Gods, Men and Women: Gender and Sexuality in Early Indian Art - Hardcover

Seema Bawa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8124606641 ISBN 13: 9788124606643

Publisher: D.K. Printworld, 2013

Synopsis

The book is an exploration of ancient Indian art from the perspective of gender. It focuses on the period from 181 BCE to CE 320 a period of great turmoil in the politico-economic, socio-cultural and religious spheres that gave rise to contesting ideologies and gender complexities in ancient India. It delves into the development of engendered representation in art, with the emergence of aesthetic and sexual archetypes and stereotypes of women: goddesses, mothers, wives, nuns, semi-divine yaksis, ogresses and others. It examines the nature of the stereotypes and archetypes that were constructed on the basis of gender roles rather than on sex and how these were reflected by various attributes of the representations nudity or its absence, ornamentation, gestures, direction of gaze and context. It gives interesting insights into the intention, agency and patronage patterns in early Indian art. The volume with its scholarly approach, providing fresh insights into early Indian art, will prove useful to scholars, students and researchers of Indian art and history along with the cognoscenti.

About this title

About the Author

Seema Bawa is an Associate Professor at Sri Aurobindo College, University of Delhi. She has written extensively on Indian art and artists. Her research papers and articles, especially on gender and sexuality in early Indian art, have been part of many scholarly books, and published in various newspapers and journals. She is also a regular columnist on art in Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle. She has authored a book, Religion and Art of the Chamba Valley. Dr Bawa is also documenting the art and architecture of the Western Himalayan Region under the aegis of the German Research Foundation. She received the Indo-German Cultural Exchange Fellowship to read at the Institute of Oriental Art History, University of Bonn. She has been associated with the National Institute of Design, as researcher for Discovery of India Exposition at the Nehru Centre, Mumbai. Dr Bawa has edited ARTimes, and also co-curated Shatadru: Feminine Sensibilities in Indian Art for Lalit Kala Akademi and National Crafts Museum among other shows.

Edition details

• Publisher: D.K. Printworld
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 8124606641
• ISBN 13: 9788124606643
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 416