Julia A. B. Hegewald Books

This collection presents new research and evidence on Jaina paintings and illuminated manuscripts. It introduces the reader to so far unpublished palm leaf and paper manuscripts, miniature paintings, cosmological and large-scale pilgrimage banners on cloth, printed texts and maps. The documents come from private, museum and library collections in Europe, North America and India and are introduced by expert authors who are based at a number of international institutions. Jaina texts are considered sacred and are therefore kept in religious libraries and temples, play an important role during festivals and are treated with the same reverence as statues. Because of their high value and religious significance, many have been elaborately decorated, leading to the development of a variety of rich Jaina painting styles. In addition to paintings and innovative formats of representation, the contributions analyse the interaction between the spoken and written word, different modes of story-telling in paintings, the transformation of narratives into songs and performances and how manuscript culture merges all of these genres to bring stories to life.

Have you ever thought about dependencies in Asian art and architecture? Most people would probably assume that the arts are free and that creativity and ingenuity function outside of such reliances. However, the 13 chapters provided by specialists in the fields of Asian art and architecture in this volume show, that those active in the visual arts and the built environment operate in an area of strict relations of often extreme dependences. Material artefacts and edifices are dependent on the climate in which they have been created, on the availability of resources for their production, on social and religious traditions, which may be oral or written down and on donors, patrons and the art market. Furthermore, gender and labour dependencies play a role in the creation of the arts as well. Despite these strong and in most instances asymmetrical dependencies, artists have at all times found freedoms in expressing their own imagination, vision and originality. This shows that dependencies and freedoms are not necessarily strictly separated binary opposites but that, at least in the area of the history of art and architecture in Asia, the two are interconnected in what are often complex and multifaceted layers.

Water architecture in South Asia represents some of the most beautiful and spectacular building achievements of the region. This study provides a holistic approach to the subject, suggesting common links and regional contrasts between types of water structures and their contexts, with a comprehensive interpretation of the history and meaning of water architecture in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.Five types of water structures are identified. Their development is traced from simple to more complex forms, considering how these accommodate secular and religious functions, and present expressions of sacred and royal authority.This publication is the first reference work on the subject. Many of the structures discussed and illustrated here have never been published before. Its comprehensive approach will have a wide relevance for other South Asian disciplines.