Mohan Samant (1924-2004), among the earliest of the post-Independence modern Indian artists to train in India and settle as a successful mature artist in the West, has been called ‘one of the few artists who has successfully made the bridge between Eastern and Western traditions.’ Born in Mumbai, Samant received his diploma from the Sir JJ School of Art in 1952, where he had studied under S.B. Palsikar. That year he joined the Progressive Artists Group. Extended periods abroad – 1957-58 in Rome and travel in Europe and Egypt, 1959-64 in New York City – preceded his leaving Mumbai permanently for New York in 1968, where he lived until his death in 2004. This volume, the definitive work on the artist, presents a comprehensive overview of Samant’s life and work. Also included are essays on Samant’s place in the development of modernism in post-Independence India, a chronological survey of the styles, techniques and themes employed by the artist, and analyses of the media and techniques he utilized.

Published in association with Abraham Joel, New York, and Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. With an introduction by Ranjit Hoskote and additional contributions from Abhijeet Gondkar, Virginia Kaycoff, Sharad Ghamande, Barbara Bertieri, Abraham Joel, and Judith Wink.

Photo Peshawar delves into the largely unexplored culture of photography in the Pakistani frontier city of Peshawar from the 1940s to the present day. Photography in Peshawar has historically and culturally found itself caught between the creative and conservative forces of both India and Afghanistan. Variously borne of British rule, the Partition of India, war in neighbouring Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban, local tribal law, a historical prohibition on image-making in Islam, the practice of purdah (the veiling of females in public), and the regional movie industry, there is a tangible stress between the practice of photography as it is pursued and the culture in which it is lived. With nearly one hundred and fifty photographs, each more stunning than the last, ‘photography as craft is what this splendid volume examines – photography at the living, bleeding intersection of culture, war, frontier and fantasy, the sheer human inventiveness that results from a magnificent and tragic brew of technology and history.’ Published in association with PIX Publishing.

Vishnu-Hinduism’s most important and powerful deity. He is the great Preserver, vanquishing those who seek to destroy the balance of the universe. For his followers he is also the Creator and the Destroyer, the cause of all existence. His many traits are embodied in his impressive physical form, the weapons he carries, the goddesses who are his consorts, and the eagle, Garuda, on whom he flies down from heaven. In Hindu legend, Vishnu descends to earth in many manifestations, known as avatars, to fight powerful demons and to save his devotees. The avatars range in form from Varaha the boar to Parashurama the Brahmin warrior, and in character from Narasimha the ferocious half-man half-lion, to Krishna the charismatic prince-cowherd. The legends of Vishnu have inspired some of the greatest art, literature, and ritual traditions in India. This catalog examines the many faces of Vishnu and the ways that the god has been represented, from antiquity to the present. Essays by noted historians of South Asian art delve deeply into the regional and sectarian traditions of Vishnu worship in India. Illustrations and discussions of almost two hundred works of art, in a wide range of media and borrowed from collections throughout the United States and Europe, reveal the rich diversity of India’s art and religious culture. With contributions from Doris Meth Srinivasan, Leslie C. Orr, Cynthia Packert, Joan Cummins and Neeraja Poddar. Co-published with Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville.

Mughal emperors governed their vast empire with the help of nawabs – a title they bestowed on the semi-autonomous Muslim rulers of India. Over a period of time these nawabs became powerful rulers in their own right and created a distinct culture of their own, with food being one of its most everlasting legacies. Heavily influenced by Mughal staples and cookery techniques, the nawabs refined their cuisine by adopting local flavors, from the refined palates that dominate the table at Rampur and Avadh to the incredible array of delicacies from the kitchens of Bahawalpur and Khairpur, now in Pakistan. For the first time, Dining with the Nawabs allows you a rare opportunity to visit the tables and palaces of these families, to learn more about their lifestyles and their love affair with gourmet cuisine. This special edition also comes with a ‘Kitchen Copy’, containing some of their most beloved family recipes that you can recreate in your own homes. The families featured in this book continue to be the proud custodians of this culinary legacy. They share recipes which have been passed down for hundreds of years within the confines of the royal kitchen. In these recipes and stories, which depict food as the epicenter of traditions and customs, the larger story of an ancient philosophy and a way of life is revealed. Today, Indian food all over the world is synonymous with Mughalia and Nawabi cuisine. Biryani, pulao, kebab, korma, kofta, dumpukht and other dishes of the time have all made their way from a shahi dastarkhwan into every home. The families featured here each have their own signature version of these dishes; much like the flower which grows in different soils and emanates a different fragrance, these meals are at once part of a shared heritage and strikingly unique.

