Indian art history
Peter Rounald Gomes
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Abstract
AI
AI
The study of ancient and medieval Indian art and architecture has evolved over the past two centuries, beginning as a colonial pursuit focused on antiquities. Early British interest framed Indian art primarily as 'handicraft' rather than as a form of expressive art, leading to an institutional foundation for art history in India. However, this tradition has often marginalized indigenous voices and scholarship. Contemporary research seeks a broader interdisciplinary understanding, particularly in understanding the Indian temple and the complexities of interpretations in Indian art history, while mainstream Indian historiography rarely integrates visual culture.
Key takeaways
- Beyond these observations on the general characteristics of Indian art, there was little by way of a systematic stylistic analysis of Indian sculpture.
- The aesthetic appreciation of Indian art, beyond its usefulness as a visual document of Indian history, was also in evidence.
- Third, given the close affinities between the various traditional Indian art forms, many of the artistic criteria and key art terms are shared between visual and performing arts.
- In An Approach to Indian Art (1974), he emphasized the need to move away from a perspective that constantly felt the need to defend Indian art forms on the basis of their religious and metaphysical content.
- The scope is limited to the history of ancient and medieval Indian art and architecture.
Related papers
Tapati Guha-Thakurta. Monuments, Objects, Histories: Institutions of Art in Colonial and Postcolonial India
Acta Orientalia Vilnensia, 2006
Disquisitions on the Paintings of Ajanta (peer reviewed)
Parul Pandya Dhar (ed.), Indian Art History: Changing Perspectives, 2011
Introduction: Artistic Practices and Archaeological Research
Artistic practices and archaeological research, 2019
Printed ISBN 9781789691405. Epublication ISBN 9781789691412. Artistic Practices and Archaeological Research aims to expand the field of archaeological research with an anthropological understanding of practices which include artistic methods. The project has come about through a collaborative venture between Dragoş Gheorghiu (archaeologist and professional visual artist) and Theodor Barth (anthropologist). This anthology contains articles from professional archaeologists, artists and designers. The contributions cover a scale ranging from theoretical reflections on pre-existing archaeological finds/documentation, to reflective field-practices where acts of ‘making’ are used to interface with the site. These acts feature a manufacturing range from ceramics, painting, drawing, type-setting and augmented reality (AR). The scope of the anthology – as a book or edited whole – has accordingly been to determine a comparative approach resulting in an identifiable set of common concerns. Accordingly, the book proceeds from a comparative approach to research ontologies, extending the experimental ventures of the contributors, to the hatching of artistic propositions that demonstrably overlap with academic research traditions, of epistemic claims in the making. This comparative approach relies on the notion of transposition: that is an idea of the makeshift relocation of methodological issues – research ontologies at the brink of epistemic claims – and accumulates depth from one article to the next as the reader makes her way through the volume. However, instead of proposing a set method, the book offers a lighter touch in highlighting the role of operators between research and writing, rather entailing a duplication of practice, in moving from artistic ideas to epistemic claims. This, in the lingo of artistic research, is known as exposition. Emphasising the construct of the ‘learning theatre’ the volume provides a support structure for the contributions to book-project, in the tradition of viewing from natural history. The contributions are hands-on and concrete, while building an agenda for a broader contemporary archaeological discussion. http://archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id={BAAF7F21-9F73-4A38-AACC-AD0DD3A5B31C}
Bulletin of History of Archaeology
Locating an Antiquarian Initiative in a Late 19th Century Colonial Landscape: Rivett-Carnac and the Cultural Imagining of the Indian Sub-Continent, 2020
In this paper I seek to understand antiquarian practices in a colonial context in the Indian sub-continent with reference to J.H. Rivett-Carnac who was a member of the Bengal Civil Service. Covering varied subjects like ‘ancient cup marks on rocks,’ spindle whorls, votive seals or a solitary Buddha figure, Rivett-Carnac’s writings reflect an imagining of a native landscape with wide-ranging connections in myths, symbolisms and material cultures which cross-cut geographical borders. I show how an epistemology of comparative archaeology was formed through the ways in which he compared evidence recorded from different parts of India to those documented in Great Britain and northern Europe. This was held together by ideas of tribal/racial migrations. I am arguing that a distinctive form of antiquarianism was unfolding in an ambiguous, interstitial space which deconstructs any neat binaries between the colonizer and the colonized. Recent researches have argued for many antiquarianisms which this paper upholds. With his obsession of cup marks Rivett-Carnac built a new set of interconnections in late 19th century Britain where the Antiquity of man was the pivot around which debates and theories circulated. In the colony, we see some of his predecessors concerned with the megalithic tombs scattered in different parts of central and southern India. Rivett-Carnac’s methodology was less rigorous and ‘scientific’ as compared to his peers or predecessors. His obsession with cup marks followed him—as he states in his autobiography—throughout his life.
INDIAN SCULPTURE AND PAINTING
The purpose of this book is artistic, not archaeological ; but I have ventured to differ entirely from archaeological ideas of Indian fine art, which seem to me to give a completelydistorted view of the intentions of Indian artists.
Archaeology and art
A Companion to Archaeology, 2004
A stimulating source of ideas, and a conspectus of how broadly and deeply many archaeologists are thinking about the way their discipline relates to the modern world"
A Colonial History of Sculptures from Amaravati Stupa
Buddhist Stupas in South Asia (Ed. J Hawkes and A. Shimada)
Indian 'Company School' Art from 1780 to 1820: Collecting Versus Documenting.
