:::The Desi Flavor:::

Indian Art

Here is a showcase of art that contain Indian imagery.

Norton Simons Indian art collection...

From the Art Newspaper

By 1973 Simon had been offered an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Unfortunately, the star exhibit, a magnificent 10th-century bronze Nataraja, the dancing form of Shiva, for which he had paid $1 million, was impounded in the UK, where it was being restored, after the Indian government declared it to have been stolen from the Shivapuram temple in southern India. Simon insisted that the show would not go ahead without the sculpture and threatened to bring down the house by exposing objects in the Metropolitan’s own collection that had suspect provenances. Dr Pal notes that this incident “resulted in a pause in our relationship”.

As increasing scrutiny is given to the provenance of antiquities on the international art market and as ethical sensitivities have become more acute, it is not surprising that Dr Pal declines to repeat Simon’s comments on the Nataraja published in The New York Times: “Hell, yes, it was smuggled,” he was quoted as saying. “I spent between $15 and $16 million in the last two years on Asian art, and most of it was smuggled."

Buddhist Art and the Trade Routes

Buddhist Art and the Trade Routes - Interesting website that takes a look at the spread of Buddhist artistic influences from various areas of India to the Himalayas, Southeast Asia and East Asia.

Trade routes, both maritime and overland, were the primary means by which Buddhist thought and imagery were conveyed from India, the birthplace of Buddhism, to other Asian countries. These ancient connecting routes provided an avenue for the religious, cultural, and artistic influences of Buddhism to reach the distant corners of the continent and beyond. This essay, illustrated by objects from the Asia Society Museum's permanent collection, the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd collection, provides a base for exploring the development of Indian Buddhist imagery and its interpretation and adaptation by other cultures along the trade routes. An examination of the works illustrated here will reveal some connections as well as distinctions between Indian Buddhist sculptures and their counterparts across Asia.

Buddha Statue from Gupta period...

Source: BBC

A rare Buddha statue has been jointly acquired by two British museums and will be the first of its kind to be displayed in a European collection. The British and Victoria and Albert museums acted together to bring the 7th Century metal Indian artwork to the UK.

It will be on display in the British Museum for three months before touring the UK after being exhibited at London's Victoria and Albert.

...The Buddha is depicted in the style of the Gupta period, which makes it some 1,300 years old. It is golden in tone and shows the figure with its right hand raised in a gesture of benevolence.

From the BBC.

Supporting Indian dance in Canada

Kala Nidhi Fine Arts is committed to nurturing Indian Dance by supporting the growth and creativity of Indian Dance Artists and to creating a larger awareness of traditional and contemporary Indian dance in Canada.

The Rinaldi Brand

Rinaldi, a shoes and accessories label started by Rina Shah is now showing in New York's upmarket fashion district Soho. Shah met award-winning designer Francis Hendy when she learnt that he had been looking to house an accessory brand in his chic clothing store. Now Rinaldi's shoes, stoles and bags, all intricately embroidered, have fashion-conscious New Yorkers visiting the place in droves.

This makes Rina one of the first Indian accessory designers to have a store in New York. “I’ve kept the work at my New York store in tune with the mood of the season there. I have high boots accessorised with beaded shawls and stoles.” The designer has played with earth tones, a combination of pink and black, a lot of rusts, peach and black, and cream.

Her recent clients have been Goldie Hawn and ramp queen Naomi Campbell. Shah is not merely concerned with bejewelled footware and accessories. She has now got into costume jewellery designing and clothes.

Here is the whole story.

: Interview with Femina Magazine on Rinaldi branded footwear.

: Fashion India interviews the aspiring designer.

The Culture of Kashmir

Parwez Dewan - civil servant turned writer and now a "Kashmirologist" has written Kashmir - a book that chronicles, refresingly the culture and not the conflict of Kashmir. The book is all about the Valley - it's people and places, myths and mores, arts and crafts.

The book reveals some interesting facts - Prophet Moses and Jesus have visited the Kashmir Valley, Jews have lived there and also Aishwariya Rai has her roots in Kashmir e.t.c. Review from the Daily Times:

Dewan has carried forward Sir Walter Lawrence’s classic compilation, ‘The Valley of Kashmir’ written in the late 19th century. The book deals with travel, culture, history wildlife and much more.

