On the Cusp of an Era ─ Art in the Pre-Kusana World

No book has been produced before on pre-Kusana art, and Srinivasan (State U. of New York-Stony Brook) attributes that to the fact that no full-length study has been done of Kusana art--as opposed to art done during the Kusana period--that pre-Kusana art would have preceded. Contributors identified only by name take the plunge anyway, discussing general features and specific examples of art in South Asia about the beginning of the Christian era. Their topics include Saka and Kusana migrations in historical contexts, an Indo-Greek urban center in Gandhara, coinage from Iran to Gandhara, and multi-cultural systems in ancient India. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Doris Meth Srinivasan is Visiting Scholar at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. She has published extensively on Hindu iconography, Western and local expressions in Gandharan art, plus the seminalMany Heads, Arms and Eyes. Origin, Meaning and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art (Brill, 1997).