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105-688: The Kizil Caves were inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor World Heritage Site. The Kizil Caves complex is the largest of the ancient Buddhist cave sites that are associated with the ancient Tocharian kingdom of Kucha , as well as the largest in Xinjiang. Other famous sites nearby are the Kizilgaha caves ,

210-710: A non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development since December 1925 and joined UNESCO in 1969, after having established a joint commission in 1952. After the signing of the Atlantic Charter and the Declaration of the United Nations , the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education (CAME) began meetings in London which continued from 16 November 1942 to 5 December 1945. On 30 October 1943,

315-518: A "Classical" stage. Their style is very elegant and "painterly", with sophisticated shading of the bodies to express sculptural volume. The lines are refined and subtle, the colors blend softly. This style is also characteristically Indian, and may be related to Gandhara or Kashmir . This early style is exemplified by the Cave of the Hippocampi (Cave 118), and may form a distinctive school. This contrasts with

420-551: A Buddhist nun. The style and attitudes of the figures are generally Indian, such as the Tribhanga posture of the dancer, of the way the King is seated. The flutering ribbons of the diadem worn by the king however, were adopted from Iranian royal symbolism. In this cave, the frames of the paintings, especially the vine rinceaux, are probably derived from Roman art of the 1st century CE. This cave may be slightly earlier then Cave 84. The mural

525-467: A Commission to study the feasibility of having nations freely share cultural, educational and scientific achievements. This new body, the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (ICIC), was created in 1922 and counted such figures as Henri Bergson , Albert Einstein , Marie Curie , Robert A. Millikan , and Gonzague de Reynold among its members (being thus a small commission of

630-482: A Preparatory Commission was established. The Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946 — the date when UNESCO's Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place from 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Julian Huxley to Director-General. United States Army colonel, university president and civil rights advocate Blake R. Van Leer joined as

735-656: A United Nations Conference for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF) was convened in London from 1 to 16 November 1945 with 44 governments represented. The idea of UNESCO was largely developed by Rab Butler , the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom, who had a great deal of influence in its development. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, and

840-638: A biennium, as well as links to relevant programmatic and financial documents. These two distinct sets of information are published on the IATI registry, respectively based on the IATI Activity Standard and the IATI Organization Standard. There have been proposals to establish two new UNESCO lists. The first proposed list will focus on movable cultural heritage such as artifacts, paintings, and biofacts. The list may include cultural objects, such as

945-625: A canvas to take quite precise records of the paintings. For example, Grünwedel recounts how he discovered a very interesting mural with warriors in the Cave of the Painters (207) . Intending to remove it, he first made a precise drawing. But once the drawing was made, the mural disintegrated upon removal and was lost, except for a few fragments still in-situ . Altogether, the Third German Expedition still removed many paintings, and shipped almost 120 crates of murals to Berlin. Grünwedel published

1050-455: A central column incorporating a niche for a statue of the Buddha, which is a representation of the stupa . There are three other types of caves: square caves, caves "with a colossal image", and monastic cells (kuti). Around two-thirds of the caves are kutis which are monks' living quarters and store-houses and these caves do not contain mural paintings. Chronology remains the subject of debate. In

1155-473: A central rosette design. The modeling of the faces reminds of the statuary of Hadda in Gandhara . The picture is elaborately framed by five successive decorative borders with naturalistic vine rinceau , suggestive of Roman art. The colors of the murals are various shades of brown, with smatterings of light green, but no blue, defining the so-called "orange and green" style. The center of the ceiling has motifs of

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1260-415: A chronology which has some significant differences with the chronology previously proposed by Su Bai. Japanese teams of Nagoya University (日本名古屋大学) tested in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2011 the following caves: 8 , 171 , 224 , 13, 67, 76 , 77 , 92, 205 . Many of the results remain inconclusive, sometimes even contradictory, and the historical period in question is rather too short in relation to

1365-649: A credible thesis for the development of Buddhist art, and primarily to trace the ancient route by which the art of imperial Rome, etc..., reached the Far East. What I have seen here goes beyond my wildest dreams. If only I had hands enough to copy it all, [for] here in Kizil are about 300 caves, some of them containing frescoes, all of them very old and fine." The French explorer Paul Pelliot and his photographer Charles Nouette , who were in Kucha from January 1907, visited Kizil soon after

1470-466: A dagger, appear next to the left and right corners of the back-wall mural: probably noble and wealthy Kuchean donors of the 4th century CE. One of the donors holds three burning incense cones. He is dressed in a bordered and turned-up, collarless tunic with close-fitting sleeves. The tunic, which reaches slightly above the knee, is belted. The pants are of the same color and have the same border. He wears gray calf boots with cruciate ligaments that run under

1575-493: A declaration of anthropologists (among them was Claude Lévi-Strauss ) and other scientists in 1950 and concluding with the 1978 Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice . In 1955, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO saying that some of the organization's publications amounted to "interference" in the country's "racial problems". It rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela . One of

