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Quiz: Art, Architecture, and Craft

Test your understanding of Chapter 11. Choose the best answer, then click Show Answer to check.

Question 1

In which country is the rock fortress of Sigiriya, built by King Kashyapa I in the 5th century CE?

  1. Nepal
  2. Bangladesh
  3. Sri Lanka
  4. Pakistan
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Sigiriya, the "Lion Rock," is in central Sri Lanka, and Kashyapa I ruled from 477 to 495 CE. The Buddhist monastery of Takht-i-Bahi is the major ancient site in Pakistan from this chapter, and Bagerhat is in Bangladesh.

Concept Tested: Sigiriya Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 2

What is a jali?

  1. A carved stone screen with holes that lets in air and filtered light
  2. A dome built over the relics of the Buddha
  3. A gateway tower on a South Indian temple
  4. A garden divided into four parts by water channels
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. A jali is a perforated stone screen carved in geometric, floral or calligraphic patterns. A dome over relics is a stupa, a temple gateway tower is a gopuram, and a four-part garden is a charbagh.

Concept Tested: Jali Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 3

In 2023, UNESCO added which Bangladeshi tradition to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity?

  1. Truck art in Karachi
  2. Terracotta temples in Dinajpur
  3. Alpona painting for Pohela Boishakh
  4. Rickshaws and rickshaw painting in Dhaka
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. UNESCO inscribed "Rickshaws and rickshaw painting in Dhaka" in 2023. Truck art is best known in Pakistan, not Bangladesh, and the terracotta temples and alpona are Bangladeshi traditions but were not the 2023 listing.

Concept Tested: Rickshaw Art Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 4

Why do pulli kolam artists start by placing a grid of dots?

  1. The dots are where the colored powder will be piled highest
  2. The dots guide the lines, which loop around them, keeping the design even and symmetric
  3. The dots mark where guests should step
  4. Each dot stands for one member of the family
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. In a pulli kolam, lines loop around the dots, usually without touching them, so the dots work like graph paper for an even, symmetric design. Kolam is traditionally drawn in white rice flour lines, not piles of colored powder, which is closer to rangoli.

Concept Tested: Kolam Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 5

Why is Mughal Architecture described as a blend of traditions?

  1. It combined Persian and Central Asian ideas like domes and walled gardens with Indian materials, skills and decoration
  2. It copied Greek temples exactly
  3. It was designed entirely by European architects
  4. It used only wood and bamboo from the Himalaya
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. Mughal buildings such as Humayun's Tomb, designed by Persian architects and built with Indian red sandstone and craftsmanship, mixed Persian and Central Asian forms with local building traditions. They were not copies of Greek or European buildings.

Concept Tested: Mughal Architecture Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 6

Why is calligraphy, rather than statues of people, the main decoration on the Taj Mahal?

  1. Statues were too heavy for marble walls
  2. Shah Jahan did not like sculpture of any kind
  3. Islamic religious art usually avoids images of people in sacred buildings, and the words of the Qur'an are honored in beautiful script
  4. Calligraphy was cheaper than carving
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Islamic religious buildings are usually decorated with calligraphy, geometric patterns and plant designs instead of human figures, and Qur'anic verses are given the most beautiful form possible. Cost and weight had nothing to do with it. The Taj's inlaid calligraphy was itself expensive, skilled work.

Concept Tested: Calligraphy Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 7

A friend offers to give you a "black henna" design before a wedding, saying it's darker than regular mehndi. Based on the chapter, what's the best response?

  1. Accept, because all henna is made from the same plant
  2. Be cautious, because "black henna" often contains PPD, a hair-dye chemical the FDA warns can cause dangerous skin reactions
  3. Accept, as long as it's washed off within an hour
  4. Refuse, because mehndi is only for Eid
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Natural henna stains reddish-brown, but "black henna" often contains PPD, which can cause dangerous reactions and scarring. Mehndi is used for weddings, Eid, Diwali, Karva Chauth and many other occasions, so it isn't "only for Eid." This is safety information, not medical advice.

Concept Tested: Mehndi Bloom's Level: Apply

Question 8

Your club is decorating for a Pohela Boishakh celebration and wants to use the floor art Zara's Nanu made. Which materials and method should you use?

  1. Dry colored powders sprinkled in a freehand design
  2. Flower petals arranged in circles
  3. White rice flour dropped in lines around a grid of dots
  4. A wet rice-flour paste painted on with fingertips
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. Alpona, the Bengali floor art made for Pohela Boishakh, is painted with a wet paste of rice flour and water using the fingertips, a twig or cloth. Dry colored powder describes rangoli, petals describe pookalam, and rice flour lines around dots describe kolam.

Concept Tested: Rangoli Bloom's Level: Apply

Question 9

Compare a stupa with a Hindu temple. Which statement is most accurate?

  1. Both are built only in India
  2. A stupa is a solid mound walked around by worshippers, while a temple has an inner sanctum (garbhagriha) that worshippers approach
  3. Both always have gopuram gateway towers
  4. A stupa holds an image of a Hindu deity, while a temple holds relics of the Buddha
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. A stupa is a solid dome over relics, honored by walking around it clockwise, while a Hindu temple is built around a sanctum holding the deity's image, with a tower above it. Stupas are found in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as India, and gopurams belong to South Indian temples, not stupas.

Concept Tested: Stupa Bloom's Level: Analyze

Question 10

Madhubani painting moved from mud walls to paper in the late 1960s. What does this change best show about the tradition?

  1. It stopped being made by women
  2. It was invented in the 1960s
  3. Women adapted a long-standing wall art to a new material during hard times, which helped it reach audiences worldwide
  4. It became a form of truck art
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Women of Mithila had painted walls for centuries. During a severe drought in the late 1960s, some began painting on paper to earn income, and hundreds of women from many communities later took it up. The art was not invented in the 1960s, and women remained its main artists.

Concept Tested: Madhubani Painting Bloom's Level: Analyze