Banaras is a city on the banks of the river Ganges. It is the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development of Buddhism. It is regarded as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is portrayed beautifully through Majumdar s captivating perspective on different walks around the city. Banaras witnesses thousands of devout Hindus who journey to the banks of the Ganga to wash their sins away. The ghats and the riot of colors only add to the character of this city. Banaras now known as Varanasi is also a major tourist attraction and welcomes thousands from around the world.

Awadh has historically been among the most important regions in India, politically, religiously and socially, and holds a vital position with respect to the development of Indian fashion. As such, fashion and history are not mutually distinct, but rather intricately intertwined. This book takes a fascinating journey, connecting dates and events to the evolution of costumes, textiles, colors, motifs and ornamentations from the eighteenth century up to present-day India. It recaptures the ambience of the Nawabi Era and the British Raj in Awadh, and makes them relevant for contemporary times. Costumes & Textiles of Awadh is the culmination of five years of research into an area hitherto untouched by books on costumes. The work is further embellished with rare photographs and exclusive pictures of costumes and textiles. The book makes for an important reference work on the rich textile history of an important region of India, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in the intricacies of fashion with history.

Life in the royal courts of India revolved around entertaining. The palace kitchens were allotted massive budgets to ensure the highest quality of cuisine. Each state had its unique style of entertaining and food traditions – carrying forward these culinary practices are the modern day Indian royals. While the scale of the banquets may have shrunk the passion for food and the age-old family recipes remain. Dining with the Maharajas: Thousand Years of Culinary Tradition brings the invaluable legacy of Indian royals as ten families open up their palaces and homes to allow you a glimpse into their charmed lives that straddle tradition and modernity.

Sensuous is the word that best defines the flavor and texture of Indian cuisine, a cuisine that is visually and aromatically one of the most opulent in the world. Marut Sikka, acclaimed food consultant, cuts out the fuss, and shares home-style Indian dishes that are perfect for everyday cooking. He uses his amazing knowledge of combining spices to make dishes taste extraordinary. The recipes are authentic – a testament to simple ingredients producing sublime tastes. Indian Flavours starts with a brief introduction to some of the spices of India. The rest of the book is divided into unique sections such as the Spice Family, Fresh Herbs and Vegetables, Dried Herbs, Seeds and Leaves, and Dried Fruits. As the author explores each section, he gives simple, but delectable recipes, such as nutmeg potato roundels, lamb brains with black pepper, dill-infused grilled fish, jalapenos with jaggery and coconut, and rose petal and rice pudding, with vivid photos that are sure to impress. With streamlined techniques and intense, authentic flavors, Indian Flavours, a classic in its own right, heralds a new generation of Indian cookbooks.

The Konyaks – a once fearsome headhunting tribe in Nagaland on the border of Myanmar in northeast India – are well known for their iconic body and facial tattoos, originally earned for taking an enemy’s head. This book – over four years in the making – is the personal journey of a Konyak woman who retraces the steps of her grandfather and great-grandfather by documenting her tribe’s tattooing practices. She explores the Konyak’s concept of beautification of the body using it as a canvas for art, with inscriptions marked on the skin as a form of rite of passage and cycle of life. With elegant and powerful portraits of elders, both men and women, this book preserves the unique but vanishing practices of the culture, together with tattoo patterns, their meanings, and the oral traditions attached to them in folktales, songs, poems and sayings. It includes descriptions and information on headhunting and tattooing practices; reasons behind them; techniques used; tattoo artists; different tattoo groups; types of tattoos; and personal stories. Contents: The Konyaks; Headhunting; Traditional Tattooing Art; Tattoo Artist; Face Tattoo Group SHEN-TU; Body Tattoo Group TANGTA-TU; Nose Tattoo Group KONG-TU; The Last of the Tattooed Headhunters; Glossary.