Delving on the origins of Kashmiri castes, communities and their migration to other parts, Dewan has traced the origins of Aishwarya Rai, who was declared the most attractive woman in the world recently by the online edition of Hello! Magazine. He found that Sarswati Brahmanis (Aishwarya’s caste) of Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra have migrated from Kashmir around the turn of the previous millennium.

“The very Kashmiri complexion and light dove eyes of former Miss World are sharp indicators of her Kashmiri ancestry,” says Dewan. He has, however, reserved the challenge for future researchers to study the family trees of Aishwarya’s community to trace her roots to a particular village in Kashmir.

He has also broken the myth that Kashmiris are a homogeneous community or belong to the same ethnic group. There is a substantial group of Kashmiris having those sharp ‘Jewish’ facial features, especially noses. Indeed, there are some Hebrew words in the Kashmiri language. Some Jewish customs, food habits and beliefs, too, are found in Kashmir.

“There can be no doubt that Jews used to visit ancient pre-Islamic Kashmir at the rate of one or two visitors a year. They were particularly honoured guests. This explains their stamp on some aspects of Kashmiri life. Some of them must have settled in Kashmir and accepted Hinduism (and later Islam). That explains why some Kashmiris have the ‘prominent noses’ that have intrigued European travellers so much,” writes Dewan.

About the presence of Prophet Moses and Jesus in Kashmir, Dewan refers to the manuscripts of the Bhavishya Maha Puran, Mullah Nadiri’s Tareekh-e-Kashmir and an ancient manuscript in the revered Buddhist Hemis caves in Ladakh. “If these documents have not been tampered with, then there can be no doubt but that Lord Jesus had lived for at least a while in Kashmir and Ladakh,” he maintains.

His other works include: Parvez Dewan's Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh: Travel, Trekking, Art, Culture and Society

: Art and Culture in Ancient Kashmir

: Kashmiri Cultural Heritage Click here for a brief introduction.

The Tiger and the Thistle

Jay Gohil

Tipu Sultan and the Scots in India, 1760-1800. An online exhibit of the National Galleries of Scotland in English, Hindi, and Urdu:

1999 marked the two hundredth anniversary of the death of Tipu Sultan, ruler of the kindom of Mysore, in South India. He died on 4th May 1799, after the British had stormed his island capital of Seringapatam. The National Galleries of Scotland's bi-centennial exhibition The Tiger and the Thistle: Tipu Suitan and the Scots in India, c 1760-1800, was held at the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, from 29th July to 3rd October 1999, to celebrate the stirring events of 1799, and their strong associations with Scotland. More significantly, however, it paid tribute to the 'Tiger of Mysore' by bringing together some of the textiles, weapons and jewellery which his craftsmen created. Many of these are decorated with tiger motifs and stylised tiger stipes (bubris), which denote Tipu's personal possessions, and which earned this fierce and brave ruler the name of 'The Tiger of Mysore.'

In particular, note the golden "Massive Tiger's Head... the teeth of rock crystal, the tongue of plain gold and moveable" from the footstool of Tipu's throne.

Indian Art

Jay Gohil

The Exotic India website contains many interesting articles on Buddhist and Hindu art and culture. Highly recommended!

Here are some recent articles:

: Playing with Krishna - God as Child in Art and Mythology

: Ganga The River Goddess - Tales in Art and Mythology

: The Shiva Linga - Images of Cosmic Manhood in Art and Mythology

: The Hindu Temple - Where Man Becomes God

: Vishnu - A Symbolic Appreciation

: Om - An Inquiry into its Aesthetics, Mysticism, and Philosophy

: The Taj Mahal - Architecture of a Love Story

They also sell various Indian arts and crafts.

Photo glimpses of 19th Century India

Jay Gohil

The Taj Mahal from the Riverside, Agra Source: Deen Dayal (1844-1905)

Lala Raja Deen Dayal, pioneer Indian 19th century photographer(1844-1905). has left for us an exquisite photographic record of British India, of a bygone Colonial era influenced by Native Princely India- its picturesque opulence, rich costumes, whiskered nobility, hookah bearers, royal palaces, hunts, and parades, elephant carriages, historic events - golden moments captured on "silver" plates for posterity.

Click here for the link and here for the photo gallery. Thanks to MetaFilter for the original link.