1680-525: A follow-up to the second expedition). In the middle of 1906 Le Coq had to return home due to illness. Grünwedel and Bartus continued the work and covered the oases to the west of Turfan, including Kizil and its widespread complexes of Buddhist caves. The route followed was initially from Kashgar to Tumshuk and then from Kizil to Kucha to Kumtura and further along Shorchuk—Turfan Oasis—Ürümqi—Hami—Toyuk and back. The collections packed in 118 crates were paintings of grottoes from temples and Buddhist texts. Reports of

1785-527: A former director at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin , and organized by Albert von Le Coq . Theodor Bartus , who was a technical member of the museum staff and was in charge of extricating paintings found during the expeditions from cave walls and ruins, accompanied all four expeditions. Both expedition leaders. Grünwedel and Le Coq, returned to Berlin with thousands of paintings and other art objects, as well as more than 40,000 fragments of text. In 1902,

1890-536: A full member. As a result, the United States withdrew its funding, which had accounted for about 22% of UNESCO's budget. Israel also reacted to Palestine's admittance to UNESCO by freezing Israeli payments to UNESCO and imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority , stating that Palestine's admittance would be detrimental "to potential peace talks". Two years after stopping payment of its dues to UNESCO,

1995-543: A global movement in 1990 to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. In 2000, World Education Forum in Dakar , Senegal, led member governments to commit for achieving basic education for all in 2015. The World Declaration on Higher Education was adopted by UNESCO's World Conference on Higher Education on 9 October 1998, with the aim of setting global standards on the ideals and accessibility of higher education . UNESCO's early activities in culture included

2100-415: A heavy illness. The caves were photographed, drawings were made, and large portions of the murals were removed and sent to Germany. Grünwedel removed a great number of paintings, but was careful to make records before doing so in order to retain their archaeological value, and to photograph or draw them before cutting them out, out of fear that they could be destroyed upon removal or during transport. He used

2205-613: A member as well. The Constitution was amended in November 1954 when the General Conference resolved that members of the executive board would be representatives of the governments of the States of which they are nationals and would not, as before, act in their personal capacity. This change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the ICIC, in how member states would work together in

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2310-405: A period from 300 to 500 CE, and is characterized by Gandharan themes and orange and green hues, having a strong flavour of India: female dancers and musicians are often naked or half-naked with full breasts. The art of these paintings is quite refined, and forms the "Classical" period of the art of Kizil: the shades are delicate, the lines are fine and elegant, the colors blend progressively to give

2415-444: A platform for the dialogue between cultures and provide a forum for international debate". Since March 2006 it has been available free online, with limited printed issues. Its articles express the opinions of the authors which are not necessarily the opinions of UNESCO. There was a hiatus in publishing between 2012 and 2017. In 1950, UNESCO initiated the quarterly review Impact of Science on Society (also known as Impact ) to discuss

2520-563: A podium in the middle, probably for a statue or a stupa . Here the ceiling has collapsed, but probably formed a cupola . The back wall had a well-preserved scene of a Jataka story, the Rudrayana Legend from the Divyavadana , with king Rudrayana observing the dance of his Queen Chandraprabha, who appears nude except for thin veils and jewelry. During the dance, the king had a premonition that his wife would soon die, and she asked to become

2625-562: A sense of texture and volume. The paintings of Bamiyan in northern Afghanistan are generally considered as the precussors of the art of the Kizil Caves. Towards the end of the period, the influence of the art of Gandhara is considered as a consequence of the political unification of the area between Bactria and Kucha under the Hephthalites , which lasted from 480 to 560 CE, or a few decades later. The earliest paintings at Kizil belong to

2730-465: A slightly personal style, sometimes called "Special Style" ( Sonderstil ). The first style is only found in Kizil, except for one cave in nearby Kumtura : the Cave with the cupola . The second style is called "Indo-Iranian style II", and cover most of the other caves of Kizil, which use strongly contrasted colors and strong line strokes, using browns, oranges and greens and especially a vivid lapis-lazuli blue. The name "Indo-Iranian" again broadly denotes

2835-513: A structural scheme which remained influential throughout the 20th century. It is essentially based on the definition of two schools of art, "Style 1" and "Style 2". Style I, qualified as "Indo-Iranian", derives from the Art of Gandhara , and murals tend to have dark cinnabar backgrounds with green and orange color schemes and natural shading, and the architecture tends to consist in squarish caves with cupola ceilings. Style II derives from Sasanian art , and

2940-585: A wealthy center of trade and culture. Kucha was part of the Silk Road economy, and was in contact with the rest of Central Asia, including Sogdiana and Bactria , and thus also with the cultures of India, Iran, and coastal areas of China. Early visitors are known, such Maes Titianus . Since the 2nd century CE, under the auspices of the Han dynasty and the Kushan Empire , numerous great Buddhist missionaries passed through

3045-490: Is another example of an early major UNESCO project in the field of natural sciences. In 1968, UNESCO organized the first intergovernmental conference aimed at reconciling the environment and development, a problem that continues to be addressed in the field of sustainable development . The main outcome of the 1968 conference was the creation of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme . UNESCO has been credited with

