Art of the Imperial Cholas

Art of the Imperial Cholas PDF

Author: Vidya Dehejia

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 1990-10-18

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 9780231515245

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The rule of the Chola dynasty in South India between the ninth and thirteenth centuries was a period of unparalleled creativity in Indian art. Known as the Golden Age of Tamil Culture, the Chola period produced dynamic royal personalities who shaped the artistic activity of theirtimes. Art of the Imperial Cholas examines the dynasty's architectural and sculptural achievements, which stand among the masterpieces of India.

The Early Chōḷas History, Art, and Culture

The Early Chōḷas History, Art, and Culture PDF

Author: S. Swaminathan

Publisher:

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13:

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The period of Early Cholas (850 A.D – 970 A.D) forms an important epoch in the history of Tamilnadu. Starting from a scratch the Early Chola rulers exerted to establish a vast empire by their conquests. Rulers like Vijayalaya I, Aditya I and Parantaka I were great warriors who built the Chola empire inch by inch. Vijayalaya conquered Tanjavur, Aditya I annexed Tondai-mandalam and Parantaka I occupied Madurai. During the reign of Parantaka I his empire extended up to Nellore in the north to Kanyakumari in the south. Though the Takkolam battle put a poke into the expansion of the Cholas, it did not exhaust the vitality of the Chola empire. The Cholas recovered remarkably from the disaster and emerged like a phoenix and rebuilt the empire quickly. The early Cholas are best remembered for their signal contribution in the sphere of local administration. The rules relating to the mode of local administration best averred in the celebrated Uttaramerur inscriptions were conceived during the reign of Parantaka Chola I. The Early Cholas also left their imprints on art, architecture and sculpture.

The Thief Who Stole My Heart

The Thief Who Stole My Heart PDF

Author: Vidya Dehejia

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2023-10-17

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0691253064

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The first book to put the sacred and sensuous bronze statues from India’s Chola dynasty in social context From the ninth through the thirteenth century, the Chola dynasty of southern India produced thousands of statues of Hindu deities, whose physical perfection was meant to reflect spiritual beauty and divine transcendence. During festivals, these bronze sculptures—including Shiva, referred to in a saintly vision as “the thief who stole my heart”—were adorned with jewels and flowers and paraded through towns as active participants in Chola worship. In this richly illustrated book, leading art historian Vidya Dehejia introduces the bronzes within the full context of Chola history, culture, and religion. In doing so, she brings the bronzes and Chola society to life before our very eyes. Dehejia presents the bronzes as material objects that interacted in meaningful ways with the people and practices of their era. Describing the role of the statues in everyday activities, she reveals not only the importance of the bronzes for the empire, but also little-known facets of Chola life. She considers the source of the copper and jewels used for the deities, proposing that the need for such resources may have influenced the Chola empire’s political engagement with Sri Lanka. She also investigates the role of women patrons in bronze commissions and discusses the vast public records, many appearing here in translation for the first time, inscribed on temple walls. From the Cholas’ religious customs to their agriculture, politics, and even food, The Thief Who Stole My Heart offers an expansive and complete immersion in a community still accessible to us through its exquisite sacred art. Published in association with the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Please note: All images in this ebook are presented in black and white and have been reduced in size.

Rajaraja Chola: Interplay Between an Imperial Regime and Productive Forces of Society

Rajaraja Chola: Interplay Between an Imperial Regime and Productive Forces of Society PDF

Author: Raghavan Srinivasan

Publisher: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd

Published:

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 9354582230

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When Rajaraja Chola ascended the throne, the land of Tamils entered upon centuries of grandeur. He left behind a stupendous legacy, which has not lost its sheen even after a thousand years. During his regime, we see powerful productive forces at work, newly liberated by the advances made in manufacturing and trade. Through interesting facts and riveting analyses, the reader can vividly experience the tumultuous developments of this perioud. It bring to life the social, political and economic underpinnings of that time - expansion of agriculture, rise of nagarams, maturing of self-governing corporate bodies, phenomenal increase in inland and overseas trade networks, and overall strengthening of the administrative and military apparatus, which would later bring South-east Asia under its influence. Equally important to the stability of the empire was the compelling iconography of Saivism, which this book presents in a sublime and engrossing style. Written by Raghavan Srinivasan, the author of Yugantar, this book recreates the history of a South Indian king and his imperial empire, in a form that would appeal to the academia and the wider public audience alike. "A rousing attempt at piecing together the lives and times of the Tamil country's most remarkable medieval personality, Rajaraja Chola, who despite the rich artistic legacy, plethora of inscriptions and maritime amnbtions, has remained an enigmatic figure." - SHARADA SRINIVASAM, Professor, School of Humanities, National Institute of Advanced Studies.

