History of Indian and Indonesian Art

History of Indian and Indonesian Art by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy is a major survey of the development of Indian and Southeast Asian art, tracing artistic traditions from the Indus Valley and pre-Mauryan period through the Maurya, Śuṅga, Andhra, Kuṣāṇa, Gupta, medieval, Rajput, and later schools. The volume also extends beyond India to examine the artistic traditions of Kashmir, Nepal, Tibet, Chinese Turkestan, Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Java, Sumatra, Siam, and Indonesia. Coomaraswamy approaches art in close relation to religion, symbolism, architecture, sculpture, painting, and cultural history. Particular attention is given to Buddhist and Hindu art, the development of sacred imagery, Gandhāra and Mathurā sculpture, stupas, temples, and the transmission of Indian artistic traditions throughout Asia. Richly illustrated with 400 illustrations on 125 plates and 9 maps, the work remains an important reference for the comparative study of Indian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Southeast Asian art.