3150-552: Is characterized by a strong contrast between brilliant green-blue pigments. Architecturally, the caves of Style II have a central stupa-pillar surrounded by a circular corridor for circumambulation . According to Grünwedel, Style II was before the 8th century CE. After Grünwedel, Albert von Le Coq and Ernst Waldschmidt proposed dates, based in the epigraphic inscriptions found in the caves. They proposed to date Style I from 500 to 600, and Style II from 600 to 650 CE. These chronological guidelines remained extremely influential throughout

3255-450: Is corrupted and manipulated by Israel's enemies... we are not going to be a member of an organisation that deliberately acts against us". 2023 saw Russia excluded from the executive committee for the first time, after failing to get sufficient votes. The United States stated its intent to rejoin UNESCO in 2023, 5 years after leaving, and to pay its $ 600 million in back dues. The United States

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3360-461: Is governed by the General Conference composed of member states and associate members, which meets biannually to set the agency's programs and budget. It also elects members of the executive board, which manages UNESCO's work, and appoints every four years a Director-General, who serves as UNESCO's chief administrator. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, to elect

3465-400: Is located in front of the "central pillar" column and a smaller rear chamber behind with two tunnel-like corridors on the sides linking these spaces. In the front chamber, a three-dimensional image of Buddha would have been housed in a large niche serving as the focus of the interior, however, none of these sculptures have survived at Kizil. The rear chamber may feature the parinirvana scene in

3570-464: Is the archaeological site to which expeditions were mounted by Germans to explore and collect precious art objects and texts written in many languages and scripts. International attention was first drawn to Turfan by Sven Hedin (1865-1952), to European and Japanese archaeologists, as a potential and promising site in Central Asia for field explorations for archaeological finds. He could follow up

3675-626: The Cave above the cave of the coffered ceiling (Cave 171) , or the Cave of the Niche (Cave 27). According to the Chinese chronicles of the Jin dynasty (265-316 CE), there were already a thousand Buddhist stupas and temples in Kucha by the 3rd century CE. The earliest painted caves at Kizil are thought to be Cave of the Hippocampi (Cave 118) and Treasure Caves C and B (Caves 83 and 84 respectively). Cave 118, possibly

3780-801: The Acropolis of Athens (Greece). The organization's work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. In 1976, the World Heritage Committee was established and the first sites were included on the World Heritage List in 1978. Since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 (Convention for

3885-608: The Hephtalites , and no influence from East Asia. The Kizil Caves were designated by the Germans by a series of names, and have been separately numbered by the Chinese. A correspondence chart has been produced by Rhie. Some very early caves, now numbered 90–17 to 90–24, have been discovered since the 1990s in the lower parts of the cliff at the entrance of the central valley. These caves were square or rectangular with barrel-vaulted ceilings, but without any decorations. A notable feature of

3990-751: The International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia , launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after the construction of the Aswan Dam . During the 20-year campaign, 22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan), Fes (Morocco), Kathmandu (Nepal), Borobudur (Indonesia) and

4095-951: The Jōmon Venus of Japan, the Mona Lisa of France, the Gebel el-Arak Knife of Egypt , The Ninth Wave of Russia, the Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük of Turkey, the David (Michelangelo) of Italy, the Mathura Herakles of India, the Manunggul Jar of the Philippines, the Crown of Baekje of South Korea, The Hay Wain of the United Kingdom and the Benin Bronzes of Nigeria. The second proposed list will focus on

4200-616: The Kumtura Caves , Subashi Temple and the Simsim caves . The Kizil Caves are "the earliest representative grottoes in China". At the time the caves were created, the area of Kucha was following the orthodox Sarvastivadin school of Hinayana Buddhism , although an early and minority Dharmagupta presence has also been noted. The simpler square caves may have been established by the Dharmagupta from

4305-520: The United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It has 194 member states and 12 associate members, as well as partners in the non-governmental , intergovernmental and private sector . Headquartered in Paris , France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions. UNESCO

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4410-428: The United Nations member states (except Israel and Liechtenstein ), as well as Cook Islands , Niue and Palestine . The United States and Israel left UNESCO on 31 December 2018, but the United States rejoined in 2023. As of June 2023 , there have been 11 Directors-General of UNESCO since its inception – nine men and two women. The 11 Directors-General of UNESCO have come from six regions within

4515-733: The 20th century, as late as the 1980s. Various attempts at radio-carbon analysis were made over the years, with various degrees of success, but with the main effect of pushing back the dates of the first caves to circa 300 BCE, and challenging the German classification according to styles and colors schemes. In 1979, a Chinese institute (文物保护科学技术研究所, Wenwu baohu kexue jishu yanjiusuo ) carbon-tested caves 63, 47 , 13. In 1979–1981, Su Bai (宿白) of Beijing University (北京大学历史系考古教研室, Beijing daxue lishi xi kaogu jiaoyanshi ) made an influential carbon-testing campaign for caves 47 , 3, 38 , 6, 171 , 17 , 190, 8. Based on these dates and on an analysis of

