Glossary 1037kondo contained statuesof the Buddha and the bod-
hisattvasto whom the temple was dedicated.
Koran—Islam’s sacred book, composed ofsurahs
(chapters) divided into verses.
kore (pl.korai)—Greek, “young woman.” An Archaic
Greek statueof a young woman.
koru—An unrolled spiral design used by the Maori
of New Zealand in their tattoos.
kouros (pl.kouroi)—Greek, “young man.” An Ar-
chaicGreek statueof a young man.
krater—An ancient Greek wide-mouthed bowl for
mixing wine and water.
Kufic—An early form of Arabic script, characterized
by angularity, with the uprights forming almost
right angles with the baseline.
kula—An exchange of white conus-shell arm orna-
ments and red chama-shell necklaces that takes
place among the Trobriand Islanders of Papua
New Guinea.
kupesi—Embroidered design tablets used by Tonga
(Polynesia) women in the production of barkcloth.
kylix—An ancient Greek drinking cup with a wide
bowl and two horizontal handles.
labyrinth—Maze. The English word derives from the
mazelike plan of the Minoanpalace at Knossos.
lacquer—A varnishlike substance made from the sap
of the Asiatic sumac tree, used to decorate wood
and other organic materials. Often colored with
mineral pigments, lacquer cures to great hardness
and has a lustrous surface.
laid-and-couched work—See embroidery.
lakshana—One of the distinguishing marks of
the Buddha. The lakshanas include the urna and
ushnisha.
lalitasana—In Buddhist iconography, the body pose
with one leg folded and the other hanging down,
indicating relaxation.
lamassu—Assyrian guardian in the form of a man-
headed winged bull.
lancet—In Gothicarchitecture, a tall narrow window
ending in a pointed arch.
landscape—A picture showing natural scenery,
without narrative content.
Landschaft—German, “landscape.”
lateral section—See section.
laudatio—Latin, “essay of praise.”
leading—In the manufacture ofstained-glasswin-
dows, the joining of colored glass pieces using lead
cames.
lectionary—A book containing passages from the
Gospels,arranged in the sequence that they are to
be read during the celebration of religious ser-
vices, including the Mass,throughout the year.
lekythos (pl.lekythoi)—A flask containing per-
fumed oil; lekythoi were often placed in Greek
graves as offerings to the deceased.
liege lord—In feudalism, a landowner who grants
tenure of a portion of his land to a vassal.
line—The extension of a point along a path, made
concrete in art by drawing on or chiseling into a
plane.
linear perspective—See perspective.
linga—In Hindu art, the depiction of Shiva as a phal-
lus or cosmic pillar.
linguist’s staff—In Africa, a staff carried by a person
authorized to speak for a king or chief.
lintel—A horizontal beamused to span an opening.
literati—In China, talented amateur painters and
scholars from the landed gentry.
lithograph—See lithography.lithography—A printmaking technique in which the
artist uses an oil-based crayon to draw directly on
a stone plate and then wipes water onto the stone.
When ink is rolled onto the plate, it adheres only to
the drawing. The print produced by this method is
a lithograph.
liturgy (adj.liturgical)—The official ritual of public
worship.
local color—An object’s true colorin white light.
loculi—Openings in the walls ofcatacombsto receive
the dead.
loggia—A gallery with an open arcade or a colonnade
on one or both sides.
lohan—A Buddhist holy person who has achieved
enlightenment and nirvana by suppression of all
desire for earthly things.
longitudinal plan—See plan.
longitudinal section—See section.
lost-wax (cire perdue) process—A bronze-casting
method in which a figure is modeled in wax and
covered with clay; the whole is fired, melting away
the wax (French, cire perdue) and hardening the
clay, which then becomes a moldfor molten
metal.
low relief—See relief.
lunette—A semicircular area (with the flat side
down) in a wall over a door, niche, or window;
also, a painting or reliefwith a semicircular frame.
lux nova—Latin, “new light.” Abbot Suger’s term for
the light that enters a Gothic church through
stained-glasswindows.
machicolated gallery—A gallery in a defensive
tower with holes in the floor to allow stones or hot
liquids to be dumped on enemies below.
madrasa—An Islamic theological college adjoining
and often containing a mosque.
maebyong—A Korean vase similar to the Chinese
meiping.
magus (pl.magi)—One of the three wise men from
the East who presented gifts to the infant Jesus.
