|
This volume is a tribute to Professor M.A. Dhaky's profound and influential scholarship
by an international community of well-known scholars in the field of South and Southeast
Asian temple art and architecture. The thirty-two essays that make this book unfold many
layers of the temples' imagery, taking a broad view and traversing religious, cultural,
and temporal boundaries. While a majority of these are rooted in India, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia, and Vietnam also figure prominently.
Preceded by valuable insights into M.A. Dhaky's encyclopaedic writings, the volume is
configured along six sub-themes inspired by his contributions to the discipline. These
include the architectonics of temples, their varied materials and milieus, stylistics,
patronage and transregional connections; studies of architectural elements in
culture-specific contexts; inter-relationships between sculpture and architecture in the
temple's larger narrative; the embodiment of cult icons; other non-cultic manifestations
on the temple; ritual observances and performance traditions. Several of the essays move
in and out of M.A. Dhaky's writings, building upon themes addressed by him, extending his
methods to newer materials, regions, and time-frames, and charting fresh paths that extend
the orbit of temple studies.
Scholars and interested readers will find in this volume a thoughtful and cohesive
collection of the most recent and insightful research on art historical aspects of South
and Southeast Asian temples by the finest minds engaged in the field.
Contents
Foreword / Kapila Vatsyayan
Acknowledgements
Message / Pradeep Mehendiratta
Dhaky Saheb: Reminiscences / Devangana Desai
The Indian Art History Congress / R. D. Choudhury
Colour Plates
Temple Architecture and Imagery : An Introduction / Parul Pandya Dhar and Gerd J. R.
Mevissen
Pioneering Perspectives : The Temple in M.A. Dhaky's Writings / Parul Pandya Dhar
Writings in Regional Languages by M. A. Dhaky / Hemant Dave
Bibliography of M. A. Dhaky's Publications
1. Architectural Styles, Modes, Materials, and Milieus
2. Architectural Elements
3. Architecture and the Configuration of Imagery
4. Embodying the Deity
5. Inhabiting the Temple
6. Piety, Society, and Ritual Performance
The Contributors
| 
