Kirjahaku

From the fifteenth century on, after a period of widespread destruction and demolition, India witnessed a resumption of temple patronage and building activity. These 'late' temples, however, are usually overlooked by architectural and art historians, who tend to privilege the earlier phases of Indian architecture and art, the prevailing assumption being that Indiaâs âlateâ temples are unworthy of serious attention. As illustrated in this volume, nothing could be further from the truth. Accompanied by maps, photographs, as well as a selection of building plans, this book is the first wide-ranging account of temple architecture in the 500-year period that coincides with the rule of the sultanates, the Mughals, and the British. Through a meticulous study of over 300 temples from 17 geographical zones, this book shows that, as far as temple architecture is concerned, these years were remarkably creative and vibrant. The temples built during this period display a startling diversity of forms, structural techniques, and aesthetic qualities. Rather than characterizing the appearance of domes, vaults, pointed arches, and other such 'borrowings' as inappropriately 'Christian' or 'Islamic', this volume attempts to understand how such attributes came to be integrated into a Hindu and Jain religious context.

For more than 1500 years, from the Indian subcontinent to the islands of the Indonesian archipelago, the temple has embodied and symbolized the Hindu worldview at its deepest level and inspired the greatest architectural and artistic achievements in Hindu Asia. In The Hindu Temple, considered the standard introduction to the subject, George Michell explains the cultural, religious, and architectural significance of the temple. He illustrates his points with a profusion of photographs, building plans, and drawings of architectural details, making the book a useful guide for travelers to Asia as well as an illuminating text for students of architecture, religion, and Asian civilizations. Michell's discussion of the meaning and forms of the temple in Hindu society encompasses the awe-inspiring rock-cut temples at Ellora and Elephanta, the soaring superstructures and extraordinary sexual exhibitionism of the sculptures at Khajuraho, and the colossal mortuary temple of Angkor Vat, as well as the tiny iconic shrines that many Hindus wear around their necks and the simple shrines found under trees or near ponds.

The art of Hinduism constitutes one of the world's greatest traditions. Michell's new survey examines the entire period, covering shrines consecrated to Hindu cults and works of art portraying Hindu divinities and semi-divine personalities.

This beautifully illustrated book showcases the Hindu and Jain temples of Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka built prior to the invasion of peninsular India by the Delhi sultans at the end of the 13th century. Unlike temples in many other parts of India, those of the Deccan are well preserved, with their wealth of figural and decorative carvings miraculously intact. They demonstrate the development of Indian sacred architecture and art over a span of more than 600 years. Focusing on some 50 historical sites, the Temples of Deccan India begins with artificially excavated “cave” shrines dedicated to various Hindu deities, before proceeding on to examine free-standing Hindu and Jain monuments sponsored by successive rulers of the Deccan. Attention is paid to the beautiful sculptures found on temple basements, walls, brackets and ceilings. Carved in crisp relief, and sometimes even in three dimensions, these carvings are among the greatest glories of Indian stone art. Among the featured highlights are the cave temple on the island of Elephanta, with its stupendous representation of three-headed Sadashiva; the colossal, monolithic Kailasa temple at Ellora, a technical feat unsurpassed in the entire history of Indian architecture; the magnificent columned pavilion at Hanamkonda, now currently being reconstructed; and the temple at Belur, with its exquisitely carved female figural brackets. Specially commissioned plans of temple layouts accompany 300+ photographs. and clarify the succession of dynasties that governed the Deccan during the centuries covered here. Maps locate the temple sites, while passages of text illuminate the succession of dynasties that governed the Deccan from the 7th to 13th centuries. Educational, accessible and beautifully illustrated, this book will be of interest to anyone fascinated by Indian architecture.

According to the French composer Olivier Messiaen, ‘Bach’s music reaches all times, all places’. In Back to Bach: From Mozart to Moog George Michell explores the story of Bach’s impact on composers from Mozart and Beethoven to Stravinsky and Shostakovich, as well as on jazz pianists, rock guitarists and pop singers, all of whom set off on their own Back to Bach journeys. Readers are invited to become listeners, to feast on Michell’s musical banquet. Under his guidance, they will discover works, both familiar and unfamiliar, that reveal the persistent influence of Bach’s art. As Michell shows, George Bernard Shaw was right when he predicted that ‘Bach belongs not to the past, but to the future’. An accessible, indispensable reference for all Bach lovers, the book will appeal to the musically curious, willing to explore the incarnations of Bach into acoustics that he could never have known, from the modern grand piano, electric keyboard, saxophone quartet and big band to the Moog synthesiser.