Buddhist Art of India

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Buddhist Art in India is a book written by Albert Grunwedel and originally published in 1901. The book is a comprehensive study of the art and architecture of Buddhism in India, covering the period from the 3rd century BCE to the 12th century CE. The author explores the various forms of Buddhist art, including sculpture, painting, and architecture, and examines how they evolved over time. Grunwedel provides detailed descriptions and analysis of the major Buddhist sites in India, including Sanchi, Amaravati, and Mathura, and discusses the symbolism and iconography of Buddhist art. He also delves into the historical and cultural context of Buddhist art, exploring the role of patronage, the influence of other religions and cultures, and the political and social factors that shaped the development of Buddhist art in India. The book is illustrated with numerous photographs and drawings, providing readers with a visual understanding of the art and architecture of Buddhism in India. It is considered a seminal work in the field of Buddhist art history and remains a valuable resource for scholars and enthusiasts of Buddhist art and culture. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high-quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

The first edition of Professor Albert Grunwedel's handbook on Buddhistische Kunst in Indien appeared in 1893, and the hope was expressed in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society that the work might appear in English, as "it ought to be in the hands of all antiquarians in India. Believing that so important a publication might, by a few additions, form a useful general guide to the Buddhist sculptures in the museums alike of India and Europe, I have prepared the present edition. Miss A.C. Gibson very kindly translated for me the first edition; but by the time it was ready for the press, Prof. Grunwedel had begun his second edition containing extensive additions and alterations. This involved delay and a revision of the whole MS. Considerable additions have also been made to this translation, which has, partly at least, been indicated, and about fifty illustrations have been added.

The artistic efforts of ancient India, specially of the early Buddhist period, are only slightly connected with the general history of art. From the very first two separate schools are met with: one of them, the older- (when the political history of the far East under the Persians had come to an end) borrows Persian forms, and, indirectly, some Greek ones; and confined as it is to India, subsequently becomes the basis of all that may be called Indian art-Buddhist as well as Brahmanical. The other, which originated in the extreme north-west of India, depends on the antique art which expired when the Roman empire had accomplished its development of the Mediterranean nations; later it formed a basis for the hierarchical art of Central and Eastern Asial. No other reaction to the art of the West has occurred; the types developed on Indian soil are permanently found in the civilized world of India and Eastern Asia. The religious character, so deeply rooted in the national life of the Indian races, has also continued as the guiding principle in their art. In a critical examination of the monuments of ancient India, therefore, it is the antiquarian interest, connected with the history of religion and civilization, that is the most prominent.