Visnu mitrés et réseaux marchands en Asie du Sud-Est : nouvelles données archéologiques sur le Ier millénaire apr. J.-C.

Résumé Fr

Mitred Visnus and trade networks in Southeast Asia: new archaeological data on the 1st millennium A.D. New archaeological research carried out on three different fronts (history of early Cambodian art, excavations at Kota Kapur, South Sumatra, and at Cibuaya, West Java) revealed hitherto unsuspected links between a series of sites that have at least one common characteristic : they all produced statues of Visnu wearing a mitre and a long robe, that can be grouped on stylistic grounds into one single family. The chronology of this pan- Southeast Asian family is reconsidered here in the light of the new finds : their anteriority to the Early Khmer art style of Phnom Da is demonstrated ; all of its pieces can now be securely dated from the early Vth to the early Vllth centuries. On the Indochinese peninsula, in what is now Cambodia and Viêt Nam, they are therefore associated with the last two centuries of the Funan polity, rather than with Early Khmer art forms. The central and pioneer role of the Malay peninsula, where the earliest statues (those closest to Indian prototypes) were found, is however emphasized in the study. Rather than to one specific « national » polity, the production of this family of statues is therefore associated with a trade network regrouping a number of archaeological sites on the Western maritime façade of Southeast Asia. Finally, this network is identified as being of Vaisnava obedience. The role played by this Brahmanical sect in the Indianization of Southeast Asia during the period considered is then compared to that played by Buddhism.