Indian Miniatures: The Ehrenfeld Collection

Indian Miniatures: The Ehrenfeld CollectionAuthor: Daniel J. EhnbomTitle: Indian Miniatures: The Ehrenfeld CollectionPublication: Hudson Hills PressEdition: FIRST EDITIONDescription: First Edition, First Printing. Published by Hudson Hills Press, 1985. Folio in slipcase. Hardcover. Book is very good with very light edgewear. Slipcase is very good with very light toning to the edges of the opening. Seller ID: 358139Subject: Art

While Persian miniatures are perennial favorites in the U.S., those of India have scarcely made an impact. An exhibition of Indian miniatures, touring the nation during the year-long Festival of India celebration, should bring this art of tremendous subtlety and emotional power to a broad public. This jewel of an album catalogues the exhibit. Elegantly slipcased and gold-lettered, it includes 135 full-page color reproductions, brief, enlightening commentaries on each plate, and three specialized essays that will prove too academic for the general reader. To decree these pictures "miniatures" obscures their importance, depth, range and variety. Among the many masterpieces we find a naturalistic study of an elephant and its young; a mystical god, half-man, half-woman; a gleeful caricature of ascetics intoxicated with marijuana; portraits of Krishna as ideal child, macho role model and guru; a four-armed Vishnu incarnated as a boar, attending Earth as it emerges from the cosmos. Scenes depict lovers, architecture, historical incidents, personifications of musical modes. A notable collection. November 22
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

After essays on collecting Indian miniatures by Skelton (Victoria & Albert Museum) and the history of the study of Indian miniatures by Chandra (Harvard), Ehnbom describes the 127 works assembled in the last eight years by collectors Dr. and Mrs. William K. Ehrenfeld. A travelling exhibition of their collection is part of the Festival of India. Ehnbom's texts for each colored illustration give, if known, who previously owned the work and related works by the same artist or from the same series. The main schools of painting represented are: Mughal, Deccan, Rajputana, and Punjab Hills. This title will long serve as a basic reference on the history of Indian miniature painting and should be in all collections of Asian art. Donald Clay Johnson, Coll. of William & Mary Lib., Williamsburg, Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.