4620-467: The 4th century CE or earlier, while the "central pillar" caves, which flourished from the mid-6th century CE, can rather be associated with the Sarvastivadin school. There are 236 cave temples in Kizil, carved into the cliff stretching from east to west for a length of 2 km. Of these, 135 are still relatively intact. The earliest caves are dated, based in part on radioactive carbon dating, to around

4725-700: The Buddha, and are an artistic representation in the tradition of the Hinayana school of the Sarvastivadas . Carbon-testing and stylistical analysis helped determine three main periods in the paintings at Kizil, which cover a period from 300 CE to 650 CE. The early art of Kizil correspond to the Western school of art in the Tarim Basin , and mainly displays influences from Gandhara and the Iranian world, particularly influence from

4830-819: The Directors-General of UNESCO since its establishment in 1946 is as follows: This is the list of the sessions of the UNESCO General Conference held since 1946: Ahmet Altay Cengizer Biennial elections are held, with 58 elected representatives holding office for four years. [REDACTED]   Finland [REDACTED]   Portugal [REDACTED]   Turkey [REDACTED]   Albania [REDACTED]   Belarus [REDACTED]   Bulgaria [REDACTED]   Cuba [REDACTED]   Grenada [REDACTED]   Jamaica [REDACTED]   Saint Lucia [REDACTED]   Saint Vincent and

4935-488: The East ) church near ancient Khocho (Qara-khoja or Gaochang ), a ruined ancient city, built of mud, 30 km (19 mi) east of Turfan. Turfan (also Uighur Turpan, Chin. Tulufan) is in Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan) on the northern Silk Road . It has an area of 170 km (66 sq mi) between 42° and 43° north latitude and between 88° and 90° east longitude in a depression 154 m (505 ft) below sea level. This

5040-582: The Ethnological Museum was bombed seven times in Allied bombing raids, destroying the larger wall murals which had been cemented into place and could not be moved; 28 of the finest paintings were totally destroyed. Smaller pieces were hidden in bunkers and coal mines at the outbreak of war and survived the bombings. When the Russians arrived in 1945 they looted at least 10 crates of treasures that they discovered in

5145-669: The German expeditions were initially kept at the Indian Department of the Ethnological Museum of Berlin ( Ethnologisches Museum Berlin ), then shifted in 1963 to the Museum of Indian Art ( Museum für Indische Kunst ) in Dahlem, Berlin and finally combined into a single location at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities ( Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften , BBAW), since 1992. During World War II ,

5250-484: The German mission, from September 1, 1907, over a few days, and Charles Nouette took many beautiful and informative photographs . Albert von Le Coq came back to Kizil and surrounding areas in 1913–1914, heading the Fourth German Expedition, removing many paintings, including those Grünwedel had left in place, but generally taking much fewer records than his predecessor. In 1912 Grünwedel proposed in 1912

5355-1903: The Grenadines [REDACTED]   Venezuela [REDACTED]   Bangladesh [REDACTED]   China [REDACTED]   India [REDACTED]   Indonesia [REDACTED]   Japan [REDACTED]   Philippines [REDACTED]   Burundi [REDACTED]   Equatorial Guinea [REDACTED]   Ethiopia [REDACTED]   Madagascar [REDACTED]   Zambia [REDACTED]   Zimbabwe [REDACTED]   Egypt [REDACTED]   Jordan [REDACTED]   Morocco [REDACTED]   France [REDACTED]   Germany [REDACTED]   Italy [REDACTED]   Netherlands [REDACTED]   Spain [REDACTED]    Switzerland [REDACTED]   Hungary [REDACTED]   Poland [REDACTED]   Russia [REDACTED]   Serbia [REDACTED]   Argentina [REDACTED]   Brazil [REDACTED]   Dominican Republic [REDACTED]   Uruguay [REDACTED]   Afghanistan [REDACTED]   Kyrgyzstan [REDACTED]   Philippines [REDACTED]   Pakistan [REDACTED]   South Korea [REDACTED]   Thailand [REDACTED]   Benin [REDACTED]   Congo [REDACTED]   Guinea [REDACTED]   Ghana [REDACTED]   Kenya [REDACTED]   Namibia [REDACTED]   Senegal [REDACTED]   Togo [REDACTED]   Saudi Arabia [REDACTED]   UAE [REDACTED]   Tunisia German Turfan expeditions The German Turfan expeditions were conducted between 1902 and 1914. The four expeditions to Turfan in Xinjiang , China , were initiated by Albert Grünwedel ,

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5460-414: The Hippocampi (Cave 118) was visited and photographed by the Third German Expedition of 1906–1907 , and by the French expedition of Paul Pelliot in 1907. Large portions of the murals were removed and sent to Germany, especially by von Le Coq in 1914, who removed the lunettes and the sides of the vault. The cave consists of a rectangular room (3.6 x 4.8 meters), the entrance being on the long side, and