In the Shadow of the Golden Age: Art and Identity in Asia from Gandhara to the Modern Age. (Editor: Julia A.B. Hegewald), 2014
Archaeologies of Art: Papers from the Sixth World Archaeological Congress
2015
A declaration We declare the importance and the need to express theoretical concepts in a format which is not constrained by linguistic context. We will express theory which is often written in English and turn to the visual as a means of promoting a visuality of archaeological theories, methodologies and narratives. This simultaneously acts as an invitation for practitioners who feel constrained themselves by this discourse in archaeological theory to seek to transcend linguistic cultural barriers by embracing the visual. Such endeavours have far-reaching ramifications for the tension between non-academic (public) and academic (expert) discourses (if indeed it is possible or appropriate to make these separations). Actions will pose further questions; for instance, can we ask what the implications for value and meaning are in archaeological presentations?; will archaeological science be deemed less ‘hard ’ by its inclusion in abstract and unquantifiable visual expressions?; how will...
Journal of Heritage, Archaeology & Management (JHAM) Volume 1 Issue 1, 2021
2021
uring this global pandemic situation, all of us are passing through a very critical phase. It seems like the world has come to a stand still. Yet, we need to continue with our journey and keep the flame of knowledge burning. Thus, in this quest for wisdom and learning, "Society for Heritage, Archaeology and Management" has been supported and guided by the esteemed members of our Executive Committee, Executive Secretaries of academic wings and scholars from various disciplines and Institutions, which has made it possible to publish its very first e-Journal named Journal of Heritage, Archaeology and Management (JHAM). This volume presents a series of articles on different aspects of Art, Archaeology, Conservation and Management. It contains 16 articles altogether. The articles have been categorized under various themes such as Heritage, Heritage management, Archaeology, Art / Architecture / Iconography, Conservation and Geo-archaeology. Our Heritage section starts with a valuable article on "Archaeological Surveys in India and Archaeological Survey of India" by Prof. Alok Tripathi, Additional Director General, ASI, which has given us an insight on the origin and history of Archaeological Survey of India and Archaeological Surveys in India. There are few more articles on the theme of Heritage and Heritage Management contributed by Mr. Tamal Dutta, Dr. Debasis Mondal and Ms. Asmita Basu Chatterjee which discuss about the local, national and world heritage sites. The theme Archaeology consists of researches related to recent excavations and explorations. The archaeological materials are being revealed day by day which not only provide us significant information about human past but also serve as evidences leading to new arenas for future research. In this category, there are two articles, contributed by Dr. Banani Bhattacharya, Mr. Arabinda Singha Roy and his co-authors. In any archaeological mission, scientific equipment is required for better interpretation. Under this theme, we also have an interesting article focusing on a newly innovation of one such equipment which seems to be very useful in archaeological work, contributed by young scholars along with their mentor Mr. Anustup Chatterjee. In Art, Architecture and Iconography section there are seven articles highlighting metal sculpture, terracotta figurines, ivory objects, temple and its decorations, of Bengal as well as stone sculptures and painting of other regions. This part of the volume starts with a very interesting article on "
The Archaeology... Introduction
2 Tell your children not to hear my words What they mean, what they say.
Journal of Heritage, Archaeology & Management (JHAM) Volume 2 Issue I June 2022
Editorial ur Society for Heritage, Archaeology and Management now presents its second volume-first issue to the scholars who have keen interest to know about India's heritage and culture. This volume includes eight research articles highlighting some unique cultural aspects of India. These have been reflected through sculptures, architecture epigraphy and heritage. In its multi-thematic sections, the volume offers articles in the field of Archaeology, ancient temples and monuments, legend and folk lore, and also conservation.
Reimagining South Asian Art, Culture and Archaeology
Swati Publications, 2021
This edited volume contains ten original research papers and essays on various aspects of South Asian art, culture, and archaeology. The authors address the broad issues of trans-disciplinarity and cultural complexity attested with the art and archaeological practices of South Asia. It opens with a serious discussion on fundamental issues of archaeology and suggests effective ways that would reframe the archaeological methods of the future. The focus shift from the monument-centric approach to a collaborative trans-disciplinary endeavour eventually reconceptualises archaeology as integrated into other disciplines. The voluminous rise in archaeological data generated through more sophisticated scientific equipment testifies the close collaboration of archaeology with science. The study of cultural sequence, urbanisation pattern, and contextual analysis of material objects with nearby sites emerging more as a recent trend projects a novel research trajectory of moving away from the conventional norms of disciplinary studies and thereby adopting inter-disciplinary perspective in art-cultural studies. This book includes some preliminary reports of recent explorations and excavations conducted in Vangchhia (Mizoram) and Ganaur (Haryana). The report highlights the huge distribution of menhirs, petroglyphs, potteries, burial sites, and sculptural fragments all around Mizoram, thereby outlying the distinguish presence of Vangchhia culture. The volume also builds new perspectives to study the stylistic patterns, artistic developments, architectural expansion, and cultural complexity through the site-specific study. These studies focus on site-specific empirical research and demonstrate trans-disciplinarity and inter-disciplinary orientation of research in ancient South Asian studies.
Orientalist collecting of Indian sculpture
R. Jeffery (ed.) India in Edinburgh: 1750s to the Present, New Delhi: Social Science Press, 47-72, 2019
History and Indian archaeology
Daily The News, 2019
It is a review of K. Paddayya's book entitled Indian Archaeology and Heritage Education
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.