recent publication on Indian mammals

[Jan Houben]

Recent book by Alexandra van der Geer  (M.A., Ph.D., M.Sc.):
Animals in Stone: Indian Mammals Sculptured Through Time
Leiden: Brill, 2008; Series: Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South
Asia, 21
ISBN-13: 978 90 04 16819 0
Pp: lxxii, 814. List price: € 167.00 / US$ 249.00

>From blurp:
With this richly illustrated book, the first of its kind, Van der Geer
offers a comparative study of the ways in which various animals have been
depicted and a lucid analysis of the sculptors' treatment of their "models":
living animals. The art history of sculptured animals is contextualized with
a description of the use of animals as can be read from ancient texts,
archaeological evidence and contemporaneous culture. In doing so, parallels
as well as differences in style or iconography are highlighted, elucidating
the variety of animal depictions across regions, religious contexts and
through time. The corpus of discussed material ranges from Indus seals,
stupa panels and railings, monumental temples from North and South India,
non-religious palace and fort architecture to loose sculptures in museum
collections.


Readership: All those interested in South Asian art history, the history of
domestication and animal use, the role of animals in folklore and religion,
and the past distribution of Indian mammals.


-- 
Prof. Dr. Jan E.M. Houben,
Directeur d Etudes, Chaire: Sources et Histoire de la Tradition Sanskrite,
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, SHP,
A la Sorbonne,45-47, rue des Ecoles,
75005 Paris -- France.
Senior research fellow,
International Institute for Asian Studies,
P.O. Box 9515,
Leiden -- The Netherlands.
JEMHouben at gmail.com
www.jyotistoma.nl