Darielle Mason

This first book-length study on kanthas published outside of South Asia focuses on two premier collections, one assembled by the legendary historian of Indian art, Dr. Stella Kramrisch, the other by Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, leading proponents of self-taught art. Created from worn-out garments imaginatively embroidered by women with motifs and tales drawn from a rich regional repertoire, kanthas traditionally were stitched as gifts for births, weddings, and other family occasions. Innovative essays by leading scholars explore the domestic, ritual, and historical contexts of the fascinating quilts in these collections--made between the mid-19th and mid-20th century in what is today Bangladesh and West Bengal, India--and trace their reinterpretation as emblems of national identity and works of art.

The Embroidered Quilts of Bengal from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection and the Stella Kramrisch Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Kantha

Vishakha N. Desai

Celestial lovers, guardian deities, gods, goddesses, semidivine and human forms bedeck the magnificient, elaborately sculpted medieval temples of northern India. This handsome catalog of an exhibition at the Asia Society in New York City explains that each temple, rich in symbolism and sacred geometry, was viewed as a microcosmic model of cosmic creation and order. Led by Desai, director of the Asia Society Galleries, and Mason of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, six scholars discuss the historical background, patterns of royal patronage, architectural placement of images and Hindu stories and hymns as keys to the cult of temple images and to the medieval worship service, "an elaborate multisensory experience." Nearly 200 color and black-and-white plates document a major architectural and sculptural legacy.

Darielle Mason

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