Indian Antiquary Vol 60

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 249

NOVEMBER, 1931 ]
BOOK-NOTICES
219
BOOK-NOTICES. SOUTH INDIAN PORTRAITS IN STONY AND METAL, by DJAWA: the publication of the Java Institute.
T. G. ARAVAMUTIAM, M.A., B.L. 73 x 44 in.; pp. 10th Year, Parts 1 to 3, Jan-May 1930. Xy+98 : with 42 illustrations inset. Luzac & Co., The first two parts contain a report of the proceed. London, 1930.
|ings of the 5th Congress of the Java Institute held PORTRAIT SOULPTURE IN SOUTH INDIA, by the at Soerakarta in December 1929, when discussions
same author. 94 x 6 in.; pp. 16+100 ; with plates were held on the advanced teaching of Easteru prosenting 34 figures. The India Society, Lon- literature, a lecture given on the Land and People don, 1931.
of Bali, an exhibition held of Javanese gold and These two volumes are complementary ; in fact silver work, both ancient and modern, and a rethe first contains the later chapters of the author's presentation given of & Javaneee play, Anooman work as originally prepared, the earlier chapters Doeta. Part 3 contains & memorandum of the being printed in the second volume, which has been Department of Education and Cultus on the foun. issued by the India Society as one of their annual dation and organization of a Faculty of Letters in publications. In this letter work, after a brief the Dutch East Indies. survey of portrait sculpture in India generally,
M. J. B. either established or conjectured, Mr. Aravamu. tham reviews in some dotail the principal examples HISTOIRE DE L'EXTRÊME ORIENT, par RENE of portraiture in stone or metal that he has been
GROUSSET. 2 vols., 10 x 6 in.: Pp. xviii + 770 ; able to find in various localities in 8. Indis. These i with 32 plates and 7 maps. Annales du Musée he classifies on a chronological basis, as (1) Early, Guimet; Paris, Paul Geuthner, 1929. from the age of the Amaravati #úpa to the end of Central Asia and India both lie midway between the Pallave sway; (2) Medieval, from the rise of the
the Near East and the Far East; both have played Cholas to the end of the fourteenth century; and (3)
an important part in diffusing the civilizing in. Modern, from the fifteenth century onwards. Chapters fluences of art, religion, philosophy and commerce. are then devoted to the portraiture of Saints and
Central Asis provided a highway to China for Preceptors ; Material, Method and Motif ; and western as well as Indian trade, while the restless Memorial Stones, generally known as urakals, or spirit of its races drove hordes of warlike tribes
horo-stones,' in S. India. The illustrations, which weet and south and cast, that changed the fate furnish selected oxamples of the sculptures, both in of empiree. From the third to the tenth century stone and metal, roferred to in the text, have been of the Christian era it might be called a Buddhist excellently reproduced by Meeers. Henry Stone & Co. land, where thousands of monks translated Buddhist The first, or smaller, volume deals with the same texte into Eastern Iranian, Tokharian, Chinese, subject under & somewhat different arrangement, the ete., bending out missionarios equipped with knowmatter contained in sovoral chapters of the larger ledge of the languages required, to spread the volume being condensed or briefly summarised in dharma farther afield. It is the history of these chapters I and V, and the sculptures discussed lands traversed by the expansion of Buddhism under their sevoral typen, e.g., those intended for that M. Grousset gives us in a skilful synopsis of purposes of worship, memorial stones, memorial their ethnology, religion, languages, literature, temples and statute to ancestors.
Art and architecture. In these two volumes the The author does not fail to note case of doubtful author has not only remodelled and revised his identification; and he states impartially the argu- previous work, l'Histoire de l'Asie, but has prements for holding others to be reasonably accurate sented it in a completely new form. India, Central likenesses, or "portrait statues," & term for which Asia, China, Champe, Annam, Tonquin, Cambodia, Dr. Coomaraswamy would prefer to substituto Siam and Burma, all pass under review. In his "effigies." As regards the origins of such sculp- preface he explains that Japan has been omitted tures and the motifs that inspired their prepare. because it will be more suitably dealt with in a tion-subjects that open & vast field for further future volume of the series owing to its peculiarly inquiry-he holds an open mind. Almost all, As insular character. The volume are well documented he admits, may be said to be religious in one song with notes and references, & bibliography and or another
index, besides many appropriate illustrations and Mr. Arayamutham has rendered very weful seven useful mape. service to the study of Indian art in collecting M. Grousset begins with India, referring to together so many examples of sculpture of this the Mupdas with their Austronesian affinities of naturo, some of which are here shown for the first speech, linguistically associated with the Mon. time. The discernment and culture of mind dis- Khmer, Annamite and some Melayan dialects. Ho played in these two volume, combined with an touches on the early domination of the Draviesse of diction, enhance the pleasure of following dian race, whose languages are peculiar to the Mr. Arayamutham in his survey of this branch of Indian peninsula, and whove influence in art and art.
religion as well as language is being recognized C.E.A.W.O. M raising many questions of their importance