The Art of Ancient India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain

To scholars in the field, the need for an up-to-date overview of the art of South Asia has been apparent for decades. Although many regional and dynastic genres of Indic art are fairly well understood, the broad, overall representation of Indiaês centuries of splendor has been lacking. The Art of Ancient India is the result of the authorês aim to provide such a synthesis. Noted expert Sherman E. Lee has commented: –Not since Coomaraswamyês History of Indian and Indonesian Art (1927) has there been a survey of such completeness.” Indeed, this work restudies and reevaluates every frontier of ancient Indic art _ from its prehistoric roots up to the period of Muslim rule, from the Himalayan north to the tropical south, and from the earliest extant writing through the most modern scholarship on the subject.

This dynamic survey-generously complemented with 775 illustrations, including 48 in full color and numerous architectural ground plans, and detailed maps and fine drawings, and further enhanced by its guide to Sanskrit, copious notes, extensive bibliography, and glossary of South Asian art terms-is the most comprehensive and most fully illustrated study of South Asian art available.

The works and monuments included in this volume have been selected not only for their artistic merit but also in order to both provide general coverage and include transitional works that furnish the key to an all encompassing view of the art.

An outstanding portrayal of ancient Indiaês highest intellectual and technical achievements, this volume is written for many audiences: scholars, for whom it provides an up-to-date background against which to examine their own areas of study; teachers and students of college level, for whom it supplies a complete summary of and a resource for their own deeper investigations into Indic art; and curious readers, for whom it gives a broad-based introduction to this fascinating area of world art.

Review(s)

–Of interest to all who have discovered Indian artÄ It extended my knowledge to areas previously, even unforgivably, unknown.” _ John Kenneth Galbraith, Emeritus Professor, Harvard University

–The Art of Ancient India is a major contribution to the understanding of Indian art. Not since Coomaraswamyês History of Indian and Indonesian Art (1927) has there been a survey of such completeness and with such careful attention to detailÄ.Scholars, students and general readers will find this book a continuing source of information and elucidation.” _ Sherman E. Lee, Former Chief Curator of Far Eastern Art and Director, Cleveland Museum of Art

–By far the most up-to-date, informative and comprehensive survey yet written on South Asian ArtÄ. Its publication is a landmark for Oriental studies.”-Walter M. Spink, Professor, University of Michigan

–To take on a task as monumental as the presentation and analysis of all Indiaês art is awesome, far beyond the research parameters of any single scholarês customary expertise. Yet the Huntingtons have done so with remarkable skill and insight, providing many insights that make this book as important to the serious scholar as to the general reader.”-Frederick M. Asher, Professor, University of Minnesota

Author

Susan L. Huntington