Landmarks of the World's Art: The Oriental World.
Auboyer, Jeannine; Goepper, Rogert.
Place Published: New York:
Publisher: McGraw Hill,
Date Published: 1965.
Description: The book is NEAR FINE with owner's sticker to front paste down corner. The dust jacket is VERY GOOD with light edgewear/chippping; back of cover has been taped at spine edges; price-clipped; owner's sticker on upper inside fold. Black cloth boards with gold embossed text and illustration. 176 pages with index. 116 Black & white and 112 color illustrations. NOT remaindered. JMVintage specializes in books, magazines, and treasures related to the Duke & Duchess of Windsor..and other curious subjects. Dust jacket notes read: "THE ART OF THE ORIENT has a particular fascination for readers in the West. It is remote and exotic. It's often mystifying. But it possesses a grace and beauty that are irresistible. This book covers an immense area: India (with her cultural empire in South-East Asia), China, Korea and Japan. It takes us from the earliest manifestations of art more than three thousand years ago up to the 20th century. It is illustrated with over two hundred plates, more than half of which are in magnificent colour. The first part of the book is written by Jeannine Auboyer, Chief Curator of the Musee Guimet in Paris. The author explains how the art of India is inextricably linked with the religions of that country, Jain, Hindu and Buddhist. From the first evidence of civilisation in the Indus valley, three thousand years ago, India's story continues through the Vedic period and the Persian and Greek invasions to the Maurya dynasty, whose Emperor Asoka was the first ruler to embrace Buddhism. Under the Sunga the Buddhist sanctuaries at Bharhut and Sanchi were creat'ed, whose intricate and lively sculpture is rich in decorative and religious symbolism. The classical period culminated with the Gupta. Never before had such emphasis been laid upon purity of line and form. The favourite subject of the Gupta artist was the human figure, idealised, graceful and elegant. During the medieval period 9th-16th centuries such great Hindu temples as Khajuraho and Madura were built. The walls of these elaborate buildings are covered with a multitude of sculpted figures so that the whole edifice seems to quiver with life. By the 16th century, northern and central India were under Mughal rule. Palaces, mosques and citadels were created in the Islamic style. In the art of miniature painting India was to profit particularly by her association with Islam. The Far East is linked with India by religious ties. Buddhism entered China from Central Asia via the Silk Routes, and was thence to spread to Korea and Japan. In his survey of the art of the Far East, Dr Roger Goepper, Director of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Cologne shows how closely artistic developments were related to social and historical changes. We marvel at the Shang bronzes, with their wealth of magical decoration. In the Han period, sculpture, wall painting and lacquer work reflect the prosperity of a society based on Confucianism. Under the T'ang, Buddhist cave sanctuaries were peopled with the calm figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Moreover T'ang ceramic figurines possess a particular charm for us today. But perhaps the most attractive aspect of Chinese art is landscape painting which reached its height under the Ming, when the gifted, scholarly 'amateur' painters produced works which have no parallel for depth of feeling and subtlety of execution. Japan sometimes followed the lead of China, and sometimes, sustaining a position of isolation, contributed architecture, painting and sculpture (as did also Korea) which are emphatically her own. The fierce character of the guardian figures at temple entrances or the imposing bronze Buddhas in the shrines contrast with a gay, often satirical quality in many paintings. The luxurious life of the courts is represented by magnificent painted screens, lacquer work and ceramics. The pagodas and halls of Nara and Kyoto are illustrated, as well as the later palaces and pavilions set within a carefully ordered landscape. This oriental world is presented with a wealth of carefully selected illustrations, and two lucid texts enable the reader to move smoothly across the vast countries and cultures which make up this great area. The architecture, sculpture and painting can be compared and admired, and a total picture emerges as thrilling as it is rewarding of study. "
Binding: BoardsCondition: Near Fine in Very Good dj
Book Id: 6552
Price: $14.50
