The Most Common Decorative Motif in Bagan Temples: Lotus

Bagan temples were decorated with various lotus designs. They are carved out of the bricks, stucco, stone and glaze on exterior and interior walls of the temples. Lotus are used for ornamentation with different purposes as it has many historical backgrounds connected to the history of Buddhism. As it is carved as offerings to the Lord Buddha, lotus flowers are used to decorate on many parts of temples from the base of the main body up to the finial. Lotus are artistically and elaborately designed for the exterior decoration of Bagan temples. This paper will present the designs and styles of the lotus motifs used as the exterior decorations at some temples of Bagan period