Painted and architectural ornamentation of the temples of Pagan: More than mere iconography and decoration

International audienceTemples built between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries in the plain of Pagan (Burma) are characterized by a rich painted and stuccoed ornamentation. Both types of ornamentation have been usually studied from the point of view of iconography (the murals inside the monuments) or decoration (the stuccoes inside and outside). However, though most murals illustrate iconographic topics related to the Buddha, they are inserted within an ornamentation of a more 'decorative' nature, such as faux pilasters, fantastic creatures, geometric motifs or creepers. Similarly, the stuccoed ornamentation adorning the facades of the monument or eventually also observed inside includes for instance the very same faux pilasters, the symbolic depiction of the universe, monstrous faces, divine or fantastic creatures, or creepers. A study of this ornamentation in its totality and in relation to the location of the different motifs within or without the monument allows ascribing to the temple a significance which is more than the simple adding of its iconographic topics and decorative motifs. The temple functions not only as a place where the Buddha is worshipped, where his life and previous existences are given as examples to the devotees, but also and in a very subtle manner as image of the cosmic mountain and beyond it of the eternal universe identified with the Buddha and his DharmaL'ornementation picturale des temples de Pagan (Birmanie) inclut un programme iconographique consacré à la biographie et aux vies antérieures du Buddha ainsi qu'aux Buddha du passé. Mais elle présente aussi un large choix de motifs "décoratifs" dont l'étude a été ignorée à ce jour. Cet article considère la distribution de ces motifs dans le monument et conclut qu'ils contribuent à doter le monument d'une signification qui lui est propre et qui dépasse le simple fait d'accumuler les motifs "décoratifs" et les thèmes iconographiques: le temple se lit comme un texte unitaire au travers de ses/ces différents composants