| Candi Loro Jonggrang, the largest Hindu complex of insular Southeast Asia (240 structures), was consecrated in 856. This Saivite site marks the dramatic end of a dynastic era of foreign occupation in Central Java and the re-invigoration of a local line of rulers. Although necessarily interpretative, a close reading of the Loro Jonggrang ornamentation expands our understanding not only of its religious function and purpose, but of the interrelationships among the main structures as well. Moreover, missing images are imagined; artistic conventions are discerned, and pictorial narrative is complicated through the analysis of extant ornamentation heretofore elided.; This thesis also introduces cultural, historical, and commercial contexts, which are encoded in various representations of earthly life. These elements, whether sacrificial burials, sculpted animal figures, or visual tropes for human reproduction—via depictions of specially patterned textiles—are necessarily multivalent. Motifs and metaphors are also analyzed according to their organization and placement, which reveal that many meanings shift depending upon the relationship considered.; Going beyond Indian antecedents, the cosmopolitan nature of Java in the first millennium is emphasized. The sophisticated patrons of this site in Central Java, situated at the crossing point between the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, and the Pacific had regular multi-regional contacts. Evidence of their associations with maritime traffic of tropical wildlife trade and imported silks are found within the ornamentation of this site. Thus, this thesis examines the intricate interface of art, commerce, political intrigue, and religious assimilation.; How literature is complicated within pictorial narrative is also considered by the analysis of animal actors. Iconic animal representations also yield information about local reconfigurations of Hindu iconography, cosmology, and mythology. In addition, the earliest evidence of the metaphorical use of textiles in the region describes a sophisticated artistic vocabulary that includes the concept of aniconic representation.; Javanese art is an international art with strong local overtones. In lieu of extant texts, art historical study of the smallest units of surviving signification—ornamentation—can provide a wealth of information about artists and patrons. It certainly reveals the unique character of this remarkable, yet understudied World Heritage site. |
