Indian Temple Sculpture

摘要

This book is a wonderful, tersely written, and richly illustrated introduction to the intricate visual world of the Indian subcontinent. The author demonstrates how religious activity permeates all aspects of Indian lite, and as a consequence of this, how sacred imagery, in all its varied aspects, is ever present all over the subcontinent. Furthermore, the author's empathy with its subject is revealed, particularly by his sensitive use of poetry drawn from the works on a number of poet-saints, and by the choice of illustrations. Divided into six main chapters, this work guides the reader from the remotest origins of Indian images, to its classical manifestations in temple sculptures. It is an innovative work as it is themed around the relevance of the images in temple worship, whereas the great majority of the works on temple sculpture tend not to consider the sculptures in the context of ritual.