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Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period by Mildred ArcherReview by: E. G.Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 114, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1994), p. 143Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/605013 .
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Brief Reviews of Books Brief Reviews of Books Brief Reviews of Books Brief Reviews of Books
Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, Engravings & Busts in the Collection of the Royal Asiatic Society. By RAYMOND HEAD. London: THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 1991. Pp. xxiii + 229. ?55.
This catalogue surprises mostly by the quantity of the hold-
ings of the Society in the various plastic arts. It brings to com-
pletion a project mooted over seven decades ago, which would not even today have been possible without the help of a veri- table army of scholars-for the subjects depicted, the artists' names, the provenience, etc., of many items had been lost. There are still some lacunae. Numerous black-and-white illus- trations are included, and thirty-three plates in full color. A brief introduction recounts the artistic history of the Society. The catalogue is divided into the following sections: oil paint- ings, busts and plaques, drawings by Europeans and their "Asian assistants" [see next], works by "Oriental artists," and a miscellany of engravings, aquatints and lithographs. There is a concordance of items on loan to the Victoria and Albert, and an index.
Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, Engravings & Busts in the Collection of the Royal Asiatic Society. By RAYMOND HEAD. London: THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 1991. Pp. xxiii + 229. ?55.
This catalogue surprises mostly by the quantity of the hold-
ings of the Society in the various plastic arts. It brings to com-
pletion a project mooted over seven decades ago, which would not even today have been possible without the help of a veri- table army of scholars-for the subjects depicted, the artists' names, the provenience, etc., of many items had been lost. There are still some lacunae. Numerous black-and-white illus- trations are included, and thirty-three plates in full color. A brief introduction recounts the artistic history of the Society. The catalogue is divided into the following sections: oil paint- ings, busts and plaques, drawings by Europeans and their "Asian assistants" [see next], works by "Oriental artists," and a miscellany of engravings, aquatints and lithographs. There is a concordance of items on loan to the Victoria and Albert, and an index.
Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, Engravings & Busts in the Collection of the Royal Asiatic Society. By RAYMOND HEAD. London: THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 1991. Pp. xxiii + 229. ?55.
This catalogue surprises mostly by the quantity of the hold-
ings of the Society in the various plastic arts. It brings to com-
pletion a project mooted over seven decades ago, which would not even today have been possible without the help of a veri- table army of scholars-for the subjects depicted, the artists' names, the provenience, etc., of many items had been lost. There are still some lacunae. Numerous black-and-white illus- trations are included, and thirty-three plates in full color. A brief introduction recounts the artistic history of the Society. The catalogue is divided into the following sections: oil paint- ings, busts and plaques, drawings by Europeans and their "Asian assistants" [see next], works by "Oriental artists," and a miscellany of engravings, aquatints and lithographs. There is a concordance of items on loan to the Victoria and Albert, and an index.
Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, Engravings & Busts in the Collection of the Royal Asiatic Society. By RAYMOND HEAD. London: THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 1991. Pp. xxiii + 229. ?55.
This catalogue surprises mostly by the quantity of the hold-
ings of the Society in the various plastic arts. It brings to com-
pletion a project mooted over seven decades ago, which would not even today have been possible without the help of a veri- table army of scholars-for the subjects depicted, the artists' names, the provenience, etc., of many items had been lost. There are still some lacunae. Numerous black-and-white illus- trations are included, and thirty-three plates in full color. A brief introduction recounts the artistic history of the Society. The catalogue is divided into the following sections: oil paint- ings, busts and plaques, drawings by Europeans and their "Asian assistants" [see next], works by "Oriental artists," and a miscellany of engravings, aquatints and lithographs. There is a concordance of items on loan to the Victoria and Albert, and an index.
Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India, A.D. 700-1200. Edited by VISHAKHA N. DESAI and DA- RIELLE MASON. New York: THE ASIA SOCIETY, 1993. Pp. 288, ills. $65. [Published in collaboration with MAPIN PUBLISHING, Ahmedabad.]
