From ongon to icon

Isabelle Charleux (1)

1 GSRL - Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités

This paper presents some of the choices made by the Mongols in the uses and representations of Mongol rulers' portraits in sculpture and in painting, to understand what were the portraits made for and what were their symbolic roles in state ideology. As in medieval Europe, the portrait developed from funerary statues to a political and religious symbol linking the past sovereign to the present ruler. Sculpted portraits were supports for the soul, to feed and worship the ancestor. Under Buddhist influence during Khubilai's reign, the statues were replaced by painted and woven portraits. Statues were reserved for Buddhas and holy lamas. These portraits also give us much information on self-representation, costume, gender statute, ancestor worship, and conventions. They reflect the highly personalized nature of politics for Mongols

Mots clés: 神像 , 蒙古,祖先; 蒙古貴族, 蒙古肖像, 蒙古偶像, 成吉思汗; 佛寺壁畫, 元朝; 美岱召，額爾德尼召, 持杯儀式, 蒙古伊兒字畫; Mongol; ancestors; emperors; representations; ongon; ongod; Mongol statues; balbal; Buddhist art; Buddhist temples; Yuan dynasty; Mongol portrait; Mongol painting; 翁袞; 神像; 蒙古; 祖先; 合法政權; 蒙古貴族; 蒙古肖像; 蒙古偶像; 成吉思汗; 蒙古祠堂; 影堂; 佛寺壁畫; 元朝; 百眼窯石窟; 美岱召，額爾德尼召; 持杯儀式; 蒙古伊兒字畫

Domaines: Art et histoire de l'art; Histoire

Isabelle Charleux. From ongon to icon: Legitimization, glorification and divinization of power in some examples of Mongol portraits. Representing Power in Ancient Inner Asia: Legitimacy, transmission and the sacred, Western Washington University, pp.209-261, 2010. ⟨halshs-00570622⟩