Buddhist paintings made of oil before Europe ‘invented’ it

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Scientists involved in the conservation of the World Heritage site in Afghanistan have proved that ancient Buddhist paintings from Bamiyan were made of oil hundreds of years before the technique was ‘invented’ in Europe.

“This is the earliest clear example of oil paintings in the world, although drying oils were already used by ancient Romans and Egyptians, but only as medicines and cosmetics”, explains Yoko Taniguchi, leader of the team.

The findings were presented in a scientific conference in Japan last January and published on April 22 in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. The paintings are probably the work of artists who travelled on the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China, across Central Asia’s desert to the West.

“Due to political reasons research on paintings in Central Asia is scarce. We were fortunate to get the opportunity from UNESCO, as a part of conservation project for the World Heritage site Bamiyan, to study these samples and we hope that future research may provide deeper understanding of the painting techniques along the Silk Road and the Eurasian area,” Taniguchi was quoted as saying by the ScienceDaily online.

In many European history and art books, oil painting is said to have started in the 15th century in Europe. However, scientists conducting experiments at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), have proved that the paintings in the Bamiyan caves were made of oil, hundreds of years before the technique was “invented” in Europe. Scientists from the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in Tokyo (Japan), the Centre of Research and Restoration of the French Museums-CNRS (France), the Getty Conservation Institute (United States) and the ESRF recently identified drying oils in some of the samples they studied from the Bamiyan caves.

The scientists found that 12 out of the 50 caves were painted with oil painting technique, using perhaps walnut and poppy seed drying oils. Apart from oil-based paint layers, some of the layers were made of natural resins, proteins, gums, and, in some cases, a resinous, varnish-like layer, the report said. The world was shocked when the Talibans, who controlled Kabul at the time, destroyed two ancient colossal Buddha statues in Bamiyan on religious considerations. Behind those statues, there are caves decorated with precious paintings from 5th to 9th century AD.