This is essentially the catalogue of an exhibition shown at the Asia Society and the Nelson-Atkins Museum (Kansas City) in 1993. Most pieces are extensively discussed, but largely for the interested amateur. Many were brought to this country from India for the exhibition; they join some from American collec- tions. Accompanying the catalogue-reflecting, no doubt, the structure of the exhibition-are several short essays, by the editors, B. D. Chattopadhyaya, Michael D. Willis, Phyllis Granoff, and Michael W. Meister, which are accompanied by photos of sites, diagrams, and other illustrative material.
E.G.
Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India, A.D. 700-1200. Edited by VISHAKHA N. DESAI and DA- RIELLE MASON. New York: THE ASIA SOCIETY, 1993. Pp. 288, ills. $65. [Published in collaboration with MAPIN PUBLISHING, Ahmedabad.]
This is essentially the catalogue of an exhibition shown at the Asia Society and the Nelson-Atkins Museum (Kansas City) in 1993. Most pieces are extensively discussed, but largely for the interested amateur. Many were brought to this country from India for the exhibition; they join some from American collec- tions. Accompanying the catalogue-reflecting, no doubt, the structure of the exhibition-are several short essays, by the editors, B. D. Chattopadhyaya, Michael D. Willis, Phyllis Granoff, and Michael W. Meister, which are accompanied by photos of sites, diagrams, and other illustrative material.
E.G.
Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India, A.D. 700-1200. Edited by VISHAKHA N. DESAI and DA- RIELLE MASON. New York: THE ASIA SOCIETY, 1993. Pp. 288, ills. $65. [Published in collaboration with MAPIN PUBLISHING, Ahmedabad.]
This is essentially the catalogue of an exhibition shown at the Asia Society and the Nelson-Atkins Museum (Kansas City) in 1993. Most pieces are extensively discussed, but largely for the interested amateur. Many were brought to this country from India for the exhibition; they join some from American collec- tions. Accompanying the catalogue-reflecting, no doubt, the structure of the exhibition-are several short essays, by the editors, B. D. Chattopadhyaya, Michael D. Willis, Phyllis Granoff, and Michael W. Meister, which are accompanied by photos of sites, diagrams, and other illustrative material.
E.G.
Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India, A.D. 700-1200. Edited by VISHAKHA N. DESAI and DA- RIELLE MASON. New York: THE ASIA SOCIETY, 1993. Pp. 288, ills. $65. [Published in collaboration with MAPIN PUBLISHING, Ahmedabad.]
This is essentially the catalogue of an exhibition shown at the Asia Society and the Nelson-Atkins Museum (Kansas City) in 1993. Most pieces are extensively discussed, but largely for the interested amateur. Many were brought to this country from India for the exhibition; they join some from American collec- tions. Accompanying the catalogue-reflecting, no doubt, the structure of the exhibition-are several short essays, by the editors, B. D. Chattopadhyaya, Michael D. Willis, Phyllis Granoff, and Michael W. Meister, which are accompanied by photos of sites, diagrams, and other illustrative material.
E.G.
E. G. E. G. E. G. E. G.
Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period.
By MILDRED ARCHER. Victoria and Albert Museum. Indian Art Series. London: VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, 1992.
Pp. 240, ills. $45. [Published in collaboration with MAPIN PUBLISHING, Ahmedabad.]
This catalogue, by the wife of the late W. G. Archer, might serve as a companion piece to the work above, matching it in size and format, even exceeding it in the number and quality of the illustrations-most in full color. Over 2600 items are
catalogued, in five broad categories: south India, the Doab and eastern India, the northwest and west, "Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malacca," and, somewhat anomalously, paintings on "other media": glass, mica, ivory, and shell. By "company paintings" are meant paintings produced at Company hire-
chiefly, if not exclusively, by "native artists," many of whose names are not preserved. The wealth of this material for histo- rians of the British period cannot be exaggerated; it is here
brought together, essentially for the first time-and in a re-
markably elegant way.
E.G.
Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period.
By MILDRED ARCHER. Victoria and Albert Museum. Indian Art Series. London: VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, 1992.
Pp. 240, ills. $45. [Published in collaboration with MAPIN PUBLISHING, Ahmedabad.]
