The Arts of India From Prehistoric to Modern Times

162 Pages·1966·17.33 MB·English

by  Ajit Mookerjee

nflRIN COUNTY FREE LIBRfiRY
31111QQ188464Q
FROM
PREHISTORIC
TO
MODERN TIMES
Ajit Mookerjee
$12.50
THE ARTS OF INDIA
byAjitMookerjee
4640
COMPREHENSIVE, inexpensive books on thearts of
the great Indian sub-continent number few among
the world's fine art volumes. One reason for this
has been the lateness ofarcheological research in
this area, another has probably been due to the
prudery ofthose who condemned much Indian art
as pornography. Yet India's arts are infinitelymore
lively than thoseofEgypt or Sumer, equally awe-
inspiring, andjust as ancient. A book to bring
this great art to the attention ofstudents and art
lovers has long been needed. This revised and en-
larged edition ofThe ArtsofIndia more than fills
the need with over 150impressive gravure and full-
colorillustrations. These include various important
objects and monuments not usually seen in general
surveys to supplement the many essential art mile-
stones that this book features. The Arts ofIndiais
also unique in beginning its visual survey with rel-
ics ofIndia's stone age and in concluding the book
with works from the nation's great folk tradition
and selected paintings by modern artists.
For once, here is a book with captions and a text
that are highly readable blends ofscholarly infor-
mation and informal comment by an Indian art ex-
pert. This grants the reader special insights into the
concepts that lie behind art so different from that
ofthe West.
Author Mookerjee hasjudiciously selected photo-
graphs which present the vast panorama ofIndian
art from its earliest beginnings. Moving on to the
products ofthe ancient Indus Valley civilization,
with its exquisite seals and variety ofstatuettes, the
reader thenavilnesses the rise ofBuddhism as it is
dram^lfeed in great stupa bas-reliefs and rock-hewn
cave temples. Art from the remote valleys ofGan-
dhara, whpre there was influence from the classic
art ofEurope; examples ofearly images ofthe
Buddha from Mathura; and the great blossoming of
mural art in the Ajanta caves bring to life artistic
activity that preceded the Hindu renaissance. A re-
surgence ofIndia's traditional religion then forever
pushed Buddhism into the shadows in the land of
its birth. This is first reflected in cave-temple art, but
finds its most forceful expression in the sculplure-
{continuedon backflap)
1969
T4
BLjJAN1 675
I
CEO *"' '75
JUN 3 1976
JUL 2 1976
MAR 4 1977
liAR 2 3 ^979
JA'^
709.54 Mookerjee
The arts of India
Marin County Free Library
Civic Center AcJministration Building
San Rafael, California
y
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THE ARTS OF INDIA

Ajit Mookerjee
THE ARTS OF INDIA
FROM PREHISTORIC
TO MODERN TIMES
Revised & Enlarged
CHARLESE.TUTTLECO.:PUBLISHERS
Rutland,Vermont&Tokyo,Japan
Marin County Free Library
Civic Center Administration Building
San Rafael, California
n0^.^^'
toSudha
139911
REPRESENTATIVES
FOR CONTINENTAL EUROPE:
BOXERBOOKS, INC., Zurich
FOR THE BRITISHISLES:
PRENTICE-HALL INTERNATIONAL, INC., london
FOR AUSTRALASIA:
PAUL FLESCH & CO., PTY. LTD., Melbourne
PUBLISHED BY ChARLES E. TuTTLE CoMPANY, InC.
OF RUTLAND, VERMONT & TOKYO,JAPAN
WITH EDITORIAL OFFICES
AT SUIDO 1-CHOME, 2-6, BUNKYO-KU, TOKYO
COPYRIGHT 1966
BY CHARLES E. TUTTLE CO., INC.
ALL RIGHTSRESERVED
LIBRARY OF CONGRESSCATALOG
CARD NO. 66-17557
FIRST PRINTING, 1966
BOOK DESIGN, TYPOGRAPHY & LAYOUTBY KEN TREMAYNE
PRINTED INJAPAN
TheArtsofIndia: CONTENTS
ListofIllustrations
Preface
Approach
Map
Plates
Chronology 151
A.M'ayikafigurejromBhubanesvara,c. 100A.D. (reproducedonjacketincolor).