Mohandas K. Gandhi has been described as ‘an artist of non-violence,’ crafting as he did a set of practices of the self and politics that earned him the mantle of Mahatma, ‘the great soul.’ His philosophy and praxis of satyagraha, non-violent civil disobedience, has been analyzed extensively. But is satyagraha also an aesthetic regime, with practices akin to a work of art? Is Gandhi, then, an artist of disobedience? Sumathi Ramaswamy explores these questions with the help of India’s modern and contemporary artists who have over the past century sought out the Mahatma as their muse and invested in him across a wide range of media from painting and sculpture to video installation and digital production. At a time when Gandhi is a hallowed but hollow presence, why have they lavished so much attention on him? A hundred and fifty years after his birth, Gandhi is hyper visible across the Indian landscape from tea stalls and government offices to museums and galleries. This is ironical given that the Mahatma appeared to have had little time for the visual arts or for artists for that matter. Yet fascinatingly, the visual artist has emerged as Gandhi’s conscience-keeper, reminding others of the meaning of the Mahatma in his own time and today. In so doing, these artists also reveal why this most disobedient of ‘modern’ icons has grabbed their attention, resulting in a veritable art of disobedience as an homage to one of the twentieth century’s great prophets of disobedience.

The textiles here have been organized by several broad categories, beginning with type, and then by area of origin, dating and style. First are ikats and prints from India: the ikats woven in silk as “double ikats” and known as patola, and two prints that are cotton chintz. Though made in India, these textiles were all found in Sumatra, with the patola being highly-prized heirlooms used ceremonially, and the prints being used widely in trade across Indonesia from Sumatra to the Eastern Islands.

Next are ikats and other woven textiles organized by origin, moving West to East, from Sumatra to Borneo, Sulawesi, Bali, and Timor. For all of these pieces, the material was hand spun or commercial cotton, silk, or sometimes a mixture of the two.

Lastly are batiks, mostly from Java. The first three are the oldest batiks in this collection, each of which has been analyzed by radiocarbon dating and found to originate in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively. These batiks are made on hand spun cotton.

The batiks here are from Sumatra and Java (the great mother-temple of batik artistry), ranging in age, after the proto-batiks described above, from the early 19th century to mid-20th century. They vary in style from the most traditional, including those distinctive in color and pattern from the kratons (palaces) of the sultans, Indian influences from chintz and other Indian imports, to Chinese-inspired depictions of animals, insects, plants and flowers, to French-inspired Art Nouveau mostly via Batik Belanda.

This collection of Indonesian textiles and some related Indian textiles that were popular and influential in Indonesian usage and design came together in a series of collecting periods spanning nearly 40 years.

No country, apart from India, is as closely allied with the Buddha’s travels as Sri Lanka, which was visited thrice by the Buddha and received corporal relics and a branch of the bodhi tree after his death. Today the Buddha’s eye-tooth is venerated daily by thousands in Kandy and regarded as a priceless relic.

Buddhism is not the only religion to have influence the island, as another major pilgrimage spot is Kataragama, a site devoted to a Hindu God, while Christianity and Islam are also part of the mix. From Europe, the Portuguese, Dutch, and English added new spiritual layers in a colonial period that stretched nearly three centuries. As a result, understanding the country, through the lens of sacred sites provides a special glimpse into this unique civilisation.

Art for Baby is India’s first medically vetted art book designed to stimulate cognitive development in newborns (0-3 months) while introducing them to contemporary art. Since babies at this age can only see black, white, and shades of grey, this high-contrast picture book—featuring works by leading Indian artists—enhances their early visual recognition and engagement.

Created by Rudritara Shroff, Art for Baby includes contributions from Dhruvi Acharya, Jyoti Bhatt, Jyotsna Bhatt, Jogen Chowdhury, Atul Dodiya, Anju Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta, N.S. Harsha, Bijoy Jain, Reena Saini Kallat, Shakuntala Kulkarni, Manish Nai, Amol K. Patil, Gigi Scaria, and Sudarshan Shetty. The accompanying flashcards offer insights into each artist’s work, fostering caregiver-baby bonding.

