Masterpieces of indian terracottas

Description :-Contents 1. Peoples art. 2. The benevolent bull. 3. Metropolitan imagery. 4. Merciful mother. 5. Ageless Aditi. 6. Mannequins of Magadha. 7. Dampatis and Mithunas. 8. The King and his clay horses. 9. Diverse divinities. 10. Grandeur of the golden age. 11. Mediaeval mannerism. 12. Persistent traditions. References. Select bibliography. This book with its superb plates fully bear out Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamys words that the terracotta are important not only as the documents of religious culture but also as documents of the history of art. And this is most true in India where the ancient Indian potter artist had to cater to one and all the rich and the poor men and women the city sophisticate and the simple folk of the rural countryside all with different tastes varying needs and the practical demands of the standards of life and modes of living of the different strata of society. It is not therefore surprising that in the course of the last five thousand years people from every walk of life needed articles of clay article of daily utility dolls and idols votive offerings images of their Gods and Goddesses. In this concise but factual and lucidly informative book the author deals with the entire range of terracotta of all periods of Indian history that have turned up at ancient sites in different parts of the country from the inarticulate often crude mother Goddesses to the large beautifully made products of the Golden Age of Indian Art. The author tells the fascinating story of the development of the clay art of the potter and the technical and other innovations introduced by him now and then till it reached its Zenith in the fifth century A.D. under the imperial Guptas. But this is no dry as dust dull scholarly exposition. The author has a flair for words and makes his story come alive without sacrificing detail or accuracy. This is not primarily a book for the scholar although even he will read it with pleasure and perhaps even learn many facts not known to him before especially the one not too familiar with the terracotta art of the country this is a book for all those interested in Indias art and culture Indian and non Indian alike. (Jacket) 98 pp