5565-625: The Kizil murals is the division into diamond-shaped blocks in the vault ceilings of the main room of many caves. Buddhist scenes are depicted inside these diamond-shapes in many layers on top of one another to show the narrative sequences of the scenes. The pigments in the painting of the Kizil Caves have been analysed by X-ray diffraction analysis . The reds are primarily vermilion and red lead , which today are greatly discolored, and red ocher . Blue pigments are from lapis lazuli . Green pigments are from copper hydroxy chloride minerals such as atacamite . Brownish-black pigments are PbO2, obtained from

5670-431: The Königliche Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin , by James Simon (benefactor of museums), Krupp house, the Prussian Government and an “Ethnologisches Hilfskomitee.” The first Expedition from December, 1902 to April 1903, led by Prof. A. Grünwedel along with Dr. G. Huth and Theodor Bartus, followed the route from Yining to Ürümqi to Turfan Oasis when paintings, statues and manuscripts were found and carted in 46 crates, and

5775-411: The League of Nations essentially centred on Western Europe ). The International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation (IIIC) was then created in Paris in September 1924, to act as the executing agency for the ICIC. However, the onset of World War II largely interrupted the work of these predecessor organizations. As for private initiatives, the International Bureau of Education (IBE) began to work as

5880-442: The Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage ) and 2005 ( Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions ). An intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO in Paris in December 1951 led to the creation of the European Council for Nuclear Research , which was responsible for establishing the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) later on, in 1954. Arid Zone programming, 1948–1966,

5985-498: The Tarim Basin on their way to China, such as the Parthian An Shigao , the Yuezhis Lokaksema and Zhi Qian , or the Indian Chu Sho-fu (竺朔佛). Culture flourished, and Indian Sanskrit scriptures were being translated by the Kuchean monk and translator Kumarajiva (344–413 CE), himself the son of a Buddhist man from Kashmir and a Kuchean princess, sister of the King. The 1st Style, sometimes called "First Indo-Iranian style" to denote influences from India and Central Asia, covers

6090-431: The United States and Israel lost UNESCO voting rights in 2013 without losing the right to be elected; thus, the United States was elected as a member of the executive board for the period 2016–19. In 2019, Israel left UNESCO after 69 years of membership, with Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon writing: "UNESCO is the body that continually rewrites history, including by erasing the Jewish connection to Jerusalem... it

6195-588: The architecture of the caves (from the simpler to the more sophisticated), Su Bai proposed an influential dating scheme, pushing back the dates of the first caves to circa 300 CE. In 1989–1993, Huo and Wang (中国社会科学院考古研究所, Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo ) tested the following caves: 224 , 76 , 4 , 8 , 34, 68, 77 , 98, 104 , 114 , 117, 118 , 119, 125, 129 , 135, 162, 171 , 180, 189, 196, 198 , 206 , 212 , 219 , 227 , 27, 39, 48 , 60 , 69 , 84 , 91, 92, 99, 123 , 139, 161, 165, 178 , 207 . They proposed

6300-409: The artistic influence from India, combined with important influences from Central Asian and the Iranian world. This style is further divided in three broad periods. Finally, a third Uighur-Chinese style appears in only two caves at Kizil. The Kingdom of Kucha , the most populous oasis in the Tarim Basin, occupied a strategic position on the Northern Silk Road, which brought it prosperity, and made it

6405-463: The back wall of the main cella stands a large painting (3.42 m wide and 2.16 m high), with an unidentified scene of a King with attendants, possibly "The skill and music in the heavenly palace" (天宫伎乐). The attitudes and postures of the figures remind the reliefs of 3rd–4th century CE Nagarjunakonda . A king is seated at the center, with numerous attendants surrounding him, especially a near-naked woman seated to his left. They wear heavy round earrings with

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6510-469: The caves meaningless. Most researchers now use an approach combining artistic and architectural analysis together with carbon-dating, as a way to approach a reliable nomenclature, as proposed by Marylin Martin Rhie from 2001. In 1906, the German expedition team of Albert Grünwedel explored the Kizil Caves. Albert von Le Coq , who worked under the direction Grünwedel, had to leave in June 1906 due to health problems. Grünwedel generally photographed and copied

6615-550: The ceiling display ornate Buddhist scenes. The right lunette is difficult to identify, but seems to represent a king or a Bodhisattava bending towards a warrior figure. The bottom portion shows a palatial scene, with a figure on a couch surrounded by devatas . The left lunette shows the Buddha of the future Maitreya in the Tusita Heaven . Below this is a depiction of Mount Sumeru surrounding by various Nagas, figures of devotees, and animals. Small figures of kneeling devotees in tunics , about 40 centimeters tall, some armed with

6720-410: The ceiling of which forms a transverse barrel vault. In front of the cave, which is accessible through a door, there used to be an equally wide open space, perhaps adorned with paintings, with remains of a pyramid roof. The two rooms are separated by a 1-meter-thick wall. The model for this kind of vaulted cave can be found in Bactria at Kara Tepe , dating from the 2nd-3rd century CE. In the middle of

