In the Realm of Gods and Kings

Each work is fully illustrated and most of these works have not been previously published. The book also includes short background essays describing aspects of Indian life related to the works. This book accompanies an exhibiton of selections from the Polsky Collection and the Metropolitan Museum at the Asia Society, New York. This volume celebrates the wealth and diversity of the arts of India created for the life of courts and temples from 1000 BC to the twentieth century. Paintings, objects and photographs, ranging in date from the second century BC to the late twentieth century, reflect the variety and continuity of India’s aesthetic traditions. Andrew Topsfield, the editor, has contributed background essays describing aspects of Indian life related to the themes explored in the book: The Sacred Realm: Nature, Temple, Gods, Goddesses, Saint and Sadhus; The Court: Courtly Life, The Hunt, Royal Portraits, Couples and Women, Courtly Manuscripts. Catalogue entries by experts in the field comment on narrative episodes from the epics, iconographic symbolism, religious, as well as social and contextual references related to the works shown. An extensive and authoritative essay by Dr. Vishakha Desai, ‘The Experience of Creativity in Indian Art’, is included as well as an essay by Cynthia Hazen Polsky, ‘To Beckon the Modern Eye’.