AP Art History : Asian Sculpture
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History
All AP Art History Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #4 : Answering Other Questions About Asian Sculpture
This image shows which of the following?
An imperial pleasure palace
A covered bathing complex
A religious structure that protects relics
A monastery that houses monks
A funerary monument honoring the emperor
A religious structure that protects relics
Commissioned by the emperor Ashoka during the 3rd century BCE, the Great Stupa at Sanchi was constructed to house the relics of the Buddha and is the oldest known stone structure in India.
Image: Great Stupa at Sanchi commissioned by Emperor Ashoka, c. 300 BCE–100 CE. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi#/media/File:Sanchi_Stupa_from_Eastern_gate,_Madhya_Pradesh.jpg.
Example Question #771 : Ap Art History
A stupa is meant to represent __________________.
Fertility
Buddha's entire body
King Ashoka
None of these
Nataraja
Buddha's entire body
Stupas were built to represent Buddha's body. The top of the stupa was his head, the middle was his body, and the bottom was his crossed legs.
Example Question #11 : Asian Sculpture
What do Buddhist practitioners do at a stupa?
None of these
Perform cleansing rituals in front of the stupa
Sit in front of the stupa and meditate
Circumambulate the stupa while focusing on the teachings of Buddha
Sit inside the stupa and meditate on the teachings of Buddha
Circumambulate the stupa while focusing on the teachings of Buddha
The stupa is a solid object. Therefore it cannot be entered. Practitioners were meant to walk around the stupa, which is also known as circumambulation. This was meant to be a meditative walk that could allow the practitioner to think about the teachings of Buddha.
Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Asian Sculpture
For what were The David Vases made?
A Doaist temple
A Yuan Dynasty Emperor
None of these
A Buddhist Temple
An English nobleman
A Doaist temple
The David Vases were made for a Doaist temple alter. One of the most important parts of the vases are a dated inscription.
Example Question #11 : Asian Sculpture
The work shown here was created with the intention of __________________.
honoring an important ruler
illustrating a story from history
challenging the conventional culture
being utilized in religious ceremonies
being utilized in religious ceremonies
This statue of Shiva was created under the Chola dynasty of southern India in the 10th century, a time and place in which the worship of Shiva was preeminent. Such a statue would have been used in religious ceremonies, particularly as the beliefs of the time held such gods as fully present in believers’ like not dissimilar from the ceremonial role of a monarch.
Image is in the public domain accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shiva_as_the_Lord_of_Dance_LACMA_edit.jpg
Example Question #13 : Asian Sculpture
Image by Arian Zwegers from Brussels, Belgium (Sanchi, Stupa 1, western gateway) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Sanchi%2C_Stupa_1%2C_western_gateway_%289839922393%29.jpg>.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi is _________________.
a religious structure that protects relics
a monastery that houses monks
a funerary monument honoring the emperor
a covered bathing complex
an imperial pleasure palace
a religious structure that protects relics
Commissioned by the emperor Ashoka during the 3rd century BCE, the Great Stupa at Sanchi was constructed to house the relics of the Buddha and is the oldest known stone structure in India.
Image by Arian Zwegers from Brussels, Belgium (Sanchi, Stupa 1, western gateway) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Sanchi%2C_Stupa_1%2C_western_gateway_%289839922393%29.jpg>.
All AP Art History Resources