6825-426: The central niche has the scene of the Indrasala Cave . The back room or corridor has scenes related to the Parinirvana , and finally the painting over the exit is related to the Tusita Heaven and the future Buddha Maitreya . The Kizil Caves were first discovered and explored in 1902–1904 by the Ōtani expedition , a Japanese expedition under Tesshin Watanabe (渡辺哲信) and Kenyu Hori (堀賢雄), funded by Count Otani , but

6930-412: The commission, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Seán MacBride ). The same year, UNESCO created the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), a multilateral forum designed to promote media development in developing countries. In 1993, UNESCO's General Conference endorsed the Windhoek Declaration on media independence and pluralism, which led the UN General Assembly to declare

7035-415: The creation of the first cave paintings at Kizil. The main representative caves of this style are the Cave of the Hippocampi (Cave 118), the Cave of the Painters (Cave 207), the Peacock Cave (Cave 76), the Overpainted Cave (Cave 117), the Cave of the Statues (Cave 77), and the Cave of the Seafarers (Cave 112). The small group of the Treasure Cave (Cave 83, 84) is considered as contemporary, but in

7140-429: The date of its adoption, 3 May, as World Press Freedom Day . Since 1997, UNESCO has awarded the UNESCO / Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize every 3 May. UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member in 2011. Laws passed in the United States after Palestine applied for UNESCO and WHO membership in April 1989 mean that the United States cannot contribute financially to any UN organization that accepts Palestine as

7245-422: The diffusion of national science bureaucracies. In the field of communication, the "free flow of ideas by word and image" has been in UNESCO's constitution since it was established, following the experience of the Second World War when control of information was a factor in indoctrinating populations for aggression. In the years immediately following World War II, efforts were concentrated on reconstruction and on

7350-399: The earliest of the three, is located deep inside the central valley. Cave 83 and 84 are located at the entrance of the same valley. These caves have simple architectural structures, together with paintings in a clear style, reflecting Indian influences. Noble or wealthy Tocharian donors from Kucha , wearing tunics, sometimes appear kneeling at the side of devotional paintings. The Cave of

7455-447: The early work of UNESCO in the education field was a pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, which was launched in 1947. Following this project one of expert missions to other countries, included a 1949 mission to Afghanistan. UNESCO recommended in 1948 that Member countries should make free primary education compulsory and universal. The World Conference on Education for All , in Jomtien , Thailand, started

7560-520: The expedition left hurriedly after four months of exploration in the area of Kucha, following a local earthquake. The Kizil caves were then explored by Albert Grünwedel , head of the Third German Turfan Expedition (December 1905 – July 6, 1907). Albert von Le Coq was also part of the third German expedition and was under the direction of Albert Grünwedel, but only remained until June 1906, when he had to leave for British India due to

7665-465: The first research team financed largely by Friedrich Krupp , the arms manufacturer, left for Turfan and returned a year later with 46 crates full of treasures. Kaiser Wilhelm II was enthusiastic and helped finance the second expedition along with Krupp. The third was financed by means of the Ministry of Culture. The fourth expedition under Le Coq was dogged by many difficulties and was finally cut short by

7770-408: The form of a mural or large sculpture, and in some cases, a combination of both. The "central pillar" layout is possibly related to the structural design of Kara Tepe in northern Bactria . The program of the paintings in the "central pillar" caves generally follows a fixed arrangement: the walls of the main cella show sermons of the Buddha, the ceiling has rhomboid vignettes alluding to Jatakas ,

7875-526: The identification of needs for means of mass communication around the world. UNESCO started organizing training and education for journalists in the 1950s. In response to calls for a " New World Information and Communication Order " in the late 1970s, UNESCO established the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, which produced the 1980 MacBride report (named after the chair of

7980-529: The influence of science on society. The journal ceased publication in 1992. UNESCO also published Museum International Quarterly from the year 1948. UNESCO has official relations with 322 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Most of these are what UNESCO calls "operational"; a select few are "formal". The highest form of affiliation to UNESCO is "formal associate", and the 22 NGOs with formal associate (ASC) relations occupying offices at UNESCO are: The institutes are specialized departments of

8085-445: The main mural, in a red robe and with ocher shorn hair, engaged in shaping a ceremonial jar with a hammer, while behind him appeared a painter wearing a tunic similar to those of the donors on the other side, but whose head only remained. Cave 83 (Treasure Cave C) is part of the compact group of the four "Treasure Caves" (82, 83, 84, 85) located at the entrance of the central valley. It is a relatively small square cave (3.6x3.6m), with

8190-486: The murals in Kizil is the extensive use of blue pigments, including the precious ultramarine pigment derived from lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. In the classification of the art of the region by Ernst Waldschmidt , there are three distinct periods: the murals from the first phase are characterized by the use of reddish pigments, while those from the second phase used bluish pigments in abundance. The earlier paintings reflect more Greco-Indian or Gandharan influences, while

