In China, mandarin ducks, said to mate for life, symbolize wedded bliss, and tiny red shoes are viewed as sexually arousing. In Japan, black hair once alluded covertly to passion and in the 20th century is explicitly erotic. Love is divine in India, enduring in temple sculpture in the form of rapturous couples, the territory of gods as well as mortals.
Rich, wildly varied imagery infuses the art and literature of love in Asia. The universal themes of love denied, love fulfilled, of courtship, passion, and fertility are here treated in lively, color-illustrated essays by five distinguished contributors. Early Chinese art alluding to the theme of romance is explored along with the 13th-century tale, The Story of the Western Wing. Also examined are the Japanese One Hundred Poets, a luxury volume of poems assembled in the 17th century, and modern poetry by such writers as Takamura Kotaro. Stunning Rajput painting and poetry, the fascinating role of the sakhi, or messenger, in love-intrigues, and the dynamic temple sculpture at Khajuraho are featured in engrossing chapters about India. Whether depicting the theme of love as explicit embrace or entwined plum tree branches, Asian artists offer, in these compelling works of art and literature, continuing avenues of inspiration, sustenance, and delight.

Love in Asian Art and Culture (Asian Art & Culture (Unnumbered).)

Arts & Photography

Vidya Dehejia

History & Criticism

Arthur m Sackler Foundation

The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India

"The Sensuous and the Sacred" focuses on the exquisite temple bronzes produced during the Chola period, a time of unparalleled creativity in the history of the Indian subcontinent. By the beginning of the tenth century, Hindu devotees began to visualize their deities as having public personas not unlike those of human monarchs. Worshipped as living entities, the deities participated in a variety of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual rituals and festivities; to fulfill these functions, portable images were required. Thus were created the spectacular temple bronzes of south India. For more than four hundred years, from the ninth to the thirteenth century, the Chola dynasty was the dominant cultural, artistic, religious, and political force in south India. During the golden age of Chola rule, music and dance, poetry and drama, philosophy and religious thought, and the arts of sculpture, bronze-casting, jewelry-making, painting, and architecture reached new heights. The temple was the center of all activity, and the Cholas built and decorated some of the most impressive temples in south India. These were primarily Hindu, though Buddhist and Jain shrines were also supported by Chola royalty. Vidya Dehejia holds the Barbara Stoler Miller Chair in Indian Art at Columbia University. Other contributors include Richard H. Davis, R. Nagaswarmy, and Karen Pechillis Prentiss.

Richard H. Davis

R. Nagaswamy

Karen Pechilis Prentiss

Amer Federation of Arts

In the Tamil country of South India, during the last millennium, a powerful cult of saints has been in existence. These saints referred to themselves as adiyar or tondar, both words meaning "slaves" - of the Lord. Although the south Indian saints are lesser known than those of northern India, or of Europe, they are in a manner more significant. For the sacred canon of south India, both of Saivites and Vaishnavas, consists of the poems composed by these saints. Their hymns are chanted daily in the southern temples, and often sung in homes and at festivals. In the field of art too, the saints of south India occupy a unique position. Images of the complete group of saints, sixty-three Nayanmars in the case of Silva and twelve Alvars in the case of Vishnu are to be seen in every temple in the Tamil country. Placed beside the shrine of the god, the saints are anointed, clothed, and worshipped, being an integral part of temple rituals. To view art forms in their totality and to appreciate the saints and the status accorded to them in the Tamil country, the author introduces their biographical details, the milieu in which they functioned, and includes selected translation of their poems. A complete picture emerges when the strands of poetry and religious history are brought in to highlight a study of the art. This is not simply a book about the images of the saints, but one that will appeal to students of religion and literature. This original and exciting book is of relevance for the history of ideas.

Slaves of the Lord: Path of the Tamil Saints

Munshirm Manoharlal Pub Pvt Ltd

hb. reprint. many illus. an excellent ed. classic work on art and Buddhist art

Discourse in Early Buddhist Art: Visual Narratives of India

Delight in Design is a richly illustrated volume that focuses on the remarkable ornamented silverware produced by Indian craftsmen during the period of the British Raj. Silversmiths created elegant silver tea services, bowls, wine and water ewers, beer mugs, and goblets to adorn the sideboard or mantelpiece in a British Raj home, creating European forms fulfilling European requirements. These same silversmiths then adopted a unique manner of embellishing these objects with a variety of different motifs that reflect local taste and carry a recognizably local pattern. This book carries a set of five essays that explore different facets of the production and consumption of Indian silver for the Raj. It considers the silverware in terms of its clearly distinguishable regional styles, which is prefaced by two thematic sections, one on calling card cases and the other on tea services, which demonstrate its wide prevalence. The visual presentation of the silverware does justice to it dazzling quality.

Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj

Mapin Publishing