This catalogue, by the wife of the late W. G. Archer, might serve as a companion piece to the work above, matching it in size and format, even exceeding it in the number and quality of the illustrations-most in full color. Over 2600 items are
catalogued, in five broad categories: south India, the Doab and eastern India, the northwest and west, "Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malacca," and, somewhat anomalously, paintings on "other media": glass, mica, ivory, and shell. By "company paintings" are meant paintings produced at Company hire-
chiefly, if not exclusively, by "native artists," many of whose names are not preserved. The wealth of this material for histo- rians of the British period cannot be exaggerated; it is here
brought together, essentially for the first time-and in a re-
markably elegant way.
E.G.
Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period.
By MILDRED ARCHER. Victoria and Albert Museum. Indian Art Series. London: VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, 1992.
Pp. 240, ills. $45. [Published in collaboration with MAPIN PUBLISHING, Ahmedabad.]
This catalogue, by the wife of the late W. G. Archer, might serve as a companion piece to the work above, matching it in size and format, even exceeding it in the number and quality of the illustrations-most in full color. Over 2600 items are
catalogued, in five broad categories: south India, the Doab and eastern India, the northwest and west, "Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malacca," and, somewhat anomalously, paintings on "other media": glass, mica, ivory, and shell. By "company paintings" are meant paintings produced at Company hire-
chiefly, if not exclusively, by "native artists," many of whose names are not preserved. The wealth of this material for histo- rians of the British period cannot be exaggerated; it is here
brought together, essentially for the first time-and in a re-
markably elegant way.
E.G.
Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period.
By MILDRED ARCHER. Victoria and Albert Museum. Indian Art Series. London: VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, 1992.
Pp. 240, ills. $45. [Published in collaboration with MAPIN PUBLISHING, Ahmedabad.]
This catalogue, by the wife of the late W. G. Archer, might serve as a companion piece to the work above, matching it in size and format, even exceeding it in the number and quality of the illustrations-most in full color. Over 2600 items are
catalogued, in five broad categories: south India, the Doab and eastern India, the northwest and west, "Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malacca," and, somewhat anomalously, paintings on "other media": glass, mica, ivory, and shell. By "company paintings" are meant paintings produced at Company hire-
chiefly, if not exclusively, by "native artists," many of whose names are not preserved. The wealth of this material for histo- rians of the British period cannot be exaggerated; it is here
brought together, essentially for the first time-and in a re-
markably elegant way.
E.G.
Syma Tsyan, Istoricheskie zapiski (Shi Tsi) [Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Historical Records (Shih Chi)], vol. 6. Translated from the Chinese, with introduction and commentaries, by R. V. VIATKIN. Institute of Orientology, Russian Academy of Sciences: Written Records of the Orient, 32.6. Moscow: IZDATEL'STVO "NAUKA," 1992. Pp. 483.
This sixth volume of Viatkin's Russian translation of the Shih chi covers chapters 41-60 (the last twenty of its "Heredi- tary Houses"). This means that he has now translated approxi- mately 62% of the total work, and thus has forged ahead of his two major Western predecessors: Edouard Chavannes (transla- tor of SC 1-52, or approx. 57% of the total text) and Burton Watson (translator of most of the SC's Han chapters, or ap- prox. 42% of the total).1 Three further volumes of Russian
Syma Tsyan, Istoricheskie zapiski (Shi Tsi) [Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Historical Records (Shih Chi)], vol. 6. Translated from the Chinese, with introduction and commentaries, by R. V. VIATKIN. Institute of Orientology, Russian Academy of Sciences: Written Records of the Orient, 32.6. Moscow: IZDATEL'STVO "NAUKA," 1992. Pp. 483.
This sixth volume of Viatkin's Russian translation of the Shih chi covers chapters 41-60 (the last twenty of its "Heredi- tary Houses"). This means that he has now translated approxi- mately 62% of the total work, and thus has forged ahead of his two major Western predecessors: Edouard Chavannes (transla- tor of SC 1-52, or approx. 57% of the total text) and Burton Watson (translator of most of the SC's Han chapters, or ap- prox. 42% of the total).1 Three further volumes of Russian
Syma Tsyan, Istoricheskie zapiski (Shi Tsi) [Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Historical Records (Shih Chi)], vol. 6. Translated from the Chinese, with introduction and commentaries, by R. V. VIATKIN. Institute of Orientology, Russian Academy of Sciences: Written Records of the Orient, 32.6. Moscow: IZDATEL'STVO "NAUKA," 1992. Pp. 483.