Teaching South and Southeast Asian Art

Teaching South and Southeast Asian Art PDF

Author: Bokyung Kim

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-04-10

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 3031225163

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This volume challenges existing notions of what is “Indian,” “Southeast Asian,” and/or “South Asian” art to help educators present a more contextualized understanding of art in a globalized world. In doing so, it (re)examines how South or Southeast Asian art is being made, exhibited, circulated and experienced in new ways in the United States or in regions under its cultural hegemony. The essays presented in this book examine both historical and contemporary transformations or lived experiences of monuments and regional styles (sites) from South or Southeast Asian art in art making, subsequent usage, and exhibition-making under the rubric of “Indian,” “South Asian,” “or “Southeast Asian” Art.

"Women, Gender and Art in Asia, c. 1500-1900 "

Author: MeliaBelli Bose

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 1351536567

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Women, Gender and Art in Asia, c. 1500?1900 brings women's engagements with art into a pan-Asian dialogue with essays that examine women as artists, commissioners, collectors, and subjects from India, Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan, from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century. The artistic media includes painting, sculpture, architecture, textiles, and photography. The book is broadly concerned with four salient questions: How unusual was it for women to engage directly with art? What factors precluded more women from doing so? In what ways did women's artwork or commissions differ from those of men? And, what were the range of meanings for woman as subject matter? The chapters deal with historic individuals about whom there is considerable biographical information. Beyond locating these uncommon women within their socio-cultural milieux, contributors consider the multiple strands that twined to comprise their complex identities, and how these impacted their works of art. In many cases, the woman's status-as wife, mother, widow, ruler, or concubine (and multiple combinations thereof), as well as her religion and lineage-determined the media, style, and content of her art. Women, Gender and Art in Asia, c. 1500?1900 adds to our understanding of works of art, their meanings, and functions.

The Multivalence of an Epic

The Multivalence of an Epic PDF

Author: Parul Pandya Dhar

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-10-06

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 1000991962

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This volume examines The Rāmāyaṇa traditions of South India and Southeast Asia. Bringing together 19 well-known scholars in Rāmāyaṇa studies from Cambodia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, UK, and USA, this thought-provoking and elegantly illustrated volume engages with the inherent plurality, diversity, and adaptability of the Rāmāyaṇa in changing socio-political, religious, and cultural contexts. The journey and localization of the Rāmāyaṇa is explored in its manifold expressions – from classical to folk, from temples and palaces to theatres and by-lanes in cities and villages, and from ancient to modern times. Regional Rāmāyaṇas from different parts of South India and Southeast Asia are placed in deliberate juxtaposition to enable a historically informed discussion of their connected pasts across land and seas. The three parts of this volume, organized as visual, literary, and performance cultures, discuss the sculpted, painted, inscribed, written, recited, and performed Rāmāyaṇas. A related emphasis is on the way boundaries of medium and genre have been crossed in the visual, literary, and performed representations of the Rāmāyaṇa. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

Climate Change and the Art of Devotion

Climate Change and the Art of Devotion PDF

Author: Sugata Ray

Publisher: University of Washington Press

Published: 2019-07-31

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 029574538X

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In the enchanted world of Braj, the primary pilgrimage center in north India for worshippers of Krishna, each stone, river, and tree is considered sacred. In Climate Change and the Art of Devotion, Sugata Ray shows how this place-centered theology emerged in the wake of the Little Ice Age (ca. 1550–1850), an epoch marked by climatic catastrophes across the globe. Using the frame of geoaesthetics, he compares early modern conceptions of the environment and current assumptions about nature and culture. A groundbreaking contribution to the emerging field of eco–art history, the book examines architecture, paintings, photography, and prints created in Braj alongside theological treatises and devotional poetry to foreground seepages between the natural ecosystem and cultural production. The paintings of deified rivers, temples that emulate fragrant groves, and talismanic bleeding rocks that Ray discusses will captivate readers interested in environmental humanities and South Asian art history. Art History Publication Initiative. For more information, visit http://arthistorypi.org/books/climate-change-and-the-art-of-devotion

Portraiture in Early India

Portraiture in Early India PDF

Author: Vincent Lefèvre

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2011-07-12

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 900420735X

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This book highlights the specificities of Indian portraiture in sculpted and painted images, its relationship with divine images and aims, with the help of textual and epigraphical references, to understand the development of Indian imagery. It questions also the social and religious implications related to this issue.