Epic Tales from Ancient India ─ Paintings from the San Diego Museum of Art

Exploring the topic of narrativity in Indian art, this beautiful and deeply researched book considers illustrations to the Bhagavata Purana, the Ramayana, the Ragamala, and a range of texts in the Persian language, notably the Shahnama. Featuring stunning reproductions of paintings made between the 16th and 19th centuries from the Edwin Binney 3rd Collection at The San Diego Museum of Art, the publication includes thorough and fascinating explanations of the narrative of each text, including how that narrative is visually conveyed. Essays examine why these particular stories are so enduring, why patrons may have chosen to have a copy of a particular text made for their own collections, and how artists responded to the challenge of creating new versions of venerable classics.

Marika Sardar is associate curator for Southern Asian?and Islamic art at The San Diego Museum of Art. Neeraja Poddar is the Mellon Fellow at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.? Qamar Adamjee is associate curator of South Asian and Islamic art at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.? Alka Patel is associate professor of South Asian and Islamic art at the University of California at Irvine.?