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Over 1000 accessible, informative and authoritative entries to answer any major question about Hinduism, its mythology, practices, customs and laws. Wide-ranging topics include Hindu myths and legends, temple architecture, festivals, astrology, Ayurvedic medicine and contemporary Hinduism. Maps provide easy reference to major cities, regions, rivers, mountains and pilgrimage sites, cultural, religious and historical background. Specially researched illustrations, including works of art reproduced here for the first time, reveal the rich imagery of Hindu sculpture, architecture, painting, dance and theatre.
The British Museum's collection of South Indian paintings consists of around 1000 items ranging from the 17th to the 20th century and representing a wide variety of themes and techniques. Only a very few examples from this major collection have been published before. In this book the collection will be catalogued in full, and 250 of the most important items will be reproduced in colour. The paintings will be described and listed according to the their topics (Hindu mythology; castes, trades and occupations; natural history drawings; painted narratives; India observed) and according to the medium on which they were executed (paper, cloth, leather, mica). Each section will begin with a brief introduction outlining the essential stylistic and iconographic features. Among this material are a number of highly interesting albums such as a set of 91 paintings depicting Hindu mythology, dating from the early decades of the 19th century. More unusual items are the long painted scrolls from Andhra illustrating local mythological narratives, the painted cloths from Tamil Nadu depicting the Ramayana epic, and paintings on paper used by the storytellers of northern Karnataka.
Ragamala, literally a garland of ragas, is a unique form of Indian miniature painting developed by combining a variety of sources including musical codes and accomanying poetry to indicate the time of day, or season, in which the melody should be performed. These miniatures were executed in India from 1400 and by the late 1700s had died out. This new book, and the exhibition it accompanies, presents a fine and rare collection of twenty-four ragamala from the collection of Claudio Moscatelli, a painting conservator based in London. Over fifteen years he has amassed one of the finest collections of ragamala in Britain comprising three different groups, Pahari, Rajasthani and Deccani, displaying regional variations.
The rich and diverse cultures of India are represented in exquisite detail in this book, which begins with a simple question: what is Indian art? Each thematically organized chapter delves into such topics as religion and myth, epics, festivals, courtly and village life, and the natural world.
Hidden away in the remote village of Lepakshi in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, merely a couple of hours drive from Bengaluru, is one of the most spectacular Vijayanagara temples. Unlike so many other religious monuments of the period that have suffered disfiguring additions, or have lost their original carvings and ceiling paintings, that at Lepakshi dedicated to Virabhadra, a fierce emanation of Shiva, is miraculously intact. Its architecture, sculptures and paintings showcase the finest artistic achievements in southern India during the first half of the sixteenth century.0While the remarkable qualities of Lepakshi have long been recognised, particularly its unique series of ceiling paintings, this volume is the first to provide the temple with a comprehensive description. It is authored by three eminent scholars: George Michell, who has focused on Vijayanagara temple architecture; Anna L. Dallapiccola, who has extensively researched the sculptural and painting traditions of southern India; and Brigitte Khan Majlis, an expert on Indian textile designs and techniques.
This volume of Marg is dedicated to the architectural and artistic heritage of Rayalaseema, the Royal Realm, a name given to the region encompassing Kurnool, Anantapur, Cuddapah and Chittoor districts in present-day Andhra Pradesh. This legacy may be traced back more than 2,000 years, as evidenced by the ancient, enigmatic stone figural lingam at Gudimallam. During the 14th–17th centuries Rayalaseema enjoyed unprecedented political and economic importance. Under Vijayanagara patronage the prestigious pilgrimage shrines at Srisailam, Ahobilam, Tirumala, Tirupati and Srikalahasti were much expanded, and new temples were built at Tadpatri, Somapalem and Lepakshi, embellished with magnificent sculptures and ceiling paintings. Imposing fortresses and palaces at Gandikota, Penukonda and Chandragiri also belong to this era. In more recent times Rayalaseema has witnessed the efflorescence of local schools of painting on wood, paper and cloth at Tirupati and Srikalahasti -- Publisher's website.
"Thanjavur paintings are among the most popular artworks that adorn the walls of Indian homes--avidly collected but little comprehended. This richly illustrated volume presents an enhanced understanding of the subject through an in-depth study of South Indian paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries in the Thanjavur and the allied Mysuru styles. The meticulously researched text showcases and engages with Kuldip Singh's unique collection of 300 paintings. Also included are painted prints, some reverse-glass works and a few lithographs. These cover a wide range of idioms and themes: from the domain of gods and goddesses and the sites and stories associated with their worship, we come down to t...
"The V&A has the world's most important collection of nineteenth-century temple hangings from South India, but only one of the smaller pieces has ever been published. For the first time these amazing objects have been documented and made public. The hangings are of two main types: large narrative pieces from Andhra Pradesh which tell stories from the Ramayana, the exploits of Krishna or tales connected with South Indian deities, and smaller pieces from Tamil Nadu. A single extraordinary Ramayana hanging from Sri Lanka is also included. All of the pieces are illustrated in their entirety, along with ample details that highlight the remarkable skill and regional styles of the narrative artists...
An extensive, illustrated bibliography for the Hindu god Śiva in the arts of South and Southeast Asia, offering detailed indices and easy access to resource repositories.