Spink: Ajanta 6

Spink, Walter M. [u.a.]:
Ajanta : history and development / by Walter M. Spink and Naomichi Yaguchi. - Vol. 6: Defining features. - Leiden [u.a.] : Brill, 2014. - (Handbook of oriental studies : Section 2, India ; 18). - xviii, 464 S. : Ill., Kt.
ISBN 978-90-04-18015-4
EUR 149,00 / US$ 194,00 (Hardback)
ISBN 978-90-474-4465-7 (eBook)
EUR 149,00
DOI: 10.1163/9789047444657
DDC: 726.143095479

Beschreibung
Volume 6, in Walter Spink's detailed analysis of the creation and development of the Ajanta caves, during the reign of the emperor Harisena (c.460-c.477) has had a profound and often upsetting impact on the understanding of Indian history in the so-called Golden Age. The author contends that through the discipline of Art History one can in fact change the established view of cultural developments in the crucial "Classic Age" (5th Century CE). One of his major aims is to prove that it was the Vakatakas, under the emperor Harisena, and not the Guptas, that brought Indian culture to its apogee in the late 470s and to show that by analyzing and organizing Ajanta's "defining feature" in revealing developmental sequences, one can support, with specifics, the revolutionary (but now increasingly accepted) "short chronology" for which the author is well known. These "defining features" range from the changing types of Buddha images and living arrangements for the monks, to the precise analysis of the evolution of pillars, doorways, and excavation techniques. The volume also includes, at the start, a discussion of the transforming effect of competition, and finally war, as a key to Ajanta's highly driven development, its florescence, and finally its sad demise. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
Ajanta: Site From Viewpoint. x
Ajanta Site Plan with Patrons. xi
Time Chart: Ajanta and Related Sites. xii
Reconstruction of Events Related to the Development of the Vakataka Caves. xiii
Map of Vakataka Sites. xv
Ajanta: A Brief Resume. xvii
Chapter 1: The Usages of War. 1
   Resume: The Effect of Conflicts on Ajanta's Development. 10
Chapter 2: Regarding Important Time Chart Changes. 12
Chapter 3: Defining Features. 16
   Introduction. 16
   Pillars: Forms and Features. 21
   The Significance of Sculpture at the Site. 34
   Further Complexities: Added Figurai Brackets. 38
   Pilasters. 41
   Porch Plans. 42
   Porch Windows. 44
   Porch Doorways. 48
   Shrines and Shrine Buddhas. 53
   Candrasilas: Steps—No Steps. 58
   Excavation Techniques: Imprecise vs. Precise. 59
   Changes in Wall Thickness. 60
   Storage Niches. 62
   Astylar vs Multistylar. 63
Chapter 4: Illustrations and Labels. 65
   1. Shrine Buddhas (Plates 1-43). 65
   2. Pillar Development (Plates 44-82). 109
   3. Pillar Capitals (Plates 83-121). 149
   4. Pilasters (Plates 122-163). 189
   5. Doorways (Plates 164-202). 232
   6. Door Females (Plates 203-229). 272
   7. Doorbase (Plates 230-254). 300
   8. Doorbacks (Plates 255-282). 326
   9. Figural Brackets (Plates 283-302). 355
   10. Windows (Plates 303-330). 376
   11. Porch Ends (Plates 331-355). 405
   12. Candrasilas (Plates 356-368). 431
   13. Recesses of Doorways (Plates 369-379). 445
Summary of Evidence Bearing upon the Disputed Dating of Harisena's Reign. 457
Introduction of Various Buddha Features at Ajanta and Related Sites. 459
Defining Features for the Vakataka Phase at Ajanta 462-470 A.D. 461

Beteiligte Personen
WALTER M. SPINK, Professor Emeritus of Indian Art at the University of Michigan received his PhD from Harvard University in 1954. His chief interest has entered upon the Ajanta caves in India, where he had spent many years, with support from Bollingen, Guggenheim, Fulbright Foundations, NEH, and AIIS for his Ajanta: History and Development (Brill). Profile page.
NAOMICHI YAGUCHI, Associate Professor, Kanazawa University, Japan, has taken all of the photographs for, and has been actively involved in discussions about the volume. Profile page.

Quellen: Brill; WorldCat; Bookbutler; Library of Congress
Bildquelle: Brill
Bibliographie: [1]

References