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Early Period (Mid 7th - Mid 9th
Century)
The most characteristic of the early Cham art is the
collection of sculptures from My Son (outside of Da Nang), the most
venerated temples in ancient Champa. This group of sculptures marked
the golden age for Cham culture, even if this culture was influenced
by pre-Angkorian Khmer art. A century later, when the leadership of
Champa passed to the southern provinces, artistic activity seems to
have declined. It was at about this time that the Indonesian
attacked on the peninsula stimulated the growth of Buddhism in
Champa and revitalized its iconography.
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The Period of Indrapura (Mid 9th to End
of 10th Century)
Around the year 850, power once again passed to the northern
provinces and for a century and a half Indrapuri (Dong Duong in
present Quang Nam province) was the capital of the Cham kingdom.
Though typified by two quite opposite tendencies, the period was one
of intense artistic activity. As early as 875, the founding of the
great Mahayana (Dai Thua) Bhuddist complex at Dong Duong
led to the embellishment of a vigorous style that was much more
concerned with grandeur than with human beauty, and yet welded
together with a surprising degree of originality the most varied
borrowings from Indonesia and China. A quarter of a century later,
with the decline of Buddhism, sculpture became progressively more
humane and decoration more delicate (Khuong My). When, towards the
middle of the 10th century, architecture achieved a classical
balance (My Son, group A), sculpture moved into its second golden
age with the style of My Son A1 and Tra Kieu which shows a strong
Indonesian influence. By the end of the 10th century, when the
kingdom engaged in hostilities with a now independent Viet Nam, its
art had already lost many of its finest qualities, especially with
regard to the rendering of the human figure.
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The Period of Vijaya (11th to End
of 15th Century)
As
result of attacks by Vietnamese forces, Indrapura, which lay to far
to the north, was evacuated in favor of Vijaya (Cha Ban in the
present Qui Nhon city), a capital further to the south. Even though
the kingdom was threatened from all sides, Vijaya was to witness
much artistic activity during the 11th and 12th centuries. Growing
tension between Khmer (Cambodia) and Champa led to the introduction
of some new borrowings
from the Khmer art; however the worsening of political relations
culminated in the occupation of Champa by forces from Angkor (1181
to 1220). All Cham artistic activity ceased, and the kingdom was to
emerge much the poorer from the experience. Once set in motion, the
decline was accelerated by the invincible onslaught of Viet Nam, and
then, at the end of 13th century, by the Mongol threat. The few
buildings erected in the 15th century in the less harassed regions
are of heavier proportions and became progressively less and less
ornamented (Po Klong
Garai).
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 Late Period (After
1471)
This period
began with the capture of Champa's capital of Vijaya by the
Vietnamese. Po Ro Me temple, probably built in the 16th century, was
the last sanctuary of the traditional type. Those that followed it
(the bumongs of hybrid construction) were to be influenced by
Vietnamese architecture. Religious images became mere steles (kut)
which are characterized by the progressive effacement of the human
physiognomy, until only attributes of rank (especially head-dresses)
remains as a reminder of them. Yet although these sculptures reveal
a continuos decline, they do manage to retain something of the
profound originality that is the only truly constant feature of the
art of Champa.
Kut in human shape, sandstone,
17th century, Thanh
Hieu.
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Cham Sculpture
Cham
sculpture, unlike the architecture that is conservative in its
design and methods, is marked by continual changes, reflecting new
influences rather than a natural evolution. Although it can not be
denied that there were occasions when Cham art reached heights of
pure, classical beauty (such as the My Son and Tra Kieu
temples), sculptures for the most part to have expressed
contradictory tendencies: conventionality and innovation, a lack of
decorative details and an excess of it, both realism and fantasy.
There is more and more an aversion to sculpture in the round until,
finally, carving in high relief became the only means of expression,
and a certain disregard for natural poses resulted in a loss of
balanced proportions. It should be stressed that, in view of the
constant and profound changes in Cham art, it is the study of
costume, hairstyle, and above all, personal ornaments that give the
most reliable stylistic evidence for dating sculpture.
Apsara dancer, sandstone pedestal from Tra Kieu, early 10th
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 In spite of the fact that sufficient
examples of bronzes and terra cotta have survived to demonstrate
that these two techniques were important at all times, too many have
been destroyed for us to be able to trace their development
satisfactorily. Some detachable ornaments from idols (head-dresses,
bracelets, necklaces, etc.) of chased
gold or silver dating from the end of the 9th century or the
beginning of the 10th have been found. The only other known
ornaments (the regalia of Cham kings) are not earlier than the 17th
century. The visual evidence relating to personal ornaments in the
intervening period is limited to that provided by sculpture.
Royal Tiara, Gold, 17th century.
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and inspired many sculptures that decorate the Cham's temples and
towers. These statues and bas-reliefs were carved from stone or made
of terra-cotta after figures of god and mythical animals from the
Brahman religion. The three divinities worshipped by the ancient
Cham people are:
Brahma is the Creator who is continuing to create new
realities. Brahma has four arms and four faces (represent East,
West, North and South). His wife is Saravasti. Brahma is usually
displayed riding on the sacred goose of Hamsa.