8295-578: The murals, before removing those he considered essential. Most of the fragments removed are now in Museum of Asian Art (formerly Museum für Indische Kunst) in Dahlem , Berlin. Other explorers removed some fragments of murals, that may now be found in museums in Russia, Japan, Korea and United States. Although the site has been both damaged and looted, around 5000 square metres of wall paintings remain, These murals mostly depict Jataka stories, avadanas , and legends of

8400-734: The necessity for an international organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China , the United Kingdom, the United States and the USSR. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944. Upon the proposal of CAME and in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), held in San Francisco from April to June 1945,

8505-582: The organization that support UNESCO's programme, providing specialized support for cluster and national offices. UNESCO awards 26 prizes in education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, communication and information as well as peace: International Days observed at UNESCO are provided in the table below: As of July 2023 , UNESCO has 194 member states and 12 associate members. Some members are not independent states and some members have additional National Organizing Committees from some of their dependent territories . UNESCO state parties are

8610-550: The organization's fields of competence. As member states worked together over time to realize UNESCO's mandate, political and historical factors have shaped the organization's operations in particular during the Cold War , the decolonization process, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union . Among the major achievements of the organization is its work against racism, for example through influential statements on race starting with

8715-466: The organization: West Europe (5), Central America (1), North America (2), West Africa (1), East Asia (1), and East Europe (1). To date, there has been no elected Director-General from the remaining ten regions within UNESCO: Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central and North Asia, Middle East, North Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, South Africa, Australia-Oceania, and South America. The list of

8820-463: The outbreak of World War I in 1914. Many important finds were made, especially on the second expedition, at a number of sites along the ancient northern route around the Taklamakan desert. They discovered important documents and works of art (including a magnificent wall-painting of a Manichaean bishop [mozhak], previously mistakenly identified as Mani ) and the remains of a Christian ( Church of

8925-475: The oxidation of red lead. White pigments were mainly obtained from gypsum . A broad classification of styles, formalized by Le Coq and Waldschmidt in 1933, has been generally accepted. The first style is called "Indo-Iranian style I", and cover all the early caves with delicate tone-on-tone paintings, using browns, oranges and greens. The name "Indo-Iranian" broadly denotes the artistic influence from India, combined with elements of Iranian art, that presided over

9030-556: The result of his explorations in 1912 in Altbuddhistische Kultstätten in Chinesisch Turkistan, Bericht über archäologische Arbeiten von 1906 bis 1907 bei Kuča, Qarašahr und in der Oase Turfan . Grünwedel discovered that the Kizil Caves were essential in the understanding of the development of Buddhist art , and suggested some forms of Western artistic influences as well: For years I have been endeavouring to find

9135-701: The route from Kashgar to Kucha, then Kizil to Kirish, followed by Simsim to Kumtura and then from Tumshuk to Kashgar returned from there to Berlin and completed the expedition shortly before the outbreak of the First World War . Finds included paintings and texts in Sakan and Sanskrit. The finds packed in 156 crates, was the largest collection in a single expedition. Le Coq published his report of his expedition in Von Land und Leuten in Ostturkistan, in 1928. The collections from

9240-474: The second and third expeditions were published as "Gründwedel's Altbuddhistische Kultstätten in Chinesisch-Turkistan" (1912) and Le Coq's book of Auf Hellas Spuren in Ostturkistan (1926). The Fourth Expedition (March 31, 1913 - March 13, 1914) was also funded by the state (60,000 Marks given by the emperor and by private benefactors). It was again led by Le Coq along with Theodor Bartus. They followed

9345-458: The second expedition, along with Theodor Bartus as his associate, followed the route from Ürümqi to Turfan Oasis (from November 1904 to August 1905). The third Expedition merged with this expedition (from Aug. 1905) and the finds covered mostly paintings (Bezeklik) but very few texts. It was carted to Berlin in 105 crates. The Third Expedition was also funded by the state. It was undertaken under Albert Grünwedel from December 1905 to April 1907 (as

9450-599: The second ones show Iranian ( Sassanian ) influences. Later caves seem to have fewer legends and/or jatakas, being replaced by the repetitive designs of numerous small Buddhas (the so-called thousand Buddha motif), or sitting Buddhas with nimbuses. The paintings of the first two phases showed a lack of Chinese elements. The last phase, the Turkic-Chinese period, is most in evidence in the Turfan area, but in Kizil only two caves showed Tang Chinese influence. Another characteristic of

9555-454: The sole. The figure behind holds a wreath and a kind of censer, is dressed in a black belted lap jacket with tight-fitting sleeves, which is provided with a red border all around, and an ample green dress. Their hair is cut straight to the nuque, a hair style also referenced for the people of Kucha in the contemporary Chinese chronicles Jin Shu . A kneeling monk appeared next to the top left corner of

9660-583: The style of the following stage, as seen in the panels in the cella of the Cave of the Statues , such as the " Cowherd Nanda ", which is much bolder, using intense colors (but still browns, greens and oranges only), thicker lines and simpler patterns. Early inscriptions in Tocharian , an Indo-European language using a derivation of the Indian Brahmi script is used in several early paintings on tablets, as found in