Proceeds from the book support children’s projects through UNICEF India and Outset UK. Original artworks featured in the book were exhibited at Christie’s in Mumbai and New York, raising $57,582 for these initiatives.

Praise for Art for Baby:
“This book is a testimony to Rudritara Shroff’s commitment to catalyzing healthy brain development and engaging young minds in creative pursuits.” – Vikram Patel, PhD, MBBS, Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School

“This book balances traditional infant learning therapies with a groundbreaking visual approach, enhancing artistic tendencies among newborns.” – Dr. Amin Jaffer, Museum Director and Art Historian,Curator of the Al Thani Collection, Paris

“The process of creating this book was exciting and enriching. It is remarkable that such a young person has taken this on!” – Shilpa Gupta, Indian Contemporary Artist, Mumbai

Studio SKLIM is an innovative and forward-thinking design firm skilled at crafting bespoke spatial solutions. Based in Singapore and with a presence in India, the firm believes that the fast-changing contemporary life demands a rethink and reorganization of existing spatial parameters in design.

Studio SKLIM: Evolving Techne features ten carefully selected projects that exemplify the firm’s approach as integrates traditional practices with modern technology and sustainable practices. The selected portfolio presented in this monograph encompasses a diverse range of built and unbuilt projects, including residential, hospitality, workplace, and education. Each project includes stunning full-colour photography, informative text, and explanatory diagrams to reveal the thought behind the design.

Originally published in 1999, and long out of print, this revised and updated version of Techniques of Drawing gives an overview of historical materials and drawing practices in Europe and Asia, using examples from the Ashmolean Museum, including highlights of the collection and lesser-known works. This up to date edition expands the text and illustrations to include non-western art, including Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Persian works of art, also including some more modern western art works than the first edition, which only covered western art from the 15th to 19th centuries. Expanding the scope of the book to include global perspectives, and the 20th century, involves new sections such as ‘Brush and Ink’ which includes Chinese landscape drawings, Japanese botanical works, as well as illustrating the famous Mughal Indian drawing by Abu’l Hasan in the Ashmolean collection. The book also includes a new section on gouache (opaque watercolor) which will be important for discussing Chinese, Indian and Persian paintings on paper.

Resonant Histories is an invitation to revisit encounters between India and the Arab world in the 20th century that continue to shape artistic and intellectual discourse today. By bringing the collections of the Barjeel Art Foundation and the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation into dialog, the project aims to situate artistic practice within broader transnational frameworks of exchange and mutual influence. This publication explores the story of modern art as not a singular narrative, but a network of voices shaping one another across time and place. 

With contributions by Nadine Nour el Din, Patrick Kane, Vivek Gupta, Neha Vora, Amal Allana, Iaroslav Volovod, Rasha Alduwaisan, Deepak Unnikrishnan and Bhoomika Ghaghada. 

Harmony: Essential Ayurveda for All is a celebration of India’s timeless wisdom offering an insight into India’s ancient traditions and practices for holistic well-being. Delving into Ayurveda, yoga and mindful living, Gita Ramesh introduces readers to the art of incorporating mindfulness, gratitude and self-awareness to enhance overall life quality.

The book will not only enlighten readers about time-honored practices but also offer practical tips to cultivating well-being in today’s fast-paced world.

High jewelry has entered the 21st century with a spring in its step. Design has been as diverse as it has been innovative. The technical advances of the ’90s and the new materials being used by this exuberant group of independent jewelers have helped pave the way to breaking down preconceived ideas of high jewelry. Some enjoy the adventure of finding the rarest of gemstones that speak to them, others seek to tell a tale or relay a secret message to the wearer and thus the onlooker. They are artists, engineers and adventurers; and, above all, they are passionate about their world, using only the best workmanship wherever it is to be found. From the great JAR, to James de Givenchy and Nicholas Varney in the West, and Michelle Ong, Wallace Chan and Bhagat in the East, 21st-Century Jewellery Designers: An Inspired Style is an exploration into the designers’ worlds. Interviews reveal the designers’ inspirations and passions, their signature materials, designing processes, and how their personalities influence their designs. Designers featured: JAR (France); Kaoru Kay Akihara / Gimel (Japan); Walid Akkad (France/Lebanon); Lorenz Bäumer (France); Bhagat (India); Sevan Biçakçi (Turkey); Luz Camino (Spain); Wallace Chan (China); Edmond Chin / Etcetera (China); Lydia Courteille (France); Michele della Valle (Italy/Switzerland); Patrice Fabre (France); James de Givenchy / Taffin (USA); Vicente Gracia (Spain); Hemmerle (Germany); Anna Hu (USA/Taiwan); Michelle Ong / Carnet (China); Suzanne Syz (Switzerland); Nicholas Varney (USA); Stephen Webster (UK); Dickson Yewn / Yewn Heritage (China).

