The National Museum of Korea (Director General Yoon Sung Yong) will open “Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India” on December 22 as its last special exhibition of 2023. This past year, the Museum has focused on post-Renaissance European art, including works from the Austrian Habsburg royal family and the collection of the British National Gallery, which were very well received. This month, the museum is shifting its focus further east and traveling back a millennium to showcase the art of southern India from 2,000 years ago.

This special exhibition presents the Korean version of “Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India,” which was held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the U.S. from July 17 to November 13, 2023. Southern Indian art from the southeastern Deccan Plateau of India will be introduced for the first time in Korea, following the U.S. exhibition, featuring works from 12 Indian institutions, including the National Museum, New Delhi, and 17 institutions from four countries, including the UK, Germany, and the U.S. Among them are many artifacts that have never left India since their excavation.

While The Met’s exhibition took a scholastic approach that sought to shift the focus of the study of Indian Buddhist art history from northern India to southern India, the exhibition in Korea has been reimagined to bring visitors closer to the world of the vibrant art of southern India. This is part of the Museum’s efforts to present a variety of exhibitions highlighting world civilizations to provide new cultural experiences for visitors.

The Exhibition consists of “The Forest of Mystery” and “The Forest of Stories.”

“Tree and Serpent” is the story of the vibrant deities and Śākyamuni from the sizzling hot and vibrant land of southern India. Buddhism was introduced to southern India in the mid-3^rd century BC, when King Aśoka of the Mauryan Empire sent Śākyamuni’s śarīra across India to be enshrined in stūpas. “Stūpa” is the ancient Indian word for a Buddhist "pagoda (塔)" that houses the śarīra of a Buddha or great monk, and more than half of the sculptures in this exhibition are from stūpas built in southern India from the 2^nd century BCE to the 4^th century AD. For the exhibition, these stūpas have been arranged like trees in a forest. Audiences can walk through the exhibition and immerse themselves in the world of southern Indian art as if they were traveling through a forest of stūpas 2,000 years ago.

This special exhibition consists of two forests. The first is “The Forest of Mysteries.” This exotic forest was created through the infusion of Buddhism into the unique culture of southern India, which is rooted in a generous natural environment. Indians believed that spirits of the forest brought abundance, especially the deities that inhabited the trees and the earth, which were known as yakṣa for males and yakṣī for females. As nature spirits, they were integrated into the decorations of stūpas when Buddhism was introduced. To represent the forest of life where nature spirits and Buddhist gods lived together, the first exhibition gallery is decorated with circles that represent the stūpas’ sacred circle, creating a space that symbolizes the order of the cycle.

The second is “The Forest of Stories.” The story of Śākyamuni from Buddhism, which originated in North India, meets the vibrant culture of southern India, giving it a different vibe than its northern counterpart. The space was designed to allow visitors to feel the grandeur that emanates from the scale of southern Indian stūpas depicting the story of Śākyamuni. The story of his life, made up of various symbols and narratives carved into stone, showcase the beauty of dramatic Indian art.

More ways to enjoy the exhibition

First, we recommend the stūpa tour guided by King Sātavāhana.

The exhibition begins with a guided tour by southern India's ruler, King Sātavāhana. In South India, the class of merchants and artisans amassed great wealth from early international trade with Europe and Southeast Asia. They were playfully imaginative enough to devise lotus hats that spilled coins, and through their patronage, South Indian Buddhism flourished, with beautiful temples built on a grand scale from the earliest days. The two most characteristic features of a stūpa, the centerpiece of a South Indian temple, are the tree and the iconography of the nāga, a mythical serpent. The stūpa was a tomb of the Buddha, but it was also believed to be and envisioned as a space of rebirth, where water springs and life grows.

Second, we recommend feeling the power that makes people believe in what cannot be seen.

In the places where Śākyamuni should be, he is represented by symbols: the bodhi tree under which he attained enlightenment, the empty throne, the recognizable footprints, and the chariot wheel representing his teachings. The stūpa sculptures show the power of symbols to make us believe in his presence even when we cannot see him. This special exhibition highlights the moment of transformation from representing subjects through symbols and metaphors to sculpting them in human form.

The third is the power of imagination.

The National Museum of Korea has organized this exhibition from a cultural history perspective, which is distinct from the U.S. version planned as an academic exhibition. The Museum sought to convey in an exciting way how the flow of culture and the spread of new beliefs in India, one of the birthplaces of humanity’s ancient civilizations, provided the impetus and imagination for the unique art of southern India. To this end, based on the original manuscript written by the curator, the Museum worked with the “Let’s Make Exhibition Information Easy” Team to make the exhibition more accessible. All exhibition information provided in the gallery was created based on this approach, and it is also available in text and voice on the mobile exhibition guide program to help visitors enjoy the exhibition more comfortably. In addition, the Museum will hold an academic event with Curator John Guy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Professor Rhi Ju-Hyung of the Department of Archaeology and Art History at Seoul National University on January 5, 2024. For more information, please visit the website of the National Museum of Korea.  

Fourth, we deliver its own message using “the forest.”  

The exhibition gallery was transformed into a warm southern Indian forest to showcase exotic deities and the exciting story of Śākyamuni. The keyword “forest” also conveys the Museum’s message of considering the cycle of nature. It is fun to look for the adorable forest creatures hiding throughout the exhibition. Audiences can find a griffin with a sullen expression, a cat-like lion, a playful elephant, a snake guarding a stūpa, and the perspective of Indians who valued natural life.

In preparing for the exhibition, the Museum also considered the “forests” and life on Earth. First, the Museum recycled ___% of the walls used in the previous exhibitions to reduce the amount of waste and created a mobile exhibition guide program instead of printing the exhibition guide on paper. The program is easily accessible by scanning a QR code with a mobile phone. The Museum also used eco-friendly paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council that is biodegradable and recyclable.

The forest of stūpas invites visitors to reflect on this past year’s hard work and welcome the new year in the cold of winter by imagining the beautiful temples that were built along or overlooking the river. The Museum recommends a trip to the forest of stūpas for children and families on vacation, as well as anyone interested in exotic stories and unfamiliar cultures. Free admission is available for students taking the 2024 college entrance exam, so please do not miss out on this special exhibition!  

Attached: Exhibition Poster and Featured Exhibits