ChanchaniHISTART 305 / ASAIN 335: Himalayas - An Aesthetic Exploration
Winter 2017Winter 2015
Indian
Drawing for a Ramayana series: Rama, Lakshmana and Sugriva in conference (fol. 204)
ink on paper
9 3/4 in x 13 5/8 in (24.77 cm x 34.61 cm);8 1/16 in x 12 5/8 in (20.5 cm x 32 cm)
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Leo S. Figiel and Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Figiel.
Artist Unknown, Mughal Workshop, Uttar Pradesh
Ascetics with dogs in landscape
black and red opaque watercolor and gold on paper
8 3/4 in x 13 1/2 in (22.22 cm x 34.29 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 5/16 in (49.05 cm x 36.35 cm);13 1/16 in x 8 1/4 in (33.18 cm x 20.96 cm)
Museum purchase, Acquisition Fund
Indian
Portrait of Maharaja Balbir Sen of Mandi
opaque watercolor and gold on paper
7 1/4 in x 5 1/8 in (18.4 cm x 13 cm);19 3/8 in x 14 3/8 in (49.21 cm x 36.51 cm)
Gift of Mr. George P. Bickford for the James Marshall Plumer Memorial Collection
Artist Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Udaipur School
Nayika
ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper
9 5/16 x 5 1/4 in. (23.5 x 13.3 cm);18 3/16 x 22 3/16 in. (46.04 x 56.2 cm)
Gift of Mr. George P. Bickford for the James Marshall Plumer Memorial Collection
Indian
Descent of the River Ganges
ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
10 in x 7 in (25.4 cm x 17.78 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 5/16 in (49.05 cm x 36.35 cm);8 5/8 in x 5 7/8 in (21.91 cm x 14.92 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by a gift of Sarah W. Graf and Otto G. Graf
Indian
The Salvation of the Elephant (Gaj Mokasha)
paint on canvas
7 1/2 in x 10 1/16 in (19 cm x 25.5 cm)
Gift of George H. Lauff
Artist Unknown, India, Punjab Hills, Mankot School
Krishna massaging the feet of Radha (a scene from the Gita Govinda?)
ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and beetle thorax casings on paper
10 1/2 in x 8 in (26.7 cm x 20.3 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 5/16 in (49.05 cm x 36.35 cm);10 1/2 in x 8 in (26.67 cm x 20.32 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund
Artist Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Amber School
Ragamala series: Varadi ragini
ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
12 in x 7 7/16 in (30.5 cm x 18.9 cm)
Gift of Mr. George P. Bickford for the James Marshall Plumer Memorial Collection
Indian
The Eleventh Month
ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
11 1/4 in x 7 1/4 in (28.58 cm x 18.41 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 5/16 in (49.05 cm x 36.35 cm);11 3/16 in x 7 1/4 in (28.42 cm x 18.41 cm)
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink
Tibetan
Yungdron Dorje Pal (1284–1365) subduing a wrathful demon while attended by a meditation deity, Mahakala and other monks.
ink and gouache on cotton
4 ft. x 26 1/2 in. (121.92 x 67.31 cm);4 ft. x 26 1/2 in. (121.92 x 67.31 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Josselyn Van Tyne
Tibetan
Tibetan Thangka Hanging Scroll
silk on hanging scroll
44 in. x 29 in. ( 111.76 cm x 73.66 cm )
Gift of the Estate of Anne L. McGrew
Pehar Gyalpo
ink, gouache, and gold pigment on cotton
17 13/16 in. x 13 3/4 in. ( 45.3 cm x 34.9 cm )
Gift of Mrs. Caroline I. Plumer for the James Marshall Plumer Collection
The Himalayas are the world’s longest and loftiest mountain range. This course will commence with a review of influential Indic and Western perceptions of the Himalayas. Thereafter, we will proceed to glean some of the many ways in which the shaping of objects and the crafting of identities are linked in this region today. Subsequently we shall embark on a series of armchair expeditions to recover interconnections between ‘art’ and ‘life’ in the Himalayas in centuries past. Traveling in arcs stretching from the Brahmaputra valley in the east up to the upper reaches of the Indus in the west and in along axes extending from the sub-montane Terai in the south to the frosty Tibetan plateau in the north, we will repeatedly cross China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Resting at sites sought out by pilgrims, traders, and conquerors, we will query the distinctive forms, layouts, and functions of temples, monasteries, and gardens, and the medley of objects found in them including sculptures, manuscript paintings, and water fountains.