The Art of South and Southeast Asia: A Resource for Educators (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series)

A great and early civilization arose on the subcontinent of South Asia that in time spread northward to the Himalayan region and eastward to Southeast Asia, a vast area including Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Myanmar. This resource introduces works of art from this area selected from the superb South and Southeast Asian and Islamic collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Fifty-three digital images (of which forty are also reproduced as slides) present examples of Buddhist and Hindu temple art and the later court arts of South Asia; these range from miniature painting and luxurious textiles to elegant personal possessions. The boxed package also contains two posters; a summary of South and Southeast Asian history; a section about Buddhism and Hinduism; descriptions of the visual qualities and symbolic meanings of the art; classroom activities; lesson plans; a glossary; and a CD-ROM version.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s teacher-training programs and accompanying materials are made possible, in part, through a generous grant from Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P. Rose.