Shiva, the Destroyer, is at times compassionate, erotic and
destructive. He symbolizes all the violence and forces in the
universe. Shiva has a third eye in his forehead. and can have many
arms and faces. Shiva has many wives, among them Parvatti, the
goddess of Earth, Uma, the goddess of grace and Durga, the
goddess-combatant. Shiva is sometimes displayed riding the sacred
bull of Nandin Vishnu, the Preserver who preserves these new
creations.
Vishnu has one face and four arms, each arm holds a disc, a
horn, a ball and a club. His wife is Laksmi, the goddess of beauty.
Vishnu is usually displayed riding Garuda, the mythical creature of
half-human and half bird.
Other religious figures found on the ancient Cham sculptures
are Ganesa-the god of intelligence, Indra-the god of the rain,
Kama-the god of love, apsara-the celestial dancers and naga-the
multiple-head serpent, the founder of the dynasty.
Minh
Bui
References: Forms and
Styles of Asia-Champa, Prof. Jean Boisselier, 1994
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Cham
architecture is essentially an architecture of bricks.
The bricks were of excellent quality, and after being rubbed
smooth, were bonded by means of a mortar of vegetable origin,
thereby rendering the joints almost invisible and producing
surfaces that readily lent themselves to sculptures.
Po Klong Garai tower, Binh Dinh, late 13th
century
With the exception of
the temple of Dong Duong (AD 875), Cham architecture does not
have buildings of the grand scale of those found in Java or
Cambodia. Cham temples usually consist of a sanctuary tower
(the kalan) together with a few smaller outbuildings. At many
temple sites, one can find an assemblage of buildings dating
from different periods.
The Chams used only
two methods of roofing their temples: courses of corbel bricks
for covering small areas, and tiles on a timber framework for
larger buildings. As a rule, the sanctuary towers are
characterized by a relative lack of embellishment as well as
by their graceful proportions. These square buildings derive
their proportion from their pilaster and projections and
usually have a large entrance hall. The high roofs consist of
progressively smaller stories, forming the basic shape of the
building. Apart from the occasional lodge and small temple
with the layout similar to that of the kalan, the secondary
buildings are of two types: the 'library' of oblong shape,
most frequently comprising two rooms under a curved roof of
corbelled bricks, and the 'hall', a larger building with
thinner walls pierced by balustrade windows. The halls have
roofs of tiles on a timber framework and are sometimes divided
by massive pillars into three naves. The decoration of these
buildings normally takes the form of carved relief on brick,
but for the decoration of sanctuaries, tympana, metopes,
antefixes and certain other features, carved sandstone was
generally used.
Major Cham Monuments
My Son Towers
My Son,
which is located outside of Da Nang, is the most important
Cham site in Viet Nam. During the centuries when Simhapura
(Tra Kieu) served as the political capital of Champa, My Son
was the most important Cham intellectual and religious center
and may also be served as the burial place for Cham monarchs.
My Son is considered to be Champa's counter part to the grand
cities of South-East Asia's other Indian influenced
civilizations such as Angkor (Cambodia), Pagan (Myanmar),
Ayuthaya (Thailand) and Borobudur (Java). My Son became a
religious center under King Bhadravarman in the late 4th
century until the 13th century, the longest period of
development of any monument in South-East Asia. Most of the
temples in My Son were dedicated to Cham kings associated with
divinities, especially Shiva, who was regarded as the founder
and protector of Champa's dynasties. The monuments at My Son
have been classified by archaeologists into ten main groups
lettered from A to K according their style and period where
the buildings were constructed. Many of the My Son towers were
destroyed or severely damaged during the Viet Nam war in the
60's.
Simhapura (Tra Kieu)
Also
located outside of Da Nang is Simhapura, the Lion City, the
first capital of Champa, serving its capacity from the 4th to
the 8th centuries. Today, nothing remains of the city except
the rectangular ramparts. A huge number of Cham artifacts,
including some of the finest carvings are found from this
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Indrapura (Dong Duong)
The
Cham religious center of Indrapura was the site of an
important Mayahana Buddhist monastery, the Monastery
of Lakshmindra-Lokeshvara. Indrapura served as the capital
of Champa from 860 to 986 until the capital was moved south to
Vijaya (Cha Ban near Qui Nhon).
Po Nagar Towers
Located outside of Nha Trang, the Po
Nagar (the Lady of the City) towers were built between the
7th and 12th centuries on a site used for Hindu worship as
early as the 2nd century AD. There were once seven or eight
towers at Po Nagar, four of which remain. At the site there is
a mandapa (meditation hall) where worshipers must pray before
proceeding to the kalan (sanctuary). The 23-meter high North
tower, with its terraced pyramidal roof, vaulted interior
masonry and vestibule, is a superb example of Cham
architecture. It was built in 817 by King Harivarman I , 43
years after the original temples were sacked and burned by
Indonesian corsairs.
Po Klong Garai Towers
Located in Phan Rang province, the Po Klong
Garai site consists of four brick towers constructed at
the end of 13th century during the reign of King Jaya
Simhavarman III.
Po Ro Me Towers
Also
located in Phan Rang is the Po Ro Me, one of the newest Cham
tower. The tower is named after the last ruler of the
independent Champa, King Po Ro Me (ruled 1629-1651) who died a
prisoner of the Vietnamese.
Minh
Bui
References:
Forms and Styles of Asia-Champa, Prof. Jean Boisselier,
1994
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