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Buddhist art, defined as the figurative arts anddecorative arts linked to theBuddhist religion, originated in theIndian subcontinent in the centuries following the life of the historicalGautama Buddha in the6th to5th century BCE, before evolving through its contact with other cultures and its diffusion through the rest ofAsia and the world. A first, essentiallyIndian,aniconic phase (avoiding direct representations of the Buddha), was followed from around the1st century CE by aniconic phase (with direct representations of the Buddha). From that time, Buddhist art diversified and evolved as it adapted to the new countries where the faith was expanding. It developed to the north throughCentral Asia and intoEastern Asia to form the Northern branch of Buddhist art, and to the east as far asSouth-East Asia to form the Southern Branch of Buddhist art. In India, the land of its birth, Buddhist art flourished and even influenced the development ofHindu art, until Buddhism almost disappeared around the10th century with the expansion of Hinduism andIslam. (more...)