This sixth volume of Viatkin's Russian translation of the Shih chi covers chapters 41-60 (the last twenty of its "Heredi- tary Houses"). This means that he has now translated approxi- mately 62% of the total work, and thus has forged ahead of his two major Western predecessors: Edouard Chavannes (transla- tor of SC 1-52, or approx. 57% of the total text) and Burton Watson (translator of most of the SC's Han chapters, or ap- prox. 42% of the total).1 Three further volumes of Russian
Syma Tsyan, Istoricheskie zapiski (Shi Tsi) [Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Historical Records (Shih Chi)], vol. 6. Translated from the Chinese, with introduction and commentaries, by R. V. VIATKIN. Institute of Orientology, Russian Academy of Sciences: Written Records of the Orient, 32.6. Moscow: IZDATEL'STVO "NAUKA," 1992. Pp. 483.
This sixth volume of Viatkin's Russian translation of the Shih chi covers chapters 41-60 (the last twenty of its "Heredi- tary Houses"). This means that he has now translated approxi- mately 62% of the total work, and thus has forged ahead of his two major Western predecessors: Edouard Chavannes (transla- tor of SC 1-52, or approx. 57% of the total text) and Burton Watson (translator of most of the SC's Han chapters, or ap- prox. 42% of the total).1 Three further volumes of Russian
1 These statistics are based on the continuously paginated Peking reprint of Takegawa Kametaro's Shiki kaichi koshi (1955), in which the SC with its commentaries has a total
length of 5,171 pages (excluding front matter). The percent- ages given above for the three translators are determined by comparing this overall page total with the page totals in
Takegawa for each of the three groups of chapters covered by the translators. See my review of Viatkin's vols. 4-5 in JAOS 110:183, where, however, by an unhappy arithmetical error, for which I now apologize, a total of 1,834 pages instead of 2,160 was given for Watson's translated chapters. This mis- take in turn caused me to say that Watson's share of the total SC text is 36%, whereas the correct figure is 42%.
1 These statistics are based on the continuously paginated Peking reprint of Takegawa Kametaro's Shiki kaichi koshi (1955), in which the SC with its commentaries has a total
length of 5,171 pages (excluding front matter). The percent- ages given above for the three translators are determined by comparing this overall page total with the page totals in
Takegawa for each of the three groups of chapters covered by the translators. See my review of Viatkin's vols. 4-5 in JAOS 110:183, where, however, by an unhappy arithmetical error, for which I now apologize, a total of 1,834 pages instead of 2,160 was given for Watson's translated chapters. This mis- take in turn caused me to say that Watson's share of the total SC text is 36%, whereas the correct figure is 42%.
1 These statistics are based on the continuously paginated Peking reprint of Takegawa Kametaro's Shiki kaichi koshi (1955), in which the SC with its commentaries has a total
length of 5,171 pages (excluding front matter). The percent- ages given above for the three translators are determined by comparing this overall page total with the page totals in
Takegawa for each of the three groups of chapters covered by the translators. See my review of Viatkin's vols. 4-5 in JAOS 110:183, where, however, by an unhappy arithmetical error, for which I now apologize, a total of 1,834 pages instead of 2,160 was given for Watson's translated chapters. This mis- take in turn caused me to say that Watson's share of the total SC text is 36%, whereas the correct figure is 42%.
1 These statistics are based on the continuously paginated Peking reprint of Takegawa Kametaro's Shiki kaichi koshi (1955), in which the SC with its commentaries has a total
length of 5,171 pages (excluding front matter). The percent- ages given above for the three translators are determined by comparing this overall page total with the page totals in
Takegawa for each of the three groups of chapters covered by the translators. See my review of Viatkin's vols. 4-5 in JAOS 110:183, where, however, by an unhappy arithmetical error, for which I now apologize, a total of 1,834 pages instead of 2,160 was given for Watson's translated chapters. This mis- take in turn caused me to say that Watson's share of the total SC text is 36%, whereas the correct figure is 42%.
143 143 143 143
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