rather than sculptors. It erected a major portion of its 400 wats in Ramathibodi’s reign and completed most of its major monuments in the first 150 years of its existence Wat YaiChaya Mongkol. Architecture during this period was regarded as a peak achievement that responded to the requirements of people and expressed the gracefulness of Thai-ness.
Ayutthaya Period
This style was the foundation of Thaicivilization, the place where its institutions and culture first developed and PhoKhun Sri Indraditya became the first king. Governed in the style of “the father of the town,” or paternal kingship and the identity of the style decorations to display the Buddhist faith by building the buildings in symbolic shapes.
Sukhothai Style
This temple in quincunx was built in 1630 byKing Prasat Thong, as a royal monastery dedicated to his mother. It was used for cremations and other religious ceremonies. Redenting the walls of this tower (prang) served a practical as well as an aesthetic function since it provided a structural buttress that strengthened the wall against collapse.
Wat Chai Watthanaram
Ordination hall of the wat where monks perform ceremonies, meditate and sermonize. It usually faces East and houses the main Buddha image.
Ubosot or Bot
It’s a 12th-century building of Khmer-Angkor type a stand in a walled court and comprises a sanctuary tower(shikhara) and attached portico (mandapa) raised on a high molded plinth. It also has a heavy arched tympana above the openings, recalling Angkor.
Wat Mahadhatu Temple
Myanmar’s most prominent holy site houses four sacred relics, most notably eight strands of hair belonging to the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama. And it is upon these eight hairs which the king of Dagon (former name of Yangon along with Rangoon) would build and enshrine the artifacts within the pagoda. The central stupa alone is plated with over20,000 bars of gold, which becomes more apparent in the evening when bright lights illuminate its golden spires. But the pagoda’s most asset is the stupa’s crown, known as the ‘umbrella’. Approximately 5,500 diamonds, 2,300 rubies and4,000 golden bells and other precious gemstones line the crown. And sitting at the very top of the umbrella is its largest and most precious gemstone, a72-carat (15 grams) diamond.
Shwedagon Pagoda
Origin in central and eastern Thailand. It’s a Provincial manifestation of the Khmer-Angkor style. It also mirrored building traditions of the Mons and Talaings of southern Burma. Khmersintroduced the use of stone, instead of the traditional brick or rubble bonded with vegetable glue.
Khmer-Lopburi Period
