Ananda Coomaraswamy, late curator of Indian art
at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, was unexcelled in his knowledge of
the arts of the Orient, and unmatched in his understanding of Indian
culture, language, religion, and philosophy. In this excellent rare volume of essays, he reveals the essence of the Indian
experience, rooted in "a constant intuition" of the unity and harmony of
all life. Everything has its place, every being its function and all
play a part in the divine concert led by Natarājā (Śiva), Lord of
Dancers.
In a series of 14 stimulating and provocative essays,
Coomaraswamy unfolds the vast metaphysic of the magnificent revelation
of its art; its conception of the universe; social organization;
attitudes toward feminism; problems of family; romantic love, and
marriage. His sweeping commentary considers the "intellectual
fraternity" of mankind; the venerable past as it survives side by side
with emerging modern India; and the individual, autonomy, and
repudiation of "the will to govern."
Enhancing the text are 27
black-and-white photographs — mostly of masterpieces of painting and
sculpture from the second century B.C. to the eighteenth century, and
including the glorious "Cosmic Dance of Nàtaraja." This handsome volume
offers rich insight into the art, philosophy, and culture of a
fascinating forty-centuries-old civilization.