9765-502: The sun and moon, two monks, and a bird flying with a human figure in its claws. The sides of the ceiling are composed of diamond-shaped mountains, around which are naturalistic motifs of humans, animals, lakes and trees, a possibly Near-Eastern design which was generally adopted in later caves at Kizil. A band of fantastic animals separated the ceiling from the side walls. The general style appears to be early, and possibly derived from Kashmir and Cave 24 at Bamiyan . The lunettes bordering

9870-410: The typical "central pillar" design, pilgrims can circumambulate around a central column incorporating a niche for a statue of the Buddha, which is a representation of the stupa . The so-called "central pillar" which appears on a plan is actually not a pillar at all but only the rock at the back of the cave, into which was bored a circular corridor allowing for circumambulation . A large vaulted chamber

9975-485: The uncertainty margin of Carbon 14 datation, to provide a meaningful segmentation of the caves. Most narrow Carbon dates given for the Kizil Caves refer to a 68% probability level (1σ), which implies a significant level of uncertainty, and when dates are adjusted to the 95% probability level (2σ) as standard archaeological practice requires, then the timespan between the earliest and lowest dates becomes so large (about 200 to 300 years), as to make individual comparisons between

10080-697: The work in later years during his last expeditions between 1928 and 1935. His collections of that period are in the Stockholm Ethnographical Museum . After his first suggestion to the archeologist about the archaeological richness of the Turfan site, many Russian expeditions were mounted from September 27 to November 21, 1879 right up to 1914–1915, Finnish expeditions from 1906 to 1908, by Japan between July 1908 and June 1914, and also other explorers from Great Britain , France and America; and from 1928 Chinese archaeological campaigns continued

10185-519: The work of the foreign expeditions. German expeditions from 1902 and 1914 not only to Turfan but also other sites such as Kucha, Qarashahr and Tumshuq [Tumšuq] were most fruitful. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Germans were impressed by the discoveries and finds reported by Europeans traveling through the Silk Roads and the exposition made at the twelfth international Congress of Orientalists in Rome in

10290-510: The world's living species, such as the komodo dragon of Indonesia, the panda of China, the bald eagle of North American countries, the aye-aye of Madagascar, the Asiatic lion of India, the kākāpō of New Zealand, and the mountain tapir of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. UNESCO and its specialized institutions issue a number of magazines. Created in 1945, The UNESCO Courier magazine states its mission to "promote UNESCO's ideals, maintain

10395-406: The year 1899 prompted them to launch their own expeditions to the area. The finds of the four expeditions (packed and carted to Germany initially) were murals, other artefacts and about 40,000 pieces of texts. The four German expeditions covered Turfan but also Kucha, Qarashahr and Tumshuq [Tumšuq]. The expeditions were: The financing for the expedition involved 36,000 Marks which was provided by

10500-481: The year 300. Most researchers believe that the caves were probably abandoned sometime around the beginning of the 8th century, after Tang influence reached the area. Documents written in Tocharian languages were found in Kizil and a few of the caves contain Tocharian and Sanskrit inscriptions which give the names of a few rulers. Many of the caves have a central pillar design, whereby pilgrims may circumambulate around

10605-605: The zoological objects in plus 13 crates. The detailed account of the expedition was published in Grünwedel's book titled "Bericht über archäologische Arbeiten in Idikutschari und Umgebung im Winter 1902-1903", Abhandlungen der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, I. Kl., XXIV. Bd., München 1906. Impressed with the sensational accomplishments of the first expedition, Emperor Wilhelm II donated 32,000 Marks from his private purse (the “Allerhöchste Dispositionsfonds”) which

10710-896: Was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations ' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation . UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the events of World War II , is to advance peace , sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboration and dialogue among nations. It pursues this objective through five major programme areas: education, natural sciences , social / human sciences , culture and communication/information. UNESCO sponsors projects that improve literacy , provide technical training and education, advance science, protect independent media and press freedom , preserve regional and cultural history , and promote cultural diversity . The organization prominently helps establish and secure World Heritage Sites of cultural and natural importance. UNESCO

10815-577: Was readmitted by the UNESCO General Conference that July. UNESCO implements its activities through five programme areas: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information. UNESCO does not accredit institutions of higher learning. The UNESCO transparency portal has been designed to enable public access to information regarding the Organization's activities, such as its aggregate budget for

10920-418: Was sent to Berlin by Grünwedel (Ref: MIK III 8443). These paintings are soft and delicate: volumes are defined by gradations of shades and colors, not by the sharp limit of a line. Overall, "the brush has the priority over drawing". UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ; pronounced / j uː ˈ n ɛ s k oʊ / ) is a specialized agency of

11025-423: Was supplemented by 10,000 Marks from other donors. On account of Wilhelm II's donation as King of Prussia , this expedition was also named the "First Royal Prussian Turfan expedition". Since Grünwedel who was very enthusiastic about also leading the second expedition could not make it due to ill health, instead Dr. Albert von Le Coq (1860-1930) of the “Hilfsarbeiter bei dem Königlichen Museum für Völkerkunde”, headed

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