For over 2000 years artists travelled throughout India, using painted picture scrolls to spread stories from the great Indian epics, as well as a wealth of stories about regional Gods and heroes and moral tales, amongst the most illiterate rural population. In the hands of the painters and singers, the picture scrolls became a portable cinema, projection screens for mythical knowledge and an incentive to listen to the songs whilst looking at the scrolls. In the same way that other oral art forms have dwindled and lost significance, the picture scroll artists also lost their public and their income. However, in the east of India – in West Bengal and Jharkhand – two closely related but distinctive picture scroll traditions have been upheld: the patua and the jadopatia. Political changes, technical innovations and social turmoil brought both these traditions face to face with the necessity to develop new survival strategies too. Accompanies an exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, from 30th August 2012.

More than any other civilization, China is renowned for its long tradition of ceramic production, from its terracotta and stoneware works in ancient times to the imperial porcelain manufactured at Jingdezhen from the end of the fourteenth century. These works have been admired and collected over centuries for their outstanding quality and refinement. Now two hundred masterpieces from prominent private collections around the world have been brought together for the first time in a new book. The Baur Collections in Geneva, formed between 1928 and 1951, and the Zhuyuetang Collection (the Bamboo and Moon Pavilion in Hong Kong), which has been building since the late 1980s, reveal the elegance and variety of imperial monochrome porcelain wares produced during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, which followed on from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) periods. These restrained pieces – both profane and sacred – exemplify the values of simplicity and modesty espoused by classical Chinese texts. With chapters devoted to the historical, cultural and technical contexts in which these pieces were made, this book will be a key reference on Chinese monochrome ceramics for all lovers of the subject, as well as students, researchers and connoisseurs.

Text in English and French with Chinese summaries.

How does one view the cumulative work of one’s life? For Gautam Bhatia, this publication is not merely a record of his personal or professional legacy, but rather it is a profound examination of his life in architecture.

According to the author, architecture is, by its very nature, a practice of contradictions. It operates under influences from sociology, design, engineering, landscape, anthropology, urbanism and civic practice in order to impose its will on the nature of space. This publication brings together several of the author’s built works, from commercial and residential buildings to large public spaces, from places of leisure to places of worship. Together with detailed essays, drawings and photographs, the author lays out his philosophy of design to illustrate how architecture became not just a conquest of the imagination, but also of reality.

To physically will a building onto a site is an act of design, but to set it free onto a course of transformation is an act of architecture – into a realm beyond the present, where the space is not just made, but lives and dies. The author demonstrates how his practice became not just a tool for solving problems, but also a mode of personal expression, making this volume an invaluable resource for students and practitioners of architecture alike.

Early photography flourished throughout India, with particular vigour in the city of Bombay. Long before the invention of moving pictures, and long before Bollywood, Bombay was the first Indian city where the photographic needs of the public including more affluent indigenous Indians as well as British were catered to. The aim of this publication in researching under-recognized photographers of the time like Narayen Daji, Hurrichund Chintamon, Shivashanker Narayen and Shapoor N. Bhedwar is to contribute new information for a local history that is still very much in formation. Following a roughly chronological trajectory, the volume looks at some of the earliest surviving Bombay photographs, and moves through differing eras to the end of the century, covering architectural studies and landscapes, portraits and ethnographic studies, and the documentation of trade and technological advancements that produced such spectacular pictures.