Indian And East Asian Art And Iconography

The collection of studies in Indian and East Asian Art and Iconography is a considerable assembly age of essays. Though it deals with selected topics relating to iconographic and archaeological art, it touches, sporadically though, almost the entire range of Indian art history and salient periods of East Asia. Nonetheless, the treatment although can claim to be distinctly thorough and documented. Though by character the studies are not an all-inclusive one, they afford a glimpse of the art endeavors of most regions covered. With thirty and odd essays, appalled as chapters classed under sections, the subjects are surely as varied as they are interesting.

Professor A.K. Bhattacharyya, well-known for his accredited research publications in most fields of Indian and Trans-Indian art for the last more than fifty years, is the recepient of honours in his own country and from abroad. He was awarded PRS of the Calcutta University, a Bengal Government Fellowship, a Fellowship from the Pacific Cultural Foundation, a Senior Fellowship from the Indian Council of Historical Research and a Fellow ship from the Japan Foundation, the Govt. of West Germany and Royal Govt. of Thailand also awarding him Research Grants. Academically brilliant, he is M.A. in Sanskrit and in Islamic History and Culture, both with a First Class, in the latter securing the First position.

Detailed study, through individual icons, of the iconography of the two major streams of religion, Buddhism and Jainism, under one cover has been a desideratum for long. While Buddhism under Mahayana has provided ample material for such a study, Jainism on its own often under inspiration from both Buddhism and Brahmanism has developed also substantial mass of iconographic concepts. Almost equally it can claim an important position in this respect. The result has been that both the faiths while exhibiting innovations of their individual genius have left considerable number of iconic examples that smack of a common source of drawals, and both the common concepts as well as the innovated imageries special to each faith, have become enviable subject both for individualistic study and for a comparable investigation.

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