Material Culture Depicted in Vijayanagara Temples

About the Book An attempt has been made in this book to give an account of diffe rent aspects of the material culture of the people of the Vijayanagara times as depicted in the temples of those days. The book is organised into Nine chapters. The significance of the present work, a brief account of the work hitherto done on the subject is dealt with in the form of an introduction. The costumes and their varieties depicted through the sculptures and paintings have been described in detail in the First chapter. The second chapter deals with various kinds of ornaments. The coiffure, head-dress, house hold-appliances and furniture, musical instruments, weapons and the flora and fauna of the region have been discussed in the chapters three to eight. The last i.e., Nineth chapter concerns with the conclu sions drawn from the above chapters.

Needless to say, the data of the present work is compared with the material of different regions and periods where ever warranted. An attempt has also been made to evaluate the then contemporary social life. Necessary line drawings and photographs are appended to the book.

About the Author He was born on 16.10.1951 in the village of Tavalamarri located in Kadiri Taluk (Nallacheruvu Mandal) of Anantapur Dist. A.P. He completed his elementary and high school education in his birth place and Kadiri respectively. Then he studied B.A. in the Govt. Arts College, Anantapur. He obtained M.A. Degree from S.V. University, Tirupati. He did his M.Phil. (1979) and Ph.D. (1996) under the guidance of Prof. V. Kameswara Rao of the same University. He worked as Lecturer in History in S.N.S.R. Degree College, Velgode (Kurnool Dist. A.P.) from 1977 to 1980. Then he got his posting as curator in T. T. D. Museums, Tirumala. After working there for three years, in the year 1983, he was selected for the post of Lecturer in Ancient Indian History and Archaeology in the Department of History. At present he is working as Associate Professor in the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, S.V. University, Tirupati.

He has a distinguished academic record. He has undergone Museum Training Course and Copleted Refresher Course in Conservation of Museum Objects, while he was working as curator in T.T.D. Museums. So far he has published 15 research papers. His M.Phil. dissertation was published with Financial Assistance of T.T.D. In addition to the above academic excellences, he is an artist, singer, and dramatist. The present book comprising of so many line drawings have been personally drawn by him. Above all he has been taking classes for Civil Services, Group 1, Group II etc. competitive examinations in the Pre-examination Training Centre, S.V. University Tirupati, Padmavati Mahila University, Tirupati and other private centres for the past ten years.

Foreword In this book, "Material Culture Depicted in Vijayanagara Temples" Dr. K. Reddeppa made a humble attempt to present various facets of material culture delineated through the sculptures and paintings of the Vijayanagara period with special reference to Rayalaseema. The book! based on his extensive field work. The sketches and drawing incorporated in the book are prepared by the author himself.

The Vijayanagara sculptors have relied on the Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata for the subject matter. However, they did not miss a single opportunity to depict contemporary social life and material culture. The sculptors have taken care to make almost a photographic depiction of dress and ornaments. The temple sculptures and paintings of Vijayanagara times tell us a great deal about costumes, personal ornaments, coiffure, head gears, house-hold appliances, musical instruments, weapons as also fauna and flora. Since patronage to the sculptors and painters came almost entirely from the bette-to-do classes of society-the royalty, nobles etc., it is theit material culture rather than that of the less privileged class, that gets better reflected in the temples.

Preface The material culture of our ancient past as delineated in sculptures and paintings is still in an inceptive stage. Hither to no substantial study has been made of the material culture depicted in the Vijayanagara Temples.

Though a particular aspect of material culture has been studied by scholars, all the aspects of material culture of the Vijayanagara art are left untouched. Hence a humble attempt has been made in the present inquiry to study the life of the people of Vijayanagara times and their material culture as depicted in the sculptures and paintings of the Vijayanagara Temples. In executing the carvings and paintings, the ancient artists have meticulously depicted the life of the Vijayanagara people in Kaleodoscopic variety reflecting intensely the aspects of material culture.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages