San Antonio College Library

Surveys Indian painting, sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts from the Buddhist, Islamic, and modern periods.

"Coomaraswamy's Introduction to Indian Art traverses the historic panorama of Indian art, from its Indo-Sumerian and Vedic-Mound beginnings to the various peaks reached during the Maurya, Sunga, Andhra, Kusana and Gupta periods and beyond the seas to further India and Indonesia. It is a handbook of immense value both to the beginner and scholar alike." "This present reprint, appearing after more than half a century, has been ably edited by Mrs. Coomaraswamy...

The book is divided into six sections, each representing a chronological culture area. Most of the study deals with Indian art, but Indonesia and the peripheries of Southeast Asia are covered where they reflect Indian influences. The concentration of the study is upon architecture and sculpture; however, it also encompasses painting, jewellery, textiles, metalwork and other crafts.

This book is a comprehensive survey of the tendencies in the history of Indian art. It aims primarily to explain what different artistic forms meant to their makers, and to give some idea of the realities of Indian life which affected Indian aesthetics. After referring to the earliest civilizations of India, that of the Indus Valley, and interpreting some of its enigmatic art, the book continues with a survey of early secular art and its influence...

Contributed articles.

This pioneering work opened C.G. Jung's eyes to the psychological and spiritual significance of the Indian mandala, and it remains the clearest introduction to the essence of Indian art and yoga for both the specialist and general reader. Heinrich Zimmer (1890-1943) was the first to identify the radical difference between Western classical and Indian art. His revolutionary approach to understanding the stylized, often sexual, sacred symbols of India...