| Lycian Influence to the Indian Cave Temples
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There are no books on the history of Indian architecture dealing with the relationship between Indian chaitya caves and Lycian cave tombs. James Fergusson is apt to be regarded as a specialist of history of Indian architecture, but it was the history of global architecture that he intended to complete thoroughly. So his main work "A History of Architecture in All Countries" (1865) naturally treats Lycian architecture too. As actually that part was entirely reproduced from his former book "The Illustrated Handbook of Architecture" (1855), the part was written in not long after the discovery of Lycian remains. In the book, he quoted the illustrations from "An Account of Discoveries in Lycia" (1841) by Charles Fellows, and other books of Texier and Forbes. Furthermore he had inspected the "Tomb of Payava" and other remains in the Lycian room of the British Museum. Based on this knowledge, he wrote in the chapter of Lycian Architecture in "The Illustrated Handbook of Architecture" that 'the form and construction of the older Buddhist temples resemble so singularly these examples in Lycia'. However, he did not state anything about Lycian architecture in the chapter of Buddhist caves in his later book "History of Indian and Eastern Architecture" (1876) that was an amplified book based on the part of his former "A History of Architecture in All Countries". In 1880, he published another book in collaboration with James Burgess "The Cave Temples of India", and Lycian rock cave appears only in a "note" regarding the form of the upper part of Bhima Rata of Mahabalipuram, but still he had no idea of Lycian influence to Indian architecture. It would be the reason that no architectural historians afterwards seem to have pursued the relationship between Lycia and India. As Fergusson systematized the history of Indian architecture for the first time and influenced widely and strongly, every historian of Indian architecture and art consults his book once at least. But it is not "A History of Architecture in All Countries" but "History of Indian and Eastern Architecture", so they do not get the knowledge about Lycian architecture. Even if taking the book "The Cave Temples of India", they would not come to suspect the Lycian influence from only a "note" on Mahabalipuram and one plate. As for Fletcher's book "A History of Architecture" which is widely read, there is no indication about Lycian sarcophagi and cave tombs at all. Actually, it was not Fergusson but a drawing of the Tomb of Payava in the British Museum that made me notice the relationship between Lycian architecture and Indian cave temples for the first time. The man who made it was a 19th century French architect Viollet-Le-Duc, a theoretician of Gothique architecture for restoration. In my journey in France to see Romanesque architecture a long time ago, I purchased a reprint edition of Viollet-Le-Duc's "Entretiens sur l'Architecture" (1863), in which the drawing appears on top of illustrations. Having looked at it many times, I did not notice anything special. But when I was bothered by the riddle about the style of Indian chaitya caves, I happened to look at it again with great surprise. I wondered if it was a drawing of a Buddhist chaitya cave in India. Immediately after finding it was a Lycian sarcophagus, I started research of the relationship between Lycian and Indian architecture. I checked the books of Fergusson again, as mentioned above; there is a description of Lycian architecture in his book "A History of Architecture in All Countries". Then why did he not find the influential relationship there? As he regarded that Gandharan Art was influenced by Roman era of A.D., rather than the Grecian art of B.C., he might have no idea that Lycian architecture in the 4th century B.C. had influenced Indian architecture. Besides, he did not visit Lycia at all, so he could not examine it in detail. I checked whether there is any other resource concerning the relationship between India and Lycia, and I could find only one book, titled "L'Inde et l'Orient Classique" (1937) written by Gisbert Combaz. The book does not belong to the architectural history, but it includes an article on the relationship between Indian and ancient Middle Eastern style of design, by showing the hand-written sketches comprehensively. He suggests that there might be an influential relationship between Anatolian caves and sarcophagi including Lycia and Indian cave temples.
"A Journal Written during an Excursion in Asia Minor"
Aksit, Ilhan : LYCIA, The Land of Light, Istanbul, 1998
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