ma-hevehe—Mythical Oceanic water spirits. The El-
ema people of New Guinea believed these spirits
visited their villages.
malanggan—Festivals held in honor of the deceased
in New Ireland (Papua New Guinea). Also, the
carvings and objects produced for these festivals.
mana—In Polynesia, spiritual power.
mandala—Sanskrit term for the sacred diagram of
the universe; Japanese, mandara.
mandapa—Pillaredhall of a Hindu temple.
mandara—See mandala.
mandorla—An almond-shaped nimbus surround-
ing the figure of Christ or other sacred figure. In
Buddhist Japan, a lotus-petal-shaped nimbus.
maniera—Italian,“style” or “manner.” See Mannerism.
maniera greca—Italian, “Greek manner.” The Italo-
Byzantinepainting styleof the 13th century.
Mannerism—A styleof later Renaissanceart that
emphasized “artifice,” often involving contrived
imagery not derived directly from nature. Such
artworks showed a self-conscious stylization in-
volving complexity,caprice,fantasy,and polish.
Mannerist architecture tended to flout the classi-
calrules of order, stability, and symmetry, some-
times to the point of parody.
manor—In feudalism,the estate of a liege lord.
mantra—Sanskrit term for the ritual words or sylla-
bles recited in Shingon Buddhism.
manulua—Triangular patterns based on the form of
two birds, common in Tongan tapadesigns.investment—In hollow-casting, the final clay mold
applied to the exterior of the wax model.
Ionic—One of the two systems (or orders) invented
in ancient Greece for articulating the three units
of the elevation of a classicalbuilding: the plat-
form, the colonnade,and the superstructure
(entablature). The Ionic order is characterized by,
among other features,volutes, capitals, columns
with bases,and an uninterrupted frieze.
iron-wire lines—In ancient Chinese painting, thin
brush lines suggesting tensile strength.
ivi p’o—Hollow, cylindrical bone or ivory ornaments
produced in the Marquesas Islands (Polynesia).
iwan—In Islamic architecture, a vaultedrectangular
recess opening onto a courtyard.
jambs—In architecture, the side posts of a doorway.
Japonisme—The French fascination with all things
Japanese. Japonisme emerged in the second half
of the 19th century.
jataka—Tales of the past lives of the Buddha. See also
sutra.
joined-wood technique—A Japanese sculptural
techniquein which a statue is assembled from
multiple wood blocks, each hollowed out to make
the pieces lighter.
jomon—Japanese, “cord markings.” A type of Japan-
ese ceramic technique characterized by ropelike
markings.
Jugendstil—See Art Nouveau.
junzi—Chinese, “superior person” or “gentleman.” A
person who is a model of Confucian behavior.
ka—In ancient Egypt, the immortal human life force.
Kaaba—Arabic, “cube.” A small cubical building in
Mecca, the Islamic world’s symbolic center.
kami—Shinto deities or spirits, believed in Japan to
exist in nature (mountains, waterfalls) and in
charismatic people.
karesansui—Japanese dry-landscape gardening.
karma—In Vedic religions (see Ve d a), the ethical
consequences of a person’s life, which determine
his or her fate.
katsina—An art form of Native Americans of the
Southwest, the katsina doll represents benevolent
supernatural spirits (katsinas) living in moun-
tains and water sources.
katsuogi—Wooden logs placed at right angles to the
ridgepoleof a Japanese shrine to hold the thatched
roof in place.
kautaha—Women’s organizations in Tonga (Polyne-
sia) that produce barkcloth.
keep—A fortified tower in a castle that served as a
place of last refuge.
kente—Brightly colored patterned cloth woven by
Asante men on horizontal looms in long narrow
strips sewn together to form toga-like robes.
keystone—See voussoir.
khan—An Ottoman lord, or sultan.
khipu—Andean record-keeping device consisting of
numerous knotted strings hanging from a main
cord; the strings signified, by position and color,
numbers and categories of things.
kiva—A square or circular underground structure
that is the spiritual and ceremonial center of
Pueblo Indian life.
kline (pl.klinai)—A couch or funerary bed. A type
ofsarcophaguswith a reclining portrait of the de-
ceased on its lid.
kogan—A Shinowater jar.
kondo—Japanese,“golden hall.” The main hall for wor-
ship in a Japanese Buddhist temple complex. The